Chapter Four
Oh no. Not the nibbly thing.
Piper arched her neck into the caress of his lips. Jake wasn’t playing fair. He knew she turned to mush when he did that little nippy thing with his teeth on her skin. He was just trying to keep her off-balance in order to stop her from pointing out how this thing between them was a bad idea. He was doing a great job because she’d somehow ended up on her back with his hard length pressing her into the soft turf.
“Jake.”
“I love it when you call me that.”
“You . . .” she bit back a groan as his fingers nudged back the flimsy strap of her dress to allow his clever mouth better access to more of her tingly skin, “. . . you hate nicknames.”
“Not from you.”
“Stop doing that.”
“You don’t want me to stop.” His low laugh vibrated against her breast as his hand pushed her dress higher up her leg.
She. Didn’t. Want. Him. To. Stop.
But, she really, really needed to put on her big girl panties and end this insanity. Oh, damn. She closed her eyes, counting the fireworks going off in her head as his calloused finger pushed aside those previously mentioned panties and touched her in the place directly connected to the “off” switch in her brain.
“I’m not the girl for you,” she panted.
Jake exhaled a heavy sigh, his breath warm and moist against her skin as he paused in his sensual exploration. He rested his forehead against hers, moments passing in silence while she struggled against the urge to shift her palms from the width of his shoulders and into the crisp, satin of his hair. He made the most delicious sounds when she did that.
“Baby.” He groaned as he lifted himself onto his forearms, still anchoring her to the turf while he nailed her with his intense dark eyes. The side of his mouth lifted in a grin. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m not the one for you.”
“Why not?”
She needed to get through to him. They’d discussed what an odd couple they were many times, never coming to a conclusion both baffled by their inability to leave each other alone.
“You’re too old for me,” she offered.
“You’re an old soul. Twelve years is nothing in a lifetime.”
Damn, he was using her own words against her now.
“I have crazy hair, tattoos and pierced nipples.”
“You also have a brazilian wax job and I love them all. They’re unspeakably sexy.” His hand played idly with the strap on her dress. “Besides, you told me I needed to loosen up.”
“I said you needed to mix-it-up in the wardrobe department.”
“Well, I listened.” He leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear. “I’m not wearing any underwear.”
She snorted. “Not exactly what I was talking about.” Piper’s traitorous hand cupped his jaw, the stubble of his beard briefly scraping against her palm before being replaced with the softness of the hair curling at his nape. Jake’s smile, open and carefree, lit up his features, accentuating the severe cut of his cheekbones. Her heart stuttered in her chest. She was either falling for the guy or she needed medical attention.
Good thing he was a doctor.
“You hate my friends.”
“I don’t,” he protested.
“You think they’re weird.”
“They are weird.” He pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist and set off another set of sparks in her belly. “But, they take care of you, so I like them.”
“I don’t like your friends.”
“Neither do I. They’re arrogant assholes and they were rude to you.”
“Good. You deserve better.”
“I deserve you.” His voice was firm but his eyes were soft with something she wanted very badly.
This wasn’t going the way she needed it to go. They’d been over this, talked about it, never getting past the fact that their worlds existed on totally different planets. But, something between them clicked, literally hummed with rightness whenever they were together, and she wanted it like a kid at Christmas. But, she’d been disappointed before by people she wanted much less. This man was a heartbreak waiting to happen.
“Jake.” She covered her face with her hands, her surrender so close she could feel its hot breath on her back.
“Piper, look at me.” He pried her hands away, placing them on the ground next to her head in a position of submission.
Panic flared momentarily, but, in another surprising move he slid his hands into hers, intertwining their fingers in a clasp of lovers instead of conquered and conqueror. She wanted to look away, fear rising in her throat at the intimacy, but his gaze held hers in a test of heart over head.
“You forget that I endured over a decade of grueling education and training to get to where I am today. I knew what I wanted and nothing stood in my way.” Jake’s body shifted over hers, his knee pressing between them until she could feel the hard length of his erection against her thigh. He rolled his hips for emphasis — as if she could miss his point. “I want you. We’re great for each other. Unless you can tell me a very good reason why I should let you go a second time, I’m not going anywhere.”
