IT WAS AS if the past twenty-two years had rewound themselves.
The second his lips touched hers, Jessi was back by the creek, her only worries her father’s strict rules and getting to school on time. And it felt so good. So carefree.
If only she’d known how free she’d been back then.
But she could experience it again. With the same man. Just for a little while.
She’d always thought Clint had been invincible all those years ago. But her mom’s comment about his father and discovering that crooked little finger showed her he wasn’t. He was just as human as she was. Back then … and maybe even now.
Jessi threaded her fingers through his hair, hearing Clint’s low groan as he moved to deepen the kiss, shifting her until she lay half across his lap, one of his hands beneath her shoulders, his other splayed flat on her stomach. It was that hand that made her go all liquid inside. It wasn’t doing anything special but it was between two very sensitive areas of her body, both of which were doing their damnedest to coax his fingers to slide their way.
A gentle touch of his tongue was enough to get her full attention.
Yes!
Surely he wouldn’t stop this time. It had been ages since she’d been with someone. So long that the slightest movement of his body had her eagerly lapping up the sensations like a person deprived of food and water, and desperate for any sign of relief.
She was ready for that kind of relief. For him.
Clint.
And here he was, in her house. And there was absolutely no one around. Not her mom. Not Chelsea.
Just the two of them.
So she pressed closer to him, deepening their kiss, his soft lips making her feel dizzy with need.
And finally … finally, the hand at her waist woke up, his thumb drawing little circles on her belly that had her moaning with anticipation, arching up into it with a mental plea that he evidently heard. Because with a single movement it slid up and over her right breast, that circling thumb finding her nipple without hesitation. Her sundress had a built-in bra, but it was thin, just a shelf of netting with a piece of elastic beneath it, so his touch was heady and intimate, arcing straight down to her toes and then back up again.
When his fingers moved away, she whimpered in protest. His mouth slid from hers, depriving her of another point of contact.
“Clint …”
His hand moved to the back of her head, supporting it as the scrape of his chin along her cheek put him at her ear. “I don’t want to stop.”
The moment of truth. She sensed he was giving her time to compose herself, to give her a chance to put an end to things even while telling her he didn’t want to.
She made a dangerous decision.
“Then don’t.”
His fingers tightened on the back of her head. Then his other hand went to the thin strap on her sundress and tugged it down her arm, leaving one shoulder bare.
There was a slight hesitation, then that wicked thumb went to work, brushing the joint where her shoulder met her arm. “Is this what you want?”
“More.” The word came out as a shaky whisper. She hardly dared to believe she was goading him to continue. But this was exactly what she needed. To have someone just sweep aside her normal code of conduct and make her … feel again.
“How about this?” His fingertips moved higher, trailing from beneath her jaw down the side of her neck and along her collarbone. Light ticklish touches that made her ache and squirm.
She wanted him everywhere at once, kissing her mouth, cupping her breast, filling her with his heat where it counted the most. So she took his hand and placed it on her breast, where she wanted it.
“You read my mind, Jess.” The words came out in a half growl that made her shiver.
He ducked beneath the edge of her sundress and found her bare skin. He paused then curved his palm over her, the light friction on her nipple sending a low sound up her throat.
“Hell, woman. You need to warn a man before you go braless.”
Encouraged by the rough words, she bit her way up his jaw and then smiled against his mouth. “My dress has a bra. You just missed it.”
“Could have fooled me.” His thumb and forefinger captured the tight bead and gave a gentle squeeze that made her squirm again. “But in that case …”
He removed his hand and urged her off the couch and onto her feet, while he sat, legs splayed.
“I want to see you—all of you—but at the rate I’m going, I’m not going to make it that far.” A quick flash of teeth accompanied the words.
She smiled back at him, his meaning giving her a shot of courage and daring her to tease him back. “I think I can help with that. What would you like to see first?” Balling the skirt portion of her dress, she slid the hem part way up her thighs, keeping her attention focused on his face.
A muscle worked in his jaw, and he placed his hands flat on his thighs. “Let’s start from the top. And work our way down. Just like we did in school.”
The reminder of how his hands had trailed from her face to her breasts and finally down to that last forbidden place made hot need spurt through her. And the way his knuckles turned white as his long fingers dug into his thighs told her that need wasn’t one-sided.
“Okay, let’s do that.” She let go of her skirt and trailed the back of her right hand down her neck, like he’d done moments earlier, only she didn’t stop at her collarbone. Instead, she dragged her fingers along the edge of her bodice—one strap still draped over her arm. The second strap flipped down.
“Next?” she asked, waiting for direction.
“Peel it down. Slowly.” The low words weren’t abrupt and bossy, rather they coaxed her to do his bidding. Dared her to cross a threshold to a room she’d never entered before. Her times with Larry had been good, but they’d been to the point. Vanilla sex that had been a sharing of hearts and minds, even if it hadn’t been superimaginative. Then again, they’d had such a short amount of time together, there hadn’t been a chance to venture much further than that.
And that wasn’t something she was going to think about.
Not when Clint was right here, holding the door open and asking her to step through it.
This was what she wanted—what she expected from Clint. Wild and raw and real … echoes of the rebellious boy he’d once been. The one who had whispered to a matching defiance within her, drawing it out and fulfilling her in ways she never would have imagined.
So she crossed her arms and took a strap in each hand and pulled with slow, steady pressure that made the fabric of her dress roll back on itself, revealing the upper swell of her breasts. She kept going until she got to the most crucial part, then hesitated.
“Jess.” The whispered word shifted her eyes back to his. But he wasn’t looking at her face. He was staring at the half-exposed portion of her body, the heat in his expression taking away the last of her inhibitions. She tugged, and he swallowed.
“You have no idea how much I want to drag you down here and finish this.”
“Then do it.” She let her arms go to her sides, making no attempt to hide herself from him.
He reached behind him and retrieved his wallet from his pants. Her mouth watered, thinking he was going to pull a condom out and do exactly what she’d suggested. And a packet did appear, but he made no move to haul her down onto the couch.
“Here or in your bedroom?”
“It doesn’t matter.” It was the truth. She wanted him. Badly, and she didn’t care where it happened, as long as it happened. And soon.
He smiled again and set the condom on his thigh, making her tighten inside. Because six inches north of that packet was a bulge that left no question as to whether or not he wanted her.
“Does that dress have a zipper?”
It took a second for the question to register, and when she glanced up at him she saw that he knew exactly where she’d been looking. That he’d meant for her to measure the distance between possibility and reality. Because nothing was for sure until he slipped that protection over himself and thrust into her.
“Yes.”
“Can you reach it?”
She nodded, her now shaking fingers going to the side of her dress, finding the pull tab then sliding it down to her hips, her other hand holding the rest of the garment in place.
“Let it go,” he murmured, his meaning clear.
Releasing her grip, the fabric slid to the floor, leaving her standing in front of him clad only in her panties.
She expected him to tell her to remove those as well, but instead his fingers went to the button of his slacks and undid it.
“Once those come off, honey, it’s all over.” His bald words made the breath stall in her chest. As did the fact that he was sliding his own zipper down and ripping the condom open.
She wanted to do that. “Wait.”
Wary eyes moved to her face. Oh! He thought she was stopping him.
Hurrying to correct him, she said, “Let me.”
He took the condom from the packet. “Next time.”
Next time!
Her lips parted as he drew the waistband to his briefs down and exposed himself. And unlike her, Clint had no inhibitions. None. Not the last time they’d been together. Not this time. His eyes burned into hers as he sat there. He toyed with the open condom.
The nub at the apex of her thighs tightened, making her squeeze her legs together, aching for some kind of relief.
She licked her lips. “Put it on.”
“First your panties.”
Hurrying to do as he asked, she hooked her thumbs into the elastic and started to bend over to slide them down, only to have him interrupt her. “Watch me as you do it.”
Shifting her focus back to his face, she finished, stepping out of her underwear and standing back upright.
“Beautiful,” he murmured. “Even more now than then.”
He finally rolled the condom down his length, and took himself in hand. “Now come here, honey.”
She moved between his still splayed legs and shuddered when the fingers of his free hand slid in a smooth move up her thigh and found the heart of her. Just the process of removing her clothing while he’d watched had made her body moist and ready.
“Hell. Just like I remember.”
By the time he’d finally touched her by the creek, she’d been shaking with desire. One flick of his finger had sent her over the edge. She’d been so embarrassed, only to have him shush her and tell her how much he liked it. When he’d finally entered her, she had already been riding the crest of that same wave, shattering right along with him.
The Clint of today slid one finger inside her, wringing a moan from her. He stayed there, just like that, not moving. She shuddered, needing him so badly she couldn’t speak.
“Spread your legs for me.”
Somehow, she shuffled her legs farther apart.
“Perfect.” He sat up straight, the pressure of his finger inside her holding her right where she was, putting his face dangerously close. Too late, she realized that was what he’d been aiming for all along. “How much will it take this time, Jess?”
Another reference to their first time together.
He added a second finger and pushed deep, using the pair to edge her hips closer. Suddenly off balance, she was forced to clutch his shoulders. “How much, Jess?” he repeated.
Then, as she watched, he moved his mouth until it was pressed against her … and let his tongue slide right across her.
It was as if he’d lit a fuse inside her. Her nails dug into his shoulders and every muscle in her body stiffened as what he was doing blotted out everything except the sensation of his tongue moving backward along her in a slow, drawn-out motion. The fuse ran out of line in a millisecond, and she detonated, crying out as his fingers finally moved, pumping inside her while she convulsed around them.
Then she was in his lap, his hands gripping her butt as he thrust hard into her, filling her beyond belief. She wrapped her hands around his neck, her mouth going to his ear as she rode him furiously, whimpering as her climax continued to crash all around her. He gave a muttered oath and then jerked his hips forward, holding her tight against his body as he strained upward for long seconds, the pressure inside her causing a new wave of convulsions.
When his muscles finally went limp, his arms encircled her back, thumb gliding along her spine.
She drew a deep, careful breath, registered Clint’s heavy breathing and smiled, the problems of the day melting as his scent mixed with her own and filled her head. She nuzzled his cheek and then went back to his ear.
“I guess I’m not the only one who went up pretty fast.”
His fingers tightened around her, although his voice was light. “Is that a complaint?”
“No. It was sexy, watching you lose control.”
He drew her mouth back to his and kissed her long and deep. “Is that so? In that case, maybe we should find out which one of us holds out longer … the second time around.”