“No, I’m not. I’d say I’m the only one thinking straight right now.”
He motions between us. “I thought we were two single, consenting adults who could fuck for a night and move on with our lives. That’s all I was thinking. It didn’t have anything to do with me thinking you spread your legs for every fucking guy who asks you to.”
I zip up my sweatshirt, ready to leave. I have no clue how this ended up getting so out of hand, but I’d best leave him to deal with his shit. “I’m gonna go.”
“Fine!”
“Why are you yelling?”
“I’m not yelling!”
“You are.”
He lowers his head and pinches the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply as though I’m the aggravating one. Usually our relationship is full of fun, flirty banter. “I just…” He shakes his head. “Nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”
I walk to the back door and twist the knob in my hand, opening it a crack. “See you.”
When I step outside, the door shuts, and I freeze when I see a moose standing fifty feet from me. My back hits the door with a thud and my hand fiddles behind my back, trying to find the doorknob without being too noisy or moving too much. Most tourists are afraid of the bears in the area, but us Alaskans know that more of us are hurt by moose than bear in any given year.
The door springs open and I fall back, losing my footing and ending up with my ass on the kitchen floor.
“What the hell?” Jed stands over me. “I thought you were leaving, but now you’re scratching at my door like a cat in heat?”
I point without saying anything. Sure, I’ve seen moose before, but never one that close.
He follows my finger and shuts the door, flicking the lock. “Shit.”
I get up to my feet, brushing off my ass. “I’m here until that thing leaves or you drive me home.”
“I know my brother’s the sheriff and all, but I’m not cool with drinking and driving.”
We both look at the half-empty bottle of whiskey on the table.
“Then I guess you have a houseguest for a little while.” I open the fridge, grab a beer, and head into the family room. “Unless you want to scare it away.”
“I doubt it’s as easily scared as you are,” he says.
“Excuse me?” I spin around to face him.
“You heard me, don’t act like you didn’t.”
“When did we go back to the fourth grade?”
“When you typecast me as wanting to get my hands in your panties because of some rumor some dipshit started in high school.”
“It’s legit, okay!” I scream, beyond annoyed. That incident damaged me in a way I never fully recovered from.
“Well, sue me if I wanted to fuck you because you’re hot and you came into my house half-clothed and covered in sweat with your tits hanging out. You flirt with me all the damn time. I know you want me as badly as I want you.”
I open my mouth but say nothing because I can’t refute what he’s saying. “I just…”
His arm wraps around my stomach and his mouth lands on the hollow of my ear. “Just what?”
His breath on my neck sends a swarm of goose bumps down my arms. The heat from his body seeps into mine and it feels so good I can’t bring myself to push him away. “No strings, no commitment, no relationship.”
I close my eyes, knowing he’ll agree. I’m the stupid ass who is secretly hoping this isn’t my demise. I don’t want a relationship. Marriage isn’t for me. And I do want to stop wanting Jed Greene. Maybe I’ll be lucky and he’s a shitty lay.
“Deal,” he says softly, his lips gently moving against my neck when he speaks. “So I have permission to touch you?”
I shake my head and suck in a breath. “Just fuck me, Jed.”
“With fervor.” He bends and moves his shoulder into my stomach, carrying me upstairs fireman style.
Yeah, I knew it was unlikely he’d be a shitty lay.
Jed opens up his bedroom door and lays me on the bed, then takes the beer still in my hand and places it on his nightstand. My hands move to the top of my leggings, expecting this will be a quickie and then I’ll go home, but he stays standing between my dangling legs.
His eyes are fierce and filled with lust. There’s no possible way he’s wanted this as much as I have all these years. Sure, we’ve toed that line of flirtatious touches and sexual innuendos, but that’s just how we’ve always been. Everyone knows Jed goes after what he wants, never accepting the word no, pushing and pushing until it’s a yes.
I sit up to rest my weight on my elbows, wondering if this isn’t going to go where I assumed. Our eyes lock and his tongue slides out of his mouth, wetting his bottom lip.
“Are you sure?” he asks.
Although now I’m wondering if he’s having doubts, I nod anyway, ignoring the small tug-of-war still being fought inside me. I rarely take anything for myself. It’s taken me over ten years to get this close to graduating with my master’s in speech pathology because I had to work to pay for those classes, plus help my mom. But I’ve wanted Jed Greene for a long time, and tonight, I’m going to take it. I’m going to take it and enjoy it and move on.
His knee presses to my inner knee and he widens my legs, then bends forward until my back hits the mattress as he hovers over me. I inhale, taking in his masculine scent and gaining the courage to do this. To take what I want and not think about anyone else.
He grabs a hold of his shirt from the back and pulls it off his body, exposing his six-pack abs and light trail of hair dipping down past his jeans. My fingers itch to travel down his chest, to lick every indent and rest my head there and inhale his citrus and cedar scent.
He’s going to break me, make me feel things if he takes his time. I need us to quench this thirst, be in the moment, then move on. So I push him back and rise to kneel on the bed, placing my hands on his shoulders and dipping my lips to his chest. He pulls out my ponytail holder and my dark hair falls over my shoulders. Then he threads his fingers through the strands as I explore his body, my fingers fiddling with the button of his jeans.
His stomach indents when he sucks in a breath after his pants open and I slide down the zipper.
“Damn, you feel good,” he whispers.
“You’ve barely touched me,” I murmur with humor in my tone. I take a break from pulling down his jeans to unzip and pull my sweatshirt off my body, leaving me in a sports bra and leggings.
“I meant your hands on me.” He pushes his jeans down and they flop to the floor.
When he steps out of them, I draw back and take in the sight of him in only a pair of olive-green boxer briefs. He’s ripped, which I figured from the time he spends at the gym. Not that he’s a gym rat, but he goes religiously, either before or after work. The deep-set V on his lower abdomen is exactly like I imagined.
For a moment, our eyes fix on one another’s and I swallow past the dryness in my throat. Needing to stop these weird moments like we’re getting lost in one another, my hands reach for the bottom of my sports bra.
Jed touches my forearms to stop me. “Allow me.”
“Aren’t you a gentleman,” I say and lower my arms to my sides.