Jackson Hole Valentine (16 page)

Most of all, he wished he’d never gotten involved with Meg.

With his hand on the small of her back, he steered her with gentle caresses to the beat of the music. Considering his knee, he made a surprisingly good dance partner.

“I have regrets, too,” Meg admitted after a long moment.

She thought about her parents and how she’d lied to them about her relationship with Cole. She hadn’t wanted anyone to know they were dating because deep in her heart she’d known the relationship wouldn’t last. He was the handsome football star every girl wanted to date. She was the red-haired science geek who’d never even kissed a boy.

She wished she hadn’t believed Cole when he said he loved her. Most of all, she wished she’d never gotten involved with him.

“We could start over,” he said in an offhand tone as if it didn’t matter to him one way or another. “Pretend we’ve just met.”

Meg could see where he was going with this. He was asking a lot. Yet, he
had
been only a boy when he’d treated her so badly. Since she’d been back in Jackson Hole, she’d seen no evidence of that callous youth in the man he’d become. Though he hadn’t openly apologized, at least he had admitted he had regrets over how he’d behaved.

“I’m game if you are,” she said finally.

For Charlie’s sake,
she told herself. She was doing this for Charlie’s sake.

Meg prayed that was true. Because if it wasn’t, she could be headed for big trouble.

Chapter Eleven

“N
ow that we’ve settled one aspect of our relationship, I want—” Cole took a step back and held Meg at arm’s length “—to talk about the proposition still on the table.”

Meg could feel her face warm even as her eyes, which seemed to have suddenly developed a mind of their own, zeroed in on the area directly below his belt buckle.

“I’ve thought about it,” she said quickly. “I don’t think us becoming physically…intimate would be wise.”

She lifted her gaze. The eye contact quickly turned into something more, a tangible connection between the two of them.

“Then I’ll settle for another dance.” He tugged her back into his arms, placing his hands on her hips while she reluctantly twined her fingers behind his neck.

To be so close didn’t seem prudent, especially considering what had happened on his bed earlier. Yet to refuse seemed…childish. After all, it wasn’t as if she was afraid of him.

More like afraid of myself,
Meg thought with a wry smile.

“It’ll be like we’re dancing at prom,” she murmured, finding comfort in the words. After all, kids went to such events in high school all the time. Those nights rarely ended with the couple having sex. “Dancing should be safe.”

Even as she reassured herself, Meg shivered with desire. The mere feel of his body against hers brought a fresh rush of longing.

“Safe?” Cole chuckled, a low, pleasant rumbling sound. “If you say so.”

“I can’t deny that your offer is tempting,” she said slowly. “But we have to be smart about this.”

His hand, which had begun to caress her back while they moved in time to the music, stilled. “You think I’m stupid?”

There was an edge to his tone that she didn’t understand. Meg tilted her head back and met his gaze. “I was simply saying that becoming physically involved when we’re trying to find our way in our relationship with each other and with Charlie could be problematic.”

Chuckling, Cole kissed the corner of her mouth. “It’s such a turn-on when you talk like a schoolteacher.”

Though warning bells went off in her head, Meg had to laugh. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Kiss me,” he whispered, the tip of his tongue circling her ear. “One kiss.”

A smoldering heat flared through her at his suggestion, scaring and thrilling her at the same time.

“One kiss?” She spoke then paused, not sure what she wanted.

“That will be the plan,” he said in a nonchalant tone. “But if you change your mind and want more, we don’t have to stop at one.”

One little peck on the lips. What would be the harm?

Still, Meg hesitated.

“You want to kiss me,” he said, his voice a husky caress. “True? Or false?”

“True,” she reluctantly admitted.

“And I want to kiss you. In fact, right now I’m finding it hard to think of anything else.”

Time seemed to stretch and extend. The music took on a seductive beat. Do it. Do it, the pulsating rhythm urged.

“C’mon, Meg,” he murmured, twining strands of her hair loosely around his fingers. “One little kiss for your prom date.”

After the tiniest hesitation she nodded. Anticipation fluttered through her.

One kiss,
she told herself,
maybe two.

He caught her hand in his, brought it to his mouth and pressed a kiss in the palm.

She pulled her brows together. “That’s it?”

Cole laughed. “You are so demanding.”

He lowered his head and kissed her softly, gently, while Richard Marx began to sing in the background. Cole’s lips were warm and sweet and Meg let her eyelids flutter shut, savoring the closeness.

The music transported her to a high school gym decorated with crepe streamers and balloons. Cole was in a tux and she was in a slinky dress that made her look beautiful and they were kissing on the dance floor.

He continued pressing his lips lightly to hers, teasingly, his mouth never pulling away. His hands slipped underneath her sweater, slowly sliding up and down her back.

When his thumbs skimmed the edges of her breasts, Meg waited for his fingers to try to unclasp her bra—not that she would allow that liberty, of course—but he lowered his hands to her waist and simply continued to kiss her.

After a moment, she gave in to temptation and wrapped her arms more tightly around his neck, dragging him closer, drinking him in.

When they finally came up for air, she leaned her forehead against his. “That’s one.”

Cole’s brow lifted.

“Our lips stayed connected,” Meg said, trying not to sound defensive. “That makes it one kiss.”

His mouth—that wonderful, delightful mouth—widened into a smile. “I like the way you count.”

She played with the strands of his hair, her breath coming in short puffs. Dear God, if she got this excited over kissing the man, what would it be like if they made love?
No need to go there,
she told herself. Her body unfortunately seemed to have developed a mind of its own.

“The kiss helped. My thoughts are clearer,” he said. “I now see why you think making love would be a mistake.”

“Really?” Was that disappointment she heard in her voice?

His gaze turned sharp and assessing. Finally a slow smile lifted his lips. “Actually, no. I believe I need another kiss before I come to such an important conclusion.”

Meg knew he was teasing her but she didn’t care. She wanted another kiss. And another. And maybe one more for good measure.

“Perhaps—” she brought a finger to the lips that still tingled from his touch “—taking the kiss a little…deeper might help offer some clarity.”

His eyes danced. “Let’s give it a try.”

Without waiting for her response, Cole tilted her head back, teasing the fullness of her lower lip with his tongue. He tasted like the most delicious, decadent candy Meg had ever eaten.

She parted her lips and he immediately changed the angle of the kiss and plunged inside, claiming her mouth. His tongue circled and danced with hers. She did the same to him, each touch, each tingle reinforcing the possibilities.

Her fingers trembled as she caressed his face, his hair. Her head spun. If he hadn’t been holding her so tight she’d have lost her footing.

Then suddenly the kiss ended and her head was on his shoulder. The only thing she was aware of was the beating of her heart mingled with his.

Two kisses. She’d promised herself she’d stop at two. Or was it three?

A sigh escaped her lips.

“Hey.” He tipped her head back with a curled finger, his blue eyes dark and filled with concern. “What’s wrong?”

Meg thought of the weeks, months and maybe even years that had been filled with regret over what could have been. Sure, she’d survived and had moved on with her life. Still, every now and then she hadn’t been able to stop herself from looking back. Even at sixteen, she’d recognized that the relationship between her and Cole was special. She’d firmly believed that, given the right time and place, they could have gone the distance.

“Meg?” he prompted.

It all became clear. She and Cole had been given a second chance.

She was apprehensive, of course. After how their relationship had ended before, who wouldn’t be? But a lot had happened in both their lives since that time.

Meg understood Cole better now than she had back then.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said.

“Flattery,” she said slowly and distinctly so there could be no misunderstanding, “will get you everything.”

He cocked his head. “Every
thing?
”

The rightness of the decision washed over her. “We can discuss this further at your place.”

There was a beat of silence. Confusion filled his gaze. “Uh, this
is
my place.”

Meg giggled. Honest to goodness giggled. If she hadn’t heard it herself she’d never have believed it. “Your place, as in
your bedroom.
”

In case she still hadn’t made herself clear, Meg pulled his face down with her hand and gave him a ferocious kiss. The type of kiss that tells a man “I want you now.”

She’d learned long ago that regret over something you wished you’d said or done but no longer had the chance to do was its own kind of hell. And she wasn’t letting this opportunity pass her by.

Cole seemed equally determined to seize the moment. He locked his hand around her elbow and propelled her into the bedroom, only stopping to close and lock the door behind them.

Usually Meg was the poster child of calm, but tonight she was a tangled mess of wants and desires. Her need for him a stark carnal hunger she hadn’t known she was capable of feeling.

“This better not take too long or I’m going to combust,” she murmured and felt some of her nervousness fade at his quick laughter.

“I’m afraid I’m going to do my best to stoke that fire,” he said in a husky voice that made her blood feel like warm honey sliding through her veins. “But I promise if we go up in flames it will be together.”

Cole moved his arm so her hand slid down to his and he gently locked their fingers together, tugging her to the bed. Once there, he pulled her up against him, linking his arms lightly around her waist.

A sudden look of tenderness crossed his face. His grin was a little lopsided, his fingers not quite steady as they touched the curve of her cheek and trailed along the line of her jaw.

“You won’t regret this,” he said and his voice was like a promise.

Meg met his gaze. Could he hear her heart pounding? When he looked in her eyes, could he see her desire reflecting back at him?

Once again he seemed to know what she was thinking. He began to remove his clothing, cursing when his hands fumbled with the brace. She shrugged out of her dress, letting the soft fabric fall to the floor before unfastening the last of the Velcro straps for him with shaking hands.

In a matter of seconds, their clothes lay in a pile at their feet and Cole’s gaze was riveted to her now-bare breasts. But thankfully he wasn’t content to look and not touch. His long fingers lifted and supported the yielding flesh as his thumbs brushed across the tight points of her nipples.

Shock waves coursed through her body with each touch. Moaning, she reached out and wrapped her hand around his hardness.

“I have protection,” he groaned, gesturing with a short jerk of his head toward the dresser.

“I’ve got it covered,” she managed to say.

“Yes, you do.” A tiny smile touched his lips as he glanced at her fingers stroking him.

He couldn’t seem to get enough of her breasts, kissing and licking each pink peak thoroughly, dragging his teeth across the sensitive skin.

Meg squirmed, whimpering in frustration. She pushed her hips against him, rubbing his erection. She wanted, no, she needed…

Cole’s answer to her unspoken demand was to catch her mouth in a hard, deep kiss and pull her down beside him on the bed. His hand flattened against her lower back, drawing her up against the length of his body.

Conscious of his knee, Meg draped herself across him, body on body, his arousal pressing into her thigh while she rubbed herself against him, her breath coming in short puffs.

While she wanted to prolong the pleasure, she couldn’t wait. Running her hands up his chest, she pushed him back down, guiding him inside her as he nuzzled her breasts. He was thick and hard and stretched her to perfection.