Kiss Me (4 page)

Jenna nudged him and pointed to a private, watery nook. Message read, he swerved toward the area then killed the motor. The boat bobbed and gently rocked against the waves they’d created. He stood, grabbed the anchor then dropped it over the side.

“It’s so beautiful here,” she said with a sigh. “Cleveland gets a bad rap, but when you look at it from this angle…”

“Couldn’t agree with you more.”

“Mmmm,” she hummed and relaxed into her seat, a lazy smile played across her lips. How he’d love to taste them again.

In time, he told himself. Jenna didn’t date much — he still couldn’t wrap his brain around the ridiculous concept — and she needed time to grow used to him, to the idea of them. Last night, he’d meant to give her a chaste kiss, instead he’d assaulted her mouth.

Real smooth.
Luke scratched the back of his head, then looked over his shoulder.

Jenna stared at him for a moment, then hitched her sunglasses on top of her head. “Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m just making sure we’re secure.”

She watched him for another moment then shifted her head toward the controls at the cockpit. “Hey, is this the radio?”

Luke made his way toward the cockpit. “Yep, I have some CDs, too.” He used the key from the ignition to unlock the storage box next to her leg. Inadvertently, he brushed her calf and dropped the keys. They both bent to retrieve them and knocked heads.

“I’m sorry. I…” He lifted his head. Their gazes collided. Mouths inches apart, her warm breath burned a path across his lips. Tempted, he reached for her head, then curled his fingers and pulled away.

She took the keys from his hand and sent him a shy smile. “Here, let me.” She unlocked the box then flipped through the CDs. “You know,” she began with a nonchalant tone. “I get this feeling that something
is
wrong.” She turned and cocked a brow.

“Not true,” he said and plopped on one of the cushioned seats at the stern of the boat, drew his t-shirt over his head, then leaned back and let the sun heat his skin.

“I dunno,” she sang, then inserted a disc.

Music broke over lapping waves. Jenna rose, swerved around the coolers, then moved to the opposite bench. “What kind of goodies do you have here?” She pointed to his cooler. “I packed some sandwiches and fruit in mine.”

He leaned forward and opened his cooler. “There’s wine, beer, sodas and water in this one. There’s also a bunch of other junk in the cabin.”

“I love junk.” She winked. “Sooo appetizing. But first I’ve got to get rid of this cover-up. I think I screwed up my tan lines while I was working at Darci’s, and I need to rectify that. You don’t mind, do you?”

Last night, he’d imagined what Jenna would look like in a bikini. He had a feeling his fantasies would never justify reality. “Um, no. Knock yourself out.”

Jenna gripped the midsection of her sundress and drew it over her head. “Ah, much better,” she said with a smile, then folded the dress and set it next to her.

Man, what had he gotten himself into? He tried not to gape and hoped to God drool hadn’t formed around his mouth. Jenna could give a
Sports Illustrated
swimsuit model heavy competition. Tanned and tone, with full breasts, flat belly and shapely hips, he desperately wanted to run his hands over her long legs. Peel away her bikini, then lick, kiss, and taste every tantalizing inch of her. He shifted on the cushion, cleared his throat and looked out at the shoreline. “So what do you plan to do with your Ph.D.?”

Jenna drew her legs under her. “Where’d that come from?”

Hell, he’d discuss the whole, long, tedious auditing process…anything to keep his cool and his eyes off her tempting body. “I’m just curious.”

She shrugged. “You really want to know?”

“I wouldn’t have asked.”

Her mouth tilted with a quick smile. “Okay, so I have this little nest egg.”

“You’ve managed to save, even with paying for school?”

“I had some help. My grandparents set up a trust fund for me when I was a baby. Although I bought the house on my own, I’ve been using the funds to pay for my education. When I’m done with my degree, I’ll still have quite a bit left over and no loans, thank God. So, I’m thinking about buying a big house and turning it into a group home for young women. I’ll offer them counseling as well as a place where they can stay until they get on their feet.”

Luke shook his head. “You are an amazing woman. I admire your selflessness.”

She waved him off as if her plans weren’t a big deal.

“Seriously, you’re like this little Mother Teresa. I had no idea.”

“Whatever,” she said with a smile. “I’m hoping to obtain government grants and donations to help keep the place afloat. But, no matter what, I’d like my group home to be private, where a young woman can go when she has nowhere else. There’s so many women who are running, from their past, an ex or a bad home life…” She shook her head. “At the youth center, I counsel troubled teens, and for the most part, they come out okay. It’s the few that slip through the cracks I want to help.”

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I can help you with the accounting end of things. Nate’s a great attorney, and between the two of us we could handle all the nitty-gritty details when you’re ready.”

She looked away. “Nate already volunteered to help me with the legal stuff, but I wouldn’t want to put you through the trouble.”

“No trouble,” he replied, and couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. Not necessarily of Nate, but because she’d depend on his friend over him.

“Look, at this point I still have another year before I can consider —”

“Not so,” he interrupted and decided to push the issue further. If she were to rely on anyone, it would be him. Not Nate. “If you can afford it, and I’ll run the numbers for you, you might want to consider purchasing a home now that we’re in a buyer’s market. Plus, if you’re planning on obtaining government assistance, you’ll have to wade through a bunch of red tape. Then there’s making sure the building is up to code, so you’ll need to worry about renovations, contractors, your business license, your —”

“Okay, okay,” she laughed. “I get it.”

“I’ll help you set up a business plan
and get a timeline together. If you want to do this within a year of obtaining your Ph.D., now’s the time to start.”

Jenna couldn’t think straight. She stared at him for a second, then at her lap. How the hell could she even contemplate a business plan with Luke stripped down to his khaki shorts, the hot sun glistening across his tanned, smooth chest. What a chest. A sucker for big pecs, she itched to run her hands over the hard slabs of muscle, not to mention his flat abs. He was ripped, his arms, his shoulders, his legs.

She shifted her gaze to the lake and tried to refocus on what he’d said. She’d be a fool not to take him up on his offer. After all, she did need an accountant. From what she’d heard, Luke was very good at what he did, and not just in bed, either. Darci had mentioned that Luke took care of all of Nate’s accounting needs, both personal and professional. While tempted by his proposition, she worried how it might interfere with
their
personal relationship.

“Listen,” she began, picking and choosing the appropriate words. “I think I’ll hold off on all this just yet. What you’re offering is very generous, and I appreciate that, but —”

He furrowed his brows, and pushed off the bench. “When things go sour between us, where will that leave you, right?”

He’d read her mind. “I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t need to. It’s written all over your face.” He looked past her and raked a hand through his hair. “Look, I meant what I said last night. I’m going into this with the intent to make it work. But I don’t think we’re on the same page.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and dropped her feet to the floor of the boat. “What’s that mean?”

“It means that I think that you think…” He closed the distance between them, then knelt in front of her and ran the back of his knuckles along her arm. “Don’t write us off before we have a chance to get started.”

“I’m not.”

He gently caressed her — glided his fingers over her shoulder, played with the tie of her bikini top, and ignited a flare of sexual heat inside her. With his big body hovering close, the scent of him, and his soft touch, she couldn’t think straight.

“Then what are you afraid of?” he asked and trailed his fingers along her cheek, then stroked her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb.

“Nothing,” she lied. While she’d burned for his touch for four long months, she feared it as well. What it would do to her, to her emotions.

After this morning’s conversation with Darci, she’d told herself she would no longer psychoanalyze her relationship with Luke, and decided, instead, that fun would be her new buzz word. Fun was what this was supposed to be. The seriousness, the sincerity and intensity in his eyes had said something entirely different. Luke wasn’t out for just fun and games. He honestly thought they could make a relationship work. Jenna didn’t. She knew better. Commitment led to nothing but heartbreak and headaches. Maybe Luke wasn’t like her father or her ex, but she wasn’t willing to take a chance and let him prove otherwise. Damn, she was psychoanalyzing things. Again.

He took her chin between his fingers and swayed forward. Unable to stop herself, she did too.

“Are you sure?” he asked and brushed his lips against the corner of her mouth. “Last night, I had the impression you wanted to date me. Now I’m wondering if dating is the last thing on your mind.” He trailed feathery kisses along her jaw until he reached her ear. “What’s on your mind, Jenna? What do you really want from me?”

Sex. That’s what she wanted. Hot and raw. Sweaty and primitive. Never in her life had she wanted or desired anyone as much as she did Luke.

With his breath burning a path down her throat, his firm, but gentle lips, sending goose bumps along her arms and legs, she wasn’t worried about rejection. She worried about the emotions Luke evoked. Lust, she could handle. The other emotions, the ones that would mess with her head and heart, made her want to belly flop into the lake. If only she could keep him focused on the physical side of their relationship, they could share a hot, summer fling. One she’d keep locked in her memory, and when needed, conjure up on the coldest and loneliest of nights.

He moved his lips across her forehead, down her nose, then to her mouth. He hovered there, so close, but not touching. His breath came in short, hot puffs, searing her lips and making her ache for his kiss. Moisture pooled between her thighs. Her nipples grew hard and tingled for his touch.

She nudged her nose against his and latched onto his biceps. He drew his mouth back, only a fraction, but with the sexual tension coursing through her body, the space between them felt as wide as the Grand Canyon.

“Look at me,” he coaxed and ran his hand over her shoulders, then brushed the side of her breast. She sucked in a breath and forced her gaze from his lips.

What she saw in his eyes had her stomach doing flip flops and her heart stuttering. Passion, powerful, and forceful, along with an emotion she couldn’t name, bored into her. Her clinical brain didn’t want to analyze the depths he allowed her to see, yet the woman in her couldn’t stop the severe longings she’d kept bottled inside for too many years.

“What do you want?” he asked softly.

His tone might have been gentle, but beneath her palms, his muscles bunched with tension. He was holding back. The thought hit her as if someone had just dunked her into the lake. In that moment, she realized she had two options. Tell him the truth, that sex was her sole focus in their relationship. Or, do as Darci suggested this morning. Let things ride. Go with the flow. Stop thinking and overanalyzing.

Jenna cupped his cheek, relished the feel of his hard, angular planes against her palm. She wanted to simply say “you.” Tell him how she’d wanted him from the moment she’d laid eyes on him. That she wanted to enjoy his company, in and out of bed, for however long it lasted. Instead, she said, “Can’t we just have fun and see where it leads?”

He shifted his weight and sat on his heels. A gleam of disappointment flashed in his eyes then quickly disappeared.

She curled her hand into a fist. Why couldn’t she have kept her mouth shut? Why couldn’t she, for once, just go with the flow? But she couldn’t help herself. She liked neat. She liked tidy. She liked everything organized, understood and controllable.

What Luke asked, implied, were none of those things. While his kiss last night promised what her body craved, his actions today left her confused and uncertain. What happened to having your cake and eating it too? What happened to this commitment-phobic man, who oozed raw sensuality and promises of utter satisfaction? She had no answers and didn’t want to literally rock the boat by asking him questions that would only embarrass them both.

Unable to hold his gaze, she looked to the horizon. Another boat, loaded with a group of guys, sped toward them, trailed by a couple of jet skiers. She couldn’t tell what they were up to, but it appeared as if they were heading straight toward them.

“Luke, um, are they supposed to be doing that?” She pointed to the oncoming boat, which gained speed by the second.