Page 51 of Drive Me Wilde

A small smile tilts his mouth. "Ever think you'd be saying that aboutme?"

I laugh. "Hell no. Although?—"

He lifts a brow my direction. "Uh oh, here we go. Lay it on me. All the things I did wrong in high school."

I fidget with the soft pink material on my dress. "Actually, this is more the things you did right. Only you kept them from me. Why didn't you tell me you were the one to carry me out of the diner on homecoming night? I never got to thank you."

He stares out at the sunset. "The big star is just about to wink off for the night. They say you can see the sun give off a green light just as it's about to disappear on the horizon." He smiles. "Rio read about it, so we sat out here every night for a week waiting to see that green light. Never saw it. Then she got bored of looking for it."

"Nice topic switch." I prop my legs back on the lounge.

"You thought it was Zach. I heard you talking to your friends, and you said Zach carried you out of the diner and that it was really sweet and romantic. So, I figured I'd let you go on believing that. The truth didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that I got you out of there, and I got to flatten that asshole's face for good measure."

I roll my head to the side and look at him. "He did look a little flatter as his friends led him out of the diner. I'll bet he still has trouble breathing through that nose."

"As far as I'm concerned, he got lucky that night." His jaw tightens as he says it.

"And prom." I'm hesitant to bring it up, but I need him to know. "You were pissed at Zach because you caught him making out with Emily. You were defending my honor," I add.

"Is that what they call it?"

"What would you call it?" I ask.

This time he sits up and drops his feet to the ground. There's still an ethereal glow, the last whisper of sunlight reflecting off the glassy water below. His silver-blue eyes look almost feral in the waning light. "I'd call it an eruption. I'd call it years of holding in all my feelings, denying myself the one thing Iwanted. He had you, and he was willing to risk that for a quick grope and feel in his back seat."

"Kiki says she doesn't think it was the first time Zach and Emily fooled around."

Jameson looks back toward the ocean to avoid looking at me. It's all I need for an answer. "You guys had lunch today, I hear. Zander ran into him at the sandwich shop. Heard he bought you a ham sandwich," he says with a smile. "Idiot. You hate ham."

"You remember that," I say, mostly to myself.

Jameson gets up and offers his hand. "I've got a frozen pizza. Interested?"

"I could eat pizza." I place my hand in his. His grip is firm, protective. I realize that more than ever now. He pulls me to my feet and gives just enough of a tug that I land against his chest for a second. Another cocky grin forms as he lets my hand go.

I follow him into the house, and he slides shut the glass door, locking out the cool, briny air floating over the deck.

"Zach's not the idiot. I am. Although he's a far bigger asshole than I realized," I say. We're both standing in the kitchen. Jameson's T-shirt stretches across his muscles as he rummages through the freezer for the pizza. The frosty compartment is filled with kid snacks—pizza pockets, chicken nuggets and frozen yogurt pops.

He pulls free the pizza. "Yeah, he can be an asshole. But he's also got his good qualities." Jameson turns on the oven and spins back to me with a questioning brow. "Why are you the idiot?"

I lean against the counter and watch as he removes the pizza from the packaging. "All those years, all that time growing up—you were always angry with me, always scowling, and I convinced myself you hated me. And then the accident—and I hit you, I pounded you, and you let me, but—" My voice is breaking.

He pushes the pizza into the oven and turns around. "I let you hit me because you needed it. You needed to let out the anger you had about losing your dad, and I needed to feel that anger. The guilt was eating me up inside, and if letting you pound me helped you feel even a little bit better, then it was worth it. And yeah, I was always angry and scowling. It was my stupid-ass way of dealing with the pain."

"The pain?" My throat is dry.

"The pain of being near you and knowing that I'd never have you." He moves closer but doesn't touch me. Suddenly, that's all I want in the world. "It's you, Indi. Always you. You're all I've ever wanted." A moment of silence stretches between us.

I launch myself into his arms and slam my mouth against his. His hands sweep under my dress and wrap around my ass. My feet leave the ground, and I circle my legs around his waist. Our mouths clash over and over again as we both search for that kiss, the one that's been years in the making. It does not disappoint.

He carries me toward the hallway but stops short of his room, pressing my back against the wall. My feet lower to the ground, and I'm sandwiched between the wall and his hard body. His mouth moves in a long, hot trail down my neck as his fingers grab greedily at the spaghetti straps on my dress. He pushes them off my shoulders, and the bodice of the dress rolls down exposing my braless breasts.

Jameson pauses and smiles. "One less step without the bra." He covers my nipple with his mouth. I press against his tongue and shiver with delight as he takes my taut nipple lightly between his teeth and tugs. His hands move frantically over my body as if he doesn't know where to touch first.

"Fuck, darlin', I want you in every possible way." He pushes his mouth against mine as his hand reaches under my dress. A low growl rolls up from his chest as my panties fall away. My fingers dig into his thick hair as he kneels down in front of me."Spread your legs, baby. I need to taste you." The hoarse, heavy sound of his command sends a shiver through me.

I pull one foot free of the panties, and I spread my legs. He lifts higher on his knees and presses his face against my pussy. His hands circle behind my ass, and he pulls me harder against his mouth. His tongue lathes against my clit as his fingers probe my pussy from behind. I move my hips wanting more of his hungry mouth. My hands are tangled in his hair as I hold his head against me. His tongue brings me to the edge.

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