Page 69 of This Time Around
Allie quirked an eyebrow at him. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions.”
He grinned. “I’m just saying it’s possible.”
She shifted positions again, her knee bumping his. Like a pig, he wondered if she had a bra on under that little tank top she wore. She’d zipped her fleece jacket up tight over it, but he could see glimpses of creamy, pale flesh at her neckline. The view was making him dizzy, so Jack looked away.
That’s probably why he didn’t see the kiss coming.
But he felt it. He felt it all over as her breath brushed warm at his throat. The scent of her shampoo filled his senses, along with the taste of white wine. As their lips collided, he felt connected to her by magic.
And there was something magical about it for sure. He sure as hell hadn’t seen it coming, but it had always been like Allie to pull a rabbit out of a hat before he even realized she was holding a damn hat.
He kissed her back, tentatively at first, then with more hunger. She slid her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. She leaned into him, practically on his lap now. He pulled her the rest of the way onto him and guided her thighs fall to either side of his so their bodies pressed together at the core. She moaned as her legs hugged him tighter.
Jack broke the kiss, though he was still too stunned to form a complete sentence. “What on earth?—”
“I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” Allie said. “All week, really.”
He smiled into her eyes. “Well, do it again, then.”
She did, and Jack kissed her back with less hesitation this time. Her hair was still damp, and he twined his fingers in it, amazed at how silky soft it felt. She smelled like honey and sunshine and her lips seemed softer than he remembered. Her breath came fast now and she was making sweet little whimpering sounds in the back of her throat. He wondered if she’d meant to make this a quick peck, but it snowballed into something else.
But there was no stopping it now. Not for him, anyway. He thought about being in the attic with her, the way she’d moved her hands to the hem of her shirt to lift it up. Without even realizing it, he found his own hands there, tunneling beneath the soft fabric of her tank top. He walked his fingers up her spine, taking his time, feeling each vertebra one by one until he reached her bra clasp.
He broke the kiss to look into her eyes. “I was wondering if you’d bothered with a bra.”
Allie grinned back. “I was wondering if you could still unhook it one-handed.”
“Wonder no more.”
He flicked it open with a quick pinch, rewarded by the tiny gasp of pleasure he’d nearly forgotten. Claiming her mouth again, he slid both palms around her rib cage, moving them so he cupped one breast in each hand. They seemed fuller now, or maybe he was remembering wrong. They felt perfect and lush, the curve of them filling his palms exactly.
Allie groaned and pressed tighter against him, against the fly of his dress slacks the way she’d done that long-ago prom night in the backseat of his rusty Toyota. He felt dizzy all over again, the blood pounding in his brain as she ground herself against him. This time, it was Allie who broke the kiss.
“I know dry humping was kinda sexy when we were seventeen,” she breathed. “But maybe we could move things to the bedroom this time?”
Jack stroked his thumbs over her nipples, eliciting another gasp from Allie. “You sure there’s time before your curfew?”
“Mmmhmm.” She planted a kiss on this earlobe, the spot that still made him crazy even now. “Just this once.”
He wondered if she was being flirty or setting the terms of this encounter. Either way, it didn’t matter. He wanted her, needed her. And one way or another, he was about to have her.
Sliding his hands out from under her shirt, he cupped her bottom. As he stood, she wrapped her legs around him even as she began to protest.
“Jack, you can’t?—”
“Yes, I can.”
Allie flushed and tossed her hair out of her face. “I might weigh a little more than I did in college.”
“And I might be a little stronger than I was in college. Now which way are we going?”
“That way,” she said, nodding to the doorway just off the parlor.
Jack pivoted and carried her there, careful not to trip over the shoes she’d left lying near the nightstand. A cat looked up from the gold-silk-upholstered chair in the corner, then yawned and rested its head on its paws again. Jack used his heel to kick the door shut, then laid Allie on the bed as gently as possible.
He followed close behind, easing himself down on top of her. She began unbuttoning his shirt, and he wondered where he’d left his tie and cufflinks. She pushed the fabric off his shoulders, pausing to trace the fiery lines of the tattoo on his ribs. Her eyes met his and she smiled.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “Paige was right. It’s a lot like mine.”
