Page 31 of Fight for Me
He was glad he hadn’t asked what was wrong. If she’d said it was Colt, he’d probably have done something he’d regret later.
Jake wasn’t a hot-tempered person. It took a lot to get him worked up, and yet somehow, just thinking about the way Colt had taken Lexie from the office—from herjob, like he had the right to dictate her life—made Jake want to put a hole in a brick wall. Not to mention the fact thatshe’d let it happen. That part really got under his skin. How could she not see she deserved so much better? He shoved his hand back through his hair, wondering what Lexie was thinking in the vehicle in front of him. It had taken every ounce of willpower he’d possessed not to pull her forward and kiss her until she couldn’t remember her own name, much less why she’d been so upset in the first place.
And there was a tiny piece of him that thought, just for a second, that maybe she’d wanted him to.
He cranked up the radio, unwilling to let himself get sucked back into that daydream. She was someone else’s girlfriend, and he did have boundaries. Even if he sometimes wished he didn’t.
But one thing was now painfully clear, regardless.
He was in love with her. Not just intrigued by or interested in or curious about her, but totally, absolutely, irrefutably in love with her. The nameless feeling he’d been carrying for years was now a concrete certainty that had taken up residence in his chest and refused to leave.
Of course, he couldn’t tell her that, not while she was with Colt. So, he’d just have to say it some other way and hope she was listening.
6
“Why are youlooking at me like that?”
Lexie’s shoulders bumped the door of the old darkroom as he came closer.
His eyes darkened to the color of Hershey’s syrup as his hands hit the wood on either side of her head, caging her in. He didn’t say anything, but the look on his face spoke volumes.
“Jake, why are you looking at me like that?” Lexie repeated, feeling oddly breathless. Somehow, he’d taken all the oxygen from her personal space when he’d stepped into it.
His laughter was soft in her ears as he settled one forearm against the door. His other hand dropped to her waist, and his fingers tightened against the curve above her jeans.
“That depends. What do I look like?”
The low timber of his voice made Lexie shudder, but in a good way, and her hands found their way to the front of his T-shirt, tugging him closer.
“Like I’m a snack, and you missed breakfast.”
A rumbling sound rolled out of him as he dipped his head and brushed his mouth up the side of her neck.
Lexie felt the shiver all the way to her toes.
“Well, I am pretty hungry.”
Lexie woke with a start, sucking cool air deep into her lungs, unsure what had disturbed her. Her sleep-fogged brain gradually registered the sound of her cell phone, and she rolled toward it and managed to answer before the call went to voicemail.
“Hello?” she said, pushing her hand across her forehead and into her hair. Her heart was still racing, and she sounded like she’d just run an eight-minute mile.
“Hey, babe! This is your wake-up call!” Colt’s voice filled her ears, even as Jake’s face still hovered behind her eyelids.
Lexie groaned and peeked at her alarm clock. “Colt, it’s barely six thirty.”
“I know, sweetheart, but we need to leave by nine if we’re going to make it to my parents’ house on time. Last time we were almost late.”
Lexie scrubbed her palm over her closed eyes. It was the first Sunday of the month. She’d almost forgotten. Her mind was still leaning against a rough wooden door with Jake’s breath against her skin.
Colt said something else, but it got lost in the fog of her daydream.
“I said, be sure to wear the earrings I got you for your birthday,” he repeated, an edge to his voice now, and Lexie jumped, remembering that he was still on the phone.
A wave of guilt crashed over her. Here she was, dreaming about another guy while Colt was trying to be considerate. She really didn’t need two and a half hours to get ready... but that was neither here nor there.
“Of course,” she said automatically.
“And Mother thought that dark dress you wore last month was depressing.”
