Page 12 of Kissing in the Rain
She moaned and closed her eyes again, letting Gabe do whatever hewanted.
An eternity later,she and Gabe lay side by side in the tent. The rain had calmed to a slow drizzle, tapping rhythmically on the nylon roof. The wind was still whooshing aroundthem.
“My phone is dying,” he said, glancing at thescreen.
“What time isit?”
“Just aftermidnight.”
She snuggled into his chest. For warmth, of course. But also because he’d just touched her entire body, inch by inch, and it’d been incredibly intimate. She hadn’t kept her hands to herself either. Closing her eyes, she listened to the sound of his heartbeat, letting it lull her to sleep. This nightmare she’d found herself in had turned into a dream somehow, and she wasn’t ready to wake just yet. Reality beckoned back in Blushing Bay, and she had no idea what to do with her newreality.
“Jillian?”
“Hmmm?” she asked, half-asleep.
“When we get home, I want to take you out on adate.”
She cracked her eyes open. “What?”
“A date. I want to take you out todinner.”
“Or you just want to finish what we couldn’t finish here tonight.” She lifted her head to look athim.
“No. It’s not that. I mean, yeah, that would be nice. I’m not going to lie.” He grinned. “But I like you. And I think I’m growing on you a little bit,so…”
She swallowed painfully. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. I’m leaving Blushing Bay when we get back, Gabe. I have a life in Asheboro, and a job I need to get back to as soon as possible. Dating doesn’t make sense for my life rightnow.”
Gabe understoodthe sting of rejection now. It was a stupid idea anyhow. Kimberly knew and liked Jillian, and dating women in his niece’s life was against one of hisrules.
So, yeah, bad idea. But it still left him feelingdeflated.
Jillian’s breathing had slowed as she lay on his chest, using him as a pillow. He didn’t mind. The rain had stopped, and the wind had calmed considerably. The storm was finally passing. Once the sun started creeping back up, they’d load inside the boat and head home. This was far from his first rescue mission, but it was definitely his favorite. And from now on, he decided, he would have a condom or two in his emergency just-in-casekit.
Jillian stirred against him. He tightened his grip, wanting to keep her as warm as possible. He felt protective over her. That had started when they were kids. He’d steered more than one of his buddies away from Jillian too. He wished he could’ve protected her from her ex. What kind of jerk-off husband would’ve left her feeling lonely? Some people were blind to what was right in front of them. Jillian was beautiful. Smart.Funny.
And still off-limits. To him, atleast.
He awokethe next morning at the sound of birds tweeting excitedly. No doubt a lot of food sources had gotten stirred up in last night’sstorm.
Feelings had gotten stirred uptoo.
He glanced down at Jillian as she lay against his chest and was suddenly aware of his morning wood. Not an uncommon occurrence, but it was poking straight up, and if he didn’t move, it’d be the first thing she saw when her eyesopened.
“Well, good morning to you too,” she said, a teasing tone in hervoice.
Gabe closed his eyes for a millisecond. “Sorry.” He shifted out from underneath her. “I’m going to go relieve myself now that the rain has stopped.” He stepped out of the tent and headed down the island, feeling like Adam walking naked on a little piece ofparadise.
His Eve was inside the tent. Except she was also the forbidden fruit he’d probably be fantasizing about for the rest of his lifenow.
After taking care of business, he returned to find the tent empty. He guessed Jillian had gone to use the bathroom somewhere too. Hopefully, their little slithering friend was long gone by now, because he wasn’t sure Jillian would survive another run-in with asnake.
“Okay. So, what’s for breakfast?” she asked, walking toward him in a pink lace bra and matchingpanties.
It was like a Victoria’s Secret model had come to life right off the page. It’d been dark last night, so he’d only felt her curves. Now his eyes were free tofeast.
“Um, I have some jerky and water. We can grab a real meal once we’re back on the mainland.” Pulling his gaze away, he headed to the tent to grab his cell phone and the supplies. They’d eat and then load the boat and ride back to BlushingBay.
“My cell phone is dead,” he said, returning to sit beside her on the sand a momentlater.
