Page 44 of A Dark Fall
Jake nods again, gaze piercing. “Fuck, the peaceful life. Sounds fucking perfect, to be honest,” he muses, taking another sip of coffee, staring hard at me over the rim.
This time, the silence does feel uncomfortable. Darker.
“Jake, I feel the need to clear something up.”
His gaze narrows, focused.
“Last night. What happened ... I don’t normally ... do that. One-night stands, I mean. They’re not my thing. I don’t do them. Normally.” Christ, why do I sound like an idiot who hasn’t quite grasped the English language yet?
He chews his lip from the inside as he ponders my statement. Then he takes another sip of his coffee. “So ... then I guess that makes me special?” he asks, the corners of his mouth turning up.
I feel a stupid grin threatening to break out. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean, Alex.”
Then, because the atmosphere feels kind of playful, I fix him with a look. “And I’m also not a cocktease.”
He frowns, confused. “A what?”
“A cocktease.”
“I still didn’t catch that.” He puts his hand to his ear.
“Seriously?”
“Nah, I did. Just really like hearing the word ‘cock’ coming out of your mouth.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Unbelievably special, I know,” he says, and I can’t help but giggle.
We drink the rest of our coffee in a charged silence, Jake munching on another piece of toast, his hair slowly drying in the hot air of the kitchen. So, it looks as though last night did nothing to abate my attraction to him. Now I know how he can make me feel I want him more, not less. The whole “sleep with him once and move on” plan is starting to look like a complete and utter failure.
Abruptly, he puts his cup down on the worktop and walks toward me.“Could you do something for me?” He stops in front of me, leaning in close as if he might kiss me.
I can smell him—that distinctly Jake smell that turns my head soft and my legs weak. How can he still smell like that when he’s just used my pomegranate bodywash?
“Have a look at my back, will you? I had a look at it in your mirror upstairs, and I don’t know what I’ve done to it.”
I frown, confused, as he begins to unbutton his shirt. He holds my eye as he does, turning around and shrugging the shirt off his body. I feel my mouth drop open, unimaginable heat flooding my face. Oh my god. Scraped down his back is a group of red scratches where I’ve clawed at him like a bitch in heat.
“I’m pretty sure I didn’t have these yesterday ...” he says quietly.
I can’t find any words to say. Not one. I’m mortified.
He glances over his shoulder. “I’m starting to think you like hurting me.”
“I’m a doctor. It’s my job to fix you, not hurt you,” I tell him a little breathlessly as I stare transfixed at the angry red welts. They aren’t serious. I’ve not broken the skin at least. They’re ... strangely hot.
“Yeah? I think I’d like to be fixed by you, Alex.” There’s a heaviness in his words that’s not sexual this time.
I swallow. “Well, good news is, I didn’t break the skin, so no need for a tetanus.” I feel him laugh softly. “I’m sorry though ...”
With no warning, he turns around and kisses me hard, stealing the breath right out of my lungs as he presses me back against the worktop. His hands slide around me before dipping lower, caressing the backs of my thighs beneath my robe.
“Don’t apologize,” he murmurs against my lips. “I like having your sex scars on me.” When he slides his tongue into my mouth again, I moan, my hands smoothing up over the hard lines of his arms to his shoulders, then around his neck. When he moves to untie my robe, I don’t stop him. I don’t want to. “Do you have any idea how fucking crazy you make me?” he growls quietly.
I can only make a small sound at this. The feel of his hands slipping under my butt to pull me into him, his hips moving deliciously against me. Wanting. God, I love how he feels when he’s this close to me. His experienced mouth and tongue, and his body warm and comforting, pressed hard against my own.