“Put me down!” The heat of anger was like a blazing fire covering my skin. I kicked my feet and punched his back, but he simply held me tightly by the backs of my knees as he walked back the way we’d come. I knew my skirt covered nothing in this position, but we were alone out here, and I didn’t really care anyway, in my mood.

“Jared! Now!” I barked.

As if following orders, Jared swung me back up-right where I landed in a sitting position on the hood of his car. It was still warm under my thighs from when it’d been driven, but the heat was not a welcome comfort, since I was already burning with fury.

Jared leaned in slowly, probably afraid I’d hit him, and placed his hands on either side of me. His legs stood between mine, and I immediately flushed with the memory of the last time we were in this position.

“Don’t try to get away,” he warned. “As you remember, I can keep you here.”

I sucked in a breath. Yes, I did remember.

My toes curled at the thought of that kiss, but I knew it couldn’t happen again.

“And I know how to use pepper spray and break noses.” My voice sounded like a pathetic little mouse, squeaky and barely audible. I leaned back on my hands to maintain as much distance as possible, but my heart was pounding like the Rakes of Mallow.

“I’m not Nate or Madoc,” he threatened. “Or Ben.”

And his meaning wasn’t lost on me. I wasn’t attracted to them, and he knew it.

He leaned in closer, his black-brown eyes making my body want to do things my brain knew it shouldn’t. His lips were an inch from mine, and I could smell his cinnamon breath.

I hate him. I hate him.

“Don’t,” I whispered.

His eyes searched mine. “I promise. Not unless you ask.”

His mouth dipped to the side and lightly grazed my cheek. Unwanted pleasure escaped my throat, and I let out a little moan.

Dammit!

He never kissed me. He never put his lips together or tasted me. His mouth only glided along my skin leaving a delicious trail of desire and need. Down my cheek, his velvety lips caressed my skin before moving across my jaw bone and then descending to my neck. I closed my eyes, savoring the new sensations.

I’d never made love before, and I’d definitely never made out with anyone that made me feel like this. Hell, he wasn’t even kissing me, and I was struggling not to surrender.

As his lips moved over my ear, he asked, “Can I kiss you now?”

Oh, God. No. No. No.

But I wasn’t saying that. I said nothing. Giving in felt like letting him win. And telling him to stop was out of the question, too. I didn’t want him to stop. He felt too good. Like a roller coaster multiplied times one hundred.

His lips moved back over my cheek, inching closer to my mouth.

“I want to touch you.” His words were against my lips now. “I want to feel what’s mine. What’s always been mine.”

Oh, sweet Jesus.

Those words shouldn’t turn me on. But holy hell, they did. My mouth quivered with wanting to take him in. I tasted his breath and wanted to capture and taste all of him. I wanted to fulfill my need.

But my eyes snapped open when I realized that it would fulfill his need, too.

Shit.

I bit down on the corner of my mouth to stifle the ache between my legs, and used my weak muscles to shove him away.

I could barely meet his eyes. He knew he’d gotten to me. He had to know.

“Stay away from me.” I hopped off the car and walked to the passenger side.

I heard his chuckle behind me. “You first.”

Chapter 25

My eyes flutter open with the sudden chill. I am in bed, but a draft caresses my body. Are my French doors open?

Looking around me, I widen my eyes with shock when I notice Jared standing at the foot of my bed with my blanket in his hand.

“Jared?” I wipe my eyes and look at him questioningly. My arms go up to cover my chest, which is hardly modest under a white camisole.

“Don’t,” his husky voice commands me. “Don’t cover yourself.”

I don’t know why I obey. I let my arms fall beside me to the bed. Jared’s intense gaze scours every inch of my body as he drops the blanket to the floor. My skin is seared with his hungry observation, and I can’t seem to get enough air.

His na**d chest shimmers in the moonlight coming through my window. He wears black pants, which hang low from his strong, narrow hips.

Leaning down, he wraps his fingers around my ankles and gently eases them apart.

My legs, which are slightly bent at the knee, are now spread and hiding nothing except what is covered by my pink boy shorts.

Bending one knee onto the bed, he lowers himself until each of his hands falls beside my hips. While my knees shake with excited nerves, I watch as his head dips and kisses the top of my thigh. I gasp at the feel of his lips, soft and warm, against my skin. The flip-flop of my stomach is nothing compared to the throbbing at my core.

Why aren’t I stopping him?

I am scared to let him continue but completely in awe of the sensations pouring over my body. I watch him quietly as he trails more kisses, leading inward. The hair on the top of his head brushes my sex, and I grip the bed sheet to keep from wrapping my legs around his body and pressing him into me. His tongue touches my thigh with the next kiss, and the scorching heat of his mouth almost sends me jerking off the bed. I thread my hands through his hair, unable to control myself.

“Jared,” I plead.

He comes to hover over me, looking down into my eyes with fire and need. While his head remains high above, never breaking eye contact, his h*ps meet mine, and we start moving against each other. I feel him harden through his pants, and I like that I do that to him. My eyes close with the pleasure boiling my blood, and my need for him builds with the friction of his hard-on rubbing between my legs.