Jake had to wait for Brett to leave the dance before he’d leave Lukas alone there. Mr. Caplin was picking Lukas up, so at least we didn’t need to worry about him getting home. We drove out of town and pulled into our usual spot. Jake left the radio and the lights on, spread out a blanket in Hendrix’s bed, and pulled me up onto it.

We lay side by side, staring up at the stars, but it wasn’t long until I was shivering in my not-so-warm costume.

I snuggled into Jake’s side and he immediately draped an arm around me so I could rest my head against his chest.

“If you’re cold, we can leave,” he murmured softly against my hair.

No way. If I was cold, I could think of a far better way to deal with that problem. Feeling the familiar tingling only Jake seemed to incite, I turned my head a little and whispered, “Do you think the girls you slept with are sluts?”

Jake tensed under me. At first I didn’t think he was going to answer, but then he finally replied, “Firstly, with me it’s more that I started out young than that I’ve slept with lots of girls. Me and my friends back in Chicago… we moved fast with this stuff, but there haven’t been as many girls as people say. Okay? And secondly, no. Why would you think that?”

“Because they were obviously eager and they gave it up easy. And you didn’t give them the time of day afterward. I don’t think they’re sluts. I think if boys can do it, girls should be able to too. But I don’t know how you feel about it. I mean, I made you work for a kiss and here you are.”

His chest rumbled underneath my cheek as he chuckled. “I’m here because you crack me up. You never bore me. You surprise me. That’s why. Not because you made me work for it.” He caressed my arm softly as he asked, “Where is this coming from?”

Butterflies suddenly appeared, their wings fluttering against my stomach in anticipation. “I just … you’ve been taking things slow with me and I don’t know if … I wasn’t sure if you would think I was a slut if I said I wanted to speed things up a bit.”

He sucked in a sharp breath. “I don’t think a girl is a slut for wanting sex, Charley. That would make me a slut, and frankly, I’m a little offended by the word,” he teased, his voice hoarse from my meaning. When I didn’t say anything, Jake trailed his fingers down my waist and he asked thickly, “Speed things up how?”

Wanting to face him when I said this, I pulled up, one hand flat against the truck bed, the other still resting on his chest. “I don’t think I’m ready for sex … but I do want more from you.”

Jake’s eyes darkened, his lids lowering slightly as his gaze dipped to my mouth. “More how?”

I bent my head, bringing my lips close to his. “What comes before sex?”

“A lot.”

I tipped my head to the side, smiling to cover the fact that I was nervous. I was nervous, but I was also sure. “Then show me a lot.”

The words registered with Jake two seconds before he rolled me under him, his mouth hard on mine. My arms slid around him and I opened my legs to let him fall deeper against me. At the feel of Jake’s erection nudging between my legs, I gasped into his mouth and my fingers tightened in his hair. His groan reverberated through me and I tilted my hips, liking the waves of pleasure rocking through me as he rubbed against me there.

When his hand coasted up my waist and cupped my breast through my bra, I jerked a little with surprise. I’d never let Alex close enough to do anything like this. I’d never wanted it. But with Jake, I’d started to fantasize about it.

Having him touch me in real life was a million times better.

Jake broke our kiss. “I want to touch you.” He pulled gently at a button in my shirt, his hesitancy a question. I nodded, my eyes fixated on his face and the intensity of his expression. All that focus, all that need was for me.

It made me feel strangely powerful and in control.

Shivering but not with cold this time, I waited impatiently as Jake popped the buttons on my shirt, gently spreading it open so I was naked except for my bra. To my shock my ni**les hardened under his perusal, something that had never happened to me before. That hard tightness was like a tease and my hips undulated under Jake in a silent plea for more.

He sucked in his breath and put pressure on my left hip with his palm. “Baby, calm. You keep doing that and I’m going to lose it.”

I tensed, suddenly unsure. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he whispered hoarsely and then kissed me softly. “Don’t ever be sorry.” He coasted his hand over my naked belly. “Can I see you?”

Knowing exactly what he meant, I took a breath. I wanted this, I did, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t worried about how attractive he’d find me naked. Licking my dry lips, I nodded again and reached up to undo the front clasp on my bra.

Tentatively, Jake brushed the fabric apart and the cold air blew over my naked br**sts, my ni**les pebbling into impossibly hard points. I felt Jake swell even thicker between my legs.

“Fuck,” he muttered as he cupped me carefully, his touch worshipping. “You’re so beautiful.”

I arched into his hand, wanting more, wanting pressure … or something. “Jake,” I squirmed, wishing I knew what it was I was asking for so I could tell him.

It didn’t matter since it seemed Jake was a good guesser.

He crushed his mouth over mine, his kiss hungry and wet, and he squeezed my br**sts gently, sending a lightning rod of feeling straight to my core. I cried out into his mouth, lifting my hips again, pushing against his hard-on, wanting pressure there.

Jake growled, his lips moving from my mouth and trailing down my neck and chest until he reached my right nipple. He blew his hot breath over it and it puckered up for him. “Yes,” I breathed and then sighed as he took it into his mouth, sucking it so hard, the tight pleasure between my legs became almost unbearable.

“Jake,” I clutched at his hair, “Jake, please.”

His head came up and his features were taut, his breathing heavier, shallow, as he braced up on his arms, his hands at either side of my head. He thrust suddenly and his erection pushed up against me. At my pleasured gasp, Jake began to roll his hips, rubbing harder but torturously slowly. “You ever had an orgasm, baby?” he asked quietly, his voice so full of sex, I barely recognized it.