Earning Edie (Espinoza Boys #1) (17 page)

“Edie?” Jaime’s voice drew me out of my thoughts. “What did you think? Pretty nice, huh?”

I blinked up at the sky, and saw the fireworks show had concluded while I was wandering through my murky feelings.

“Yeah, nice,” I agreed, pushing forward to stand up.

I watched while Jaime gathered up the blanket, and went to open the back door of his Jeep for him so he could toss it in.

He smiled at me, his pale blue eyes close. “Thanks.”

I smiled back, but it felt a little stiff.

As we each headed to our side of the car, I had the sinking feeling I needed to let Jaime go. If I couldn’t shake these feelings for Nick, if I couldn’t spark something hotter than friendship with Jaime, I had to break it off.

I’d give Jaime a chance, though. He was too good a guy to toss away because of an unrequited crush on a guy out of my league. I’d work to get us to the next level, and see how I felt then.

That resolved, I relaxed into my seat, and smiled as Jaime chattered about the fireworks show. For all my tension, he seemed at ease.

I slid a hand onto his thigh and squeezed. He glanced at me, then back to the road, and folded my hand into his. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze, before settling it on my lap and returning his own hand to the wheel.

It all seemed very normal and affectionate. But watching his body language, I felt doubt creep in. It seemed, almost, like he’d taken hold of my hand so I wouldn’t touch him. He’d immediately moved my hand away and released it. But he could have just wanted his hand back for driving.

I was probably being paranoid, but I couldn’t shake the feeling I wasn’t the only one who’d been keeping their distance in this relationship.

I knew why I was … so what was Jaime’s reason?

***

Jaime walked me to my door, like always. But tonight, as he leaned forward for the customary goodnight kiss, I determined to resolve my inner turmoil. His lips brushed against mine lightly, and this time, instead of letting him quickly retreat, I grabbed his T-shirt and pulled him against me.

I pressed my mouth harder against his, lingering, not quite sure how to create the magic I’d experienced with Nick.

Jaime didn’t pull away, but he went still.

Unsure what to do now that I’d made my move, I began to panic. Shouldn’t Jaime be doing
something
? It seemed like I was kissing a wall — a  soft, warm wall, but an unmoving one.

I parted my lips, an invitation, and slid my hands up his sides.

He tensed at the touch, and broke the kiss.

“Sorry,” he murmured, his eyes downcast. “I’ve got to get back. I promised I’d watch Mason for a while so his mom could go crazy with the fireworks.”

He grinned, looking more at ease. “She loves things that go boom. Always has.”

“Okay,” I said uncertainly. “I could have helped with that.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I’ll probably just go to bed over there. Mason should be ready to crash anyway.”

“Right.”

My chest felt tight, filled to bursting with unspoken doubts.

I hadn’t resolved anything; I’d only confused myself more. Was Jaime shy, or just not interested? I knew next to nothing about how to entice a guy.

Maybe Jaime met another girl, and didn’t have the heart to tell me. Being in a hurry couldn’t be the real reason he’d been so quick to end my weak attempt at a makeout session.

“Goodnight, Eeds.”

He put his palm against my cheek, his eyes softening as he looked at me. He seemed like a guy who genuinely liked me. But surely most guys would take the invitation to get physical with more enthusiasm.

As I slipped in the door, I couldn’t shake the feeling I was just looking for excuses. Something was preventing Jaime from getting too close. Exactly what that was, I couldn’t say. But I couldn’t suppress the sinking feeling my relationship with Jaime was already in its death throes.

“Home already?”

I lifted my head, surprised to see Nick approaching from the hallway. I thought he’d be down at the lake by now. He’d invited me, but I’d already made plans with Jaime.

Nick looked like he’d stepped out of a magazine ad, effortlessly gorgeous in board shorts, flip-flops and a T-shirt. No one dressed so casually should look so perfect, but he did.

“Thought you and Jaime had big plans tonight?”

Suddenly, it was all too much. I crumpled under the weight of my doubts about Jaime’s interest and my frustrating attraction to Nick.

“What’s
wrong
with me? Is there something about me that says don’t touch?” I demanded in a shaking voice.

My throat tightened painfully, tears a blink away. I clenched my jaw, struggling to hold them back.

Nick was there in seconds, wrapping his arms around me and pressing my cheek to his shoulder.

“God, no. What happened? Did Jaime say something to you?”

I shook my head, unable to voice my chaotic thoughts. Nick didn’t have that problem. Words tumbled from him.

“Talk to me, Edie. Do I need to go punch him? I will totally deck Jaime for you.”

I laughed weakly, blinking back the moisture clinging to my eyelashes.

“He didn’t
do
anything. That’s the problem.”

Nick leaned back, looking down into my eyes. I wanted to look away, uncomfortable with his searching look, but I got caught in that beautiful blue gaze and couldn’t get free.

“By anything, you mean …”

My face heated under his knowing stare. “I know I’m innocent, and kind of plain. I just thought it would be different. I thought he’d
want
me, you know? Am I …  I mean, could you ever want a girl like me? Or am I expecting too much?”

I half expected Nick to make a joke to cheer me up. But his expression remained serious as his hands cupped my face.

“You’re not expecting too much. And yes.”

“Yes?”

“I could want a girl like you.” Nick dipped his head, bringing us closer together. “Just like you.”

His breath caressed my lips before the firm pressure of his mouth took over. My lips parted in surprise, and Nick’s reaction was entirely different than Jaime’s had been just minutes earlier.

He pressed closer, sliding his tongue along my bottom lip teasingly, before pushing into my mouth for a deeper kiss. His chest brushed against my breasts, sparking tingles that rushed through my body, and his erection pressed almost painfully into the soft flesh of my belly through our clothes.

The man knew how to kiss.

Every flick of his tongue and nibble of my lips teased me to respond. Every retreat increased my desire for more of him.

Gradually, I realized we were moving. Nick walked me backward toward the bedroom, his steps nudging me back while his hands steadied me.

I pulled back, glancing over my shoulder at the bed as we reached the doorway.

“Is this okay?” he whispered.

I swallowed hard, aware this was a turning point in my life. I could call to a stop to everything now. I could remain loyal to Jaime, despite my concerns. But if I were honest with myself, I’d wanted Nick for a long time. Since our first kiss, and maybe even before that. And Jaime really didn’t want me. His reactions tonight had demonstrated that.

I looked into Nick’s dark blue eyes and nodded. “Yes.”

His head dipped, his lips meeting mine once again, and I felt the fireworks exploding in my body, heat and sparks lighting up my skin as his hands slid under my shirt and explored. I’d hardly noticed the fireworks show tonight with Jaime, but Nick was creating his own explosive reaction, one that had my full attention.

“Wow,” I whispered against his lips as we broke for breath, and he smiled at me.

It wasn’t the cocky Nick smile I’d seen after he first wrote the column, nor was it his amused smile that appeared when he cracked jokes. It was heart-achingly sweet, spreading across his face and lighting up his eyes.

“Yeah,” he murmured. “Wow.”

NICK

My heart hammered as I eased Edie’s halter top over her head and dropped kisses along her creamy throat.

Part of me couldn’t believe this was happening; another part felt as if it were inevitable. The more I got to know Edie, the more I liked her. After that first kiss, which set me free of my weird romantic purgatory after my affair with Elana, I was hers for the taking. I just didn’t think she’d take.

I skimmed my hands up her sides and cupped her breasts over her bra, just the sort of plain practical number I’d expect from her. No sexy lingerie for this girl, not that it mattered. Whether she wore cotton or lace, Edie turned me on.

I couldn’t get enough of the silky feel of her bared skin or the little breathy sounds she made as my tongue flickered over her collarbone.

Edie’s hands clutched my shoulders, as if she needed to anchor herself against the pleasure of my lips, but she made no move to touch me anywhere else. Before I went further, I needed to know where the boundaries lay.

“What do you want tonight?”

Her brown eyes looked up at me, and I felt a burst of pride at the fog of pleasure in them.

She blinked. “What?”

“How far do you want to go?”

“Oh. Um. …”

Her cheeks blushed, and she looked away. I gently tilted her face back toward me.

“I want everything,” I admitted. “But I don’t want to rush you.”

“You’re not.”

As if to prove her words, she grabbed the bottom of my T-shirt and tugged it up, wrestling it over my head. I helped pull it off and reached around to unclasp her bra.

We both gasped as her soft breasts brushed against my chest.

And then I was lost.

I dipped my head to suck a nipple into my mouth, and she moaned quietly as I worshipped her breasts with my lips and tongue. She arched, pressing harder into my mouth and clutched my hair.

Somehow, we found our way into the bed, and I pulled off her shorts and underwear.

Then I leaned back to savor the view.

Edie was gorgeous. All creamy skin and long limbs. She had a pure, untouched sort of beauty. I almost hated to soil her with my horny hands.

“What?” she asked, looking self-conscious.

I grinned, unable to help the cockiness from oozing out.

“Just trying to decide where to start. Goddamn. You look good enough to eat.”

The blush spread up her chest and across her throat to her cheeks. Turns out, a full-body blush is some seriously sexy shit.

I lunged down and kissed her hard. Edie met my desperate, deep kisses eagerly while trailing her hands up my sides. Finally, she was touching me. I relaxed and slowed down, giving her the time to explore a little on her own.

I was surprised by the relief I felt at the realization she wanted me like I wanted her. I usually wasn’t insecure. I took my looks for granted, maybe, but I’d never had any complaints from women.

Edie was different. She was somehow more important than any woman who had come before.

Maybe it was that she was a virgin. Or because she was the first woman to really do it for me since the Elana catastrophe. Whatever the reason, I cared deeply about making this an amazing experience for Edie.

I didn’t just want sex, I wanted her to want it, too.

Her hand fell to my waistband, and she fumbled open the button. I helped her tug down my shorts and underwear, and then we were naked together.

Her eyes immediately dipped down and skittered shyly away.

“You can look at me,” I said. “That’s one benefit of getting naked together.”

She scoffed. “I know.”

Her eyes darted toward me and away nervously.

I reached out and took her hand, pulling it toward me. She licked her lips, glancing down to watch as I wrapped her fingers around my cock and guided her in a couple of strokes. I let my hand fall away, and she continued stroking and squeezing.

I groaned and moved to kiss her again, my own hand slipping between her legs. I stroked her with a fingertip, and she gasped against my lips.

Oh yeah. She liked this. She liked
me.

My phone rang from the pocket of my shorts on the floor, startling us both.

Edie paused, her hand going still. I pushed my hips forward, pumping into her hand, and doubling down on my effort to bring her over the crest of pleasure.

“Ignore it,” I whispered before brushing kisses along her throat, which I’d already discovered made her shiver and break out in goosebumps every time.

Throaty sounds of pleasure escaped her mouth, but she wasn’t close enough. I pushed her onto her back, and moved down her body with one destination in mind: Next stop, orgasmville.

I got sidetracked by her breasts, feeling the need to lavish them with kisses and licks before moving on.

The phone stopped ringing at some point, though I’d blocked it out enough I couldn’t pinpoint when.