Harlequin E New Adult Romance Box Set Volume 1: Burning Moon\Girls' Guide to Getting It Together\Rookie in Love (51 page)

“I want to do many things with you, Maddy,” he whispers, and places a small kiss below my ear before kissing a trail down my neck and onto my bare shoulder.

“So, what’s the problem?” I close my eyes and tilt my head to the side, allowing more access to my neck and shoulder. He bites softly into my shoulder and the sensation pierces into me, causing an ache between my legs. I squeeze my already-crossed legs together to relieve the ache but it’s not helping. Jackson uses my movement as an opportunity to slide my skirt up and inch his hand a little farther under the fabric.

“There are actually two problems.” He continues to alternate kisses with small bites as he works his mouth back up to my ear. “The first is that if I don’t find out more about you before I know what you feel like
everywhere,
it would confirm the loss of my good manners.” Jackson is making it hard to breathe or to think, but I don’t want him to stop.

“What’s the second problem?” I whisper.

Jackson chuckles into the crook of my neck and then looks at me with heavy-lidded eyes. “That would be the fact that I can’t keep my lips off of you long enough to get to know you. It’s not that I don’t want to—I want to know everything about you. It’s just that you overwhelm my senses so much that I want to touch you and taste you and ask questions later.” He takes a sip from his beer and I do the same. I need a minute to calm myself down before I straddle him right here and tell him to forget the questions.

“Okay, Mr. Quarterback, I’m the rookie here: how do we solve this little problem?” A smile stretches across his face and he finishes his beer in one big gulp.

“I’ve never done this before either, Rookie. I’m a pro at the foreplay and would like to think I am also really good at sealing the deal, but getting to know a girl…never really cared enough to do that before. I guess we are both virgins to this part of a relationship.” At the mention of virginity, my cheeks must flare an embarrassing shade of red and I quickly pull away from him, looking down and playing with the label on my beer bottle to avoid eye contact. Jackson tucks his head down to meet my gaze and places his hand on top of mine to stop the attack I am waging against the innocent label.

“No way,” he says.

Shit,
I think to myself.
Great move, Madeline, now you’ve made your inexperience obvious.

Jackson lifts my chin so I am forced to make eye contact with him. His other hand grips mine and he pulls it to our laps.

“No way—not possible.”

I clamp my eyes shut and hate how the waves of embarrassment wash over me.

“I’m sorry, I should have said something, Jackson, it’s just that it feels so good when you touch me that I haven’t really had the time or focus to bring up such a heavy topic. It isn’t a big deal. I totally understand if it freaks you out.”

“Well, it’s definitely doing something to me, but I wouldn’t call it freaking out. How is this even possible? You are smart and beautiful and unbelievably sexy. I can’t keep my hands off of you no matter where we are, and to be honest I’m thinking about touching you even when I’m not with you. I’m having a hard time imagining how a boyfriend could ever let you
out
of his bed, let alone never taking you there in the first place.”

I can’t help it; I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his, sliding one hand into his hair as I explore his mouth. It’s the first time a guy has said anything like this to me and that is not only okay, but a turn-on. For years I have felt that I had to choose between intelligence and sexiness, to play down my looks so they wouldn’t take away from people’s perceptions of my intellectual ability.

Our kiss slows again and we break apart. “Give me a minute to get my head on straight, Rookie. I didn’t even know virginal college girls existed anymore.” He winks at me and I punch him softly on the arm, pretending to be offended on behalf of college virgins everywhere. He gets us another round of drinks and we sit at our table for the next few hours, asking questions about each other back and forth. I learn that he is studying business and has a younger sister; I tell him about my brothers and my wish to change the world, even if it is done on a very small scale.

When we notice that the bar is beginning to empty out, I feel horrible that he and I have been in the corner away from his friends all night, but I tell myself I only have three weeks with him, and they get to keep him forever. The bartender announces last call and the music is turned down a notch as a slow song begins and people start to gather their belongings.

“Dance with me, Rookie,” Jackson says as he grips my hand and pulls me from my seat. He doesn’t seem to mind that people are walking across the dance floor to leave the bar or that one by one the overhead lights are being shut off. Jackson takes the hand he has been holding and places it over his heart, leaving his on top of mine. He wraps his other arm around my waist and pulls me tight against him. We move in slow circles to the song and a few of his friends slap him on the back as they leave. He acknowledges them each time by lifting his chin but never takes his eyes off of me.

As the song comes to an end, Jackson softly kisses my lips. “Maddy, I have never in my life felt as conflicted as I do now. I want you so bad it is taking every ounce of decency I have not to push you up against the closest wall and relieve the need inside me. At the same time, now that I know how new you are to all of this, I want to take it slowly, have you get the most out of every little step we take—every little touch.” I close my eyes and just breathe for a minute, wanting the same two things that he does and not knowing which road we will take.

The music has ended and we move toward the exit. He is holding my hand but I am pressed up against his side, needing him to touch me and not wanting him to let me go. When we are at his truck, he backs me up against its side and presses his body firmly against mine. A small moan escapes him as we come together again with lips and touches and a wild need that I have never felt so strongly in my life. Jackson’s hands slip down beneath my ass and he lifts me to him so that my core presses against the fly of his pants, and I am in awe of how good it feels and how natural it is, the way we fit together. Jackson releases his tight hold and I return my weight to my feet but immediately miss the friction. I raise my knee up instinctively so that his body will rest inside mine and he runs his hand down the back of my leg, lifting it higher around him.

“I need to feel you, Maddy, to see your body and feel your skin. We don’t have to go all the way but I have to get off first base. Baseball has never really been my sport.” I laugh and nod my head.

“Well then, Mr. Quarterback, take me back to your place,” I say, as I straighten out my skirt.

“Be careful what you ask for, Rookie. In football we don’t mess around with bases, we are always gunning for a touchdown.”

Chapter Seven

This might be the longest five-minute car ride of my life. Jackson has his hand resting high on my thigh and he keeps looking at me every chance he gets. I am so nervous that my heart is racing and I feel almost buzzed from the high of being with him. He is gorgeous, with his dark hair framing his ruggedly handsome face, and his blue eyes standing out against his tanned skin.

We pull up to a small four-plex on the back of Frat Row. Clearly his spot in the driveway is kept open for him, which is wonderful given that the street is overcrowded with cars, many pulled partway into driveways parked three deep. There are a few students walking home and I notice that there has been some partying taking place here as a couple kicks one of many red plastic cups back and forth between them.

I know better than to try to open my own door, so I wait for Jackson to make his way around the truck and open it for me. He reaches up for my hand and I hold his tightly and scoot myself to the edge of the seat. I think it might be impossible to exit this truck gracefully, wearing heels and a short skirt. As I think about where to put my legs so that I minimize my exposure, I notice Jackson smiling up at me.

“What’s the problem, Rookie?” he asks mischievously.

“I am just taking a minute to pray to God that my panty choice for this evening was a good one since you are about to become acquainted with them real quick when I try to get down from here.”

“Amen,” Jackson says enthusiastically, and I roll my eyes and then laugh as I conclude that indeed I am going to flash him. Our interactions are so playful and full of heat that I can’t get too wrapped up in what I am supposed to say or how I might look. With Jackson, I am the real me and it feels amazing.

“Come on, Rookie, nothing I haven’t seen before.” Jackson winks at me and I remember dangling from the trellis above him. I give up and let him wrap his hands around my waist and help me down.

“See, I can be a gentleman.” Jackson says, his eyes never leaving mine as my legs flail about on the way down from the seat. He takes my hand again and we walk up a staircase to one of the upper apartments. There is music playing inside and I feel nervous about seeing his friends, on top of being jittery about spending time with him. Jackson opens the door and we walk into a living room housing two mismatched couches, a broken coffee table and various posters of athletes and swimsuit models. There is also a pretty impressive collection of beer caps nailed to the wall around the door.

“Sorry about the mess, Rookie. We’re all on the team and don’t have a lot of time to keep things tidy.” I recognize his two roommates from the bar and give them a small wave as Jackson pulls me past them. “Hey guys, you remember Maddy. Maddy—Trevor and Aaron.” We exchange mumbled hellos and I stumble behind Jackson as he pulls my hand relentlessly toward his room. “Goodnight, guys.” Jackson says over his shoulder as we approach his room.

“Goodnight,” Aaron and Trevor say in unison, turning their attention back to the TV and their beers.

The second we are in Jackson’s room he closes the door and locks it behind us. It may seem childish, but I feel a thrill being locked in a room with him. I have never been allowed to have boys in my room or even be alone near a bed with one. My family would be having a fit if they knew where I was right now. Jackson closes the distance between us and lightly kisses my lips. His hands rest on the sides of my face and my body begins to heat up again with his touch.

Slowly Jackson guides us to the edge of his bed and I freeze when my calves touch his comforter. He breaks our kiss to look me in the eyes.

“Relax, Rookie. Tonight is just for you. We will stop whenever you want to, and only do the things you are curious about. Slow and steady.” He kisses me again and I reach up and put my hands on his biceps. The muscles are tight beneath my hands and I can feel electricity travel up my arms and into my core.

Jackson moves his kisses down my neck and across my shoulder. I close my eyes at the sensation and pray that he keeps going. His hands are now at the hem of my tank top and his fingers are touching the soft skin just underneath. I can feel his rough fingers making slow circles and inching up under the fabric. I feel so wanted and feminine, soft under his calloused touch. He grips the shirt and begins to pull it up my body slowly, waiting for me to stop him, but I don’t.

When my shirt reaches the bottom of my bra, Jackson rubs his thumbs across the underside of my breasts. It’s an erotic feeling that makes me arch into his hands. He looks up from the kisses he is scattering across my skin and waits for me to nod my approval for him to remove my shirt. I raise my arms and he pulls my shirt over my head, causing my hair to fall across my shoulders. At first Jackson doesn’t move; he just looks at my breasts, bare except for the delicate lacy cups of my bra. He studies me for a moment, and then places his hands gently on my breasts and leans in slowly to give me the softest of kisses.

“What next, Rookie? It’s your move.” So many things run through my head and I take a minute to just feel the sensation of his hands on my body. I want to see him, want to know where his tattoo leads. I put my hands on his waist, just above the top of his jeans and I hear his sharp intake of breath as I move my hands under his shirt. His body is warm and hard beneath my fingers. I slide my flat palms up his stomach, feeling the ripples of his abs as I make my way up to his chest. His shirt is gathering up my arms and when I finally feel the muscles of his pecs beneath my palms, he reaches behind his back and brings his shirt over his head in one swift movement.

It is my turn to look and I trail my finger back down over his chest and abs. I can see his tattoo now and it is an amazing piece of art that curls around his arm and stops just short of his neck. I kiss the place where his tattoo stops and then run my tongue up his neck and suck his earlobe into my warm mouth. Jackson pulls me close to him and I love the way it feels to have my bra being the only thing separating our chests. I kiss along his jawline, work my way back to his mouth and suck in his bottom lip. When I release it, Jackson’s tongue meets mine and while it feels out of control, the pace he sets is steady and gentle. He drifts his hands up my back, releasing the clasp of my bra so quickly I almost miss it. His fingers coast under its straps and he pulls back to watch as my bra falls smoothly down my arms and drops to the floor.

I am exposed to a man for the first time, but it doesn’t feel naughty like I thought it would. It feels invigorating. My libido has roared to life and the surge of need it has brought with it causes a high I can’t even explain. Jackson caresses my naked breasts and I begin to ache with the need for him to touch me all over.

“So beautiful. You’re unbelievable, Maddy.” His tongue travels from my ear down my neck and I arch into him as he drops lower, grazing my nipple before he sucks it into his mouth. The ache is building and I am beginning to feel desperate for friction. I wonder if he is feeling the same way, or if this is something he has done so many times it doesn’t affect him anymore. When my nipple is erect and warm from his mouth, he moves to my other breast, and I run my fingers through his hair as he takes it into his mouth. Just when I think I can’t take it anymore, Jackson releases me and teases, in between kisses, “Your move.”