Kissed (13 page)

“Kit?”
she asked, lifting her head to look up at him.

“The photographer.
Did you forget already?”

“
No
. You didn’t tell me her name.”

“Oh.
Anyway, I hope you want to work with her.”

“So
I stay,” she translated.
 
So transparent.

He
rolled his eyes and hugged her a little closer.
 
“Yeah, I have an agenda. Sue me. I have an interest in keeping my
girlfriend in town.”

“Girlfriend?”
 
I sounded way too hopeful-needy
.

He
met her eyes.
 
“Well,
yeah
.
Thought you were
the smart one in this relationship.”

Her
heart started doing cartwheels.
 
“You
know what they say about assuming.”

His
hands slid up to her neck, cupping her jaw-line.
 
“Then let me be clear: as far as I’m
concerned, love, you’re my girl.
My squeeze, honey,
girlfriend, etcetera.
My Bethie.”

He
dipped his head and she tilted hers to her right, rising on her toes to kiss
him back.
 
One of his hands stayed on her
cheek; the other dropped to her low back, pressing their bodies closer.
 
That same fire from all week stirred again,
driving her to try crawling inside him.
 
Nothing was close enough.
 
He
could kiss her a thousand times and she’d still want more.

It
scared her.
 
“This, um…”

“Not
really the place for a snog.”
 
He let out
a long breath.
 
“Yeah.”

“I’m
going to visit the ladies’ room.”

“Alright.
I’ll see if Mum’s ready to go.”

Less
than a week in each other’s presence again, and he was biting back
proclamations every time he kissed her.

He’d
always cared for Beth—it was pretty easy to do, actually—but he’d never named
it before.
 
Honestly, though, he
should’ve seen it’d come to this.
 
She
was the only girl he’d ever trusted into his life, his secrets.
 
Didn’t know when it happened, really, but it
all made sense at the time.
 
They needed
quiet to study, so they went to his room.
 
She was good at English, so he asked her opinion of his lyrics.
 
Their mothers hit it off, so they ate dinner
together often.

Family.
 

Except you weren’t supposed to want to shag your sister.
 
Good thing she hadn’t occupied that space in
his mind for a long time.
 
Spring break
of senior year killed that notion.

Now,
well…he understood how love had inspired millions of works since the dawn of
time.

“Ah,
Jacob, there you are.”
 
An older lady
approached him, her hair mostly white.

“Evening,
Mrs.
Haversham
. Have you seen my mother around?”

She
was a longtime friend of the family.
 
“That’s what I was going to tell you, dear. Your mother went home with a
headache, but she said not to be concerned and to have fun as long as you
like.”

“Oh.
Thanks, then. Goodnight, Mrs.
Haversham
.”

She
smiled.
 
“Nice to see you again,
Jacob.”
 
Message delivered, she wandered
off.

Well,
with his mother gone home, all they had to do was wait for the car to return,
if it hadn’t already.
 
He went to the
nearest restroom to find Beth.
 
A short
line of ladies stood outside.

“Looking
for me?”

He
turned around.
 
“There you are. Mum went
home, so it’s only you and me now.”

“Is
she okay? How are we going to get back?”

He
steered her toward the front door.
 
“She’s fine, love.
Just a little headache.
As
for the car, he’d come right back.”

“Oh.
How long ago did she leave?”

“While we were outside.
Might have to wait
a bit.”

She
sat on a chair in the foyer.
 
“Why didn’t
she say goodbye?”
 
Her shoulders
slumped.
 
“I’m a rotten guest. She asked
me to come to keep her company.”

He
crouched down in front of her and took her hands.
 
“Hey, you are not. You didn’t ignore her
through dinner, did you?”

“No…”

“I
guarantee she wasn’t offended by you dancing with me.”

A
smile tugged at one corner of her mouth.
 
“Okay.”

He
pulled her up.
 
“Let’s check on the car.
It’s stuffy in here.”

Luck
on their side, the chauffeur showed up just as they came down the entry
steps.
 
Jacob opened the door for Beth.

“Where to, sir?”

He
glanced at Beth.
 
“My
flat.”

“Yes, sir.”
 
The car
pulled out of the driveway.

“Your
place?” she asked.

“Unless you want to go home.
Are you tired?”
  

“No.
I can’t ride the bike in this dress, though. Wait, did you ride to the house?”

Blast
.
 
“Uh…”
 
He tapped on the glass
partition separating them from the driver.
 
A panel slid open.
 
“Second
thought, take us to my mother’s house, please.”

“As you wish, sir.”

She
tried hiding her smile in her hand.

“Quiet, you.”

“Hey,
I
didn’t forget where
I
left a vehicle.”

He
slid her closer on the leather seat and poised his index finger to dig under
her ribs.
 
“Persons who are extremely ticklish
should be nice.”

She
looked up at him with wide eyes.
 
“I am
nice.”
 
Her hand slid up to his neck, her
thumb stroking the soft skin behind his ear.
 
“I can be very nice.”

His
eyelids drooped, her touch relaxing him into jelly.
 
If he was a kitten, he’d purr.
 
“No fair…”

“Stop
threatening to tickle me,” she said.

“How
‘bout I kiss you instead?”
 
He leaned in,
the tips of their noses brushing before he made contact with her lips.

She
exhaled into his mouth, wrapping her arm around his neck.
 
This was fast becoming one of his favorite
things to do in life.
 
His girl was
lovely to kiss, her lips having just the right fullness, her responses always
equaling his.
 
They
matched
.
 

He
pulled away before they got too hot, not wanting to give the driver a show.
 
“I’m glad you came.”

“Me, too.”
 
She laced
her right hand with his left.
 
“
Tonight,
or…”

“To England.
Hopefully for more than a week.”

“I’m
meeting your friend, aren’t I?”

“Yep!”
 
The thought of
having Beth here for a month put a wide grin on his face.

She
rolled her eyes,
then
leaned her head on his
shoulder.
 
“I’ll admit
,
I’m not ready to go home, yet. Don’t think I should leave until I see Stonehenge.”

“Ohhh,
so a circle of rocks is really what’s keepin’ you here?”

“It’s
a factor.”

“
Brat
.”

“Such
an ego you have…”
 

He
couldn’t see much of her face from this angle, but he knew the expression that
went with her teasing by heart.
 
She’d
always been expressive, for a shy girl.
 
Well, formerly shy.
 
“You handled
yourself pretty well tonight.”

She
sat up to look at him.
 
“You think so?”

He
nodded.
 
“Very nice first impression and
those people are big on those.”

“I
was taught a little social grace.”

“Hey,
I wasn’t implying anything. I meant you didn’t look nervous, love.”

“Oh.”
 
She pulled her bag onto her lap and took out
a small bottle of water.
 
“Want a sip?”

“I’m
fine.”

She
unscrewed the cap and took a swallow.

“Can
I ask you something and not get my head bitten off?”

She
eyed him warily.
 
“What?”

“Why
do you get defensive with me?”

She
sighed and put the bottle back in her purse.
 
“Not just you.”

“Good
to know.
And?”

“You
might have noticed I wasn’t one of the popular people? From the time I hit
school, I wasn’t comfortable around a single person except my parents. My
brother left when I was eight, so I barely knew him. To other kids, I was born
with giant ‘kick me’ signs front and back. It wasn’t fun.”

“We’ve
always gotten along.”

“And
I didn’t expect that to last.”
 
Her gaze
dropped to her shoes.
 
“You keep
surprising me.”

He
reached for her hand again.
 
“I’d never
hurt you on purpose, Beth. Hope you know that.”

She
lifted her head and met his eyes.
 
“Yeah.
I do.”

“That’s
somethin’”

The
car stopped.
 
They glanced out the window
and saw the house.
 
He slid to the door
and opened it, then held his hand out to her.
 
The house was dark.
 
He bid the
driver goodnight and walked to the front door.

A
small lamp had been left on in the foyer.

“Hungry?
I know a few places open late,” Jacob asked.

“Sure.
I should probably change first.”

“Need
any help?”
 
He added a wink, just in case
she thought he was serious.

She
swatted his arm.
 
“No.
Perv.”
 
Despite the protest, there might have been
some added sway to her hips as she ascended the staircase.
 

Seriously fine ass
…

He
loosened his tie, took it off, and slipped it into his pocket.
 
Hated anything snug on his
neck.

“Jacob?”
 
She appeared at the top of the stairs, still
in her dress.

“Yeah?”

“I
really do need help. The zipper’s stuck.”

He
started up the stairs.
 
“You’re kidding.”

“I
think a bit of fabric got caught in the teeth, so it doesn’t want to
slide.”
 
She walked back into her room
where there was more light.
 
Her back to
him, she said, “Be careful.”

“I
won’t rip it.”
 
He tried sliding the
zipper.
 
“Bend forward a little.”
 

That
was better—he could see detail in the light now.
 
Yep, a bit of fabric was stuck between the
teeth at the top.
 

“
Uhh
, I’m not sure how to get this unstuck.”

“
Great
.”
 
She turned around.
 
“It’s too snug
to slide off.”

“What
about lifting it over your head?”

She
shrugged.
 
“I’ll give it a shot.”
 
She walked into the bathroom.

He
sat on the bed to wait, and heard a few muffled curses a minute later.
 
“You okay?”

The
door opened a crack.
 
“Not so much.”

“Do
you want help?”

She
hesitated long
enough,
he thought she wasn’t going to
reply.
 
Then, “Yeah…”

No big deal, mate…just innocently help your
girl out of a jam
.

She
walked out.
 
“I can’t lift it all the way
off without tweaking my shoulders.”
 
She
turned her back to him.
 
“Don’t look.”

He
took a breath, then bent to grab the hem and started lifting.
 
Keeping his eyes on the floor didn’t stop him
from seeing thigh-high stockings, so he directed them skyward, instead.
 
She lifted her arms once he’d reached her
shoulders.
 
When the dress was past her
head, she took it from him and tossed it on the bed.

“Thanks.”

He
kept his eyes on her face.
 
“You’re
welcome.”

“I-I’ll
be right back.”
 
She backed into the
bathroom.

“Yeah.”
 

Just shut the damn door, Beth
.

Once
she was out of sight, he rubbed his face with both hands and let out a long
breath.
 
If she stood there a moment
longer, he’d have looked, and after looking, he’d have touched.
 

He
left her bedroom and jogged downstairs.
 
Saw enough, though.
 

Black
bra with matching satin knickers, and those stockings…long, slender legs in
sheer black…an image of those legs wrapped around his hips popped into his head
and he headed for the kitchen and a drink.
 
Couldn’t hop in a cold shower, but he could down some ice water.