Seeking Her (10 page)
“Damn it. The other piece is strapped over this one. Hang on.”
I snuck another hand beneath the T-shirt and under the material of her swimsuit. Holding the still taut piece of fabric out from her skin, I started pulling on the other strap. Kelsey’s fingers dug into the back of my neck, reminiscent of the way they had when we kissed, and I had to pause to keep control. It didn’t help that her breath was skating across my jaw, warm and maddening.
“Hunt?”
I swallowed.
“Yeah?”
As I pulled the fabric from the first strap free, her fingers trailed from my neck to my jaw. “Tell me your other name. The one most people don’t call you.”
I paused to look in her eyes. Better than looking at her lips.
“You won’t remember it tomorrow, sweetheart.”
“Doesn’t mean I don’t want to know,
sweetheart
.”
So much attitude.
I smiled briefly. With one strap loose, I let the hand that was holding the rest of the fabric up rest against her back. She swallowed, glancing down at my lips.
“Jackson. My name is Jackson Hunt.”
She smiled, and I returned it because I couldn’t help it.
“Well, Jackson Hunt. Stop being a pansy, and just take my clothes off.”
I laughed. Because this whole damn situation was ridiculous.
“You’re something else, you know that?”
“Like you said, I won’t remember it tomorrow. Let’s just get it over with.”
I groaned, scratching my nails across my jaw.
“But I’ll remember.” And I would never be able to look at her the same again.
She sighed, and then sat back against the pillow. My hand shifted from her back to her side as she lay down. With shaky hands, she pushed the covers down to her thighs, revealing the T-shirt that was bunched up around her rib cage.
I tore my hand away from where it curled around her waist and looked away from her smooth golden skin.
“Jesus, Kelsey.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
“It is, though. I can’t take advantage of you like that. Not when you’re not sober enough to make decisions with a clear head.”
She groaned. “You’re not taking advantage of me. Been there. Done that. It felt nothing like this.”
I jerked my head around.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
That hadn’t sounded like nothing.
“Kelsey—”
Who had taken advantage of her? Suddenly, I was so angry that I couldn’t see straight. All the pieces of me that had felt broken and useless where suddenly fused together, ready to fight whatever enemy had hurt her.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “Just help me. Please?
Please
.”
I wanted to push her, but pushing was what had gotten us in this mess to begin with. If I’d never had that drink, never asked her that question . . .
I thought back to that moment in the elevator when her emerald eyes had met mine, and she said I scared her. I took a deep breath and tried to think like Rodriguez. He’d never pushed me to talk about my issues, not about the mom who left or the dad who didn’t care. He waited until I opened up on my own.
After a sigh, I did as she asked. With the covers back and the T-shirt up, I untied the other knot. I told myself it wasn’t any more than I’d seen at the baths. But when I began unwrapping the rest of the swimsuit from her body, I made sure my eyes were directed at her face. I was not going to be added to the list of people who’d taken advantage of her, who’d hurt her.
I leaned down over her and used a hand to lift up her midsection so I could unwrap the last strap. Too eager to be finished, I yanked on the swimsuit top and it slid off her body completely.
She gasped, arching her back, and her stomach brushed against my chest. I made a noise of frustration and exasperation, and slammed my eyes closed before I could be tempted to look.
As quickly as possible, I pulled the suit free from her arms and tossed it on the floor. I was still leaning over her when I opened my eyes. I looked at her lips, just for a second. But then she whimpered and . . .
Damn it
.
She breathed, “Jackson.”
She closed her eyes and lifted her lips toward mine. I knew she was attracted to me. And I’d thrown all my morals out the window when I kissed her earlier tonight, but I couldn’t do it again.
No matter how much I wanted to.
I owed her more than that.
I shifted away from her lips and kissed her cheek instead.
“I can’t. Not like this. If I’m going to cross this line, I sure as hell want you to remember it.”
Her hands gripped my waist.
“It’s not crossing a line if I want it.”
I swear to God she was like a siren. That’s why no one could say no to her.
“I want you, too. But you have no idea how many lines I’d be crossing, even if you were sober.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m getting you ready for bed, and then I’m saying good night.”
“Then get me ready for bed.”
She took my hand and placed it on her hip, where her swimsuit bottoms still rested. Needing to be done with this, I hooked my fingers under the fabric and pulled. I kept my eyes on the ceiling as I slipped the bottoms down her legs and past her feet. Then I pulled the blankets all the way up to her chin.
She caught my hand before I could pull away, holding it close to her face. My heart lurched.
“Don’t go.”
I smoothed a hand across my jaw.
“I have to. This isn’t a good idea.”
“I don’t want to wake up alone. If I don’t remember . . . I’ll . . . it will kill me. You don’t know . . .”
There was that mystery again. That glimpse of something that she wasn’t telling me, that she didn’t show anyone. That thing I couldn’t
push
to untangle no matter how tempted I was.
“Jackson, please.”
I couldn’t say no to her.
“Okay. Just . . . just give me a second.”
In the bathroom, I shucked off my own wet swim trunks in favor of some gym shorts. I looked in the mirror, but then wished I hadn’t.
I looked rough.
Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe it was that tonight I’d undone a year of hard work and commitment.
Either way, I was more worried about Kelsey than I was about me.
I would survive. That was what I did . . . against all odds. And somehow I knew that I wouldn’t relapse after that one drink, not when it could impair my ability to take care of
her
.
There was a sickening, sinking feeling in my gut that unraveled into theories about Kelsey and her past, and I wanted to punch something just so I didn’t have to think about it anymore.
Whatever had happened to her, there was more to Kelsey Summer’s story. There was a reason my drawings of her only worked when she looked sad.
Back in the room, I turned off the lamp beside the bed and settled down in the chair to sleep for the night.
I didn’t know Kelsey Summers. But I wanted to. If she would open up, if she would let me. I was a little afraid to admit how much I wanted from her.
Ten minutes after Kelsey fell asleep, my phone buzzed. Kelsey’s father.
No matter what I wanted, I was the last person in the world she should trust.
Texas, college football, and heart-stopping romance.
The perfect recipe for an unforgettable news series you won’t want to miss from
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author Cora Carmack.
A
LL
L
INED
U
P
Rusk University
, Book 1
Two things in Texas are cherished above all else—
football and gossip.
My life has always been ruled by both.
When your dad is a coaching legend in Texas high school football, your life isn’t your own. Which is why Dallas Cole can’t wait to get to Rusk University and finally get out of her father’s shadow. But when he makes the jump to college ball—at her school, no less—it’s déjà vu all over again.
Half the guys on campus avoid her like the plague—not wanting to come close to the notorious hard-ass coach’s daughter—and the other half want to use her to get closer to the legend.
And then there’s Carson McClain, the hot, newly transferred second-string quarterback.
He
has no idea who she is, so when Carson approaches her at a party, Dallas decides, for once in her life, to kiss first and ask questions later. . . .
Coming Spring 2014
And don’t miss any of Cora Carmack’s
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling
Available Now
L
OSING
I
T
Book 1
Virginity.
Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible—a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half a brain would ever believe.
And as if that weren’t embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theater professor.
She’d left him naked in her bed about eight hours earlier.
K
EEPI
NG
H
ER
A
Losing It
Novella
Garrick Taylor and Bliss Edwards managed to find their happily-ever-after despite a rather . . . ahem . . . complicated start. By comparison, meeting the parents should be an absolute breeze, right?
But from the moment the pair lands in London, new snags just keep cropping up: a disapproving mother-in-law to be, an ex-girlfriend bent on a reunion, and a role in a play that will lead to nothing but trouble.
Garrick never imagined that the only thing harder than finding love is keeping it.
F
AKING
I
T
Book 2
Mackenzie “Max” Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.
Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far, though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.
F
INDING
I
T
Book 3
Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She’s having the time of her life . . . or that’s what she keeps telling herself.
It’s a lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you’re afraid you won’t like what you discover. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey’s loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey’s mind becomes a little clearer and her heart a little less hers. Jackson helps her unravel her own dreams and desires. But the more she learns about herself, the more Kelsey realizes how little she knows about Jackson.
S
EEKING
H
ER
A
Finding It
Prequel
Jackson Hunt hasn’t been out of the military for a long, but he needs to get a job and find a sense of normalcy if he is going to keep his own demons at bay. The job that falls into his lap, though, is anything but normal.
Bodyguard (and babysitter) to spoiled-rich-girl Kelsey Summers isn’t exactly what he’d been looking for, but it’s a chance to travel, to get away. The catch: Kelsey’s father doesn’t want Kelsey to know she’s being followed.
She’s vibrant and infuriating, exciting and reckless, mysterious and familiar. When Jackson sees her falling into the same patterns he suffered years ago, he decides it’s time to stop watching and help her instead. But getting to know Kelsey is more difficult than he thought, especially because the more he knows her, the more he wants her.
CORA CARMACK is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She’s done a multitude of things in her life—retail, theatre, teaching, and writing. She loves theatre, travel, and anything that makes her laugh. She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SEEKING HER
. Copyright © 2014 by Cora Carmack. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition FEBRUARY 2014 ISBN: 9780062299291
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062299307
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