She had to be imagining that last bit. She had to be.
“You can’t blame yourself for Roman’s mistakes,” he said.
“I’m not,” she said honestly. “I’m blaming me for mine. I never should have come out here.”
“None of this is your fault, Verity.”
Dear God. Was she ever going to get used to the sound of her name on his lips? Soft and slow, she felt his voice like a gentle caress that did more to calm the roiling anguish inside her than any drink.
“No, you were right, Jake.” She spun the glass between her fingers and watched the amber liquid swirl along the sides. “I should have tucked tail and run at the first sign of trouble. If I had taken your advice, none of this would be happening. I would still have a job. I wouldn’t be hiding out from cops and heroin dealers.”
“And you’d hate yourself for not even trying,” Jake said. He crooked a finger under her chin and forced her to look up. “You’re a fighter, Verity.”
She shook her head. “I’m not.”
“You don’t want to be,” he said, not backing down. “But you are. You decided to come out here because you believed in your heart that the things you love are worth fighting for. You believed it so much that you even convinced me.”
“Yeah, well, I was wrong.”
“No, what you are is upset and scared,” he said plainly. “I know everything seems like it’s going to hell, but Silas and Roman haven’t won yet. This isn’t over. We’re not done fighting. And you can’t give up.”
Verity swallowed hard.
“I get it,” she said. “You need me to be brave.”
“No.” Jake shook his head. “You are brave, Verity. One of the bravest people I’ve ever known. All you need to do is believe in yourself the way you believe in everyone else.”
Verity tried to discount his words, but she couldn’t, not completely. There was something so brutally honest in his deep voice. Did he really think of her like that?
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not as strong as you.”
“You’re right.” He traced his fingers down her arm until his hand covered the tumbler. “You’re stronger.”
Verity didn’t fight him as he slowly led her hand back down to the bar. She kept her fingers intertwined with his as he pulled them away from the glass.
Her heart began to pound. There was hardly any space between them now. Heat that had nothing to do with the fiery bourbon started to push its way up to the surface of her skin.
“So, what can I do to stop this ache in my heart?” she asked, trying to distract herself from the pull she felt toward him.
He leaned in even closer. “What do you want to do?”
Now, there was a loaded question if she’d ever heard one. And if she wanted him holding on to his good opinion of her, there was no way she was answering it…not honestly anyway.
But that still left the question—what could she do? She couldn’t drink. She couldn’t call Cheryl and vent. And it didn’t seem like a good idea to spend too much more time mooning over Jake’s warm brown gaze and even warmer caresses.
That didn’t leave a whole lot of other options.
She looked around the bar, her gaze stopping on the small dance floor. There were a few people out there, enough that she wouldn’t make a spectacle of herself if she joined them.
Why not? What did she have to lose besides a little pride?
“Do you dance, Jake?” she asked, swiveling around on her bar stool and slowly sliding down to the floor.
His brows pulled together at the question. “Haven’t in a long time.”
“Yeah, me neither,” she admitted as she slipped her hand from his. “But you’re welcome to join me if you want.”
She didn’t look back to see if he was following her as she walked the few steps across the bar. Instead, she squeezed her way in between the handful of couples and found a small space for herself.
Classic rock poured out of the speakers, not exactly Verity’s favorite, but it didn’t matter. Right now, all she cared about was the beat. She closed her eyes, fighting off the wave of self-consciousness as she began to sway her hips.
Maybe it was the bourbon in her blood, but it didn’t take long for the sense of embarrassment to fade. Her body, it seemed, wanted to move. She fell into the rhythm of the music easily. With every rise and fall her tension eased. She shook her head and her curls brushed against her cheeks.
It felt good. Hell, she felt good. For the first time since she could remember, she felt free.
Verity dared to open her eyes. Suddenly, she didn’t care so much if anyone was watching her, or what they thought. She wasn’t dancing for anyone but herself.
The music went on, wrapping around her, allowing Verity to lose herself inside it. So much so, that she started a minute later when a hand fell over her shoulder.
She spun around and found Jake standing behind her. She didn’t try to stop the smile that lifted her lips.
“So, you do dance,” she said.
“I don’t know about that,” he said. It must have been a trick of the light, but his eyes seemed to have darkened. “But with the way all the guys at the bar were staring at you, I figured I’d better get out here quick if I wanted the chance.”
“You don’t have to flatter me.” Her cheeks started to burn. She turned around to hide the sight. “I know nobody’s staring at me that way.”
A moment later, his arm wrapped around the curve of her waist. He pulled her back flush against his hard chest as the song ended. Another one started up a few seconds later. A ballad this time.
Great.
That was just what she needed—a slow dance with Jake.
But apparently the mix of bourbon and music made her bold. She swayed her hips to the downtempo melody, well aware that her ass brushed against him with every beat, and waited for him to ease his hold.
Instead, a bolt of electric fire raced through her as he pulled her even tighter against him and began to move with her. He dipped his head down, and Verity felt Jake’s warm breath wash over the top of her earlobe.
“Why do you always do that?” he asked, his tone hushed.
“Do what?”
“Dismiss yourself as undesirable. You’ve been doing it since the moment we met.”
Verity pressed her lips together. “I know what I am.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re a smart woman, Verity,” he said. “But it’s pretty obvious that you don’t know a damned thing about yourself.”
“Really?” Skepticism dripped from her voice.
Of course she knew herself. Who else could?
He lowered his head another notch, enough for the edge of his lips to graze against her ear as he spoke.
“You don’t think that you’re strong. You don’t believe that you’re brave. Now, I’m pretty sure I can guess who planted those lies in your head from a young age,” he whispered. “But what I can’t imagine is who told you that you weren’t beautiful.”
Beautiful?
“Don’t tease me,” she warned. Flattery was one thing, but she was in no condition to be mocked.
“Never,” he said.
He lifted his free hand to the top of her shoulder and caressed his fingertips down the length of her arm, his knuckles brushing against the side of her breast. Verity’s breath hitched in her throat. It was all she could do to keep her hips moving.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He laughed softly. “A piss poor job, if you have to ask.”
Verity let her head fall back against his shoulder as she looked up at his face. Their eyes locked. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m coming on to you, Verity.”
“Why?” The question tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop it.
“Why do you think?” he asked. “Because I want you.”
Her blood began to heat in earnest. Her breathing deepened. Every primal part of her wanted to believe his word
s, but her head still refused.
“But I’m not your type,” she said.
The corners of his lips lifted in a slight smile, but none of the fire left his eyes.
“And you would know that how?” he asked.
She pulled her gaze away from his and looked back down at the dance floor. Was he really going to make her spell it out for him?
“I just assumed,” she said, trying to think of the least embarrassing way of explaining herself. “It’s just that we’re so…different.”
“So, let me get this straight,” he said, spreading his hand out over her lower belly. “You thought because you’re shaped like a woman, because your body is soft and curvy and yielding, that I wouldn’t be attracted to you?”
Verity swallowed down hard. “S-something like that.”
“And what do you think now?”
He pressed her ass back even deeper against his groin, letting her feel just how much he wanted her.
Verity’s eyes went wide.
Apparently, it was a lot.
“I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you,” he whispered against her ear.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because we had business.”
Verity’s heart pounded harder with every word Jake spoke. She couldn’t keep up the pretense of dancing any longer. She spun around in his arms.
“And now?” she asked.
“Now things have changed.” His gaze grew more intense the longer he looked down into her eyes. “You’re hurting and I know a way I can ease that ache inside you, even if it’s only for a little while.”
Somehow, she knew he wasn’t lying. He could drive all this pain away. Even being pressed up against him had thawed some of the bitter ice from her veins.
And that was just from a few minutes of dancing…fully clothed dancing.
Verity remembered the feel of her hands on his bare skin. She imagined the feel of his on hers. His hands…and so much more. Her whole body caught fire at the thought.
Her lips parted but nothing came out. Even though she was practically burning with desire, she couldn’t seem to get her mouth to say yes.
Sure, she’d had her share of lovers, but not one of them had ever come close to making her feel the way Jake did. They’d always been men she’d met through one art event or another, and their courtship dance had always followed the same civilized pattern—scintillating conversation which led to kissing, which in turn led to an awkward walk to the bedroom. From there it was a short trip to either moderate satisfaction or polite frustration.
Not a one of them had set Verity ablaze with passion the way Jake did. It just wasn’t like her to give in to her primal urges.
Then again, it also wasn’t like her to be a wanted fugitive.
She barely recognized her life the way it was now. Hell, she barely recognized herself.
And maybe that was why she was having such a hard time coming up with an answer.
“And if I say no?” she asked.
His gaze didn’t waver. “Then I’ll quietly go back to the bar and keep an eye on you while you dance.”
Verity closed her eyes and dipped down deep into her well of courage.
“And if I say yes?”
Jake didn’t say a word. Instead, his open palm travelled up from the small of her back to the nape of her neck. He pulled her close as his head descended.
Her heart hammered as his lips met hers. His mouth began to move and Verity could feel his passion, taste his hunger.
Dear God, it was overwhelming.
Her knees started to tremble, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders just to keep her balance as she started to kiss him back.
At least, she tried to, but it was as if he was stealing her breath with every swipe of his tongue, every caress of his lips. It was all she could do just to hold on to him.
No one had ever kissed her this way. No one. Ever.
When he pulled back a moment later, Verity was truly dumbstruck.
Her mouth hung open. “Y-yes.”
Jake didn’t waste any time. He laced his fingers around hers the second the word had passed her lips and spun her around. He headed straight for the door. He didn’t seem to care that the whole bar was staring at them.
And truth be told, neither did she.
***
Jake was glad that the motel was right across the street.
Damned glad.
Truth be told, it was taking every ounce of his restraint just to make the thirty-second walk to their door. He kept a tight grip on her hand as he strode across the parking lot, but he didn’t dare look back at her. He had a feeling that the second he stared down into that dark gaze of hers again he would lose all control.
And he wasn’t wrong.
He turned to her the moment he threw open the door to their room and his blood started to pound. Her eyes were wide. Her teeth sunk into the full curve of her lower lip. Her chest rose and fell with every breath.
God damn, she was beautiful.
And her kisses drove him to the breaking point.
He kicked the door closed the moment she stepped over the threshold and threw the bolt. He didn’t bother switching on the light. There would be time to explore her body in all its magnificent detail later.
Right now, all he wanted was to taste her again. To breathe in the sweet scent that clung to her curls. To feel the hammer of her heart next to his.
Of course, for that to happen some things were going to have to go.
Jake undid the buttons on his shirt as he closed the gap between them, and sloughed the thin material off his shoulders and onto the floor.
Then it was her turn. He slid his hands around her waist, balling the bottom of her shirt in his fists and wrenched it up over her head. She hissed in a sharp breath between her teeth at the sudden move. Even in the low light of the room, he could see her cheeks begin to light up.
He had no idea why. She was as close to perfection as he’d ever seen. Her skin was smooth and flawless, practically begging to be touched. Her full breasts swelled over the top of her bra.
Jake didn’t think it was possible, but somehow his cock grew even harder at the sight.
He clasped one hand around the nape of her neck and the other around the curve of her hip as he started moving forwards, not stopping until Verity’s back was flush against the wall on the opposite side of the room.
Only then did he kiss her.
Hard this time.
A little moan escaped her lips as he stroked his hand over the dip in her waist. He drank in the sound, light and breathy and filled with passion.
Damn, he wanted more.
Jake broke contact with her mouth and moved the kiss lower, down to the long column of her neck.
He wasn’t disappointed.
Verity’s fingers dug into his shoulders as his tongue swiped over her sensitive flesh. Her breathing became harder. Her moans more urgent, spurring him on.
But apparently, she wasn’t satisfied with taking a passive role in the kiss.
She uncurled her fingertips and dragged them down his chest, coming to a stop at the fly of his pants. With trembling hands, she fumbled with the button and zipper until he was undone.
Jake went completely still as Verity dipped her fingers down past his waistband. His pulse began to pound in his ears as velvet-soft fingers wrapped around the length of his cock.
He ground his back teeth together and tried to grip the reins of control even tighter. It wasn’t easy. Not with fire roaring through every vein.
Verity looked up at him, her deep brown eyes swimming with a mixture of awe and desire.
“Oh my God, Jake,” she said in a whisper.
“Careful, Verity,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Why?” she said, a devilish twinkle shining in her eyes. “What happens if I’m not?”
That was the exact moment that he felt the reins snap.
***
Verity
wasn’t entirely sure how she lost her pants. One moment, they were snug around her waist. The next, they were pooled around her ankles on the floor. At least somewhere in between she’d managed to kick off her shoes.
Jake didn’t give her much time to think about it. A heartbeat after he pulled a condom from his back pocket and kicked off his own pants, he wrapped his hands around her thighs.
Verity gasped as he lifted her off the ground and propped her up against the wall. She instinctually wrapped her legs and arms around him, trying to steady herself.
A second later, she realized that she didn’t need to.
He was holding her tight and steady on his own, as though her weight was inconsequential. There was no way Jake was going to let her fall.
She still clung to him, relishing the feel of his hard body against hers. It wasn’t just his strength that was driving her wild, it was all his passion.
She felt it roiling just below the surface since the moment that they’d stepped into the room. A part of her wasn’t sure she could handle the full force of his desire. Hell, she could barely stand up straight when he kissed her. What the hell was she going to do when he—
The thought fled Verity’s head the moment the crown of his cock pressed against her. But he didn’t push inside. Instead, he rubbed his thick length up against her clit, driving up the tension inside her until she cried out.
“Please, Jake. Please.”
He didn’t make her wait long.
All the air left her lungs in a rush as he slowly pushed inside.
Dear God, she was right. She wasn’t going to be able to take it. She’d never felt so full in her whole life. She’d never felt so good.
Her lips trembled as she tried to suck in another breath, but it got caught in her throat the moment he slid back out. Her legs tightened around his middle, clutching him with all her strength as his hips began to pivot faster and faster.
Verity’s fingers dug into his shoulders, urging him on even when she wasn’t certain how much more she could take.
Sensation took over every inch of her body. It pushed out all other thoughts, good, bad or otherwise. There was only the sweet friction of Jake deep inside of her and the red-hot fire that was stoked with every stroke.
Jake: The Sinner Saints #3 Page 10