by Lena Hart
She stifled a smile. “I won’t.”
Jake nodded and without warning planted a quick kiss full on her lips. She stared at him, astonished. For a minute, she wondered if he was drunk, but there was a sharp intensity in his direct gaze that indicated he was fully aware of what he’d just done.
“For luck,” he murmured then fell back into his seat.
Still stunned, Sabrina made her way to the bathroom. She stared back at her dazed expression, running her fingers over her lower lip. She could still feel the firm, warm imprint of his lips against hers, could still taste the cool crispness of the beer he’d had earlier. A slow smile stretched across her face. Sabrina knew she was treading on dangerous ground, but for tonight, she didn’t care. It had been a harmless peck. One she was grateful Dee hadn’t witnessed or she would never hear the end of it.
At the thought of her best friend, Sabrina realized that she hadn’t seen Dee in a while. She left the bathroom and went to find her, but a quick search of the apartment yielded nothing. Sabrina frowned. Dee wouldn’t leave the apartment without telling her, but not seeing her friend was starting to make her worry.
Sabrina started toward a group that lingered near the kitchen, hoping they would remember the pretty black girl she’d come in with. But before Sabrina could reach them, the bedroom door swung open with a crash and everyone turned toward the noise. Sabrina released a sigh of relief when she saw Dee come out, but it quickly melted away when she saw the fierce frown on her best friend’s face.
Sabrina went up to her. “Dee, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m ready to go now.”
Before Sabrina could press her for answers, Adam appeared at the doorway of the dimly lit bedroom, a ferocious scowl on his dark face.
Sabrina looked from him to Dee and began in a low voice, “Dee, what the—?”
“I said nothing,” she interrupted. “Let’s just go, okay?”
Sabrina studied her friend, worried by her sudden agitation then she swung her glare at Adam. He leaned against the doorjamb, a dark brow raised.
“What did you do to her?” she snapped.
“Sabrina—”
“Why don’t you ask her,” Adam interjected coolly.
Dee threw him a dirty look before she grabbed Sabrina’s arm. Sabrina winced as Dee’s fingers dug into her. “He didn’t do anything,” Dee said, tugging her away. “Definitely nothing worth remembering.”
Sabrina glanced back at Adam and the cold look on his face could have frozen water. What the hell had happened in there?
“You’re going to tell me what’s going on.”
Dee released a heavy sigh. “Fine. Later. Let’s just get the hell out of here.”
Sabrina gave her friend a long look then nodded. “Okay. But let me say goodbye to Jake first.” She made her way back to where he still played his game and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, but the sudden grin died on his lips.
“What’s wrong?”
“I promised I wouldn’t leave without saying ’bye, remember?” Sabrina tried to add lightness to her tone, but Dee’s misery zapped any fun she’d been having earlier.
“You’re leaving now?” Jake glanced down at the cards in his hands. “I’m almost done here. I can bring you home.”
Sabrina shook her head. “That’s okay. It’s getting late and we’re just going to call a cab.”
“Sorry, babe, I can’t let you do that.” He threw his cards down and got up from the table. “Out,” he called over his shoulder then took her hand and they made their way to the front of the apartment where Dee stood close to the door.
Sabrina caught a glimpse of Adam across the room and his glare toward her best friend was unmistakable. With a heavy sigh, Sabrina followed Dee out of the apartment.
So much for a fun night out.
****
“Thanks for bringing us home,” Sabrina said to Jake as they stood outside her small, one-bedroom apartment. With Dee—her temporary roommate—inside getting ready for bed, it was the only way they would get some privacy.
“No problem. I hope you and Dee had fun tonight.”
“Yeah, I just need to talk to her.” It had been obvious during the silent drive to her apartment that things had changed, and Jake had obviously picked up on it.
“So…” she murmured, “I’ll see you on Tuesday?”
“Yes, you will.” His gaze bore into hers, and there was a fire in them that held her feet planted on the ground.
But only for a moment.
Moving as if she were being pulled by a magnetic force, Sabrina leaned up and lightly brushed her lips across his. “Good night.”
Jake stared down at her with such a stunned expression on his face that her face burned with embarrassment. He continued staring at her, unblinking.
“What was that?”
Sabrina glanced down at his chest, beyond humiliated. “Sorry. I-I don’t know why I did that. I—”
Without warning, Jake cupped her face and fitted his lips over hers. The kiss he gave her was like nothing she’d ever experienced. It was all consuming and intoxicating, taking her to a place where she felt weightless and on fire. She leaned into him for more of his taste, his heat. There was something carnal and possessive in the way he moved his lips over hers, as if he was imprinting himself on her so she would never forget him or his touch. With just a kiss, he claimed her as his and she gave in to his silent declaration.
Jake eventually pulled away, nipping lightly at her lips and Sabrina sighed breathlessly. She slowly opened her eyes to find his flushed face hovering over hers. The desire in his eyes said he had been just as affected by their kiss as she.
Their first real kiss.
“No cheap kisses, baby.” He traced the pad of his thumb along the edge of her lips. “Next time you want to kiss me, make it count. Okay?”
She stared at him, still trying to collect her thoughts. “B-but at the party, you…you didn’t kiss me like that.”
He grinned. “That was different. That was for luck. This is for me.” He leaned into her again and kissed her just as thoroughly, devouring her every sigh of pleasure.
She placed her hand over his firm jaw, and he brought his arms around her, which kept her from melting into the ground. In a nanosecond, the energy between them shifted. It moved from erotic exploration to a sense of urgency that left lust pulsing heavily between them. Their desire was tangible and very present, and she pressed against him strongly, not wanting the incredible sensations to go away.
When he slid his hand up her waist to cup her breast, she couldn’t help the throaty moan that escaped her. She wasn’t just playing with fire. She was taunting it. And if she didn’t stop now, it would engulf them both in a blaze of passion and take them to a place of no return.
Lightheaded and breathless, Sabrina tore her lips from his, inhaling long and deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. The hard bulge pressing solidly against her was distinct, and she fought with herself to keep from pressing further into him.
He ran his lips down along her jaw and down the base of her neck. “Let me in,” he murmured thickly.
Sabrina shivered from the heat of his husky words. Instead of giving in to her needs, she stepped out of his arms. His eyes were the deepest blue she’d ever seen them, and the tension radiating from him was palpable. His blatant desire did more to turn her on than anything else. In that moment, she knew if she’d been just a little drunk, and without a roommate, she would have given into him. She wanted to take him into her apartment, into her bedroom, and lose herself in his arms. Her remaining sanity, however, forced her out of her lustful daze.
She wanted him, but it was too soon. What would he say when he found out she’d never been with a man before?
“I want to,” she whispered. Oh, God. What am I doing? She hadn’t meant to say those exact words, but his penetrating gaze flustered her. “But…but I can’t.”
“Why not? You want me and I want y
ou, so let’s do something about it. I won’t judge you after, if that’s what you think.”
“It’s not that. It’s just that…Dee is inside.”
His lips curved devilishly and his gaze lingered on her lips. “I’ll be quiet. I promise.”
She shook her head, torn between laughing and groaning. “I also haven’t…I mean…I’ve never been with anyone before.”
His eyes widened, then immediately narrowed as he looked at her intently. “You’re a virgin?” His shocked incredulity grated on her nerves and her face warmed with embarrassment. She couldn’t look at him, but he cupped her chin when she remained silent. “Answer me.”
She was beyond mortified now, the heat from her face making its way down her neck. She tried to pull out of his firm grasp but he held her fast.
“Not that it’s really any of your business, but yes, I am.” Did he think she was weird because she’d held on to that little part of her that she refused to give away to just anyone? “Now are you done embarrassing me?” she snapped, pulling away from him again.
He released her and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Or overreact. I’m just…surprised. I never thought I’d meet a twenty-something-year-old virgin.”
His attempt at teasing her failed miserably.
“Yeah, well, we exist,” she muttered.
Jake ran his hand through his hair again. “Look, Sabrina, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come off strong. We can take this slow.” He smiled slightly. “No rush. No pressure. I can wait.”
“Jake, we’re just—”
“I know,” he interrupted with a heavy sigh. “Friends.”
She studied him, wanting to say more, wanting to remind him that a relationship between them wasn’t possible right now. Not when it violated her promise to herself. And if he decided to move to New York or Los Angeles, it wouldn’t even be a possibility for the future. But she said nothing. She just watched quietly as he opened the door to her apartment and ushered her in.
“Good night, Sabrina.” He pulled the door closed behind him and after she locked it, she stood staring at it for a long moment.
“That was a long goodbye.”
Sabrina was startled out of her trance and turned to find Dee in her robe, heading toward the bathroom.
“Was it,” Sabrina murmured, going to the long sofa that had been Dee’s bed for the past four months and falling into it. She kicked off her heels and tucked her legs beneath her.
Dee collapsed into the seat beside her, tightening the sash of her robe. “What’s up? He wasn’t a good kisser?”
Sabrina cut her eyes at her friend. “How do you know we kissed?”
Dee laughed. “Because…the way he kept looking at you tonight, I would have been surprised if he hadn’t tried anything.” Her friend looked at her expectantly. “So?”
“He’s a great kisser.” Sabrina pulled her lower lip into her mouth, savoring the memory of their kiss. She wanted to remember every lingering taste of him.
“That’s it?”
Sabrina suddenly lost her whimsical smile. Actually, he was amazing, and that was a problem. How was she to resist him now when he had the power to reduce her legs to noodles with just his lips?
“What else do you want me to say? I can’t date him, and he knows that. So yes, that’s it.”
Dee pursed her lips then shrugged. “Well, it’s probably for the best. He seemed like a cool guy, but if he’s friends with that assclown Adam it’s probably best you keep him at a distance.”
Her best friend—and common sense—were right, but the problem was Sabrina didn’t want to listen to reason.
She wanted Jake.
“Well, speaking of assclowns, what happened with you and Adam tonight? You didn’t…did you?”
Dee rolled her eyes. “No, I didn’t have sex with him. We were just…hanging out.” Sabrina shot her friend a look. “Okay, we were making out.”
“And then?”
For a moment, Dee’s eyes softened and took on a faraway look. “And everything was going great. And feeling good.” She giggled. “He and Jake must have taken a class, because he’s a great kisser, too.”
Sabrina frowned at her friend. “So he’s a nice, good looking lawyer who can kiss. So why do we hate him?”
Dee scoffed. “Because the bastard left out the part where he has a girlfriend. Her name’s Michelle,” she all but spat.
“What? How do you know?”
“Because she called him right in the middle of us…never mind. I just can’t believe I fell for another assclown. And he had the audacity to say it was his sister who had called.” Dee stared down at her hands. “What an asshole.”
Sabrina reached out and rubbed her friend’s arm. “We should have punched his lights out.”
It was apparent that in that short time, Adam had won Dee over, and now she was right back to where she’d started. Angry and hurt. And Sabrina couldn’t fault her friend for her bitterness. It wasn’t that long ago that she’d found herself in a similar situation with an assclown of her own.
For a moment, Sabrina’s mind drifted to the bitter memory six months ago during her internship, and the dinner dates she had stupidly agreed to go on. She’d been nervous, but excited about the budding romance between her and Scott Murphy, the young Marketing Director on her team at the time. Any woman would have been. Not because he was the nephew of one of the company’s co-founders, though that hadn’t been easy to ignore, but because Scott was handsome, smart, and charismatic—everything Sabrina thought she’d wanted in a man.
Luckily, it had only taken a few dates for the truth to finally come out. But, in the end, the whispers, rumors, and sly remarks had been about her “attempts” to destroy a happy engagement. Angry and humiliated, it had taken everything in Sabrina to ignore it all and not quit, hoping it would all eventually come to an end. And it had—along with her fledgling career.
Sabrina had learned the hard way how risky it was to mix her personal and professional lives, and that was an experience she never wanted to go through again. She could very well be making something out of nothing, but then again, she couldn’t be sure that a romance with Jake wouldn’t turn out to be a big mistake. In the end, it was easier to just keep her distance and kill whatever this was budding between them.
Chapter Six
“Jake, we’re going to need you and a few of the other guys to stay late tonight. Is that cool?”
Jake gave Mack a quick nod and continued to carry more computer equipment into the storage closet. Whatever big meeting the company had coming up had forced almost everyone at the office to stay late. It explained why he hadn’t seen or heard from Sabrina since the night at her apartment, but his patience was starting to run its course.
No one was that busy they could return a call or text message.
Despite all of his calls and messages this week, she hadn’t returned any of them. Now it was Friday, and things around the company were now a bit calmer. He’d hoped Sabrina would find the time to answer one of his calls, but still nothing.
Jake was slowly starting to realize her avoidance could have little to do with work and a lot to do with what happened outside her apartment the other night. He knew he may have come on a bit too strong, but he meant what he’d said about not wanting to rush her. She was obviously wary about starting anything with him, but her response that night confirmed for him that his attraction to her wasn’t one-sided. That kiss had been more than he’d expected and had only fueled his salacious thoughts of taking her to bed and losing himself inside her.
It had only been a week since Jake had seen her and yet he missed her the hell out of her. And after such a shitty week, he had been looking forward to seeing and talking with her again.
Jake completed his task and made the short trip down to marketing. He’d be damned if he’d just let her ignore what was clearly something special between them.
It was a little after two when Jake arrived
at her cubicle only to find it empty. Suppressing his disappointment, he picked up a notepad and left her a quick note before he made his way back to the elevators. When one finally arrived, Jake stepped aside to let the two riders out and instantly recognized the woman’s laugh. Sabrina.
And she was with Dale.
Jealousy like Jake had never experienced pierced through him at seeing the two of them together, but he fought to contain it. She had obviously been laughing at something the other guy had said, but the minute she made eye contact with him, her smile slipped.
Jake waited for any sort of acknowledgment from her, but instead of the small smile he’d grown accustomed to or a flash of recognition in her dark brown eyes, she quickly looked away from him and continued down the hall with Dale.
Jake stared after them, an overwhelming sense of possessiveness coming over him. Of course, she would be with Dale. They worked on the same team together. That thought did little to lessen Jake’s irritation. It took everything he had not to drag her into the nearest conference room and demand to know why the hell she was ignoring him. His hands fisted at his side as anger and resentment burned in his gut. He continued to watch the pair, staring after them until they turned the corner and disappeared from his sight.
At least now for certain, he knew.
She was avoiding him.
****
Sabrina forced a smile to her lips when Dale made another off-color joke about working in corporate America. Not that she didn’t find him pleasant enough, especially when it came to working late hours like tonight, but Sabrina was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl into bed.
She hadn’t anticipated another late night at the office, particularly on a Friday, but it was a little after seven and they were still trapped in a conference room, going over their slide presentation one last time.
As Dale flipped through the presentation that she’d already gone over more times than she could remember, Sabrina’s mind wandered to their run-in with Jake earlier that day. She knew part of her exhaustion was from the mental strain she was putting herself through, thinking and rethinking about that brief moment. She would have given anything to know what Jake had been thinking in that moment. She swiftly reminded herself that what he thought wasn’t her concern and she needed to forget him.