I shook my head slightly.

“Liar,” he whispered.

“Arrogant ass,” I whispered back.

“Ahhh, there she is.” He chuckled slightly, his eyes never leaving my mouth. Then one hand left my waist and trailed down my hip and thigh just as warm fingers from his other hand drifted to my belly and trailed up between my breasts to splay on my chest.

My breathing hitched as it got shallower and more rapid. I was sure he could probably feel my heart about to pound out of my chest.

His hand continued its journey up to my throat and around to cup the back of my neck at the same time as he pulled my thigh up against his body and pressed against me.

I let out a whimper as sensation jolted through me, leaving a hot, molten and needy ache at my center. Holy shit, I thought. And then any coherent follow up was lost as his lips crashed into mine.

If I had thought the fire he had ignited in me during our first kiss had been intense, it was nothing compared to the inferno now billowing through me.

It was like all of me, all of my childish yearning and wanting, all the emotional trauma and denying myself feelings like this, every single moment of every single book and movie that had made me quietly wish for more, while studiously avoiding anything that would bring it to me, was swept up and out of me in a tidal wave of longing. And yes, I thought, yes to it all.

Jack’s hands roamed along my skin leaving a scorching trail before his fingers worked the knot at my nape. His hot mouth left mine and trailed kisses down under my ear. A really sensitive spot, I’d discovered.

I moaned and rocked against him without thinking and heard his sharp intake of breath as his fingers fumbled and he cursed. I wanted to do it again, to relieve some of what I was feeling. But I wasn’t so innocent I didn’t know what that might entail.

“God, Keri Ann,” he rasped, and his mouth claimed mine again, his tongue sliding against my own. I kissed him back with everything I was feeling, wrapping myself around him.

He pulled his mouth from mine a few moments later as my bikini straps came loose in his hand and slid down my chest. We were both breathing hard. His eyes looked glazed, I’m sure mine must have too.

I was solely and completely aware of him and of every single part of my body that was in contact with his.

“We have to slow down,” he whispered roughly, as his gaze involuntarily dropped to where the small white triangles covering my breasts were a second away from revealing me to him.

“I have to slow down,” he said again but instead kissed my lips slowly, his tongue sliding along my lower lip in a way that did nothing to make me want to stop. In fact, I swear I thought I felt it in other parts of my body. I wanted his hands on me. But he took my bikini straps and pulled them back behind my neck fastening them as he pressed small chaste kisses along my face and cheeks.

Oh no. Don’t stop.

He was right, of course. Twice in the same day and the first time I had ever kissed anyone like this, and I was ready to throw caution to the wind. Strangely enough, I wasn’t as horrified with myself as I had been this morning, but I also knew I wasn’t ready. I already knew, despite my inexperience, that anything more happening with Jack would push my precarious heart over the edge. And he still had unfinished business with his ex. That should be a deal breaker—but at that moment, with every part of my body throbbing, I had trouble remembering why it should be so important.

The distant chime of the doorbell broke through our haze.

Jack tensed, and pulling away from me, turned to the edge of the pool. After several moments of mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like “dead puppies, dead puppies, dead puppies”, he lifted himself out.

I raised my eyebrows, and he winked at me with a grin before reaching for his shirt.

S E V E N T E E N

Jack pulled his shirt on and went to check if it was his anticipated delivery from his assistant in California.

I offered to sign for it, but he said he’d arranged for deliveries to be dropped at his door.

After he left, I toweled off and lay back on the lounger to catch my breath. Checking my phone, I found a text from Jazz.

Jazz: Leaving campus now, back in 30. Headed to you. So excited ... SQUEEE!

I checked the time and quickly tapped a text back to her before she got to my place.

Me: not home, at his, come here ...

I wondered if I should ask Jack first, then I decided if Jazz knew about Jack, she may as well know where I was, too. I sent her the address just as another phone beeped from the other chair. Jack’s phone.

Instinctively, I reached for it, then froze. I wanted to look at it so badly. At the very least I thought I should probably take it to him ... and if I happened to see his text on the way? What if it was from Audrey? It was none of my business, except that the Audrey angle really affected me ... I struggled with the temptation to grab his phone and realized I was staring at it like it was a coiled up Copperhead snake.

I needed to talk to Jack about what his plans were with Audrey. I knew he had contractual appearances with her and stuff, but surely the rest of their relationship was over. Jack had intimated as much, and surely now ... I banged my head back on my lounger as I realized how naïve that last thought was. A few kisses and handholding did not a boyfriend make.

I wondered if Jack had even spoken to Audrey since he’d gotten here. Probably. And here I was acting like we were ‘going steady’ just because we’d both acknowledged our mutual attraction and shared a couple of kisses. God, I really was acting young.

I needed to remind myself that whatever this was with Jack, it was temporary, it had to be. Firstly, he would be leaving, and secondly, I had no business opening my heart up to any more agony. It was going to be hard enough to say goodbye when the time came. Throw in a few more kisses and feelings, or worse ... ending up in his bed, and I may never get out of my bed again.

Just then I heard voices. The sound of Jack’s deep and amused voice as well as the lilt of my best friend’s laugh.

Damn, but I really should have been there to witness Jazz meeting Jack Eversea for the first time.

I couldn’t help grinning as I stood and threw on my cover-up. Grabbing our towels and seeing Jack’s phone again, I finally gave in and picked it up, careful not to look at the screen. My eyes caught Audrey’s name though, and I glanced down again despite myself. I literally couldn’t help it; it was like a magnet. Words like “fix this,” and ... “thank you,” and ... “I love you too,” swam in front of me not making sense. Too?

Either I was having a head rush from standing too quickly, or it was the words I was reading, but suddenly my vision blurred around the edges and I felt sharply nauseous.

The issue wasn’t helped by the fact that Jack chose that exact moment to come out of the patio door above me. He was in mid-sentence when he saw me with his phone.

I quickly held it out, swallowing the bile that threatened to come up.

His face, that had initially flashed with concern, probably due to the fact I looked like I’d seen a ghost, went carefully and swiftly blank. He came down the stairs and slowly took the phone from my hand.

I needed to leave and think about what I’d just read. Glancing at Jazz, I saw her smile fade, her eyes snapping back and forth between Jack and me in confusion.

“Uh, Jazz. I was just getting ready to go.” I looked at her pointedly, hoping she would go along with this and not point out I had literally just told her to come over. “And ... uh ... ” I searched blindly for something that was important enough, when Jack stepped in.