“Can’t help it.” He stepped closer and rested his big, calloused hands on her hips. “You and me, sweetheart, it’s always been like this with us. Our chemistry is off the fucking charts.”
She immediately responded to his touch, the familiar surge of heat moving through her like an electric current. He was right. It was chemistry. Science. She was scientifically designed to spread her legs in this man’s proximity.
Not again, though. This was a one-time deal. A momentary lapse of judgment.
“Maybe,” she agreed, “but just so you know, this won’t happen again, Jake.”
He arched one dark brow, the rugged planes of his face creasing with amusement. “How long you in town for?”
“A week,” she said, then reprimanded herself for giving the information so freely. “But I’m here to spend time with my parents. I won’t have time to…to see you.”
“You expect me to believe that Barbara and Tanner will occupy your time twenty-four hours a day?”
He said her parents’ names with derision, which sparked her anger. Jake had never liked her family—another reason why their involvement wouldn’t have lasted. As much as her parents annoyed her, they were still a part of her life, and the man she shared that life with would have to understand and accept that.
Ignoring his last remark, Bree walked over to the table and grabbed the purse she’d draped over the back of her chair. “I should get going,” she said, hoping he didn’t notice the wobble in her voice. “Can you drop me off at home? If not, I can call my father to get me.”
“I’ll take you,” Jake said gruffly.
As they headed for the door, Bree couldn’t help throwing a glance over her shoulder, fixing her gaze on the floor Jake had just fucked her on.
A fresh wave of hot humiliation scorched her cheeks. God, what was wrong with her?
She’d thought she was thirty.
But apparently she was still a seventeen-year-old hormone case who thought getting naked with Jake Bishop could actually be a good idea.
Lexie found Cooper Grady waiting on her porch when she got home from the charity benefit. Despite herself, a grin stretched across her face, and she promptly forgot about her sore feet and the strain in her facial muscles from all the fake smiles she’d pasted on tonight. She hated social gatherings, but as the daughter of the mayor, she had no choice but to make an appearance at every party or event that happened in Paradise. At least seeing Cooper here made up for her aggravating night. He’d told her that he had to work early and wouldn’t be coming over, so his presence was a pleasant surprise.
“Thought you were going to bed early,” she said, crouching down to brush a kiss over the razor-sharp stubble on his cheek. Cooper seemed to have an aversion to razors, but she didn’t mind his scruff. If anything, she loved the way his stubble scratched her skin as his mouth traveled over every inch of her body.
“Changed my mind,” he drawled. “How was the benefit?”
She immediately picked up on the sour note in his raspy voice, and a pang of guilt tugged at her belly. She hadn’t invited Cooper to accompany her to the benefit tonight, and though she knew it bugged him, their relationship was still so new. Up until a few months ago, it had been strictly sex between them. Only recently had that changed into something more, thanks to some serious persistence on Cooper’s part. But Lexie still wasn’t ready to announce to the entire town that she was involved with Cooper Grady.
The town, or just a few key residents?
Fine, so maybe she wasn’t ready to announce it to her family. But who could blame her? Her parents were so uptight it was a miracle they could walk around with those sticks up their asses, and her younger sisters were just as snobby, spending their time looking for wealthy husbands who would take care of them. None of them would understand Lexie’s relationship with Cooper, who happened to be Paradise’s rough talking, chip-on-his-shoulder bad boy. He also happened to be five years younger than her, worked as a construction worker, and lived in a crappy cabin on the outskirts of town. Not the kind of man her parents would approve of, and okay, maybe it made her a total coward, but she wasn’t ready to face their wrath yet. Not when she didn’t even know if this relationship would actually last.
“It was boring,” she replied lightly. “Consider yourself lucky that you didn’t come.”
He stood up as she moved to unlock the front door. “I wasn’t invited, remember?”
“Coop…” She sighed. “I told you, I’m not ready to tell anyone about us yet.”
“Too ashamed?” he taunted.