Page 66 of Washed Up

Jake shifted closer, his eyes studying her face, her mouth. His presence was strong, comforting.

‘Want me to show you how?’ he said, and something in the way he said it set her belly aflame.

‘Hell yes,’ she said, the words not even hers, not something she’d ever said in her life before. And then she did something else she’d never done before. She leaned forward and kissed him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Jake let out a little moan as her lips touched his, and she pulled back a little, uncertain, not sure if this was the worst idea she’d ever had, and then she forgot to have scruples as he wrapped those strong arms around her and kissed her right back, gently at first, then more insistent. Her lips parted and his tongue just touched hers, lightly, softly, but it made her groan, made something light up inside her that had never even sparked before.

Jake’s hand moved to her face, stroked her jaw, then cupped her chin to pull her closer, and as his kisses grew more passionate, she surprised herself again by slipping a hand up his jumper onto his bare back, his skin like silk under her fingers. She ran her hand over him, the muscles of his back shifting under her touch. His hands were calloused from the fishing, but she liked the feel of them on her skin, and she wriggled as his fingers lightly moved across her cheek, her neck, down to her collarbone, making her shiver. With his other hand he pulled her closer to him along the bench and held her against him, and somehow her body now had a mind of its own, soft and yielding in his arms.

They kissed deeply for a few moments more. Jake was the first to pull away, his strong hands on her shoulders as he looked deep into her eyes.

‘Think you’re getting the hang of it?’ he said with a grin. He was trying to look nonchalant, she knew, but he was breathing hard, his pupils huge in the moonlight.

‘Hmmm, you know? I’m not sure,’ she said, sneaking one hand back behind his neck and pulling him back towards her. ‘Let’s try that one more time.’ She smiled onto his mouth.

He moaned and kissed her again, pulling him against her, his hard body pressing against hers.

‘Frankie Jacks, I swear you’ll be the death of me,’ he whispered into her ear as his kisses moved to her neck, making her gasp with pleasure.

‘Not if you kill me first,’ she breathed in response. ‘What a way to go.’

He laughed, low and soft, his chest rumbling against hers in a way that sent sparks flying.

‘We should probably stop before someone catches us,’ he said, pulling back again.

‘Spoilsport.’

‘Look, Frankie, I…’ Jake’s eyes sparkled as they explored her face. Her mouth. He was still breathing hard. Her hand was on his thigh, the muscle hard and smooth through his jeans. She wondered what would happen if he wanted to sleep with her. What she might say.

Instead, he said, ‘We should get some rest.’

‘What were you going to say before?’ she said, trying to keep her voice light.

‘Nothing. I… Damn that was… so good.’ He smiled and something loosened in her chest.

‘Oh. Phew. I thought you were going to say I was a terrible kisser.’

‘What? Never. You are… that was…’

‘So good?’ she teased, pressing her lips to his cheek.

He closed his eyes in response. He smelled of the sea. Of fresh air and brine all at once. ‘Mmmm. Yes. So good. But I think… well, we should probably call it a night.’

Frankie studied his face, her heart still racing. ‘Really?’

He pulled further away from her and she shivered in the night air. ‘I don’t think I can take much more of… this. I might combust.’

‘Oh. Oh, I see. Sorry.’

‘Don’t you dare be sorry,’ he said with a quick shake of his head, as if trying to clear it.

‘We could go back to mine?’ Frankie did her best come-to-bed eyes, not that she had a clue what they were meant to look like.

He glanced across at her, those pupils still enormous. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, do you?’

‘Yours, then? We could go to your cottage?’