Up Close--Three Book Selection by Nicole Murphy

Author:Nicole Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Escape Publishing
Published: 2017-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

34. Zen and Hunger

Rielle had on a skin-tight pair of jeans, a fitted shirt, a lightweight jacket and boots. Jake approved. Clothing appropriate for riding pillion. Clothing that showed off her athletic curves and highlighted her obvious attractions. She walked across the car park and straight into his arms. Close up he could see she wore more natural tone makeup. She’d dressed down, taken the green pieces out of her hair for their date, if that’s what this was. He shook his head to clear it; he wasn’t going to analyse this. If there was any time to be Zen and live in the moment this was it.

She said, “Hi,” standing on tiptoe to bring her face closer to his.

“Hi.” He dived straight into her violet eyes and swam in their velvet.

“You smell nice, like fresh cut wood, cinnamon—hmm,” she purred, “shame to waste it on the night air.”

“There’s more in the bottle.”

“And the bottle would be in your room?”

He laughed at the way her lifted brow punctuated the innuendo. “Yeah, that’s where it would be.”

“Maybe we can visit it later?”

“Maybe we can.” If she made one more mention of his room, later would functionally happen in the five minutes it would take to recross the car park, commandeer a lift and crash through his door. But he wasn’t ready for later; later was still a problem. There might never be a later, only a now. She was a rock star. He was a roadie. This was never going to go anywhere real.

Rielle saw the hesitation in Jake’s eyes and knew it was entirely her fault. She’d started this game, made it a challenge and the harder she played, the more Jake distrusted the outcome. That was the irony, the deeper she was falling, the more he walled up his emotions to keep his distance.

Why couldn’t this be simpler? Why couldn’t this be like Rand and Harry? Watching them together made her heart flap little wings. The way they looked at each other—like they could see past skin, the subtle touches and gestures designed only for each other. The back of Rand’s hand against Harry’s cheek when they didn’t think anyone was looking; the slide of Harry’s knee against Rand’s thigh when they sat together; and more critically, the way they left themselves wide open to each other. They weren’t playing a game. They were building their own world. Karma. Rand deserves his happiness. He’d long ago earned it. She was still behind on points in life. Always would be.

“You ready to ride, Jake?”

He curled his hand around hers. “You hungry?”

“It’s almost the same question.” She bent her knee and traced it up the side of his leg.

He caught it, wrapped his hand underneath her thigh and dragged her closer to him. “What’s the answer?”

“You first.”

“I’m ready to take you anywhere you want to go.” He hesitated; a more confident man would’ve said, “so long as it includes you naked in my bed”. He finished with, “on my bike.”

She laughed. He must’ve have known she was looking for another answer.

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