Burning Up (Flirting With Fire Book 1) Read online

  She stared down at the hors d’oeuvres on her plate. In fact, she hadn’t really said much the past few minutes since they’d taken their spot at the table. It might have been the weird TV mishap last night, but he wasn’t delusional. He saw the look in her eyes when he’d caught her gaze in the mirror earlier. There was so much want and desire. And every single neuron in his body shouted to give her exactly what she needed.

  She picked up a small tart off her plate and took a tentative bite. And then she moaned, and her eyes fluttered shut.

  Jake’s fingers clutched the fork until the metal dug into his skin. Did she realize what that was doing to him? She had to.

  “Oh my Lord. Have you tried these?” She pointed to the pastry.

  “No.” His mouth was so damn dry. He took a sip of water, but it did nothing to help.

  “You need to. Here.” She brought it up to his lips. He thought about saying no. But what was the harm in taking a bite from her dessert?

  He bit into the flaky crust, a mix of cherries and something he couldn’t place rushing past his lips. “Shit. That’s really good.”

  Her eyes crinkled in the corner as she smiled at him. His jaw tensed as he fought back thoughts of last night. His composure came so close to crumbling. In fact, the more time he was around Erin, he realized this might be a losing battle.

  She fumbled with the pastry, and it dropped in his lap and then made its descent to the floor. Cherry and powdered sugar streaked his dress slacks like a red-and-white starburst, and Erin grabbed for the napkin next to her place setting. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  She rubbed the white napkin vigorously across the top of his thigh, dangerously close to other areas. Back and forth, her fingers continued to work along his leg, her red nails digging into his pants. Shit. He was trying his best, he really was, but it was absolute torture to resist her. His fingers wrapped around her hand and stilled her motions.

  “You need to stop that.”

  “Why?” She looked up at him, confusion crossing her features.

  “Because if you keep that up, I’m going to take you back to the room and finish what you started.”

  Confusion etched across her brows, and Jake knew the second she’d finally processed his statement. She looked from him to his lap, and her eyes widened a fraction. Then that sexy little half smile graced her lips as she realized just what was happening. “Is that so?” Her fingers brushed against the evidence that she was, in fact, affecting him.

  His eyes fluttered shut. When he finally opened them, he turned to find Erin staring at him, heat and wicked desire laced in her gaze.

  “You’re playing with fire, Erin.” The little voice in the back of his head warned him. Wrong. Don’t take this any further.

  “Good thing I have someone professionally trained in my presence.”

  He chuckled. “You know, I’ve heard a lot of firefighter jokes, but that one ranks possibly the worst.” A feather-light touch of his finger traced up the inside of her thigh, and her knees parted infinitesimally as her body begged for more.

  Fuck. What was it about this woman that he couldn’t resist? He couldn’t even keep his damn hands off her.

  Everyone around them made their way to the dance floor at the start of a song that Jake had heard at every wedding. Even most of the men knew the moves to this. He’d memorized Bailey’s dance routines when she was younger, so his fatherly dance duties had been paid in full. No more dancing for him.

  A warm hand slid up his thigh, bringing his attention back to Erin, who was looking at him through hooded eyes.

  “Want to go someplace quieter?” she asked.

  He couldn’t ignore the heat in her gaze any longer.

  “Yes,” he said. No wasn’t an option anymore.

  She pushed back from the table and stretched out her hand. They were going somewhere quieter to talk. Yes . . . just talk. He glanced down at Erin’s dress, the material hugging her ass. There was nothing friendly about the way he was feeling for Erin at the moment. Nor did he feel like talking.

  They managed to make it to the hallway they’d been in last night, before his daughter had interrupted and brought him to his senses. But everyone else was out on the dance floor right now. There was no one coming to interrupt this time.

  The bass of the music pulsed down the hallway. Darkness swelled around them as they entered the little room where Jake had gotten ice the night prior. Erin’s hair fell loose around her shoulders, her blonde waves teasing at the straps of her dress, ones he desperately wanted to rip off.

  “Not in the mood for dancing?”

  “Not in the least bit.” Dancing was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. Especially when Erin moved in that damn dress. It made him want to rip it down the middle until the two pieces of fabric floated to the floor. Then it’d just be Erin in a pair of sky-high heels. The thought of every inch of her skin on display forced him to surge closer, caging Erin in.

  “That’s too bad. It’s a good song.” Her hips swayed to the music. So confident. He liked that about her. He bit back a groan as he watched her, wondering just how good that would feel if he pushed her against the wall and took her right here.

  “What is that look for?” she asked.

  “Nothing.”

  She arched a brow. “And you called me a bad liar.”

  Screw it. She wanted honesty? He’d give it to her.

  “I’m thinking how you in that dress is driving me absolutely insane.” He moved his head down to the shell of her ear. Her hair brushed against his nose, that delicious coconut scent shutting his brain down even more. She reminded him of a goddamn tropical drink. And with the sweltering heat, he could go for a cold one right about now.

  She shivered under his touch, but she continued to dance to the music. Her body arched as she turned around, now giving him a perfect view of the backside of the dress. The fabric dipped to just above her ass, two dimples on full display. Judging by how the fabric stretched across her, there was a matching set of nothing on underneath. Christ. He was in so much trouble.

  She turned to look at him, a sly smile spreading across her lips. “What’s the matter, Jake? Something got you scared?”

  He laughed but was a little unnerved that she could tell what he was feeling without even looking at him.

  Her ass brushed against his pants as she reached her hands up and around the back of his neck, pulling him closer. She moved against him, and there was no hiding his reaction to her as she brushed against it.

  Fuck it. He was already going to hell. His hands slid down the side of her silky dress, his fingers bunching the material until the hem moved up her thighs. Might as well do something worth going to hell for.

  Erin was going to burn alive. Heat traveled from her head to other parts as Jake’s hands coasted over her hips. Her pulse galloped wildly as calloused fingertips dipped under the hem of her dress, tracing circles up her thighs. She continued to move against him, letting the beat of the song guide her movements.

  “You’re making it very hard to be good, Erin.”

  “I’d hate to see what bad behavior looks like.” Ha ha. Just kidding. Load her up with a bunch of Benjamins because she’d make this place rain in order to see what bad looked like on Jake Bennett. She brushed against him again, and there was no ignoring his hard length that bulged against his dress slacks. Heat slicked the spot between her thighs, and she thought she just might break out in a sweat if the temperature ratcheted up any higher between them. Heat poured through his dress shirt, and his scent wrapped around her. A hint of cologne, a bit of body wash. She wanted to turn around, fist his shirt, and press her nose against it, memorizing this scent. Heck, if she could get away with it, she’d rip it right off his body and roll around in it until it was permanently etched into her skin.

  “You’ll find out soon enough if you keep doing that,” he said.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She smiled. Did it make her a bad person that
she was totally turned on by the fact that he was reacting to her like this? It’d been forever since fire hummed in her veins. Need pulsed deep in her belly, and if his hands coasted any higher, he’d find out she was just as affected by him.

  His fingers edged up her dress, high enough that if anyone came into the tiny room, she’d be flashing a good amount of skin to them. “Tell me, did you really think about me in high school?”

  Her eyes fluttered shut. “Yes.”

  “What types of things?”

  “Your hands between my thighs.” She unhooked her laced fingers, and one hand traveled between them, brushing against his hard length. “Other things between my thighs.”

  His breath hissed through clenched teeth. “Christ, Erin. You’re going to kill me.”

  Her fingers wrapped around his hardened length and moved up and down his shaft through the coarse fabric. “I think you said something similar in my daydream. Except there was a little more profanity.”

  “Did I do anything else with my mouth?” he growled in her ear, still pressed up against her. His chest brushed against her back, the lean muscles of his stomach rubbing against her.

  A second wave of heat bloomed between her thighs. Just the sound of his voice short-circuited her brain. Made her desperate with need. Was it possible to orgasm from a sexy voice? She’d bet that Jake reading the phone book could get the job done. “Your mouth was relentless.”

  Too tight. Everything in her was coiled so tight, she felt like she might explode at his next touch. Her dress pressed painfully against her aching breasts.

  Her breath hitched as his fingers brushed against the aching spot between her thighs, slicking against her arousal.

  “Shit.” He groaned. He ground into her harder and flattened her into the wall.

  Her legs parted as Jake’s thigh slipped between, shoving her dress even higher. The song outside in the reception switched to something faster. She ground against him, and pleasure sparked in her core as her center rubbed against his dress slacks.

  “You keep doing this to me and I’m going to take you right here against this wall. I don’t care who sees.”

  A thick finger teased at her entrance. Every muscle in her body tensed as her aching breasts brushed against the wall. Her nipples puckered against the silk as Jake palmed one of them, rubbing his thumb in maddeningly slow circles.

  She chanced a look back at him and was met with intense eyes. Ones that promised he wouldn’t stop until he’d wrung out every possible bit of pleasure Erin was capable of experiencing. Every muscle, every bit of flesh and bone inside her body, turned to smoke, floating, hovering.

  She turned around, the motion doing nothing to stop his two hands from working over her body. “And here I thought you were doing everything in your power to make sure we don’t get together.”

  “We shouldn’t be together,” he said, but even she could tell that his resolve had strained too far, like a rubber band that’d been pulled too far and lost its elasticity.

  “You’re absolutely right.” Bad idea. So bad. But the train had left the station, and it was heading right toward I-don’t-give-a-shit station.

  He leveled her with a look. One that spoke of want. Need. Desperation. “I want to make one thing clear. This is a onetime thing. I can’t give you anything more than tonight.”

  “Who said anything about attachments? I’m not looking for anything either,” she said. This was a chance to be with her high school wet dream in living color, who currently looked like he might devour her. One fantastic night, then she could get on with her life and stop wondering just how good he’d feel between her thighs.

  She pressed the flat of her palm along the tented fabric of Jake’s pants and gave a long stroke. His head knocked back, his brows pinching together. This man’s resolve buckled under her touch, and she couldn’t wait to bring him to his knees.

  The song out in the reception changed again, another fast one with a deep bass beat. And it was just her and Jake, tucked away, out of sight, bodies sliding against each other. She continued rubbing her palm along his erection, her fingers wrapping around his impressive length.

  “Shit, Erin.” Jake’s legs shook and tensed, seeming to fight for control. “You can’t keep doing that.”

  Can’t wasn’t part of Erin’s vocabulary.

  Challenge accepted. Up. Down. Up. Down. She continued her pace as Jake knocked his head back against the wall.

  His hands moved from her hips to cup her ass. He pulled her up, and her legs wrapped around his waist.

  She bucked against him in response, her center riding along the expanse of the bulge. A flicker of ecstasy sparked in her core. His fingers dug into her hips, and she bucked into him again. His hand slipped between them, his thumb finding her clit.

  A cry escaped her lips as he circled the sensitive spot.

  “Is that what you want? You want me to take you right here?”

  She rocked against him, the pressure between her legs building. So close. She was so damn close.

  One finger, then two, dipped into her, and theme-park-worthy pyrotechnics exploded behind her eyes.

  Yes. Please. Take her up against the wall. Make it quick and dirty, with clothes pushed hastily to the side.

  His lips met her neck, teasing, nipping, and she didn’t know how much more of this she could handle. Her nails raked into his back, fighting for control. But she was falling, falling, falling, letting the build between her thighs take over. Every muscle in her body quivered, every synapse hyperfocused on the two fingers, curving to hit the exact spot that sent her spiraling.

  “Oh, Jake,” she cried. Her back arched, and she rode his hand, wringing out every last bit of ecstasy.

  He lowered her until her wobbly legs hit the ground. Her pulse drummed in her ears as Jake looked down at her with wild eyes. She needed more of him.

  “Room. Now,” he growled.

  Those two words promised exactly what she needed, and her stilettos couldn’t move fast enough as they beelined it down the hallway. They brushed past the double doors, back through the main barn area where the reception was still going strong. Erin’s pulse hummed in her ears, and she didn’t dare look anyone in the eye, because if they were stopped for a conversation, she might self-combust.

  Twenty paces from the door.

  Fifteen.

  Ten.

  They both looked at each other and grinned. The chattiest family in the world was none the wiser that they were skipping out on the reception.

  They slipped out of the barn and into the cool night. The music thumped quietly in the background, the only other sound their breaths as they did Olympic-worthy speed-walking to the main lodge.

  Jake fumbled for his key when they rounded the corner to his room. “Shit, I didn’t bring any condoms.”

  “I’m on the pill. I get tested regularly. Yadda, yadda. Now would you please hurry up with the key?”

  He smirked. “Just want you to know, the only crabs I’ve gotten were at Joe’s Crab Shack.”

  She smacked his chest.

  He grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and came up empty in terms of key cards.

  Damn it.

  “I gave my key to Bailey so she could grab something from my room. Do you have yours?” he said.

  Erin nodded and pulled one out of her purse. She had just slipped the card into the mechanism when he heard it. Moans. And not just subdued ones, but loud shrieks that sent the hairs on the back of his neck on edge. And it was coming from his room.

  They looked at each other with wide eyes.

  “Did someone turn on our TV?” he asked.

  They barreled into the room just as someone on the screen was deep-throating an eggplant. What the hell was wrong with this channel?

  “Take that purplelicious D for me, baby,” a guy as short as he was round said, rubbing the woman’s back.

  Jake’s grandma was frantically clicking the remote to no avail, muttering something under her breat
h. “Where’s the damn Wheel of Fortune? I want my Pat Sajak.”

  “Here, Grandma, let me get that for you.” He sprinted for the remote, gave it a hard smack, and then successfully hit the “Power” button. The screen went black, and Jake drew a long breath. Traumatizing his grandmother wasn’t on his to-do list for this weekend.

  “Just wanted to see my Vanna.” His grandma fanned her face with the hotel pamphlet. “Bailey gave me your key. She said it was okay if I took a rest in your room.” His grandma lived a few towns over, only staying for the day. Jake chucked the remote on the couch and rubbed her back.

  “We’ve had issues with our TV. Sorry about that.”

  “I’ve never seen vegetables used that way.”

  What was he supposed to say to that? The woman had a picture of the Pope above her bed. She sent him crosses made out of palm fronds for Ash Wednesday and sent little prayer cards with his birthday presents. Man, was he going to hell for everything tonight.

  “This is no way to court a young lady, Jake.” Her gaze slid from Jake to Erin, and he couldn’t tell if that was a smile or a grimace. With the way his mom and grandma talked on the phone, it was only a matter of hours before he got the third degree from his mother.

  “It’s not like that, Grandma. The TV has been stuck on the same channels, and the front desk was looking into it.”

  She gave him a look that obviously meant Sure, sonny. If that’s the story you’re sticking to, then we’ll just go with that.

  “I’m going to find your grandfather. Already ate cake, so guess it’s time for me to go home.”

  “Would you like me to walk you back to the party?” Anything to try to smooth this over.

  “I’m fine. Maybe you should call the front desk again.”

  He nodded, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught Erin smothering a smile with her hand. “Will do.”

  “Wasn’t even using the right technique, that idiot. I could show her a thing or two,” Grandma muttered under her breath as she grabbed her walker and made her way out of the room. “See you tomorrow.”

  Jake exchanged a glance with Erin, and the horror he felt was written all over her face.