Be with Me

Twelve

Standing before Jase was the kind of girl that could make me feel like last week’s dried vomit on a good day. She was beautiful. Long, thick black hair shone like glass and a tan, tight body hinted at being soft in all the right places.

Her shirt was off.

She wore only a denim skirt and a lacy red bra that proved some breasts could defy gravity.

And I had a feeling those babies were natural.

I’d seen her a few times around campus, always with equally beautiful girls. I didn’t know her name, but in that minute, I hated her like we were vying for the same spot during a performance. And I was staring. Maybe it was the beer. Maybe it was the boobs. I needed to stop staring.

Seconds had passed from the moment I opened the door until Jase and this girl looked over. Something flickered in his deep gunmetal gray eyes, and his mouth opened. I flashed hot and then cold as our gazes locked.

So this is where Jase had been.

I guess he didn’t have a problem with getting laid with other girls.

A giggle bubbled up, escaping before I could stop it. I clamped my mouth shut. The laugh sounded near hysterical. I shouldn’t have drunk so much.

The girl’s perfectly groomed eyebrows rose as she stared at me. Annoyance tightened the line of her pouty mouth. “Excuse me?”

My stomach flipped over and over. For a moment, I couldn’t move at all. A crushing feeling pressed down on me. Was he giving this girl cupcakes too? Oh God . . . I couldn’t even bear the thought of that.

Then I started talking and walking. “I’m sorry. I was looking for the bathroom.”

“This is obviously not the bathroom,” she replied tartly.

Heat swamped my cheeks as a knot moved into my throat. He’d kissed me. Less than forty-eight hours ago. Touched me. Told me the truth about Jack. Obviously, I’d taken those very small moments and made them into a very big deal.

“I’m sorry,” I said again, my gaze darting to Jase as he stood. “I . . .” I stopped talking as the ball of emotion settled in the back of my throat. In such a haste to get away, I turned too quickly, knocking my left knee into the door. The hiss of sudden pain escaped my lips.

“Oh dear,” the girl murmured.

Face flaming like a red pepper, I spun around. I needed to get out of here.

“Tess,” Jase called. “Hold on a sec—Tess!”

I didn’t stop. Not when he called my name and then when the girl called out his. Forgetting why I even came upstairs, I hurried down the steps. My heart was pounding in a way that made me sick to my stomach. Torn between embarrassment and shock, I avoided the living room and went straight for the side door in the kitchen.

Common sense went right out the window, disappearing like that chick’s shirt. I stepped out into the night air and I . . . I kept walking. I followed the cracked pavement overgrown with weeds and then slipped between two cars parked along the curb. I took a right and I kept walking.

There was a small voice in the back of my head telling me that I was being stupid and overreacting, but I was flying headfirst into drama llama land. All I knew was staying at that party was not in my stars. There was no way I could face Jase after what I so obviously interrupted, or face anyone, really.

My cell went off, the ring muffled, and I let it ring.

I wanted to go home.

Like my real home—not my dorm. I wanted to press rewind back to May and not take that stupid jump that destroyed everything. If I could, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be around Jase.

By the time I reached the last block before hitting the set of dark roads before the main one, I knew I should’ve asked Avery to take me home, but I didn’t want to ruin their night. I could’ve asked Debbie, but Erik would’ve flipped out. I—

My cell phone vibrated once more in my back pocket and I ignored it again.

The beer dulled the ache in my knee. Or maybe it was the pressure in my chest that made everything else seem so freaking insignificant. And maybe it was the beer’s fault for why I was seriously attempting to the walk the mile plus back to campus in the middle of the night.

The last house in the subdivision was dark and silent, and a truck flew down the road so fast that it caused my pulse to spike. I stopped at the end of the road, lifting my hands and pulling the hair that had slipped free of my bun back from my face.

He’d kissed me. He’d touched me. He’d held me. He’d tried to make me find something other than dancing so I could fly again.

Stupid tears burned the back of my eyes, partly due to frustration and the other part—well, it was more stupid than me walking back home. I let go of my hair and the wind caught some of the strands, tossing them around.

What was I doing? Cam would freak when I didn’t come back. He’d probably call search and rescue. And Jase? He probably thought I was completely psycho, but he said . . . and I thought . . . I had thought wrong.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the tears. Seeing Jase with another girl hurt like a kick to the face. It made me doubt what I harbored for him was just a stupid crush, because this—this was not how you reacted when you saw your crush with someone else.

I opened my eyes, hating the fact that my lashes felt damp. This was not me. I was not this kind of girl. I was not—

Two headlights lit up the road, quickly bearing down on me. I twisted halfway, and my heart plummeted. It was a Jeep, but it couldn’t be.

No way.

Brakes squealed as the car screeched to a halt beside me, and I was suddenly staring at Jase’s face through the open passenger window. His eyes were shadowed, but his lips were pressed into a tight, furious thin line. “I’ve been calling you.”

I didn’t have a response to that which didn’t include fuck off.

Jase leaned half of his long body into the passenger seat, and now that I could see his eyes, they were a deep, stormy gray. “Get in the car.”

“No.” The word came out, and fuck, if it didn’t feel good saying it.

He glared at me. “Get in the car, Tess.”

“I don’t think so.”

He looked away, taking a deep breath before returning his attention to me. “What are you doing all the way out here? It better not be what I think you’re doing, because you cannot possibly be that stupid.”

And just like that, an emotional switch was thrown. Anger flooded my system. I skipped right out of drama llama land and straight into crazy bitch land. “I’m not that stupid? The fact that you have to ask me what I’m doing is pretty stupid when it’s damn obvious. I’m walking home.”

He stared at me like I’d just admitted to having a penis. “You’re walking home?”

“Did I stutter?” I snapped. Not my most clever of all comebacks, but I was rewarded when his expression clouded over.

“Are you fucking insane?” When I didn’t respond, he cursed and then jerked the wheel to the curb. Leaving the engine running, he hopped out of the Jeep and was in front of me in an instant. With his height, he towered over me, but all I saw was that his shirt was still unbuttoned. “First off, you are walking on a major highway. A car could come flying down too close to the shoulder and hit you! Kill you, Tess.”

As if to prove his point, a car flew down the road, music thumping from its speakers. Perfect timing. I folded my arms. “I—”

“Or someone could stop.” He caught the edge of my chin, forcing me to hold his gaze when I started to look away. “And not someone who’s interested in just giving you a ride home. Do you understand me?”

I blanched. “I do, but—”

“And then there’s your knee. Did you even think about that?” Man, he was on a roll. He still had my chin, daring me to even blink. “You think it’s good for your injury to walk that far? And because of what?”

I opened my mouth to say something that was probably not going to make this situation any better, but that’s not what came out of my mouth. “Was the cupcake for her?”

Damn me straight to hell and back. I was never drinking again. Fuck beer and the keg it rode in on.

Jase’s eyes held mine, and what felt like an eternity stretched out before he dropped his hand and cursed. “Get in the car, Tess. And do not argue with me.” He started to turn, but then whipped back toward me. “Fuck it.”

He didn’t even give me a chance to follow him. Like the first day he joined music class, one second I was standing and the next second I was over his shoulder. The world tilted and my hair fell forward in a tangled mess.

“What the hell?” I shrieked, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. “Put me down!”

“Hell no. I’m not standing out here arguing with you.” He stalked over to the Jeep and yanked open the door. “You and I are going to talk—”

“I don’t want to talk to you!” I slammed my palm into his back. He didn’t make a sound as he turned around, dropping me onto the front seat. “You—”

“You move out of that seat, I swear to God, I will sit on you,” he warned.

“I don’t—what? Sit on me? What are you? Two?”

Jase gripped the door. “Stay there.”

“I’m not a dog.”

He leaned in, putting his face right in mine. Up close, his eyes were a stunning shade of silver. “Stay here. If you get out, I will chase after you. Like a dog.”

I scrunched up my nose. “That’s an attractive mental image.”

“Focus on that image for a few seconds.” Backing up, he slammed the door shut.

There wasn’t enough time to truly debate the whole running and him chasing me option. He was in the car and it was moving before my brain caught up with what was happening.

“That cupcake wasn’t for her.”

I didn’t believe him.

“It was for you. Shit, I can’t believe you were going to walk home, ” he said, shaking his head as he thrust his fingers through his hair. “Why? Because of me?”

“No. Absolutely not. I just wanted to go home.”

“Yeah. You’re a terrible liar.”

“You have terrible perception,” I snapped, folding my arms. The beer sloshed in my stomach. “And why are you even here? Don’t you have a half-naked chick waiting for you in your bedroom?”

“And that didn’t have anything to do with why you left?”

I opened my mouth, but closed it. Crap. I stared out the window, pressing my lips together. “I was obviously interrupting.”

“Actually, I was glad you interrupted.”

I barked out a laugh. “Sure you were.”

There was a beat of silence as he hooked a right. “That wasn’t what you thought. What was going on in there? Nothing was going to happen.”

“I’m not stupid, Jase. And, honestly, do you even owe me an explanation? No. We’re friends, remember? You can talk to or screw whoever. And I can talk to and screw whoever. After all, I just want to get—”

“I do owe you an explanation, damnit.” He gripped the steering wheel. “And wait—screwing whoever? Who the fuck do you—”

My breath caught in a god-awful way, burning my eyes. “I don’t want to talk.”

“We need to talk,” he interrupted, voice hard. “We needed to talk since yesterday.”

“And I have a phone.” I whipped toward him in the seat, planting my hand on the dashboard. “You haven’t called or anything.”

He sent me a side look. “I figured I’d let you calm down. I would’ve talked to you tonight if Cam wasn’t around.”

“Oh, but I guess you were too busy, huh?” God, I knew I sounded snide and snotty. I needed to shut up.

Jase took a deep breath. “I didn’t invite her up there, Tess. She came up on her own.”

“And I guess she just took her shirt off? Does that happen to you a lot without any warning?” I laughed harshly. “What an interesting life you must lead. Falling on girls’ mouths and having them whipping their shirts off.”

That half grin appeared. “Well, I do live a charmed life . . .”

“Shut up.”

He sighed. “Tess, I’m not lying to you. Okay? Her name is Steph. We’ve messed around a few times, but not recently. I didn’t even know she was going to be here tonight. She came up and she took her shirt off.”

I snorted.

A muscle throbbed along his jaw. “She wanted to do more. I’m not going to lie, I briefly considered it because I’m a guy, but I didn’t, because she’s not who I want. And nothing happened. Her shirt came off a minute before you walked in.”

I stared at him for a moment and then looked away. Believing him was equivalent to walking in front of a car. And damn, I wanted to believe him. The thumping in my chest was begging me to believe him.

“Shit, Tess, I even picked up that cupcake for you.” There was a pause. “Do you really think I would’ve been screwing a girl knowing you were at the party?”

“You didn’t know I was there.”

“I did,” he shot back.

Okay. Whatever. I shrugged.

“Damnit, Tess, you really think that?” He swore again. “You think that?”

“You’ve kissed me and regretted it. You’ve said things you didn’t remember when you were drunk, so—”

Jase hit the brakes and we stopped in the middle of the dark street. My eyes widened as I twisted toward him. “What are you—”

“Nothing has happened between Steph and me for months, Tess. Nothing. And you know what? I’ve never kissed her.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Never. And it’s been years since I’ve actually kissed a girl, so don’t sit there and think you know what happened. You don’t.”

There was a good chance someone was going to come speeding down this road and plow into us. “But you’ve kissed me.”

“I did. Shit, I did kiss you and . . .”

“How can I believe that?” Better yet, why should I believe that? Didn’t matter. Not really.

Jase cursed again, and then his hand was wrapping around the back of my head. When he tugged me forward, my heart jumped. He kissed me. There was nothing slow about it. The kiss was fierce and hard. He kissed me like he was staking a claim or like he hadn’t done so in a very long time. Blood turned to lava in my veins. He broke the kiss, and all I could do was stare at him, my heart pounding crazy fast.

I believed him.

I don’t know why or how a kiss could prove what he said, but it did. To the day I died, I would believe what he said.

He returned to his seat, breathing heavy, and hit the gas. The car started to moved again. “That—that is what didn’t happen between her and me. Not ever, Tess.”

Maybe it was the beer. The need to prove that I could be as sexy, daring, and alluring as the girl in his room without taking my shirt off or having her breasts. Or maybe it was the kiss. It could’ve been all the emotion rising in my chest and the lust that caused heat to pool between my thighs. Maybe it was all these things. It didn’t matter. My brain had clicked off, and I was already moving before any rational thought could form or I could think about the consequences. Or about the fact that Jase had a lot going on. Or about hurt feelings.

I leaned over the center console, pressing my lips to the corner of his mouth. He didn’t jerk away as I slipped my hand between his legs, cupping him. Then he jerked, but against my hand. He was hard, straining against the zipper.

“Jesus,” he groaned, and as I pulled my head back, I saw his hand farthest from me white knuckle the steering wheel. He cast me a quick sidelong glance with heavy hooded eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Looks obvious, doesn’t it?” I moved my hand up, following the rather impressive length.

He took a deep breath, shifting his gaze to the road. “Nothing is obvious when it comes to you.” He could’ve removed my hand or told me stop. “Nothing you do in this fucking world is obvious.”

The words mingled with the strange, warm haze invading my thoughts. My hands knew what to do. I’d done it before. Only a few times, but I imagined it was like riding a bicycle. You really couldn’t forget or do it wrong.

Well, that was really an unsexy way to look at it.

I flicked open the button on his jeans, carefully tugging the zipper down. The tinny sound seemed louder than the air coming in from the partially rolled down windows.

Jase was breathing heavily as I reached in and wrapped my fingers around the warm, hard skin and eased him out. “Tess,” he ground out. A shudder worked its way through him, and he jumped against my hand as I palmed him. The Jeep slowed.

His skin was red-hot, smooth as silk, and I was incredibly awed. There were a few seconds when I was mystified by the feel of him. I felt him from his base to the tip, and my stomach hollowed.

“Aw, God, this is going to drive me crazy.” His voice was thick. “You really—”

I stretched as far as I could go and lowered my head. The salty taste of his skin danced over my tongue. I moved my hand down slowly as I kept exploring, bringing him deeper into my mouth.

“Tess,” he growled, his body flexing as I tasted him for the first time. As I moved up, I swirled my tongue along the head. “Holy shit, where did you learn that? Fuck. Don’t answer. I don’t want to know. I prefer to think you were born with that talent.”

A laugh bubbled up and vibrated over him. He swore and his body tightened in response. Hmm. I had no idea a laugh in this position would do that to him. He was throbbing in my hand and in my mouth. Instinct seemed to take over as I matched my hand to my mouth.

“You’re going to kill me—kill us.” His hips jerked, and I heard the engine roar. “Fuck,” he growled as I picked up the pace. “You’re killing me.”

I smiled around him as I flicked my tongue along his head. Heat swamped me, moving down my body. I ached between my thighs. The few times I’d done this before I’d never been aroused. Not like this. It was like this was the first time I really wanted to do this, and that made me hot.

A murmur of triumph was muffled as his free hand dropped to the back of my head. He threaded his fingers through my hair, loosening the bun as he placed the slightest weight on my head. He guided me for a few moments and then his hand slipped down, wrapping around my neck. His thumb found my pulse, gently massaging the skin until I was squeezing my thighs together.

“I’m not going to last. Ah fuck, I’m . . .” His hips powered up and he shook. He gripped the nape of my neck. “Tess, you have to stop or I’m going to—”

I wasn’t going anywhere. I don’t know why. I never swallowed before. The idea of it wigged me out, but not with him. Apparently, it was my inner porn star. It took one more twist of my tongue, slide of my hand, and he shouted my name as he pulsed and spasmed.

When it was over, I pressed a kiss to him before I lifted my head, tucked him away, and zipped up his jeans. His hand trembled against the back of my neck as I returned to my seat, the pressure of his fingers carving a brand into my skin.

Jase stared straight ahead, lips parted and his chest rising and falling swiftly. Nothing was to be gained from his expression. I glanced out the window. The road was long and dark. I recognized nothing, so I knew it wasn’t Route 45. I was surprised he hadn’t wrecked.

My gaze swung back to him when he lowered his hand. His jaw was tight, and he was still breathing heavily. My heart skipped and then took a magnificent tumble. Oh my God. I shouldn’t have done it. There was a thousand—no, a million—reasons as to why I shouldn’t have done that. So many I could write an epic guide on how to do the wrong thing. Maybe you shouldn’t give guys who had kids road head? How was I to know?

I immediately started working up excuses. I’d been drinking. And I was buzzing. I hadn’t eaten much today. Maybe I had diabetes and was prone to random acts of head. Oh yeah, that sounded believable. Must write that one down for later.

Without saying a word, Jase glanced over to me—no, to the side of the road. He cut over, slamming to a stop on the shoulder. I threw my arm out, catching myself before I face-planted on the dashboard.

Car idling, he was eerily silent as he opened the driver’s door and got out. He got out of the car! The overhead light came on.

“Holy shit,” I murmured as I watched him step in front of the headlights, his striking profile cast in harsh, yellow lights.

Was he going to remove me from the car? Make me walk back from the middle of nowhere? That seemed like an excessive response. Right? After all, I think I gave him a pretty damn good orgasm. He should be thanking me—

Jase wretched open my door, and my gaze immediately dropped. The top of his jeans were still unbuttoned and clutch my pearls, that was hot.

I took a deep breath. “Jase—”

He clasped the sides of my cheeks and his mouth was on mine. The kiss was like the one before I came up with the brilliant idea of a blow job. Demanding. Hungry. The kiss brokered no room for anything but tasting and sensation. His tongue parted my lips, capturing the gasp. His head slanted, deepening the kiss as his hands slid under my skirt, wrapping around my hips. Lifting his mouth, he kept his eyes riveted on mine as he turned me in the seat toward where he stood.

I squeaked as he tugged me forward to the edge of the seat. Reaching back, I slammed my hands down on the driver’s seat, elbows bent. A fierce, raw tautness etched into his face as he lifted my butt off the seat and hooked his fingers into the band of my leggings.

There was a flash of understanding, and then he tugged them down, all the way to my ankles. Stunned, I flushed hot as my chest rose. Okay. He wasn’t mad. He was most definitely not—

Jase lifted the edges of my shirt, and then kicked his head back. His throat worked. “Holy fuck, no panties?”

No panties? What? Holy shit. I’d forgotten. My body burned twice as hot. “I . . . I don’t like to wear them with tights.”

He snapped forward, curving one hand around my neck. “Perfect.” He kissed me again, thrusting his tongue in my mouth. “That is fucking perfect.”

And then his mouth was off mine and he was staring at me, his large hands dark against the skin of my thighs. Out of habit, I kept myself practically bare down there from years of dancing in tights, leotards, and skimpy dresses. There was no way to hide. Absolutely no way as he parted my legs.

A deep, sexy sound rumbled up from him. “You’re beautiful, Tess. More beautiful than I could even imagine.”

My mouth dried as my body sizzled from the inside.

“Open up for me,” he murmured.

I fought the urge to close my legs. Anyone could drive by. I had no idea where we were, how close to the frat house or any house. Hell, the police could drive by, but I opened for him.

“More.”

Heart pounding, I spread my legs, stretching my leggings around my ankles. His hands drifted over my skin, resting against my hips. All of this was insanely surreal. It was like a dream with tingling skin and heightened senses. My heart was beating so fast I thought I’d surely have a heart attack.

Jase’s quicksilver gaze held mine as he lowered his head. He went right for it, as bold and determined as I had been with him, but this . . . this was different. Intimate in an entirely unique way. I jerked when his warm breath neared and cried out when he kissed me between my legs—a sweet, heart-stopping kiss.

And then he devoured me.

His mouth was on me—hot, wet, and shattering. The strokes of his tongue were determined, teasing and shallow, and then relentless and deep. My head fell back as my thoughts spun. Panting heavily, my hips moved as raw sensations pounded me into the seat. My body was a tempest. I was out of control. My hands slipped over the vinyl and my head hit the driver’s seat. I arched my back as he delved deep.

“Jase,” I moaned, my body coiling tight. Every part of me tensed. From the muscles in my fingers, all the way down to my toes. It was like being onstage, when the music started, and I glided into my first move—that moment when my body was locked up tight, ready to bloom and follow the call of the music.

“Keep saying my name.” His fingers bit into my skin, eliciting a hiss of pleasure from me. “And I’ll never stop. I swear to you.”

I’d die if he kept up. I was dying now. I cried out, completely lost as my body spiraled and liquefied. I couldn’t breathe as release whipped through me, throbbing and pulsing. My legs trembled, my hands opened and closed, grasping air. There were these strange soft sounds echoing in the Jeep, and it took me a few seconds to realize they were coming from me.

Vaguely aware of him moving over me, I felt his lips on mine, tasting myself on his lips. I was in a daze as his hand smoothed over the skin of my thighs, and he whispered my name. Those calloused fingers drifted down my legs. He pulled my tights up, fixed my shirt, and helped me sit up, putting my feet back in the Jeep. I’d lost a shoe in the process. He found it, slipping it on my foot.

I leaned my head back against the seat, dragging in breaths as he buckled me in. A shiver danced over me as he ran a hand up my arm, to my cheek. He turned my chin toward him. I blinked my eyes open.

“If you say we shouldn’t have done that or if you apologize . . .” I yawned. Sexy. “I will punch you in the balls.”

One side of Jase’s glistening lips hitched up. “I wasn’t going to say either of those things.”

“Oh?”

“No.” His thumb smoothed over my lower lip. “I was just going to tell you that was the best . . . the best goddamn drive down these roads I’ve ever had.”