stop doing stuff for us. They’re very gentlemanly. There are definitely worse problems to have. Anyway, I want to show you around and hear how things are going, so we can let them win this one.”
If Texas is a state where “letting the guys win” means sitting back while they unload a full truck, maybe it isn’t such a bad place after all.
She had without doubt warmed up to Texas over the past ten minutes. And if she kept thinking about Jeremiah’s lips against hers, it would soon become one of her favorite places.
Before Jessica could pull her around the corner, Renee took one look at Jeremiah. He stood in the back of his truck, his body all muscle and hard lines, which made the perpetual smile crinkling his lips and eyes that much more breathtaking.
* * *
JEREMIAH WATCHED RENEE disappear around the corner of the house. Just before she was out of sight, she turned and gave him a smile. Not the sweet smile he’d seen her use on her sister, or the tentative one he’d seen when he first picked her up from the airport. This smile held a promise that made his pulse pound in his ears. It was only for a moment, but it was enough.
He had to figure out how to get her alone as soon as possible, or he might internally combust from all the heat flowing through his veins.
He would have kept staring at the place where he’d last seen her, picturing all the things that smile hinted at, but Aaron interrupted his train of thought.
“You’re staying for dinner, right?”
You couldn’t drag me away. Aloud, though, all he said was, “Yeah, if that’s okay.”
Aaron nodded distractedly as he started pulling at the assorted bars and wires which would eventually become a wedding arch. Jeremiah moved to help him. As they pulled out each wedding-related item, Jeremiah said, “It looks like there’s still quite a bit to do before the ceremony next weekend. Will everything be done in time?”
He really wanted to ask if Renee would have any free time at all or if Jessica would keep her so busy that he would almost never see her, but he couldn’t think of a way to say it that didn’t sound too much like he was asking when he’d be able to bang Aaron’s sister-in-law.
“It should be pretty simple, actually, but Jessica wants to double-check everything, so that’ll take some time.”
“She’s really putting in the effort to make sure nothing unexpected happens, huh?”
Jeremiah didn’t know why he would ask that. Maybe he was trying to remind himself exactly why he had to keep his hands off Renee. In public, at least.
Aaron smiled what Jeremiah called his “Jessica smile.” It was full of love, pure and simple. “Jessica wants everything to be as planned as possible, and she’s willing to do everything she can to make that happen.”
Jeremiah had no idea why that made Aaron smile, but he was glad his friend was so happy. Ever since Aaron had met Jessica in Las Vegas two years ago, he’d been happier than Jeremiah had ever seen him.
Being in love definitely didn’t seem that bad.
* * *
RENEE SAT AT the small circular kitchen table, trying not to fidget with her cup of tea. What was taking Jeremiah and Aaron so long?
After Jessica had taken Renee on a quick tour of the large, beautiful home she shared with Aaron, complete with white lace curtains like something out of a movie, they had settled into the kitchen so Jessica could keep an eye on dinner while they went over her notebook of wedding details to complete that week.
If Renee hadn’t been so focused on finding some time to get Jeremiah to herself, she would’ve probably had trouble not rolling her eyes at her sister’s binder full of lists, receipts and diagrams. It was detailed to the point of seeming neurotic.
Finally, after Jessica was nearly through all the pages regarding flowers, the back door opened and Aaron walked in, followed by Jeremiah. Aaron went over to the stove to check on something bubbling in a pot, while Jeremiah leaned against the counter near the back door they had just entered.
Jessica stopped her monologue and joined Aaron in the inspection of the meal, and Renee took advantage of the moment free from her sister’s view to take in all the glory of the man from her fantasies as he moved toward her. She stared at his jean-clad legs and slowly moved her eyes up his body, lingering on a few choice places. God, he was gorgeous. It made her breath catch in her throat.
When she finally reached his face, he was looking right at her, a sexy smile on his lips, as if he knew exactly what she’d been doing. His eyebrows were raised in question, and she gave him her final assessment with a smile of her own and the tiniest of nods. She very much approved of what she saw.
At the end of their silent conversation, Jeremiah turned to the two talking at the stove. He said, “I’ll take Renee’s suitcase upstairs and get her set up in a guest room.”
Renee jumped up from the table, nearly knocking over her tea, in her eagerness to follow him out of the room. After he’d gotten the nod from the couple and started to make his way toward the stairs with her suitcase, though, she hesitated for a moment. Was this really such a good idea? Flirting and some quick kisses in his truck were one thing, but was she really going to go through with this idea? The whole clandestine affair thing was so not like her.
But then Jeremiah turned and crooked a half smile and her insides melted, and she knew she wouldn’t give up this opportunity for anything. She scurried after him up the stairs, nearly bowling into him on the landing, where he’d stopped to wait for her.
As soon as she was near enough, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close, pressing her body against his. She gasped at the heat and strength she could feel where her breasts and stomach touched him. Her nipples budded at the contact.
The force of her reaction to him made her nervous for a moment, but then he was kissing her and her ability to think evaporated.
As soon as his mouth was against hers, every notion of stopping fell away at once, and she leaned even closer into his heat. In the truck, the first kiss had been quick and impulsive; the second short, slow and full of promise. This one, however, could only be described as passionate. Very very passionate.
So passionate she was vaguely surprised her clothes didn’t disintegrate on contact.
Jeremiah’s tongue plunged into her mouth, taking everything he could, but giving so much in the process. Time slowed as every ounce of her focused on the physical sensations: the feel of his mouth against hers, the tingling of her fingers, the warm heat that had pooled low in her belly, making her push against his body even harder.
And what she felt there, hot and hard against her, only turned her on more.
* * *
JEREMIAH HATED TO pull away from Renee’s kiss yet again, but he managed to force himself to break away, though he kept his arm around her waist. When she tried to lean back in, he chuckled. She was deliciously disheveled, and he wanted both to tuck her hair behind her ear and to mess it up even more. He was able to keep himself in check, though. “We should probably move to someplace a little more...private...than here.”
Renee looked down the stairs, as if she expected to see Jessica looking up and glaring at them. “Right,” she said once she seemed sure that they were still alone. Her voice was low and she sounded out of breath, which sent even more blood pumping straight to his already-painful erection. “Which room is mine?” she asked, looking at the doors on both sides of the hallway.
Jeremiah gestured with his chin to the door on the left, keeping his eyes on her lips, only just able to keep himself from kissing her again. She broke away and turned to open the door. He reluctantly let her withdraw from his embrace. It surprised him how much he hated to have her leave his side, even if it was only for the moment it took to get inside the room.
He lifted her suitcase and followed her into the room, hoping he hadn’t ruined the moment enough