The Love Laws (15 page)

Jamie nearly
giggled. He was paying attention to her now. And judging by the full-blown
erection pressed against her calf Kevin hadn’t been as oblivious to her
presence as he’d been pretending. That look of concentration on his face hadn’t
been about the movie. It had been about her. He was just as aroused as she was
but trying to reign in his reaction to her.

This was such a
huge mistake, but teasing him was so much fun. She knew she was acting like the
queen of mixed signals but she just couldn’t help herself. She hadn’t made out
with a boy at the movies since high school. She’d worry about the ramifications
tomorrow. Right now she wanted more of Kevin’s undivided attention.

She shifted in
her seat until she was able to curl into his side with her head cushioned on
his broad shoulder. “My hands are cold too? Do you mind?” She whispered and
burrowed deeper, pressing one hand against his stomach while the other wrapped
around his bicep. “Hmmm… That’s nice.” She sighed, nearly purring in
contentment. “You’re so toasty.”

“Jamie?” Kevin
whispered, rubbing his hands up and down her calves in a slow, soft caress.

“Hmmm? What?”
She said, shifting in her seat to get more comfy around the arm rest.

“You do realize
that it’s not even cold in here, right?”

Damn it. Why
was he pointing that out? “Shhhh… just enjoy the movie.”

He gave a wry
chuckle. “Angel. I’m pretty sure that’s going to be impossible.”

Jamie lifted
her head and was just able to make out his ragged features in the dim light. He
looked like he was in pain. That wasn’t what she wanted. She’d just wanted to
play with him a bit. A little payback for this afternoon when he’d been so distant.
She’d never meant to hurt him. “I thought you were enjoying the movie. Do you
want to leave?” She asked, attempting to remove her legs from his lap.

Kevin held them
in place with one broad palm. “The last thing I want to do is leave. I couldn’t
walk normal right now anyway. But if I don’t kiss you soon, I’m pretty sure I’m
going to spontaneously combust right here in my seat. So, either remove those
gorgeous legs from my lap and keep to your side or climb on over here and let
me touch you. It’s your choice but please quit pretending it’s just my body
heat you’re after.”

Jamie didn’t
move. She couldn’t. As much as she would love to crawl into his lap and spend
the rest of the movie making out like it was Prom Night, her pride wouldn’t
allow her to make that move. But she couldn’t quite force herself to humbly
retreat to her seat either. She was torn, paralyzed to make any gesture that
might change the nature of their relationship forever.

“Screw this. I
am done playing nice.” Kevin ground out and then one of his hands was under her
chin, lifting her lips to his. His grip was firm but his mouth was soft and
sweet against hers, barely grazing one corner and then the other before
swooping in to capture her lips in a kiss that utterly took her breath away.

His mouth
tasted buttery from the popcorn and she could feel the delicious friction of
his golden stubble against her cheek as he angled his mouth to the side to
deepen their kiss. She didn’t want to respond. She knew she’d regret it when
the lights came up but somehow it just didn’t matter. She wanted him. Just a
taste couldn’t hurt, could it?

Unable to stop
herself from responding to his touch she opened her mouth and flicked her
tongue against his full lower lip. A soft grunt of approval escaped his mouth
and then his soft, seductive kisses were replaced with something more primal
and overpowering. The tightly coiled tension in his body left him and he
relaxed against her, letting go of her chin and sliding his hand through her
hair until he was cupping the back of her neck, holding her close in a gesture
that made her feel both cherished and dominated.

He devoured her
mouth, making her feel almost lightheaded with excitement as his tongue slid
between her lips and thrust deep. God, he was good at this. Not so much tongue
it felt like he was trying to tickle her tonsils but not those irritating
little butterfly licks some guys thought were sexy either. He kissed like all
he wanted in the world was to pleasure her with his mouth.

She was so busy
concentrating on his delicious kisses that she hardly noticed when the hand
he’d kept on her legs began sliding upward, under the hem of her skirt and past
the lace band of her stockings until his fingertips brushed her naked inner
thigh.

She froze. She
had to stop this. Right now.

Instead she
tightened her grip on his T-shirt and pulled him towards her so she could wrap
her other arm around his neck. Then she was the one kissing him with more
passion than she’d thought possible. All thoughts of stopping escaped her as he
hauled her over the arm rest and deposited her in his lap, oblivious to the other
theatre patrons who were mercifully several rows in front of them.

He allowed her
to take the lead momentarily as he smoothed his hand up her thigh until he was
cupping her moist, satin-covered mound.

“Jamie.” He
breathed against her lips. “You’re driving me insane.”

She nipped at
his full bottom lip with her teeth and then soothed it with her tongue. “Sanity
is overrated. Just touch me.” She whispered and shifted in his lap until her soft
hip was pressed tightly against the prominent ridge in his jeans.

He groaned and
she captured the sexy sound with her mouth.

They were so
wrapped up in each other that they didn’t notice when the lights came on. They
remained locked in a tight embrace until the sound of shuffling feet and
muttering voices leaving the theatre penetrated their foreplay cocoon.

Finally, a
cat-call from one of the departing patrons penetrated their consciousness. They
broke their kiss and stared at each other. Both of them were breathing hard with
arousal and Jamie’s skirt was pushed up to reveal most of her thighs, but she
was too shocked to cover herself or move from his lap. 

Then he spoke
and it was like throwing icy water all over her.

“Jamie.” He
said, brushing back her loosened hair with the hand that wasn’t buried between
her legs. “This doesn’t change anything. My room is just a few blocks away.
Let’s just migrate to a more comfortable location, okay?” He leaned forward to
kiss her, but she reared back like he’d tried to bite her.

His room? Then
she remembered. This man didn’t even have a home. He lived in a hotel because
he couldn’t commit to anything. Not even a place to live. His living situation
was symbolic of everything wrong with him and he wanted her to go there? His
lair where he’d bedded countless nameless females?

“Oh my God,” she
whispered as she scrambled off his lap. It was not a graceful dismount because
her legs were weak, but she somehow managed to stand up and grab his coat from
where it was tangled around her feet. She shoved it at him and snatched her
purse from the next seat over as she navigated her way to the end of the row. Pulling
her skirt down, she began speed-walking down the aisle without even a backward
glance in Kevin’s direction.

Jamie covered
her mouth with one hand. Her lips were swollen from his rough kisses and her
cheeks felt tight and hot from his facial hair. Between her legs her excitement
still pulsed fiercely, making every step a reminder of how close she had come
to breaking all her rules in one moment of madness.

What had she
been thinking? She had just encouraged Kevin Hall – the king of the man-whores!
Obviously her poor neglected pussy had terrible judgment. If the movie hadn’t
ended when it did she was fairly certain she would have been straddling his lap
in no time. And worst of all, she would have enjoyed every second of it. But
she wasn’t that impulsive girl anymore. She’d had a brief relapse but now she
was firmly back in control. Pussy, be damned.

All she had to do
was figure out how to convince Kevin they’d made a mistake. Unfortunately for
her, kissing him hadn’t felt like a mistake at all. It had felt natural,
perfect and oh so hot. She really wanted a repeat performance. And so much
more. Too bad this new Jamie was such a stick in the mud. Being a grown up
really sucked.

*****

“Jamie. Damn
it. Stop.” Kevin called as he adjusted himself with a wince and then followed
her towards the front of the theatre. He had to sprint to catch up with her
before she reached the exit. She was moving like a grizzly bear was on her tail
rather than the guy who’d been making her panties damp just seconds ago.

What the hell
had just happened? Things had been going better than he’d ever hoped. When
she’d pressed her sweet ass into his thighs and thrust her tongue into his
mouth he thought he was going to come in his jeans from that pathetic
stimulation alone. Somehow he’d managed not to humiliate himself but it had
been a close call. He’d never been so out of control in his life. Their
chemistry was more intense than anything he’d ever experienced.

So why was she
running? Had he gone too far? Offended her somehow? Or had she just come to her
senses and realized she still didn’t want anything to do with him? That was
probably it, but her sensual response to him didn’t lie. She wanted him. Badly.
She just couldn’t admit it for some bizarre female reason. Why were chicks so
damn complicated? Couldn’t they just live in the moment without all this drama?
And of course, he had to choose the most complicated of the bunch to focus on.
Was he a masochist? His aching dick certainly thought so.

One night
stands were so much less work, he thought wistfully. Everyone gets what they
want and no one stomps off in a rage. Was it any wonder he had avoided
relationships like the plague? But somehow he knew those simple days were long
gone for him. He had entered the relationship zone and there was no going back.

Watching her
rounded bottom jiggle and sway as she hurried away from him he thought he may
be either the stupidest man alive or possibly the horniest. Maybe both. This
woman was driving him bug-eyed crazy. As much as he’d like to sit back down in
one of the deserted theatre chairs and lick his wounds, not to mention give his
raging hard-on time to subside, he couldn’t just let her go. A big part of him
dreaded confronting her. Mostly because his pride just couldn’t take another
hit, but he had no choice. She was definitely upset and as frustrated as he was
he had to make sure she was okay.

Just as she
reached the exit he was able to snag her arm. “Jamie,” he hissed, gently
turning her around to face him. “Woman. What just happened? One second you’re
jamming you tongue down my throat and the next you’re running away from me like
your sweet little ass is on fire.  Did I miss something? Do something? ‘Cause
I’m pretty sure you were the one cuddling up to me.”

Jamie tugged
her arm out of his grip and covered her face with both hands. “I made a
mistake. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I got carried away for a minute
there. Let’s just forget this ever happened, okay?” She removed her hands and
looked up at him with beseeching dark eyes.

Her words and
that pleading look felt like a punch to the gut. He was confused and annoyed as
hell but he still couldn’t stand to see her upset. He was so tempted to just
let it go. It’s what she wanted. They could just pretend those heated moments
hadn’t happened and go back to sniping at each other on the rare occasion they
were forced together. He could do that. It was the smart thing to do.

Instead he did
something really, really dumb. He brushed his thumb over one of her eyebrows
and used the other hand to gather her against his chest. She resisted for a
moment and then her entire body curled into him. Her arms snaked around his
waist and they held each other for a long time, just savoring how their bodies
fit together. It was one of the sweetest moments of his life and he vowed right
then he would not let her escape him without trying his hardest to convince her
there was something real between them.

“Jamie,” he
whispered against her hair. “I don’t want to forget it.” She tilted her head
back to look at him with huge, shocked eyes and her entire body went stiff. These
were bad signs but he needed to get this out before he lost his balls entirely.
So he reached for her hands, held them both against his chest and forged on
before she could interrupt. “I want you. Not just for a night or a weekend or
whatever. I want more. With you. Only with you. I know you don’t think I’m
relationship material, and I admit I’m clueless about being in one, but if you’ll
just give me half a chance I’ll try to make you happy. In the bedroom, but out
of it too. If you’ll let me.”

Kevin knew the
words were a mistake the minute they were out of his mouth. The room was still
dark but he was close enough to be able to watch the play of emotions cross
Jamie’s face: confusion, amusement and finally a look of dawning horror were
etched there in plain sight.

He was so
screwed. What had possessed him to make such a premature declaration? He’d
spoken way too soon. She wasn’t ready to hear this and he was going to drive
her even further away. Or possibly she was going to think he was unhinged.
Maybe he was.

All he really
knew was that he’d never felt anything like this before. When he thought she
was going to walk out on him again without him cementing their future together in
some way he’d just panicked. He needed to know there was some kind of hope for
more between them than one date. And a date made on a bet at that.

Jamie shook her
head. “Kevin. I don’t know what to say.”

Kevin jumped on
his chance to reclaim a bit of his pride. “Angel. Don’t say anything now. Just
think about it. I’m not talking about a lifelong commitment. Let’s just spend
some time together. Take it slow. Get to know each other. Like normal people.
Why don’t I stop by the store again tomorrow and we’ll go for coffee? Talk
about the weather or favorite sexual positions or current events. Whatever. Or
you can tell me about your article and I’ll give you some male perspective. How
does that sound?”