This Game Called Life (Kingdom Book 4) (6 page)

Chapter 10

With his cup in
hand, Jake followed MacKenzie back into the living room and took a seat in the middle
of the sofa. MacKenzie chose to sit as far away from him as possible wedged up
in a corner. Sitting with her feet tucked away from him, she took a sip of her
coffee.

“Am I forgiven?”
Jake asked, breaking into the silence.

“As far as I’m
concerned most of our encounters end up with you being rude to me, and while
I’m at it, I’m going to add infuriating. Therefore, you’re going to have to be
much more specific as to what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, it does
seem that way, doesn’t it. Specifically, am I forgiven for my comment the first
time we met?”

“Don’t even go
there, Jacob!”

“Show them to me.”

“What...”
MacKenzie sputtered to a stop. “No!”

“Come on, you know
I’ve already seen them so you might as well just get it over and done with,” he
coaxed.

“I said, no!”

“Okay, I respect
your wish. But please accept my deepest apology for thinking that those boots
you had by the doorway were big enough to fit me.” Jake said using an earnest
tone.

By the way she
looked at him, he could tell she didn’t know if she should believe his
sincerity. “The size of your feet is nothing to be embarrassed about, believe
me, I know, I too have big feet.”

“I am not
embarrassed by my feet!”

“Are you sure
because it seems that way to me. I mean look how you’re sitting right now, and
your refusal to show them to me says something entirely different.” By the time
he finished speaking, MacKenzie’s upper body was turned towards him, and she
was busy raking him with an exasperated look. There it was again, his feeling
of enjoyment at teasing her, so Jake decided to push even further.

Putting his cup
down, Jake grinned at her. “Come on MacKenzie, you know what they say about
women with big feet.”

Placing her own
cup on an end table Jake braced himself; recognizing when someone was preparing
themselves for an attack.

MacKenzie folded
her arms and narrowed her eyes before speaking. “No, Jacob, I have no idea what
is said about women with big feet.”

Maintaining a
straight face, he began a finger count of supposed traits that were sure to get
a rise out of her. “Women with big feet are... good swimmers,” nothing. In fact
if anything she relaxed back into her seat and gave him a bored look.
Therefore, he had to up the ante. “Don’t need skis..., need a bigger shoe
closet..., have long ass toes,” still nothing. Unable to keep from laughing,
Jake had one more quip at the ready, and he was sure this one would get the
desired reaction. “Look like the letter L from a sideway view.”

The cushion that
smashed him in the face was what he had been waiting for. Although he had seen
it coming, he made no attempt to stop the contact. Nor did he try to wrestle it
away from her, because as she pummeled him, she moved ever closer.

“So, you think
you’ve got jokes do you, Jacob. Well let me tell you those were some of the
lamest jokes I’ve ever heard! The letter L my ass!”

By now, MacKenzie
was almost in his lap, and without warning, Jake flipped her over. One minute
she was upright and the next she was pinned beneath him, and that was exactly
where he wanted her.

“That last one got
to you, huh?”

“Get your
oversized ass off me!”

“I’ll make a deal
with you. If you tell me three things you like about me, I’ll move.”

“Three, are you
kidding me! One; and you have yourself a deal.”

“Three.”

“Two,” she
bargained.

“Three,
MacKenzie,” somewhere during their Ping-Pong banter Jake could see she had
finally become aware of his body’s reaction to her closeness.

“Jake, I don’t
think this is a good idea.”

With all traces of
amusement wiped from his face, Jake looked deeply into her beautiful eyes as he
spoke. “As far as I’m concerned that’s part of your problem, you think too
damned much.”

“Jake, I’m not
playing, you need to move!”

“Good, because I’m
not playing either.” In his mind, he had never seen a woman who needed to be
kissed more than she. She hadn’t realized it, but he had already eased his body
away from hers moments before. She was now the one who was pressed up against
him.

Shifting slowly
towards her, Jake moved his head until his lips hovered a hairsbreadth from
hers, and broke eye contact. He was so close to her, he could see every detail
of the freckle he had decided was his favorite, and he had many to choose from.
The one he had singled out was shaped almost like a heart, and it hovered right
at the corner of her mouth.

As his lips moved
towards the object of his fascination, she followed, turning her head as though
tracking his every move. Unwilling to give up his goal, Jake’s lips touched her
exactly where he intended, and in the process, brushed his tongue against the
corner of her mouth.

MacKenzie’s sudden
intake of breath sent a rush of awareness throughout his body and settled in
his groin. He knew he wanted her, but what was more important to him was that
she accepted that she felt the same way about him.

“Three things,
MacKenzie,” Jake insisted as he again held her gaze.

The depth of the
sigh that left her body had Jake smiling as its warmth brushed across his lips.

“I like the way
you drive.”

“Doesn’t count,
sorry.”

“Whatever, number
two; I like your chin.”

“That’s better.
What do you like about it?”

“That it’s at the
bottom of your face,” Mackenzie said giving him a look that alluded to her questioning
his intelligence. “I mean it could have been placed someplace else and that would
have just made you even odder looking.”

Even if he had
wanted to, Jake couldn’t help laughing. MacKenzie was completely outrageous.
“Okay, one more.”

MacKenzie remained
perfectly still with all signs of laughter gone. The sudden shift of her
expression caused Jake to pay close attention.

“I loved the way
you took care of Noelle and me after she was born.”

Her words were the
last thing Jake had expected her to say, and they touched him, more than he
could have ever imagined. “Thank you for saying that, lovely, and it was my
pleasure.”

Jake was surprised
to see the usually indomitable MacKenzie lower her eyes as thought suddenly
beset by shyness. In one motion, Jake lifted himself and MacKenzie into a
sitting position. With her on his lap, he continued to watch her even as she
refused to look at him. What she didn’t do however was attempt to pull away
from him. “Put your arms around my neck, MacKenzie.”

“This is such a
bad idea, Jake.”

“I don’t think it
is. As a matter of fact, some of the best concepts comes from what someone
thought was a bad idea. Try it, I know you like my manly neck, I already caught
you checking it out.”

“You’re just full
of yourself, huh, Jacob!” MacKenzie threw out.

“I know you’ve met
my brothers? I’m considered to be the quiet, thoughtful one.”

“Then I’m glad I
got you!”

At Jake’s chuckle,
MacKenzie closed her eyes, and her chin dropped to her chest. “I just said that
out loud, right?”

“Yes, you did, and
I won’t allow you to take it back.” Seeing the blush that rose beneath her skin,
Jake knew if he didn’t act quickly, she would probably think of something to
say to ruin the moment.

Placing a long
finger under her chin, he lifted her face until it was aligned with his own.
Then he waited for her to look at him. When she finally did, he took hold of
her unresisting arms and positioned them over his shoulders. Next, he placed
one hand against her cheek, and the other around her waist as he pulled her
close.

From the moment
she had walked into the restaurant earlier in the evening; he had wanted to
kiss her. It was as though he had a memory that needed renewal for fear that it
would fade away. That what he remembered the first time he had held her in his
arms might just be an impression that was only a part of his imagination.

Moving his fingers
against her face, Jake marveled at the softness of her skin. As his lips
followed the path of his fingers, he knew his time was up, but he didn’t want
to rush her. His control of their encounter was tentative enough. Instead of
kissing her the way his mind and body urged him to, Jake placed gentle kisses
against her face. Moving closer to her neck, he stopped for a moment and ran a
wet tongue against her ear.

MacKenzie’s
breathlessness was the undoing of all his good intentions. Pulling her tightly against
him, Jake moved her head to the side and pressed his lips against hers.

The touch of their
lips against each other’s was all it took for his libido to reach maximum. The
way she responded to him gave him the reassurance that he had occupied at least
some of her thoughts since the last time they had been together.

No sooner had
Jake’s tongue pressed against her lips, she opened for him. Each of them wholly
invested in renewing their memory of how the other felt and tasted. Just
kissing MacKenzie was probably one of the most erotically charged encounters
Jake had ever experienced. As each pressed closer, Jake deepened the kiss, his
tongue sparring with hers until he felt as though he wanted to devour her.

The sounds of
their passion filled kisses brought with it another elevation in what Jake was
feeling. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her body pressed against his as she
moved in perfect harmony with him.

Jake wanted more,
he wanted to feel her, taste her, and know what it was like to be buried deep inside
her. This might not be their time but before he left her would at least begin
to appease his need for her.

“I want to make
love to you,” Jake purred into the stillness that surrounded them.

MacKenzie sucked
in a deep breath and Jake found that he couldn’t pull his eyes away from her
passion filled expression.

He knew MacKenzie
wanted him just as much as he wanted her, but it was too soon. Their time would
come, of that he was sure. It just wasn’t now. In the meantime, he would give
them both something that would last until their next encounter.

Dipping his head,
Jake took her lips in a searing kiss. He didn’t ask for permission, he took
what he wanted, and she met his every stroke; their touch filled with a dark heat.

Taking hold of her
unresisting hand, he moved it to the evidence of his arousal. Pulling their wet
mouths apart, Jake spoke against her lips. “Do you feel that, MacKenzie? Do you
feel what you do to me? This is what I want to bury so deep inside you that you
scream my name.”

While he was speaking
his hand hadn’t been idle. As MacKenzie massaged him, Jake brushed his fingertips
against her smooth leg, each stroke bringing him closer to his first touch of
her.

When his fingers
encountered her backside, Jake grinned at her. “Really MacKenzie, commando,
well aren’t you just full of surprises. When we were dancing, did you wonder
how it would feel if I had known?” By the time he was finished with his
question, his fingers were rubbing against her wetness. Oh, she was definitely
wet for him.

Circling his
fingers, Jake opened her to his touch. MacKenzie groaned and writhed against
his hand.

“Did you fantasize
that if I knew, even with all those people around us; I would have slipped my
hand up your skirt? That I would do exactly what I’m doing now. Would you have
liked that, MacKenzie? Would you have come for me, even with all those
strangers dancing around us?”

“Jake!” MacKenzie
finally gasped out.

Jake pulled her
hand away from him and wrapped one of her legs around his back. When she was
open to him, he inserted two fingers inside her. His thumb found and stroked
her clit in with expert ease. “Tell me if you would have come for me,
MacKenzie. Would you have come, even with all those strangers around us?”

“Yes,” MacKenzie
panted, her eyes closed and her head moving from side to side.

Jake knew she was
close, he could feel the start of the ripples that would soon overtake her
body.

“Then do it now,
lovely. Let me feel and hear you come for me,” Jake purred into her ear.

When her inner
walls gripped his long fingers, Jake fastened his mouth against hers and
inhaled her cries of pleasure. Unable to help himself, Jake kissed her as
though his very life depended on it.

With reluctance
Jake pulled away from their passion filled kiss. For the first time, he fully
understood that with the right woman, a kiss could outweigh full blown sex.

“I think I should
leave before things go any further.” Jake knew his words would break the spell
that surrounded them.

He also knew he
had done the right thing by calling a halt to their encounter. However, it
didn’t stop him from feeling guilty because his words were the cause of the
look of uncertainty she was unable to hide.