moved to sit down on a nearby stool. “We’re attracted to each other.”
She chuckled slightly. “Tell me something I don’t know, Aidan.”
“What if I say that we’ve sort of gotten obsessed with each other?”
She frowned. “Obsessed is too strong a word, I think. We’ve only kissed twice.”
“Actually three times. And I’m dying for the fourth. Aren’t you?”
She knew she had to be honest with him and stop denying the obvious. “Yes, but I don’t understand why.”
He got up from the stool and stood. “Maybe it’s not for us to understand, Jillian.”
“How can you say that? How do you think our family would react if they knew we were carrying on like this behind their backs?”
He slowly crossed the room to stand in front of where she sat. “We won’t know how they’d react because you’re determined to keep this a secret, aren’t you?”
She tilted her head to look up at him. “Yes. I couldn’t hurt Pam that way. She expects me to stay focused on school. And if I did get involved with a guy, I’m sure she wouldn’t want that guy to be you.”
He frowned. “And what is so bad about getting involved with me?”
“I think you know the answer to that. She thinks of us as one big family. And there’s your reputation. But, like you said, we’ll be leaving tomorrow and going our separate ways. What’s happening between us is curiosity taking its toll on our common sense.”
“That’s what you think?” he asked, reaching out and taking a lock of her hair between his fingers.
“Yes, that’s what I think.” She noticed something in the depths of his eyes that gave her pause—but only for a second. That’s all the time it took for her gaze to lower from his eyes to his mouth.
She watched as he swept the tip of his tongue across his lips. “I can still taste you, you know,” he said in a low, husky tone.
She nodded slowly. “Yes, I know.” Deciding to be honest, she said, “And the reason I know is because I can still taste you, as well.”
Aidan wished Jillian hadn’t said that. After their first kiss, he’d concluded she had enjoyed it as much as he had. When they’d gone another round he’d been sure of it. Just like he was sure that, although her experience with kissing had been at a minimum, she was a fast learner. She had kept up with him, stroke for stroke. And now, for her to confess that she could still taste him, the same way he could still taste her, sent his testosterone level soaring.
He took a step closer, gently pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her waist. He truly didn’t understand why the desire between them was so intense but he accepted that it was. The thought of Dillon and Pam’s ire didn’t appeal to him any more than it did to her, but unlike her, he refused to believe his cousin and cousin-in-law would be dead set against something developing between him and Jillian.
But he didn’t have to worry because nothing was developing between them. They were attracted to each other; there was nothing serious about that. He’d been attracted to women before, although never to this degree, he would admit. But after today it would be a while before they saw each other again since he rarely came home. This would be a one-and-done fling. He knew for certain that Pam and Dillon would definitely not like the thought of that. They would think he’d taken advantage of her. So he agreed they did not need to know.
“I won’t sleep with you, Aidan.”
Her words interrupted his thoughts. He met her gaze. “You won’t?”
“No. I think we should get that straight right now.”
He nodded slowly. “All right. So what did you have in mind for us to do in here?” To say he was anxious to hear her answer was an understatement.
“Kiss some more. A lot more.”
Evidently she didn’t think an intense kissing match could lead to other things, with a loss of control topping the list. “You think it will be that simple?”
She shrugged. “No. But I figure if we both use a reasonable degree of self-control we’ll manage.”
A reasonable degree of self control? Jillian had more confidence in their abilities than he did. Just being here with her was causing a hard pounding in his crotch. If only she knew just how enticing she looked standing in front of him in a pair of jeans and a white button-up blouse that he would love to peel off her. Her hair was pinned up on her head, but a few locks...like the one he’d played with earlier...had escaped confinement.
“Is there a problem, Aidan?”
He lifted a brow. “Problem?”
“Yes. You’re stalling and I’m ready now.”
He fought to hide his grin. Was this the same woman who only yesterday swore they would never kiss again? The same woman who just that morning had refused to go riding with him? Her enthusiasm caused something within him to stir, making it hard to keep his control in check. His body wouldn’t cooperate mainly because her scent alone was increasing his desire for her.
And she thought all they would do was some heavy-duty kissing?
Deciding not to keep her waiting any longer, he slanted his mouth over hers.
* * *
When had she needed a man’s kiss this much? No, this much, she thought, leaning up on her toes to become enmeshed in Aidan’s kiss even more. Jillian felt his arms move from around her waist to her backside, urging her closer to the fit of him, making her feel his hard erection pressing against her middle. She shouldn’t like how it felt but she did.
The tips of her nipples seemed sensitized against his solid chest. When had she become this hot mass of sexual desire?
When he intensified the kiss even more, she actually heard herself moan. Really moan. He was actually tasting her. Using his mouth to absorb hers as if she was a delectable treat he had to consume. She was losing all that control she’d told him they had to keep and she was losing it in a way she couldn’t define.
When he groaned deep in his throat and deepened the kiss even more, it took all she had to remain standing and not melt in a puddle on the floor. Why at twenty-one was she just experiencing kisses like these? And why was she allowing her mind to be sacked with emotions and sensations that made it almost impossible to breathe, to think, to do anything but reciprocate? Their tongues tangled greedily, dueling and plowing each other’s mouths with a yearning that was unrelenting.
When she noticed his hands were no longer on her backside but had worked their way to the zipper of her jeans, she gasped and broke off the kiss, only to be swept off her feet into Aidan’s strong arms.
Before she could ask what he was doing, he tumbled them both onto the huge bed. She looked up into
