My laugh dies down quickly when I see how serious his expression still is.
“I mean it, Miranda. You’re like…this freight train of amazing that just came flying toward me out of nowhere.”
“A train? I’m like a train?”
He looks up at the ceiling. “Yeah, I’m shit at sweet-talking, okay?”
“Well, try again.”
“Try again?” He meets my eyes, his brows arched with surprise.
“Yep. I go on a date about as often as I get a pelvic exam, so I need to cram lots of goodness into this night. Give me a real, actual compliment, Birch.”
“Okay.” He nods slightly, considering. “You’re probably thinking I’ll go with the obvious and tell you how beautiful you are. Or tell you how much I admire you for working two jobs and going to school.”
When he steps closer to me, I inhale sharply as I feel the heat of his body near mine.
“So here it is, Miranda,” he says in a low, husky tone. “My real, actual compliment for you. When I’m with you, everything else melts away. I don’t obsess about hockey or get irritated by anything. There’s just you, and that gorgeous smile I’m hooked on. I think I could have fun with you anywhere.”
I swallow hard, taken aback by his words and the warm look in his eyes.
“You do?” I say softly.
“I do.”
I can feel his breath on my lips as he leans closer. My already-racing heart kicks up a notch when he puts a hand on my waist and closes the last inch of distance between us.
He’s an amazing kisser. He takes his time brushing his lips over mine softly before his tongue teases mine. I’m warm all over from the way he tastes and feels. He likes cinnamon breath mints, and I find that charming for some reason.
I don’t know if it’s me or him who moves—maybe both of us—but in an instant our bodies are pressed together, my soft lines molding perfectly against his hard ones.
His other hand comes up to cup my cheek as he deepens the kiss and I moan softly without even realizing I’m doing it. That seems to do something to him, because within a couple seconds I find myself backed up against the wall of windows.
Jake takes my hands in his and raises them up, pushing them against the glass. I gasp and close my eyes as his mouth dips down from my lips to my neck.
He traces the line of my collarbone with his lips and then kisses my neck all the way up to the spot beneath my earlobe that sets me off. God, it feels amazing.
When I wrap a leg around the backs of his thighs, he groans against my skin.
“I’d love to fuck you up against this window right now,” he says in my ear.
When he nips my earlobe, it sends a charge of arousal through my entire body.
“I think…I’d love it, too,” I say breathlessly.
That gets me another groan. Or it may have been because I’m grinding myself against him. Either way, this is the best first kiss of my life.
He kisses me on the lips one more time before stepping back.
“Another time, gorgeous,” he says, his gaze full of hunger.
“Another time?” I furrow my brow in disbelief and point at his rather impressive erection, which is straining against his jeans. “What are we gonna do about that?”
He gives me a wicked grin. “You don’t know how bad I wish we were going to address this situation. But we’ve got a dinner reservation.”
“Okay.” I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, still on fire from the feel of his body against mine.
“You’re better than this,” he says, gesturing at the window. “At least for our first time.”
I give him a playful smile. “Who says I’ll give you a second chance at a first time?”
“You will.”
He runs a hand through his hair and turns toward the fireplace, which is currently nothing but a hole in the wall. “Now let’s get rid of my boner by picking out a floor for this place.”
I follow him across the expansive room to the fireplace, where several wood samples are spread out on the floor. There are four, all in medium to dark tones.
“I like that one,” I say, pointing at the cherry sample.
Jake gives me a puzzled look. “That’s it? You decided already?”
“Yeah. It has the most warmth. But they’re all nice. You can’t go wrong with any of them.”
He shakes his head and smiles. “Okay, the cherry one it is.”
“Because you like it, right? Don’t choose it just because of me.”
“I like it, too.”
I give him a skeptical look. “Since when are you so agreeable?”
“Since that kiss. You can ask me for pretty much anything right now and I’ll say yes.”
I can’t help smiling, but his gaze is just too intense, so I have to look away.
“Let’s go get dinner,” he says, reaching for my hand.
He drives us to a quaint Italian place downtown, where we’re led to a private table in the back. There’s a curtain and everything so no one can see in.
We both order the lasagna. I’m not so nervous anymore, but now I’m feeling something else. There’s a hot, restless ache inside me thanks to Jake’s kiss against the window of his apartment. Can women get blue balls? I mean, without the balls part?
“You okay?” he asks me.
I gulp down some water and nod.
“So where’d you grow up?” Jake asks me.