"And you only got dumped in the river once," Sawyer said seriously. She"d been apprehensive as she"d watched Jori disappear in the swirling water. But when she had surfaced and one of the boys had grabbed her life vest and hauled her into the boat, Sawyer had felt her galloping heart slow.
Jori laughed. "Yeah, no thanks to Lacey. I think she was showing off for you."
"She was not."
"She purposely steered us toward the roughest part of every set of rapids."
Sawyer dismissed the notion with a wave. "She probably knew those boys wanted an exciting ride."
"I don"t think she even realized anyone else was in the boat."
Sawyer studied Jori. At fi rst she thought Jori had been joking, but now there seemed to be a bit of seriousness behind her teasing. Her hint of jealousy, however misguided, thrilled Sawyer in a way no set of rapids could.
"Well, I noticed there was someone else in the boat," Sawyer * 166 *
said as she remembered how Jori had looked with her wet hair falling across her forehead and a broad smile on her face.
Jori caught her breath at the intimacy in Sawyer"s tone. The candle fl ickering in the red gla.s.s votive jar on the table between them cast a dancing shadow over the planes of Sawyer"s face, alternately hiding, then revealing the open appraisal in Sawyer"s eyes.
"Sawyer, I-"
"Would you like dessert? Tiramisu?"
"No, thank you. I"ve eaten too much already." She pushed her empty plate away and accepted Sawyer"s rapid subject change because she hadn"t been certain what she was going to say anyway. But once again Sawyer had drawn her in, only to back off when the moment got heavy. "But please don"t let that stop you from indulging."
"No, I"m sure it doesn"t compare with your creations."
Decisively, Sawyer swept her napkin from her lap and deposited it on the table in front of her.
"Flattery, huh? That will probably work."
"It"s true. I still remember the chocolate cake you were making the fi rst day we met."
"Princess cake," Jori supplied.
"You garnished it with strawberries and melted chocolate."
Jori laughed at the look of longing on her face. "Brady wasn"t exaggerating about you and sweets."
"Not a bit."
When the waitress brought the check, Sawyer handed over her debit card, waving off Jori"s offer to pay.
"At least let me leave the tip." While Sawyer signed the receipt, Jori laid several folded bills on the table.
They made the short drive back to their cabin in companionable silence. Jori was pleasantly tired and expected to be sore tomorrow, if she could even sleep . It was a good thing the loft was on the opposite side of the cabin, because * 167 *
Sawyer"s proximity inside the car had her body humming. She would defi nitely need some distance and perhaps a self-induced release. She didn"t have that particular need often and had never considered herself an overly s.e.xual person. But with Sawyer"s tangy citrus scent teasing her and Sawyer"s arm resting alongside hers on the center console, she couldn"t think clearly.
Caught up in her thoughts, she didn"t notice they"d stopped in front of the cabin until Sawyer lightly touched her arm.
"You okay?" Jori"s distant expression concerned Sawyer.
She"d been quiet during the ride back.
"Fine. I guess the day is just catching up with me."
Jori got out of the car and Sawyer sighed in relief. Once during dinner she hadn"t been able to help herself and her composure had slipped. For a second she had felt as if Jori could sense the desire that stirred inside her. She wondered if Jori had been contemplating that moment as well, if she also felt like they were moving toward an inevitable encounter. Or maybe I"m the only one who feels like I"ll combust if I don"t touch her.
"Sawyer?"
Sawyer started and looked at her.
"You have the key."
She realized she"d been standing on the cabin porch lost in thought while Jori waited for her to unlock the door.
"Sorry," she mumbled as she opened the door.
Once they"d stepped inside, Sawyer reached around Jori to secure the deadbolt.
"Thank you for a wonderful day. I really needed this,"
Sawyer said.
She closed her fi ngers around the lock and stared at Jori"s mouth. Jori moistened her lower lip and Sawyer realized she was only seconds from kissing her. She ached with the desire to close the s.p.a.ce between them and could already taste her, need nearly overcoming logic. Pull it back, Sawyer. Don"t lose it now. Only the voice in her head kept her from taking Jori right there, against * 168 *
the front door of the cabin. She would stick by her decision to let her make the move.
"I"m glad you enjoyed yourself. I did, too." Jori"s voice held a slight rasp, as if she could see the battle raging within Sawyer.
"Good night." Sawyer kissed her cheek, carefully keeping the gesture light.
Hoping Jori didn"t hear the tremor in her voice, she forced numb fi ngers to fl ip the lock into place. Then she backed away, though her body fought her at every inch. She fl ed before she could change her mind, seeking the safety of the loft.
* 169 *
* 170 *
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
Jori lay awake listening to the silence in the cabin. She missed the noise of the city, things she hadn"t noticed until they were absent, like the sound of distant sirens. Instead crickets chirped and leaves rustled outside the window. Then an indistinct creak came from inside. A moment later the wooden stairs popped. Sawyer was coming down from the loft. Jori"s heart fl uttered in antic.i.p.ation until she realized Sawyer wasn"t headed toward her room. A gla.s.s clinked, then the faucet ran. She pictured Sawyer standing at the sink.
Just once Jori wanted to act without knowing where she was headed, to ignore the curl of anxiety in her stomach. She didn"t want to think about Sawyer"s apparent inability to do long-term, and in the time it took her to ease from bed and creep to the open door, she managed to convince herself that for tonight, it didn"t matter.
Sawyer had left the lights off, and Jori could just make out her silhouette in the moonlight pouring through the window over the sink. A white T-shirt hugged her broad shoulders, and her dark shorts just covered the tops of her thighs. The shadows and silver moonlight created the impression of a black-and-white photograph, and Jori didn"t need to see Sawyer"s face to know that the androgynous lines would be striking in such a medium.
* 171 *
As she stepped into the room, the hardwood creaked beneath her feet and she stopped.
"I"m sorry if I woke you." Sawyer set the gla.s.s in the sink but didn"t turn around.
Jori shook her head, then realized Sawyer couldn"t see her.
"I was awake."
"Can"t sleep?"
Smothering a burst of doubt, she moved closer and slipped her arms around Sawyer"s waist. "It"s very quiet here."
Sawyer laughed softly. She covered Jori"s hands and pulled them more tightly around her, bringing Jori fl ush against her back. "That"s supposed to be a good thing."
"I know." She rested her cheek against Sawyer"s nape. "And I thought after all that exercise today, I would sleep deeply."
"So..." Sawyer hesitated. "What"s keeping you up?"
Jori considered her next words carefully. Despite the intimacy of their time on the river and at dinner, Sawyer seemed content to keep things platonic. But though she knew it could be a mistake, at that moment, with Sawyer"s body against hers, platonic was the last thing Jori wanted. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against Sawyer"s back and Sawyer"s backside nestled against her crotch made her want to press even closer. "I"ve been lying awake wondering why you were sleeping so far away."
"Jori, I told you-"
"I know what you said." She slipped her hands beneath Sawyer"s T-shirt and stroked her stomach, feeling muscles jump in response. "But are you really this chivalrous? Or are you purposely trying to make me crazy?"
She found her answer in Sawyer"s sharply indrawn breath and quickly squared shoulders.
"I"m not." Sawyer turned and retreated until her lower back hit the edge of the sink.
It wasn"t clear which question Sawyer was responding to, but from the hazy look in her eyes when Jori moved close and traced inside the neck of her T-shirt, she could guess.
* 172 *
"You know..." Jori was enjoying Sawyer"s reaction to her touch. "You accused me of being a tease. But you"ve been teasing me all day."
"No. I just didn"t want to pressure you." Sawyer stuttered slightly. Jori had come on this trip half expecting smooth seduction.
That she had been prepared to fend off, but this genuine, maybe a little nervous Sawyer was endearing and oddly empowering.
"Yes, you said you just wanted us to have a good time." Jori deliberately trailed her fi ngers along the edge of Sawyer"s jaw.
When Sawyer"s hands tightened at her waist, she smiled amid a surge of bravery. "I"m having a very good time. How about you?"
She wanted to blame the three gla.s.ses of wine at dinner, which still had her head buzzing. But in truth, Sawyer"s nearness was the natural high that gave her the nerve to push her hands into Sawyer"s hair, pull her head down, and kiss her.
Sawyer responded immediately as if she"d been waiting.
When Sawyer opened to her, Jori let go of any hint of caution and poured herself into Sawyer"s mouth, stroking her tongue inside.
Sawyer"s head rushed with the feel of Jori against her, of Jori beneath her hands-the curve of her waist and the fl are of her hips as Sawyer pulled them snug against her. Oh, G.o.d, she"d been fantasizing about this closeness for the entire day, for weeks even, and now that it seemed Jori wanted it as much as she did, she craved nothing more than to embrace it.
Backing through the living room, Jori nearly fell over an end table, but Sawyer held her up as they scrambled into the bedroom.
Sawyer tugged at the hem of Jori"s T-shirt and, when she raised her arms, pulled it over her head and dropped it on the fl oor. Her own shirt followed.
"G.o.d, you feel good," she moaned, smoothing her hands up Jori"s sides to cup her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
When she rubbed her thumbs over Jori"s tightening nipples, Jori groaned and pushed her against the edge of the bed. Taken off guard, Sawyer fell back and Jori moved over her, straddling * 173 *
her hips. Sawyer reached for her b.r.e.a.s.t.s again, but Jori caught her hands and pressed them to the mattress above her head.
"Let me touch you," Jori whispered against her ear and Sawyer shivered, then met eyes dark and fi lled with exhilarating arousal. "Will you?"
"Yes." She would have given anything to feel Jori"s hands on her.
Jori did touch her-urgently, as if she couldn"t help herself- fi rmly squeezing a tight nipple and bringing Sawyer to the sharp edge of pain and pleasure. She slid down and sucked one into her mouth.
"Harder," Sawyer ground out as she buried her hands in Jori"s hair. "Ah, G.o.d. Yes." She thrust against Jori"s belly, seeking friction against her throbbing s.e.x.
Jori reached between them and shoved a hand inside Sawyer"s shorts. "I"ve been thinking about this all day. And you"re so wet,"
Jori moaned as her fi ngers slid inside.
"For you." Sawyer"s neck arched and she closed her eyes with the effort of holding off her o.r.g.a.s.m as Jori"s thumb circled her c.l.i.toris. Too soon. Just a little longer.
"For me," Jori whispered as she pulled away long enough to remove Sawyer"s shorts.
She spread Sawyer"s thighs and without hesitation pressed her mouth to Sawyer"s fl esh. The sweet feel of Jori"s tongue circling her brought Sawyer close to the edge, too close. "Jori, wait, please. Slow down."
"Next time," Jori said and sucked her.
"Jori. Yes, oh, G.o.d." Sawyer"s hips jerked. "Baby, please. There. Almost there," she managed seconds before she surrendered to the pleasure that thrashed beneath her skin, burned in her muscles, and coursed through her as if the silky strands of Jori"s hair that wound around her fi ngers were live wires.
When fi nally Sawyer lay, spent, her body still vibrating, Jori trailed kisses up her hip and over her abdomen and chest until she reached her neck. Sawyer shivered and wrapped her arms around * 174 *
Jori. She ran her fi ngers over Jori"s back, tracing the angles of her shoulder blades and down her spine. She felt Jori smile against her skin and slowly roll her hips against her thigh.
Sawyer smoothed her hands over Jori"s a.s.s and pulled her even nearer, thrusting her leg higher.
"I need you," Jori said on a ragged breath. She grabbed Sawyer"s wrist and guided Sawyer"s hand between her thighs.
"Slow now?" Sawyer asked with a grin as she stroked inside.