This Time Forever: Second Chance Romance (Finding Forever Book 3) Read online

  This was not a meeting of souls. This was sex—pure and simple. There were no messy feelings or emotional entanglements here. That’s exactly how it would stay.

  Prompted to action by the thought, Kelly disentangled herself and sat up to swing her legs over the edge of the bed, turning her back on Jake. She ran her hands through her hair in an attempt to restore it to some sort of order, while she surreptitiously looked around for her clothes. No matter how dishevelled she felt, she would stand tall when she left this bed if it killed her. If she had to spend time hunting around the room for her various pieces of clothing, it would only make her seem anxious and embarrassed about her nudity. That would completely blow her cover.

  She spied her bra and panties a short distance from the bed and made for them first, knowing she’d feel better once she’d covered the most important bits.

  “Leaving so soon?”

  She turned to see Jake watching her, his head propped on a bent arm.

  “Well, we can’t all spend the day lazing around and I have some business to take care of.” She pulled on her skirt next, taking time to smooth the wrinkles out of it before she moved toward her shirt. “Don’t you have to get back to work?”

  “Yeah, there is that I suppose,” he said with a hearty sigh before he gave her a lecherous grin. “I’d much rather spend the afternoon in bed with you.”

  She chuckled and shrugged into her shirt. It had managed to acquire a few wrinkles, but it would do. “As tempting as it sounds, I’m afraid play time is over.”

  He watched the movement of her hands as she did up her buttons. “When can I see you again?”

  “I’ll work on a few sketches for the house.” She took another cursory glance around, as if her mind had moved on to other matters, the spectacular sex they’d had already forgotten. “With any luck, I’ll have them for you in a few days.”

  He gave her a dubious look. “I wasn’t talking about the house and you know it.” Sitting up, he tossed the blanket away as he grabbed a pair of jeans from a nearby chair and thrust his legs into them.

  She allowed her gaze to wander over his body for a moment. He seemed as blasé about his nudity as she’d tried to be, only on him it seemed so much more genuine. That probably came as a result of having so much more experience than she did with one night stands. She swallowed down the bitter taste in her mouth.

  “I have to go,” she mumbled as she stalked out of the room before Jake had a chance to stop her. She gathered her belongings from the living room before turning around and heading straight back toward the front door. Jake cut her off in the hallway. He stood there with his arms crossed—all mussed hair, bare chest and faded, low-slung jeans. She almost groaned aloud at the sight of him.

  “Kelly.” From his tone, she could tell he was annoyed, indignant even, and she wondered if she was the first woman to ever walk out on him after sex. The irony in that would be astounding. “Why do I get the feeling you’re running away from me?”

  She pulled up short. Running? That was pretty much the opposite of the impression she was aiming for. She cleared her throat and glanced down at her watch. “I’m not running, Jake. I have a lot to do before I finish work for the day and I’d rather not spend my whole evening at the office.”

  He closed in on her, but she refused to move. “I don’t believe you,” he said, his eyes roaming her face as though searching for a hidden truth. He stood so close, just short of touching her, and the sheer presence of him was overwhelming.

  “What you believe is not my concern.” Her voice came out as a tremulous whisper and she knew she had to get out of there before she made a fool of herself. “Thank you for… everything. It was nice, but—”

  “Nice?” he echoed, looking at her like she was crazy.

  “Yes. But now I have to go.” She edged past him to the front door, but stopped when Jake’s hand appeared, holding it closed. She groaned in exasperation. “What is it, Jake?”

  “You,” he replied, glaring down at her. “What’s gotten into you?”

  She couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled forth at his choice of words. The whole situation was too ridiculous to take this seriously. “Well, actually, you got into me a few minutes ago.”

  He didn’t seem impressed and she forced herself to squash the amusement.

  “Oh, come on, Jake. What it is you want me to say? We had sex. Great sex. Now it’s time to move on.”

  He seemed to think about her words for a moment before answering. “Derek is organising a small welcome home party for me on Friday at some bar in the city.”

  Kelly nodded. “Trina may have mentioned something about it.” She’d already made up three different excuses why she couldn’t make it. At least one of them sounded semi-plausible. “Although, given you’ve been back for over a month it seems a tad late.”

  Jake shrugged. “Yeah, well, Derek and Scott brought me on board because they were flat out handling the work they’ve had coming in. Up until now we’ve been busy getting things under control.”

  “And now it’s time to party?”

  He shrugged. “Time to take a night off, anyway.” Sliding his free arm around her waist he drew he closer, placed a gentle kiss on her lips that made her breath catch. “Say you’ll come.”

  After the apparent lack of finesse she’d displayed in her attempts to leave she wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d been happy to see the back of her. Instead, he was doing his best to extract a promise to see her again. Perhaps having sex with him was the best thing she could have done. All of a sudden, he couldn’t get enough of her. “All right,” she said with a nod, adding a cheeky grin for good measure. “Since you demanded so nicely.”

  He smiled and released his hold on the door, going so far as to open it for her. “Thank you for your time, Ms Rawlins.”

  “It was my pleasure, Mr Caine.” With those words, Kelly walked out into the bright afternoon sunlight. She breathed the late-Autumn air deep into her lungs as she sauntered back to her car, feeling sated and energised. A laugh escaped her as she began to make plans for Friday night. If Jake thought this afternoon was good, he hadn’t seen anything yet.

  Chapter 10

  Kelly knew damned well she looked like a sex goddess when she and Trina arrived at the bar on Friday night. The confidence came courtesy of the two solid hours of primping she’d done to achieve the effect. Snug, low-rider jeans had been paired with a scarlet-red halter top that plunged all the way down to her waist at the back. She’d curled her hair, piling it loosely on top of her head. Her makeup, applied with meticulous care, had taken the most time. The brand new smoky, grey eyeliner she’d bought made her eyes sparkle and her lips, slicked with ruby lip gloss, positively shimmered. If Jake didn’t fall to his knees at the sight of her, she’d have to check him for a pulse.

  “Holy crap!” Had been Trina’s response when she’d walked out of her bedroom an hour ago. Followed by a shrug and a casual, “I’d do you.”

  “Excellent,” Kelly had said as she grabbed her purse. “I must be ready.”

  “You’re really planning to put him through the wringer, aren’t you?” Trina had said as they walked out the door.

  Kelly had feigned ignorance. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Her friend had laughed out loud. “Of course you don’t.”

  Now, as they made their way through the crowded bar, Kelly spotted Jake standing with a group of men on one side of the venue. As if feeling her presence, he turned his head and their eyes met. Whatever he’d been saying died on his lips as he watched her approach, his gaze wandering over her body.

  “Good evening,” he said when she and Trina reached him. “How are my two favourite ladies?”

  “Thirsty,” Trina said as she wrapped him up in a big hug. “How about you buy us a round?”

  He laughed at his cousin. “Hang on a minute. I thought this was my welcome home party.”

  “It is. We’re extremely glad to have a gentleman
back in our midst who is willing to buy us drinks and thus we welcome you with open arms.”

  He gave her a mock bow. “Well, when you put it in such complimentary terms, how can I possibly refuse?” Jake turned to her. “Kelly, what would you like to drink?”

  “I’ll get something in a minute,” she replied. “But you two go ahead.” Looking around, she spotted her friends, Julia and Amber, sitting at a table nearby. “I’m going to go say hello to the others,” she said before heading in their direction.

  Julia was the girlfriend of Trina’s brother, Derek, and Scott. Amber, meanwhile, was about to marry the love of her life, Lincoln. The deep commitment and love each of the women shared with her partners was something Kelly had been grateful to witness in the past few months. They were her proof real love did actually exist. She just wasn’t so sure she’d ever find it for herself. She hadn’t found it with Simon, despite the length of their relationship. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to experience that kind of love with someone like Jake, who she already knew would walk away at a moment’s notice. Still, she was happy for Julia and Amber, and would never begrudge them their joy.

  The moment Amber spotted her, the dark-haired beauty gave a little squeal and dragged her into a chair. “So, Kelly, how are you doing?”

  Kelly raised her eyebrows as Amber and Julia stared at her with the kind of curiosity usually inspired by a bug under a microscope. “I’m fine,” she said with slow deliberation. “How are you?”

  “Come on, don’t hold out on us.” Amber held up her hands as if making a big announcement. “Jake is back!”

  When Kelly held her silence, which apparently came as a great disappointment, Amber added some drama on her behalf. “The Jake,” she declared. Mr Rocked-you-out-of-your-panties-years-ago Jake. The one man who makes you hot just by looking at him. That Jake. Right?”

  Kelly cringed, burying her face in her hands, though she couldn’t help the smile on her face. “Yes, that’s him.” She’d briefly told the other women about her short relationship with Jake when they and Trina had whisked her away for a girls’ weekend shortly after her breakup with Simon. She’d been despairing over the fact she and Simon had never been overly hot in the physical department, and a touch on the far side of tipsy, when details about her previous smoking hot relationship with Jake came tumbling out. Now he’d returned, she kind of wished she’d kept her mouth shut.

  “And?” Julia asked, all but bouncing in her seat. “How are you two getting along?”

  “We don’t see much of each other,” she replied as Trina joined them at the table. “But Jake and I are getting along fine. Isn’t that right, Trina?”

  Trina snorted. “She’s been avoiding him at all costs but then the moment they’re in a room together it’s all eye-fucking and innuendo.”

  “Trina!” Kelly was mortified, even as Julia and Amber hooted with laughter. She’d been relying on her friend to back her up here. “Aren’t you supposed to be off somewhere getting a drink?”

  “It’s being delivered to the table,” Trina said with an unapologetic grin.

  “So, what are the chances of you two giving it another shot?” Amber asked.

  “Zilch. None. No chance whatsoever,” Kelly replied with a firm shake of the head. Then she burst into giggles. “Although the sex we had the other day was phenomenal.”

  The table erupted in an instantaneous uproar. Amber laughed her head off. Julia’s face could barely be seen for the hands covering her mouth. Trina’s head just dropped onto the table with a dull thud.

  “What the hell?” Trina asked once she’d recovered. “When did this happen exactly?”

  Kelly squirmed. “The other day, when I went to his place about that design job, I kind of threw him on the bed and had my way with him.”

  Trina frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Then she rolled her eyes at her own question. “I mean, of course you didn’t have to tell me but… damn it, Kelly, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I guess I didn’t know how you’d react.” She’d wanted to spill the beans more than once, but something had held her back. She knew it had taken a long time for Trina and Jake’s relationship to heal after he’d left town ten years ago. Trina had been the one to introduce the two of them in the first place, and she’d been horrified by Jake’s behaviour when it ended. “It was just sex, I swear.”

  Trina held up her hands. “Hey, you two are grown arse adults. You can do whatever you want, it has nothing to do with me. But I will say this,” she pointed a finger in Kelly’s direction, “there is no such thing as just sex between you and Jake.”

  Kelly shrugged and gave her a cheeky smile. “There is now.”

  “That makes me wonder,” Amber drawled. “I mean, ten years is a long time to improve on technique.” She didn’t actually ask a question, and yet all eyes turned to Kelly expecting an answer.

  “Well, the first time was, you know, my actual first time so some guidance was involved. Plus, we were teenagers so we were both very eager and the whole thing was over pretty quickly.” A few giggles accompanied much nodding. “This time,” she continued with a sly smile, “we both knew exactly what we were doing and, holy freaking hell, I think we could set the moon on fire if we tried hard enough.”

  The cheerful mixture of clapping and laughing from the other women lasted until Amber’s gaze caught on a point above Kelly’s head and murmured, “Speak of the devil.”

  Kelly felt a sudden warmth at her back and glanced over her shoulder to see Jake leaning over her. He placed what was no doubt a gin and tonic in front of Trina before placing a shot glass on the table in front of her. The transparent liquid in the glass could have been mistaken for simple water, but she knew better.

  “I know you said you didn’t want anything but, honestly, I couldn’t resist.” She heard the smile in his voice as he breathed the words into her ear. A shiver ran through her and her eyelids slid closed as she turned her head toward him, instinctively seeking more of his touch. “Turns out that happens a lot when I’m near you.” His lips pressed against her cheek in a quick kiss and then he was gone.

  When Kelly opened her eyes once more, the other three women were staring at her. “That was freaking hot,” Amber declared.

  “What did he give you?” Julia leaned forward, peering into the shot glass. “Is it vodka?”

  Kelly didn’t need to taste the liquid to know the answer. She cleared her throat before speaking. “It’s tequila.”

  “Ew.” Julia’s nose wrinkled. “How do you know?”

  “The night we met…” Kelly said, picking up the glass. “There was a party, we had this weird conversation… it was a thing.” She tossed the contents back in one fiery gulp, fighting not to cough as the liquid burned on its way down. It had been a long time since she’d drank tequila.

  Amber’s eyes lit up. “Oh, he’s working your backstory like a champ. Nice.”

  “What do you mean?” Kelly asked in a wheezy voice.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Amber raised her hands in a gesture that told Kelly it was, indeed, obvious. “He’s reminding you of the night you met because he wants to stir up those feelings again. He wants you back.”

  Kelly made a rude sound, feeling her shoulders relax as the alcohol kicked in. “No way. We had some fun, there was nothing more to it. And fun is something which has been sorely missing from my life for quite some time.” She ignored the slight twinge of doubt squirming in the back of her mind, warning her this whole thing could come back to bite her on the arse. “It’s not like Jake is planning to head to the nearest department store and pick out china patterns or anything. It’s all about the good time.”

  “That’s what I told myself when Linc and I started having ‘fun,’” she said, complete with air quotes. “I even tried to kick him out the next morning.”

  “I take it he talked you out of getting rid of him,” Kelly guessed. Lincoln was built like a mountain, tall and broad. She couldn’t imagine anyone kicking
him anywhere he didn’t want to go.

  “Let’s just say he let his fingers do the talking,” Amber said, grinning like a fool. “They were very convincing.”

  Trina started fanning herself at that statement, while Julia’s whole face turned beet red.

  “Well, you can rest assured the only thing I’m going to get from Jake Caine is a bucket load of bone melting orgasms,” Kelly told her friends in a low voice so they wouldn’t be overheard. “I’m going to make that man want me so bad he can’t walk straight.”

  “And then what are you planning to do with him?” Trina asked, one eyebrow raised as she stirred her drink with a cocktail straw.

  Sighing with pleasure, Kelly replied, “I’m not sure yet. Maybe I’ll keep him as a pet.”

  The table broke out into laughter as Trina held up her glass with a murmured prayer. “God, help him.”

  Chapter 11

  Jake’s gaze wandered down the long, luscious lines of Kelly’s bare back as she moved on the dance floor. His hands ached to caress all that creamy skin, then lean down to kiss and lick his way around to her—

  A masculine hand waved in front of his face and he blinked, startled out of the fantasy he’d so quickly become lost in. He turned back to Derek with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, mate, you were saying?”

  “Nothing important enough to hold your attention when Kelly Rawlins is shaking her finely formed booty.” Derek chuckled at his chagrin. “You’ve got a little drool on your chin.”

  “Very funny.” Jake could hardly blame his cousin for teasing him. He’d spent the last four hours failing to keep his eyes off Kelly as she enjoyed herself. She’d spent half the night chatting to the other people who’d shown up for his welcome home party, including his new co-workers and a couple of old high school friends. When she hadn’t been lost in conversation she’d been lost on the dance floor. The way she moved was enough to ensure his eyes never left her.