All In (Cedar Mountain University #2) (11 page)

“I didn’t realize you were seeing anybody.” Lincoln says to Jacob.

I say, “He’s not” at the same time Jacob says “I am” and Lincoln
just starts laughing.

“All right then. I just wanted to check to see if you were
interested in fighting again. I’ve got a guy who I think you’d be good
against.”

“I told you I didn’t want to fight anymore.”

Lincoln shrugs one large shoulder. “Never hurts to ask. The girls
liked to watch your pretty face and the guys liked to watch you kick ass. You
were good for business.”

“Business slow?”

“Nope. Just thinking ahead. I’ll catch you later
.
I’ve got a couple other guys I want to talk to.”

He ambles away and within seconds there are two blonde sorority
girls flanking him on either side. One is bold enough to wrap her arm around
his waist, snuggling in against his side without invitation.

Not that he seems to mind.

“He’s an interesting guy.” I turn back to look at Jacob. He’s
watching me and not Lincoln, and his ice blue eyes are intense as they meet
mine.

“Come on.”

“Where?”

His hand latches on to mine, pulling me along behind him out of the
kitchen. “Upstairs. Where I can answer your question.” He stops walking long
enough to meet my eyes again. “In private.”

I’m sure he can hear the thundering of my heart as we make our way
through the house to the stairs that will lead us up to his room. It’s pounding
so hard in my chest that I can hear it over the thump of the music from the
party surrounding us. He’s brushing the pad of his thumb softly back and forth
across the pulse point on the inside of my wrist. The contrast of his skin
against mine is tantalizing.

He nods his head once at someone who calls his name just before we
hit the stairs, but apparently there’s no stopping.

Much to my dismay.

His room is just as I remember. Mostly bare, incredibly impersonal,
save the one picture sitting on top of the dresser. My eyes dance over it, just
briefly, before moving back to him. I’m sure the younger girl in the picture is
his sister. The one who I now know has passed away since this picture was
taken.

The part of me that wants to ask him about her, about what happened
to her, is buried deeply under the unfortunate knowledge that we are now here
to discuss my complete lack of self-control when it comes to keeping my mouth
shut.

My seating choices in Jacob's room are not spectacular. The desk
chair looks freaking uncomfortable, a simple wooden chair with no cushioning,
the hard floor, or the bed. Which, considering the conversation we’re about to
have, sitting on the bed feels awkward.

I must be the only idiot in the world who finds themselves in these
types of situations. Surely, no one else is this dumb. With a small sigh, I sit
on the very edge of the bed, my body tense as I watch Jacob move around the
room. He drops his wallet and keys on top of the dresser, turning around to
look at me with a half-smile, the
tiniest
hint of
his dimple flashing before disappearing back into his cheek.

 
“Do you think you’re using
me?”

I lick my incredibly dry lips, watching the ripple of muscles under
his shirt as he moves across the room to flick on the lamp on top of his desk.

“I, ah,” I break off when his eyes shift over to meet mine. “I
thought maybe I was.”

“And now?”

Now? Now I think I’m in a world of trouble because I don’t think
I’m using him. But I’m terrified he does, or everybody else does. A few weeks
ago I had thought I would never get past Grant, and I hadn’t known Jacob Ross
beyond the whispered rumors that swirled around campus.

“I used to be so sure of everything, you know? My life, my
relationship with Grant,” I pause for just a second, “Myself. I don’t have that
anymore, not like I did before, and that pisses me off.”

“So do you doubt your interest in me, or mine in you?”

My gaze flicks back to his at the words. “Maybe both.”

He moves across the room with purposeful long strides that eat up
the distance between us in no time at all. He doesn’t move to touch me, but I
feel his gaze like a touch as it moves across my face.

“You shouldn’t doubt yourself, Grace.”

He moves again, one hand lifting up to brush at the hair hanging
against my cheek, moving it back behind my ear. It settles there for a second
before sliding out again. Smiling, he tucks it back again.

I pull in a breath of air, trying to force my tense shoulders to
relax, even just a fraction. I’m only making a little bit of headway when Jacob
settles on the bed next to me, his long legs kicked out in front of him, our
thighs touching.

So no more headway on relaxing.

Jacob touches the small of my back, and the heat from the touch
burns through my clothes and scorches my skin. I’ve never been so physically
aware of anyone in my entire life.

“Relax, Pixie, this is going to be painless. It’s just a
conversation.”

“An embarrassing conversation.” I point out, shifting around on the
bed so I’m sideways and looking at him. I pull one leg up, careful to not be
touching him.

“It’s not embarrassing if it’s what you’re feeling.”

“Nope,” I say after thinking for a moment, “Still embarrassing.”

Laughing he says, “I don’t think you’re using me, Grace. The
thought never entered my mind.”

That was all right, I had thought it plenty of times for the both
of us, but I don’t tell him that. It’s bad enough that I even put the thought
into his head. I glance down as one of his hands comes up to trace along my
fingers where they lay cross my calf. “You touch me a lot,” I murmur.

“You’re very touchable.” He chuckles. “Which didn’t sound quite so
creepy in my head.”

I give him a half-smile. “We’ve been doing this, whatever it is,
for over two weeks now.”

“Normal people call it dating.” He inserts.

“Thanks, jackass.” I roll my eyes. “My point is that you’ve had
plenty of opportunities and you haven’t taken advantage of any of them.”

My statement hangs heavily between us. He doesn’t say anything in
return, just continues to watch me while his fingers trace over mine.

Back and forth.

Brushing across my knuckles then back down over the very tips of my
fingers before starting the process all over again.

My fingers are an erogenous zone.

Good to know.

His fingers brush back up, moving past my knuckles this time,
barely skimming across the back of my hand before they gently close around my
wrist. His thumb is dancing back and forth across the pulse that beats there
wildly.

So I know that he can feel the increased beat of my heart that his
touch is causing.

His eyes haven’t left mine, and the normally pale blue color has
darkened slightly. Awareness bubbles between us, almost palpable.

He tugs gently on the wrist he holds, and my body tips into his,
one hand dropping against his chest to keep me from falling flat against him.

“Grace,” his voice is deep, husky as it drifts over my skin, “I’m
going to take advantage of the situation.”

I can’t stop the laugh that bubbles out. “Thank Jesus.” I lick my
lips, watching the way his eyes widen in response to the action. The heady
feeling of satisfaction rolls over me at the visible proof that I affect him
every bit as much as he affects me.

Unable to control the urge any longer, I reach up to brush my hand
across the whiskers covering his jaw. They prickle against the pads of my
fingers, scrapping gently against my skin.

“I just don’t want there to be any doubt.” His jaw moves under my
fingers as he speaks.

“There would be less if you would just shut up and do it already,”
I whisper, watching as his smile kicks up on one side, his dimple flashing as
it does.

He opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can form
the words I lean forward and lay my lips against his.

The first taste of him races right down my spine, sending
shockwaves through every nerve in my body. I’ve barely even touched him and I
feel like I could go up in flames.

It doesn’t take him long to take over, one hand sliding up my back
to grasp my neck, fingers delving deep into my hair as he holds me in place
against him.

Like I was planning on going anywhere any time soon.

He tilts his head just slightly to the left at the same time his
tongue slips out to run across the seam of my lips. I gasp softly in response,
and he delves in taking full advantage. He devours. It’s the only thing I can
think as his mouth moves against mine. His fingers in my hair tighten, twisting
in the strands so he can move my head to adjust to his own movements, and I can
hardly think at all.

I feel like dessert, at the end of a particularly delicious meal.
He takes his time, he savors, and he draws out the kiss until there is nothing
but him and his mouth against mine.

When he pulls back just slightly, I know I whimper at the loss.

I suck in air like it is water and I am dying of thirst.

When I go to pull farther away he holds me in place. “Not done
yet.”

“Thank God,” I mutter, before tilting down and claiming his mouth
as my own again. Keeping my mouth moving against his, I shift until I’m
straddling him, one knee on either side of his hips as I align myself against
him in the absolute most perfect way imaginable.

He leans back on the bed, bringing me down with him.
Hard to soft, I feel every inch of him as I brace my hands on
either side of his head on the bed. His hand feathers across the small of my
back, pushing my sweatshirt and tank top up just enough so his fingers brush
across my bare skin, causing my entire body to shiver in response.

My mouth breaks from his as his hand slides up my spine, brushing
just under the strap of my bra before sliding back down once again. I feel the
brush of his lips along my neck as my hands fist into the comforter on either
side of his head.

I drop my mouth back to his, sweeping in and taking over. I shift
just slightly against him, reveling in the groan that pulls from deep in his
throat, rumbling across my mouth that still covers his. The hand on my back
flexes, fingers digging deep into my flesh as my body moves against his.

I pull away from him slowly, licking once more across his bottom
lip as I move into an upright position, still straddling his lap.

Both of his hands come to settle on my hips as his eyes slide
halfway open. They are like frost as they meet mine. His thumbs rub circles
against my skin on either side of my body.

“See,” he says, his voice gruff, “I totally took advantage of the
situation.”

“You certainly did.”

“I plan to take total advantage of the situation again, very soon,
just an FYI.”

“I’m good with that.”

His hands tighten on my hips when I go to slide off of him. “Nope.
You’re good,” he says. “I like you right where you are.”

For several moments the only sound in the room is our slightly
labored breathing.

“Jacob,” I whisper. His eyes, which had closed again, bounce back
open to meet mine. “I’m still a little broken.” He quietly watches me, waiting.
“You might not have ever thought I was using you, but I was terrified I was.” I
brush a finger over his lips when he opens his mouth to speak. “I want you to
hear this, okay?”

He nods his head.

“Good. Because I want you to know that when I’m with you, I don’t
think about him. And when I’m not with you, I’m thinking about when I’m going
to be with you again. I don’t know that I’ll ever be completely over him, but I
do know that in this moment, right here, there is nowhere else, or no one else,
I’d rather be with than you.”

“I don’t think you’re as broken as you think you are, Pix.”

“He shattered my world.”

“Dented, maybe.” He reaches up, brushing a strand of my hair off my
cheek. “I’m going to share some more of my stalker tendencies. You ready?”

“Uh, sure?” I say hesitantly.

Laughing, he wraps a strand of hair around one finger before
letting it go and watching it bounce back into place. “I knew who you were
before we shared a class. I saw you once last year, walking with Robby and
Grant across campus. It was right after I stopped playing. I wasn’t in a good
place. I was angry at everyone and everything. Your hair was shorter then.” He
wraps another curl around his finger, tugging gently. “You were laughing at
something and it animated your entire body. It was like being punched in the
gut with sunshine, watching you walk by. It was the first time I had felt
something other than anger in weeks.”

Well.

I lean over and brush my mouth against his again. Pulling back
before it can go any further I can’t help but ask, “Punched in the gut with
sunshine?”

“Lame, right? But when you smile everyone around you smiles. They
can’t help it. You’re just so damn beautiful.”

“Seriously, do you like, have a book where you get these lines
from?”

“I’m just that good.”

“Of course you are. What was I thinking?”

“Obviously you weren’t. Do you mind if I take advantage of you some
more? You’re slightly addicting, Grace. I don’t think I’m going to get enough
of you any time soon.”

The sound of my phone ringing shatters the air. I still, waiting
until the ringing stops before leaning forward again. Just before our lips can
touch, just as I’m close enough that our breath swirls together between us, my
phone starts ringing again.

“Jesus.” I shift back up, still straddling Jacob and reach into my
back pocket to pull out my phone. Cole’s face stretches across the screen, and
with a frustrated sigh I brush the button to accept the call. “I’m a little
busy, Cole.” I snap into the phone.

“I need you to come to the apartment.”

With a frown, I turn away from Jacob, shifting so that I slide off
his lap and am sitting next to him on the bed. “What’s up?” I question, though
I’m sure it has something to do with Delaney, and something to do with the fact
that we’re entering November.