Read Online Burning Up by Anne Marsh - Free Book Online Page B

only lifelines this early in the morning. God, she was tired of feeling helpless. Tired of being a pawn some man decided to move around the board because he could or because he wanted something from her she didn’t want to give. She wanted to do something, and she didn’t want to retreat.
    She wasn’t retreating ever again.
    Knowing Jack was just downstairs hadn’t made the night any easier, either. That handful of stairs was nowhere near enough space between them. He was pure temptation, and she could admit that to herself.
    So she was nowhere near ready when Jack dropped down onto the porch step behind her. His legs slid around hers, and a hard, muscled arm wrapped around her waist, tugging her up and backward. His other arm rescued her coffee as she yelped.
    He chuckled and stole a swallow. “God, Lily.” He stared down suspiciously into her cup. “Did you even bother putting coffee in here?”
    So she liked her coffee milky sweet, and she used way more sugar than any adult should. Her house. Her rules. “Make your own damned coffee, then,” she snapped.
    â€œAre you always this grumpy in the morning?” he teased. “Because, if you are, I’m going to need a few pointers.”
    He’d obviously been up for a while. She’d heard the front door slam hours earlier as she lay there sleepless. Watched Jack take off down the road, running. Now, his hair was still damp from his post-run shower, but he was wearing his usual uniform of jeans and a T-shirt. Work boots. So close to him, she felt impossibly bare in her cut-offs and tank top, too aware of the contrast between her bare legs and his muscled ones.
    His mouth brushed the skin of her neck, his tongue drawing a wicked little pattern on the sensitive skin. His teeth nipped at her, and the erotic sting had her stilling.
    When his hand found the back of her neck and rubbed, she wanted to melt in sheer bliss. She should have moved away. Should have told him to keep his hands to himself. But Jack Donovan in the morning was even sweeter than her coffee, and she wanted something to keep her memories of that night, that fire, at bay.
    When he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping her in those arms of his, she finally protested.
    â€œI can’t do this, Jack.” She pushed at him, and he let her put a few inches of space between them. “You don’t want to stick around.”
    â€œTake a chance, baby,” he growled. He nipped at her lower lip, his hands threading through her hair. “You take that chance on us. I would never hurt you.”
    â€œNot intentionally,” she said sadly.
    Her words hung there in the air between them, and there was nothing he could say. Because those words were true. He would never hurt her on purpose, but summer would end like it always did, and he’d move on—like he always did—because staying put just wasn’t an option for him.
    He tightened his arms around her. “Don’t write me off, Lily, and don’t tell me what I want. Right now, what I want is you, and damned if you’re not driving me crazy. You’re going to have to give me just a little trust here.”
    â€œWhy should I?” She shoved against his chest. She knew Jack. He wouldn’t hold her there if she really wanted to go. He might coax and tease, but he’d never force. She shut that memory down before she could follow it back to the night of the fire. Jack’s hands weren’t getting the message, however, because he just pulled her closer to him. She wanted to talk, but sometimes all those words didn’t get you anywhere. She didn’t see them resolving this matter with a handful of words anyhow. Bottom line was, she didn’t trust him to stick around, and she didn’t see how he could fix that particular issue.
    â€œI don’t think you want to be hiding from what we’ve got between us,” he growled. His hand slid down over the curve