Read Online Clover by Braxton Cole - Free Book Online

liked to think that she made Jake feel a little better just by being there. At least he didn’t look as sad when they finally left for home later that day as he had when they’d arrived.

Chapter 11
    Present Day
     
    Clover may not have paid much attention to Jake before, but he definitely had her attention now. All of his good points added up to tell her that she should leave him alone. She was leaving in little over a month and so was he. While she was up for a summer fling, she was not interested in falling in love and complicating her life further. She had very specific plans and Jake Feldman was the kind of guy who she could fall in love with. The timing in her life just wasn’t right for true romance.
    Still, she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “I like you, too.” She cupped the side of his face. “So I don’t see what the problem is.”
    “I’m leaving here at the end of summer, moving back to Salem.” Jake looked heartbroken.
    “Yeah, so am I. Well, not the Salem part. I’m moving to Portland, but why can’t we enjoy one another while we’re here?” Maybe she could survive a summer fling with Jake. If she kept herself carefully in check, she might be able to keep herself from getting invested. She knew, as she thought it, that she was lying to herself, but the thought of ending before they really started made her chest ache.
    “We can, I suppose, but what about after?”
    “What do you mean?”
    Jake took both her hands in his. “Clover, I just...I can’t do casual. Not with you. If we...do things...I’m never going to want to let you go. It was hard enough to leave you behind before, but I’d never survive it if I thought that you might want me, too.”
    Oh God, he was definitely the kind of guy she could fall for. Boys...men, really, didn’t say things like that. At least not her ex-boyfriend. He simply pushed and pushed until the next thing she knew, her pants were halfway down and his fingers were working inside her.
    “Too late for that. I definitely want you.” She cupped her palm around his cheek and just held it there. She wanted to do so much more, but didn’t want to risk him withdrawing completely. So much for easy and casual. Jake had stripped that option from her and she felt better for it.
    “Jesus.” He looked at her with such desire that Clover felt it deep inside her. It jolted through her body and made her throb with an intense need to show him exactly how much she wanted him.
    “Would it really be so wrong for us to kiss?” She moved closer until their lips were almost touching.
    “No, but...” The tremble in Jake’s voice made her pause in the moment before she touched her lips to his.
    “But what?” She whispered.
    “I’ve never...” Jake swallowed hard, but didn’t continue.
    “Never?” Clover felt a strange rush of déjà vu. The last time she’d had a conversation like this, she’d been the one trying to explain that she was still a virgin. Not that she was certain that was what Jake was saying, but it certainly felt like it. “What, Jake? You can tell me.”
    “I’ve never...you know...”
    Clover waited for more, but it never came. Finally, she kissed him softly and said, “We can take it slow.”
    “Yeah?” He returned her kiss, his hands coming to rest on her hips again, the thumbs swiping upward, but not quite reaching her breasts.
    “Yeah,” she spoke between kisses. “We can just kiss, if that’s what you want.”
    Jake shook his head and his hair fell over his forehead. “That’s the problem. How am I supposed to just kiss you? I want so much more than that. But...”
    Clover pushed his hair back and pressed light kisses to his forehead, then both eyes, his nose, and finished with his mouth. She didn’t want to push for more than he wanted to give, but God his mouth tasted so good, felt so perfect against hers. How was she supposed to stop herself when she’d never felt quite like this before? She eased closer to him, her