Out of Control Read Online Free Page B

afraid the spark wouldn’t be there or that it would. “Come by at six,” he said. “I don’t know how long it will take to fix the window—”
    “Neither do I,” she admitted. “Maybe a few hours of hands-on work, maybe longer.”
    “So I’ll just give you your key early. That way you won’t need to worry about whether I’m here or not.” If he hung around, he was pretty sure she’d never get the window done, and while it would be fun, Ithaca’s weather was far too volatile to have a gaping hole to the outside for long. The weather was pleasant now, but it sometimes snowed in late April.
    “Makes sense.” Was he imagining the same combination of relief and regret in her voice that he felt himself? “See you around six.”
     
     
    “Bike again?” Drake raised one eyebrow like Leonard Nimoy as Spock. An apt comparison, Jen thought. Like Spock, Drake was super smart and in tight control of himself. The way Drake was looking at her suggested all kinds of dirty goodness, but he was being hands-off.
    Of course she’d just arrived.
    “I don’t own a car. It’s bike or bus, and the bus is a major pest.”
    “Once you move in, let me know if you need a car for anything. I might be able to give you a ride or lend you mine. I can walk to campus from here, so it just sits some days.”
    Jen filed that tidbit away for later. She hated asking for rides, but in winter, the bike was a bitch.
    He handed her a nondescript key. She made a mental note to get one of those colored key covers so she could remember it was for the house. Maybe a nice blue-green, like the lake in the stained glass window. “This is for the back entrance, which goes right into your place. Around here.” She followed him along a slightly uneven stone path that cut through a lawn just starting to wake up from its winter doldrums, and around to a back entrance. A short walk but a pleasant one that gave her an excuse to study Drake’s truly fine ass. When they reached the back door, Drake asked her, “Do you need tools or anything?”
    “I should have what I need in my pack, but I’ll let you know if I forgot something.”
    Drake nodded and said, “I’ll leave you to work, then.” Instead of leaving, though, he stood there, apparently weighing whether he should hug her, kiss her or just let her get to the window and figure out where they stood some other time.
    Jen was wondering the same things. But Drake’s face, calm and impassive, gave no hint that he was doing anything but letting a tenant into her future space to do some premove work and chatting a bit as he did.
    Damn.
    She did need to get to the window. She had hours before she had to be at Staff of Life, but at some point she’d have to return to Rafi and Melinda’s place to shower, change, make a few more sketches and, ideally, nap and eat something. On the other hand, Drake’s reserve, after the heat between them when they first met, was a challenge she couldn’t resist.
    And Avi had said he might not mind. It was worth a try. Worst that could happen was she’d look like a damn fool, but if it worked, it would be worth the risk.
    She stepped toward him, said, “Good to see you again,” put her arms around him and pressed close.
    For a few seconds, he was still as a statue.
    That was, almost all of him was still as a statue. The area that had been hidden by ugly shorts when Jen last saw him seemed quite active.
    Then the statue came to life, crushing her against his body in a claiming embrace.
    “Careful,” she cautioned, hating to do so, “there’s glass in my pack.” This seemed to give him permission to move his hands to her ass, which was a fine place for them to be regardless of whether there was glass to consider. She canted her hips forward, rubbed against him. At the same time, she stretched and tilted her face up.
    Just in time for his lips to cover hers.
    It wasn’t as intense and raw as the kiss the day they met, but if anything, it promised more. Still