The Shameless Hour (The Ivy Years #4)

Remind me why I’d resisted this?

“You feel good right here,” Rafe murmured. His hand skated down my spine, leaving tingles in its wake.

“I was lonely for you tonight,” I admitted. “I kept wishing you’d show up and demand to work on our spreadsheets.”

“You are a sexy girl,” Rafe whispered, and I laughed into his neck.

I lifted my face to his. “It’s true what they say about me. I like big, long columns of numbers. I want to make your interest rate spike.”

With a chuckle, he kissed my forehead again. “You’ve got my attention now. But I was never giving up on you, belleza. I thought I needed a night to regroup. But I was always coming back for you. To try to win you over.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been so dense.”

He shook his head. “Nothing dense about you. You schooled those boys today. People are going to talk about it for weeks.”

That might be true, but I didn’t want to think about it right now. Instead, I put my lips on his jaw. Then I tasted him, enjoying the scrape of his whiskers on my tongue.

His breath hitched. “Belleza,” he whispered hoarsely, making me shiver. Then he tilted that sexy mouth down to mine and kissed me slowly. His lips were warm and firm, and so very Rafe.

“Mmm,” I sighed against his lips. I wondered how it would be between us now that we knew each other’s secrets. Maybe Rafe would be tentative. I hoped not.

He deepened the kiss. I opened for him, and his bossy tongue tangled with mine. One big hand slipped around my waist to palm my quivering belly, and the gentle pressure sent waves of electricity zinging through my core, lighting up my fun zone.

Not tentative! Nope!

Rafe stoked our kiss, his lips coaxing mine, his hands skimming, teasing…

A loud moan reverberated off the weenie bin walls, and it came from me. The single night we’d shared in September had lived on in my mind, so hot and wild that I’d wondered if my memory had embellished it. But now I knew it hadn’t. Inside the thoughtful, quiet Rafe I’d come to know lurked the sensual beast I’d remembered. As he kissed me, those strong arms were in motion, squeezing my hips, pulling me against his sturdy chest.

I turned my whole body to face him, seeking even better contact. Tossing a knee over his lap, I managed to straddle him properly. His arms clamped around me, his hands landing on my ass. He squeezed, and we both groaned.

Our kisses were as deep as the ocean. I hadn’t let my guard down like this — truly letting myself go — in so very long. I’d been tied up in knots for so many weeks that it had come to seem normal. But this was glorious. I basked in the circle of Rafe’s arms and let him know exactly how happy he made me.

“ATTENTION PLEASE. THE LIBRARY WILL CLOSE IN TEN MINUTES.”

The intercom’s warning was barely enough to separate us. After several more drugging kisses, we finally broke apart, both of us panting. “We should go,” Rafe said.

“Yeah,” I agreed. But then I kissed him again, because my mouth overruled my brain.

Rafe chuckled against my lips. “Come on,” he said, slapping my backside. “Let’s get out of here.”

I’d never heard a better idea in my life.

Rafe shoved his books and computer into his backpack then followed me out of the little room. He put an arm around my waist, and together we climbed the stairs and walked out into the night. “Where’s your jacket?” he asked, eyeing me. “Wait. Where are your clothes?”

“Um,” I said as he stopped to shuck off his jacket and drape it over my shoulders. “I was in a hurry to find you.”

“You ran over here alone, in your PJs?”

“Rafe, it’s two blocks.”

He put his arm around me again. “Can I remind you that it’s important to stay off a certain fraternity’s radar right now?”

“Nope,” I argued, steering him down the street again. “Think about it. Do you really want your first move as my boyfriend to be an argument? That’s going to hold up your trip to pound town.”

He laughed. “Hearing you, belleza. On the other hand, if we don’t keep you safe, it’s going to be that much harder to have a whole lot of sex.”

“I’m fine, Rafe.”

“You are very fine,” he answered, his voice rough.

The next two minutes were a comical pantomime entitled “Two People Who Want Sex Fumble Through a Gate and Two Doors.” Thanks to electronics, the first two locks were easy. We ran up the stairs, passing Rafe’s door and finally making it to mine. The key was on a stretchy loop around my wrist, but my need for instant gratification was overpowering. I stopped on the landing and grabbed Rafe.