Standby (Open Skies Book 4) by Becca Jameson (popular e readers .TXT) 📕

He returned to the kitchen and grabbed her stuff, rolling her suitcase to the guest room and setting her carry-on on the bed. “I’ve never slept in here, but my sister has visited. She said the mattress was fine. If you get too cold, there are more blankets in the closet. If you need more pillows or different ones, just let me know.” He pointed across the hallway. “There are towels and stuff in the linen closet in the bathroom. Let me know if you’re missing something.”

She smiled and grabbed his biceps. “It’s all good. Don’t worry. I’m not shy. I’ll tell you if I need something. And Jake…”

He licked his lips.

“Thanks. You didn’t have to do this. I appreciate it a lot.”

“Any time. Like I said, I wouldn’t feel right leaving you at your condo.”

“Still, it’s kind of you.”

It was getting late. He needed to feed her again. “How about we order takeout and chill in front of a movie or something?”

“I like that plan.”

Chapter 6

Shayla found herself incredibly comfortable with Jake when he wasn’t grilling her about Hawke. That entire situation was depressing and did nothing but make her want to kick herself. So, taking an evening to pretend her life wasn’t a hot mess was relaxing.

They ordered Chinese and shared everything. She quickly found out they agreed on what the best Chinese dishes were, so they ended up with all their favorites.

They watched a cheesy rom-com they’d both seen, laughing at the same lines. By the time the credits rolled, she realized she’d been smiling or laughing for several hours.

When she turned her gaze toward Jake, he was also grinning and watching her. “I like seeing you smile,” he said.

She shrugged. “You made it easy. Thanks…for everything. Really. I can’t tell you how badly I needed an evening like this. I almost forgot my stupid problems for a while.”

“Good.” He was sitting on the opposite end of the sectional, and the distance felt strange after the fact that he’d kissed her until her toes curled earlier in the day. She’d dropped into one corner of the sectional first, and then, after grabbing the remote, he’d chosen the other end. It had probably been for the best. Things would get complicated if she slept with him, and she wasn’t interested in more than sex right now.

Silence stretched between them while they stared at each other. Finally, he lifted a hand toward her. “Come here.”

She rose from her end and closed the distance until she was next to him.

He grabbed her fingers and tugged her down beside him. Still holding her hand, he looked down at their connection, rubbed her knuckles with his thumb, and spoke. “It took a lot of strength to stay this far away from you during that movie.”

She sucked in a breath. Thank God she wasn’t the only one. “Why did you?”

He lifted his gaze. “I really like you. I mean, I already knew that before I showed up this morning. I think I put off asking you out for all this time because I knew I needed to wait until the timing was right for both of us.”

She frowned, not quite understanding.

He drew in a breath. “What I’m trying to say is that once I took you out, I didn’t figure I’d be able to let you go. So, I didn’t pursue you. At first, after Trent and Destiny’s wedding, I wasn’t in the right state of mind to commit to someone, so I ignored the attraction and shoved it to the back of my mind. Then you were dating that asshole, so I stayed clear of you. I didn’t even ask anyone if you were still dating him. Probably for the best. I wouldn’t have wanted to be a rebound guy. Plus, work has been so busy lately that I was afraid I couldn’t devote the time you deserve to any sort of relationship between us.”

She stared at him, a little stunned and nervous by his confession. “And now?” she whispered.

He sighed. “Now I realize I should have asked you out a long time ago and saved you the aggravation of ever having spoken to that asshole. But I didn’t. I’m worried about your headspace too. You’ve been through a lot and it’s not over. I don’t want to move in too fast and make things worse. The last thing you need is another guy pressuring you.”

“I don’t feel pressured by you, Jake.”

He gave her hand a tug, causing her to fall into him.

She set her palm on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her and held her close. “You would if I followed my carnal instinct and kissed you senseless until you wouldn’t want to say no to me.”

Her heart rate picked up, and she was breathing heavily. “And this would be a bad thing?” Every inch of her body came alive in his arms and she tried to tell herself it was just physical. She didn’t know him well enough to be emotionally invested. But damn, it would be nice to roll around between the sheets with someone like him.

It made her nervous that he seemed to be interested in her for more than sex though. How could he be into her like that this fast? Sure, they’d known each other peripherally for over a year, but not well enough to say they had any kind of relationship.

She shook that concern from her head. It wasn’t reasonable. They were attracted to each other. Nothing else.

He groaned and tipped his head back for a moment. “Yes. Dragging you into my bed would be a bad thing. This is important. You’re not a booty call. My head tells me to keep my pants on and help you get through this shitty situation you’re in without adding to your stress.”

She licked her lips, trying to decide what to say without sounding as forward as she felt. What she wanted to say was fuck