There was a flash of understanding, and then he tugged them down, all the way to my ankles. Stunned, I flushed hot as my chest rose. Okay. He wasn’t mad. He was most definitely not—­

Jase lifted the edges of my shirt, and then kicked his head back. His throat worked. “Holy fuck, no panties?”

No panties? What? Holy shit. I’d forgotten. My body burned twice as hot. “I . . . I don’t like to wear them with tights.”

He snapped forward, curving one hand around my neck. “Perfect.” He kissed me again, thrusting his tongue in my mouth. “That is f**king perfect.”

And then his mouth was off mine and he was staring at me, his large hands dark against the skin of my thighs. Out of habit, I kept myself practically bare down there from years of dancing in tights, leotards, and skimpy dresses. There was no way to hide. Absolutely no way as he parted my legs.

A deep, sexy sound rumbled up from him. “You’re beautiful, Tess. More beautiful than I could even imagine.”

My mouth dried as my body sizzled from the inside.

“Open up for me,” he murmured.

I fought the urge to close my legs. Anyone could drive by. I had no idea where we were, how close to the frat house or any house. Hell, the police could drive by, but I opened for him.

“More.”

Heart pounding, I spread my legs, stretching my leggings around my ankles. His hands drifted over my skin, resting against my hips. All of this was insanely surreal. It was like a dream with tingling skin and heightened senses. My heart was beating so fast I thought I’d surely have a heart attack.

Jase’s quicksilver gaze held mine as he lowered his head. He went right for it, as bold and determined as I had been with him, but this . . . this was different. Intimate in an entirely unique way. I jerked when his warm breath neared and cried out when he kissed me between my legs—­a sweet, heart-­stopping kiss.

And then he devoured me.

His mouth was on me—­hot, wet, and shattering. The strokes of his tongue were determined, teasing and shallow, and then relentless and deep. My head fell back as my thoughts spun. Panting heavily, my h*ps moved as raw sensations pounded me into the seat. My body was a tempest. I was out of control. My hands slipped over the vinyl and my head hit the driver’s seat. I arched my back as he delved deep.

“Jase,” I moaned, my body coiling tight. Every part of me tensed. From the muscles in my fingers, all the way down to my toes. It was like being onstage, when the music started, and I glided into my first move—­that moment when my body was locked up tight, ready to bloom and follow the call of the music.

“Keep saying my name.” His fingers bit into my skin, eliciting a hiss of pleasure from me. “And I’ll never stop. I swear to you.”

I’d die if he kept up. I was dying now. I cried out, completely lost as my body spiraled and liquefied. I couldn’t breathe as release whipped through me, throbbing and pulsing. My legs trembled, my hands opened and closed, grasping air. There were these strange soft sounds echoing in the Jeep, and it took me a few seconds to realize they were coming from me.

Vaguely aware of him moving over me, I felt his lips on mine, tasting myself on his lips. I was in a daze as his hand smoothed over the skin of my thighs, and he whispered my name. Those calloused fingers drifted down my legs. He pulled my tights up, fixed my shirt, and helped me sit up, putting my feet back in the Jeep. I’d lost a shoe in the process. He found it, slipping it on my foot.

I leaned my head back against the seat, dragging in breaths as he buckled me in. A shiver danced over me as he ran a hand up my arm, to my cheek. He turned my chin toward him. I blinked my eyes open.

“If you say we shouldn’t have done that or if you apologize . . .” I yawned. Sexy. “I will punch you in the balls.”

One side of Jase’s glistening lips hitched up. “I wasn’t going to say either of those things.”

“Oh?”

“No.” His thumb smoothed over my lower lip. “I was just going to tell you that was the best . . . the best goddamn drive down these roads I’ve ever had.”

Chapter Thirteen

Jase stopped at McDonald’s on the way back to my dorm, ordering us a sweet tea that we shared. I think we’d worked up quite a thirst. I felt like I had no bones or muscle and I was floating in my seat, tethered down by the seat belt. The euphoria seeped through me. It was like finishing a dance number at a competition and walking off that stage knowing I was going to take first place.

Actually, this was better. More tangible. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel his hands on my legs and his warm breath dancing over my most private place.

Tomorrow I’d probably bury my face under a rock, but right now, I didn’t care. I didn’t want to think about anything. I just wanted to ride this wave, because I hadn’t felt this good in months.

Jase pulled into a parking spot near the entrance to the dorm. I forced my limbs to work as he hopped out and came around to the passenger side. He opened the door as I unbuckled my seat belt. My fingers felt detached.

When I slid out of the Jeep, I looked up into his eyes. A big smile stretched my lips as he reached between us, taking my hand in his. He closed the door and as I stepped forward, I stumbled way to the right.

He chuckled, tightening his hold on my hand. “Easy there. You keep it up and I’ll think I really swept you off your feet.”

I giggled, thinking that he’d most definitely been doing some sweeping. He led me to the sidewalk and my feet got tangled up a bit. I tripped and then laughed again.

Jase stopped, looking down at me. In the overhead lamps, and the way the shadows played across his face, I thought he looked like someone who stepped straight out of a dream. “Did you drink at the party?”

“Maybe?”

The relaxed half smile faded. “How much have you had to drink tonight?”

“Ah, three? Four? I don’t know.” I paused. “I don’t really drink. With dancing, you know? Can’t dance when I’m drunk. Well, I could, but it wouldn’t be that good.”

“Shit.” He hung his head and took a stuttered breath. “You’re drunk?”

“God. You do sound like a dad,” I yakked.

He shot me a blank look.

“All right, I wouldn’t say I was drunk.” I yawned as I turned toward the dorm and then glanced over my shoulder at him. He still held on to my hand, but our arms stretched out. “I wish I could teleport myself into my dorm.”

His brows rose. “Yeah, you’re a bit drunk.”

Was I? I couldn’t tell. The buzzy, happy feeling could be from the beer or the orgasm. “I’m going to go with orgasm.”

“What?” He laughed deeply.

Tugging on his arm, I smiled when he started walking. “I feel good—­better than I’ve felt in months. And I’m going to say that it was the orgasm and not the beer that is making me feel this way.”

Another deep, alluring laugh rumbled from him. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.” We were still horribly far away from the door, and Jase wasn’t moving quickly enough. Maybe he would stay. I didn’t think Debbie would be back for a long time. We’d have the place to ourselves. And we’d have a bed and—­

“I didn’t know you’d been drinking.”

Stopping at the somberness in his tone, I spun around and nearly lost my balance, which didn’t help my case. His hands landed on my hips, steadying me. “You regret it, don’t you?” My happy bubble was about to burst. “I’m not plastered. I know exactly what I was doing. I wanted to do it. Maybe it wasn’t my smartest idea—­”

“I f**king disagree with that,” he commented, eyes glimmering for a moment. “It was brilliant, but . . .” His features softened as he placed his large hand against my cheek. “If I’d known you’d been drinking, I would’ve stopped you.”

Tilting my head to the side, I tried to figure out what that meant. “And if I wasn’t drinking?”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

I guess I sort of did. “But I’m not drunk. I wanted to do that to you. I wanted—­”

Jase groaned. “You have got to stop talking like that.”

“Like what?” My brows knitted.

“Telling me that you wanted to. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad to hear that, but it makes me want to let you do it again. And for me to do it again. But I wouldn’t want to use just my tongue.” He pressed his forehead to mine, and I drew in a shaky breath at his closeness. “I’d start with that, but I’d want to use my hands and I wouldn’t stop there.”

His words scalded my cheeks, and maybe I was a bit more intoxicated than I realized, because a rush of boldness invaded me. “I wouldn’t stop you.”

He closed his eyes, and a deep sound came from the back of his throat. “God, Tess . . .”

I swallowed hard, and then tilted my head, lining up our mouths. “Jase?”

There was a moment of hesitation, and then he kissed me softly, a gentle sweep of his lips over mine. A barely there touch that somehow affected me more than any of the other kisses. “I know you’ve been drinking. I don’t want that hanging between us.”

“But—­”

“We’ll talk more later. Okay? Right now, let me just get your not-­drunk-­but-­slightly-­tipsy cute ass upstairs.”

“You think my ass is cute?”

He pulled away, laughing. “Baby, your ass is like my own personal holy ground.”

“Oh my God . . .”

A grin appeared. “Come on.”

“I can’t believe you just said my ass was—­ah!” I squealed as Jase slipped an arm around my waist and lifted me up, holding me to his chest. Stars cartwheeled for a few seconds. “What are you doing?”

He looked down at me, eyebrow arched. “Getting you to your room.”

“Carrying me is necessary?”

“Yep.” He strode across the pavilion. “Card?”

Wiggling around, I dug it out from my back pocket of my skirt. He hefted me up and managed to grab it without dropping me. I didn’t protest when he asked me to open the door and caught it with his foot. Resting my head against his chest, I closed my eyes. Seconds passed and the gentle bob of his steps swayed me back into that pleasant state. We needed to talk. About stuff. Serious stuff. And waiting until tomorrow was probably a bad idea, but I snuggled closer. Being in his arms, well . . .

Tomorrow could go screw itself with a rusty spork.

Much of the trip to my room was like being underwater, and opening my eyes required way too much effort. As usual, our suite was empty. He used his elbow to turn on the light.

“Are you sure you have roommates next door?” he asked, turning, somehow juggling me and the door.

“Uh-­huh,” I murmured sleepily and opened my eyes long enough to confirm that my dorm room was also empty. “I hear them every once in a while.”

“And you’ve never talked to them, right?” He crossed the small room.

“Nope.”

Jase laid me down on the bed, and as I opened my eyes, he’d already moved to the foot of my bed. “Tell me something.”

“Something.”

He grinned as he peeked up through his lashes. The light from the suite cast enough glow that I could see only him. “Did your brother know you were drinking?”

Cam was the last person I wanted to think about right now.

“Tess?” he persisted, tugging off one of my shoes. I wiggled my toes, and he captured my foot, holding it in his hand.

I let my eyes drift shut. “No. He was too busy staring at Avery the entire time.”

“He should’ve been paying attention to you.” He removed my other shoe, dropping it somewhere on the floor.

A very attractive snort escaped me. “Why? I’m not a child. I can drink if I want to.”

“Uh-­huh.” He danced his fingers along the sole of my foot, causing me to giggle. I tried to pull my foot away, but I was too slow. He backed off, picking up the quilt. “So are you going to be a weekly fixture at the parties now?”

Curling onto my side, I blinked my eyes open and smiled as he draped the quilt over me. “I don’t know. I didn’t see a lot of girls there.”

He sat beside me, fixing the edge of the blanket so it covered my shoulder. “There aren’t usually. Except the regulars.”

“Regulars?”

“Girls who come around for the parties that aren’t girlfriends.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “Like the girl in your room?”

He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. “Yeah. Like her.”

“What was her name again?”

Jase shifted his weight and leaned back, resting on one elbow. “Does it matter?”

Did it? Considering what had just happened between us? “Yes.”

“She’s a good girl.”

“Ah . . .”

His lips hitched back as he dipped his chin. “I’m serious. She just likes to have fun and—­”

“I don’t want to hear about that kind of fun.”

He laughed, and I scowled. “Cam used to hook up with her.”

“Ew.” I wrinkled up my nose. “And so did you?”

“Not at the same time.”

“God, I hope not.” When he chuckled again, I nudged him with my knee. “You do realize that means you’ve slept with Cam, right?”