Free Welcome to Sugartown by Carmen Jenner Page A

is written all
over my face.
    “ It was just
a kiss, Elijah.”
    He narrows
his gaze, cants his head to the side and I know he doesn’t believe
me. “Just a kiss? That so?”
    I fold my
arms over my chest and try to look indignant. “So.”
    One corner of
his mouth tilts up at the side and his certain gaze locks on my
wavering one.
    Crap, I think
he was testing me.
    Double crap,
I’m pretty sure I just failed.
    Elijah stalks
closer. I take a nervous step back into the closed front door.
Anyone else would be conscious of invading the delicate boundaries
of acceptable personal space, but knowing that he has me cornered
seems to make him really, very happy. He grins and pens me in with
his arms pressed against the door.
    What is with
this guy and his blatant disregard for personal space?
    “ You wanna
know what I think, Ana Belle?”
    “ Not really,
but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway,” I
squeak.
    He leans
forward, his mouth brushing the shell of my ear. This small,
insignificant touch sends warmth flooding between my thighs and a
shiver down my spine. He whispers, “I think you’re
lying.”
    “ You can
think whatever you like, but you’re wrong.”
    “ Am I?” He
leans in until our lips are inches apart and the moment stretches
out in front of us like the beginning of a warm summer day on the
road. I breathe his breath, he breathes mine. Our eyes are locked,
our bodies move into one another, and then, when his mouth meets
mine, it’s like we both just come apart. I taste whiskey on his
breath. Whiskey and need.
    I don’t know
if it’s the same for him, but for me, the whole world could slip
away and I won’t care as long as Elijah never stops kissing me. His
hands are no longer penning me in; they no longer have to. One digs
into my hip through the thin, wet cotton of my dress, the other is
tangled in the hair at the back of my head. His grip is strong; his
frenzied mouth works at mine, so hard it almost hurts, but I kinda
like that, too.
    The assured
way he holds me gives me the confidence to be as free with him as I
want to be. Gone is the girl who hesitated as he pushed into me up
against my house, and as I break away from him, lifting my dress
over my head and letting it fall to the ground with a loud wet
slap, I feel a freedom I never thought possible. Elijah’s Adam’s
apple bobs as his gaze drifts over me from head to toe. The dress
didn’t allow for a bra underneath so I’m standing before him in
only a pair of lace knickers. I’m freezing and beginning to feel
self-consciousness sneak back in. I wrap one arm around myself, but
before I can cover up completely, Elijah takes my wrist and pulls
me toward him.
    “ You’re so
fucking beautiful.” He wraps all six feet of hard muscle around me.
I feel smothered and small in his arms but I find I like that, too.
Very much. He runs his mouth along my neck, across my jaw until my
mouth meets his. With his hands he hoists me up and suddenly I’m
weightless. I can feel the hardness and heat of him through his
jeans and I’m more than a little afraid. I know this is going to
hurt, but it’s not the physical pain I’m worried about, it’s
knowing I’m going to want more afterward than he’s willing to
give.
    My breath
catches in my throat and I press myself tighter against him so he
won’t notice how much I’m shaking. Elijah doesn’t notice, though,
he just walks us backward until his legs run into the bed and then
there’s nowhere else for us to fall.
    My breath
leaves me in a rush as his weight settles on top of me. I’m running
a mantra over and over in my head: Don’t
chicken out, you want this, you want him .
Though my hormones and my lady parts are certainly on board with
handing Elijah my virginity on a silver platter, I don’t think my
head agrees. It’s coming up with excuses as to why I have to flee
from his motel room.
    Maybe Elijah
senses my hesitation, because he pulls back and glances at me with
a bemused