Free Hard Charger: Jake & Sophia: A Hot Contemporary Romance by Tracy Fobes

was a good choice.  There are plenty of old Honda parts out there.”  She turned from the bike and faced him.  “Well, thanks for the talk, Jake.”
    “We should have done that years ago,” he replied, and fished into his shirt.  “I have something for you.”
    “What?”  She watched him expectantly.
    He pulled out his Saint Jude medal, unhooked the chain, removed his dog tags, and then handed it to her.  “Father Al gave this to me right before I went off to war.  I wore it for ten years straight.  Never took it off.  And here I am, in one piece.  It’s lucky.”
    Lips parted, she threaded the chain through her fingers and held it up, to look more closely at the medal.  “Jake, I can’t take this.”
    “I want you to have it,” he insisted.  “It’s thought to give people courage to face difficult situations in life.”
    She sighed, and tightened her fingers around the medal.  “Thank you.”
    “You’re very welcome,” he murmured, and then he was leaning closer to her, his attention focused on her deep gray-green gaze, and the secrets he saw within her eyes.  The scent of her enveloped him and he sensed her trembling.  Without quite realizing what he was doing, he put one arm around her waist and another around the back of her neck, and drew her against him.  She struggled briefly, and he loosened his hold, willing to let her go.
    But she didn’t go.  She looked up at him, the message in her gaze clear now. 
    He lowered his head and his lips found hers.  He kissed her for a long time, tenderly at first, gently pressing and probing, and caressing her soft, sweet-tasting lips with his own.  Gradually that gentleness gave way to urgent demand as his body responded to the closeness of hers and his cock strained and throbbed with excitement against his jeans.  He tightened his arms around her, and she moaned, her arms snaking around his waist, her hands reaching up to explore the muscles of his back, her fingers tangling in his hair and pulling him closer to her. 
    All of that wild yearning he’d experienced on the beach with her years ago sprang to life once again within him.  He began to stroke her back, and her shoulders, his hands exploring her body as they once had, and within him he had a sense that balance had been restored, that Sophia was exactly where she was supposed to be: in his arms.  That sense coupled with his deep longing for her drove away his will, his resolution not to hurt her or betray his best friend again.  He ran his fingers along her neck, across her collar bone and down to her breast as he forced her lips farther apart and his tongue tangled with hers.
    She was kissing him back eagerly and hard, like a woman starved, and his head seemed to spin.  His cock hardened painfully and he felt a deep, unrelieved tightness in his gut, a need to take her right here, in the parking lot.   He held her more tightly, overpowering her with his strength until she had molded her body to his, melting into him, then rubbing against him, grinding against his leg, nearly riding it so that she could rub that soft, tender place between her legs against his hard thigh muscles.  Boldly she snapped his waistband open with one hand and slipped her fingers down into his jeans.  Seconds later, he felt her warm palm wrap around his cock and begin to stroke him.
    Nearly crazy with desire for her, he glanced around, looking for a shadowed arbor, a soft place in the grass between shielding bushes, somewhere, anywhere he could rip her clothes off and lay her down without being seen.  He hadn’t realized how badly they’d needed each other.  He’d forgotten how good it was between them.  He pulled his lips from hers and began kissing the white column of her throat, then the curve of her shoulder, before slipping lower to her breasts.  He wanted one of her pink nipples in his mouth.  He wanted to suck it and see the pleasure she felt at his touch reflected in her face.  Her silky