Page 89 of Under Her Skin

I spin around and find he’s so damn close I can smell the shampoo he used. It’s crisp and clean and I’d love to run my hands through those damp curls and get that smell all over them. But Iwon’t.

“He shouldn’t have told youthat.”

“People talk, Rachelle. People tell each other things. It’s what friends do.” His fingertip touches my cheek and he runs it over my cheek bone. “You have beautiful bonestructure.”

I blink as I look into his blue, browneyes.

“You’reforward.”

“Your prefect,” he says in awhisper.

“Oops!” I hear Kip say as he walks into the kitchen. “I just have to fill Pax’s bottle with milk then I’ll be out of yourway.”

He goes to the fridge and pours milk into a bottle and I move away from Blake. “No reason to hurry, Kip. We’re just cooking inhere.”

“It smells awesome,” Kip says. “Get back to it, you two.” He leaves and I feel Blake’s warm body come up behindme.

His hands slip over my arms and my knees nearly buckle as his lips graze my shoulder. “I find youfascinating.”

My heart stops and my body quivers. He’s just too much. It’s too intense, and he’s most likely a huge player. “Look, I know you must always get your way with the females but I’m not easy. I’m really a waste of yourtime.”

My hair he pulls back, warm lips touch my neck and Imoan.

Crap! That was amistake!

His arms runaround me and he rocks me gently as he trails kisses down my neck, lingering near my ear. “Want me to stop,Rachelle?”

Hell no, I don’t want him to stop. It feelsamazing!

“Stop,”I say. I try to tense my body up, but the damn thing is rebelling against me as he holds me to him like this. It refuses to tighten up in his strongarms.

He lets me go and I have to lean on my hands on the countertop to hold myself up. My brain is screaming at me to turn to him and throw my body back into his huge arms. I can’t though. The pain of what will surely happen isn’t a thing I want in mylife.

“School is my focus. I can only focus on one thing at a time and my career is what that is right now,” I say as I pull myselftogether.

“Hmm,” he says as he moves further away from me. “School, huh? Only one thing at a time, huh? Sounds dull and you seem anything but dull,Rachelle.”

“I am dull. Dull as they come. You’d be very dissatisfied with me. I can assure you.” I wipe away a stray tear that got away from me somehow. “That’s what always happens. They allleave.”

“How many?” he asks as he leans over the counter and looks at me, but keeps his distance across theisland.

“How many what?” I ask, focusing on cutting thetomatillos.

“How many men, or boys left you?” he asks as he threads his fingers together and leans his chin on them as he props his elbows on thecountertop.

“All of them.” I look up at him and glare. “All of them, okay? Happy now? I’ve been dumped by all I’ve dated. I’ve never been the dumper, only the dumped. So, you see I don’t want to get hurt again. And let me tell you, Blake, you would hurt me bad. I can feel it clean to my toes, you’d be the one who’d break what’s left of thisheart.”

He straightens up and frowns atme.

“How can you be so damn sure of that? I’m a good guy. I’ve dated only a couple of girls and we parted ways in very amicable manners. We still exchange pleasantries when we accidentally meet. There are no hard feelings on either side. So, what makes you so sure I’d hurtyou?”

I look down and don’t want to answer him, but my mouth opens upanyway.

“Because the moment I saw you, I wanted you. I wanted all of you in a mere instant. That’s why I know you’ll hurt me.” I run from the kitchen and mentally kickmyself.

Never have I not had control over letting my true feelings out. I always keep the real things in. It’s what I do. That man has some kind of magic over me and that’s nothing butdangerous.

I need to get out of here rightnow!