Sweet Southern Nights. Liz Talley

the event that shall not be named.”

      Eva realized she was being silly. This was Jake. And even though he said he’d forgotten the kiss they’d shared...and even if he’d already brought it up as a shall not be named happening, she couldn’t see the TV all that well from the scratchy chair she’d inherited from her grandmother.

      She got up and slumped down on the cushion next to him, chewing her pizza thoughtfully as the Notre Dame quarterback ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. “I don’t want to refer to that thing yesterday as anything. You said you’d forget it.”

      For a few seconds Jake chewed. Finally, he said, “What if I don’t want to forget it?”

      Eva’s belly flopped and it had nothing to do with the pizza. “Why wouldn’t you?”

      He shrugged. “I didn’t expect it, but it was interesting.”

      She sat her half-eaten pizza on the plate, rubbing her fingers against the paper towel she’d placed in her lap. “Interesting? No, it was insane. I don’t know why...ugh, you know, this is why I didn’t want to discuss it. Why I wanted to forget about it. Makes everything so weird between us.”

      Jake tossed his empty plate on top of the pizza box. “Yes, it does, but still, I have questions that need answering.”

      Eva sat up. “It was a dumb kiss. I don’t know why I did it. Just drop it.” Of course she knew why she’d kissed him. She’d dreamed about it for three years, yearning for his body against her, almost desperate to take one little taste of Jake.

      But he didn’t have to know that.

      “No,” he said, wiping his hands on a napkin.

      “No?”

      “See, thing is, that was a crappy kiss. How can I let you walk around thinking that subpar kiss was indicative of what I’m capable of? That would be...a travesty.” He reached over and dragged her into his lap, turning her so she tipped à la Scarlett O’Hara into his arms.

      “Jake,” she said, struggling against him even as something way deep down inside her screamed “hell, yeah.”

      His eyes held devilment, humor and something deeper. Almost tender. He lowered his head, rubbing his soft lips against hers. She immediately stilled at the sweetness, the hand she pushed at his chest turning to knot his T-shirt.

      He lifted his head and crooked an eyebrow. “That comparable?”

      Eva didn’t have words so she nodded.

      “Not good enough,” he said, dipping his head again, settling his lips against hers with gentle but insistent pressure.

      Open to me.

      His tongue traced the top of her bottom lip as his free hand slid up to her face, thumb tracing her jaw. Eva let go of his T-shirt and moved her hand to wrap around his neck. She opened her mouth and Jake delivered, his tongue sliding against hers.

      He tasted like pizza—warm, yeasty and so damn good. Desire unwound in her belly like a hose slipping from the fire engine, spiraling low in her pelvis. That sweet, achy throb pulsed as he shifted her in his arms, his kiss softening before becoming demanding. Finally, after several seconds of kissing the daylights out of her, he used his teeth to nip at her lower lip, tugging it before lifting his head.

      Their eyes met, their breaths mingled.

      Jake gave her a triumphant smile.

      Then he tipped her up, setting her in her original spot. He grabbed his beer and took a swig, throwing an arm over the back of the couch. “There.”

      Eva knew her eyes were as wide as the pepperoni pieces on the pizza slice she’d abandoned. “What the hell was that?”

      Jake opened the box and set another two slices on his plate. “That was correcting what happened yesterday.”

      Eva pulled the plate from his hands.

      “Hey,” he said.

      “You can’t just kiss me like that and then pretend it wasn’t anything more than blowing your nose.”

      “It was way better than blowing my nose, babe.”

      “Don’t call me babe. I’m not one of your bimbos. I’m not the sort of girl you can casually tip into your lap and maul, you arrogant, self-centered...ass.”

      “Eva,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender. “Now, don’t go getting mad. It was merely payback. You kissed me. I kissed you. Now we’re even.”

      “Even?” she repeated, her hands still shaking even as the desire shriveled up like the fern his sister had given her as a housewarming gift. “You are insane.”

      Jake laughed. “Maybe so, but at least you won’t walk around town thinking I’m bad at kissing. I mean, if we’re gonna kiss, we might as well do it right. That’s all I was thinking.”

      She pressed her hand against her lips and then slugged him.

      “Ouch,” he said, ducking her next swing.

      “Get out,” she said, feeling overly dramatic, but not caring enough to stop or calm herself.

      Jake thought the kiss was no big deal. Of course he did. He went around having sex if the wind blew right—a kiss might as well be a handshake to him.

      But it wasn’t to her. That kiss hadn’t been anything like the chaste, embarrassing thing she’d given him yesterday. No, that kiss had been toe-curling, panty-dropping, pure ecstasy, and it had awoken a hunger that hadn’t even poked its head out of its cage yesterday.

      Full-on, body-quaking desire.

      Absolute, bone-jarring lust.

      Something she couldn’t hide with a man like Jake.

      “I’m sorry,” he said, leaning away from her. “Stop making it something it’s not.”

      “You stupid, big-headed idiot,” she said, pushing off the couch, standing over him.

      “Come on, Eva. Calm down.”

      “Don’t tell me to calm down,” she growled.

      “God, you’re acting like a normal woman.”

      “I am a normal woman, you creep. You can’t do what you just did.”

      “Why?” he asked, his eyes focused on her hands.

      “Because.”

      “Because?”

      Eva backed away from him. “You and I both know why I’m pissed. Because you turned that into something. You...” She couldn’t say it.

      A few seconds ticked by.

      “I made you want me,” he finished, the teasing gone from his voice.

      “Yes. Why did you do that? God, Jake.” Eva backed away, shoving her glasses up her nose, feeling as if she wanted to run to her room, slam the door and lock him out. Physically she could do that, but that would be childish...and he’d still be in her head anyway. She’d still taste him on her lips.

      “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying... I don’t know why I did that. I’ve been feeling strange when I’m around you lately.”

      “Why?”

      “I don’t know. You’re Eva. I shouldn’t feel uncomfortable around you. I shouldn’t notice your lips, the way your boobs look in a tight T-shirt. I shouldn’t think about...” He stopped, his face registering that he hadn’t meant to be so honest.

      “What are you saying?”

      “Nothing. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and getting off the couch. “I’ll go.”

      She watched him, not knowing