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Laurel threw herself at him. He’d barely caught her before she slammed her mouth against his.
With a groan, he kissed her like a man possessed, devouring her mouth as he pulled her closer. Drugged by the feel and taste of her, all he could think about was pounding into her until she screamed.
He needed her naked in his bed five minutes ago.
The only, absolutely only reason he ended the kiss was to take her home.
“Let’s get outta here,” he told her thickly.
She nodded without hesitation.
“Laurel!” Her ex staggered to his feet.
Jake tensed, ready to take the guy down again, but Laurel placed a hand on his chest, patting it twice before facing the prick.
“You know what, Ethan?” she asked before he could say whatever he’d been planning. “I changed my mind.” With that, she let a right hook fly, slugging the guy smack in his broken nose.
He squealed like the pussy he was, stumbling into the upended table before flailing back onto the floor.
Guests had gathered around, hoping to get an eyeful. Jake noticed Laurel’s parents in the crowd at the same time she did.
“I’m sorry,” Laurel mouthed to her mother.
Patricia shook her head and smiled, while Bert hiked a huge thumbs up.
Laurel gave them the slightest nod, her gold-flecked, hazel eyes glistening with moisture.
Jake laced his fingers through hers. “You ready to leave… Slugger?”
Yeah, he’d figured out where the nickname had come from.
She looked at him with wide eyes. After a beat, they crinkled on the corners when a smile bloomed across her lips. “That’s ‘Princess Slugger’ to you.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Laurel hissed in a breath through clenched teeth when the ice pack touched her hand.
“Sorry.” Jake looked up, clear blue eyes luminous in the muted glow from the one good lightbulb in a two-bulb light fixture above the table where she sat. “I promise it’ll help.”
“Speaking from experience?” she asked.
“I plead the fifth.”
Laurel watched in amazement as the big, tough fireman tended to her bruised knuckles as carefully as if she was a three-day-old kitten. He’d brought her to his house after they’d left the fundraiser. The entire way home, Jake kept asking about her hand. She’d told him it didn’t hurt, and it hadn’t… until the adrenaline had worn off. Now, it hurt like—well, like she’d punched a guy in the face.
A giddy feeling skipped through her body.
I punched Ethan in the face!
She wasn’t one to condone violence, but hitting that cheating jerk again? Bruised knuckles were worth it.
“What’re you smiling about?” With Jake squatting on the floor before her, they were eye level with each other.
She bit the corner of her lip and raised her brows. That looked innocent, right?
“Felt good, huh?” Jake asked.
“Sooo good!”
