He broke the kiss and stared into her eyes. Once again mesmerized by his red glowing gaze, her breaths came in and out in spurts. She heard his heart pounding loudly and felt the strength of hers slamming against her ribs.
Kiss me!
Why’d you stop?
Her mind screamed.
“I…need you so damned much.”
Then take me!
His mouth covered hers again. The impact of it stunned her. Not soft and yielding, then strengthening like the last, it was pure heat, pure passion like he’d lost control.
She parted her mouth. Her tongue delved into his mouth, mirroring the force of his kiss. The way he wanted it. His hands gripped her back, his fingers searing her with heat, dosing her with need. His lips continued tormenting her.
“Yes…”
He trailed his lips down her neck and cupped her breast. Lost in his touch, he created the need inside her so mystically perfect.
Licking down her neck, she whimpered, craving so much more. Then the room swirled around her, and she lay on her back on a mattress in a familiar room. She couldn’t remember where, couldn’t think. She only felt his hands roaming her and his mouth as it trailed lower.
He tore her shirt down the middle.
“Yes…”
She felt the cool air hit her, then suddenly the heat of his touch vanished. Her body shuddered, her eyes snapping open.
Jaw clenched, his hands fisted at his sides. He hovered over her, his gaze trailing up and down her body, eating her alive.
“
Meus sodalis est perfectio
.”
She didn’t know what he said. Right then, she didn’t care. It’d been too long since he touched her.
She didn’t think about regrets, didn’t realize then he never answered her question. She was lost, so lost.
Suddenly, she found the courage, sat up in bed, grabbed the hem of his shirt, and pulled it over his head. She’d seen him shirtless before, several times on the beach. Perfectly sculpted, every inch covered in muscle. She’d stared, too. But right then, her eyes devoured him like seeing him for the first time. Grazing her hand over his chest and toward his abs, she let herself wonder what he’d taste like.
He groaned.
Snapping out of her thoughts, she quickly yanked her hand away. Not a split second later, he caught her wrist and laid her hand on his chest, over his heart.
“I love it. The way you touch me. The way you look at me. Everything.”
She kneeled, bringing herself closer, and placed her lips on his chest, kissing and licking him. He cupped her cheeks and drew her lips to his, then settled her so she lay on her back. His body covered hers a second later. The hard feel of his skin pressed against her when he claimed her lips again.
He removed her bra slowly. “My turn, sweetheart…”
She wouldn’t protest. She couldn’t. She had waited long enough and wanted this.
He tossed her bra aside. The cool air hit her nipples. They peaked and tightened.
His eyes widened, growing a deeper crimson. “
Bellus
.” His lips met hers in desperation, the muscles of his chest grazing against her breasts.
She wrapped her arms around him. His mouth trailed lower and lower until he met her nipple, lapping over her flesh. Pleasure rippled through her. He ground his pelvis against her core. The length of him pressed into her. She felt him, all of him, and moaned.
“Jake…please…oh…”
His hands clasped her hips, grinding into her more firmly, his tongue continued to work its magic. It built inside her with each grind, each flick until it overwhelmed her, bursting her world into a million pieces.
Magnificent.
Earth-shattering.
Life-changing.
Ripples of pleasure assailed her. She screamed. Her body bucked.
He snaked one arm around her waist. The other around her neck, pressing her to him, but he didn’t stop. He kept licking, kissing, grinding, all while his big body covered hers, held her, so it didn’t stop. That pleasure he made her feel kept going and going, making her eyes water.
When her tears spilled over, it began to fade. It faded slowly though, so she got to enjoy it even longer.
He seemed to know when it faded completely. He slowed his pace until he stopped. His face came to hers, and he kissed her, softly, slowly, beautifully, then he did what he did often. He buried his face in the crook of her neck.
Her heart still drumming wildly, her body drained, yet humming with aftershocks of her release.
Never had she felt anything like it.
Never had she imagined it would be so…satisfying.
She could become addicted, fast. Finally, she understood why her sisters enjoyed men and encouraged her to.
He lifted his head. His red eyes enveloped her. Their bodies still tangled. He laced his fingers through her hair. A surge of emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
“Sweetheart.”
“Was that…did I…” Her face heated. She had to ask though. Part of her still couldn’t believe it. The other part of her—confused.
“Yes, you did.”
“But we didn’t…”
He smiled. “I know.”
“Is that possible or am I…”
“There’s nothing wrong with you.”
Perhaps she shouldn’t ask him these questions. He’d think she was stupid and inexperienced. Though naive, she didn’t want him to know that.
She didn’t know a thing about sex, and didn’t men prefer women who knew how to pleasure them? How could she ever give that to him?
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head.
“Trust me.” He kissed her, sweetly. His fingers massaging her scalp, she caved.
“I don’t know anything about…sex. I’ll never be able to pleasure you—”
His eyes widened. The red dissolved instantly. “You did. Bringing you to pleasure, pleasures me.”
“That’s sweet, but—”
“Val, it’s the truth.” He grinned. “Some would say I have an unfair advantage.”
Her jaw dropped. How had she not thought of it? He
felt
her release, of course, he had. See? Unfair advantage.
Still, it wasn’t the same. Right? Would he be disappointed when they had sex?
“Having you near gratifies me more than you’ll ever realize. What we just did, it was beautiful, meaningful, better than anything I’ve ever experienced with a woman. I love you.”
He spoke with so much emotion, her heart urged her to believe, but her pessimistic mind wouldn’t budge, reminding her he’d spoken as convincingly to the woman he loved and lost, reminding her one day, she’d lose him for he wasn’t hers to keep.
Oh God, she was way in over her head, head over heels in love with him.
She smiled.
Cupping her cheek, he said, “I didn’t do it because you were jealous.”
She stilled.
“I wanted to do it. I’ve wanted to do it for a while. I was giving you time to get used to you and me and Annie.”
His fingers caressed her cheek. “You believe me?”
“Yes.”
He kissed her, then suddenly drew away. “Annie…” The features in his face hardened, his face paled.
“She’s sleeping—”
“Yeah, but we weren’t quiet. What if she heard?”
She shook her head. “I created a sound barrier when you were mad in case you screamed.”
“What if she’s awake and we can’t hear her—”
She chuckled, shaking her head. “It blocks noise from reaching her, not the other way around.”
He relaxed. Still, his demeanor never recouped. It shifted from worry to grief, his eyes speaking volumes of sadness. The need to console him spurned, knotting her stomach.
“I’m losing her.”
“
No
, you aren’t.”
He looked away from her. “They’ll never let me keep her. I have a reputation.”
She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling his face to meet hers. The intimacy of the action came as natural as breathing and confounded her. “No, you won’t lose her. I won’t let it happen.”
She didn’t know what she’d do, but she knew with certainty no one would take Annie.
Valerie would fight with her last breath.
Chapter 24
The heat of Jake’s gaze jolted her. She shivered. Her gaze snapped to him, over Annie’s head, nestled between them holding both their hands.
All showered and dressed but barefoot, Jake wore a collared, button-down sky blue shirt, Annie in a beautiful white frilly dress, and she in a yellow sundress. Their shoes in hand, feet buried in the sand, walking to a fancy steakhouse off the beach not a mile away from their hotel.
It had been three days since she learned what it felt like to orgasm, three days since she’d become seriously addicted. She couldn’t get enough, and he knew it, too. He didn’t throw it in her face, and he wasn’t conceited, but it made her feel uneasy. Uneasy since she had yet to give him what he gave her. Yes, technically, he felt her release, but it wasn’t
his
release. She tried, even told him she wanted to, but he insisted he wasn’t in a rush and they had time. He insisted he could wait until she was sure. When she insisted she was, he said, “Waiting a few days won’t hurt.” His ability to wait while she could barely wait until they were alone made her think she felt more for him than he did for her. Maybe it wasn’t about that, though. Maybe he knew she probably wouldn’t satisfy him like he could her. (She was a virgin, after all.) With the risk of sounding desperate, she hadn’t pushed it, hadn’t brought it up again.
Val spared a glance at Annie, who happily held both their hands. Her gaze then went back to Jake. His held hers for a brief moment before they darted to her bare shoulder, then trailed toward her backside. Her cheeks flushed. The image of Jake bare-chested, positioned above her, the feel of his hands on her body, and the masculine taste of him on her tongue flickered through her mind. She shook her head. She had to stop.
“Jake.” She meant to make it sound like a warning; instead, it came out breathless.
His eyes glowed.
She shook her head. “Stop it,” she mouthed.
He chuckled. “Your fault.”
Her fault? What the hell had she done?
Annie released their hands and ran away. Like a bucket of cold water drenched her, her desire cooled, panic taking hold. She fought the urge to run after Annie at immortal speed, conscious of the scattered mortals around them.
“Annie!” They screamed in unison.
Hearing her name, Annie turned, then stumbled and fell to her knees. Her eyes grew wide, and tears welled. Jake’s long powerful strides allowed him to reach Annie before she did. He kneeled and checked her for injuries. She reached them and kneeled beside Jake. Annie had landed on something hard on the sand, one of her knees scraped and bled.
“Pupa, are you okay?”
“It hurts.”
Valerie placed her hands over her knee and whispered a spell to help ease the pain.
“Thank you, Val,” Annie whispered.
“Annie.” Jake’s anger spilled from him. “Don’t ever do that again. There’s—”
Seeing Annie’s eyes widen, her brows drawing together, Val spoke over him. “What your uncle means is you scared us running off like that. There are bad people who wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you, Annie.”
She pointed toward a beach hut. Outside, t-shirts with funny slogans hung across a bar. “I’m sorry, but I wanted to see the store. Please, don’t be mad at me.” Her gaze shot to Jake.
He rubbed his hand over his face. “No, pupa, I’m not mad, just…you scared me.” In one swift movement, he lifted her and headed toward the small store front. Valerie trailed behind.
“What do you want?”
She buried her face in his chest. “I don’t deserve it. I was bad.”
Jake turned and handed Annie to her. Annie wrapped her arms around her neck, her legs around her waist, then buried her face in her neck like Jake often did. Jake headed into the store and out of sight.
“Of course, you deserve it.” She rubbed her back. “Annie, you just scared your uncle, but he isn’t mad. You know he isn’t.”
Annie’s round, dark eyes met hers. “What about you? Do you still love me?”
“That’s a silly question. Of course, I still love you, and I’ll always love you.”
Jake returned holding a large bag. He opened it. Inside, a couple of shirts with the beach’s name on it, a pretty pink beach bag, a new bathing suit, a bunch of headbands and bows. Annie loved headbands and bows almost as much as she loved braids. “Which one do you want to wear, pupa?”
She peeked inside. A big smile spread across her lips. “The pink bow…” she mumbled. “Thank you, Uncle Jake.”
He kissed her forehead. “You deserve this and much more.” He removed the pink bow from the bag. Like a pro, he grabbed some of her hair and tied it back.
“You’re getting good at that.”
He grinned.
“You are,” Annie agreed.
They reached the restaurant and were directed to their table by a slender male mortal. The mortal reached for a chair and held it out for Valerie. Then, from one second to the next, his face paled. She noticed his gaze widen, focusing on something behind her. Turning, she spotted Jake’s glare. Embarrassed, she meant to intervene, but before she could, Jake took a menacing step in the mortal’s direction and snarled, “Booster. Chair.”
Hard to miss. Hard for anyone at the tables near them to miss. And they hadn’t. Everyone loved a good show. Their attention now rested on her, Jake, and Annie. Feeling her cheeks flaming, she pulled Annie to her side, ignored the looks, and Jake, too. She sat and placed Annie on her lap momentarily. Annie turned her attention toward her, then Jake. In no time, the mortal returned with the booster seat, and Jake helped Annie sit.
Valerie took a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“What did
you
do, Uncle Jake?”
Crap!
She should’ve realized Annie would know. Amazing how even after a week she forgot things like that. Who could blame her though? It was hard to always hide how you felt. She needed to be more careful when she was annoyed or embarrassed or mad.
“I didn’t…”
“You did. Val’s mad.”
Too busy trying to not be mad, she didn’t look at either of them.
“It’s okay. Mommy and Daddy used to fight sometimes. Usually because Daddy was…” She paused. “…possessive,” though it sounded more like “po-se-sif.”
Valerie’s head shot up. “Mommy told you that?”