Diana in Love (Dirty Diana #2)

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Jasper sits on my front steps, his face tilted up to the sun. When he sees me, he breaks into a smile. I can’t help myself. I slip directly into his lap and wrap my arms around his neck. He looks sexy and disheveled and my heart races. I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed him.

He hugs me against his chest, then lifts my hair and kisses the back of my neck. I pull back to face him and lift his shades, falling into the pool of his deep brown eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re going away.” He smiles. “I need an assistant. A big out-of-town job. I thought you might be able to help me out.”

“Ha ha.” We both remember the early morning in Santa Fe a million years ago when I found Jasper freezing and pacing out front of my work, desperate for me to help him on a photo shoot. Fifteen years later, I feel the same butterflies in my stomach.

“It’ll be better than Marfa, I promise.” He stands and takes one of my hands lightly in his.

“You’re serious? You just got here.”

“I got here to come get you. Come on, pack your bag.” He pulls me to my feet. “Two nights. I’ll have you back bright and early Monday.”

I take a step away, as if lost in consideration and playing hard to get. He closes the gap immediately, his hands cupping my face. He kisses me softly. And I whisper into his mouth, “Emmy’s away until Tuesday.”

“Three nights.” He grins. “Even better.”

—

The front seat of Jasper’s rented Bronco swallows us up. We drive for hours, stopping for BBQ and a quick swim at a secret swimming hole he knows about. Then we’re back in the truck, driving across the rolling landscape of Texas hill country, past Whataburgers and detention centers and off-ramps for towns that slip by too quickly. We keep the AC off and the windows down, the summer air warm against our skin.

We stop in Fredericksburg for dinner. Jasper and I walk the main street, hand in hand, taking in the antique shops and historic buildings, quietly wondering exactly what the other is thinking. When we stop at a window display of especially terrifying antique ceramic clowns, I keep my eyes straight ahead. But I can feel him watching me. I turn and smile, and when our eyes meet an ache goes through me, a longing for him to touch me. We share a strawberry ice cream at an old soda fountain, passing it back and forth, licking the dripping ice cream before it melts onto our hands.

“Where next?” I picture a tiny bed-and-breakfast with lace doilies and a resident cat.

“It’s a secret,” Jasper says, and we hop back into the truck.

Just outside of Fredericksburg, Jasper turns onto a dirt road and drives slowly down a gentle hill with a campsite at the bottom. My heart sinks a little at the thought of no indoor plumbing for three days and mosquitoes snacking on us all night. But we keep driving until we come to a crystal-blue lake, surrounded by six A-frame treehouses, perched high above the ground.

“This is where we’re staying?”

“Pick whichever one you like.”

I choose immediately—a slender treehouse with its door painted blue—and climb the steep stairs to the top.

“A buddy of mine built these when he retired, to tempt his grandkids into visiting more. Now he’s given up on them and just lends them to friends. Wait till you see the view.”

We put our bags down and take a tour. Off the bedroom, high in the trees, is a porch strung with fairy lights, overlooking the lake. I peer over the railing while Jasper makes himself comfortable in a yellow-and-white-striped hammock. He stretches out and folds his hands behind his head, but even in a hammock, he doesn’t look totally relaxed. He keeps one leg flung over the side, his foot on the ground, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.

It’s quiet, except for the sound of chirping frogs calling to one another. Jasper gets up and moves closer. “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.”

Jasper rests his forehead against mine and exhales. “Finally. We’re together.” He kisses me deeply, his tongue inside my mouth, and it all begins. We can’t hold back another second. Before we realize what is happening, he’s unbuttoning my dress and my fingers are sliding down his chest to his belt buckle.

“I missed you,” I tell him.

“Let’s not go so long again.”

I nod, both of us pushing thoughts like But how? How could we possibly live our lives so far apart and see more of each other? from our feverish minds.

He scoops me up in his arms and carries me inside. He lays me down on the bed. I stretch my arms up above my head, inviting his exploration. The mattress dips as he kneels over me, straddling my hips. Slowly, he leans down and kisses me everywhere—my breasts, my shoulders, my neck.

“You’re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you,” he says.

“It wasn’t so long ago.” His kisses stir my craving—I’m desperate to feel him inside me. The feeling of him pushing into me, filling me up, so familiar and still so new.

I run my hands along the bottom hem of his shirt and then tug, asking silently for him to take it off. He discards it immediately, pulling his shirt up over his head. I run my fingers down his naked arms. Outside, the summer sun has dipped completely and the only light in the room is from a bedside lamp, glowing soft and orange.

“Take it off,” I say.

“Which part?”

“All of it.”

I undress, too, and slip beneath the crisp sheets. And then we find each other, our naked bodies pressed close. “God, I’ve missed you.” I reach for him, drawing him closer until finally he’s on top of me. He smiles and kisses me softly. In response, I lift my hips, begging to feel him inside me. He doesn’t make me wait. He plunges into me and pleasure crashes over us. Immediate and unwavering. His lips are on my neck and his breath is warm. The stubble on his chin is just the right amount of rough. His erection is hard and thick and every movement is bringing me to the brink of orgasm. I let go and sink into the pleasure. I bat away the tiny, annoying voice reminding me just how temporary this bliss is. That it will depart, alongside Jasper, for London or Paris at a moment’s notice, without me. I drown it out. I focus on my body. The sensation of Jasper moving inside me. He tilts his pelvis forward, knowing the exact spot to touch me. Gliding against me, over and over again. When he speaks, his voice is raspy. “This is all for me.” It’s laced with more awe than greed.

I smile into the thick muscles of his shoulder. “All for you.”

As he moves, I tighten my legs around him. We alternate fucking and making love. We look into each other’s eyes and move together, slowly and deliberately, only to hurriedly grasp for every piece of each other, a tangle of hungry, sweaty limbs. A pleasure deep inside me begins to furiously multiply. It’s happening so quickly, but I can’t slow it down. “I’m going to come,” I gasp. I fall into a full-body shudder as the most delicious sensation races through me, on the edge of orgasm.

“God, you’re beautiful.” The sound of his voice makes me tremble. I press into him and he keeps riding me, his jaw tense, pushing in and out of me as tiny white lights burst around me.

“I’m so close,” I say.

And with one last push, I’m over the edge. I cry out in ecstasy and he stills, his mouth open, and I feel him pulse as he comes inside me.

Still hard, even after he climaxes, Jasper rolls over onto his back. We lie side by side, trying to catch our breath.

“Let’s stay here forever,” he tells me and we both laugh, letting ourselves imagine living in this bubble.

When the sky has gone completely dark, we wrap ourselves in a blanket and sit out on the patio. We listen to the frogs and pass a cold bottle of beer between us.

“How can sex be this good?” he asks.

I grin. “It’s great. It’s always been great between us and it still is.”

“?‘Great’?” he repeats. “Hmm. ‘Great’ feels like one above ‘fine.’?” He takes a long drink from the bottle. “I want incredible. ”

“Well. We have the whole weekend.”

“True.” He kisses me and I can tell he is nowhere near satiated. I feel a familiar ache between my legs as his lips press against mine. I’m relieved when he says, “But we probably shouldn’t waste any time.”

I slip the blanket off our shoulders and spread it beneath us. He watches me as I lie back on my elbows. “Come here.” I look up at him, framed by the night sky, then wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Jasper’s erection grows as he closes the space between us and presses against my thigh. His skin is perfectly silky and soft to the touch. I stroke the plump head of his erection. I bring it closer to my mouth, brushing him against my lips. Then my face. I softly kiss his inner thighs, making my way up, licking and sucking his skin.

“Diana…”

My tongue rolls over the swollen head of his cock, and I suck it softly while running my fingertips up and down. I take Jasper farther inside me and my lips reach the base of his shaft, then I slowly suck my way back up to the tip. “Oh god,” he moans. “That’s it…”

I pause and pull away to look up at him. He smiles at me in disbelief, his breath becoming more ragged. As my tongue slides back down his shaft, he gently thrusts forward inside my mouth. I take him all in and Jasper runs his fingers through my hair. I wrap my fingers around him, gripping him tightly, then slide my hand up and down, sucking the head of his penis, squeezing my hand around him. Jasper moves his hips.

“Diana.” He’s close. “I want to be inside you.”

I want him inside me too. Desperately. I take him from my mouth. I straddle him, pressing my hands against his chest. I resist the urge to move too quickly and take him inside me completely. I slow things down. I circle my hips, allowing the tip of his penis barely inside me, then lowering down onto him until he fills me up. Again and again. We do this for what feels like hours, neither of us wanting to stop.

When he can’t hold on much longer, he says, “Let me see you.” I move off of him, stretching my body alongside his. Our shoulders touch, both of us hot and breathless and so comfortable in our nakedness and our longing. He brushes his fingers against my cheek. “You’re so beautiful, I can’t take it.”

Hungry for an even deeper sensation, I turn onto my stomach. I smile at him in invitation. He grins and moves closer. He’s on top of me now, his smooth, muscular chest pressed against the curves of my back. I lift my hips, asking him in. “You want this?” His voice is dripping with desire.

“Yes.” My body relaxes as he enters me. “I want you everywhere.” I grip the blanket beneath us, my hands in tight fists, and we move like this, lost in ecstasy, until neither of us can wait another second. He sinks into me and the pleasure is more than either one of us can bear. Jasper’s body contracts and we come together, Jasper moaning into the nape of my neck.

—

It’s late morning, we’re in bed drinking coffee. My body is sore and still shaky. Jasper has left the treehouse once to buy us coffee and donuts. I haven’t left at all.

“Where would you want to live?” He rests his chin against my naked stomach, his stubble tickling my bare skin. “If you could live anywhere.”

“I don’t know. I loved Paris. Maybe Brazil. Tokyo.”

“I want to take you to Mallorca. For at least six months.”

“I can’t just pick up and go anywhere…”

“Why?”

“I have a daughter. And a life in Dallas.”

“We’ll bring her. She can learn Spanish.”

“Maybe.”

“Have you been painting? Do you have any photos?”

“A few. I’ve been playing around with more Dirty Diana interviews.”

I take out my phone and notice two new voicemails from Petra. I swipe them away, with a mental note to call her as soon as I’m home. Then I pull up the site and Jasper and I page through it together. I show him a finished painting and then one that I am still working on.

“Diana.”

“Yes?”

“I’m finding it really hard to concentrate.”

He takes my coffee and places it on the table beside us and then pulls my hips down on the bed, quick and hard. My phone falls from the bed to the floor as he climbs on top of me.

“What’s one of your fantasies? Do I know?”

“No.”

“Tell me.”

“What’s yours?”

“Nice try. Tell me.”

“Maybe my fantasy is this. Treehouse and all.” I turn my cheek and our lips touch, both of us tired but still craving each other.

“My fantasy is keeping you in my pocket.” He rolls onto me, his forearms framing my face. “Total access.”

“So, imprisoning me?”

“Mmm. In a consensual, fun way. Like even right now. In this room. You feel like mine.”

“I am.” I kiss him deeply, then flip us over, pinning his arms over his head. “And you’re mine.”

“Okay,” he whispers between kisses. “And we live in Mallorca. We all speak Spanish. What else?”

“What will you do in Spain?”

“Stay still. Be happy and totally static. For once.”

“You? Still?”

“You calm me. Being near you. I could sleep for a hundred hours tonight.”

“You never sleep.”

“I do now. With you.” He pulls me into him, my head resting on his chest. “Watch me. Watch me close my eyes and never move again.”