Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Vanessa’s heart pounded in her chest, but this time, not from panic or fear. This time her heart raced from the pure, electric sensation of Jordan licking her.
And licking was an understatement. He was feasting.
His hands gripped the outside of her thighs roughly.
The bite only amplified every other sensation ricocheting through her body.
She imagined he’d be an unrestrained lover.
He did nothing half-assed. But the way he ate her out was greedy, almost self-serving, even though it was her reaping the reward as well.
His tongue alternated between long, hard licks of her pussy and diving inside her entrance. Occasionally, his teeth nipped at her clit in a way that had her gasping for breath.
She moaned his name, and he responded with a low groan that rumbled right through her core and up to her heart.
His hands slid backward, gripping her ass as he yanked her so close she covered his entire face.
“I’m going to suffocate you.” She threaded her hands through his hair to tug him away.
With another growl, he took his mouth off her.
His lips glistened with her wetness. “I’m a big boy, Vanessa.
If I don’t know how to eat properly, I don’t deserve the meal.
” He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“No more talking unless it’s to say, more, please.
Or yes, sir. Got it?” A playful grin spread across his lips, and she savored the humor in his usually serious demeanor.
Slowly, she canted her hips forward and bit her lower lip. “Yes, sir,” she murmured, watching his eyes darken to onyx.
“Fuuuck,” he rumbled. “I didn’t think I’d actually like that.”
He cut off her giggles by yanking her forward until she fell flat on her back and put his mouth back on her. When he swirled his tongue around her clit again, she shouted his name.
“Fuck, Jordan, that’s so good.” She panted, draping her legs over his broad shoulders. The pleasure had her writhing on the bed, gripping the sheets as pressure built. “Oh— don’t stop, I need—I need—” Him inside her was what she needed. The emptiness ached so badly.
“Jor-dan.” She drew out his name, begging for something she didn’t know how to ask for, and then—
He inserted two fingers, twisting them together, and he worked them around while her hips pumped to match their rhythm. Still, she needed more. Chanting his name, she ran the fingers of one hand through her own hair, gripping and tugging a handful.
Jordan’s palm slid up her stomach to her breast. He rolled one of her nipples between his fingers, sending fireballs of searing, blinding sensation shooting through her. God, how did this man just know what she needed?
She wished he was inside her, and lost in the beautiful, building pressure, she told him so. When she inclined her neck to see him, his intense black eyes collided with hers. That was all it took.
“Ye-eesss.” Her back arched off the bed, legs shaking, her hands reaching to grasp his head, his shoulders. Her hips bucked wildly against his face.
If I don’t know how to eat properly… His words echoed in her brain as ecstasy took over her body, and she released a keening moan.
Only when her rocking slowed, and her grip on him loosened, did he remove his fingers. He slowed his kisses to gentle strokes until she shuddered from the sensitivity.
When she was fully back to herself, he sat back on his haunches and watched her.
She watched him right back as her breathing slowed. “That was…” Words failed her, except for two. “Thank you.”
Oh shit. Did she just thank him after the most mind-blowing orgasm of her life? Fantastic. Nothing said sexy and composed like thanking someone as if they were your friendly neighborhood grocer. Her skin prickled with heat, the mortifying kind.
Where was her usual sharp quip or witty comeback? Probably still tangled in the sheets with the last shred of her dignity.
Maybe he was as discombobulated as she was because he didn’t acknowledge her weirdness. He nodded briefly, then rose to his feet, not bothering to hide the stiffness in his pants. She swallowed at the sight. He was so…big. And she was so…ready to touch him.
And she would have, but…he disappeared out the door.
Before she could absorb the loss, he reappeared with a cloth.
Without uttering a word, he gently wiped her, then straightened her robe and scooped her up in his arms as he had in the kitchen, holding her with a tenderness she’d never imagined from him. Like she was priceless.
He pulled back her covers and settled her under them before tucking them back around her.
“Sleep tight, princess.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead and turned to leave.
Wait, what?
“You’re going?” She tried to ignore the way her heart sank, but she couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice.
He stopped at the door, hand on the knob. “I’ll be on your couch. I’m not going far.”
Part of her really wanted him to stay a lot closer, in her bed, wrapped around her, but she didn’t say that.
Maybe tonight was simply a combination of adrenaline and heightened emotions.
She’d made so many mistakes with men before, she didn’t trust herself to name what had happened between her and Jordan tonight.
But even as she fought off her disappointment and settled into bed alone, she couldn’t shake the certainty that Jordan Thompson was not a mistake.
By the time Vanessa pressed the Nespresso’s brew button the next morning, she’d slept a solid nine hours and was feeling more relaxed than she thought she would.
Gabe had already knocked on her apartment door that morning to check in and reassure her that he was having the locks on all the doors upgraded and security cameras installed at all the entrances.
She should’ve reminded him that she’d be gone by this time next week but couldn’t bring herself to do it. What happened with Jordan last night had her second-guessing everything.
The shower was running down the hall. Knowing he was in there was so comforting and domestic that she smiled to herself.
Taking her coffee to the kitchen table, she sat and tapped on her socials. Before she could even register any of the new hundreds of notifications, there was another knock. With a sigh, she got up to answer.
The door opened the second she flipped the lock—before the knocking even stopped—and her cousin barged in looking annoyed. Dex stood behind her, his fist still raised from his knocking.
“Since when is it hard for me to get into this place?” Natalie demanded, closing the door on an annoyed Dex, and waltzing in carrying a brown paper bag. “And why are there a real cop and RoboCop standing at both entrances?”
“Good morning, Nat.”
Natalie dropped the bag on the table, then gave Vanessa a smacking kiss on the cheek. Vanessa kissed the air beside Natalie’s face in return.
“Also, what are you talking about?”
Natalie gestured over her shoulder. “There’s a cop car outside the building, a real cop at the street entrance, and Dex at your apartment door.”
Not surprising given what happened. Knowing she’d have to eventually, Vanessa told her cousin about the events of the night before.
“Fucking hell,” Natalie said when she was finished. “You’re okay, right?”
Vanessa touched the fabric of her high-necked, zip-up hoodie she wore. The bruises beneath were still tender. “I’ll be okay.”
Natalie looked skeptical but didn’t push. Her cousin had always been able to read her well, and Vanessa appreciated that. Right now she needed a distraction, not a deep dive in to her emotional trauma.
“Where is that shithead now?” Natalie asked.
“Out on bail, probably.” Money and power talked in the world of Kurt Robertson. He’d made more than one incident disappear with the help of his lawyers and influence.
“I guess that explains why Dex was being hypervigilant. You know, he asked if you were expecting me. Can you believe that?” She let out a sharp laugh, and shook her head.
“Why would you be expecting me? It’s me.
I just show up.” She spun in the living room in her typical carefree but also dramatic way.
“Like a fairy godmother. Bearing gifts.”
Without missing a beat, she lifted a whole pineapple from the paper bag. “Speaking of which, look what I got. I read an article that said eating pineapple will make your kitty taste like sugar, so—”
Jordan appeared in the living room, hair damp, tugging the rest of his t-shirt over his torso, revealing a flash of toned abs and more tattoos. How many did he have? And why had she not yet seen him shirtless?
He greeted Natalie with a nod, and Vanessa might have imagined it, but she thought she saw a blush creep up his neck as he smoothed his t-shirt over the slice of flesh that was still exposed.
Natalie’s gaze toggled between him and Vanessa, widening with realization.
Vanessa thought about correcting her, but she honestly didn’t mind her cousin jumping to conclusions, so she sat back and took a sip from her mug.
“Time for a coffee?” she asked Jordan, who still looked vaguely like a deer caught in the headlights. Cute.
He cleared his throat and made his way over to her.
“Um, no, I actually have a meeting I need to get to. But Dex is outside, and I know this will piss you off, but you’re not going anywhere without him.
He’s under my orders, and he won’t defy them again.
” He gave Natalie a pointed glare, likely because Dex had left yesterday to take her home.
“Hey! I told him he didn’t have to. I was totally cool taking an Uber.” She turned to Vanessa. “Are you sure you’re o—”
Vanessa interrupted before it became bigger than necessary. “I’m fine.”
Jordan bent and caught her chin. “You almost weren’t, and it scared the living shit out of me.” He tightened his grip on her chin, sending shivers down her center. The good kind. The kind from last night. “Never again, princess.”