Chapter 25
25
I had an irrational feeling that everyone in the Waldorf lobby knew that Jake and I were planning some sort of afternoon delight as we climbed out of the taxi and walked through our hotel. Jake’s hand brushed mine and I looked across at him, and we exchanged a shy smile. My heart thumped inside my chest. It had been three years since a man had seen me naked. Three years since I had done anything more than kiss a man. Three years since I had been touched…
‘You seem to be thinking really hard,’ Jake said as we waited for a lift to take us up to our floor.
‘It’s hard to switch my brain off sometimes,’ I confessed.
‘I have that problem too,’ Jake replied as the lift doors opened and we stepped in there together, and were suddenly alone again. ‘I always thought it was part of the reason I became a writer. I have a brain that loves to overthink, which is great for letting my imagination flow and come up with ideas for my books, but not so great when it comes to worrying about my own life.’
‘That makes sense,’ I said, liking the fact he had opened up about that. ‘My overthinking has no creative benefit though. I think mine is mostly worrying what other people think of me, and being desperate to do my best. Maybe I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so I always end up feeling like I’m coming short in some way.’
‘I hope you’re not worrying about that right now,’ he said, looking at me. ‘Because kissing you has been incredible so whatever else we do, there is no chance it won’t be just as good.’
I smiled. His words did relax me a little bit. ‘It’s just been a while for me, as you know…’ I trailed off, biting my lip. The lift reached our floor and we stepped out and walked to our side-by-side rooms. Nerves swirled in my stomach as we hovered outside.
‘I meant what I said: we do whatever you’re comfortable with,’ Jake reassured me. ‘I just want to be close to you.’
‘Me too.’ I reached for my key card and opened up my room, feeling like I might be a tiny bit more comfortable surrounded by my things. It seemed naughty to be thinking of using a hotel bed for anything other than a nap in the afternoon. I didn’t think I’d ever be what could be described as naughty before but then I looked at Jake as I held the door open for us and I knew I’d never been with anyone like him before. It made me want to be a little bit naughty.
I closed the door behind us and took a breath.
‘I’m sorry, it’s a bit messy,’ I said as we moved through into the area where the bed was. My things were strewn everywhere. I’d never been particularity good at getting ready in an organised way. ‘I bet you’re a neat freak,’ I added, knowing by the grin he flashed me that I was completely correct.
‘Some of that is a procrastination thing, though – if I’m not motivated to write, I clean and if I’m stressed, I organise so…’ He held out his hand to me. I stepped over to him and took it, entwining my fingers with his. He brought our hands up to his lips and kissed the back of mine. ‘You don’t need to apologise about the room; I’m only looking at you.’
‘We are so different,’ I said, my skin instantly warming at his touch.
‘Not when it comes to important things.’ Jake let go of my hand and slipped an arm around my waist. My body instantly curved itself around his like we were two connecting puzzle pieces. ‘Trust, loyalty, love…’
‘Work ethic.’
Jake grinned. ‘When you told me off about that bloody article, I had never wanted a woman more.’
‘Maybe I need to tell you off more then.’ I was only half-joking.
‘I hate letting you down. I’m sorry that I couldn’t do what you wanted at the reader session.’
‘I’d be lying if I didn’t want to know everything about you,’ I confessed, wishing he would unpeel his layers for me. But I also knew this was early days, and I was expecting a lot when all we had done was kiss.
‘I want to know you too,’ Jake whispered.
Lifting my face to meet his, our lips came together like they had always been meant to. Kissing Jake got better each time as we fell into a rhythm, learning the ways we both liked to kiss and touch as we got more relaxed with one another. When our tongues met, I hooked my arms around his neck and he pulled me towards him by the waist so our chests touched. I wondered if he could feel how fast my heart was beating through our clothes. Then he reached up and rested his hand on the side of my neck, applying that little bit of pressure to my throat that made my desire turn up several notches.
‘Jake,’ I pleaded with him then.
‘Too much?’ he asked, starting to remove his hand.
‘No,’ I said quickly. ‘I want more.’
He flashed a smile at me before he kissed me again. Then he dropped his lips to kiss down my neck and to my collarbone. He traced the sweetheart neckline of my dress with his lips, kissing me on that delicate, bare skin there so gently, he left goose bumps in his wake. His hands moved to my shoulders, caressing me. ‘I do love your dresses but…’
‘But what?’ I murmured as he spoke through kisses.
Jake stopped and met my eyes. ‘I’d love to take this one off.’
I giggled. ‘I’d love you to take it off.’ I held my arms up and Jake’s breathed hitched as he reached for the fabric and lifted it over my head. I was thankful I’d put on a matching set of underwear today.
‘Mmm,’ Jake said, his eyes drinking me greedily as he tossed my dress onto the bed behind us. ‘Remember what I said? We do whatever you want…’ he said, not touching me yet.
I looked at him and even though I was still nervous, the pull I felt towards him overtook that. ‘I want it all,’ I confessed out loud. I moved towards him and his arms met me halfway. Our lips met again and this time, there was no holding back. Jake pulled me down with him onto the bed and we rolled together, our limbs tangling up with one another as we kissed, trying to get as close as we possibly could.
‘Too many clothes,’ I pulled away from his mouth to grumble.
I felt his chest move with a laugh but Jake sat up and unbuttoned his blue shirt, pulling it off and tossing it on top of my discarded dress. I looked up at him from the bed as he reached for his belt, undoing it and pulling it off. He paused on the fly of his trousers but I nodded furiously and he smiled, unzipping and sliding them off so he was also now only in his underwear. His tall body was lean, but despite him saying he didn’t go to the gym, his chest was defined and I could see muscles in his arms that suggested he’d be strong enough to lift me. My eyes trailed down to notice that he was straining out of his boxers, just as excited as I felt.
He came back to lean over me, propping up on an elbow to look down at me on the bed. ‘You are so beautiful. Inside and out.’ He reached out to stroke my hair then touch my lips with his fingertips. Then he looked at me. ‘You said it had been three years… Are you sure you want it to be me?’
I thought about how attractive I found him, but also how attractive he made me feel. There was crazy chemistry between us. But it felt like there could be more to it. Like when Jake told me he liked me the way I was. He didn’t want me to change. He loved the clothes I wore. He thought I could do whatever I wanted. He didn’t want to let me down. ‘Yes, because you really see me.’
He smiled. ‘I see you. And I want you so much.’
‘I want you too.’
Jake’s eyes lit up and he caught my lips with his. His free hand traced the outline of my bra, slipping over the cup. I arched my back towards him and he moved from my lips to kiss down my chest, pulling my bra down to keep going, kissing my breast and then running his tongue over my nipple, hardening it instantly. He gave a contented sigh as he reached behind me and unclipped the bra, again tossing it away. He moved back, cupping my breast as his mouth returned to my nipple, and I let out an encouraging moan. My body was so eager, I should have been embarrassed but I could see by the look on Jake’s face that he was loving how responsive I was to him. He kissed down the centre of my chest then, trailing down towards my belly button. This time, my breath hitched. He carried on until he reached my underwear, kissing the fabric as I arched my back more to try to feel more pressure.
‘What now, baby?’ Jake said then. His voice gruff, his eyes black as he looked at me.
‘Take them off,’ I pleaded with him, glowing at him calling me ‘baby’.
Jake did as he was told, slipping his fingers under the fabric and hitching my knickers down my leg and throwing them on the floor. ‘Open your legs; I want to taste you,’ he pleaded then.
I paused for a second. I’d never been with a man who commanded me like that or even used anything close to dirty words. In fact, sex had always been a rushed and hushed affair after dark. But I was lying naked and exposed in the afternoon with a man who had no qualms at being honest about what he wanted to do to me. If I had been turned on before, now I was lost in lust. I opened my legs and watched as he dipped his head in between them and touched me with his tongue.
‘God,’ I cried at the contact, pleasure shooting up through my body as he expertly tasted me. I reached out and ran my fingers through his hair as he hummed against me. ‘Jake,’ I said, my legs already starting to tremble; I’d been that horny. He moved a finger inside me then and I moaned louder than I probably ever had.
Jake lifted off me for a moment to look at me. ‘Good girl,’ he said before he carried on.
I had no idea I would enjoy those two words but I moaned again and then he added another finger inside me, bucking on the bed beneath him. His tongue did things that I had only fantasised about when I was touching myself before. ‘Jesus Christ,’ I breathed as the pleasure built, and my legs began to shake for real. I found myself giving his hair a tug as I cried out, trying to gulp in air as I lost control. I fell back against the bed then, my body throbbing as I tried to come down from that delicious high. ‘That was…’
Jake chuckled as he laid down beside me and ran a hand down my arm then leg. ‘I loved seeing you lose control.’
I turned to him and bit my lip.
‘Look at you.’ He touched where I had bit myself. ‘Your hair has gone wild from your writhing. And your lips and chin are red from kissing and this…’ He rubbed his facial hair. ‘And your breathing… it’s so hot.’
‘That was so hot,’ I confessed, my cheeks turning pink at the way he was watching me but I liked his attention so much. He looked like he’d never seen anything more enjoyable. ‘I’ve never been called that before…’
Jake watched me for a moment then smiled. ‘Good girl? You are a good girl, aren’t you, Freya?’ he murmured, his fingertip still on my mouth. He applied a little bit of pressure and I parted my lips. He slipped a finger into my mouth and watched as I sucked it.
‘I want it all,’ I repeated then, catching his dark eyes with my own.
‘You can have it all,’ he replied.