Chapter 18 #2
Once he was fully sheathed in her, he held still for a long, breathless moment. “Okay?”
Biting her lip, she nodded.
Propped up on trembling arms, his jaw pulsed with tension. To Jessie, he had never been more handsome—or more fiercely sexy. “God, baby, you’re so tight.” Without moving his hips, he bent to kiss her.
Jessie tasted her own essence on his lips and tongue. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she held him in place and tightened her internal muscles to hug his throbbing penis.
Uttering a jagged gasp, he said, “Jessie. . . I need to move.”
She raised her hips to encourage him.
His thrusts were slow and measured.
Jessie could feel him holding back and appreciated his effort to ensure this first time was good for her.
A bead of sweat formed on his forehead, and she reached up to brush it away.
“Are you okay, honey?” he asked, his voice tight with tension and concern.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Feels so good.” Nothing about this was in any way related to what had happened in the past. Filled with joy that she had finally managed to experience this with a man she loved and respected, Jessie climbed toward another climax.
His open mouth came down hard on hers, his tongue mimicked the action of his hips, and when he cupped her bottom to hold her tight against him, Jessie came.
He pumped hard into her a few more times, milking her orgasm, before he let himself go. Breathing hard and sweating, he buried his face in the curve of her neck to whisper sweet words of love and comfort that she couldn’t quite hear.
It didn’t matter, though. He didn’t have to say anything. He’d already told her everything she needed to know and had given her the priceless gift of a first time she’d never, ever forget.
Liana thought she was dreaming when she woke just before dawn to the sound of a dog barking. She lay still for several minutes and listened to the distant barking. Then she reached for Travis.
“Travis,” she said, shaking him.
“Mmmm.”
“Travis! Wake up.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I think I hear Dash.”
His eyes opened as he lay still to listen. “It’s her!” He flew out of bed, grabbed jeans from the pile on the floor, and jumped into them.
Liana stayed in bed and listened to him leave in the elevator.
After he was gone, she got up and went to his closet to borrow his robe.
She was dying to go out on the patio to try to see them but was afraid there might be paparazzi lurking.
The last thing she wanted was to give them a free shot of her in a bathrobe.
So while she waited she paced back and forth in the living room.
Her heart raced with excitement when the elevator chimed a few minutes later.
Travis carried Dash into the apartment.
Liana clapped with joy. “Dash!” Tears sprang to her eyes as she hugged the dog and Travis at the same time.
Dash licked her face.
Liana smiled at the enthusiastic greeting. “Oh, you had us so worried! Where were you, sweet girl?” She glanced up and caught Travis gazing at her again just as he had in the meeting the other day—as if she was the answer to his every prayer. “What?” she asked softly.
He shook his head.
Not sure whether he was unable or unwilling to tell her what he felt, Liana returned her attention to the dog. “Is she all right?”
“She’s filthy and stinks of smoke, but I can’t see any obvious injuries. I’ll take her to the vet this morning just to be sure. Until then,” he said, kissing the top of the dog’s head, “it’s to the tub with you.”
Dash whined and buried her face in Liana’s armpit.
Liana laughed and coaxed the dog out of hiding. “I can’t believe the way she always understands what you’re saying.” She followed Travis into the bathroom and helped him prepare the tub.
“You might want to take shelter in the bedroom. This usually gets ugly.”
Liana bent to kiss Travis’s cheek. “I’m so glad you found her.”
“You found her,” he corrected, reaching up for a better kiss. “Why don’t you try to go back to sleep for a while? We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
“I’ll try.”
“Will you call Beck’s cell to tell him we found Dash? The number is in my phone.”
“I’ll take care of it.” She left him to bathe the dog, made the call to an elated Beck, and got back in bed.
While she had good intentions of going back to sleep, she snickered at Travis’s muttered swears as he did battle with the disobedient dog.
When he emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later soaked from head to toe, Liana laughed so hard she cried.
“You think it’s funny?” he asked with a scowl.
The face he made as he approached the bed only made her laugh harder. “Travis . . .” Realizing all at once what he intended to do, she attempted to escape, but he grabbed her ankle, pulled her back toward him, and plopped down on top of her.
She squealed from the blast of wetness he brought with him and dissolved into a new wave of hysterical laughter.
He pinned her hands on either side of her head and shook like a dog, spraying cold water all over her.
“Travis!”
Even his lips were cold as they skimmed over her neck. Liana shuddered from both the chill and the heat of his touch.
Dash came charging out of the bathroom and rolled around on the carpet before she stood up and with a mighty shake sent a fountain of water flying through the air.
Travis laughed. “It was time to change the sheets anyway.” He dipped his head to kiss Liana.
“Probably.” She opened her lips to welcome his invasion. When she finally pulled back from him, she said, “Let go of my hands. I want to touch you.”
“No.” He raised her arms over her head and curled her fingers around the wooden slats of the headboard.
“Leave them there.” His eyes narrowed with desire as he tugged at the belt of the robe.
He unveiled her like a child opening his last gift on Christmas morning and wanting to make it last as long as possible.
Liana’s knuckles were white, her lips dry, and her heart racing as he worshiped each new discovery. His hair, still damp from bathing the dog, trailed over her belly and she gasped from the sensation. “Travis.”
He glanced up at her with eyes heavy with desire. “What do you want?”
“You,” she said, breathless. “I want you.”
He nudged her legs apart, but didn’t touch her there. Instead he left soft, wet kisses on her calf, her knee, her inner thigh.
Liana groaned and lifted her hips off the bed in invitation.
He laughed. “What a difference a few days makes.”
“Shut up,” she said, panting, “and just do it, will you?”
“Gladly.” He skimmed two fingers over her, causing her to cry out. “Are you sure this is what you really want?” he teased, as he pushed his fingers into her.
Liana whimpered and broke out in a sweat. He drove her mad with his fingers and tongue until she came with a shriek not once but twice. She was like a rag doll by the time he reached for the last of the condoms.
With his hands framing her face, he slid into her. Brushing his lips over hers, he moved slowly.
Drowning in him, she looked up to find him watching her and wanted so badly to tell him she loved him. Instead, she wrapped her legs around him and used everything she had to show him.