Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-On e
“ A ll of those things are superficial,” I protested while my cheeks burned red. “And who said I liked kissing you?”
I felt his eyes on me while I kept mine trained on the door, willing someone to come find us and save me from this agony.
“Not exactly a staunch denial,” he said, and I heard the smirk in his voice. That damn, annoying smirk that had permanent residence on his face.
“Can you stop being obnoxious for two seconds? What is the real timeline for opening?” I asked.
I felt Jared’s shrug as a brush along the length of my side body. “I’m hoping in the next week. My construction guys can move fast. News is obviously out. The only thing that would hold us up would be the menus.”
“Mine will be ready,” I said, finally turning to him so I could glare at him. The effect of my angry eyes was diminished slightly by my chattering teeth. I wrapped my arms around myself and pulled my legs in tight.
“Let me warm you up,” he said.
“No way,” I said.
“That came out creepy. I meant it genuinely and platonically. You are freezing. I’m not terribly warm myself. We may be in here for a while. We can use body heat to warm up.”
“I would rather lose a goddamn limb to frostbite than let you warm me up,” I said.
Maybe that was an exaggeration, but I didn’t want to be any closer to Jared than I already was. It was hard enough remembering how much I hated him with his body pressed against the side of me. Maybe it was stupid to resist it so much, but I wasn’t interested in mixing business with pleasure or entangling myself romantically or otherwise at this point in time. I had my goals. The last few relationships I had crashed and burned. I had to get my life in order before I let myself get involved. And getting involved with such a messy man would be worse than finding a stranger on the street for a one-night stand. Although a little voice in the back of my head nagged quietly that this was the same mindset that had left me bakery-less, competing for Jared’s crumbs.
“Don’t be so stubborn. Let me warm you up,” he said, wrapping his hands around my waist and dragging me forcibly into his lap.
My eyes fluttered momentarily at the sensation of being manhandled into his arms. Once he had me settled into his lap, he wrapped hi s thick, firm, muscles arms around me, trapping my arms underneath his.
“You know you are supposed to wait for consent, right?”
“Not when hypothermia is involved.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re the one who was worried. Just being proactive,” he said, his lips pressed close to my ear and his voice barely above a whisper.
Nothing he said was in any way sexual, and yet the feeling of his breath on my neck pulled my eyes closed as I leaned into his warmth and the sensation of him, all of my protests quickly leaving my mind. Even I had to admit, it was pretty nice to feel warm. I took in a deep, cold breath as I settled back into him. My butt was still cold on the floor with his legs on either side of me. The length of my back pressed against him while his legs and arms cocooned me.
We sat quietly curled up together in the hum of the refrigerator, not talking. My body moved gently up and down with the rise and fall of his breath. A calming peace washed over me that I hadn’t experienced in a long time, maybe ever. I had been especially frantic over the last few days, and it felt amazing. I could have lived in that feeling forever. The cold air blasting onto us was still uncomfortable but more bearable with Jared’s body pressed close to mine.
“See,” his deep voice rumbled through his chest vibrating my whole body. “This isn’t so bad.”
I shrugged. There wasn’t any fight in me at the moment. I just wanted to snuggle into his warmth. Which I did. I scooched my butt backward, wiggling into him. He let out a quiet, i nvoluntary moan against my ear, which sent an involuntary shiver through my body, unrelated to the cold of the refrigerator before quickly being replaced by a growing warmth that ended with a blush on my cheeks. The peace from just a moment earlier gone, never to return again, as my heart thundered at the sudden and unexpected tension. I worried he might feel my heartbeat and know that his nearly imperceptible show of desire had an effect on me.
I sat, rigid and unmoving, waiting. For what, I couldn’t be sure. But I waited for something, anything, to break my panic so we could move on. I could forget the heat of his body pressed against me, or the feel of his breath on my neck, or the sound of his low moan when I shifted my body. How the hell had I gone so quickly from disdain to this acute awareness of our skin touching?
His thumb moved gently along my arm where he held me, emptying all thoughts out of my mind. As usual, I caught myself overthinking. This was fine. We were fine. Nothing to see here. Just Jared trying to warm me up, a rare kindness in the midst of our rivalry.
“You know what, I think I’m warm enough now,” I said, thankful my voice didn’t betray either my panic or the inappropriate feelings burning their way through my skin. I leaned forward, trying to pull away, but his strong arms tensed and held me firm before he pulled me back forcefully against him, locking me in place.
“No, you aren’t,” he rumbled against my ear.
“How would you know?” I asked, trying again to pull away, but I might as well have been fighting against an immovable object for all the give his arms and legs gave me.
“Shhh,” he whispered with his lips pressed to my neck, and I hated the way my eyes fluttered closed, and my heart sped up. I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. Then his lips pressed against the pulse just beneath my skin in a light kiss. An involuntary gasp left my lips, and I knew it was all over. If he chose to continue whatever the hell he was doing, then I was a goner.
He kept his face pressed into the space between my shoulder and jaw, his lips lightly playing along my neck as his fingers joined his thumb in moving up and down my arm. Goosebumps sprang along my skin everywhere he touched. In that moment, I didn’t care about the bakery, I didn’t care that he was an arrogant, famous asshole come to ruin my life. I only cared about his lips and fingers and where he might move them. His rough, calloused hand moved up from rubbing my arm to my shoulder then over my collar bone, less than an inch from my breasts, shifting with my heavy breath.
“Jenna?”
He breathed the question against my neck, and once again my eyes fluttered closed and my head fell back onto his shoulder, exposing my neck to his lips even more. He must have taken that as a sign of submission because his fingers moved down to my breast over my shirt, lightly at first before he squeezed my breast roughly, and I moaned. Warmth built between my legs. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been touched, let alone like that. Behind me, I could feel his cock stiffen, pres sing against the top of my ass and back. He moved his thumb over my hard, aching nipple before pulling it gently between his fingers through the fabric of my shirt.
“Do you like that?” he asked, roughly. I took in a shaky breath, unable or unwilling to answer, I couldn’t gather my thoughts enough to know which. When I didn’t say anything, he pulled my nipple harder. I opened my mouth and let out another moan. “Do you like that?” he asked again more forcefully.
“Yes,” I managed breathlessly, cheeks flushing at the admission.
“Good,” he said as he yanked down my shirt, exposing both of my breasts to the freezing air.
My nipples were impossibly hard and ached to be touched by him. I realized I had never been with a man like Jared. A man who knew exactly what he wanted. I was pretty shy when it came to any sort of intimacy, so all of my past experiences felt awkward at best and obligatory at worst. Nothing like the fire of need that burned through me while Jared did whatever the hell he wanted to me. And he could do whatever he wanted. I felt his hard cock pulse against me, and part of me wished he would turn me around and fuck me right on the cold floor of the walk-in, which was absolutely insane since I hated him. There must have been a razor-thin line between hate and lust. At least that’s what I told myself, anyway.
Jared cupped my breast in his hand, letting his fingers slowly feel the weight and roundness before his thumb brushed against my nipple again. Every nerve ending in my body screamed for more, but he moved methodically as if drinking in every inch of my skin. His other hand had still been wrapped around my arms, holding them in place just beneath my breast. Now he moved it down over my stomach and onto my bare thigh, exposed from my shorts riding up. My mind melted as he squeezed and pulled at my nipples while his hand trailed lightly along my inner thigh. He started at my knee before bringing his fingers up, squeezing them between my legs where my thighs were pressed together, stopping just before he reached my panties, bringing a gasp from my lips as his hand moved away again. I thought I might lose my mind as he continued to tease me, moving his fingers up and down, up and down, coming close but never close enough.
“Oh God,” I moaned involuntarily.
“You’re an impatient little thing,” he whispered as he pulled my nipple and let his thumb brush over my opening above my panties.
“Please,” I whispered.
“Please what?” he asked. I didn’t think I could bring myself to say what I was asking for. I’m sure he knew. He pulled his hand away again, and I groaned involuntarily. “Please what?” he asked more forcefully.
“Please touch me,” I begged.
“Naughty girl,” he said, and I could hear the smirk in his voice which made my cheeks burn with embarrassment.
But as his fingers climbed my thigh again, those feelings quickly dissipated. I held my breath as his fingers slowly traced a trail up my thighs. Once again, his thumb moved lightly over my pa nties under my shorts. The sensation turned the growing warmth between my legs into a raging fire. I needed his touch more than I needed anything before. He moved his thumb in a small circle over my panties. I writhed at his touch, bringing a moan from his lips as my butt rubbed against his cock.
His other hand still played with my breasts as he yanked my panties to the side.
“Yes,” I moaned. His thick, rough finger moved over my opening, circling over my clit, making me shiver and squirm.
“I want to make you lose control, Jenna,” he growled into my neck.
His fingers continued to play around my opening and rubbing at my clit. I thought I might come just from that barest of touch. I felt his hard, throbbing cock rubbing against my ass, his hand still cupping my breast. It was enough to make me melt.
“Will you lose control for me?” he asked.
“Yes,” I moaned.
Without warning, he moved his hand from my breast to my jaw, where his fingers dug into my skin as he turned me forcefully toward him. His mouth covered my own at the same time he pressed two thick fingers inside of me. I opened my mouth to moan as he continued to kiss me. His fingers pressing deep and tight inside of me. His tongue brushed along my lips, finding my tongue as he pulled his fingers out. I groaned in need and frustration before he slammed his fingers back inside of me, pumping in and out, stretching my pussy to accommodate his large fingers.
“Yes,” I moaned into his mouth.
He moaned with me as he shifted his hips to rub his cock against my ass as he fucked me with his fingers hard and fast. His thumb found my clit and the heat building spilled over. My body tensed then convulsed as the orgasm raged through me. He held my face in place as he kissed me and pumped his fingers through my quivering, body-shaking orgasm.
When the last wave of the orgasm finished, I came to with the realization that we had really just done that. He let go of my face and slid his fingers out of me, but I could still feel his pulsing cock behind me, and I had no idea what the hell to do. My pulse thundered with a mix of leftover desire and embarrassment. What the hell did this mean? My body continued to move with his rapid breath. I was acutely aware of every inch of his body that pressed against mine. He moved his hand to my hip, his fingers digging into my flesh and skin to pull my ass tighter against his cock. I felt him shift as he pressed himself against me and suddenly the warmth between my legs was back. Embarrassment and awkwardness or not, I still wanted to feel him inside of me.
Then a knock came on the walk-in door and panic shot through me.
“Holy shit,” I said. He let go of my hip, and I shot to my feet.
“Anyone in there?” came the muffled voice from the other side of the door.
“Oh my God,” I hissed as I adjusted my clothes and patted down my hair. I had no idea how disheveled I looked, but my anxiety was convinced that anyone who looked at me would know exactly what had just happened between Jared and me.
Before I could even glance in Jared’s direction, the door swung open, bright light spilling in making me squint. I blinked several times before I saw Joel standing there, staring at us.