CHAPTER ELEVEN
JAYECHECKEDHISWATCH. Although there was still some daylight left, it was getting late. He’d expected Velvet to be home by now. Granted, he wasn’t privy to her comings and goings but being home before dark was usually the norm for her.
He was about to check his watch again when he heard her car pulling up. He had decided to tell her everything tonight. Not wanting to keep it from her any longer, he left his house and headed toward the front when he saw her getting out of the car. That’s when he noticed she wasn’t wearing what she’d had on that morning but a pair of tights and a matching hoodie top. He then recalled that someone had mentioned she taught gymnastics a couple of days a week. Her classes must have started up again.
“Hello, Velvet,” he said, knowing she hadn’t seen him yet.
Her head jerked in his direction. “Jaye? What are you doing out here?”
“Waiting for you.”
Her expression showed she was surprised. “I hope you’re not here to tell me something else about Webb Crawford.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then why were you waiting for me?”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
She tilted her head and looked at him. “What?”
“I’d rather we do it inside. My place or yours. It doesn’t matter.” Too late, he remembered those had been his exact words the first night they’d made love. He had a feeling she would remember as well.
“Why can’t we talk out here?” she asked in a soft voice.
“I’d rather we didn’t.”
She studied her sneakers for a moment, then looked up at him. She nibbled her bottom lip before she said, “Fine. We can talk inside my place because I need to talk to you about something as well.”
Jaye could tell she was nervous about whatever she wanted to discuss with him, which made him somewhat uneasy. Was she going to tell him that she’d decided to move out because their close proximity had gotten uncomfortable for her? Or, even worse, she was moving away from Catalina Cove altogether? He couldn’t forget the only reason she had moved here was to get away from him. A knot formed in his stomach and he asked, “What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Like you said, it’s best we talk inside.”
Velvet walked past him and he followed, trying to keep his gaze off the way her tights emphasized the shapeliness of her hips and thighs. Then there was the sensuous sway of her curvy backside. He recalled how when they slept, that very same backside fit perfectly snug against his groin.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You said something?”
Had he? What she probably heard was a deep, guttural moan. “No, I didn’t say anything.”
When she opened the door and stepped aside for him to enter, it hit him that the only other time he’d been inside her place was the night he’d visited her after the town hall meeting. When she closed the door behind them, he couldn’t help but hope that whatever she had to talk to him about would be the start of their new beginning and not the finality of their end.
The latter was unacceptable to him.
VELVETSETHERduffel bag and purse on the table and turned to face him. “You said you wanted to talk to me about something,” she said, deciding to get things over with.
“And you wanted to talk to me, too. Ladies first.” He stood in her living room, wearing dress slacks and a white shirt—missing the tie and jacket. He wore basically the same thing the night he’d taken her to Captain Scampi. She could remember the exact moment he’d taken off his jacket and removed his tie to help her pack up the boxes. And just like then, tonight he took her breath away.
She inhaled, determined to get a grip. Although he offered for her to go first, she wondered what he wanted to discuss with her. Was he going to tell her that their last two encounters had gotten too heated for him? That he was in an uncomfortable situation since he knew she’d once loved him? If that was the case, maybe it was a good idea for her to go first, after all. She figured she had nothing to lose. Jaye was a man who enjoyed sex, especially when there were no strings attached, and she definitely wouldn’t be giving him any strings.
“Okay. Let’s sit and talk, then. Would you like something to drink? I have beer and wine.”
“Thanks, and yes, I’ll take a beer.”
“One beer coming up.” She headed for the kitchen. Was she misreading him, or did he seem nervous or uncomfortable? She wanted him to be relaxed and have a willingness to keep an open mind about her proposal. One she hoped he would accept.
When she returned a short while later, he was staring out the window with his hands shoved in his pants pockets. She was convinced that no other man had such a gorgeous physique and backside as Jack Colfax, Jr. “Here you are, Jaye.”
At the sound of her voice, he turned around and their gazes met. It suddenly occurred to her that she and Jaye were alone and the sexual chemistry between them was more electrifying than ever.
He crossed the room and took the beer from her, and their hands touched in the process. The energy between them intensified. He cleared his throat. “You got our favorite brand,” he said.
She slid her gaze from his eyes to the bottle. She never was a fan of beer until she’d met Jaye. She’d always been a wine girl. But one night, he had been drinking beer and offered her a sip of his.
“I like a beer every once in a while, to unwind.”
“So do I,” he said, opening the bottle and taking a huge gulp.
Watching him raise the bottle to his lips, tilt it up and swallow was still one of the most erotic things she’d ever witnessed.
“Where’s yours?” he asked her, holding her gaze.
Her chest tightened from the look she saw in the depths of his eyes—desire and lust. She swallowed and said, “I don’t want anything to drink now. I’ll have a glass of wine before bedtime.” She needed to operate with an undiluted mind, so the last thing she needed was alcohol in her system.
He nodded. “Okay, you’re ready to talk?”
“Yes, I’m ready.” She sat on the sofa and he took the wingback chair across from her. He looked at her expectantly.
“You were right, Jaye.”
He lifted a brow. “About what?”
“All those times you would tell me that love wasn’t for everybody. It took me two years, but I finally get it.”
“You do?”
“Yes. And just like it wasn’t for you, I can now accept it’s not for me.”
Something flashed in his eyes. She wasn’t certain what, but he tilted his head and looked at her for a moment, then said, “No, Velvet, I believe love is for you.”
“Maybe, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. What I am going to do is continue to move on.” She leaned forward to make sure he heard her next words clearly. “I don’t love you anymore, Jaye, so if the thought that I do makes you uncomfortable, then don’t let it. It took me a while, but I’ve gotten over you. However, what I haven’t gotten over is the good times I spent with you. Especially in the bedroom.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I believe I can do just like you.”
“Do what like me?”
She was glad he’d asked since she had no problem telling him. “Engage in loveless, insignificant, inconsequential, not to mention irrelevant, affairs as long as the sex is good.”
He shook his head. “No, Velvet, you need more. You deserve more.”
She chuckled. “There was a time I honestly believed I did, but now I’ve taken the blinders off and see that I don’t. It’s been a little over two years since we broke up, Jaye, and it was time I needed for my heart to heal. It has and it won’t ever be hurt again by any man, because I won’t let it. I’m no longer interested in an ever-after. I’ll just take the now.”
“The now?”
“Yes. I’m going to start listening to my body and not to my heart. And lately my body has been going through some things.”
He frowned. “Some things like what?”
She decided to be blunt. “It’s craving sex.”
“Sex?”
Why was he saying that word like he’d never heard it before? “Yes. You know, that loveless act you introduced me to.” That should remind him she’d been a virgin until that night they’d made love for the first time...just in case he’d forgotten.
What she was about to tell him might come as a surprise, and some might consider it too much information, but she needed him to fully understand her dilemma and her position. “I haven’t slept with a man since you, Jaye. And the way I see it, since you are responsible for my present state, my sexual cravings, I think it’s only fair that you and I get it on a few times and then I should be good for a while.”
He stared at her for the longest time before saying, “Good for a while?”
“Yes, good until any sexual aches return. Hopefully, that won’t be for another two years. By then I should have decided who my next sex partner will be after you.”
JAYECOULDN’TBELIEVEwhat he was hearing. The woman sitting across from him looked like Velvet, but she sounded nothing like her. The Velvet Spencer he knew would never engage in meaningless sex. But then, he had to painfully remember what she’d assumed was meaningful sex had only brought her heartache.
He recalled every time she’d told him that she loved him, but he’d never said it in return. He’d been convinced he hadn’t when deep down he truly had. If he told her that now, chances were she wouldn’t believe him. Nor would she care because the bottom line was that she didn’t love him anymore. That was something she had so eloquently stated. In essence, Velvet was giving him a taste of his own medicine. She was willing to engage in affairs that went nowhere, too. He was getting just what he deserved.
However, it was not what he would accept.
“So, Jaye, will you accept my proposal or offer, whichever one you want to think of it as?”
He drew in a deep breath. Whether she knew it or not, just knowing that no other man had shared her bed and her heart since him gave him hope. Regardless of what she said, he was considering what she wasn’t saying. Yes, he would accept her offer but it was not with the intent she had in mind. He was a strategic planner, and his mind was already working on one to counteract her proposal.
Jaye had no intention of engaging in an insignificant, inconsequential or irrelevant affair with her. Just the opposite. He intended to make things so good between them that their affair would become as meaningful as it could get. Meaningful and permanent.
“Because what you’re proposing is so unlike you, Velvet. Regardless of everything you’ve said, I want you to sleep on it and think hard about it.”
She shrugged. “I’ll sleep on it and think about it as you’ve insisted, but I won’t change my mind. Like I said, Jaye, I’m a different person now. I don’t see things through rose-colored glasses. I see things a lot more clearly than before, and what I don’t see happening is for me to ever fall in love again. Love and marriage are no longer in my future.”
He couldn’t believe she was actually saying that. Hell, he hoped not when his prime reason for being here was for her to fall in love again. With him. He knew regaining her love wouldn’t be easy, but with her current mindset, it would be a lot harder than he’d expected. Somehow, he had to convince her that love and marriage were still a part of her future—and his.
“And another thing, Jaye, there’s one stipulation to this arrangement.”
Her words had intruded his thoughts. “What is that?”
“I don’t want to go public with our affair.”
She actually wanted them to sneak around? “Why not?”
“Mainly because you’ll be leaving in a few months to return to Phoenix. I am a teacher in this community and prefer not to become the subject of small-town gossip over having an affair with the banker who ultimately dumps her to return to the girl back home.”
He frowned. “I’m not involved with anyone back in Phoenix.”
“That’s what the rumor mill is saying whether it’s true or not. After you leave, I want to retain my level of respectability.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Is that what you truly want, Velvet? For us to sneak around?”
“Honestly, I don’t see it as sneaking around, Jaye. I just see it as not broadcasting our business. Especially when we both know how things will end.”
Jaye stood and crossed the room to her. “I hope you know what you’re asking of me, Velvet. Just so you know, you aren’t the only one who’s been celibate for the past two years. I haven’t shared a bed with anyone since you.” He saw the shocked look on her face.
She tilted her head back to look up at him with disbelief in her eyes.
“It’s the truth,” he said.
“Why?” she asked.
“I only wanted you.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, as if trying to make sense of what he’d admitted. Finally, she said, “Then we agree your want of me is merely a sexual thing. In that case, I really don’t understand what’s the big deal of us having an affair. You act as if you’ll be doing something you’re not used to doing, anyway. You’ll be going back to how you operated before agreeing to an exclusive relationship with me.”
That reminder didn’t sit well with him. “And what about you, Velvet? Have you forgotten why I agreed to exclusivity with you? I wanted you in a bad way and you were not the type of woman to engage in casual affairs. Are you sure you can now?”
She broke eye contact with him and stared down at the floor for a moment before returning her gaze to his. In a quick instance, he saw the pain in her eyes. Pain she was trying to shield. Pain he knew he was responsible for. “Yes, I’m sure,” she answered. “Like I said, I fell in love once and don’t intend on ever doing it again. Besides, sex-only affairs are something you always enjoyed, so maybe it’s time for me to give them a try.”
Jaye felt he needed to get her to understand. “I just don’t think you realize what you’re asking of me,” he said, holding her gaze with an intensity he wanted her to feel.
“Yes, I do. I know more than you’d ever realize. And since I know you don’t love me and that I could never love you again, I feel comfortable with what I’m proposing. A sex-only affair. Maybe I need to demonstrate just how comfortable I am with it.”
Then, standing on tiptoes, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his.
VELVETWASCONVINCEDthe moment her lips touched Jaye’s—everything within her suddenly came to life. And when he slid his tongue between her parted lips and began tangling with hers, every cell was bombarded with sensations she hadn’t felt in two years.
It amazed her how easily and effortlessly he could make her moan. With Jaye, it had always been about pleasure of the most intense kind. Pleasure that was so deep and hot it could overwhelm her senses and push her body into a need that was all-consuming.
When he changed the angle of his mouth and pulled her closer to fit against him, she felt his hard erection, which was a telltale sign of how aroused he was. She was just as aroused.
Together, their tongues began mating in the sensuous way that was so familiar. This is what she had gone without for two years and four months and...fourteen days. Her lips and tongue knew his and were fully aware of the pleasure Jaye could deliver.
Like he was doing now.
When he suddenly broke off the kiss, dropped his hands from her waist and took a step back, she tried to keep the disappointment out of her expression. “What’s wrong?” she asked, after pulling in a much-needed breath.
“Nothing’s wrong, Velvet. I just want you to be sure about this, because if I agree to your offer, there’s no turning back.”
No turning back? Did he think she hadn’t accepted that the sole purpose of their affair would be for her to share his bed and for him to share hers while she got her fill of him? “Like I told you, Jaye. I’m not the same person. From now on, it’s about satisfying a physical need for me just like it’s always been for you. Besides, it’s not like you’re going to remain in Catalina Cove. You’ll be leaving in a few months, anyway.”
He didn’t say anything for the longest moment. He just looked at her in the way he always had when trying to figure out something about her. Honestly, what was there to figure out?
“Regardless, I still want you to think about it, to make sure you’re making the right decision,” he finally said.
There was nothing for her to think about when her mind was made up. If she’d had any doubts before, they’d been eradicated by that kiss they’d just shared—the one she had boldly initiated.
“Fine, I’ll think about it, Jaye. And I suggest you do the same. I want you to be sure that getting involved with me again, even for just a short while, is something you want to do.”
When he remained silent—as to whether he needed to think about it or not—she figured that could only mean one thing. “If you’re worried that I will become attached, then don’t. I learned my lesson and, like I said, falling in love is not part of the equation this time for me.” Hopefully, what she just stated would assure him that he had nothing to worry about.
He looked down at the floor as if he were considering her words. She knew at that moment that she’d been right. The only reason he was hesitant was because he needed to make sure she didn’t fall in love with him again, especially when he knew that he wasn’t capable of loving her.
Then she remembered something. “What was it you needed to talk to me about?”
He finally looked up at her. “I wanted to let you know I’ll be leaving town on a business trip in the morning and wanted to kiss you before I left.”
She blinked. “Why would you want to kiss me?”
He took a step closer, and with his gaze locked on hers, he said in a low husky voice, “The same reason you kissed me just now. You and I generate a lot of sensual heat, Velvet. Nothing has changed about that. Besides, I’ve always enjoyed kissing you.”
Yes, he did. But then, she’d always enjoyed kissing him, too. “Well, you got your kiss. Please have a safe trip, Jaye.”
He shook his head. “No, I got your kiss, Velvet. The one you gave me. Now I want you to have mine. The one I’m about to give you.”
The next thing she knew, Jaye drew her into his arms and took her mouth with an intensity she could feel in every part of her body. When she had kissed him earlier, he had let her be in control. Now he was. There was just something about a Jaye Colfax kiss, and when he deepened it, fierce desire surged through her to settle deep in her bones.
Velvet sensed a flare of heat between her legs at the same moment her breasts felt full and sensitive, and her nipples hardened. Their lips were fused together while his tongue tangled with hers in a way that had her senses spinning. Pressure began building up, and it was as if her entire body below the waist was on fire.
Then it happened. Her body exploded in an orgasm so intense, she saw stars and felt as if she’d been rocketed out of this hemisphere.
He didn’t let up until the last spasm had flowed from her body. When he released her mouth, he swept her into his arms. Was he carrying her to the bedroom now? Would he make love to her tonight? Multiple orgasms had always been their specialty.
She moaned in protest when instead of taking her to the bedroom, he placed her on the sofa. She felt weak as she fought to recover from the first orgasm she’d had with a man in two years. Ironically, it had been with the same man.
She was about to say something but was too drained to speak. He hunched down beside the sofa and stared at her with penetrating dark eyes. “Are you, okay?”
She still couldn’t speak so she just nodded.
He reached out and touched her ear. “I’m glad you found your earring.”
What he said registered. Had he figured she’d lied about losing it? “Me, too,” she managed to say, refusing to own up to it now.
“We both have a lot to think about while I’m gone. We’ll talk when I get back.” He leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips before standing. “Good night, Velvet. I’ll lock the door behind me.”
She watched him cross the room to leave, knowing when they did sleep together, they wouldn’t just burn up the sheets—they’d burn up each other as well.