CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“SORRY. I DIDN’T know you were on a call.” Jaye looked at Velvet with his hands shoved into his pants pockets. He needed to keep them there. Otherwise, he would reach out and pull her to him and give her the kiss he needed. What he’d told her was true. He had cut his trip short. What he hadn’t said was that he’d returned early because he hadn’t been able to get her off his mind.
“No problem. It was just Ruthie telling me how her wedding plans were coming along,” she said. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Sure, a beer would be nice.”
“Okay. One beer coming up.’’
He watched her head for the kitchen. One thing he remembered well was that Velvet liked wearing some of the cutest pj’s, although he would eventually take them off her. She said pj’s always made her feel sexy and she’d always looked the part.
When she had opened the front door and stood there and his gaze had roamed over her, appreciating her in a pair of pink leggings and a printed pinkish blouse, he’d almost been speechless because it looked so good on her shapely body.
Last night, when he couldn’t sleep, he’d ended up sitting out on the hotel’s balcony and remembering all the time they had spent together after they’d first met. For three years, he had assumed everything between them was perfect. Deep down, a part of him had known she’d meant the world to him, but he’d never been able to admit that to himself.
“Here you are,” she said, returning with a beer. He could tell from the way her nipples were pressing against the fabric of her top that she wasn’t wearing a bra. Chances were she wasn’t wearing underwear, either. Just the thought riled his libido.
“Thanks,” he said, standing. He uncapped it and took a huge gulp, knowing she was watching him. He lowered the bottle and licked his lips. “That was good.”
“Glad you like it.”
She was looking at him in a way that sent tingles up and down his spine. “You want some of my beer?”
“Yes.” She accepted the bottle from him.
She looked at him as she tipped the beer to her own lips, and a wave of desire flooded his insides.
She handed the beer back to him. “Now I wish I hadn’t done that.”
“Why not?” He finished off the rest, liking the thought that his mouth was where hers had been just seconds ago.
“It brought back too many memories.”
It had for him, too, but he wouldn’t complain. Nor did he have any regrets. They had been good together, both in and out of the bedroom. Now he was determined to get her to see there was an out-of-the-bedroom for them, even while keeping her in the bedroom. The chemistry between them seemed stronger than ever, and he’d honestly thought such a thing wasn’t possible.
“It brought back memories for me, too, Velvet.”
The room got quiet for a moment and then she broke the silence. “You said you thought about my offer.” As if those memories were overpowering her, she moved to sit down on the sofa.
“Yes, I gave it a lot of thought.”
“And what did you decide?”
He gripped the empty bottle in his hands and joined her on the sofa. “I decided that I will give you whatever you want. No matter what it is.”
He saw a flash of something in her eyes and recognized it for what it was. Skepticism. Knowing she doubted his words made him more determined than ever to prove he meant what he said.
“Are you sure about that, Jaye?”
“I’m positive. So, tell me what you want, Velvet.”
Their gazes held for the longest time, and the way she was looking at him made him more aware of her than ever. If she could read the look in his eyes, then she would know the depth of his love for her. His desire and his need.
“Do you really want me to tell you?”
“Yes, I really want you to tell me what you want,” he said.
She nodded and said in a soft voice, “I want you to take care of my sexual cravings, Jaye.”
Standing, he extended his hand to her. She took it and he gently pulled Velvet to her feet and then swept her into his arms.
SHEGAVEHIMdirections to her bedroom and after he placed her on the bed, he stepped back, and she watched as he removed his jacket and tie.
“The only question I need to ask you is how you want it, Velvet? Hard or easy?”
She swallowed. Jaye hadn’t done it easy with her since that first time when he’d discovered she was a virgin. After that, they’d gone straight into hard. And hard was the way she preferred it. “You know how I like it, Jaye.”
“Yes, but I want you to tell me. I won’t assume anything with you.”
She wondered why. “Physically, my needs are the same, Jaye. Emotionally, they are not. Unlike before, I know what not to expect from our intimacy.” She’d tacked on the latter as a reminder that he didn’t have to worry about her wanting and expecting more like she had before.
And just in case he needed further clarity, she said, “Sex is all I want from you.” Was she mistaken or had something just flashed through his eyes? It was as if what she’d said had disturbed him. There was no reason it should have so she must have been mistaken.
“If hard is the way you want it, sweetheart, then hard is how you’ll get it.”
Sweetheart?Now why did he have to go there and use that term of endearment? He’d used it when they were together before, but in the end he’d proved he hadn’t meant anything by it. Her biggest mistake was in thinking he had.
He came close to the bed and pulled her to her feet. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed to the back of her mind the fact that she was about to do something with him that—since the day she left Phoenix—she thought she’d never do again.
He leaned in and slanted his mouth over hers, and the moment their lips touched, her entire body came alive. Although they had kissed twice Monday night, and one of those had resulted in her first orgasm in two years, she knew sharing a bed and getting the total sexual experience with Jaye was different.
His tongue was moving inside her mouth so seductively and with painstaking precision. He deepened the kiss, just the way she liked, and wound his tongue around hers, reminding her just how well Jaye could kiss.
Then there came the part when he totally possessed her mouth. He locked his lips to hers and she barely remembered to breathe. And with a mind of their own, her hips began moving, grinding passionately against his hard erection.
When the intensity of his kiss had her stomach trembling, he suddenly broke off and stared down at her with enough hot desire in his eyes to melt her bones.
Heat simmered through her veins, his masculine scent flooded her nostrils, and the throbbing sensation between her legs grew so intense she moaned. Why was he just standing there, looking at her that way? The look in his eyes only made her hotter.
“Why did you stop kissing me, Jaye?” She didn’t want to sound needy, but she desperately wanted to know.
“Because I know where the kiss was headed and there are other parts of you I ache to explore besides your mouth. Like I told you, Velvet. It’s been two years for me, too, and I’m having sexual cravings as well.”
UNABLETOWAITany longer, Jaye took a step back and began removing his shirt, knowing she was watching his every move. When he heard her breath catch, he met her gaze and the sexual chemistry between them was as explosive as it had ever been.
He sat down in a nearby chair to remove his shoes and socks. Then he stood and their gazes held as he began unzipping his pants. It didn’t take long to ease them down his thighs and legs, along with his briefs. He heard her moan when he stood before her totally naked.
When she made a move to take off her top, he said, “No. I want to undress you, Velvet.” He wondered if his words made her remember all those other times that he had undressed her and all the things he would do to her while doing so.
When she nodded her consent, he slowly moved to the bed as his gaze roamed over her, wondering where he should start. By the time he reached her bed, he had decided to begin at her feet and work his way up, saving the middle for last.
Lifting each leg, he removed her slippers, and then slowly began massaging first one foot and then the other. She had such dainty feet and she’d always taken good care of them. Her toes were painted a bright coral to match the color of her fingernails. Then while she watched, he licked her toes. She knew what that meant. There was no part of her body he didn’t intend to taste tonight.
He wouldn’t say he had a foot fetish, but he would say that he hadn’t desired to get intimate with a woman’s feet until Velvet. There was just something about nibbling her heels and ankles that was a huge turn-on for him. From her prior responses, it had been one for her. He wanted to see if it still was.
He took his time and tasted her feet while holding her gaze. He knew when her breathing pattern changed and how she was clutching the bedspread, she was close. One night, he’d made her come just from sucking her toes.
“Jaye...”
“Humm?”
“I—I...”
“You what, sweetheart?”
“I won’t be able to last.”
He smiled. She’d always said that like there was a limit with the time he spent on any part of her body. “Yes, you will. I’ll make sure you do.”
Not to torture her too much, he placed her legs on his shoulders to ease off her leggings and, just as he thought, she wasn’t wearing undies. The moment her womanly core was exposed, his shaft hardened even more at the thought of pumping hard inside her. Refusing to let those thoughts distract him, he quickly whipped her top over her head. Just that quick, she was completely naked.
He focused on her breasts. Those two luscious mounds he enjoyed licking so much; he recalled a couple of nights he’d dozed off with her nipple in his mouth. He licked his lips just looking at them and, as if they knew what they were in for, the nipples appeared to harden even more, right before his eyes. He met her gaze, knowing she knew what he wanted. And just like she’d done many times in the past, she lifted one up and offered it to him.
Lowering her legs from his shoulders, he moved toward her and took what she offered.