CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
WHEN VELVETbrOUGHTthe car to a complete stop in front of the house on Blueberry Lane, Jaye opened the door and got out. Hearing her again say that she didn’t love him was a pain he would bear because deep down he believed if she loved him once, then she could do so again. Nothing had changed because he intended to do whatever he had to do to make that happen. Even if she thought for the time being that they were engaging in a sex-only affair. Each time they came together, it wouldn’t be for sex but for love, and he hoped that eventually she would realize it.
He went around to her side, opened the door for her and then swept her into his arms. “Jaye! Somebody might see us.”
“I doubt it.”
Then, to make sure her mind wasn’t on who might see them, he leaned in and kissed her. The drive from the Bayou had been tortuous as hell. He had let her concentrate on driving while he had concentrated on her.
He wasn’t sure how he made it up the steps, holding her in his arms with their lips locked, but by time he pulled his mouth away, they were in front of his door. She had never been inside his home and he wanted her in his bed. Adjusting her in his arms, he fished the key from his pocket and opened the door, then maneuvered his way up the stairs.
When he reached the landing, she said, “You seem pretty good at climbing stairs with a woman in your arms.”
“Only when you’re that woman,” he said, moving straight for his bedroom.
When they reached it, he placed her on her feet beside the bed and began devouring her mouth in ways he felt in every part of his body. And she was kissing him back and their tongues mingled greedily like this would be the only time they had. But he’d heard her say there were no longer any limitations until he left. Little did she know that he didn’t intend to leave without her.
If she truly wanted to make Catalina Cove her home, then this was where they would both be. In fact, when she’d mentioned she wanted oceanfront property in Reid Lacroix’s proposed housing development, he made arrangements with Reid to purchase it. If they didn’t live in the cove permanently, it would certainly serve as their special vacation getaway.
He deepened their kiss and felt her immediate response. She tasted delicious, and her mouth was so hot it was practically burning his. It had always been this way when their mouths mated.
Jaye broke off the kiss when he felt her hand fumbling with the zipper of his jeans. He knew what she wanted and tonight and the days that followed he would give her whatever she wanted and whenever she wanted it.
He began undressing her, pulling her blouse over her head and tossing it onto a chair nearby. He removed her bra easily, and seeing the lush twin mounds, he knew he had to give them both quick licks before removing the rest of her clothing. Then, he made quick work of removing her jeans and sexy barely-there undies. When she stood before him completely naked, he removed his own clothes while she watched.
Jaye liked the intensity of her gaze, and as he removed each piece, she reached out and stroked him. First, his chest and shoulders. When she reached for his erection with warm hands, he sucked in a deep breath. “I wouldn’t touch that too much if I were you, baby. It’s too ready for you.”
She smiled. “I doubt if it’s more ready for me than I am for it.”
“Want to bet?”
While holding his manhood firmly in her hand, she eased up to him and came inches to his lips and whispered. “Don’t want to bet. I want to make love.”
At least she hadn’t used the word sex—and he doubted she realized it. For them, it would never be about just having sex. It would always be about making love, and it was up to him to prove that to her. Sweeping her off her feet, he placed her in the bed and then joined her there. When his mouth went for her breasts, she whispered, “Later. I need you inside of me, Jaye.”
Intent on giving her any and everything she wanted, he moved in position over her and stared down and said, “Don’t close your eyes, Vel.”
If she found his request odd, she didn’t say. More than anything he wanted her to read in his eyes the words she wasn’t ready to hear. It didn’t matter if she didn’t love him. He loved her and for now there was enough love in his heart for the both of them.
Spreading her wide with his knees, he kept a tight grip on her hips as he slowly began easing inside her. Pressure was filling his belly as he pushed into her depths, and he could feel her inner muscles clenching him as he went. He’d always loved the feel of being skin to skin with her, something he’d never done with any other woman. He hoped she understood that was still true for him. She kept her eyes fixed on his, and he hoped she saw everything he wanted her to see.
He began thrusting into her with a precision he felt all the way in his belly. He wasn’t holding back on anything. From the look in her eyes and the moans she was making, she was enjoying pleasure of the most intense kind. He knew just what she liked, how to angle his thrusts to ignite her body on fire. When sensation flooded his groin area, he increased his pace and nearly lost his grip on reality. But still, he didn’t break eye contact with her.
“Jaye!”
When she whispered his name, Jaye was fully aware she was on the verge of an orgasm. So was he, and he wanted them to come together like they had so many times before. He wished he could go back in time to appreciate just how perfect mating had been between them.
“Come for me, baby, and I will come for you,” he whispered in her ear.
As if his words pushed her over the edge, she screamed his name and he followed, hollering hers when everything within him ripped. And they were staring into each other’s eyes the entire time.
He kissed her as they gave their bodies time to recover from their climax. When he released her mouth, he was moved by the glazed eyes looking back at him. He parted his lips to tell her he loved her, then stopped himself. Considering everything she’d said earlier, it would be up to her to realize he loved her, just like a part of him wanted to believe that no matter what she said, she still loved him.
“Thank you for doing this with me, Jaye,” she said in a low voice.
Did she really believe she had to thank him? “For you, anytime, Vel.”
“And I plan to hold you to that.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his mouth to hers.
VELVETSLOWLYOPENEDher eyes. Glancing around the room, it took her a quick second to realize she was not in her bed. Sighing deeply, she closed her eyes again to remember everything, the hours and hours of what seemed like endless lovemaking. Once Jaye had brought her into his bedroom, the air surrounding them had become charged and intimate. But then the air had been that way between them at the party.
“Good morning. I see you’re awake.”
She shifted to look over at Jaye. He was standing in the doorway, fully dressed in a pair of jeans and a pullover sweatshirt that had Colfax Construction in bold letters across it. How had he left the bed without her knowing about it?
Sitting up in bed, she pulled the covers up when she realized she was completely naked. She wondered why the modesty now when several times she had been awakened with Jaye’s head between her legs or him sucking on her nipples.
“Good morning,” she said, not able to fight back a yawn. “What time is it?” She didn’t see a clock anywhere in the room.
He glanced at his watch and said, “A little past noon.”
“Noon? I’ve never slept this late before.”
“Sure you have. All the time.”
He was right, and it had always been after a night of endless lovemaking with him. There were times, especially whenever he returned from one of his business trips, that they couldn’t get enough of each other.
“I picked up breakfast for us earlier, but didn’t want to wake you.”
“Where did you go?”
“The Witherspoon Café. I brought back a bag of their blueberry muffins and I got coffee going. Join me in the kitchen for breakfast...or maybe I should say lunch. Then after we eat, you can get dressed and help me outside.”
“Help you outside?”
“Yes.”
“With what?”
“The rocking chairs. With your help, I’ll have them ready to paint this week.”
“Oh, okay.” She watched him cross the room to the bed and lean down to kiss her. But it wasn’t a light kiss, it was one filled with all the desire she’d come to expect from Jaye. In no time at all, she was moaning and was about to suggest he take off his clothes and rejoin her in bed when he released her mouth and said, “Don’t tempt me, Velvet, or we won’t go outside to finish those rocking chairs.”
“I won’t tempt you if you don’t tempt me,” she countered.
He flashed her a dimpled smile. “I’ll do my best.”
“THANKSAGAINFORbrEAKFAST.”
Jaye turned at the sound of Velvet’s voice. She was wearing a pair of jeans and one of his old T-shirts. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he thought she looked cute and sexy.
“Glad you enjoyed it.”
She smiled and gave him a dreamy-eyed look. “I appreciate the company and breakfast. You can’t go wrong with blueberry muffins from the Witherspoon Café.” And, as if it were the most natural thing for her to do, she leaned in and brushed a kiss across his lips. “And I happen to like the company just as much.”
Deciding that wasn’t enough, he pulled her into his arms and gave her his definition of an appreciation kiss. When he released her mouth, she said, “Remember, we aren’t supposed to tempt each other.”
He chuckled. “I’ll remember—or I’ll try to.”
She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans and asked again, “So what do you need me to do?”
“I’ve finished that one chair,” he said. “All it needs is sanding. I figured you can sand it for me while I finish up the second chair.”
“I don’t know how to sand anything.”
Handing her a pair of safety glasses and work gloves, he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll show you.”
He got some sandpaper for her. After demonstrating how to start sanding in the direction of the woodgrain, he left her alone. While he worked on the other chair, on occasion he would glance over at her and see what a good job she was doing. He also couldn’t help noticing just how good she looked doing it.
They didn’t engage in conversation because of the noise from his saw. But more than once, he caught her watching him, like he was a puzzle she was trying to figure out. He wanted to tell her that he really wasn’t that complicated, and that he was a man deeply in love with a woman whom he wanted a new start with.
They stopped to have dinner, feasting on the leftovers Kaegan and Bryce had sent them home with, including bottles of beer. Everything tasted just as good as it had last night.
“I think it’s wonderful how Reid has lured so many people back to Catalina Cove with that low-interest loan program,” Velvet said, after taking a sip of beer. “It was really an ingenuous idea.”
Jaye agreed. “I think so, too. I guess it’s his way of looking out for the cove’s future.”
After dinner, they went outside and continued working amiably together. He had finished the second chair and she’d begun sanding it. “When will you paint them?”
He shifted his eyes to her and smiled. “When do you want to paint them? I’d like to have this project finished this week.”
She nodded. “That will work since I’ll be leaving the cove next weekend to return to Phoenix.”
He lifted a brow. “You will?”
“Yes. Another bridal shower. This time it’s Ruthie’s.”
“Will this be your first time returning to Phoenix since leaving?”
“No. I was there for Ruthie and Todd’s engagement party during New Year’s.”
So that’s where she’d gone. Jaye had rushed back to Catalina Cove right after Christmas, hoping to see her at the cove’s New Year’s ball he’d attended as Reid Lacroix’s guest, only to discover she wasn’t there. At the time, he hadn’t moved into the house on Blueberry Lane and was staying at Shelby by the Sea.
They continued working on the chairs and when the sun began to set, she removed her gloves and took off her safety glasses. “That’s it for me today. I’m going home to relax before taking a shower.”
Was she telling him that as a way of an invitation to join her in the shower? The thought made his lower extremities throb. He removed his safety glasses and gloves as well. “I think I’ll call it a day myself. With your help, I accomplished a lot.”
“Are you sure I wasn’t in the way?”
“I’m positive. You did a good job sanding those chairs.”
“Need my assistance in putting things away?”
“Thanks, that would be appreciated since I’m in need of a shower myself.”
“Are you?”
“Yes.” Then in what he thought was a soft ultra-sexy voice, she said, “Would you like to join me taking mine?”
He pulled her close to him to wrap his arms around her shoulders. “I was hoping you’d ask.”
“And if I can be so bold to say, I’d like to try out your shower, Jaye. I’m sure there’s another old T-shirt of yours I can wear borrow.”
“And if not, you can certainly wear nothing at all.”
ITDIDN’TTAKEthem long to put things away and head toward the house. Walking beside Jaye, Velvet struggled for control. More than once she had watched him work. His concentration had been focused on what he was doing while hers had been focused on him.
“We’re going jogging together in the morning, right?” He moved aside for her to go up the porch steps ahead of him.
“I guess so, just as long as you know I’m still only doing one lap.”
He leaned in and whispered, “I’ll take any number of laps you’ll give me.”
He opened the door to his house and, after closing it behind them, he swept her into his arms. “I can walk up the stairs, you know.”
“I know, but there’s something about carrying you anywhere that makes it special.”
She wished he would have thought that way when they’d been together before. She didn’t want to think about that time, especially not now, and reached up and placed her arms around his neck to bring his mouth down to hers. The moment their tongues began tangling, all the desires and needs that he had taken care of last night had apparently replenished over the past few hours, as sensations rushed through her body.
When she felt them moving, she broke off the kiss. Halfway up the stairs, she suddenly said, “Stop, Jaye.”
He stopped and looked down at her. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t make it to the shower.” She lowered her hands to unbutton his shirt. Understanding her need, he set her feet on the steps and began undressing her. Everything was happening so fast that she wasn’t sure who was undressing whom until they were both naked.
Lifting her hips, he used their discarded clothing as a cushion for her against the wooden stairs. Before she could tell him that wasn’t necessary, he kneeled between her thighs, slipped her legs over his shoulders, and buried his head there.
“Jaye!”
The moment she felt his tongue inside her, she fought hard not to come apart and grabbed hold of the railing as a multitude of sensations raced through her. Although no other man had ever done this to her before him, she was certain nobody could do this like Jaye. He knew just where his tongue needed to be to provide her with the ultimate satisfaction.
She screamed his name when intense pleasure took her over, thinking it was a good thing their neighbors were not in shouting, or screaming, range. He moved his mouth away, lowered her legs and then covered her with his body. Placing a tight grip on her thighs, he quickly thrust inside her and began riding her hard. Over and over again. They came together.
Intense pleasure consumed her, taking over her mind and body. Not holding anything back, he propelled her right into another orgasm. After she screamed his name for probably the fourth time, he lowered his mouth to hers, capturing it with one deep tongue-penetrating kiss.
Her body should have felt tired, worn out, but it felt even more energized. She wrapped her legs around his waist so he could lift her up. “Now for our shower, Velvet.” He carried her the rest of the way up the stairs.