Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Arizona
“ O kay, Jameson, I think you’ve covered every inch twice now, maybe even more.” I squirmed as his fingers brushed over a ticklish spot behind my knee.
He draped the built-in string on the loofah over the faucet handle and glanced up at me with a knowing smile. The corners of his lips curved upward, making my heart race from where he knelt beside the bathtub on the bathmat.
“There’s no harm in being thorough, is there?” His eyes twinkled with a teasing look of mischief.
Jameson had been particularly attentive since I woke up in the hospital. I suspected it was his way of coping and keeping himself occupied with a sense of purpose. Therefore, I decided not to question or interfere, recognizing that it was his way of handling the aftermath of my harrowing ordeal. And who was I to turn down the benefits of our uninterrupted time together?
“No, although if you aren’t careful—” His hand slipped between my legs, causing my train of thought to scramble.
I leaned my head back on the bath pillow and closed my eyes, allowing myself to enjoy the sensations his touch unleashed. The tips of his fingers brushed devastatingly slow circles up my inner thigh, testing, teasing, but stopped short of where I craved him most.
“If I’m not careful, what?” he crooned, bending one of my legs, granting him easier access.
His touch radiated deeper than just the skin level, causing a fluttering sensation to blossom in my stomach when his knuckles brushed over my core. A decadent chill of desire rushed through my veins as my clit throbbed and my nipples pebbled. His breath tickled my neck before the tip of his nose skirted my jaw. The comforting aroma of the sandalwood body wash that I asked him to use surrounded me with a sense of warmth. Each breath awakened my senses, invigorated me, and drew me in deeper under his magnetic spell.
“You just got me all clean.” I draped my arm over his shoulder and ran my fingers through his thick, chestnut-brown hair.
“Maybe I like you dirty.”
As Jameson dragged his tongue across my collarbone, a moan slipped past my lips, half out of pleasure, half exasperated, yearning for more. But when he sucked one of my nipples between his teeth, my hips lifted off the base of the tub. The exquisite sensations of his teeth alternating between nipping and biting my skin heightened my arousal as his fingers continued their torturous dance along my inner thighs.
The vivid images of where I desired his fingers to explore raced through my mind as I held on by a delicate thread. I was infatuated with the man and thankful for the time and grace he granted me over the years, never giving up on his belief that we were destined to be together until the tides changed and our stars aligned.
No one had ever made me feel so desired, loved, and cherished.
With my next breath, every nerve in my body had me nearly crying out mournfully when he shifted back on his haunches and locked eyes with me. His gaze filled with intense purpose—tender yet piercing—intertwining every emotion I felt and reflecting them back to me.
It was then that his repeated movements started to materialize.
“Did you just write ‘mine’ on my upper thigh?”
He nodded.
“Worried I’ll forget?” I teased him.
“Nah, I’ll never let you.” He smirked, leaving no margin for error in my mind of his intentions.
“Maybe I should get it tattooed on my?—”
Jameson practically pounced, eating my words as I arched my spine and water lapped at my sides. I cradled his face in the palm of my hands and breathed, “I love you so much,” between kisses.
“I love you too, Red.”
We were steeped in passion, losing ourselves to one another as our tongues stroked the embers, igniting a deep, intense fire within. He was an aphrodisiac, a reminder that only he could touch my soul and deliver a toe-curling kiss that would resonate long after it was over.
“I think it’s time to get you out of here.”
“Couldn’t agree more.” I held up a hand and wiggled my fingers. “I’m one step away from turning into a wrinkled old prune.”
“I can’t allow that to happen on my watch, can I now?”
Jameson pushed on the bathtub stopper and helped me onto my feet as the water began to drain. Once he wrapped me in a warm towel, he offered his arm for support as I carefully stepped out of the tub. Since I was still a bit unsteady—a side effect of the withdrawal from the drugs I’d been given—having Jameson there to support my weight was a necessary precaution.
“How about I help get you comfortable on the bed, and then I’ll massage you.”
“Ahh . . .” Truth be told, I’d had something else in mind.
His brows furrowed. “Are you really turning down a naked massage?”
A sudden wave of laughter escaped my lips and turned into a coughing fit as I tensed and clutched his arm. “I can’t wait until it doesn’t hurt to laugh anymore because you and your witty comebacks might just be the end of me.”
“I’m sorry,” he replied, and his complexion paled.
“There’s no need.” I lifted my hand and placed it on the center of his chest over his heart. “I love your sense of humor.”
“And I love you, Ari.”
The reminder of how close I came to dying chose that moment to send a shiver down my spine. I brushed the thought aside and wrapped my hand around his neck. As soon as his lips met mine, the rawness of our feelings drowned out the world of chaos that nearly stole our future together from underneath us.
Jameson wasted no time, threading his hands through my hair as he angled my head, deepening our kiss while his tongue danced perfectly in sync with mine. His stubble, which I wasn’t used to since he couldn’t have facial hair on the job, prickled against my skin as we lost ourselves to each other, savoring the gift of each other’s presence until he abruptly put the brakes on things again.
“Now, let’s get that sweet ass of yours on the bed; I know the massages are helping with your back and shoulder spasms.”
I couldn’t deny his statement, thankful those were the worst of my injuries, along with some facial bruising. However, the constant discomfort I was still experiencing in my shoulders, even while performing the most minor tasks, was undeniably frustrating.
Jameson climbed on the bed next to me and warmed up the lotion in his hands before pressing his palms to my skin. With each slow, purposeful stroke, after a few minutes, I could feel the tension in my muscles slowly begin to melt away. The way his fingers kneaded the knots under my shoulders in my traps with just the right amount of pressure was decadent. The rhythmic motion lulled me into a place of tranquility, absolving me of any worry, and took me to a place where everything flowed harmoniously.
I let out a soft sound of approval as his hands trailed down my body, leaving a heated trail in its wake and my thighs pressed together. Every cell in my body vibrated with only an ache he could elicit and soothe simultaneously.
When he squeezed the soft flesh on my buttocks, my hips lifted in search of more pressure.
“Does my girl need more?” His voice was raspy, low, and charged with intent.
“Yes.” I was needy and desperate for everything I knew he’d bestow upon my body if given a little encouragement since I believed he’d been holding a part of himself back, fearful of aggravating my injuries.
He shifted his weight on the bed, straddled my thighs, and leaned up over my back. His teeth nipped a path across my shoulder to my ear. “Tell me, Red, where do you want my touch most?”
“Please, Jameson.” I longed for the depth of our connection as much as I needed my next breath.
“Tell me,” he repeated, pulling my earlobe between his lips, scissoring his teeth.
“Everywhere.”
“Nah, Ari, you can do better than that.” He swiveled his hips and pressed his cotton-clad erection into my backside. “Be more specific.” The sexy, dark edge of his voice drew me out of my shell, and I was breathless with need.
“Between my legs.”
“That’s it, Red. Don’t ever be afraid to tell me what you want.”
I had never trusted anyone as completely and wholeheartedly as I did Jameson. He was the only person who recognized my vulnerabilities as strengths and found them sexy and alluring.
He was a drug I never wanted to rehab from.
Jameson pressed a series of wet kisses down my spine, then blew a purposeful breath across my dampened skin. The sensation of the cool air meeting the warmth of my skin sent a wave of tingles vibrating the length of my body, setting every nerve ending ablaze.
His fingers leisurely dragged up the back of my thighs before he separated my legs and moved between them. “This ass, it makes me so hard I can barely see straight.”
I lifted my hips off the bed as his thumbs separated my cheeks and began exploring until his thumb reached under me and circled my clit with exquisite pressure.
“Do you miss it?” He asked, referring to my hood piercing that a nurse removed in the hospital before I had X-rays done.
“If that stunt you pulled in the bathtub was of any insight, then I’d say, no, I don’t need it with you.”
It was the truth.
“Why?” He slipped two fingers inside me, the tips brushing across the sweet spot that had me seeing stars behind my eyelids on contact. “I want to hear you say it.” He pumped his fingers and moved his thumb with such relentless abandon I could hardly think straight.
“Your touch . . . it makes me come alive.” I fisted the bedsheets with labored breaths.
“Yeah, it does,” Jameson crooned before he suddenly flipped me onto my back and swooped down over me, pulling my bottom lip between his teeth, and resumed pushing me to the verge of ecstasy with his fingers. “Seeing you let go, chase all the sensations with such enthusiasm, knowing you’re giving yourself to me so freely?—”
“Jameson.” I clutched his biceps, dug my nails into his skin, and cried out as my orgasm pushed me blissfully over the edge.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” he said, swallowing my moans of euphoria as I soared high above any realm I’d ever known.
“Jameson, I need you inside me now. Please, make love to me.”
A sinful smile spread across his mouth. “With pleasure, Red.”
He quickly freed himself from his jersey shorts and boxers before I reached down and blindly fisted him in my palm, guiding him to my core as I lost myself inside his magnetic bourbon-hued eyes.
The consummate restraint he exhibited nearly tore me in two when he pushed inside me unhurriedly, without any barrier, sending me into sensory overload. The rungs of his Jacob’s ladder brushed over my sensitive skin and added an extra layer of stimulation as the feeling of fullness I’d only ever experienced with him intensified.
Jameson cradled the side of my face. “I wanted you even when my love for you was pain; you’re the owner of my heart, Arizona.”
Happy tears began to well because, for far too long, we’d been two tortured souls, separated by misunderstanding yet drawn together by an undeniable connection that neither of us could no longer ignore. Since our first kiss, his devotion had fed every ounce of my soul and lightened the darkened corners I didn’t trust anyone to see. And the truth was, my heart had only ever belonged to him.
“Don’t be gentle; I won’t break. I want all of you, always,” I pleaded, needing more.
His corded muscles strained as I clung to him while he supported his weight above me, flexing his hips with possessive abandon. The sounds of our bodies coming together filled the room as a chorus of our mingled breaths created a beautiful symphony.
“Fuck, Red, you squeeze me so good.”
“Jameson, harder, I need it?—”
“I’ve got you. I’ve always got you.” He pulled out and slammed back into me with measured movements, each thrust driving fantastically deep, hitting the spot that made a vortex of lights flicker behind my eyelids.
My muscles tightened, my back arched off the bed, and my toes curled as the waves of infinite pleasure hit me in rapid-fire succession. With the headboard rattling against the wall, he reached down between us and rubbed my clit in exquisite circles until I burst into flames and screamed out his name in a series of raspy moans.
Jameson shifted back on his haunches, grabbed my hips, and approached me from a new angle. All the while continuing his delicious assault through my pulsating muscles, drawing out my orgasm until the euphoric look of rapture filled his expression when he tipped over the edge, and his release flooded my core with warmth.
Together, we collapsed in a tangle of limbs and stayed that way, savoring our post-coital bliss until I tried to stifle my yawn and failed miserably.
“Okay, my beautiful girl, let’s get you ready for bed.”
“Can we watch a Christmas Hallmark movie and cuddle?” I asked.
“Of course. Let me get you your pajamas.” He climbed off the bed, gathered his discarded shorts and boxers from the floor, and disappeared into the walk-in closet.
He returned a minute later wearing a new pair of black boxers that said, “Sit on my lap and tell me how naughty you’ve been,” and carrying a flannel Christmas sleep set for me.
“You and your themed underwear, it knows no bounds.”
“You love it.” He slipped a pair of red cotton underwear and plaid sleep shorts up my legs.
“That I do,” I playfully joked as my gaze landed on the front of the red short-sleeved button-up shirt he held up for me. “Oh my, God, Jameson, you didn’t.” I couldn’t help but laugh despite the pain in my sides.
“What?” He gave a small, feigned innocent smile, clearly not fooling anyone.
“‘I only put out for Santa,’ really?” I questioned, reading the front of the shirt Jameson helped me put on.
“Just in case you forget how I like to wake up and need a reminder.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I let out a humorous sigh and shook my head.
“And I’m all yours, no givebacks.” His grin was too sexy for his own good.
“The best decision I’ve ever made.”
“One, I’ll dedicate my life to ensuring you never regret.”