Chapter Three #3
I pulled him closer.
His chest pressed against mine. The rough edge of his beard scraped my skin, and his mouth opened over mine.
Heat rushed through me.
Jonah tasted like garlic and the wine he’d poured with dinner.
His hands tightened at my waist.
I slid mine beneath his shirt and found hot skin and hard muscle.
He broke the kiss.
His breathing had deepened. His eyes had darkened until the brown near the center nearly swallowed the green.
“I need to ask you something,” he said.
“That sounded like a warning.”
“It’s a question.”
“Ask it.”
“Is this what you want, or are you trying to prove something again?”
I released his shirt.
The pressure between my thighs worsened.
“I’m not kissing you because of my father.”
“Or the account at Mabel’s.”
“No.”
Jonah kept his hands at my waist without pulling me closer. “You don’t owe me anything for the clothes, food, ride, or bed.”
“I know. I’m here because I want you.”
“Tell me if that changes.”
“I will.”
“What do you want?”
“You.”
I curled my fingers into his shirt again.
“I want you to kiss me without treating me like I’ll break,” I said. “I want your hands on me. I want the bed to stop being a logistical problem.”
“Anything you don’t want?” he asked.
“No humiliation. No restraints. Don’t call me your property, and don’t make decisions for me.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“I know.”
“What about contraception?” he asked.
“I have a hormonal IUD.”
“I was screened eight months ago. I haven’t been with anyone since.”
“I was screened six months ago. Neither have I.”
“Condom?”
“No.”
His hand moved from my waist to the side of my neck. His thumb rested beneath my jaw.
“Now kiss me.”
Jonah kissed me again.
This time, there was no restraint.
His mouth claimed mine while his hands moved over my back and down to my ass. He pulled me against the thick ridge beneath his jeans.
A moan escaped me.
Jonah swallowed the sound.
I opened his shirt, pushed it from his shoulders, and dragged the fitted T-shirt underneath over his head.
His chest was broad and hard, dark hair narrowing over his abdomen. Sun had browned his throat and arms, leaving lighter skin beneath the shirts he wore for work.
I ran both hands over him.
His muscles tightened beneath my palms.
“You’ve been hiding this under all those work shirts.”
“I took my shirt off last night.”
“You wore another one beneath it.”
“You established rules.”
“I’m revising them.”
I kissed his chest and bit lightly near one nipple.
Jonah’s breath left him in a rough sound.
His fingers slid beneath the hem of my tank.
“Arms up.”
The words were direct, but his hands waited.
I lifted my arms.
He pulled the tank over my head and dropped it beside his shirts.
I wore a red lace bra I’d carried in my handbag because Daddy could confiscate my luggage but not my standards.
Jonah stared.
“Say something,” I told him.
“You’re beautiful.”
My throat tightened.
“That’s acceptable.”
His hands cupped my breasts through the lace. His thumbs moved over my nipples until they hardened beneath the fabric.
I arched into him.
Jonah kissed the top of one breast, then the other. His mouth moved lower while he opened the front clasp.
The bra fell away.
His lips closed around my nipple.
Pleasure shot through me.
I gripped his shoulders and held him closer as his tongue circled the tight peak. He moved to the other breast, giving it the same slow attention while one hand slid into the back of my shorts.
His palm covered my ass.
“You feel good,” he said against my skin.
“So do you.”
“That wasn’t a complete review.”
“You’re fishing for praise.”
“I’m checking the evidence.”
I laughed, but the sound broke into a gasp when he bit my nipple gently.
“Bedroom,” I said.
Jonah lifted his head.
I braced one hand on his shoulder, pulled off one boot and then the other, and set them beside the bedroom door. Then I opened my shorts and pushed them over my hips.
The denim slid down my legs.
The red lace underwear matched the bra on the floor.
“Do I look uncertain?”
“No.”
“Then take me to bed.”
He caught me around the waist and lifted me.
I wrapped my legs around him.
The sudden strength made me wetter, the lace damp against my pussy.
Jonah carried me through the bedroom door and set me on the edge of the mattress.
The pillow that had separated us the night before rested near the headboard.
I picked it up and threw it toward the dresser.
“Emotional boundary?” he asked.
“Revised.”
He unfastened his jeans.
The movement revealed gray boxer briefs stretched over a cock so large I stared.
Jonah noticed.
“You look concerned.”
“I’m reconsidering the available dimensions.”
His laugh came out strained.
I reached for him.
He caught my wrist before I touched the waistband.
“Not yet.”
The light control in his voice sent a pulse straight through my pussy.
I looked up at him.
“You liked that,” he said.
“Yes.”
“What do you want me to do?”
I could’ve answered with something clever.
I didn’t.
“I want you to take over for a while.”
His thumb moved across the inside of my wrist. “Tell me if that changes.”
“I will.”
Jonah released me and lowered himself between my knees.
“You’re taking too long,” I said.
“I’m enjoying this.”
“You can enjoy it faster.”
He smiled and hooked his fingers into my underwear.
I lifted my hips.
The lace slid down my legs.
Cool air touched my wet pussy.
Jonah went still.
My thighs opened wider.
“Don’t become quiet now,” I said.
“I’m trying to decide where to start.”
“You seemed decisive earlier.”
His hands moved beneath my thighs.
“I am.”
He lowered his mouth to me.
The first stroke of his tongue over my clit pulled a cry from my throat.
I grabbed the sheet.
Jonah licked me again, slower this time, then opened me with his fingers.
His tongue circled my clit while one finger slid inside my pussy.
My hips lifted.