27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Seven
K ade gets out of the pickup and walks Jess to her front door. On the porch, he plans to give her a goodnight kiss to remember, walk back to his pickup, and call it a night.
Jess doesn't give him the option because she unlocks the door and steps inside before he can do or say anything. She leaves the door open, and he follows her, shutting the door behind him. "Jess, don't you have an early morning meeting tomorrow?"
She sets the bag down on the counter and opens it before grabbing the two plastic containers and forks. "I do, but it was to get out before Carrie had another chance to come talk. She would keep us there until closing if she could."
He watches her set the containers on the coffee table. "What are you doing?"
"Having dessert. Why are you standing in the entryway?"
"Because I'm conflicted."
"About?"
He stares at her sitting on the couch watching him. "Whether or not I should stay."
"Do you suddenly have something against dessert I'm not aware of?"
Licking his lips, he takes a deep breath. "No, I still like dessert. Part of me doesn't want just the dessert on the table, and I'm worried you're offering the dessert I'm actually craving."
"Why does that worry you?" she asks and unbuttons the top two buttons of her blouse.
The shirt opens up to show off the top of her cleavage, and he wants to fall to his knees and crawl to her. "Because I still have somewhere around forty-eight days left before I've earned that dessert."
"You're scared of me?" she asks, her mouth dropping open.
"Baby, I'm scared of how you'll feel after you give in to what you think you want right now."
"What I want right now is to share dessert with you. It's tiramisu. Our favorite."
Kade stares at her for a moment longer and decides he's more than capable of self-control. Even if she stood stark naked in front of him, he could handle it. There will be no lovemaking tonight. No matter how much she begs. Or his body hates him for it.
Sitting down next to her, he feels every sense heightened. She smells amazing, and he knows she's feeling the buzz from her two glasses of wine. She's never been a big drinker, and while she may not be drunk, he knows she tends to be looser with her decisions when she's had a drink or two or three.
"It's good," she says and slides the fork out of her mouth seductively.
Oh, God, help me. Don't let me give in and make a major mistake .
He takes a bite and agrees with her, although he can't stop but think about how amazing she tastes. He's always loved her taste, and it's all he can think about now. This won't be as easy as he thought.
"Can I ask you a question?" she asks, leaning on her hip to face him.
He sets the container down and turns to face her. "Of course."
"Don't be mad, okay?"
Uh oh. "Okay."
"Why did you have sex with Lena in the kitchen but never tried to with me? Am I not kitchen-sex worthy?"
The thought of taking her in the kitchen makes him strain against his jeans even more than he already is, and he can't stop glancing down at her chest. "It wasn't like that."
"Because I'm not someone who only enjoys sex in the bedroom. For the record.”
"I know. We've had sex in your bathtub, remember?"
"But I can be fun in all rooms of the house, Kade. Why wasn't I kitchen-sex worthy?"
Swallowing, he looks into her green eyes. "It's not that you aren't kitchen-sex worthy, because you are. Lena wasn't bedroom-sex worthy. That was our sacred place."
"You took her in the kitchen because we'd had sex in the bed?"
"It sounds stupid, but yes. Subconsciously, it felt like I'd tarnish the bed."
Instead of getting angry or upset, Jess bursts out laughing. "That's ridiculous."
"Everything I did was ridiculous."
Taking another forkful of the tiramisu, she looks him right in the eyes and drops it onto her chest. "Oops."
Damn her. "Jess-"
"I should probably clean this up," she says and unbuttons the rest of her blouse before tossing it onto the floor.
His eyes focus on the custardy dessert dripping down into her cleavage, and he pants. But the moment she reaches behind her and frees herself from her bra, he can't hold himself back any longer. His mouth finds the dessert as he leans her back onto the couch, and her fingers run through his hair.
"Kade," she moans. "Yes. This is what I want."
Licking everything up, he moves to take her right nipple into his mouth, kissing it as though it was her mouth while he plays with her left one in the palm of his hand. "Jess," he moans and kisses his way to her other nipple.
"I need you," she whispers. "I've wanted nothing but this for months."
Kissing down her belly, he unzips her skirt from the side and slides it off with next to no effort. Her eyes look down to watch him as she sits in only her panties, and he needs to kiss her. Needs her mouth on his, and he moves back up to her lips.
Jess wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him with a passion that sets him on fire. He wants this. Her. Needs her, but he also knows not to risk having her wake up in the morning regretting the decision.
You can’t just leave her unfulfilled. His hand slides down beneath her panties, and her legs open wider as he rubs her swollen lips, his middle finger sliding between to feel her soaking wet need.
She moans into his mouth as he grazes her clit, and his jeans feel like a painful chastity belt. Or at least what he imagines one might feel like. He needs her as much as she needs him, but only one of them will be left relieved and sated.
Reaching further down, he palms the hood of her need as he slips his middle and ring fingers inside. The feeling of her slick heat around him makes him groan, and she pulls her mouth from his.
"Kade, oh, yes."
His hand moves, giving her some of what she desires. Her eyes watch him as he slips down a little to suck on her left tit again, wishing he could have all of her. To get what he plans to give her, but this moment of pleasure isn't worth the potential pain tomorrow.
"I have to taste you," he says and moves to kneel on the floor while shifting her to the upright position.
Her chest heaves with anticipation, and she can't stop watching him, making it even sexier than he could imagine. Moving her panties to the side with his finger, he lowers his face to her sex and takes her into his mouth the way he knows she likes. The moment her fingers claw into his hair, he knows it won't be long now.
To get better leverage, he hooks his arms under her thighs and lifts her up to angle her just right. As uncomfortable as she may look, her moans and mews tell him it's exactly what she needs.
"Kade!" she cries out, her hips moving against his face as her juices wet his chin. "Oh, yes! Yes, yes, yes!"
His tongue circles her until she comes down from her high, and he slowly moves her to a more comfortable position. Her sated expression as she stares at him with such adoration makes what he's about to do even more difficult.
"Your turn," she says with a small smile.
"No, baby, not tonight."
Her brows furrow, and he just stares at the sexy woman in front of him wearing just her panties. "What?"
"This was for you, not me."
Her hands move to rub along his fly, and he involuntarily shifts his hips and moans.
"I don't know if all of you agrees with that statement, Kade."
It takes all his self-control, but Kade backs away from her touch and reaches in to adjust himself into the least painful positioning of his manhood possible. "Not tonight, Jess."
Jess reaches for the blanket on the back of the couch and covers herself. "Why?"
"Because I still have over a month left."
"I'm telling you to forget the rule, Kade."
He shakes his head. "You created that rule because of me. I didn't tell you about my past with Sam to get you into bed."
"I know you didn't," she says and stands with the blanket covering her. She walks over to him and uses a corner to wipe his chin. "You hadn't planned to tell me at all."
His hands cup her face, and everything in him screams to tell her he loves her. To say the words right now before he leaves, but he's afraid she'd find a way to convince him to stay once he does. "I have a lot to make up for, and while you may not think I deserve to be punished, I do. And my punishment is not taking you right now, in all your sexy glory, and going home to think about how much I hate the fact I decided to respect you so much. God, these pants are really tight."
"I can help with that," she says.
"Because you caused it, baby," he says and kisses her. "But I should be going."
Her eyes look up at him, and he almost gives in. God, does he want to. "I want you to stay, Kade."
"And I'm scared you'll regret it in the morning if I do. I can handle a lot of things, Jess, but being part of something you regret… that I can't handle."
"I won't regret it."
His hands drop from her face, and he rests his forehead on hers. "I know you don't think you will, but I can't take the risk. Not with you. So, I'm going to go, and I'm going to think of you as I help relieve myself from the current predicament I'm in. I'll text you in the morning, and we can plan to get together again this week. Maybe in public. Like a playground where it's illegal to pleasure each other."
"You're really determined," she says.
"I really, really want you, Jess. I want you to trust me and believe what I say. And I want you to be sure enough in me to decide to be mine."
"And how will you know if I'm truly ready?"
That's a great question. He thinks for a few moments and decides. "You'll tell me you're my girlfriend. That you're mine, and I'm yours, and we're going to move forward without too many hesitations from the past."
"Okay," she says with a smile.
Kissing her, he groans, hating how much he loves her right now. "Goodnight, Jess."
"Goodnight, Kade."
He runs to his pickup, never turning around, and racing home to relieve himself. Two more minutes, and he would have given in. Damn him for not waiting two more minutes.