Chapter 37
Victoria
Jordan’s soft smile is all the response I need. He stares into my eyes and gently strokes my cheek, his expression saying more than words possibly could at this moment.
“You know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that?” he asks quietly.
“Four years?” I whisper.
“Probably longer. Since the first time I saw you.”
The taxi pulls up to the hotel and Jordan hands him some cash before getting out. He holds out a hand to help me and we walk toward the elevators. As soon as the doors close behind us I move into his arms and he gently presses his lips to mine.
“I’ve missed you so damn much,” he whispers against my mouth.
“I missed you too.”
“Did your parents freak when you left?”
“Dad was at work. Mom was upset but I left anyway.”
“What will that mean for when you get home?”
I shrug. “No idea. But I’m not going to worry about it until then. I want to enjoy our first trip together, plus my first time in New York.”
“I’m going to support you, baby. In whatever way you need. Emotionally, physically, financially…”
“I have a job, I can pay my own bills, but I may need to impose on Jude and Chloe if they kick me out before we find our own place.”
“Like I said, they’re fine with that. And my money is your money.”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t want—”
He puts a finger over my lips. “It’s not about what you want. It’s the way it’s going to be. Once we’re married, everything I have is half yours.”
“I want a prenup,” she says. “For real. I don’t ever want to be the woman who married you for—”
“Stop.” He shakes his head. “We’re not signing a prenup.”
“We are.” I glare at him, but the doors open so my defiance fizzles out as we walk toward the room.
“Where’s your stuff?” he asks.
“In Chloe’s room. I think they were going out to eat, though. She’ll text me when they get here.”
“Okay.” He unlocks the door to his room and I walk over to the bed, perching on the edge. “I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”
“Well, we probably need to stay awake long enough for them to get back to the room so we can get your stuff, but then you can go right to sleep.”
“Not yet,” I protest, crooking my finger at him.
He walks over to me and stands between my legs, looking down at me with a devilish smile. “Did you need me for something?”
I laugh. “Maybe.”
He leans down and softly kisses me. “I’m down for anything you want to do, but I thought we’d talk first.”
“Isn’t that what we did in the taxi?”
“It is.” He sinks down beside me, taking one of my hands and lacing our fingers together. “I just want to come up with a plan. I feel like there are still some potential misunderstandings between us.”
“No, there aren’t. Not really. It was all me, letting my parents make me feel guilty.”
“Well, I probably should have been more proactive in showing you that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win over your parents. Season tickets to the Marlins for your dad, a cleaning service for your mom—what will make them like me?”
I hesitate. “Now that I’ve had some time to consider a few different perspectives, I don’t think it has anything to do with you, specifically, so there are no gifts or favors that are going to change how they feel.
They just don’t want to lose control over their babies.
But that’s not realistic, and that was the epiphany I had.
You’re my future, and as much as I would love my family to embrace you, I can’t control what they do.
Only what I do. And I love you, Jordan.”
His lips find mine and my mouth opens for him hungrily. I’ve missed him but the way my body responds to his touch tells me it’s more than that. It’s a physical need that transcends sex. It’s a connection I’ve never felt with anyone else, one of many reasons I know he’s the only one for me.
Jordan is the only man who makes me feel this way.
Wanted.
Sexy.
Loved.
Somehow, we sprawl on the bed, losing pieces of clothing as we go.
When we’re finally naked and he’s rolled on a condom, it’s like everything pauses.
He’s on top of me, our bodies pressed tightly together.
I feel his cock poised at my entrance, but instead of pushing in, he just lies there watching my face.
He reaches up and brushes some hair out of my face.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says in a gruff voice. “I would dream about you sometimes and it used to piss me off, that you were the only one I could think about. Dream about. The one I would picture when I jerked off.”
“Same for me,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around his neck. “There was a part of me, deep down in a place I couldn’t tap into very often, that knew we would find our way back to each other. I didn’t know how or when, but I couldn’t imagine a future without you.”
He sighs, dropping his forehead to mine.
Then, ever so slowly, he presses inside me. My legs part, and I put one up over his ass, giving him better access.
“So damn good,” he breathes against my mouth. “Every time is better than the last.”
We move together, unrushed and in perfect sync, our bodies taking over when the world blurs into nothing but this moment.
Each thrust touches a place that makes me see stars, and he knows it because he does it over and over again.
My lips latch on to his, our tongues mating with the same rhythm as our bodies.
It’s sensual and beautiful and as passionate as it’s ever been.
Because I’ve finally—fully—committed.
No more doubt, no more guilt, no more waiting for the other shoe to drop.
This is real and it’s ours. Mine and his.
“Fuck, I love you,” I hiss as the coiling in my belly starts to intensify.
“I love you more,” he growls, picking up speed.
In the midst of whispered endearments and kissing and fucking and loving, we crash over the edge together, riding out every ounce of pleasure until neither of us can move.
“I don’t think it’s possible to love someone more than I love you,” he says, slowly lifting his head.
What I see in his eyes nearly takes my breath away.
Love and heat and desire and satisfaction—the kind a man has when he knows he’s taken care of his woman.
And I love being his woman.
“Shower?” he asks softly.
“Yes. But not yet. I don’t want to move.”
“Okay.” He smiles, holding himself up on his elbows. “You look really pretty lying here in my bed.”
“You look pretty damn handsome yourself.”
The silence that follows isn’t awkward or uncomfortable, it’s just…normal. Two people in love literally basking in the afterglow of incredible lovemaking. It’s everything I could ever ask for and then some.
He’s just started kissing me again when there’s a brisk knock on the door.
“Jordan? It’s me.”
Jude’s voice.
“He must have your luggage.” Jordan pops a quick kiss on my nose and then rolls off the bed and pulls on his pants.
“Coming!” he yells as I scramble to get under the covers.
There’s a hallway from the front door that leads into the main part of the hotel room, so Jude wouldn’t be able to see me from the door, but I don’t want to risk it.
I hear them talking for a minute, but with Jordan shirtless, hair tousled, and feet bare, there’s probably no doubt what Jude interrupted.
A minute later he comes around the corner wheeling my suitcase and carryon.
“This is all, right?” he asks me.
I nod and then playfully hold out my arms. “Come carry me to the shower.”
“Your wish is my command.” He scoops me up like I weigh nothing and pads into the bathroom.
“Shower and sleep?” I ask lazily.
“Absolutely. And maybe even breakfast in bed.”
“You know how to spoil a girl.”
“I’m doing my best.”
We step under the hot spray together, and I close my eyes.
One good night’s sleep and all will be right in my world.