The instant our lips touched my blood ignited. I’d kissed her a total of two times already, each one short, but no less sweet. Both of them led to me wanting so much more. As I held her against me, after having just tied her to me in a very permanent way, something inside me snapped. My lips parted, forcing hers to do the same, and as soon as her mouth opened my tongue dove in.
The instant I tasted her sweetness, I was lost to everything else. The people around us faded until it was only the two of us and this perfect fucking kiss. She leaned deeper into me on a little whimper, her arms coming up and banding around my neck. For such a shy, sweet little thing, she lit up, burning hot as the sun as her tongue met mine stroke for stroke. The little noises she made as I held her tighter, taking the kiss deeper, drove me out of my mind, and it was only when the lack of oxygen necessitated it, that we broke apart.
As I stared down at her, the fog lifted, the people came back, and the sound of hoots and catcalls hit my ears. But all I could focus on was her.
“Wow,” she breathed, still clinging to me with a glazed, dreamy expression on her face. “You’re really good at that.”
My body began to shake with silent laughter as my arms around her squeezed. “I could say the same about you . . .” I leaned down and nipped her bottom lip, finishing on a growl, “wife.”
It was Shane who finally broke the spell and forced us to separate when she lifted her arms in the air and shouted, “Time for drinks and dancing!”
The crowd let out a loud cheer, and stood, heading for the tent with the makeshift bar and dancefloor.
“Come on, husband,” Poppy coaxed, taking me by the hand. “The hard part’s done. Now it’s time for the party.”
She gave me a little tug, and I followed after her gladly. I wasn’t much for parties, but if it kept that smile on her face, I’d keep it going until the sun came up in the morning.
* * *
Poppy
It was hours later, well past dark, when Jase finally pulled the car up in front of the house.
I was feeling warm and fuzzy thanks to the champagne and the incredible night. It had been leaps and bounds better than anything I could have possibly imagined.
He climbed out and rounded the hood, reaching my side just as I alighted from the car. When he saw me teeter a bit on my heels, he reached out, tugged me around the waist, and pulled me against his side, taking my weight as he started us toward the door.
His lips gently brushed across my temple as he leaned in and whispered, “Good night?”
I let out a content, slightly sleepy, hum. “Fantastic night.” I twisted my neck and looked up. “Thank you for giving me that, honey.”
His expression grew tender, making my belly dip as he led us up the porch steps. “Anything you want, Flower, just name it and it’s yours.”
Oh man, a woman could get used to hearing stuff like that.
Not real, Poppy, I told myself. Not real, don’t forget that.
As I was giving myself a mental scolding, Jase slipped his key into the lock and opened the front door. Before I could step foot inside, he bent at the waist, hooking me behind the knees, and lifted me into the air.
I let out a startled laugh as I wrapped my arms around his neck to keep from falling. “What are you doing?”
He looked down at me, one corner of his mouth hooked up in a sinful smirk. “What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m carrying my bride across the threshold.”
I gazed up at him, grinning widely as I shook my head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“What can I say? I’m a romantic. Most women would go crazy for that.”
I arched a single brow. “A romantic in a fake marriage. Something tells me that isn’t gonna bode well for you, my friend.”
Something moved across his expression, the humor disappeared, but before I could put my finger on exactly what it was, he wiped his face clean, and that charming grin returned. “You ready for this?”
“Yep.”
“All right. Hold on tight.”
I did as ordered while Jase took one large, dramatic step, entering the house with a soft, “Ta da.”
I threw my head back on a loud belly laugh. “So romantic!”
“I do what I can,” he said with humor laced through those words as he slowly lowered me to my feet.
I missed being held in his arms almost instantly, but instead of releasing me, he kept me pressed against him, chest to chest, my soft curves molded against his solid, rippled planes.
I sucked in a stuttered breath as I tipped my head back to look at him, and what I saw made my knees tremble. The golden honey of his eyes had darkened. His pupils were blown, the black nearly swallowing everything else as they scanned every inch of my face.
“Jase?”
“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”
My chest expanded as I pulled in a deep inhale. “Thank you,” I said on a whisper. “I felt like a princess in this dress today.”
“It wasn’t the dress.” At that statement, I stopped breathing completely. “It took my breath away when you came down that aisle today, but it wasn’t about the dress. It was just you. You’re always beautiful, Poppy. Every goddamn day.”
My legs gave out completely, and if it hadn’t been for him holding me up right then, I would have melted right into the floor.
“Jase, I—”
“I want to amend our arrangement,” he stated curtly, the muscle in his jaw ticking as his arms grew even tighter.
My eyes grew big and round. “Y-you do?”
“Yeah, baby. It has to happen.”
Oh God. My stomach twisted painfully as I imagined him telling me he’d just made a huge mistake. “Um, okay. But . . . why?”
What he said next was the last thing I ever expected to hear.
“Because I need to be able to touch you and taste you whenever I want. I need to feel you wrapped around my cock. And I need it right fucking now.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jase
I didn’t know what I’d do if she said no. I’d been going out of my mind all goddamn night, and if she turned me down now, I wasn’t sure how the hell I would handle it.
I’d needed her for too long, desiring her to the point of insanity. The last few days, trying to keep those boundaries between us in perspective had been hell. I hadn’t started waking up as early as I did because I enjoyed it. The truth was, I’d wanted to be up early with her. I wanted those few minutes before the sun came up and the real world crept in, where it was just the two of us, no barriers, no walls, no boundaries.
That first morning, the damp that hit her eyes when she’d seen I put the kettle on for her had left a crushing weight sitting on my chest. It was obvious that no one had ever done something for her as menial as filling a kettle with water and putting it on to boil, and I found I wanted to give her that every morning for as long as I possibly could if it made her smile.
I’d taken that away from both of us, spending hours and hours at the office in an attempt to avoid how I’d been feeling, and it made me fucking miserable.
I thought it was for the best. She didn’t need the special brand of baggage I was carrying around with me. But every time I gave her some lame excuse for why I wasn’t there with her, I could hear the sadness in her voice, and it killed me.
No matter how hard I tried to convince myself it was for the best, I hated every second I wasn’t in her company. Being with her was the only time I was able to forget the shit from my past. I was able to finally breathe. Hell, because of her I felt the closest thing to happiness I’d had in years.
Her pink, puffy lips parted on a sharp inhale. Those ocean blue eyes widened in shock. “You . . .” She cleared her throat and gave her head a tiny shake. “I-I don’t know what to say to that.”
Don’t say no, my brain screamed. Please, God, don’t say no.
“Are you attracted to me, Poppy?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation, no doubt as she par
ted her lips and let that one word free.
“I’m attracted to you too, have been since the first time I laid eyes on you.” My whole body ached to lean down and taste her mouth, to do so much more. “It doesn’t have to change anything between us, sweetheart. I swear, I won’t let it get complicated. We’ll still be us, just with the benefit of really great sex.”
“Nothing changes,” she whispered, her voice sounding a little flat.
I took the change in her tone as hesitance and pushed. “You have my word.” Desperation began to gnaw at my insides. This was all we could be, but I’d take it for as long as she’d let me.
“Jase, I don’t think—”
Christ, I was going to lose it. It was clear words weren’t going to be enough to convince her, so there was only one thing left to do. Closing the last minuscule bit of distance between us, I slammed my mouth down on hers, forcing her lips apart with my tongue so I could have another taste. The one we’d shared during the ceremony had done nothing but whet my appetite, and now I was starving.
Her mouth opened wider on a surprised gasp, and I took advantage, diving in deep. One arm stayed banded around her while I lifted my other one, tangling my fingers in all that thick, silky hair and shifting her head to the side for better access.
There was only the briefest hesitation on her part before her arms looped around my neck and she held on tight, melting deeper against me as she fed from my mouth, thrusting her tongue greedily against mine.
I hadn’t thought it possible for any kiss to be better than the one we shared under that arch, but Poppy quickly proved me wrong when she lifted up on her toes, crushing her full, round breasts against my chest and moaned into my mouth.
I pulled away when the need for air became too much. “Now tell me you don’t think this is a good idea,” I panted, my voice a low, craggy growl. Her eyes slid open, only lifting to half-mast, the gorgeous blue glazed over and dark with lust. Her lips were swollen and deep red from my assault. My cock began to swell as I stared down at her mouth, waiting for her to speak. But she didn’t say a word.
“Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll walk away right now.” It would kill me, but I had every intention of keeping that promise if that was what she wanted. “Tell me this isn’t going to happen, and I’ll let you go. I’ll climb those stairs, close myself in my room, and you won’t hear another word about it, I swear. We’ll go back to how it’s been.”
Her lips parted, and I waited for her to speak, holding my breath until my lungs began to burn.
“I-I can’t.”
* * *
Poppy
Two stuttered words seemed to be all it took to make Jase’s control snap completely.
He let loose a rumble so strong it rattled through his chest and into mine, causing a flood of arousal to soak my panties.
His lips hit my neck, sucking and kissing and biting the tender flesh beneath my ear as his hands traveled lower. He bunched the material of my dress, trying to get to the skin beneath, but there was just too much of it. “Shit,” he hissed, wrenching back and staring down at my gown still hanging just above my ankles. “Jesus, Poppy, I need to feel you.”
“Side zipper,” I panted, as desperate to feel his touch as he was to feel me. “Get it off. Now.”
He made quick work getting it unzipped before reaching up and peeling the straps down my shoulders. The heavy material fell down the rest of the way, pooling at my feet to reveal the lacy white strapless bra and matching teeny lace panties I was wearing.
His chest expanded on a massive inhale as his eyes devoured me from top to toe. “Jesus, fuck.”
A blush bloomed across every inch of my skin. His eyes turned to molten gold just before he reached down and grabbed the cheeks of my ass, squeezing hard as he used his hold to lift me off the ground.
My legs twined around his waist, my hands flew to his shoulders as he started up the stairs, ordering, “Mouth,” in a voice so rough I felt it abrade deliciously across my skin.
I did as he commanded, lowering my lips to his in a searing kiss as he climbed the last few stairs blindly but easily. I hadn’t realized we’d cleared the landing and made it into a bedroom until my back hit the softness of the mattress. I opened my eyes and had just enough time to look and see we were in my room before my attention was yanked back to the man standing at the foot of the bed.
He removed his jacket and tie with a quick precision that made my mouth dry up completely. His eyes held mine captive as he worked to undo the tiny buttons of his shirt, moving so slowly I thought I might scream. Watching him undress was the most agonizingly erotic thing I’d ever witnessed.
My chest was rising and falling rapidly by the time he reached the last button, and just when I thought he might finally, finally take that godforsaken shirt off, he changed course, moving to unhook the cufflinks at his wrists.
I let out a needy groan. The whole show he was putting on was intoxicatingly maddening. Still, I never thought watching a man take off cufflinks could be so damn sexy.
“Jase,” I begged, “please hurry.”
One corner of his mouth hooked up in a delicious grin. “You want me, Poppy?”
God, did I ever. “Yes,” I replied, the air expelling from my lungs when he finally shrugged the shirt off those broad, rounded shoulders, revealing all that tanned skin and the grooves and plains between all those defined muscles. I sat up and reached out, trailing my fingers along his abdomen, reveling in the warmth he put off. “Yes, I want you. I need you to touch me.”
His expression darkened, the flecks of gold in his eyes flickered brilliantly as he curled his hands into fists and leaned down to brace them on the mattress on either side of my hips. “Not yet. I want to watch you touch yourself first.”
My eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open. “W-what?”
“Touch yourself for me, Poppy. Let me see how you like it.”
“But I want—”
He moved in, crashing his lips down on mine and driving his tongue deep in a kiss that short-circuited my brain.
“I’ll give you what you want, Flower. All you have to do is give me this first.”
My desire overshadowed my nerves, and in spite of the shyness creeping across my skin, painting it a deep rosy pink, I braced one hand behind me on the bed and lifted the other to my chest.
He’d drawn it out, teasing and torturing me as he got undressed, and he still wasn’t completely naked. The least I could do was return the favor.
I slowly dragged my fingertips along my torso, through my cleavage and down my stomach, stopping to draw circles around my belly button.
“Damn it, Poppy,” he growled, gritting his teeth so hard his jaw ticked. “You’re driving me fucking crazy.”
Good. A smile split my face in two as my hand drifted lower. I dragged my fingers over lace between my thighs, pulling in a stuttered breath as that delicate touch set my nerve endings on fire.
“Are you wet, baby?” he coaxed, one of his hands coming to rest high up on my thigh.
“Yes, Jase,” I breathed, my eyes screwing closed, my head falling back as I shoved the scrap of material aside and ran just the tips of my fingers through my slit. “So wet. So ready.”
He moved, grasping my panties at my hips and pulling them down my legs, leaving me in nothing but my strapless bra and those high-heeled sandals. “Show me.”
I spread my thighs wider, giving him a clear view of my arousal. Gathering up my wetness, I moved to my clit and pressed hard, drawing in a shaky inhale as I rubbed tight circles against the sensitive bundle of nerves. “Oh God,” I groaned as my hips began to jerk and rock against the bed.
A rough, craggy sound expelled from Jase’s chest, but I was too lost in what I was feeling to pay attention to anything else. “Put them inside,” he ordered.
I did just that, moving from my clit and driving two fingers deep inside me. I let out a moan and began moving fast, thrusting against my hand as I got closer and closer to th
e edge.
“Yeah, baby. That’s it. Ride your hand. Fuck. You’re fucking soaked. Can see it from here.”
His words spurred me on. I began thrashing wildly, the arm holding me up trembled under the strain, but I wouldn’t allow myself to fall back, not when I could feel Jase so close, feel the whisper of every exhale against my face and neck.
I was so damn close, but it wasn’t enough. “Jase,” I panted, that one word pleading. “I need more, honey.”
He reached back, undoing the clasp of my bra and letting it fall. A cold rush of air drifted across my tight, aching nipples just before he leaned in and covered one of them with his mouth.
I let out a sharp cry at the sensation as he pulled deep. It was the perfect combination of pleasure and pain. My core grew wetter. I fucked myself with my fingers as he sucked and bit at each stiff peak until they throbbed.
“Christ, Poppy. Open your eyes. Look what you’re doing to me, baby.”
I managed to peel my eyelids open halfway. I looked down to find his slacks had been undone, his long, thick shaft gliding through his white-knuckled fist. That was all it took to set me off. With a harsh shout, I came all over my hand, watching with rapt fascination as he jacked himself hard and fast, the fat, purple head leaking precum.
I kept at it until my release finally began to lessen and my elbow buckled. I fell back against the bed, every muscle and bone in my body having turned to jelly.
“Jesus Christ. You’re fucking incredible when you come.” I looked down the length of my body at Jase as he took my hand from between my thighs and sucked the fingers I’d just used to get myself off into his mouth.
Just when I thought I was done, that pressure in my core began to build up again. He closed his eyes on a low hum as he licked the digits clean. It was the hottest thing I’d seen in my life. As soon as he was done, his eyelids popped open, his expression positively feral as he stood tall, finally discarding his pants and leaving him gloriously naked. And damn was he a thing of beauty.
Crazy Beautiful: a Redemption novel Page 12