“Take a deep breath,” I whispered into her ear. “Don’t worry about remembering everyone’s name. Just smile and pretend you’re taking in every word that falls from everyone’s lips.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Yes, it is.”
And then it began.
Chapter 17
Joey
I couldn’t believe how relaxed Jason seemed. I wanted to turn and run screaming from the room. There were so many people, and they all wanted to be near him. I was feeling claustrophobic before we even walked into the ballroom, and I’d never felt that way before. It was only the feel of his hand in mine and the occasional smile from his lips that helped me survive.
We’d been there more than an hour when Jason turned and I felt—more than saw—the relief momentarily relax the tension in his shoulders.
“Finally,” he muttered.
And then he was turning me, striding so quickly across the room that I almost had to run to keep up with him.
“Where have you been?” he demanded of a man with dark hair and a tuxedo almost identical to Jason’s. In fact, there were a lot of similarities between the two of them. The same blue eyes and wide jaw. The same charming smile. The same deep tone to his voice.
“The baby wouldn’t go to sleep. And Sara didn’t want to leave while she was still crying.”
“I knew it would have something to do with the baby.” Jason smiled despite the accusation in his words. However, the smile faltered—just slightly—when the other man’s eyes slid down along the length of my dress.
“Joanne, this is my brother, Justin,” Jason said, as he slid his arm around my waist and tugged me closer to him. “Justin, Joanne.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
Justin took my hand and bent low to kiss the back of it. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Joanne.”
I didn’t know what to say. I’d met a dozen people already tonight, but none of them had been quite this charming, or this effusive. I glanced at Jason, and Justin began to laugh.
“Ignore me,” he said, squeezing my hand before letting it go. “I’m terribly sleep deprived.”
“You have a new baby?”
“Alexa. She’s a month old tomorrow.”
“Congratulations.”
Justin’s smile widened, and this one was much more genuine than the one before it.
“This one’s a keeper, Jason,” he said.
Jason’s hold on my waist tightened. “Where’s Sara?” he asked his brother.
“She’s in the restroom. She was worried that her slip was showing.”
“Well, we need to go coordinate with Shelly. It’s almost time to introduce the silent auction.”
Justin threw a glance over his shoulder. “You wouldn’t mind going to find my wife, would you, Joanne?”
“It’s fine,” Jason said against my ear before pressing his lips to my temple. “I’ll come find you when we’re done.”
I nodded because it didn’t seem like I had any other choice. I watched them walk away, side by side, my thoughts moving to a place that it usually didn’t go. Rosie’s mind, maybe, but not mine.
Wow. The genes in that family are quite impressive.
I kind of shook myself, taking a careful step as my knees wobbled a little.
The bathroom was in the lobby, just off the corridor that led to the ballroom. I stepped inside and was a little surprised to find the room nearly overflowing with women in very expensive clothing. If I could collect just half the garments and sell them for half of what they probably cost originally, I could pay off my student loans.
She was standing at the sinks, leaning close to the mirror to refresh her lipstick. I remembered her from the night she met Rahul and me at Jason’s house to set up the cake I was supposed to jump out of. She’d been in jeans and a t-shirt that night, rushing to get home. Now she was wearing a black dress that hugged her full curves and made her pale skin sparkle. I wouldn’t have believed she just had a baby a month ago if I didn’t already know. She was beautiful, and I suddenly felt like a fraud.
“Sara?” I asked, moving up behind her.
She caught my eye in the mirror. It took her a second to put it together, but when she did, her eyes widened.
“You’re that girl,” she said—more to the mirror than me.
“Justin asked that I come find you.”
“Justin?” She turned, her eyes moving slowly over my dress. “What are you doing here?”
I blushed, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the way she was looking at me—like I didn’t belong—or because of the accusation in her voice, the one that suggested I didn’t belong.
“I came with Jason.”
“Jason? My Jason?”
I would have bit my bottom lip to hold back my next words, but I was afraid of biting off the last of my lipstick. I glanced down at the floor, then reminded myself that I was invited to be here. I did belong here. And Jason…I didn’t know if he was mine, but I felt like I had a bit more of a claim on him right now than she did.
But Sara didn’t wait for my response.
“You’re the girl from that picture. The one in the backseat of his car.”
There was suddenly laughter dancing in her eyes. She put her lipstick away and turned toward me.
“It’s about time.”
“Excuse me?”
“My brother-in-law has quite the reputation. But the truth is, most of the things he’s been accused of are things his brother—my darling husband—did. Jason is more cautious about the women he goes out with. And it has been quite a while since he’s been with anyone. At least, as far as I know. So it’s nice to see him hooking up with someone.”
“Thank you,” I said, not sure if it was a question or a statement or what. I really didn’t know what to say to her comments.
She smiled, took my elbow, and led the way back out to the ballroom.
“I’m sure you’re a little overwhelmed, so let me show you around a little,” she said.
We strutted into the ballroom, side by side. Sara paused just inside the doorway and looked around.
“Okay. You see that tall guy over there with the red hair? Watch out for him. He’s a reporter for the Times, and he can be quite ruthless sometimes. And that woman in the red dress with the godawful sparkles? She’s married to one of the richest men in the country. Her, you want to kiss ass with. And the bald guy in the green tux? He’s also a moneybags, so make sure you flirt a little with him.”
She continued on for several minutes, pointing out everyone I should spend time with, everyone I should ignore, and everyone I could expect to make their way into Jason’s house at one point or another. She was talking to me as if Jason had proposed and we had this long future ahead of us. But, in reality, I had no idea what I was doing there. And I had no idea if I’d ever need any of this information again.
Her tutorial only ended when the guys stepped out onto the small stage and asked for attention. Jason let his brother take control, standing just to the side as Justin made a few jokes about this party being a thinly veiled attempt on behalf of the Wallach family to steal money out of all the attendees’ wallets.
“But you know how it is,” he said, that charming smile coming out again, “you scrub our backs, and we’ll scrub yours.”
A little laughter tittered around the room. But not a lot.
“My brother, Jason, is in charge of the silent auction this year since Mom and Dad decided to make their trip to Paris something of an extended vacation. So, I won’t bore you any longer.”
He stepped back and gestured for Jason to take the mic. Jason whispered something to him that we couldn’t hear, then stepped up and gave a brief description of the process everyone should follow in participating in the auction. Then he promised to come back in a little less than an hour to announce the winners.
“Good luck,” he called, his voice so quiet on the last syllable that I’m not sure anyone heard it.
> They came back down into the crowd, but it took them a few minutes to reach Sara and I because people kept stopping and asking questions about the auction, or just tried to monopolize their time for some other reason. I think I heard multiple people ask Jason about his parents, wondering if they were finally retiring.
When they finally reached us, Justin groaned as he folded his wife into his arms. I couldn’t help but smile at the way she looked up at him with the most adoring expression on her face. And then Jason was stepping in front of me, his hands moving gently over my upper arms.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I was about to ask you that. Are you terribly bored?”
I shook my head. I wanted to tell him that I was pretty happy in his arms, but I didn’t want to say something that seemed a bit premature. Three days. I had to keep reminding myself we’d only known each other for three days.
But then he kissed me, his lips lingering on mine for a bit longer than might be socially acceptable. So much for the rules he laid out in the back of the car.
“Let’s show off these ladies, brother,” Justin said. And then we were moving into the room again, meeting more people than I ever imagined I would.
Chapter 18
Jason
I was damn exhausted! These things were always such a drain. But it seemed like there were more questions, more stupidity, going on than usual. Everyone wanted to know all about Joanne, as if I’d never brought a date to one of these things before. Or maybe it was just the photo on the internet. I’d hoped that only a few people would have seen it, but I guess I’d underestimated the voyeurism of the upper crust.
The auction went well though. We sold everything at or above cost. A few things had gone high above cost, the trip to Cabo being one. That would make my mother happy.
But now it was over, and I was alone with Joanne in the back of the limo.
I pulled her against my chest and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
“You were wonderful tonight.”
“Was I?”
“Perfect. Everyone either wanted to be near you or to be you.”
She chuckled softly. “If they knew what was going on inside of my head the entire night, they would have stayed as far from me as possible.”
“And what was that?”
“How desperately I wanted to get out of there and be alone with you for a while.”
“Hmm, that’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“You wanted to be alone with yourself?”
I laughed, not just at her small attempt at a joke, but the honest way in which she delivered it. There was just something so naive about Joanne that made me want listen to her talk for hours and hours. She was so different from everyone else I’d ever known. It was refreshing.
“Will you come home with me?” I asked softly.
“I will.”
I lifted her chin and kissed her, loving the taste of the champagne we’d enjoyed before we left the hotel on her lips. It was crisp, sweet. It was so much better on her lips than out of the glass. She sighed against me, encouraging my touch with soft moans and simple movements. I ran my hand over her hip, drawing her closer to me as the limo made its way through dark streets that were mostly abandoned this late at night. It was an easy trip back to my place, a short one. I was almost disappointed when I felt the limo stop. But, again, it probably wasn’t a good idea to get caught in the backseat of another car.
We walked, hand-in-hand, up the steps to the house. I felt her hesitate when I stepped over the threshold, tugging at her hand to encourage her to follow.
“Does it feel weird, being back here?”
“It’s definitely a little odd.”
“Why?”
She groaned. “The last time I was here, I was in a bikini that was a size or two too small.”
“And sleeping like a baby in a wooden cake.”
“I was tired from working three jobs.”
“Yes, well, I can’t help but wonder what might have happened if you had jumped out of that cake the way you were supposed to.”
“Do you think things would have progressed differently?”
“I don’t know. I could call the company and have them bring the cake, see what happens.”
She slapped my arm. “I’m off duty.”
“Are you? When might you be on duty again?”
She pulled away from me and started to climb the stairs. “You keep that up, you might never find out.”
“Where are you going?”
She glanced back at me from the landing halfway up. “Why don’t you come and find me?”
I rushed toward the stairs, but she’d already disappeared around the top. I took the steps two at a time, nearly tripping when I reached the top. As I made my way down the hallway to my bedroom, I discarded my jacket and pulled my tie off. I was unbuttoning my shirt as I pushed open the door. But she wasn’t there. I stepped inside and flipped on the lights, thinking I might have missed her in the gloom, but still nothing. I went to the balcony, peeked through the glass doors. Nothing.
Then I heard the shower pop on.
What the hell?
But, sure enough, her dress was lying, half-folded, on the counter, her shoes tucked in a corner. I’d so wanted to watch that dress fall from her body, but the idea of her standing under the hot water in my walkthrough shower was such a turn on I couldn’t catch my breath at first. Needless-to-say, my clothes quickly hit the floor. When I turned the corner and slipped into the shower, she was standing under the spray, her naked body turned away from me so that I got a perfect view of her back, her hips, and that perfect ass. I just stood there a moment and watched her run her fingers through her hair where it was now streaming down her back, heavy with water. It was a sight that I would likely never forget.
When she turned and spotted me, a shy smile slipped over her full lips. She moved to cover herself with her hands, but then she stopped. I could see that it was a little bit of an effort, but she moved her hands away from her lower belly and stood with her fists balled at her sides. And it was a beautiful sight. Her full breasts, her smooth, flat belly, her lovely waist and rounded hips. If not for the need that was building like a fire in my balls and cock, I might have been content to stand there and watch all night.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she said, her voice a little shaky. “I just wanted a shower.”
“Of course I don’t mind. You can do as you please in my house.”
“I just…”
I crossed to her, took her face between my hands. She looked up at me, a little shyness filling her eyes. She hadn’t been nearly this shy our first night together. And in the car, behind the bar, there’d been no reservation in her then. But I could feel the difference in the way she touched me, her hands moving very slowly over my sides, down along my hips. And her kiss. There was hesitation in her kiss that made my breath ache in my throat.
I pushed her back against the wall, sliding her over just enough so that the water didn’t drown her. I kissed her as if she was the first drink of water I’d had in years. She responded, lifting her hands to bury her fingers in my hair.
“I want you,” I whispered against her ear.
She stared up at me, as though she couldn’t believe what I’d said. But I meant every word of it; I meant it with every fiber of my being. She was so beautiful, so perfect in the way she felt, the way she looked, the way she made me feel. I’d never been this immediately drawn to a woman before. There was something about Joanne that, even after just the few days I’d known her, I knew I wanted her in my bed more often than not.
I ran my mouth over her jaw, along the curve just below her ear. I nibbled at the corner of her chin. Ran my tongue down along the length of her throat. She sighed when I took one of her nipples into my mouth, when I ran my tongue under the weight of her breast. Then other side, her fingers running through my wet hair, tugging me closer, as another sigh mixed with a groan slipped from her lips.
She seemed a little surprise when I continued downward, falling to my knees in front of her. She brushed a curl from my forehead, pushing my head back so that I was looking up at her.
“You don’t have to do this.”
I groaned. “I haven’t done anything just because I had to in a very long time, my love.”
I lifted one of her legs and rested her foot on my shoulder. Then I began to pepper her inner thigh with soft kissed, taking my time here and there, my fingers playing with the delicate pieces of hair that were wet and hanging free of her lovely, well-trimmed cunt. She leaned back, her hands pressed to the wall on either side of her body. My thumb slid down the length of her lips, encouraging them to part as I approached that place where her body opened to pleasure. I felt her thigh tense a little when my thumb disappeared inside, sliding into that spot just enough to cover the tip in her sweet juices.
My body ached. I wanted nothing more than to jump to my feet and bury myself as deep as humanly possible inside of her. But I wanted to make her moan; I wanted to make her feel as good as touching her made me feel. I moved my other hand slowly up the outside of her thigh, then touched her with my other thumb, using them both to separate her lovely lips. She had such a beautiful cunt. Her lips were perfectly shaped, her clit elongated and swollen, peeking out at me like a pet playing peek-a-boo. When I touched my tongue to it, she stiffened, a long, low hiss sliding from her lips.
I spread her open, pressed my tongue to that lovely clit again. And then I pulled it into my mouth, caught it behind my front teeth. She cried out as I rolled it around, rubbing it against my teeth and tongue. And then I sucked, and I thought she might fall over from the pleasure that turned her body rigid. But I was rewarded with a rush of fluid that danced over my tongue, a tingle that you couldn’t get from anything else moving straight through me and making a home in my balls.
She was close. But I wasn’t sure how much I could take. As much as I wanted to see her come, I was growing desperate for a little relief myself. Yet, I couldn’t help but bury my tongue deep inside of her, roll it around a little to touch all those sensitive places just inside her entrance. And then back to her clit, back to that tip of sensitivity. She cried out, her body becoming a stiff board where it was pressed against the cool marble of the shower wall.
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