My chest feels damp again, and I know she’s crying. She continues to talk and my temperature rises. I know the worst part is coming, and I don’t want to hear it.
“I tried to turn around, but before I could, he covered my mouth with a cloth.” She lets out a chuckle and sniffles. “I bit his hand, but it didn’t do anything. He whispered something in my ear. He smelled of cigarette smoke. But then, everything went fuzzy.”
“Do you remember what he whispered?”
She shakes her head against my chest. “No.”
The toxicology test came back with chloroform in her blood. He must have used that on the cloth that he placed over her mouth. So why did he beat her if she was already incapacitated?
Nora lifts onto her elbow and gazes into my eyes. I’m almost afraid of what she is going to say next. But she surprises me. “Even though the night ended terribly, I enjoyed the time we spent together. I’m grateful you found me.”
I would have done anything in the world not to find her like that. Especially since I left her to help out her ex-boyfriend. How am I going to explain this to her without her losing faith in me? I kept her asshole boyfriend safe instead of her. I need her to know that she is my priority.
“Nora, I want you to know that everything you ever heard about me is true. But, I don’t lie to people who are important to me, and I never do something I don’t want to.”
I sit up so that I can look her in the eye. She needs to know how I feel about her.
“So, believe me. When we kissed after the wedding and you let me touch you…that was real. You are important to me. I want to take you out. I meant it when I said it that night, and I mean it now. I’m so sorry I left you. This is my fault. I’ll never forgive myself.”
She sits up even further and places her hand on my face. “No, Jase no.”
“Nora, I left you. I should have made sure security walked you to the guest house, or I should have done it myself.”
I feel like such an ass. I’m not telling her the whole truth, and I know the minute I do, I’ll lose her.
“Jase, stop.” She places her soft fingers over my mouth. “You didn’t hurt me. Look at all you’ve done to help me. I can’t pee without the ninja watching.” Her laugh is infectious.
“The ninja?” I have no idea what that means.
“Yeah, Lizzy. That woman is so damn quiet and appears out of nowhere.”
“Huh, I never thought of her that way, but I guess you’re right.” Funny how she makes me laugh over someone taking their job too seriously.
“Can I ask you a question? I don’t mean to seem ungrateful or offend you.”
I nod. “Not much offends me; I’m a big boy.”
“Why are you taking care of me like this? Is it because Max asked you to, or is it something else?”
She finally asks. I didn’t have the balls to bring it up, so I’m glad she does. How do I tell her that from the moment I met her, she has changed my world more than I ever imagined? I tried to ignore it, but there is no denying there is a connection between us.
“I’m doing this because you need help, and I don’t trust anyone to help you like I can.” She lays back on the pillow and pulls the blanket up to her chin.
She is quiet for a few moments, and her eyes are narrowing like she’s thinking of something else. I brace myself for whatever that could be.
“Okay then, can you tell me more about the night of the accident? Since I’m starting to remember, maybe something you say will jog my memory. I wasn’t ready before, but I am now.”
No way. I’m not telling her a goddamn thing about how I found her. “No,” I simply state.
Nora stares at me like I’ve spoken a foreign language. Abruptly, she throws the covers aside and gets out of the bed.
“Nora, be careful. Take it easy.”
Her face is red, her chest heaves, and she can barely manage to find the arm holes to her robe. I watch her, caught up in the cuteness of the situation.
“You, Jase Madsyn, need to stop treating me like a porcelain doll. You don’t know what I can and cannot handle. This asshole came after me and tried to kill me, not you. Stop trying to control everything!”
I’ve never seen her so mad. I didn’t know she had it in her. Her eyes are full of fire as she serves me a death glare. I press my lips together to stifle a laugh. I’m enjoying the show, but I’m not happy that she thinks I’m trying to control her.
“Nora, just calm down. Don’t presume you know my intentions.”
Nora speaks animatedly with her hands, “Then why don’t you give me straight answers? What exactly are your intentions, Madsyn? You’re giving me mixed signals.”
She’s right, I know. She continues, flailing her arms around, and I’m worried she’ll pop a stitch. She marches to me and points at my chest. “When I ask you questions, you turn into Mr. Businessman and don’t give me honest answers. You know a hell of a lot more than you’re telling me about the attack. I think your business includes more than owning a so-called ‘security company,’ but, most of all, I want to know what the hell you want from me!” She crosses her arms over her chest and resumes glaring.
Damn, she’s sexy. If anyone else talked to me this way, I would be pissed, but here with Nora looking at me like a bull ready to attack, I’m inclined to pull her onto this bed and show her exactly how I feel about her.
“Honestly?” I ask with a smirk.
“Yes, honestly!” she yells.
I move to my knees and pull her close to my body. I wrap one arm around her waist to grab her ass, and move the other hand to her cheek and cover her lips with my thumb. It seems to do the trick. She’s quiet now.
In fact, her big brown eyes look stunned.
I whisper. “I have no fucking idea what I want from you. All I know is that the night of the wedding was the best and worst night of my life. Never have I been so comfortable with a woman or had so much fun.” I tug her face close to mine and continue. “I’ve never felt a connection with any woman before. What I feel every time I touch or kiss you, I don’t even have a word for, but when I found you in your car, beaten and covered in blood…I’ve never been so scared. As far as my intentions…”
She doesn’t let me finish. Her lips are on mine. She starts slow, but in seconds, my other hand flies up to her face and I hold her cheeks, kissing her deeper. A quiet moan escapes her lips.
God, it goes straight to my cock. My hands roam down her silky hair to her tiny waist. I lean back and pull her with me. Nora follows my lead, and in seconds, she’s under me. I hover over her, looking into her dilated eyes, gazing over her crimson cheeks and swollen lips.
Leaning up, I undo her robe and she winces. Immediately, I freeze. The vision of her in that car enters my head and I pull away. Shit. Did I hurt her?
“It’s okay. I’m fine. Don’t stop,” she begs.
Despite her plea, I back off, jumping off the bed as gracefully as I can manage. “I can’t.”
Nora sits up and grabs for my chest. “It’s just sore. I don’t want you to stop.”
I take a deep breath. “Nora, I don’t want to hurt you. I saw what happened to you, I know what you’ve been through, and all I can see is you in that damn car; you were almost unrecognizable.”
I need to get out of this room. Away from her and what she does to me, my body. I turn to walk away from her, but she tugs my arm.
I turn to her. “Jase, I’m fine and you are protecting me in every way possible. You would never hurt me. What I need from you is to treat me like everything is normal. Like nothing happened to me. Like you would any other woman you wanted to make love to. I’m not fragile; I won’t break.”
“I’ve never made love to anyone.”
She looks at me, confused.
“I’ve only had sex. You’d be my first. I want to make love to you, Nora, only you.” I finally tell her my truth.
We are standing chest to chest, hands holding each other’s faces.
“Jase, I
’m so scared and confused, but most of all, I’m happy. I know what happened to me was horrible, but it brought you into my life, and right now there is nothing more that I want than for you to hold me in your arms and make love to me.”
I move my hands down to her ass and lift her up as she wraps her legs around me. I stop to look and see if she’s okay, if I’m being too rough, but all I see is lust in her eyes.
This time we fall back on the bed. “You’re killing me. I can’t seem to refuse you.”
“So, don’t,” she teases. “I knew you were trouble, cowboy.”
I can’t believe she’s under me. I’ve wanted this since the moment I saw her in that robe in the guest house, and now here I am removing that same robe…unveiling her beauty. I pause to admire her silky skin. Slowly, my eyes wander to her neck. I move to press my lips there as her head tilts back. She moans; I can barely hear her, but I know she feels it…the pull, the electricity, and that our bodies fit together like we are made for each other.
Her hands are at her sides. She’s waiting for me to take what she’s offering, but I don’t want her to feel like this is only about lust. This isn’t lust, this is passion, craving and needing to touch her and to be touched by her.
I start our journey below her ear and my tongue glides down her neck. The taste of salt greets me and the smell of vanilla surrounds me. My body is aching to move this along faster, but I need to take it slow and be gentle with her. She is fragile, no matter what she thinks. I want her to always be delicate, sweet, and trusting, and not have to fight; I’ll do the fighting, protecting, and worrying. I want her to put her faith in me and love me. I can protect her physically, but she’ll protect me in a way I’ve never imagined someone could. I’ll give her my trust and faith, and she’ll guard my heart.
I glide my hand under the robe that covers her shoulder and languidly slide the robe over until it falls to the ground. As the robe falls, my hands roam down her back until I reach her luscious ass. I can’t help but squeeze.
I open my eyes so I can see how I affect her. Her head is still tilted back, but her teeth have a firm grip on her lower lip. She must feel my eyes on her, or maybe because I’ve taken my lips off of her delicious skin, her eyes open, but she surprises me as her hands fly into my hair and she tugs at the strands to guide me to her neck again.
I do as she orders and my lips are back on her, but this time, I move further down her neck until I hit a piece of clothing. I run my hand along and undo a button. To torture myself more, with each button I undo, my mouth trails behind. As I come to the last button, I open my eyes and the sight of a topless Nora stands before me. Beautiful masterpiece.
Her breasts are full, round, and perfect. Her hands move off of my hair and loosely fall to her sides. My mouth covers her delicate nipple, but I can’t help but bite, then suck. She takes in a deep hiss of air. Palming her other breast, I caress and play.
While there is nothing else I want to do but climb inside her, I have to keep reminding myself to slow down. So I release her nipple and make my way back up to her neck.
“Jase. Please,” she moans.
“What, Nora? Tell me what you want.”
“Touch me, Jase. Make it all go away.”
I take another peek at her, she’s flushed and squirming, and I know where to touch next.
My hand trails down her side until I reach her panties. They are skimpy, black, and the single sexiest piece of clothing I’ve ever seen. I glide them down, trying not to jostle her too much. I don’t want to hurt her side.
I slide the panties over her feet and kiss my way back up her legs and inner thighs until I reach my destination. She spreads her legs, knowing exactly what she wants from me. I do as I’m told. My fingers enter her while my mouth teases the inside of her thighs. She’s not holding still, her hips are rocking, swaying in rhythm with my fingers. My tongue joins and her moans grow louder. She breathes my name.
I can’t take it; my cock is rock hard, but I need her to come for me. I want to taste her. My tongue glides back and forth, and in seconds, I get my wish. She moans my name, Christ that’s the hottest sound I’ve ever heard.
“Jase, that…incredible.” Her garbled words mean its time.
I take a condom from my pocket. Luckily, Nora is blissfully unaware of what I’m doing. I slide off my sweats and put on the condom.
“Nora, are you sure you want this? With me?”
“Yes, Jase…I want you, please,” she breathes.
I slide into her without any more hesitation. I don’t want to force her into anything, but I know she wants this as much as I do.
There are no words to describe the feeling that overcomes me. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt. She is in sync with me. We move together at our own secret pace. I feel her shudder around me and I can’t hold back any longer. I’ve made love for the first time in my life.
I stare up at the ceiling with her in my arms. We haven’t said much, but we don’t need to. For the first time in my life, things seem perfect.
“Jase?”
“Hmm.”
“You are trouble and cute.”
I chuckle at the absurdity. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been called ‘cute’ before. But you’re not cute, Nora Skye.” She pouts and I grab her chin. “You’re sexy as hell.”
“Even with my Freddy Krueger scar?”
“Even with. Sexy. As. Hell.”
She smiles and playfully smacks me on the arm, then settles back onto my chest. “I’m okay with that,” she says.
“Jase?” Nora whispers.
“Yes?”
“That was incredible, but what does this mean for us?” I hear the hesitation in her voice.
“Whatever you want it to mean, sweetheart. Whatever you want.” Honestly, I thought that this meant we were becoming something more.
“There is so much mystery surrounding you. To be honest, I’m scared that I’m starting to have feelings for you, but I don’t even really know you.” She runs her finger delicately along my chest, sending chills along her path.
I’m not sure I want her to know all the mystery surrounding me. It’s not pretty. “Nora, you can trust me. Yes, there are some things I won’t be able to share, but I will never hurt you.”
She leans up on her elbow and her blissful eyes stare into mine. “Never?” she asks. She is gorgeous and an angel. I pull her to my lips and savor the taste of her.
We settle back into the pillows and tangle in each other’s arms. After a while, I feel her breathing calm, and I know she is asleep.
I stroke her hair and whisper, “Sleep, sweet girl, I’ve got you…always.”
Chapter Eighteen
Nora
I’m in heaven, actual heaven. Jase is sound asleep and my head is lying on his hard chest as my fingers roam through the patch of his dark chest hair. I can’t believe I made love with Jase Madsyn. I have no idea what came over me. I’m not that kind of girl. It took me months before Luke and I made love, which was a lot different than what I just experienced with Jase.
Jase’s chest rises and falls peacefully. I fell asleep before he did, and now I’m wide awake. A beam of morning light is peeking through a small slit in the curtain. I wonder what time it is and what might happen next with us.
As I ponder my future with Jase, the door to the room creaks open, and immediately The Ninja is standing over us with a disgusted look on her face. “Ms. Skye, you need your medicine, and it’s my job to make sure that you take it on time. I cannot do that when you are otherwise occupied. May I also suggest, it is too soon to participate in such activities?” She tries to whisper, but with each word she becomes louder.
Who the hell is she? Seriously? Doesn’t she see what I’m lying on here? She apparently isn’t sexually active. Oh, Christ, she has me talking like her now. I roll my eyes, hoping that she’ll take the hint and leave, but she sets my medicine on the bedside table along with a glass of water.
“Please let Mr. Madsyn k
now I need to see him when he is otherwise unoccupied.” Her snotty tone makes me want to wipe that look off of her face. How can she speak about him like that when he’s right here, sleeping, for God’s sake?
I sit and cover my chest with the blanket and regard Lizzy sternly, “I think you need to leave, and I believe you work for me. Please don’t enter this room without knocking. I’ll discuss your behavior with Mr. Madsyn when he wakes up. Until then, please leave until I request your assistance.” Ninja bitch.
She huffs and leaves the room.
I hear Jase chuckle.
“You were awake that whole time?”
“Yep,” he says with a charming smile. I slap him on the chest. “Thanks for sticking up for me. She’s right, though. I shouldn’t interfere with her job.” He turns on his side and runs his hand from my shoulder down the length of my arm, sending a wave of tingles with it. “But I think it’s hot that you feel the need to defend my honor.”
“I do.” I lean in and kiss his expert lips. God, the things they did to me last night. He made my body react in ways I had no idea were even possible. I hope he doesn’t think I just jump into bed with anyone. Because I don’t; he is only my second.
He kisses down my neck, over my chest to nibble my belly, around my scar. Small, sweet tender kisses. “That feels so nice,” I say.
“You’re not too sore?” His bright blue eyes shine with concern.
“A little, but it’s getting better.” His lips quirk into a sexy smile and he places his lips back on my skin. I had no idea it could be like this. He’s so gentle and caring. Luke was never like this. He never took time for foreplay. It was always a little touching, then he went straight to sex. I never knew what I was missing until last night.
“Do you feel up to getting out a bit today? Just around the property?” There is hesitation in his voice. Frankly, I’m surprised he wants to take me back there so soon, but what’s more surprising is that I want to go there.
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