I shook my head, a small shaky smile playing on my mouth. “I’m fine Colt.”
“You’re crying,” he said plainly.
“I’m not.” But then he brushed under my eyes with the pad of his thumbs and sure enough it glistened.
Damn. “I guess I was just lost in the past.” But I didn’t want to be lost in the past, not now when this night had been so perfect. “Want to get out of here?”
Colt flashed that smile that made my body overheat and wrapped his arm around me, guiding me out of the lounge while he called his driver because he had gone all out for this date. We made the trip to his downtown apartment because it was closer and because our lips hadn’t stopped touching the entire drive over. Or on the elevator ride up. To the penthouse.
“Welcome home, sweetheart.” He flashed another grin as the door shut, pushing me up against it and kissing me until I couldn’t remember my own name, never mind our past and why this was a bad idea.
His mouth devoured mine, pressing open mouthed kisses down my neck and chest, removing the low-cut wrap dress and brushing his lips against every inch he revealed. It was a slow conquering, knocking down the barriers brick by brick, and I couldn’t stand it. Couldn’t take it.
“Colt, please.”
Blue eyes were nearly black with desire as his gaze slammed into mine. “Fuck I love it when you beg.”
“Do you, now?” He nodded and pulled the dress off my shoulders. “Please Colt, I need you. Now.”
That was all it took for the pace to change from gentle and loving to fast and frenzied as our clothes came off, leaving a trail from the door to the black sofa. Soft and large, big enough for a man Colt’s size. We came together in a frenetic pace, both of us going over the edge twice before collapsing in a heap of limbs.
Colt
“Your arm seems to be gaining mobility.” Though she winced with every movement, the fact that Jaya could now lift her arm meant she was on the mend. I wondered if she would move on when she healed completely.
“It’s slow going but I can’t complain. Much. Your apartment is great,” she began in that way that said she had more to say.
“But?”
“No buts. It just looks like a bachelor lives here.” She gazed around the open floor plan from her seat at the breakfast nook and I wondered what she thought of my penthouse filled with expensive furnishings.
“A bachelor does live here.”
She turned that green gaze to me and sighed. “And it looks like it. Don’t be so sensitive, it’s nice. But it doesn’t make a woman want to stay.”
“You’d be the first woman to say that.”
She froze. “Then you shouldn’t worry about what I think,” she said and turned her gaze to the view of Lake Michigan, at least what she could see of it on this grey cloudy day with a nonstop drizzle.
Shit. Why did I have to go and say that to her, of all people? Though it was true, plenty of women had been reluctant to leave my bed and my home, that had more to do with my wealth than me. Jaya had just been honest and I scanned the place from her perspective. Everything was in its place, large screen television mounted on the wall, several large and comfortable pieces of furniture and even a decorative area rug. But I could also see what she meant. There were no throw pillows, no photos or art decorating the white walls. A few red-light fixtures and lamps were the only spot of color. It was expensive and luxurious but also cold and lifeless.
“I’m sorry Jaya, I didn’t mean it the way it came out.”
“Don’t worry about it Colt. I’m well aware of what a catch you are.” Still her gaze lingered on the view through the floor to ceiling windows that dominated one wall of the apartment. Though her posture looked relaxed I could read the tension in the way she held the coffee mug, around her mouth.
“I think you mean my money makes me a catch,” I told her cynically but honestly.
She whipped her head around, green eyes wide with shock. “Oh come on Colt. Don’t go fishing for compliments with me. Sure your wealth is nice but you’re…a catch on your own,” she said reluctantly.
Reluctantly but she’d meant every word. I could tell by the red flush on the back of her neck she couldn’t hide. And that gave me an idea. “What do you have planned for today?”
She shrugged and turned back to me. “Laundry. Cooking. I’ve been here since Friday night so I’m sure there’s other stuff. Why?”
I grabbed my coffee and the plate of waffles I’d made for us, taking a seat right beside her instead of across from her. Hand on her thigh I leaned forward and kissed the line of her jaw, licked a path across her collarbone. “I was thinking maybe you could help me make this place more welcoming.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? If you feel comfortable here you’ll come over.” And never leave. She leaned forward and kissed me slow and sweet before pulling back.
“That’s sweet Colt but you don’t need to do that.”
“That’s the beauty of it Jaya. I want to.” The smile she hit me with made my heart swell. And my cock.
Her hands slid up my bare thighs and under the boxer briefs I’d thrown on to make breakfast, skimming her fingers across my sack before stroking me. She smiled and her gaze darkened to a forest green as she leaned in to suck on my earlobe.
“I’m going to say no because I want you to convince me.” Pulling back, she stood and slipped my t-shirt over her head, tossing it in my lap before walking back to the bedroom. Completely naked.
I left breakfast on the table and went after my woman. She might not know it yet, but Jaya was mine. And I spent the next few hours making sure she knew it. Over and over again.
She grinned, half her body sprawled on top of mine and let out a long satisfied breath. “Okay you convinced me. Let’s go shopping.”
After stopping at her place for a change of clothes and another round in bed, we finally made it to exactly one store. “Why do I need pillows when the couch is one big damn pillow?”
She laughed, the sound like music to my ears. “Because you need color in your apartment throw pillows finish the room. Just like this blanket,” she handed me a red and white striped blanket. “For the back of your sofa.”
She picked up all kinds of things that I would have never bought because it was junk. Clutter. Two vases for flowers I never had. A candy bowl for the candy I never ate or bought. Candle holders, oil burners and an ottoman. “Seriously? Is this a joke?”
“Nope. What do you hate? We’ll put it back.”
Damn how could I possibly hate anything when she was so reasonable? “The oil burners have to go because I’ll never use them. And the candy dish?”
She shrugged. “We can use the small one for your keys by the door and the big one we can fill with marbles or sand or whatever. Anything else?”
“Not if you find a use for those vases,” I told her, imagining her stopping by at least once a week to fill the vases.
“Sure,” she rolled her eyes. “And we’re done.”
I sagged in relief.
“For now.”
“Evil woman,” I muttered as we made our way to the register, the sound of her laughter at my back.
“Payback Colt. It’s been said she can be a real bitch.”
In that moment I realized just how great things were between us. How great they could be if we made this official. But she wasn’t there yet and I didn’t know what to do to get her there. Something held her back and until I figured out what, we would be stuck. Not that here was bad, here had earth shattering sex, lots of laughter and great conversation. Here had me spending copious amounts of time with Jaya. Naked. Clothed. All over the damn city.
“Dinner at your place?”
She smiled and moved in close, wrapping both arms around my waist. “Desserts on me.”
Jaya
It was official. Colt and I were in an unofficial relationship. We’d been spending so much time together that even I couldn’t deny we had fallen back into a
relationship. We spent an entire weekend shopping. For my house and his penthouse. We cooked together, made cocktails now that my painkillers were needed less and less. And damn did we make love for endless hours. The things he did to my body were hard to forget especially when I buzzed in a continuous hum all day long.
And worst of all I was falling in love with him all over again.
Against my better judgment.
But I couldn’t help it. Colt was exactly the man I knew he would be from the moment I met him. Not only was he successful but he was kind and caring, gentle and sweet. And bossy as hell, in and out of the bedroom. Yeah, I felt a weird sort of bliss that left me uneasy and waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It had to, right? Two months of an adult relationship with Colt and things had to go wrong. Didn’t they?
But they didn’t. Things only got better between us, which is how I ended up at a bed and breakfast in northern Wisconsin with Colt. For the whole weekend.
“This place is amazing!” A large blue Victorian home, surrounded by lush green gardens. But inside was the real treat. Two sitting rooms, each with a stone hearth bisected the house. The room, decorated in blue and gold, held a large four poster bed with a gold and blue damask duvet. A writing desk sat under the window and a small closet for our belongings. We even had an en suite bathroom, I assume for couples who never came up for air.
“It’s pretty great, right?” At his proud smile and puffed out chest, and all I could do was wrap my arms around him and squeeze tight.
“You did good, babe.” He froze and so did I, right there in the middle of the room. I knew why I did, but why did he?
His smile melted my heart, damn him. “You called me babe.”
“I did.”
“I like it.” He smiled, cupping my face gently and staring into my eyes as he slowly lowered his mouth to mine. “So much,” he said against my lips and I smiled. Then his mouth was on mine, devouring and conquering until I practically climbed up his body to get a better taste of him. He tasted like mint and cola, and something that was one hundred percent Colt. Addictive and intoxicating.
“So, you wanna test out the bed and then see about food or…?”
“I don’t think places like this do room service,” he told me as he pushed me towards the bed, his mouth on mine again, tracing a path of fire down my neck, opening my shirt and kissing down my belly.
“Then I guess,” I groaned when his mouth closed around a nipple, “we better be quick.”
“How quick?” he asked as he helped me out of my jeans and sweater, then the sexy lingerie I’d worn just for him.
“Really quick,” I told him and stood, stripping him out of his clothes, giving myself a sexy little striptease. “Damn you really are hot.”
His deep chuckle vibrated against my hands caressing his chest muscles, laughing at the way they jumped. “Well thank you, sweetness.”
“Anytime.” Hand to his chest, I shoved gently until he fell backwards on the bed, smiling up at me with that sexy as sin look. “And I’m in charge.”
“Hell yeah!”
I laughed and climbed on him, kissing every inch of his beautiful body until his groans got so loud, so erotic that I couldn’t stand it. I took him in my mouth because his long, thick cock made my mouth water. Because the sounds he made as I licked and sucked him made me so wet I knew he’d slide right in for a quick, hard ride. I took him deep and he growled, yanking my hair until I stared at him with what I was sure were swollen pink lips.
“Yeah?”
“I promise to fuck your sweet mouth this weekend, but right now I need to get inside you.”
Well damn. “That’s what I like to hear,” I told him as I straddled his waist. His hands gripped my hips and I gripped his cock, slowly sinking down on his hard length. “Yes!” It felt so good and being in this position meant I could feel every inch of him, filling me up and stretching me out deliciously.
I moved in a slow up and down motion until the lovin’ took over my body, turned it into a pleasure-seeking vehicle that only lived to come. Colt gripped my hips, his fingers sinking into me hard enough to bruise, but I didn’t care, not with the way he growled my name. At the feel of him swelling inside of me, hardening, I lost control, palming his chest for leverage as I bounced and rolled my hips in a move that had him speaking unintelligently and I could only smile as my body tensed. Flooded. Tightened around him as my orgasm drew closer.
“Fuck, Jaya.” He gripped me harder, holding me still while he pounded up into me hard and fast, and oh so deep the orgasm tumbled out of me so fast I fell on top of him.
He flipped our positions and pounded into me, hips moving in a frantic motion that had another orgasm building inside of me, milking him and pulling him in deeper. “Ah Jaya. Fuck!” I felt him spurting into me, his big body vibrating and pulsing violently with the force of his own orgasm. “Shit!”
“That was the best quickie ever!”
“Even better than the bathroom?”
I laughed. “Well that one was special, but this one was hot. Super sexy. I think I’m still coming.”
“Oh sweetheart, you’re good for my ego.”
“Like you need it.” He knew he was hot shit and didn’t need me to tell him, not with the way my body continued to pulse around him.
“It’s always nice to hear, especially from a beautiful woman who just rocked my world.” He punctuated every word with a long hard thrust. And then another.
Needless to say, we never made it out of the room for dinner that first night.
Or the rest of the weekend.
By the time we drove back to the city I felt pretty confident there was no shoe dropping in our future. So I resolved that I would talk to him, settle our past once and for all so we could work on our future.
If we had one.
Colt
“Hey pretty lady, did you miss me?” I hadn’t spent much time with Ma in the past couple of weeks, so I offered to take her out to dinner.
Of course I get to her house and she’s cooked a full meal.
“I always miss my boys when they’re not here with me.” Looking over her shoulder with a smile, Ma looked beautiful. “Haven’t seen much of you lately.”
I raked a hand through my hair which was well past due for a cut, but Jaya loved running her fingers through it so I kept putting it off. “Been busy with work.”
“And Jaya,” she added with a wide cheesy grin.
“Yes Ma, with Jaya.” She was fishing and I knew I wouldn’t get out of here tonight without a full interrogation. So I grabbed a beer and settled in.
“Put that beer back young man, we’re having my famous lasagna which means we’re having wine. Open the red,” she said, pointing with that wooden spoon that would forever give me and Garrett nightmares.
I poured us both a glass, picking at the olives she’d set out with cheese and crispy bread triangles. “What have you been up to Ma?”
“Sharon and I signed up for a Zumba class! It’s fun but, damn we work up a sweat!” She laughed and told me all about moving her hips in a figure eight motion that had caused a man to ask her on a date.
“You’re a beautiful woman Ma, of course he asked you out. But don’t be showing him your hip moves too soon, okay?” She laughed and shook her head, bringing salad to the table.
“Why not? I have needs and I’m not looking for another husband.”
I choked on my wine and glared at her. “Ma, please.”
“Fine,” she lifted her hands in a defensive gesture, looking far too innocent for a woman talking about needs. “Since you don’t want to hear about my love life, tell me about yours.”
I walked right into that, and her smug smile confirmed it. “Real smooth, Ma.”
She laughed with her whole body, dropping lettuce on the table as she scooped up salad. “Sorry but you walked right into that one. I do want to know what’s up with you and Jaya though. Sharon said she called three times last week and you we
re there. Plus, I hear you took her away for the weekend. Sounds serious.”
It was serious, at least I thought so. “I’m not really sure Ma. We do spend a lot of time together and I think she has feelings for me, but there’s something holding her back. I just wish I knew what it was.”
“So you love her? Still? Again?”
“Jeez Ma, ask the easy questions, why don’t you?” I shrugged, but it was my mother and she only wanted me to be happy. “I never stopped loving her. I left because I had to do it in order to achieve my goals. Goals I thought would lay the foundation for our life together.” It killed me that she didn’t see that. Refused to understand it.
“Did you ever tell her these plans were for your future? Did you even indicate you wanted a future with her?”
Shit. No I hadn’t. “How could she not have known? We’d been best friends since first grade, dated since eight grade. I loved her and wanted to marry her!” She knew all that, hell we talked about it all the time.
“That was the plan, yes. But then you show up one day and tell her you’re leaving. That the plans you both had made together had suddenly changed. From that she was supposed to get that not everything had changed, just mostly everything?”
The egg timer buzzed and she hopped up as though she hadn’t just thoroughly shaken my faith in the past, to pull the lasagna from the oven.
“Dammit, Ma!” How could I not have seen this all these years? No wonder she’d been so angry to see me. “She’s never going to open up to me fully, is she?” Was there even a point in trying to win her back? Maybe I should be happy with what we had, but goddammit I wasn’t. Jaya was mine and we belonged together. I would do whatever it took to make her see it. To make her believe it.
“Of course she will, it’s just…you need to understand something Colt. When you left, Jaya was devastated. And then when she-,” she let out a long breath and shook her head. “My point is that getting over you wasn’t easy for her so if she needs time, then you need to give it to her.”
Seal'd to Her: A Billionaire Second Chance Romance Page 6