by Chris Taylor
Every inch of her was gorgeous, from her beautiful green eyes and wide, lush mouth, to her long, lithe body and bountiful breasts. His fingers continued their gentle exploration, down her breastbone, across her rib cage and then lower to skim over her concave belly. She drew in a quick breath, her stomach muscles tensing. He was filled with wonder that this exquisite creature was there with him, on his lap, responding to his touch.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said again and her eyes flared bright with desire.
He reached up and filled his hand with one of her breasts, scraping her nipple with his fingers. Her mouth parted on an indrawn breath and a surge of excitement went through him. He was far from the first man to touch her, but somehow, right here and now, she made him feel like he was.
He filled his palm to overflowing with her other breast and at the same time, leaned forward and buried his face against the softness of her neck. He breathed in her exotic scent. She smelled of spice and vanilla, sweet and heady. It filled his senses and he breathed in deeply again. He wanted more.
He cupped the back of her head and tilted her mouth to his. He kissed her, softly at first, but within seconds, the kiss turned passionate. With increasing haste and pressure, he continued kissing her, moving his mouth more frantically over hers. His tongue pressed against her lips, seeking entrance and he groaned when she welcomed him inside.
Her arms came around him and drew his head close. They kissed until he felt like he was going to explode. He’d just enjoyed a mind-blowing orgasm, but his cock was once again rock hard.
He moved her against his erection, pressing her into his lap. She wiggled her butt and he bit back another groan, drawing on all his strength to detach his frenzied thoughts and concentrate on the woman in his arms.
He wanted to love her as she’d loved him, selfless and complete. He wanted to bring her to the edge of reason and watch her topple over the other side. He’d never given oral sex and was making up the moves as he went, but he knew with every fiber of his being that he wanted to share this incredible first moment of his with her.
Reaching behind her, he undid the clasp of her bra. Her breasts sprang free, so large and perfectly round. Her nipples were colored a soft, dusky pink and were as beautiful as the rest of her. Unable to help himself, he lowered his head and took one of the puckered buds into his mouth.
Dani gasped. She cradled his head, pressing him to her. He obliged by sucking her nipple deeper into his mouth and swiping across the pebbled surface with his tongue.
She moaned with desire and tightened her hold. Need burned through him and once again centered in his cock. He moved his attention to the other breast and gave it the same attention. By the time he was finished, she moved restlessly in his lap.
Taking his hand, she brought it up to her lips and kissed his fingers, staring at him all the while. Then she brought his hand between her legs and pressed it against her mound. He could feel the heat of her through her panties and almost climaxed again.
She removed her hand and he continued to fondle her through the silky fabric. Staring at him with eyes that were dark with desire, she ground herself against his fingers. It was the most erotic moment of his life.
He yearned to see her naked and with a sudden surge of impatience, he moved her off his lap and lowered her to the couch. Sliding to his knees on the floor, he undid the button and zipper of her short skirt and slid it down over her hips. He reached for the brief scrap of fabric that passed as her panties and sent it the way of her skirt. At last, she was naked.
His gaze started at the riot of curls that framed her beautiful face. Her eyes were wide and shadowed, desire and anticipation in their dark green depths. He moved lower and paused on her breasts, heavy and round and perfect. Still lower, he skimmed over her flat belly and at last, rested his gaze on her mound. He couldn’t wait to taste her.
Grasping hold of her thighs, he pulled her closer to his waiting mouth. His tongue swiped from top to bottom and then back up again. Increasing the pressure, he continued to stroke her with his tongue. She tasted like warm, sweet honey. She tasted like heaven.
She moved against him, her fingers tangled in his hair. Holding his head in place, he took her cue and increased his efforts. He opened her up with his fingers and delved into her moist warmth with his tongue. She groaned and her hold on his head tightened. His fingers replaced his mouth and stroked her in and out. His tongue caressed her lips in time with the rhythm of his fingers. She groaned and rocked her hips against his hand.
“Oh, Jett, that feels so good,” she gasped and he kept up the rhythmic pressure.
Her cries of pleasure grew louder and were interspersed with breathy gasps. And then she was pulling on his hair until it hurt, begging for him not to stop. His fingers pumped faster and his tongue kept up the frantic pace until at last she cried out and shuddered. Her muscles clenched around his fingers.
His cock throbbed almost painfully and his balls were once again heavy and full. Now that she’d reached her orgasm, he was desperate to relieve the pressure. His cock stood hard and erect. It poked out of the elastic of his boxers. Dani half sat up and stared down at him. Her eyes widened at the sight of his erection. Seemingly oblivious to her nakedness, she tucked her legs beneath her and moved across on the couch, beckoning to him.
Needing no further encouragement, Jett stood and shucked off his pants and underwear before joining her on the sofa. If ever he was tempted to break his self-imposed ban on making love, it was now. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself in her moistness and lose himself in her heat.
She lay back down on the couch and he positioned himself between her open legs. With the taste of her still on his lips, he burned with the need to have her. His cock pressed against her entrance. Any moment, he’d be inside her, surrounded by her wetness, encompassed by her warmth.
But she moved slightly and dislodged him and pulled him up until he was lying prone on top of her. His cock pressed against her stomach, still hard and throbbing with need.
“I think we should wait,” she whispered and the tension went out of him.
He slumped against her and blew the air out of his lungs on a sigh. “Really?” he panted against the soft sweetness of her hair, his heart still beating fast.
“Yes. You’ve waited so long. There’s no need to rush things.” She offered him a lopsided smile. “I don’t want you to regret it in the morning.”
He lifted his head and opened his mouth to protest. He loved her. He wanted her to be his first. But she reached up and pressed her fingers against his lips.
“Shh,” she whispered. “Trust me. I know about these things. What you have is special. It’s worth waiting for.”
With another sigh, he slumped back against her and then lifted his weight off her and rolled onto his side. He took her with him and they lay there, skin to skin, heart to heart. She felt so good beside him, in his arms, pressed against him. He never wanted to leave her side.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
For a long time afterward, Dani lay in the stillness with Jett. The night folded in around them. His breathing was slow and deep. Light from a streetlight outside the front room window seeped through the open curtains, breaking through the dimness.
She thought of Sabrina and Marnie and Franklin and was filled with a wave of sadness. Jett had shared his suspicions about Franklin with her and she’d watched the arrest on the news, but she hadn’t heard any details. All of a sudden, she needed to know what had happened.
“Are you still awake?” she whispered into the dark.
A second passed. Two. And then he answered. “Yes.”
“Did Franklin kill my sister and niece?”
There was another moment of silence and then he replied. “We talked about this already, Dani. Franklin was arrested this afternoon.”
“Yes, but did he kill my sister?” she insisted.
Jett sighed heavily and turned around to face her. “Do you really want to know?”
A block of cold concrete weighed down her stomach. Her limbs felt too heavy to move, but she held his gaze in the dimness and nodded.
“Yes, Dani. I think Franklin murdered your niece and sister.”
Though she’d come to the same conclusion, his stark words broke her heart in two. “Do you think it had something to do with the lab test?” she asked in a small voice.
Jett sighed again and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest, loving the feeling of safety and security she found there.
“There’s no way of knowing for sure,” he replied heavily, “but your brother-in-law said he hadn’t opened the results, and yet it’s clear from the crime scene photos he had. The fact that he lied not only about it, but also the lab that had done the testing, makes me think those results certainly factored in.”
Tears burned Dani’s eyes. Her chest felt tight. “I still can’t believe it!” she choked out. “His reasons for killing her were based on an error. Sabrina wasn’t unfaithful. She loved him far more than he deserved. She was good and kind and wonderful. She was an angel. Why would God punish her like this?”
The tears slid down her cheeks. “Why not me?” she cried on a sob. “I’m the one who lived the life of a sinner. If anyone deserved to be punished, it was me.”
“No, Dani! No!” Jett replied, tightening his arms around her. “Please don’t talk like that.”
“It’s true,” she sobbed. “I grew up in a household where my parents were drunken bullies. I couldn’t wait to leave. But I sought out the wrong kind of attention and I enjoyed it! I enjoyed it because all of a sudden, the attention was on me! I craved the feeling of being wanted, even for just a little while. For those few minutes in the dark, I was the center of someone’s universe.”
She gulped and sobbed harder. Jett stroked her back and murmured words of comfort, but Dani needed to get it out.
“My behavior was wrong on so many levels. I knew it then and I know it now. You’re a Catholic. You know it, too. It was completely amoral, against every principle you were raised with. I’m not making any excuses, but that’s why it’s so hard to accept Sabrina was the one who was taken!”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Dani. We’re all sinners. Not one of us can claim to be any different.”
Dani sighed heavily. With an effort, she got herself back under control. “Let’s just agree my family’s a stuff-up. Why don’t you tell me about yours?”
Jett turned his head and looked at her. He cocked an eyebrow. “There’s nothing special about my family.”
“Of course there is,” she replied with a mock frown. “Your mom and dad are still together, right?”
“Yes,” Jett replied.
“And you have brothers and sisters who love each other?”
“Three brothers and two sisters. And I guess we get on most of the time.”
“And I’m betting none of you are drunks or drug addicts or murderers. Am I right?”
“Yes,” he conceded with a brief smile. “I guess you’re right.”
“See! I told you your family was special! How many families these days can answer all of those questions in the affirmative?”
He looked thoughtful and eventually nodded. “I see what you mean. I guess I’ve never thought of my family as anything unusual. We’re just the Craigdons. Mom, Dad and six kids. We were a bit of an anomaly growing up in the beachside suburb of Maroubra, because there were so many of us, but other than that, we got on with life like everyone else.”
She stared at him, her heart filling with yearning. “No, Jett. Not everyone else got on with life. Some of us came home to parents too drunk to get out of their own way. I never saw either of my parents go out to work. I bet yours went out every day, or at least, your dad.”
Jett’s expression turned serious. “Yes, you’re right. Dad was an accountant for a local firm. He eventually made partner. Mom was a secretary. In fact, they met at the accounting firm when they were both in their twenties. Dad was fresh out of college. Mom was answering the phones. She eventually worked herself into the position of office manager. They both retired a couple years ago.”
Dani stared at him and was filled with sadness for the parents she’d never had. Oh, they’d provided for their children in a physical sense, with a patched-up roof over their heads and food mostly on the table, but their efforts at parenthood had hauled up short. No effort had been made to see to their daughters’ emotional needs. Dani marveled how Sabrina had been able to rise above the poverty and disregard and become the person she’d become. Dani hadn’t been so strong. At least, not back then.
“Tell me more,” she murmured, squeezing his arm.
Jett raised an eyebrow. “It’s not exactly thrilling storytelling. Are you sure you want to hear this?”
Dani held his gaze and simply said, “Yes. I am.”
Jett heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Okay, you asked for it. I’m the oldest. Then comes my brother, Callum. He started out in the police force, but somewhere along the line, he felt called in another direction. He’s now training to become a priest.”
Dani was flooded with surprise. Jett had already told her he’d been raised in the Catholic faith, but she had no idea the devotion went as far as that. She didn’t know of anyone who entered the priesthood these days.
Jett noticed her response and grinned. “Yes, it was a surprise to all of us. Callum’s probably the best looking of us all. He was always surrounded by girls in high school. Anyway, a few years ago, he decided he’d been called to a life of Christ.”
“Is he ordained?” Dani asked.
“No, he hasn’t gotten that far through yet. It usually takes seven years to become a priest. He has a degree in theology from the Australian Catholic University and entered the seminary twelve months ago.”
“What if he changes his mind before he finishes?”
Jett shrugged. “Then I guess he changes his mind. It’s one of the reasons the training is so rigorous. It’s a tough life and I’m sure it can be very lonely. There are a lot of dreams and other things they’re giving up: a wife, children; a normal life. The Church wants to make sure they’re ready and that they have a clear appreciation for what life as a priest will be like.”
“Your parents must be proud,” she commented.
“Yes, of course, but then, they’re proud of all of us. After Callum, there’s Joel. He’s twenty-five and is a lawyer. He works in the city. Isabella comes next. She’s twenty-three. She went into nursing.”
“Does she work at the Sydney Harbour Hospital?” Dani asked.
“No. At the moment, she lives in the country, in Armidale. It’s—”
“I know where it is,” Dani interrupted dryly.
“Really? Where is it, smarty pants?” Jett challenged, a teasing glint in his eyes.
“It’s in the New England area of north west New South Wales.”
Jett nodded. “I’m impressed.”
“I went to college there,” she admitted with a cheeky grin.
“Not in Sydney?” he asked in surprise.
“No,” Dani replied as memories of her troubled youth rushed to the fore. She’d needed to get out of her hometown in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, away from the past that could only drag her down.
“I wanted a fresh start. The country sounded like the perfect choice. And it was. I loved my time in Armidale. The warm summers, the crisp winters, the snow that lies on the ground. It’s so different from western Sydney.”
“Is that where you grew up?” Jett asked quietly.
“Yes. Mount Druitt. A long way from the beaches and chic city feel of Maroubra.”
Jett pressed a kiss against her hair. “It doesn’t matter where we were born or where we lived as kids. After all, none of us had a choice in that. It’s what we choose to do when we’re adults that counts and you’ve done everything you could to turn your life around. That’s what matters, Dani. The only thing that matters.”
With h
er heart flooding with tenderness and love, she cupped his cheek in her hand and kissed him softly on the lips. “Thank you,” she whispered.
His eyes darkened with emotion. “Anytime,” he whispered back.
Something indefinable passed between them. It was so charged with emotion, Dani got frightened. Things between them were moving so quickly. She wasn’t sure she was ready. She’d been single for so long and entering a relationship with a guy who wanted to remain celibate until he was a married man—the irony wasn’t lost on her.
She lowered her gaze and cleared her throat and the moment between them was gone. She swallowed a surreptitious sigh of relief.
“So, tell me about your other siblings. Another sister and brother, right?”
Jett stared at her a moment longer, his expression inscrutable and then looked away and nodded. “Yes, Nicholas is twenty-two and Sophia’s nineteen. The two of them are still at college.”
“What are they studying?” she asked, genuinely interested.
“Nick’s studying business, although Dad swears he hasn’t got a business bone in his body and Soph’s doing a Bachelor of Education.”
“Where are they?”
“University of New England,” Jett replied with a smile.
Dani smiled back at him. “In Armidale. I guess that explains why your other sister lives there.”
“Yes, she wanted to get out of Sydney and experience the country life. From all accounts, she loves it. I’m not sure if anything will drag her back.”
Silence fell between them. Dani picked up Jett’s hand and idly traced swirls across his palm. “You have such a wonderful family,” she said quietly.
Jett looked at her, his gaze steady on hers. “Yes, I do.”
“You’re lucky,” she whispered.
“I know that, too,” he replied and then added, “I’m sorry about your childhood. No kid should have to grow up like that.”
A rush of sadness welled up inside her at the compassion in his eyes. She blinked back tears. “You’re right.”