by JB Salsbury
“Whoops, sorry.” She grabs her phone from her pocket. Glancing down at the caller ID, her eyebrows scrunch and mouth goes tight.
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know. I don’t recognize the number.”
“Answer it, baby.”
She nods and hits the answer button before pressing the phone to her ear.
“Hello.” Her pleasant smile quickly fades. Her body shoots ramrod straight, and the color drains from her face.
Twelve
Jonah
What the hell? Blood pumps in my ears, and a mild buzz starts at the base of my neck.
“I’m fine.” She’s being polite to the mystery caller, but her voice is completely void of its usual spunk.
Alarms fire in my head.
Her eyes snap up to mine and widen a fraction. “Meet with you tomorrow?”
I’m up from my barstool and standing at her side. Less than a foot away, I’m able to make out the voice coming through her phone. I can’t hear exact words, but the low mumbles are undoubtedly male. Fuck.
“Um . . . I don’t know. I mean, why now?” She looks at her lap and rubs her forehead with her free hand.
The man on the phone mumbles on, and she worries her bottom lip. Her eyes hit mine, and a tiny spark of my Raven is back. “Okay, see you then.”
She hangs up the phone and stares at it in her hand as if she doesn’t know how it got there. Then she looks up at me.
“Who was that?” My voice is calm, but not in a way that provides comfort.
She places the phone on the bar like it’s made of glass. “That was Dominick.”
Adrenaline rocks my body. My muscles tense. The buzz in my head intensifies with every hammer of my heart.
“He wants to meet with me tomorrow at ten a.m.”
“No fucking way.”
She pins me with a glare. “Why not?”
How can she ask me that? I told her she needed to stay away from that guy.
“Because I said so.” I annunciate every word slowly to avoid roaring in her face, but she still flinches.
“I told him I’d go. I’m going.” She says it with such conviction I can’t decide if I want to shake her or kiss her.
“Fine. I’m going with you.” This woman is infuriating. Why can’t she just do what I say? I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes, trying to numb the all-consuming buzz that makes me want to rip Dominick Morretti apart.
“No, he said I have to come alone.”
My eyes shoot open before they narrow in anger. “What! Why? Who says that unless they’re up to something?” I don’t mean to yell, but my fight or flight reaction is kicking in and flight is not in my vocabulary. “What the fuck, Raven? I told you I don’t want you anywhere near that guy, and you promised you’d stay away from him!”
“I know, I promised but—”
“But what? Do you have any idea what this guy’s like? Word around town says he’s got his hands in everything, not just prostitution. He’s been questioned for murder, drugs, weapons. Shit, Raven, he’s only walking free because he’s got his money so far up law enforcements ass I’m surprised they don’t shit gold.”
“Please, stop.” She whispers to her lap.
“Stop! Stop what? Your psycho dad calls and wants to meet with you alone, and you want me to sit here on my fucking hands and do nothing? God, Raven! This guy’s a criminal.” I pace the around the bar to burn off some aggression. The last thing I want to do is scare her, but fuck. “If you think I’m going to let you meet that dickhead alone, you’re crazy.”
She sniffs and wipes her eyes. Ah, crap. I breathe in and out of my nose and count to ten. My heart rate slows enough that it’s no longer throbbing in my ears as I wrangle my wild impulses.
“Baby, I’m sorry.” I smooth her hair behind her ear. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just lost it for a second.”
She wipes the tears from her cheek. “You don’t understand.”
Closing the space between us, I pull her chin up to look in her eyes. “Explain it to me.”
“Ever since I was a kid, I’d dreamed that one day he would come along and ask for me. Even after I found out what he was, I still wanted him.” Her eyes look away, but I don’t release her chin. “I still wanted a dad.”
Her words shoot through my rage, straight to my heart. I wouldn’t give up the twelve years I had with my dad for anything. And as painful as it was to lose him, I had a dad who loved me. Raven’s never felt that.
Who am I to say that Dominick’s intentions aren’t good? Maybe he does want a relationship with Raven. I’d bet my balls that’s not true, but if I don’t allow her to find out for herself, if I stand between her and the possibility, she’ll never forgive me.
I brush my thumb along her lower lip, feeling it quiver beneath my touch. “Okay, baby. I get it.”
Her eyes smile through her tears and she kisses my thumb.
With a tug, she’s up from her barstool. I wrap my arms around her waist. She locks her hands behind my neck, holding me to her.
“You’ll call me when you get there.” I’m so close to her mouth, I can smell the sweet tea on her breath.
“Yes.” Her answer is breathy and full of need.
My girl. Always so responsive.
She puts pressure on my neck to bring me to her, but I’m not finished.
“And you’ll call me when you’re finished.” I slide my hands down to her ass, drawing her hips closer.
“Mm-hmm.” Her answer comes out on a moan.
“Not when you get in your car, not when you get home, but when you’re walking away, you call me.” I tighten my hold to make sure she understands. I’m not fucking around.
“Yes, Jonah, I’ll do anything. Just kiss me, please.”
“That’s more like it.”
I drop a soft kiss against her lips. She pushes up on her tiptoes, pressing hard against me searching for my lips, but I hold back. She whines adorably, and I reward her by feathering another kiss on her lips.
“Please.”
Her final plea shatters the last of my control. I cover her mouth with mine. My hand slides up her shirt along her spine, desperate to feel her skin. She arches her back, and pulls me in, shifting her weight so that our torsos are touching from chest to hip.
With her body soft and pliable in my hands, the taste of her tongue flooding my mouth, my chest tightens with feelings I’m only beginning to name. She owns me completely. The pull I felt toward her when we met, waking up with her in my arms, my conversation with Owen, my compulsion to protect her, everything jumbles in my head until need coils in my sternum. Not the usual need that rips at me, but something stronger. It’s been seeping in slowly and now crushes me from the inside out.
I hold her to me, hoping the strength in my arms will give me the power to do what I’ve never done before. Breaking the kiss, her eyes lock on mine, questioning. Even through my nervousness, in this moment, nothing has looked as clear or as obvious.
“I love you, Raven.”
She gasps and her body jerks. She looks at me as if seeing me for the first time. Her shaky hand covers her mouth. Her head rocks back and forth slowly in what looks like disbelief. She doesn’t say it back and I don’t care. I love her. If she’s not there yet, I’ll wait as long as it takes until she is.
Without warning, she launches into me, our lips fusing together in wild passion. Her tongue slides into my mouth along with a soft moan that shoots to my throat. I tilt her head to plunge in deep, walking her backwards to the closest lounger. I crave Raven in a way that makes the dozen yards to the house seem like miles.
Laying her back, I brace my body above hers to keep from crushing her. I flex my hips into the warmth between her legs. She grinds into me, and I fight the urge to claim her here by the pool. Not like this. She deserves better.
I move to my spot at her neck and feel her racing pulse against my tongue. Her hands slide from my lower back to my stomach where she runs
her fingers along the waistline of my shorts. She pulls at my zipper.
“Not yet, baby. Soon, but not tonight,” I whisper against her skin before nipping at her earlobe.
Her hands fall away on a hopeless sigh. I nuzzle her neck to avoid the look of rejection that I’m sure colors her face. My body screams to join with hers. To show her how deep my feelings run. But I’d never forgive myself for taking her in my backyard like a cheap party date.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I want you, I do. But you deserve—”
“It’s okay. But you said soon. Promise?”
I grimace at the dejected sound in her voice.
My lips skate along her jawline to her mouth. “Yes. I promise.”
Sliding my hand against the smooth skin of her belly, she writhes against me. I pull her shirt over her head and take in her bright green bra. My thumbs make firm passes over the sensitive tips through the silk. Feeling isn’t enough. I need to see them. I tug the fabric down, releasing her full breasts to the tepid night air. Fucking gorgeous.
I kiss the valley between them, breathing in her subtle sweet fragrance. She arches her back in a silent plea. I smile against her eager little body before taking her breasts into my mouth, first one and then the other. The sweet taste of her delicate skin increases my appetite for more.
I pop the button of her shorts, and she lifts her hips for me to slide them down her legs.
“Good girl.”
“Jonah—”
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take care of you.”
Her eyes flare and she bites her lip. I take a deep breath and remind myself to take it slow. This isn’t the get in, get out operation I’m used to. For the first time, I’m not thinking of my own needs. Only about taking Raven’s body to new places, to express what I feel emotionally through loving her physically.
Her lips curl in a wicked grin as she shimmies off her matching lace panties. I watch in awe as she reveals her perfect body to me. Sitting up to unhook her bra, she removes the last scrap of covering, my gaze held firm by her seductive show. She’s completely exposed, and I stare in wonder as she falls back on the lounger, legs parted.
“You’re stunning.” My voice sounds heavy and rough with desire.
I rip my shirt off over my head and toss it behind me. My lips ache with the urge to taste every inch of her olive skin.
“Hmm, I was just thinking the same thing.”
I run my hands along her thighs, her knees falling wide open in response. “Raven, I need to taste you.”
She nods her head once, her body yielding to my every touch. Perfect.
Taking my time, I kiss the tender skin of her inner thigh. With teasingly long swipes of my tongue, I give her a sample of what’s to come. Her heels dig into the lounger, and she pushes her hips up, searching for contact. Just the invitation I need.
I take my first taste and growl in pleasure. So sweet. I fight the urge devour her, wanting to take my time and make it last. She moans and rolls her hips. I look up the length of her toned stomach to see her eyes squeezed shut. That won’t do.
I back off. “Baby, look at me.”
Her eyes lock on mine, passion swirling in their blue-green depths. I slow down, but maintain eye contact. Every hitch of her breath stimulates my need to please her.
This is so different. And more arousing than anything I’ve experienced in the past. My love takes a front seat to my body’s desire for release.
I stare, absorbed in the visual of her mouth dropped open as she pants for breath. Her bare chest heaves with every flick of my tongue. Moans turn into desperate cries and her legs quake. Slow is no longer an option. I want nothing more than to hold her, to feel her against my lips while she falls apart for me. Her hips push and roll, seeking. I lock my hands on her hips, holding her still, and give into her body’s demands.
She grabs a fistful of my hair, holding me to her, pressing me deeper. Her voice catches and she calls out my name in release. Moans of pleasure fall from her lips, and the sound sends shockwaves straight between my legs. My stomach tightens, and I flex my hips into the lounger, groaning at the relief in the friction. I continue until she squirms, unable to give her up. With a final, tender kiss, I pull away. She falls back, her body sated and limp.
My girl. Her eyes are closed, and I’m entranced by the rise and fall of her breasts as she breathes. I gently press her legs together, removing myself from in between, to climb in next to her. Moving her hair from her damp face, her eyes flutter open.
“That was amazing.” I marvel in the beauty of her satisfied expression.
“I thought that was my line.” Her sexy post-orgasm voice vibrates in a way that I feel in my shorts.
I grab a towel from the table next to us and cover her naked body.
“Do you want to go inside?” I trace the delicate angles of her face with my fingertip.
Her mouth tilts to a grin. “I have a better idea.”
She pushes herself up off the lounger, leaving the towel behind. With her back toward me, I admire the luscious curves of her bare flesh in the moonlight. She winks at me over her shoulder and, with a small bend of her knees, she jumps into the pool. Skinny dipping? Hell, yeah!
Kicking off my shorts, I jump in after her, keenly aware of my killer hard-on that even the cool water won’t tame.
She floats on her back, and I shamelessly gawk at her perfect breasts poking out from the water. Catching my stare, she swims over to me in the shallow end.
“It’s your turn,” she says as she pushes me back to the steps of the pool.
My heart pounds in my chest. Does she mean what I think she means?
“Sit.” She directs me to sit on the top step where the water is the shallowest.
Eyes still locked on mine, she pulls my legs apart and crawls between them. Her soft, slick body brushes the insides of my thighs, heating my oversensitive skin. With her knees on the step below me, she props herself up to meet my eyes. Her breasts drip with pool water and sex appeal.
“I’ve never done this before, so don’t expect much.” Even in the dim light, I catch the red that colors her cheeks.
“Raven, you don’t have to do this.”
She places her finger against my lips, silencing further protest.
Was I just talking her out of giving me a blow job? That’s a first.
“I’ll just, um, go for it, but if I do something wrong, will you show me?” Her innocent eyes implore mine.
“No way you could do it wrong, baby. I’m almost there just listening to you talk about it.”
With a nod and a smile, she sits back on her heels. Her wet sexy body glistens in the dark, and I know I’m not going to last long. She looks down and licks her lips, then takes me into her mouth. Sucking in a breath, I dig my teeth into my lower lip to keep from groaning in pleasure. My hands fist in her damp hair, not to control her speed or caress, but in pure animal possession.
To think that I could experience this all-consuming lust, as well as the soul-shackling love that I would die to keep, is life changing. This tiny girl who works on cars, laughs at stupid jokes, and blushes at the slightest flirtation is mine. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her. I would spend the rest of my life making her happy if she’d let me.
So this is love.
My life will never be the same.
I pull her hand from my thigh and wrap it around myself, guiding her strokes before leaving her to it. Her velvety touch striking deep in my core, my hips push off the step. She leans in, the silky push from her breasts at my thighs dropping my head back. Sensations combine with hunger and love, and fuck— My stomach tightens, my release coiling in my abdomen. I’ve got seconds.
“Baby, stop.” I lose her mouth as a delirious groan falls from my lips. I unravel in her hand. Her tight little fist continues to pump and the euphoria intensifies. What the hell? I’m panting, colors swirling behind my eyelids. My legs tense as I’m rocked with aftershocks. “Oh shit.” I blink open my eyes, fascin
ated that Raven’s first blowjob is the most consuming sexual experience I’ve ever had.
“I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” Her arms are wrapped around her chest, a concerned expression on her perfect face.
I fight what could very well be a goofy smile, and lose. “Hurt me?” I lean in, elbows to knees. “Does it look like that hurt me?”
Pushing off from the step, I meet her in the shallow end. I walk her back to the side of the pool and gather her in my arms. Her muscles relax against my own.
“Baby, this has been the most amazing night of my life. Everything about it is perfect, including that kick-ass blow job you just gave me.”
Her giggles erupt against my chest, and I kiss the top of her head.
“I love you, Raven,” I say into her hair.
She tilts her chin up, resting it on my chest. Her wet hair is slicked back, black eyelashes thick with water, and her lips deep red and swollen from taking me. Her stare bores into mine, and I watch something heavy working in her aquamarine eyes.
“I love you too.”
Thirteen
Raven
I’m pulling out of Jonah’s garage at exactly nine twenty-eight a.m. I’m second-guessing that third cup of coffee, my hands shake on the steering wheel, and my empty belly churns. There’s no way I can eat until this meeting with Dominick is over. Trying to calm my angry stomach, I roll down the window for some fresh air. My mind wanders back to last night in an attempt to soothe my nerves.
Lying in bed, wrapped in Jonah’s arms, I found the courage to tell him why I have to meet with Dominick. As a little girl, I’d daydream about him pulling up to our house. He’d have a big box in his hands, wrapped in pink paper. I pictured him kneeling down and telling me how much he missed me. That he’d made a huge mistake in severing himself from my life, and that he was going to make up for lost time. He would beg for forgiveness. I’d finally get the dad I needed.
It’s because of that dream that I have to meet with Dominick. Even if it’s on his terms, I’ll do it. I owe it to that little girl.