“So what else can you cook?” she finally asked, finding food a safe subject.
While they finished eating, Jabarie told her how he had invited his family to his condo Memorial Day weekend for an afternoon barbecue. He wowed the family with his slow-smoked ribs and homemade potato salad.
Brenna brought her orange juice to her lips. “Maybe you should have been a chef?”
“Shh, don’t say that too loud. My father might be listening,” he chuckled.
After breakfast, Jabarie refused to let her help with the dishes and sent her back to the room to shower and get dressed. He waited until she was down the hall before the smile slipped from his lips.
Brenna was the most stubborn woman he knew. Why couldn’t she just admit that she loved him and come back to him?
He reached for their plates and while he rinsed them under the water, he glanced around the room and concluded he was tired of living alone. He had been for a long time but never found a woman he wanted to share his life with except Brenna. He missed spending time quietly on the couch or making love in his bed.
He put another plate in the dishwasher and reminisced over breakfast. The meal had turned out nice, if he said so himself, but the conversation had been uncomfortable and a little stifled for his taste. Brenna didn’t want to talk anymore about them, but whether she liked it or not, they needed to talk. He needed to find a way to get her to stay not just as his lover but as his wife.
As soon as he had the dishwasher loaded, he returned to the bedroom. Not finding her, he stepped into the bathroom and she slowly rose from the tub. His mouth went dry. The strands of her hair curled around her breasts, making the chocolate circles of her nipples even more pronounced and beautiful. Water droplets rolled down her skin that he longed to taste. He wanted to lick her dry, then caress her until she was dripping wet again.
She smiled as if she could read his mind. “Want to join me?”
He didn’t say a word, just removed his apron as fast as he could then stepped into the water.
As soon as he was seated, Brenna rose on her knees. “I’ll wash you,” she offered then reached for a towel and straddled his body. As she rubbed the terry cloth across his chin, he reached out and caressed her breasts.
“You’re being a bad boy,” she groaned. “Let me finish washing you.”
“I can’t help myself when I’m around you.” While her hands continued to move, spending time caressing his nipples, then moving down his stomach, he ran his hand along her back, loving every sensual curve. “I don’t think there is one thing about your body I don’t love.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she purred then adjusted her position and began to stroke her fingers along his legs. He stiffened when her fingers closed around his length.
“Now you’re being a bad girl,” he said with effort.
“Haven’t you heard? Naughty is my middle name,” she replied as she reached her hand outside the tub and returned with a foil package in her hand.
Jabarie chuckled. “You planned this, didn’t you?”
Amusement flickered in the eyes that met his. “Of course. I was just waiting to see how long it took for you to join me.” She ripped open the package and with their eyes locked, she slid the condom over his length.
“If I had known you were planning this I could have cleaned the kitchen later.”
She rose up and slowly lowered over his length. Jabarie longed to surge all the way inside but held back. She flexed her inner muscles around him, squeezing him until she elicited a frustrated groan from between his teeth.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Hell, yes!” he ground out as she let him slip into her another few, precious inches.
She paused and closed her eyes. Needing to be inside her, Jabarie tilted his hips, sliding even farther inside. Her gasp was a reward, as was the way she latched her legs around his waist.
“You’re cheating,” she said, voice trembling.
“Haven’t you heard…all’s fair in love and war,” he said then reached around and cupped her rear end. The motion slid her forward and he filled her completely.
“Oh!” Brenna gasped.
He groaned then dipped his head to lap her nipple. Arching her back, she ground against him. Jabarie responded by thrusting upward. The water allowed him leverage and a range of motion he didn’t normally have. With his hands firmly at her hips, he guided her up and down as he pressed his mouth to hers.
Brenna controlled the rhythm while he plunged his tongue inside her mouth. He began with slow gentle strokes, but as the excitement grew, his tongue’s movements became more erratic. As their desire increased and her breath became labored, he pulled back from the kiss and took her fast and hard, causing the water to slosh around them.
With each stroke, he watched her, loving every whimper, every moan. Loved that she was bringing everything she had to the table in order to bring him pleasure, as well.
He cradled her chin with one hand and tilted her face. Brenna opened her eyes and looked into his. Searching her face, he slowed his rhythm, gentled his pace. Her eyes clouded with tears, but he knew they weren’t tears of pain. As much as Brenna wanted to deny it, he had reached her in that most emotional place, the center of her heart.
With a smile Jabarie slid a hand between their wet bodies and found her nub. With a sweep of his finger and thumb, he drove her over the edge. Her legs latched around his waist like a vice and her back arched, lifting her up and against him as she cried out her pleasure and her release.
Jabarie tried to hold back, wanting more than anything to maintain control until she came again and again, but the look of pure pleasure and the joyful tears that cascaded down her cheeks did him in. He held on firmly to her hips and poured himself into her.
As they sat there, locked together for what seemed like a blissful eternity, she looked down into his eyes. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to her forehead, cheek and lips.
“That was amazing,” she whispered as her arms came around his waist and she rested her head against his chest.
Jabarie looked down at her, so comfortable leaning against him, and slowly let his arms come around her waist. It was amazing. And so was this woman.
“I love you,” he said as naturally as saying good morning. He loved this woman and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it.
Brenna was so quiet, he wondered if she had heard him when she suddenly raised her head to look at him. Tears and rage burned from her eyes. “Why didn’t you just ask me?”
He gave her a puzzled look. “Baby, what are you talking about?”
Answering a question with a question appeared to piss her off. “Why didn’t you come after me?” she asked, nostrils flaring.
Jabarie gently stroked her arm as he remembered his mother telling him how Brenna had come to the house asking for money, gloating about finally having access to the Beaumont fortune. It had angered him, although, even then he should have known that something wasn’t right about what she said. He should have believed in their love.
“Why didn’t you come after me?” she repeated.
He had asked himself that same question over and over, time and time again. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted.
Pushing away from his chest, Brenna rose from the tub and stepped out onto the mosaic tiled floor. “You know what hurts the most, is that you believed your mother over me. That you didn’t love me enough to know I would never squeeze her for money.”
Jabarie dragged his leg to his chest and watched as she toweled off her body. “I did love you. I still do. I just…” He wasn’t sure what to say.
Her hazel eyes clawed him like talons. “You couldn’t have loved me because if you had, you would have trusted me, and that’s what hurts.”
There was along pregnant silence. “I was a fool…a damn fool.”
“Yes. You were.” Her words cut him like a razor. He felt it, and knew from the pain on her face she felt it, too. What was it going
to take to make this right?
Wrapped in a towel, she stormed into the bedroom. Jabarie hurried out of the tub, reached for a towel and followed. He walked into the room just as she was slipping her dress over her head. “Do you still love me?” he asked while securing the towel around his waist.
Brenna’s hand stalled. How could she answer that question, not that it really mattered anymore because it was too late for them. “It doesn’t matter because it can never be the same.”
His eyes narrowed. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“And I’m not going to.”
Jabarie’s lips curled upward. “You don’t have to say it. I know you still love me.” He closed the distance and pulled her to him then gave her a kiss that was both urgent and exploratory. Easing back, he stared down at her. “Do you know how much I still love you?” he asked between breaths.
“No.”
“I never stopped,” he whispered then took her mouth again.
She released a soft moan. “It’s too late.”
“It’s never too late,” he crooned as he ran kisses up along her cheek and neck.
Brenna pressed a hand against his chest and tried to hold on to her resistance. “We can never go back. That part of my life is over. I have changed.”
“So have I.”
Somehow, she had to find a way to get through to him. “I’m serious. My life doesn’t include you.”
Jabarie pulled her tightly into his arms and whispered near her ear. “It can if you let it.”
She just wasn’t ready to risk her heart again. Brenna pushed against him. “I don’t want to.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” He stared back at her, challenging her with his eyes. “Why not?”
“Because I’ve moved on.”
He cupped her chin, leaving her no choice but to look at him. “Then tell me you don’t love me and I’ll leave you alone.”
“I can’t do that. I love you,” she admitted. “Probably always will, but love just isn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to keep us together and it isn’t enough to bring us back.”
“I think it’s a beautiful start,” he replied and she felt his lips touch her like a whisper. “Will you have dinner with me tomorrow?”
Damn, his lips were more persuasive than she cared to admit. “Jabarie, I—”
“I know you’re leaving on Sunday and even though I’m not happy about it, I respect your decision. However, until you leave I want to spend every second I can with you.”
“Then what happens?”
He paused then said, “I’ll let you decide.”
“I’m not changing my mind,” she said stubbornly. “I’m still leaving after the parade. When I leave, I’m also closing this chapter of my life.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “If that’s what you want then I won’t try to stop you. Now, how about dinner?”
She didn’t know what to say because a part of her didn’t believe he was accepting defeat that easy. But, in the meantime what was wrong with her also spending every second possible with him? “Okay, I’ll have dinner with you.”
Chapter 17
The next afternoon, Brenna and Aunt Nellie worked side by side marking down books for the big sidewalk sale on Sunday. She could hardly focus and several times marked down the same book twice.
“Dear, are you okay?” she heard her aunt ask.
Blinking, she focused on her concerned face then nodded and moved to the other side of the store. She hated lying to her aunt, but the truth was too much like putting an ad out in the Sheraton Beach News.
Picking up a children’s book, she reached for a felt marker and neatly wrote the reduced price on the cover. All day she had barely been able to work. But then how could she with Jabarie constantly running through her mind? Like a merry-go-round, again and again, round and round the last two weeks had been playing through her mind. Every touch, every kiss, every blissful shudder. She was in way over her head and she wasn’t sure how she was going to survive losing him a second time. The only consolation was that this time she had made all the rules and it was she who was ending the relationship. Only leaving was going to be harder the second time around.
Shaking her head, she forced her mind back to the present and focused on labeling the last of the books. Sunday’s sidewalk sale would also include a parade down Main Street. It was in honor of the first day of summer.
The bell rang over the door and she looked up to see Jabarie walking into the store. Her pulse raced and she tried to bite back a smile. He winked then moved over to where her Aunt Nellie was putting books on the shelves and exchanged a few words with her before making his way over to where she was standing.
As he drew closer with each step, she felt as if the air had been sucked from her lungs. He was wearing navy blue slacks and a white button-down shirt, and his tie hung loose around his neck.
“Hey, sexy.”
“Hey, what—”
Before she could get her words out he pulled her against him and met her lips in a searing, toe-curling kiss. “I came to steal you away for lunch.”
The kiss had her mind swirling. “But we’re having dinner tonight.”
Staring down at her, Jabarie lightly stroked her back. “I know, and I want lunch and dinner and breakfast in the morning if you’ll let me.”
“We’re busy.”
“Aunt Nellie said it was okay.”
Before she could object, he grabbed her hand and led her out the store and down to the sandwich shop on the next block.
They moved to a booth and took a seat and it wasn’t long before a waiter came and took their order. Brenna leaned over staring down at the menu. Jabarie noticed the waiter staring down at her breasts that were threatening to spill out of her shirt.
“Are you going to take my order?” he snapped.
Startled, the young boy swung around to meet his angry eyes. “Yes, sir. What would you like to eat?”
“We’ll each have the special and two iced teas.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You can leave now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Brenna opened her mouth to scold him for being rude but she waited until the young man had scurried off to the kitchen to place their orders.
“Did you have to be so rude?” she hissed.
“He was looking down your shirt.”
“Only way you would know that is if you were trying to look yourself.”
“Why don’t you try wearing more clothes?”
“What’s wrong with what I got on?” she said defensively.
“It’s not enough.”
“I never remember hearing you complain before.”
That’s because he loved her body, every luscious curve. “Things were different then.”
Her arched brow rose. “How were they different?”
“You were my fiancée then. Everyone in this town knew you belonged to me.”
“And now they know that is no longer the case.”
“I don’t want to fight with you.”
“Then don’t,” she challenged.
Reaching across the table, Jabarie placed a hand on hers, tightening his hold. She closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them she gave him a direct stare. He eased his grip but did not release her hand.
“You know you’re gorgeous when you’re angry.”
“I’m not sleeping with you tonight.”
“Can’t I give you a compliment without you thinking I am insinuating something else?” he asked innocently.
“Thank you, Jabarie.”
His lips curled upward. “You’re welcome.”
“But I’m still not sleeping with you.”
Tossing his head back he chuckled openly. She was definitely a piece of work. Being around her conjured up feelings and emotions he hadn’t felt in years. That’s why he was doing everything in his power to show her this was where she belonged.
“You planning to do any shopping on Sunday?”
“If I can get away from the store long enough.”
“We have a lot of visitors in town.” During Sunday’s parade and sidewalk sale, people would litter the streets. There would be snow cones, cotton candy and some of the biggest sales of the year.
He watched as she nibbled nervously on her bottom lip and before he realized what he was doing, Jabarie raised out of the chair, leaned across the table and pressed his lips to hers. As always, their union was explosive, powerful and he wanted more. Reluctantly, he pulled back and returned to his seat and stared across at her moist parted lips, tempted to grab her in his arms and carry her home with him. She was gorgeous, and having her sitting there staring at him innocently had him hard as a rock.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“Just because,” he whispered then shifted on the seat as their waiter returned with their iced teas. This time, Jabarie was pleased to see his eyes didn’t even stray over in Brenna’s direction.
That night she dressed with care. Jabarie was picking her up and they were going to catch a movie and have dinner. She put on a pair of dressy red gauchos, a black halter top and low-heel black sandals. Her hair, she pulled up in a ponytail.
“How about we go ride the Ferris wheel instead?” he said as soon as she opened the door.
Her lips curled with excitement. She hadn’t ridden the Ferris wheel in years. “Sounds like fun.”
He drove over to the amusement park that was at the edge of the town, back off near the ocean. He climbed out, took her hand, and guided her through the park. The next hour was amazing. They played games and Jabarie won her a stuffed bear. Eating funnel cake, they moved over to the Ferris wheel line and waited their turn. By the time they tossed the plate in the trash, they were instructed to take the next seat. As soon as the bar was safely locked against their waists, the ride began to move.
She giggled.
“Having fun?”
“Yes.” Too much fun. In fact she was forgetting her vow not to get too close. She was having so much fun, it would be so nice if she had the courage to take a chance and let herself go back to the way things were, but it was impossible to go backwards. All she could do was move forward with her life. She was too afraid to risk her heart again no matter how badly she wanted to.
The Second Time Around Page 20