“You okay?”
She nodded, dazed in pleasure.
“I want you, baby. I need you, Jake.” She needed to be loved by this man who cared so much for her and apparently had for some time without her awareness.
“You sure, you wanna do this now?” he murmured in a deep low voice nibbling on her ears which drove her insides wild. He gazed intently into her eyes then gently kissed her forehead and brought his lips down to kiss her nose, her lips and the base of her throat as she tilted her head back, moaning in pleasure.
“Yes. Yes. Please…” she moaned. Excitement shot through her entire body.
Jody bit down on her lip. She really wanted Jake now. And forever. Couldn’t they just pretend to be married forever!
She shivered as his strong, yet tender, hands explored the hollows of her back. He radiated vitality that drew her like a magnet.
“Oh, Jake….I….I’m so in love with you,” she moaned as his hands unfastened her blouse and her silky bra so smooth and fast, she hadn’t even noticed she was now bare. He was very good with his hands. He then aroused her nipples with his warm tongue circling each one. Jody moaned as waves of excitement rushed through her body. She held firmly to his strong, muscular arms and tilted her head back as she leaned on the kitchen counter.
“God, I love you, Jody,” he moaned. “I never thought I could fall in love at first sight but I did when I first laid eyes on you.” His voice, silky and deep sending shivers through her belly. She felt his hardness pressing against her thighs and reached down to unfasten his pants exposing his silk boxers.
“You did? Ohmygod, I fell in love with you, the first time I saw you…but…I guess it wasn’t the right time to come out and tell you.”
He moved his lips back up to Jody’s lips devouring her sweetness, caressing her mouth in ways she’d never experienced before. She felt as if this were her first time. Ever. The stroking of his fingers sent pleasant jolts through her body and the moistness between her aching thighs needed him.
He kissed her as if he hungered for her taste. She could no longer deny his touch as her body pulsated. She wanted all of him. Now. It was as if this was her wedding night—denied to her months ago. Her pretend husband, real lover.
Before long, they’d moved almost choreographically towards his bedroom where he continued to pleasure her. His hands eased across her pleasure points.
After presenting his condom, they’d made the most passionate love she’d ever had. There was no pretence that night. She thought she’d died and gone to heaven. She’d never experienced so much pleasure in her life before. Not in her thirty years. She could not believe this.
* * *
The following morning, Jody leaned over in the bed, but Jake was not there.
“Jake?”
All that was there was the scent of his cologne and a warm dent in his pillow. At first, she swallowed hard and thought it was all a dream. Or he’d had a change of heart. Then…
She smelled the juicy aroma of bacon and eggs frying in the kitchen and the scent of freshly brewed coffee lingering in the air. She also caught the sound of a man whistling in the kitchen.
She pulled the sheets over her body and jumped out of bed. She freshened up in his en suite marble bathroom and made her way over to the kitchen. The bright sun shone brightly in the penthouse from the tall floor to window ceiling. But that wasn’t the first thing she noticed. How early did Jake wake up? She knew he was a gym buff but she didn’t recall so many roses around his apartment. In fact, scented candles and rose petals were sprinkled throughout. She walked over to the kitchen table and there was a beautiful long stem rose on the table by her plate.
Jake came out of the kitchen area with a salacious grin on his face and his dark dreamy eyes slid down her silhouette in a dreamy state.
“You know, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Just so you know.”
“Same here,” she smiled, sheepishly. “Baby, this is….beautiful. All of this. You didn’t have to.”
“I know. I wanted to.”
“Wow, I’ve heard of loving thy neighbour, but his was not quite what I had in mind.”
She reached over and kissed him gently on his soft lips. Tingles erupted in her belly. She could tell he was getting aroused, too.
“Let’s have breakfast,” he said in a low voice that was mesmerizing. “We have plenty of time for more later.” He kissed her on the lips again.
She looked at the rose and her eyes could not believe what she saw.
A red, velvet jewellery box. Just near the breakfast plate. She opened it and it was a very small diamond ring. It was beautiful in her eyes. She didn’t care how small it was.
“I’m not usually a man of impulse but you only meet your soul partner once in your life.”
Jody could hardly squeeze words out of her throat.
“I…I…”
Jake got down on one knee. “Will you marry me? Doesn’t have to be today or tomorrow or next month. Just will you promise to be devoted to me as I will be with you.”
“Jake…I…yes…” Tears streamed down her face just as it did the day she found out her ex had stood her up at the altar. But this was different, it was tears of joy.
Jake got up and traced his fingertip along her lips and kissed her passionately again!
“I want you to know everything about me.”
“What?”
He grinned. “No, it’s not like that at all.” He presented her with another jewellery box and when she opened it, her eyes popped wide open.
“Oh, my God! Is that real?” It was the biggest diamond ring she’d ever seen…No, actually, she remembered one of those celebrity A-listers wearing something similar.
“Yes, and so is my love for you.” He grinned. “Yes, it’s also paid for by me,” he teased her with another seductive grin. “It’s hard to find a woman willing to love me for me. Here you are accepting a small ring worth $50 and you were emotionally attached. The ring belonged to my late grandmother on my mother’s side. It was all they could afford. When I had showed it to another girlfriend in the past, she scoffed her nose at it not realizing it’s true value. All that glitters is not gold. Sometimes you can find treasures where you least expect it. Like a girl like you with a heart of gold. A man’s dream. My dream.”
Jody didn’t know what to say. “Oh, Jake…”
“It’s okay, no words are needed right now. Later, I’m gonna tell you all about my connection to the owner of this condominium corporation and…well, I’d like you to meet my brother John and my dad later. Much later.”
“Can’t wait to meet your family.”
They sealed their engagement with a kiss and Jody thought to herself, she was happy she was jilted by Gregory at the altar months ago. She never would have had the pleasure of meeting the real Mr. Right. Yes, it was true, with every disappointing closed door, there is another door opened and ready for those who dare take another chance on love. If a guy walked out of her life—it was probably a favour to her, even it she didn’t know it at the time.
“It’s true what Mae West once said, “a girl’s gotta love a bad guy once or twice in her life to be thankful for a good one.”
Jake looked puzzled.
“Jake I love you and I will never take you for granted. I really appreciate you for who you are.”
He grinned as he inched closer to her and kissed her passionately again and again.
THE END
Also by Shadonna Richards
AN UNEXPECTED BRIDE
Full length novel
Available on Kindle
Kindle Top 10 Bestseller in Romance
Emma Wiggins is about to marry her heart-stopping, gorgeous boss, CEO Evan Fletcher, in seven days—too bad he doesn’t know it yet!
Desperate to fulfill her ailing grandfather’s last wish to see her settle down and get married, Emma Wiggins, a 30-year-old, career-focused executive tells him a little white lie on his deathbed that she is in f
act engaged--to her boss, deliciously handsome and emotionally unavailable, Evan Fletcher.
The situation takes an unexpected turn when her grandfather's condition improves slightly and to her shock, he goes ahead and arranges a wedding ceremony at his hospital bedside before he passes on. Now, all Emma has to do is convince unsuspecting, commitment-phobic Evan to tie the knot with her in seven days. Can love blossom in the most unlikely situation?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bestselling author Shadonna Richards has a B.A. Degree in Psychology and a Diploma in Nursing. She enjoys reading and writing about the magic of romance and the power of love. She is the author of the non-fiction books, A Gift of Hope and Think & Be Happy: 365 Empowering Thoughts to Lift Your Spirit (an Amazon Kindle #1 Bestseller in Meditation). Winner of Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write 2010 Day Two Challenge, she is a member of the Romance Writers of America. An Unexpected Bride became a Top 5 Kindle bestseller in Romance and is her first novel. It has sold over 25,000 copies in its first five months on Kindle. She’s a proud mommy and wife and lives in Canada with her husband and son. You can visit her at www.shadonnarichards.blogspot.com and join her mailing list for updates, giveaways and news on upcoming releases.
The Jilted Bride Page 3