Can't Get Enough of You

by Bette Ford

  Jenna sat very still as she tried to absorb what he’d revealed. No, it couldn’t be true. But what if it was true? What if he did love her? Jenna was floored by the emotions that came rushing over her as she considered the possibility. Bombarded by so many emotions, she didn’t know what she was feeling.

  He said, “You were busy fighting me every step of the way.”

  “I couldn’t help it. I was afraid—”

  “Shush.” He silenced her by pressing a finger against her luscious lips. “I’m not trying to force a confession out of you, or even a commitment.”

  “Then why?”

  “Because I need to level with you. Let you know what’s going on inside of me. You know I wanted you back. I’ve made no secret of that. It’s time you know that when I said my feelings haven’t changed, I meant it. I want what I’ve always wanted. I want you to be my wife and the mother of my children.”

  Jenna strained to see his expression in the dim interior of the car. She felt like she’d been on an emotional roller coaster for the last few months. So much had happened that she couldn’t even begin to sort out her feelings. She couldn’t believe he was telling her all this. That he was forcing her to evaluate her own heart. It was too soon! She was just getting used to the idea of the two of them being back together. That had been enough for her.

  Now he was rushing forward, talking about being in love, marriage, and children. Had he just proposed?

  “I know this may seem sudden, but I’ve been thinking about it for some time. In fact”—he paused, then reached into his overcoat and pulled out a velvet-covered ring box—“I bought this for you.” He opened the lighted glove compartment so she could see, then used his thumbnail to lift the lid.

  Jenna’s eyes went wide when she saw the large solitaire. The five-carat, cushion-cut, deep purple amethyst stone was surrounded by diamonds and set in a thin gold band.

  Her heart thundered in her chest as she stared at the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen. It was exquisite . . . perfect for her. And it came with enough baggage to keep her caught in emotional knots well into the next century.

  Scott tilted her face up toward his. His kiss was brimming with tenderness and sweet promise. Before she could formulate a single thought, he kissed her again, only this time it was hard, possessive.

  When he pulled back, he whispered, “I don’t expect an answer tonight. There won’t be any pressure from me. All I ask is that you think it over, remember what we once wanted and meant to each other, as well as what we could still have if we’re willing to work at it . . . willing to take the risk.”

  He held a fine gold chain. While she watched, he opened the clasp and threaded the ring onto it. Holding it up to her, he hesitated, then said, “I’d like you to wear it close to your heart until you decide. May I?”

  For a long moment, she couldn’t respond. She was stunned, immobilized by a combination of disbelief and a healthy dose of fear that if she said no, she would lose him. She was just getting used to having him back, just starting to feel as if she could lean on him. This went far beyond being together. He wanted it all . . . love and trust . . . enough to last a lifetime.

  “Jenna?”

  She nervously worried the fleshy inside of her bottom lip. She needed time to think . . . to decide. The most she could manage right then was to nod her consent to wearing the ring around her neck. She silently assured herself that he had promised not to pressure her, give her time to decide.

  Her hands shook as she unbuttoned her reliable black wool coat. She cupped the ring in her palm as his large fingers worked to secure the clasp. She shivered when the cold metal settled between her breasts, and then again when he moved her hair to press a lingering kiss against her throat.

  “Thank you,” he murmured. Once they were both buckled in, he turned on the defroster, then put the car into gear. But he kept his foot on the brake when he asked, “Your place or mine?”

  “Yours,” she said without hesitation, “but only for a few hours. I can’t spend the night. I have loads of work waiting for me.”

  “You don’t have to explain. I understand.”

  He hadn’t said a word, but Jenna sensed his disappointment. She was doing her very best, trying to please both Scott and her sister. She’d called Leah several times to check in with her. She’d broken down and let Leah use her car, to make up for her daylong absence.

  But it wasn’t her demanding workload or feelings of guilt over neglecting her twin that was worrying her. She was doing her utmost to ignore the significance of the engagement ring on her neck. She marveled over all he’d done to make this day special. She couldn’t help wondering how long he’d been planning the day. She tried not to dwell on his reason for proposing or the enormity of what it would mean to both of their lives if she was foolish enough to say yes.

  Oblivious to the late-night traffic, Jenna’s stomach was in a knot, and her eyes burned from a sudden urge to cry. He’d said he still loved her. That he’d never stopped. She stared at the passing scenery while wondering how long she had. How long would he wait for an answer? A week? A month? A year?

  He’d barely turned off the car when Jenna, unable to express her emotions, gave in to the need to touch him. She caressed his cheek and strong chin. With her thumb, she outlined his full lips. Her breath caught when he playfully bit the tip of her thumb.

  “You have such a sexy smile. Combined with those dark, sultry eyes, I melt inside when you look at me like you are looking at me now . . . hot with desire.” She confessed, “The first moment I looked into your eyes, I was fascinated by you. I didn’t understand it back then, but now I know I wanted you, just as I want you now. Take me inside, Scott, and make love to me.”

  He didn’t respond verbally, but a muscle jumped in his jaw and his eyes smoldered with passion. Suddenly, Scott moved. He wasted no time in getting them inside the house with the doors locked.

  His hot, hungry kisses stole her breath. Soon they were both shaking with urgency. He carried her into his bedroom. Unaware of the low lamp that glowed on the nightstand beside the bed, she focused on him and what he made her feel.

  They quickly undressed each other. They didn’t stop until there were no barriers between them. He caressed her from nape to hips, lingering on her full bottom. His touch released a mountain of need inside her. She launched a sensual attack by wrapping her arms around him and caressing his sleek, long spine. She stroked him as if he’d been a giant cat while pressing damp kisses over his wide chest and dark throat.

  When she changed direction downward to place kisses on his taut midsection, he growled his enjoyment. But when she smoothed over the jetting curve of his shaft, he stopped her. He clasped her hands, holding them still, while he took Jenna’s mouth in a hard salute.

  He whispered, “Your touch feels so good. I won’t be able to hold back if I let you pleasure me that way.”

  “The pleasure would be all mine,” she confessed, then shivered when he distracted her with another tongue-suckling kiss.

  Trembling with urgency and as if he was desperate to claim what was his alone, Scott dropped down on the bed, bringing her with him.

  “Finally, I have you all to myself,” he husked, lowering his head to tongue the sensitive spot on her neck. He sighed when she trembled, but he didn’t ease up until Jenna moaned, her soft body trembling. He laved the hollow of her throat while cupping and squeezing her lush breasts.

  When her moans turned into breathless gasps, he said, “That’s right, my sweet love . . . enjoy, because I plan to give you all the pleasure you can handle and then some.”

  Scott took a pebble-hard, dark peak into his mouth. He sponged her nipple and groaned as he suckled and savored her.

  “Your skin is like silk,” he said, as if she was a drop of milk chocolate. He journeyed down to caress, then squeezed her pl
ump mound. Knowing what she craved without words, Scott applied more suction, while parting her feminine folds. “You are so creamy, wet with desire,” he whispered.

  She needed him as urgently as he seemed to need her. Instead of rushing, he slowly rimmed her opening. When she whimpered impatiently, he slid a finger inside her aching sheath, then another. When she released a keening wail, he switched breasts and continued his assault on her senses. By the time he moved a caressing thumb over her clitoris, Jenna’s lush frame shook from her release.

  “What are you trying to do to me?” she gasped, struggling for breath.

  He chuckled. “Drive you out of your mind with pleasure and show you how much you mean to me.”

  Before Jenna could digest that information, she was once again spiraling out of control. Her second release was swift and extraordinarily sweet. Feeling as if she was floating on air, she was sated physically but empty deep inside. When he began lowering his head, she pressed her hands against his broad shoulders, as if she could hold him in place.

  “No more. I mean it, Scott.” She stared into his hot, molten gaze. “Find a condom, and make it quick, because I’m done with your sweet torture. I need you inside me . . . hurry.”

  His lips tilted upward in humor, but he didn’t laugh or waste time arguing. He opened the drawer in the nightstand and pulled out a box of condoms. She noticed that his hands shook a bit as he ripped the foil, then covered his erection. She took pleasure in knowing that she had managed to ruffle his ironclad control. She’d been frustrated because he wouldn’t let her pleasure him to distraction as he so enjoyed pleasuring her. It was a tiny victory, but a victory nonetheless.

  She released a poignant sigh. Finally, he was there, filling her emptiness. Moaning his name, Jenna lifted her hips to meet his thrusts and wrapped her legs around his waist. She marveled at the sheer pleasure of their intimate connection and smiled as she listened to his appreciative groan. Scott eased back only to return again and again. Quickly caught up in a maze of sensations, Jenna welcomed his thrusts as he established a consuming rhythm that quickly had them both drenched in perspiration and panting for breath. Scott quickened the pace, moving them steadfastly closer to completion.

  Eyes closed and heart pounding with excitement, she lost all sense of her surroundings. The mesmerizing strokes of his fingertips against her clitoris had her shaking with the sweetest pleasure. Jenna said his name, telling him that she loved him as she climaxed. Mere seconds later, Scott reached his own earth-shattering climax as his big body shook with the power of his keen release.

  Shocked by her declaration, she bit her bottom lip to keep from breaking down and sobbing her frustration. All those weeks, she’d been denying what had been in her heart. She’d lost control and in that weak moment had revealed her unwavering love for him. The instant she’d said those three powerful words out loud, she’d known they were true.

  She loved Scott Hendricks. Had she ever stopped loving him? She closed her eyes. It didn’t matter. There was no longer any question that he was firmly rooted deep in her heart.

  How could she have been so careless? So foolish? Evidently when he’d revealed his feelings for her, all her carefully guarded defenses had started to crumble. Before she’d realized the depths of her feelings, the floodgates had opened and she was pouring out a tidal wave of feelings for him.

  As she rested against him, struggling for a measure of control, Jenna’s heart ached. It wasn’t fair! She’d already made that mistake. Once should have been enough. Scott had shattered her world when he’d walked away. Yet here she was, handing over her heart, the very weapon that would destroy her.

  She was nobody’s fool, yet she had gone all weak inside because he’d said he loved her. Scott Hendricks wasn’t offering any lifelong guarantees that he would stay this time around.

  Suddenly, she was conscious of the weight of his ring pressing into the valley between her breasts. Jenna didn’t need a reminder of the shattered dreams she’d foolishly weaved about them . . . the sweetest one being a family of her very own. She’d wanted his babies so badly.

  He had crushed that dream like pieces of broken glass beneath the weight of his athletic shoes when he’d walked out of her life to enter the NBA. Basketball had always come first with him. He had claimed to love her back then, just as he said he loved her now.

  “Wow!” He held her close, kissing her tenderly. “I still can’t believe you love me.”

  Jenna’s eyes burned from unshed tears. She said candidly, “I can’t believe it either. I didn’t know how I felt until the words came rushing out.”

  He surmised, “You don’t sound happy about it.”

  “How can I be? You know the things that went wrong between us. We hurt each other badly. And I’d be a fool if I didn’t have plenty of misgivings. I’m scared, Scott. How do I know you won’t hurt me again?”

  “I could be asking you the same question, but I’m not.” He smoothed a hand up and down her arm. “We can’t see into the future. We have no choice but to step out on faith. Take it one day at a time.” Brushing his lips against hers, he said, “I don’t intend to hurt you any more than I believe you intend to hurt me. Fear doesn’t change what we feel for each other.”

  Jenna frowned, infuriated with her loss of control. Why couldn’t she have kept her mouth closed? A glance at the bedside clock had her saying, “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay.”

  He asked, “What harm can come from spending what’s left of the night with me? I’ll get you home as early as you’d like. Five? Six? I’m not ready for our special day to end.”

  She smiled. “It was very special.”

  He pressed a lingering kiss on her lips. “I’ll set the clock for six. Okay?”

  Weakening, she nodded. “Thanks.”

  “Thank you. I could use a shower. Interested in sharing?”

  “I’d rather soak in the tub, but I’d probably fall asleep and drown.”

  “No worries. I’ll keep you safe.”

  He soon had them relaxing in his large tub, the whirlpool jets soothing tired muscles. Jenna was nearly asleep when he dried them both off and carried her back into the bedroom. Once they were settled in the middle of his big bed, he curved an arm around her, easing her back against his front.

  “Comfortable?” He kissed her nape.

  “Mm . . .” she moaned, curling her fingers over his wrist, where it rested against her stomach.

  The sweetness of their time alone drifted through her mind. There was nothing so urgent that it had to be resolved that night. As sleep claimed Jenna, her last thought caused a smile. Despite all that had gone wrong between them, he had said he still loved her.

  Twenty-three

  Jenna was busy dealing with finals and working to make her first semester as a full professor successful. She tried not to worry that Leah wasn’t job hunting or even looking through the college catalogue she had brought home. She struggled to hide her increasing frustration at not knowing her sister’s plans. Leah hadn’t said if she was going to stay in Detroit or return to dancing in Las Vegas. She had skillfully managed to avoid Jenna’s inquiries while spending her time catching up on her sleep after more nights out on the town with the new friends she’d met in the clubs.

  No matter how often Jenna told herself she had no reason to be concerned, she disliked the way her twin vied for Scott’s attention. Jenna did her best to ignore it, aware of her sister’s need to be the center of male attention. The knowledge that her sister loved her and would never do anything to hurt her was what made her dismiss the worry. She flatly refused to give in to that fear, or let it rule her world.

  On Friday evening Scott and Jenna drove to Laura’s condo for a tree-trimming party. Jenna had been disappointed when Leah had refused to come, preferring to go clubbing with her new friends.

  “What exactly doe
s one do at a tree-trimming party?” Scott asked, opening the heavy glass door of the Riverfront Condominiums for Jenna.

  “You mean besides eat, drink, and make merry?” she teased. “Oh, look! There’s Sherri Ann.” She called out, “Hey, girl.”

  “Hey, yourself,” Sherri Ann smiled. She and her date were waiting in the lobby for the elevators.

  The foster sisters hugged before Sherri Ann introduced them to Ben Edwards, her escort for the evening. By the time the couples reached Laura’s front door, Jenna had surmised that Sherri Ann had no true interest in getting to know the handsome lawyer at her side.

  Sherri Ann had made no secret that her career came first with her. She fully intended to make partner in a prestigious law firm before she reached her thirty-fifth birthday. Marriage and a family were going to have to wait until she reached her career goals.

  “Well, it’s about time!” Laura announced with a hand on her hip. She pointed to a large, bare evergreen tree in front of the picture window. Judging by the laughter and music playing in the background, the party was well under way.

  The three hugged. Jenna and Sherri Ann handed over their gift-wrapped ornaments.

  “Now we can get this party started,” Trenna McAdams laughed. The nursery school owner was a mutual friend and a member of Laura’s book club. She also had come with a date.

  Newlywed Vanessa Grant Prescott, one of the founding members of Laura’s book club, was with her husband, Ralph. Scott and Ralph were old friends and former college teammates. The two men greeted each other with warm grins and fist bumps.

  The newcomers were greeted warmly by Maureen Hale Sheppard. She owned and headed the Sheppard Women’s Crisis Center, where Laura worked. An avid reader and book club member, Maureen never gave up trying to convince Jenna and Sherri Ann to join their group. And, like the others, she’d come with a date.