Stern wasn’t so sure about that. He wanted to believe that eventually their attraction would have prompted them to note the change in their emotions and then to decide to become lovers with a strong commitment, with a future that included marriage.
“So, do we get to sleep together tonight?”
He heard both anxiousness and nervousness in her voice. “No. I want you to think about everything and give me your answer tomorrow. Like I said, I want a commitment. That means becoming a couple in front of everyone. My family and yours. My friends and yours. Everyone. Can you handle that?”
“Yes. They’ll think it’s strange at first, but I think everyone will be okay with it in the end.”
“And if they aren’t?”
She lifted her chin. “What we do is our business, right?”
“Right.”
He eased to his feet and pulled her up with him. “Let’s share a cup of hot chocolate before we go to bed. Think about things tonight and tomorrow you can give me your answer. I don’t want you to feel like you’re being rushed into anything.”
“It was my idea, Stern.”
“Doesn’t matter. I still want you to be sure.”
As he led her into the kitchen, Stern knew it was important to him that JoJo did think this through because as far as he was concerned he had their future all mapped out. They would date exclusively for a while and then, when he thought the time was right for both of them, he would pop the question.
He wanted her as his wife. She was an integral part of his past and he couldn’t imagine a future without her.
Eleven
Stern was up early the next morning, busy preparing breakfast. Although Mr. Richardson hadn’t been able to get the place warm for them on this trip, he had gone grocery shopping, stocking enough food for their weekend visit.
One of Stern’s favorite rooms in the lodge was the kitchen. It was huge and spacious and would be a chef’s dream. When he had purchased the place he had replaced all the appliances with stainless-steel ones and installed granite countertops. Because the kitchen was so massive, he had an island breakfast bar built, which he used for eating and as an additional countertop.
He had kept the original cherry oak cabinets and he’d let JoJo pick out all the fixtures and the tile for the floor and the backsplash. He had wanted her to feel this place was just as much hers as it was his. At the time, he hadn’t thought much about that decision, but now he couldn’t help but question it and others he’d made concerning JoJo. No wonder his family had suspected his true feelings for her long before he had.
He had heard JoJo move around upstairs about half an hour ago and was anticipating her joining him for breakfast. Had she given yesterday’s request more thought and decided she didn’t want the best friends with benefits thing after all? He’d known that encouraging her to think more about it was a risk that might prompt her to change her mind, but he wanted her to be sure she was truly ready for taking such a step.
Last night, before going to bed, they had shared hot chocolate and Danish rolls while he brought her up to date on what was going on with the investigation of his great-grandfather, Raphel Stern Westmoreland.
A few years ago, the family had discovered that Raphel, who they’d always assumed was an only child, had actually had a twin brother, Reginald Scott Westmoreland, who had roots in Atlanta. It seemed Raphel had left home at the age of twenty-two, becoming the black sheep of the family when he ran off with the preacher’s wife, never to be heard from again and eventually assumed dead. Raphel had passed through several states before finally settling in Colorado.
It also appeared that his great-grandfather had a colorful past. He’d taken up with several women along the way. Everyone in the family was curious about those women because he was rumored to have married all four.
Recently they had met Reginald’s ancestors and had formed a close relationship with those cousins in Atlanta. Now everyone was anxious to see if there were more Westmoreland cousins out there somewhere, resulting from any of those women Raphel had supposedly married.
Rico, Megan’s husband, was the private detective handling the investigation. A few months ago, Rico discovered Raphel had a child he hadn’t known about. A child who was ultimately adopted by a woman with the last name of Outlaw. And now Rico was investigating information about the woman who was rumored to be Raphel’s fourth wife, Isabelle. Just yesterday morning, the family had assembled at Dillon’s for breakfast to get an update from Rico. He had informed everyone he was still trying to collect data on Isabelle’s family and that he was getting close to obtaining information on the Outlaws. So far he’d traced them to Little Rock and there the trail had ended.
“Good morning.”
Stern glanced up from the chopping block and stared at JoJo. Her hair was again styled around her face and she wore a cute maxi sweaterdress that showed off her great shape. It was mint-green and made her look soft, totally feminine and sexy as hell. The material hugged her hips, cushioned her breasts and emphasized her waistline. He definitely liked the cowl-neck collar that bared a little skin. Instead of her boots she had leather flats on her feet. He thought she looked amazing. Gorgeous. Hot. The dress was one that would be easy to slide into and out of. He definitely wouldn’t mind seeing her slide out of it.
“Good morning, JoJo. Did you get a good night’s sleep?” he asked, trying to control the desire rushing through his bloodstream.
She’d come to stand in the middle of the kitchen. “Yes. After sleeping on the drive here, I figured I would stay awake most of the night, but I didn’t. I think I went to sleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.”
Did that mean she hadn’t thought any more about her proposal? “Glad to hear it. I’m chopping up everything for the omelets. Have a seat at the breakfast bar. I should be finished in a minute.”
“Okay.”
He watched her walk off, noticing how the wool clung to her shapely backside. And when she eased onto the breakfast bar stool the hem of her dress inched up and showed off a gorgeous pair of legs. Seeing her wear something other than a T-shirt and jeans would take some getting used to.
“About what we discussed last night, Stern...”
He shifted his gaze from her legs to her face. His gut tightened. “Yes?”
“I did sleep on it, and I haven’t changed my mind.”
He released a slow, relieved breath. “Okay.”
The kitchen quieted for a moment and then she asked, “Need help?”
“Nope.” He went back to slicing the green peppers.
That’s usually how things went with them. He would end up in the kitchen because he liked cooking more than she did. She would ask if he needed help and he would decline. Nothing had changed. But in reality things had changed. Now the air between them was charged, explosive, volatile. Desire thickened inside of him each and every time he glanced over at her. It wouldn’t take much to cross the room and...
“So what’s for breakfast in addition to the omelet?”
He glanced up from the ingredients. “The usual—French toast, fruit, orange juice and coffee.”
“Can you add something else to the menu?”
“Sure. What?”
“You.”
Stern held her gaze for the longest moment. Every pore in his body filled with a degree of hunger he’d never felt before. A fire burned inside of him, spreading fast and furious through his veins. For the first time in his life, a woman had him sizzling. He gathered all the sliced vegetables in the palms of his hands and dropped them in a bowl. Taking a couple of steps back, he placed the bowl in the refrigerator.
After wiping his hands on a kitchen towel, he slowly crossed the room toward her. “I had planned a picnic for us later today, and then I figured we would have movie night. I’d even selected several DVDs for us to watch.” Coming
to a stop in front of her, he lifted her off the bar stool to stand in front of him. “I didn’t want to rush you. I wanted to court you first.”
“That’s not necessary,” she said, leaning her body into his. “I know what I want. Before today, I figured having that particular want was an impossibility. However, I woke up this morning knowing I could finally have what I desire.”
He thought she had a way with words and for the next few hours he intended to lap any and all of them from her lips. Starting now. He leaned down and painted featherlight kisses around her mouth, then he licked around the edges of her lips with the tip of his tongue before nibbling around her ear.
“I think it’s time for us to take this to the bedroom,” he said huskily. Then he swept her off her feet and into his arms.
* * *
JoJo wondered how Stern managed to carry her up the stairs as if she weighed no more than a child. Wrapped in his arms, with her ear pressed against his chest, she heard the erratic beat of his heart. She felt his desire and it fed her own.
She’d woken up that morning feeling happier than she had in a long time. Although Stern hadn’t said he loved her, he did say he wanted her, his best friend, and he wanted her the same way she wanted him. For her, that was a start.
JoJo felt the mattress beneath her when he placed her on the bed. He stepped back and she held tight to the gaze of the one man who knew her better than anyone else. The one man who’d shared her happiness and her sorrows. He had been her protector, her confidant and, when she needed it, her critic. He’d encouraged her to follow her dreams and had been there to tell her when she’d gotten in too far over her head. She had loved him as her best friend—in fact, she still did. But now she also loved him as the one man who could make her feel complete.
He moved toward the bed, placed his knee on the mattress and tenderly stroked her cheek. “Last chance.”
She knew what he meant. “Thanks, but I’m not taking it,” she whispered, still holding his gaze.
“You’ve thought this through, then?”
“Very much so. I want you,” she whispered.
“And I want you.”
He pulled her into his arms and took her mouth with a passion that plunged her senses into overload. The way his tongue devoured hers created a torrid storm within her that made her moan deep in her throat.
He pulled away and she felt air touch her skin as he whisked her dress over her head, leaving her wearing only her thong.
“Ah, hell.” Stern felt his guts twist into knots as his gaze raked over JoJo. Heaven help me. She was perfect. Long graceful neck, firm breasts, beautiful skin and an adorable flat stomach.
This would be her first time with a man, and he wanted to be gentle. He wanted to take it slow, make it last, make it good and keep it mellow. But seeing her nearly naked, wearing just a tiny scrap of a thong, was more than he could handle. The sight made him want to take her hard and fast, but he knew there was no way he could. He would never hurt her.
Fighting for control, he said softly, “Lie back and lift your hips for me. I want to take this last piece off of you.”
She followed his request and he slid the thong over her hips and down her legs. His fingers trembled when they came in contact with her soft skin. He caught a whiff of her feminine scent and he hardened even more, pressing against the zipper of his jeans.
When she lay completely naked before him, he knew he’d never seen a body as beautiful as hers. Unable to fight temptation, he leaned toward her, his greedy mouth targeting her nipples.
He sucked, nibbled and licked to his heart’s content. And his hands, of their own accord, drifted slowly down her body, touching her waist, running circles around her belly button and moving even lower, toward the essence of her heat.
When he touched her womanly core, she tried to close her legs on his hands in surprise. “Let me, baby,” he said softly, lifting his face from her breasts to gaze up at her. Using his hands, he reopened her legs, spreading them wide.
She moaned when he slid two fingers inside her wet center. He held her gaze as he stroked her, needing to see the play of emotions on her face. Pleasuring a woman had never meant so much to him and he loved the way her eyes dilated, the way her lips parted on breathless moans, the way flames of passion spread across her cheeks.
His fingers moved inside her swiftly, thoroughly. When her inner muscles clamped tight, he deepened his strokes until he couldn’t take any more. Her womanly scent aroused him. He had to taste her. He wouldn’t be satisfied until his tongue delved into heated bliss.
“Enjoy,” he whispered, before shifting his body and lowering his head between her legs. She tensed but his mouth quickly replaced his fingers and he gripped her hips to keep her steady. He swirled his tongue inside of her, loving her taste, loving the sounds of her lusty moans.
“Stern!”
Her body quivered beneath his mouth but he wouldn’t let up or let go. He intended this day to be one of never-ending pleasure for her. It would be one he didn’t ever want her to forget.
* * *
JoJo was convinced she was dying and Stern’s mouth was to blame. All sorts of sensations shot through her, but she felt them mostly right beneath his mouth. He kept kissing her there, using his tongue to do all kinds of wicked things to her.
She was loving it.
She closed her eyes and lifted her hips, brazenly wanting more. Never in a million years would she have seen herself behaving this way. It was as if he had brought out something wild and untamed inside of her and all she could do was...enjoy...just like he’d told her to do.
Then she felt something building inside of her, a stirring pressure in her belly and even more erotic sensations where he kissed her. Then he did something with his tongue—she wasn’t sure what—but she felt it all the way to her womb. Her body bucked and that building sensation exploded. She screamed his name, clenching his head and trying to clutch his shoulders. It seemed as if that overwhelming sensation had broken into fragments that she felt in every bone, every pore, every part of her.
Her body felt like molten liquid. She breathed his name, convinced she had died and accepting that if she had died then it had been a damn good death. If she had to go, this was the way to do it.
Even when he had removed his mouth from her, she lay there. She was too weak to even open her eyes, lift her hand, close her legs. She had to force herself to breathe, slowly and deeply.
“JoJo.”
In the deep recesses of her mind she heard Stern’s voice. With all the strength she could muster, she opened her eyes, one at a time. Then she widened her gaze when she saw he was removing his shirt.
Surely he didn’t think she was up for anything else after that amazing experience. She would need an entire day to recuperate. Maybe two days. Possibly three. She was new at this and he had to know there was no way her body could rejuvenate itself this soon.
“Stern?” she called out when she heard him sliding down his zipper.
“Yes, baby?”
“I can’t move.” Hopefully that would tell him something. Evidently it didn’t. He kept removing his clothes and was now easing his jeans down his legs, followed by his briefs. And then she saw him. Oh, boy did she see him. She had to widen her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was real and not an illusion. Was it even possible?
That’s when something unexpected happened. A stirring spread through her. Her nipples hardened, her belly quivered and the juncture of her legs began to throb. She was zapped with renewed energy and she couldn’t fathom the source. All she knew was that suddenly she had the strength to move her body. She eased up on her haunches.
“I thought you couldn’t move.”
A smooth smile touched the corner of his lips. He’d known her body would come back to life. Of course he’d known. He was a pro at th
is. He’d known her body would blaze with desire all over again just by looking at him.
“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t seeing things,” she said, staring at what she knew was probably every woman’s fantasy. But she was trying desperately to figure out how this was going to go down.
He evidently saw the deep concentration on her face. “It will be okay, trust me,” he said softly.
She hoped so because her body was already affected by what she saw. Streaks of desire, tugs of sexual urges, patches of warmth began to consume her, seeming to touch every inch of her body, even those places she figured should still be recovering from her orgasm.
“Are you still on the Pill?”
She looked up into his eyes. “Yes.”
There was no need to ask him how he knew. He’d picked up her prescription once or twice when she’d been ill. He also knew why the doctor had prescribed them for her. More than once Stern had held her hand when painful cramps had forced her into bed.
“I can still use a condom,” he offered.
She tilted her head to study him once more below the waist. He was probably used to doing so, but it couldn’t really be easy. “That’s not necessary.”
“You sure?”
She was certain she wanted to go through with this, but she still wasn’t convinced it would work. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“In that case.” He slowly moved toward the bed, and she watched him, fascinated and nervous at the same time. He had a powerful stride, a magnificent body. He was definitely an alpha male. He watched her watching him and by sheer willpower alone her breath came from her lungs evenly. He had the physique of masculine physiques—tight abs, nice solid chest—but what held her attention was the engorged erection nested in a thick bed of curly hair.
Who would have thought Stern would one day have this kind of effect on her? She’d often wondered how her first time would be and with whom. Who would have thought that he would be the one? But he was, and she couldn’t be happier. That’s why a smile touched her lips.
Brenda Jackson The Westmoreland Collection: ZaneCanyonStern Page 47