by Mia Caldwell
He winced. “Oh, no. I’ve gone back to Jacobi.”
She took a slow bite of the tart, enjoying the ripe berry bursting on her tongue. Moaning softly, she closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, she found him staring at her with a hungry expression, and she doubted he wanted a bite of her tart. It was the same hunter look he’d worn that first night they had met. “Speaking of, your mom calls you Wallace, huh?”
He nodded. “She considers Jake undignified and common.” He rolled his eyes, but his expression showed affection rather than exasperation. “She’s never going to change, so I don’t bother correcting her any longer.”
It was her turn to stare hungrily as her dining companion put a forkful of the rich cake in his mouth. He didn’t close his eyes or moan, but the wrinkling around his eyes betrayed his pleasure. A small smear of chocolate at the corner of his mouth caught her attention. Before she could stifle the impulse, she lifted her hand and wiped it gently with her thumb. His gaze on her the entire time she brought the tasty morsel back to her mouth to suck off slowly sent her body plunging into a maelstrom of desire.
He leaned closer, his voice little more than a whisper. “Let’s take the desserts to go.” After clearing his throat, he no longer sounded husky, but he still looked aroused. His crisp voice was a marked contrast. “I’d like to show you the apartment, and then you can make a more informed decision.”
She nodded, rendered incapable of speech for a moment by the heady combination of raspberry and dark chocolate on her tongue. No, that was a lie. Jake was the one heightening her senses, not the decadent dessert. She wanted him, and it was suddenly impossible to pretend, at least to herself, that she didn’t. All the sensible reasons why they shouldn’t get more involved with each other were leaking out of her head like sand in an hourglass, and she couldn’t seem to summon enough will power to care.
Twenty minutes later, they were at his building. The same doorperson and security attendant were working, and she was surprised when they greeted her with, “Welcome, Ms. Elliott.” Perhaps Jake had been preparing them for her visit, or maybe she had been so clearly out of place that first night they couldn’t help remembering the curvy black woman who’d intruded.
She sighed at the thought, hating how vulnerable it made her feel and how pathetic it was. It was no secret he was way out of her league, but he didn’t seem to know that, and she didn’t have to indulge in fruitless musings about how inadequate she was.
The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, so only halfway up the building. For some reason, she found that much better than the penthouse. It just seemed less extravagant.
That impression soon faded as Jake opened the ornate door and led her into a marble-tiled foyer. The soft sheen of the pearl-gray wallpaper married beautifully with the dark marble. The furnishings were modern, but not so cutting edge as to be off-putting. She couldn’t help mentally calculating the cost of the furniture with a wince when he mentioned in an offhand way it came furnished, but she could redecorate if she chose.
It was exquisite and just the kind of place she would have picked, even down to the black and white art on the walls with the occasional splash of bright colors. “Did you ask my friends about my tastes?” she asked, torn between annoyance and a dangerous dose of endearment at the suspicion.
He shook his head. “No. The person who lived here is moving out of the country, and this is exactly as he left it. He doesn’t want to bother with disposing of anything, so that’s why it has a furnished option.” Jake tilted his head slightly as he led her into the master bedroom, which was larger than her current apartment. With a flourish, he threw open a door leading into a large walk-in dressing room. “Don’t you think I would have converted this to a nursery if I really wanted to impress you?”
She smiled. “I’m kind of surprised you didn’t, Jake.”
“It’s something we should do together.” He leaned against the doorway. “What do you think?”
Sondra took a deep breath, warring with her emotions. “I think it’s fabulous.” There, she’d admitted it. “I can think of several reasons why I shouldn’t accept this, but I think we could be comfortable here.”
He stood up, taking a step closer. “I hope so, but maybe you’d better test out a few things to make sure.”
She tipped her head to the left a bit. “Like what?”
“Maybe the couch. You have to make sure it properly supports your buttocks.” As he spoke, he cupped her bottom, pinching lightly.
She yelped. “Hey.”
“Or maybe you should take a long bath in the tub. Did I mention it’s a Jacuzzi?”
She moaned from the idea of having such a luxury at her disposal, along with the way his hand curved along her hip, and his thumb flirted boldly with the crease at the apex of her thighs.
“I think it’s most important for a pregnant woman to get good rest, so maybe you should try out the bed.” He made the suggestion before brushing his lips over hers. “I’ll be happy to help you test it.”
“I’m sure you would.” Sondra knew she shouldn’t do it, but she couldn’t keep from opening her mouth and running her tongue across his lips. His throaty groan was music to her ears, and she curled her fingers around the lapels of his jacket to pull him closer.
Jake kissed her passionately, clearly as desperate for her as she was him. Had it really been five weeks since they had touched like this? No, more like two weeks since that fiery kiss in his office, but she knew this was quickly moving beyond kissing.
Sondra cried out with surprise before giggling as Jake lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid her down gently prior to peeling off his tuxedo jacket and the garments underneath.
She shook her head. “I can walk, you know. It must be some primitive caveman thing that makes you sling me around like a sack of potatoes.”
He chuckled. “I handled you like the finest crystal.” As he lay down beside her, Jake ran his hands through her straightened hair before pulling her head back to bite her gently on the neck. “You do make me feel kind of barbaric and territorial though, love.”
She shivered as his mouth moved lower, his hands dealing with her dress to clear his way to her plump breast. Sondra moaned when he flicked his tongue across the sensitive bud. “Careful,” she warned as he started sucking. He wasn’t hurting her, but she was so sensitive right now that his tender touch could turn painful in a second.
He softened his touch even more, and his fingers were barely more than a whisper on her other nipple. It was nice, but maddening.
“Not that careful.”
Jake increased the pressure of his fingers and mouth until she was writhing and squirming on the sumptuous bed. Sondra somehow assisted him with removing the dress and her under things, aside from the stockings and garter. How he managed to do his part, she didn’t know, since he was always touching or kissing her somewhere as he undressed her.
She was soaking when he slid a finger inside her to test her readiness. Sondra pumped her hips, arching against his hand to encourage him when he brushed against her clitoris. “Please, Jake,” she whimpered.
“I’d love to tease you.” He kissed her chin and then her neck, swirling his tongue around the column of her throat before settling between her thighs. “I would love to make you beg and then scream with pleasure after delayed gratification.”
“Please don’t.” She needed him now.
Jake looked down at her as he guided his shaft to her folds. “Don’t worry, honey. I can’t make either one of us wait. I’ve waited too long for you already.” He surged inside her with that declaration, making her cry out with satisfaction at their joining.
“That’s so good.” How was she still managing to form words? Even one-syllable grunts should be beyond her with her fractured thoughts a colorful kaleidoscope from pleasurable sensations.
“Oh, yeah.” He thrust in and out of her rapidly. There was nothing sweet or gentle about their coupling, but it w
as the perfect pace for their urgent need.
She locked her thighs around him and rocked her pelvis. Angling her hips brought more friction to her clit, and release swept over her a scant second before Jake spilled his warmth inside her. Her body continued to clench and clamp tight to him, as though refusing to let him go even though he was making no move to get away.
Afterward, they collapsed together, breathing heavily for several moments. Jake still sounded a bit breathless when he asked a few minutes later, “What do you think?”
She sighed. “I think that was the most amazing sex ever.”
His chest rumbled as he laughed. “Thank you, and I agree, but I was asking about the apartment.”
She could draw out the decision and try to talk herself out of it, but what was the point? Moving in here made sense. Feeling a bit wicked, she said, “It depends. Does it come with a regular helping of that, Mr. Jacobi?”
His grin was almost wolfish. “Oh, yes, Ms. Elliott. I can guarantee your full satisfaction whenever you request it.”
“In that case, I’ll take the apartment.” She almost added conditions, like only until after she recovered from birth, but hesitated. The moment was so good, and she didn’t want to ruin it with squabbling. Besides, she might not want to leave after the baby’s birth. Being honest with herself, she might never want to leave, because that would mean giving up what she had with Jake.
Whatever that was. It was fluid and undefined. Frustrating and satisfying. He was everything she could have imagined in the perfect lover, except she hadn’t been looking for a partner. The confliction was exasperating, but she decided there was no sorting it out tonight. Instead, she would just enjoy the moment with her lover.
CHAPTER THREE
Her roommates were thrilled to move uptown, and the three of them settled into Jake’s apartment within a week. She couldn’t bring herself to think of it as her apartment even after living there for a month. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel at home, because the apartment felt more like that than any place she had lived since her father died. It was just a strange environment, and every time she left the apartment, she was reminded she didn’t belong.
Tonight, she was unable to banish that thought from her mind as she stood beside Jake in his elegant living room. Somehow, he had convinced her to be his hostess for a party for his friends, family, and colleagues. Sondra was certain she had refused on multiple occasions, but here she stood in a black velvet dress that hid any swelling of her tummy. There wasn’t anything obvious to anyone else yet, but she could see a difference, and Jake had commented on how firm her stomach had become during one of their nightly sex sessions.
She refused to call it lovemaking, because that would imply love, and while she liked Jake—they were surprisingly compatible and had a good time together—she didn’t love him. She couldn’t allow herself to do so. As much as they had in common, their differences were greater, and it was only a matter of time until they imploded.
It was difficult to remember that as she lay in his bed, or he in hers though. Somehow, she’d found herself staying longer periods of time with him, and he was doing the same. They went to bed together and almost always spent the entire night together. Their things had comingled in each apartment, and she was feeling at ease in his palatial penthouse.
Except tonight. Sondra was the farthest from comfortable she’d ever been. A fake smile hurt her cheeks from the strain to maintain it. She had nodded and murmured assenting sounds so much that she was starting to feel like a marionette. She hated being surrounded by Jake’s social circle. It felt like they could all see she was inferior.
His mother was the worst. She’d shown up with Eleanor in tow, and the ice maiden had thawed slightly for the evening. For the first time, Sondra saw the glimpse of a beautiful woman under the hardened veneer, and she had experienced a flash of jealousy at the idea of Jake working with the cool blonde every day.
That had faded when Jake greeted Eleanor with distant politeness, brushed a kiss on his mother’s cheek, and steered Sondra away as quickly as possible. She might have assumed he didn’t want her interacting with them because she embarrassed him if he hadn’t complained about being unable to escape Eleanor recently. He’d whispered, “Heaven help me, but I think you were right about her wanting me.”
He’d been so horrified that she hadn’t been able to keep in a rich laugh. Sondra had relaxed a bit after that, but each run-in with Whitney or Eleanor left her feeling raw and reminded her she was the daughter of a literature professor who had worked at a small community college his entire career. These people wouldn’t even judge her by that. Instead, they would be salaciously thrilled to learn her mother was in prison and horrified to find her in their midst.
She had to get a handle on the low self-esteem. Sondra made her way to the restroom for a break, freshening her makeup and leaning against the counter for a moment. A few deep breaths restored her calm, and she looked at herself in the mirror.
“You are a strong woman who has worked hard. You’re just as good as they are, and better than some of the narrow-minded ones who would throw around their judgments. You belong here because Jake wants you here, so grow up and stop whining about not fitting in.”
The whispered pep talk improved her mood and gave her a dose of self-confidence that had been lacking all evening. Sondra straightened her shoulders, smoothed her dress, and patted her stomach lightly. This crowd would someday be her son or daughter’s as well. She couldn’t deny her kid the kind of privilege that came with this life. Nor could she foist her own insecurities on the little one. Her baby needed to see a strong, positive role model who was confident among the elite, not one cowering in the bathroom.
She started to open the doorknob when she realized she was visualizing a future where she attended these things regularly. A vision of herself on Jake’s arm, a massive rock on her finger—not that she cared about the carets, but if it was a fantasy, it might as well be a huge diamond—telling the world she belonged with him.
Was that what she wanted? Did she want a future with Jake? Could she adapt to being Mrs. Wallace Whitcomb Jacobi? She stared at her reflection one more time. “Yes,” she said softly. Somehow, Jake was getting through her carefully built walls. She was falling in love with him.
Unsure whether to be happy or depressed, she opened the door a crack, bracing herself to return to the party. Just before she stepped into the hallway, she heard her name and froze.
“Don’t worry, dear. Jake has always enjoyed trying new things. He’ll sample his black floozy for a bit, and then Sondra Elliott will be a thing of the past.”
“I don’t know, Whitney. He seems to really like her, and he never looks at me that way.” Eleanor’s normally icy voice was thick with insecurity and actually broke on the last word.
Sondra might have felt a little sorry for her if Eleanor hadn’t been plotting with his mother to get her out of Jake’s life.
“She’ll be gone soon enough. His father was the same way. He always had an inappropriate taste for the ethnic women in our employment. It got to the point where I could only hire men or white women. Do you know how hard it is to find a white maid? Then it got to the point that I didn’t care about his dalliances if they were discreet, because he was out of my bed, and I still had the most important thing from him.”
“Jake?” asked Eleanor.
“No, darling.” Whitney’s laugh sent chills down Sondra’s spine. “His bank account, of course.”
Eleanor laughed too. “I’m sure that went a long way toward easing the sting of infidelity.”
“You have no idea,” said Whitney with another cold laugh. “You’re a pragmatic girl, Eleanor, and my best friend’s daughter. I will see you married to Wallace, and no cheap floozy will get in the way of that. She will be out of his life in a flash. There might always be another slut filling the void, but there will only be one wife. You. My son will eventually realize he needs a good girl with impeccable breeding to
give him heirs. You might not have his love, but you will have his name, his bank account, and his children.”
“That’s more than anyone could ask for,” purred Eleanor.
To her relief, the two vultures moved on down the hallway a moment later, allowing Sondra to make her escape. Somehow, she got through the rest of the evening, maintaining a bright smile and a confident attitude.
Each time she caught a glimpse of the two women plotting against her, it renewed her resolve to thwart them. It wasn’t a childish competition, or a refusal to bow down before them, that prompted her reaction. Well, maybe a bit, but her primary motivation was Jake. He had no idea what kind of shark his mother was, and what barracuda she had introduced into his tank.
Sondra might only be a guppy, but she cared about him in a way Eleanor didn’t. That, along with the baby in her stomach, made her willing to go against the sharks to protect her man.
All the aquatic analogies were making her crave sushi. Sondra giggled and moved closer to Jake as they started easing people toward the door.
He paused to press a kiss to her cheek before whispering in her ear, “What’s funny, love?”
“Nothing, really. I was just craving some sushi.”
“Your wish is my command. Let me get rid of these hangers-on, and I’ll have my personal chef whip you up some.”
Sondra grinned. “I should say no to such extravagance.”
He lightly patted her stomach before maneuvering them around a group of people gathering their bags and wraps. “If not for you, then for him.”
“Yes.” If not for herself, then she had to fight for him. Not the baby, but the other him who had become such a huge part of her life in such a short time. Leaning against him, she spoke impulsively, “I think I’m falling in love with you, Jake.”