A hairy knee bumped her arm. “I said ‘pass the soy sauce'."
"Sorry.” She tossed two packets of the brown liquid over her shoulder without looking.
Normally when she'd finished eating, she'd move up next to Damon. He'd throw a friendly arm around her, and with no hint of any attraction whatsoever, they'd watch the end of whatever movie they'd chosen. But not tonight. Jess had to fix things before she could return to normalcy with him. He might think she was making a move and feel obligated to respond.
"This movie reeks.” He stood and walked around the back of the couch with his plate. She could hear him rinsing the rice off in the sink.
She had no idea if the movie reeked. The whole time, she'd been trying to work out what to say to him. Jess pressed the eject button and returned the DVD to its container. With a sigh, she picked up her plate and brought it into the kitchen.
Damon grinned. He had his finger in the bowl of sweet and sour sauce. She took the bowl from him, sneaking a finger full before she sealed it and stuck the container in the fridge. She licked the sauce from her digit and took a deep breath.
Now. She had to tell him now.
"Damon, I—"
"You want some dessert?” He reached past her and snatched the chocolate syrup from the shelf in the door. Staring into her eyes, he squeezed out the syrup on his tongue.
Jess squinted. They had a running argument about his food habits. “Look, you. Other people have to use that, ya know.” She extended her hand for the bottle.
"I'm willing to share.” And in one heart-stopping motion, he took another sip of chocolate syrup and kissed her full on the mouth.
She was too stunned to move. Then his chocolate tongue touched hers. Her toes curled.
Suddenly he wasn't kissing her, and her eyes were still closed. She blinked up at him. “Damon, I need to tell you something."
"Shhh.” He poured syrup on two fingers and placed them against her lips. His lips followed his fingers as he trailed the sticky sweetness down her throat to her collarbone.
Jess rocked back into the counter. She heard the fridge shut but wasn't sure who'd closed it. Didn't care.
Her knuckles whitened as she clutched the edge of the counter in an effort to remain upright. His warm breath sent shivers down her spine. She felt air on her breasts and inhaled sharply. He hadn't stopped kissing her, but had somehow unbuttoned her blouse and was in the process of drizzling chocolate over her thin lace bra.
As his mouth closed over one tightened bud through the fabric, her hands flew from the counter to his shoulders. A pang of white-hot desire shot from her nipples to between her legs. Funny, she'd never realized the two places were connected.
Damon flipped the latch between her breasts with his teeth. The flimsy material peeled away on its own. A large hand closed over one mound while his lips and tongue wreaked havoc on the other.
Jess's face burned as her back arched. She should be terribly embarrassed, but she found she just didn't care. What Damon was doing to her body felt too damn good to be bad.
He kissed her again and led her onto the carpet in the living room. When he backed into the couch he pulled Jess down with him onto the floor. She settled on top of him briefly, long enough to feel the evidence of his desire before he rolled her onto her back and lifted her hips.
Her jeans pushed off easily, and she had to wonder when they'd been unbuttoned and unzipped. She was about to ask him just how much practice it took to do stealth undressing, but he groaned, making her forget the thought. She followed his gaze to her underwear.
"You knew I wore thongs. You've done my laundry.” Amazingly, as liquid as her body had gone, she wanted to laugh.
"Um. But I've never actually seen you. In them."
When he drew back, she raised herself onto her elbows. He was having second thoughts. He'd remembered she wasn't his sort of woman. “Damon, you don't have to do this."
He looked quickly to her face and confusion turned to mischievousness. “Um-mm. I'm not done with you yet.” He bent closer, his mouth a fraction above hers. “I want to taste you."
His voice sent vibrations rumbling through his body into hers. She felt herself melting. Hunger slammed into her, and despite her doubts about his motivation, she tilted her head and kissed him, gently sucking his tongue into her mouth. He growled deep in his chest and lay beside her, one hand beneath her head, the other caressing her thighs.
She angled toward him, willing his hand to touch her between her legs. And when he did, she came off of the floor with the pleasure of it.
Damon smiled, still kissing her, and matched the strokes of his tongue to the strokes of his fingers. Her breath caught, and when she was sure she could take no more of the exquisite torture, Damon moved lower, peeling her underwear down her legs and over her feet.
For a moment he only stared, causing Jess to squirm. Was he steeling himself to touch her? Was it that hard for him to work up desire for her?
"You're so damn beautiful."
Damon had never said that before. She barely had time to puzzle over his statement, though, because he lowered his mouth and kissed her. His tongue traced her feminine folds, and he slid a finger inside of her.
Bones. She had no bones. She was aware of her fingers clawing at the carpet, heard herself moan his name. Knew she was going to die if the pleasure didn't stop.
He suckled at her and thrust his finger deeper. With a cry, Jess went over the edge, tears running from her eyes from the sheer sweetness. She could hardly breathe. Her heart slammed into her ribcage. Her ears throbbed.
Damon grazed his face against her thighs and came to lie beside her again, pulling her tightly into his arms and resting his chin on top of her head. He was breathing hard, as if he'd just run a fast race, and she wondered at the stiff way he held her. Like she was encircled in steel. He rubbed the tears from her face with the pad of his thumb.
Totally relaxed for maybe the first time in her life, Jess felt herself drifting off. The room grew fuzzy, tilted slightly. She wouldn't faint. She wouldn't. She'd just sleep a minute. That's all. One little minute.
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Craving Jess: Chapter 2
"Rick, we gonna do this all day or what?” Damon glared at his brother. He'd been holding the box in place in the ceiling with a broom handle for five minutes. Rick seemed to be taking his time attaching the electrical box to the beam. He was lucky his busy brother took time out from designing landscaping for big companies to help him upgrade his gym.
"Patience, little brother.” Rick glanced down with a wry grin. “You have a late night?” He lowered the screwdriver. “You can let go now."
Damon flexed his aching biceps. “Mm."
"That's not an answer."
"Me an’ Jess stayed up watching movies."
Rick squinted his hazel eyes. “What'd you watch?"
Damon tried to remember the title. Hell, he couldn't even remember who starred in it. He hadn't paid a bit of attention, aware only of Jess's close proximity.
Rick laughed. “That's what I thought.” He grabbed the new fan they were installing and hefted it onto his shoulder before starting back up the ladder. “She hot?"
Damon's mind filled with the image of Jess spread out naked before him, her eyes half-closed in passion. Hell, yes. “We're just friends."
"Hey, boys. Need any help in there?"
Damon turned. Two of his frequent visitors to the gym stood in the doorway. Shannon and Dana usually arrived as soon as Damon opened the doors on weekday mornings. But it was Sunday, and he couldn't fathom why they'd shown up.
"No, we're fine. Thanks.” He stepped closer to the ladder and held the fan chassis steady while Rick stripped the wires at the ends. His brother coughed.
He waited for Rick to lift the fan and connect it to the wires he'd pulled through the electrical box. He felt his brother's stare. “What?"
When he glanced up to see why Rick had paused, he found his brother near
laughter.
"Just friends, huh?” He shook his head. “You turn those babes away, but stay up late ‘watching movies’ with your friend. Who're you kidding?"
"It's what she wants.” Damon nudged Rick's arm. “Let's get this done."
Rick tilted his head sideways and rubbed his fingers while he considered his sibling. “I gotta meet this one."
"You will.” Damon grinned. “Might take some convincing, but she'll see things my way."
* * * *
Jess sat on a padded barstool near her kitchen wall phone. She leaned back and stared out the bay window of her breakfast nook.
Damon had disappeared into his shed minutes before, and like a cat, Jess couldn't resist spying on outdoor activity of any sort. She sipped from her napkin-wrapped glass of iced tea.
The buzzer on her clothes dryer screeched. As she slid from her perch she saw two metal ramps emerge from Damon's shed. Must be mowing the lawn. Nothing exciting.
She walked down the hall to her laundry room and opened the dryer. Warm and fresh smelling, the bed sheets tumbled onto the dryer door. Her face heated. She'd woken in her bed. Alone, naked, and very sticky. Luckily her dark rose sheets hadn't been stained as a constant reminder of what had transpired. Honestly, she'd have thought Damon had licked every drop of syrup away.
Her knees went weak from the memory of his mouth on her. Her hand shot out to steady herself against the warm metal dryer. How could she possibly look the man in the eyes again?
How could she possibly not want a repeat performance?
This morning, she'd found Damon had scrawled two words on the notepad on her nightstand. Surprise me.
She'd had a myriad of ideas when she read that. But she had to stop surprising herself first. She'd been totally exposed to him, had let him do things to her—
And yet he hadn't tried to make love to her.
She yanked the sheets into a laundry basket and trudged upstairs. He was just trying to do what she asked. It wasn't like she had asked him to have sex with her. Okay, she pretty much had done just that. But they'd been friends so long, and he didn't want to hurt her feelings. He wasn't like Jackson. He wouldn't come out and tell her she sucked as a lover.
She had no problem wanting him, of course, but she'd always thought men would take whatever they could get in the matters of sex, no commitment required.
Perhaps he just needed more convincing.
The lawnmower sputtered to life outside as Jess climbed the stairs and dropped her basket next to the bed. She quickly tucked in the sheets and piled on her blankets and the six pillows she required.
She hadn't planned to peek out the window that overlooked their yards before turning to descend the stairs, but she stopped at the landing and hurried back to the window anyway. It was hard to see through the tree branches, but she could swear Damon was out there without his shirt on. She tried all measures of contortion to get a good view, gave up, and bounded downstairs to the bay window where the view was perfect.
Holy crap. He did have his shirt off. She'd never seen him outdoors in any state of undress. He usually did yard work in a t-shirt that had seen better days and a baseball cap that he must've bought years ago.
But there he was, six-pack abs, tanned skin, and sweat rolling down into the waistband of his shorts. At least she imagined the sweat rolling down, because she was much too far away to make a qualified judgment.
Sure, he'd had his shirt off the night before, but she hadn't had a chance to inspect him at leisure.
Jess reached for her iced tea and found she'd finished it. She lifted an ice cube out and absentmindedly trailed it along her throat.
Damon paused and grabbed a bottle of water from a fencepost. He drank deeply, and with a deliberate glance in Jess's direction, he tipped his head back and poured the rest of the liquid over his upper body.
Surprise me.
Indeed.
* * * *
Damon pushed in the diverter with his big toe and pressed the handle to shut off the flow of water. He'd hoped Jess would come out of her house while he was mowing the lawn. He'd seen her spying through that monstrous window of hers.
After last night, he wanted her to come to him on her own. If he started chasing her because of her offer, she'd think he only wanted her for sex. Well, she would think that anyway, but that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted all of her. And he wanted her to ask him into her bed, not because she was unsure of her sensuality, but because she was sure.
Knowing her as well as he did, he was certain she'd be embarrassed at what they'd done. She would probably hide from him for a few days.
He moved the shower curtain aside with one hand and grabbed his thick white towel from the hook with the other.
The towel made it as far as his chest before he realized he wasn't alone.
"Jess?” He croaked like a teenaged boy in the middle of a voice change. Jess leaned against his pedestal sink, strategically covered by a hand towel. So much for cowering.
"You're not finished in there already, are you?” Color infused her cheeks, but she kept her eyes locked steadily with his.
Damon shook his head and reached for the shower controls, sending streams of warm water down his side. He held out a hand to help her in, at the same time dropping his towel.
Jess's eyes darted down and back to his face. She clutched the small towel to her chest, but she tentatively placed her hand in his.
Damon licked his lips and smiled. “Leave that out here."
Looking at the material as if she'd forgotten it was there, Jess giggled. “Guess I need more work at this seduction stuff."
He drew her closer, coaxing her to step over the edge of the tub. She clung to him, and they both gasped. The shock of her sweet, naked body pressed so tightly to his own bare skin knocked the breath right out of him. He hesitantly placed his hands on her smooth back.
Jess swallowed. “Maybe this wasn't a good idea."
"You keep saying that, honey, but you gave me a week."
"Huh?"
He bent his neck and ran his tongue over a rivulet of water on her throat. “One week of hot unattached sex, that was what you needed."
Her eyes closed and she went soft in his arms. “I said that?"
"Mm. Oh yeah. And last night, you said you liked it."
Her lashes fluttered as he trailed kisses over her damp flesh. “I don't think I said much of anything last night."
He laughed and brushed his lips over hers, tasting her peppermint breath as he spoke. “Your body told me, honey."
Damon had no intention of letting her know he was already a goner.
He leaned on his forearms, trapping her softness between his hard body and the tiled shower wall. She lifted her hands to his shoulders, but he shrugged them off, holding them in a firm grip above her head.
Water sprayed past him and ran down onto her chest. He lowered his mouth to her breasts and suckled the water droplets from each nipple in turn. Jess's knees gave out, and he kissed her, forcing her to remain standing.
His erection thrust against her stomach. She tried to reach for his cock, but he stopped her. He kept her hands clasped tightly in his own. It was torture being this close to her and not driving deep into her warm, welcoming body, but she wasn't ready and if she dared touch him, he'd lose all control. She only saw him as a friend, and that wasn't enough for him. He had too much to lose, and too much to prove to Jess.
"Damon?” Jess frowned at him. “What is it?"
He cursed under his breath. He was concentrating so hard on restraint, he'd stopped focusing on her. “I'm sorry. I just realized I don't have a—protection.” A lie, but a handy excuse to protect his heart. If she didn't want emotional ties, she sure wouldn't want any that came with diapers and two-a.m. feedings.
She stiffened at his statement. He released her hands and reached back to turn off the shower. He wrapped his damp towel around his waist and stepped out of the tub.
He wanted to kick himself for put
ting the pout on Jess's sexy little mouth. The towel wasn't much to hide his discomfort, but he'd needed something between himself and her temptingly sweet flesh.
She had to be thinking he wasn't interested. He hated it she was thinking that. But would she prefer he took her right there on the bathroom rug with all the pent up passion he had for her? That would frighten her off for sure.
Rather than leave her standing startled and growing embarrassed, Damon lifted her into his arms. He carried her wet body into his bedroom and laid her gently on his bed. She looked at him sideways and pulled the comforter over her upper body, innocently leaving the juncture of her thighs exposed.
He groaned. This was stupid. He loved her. He should just give in to his baser nature. Who gave a damn if she didn't love him back?
When he kneeled into the side of the mattress and kissed her, he felt her tremble. He pulled away. She blushed, but she didn't say anything. He stroked her cheek and tried to read her emotions, usually so easy. Not today.
God, he wanted to make love to her. Who cared if she was just using him? He was being manipulative in his own way, hedging his bet he could give her so much pleasure that she'd never want anyone else but him.
She tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth and started to speak.
He placed a finger over her mouth, interrupting her before she could find the word he didn't want to hear. By holding back, he was making her unsure. He had to give her more. He could lose this chance if he wasn't careful. “Shhh. Don't say anything. I'll be right back, okay?"
He hadn't needed a condom in six months, and it hadn't entered his mind that he might need one today. He stepped into the bathroom and opened the small cabinet. He snatched a packet from the box he kept on hand and turned back to Jess.
She was already gone.
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Craving Jess: Chapter 3
Jess dropped her black shoulder bag on her chair and shivered. She donned the off-white cardigan she kept at the office. Keep the computers cool and happy, freeze the copywriters. She sighed.
Craving Jess Page 2