“I missed you too, Mr Jacobson. Looks like you’ve been busy.” Nodding towards the simmering pot of goodness, my mouth watered and stomach grumbled.
“I had a hard workout, gives me one hell of an appetite.” The gleam in his eye suggested he meant more than just needing a good meal.
“Easy tiger,” I teased with a playful tap to his stomach. “I need food before dealing with your appetite.”
Chuckling to himself, he released me, headed to the fridge and pulled out a chilled bottle of wine. Filling two wine glasses with the honey coloured liquid, he handed me one then took a seat at the island. The wine was cool and refreshing as I took a long drink and sat beside him.
“So how did it go with Thomas today?” he asked while sipping his wine.
“Okay.”
“Ava?” He questioned my short reply.
Sighing into my glass, I knew honesty would be the best policy but also that revealing all about Cameron would not be easy. Jonah’s possessive nature where I was concerned made me doubt his ability to accept the fact that his instincts regarding Cameron’s feelings for me were right all along, without him flying into a jealous fit. Deciding to test that thought, I swallowed hard and went with the honesty option because lies could not be a dictating part of our relationship any longer. I couldn’t ask of Jonah what I wasn’t prepared to do myself.
“You were right about Cameron.” I paused as Jonah’s jaw hardened.
“Go on,” he said with a snarl.
“He does have feelings for me. Seems everyone knew he did, but me.”
Jonah’s hands tightened around the stem of his wine glass with white knuckled force. “Did the fucker try anything?”
“No he didn’t,” I squeezed his tense arm in a soothing gesture. “He just needed to get things off his chest. We talked, I told him there would never be anything between us more than friendship and he accepted that.” I turned sideways to face him and laid my head on his shoulder. “I’m in love with you, nothing and no-one will ever change that.”
His hand eased as he placed it on the work surface. Clutching both my hands, he pulled me across him into a straddling position across his thighs. “You’re mine sweetheart. As long as he got that message I’ll refrain from beating the shit out of him for now.”
Placing my arms around his neck, I pulled his head forward and pressed my cheek against his. “He got the message I promise you. But it was hard to hurt him like that. Charlotte and Cameron are the only real friends I’ve ever had and I miss them both.”
Sweeping loose red curls from my forehead, Jonah’s hands moved beneath my chin and tilted my head backwards. “I know you miss them sweetheart. I hate it that their dislike for me has turned them against you.”
“If that’s the way they feel then so be it,” I shivered as his lips brush across my jaw line. “I’m never letting your sexy ass go again.”
“I love it when you get possessive with me. It’s such a fucking turn on,” he whispered against my skin. I could feel his thickening cock nudge against my open sex, the crown resting between my fleshy folds. The parting of his lips as I squirmed in his laps told me I needed to derail the direction we were heading in and fast before we began something that wouldn’t be finished until morning.
“As much as I am powerless to resist you,” I reached backwards, picked up the thick file of paperwork and thrust it against his chest. “You have homework, hot shot.”
His dark brows rose in surprise and curiosity. Scooting off his lap, I picked up my wine glass, took a sip and walked to the cooker to check the food resting on top that smelled more enticing by the second.
“What is all this?” Jonah asked while my nose was inhaling a lungful of delicious goodness.
“Christ that smells good,” I said aloud and taking another sniff.
“Savannah?” The bite of authority his voice always had when he was either pissed at me or commanding me to come never failed to arouse the shit out of me or grab my attention.
“I’m starving,” I whined in a childish voice that was unbecoming of a twenty two year old woman.
“You answer me and then I’ll feed you,” he answered calmly. “What’s in here that needs my urgent attention?”
Knowing I wasn’t going to get my own way anytime soon, I turned to face him and crossed my arms over my chest in yet another childish gesture.
“Everything we need to know regarding A.M Enterprises and the whole sordid details of my inheritance. Cameron and Thomas have been compiling all the information we’re going to need for our trip to Chicago. Thomas told me to hand it over to you and let you advise me. He seems to think you’re more equipped to take care of me than anyone.”
That panty dropping smile returned as he opened the file and began rifling through it. His forehead wrinkled and eyes sharpened with every turn of a page. In need of a shower, I decided to leave him to it. After telling him so, I crossed the floor space towards the hallway. His whispered “Ava” made me turn on my heels.
“Yes?”
“Thank you for this,” his voice was low but dripping in sincerity.
“Thank you for what exactly?”
“Thank you for finally letting me in and allowing me to take care of you. It means the world to me.”
I shrugged my shoulders, “Who else would I turn to? It’s you and me from now on in, Jacobson. You may live to regret ever wanting to take me and all my shit on though, once you started delving deeper through that lot.”
He shook his head in amusement. “I love you and your shit, Miss Matthews. I want and can handle both.”
Turning again, I reached the hallway door before shouting over my shoulder. “And before you ask, no we can’t keep the Harley’s or the damn yacht. I have no intentions of dying from speed overkill or drowning.”
Not waiting for a reply, I donned a ridiculously happy grin as I padded down the hallway and disappeared into the bathroom for a much needed shower.
Chapter Twelve
The words the flights are booked and we leave on Monday evening echoed loudly in my ears. Unable to fight the churning of my stomach as the words seeped into my brain, I jumped quickly from the sofa and ran down the hallway. Flinging open the bathroom door, I sunk to my knees, leaned into the toilet and threw up. Jonah’s footsteps followed quickly behind me but did nothing to stop the waves of emotion rolling in the pit of my gut that racked my body.
“Its okay baby,” he soothed, his hands holding back my hair while I continued to heave. Fear was a bitch when it grabbed you by the throat and at that moment it was squeezing the life out of me. Staring into the bottom of the pan, the enormity of what we were about to do slammed into me hard. What the fuck was I thinking? What the hell would returning to Chicago actually achieve? Why did I ever think going back there was a good idea? I had no answers to any of the questions running through my mind and still the sickness continued. Jonah’s hand rubbed my back and he remained beside me until the waves of nausea finally began to subside. Sitting on my ass, I leaned my back against the wall and held my head in my hands. Jonah sat to my side with his arm across my shoulders and his hand stroking my hair. Pulling my knees under my chin, I leaned into the heat of his body. A chill sank into my bones, my body shaking under its coldness. I sat shivering in silence with only Jonah’s warmth for comfort. Suddenly nothing made sense and I felt lost, completely and utterly lost.
Closing my eyes, I attempted to control my erratic breathing and calm the painful beating of my heart. It had been a long time since my past affected me in such a physical way and it caught me totally unawares. But after learning years ago to trust in my natural reaction to situations, backing out of the trip became more of a reality. My survival instincts had served me well and right now they were telling me that no good would come of travelling to Chicago. The vomiting was a sign to listen to what they were saying and forget the whole fucking thing. The million dollar question was, would I take the advice or not?
“You don’t hav
e to go through with this. I won’t allow you to put yourself through this unnecessarily,” Jonah said as if able to read my thoughts.
I leaned further into him, my body absorbing his heat. “The thought of going there scares the shit out of me. I don’t know why I thought going there was a good idea.”
“If you don’t want to go then we won’t, simple as that sweetheart. The only person putting you under pressure is yourself. I don’t care what you decide either way.”
“To be honest, Jonah, what the fuck did I think I was going to do? March into the offices and demand my rights as the CEO? Run a business I don’t give a shit about or care one iota for? The easiest thing would be to stay the hell away and let it implode internally or leave it to run into the ground. At least that way I’d be shut of it without breaking the ridiculous clause in the inheritance.”
“Listen to me,” crossing his legs, he turned to me and grabbed both my hands tightly. “I don’t believe for one second that Alex gave his business to you because he thought you’d run away from the responsibility, or leave it to internally implode as you put it. From what I know of that asshole, that company was his life and there is no way in mother fucking hell he would entrust it to someone he believed incapable of carrying on where he left off.”
My brows narrowed and lips thinned. “Don’t you dare try to persuade me that he actually had honourable intentions when he made the decision to curse me with this shit? Honourable men don’t sodomise vulnerable young women or drive them to suicide. Alexander Matthews didn’t know the meaning of the word honourable.”
“Hey,” his hands slipped under my knees and pulled me closer. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. All I was saying is there as to be another reason why he made you the benefactor of his will, because he doesn’t strike me as the sort of man who would want to see everything he built destroyed. I really think that going to Chicago will provide us with the answers we need, because in all honesty sweetheart, the more I think about all of this, the more it doesn’t make a rats arse bit of sense to me.”
“Nothing about that man makes sense, it never did.”
Nudging my legs open, Jonah’s body filled the space between them. “I’ll totally understand if you choose to back out. After what he put you through there, no-one would blame you for doing so.”
I shook my head as resolve set in. “I want this over with. And if that means spending a few days sorting this out once and for all then so be it. I refuse to let that bastard win. Not this time.”
Raising my hands to his mouth, his lips grazed my knuckles. “You’re so fucking strong, Ava. You amaze me with your strength every day.”
I rolled my eyes. “More like stupid. Just promise me one thing?”
His blue eyes widened. “Anything, you know you only have to ask.”
“If I start power dressing and carrying a briefcase round with me you’ll get me the hell out of that place immediately.”
His hearty laugh resonated around the small tiled room, a rich, vibrant sound that made me smile. Sometimes my attempts at humour actually worked. That notion even made me laugh.
“You have my word,” he chuckled.
Pushing onto my feet, I tugged on Jonah’s hands and pulled him onto his. I felt lighter, less burdened and knew without question it was the result of trusting and believing in Jonah’s ability to look after me and keep me safe. He made me feel I could do anything with him by my side to steer me down the right path. Once again and for the millionth time I thanked God for bringing this beautiful man into my life. He was mine and I was his and that’s exactly the way it was going to stay. And that’s when the idea hit me. A question popped into my head that I never believed I would hear never mind say. But it felt right and was begging to be asked. And while I’d never considered myself as a spontaneous soul, I couldn’t stop the words tripping off my tongue and especially when I truly meant them.
Two fingers lifted my chin. “Are you sure you’re okay, sweetheart?”
“I will be if you marry me,” I whispered.
His entire body froze and he looked stunned. We stood rooted to the spot without speaking. Dread kicked in as his gaze dropped to the floor and he shook his head. Feeling like the ground was about to open beneath me and swallow me the hell up, I turned to get the hell out of there. Reaching for the door, embarrassment flushing my body from head to toe, a tanned hand covered mine before I could open it.
“Say it again, Ava, say those words again.” His voice was hoarse; his Irish accent almost a drawl.
Turning, my back rested against the bathroom door and my eyes planted firmly on the tiled floor. Regret for my hasty outburst rocked me, though I wouldn’t retract it for anything. Marrying Jonah seemed the obvious next step, permanently marking him as mine. I loved him, craved him and would be as well off dead without him. I hoped he felt the same.
“Look at me, Ava,” he demanded, his voice harder.
Lifting my gaze from the floor, the love shining in his eyes combined with the smile on his face was surprising considering his reaction. “Ask me again, sweetheart.”
I pinned him with my most sincere look. “I love you Jonah Jacobson. I have your heart, your soul, and your body. And now I want your name. Marry me, Jonah.”
I gasped loudly as over six foot of muscular male pinned me to the bathroom door and his mouth claimed mine with blistering pace and brutal force. His tongue plunged greedily into my mouth, his passion exploding across my lips as they moulded to his. A loud groan ripped from his throat, his hands fisting wildly in my hair, his hips holding my body in place. The feel of his erection prodding against my lower stomach made me whimper and relax against him.
“I need to fuck you, Ava,” he growled against my mouth, his hands ripping wildly at the zipper on my skinny jeans before yanking them and my panties down to my ankles. Kicking the jeans off with a flick of my legs, I pulled my plain t-shirt over my head and popped the clasp of my bra with ease. I stood naked, aroused and panting. My bare chest expanded and deflated rapidly as Jonah disposed himself of his clothing in two swift movements.
“God, you’re so fucking beautiful,” I said aloud. His body was perfection, his face even more so. Every sculptured muscle, from his broad, strong shoulders to his athletically toned legs was ridged and defined, strained against the tan skin pulled tightly across his body. My greedy eyes drank him in, casting every inch of him to memory. Our aroused scents filled the room and spurred on my desire. The sight of his cock, thickly veined and hard as stone throbbing with the same desire I felt in my own sex made the need to have him rammed fully inside me, an almost desperate one.
“Love me, Jonah,” I moaned, my hand slipping between my thighs and cupping my sex in an attempt to dull the ache. “Now, Jonah, please.”
He pounced; my breasts squashed against his chest, his arm under my ass holding my body flushed the full length against his. He took my mouth again, his urgency intensifying as his cock lengthened between us and his lips, teeth and tongue nipped, lipped and sucked mine. The fact we were moving through the hallway and into the bedroom didn’t register until my back slammed against the mattress of my bed and my legs were opened roughly. He knelt between my thighs, his cock fisted in one hand while two fingers slipped inside my sex. My back arched with the feeling of being filled. I moaned loudly, my hips rising from the bed urging his fingers to probe deeper and harder.
“You’re always so fucking ready for me, sweetheart,” he hissed while stroking his cock with his free hand, “always so wet, juicy and ready to be fucked.”
“Please,” I groaned. I squeezed both of my swollen breasts in my hands, my fingers pinching my nipples that were taught and lengthened. Jonah watched me play with myself, his eyes heavy with lust while I teased the soft mounds of flesh while his fingers circled and massaged my inner walls. Rearing above me, he removed his fingers and replaced them with his swollen cock in one powerful thrust.
“Christ,” he groaned, his head thrown back. He s
tilled, his cock pulsating against my sensitive insides. Gyrating against him, the friction my movement caused was just enough to shoot the first tingles of release directly into my core. Lowering his head, his tongue flicked across one of my sensitive nipples, his teeth nipping it at the base. I felt the sharp tug in my groin and pushed my breast further into his mouth needing to feel the pain again. There was a fine line between pleasure and pain for me, and Jonah knew exactly how far I was willing to go. Worshipping my other breast with the same attention, I writhed beneath him. My fingernails dug into the flesh of his tense ass urging him deeper. Lifting his head, he supported his weight on his forearms beside my head and began to move. His rhythm was slow to begin with and so deep I could feel the tip of his cock nudging against my womb with each stroke.
“Harder, Jonah, fuck me harder,” I cried as he picked up the pace and began to slam into me. Our lips slid over each other’s bodies; our fingers digging into sweaty flesh as we became lost to the passion neither of us could deny nor live without. The more desperate we became to reach climax, the harder he fucked me. Our groans and pants, screams of pleasure and cries for more rang loudly around the bedroom. The slaps of slick flesh and scent of pheromones and musk that clung in the air and to our skin only edged me closer to orgasm, with each clash of our groins pushing even closer. Straining above me, Jonah’s grunt and the jut of his cock, told me he was as close to coming as I was.
“Come for me, Ava,” he hissed through gritted teeth, the pain of holding back obvious on his face. His hand slipped between us and thumbed my clit, pinching it simultaneously on one particularly hard thrust. That was all it took. I screamed his name and sank my teeth into his shoulder as the orgasm tore through my body leaving a trail of fire just beneath my damp skin that pooled in my groin and spread downwards through my sex. I came hard, my sex clamping viciously around his cock begging for more as it continued to milk every drop of juice I had to give. Jonah’s mouth dropped to just below my ear, his groan of pleasure almost a scream as loud as mine, as he nipped my throat with his teeth while his orgasm hit him as hard as mine had me. He jerked violently inside me, the heat of his semen flowing out of his cock and into me with a fierce gush. His head fell to my shoulder, his body shaking with the intensity of his orgasm. We lay like that for long moments, our hearts thudded against the others chest and our breathing equally as ragged. Throwing my legs around his lower back and my arms around his neck I held him close, a closeness that brought tears to my eyes as I cradled him against me. Even this close it was never enough. I would have crawled underneath his skin and buried myself there if I could. Jonah was already under my skin, permanently embedded within my flesh. And fuck did he feel good there.
Divinely Living (Surviving Series) Page 12