“Mr. Glass?”
A gentle voice interrupted their embrace, and Vanessa stepped out of Jeremy’s arms to find the volunteer from last week staring at them. Staring at Jeremy, more likely. Vanessa sometimes forgot the effect he had on other women, the way they’d so clearly start to eye-fuck him the second they caught sight of him. Today, after Jeremy’s confession, she wanted to shield him from view, keep him as her own. Clearly, the fumes from the cleaning supplies were getting to her head.
“Your cat is ready for you,” the volunteer said to Jeremy.
“And I’m ready for my cat.”
Jeremy disappeared into the shelter to collect the cat, emerging with the gray ball of fluff tucked into the carrier.
He held the cage up for Vanessa with a grin. “Well? What do you think?” Shark reached a foot between the bars of the crate and pawed at the side of Jeremy’s head.
Vanessa groaned. “Oh my god.”
“What?”
“You two are actually adorable.” They were. Something about seeing this strong man melting for a feisty kitten made her soften along with him.
Jeremy looked affronted. “Adorable?”
“Yeah. Cute.” She was going to skip over the other definition: worthy of being adored. She wasn’t ready to think that way just yet. “What’s the problem?”
“It’s just that Shark’s not adorable. He’s ferocious.”
“Ferociously cute.”
Jeremy grinned. “Will you help me get him settled into his new home?”
Vanessa drew in a shallow breath. It was more than a request to help—it was an invitation. To Jeremy’s house and whatever lay inside. If she stepped through those doors, she’d surely wind up naked. Not that it was a bad thing. Being naked with Jeremy Glass had been one of the best nights of her life. And she wanted to do it again.
Vanessa had a feeling that their night in Los Angeles had just been a preview—a glimpse of what could happen between herself and Jeremy if she could gather up the courage to ask. No one else had ever given her so much pleasure, brought her to such spectacular heights. It wasn’t just the fact that he knew just how to touch her, how to make her come so hard she could barely feel her toes afterward. It was that he’d worshipped her, his fingers stroking her reverently, his lips on her skin like a prayer.
Over the last weeks, she’d replayed that image of his face when she’d reached for the vibrator he’d so thoughtfully suggested she keep. And yet the memory of him wasn’t the same as actually being with him, his hard body and his heat. She wanted him but she still struggled with it—with the idea of being selfish for no other reason than that it felt good. But wasn’t that what Jeremy kept pushing her to see? That it was okay?
Maybe she’d always be caught in the middle, torn between her attraction to him and how wrong it felt to want someone who could shatter her with a look. But Jeremy had apologized for his behavior—for that misplaced text—and she either needed to forgive him for being human or walk away.
Vanessa sighed. Jeremy was right about her—she did so many things for other people without thinking about what she wanted for herself. And if she could admit it, she did want him. He was the sweetest vice, and she wasn’t about to give him up.
Well, screw it. She’d already started to burn. Why not walk all the way into the fire?
She twirled a lock of hair around her finger and caught Jeremy’s eye. “Fine. I’ll help you take him home. But only if I get to see your bedroom.”
Chapter 40
“Your place is beautiful.”
Jeremy held open the apartment door and tried to see his home through Vanessa’s eyes. He had bought the place after his breakup with Amy, and at the time it seemed like the perfect counterpoint to Vegas’s opulence. The space was modern meets cabin in the sky, filled with sleek, minimal furniture and colors drawn straight from Seattle: forest greens, deep blues, soft grays. The wall above his bed was made from reclaimed wooden planks. He’d hand-picked the planks and hung them himself, a nod to the months he’d spent rebuilding his mom’s house. He wondered what Vanessa would say about the wall once she was in his bed. Because she would be. She’d practically already asked.
It seemed like Vanessa had learned how to be greedy in the best possible way, but Jeremy wasn’t about to complain. If she was going to give him a second chance, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to waste it. He wasn’t going to give her an opportunity to sleep on it, to change her mind again. Now that she was in this, there was no more playing games. Jeremy wanted to fuck her over and over, filling her up until she forgot there was anything else but him.
Instead of moving deeper into the apartment, Vanessa walked straight toward the window and looked out over the city. Jeremy imagined fucking her here, with her hands pressed against the glass, high above the skyline. He wanted to claim her as his own. He’d just about said as much in the shelter, but she hadn’t given him an answer.
Apparently, she was pretty damned good at keeping him guessing.
Jeremy joined Vanessa at the window, lowering the cat carrier to the floor beside him. The movement made her pause, and she swept her eyes over the rest of the open living area, taking in the cat bed by the couch and the food and water dishes in the kitchen.
She nodded her approval. “Looks like you’re mostly ready for him.”
“Mostly?” He had gone to the pet store and bought a bed, a litter box, and three kinds of cat food in case Shark was picky.
“You might need a few more things.”
“Like what?”
She smiled. “Find me a pen and paper. I’ll make you a list.”
He dug a notebook out of the drawer in his kitchen island and slid it across the counter to her.
Vanessa leaned over the paper, her mouth pursed as she concentrated, her nose wrinkled. She looked up and caught him watching. Instead of blushing, she smiled. “I assume you don’t want your hand to keep being a chew toy?”
“I got toys already.”
“Get more.”
She tapped the pen to her lips, drawing attention to that luscious mouth. Why was she still talking about the cat when she could be circling those lips around his cock? He was already hard for her, just seeing her in his house. He hadn’t ever brought a woman here, and yet Vanessa looked like she belonged. He just needed to make her see it, too.
Jeremy moved next to Vanessa, leaning against her shoulder so he could scan the list. She felt so soft next to him, this small thing he wanted to ravage and also protect. His heart hammered with a mix of arousal and fear. Because being here with her was sexy as all hell, but it was also a risk. If Piers found out about this…well, Jeremy wasn’t going to let that happen.
“Anything else?” His voice came out gruffer than he intended, thick with desire.
Vanessa ignored his tone, glancing around the room. “Yeah. Do you have a baby gate?”
He spread his hands. “For the baby I don’t have?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re going to want to be able to block off some of your house. If you don’t, Shark’s going to have a field day with your furniture.”
He shook his head. “Once someone’s in my life, they’re all in.” And then the sight of her was too much.
Vanessa let out the tiniest gasp as Jeremy took the list from her hands. “I wasn’t finished yet.”
“I’ll keep this safe. But I’m about to fuck you on this counter, and I don’t want to ruin your hard work.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened, but before she could make another snappy remark, he swept the hair off her shoulders and ran his tongue along the line where her shoulder met her neck. Vanessa let out a quiet moan, sending more blood rushing to his cock. The sounds this woman made were going to be the death of him.
He kissed up her jawline and tilted her head to capture her mouth with his. This time Vanessa melted into him, her breasts pushed deliciously into his chest. Her kiss was as sweet as he remembered. More, even, because it was earned.
“God, I
missed you,” he breathed.
Vanessa pulled back an inch to whisper, “I know.” Then she laughed. “I mean, me too. Remind me again why it’s been weeks since we did this?”
“I’d rather not.”
He tugged her back to him, slanting his mouth over hers and shoving away any doubt between them. They were here, together in this moment of connection, and there wasn’t time to breathe, only time to kiss, so heady and dizzy and electrifying.
He pulled back an inch and tugged the hem of Vanessa’s shirt. She was wearing her GROW shirt again, and even though it was silly, she looked beautiful.
The fabric was soft in his hands. “I’m starting to have very fond feelings about this T-shirt.”
Vanessa bit her lip and grinned. “You like it?”
“You look good in it. But you would look better out of it.”
She stepped back and lifted off the shirt without protest, standing in front of him in her bra and jeans. There was something so intimate about it, Vanessa in the afternoon light, vulnerable for him.
Jeremy’s breath caught. “Now the pants, Heart. You gotta give me a full-picture view.”
“Mmm. I’d rather you peeled them off of me.”
He grinned. God, he loved this side of her. The challenging creature that emerged as soon as she grew aroused. He would keep pushing her buttons for the rest of his life if she would always look at him the way she looked at him now.
“Happily.”
Jeremy kneeled on the floor, his nose at Vanessa’s waist as he unhooked the button of her jeans with his thumb. He trailed a finger around the waistband of her pants, testing her heated skin. She writhed against him, eager, so he reached a hand lower, slipped a finger under the edge of her underwear and into her silky folds.
She was soaked for him.
Jeremy sucked in a deep breath. Was it going to be this way every time they touched—her body so responsive for him? All he could imagine was the feel of his cock sliding into her, the way she’d clench around him hot and wet. He needed that—now.
He helped Vanessa out of her pants, kissing her, kissing her, his tongue against the soft skin of her stomach, his hands catching the back of her knees to hold her as she balanced on one foot and then the other to slip her pants over her feet. Both of them laughing with the joy of this.
How long had it been since he had laughed? Since he’d felt so light? It had been ages since he’d felt not just like the world was possible to conquer, but like it was magic. Like there were parts of him he’d never know, but that was the whole fun of it. And with Vanessa, now, that wonder flooded back in, impossible bits of beauty all around them.
Vanessa leaned back against the counter to balance herself, looking down at him with those sharp blue eyes. He could almost see himself reflected in her gaze, and if he took a picture of the two of them now, he’d probably look like he felt—lovesick, his world unsteady.
He traced his hands down Vanessa’s dancer’s legs and then back up again, pausing to press a kiss onto her knee. “I missed seeing these ninja scars.” He ran a finger along the back of her knee, and she shivered.
“Ninja scars?”
“Of course. You told me you didn’t have a good story for your injury, so I made one up for you. You were hurt in a top-secret ninja mission, obviously.”
Her voice came out high and breathy. “You’ve been thinking about my legs?”
“Since the day I laid eyes on you.”
Vanessa closed her eyes as he resumed the trail north, and he kissed a line up her thigh until she trembled just above him, pink and waiting.
“You look so gorgeous, Heart. This is a very, very good view.”
He slid a finger inside her, testing her, and she moaned again. It was the kind of noise that made him want to keep her to himself forever.
“Yes.” Another gasp. “Please.”
He wanted to savor this moment, but he couldn’t help leaning forward to taste her, licking and teasing with his tongue until she began riding his face, her hips coming down over and over again to meet his greedy mouth. This woman had so much control when it came to the rest of her life, and here, totally naked, she was letting herself come undone. She was trusting him to keep her safe, and it was a goddamn honor.
Jeremy wanted to always be the one she turned to with that look in her eye. He wanted to hold her up and give her everything she asked for. She deserved it, this sweet, beautiful woman.
He flicked his tongue against Vanessa’s clit and thrust two fingers into her tight, wet heat.
The air hissed out of her, and her whole body clenched around him. “Oh my god. Keep going.”
“Feel it, Heart.”
“I don’t think I can come standing up,” she panted. Her legs shook beneath his palms.
He sat back on his heels and looked up at her. Vanessa’s cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were bright. He didn’t think he’d ever seen anything more beautiful.
His voice came out in a growl. “Just for that I’m going to make you finish this way, then I’m going to bend you over the counter and fuck you until you’re screaming again.”
Vanessa moaned, closing her eyes and tilting back her head. Her pleasure was his own, and he wanted to spoil her with his touch. To ruin her for anyone else.
He slid his hands up the back of her legs and spread her cheeks, giving him better access to her aching cunt. “I want you to come on my face.”
“Yes,” she breathed. Jeremy buried his tongue in her again in the way he knew she loved, and she wound her fingers in his hair. “Oh god, yes.”
She was splintering apart for him, letting him guide and shape her pleasure. He pushed a finger back inside Vanessa, and her breath hitched. “Come on gorgeous.” Her body stiffened, capturing him, and then her clit was fluttering in his mouth, the muscles of her pussy pulsing around his fingers. Vanessa cried out in a rush, shuddering against him, and he caught her by the hips to steady her.
“Fuck.” Vanessa returned to him after a few moments, and he looked up to see her smiling back at him.
The sound of her orgasm had made him painfully aware of his own arousal. “Now that we know you can come standing, after all, let’s see if you can do it again.”
She glanced down at the erection that strained against the fabric of his pants. “Looks like you’re up for the challenge.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Jeremy climbed to his feet and slid out of his clothes, loving how Vanessa’s eyes widened at the sight of him. He grabbed his cock in his hand and slowly pulled from base to shaft, letting her see how much she affected him.
“That’s so freaking hot.”
“Good.” He grabbed her by the waist and turned her around. “Now bend over and hold onto the counter.”
Vanessa leaned forward and complied, lifting her delicious ass into the air.
Jeremy slid his hands up her sides and unhooked her bra. Vanessa pressed her full breasts into his palms, and he squeezed them, rolling her nipples between his fingers. Pulling and tugging until they stood in stiff peaks. Her gasp made him smile wider. “How do you want to come this time?” he asked.
“With you buried inside me.”
He grinned against her back. This girl was everything. “We can make that happen.” He pressed against her backside, and she ground into his erection. “Stay here while I go get a condom,” he said.
Vanessa looked over her shoulder with those wide blue eyes. “Next time will you let me feel your cum dripping down my legs?”
“Jesus Christ. That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
She smiled at him. “I’m on the pill. And I’m clean. I’ve been tested.”
“Me too,” he growled. “So why wait until next time?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Heart. I trust you.”
Jeremy grabbed Vanessa’s hips and positioned himself at her entrance, sliding through her wetness with one smooth move. This, going bare, was a first for him, and
the slick feel of her arousal against his cock made him groan.
Vanessa shimmed her hips back against him, taking him even further until he was balls-deep inside her, her body impossibly tight around him.
He leaned forward, pressing his chest against her back and sliding his hands over hers on the countertop until they were one unit, rocking and grinding, faster and faster. There was nothing left between them now—just their cheeks, side by side, Vanessa’s body under his—small but strong—and his heart in his ribs, sparking like someone had just shocked him back into life.
“Fuck, Vanessa. You’re going to kill me.” He could taste the sweat building on her skin, feel her heart pounding under his.
She pushed her hips back against him again, jerking his cock with her sweet pussy. They were both panting now, covered in sweat, his balls tightening as he approached the finish line. Jeremy reached down to touch her, pressing the heel of his hand against her sweet spot.
Vanessa threw her head back against his shoulder, and they moved together, connected, one. “Oh god, yes,” she whispered.
Jeremy licked the soft skin of her neck and pressed against her, thrusting deep into her at the same time.
“I’m going to come.” Vanessa trembled against him, and he drove deeper, needing her release as much as his own. “I’m going to—” and then she was crying out, writhing against him, her voice sending him higher and higher.
“I’m going to come, too.”
Vanessa moaned, still pulsing around him, still giving him all of her. “Yes. I want to feel you come inside me.”
And with her sexy, sweet words pulling him over the edge, Jeremy found his release—his cum squirting hot and hard into her while her inner muscles milked him for all he was worth.
He sagged against her to catch his breath, pressing his forehead against her back. He would never get enough of this. Vanessa was the rock and he was the tide. He’d reach for her time and again until she finally let herself be swept up in him. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to tell her just how much he needed her. And when he did, she would own him, body and soul.
His Distraction Page 21