“YOU’VE REDECORATED,” I remark as Joey leads me by the hand into what used to be his parents’ bedroom. Looking around helps keep my nerves in check.
“Keri Ann did.” The walls are pale grey, and the wood of the king-sized bed frame is stripped and distressed. The big fluffy comforter is white and crisp, dressed with throw pillows of varying sizes and textures. It’s a man’s room without being cold and too masculine.
He turns to me and takes my bag off my shoulder, setting it on a chair in the corner, then steps in close. A hand slips around my waist and another brushes over my shoulder and slides around the back of my neck and up into my hair. Goose flesh erupts over my skin. I’ll never get tired of the way he gets ready to kiss me. It’s so sensual, so intense, so utterly erotic.
My own hands climb up his biceps and cradle his strong jaw. The skin is smooth and freshly shaved. My thumb brushes over his full lips. His eyes are half-closed and glittering beneath his lids as he looks down at me.
“I love you,” he whispers. “I absolutely love you.” And he lowers his lips to mine.
His mouth is warm.
I kiss him back, loving every give and take and nip of his lips. I taste the tip of his hot tongue. Red wine and crème br?lée. I seek more.
He groans, pulling me hard against him. I can feel his erection pressing against my belly. His fingers tangling in my hair bunch and grow tight, tilting my mouth up, opening my mouth farther.
My breathing comes fast. A moan emanates from my throat.
His lips leave mine and slip down my neck.
Pushing him back for a moment, I catch his gaze with my own and hold it as I step out of my shoes.
He toes his shoes off and gets to work on his shirt buttons. I watch in fascination as he opens them all the way down and pulls the shirt off his shoulders, revealing his broad, beautiful chest.
Reaching to my side, I slide the zipper down my body with shaking fingers and let my dress drop to the floor.
Joey’s jaw flexes, his mouth pressed tight, his eyes roaming my body.
The way he looks at me is stoking the fire deep inside until it’s roaring, the flames licking upward, stealing my breath.
“Your turn,” I tell him. My voice is scratchy.
He unbuckles his belt, and I can see how hard he is. Then he flicks the button on his pants, slides the zipper down, and pushes the fabric past his hips until it too drops to the floor.
We’re standing in our underwear. It strikes me as funny, and I smile. The smile becomes a chuckle. I’m so happy. I’m so damn happy right now. I can’t believe he’s standing in front of me—the boy I can’t ever remember not loving.
And he loves me back.
He laughs too and gathers me up against him. My feet leave the floor. The feel of our bodies coming together skin to skin feels amazing. He walks us backward until we fall across the king sized bed, and he rolls, pulling me on top of him.
Our mouths find each other again, and our hands roam. His fingers pull down the cups of my strapless bra.
I shift and lower my breast to his mouth. My necklace dangles against his cheek. He wastes no time drawing me into his mouth. He licks and sucks, and I strain toward him, giving more and needing more. The tug of his mouth pulls through my whole body.
I gasp, and holding his head, keep his mouth on me. Needlessly, because he’s holding my breast to him, urgently like he’s worried I’ll pull away, tasting and sucking and biting.
He switches to my other nipple, and building up intensity again, his teeth graze and his tongue soothes.
The sensations swirl, tightening, my hips are moving against him, finding his rigid hardness, using it.
“God, your mouth.” I gasp. “I love your mouth. Don’t … stop.”
He doesn’t. He’s sucking, working his tongue against my nipple. I grind against his lower body, seeking, searching. Oh, God. His teeth nip me, and I jerk my hips against his erection finding the perfect spot. His mouth is relentless, his hips push upward to mine.
Then suddenly I’m flipped onto my back, and he’s breathing hard. He yanks my underwear down my legs and spreads them. His face is flushed, his chest heaving, his mouth slightly parted as he drags in air. He moves between my legs and settles his mouth on me.
“Oh my God.” I groan the words helplessly, my hands finding his hair.
He works his tongue over me perfectly, over and over, until I’m arching up into him. His hands press my legs wide, his tongue searches out all my secrets. His fingers follow, slipping into me and coaxing me toward him. And I do. I come to him. I shudder helplessly toward ecstasy, his name leaving my lips on a long shattered gasp.
It does nothing to satisfy me. Not even close.
When his lips find mine again, I can taste myself on his tongue. He’s pushed off his underwear and he’s hot and heavy between my legs.
His eyes are vivid blue as he looks down at me. “Jazz,” he whispers.
I caress his cheek and he presses his face into my hand.
“Are we safe?” he asks. “I have protection. But I … God, I just want to feel you. I want all of you.”