by Donna Hill
Jewel’s lashes lowered over her eyes. “I think you’re right...about the fit,” she said coyly.
Craig chuckled deep in his throat. “Why don’t I show you the rest of the suite.” It wasn’t a question. He stood, pulled her to feet, took their glasses and the rest of the wine, and walked toward his bedroom.
Jewel followed him down a short hallway into the master bedroom. Her heart beat double time with every footfall. The lights were already dimmed, but it was clear that the massive king-size bed was the centerpiece of the space. Even though it was a hotel room, it didn’t have that utilitarian feel to it. It was cozy in a way, and it held the sexy scent of him. She stepped out of her shoes. There was a love seat by the window with a white shirt draped across the arm. The closet bared its holdings: an array of shirts, suits, slacks and sweaters. Several pairs of dress shoes, sneakers and work boots lined the bottom.
“The bathroom is through there,” he said, lifting his glass in the direction of the partially closed door.
Jewel nodded, suddenly nervous and she didn’t know why. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it?
“You okay?”
She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Yes. Fine.” She forced a smile. Her eyes jumped around the room.
Craig walked over to her. He lowered his head to look directly into her eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong.” He held her shoulders.
“It’s silly, really.”
“Most of the things that bug us are silly, but that doesn’t mean they don’t matter. So...what’s up?”
She tugged in a breath and took his hands in hers. “Let’s not talk about or worry about the silly stuff...not tonight. I don’t want to think about it.”
“Whatever you want.” He cupped her face in his palms. His eyes roamed over her features. “What is it about you?” he murmured in wonder. His eyes narrowed. “I’ve told you things I’ve never told anyone,” he confessed.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“I hope not. I don’t want it to be.”
She studied him for a moment. “It’s not only your father that did damage, is it?”
Craig took a step back. “That’s definitely a conversation for another time.” He turned away and walked toward the lounge chair. He slung a hand into his pocket. Jewel came up beside him and slid her arm around his waist. She rested her head on his shoulder.
“Another time, then,” she whispered.
Craig turned. He threaded his fingers through her hair, loosening the curls to flow around her face and neck. He palmed the back of her head and pulled her toward him. No more words, no more hesitation. His mouth covered her lips, and he sucked in the sigh that floated up from her center and ignited his.
His arousal from her nearness kept him on simmer all night, but now that he had her in his arms, had tasted her again, felt the curves of her body melt into him, his response was swift, hard and throbbing.
He pressed against her, wanted her to feel what she had done to him, how crazy she’d made him. He reached behind her and unzipped her dress, peeled it away from her shoulders and down her frame until it fell to her feet. Her black bra was next. He tossed it onto the chair and took a half step back to look at her. Lowering his head he nuzzled the swell of her breasts. Her body shook, and a soft whimper escaped her lips.
Craig eased down her body, planting light kisses along her exposed skin until he was on his knees. He slid his fingers around the band of her panties and pulled them down to her ankles and then tasted her.
“Ooh!” Jewel gripped his shoulders. Her thighs trembled with each flick and stroke of his tongue.
Craig gripped her hips and held her fast, feasting until her trembling and soft cries were more than he could take. He rose, tugged off his shirt. Jewel unbuckled his belt and slid down his zipper. Craig stepped out of his slacks, toed out of his shoes. Jewel stepped over her dress and panties and backed up toward the bed, pulling Craig along with her.
Jewel scooted up to the top, Craig following until he hovered above her.
He pushed her hair away from her face, kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her mouth. His hands were everywhere. Jewel writhed beneath him, wanting him, letting him know the depth of her desire with each rotation of her hips.
Craig snatched up the thick pillow and shoved it under her hips. He rose up on his knees and reached over into the nightstand for a condom.
Jewel took it from him, tore it open with her teeth then slowly, erotically rolled the sheath down his length, much to Craig’s delight.
He clasped her hips tightly in his hands. Jewel bent her knees. He lowered his head and tenderly kissed her, holding them both in a moment of unbridled anticipation. And then he was inside her.
Air rushed out of her lungs in a gasp. Her eyes slammed shut. He filled her, and in that moment, their initial coupling was more intense than the first, if that were possible.
In unison they moaned and sighed as pleasure whipped through them and they found their beat, slow and steady, hard and soft, meeting each other stroke for stroke.
Jewel clung to him, gave herself up and over to him. Her body came fully alive, vibrated from the inside out. She could barely think; her breath hitched, her heart pounded. She wanted him, all of him. She wanted him so deep inside her that he touched her heart. So when he lifted her legs and draped them across his shoulders, leaving her wide-open and vulnerable to his every move, tears of yes, yes, yes, sprang from her eyes. She buried her face in his neck and held on as the first wave of her climax began at the soles of her feet, shimmied up the backs of her legs, vibrated in her thighs, pooled in her pelvis and exploded with such power that the room spun. Her breathing ceased, and a scream clung in her throat until the next wave hit her with such force that her body stiffened as if electrocuted, and the sound that burst from the center of her being sent Craig up and over the edge of this world and into the next.
His head dropped onto the pillow of her breasts. He muttered a curse of disbelief as the final throes of release pumped through him.
* * *
Jewel lay curled against Craig’s side with one leg draped across him while he gently caressed her, intermittently kissing her hair. So many thoughts scrambled in her head. She didn’t want to get used to this, to need this. But it would be so easy. For as much as Craig Lawson wore the armor of the uncommitted, she sensed that there was a part of him that wanted more, that wanted to be connected. He claimed that he had no desire to forge a relationship with his father, yet everything that he did smacked of his need to have that void in his life filled. Even if he was only temporarily with her. She felt the longing in him every time he pushed into her, moaned her name. It was not only physical. He wanted a connection, to belong to someone.
Or...maybe it was all wishful thinking on her part. Projecting her own wants onto him. She closed her eyes. But even if she could make it true, what could she offer a man like Craig Lawson when she had her own empty places to fill?
* * *
They had breakfast in bed and watched the morning news like any other couple before enjoying a joint shower and one more romp for the road under the pulsing water.
Jewel sat on the side of the bed and put on her shoes.
“I really don’t want you to go,” Craig said and sat down next to her. He caressed her cheek.
Her eyes roamed over his face, wishing that it were true.
“I would drive you back, but duty calls and I’m already late. I have a full day today. I called a car service for you. It should be downstairs in a few.” He grabbed a shirt from his closet and slid it on. “If you’re not busy...maybe later tonight?” he asked with a note of hesitation as if bracing himself for her to say no.
“Call me.” She could not allow herself to fall into the trap of being so readily available, something for him to do while he was in town, even if
she wanted to leap into his arms and say yes.
He leaned down and kissed her. “Will do.”
She picked up her purse and shawl and met him at the door. “Now for the walk of shame,” she joked.
“Baby, you could put the walk of shame to shame any day.” He swung her in for a long kiss before inserting his card key into the elevator.
They parted at the taxi with Craig promising to call later. As the car pulled off, Jewel looked behind her, hoping like in the movies that he would be standing there...watching, waving. But he was already gone.
Chapter 10
“Who was that?”
Craig stopped short and turned to his right. Milan was sitting in a club chair by the front door. He drew in a breath of annoyance. Milan pushed up from the chair and walked over to him.
“Long night?”
“Twenty questions. And why does it matter?” He continued toward the elevators with Milan keeping pace at his side.
“It doesn’t. I was only asking. She’s cute, in an ordinary kind of way. Doesn’t seem like your type.”
The elevator doors opened. Milan stepped in.
“You wouldn’t know anything about my type.” He stepped back as the doors began to close. “I’ll catch the next one.”
The minute the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. He knew that he needed to keep his cool and not antagonize Milan. The last thing he wanted was for her to have one of her diva fits on set because she was pissed at him. There was no telling how she would react when she realized that the woman she saw him with was the owner of the home where the filming was to take place. Any other time he would have handled things differently, taken her to dinner and maybe even to bed. But now... He heaved a sigh, stabbed the button for the elevator and ran a hand across the close cut of his hair. Now things were different. He was going to have to find a way to make nice with Milan. Inwardly he groaned.
* * *
Jewel had no reason to feel like an errant child when the car pulled up onto her property. She was a grown woman. Hadn’t Minerva told her as much? She’d all but given her seal of approval on Craig Lawson. So why was her heart pounding in anticipation of Minerva’s all-knowing look?
She walked up the three steps to the front door, turned the knob and peeked her head in before slipping inside. Humming came from the kitchen. She pulled in a breath and pranced into the kitchen as if she always walked in the door at 10:00 a.m. with her evening clothes on.
“Morning,” she sang.
Minerva turned from the sink, shook out her wet hands and reached for a towel. “Well, don’t you look nice for this hour,” she teased.
Jewel dropped her purse on the counter and sat down. “I don’t want to care about him,” she blurted out, suddenly needing the wisdom of the older woman. She looked at Minerva with wide eyes.
Minerva sighed. She put the towel down by the sink. “There is nothing wrong with caring about a man other than your father. He’s the only man who has been in your life for the past five years. I’m not saying that he shouldn’t be, but there needs to be more in your life. Your last adult relationship was with Simon.”
Jewel looked away. She knew that part of her hesitation was her fear of being hurt again, after investing so much of herself like she did with Simon. That was part of her rationale for getting involved with Craig. She knew it was temporary—there wasn’t the possibility of long term and the problems that went along with it. But somewhere in her grand scheme, someone had flipped the script. She was beginning to feel again, to want something for herself again. And it scared her.
“I’m not sure what I should do, Minerva. From the moment we met, something happened. It was like a switch got turned on. My thoughts are clouded with him. But I can’t let this schoolgirl crush screw up my head.”
“The heart is going to do what the heart is going to do. No matter how hard you try to fight it.” She stretched out her hand and took Jewel’s. “Enjoy it for what it is. If it’s destined to be more than temporary, then it will be. If not, well—” she gave a short shrug “—it’s what you expected anyway.”
Jewel blew out a breath, then a slow smile bloomed across her mouth. “Guess where we went last night?” She went on to regale Minerva with the incredible meal and actually meeting Emeril. She took the story as far as arriving at the hotel and left the rest to Minerva’s active imagination.
“I hope you used protection,” she said, wagging a warning finger.
Jewel’s face flamed. She popped up from the chair. “I think this conversation has gone on long enough. I’m going to change and then spend some time with Dad.”
Jewel listened to Minerva chuckling as she headed up the stairs to her room.
* * *
The day seemed to drag by and the late afternoon shower made it dreary as well. For the first time in quite a while, Jewel felt restless. She wanted to do something. Energy whirled around inside her, filled her head and tingled her fingers. She thought of baking but couldn’t drum up the enthusiasm.
She grabbed an umbrella from the stand by the door and headed out to the cottage.
* * *
“What the hell did you say or do to Milan?” Anthony asked Craig when the crew broke for lunch. “She’s been on a tear all morning. You should have seen her at the table read.”
Craig’s jaw clenched. “She saw me this morning.”
“And?”
“Leaving the hotel with Jewel.”
“Aw, hell, man.”
Craig’s face tightened. “Don’t start. I’m not in the mood for a lecture.” He dropped the script on the table, crossed the room to the minibar and opened the small fridge. He took out a bottle of beer. “Want one?”
“Naw, I’m good.”
He opened the bottle and took a long swallow.
“Look, man, do what you want with whomever you want, but don’t leave dust and debris in your wake. Jewel seems like a real lovely woman. She’s not like the others. And you’ve been down the road with Milan. You know what she’s like and how she can get, especially when she thinks that someone is taking her shine.”
“There’s no shine of hers to be taken. Me and her are past tense.”
“Doesn’t matter with someone like Milan. You know that.”
Craig flopped down in the chair and turned the bottle up to his lips. He stretched his long legs out in front of him. “I really got a thing for her, man,” he admitted. “First I figured it was just physical, ya know.” He shook his head. “It’s not. I want to be with her. I enjoy her company, the way she makes me feel. Easy. Not like I have to measure up to some ideal.”
“That’s cool and I can get with that, but, bruh, you ain’t gonna slow down. You sure as hell ain’t gonna settle down here, of all places. So how’s that gonna work?”
Craig looked away, finished off his beer and stood. “I’ll work it out.”
“I sure hope so. We got a lot riding on this film. Not just you...all of us.”
“Yeah, I know.”
* * *
Once she got started, the embers of her passion ignited. Shape, color, context all came together in swift, sure strokes. There were times when she thought she’d lost the ability to create this way, but she hadn’t, and the realization continued to fuel her. Hours passed, and when she finally sat back and looked at what she had done, her eyes filled with tears of joy.
It was him come alive on canvas. She had managed to capture the resoluteness of his jaw, the wide sweep of his brow, the curve of his lips, the penetrating, almost brooding stare, but most of all she had encapsulated what emanated from him—vulnerability cloaked in power. Beyond the probing gaze was a look of longing, something that was just out of his reach.
The portrait was in charcoal and pencil. It would serve as her base when she replica
ted the piece in oils.
Exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed her. Giving birth to her first creative work in years had drained her physically and emotionally. Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she returned her instruments to their cases, and her legs threatened to give out when she stood.
She dragged herself over to the couch, flopped down and stared at what she had done, realizing then that the only light came from her lamps. The day was gone, and night had taken its place. How many hours had it been? She should go back to the house. But she wasn’t ready. Not yet. She needed to savor this moment of accomplishment. Sit here for a few minutes more. Her fingers still tingled with electric energy. A giddy joy bubbled in her stomach. Her lids fluttered against her will. She stretched and yawned, leaned her head back. She needed to close her eyes. Just for a minute.
Her last thought before she drifted off into a deep sleep, with his lifelike image looking down on her, was that Craig had not called as he’d promised.
Chapter 11
“You want anything else?”
“Maybe another glass of wine,” Milan said.
Craig signaled for the waiter, who brought another bottle and filled their glasses.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said sweetly. She took a sip from her glass.
“It’s the least I could do. I wanted to clear the air between us.”
She lowered her fake lashes and puckered her polished lips. “We have a history, Craig, one that I can’t easily forget. I know I messed up. I only want you to forgive me and maybe...give us a second chance.”
He wrapped his hands around his glass. “Listen, Milan, like I’ve been telling you, there’s nothing to forgive. Really. What happened is in the past, and we’ve both moved on.”
“What if I haven’t?”
“That’s what I need you to understand, Milan. I didn’t ask you to take this role in the hopes of us getting back together. I wanted you for this part because you’re the best actor for it and I believe this will be a career changer for you.”
