At the center of the space is a white circular table, usually bare save for a discarded newspaper or water glass. But today, the table itself is nearly invisible beneath an elegant breakfast spread. Freshly baked pastries, rich espresso roast, bowls of fresh fruit and whipped cream, savory breads and cheeses, have all been laid out between two place settings and chairs. A breakfast feast for two after an extremely trying morning.
My own exhaustion ebbs away as I swing my gaze over to meet Jay’s. He stands there in his navy blue sport coat, watching as I take in his gift to me. The smile that plays across his face is for once free of arrogance or camera-ready charm. He simply looks happy to share this moment with me.
“Jay,” I say softly, holding my hands out to him, “This…This is lovely.”
“Had it set up while we were at the TV studio,” he tells me, taking my hands in his and pulling me close, “You deserve this and much more after the day you’ve had.”
“It was a handful for both of us,” I reply, lacing my hands behind his neck as he holds my body close to his.
“I’m used to TV spots and gossip,” he shrugs, “But you. You got thrown into the deep end with no warning. And through all of this, you haven’t faltered once. You’ve looked this insane fucking situation right in the eye and refused to back down. You are one hell of a woman, Leah Brody.”
“Well shucks,” I grin, bringing my lips to his neck, “Someone’s feeling awfully complimentary this morning.”
“I just want you to know how impressed I am by you,” he murmurs, running his hands down my back, lingering just above the rise of my ass, “How crazy I am about you…”
I bring my eyes back to his, taken off guard by his amorous words. We’re not exactly big on proclamations of admiration, Jamison and me.
“What are you saying, Jay?” I ask him, my voice dipping low with emotion, “That you’re actually coming to like me or something?”
“Something like that, yeah…” he grins, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear.
His eyes dart down to the ground before he can continue, and I feel a telltale brush against my calf that tells me we have company.
“Gigi,” I laugh, glancing down at my calico, “Your timing is not the best, my friend.”
“Actually,” Jay says, his voice unreadable, “I think she has something for you.”
“Oh god,” I sigh, “If it’s a dead mouse or something, I swear…”
I bend down to see what Gigi’s gotten into, but there are no mangled little critters in sight. Reaching to give her a scratch behind the ears, I’m distracted by a gleaming sparkle emanating from her collar.
“What the…?” I mutter, reaching to investigate the bauble.
Gigi patiently blinks her big green eyes, permitting me to spin her collar around. I freeze as a flash of white gold catches my eye. Strung on Gigi’s paisley collar is an enormous diamond ring. Its Art Deco filigree setting and princess cut diamond are surely antique, and combine to stunning effect. So overwhelmed am I by the beauty of the ring that for a moment its significance doesn’t dawn on me. I glance up at Jamison, whose smile has widened at my amazement.
“It’s a King family heirloom,” he tells me, kneeling down beside me on the terrace, “You didn’t think I was going to stick you with that monstrosity Charlie picked out, did you?”
“I don’t… What’s happening?” I ask him breathlessly, sitting back on my heels as Jay frees the ring from Gigi’s collar.
“I know that we technically already agreed to announce our engagement,” he says, taking my hand, “But we only really talked about it as a momentary PR ploy. I never got a chance to ask you properly.”
“Ask me…You mean—?” I breathe, eyes going wide.
“I know that these circumstances are…unconventional, to say the least,” Jay goes on, his blue eyes hard on mine, “We were forced into a crazy situation together. A situation that would be absolutely ridiculous for anyone else to ever consider. But we’re not anyone else, Leah. We’re just two people who care about each other, who’ve been brought back together by tragedy, or fate, or the will of god, or whatever you want to call it. But even with everything terrible that’s happened, these last few days with you have been some of the best in my life.”
“They have been for me too,” I tell him honestly, my eyes stinging with happy tears.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he chuckles, holding out the ring to me, “And I hope that means you’ll agree to be my partner. Leah Brody, will you—?”
“Yes,” I cut him off, surprising even myself with my swift response. “Yes, Jay. I want to be your partner. I want to marry you.”
“You’re sure?” he presses.
“Yes!” I laugh, springing to my feet, “I can’t even believe how sure I am.”
“Well then,” he smiles, slipping the ring onto my finger as he kneels before me on the terrace, “I guess we’re engaged for real, then. Not just on TV.”
“I think I like you as an actual fiancé even better than a TV fiancé,” I tell him as he rises to his feet, “Because I don’t think I could do what I want to do with you now on television…”
“Have some breakfast with me first,” Jay grins, running a finger along my jaw, “You’re gonna need your strength for the rest of the day. I can’t think of any way I’d rather spend the first day of our engagement than fucking until neither of us can lift a finger…”
“Look at that,” I reply, as he traces my lower lip with his fingertip, “We’re already in agreement. I guess we really do make a good team, huh?”
***
Many hours later, I lean back against Jay’s naked body as I sink into the piping hot bath. The brownstone’s master bathroom is more like a spa, with an enormous porcelain tub, surrounded by a wide tiled ledge. There’s plenty of room for both of us to soak our deliciously sore and spent bodies. Jamison rests with his elbows on the tiled ledge as I press my back to his chest, holding up my left hand to admire my ring by the light of a dozen candles arrayed around the tub.
“You really like it, then?” Jay murmurs, resting his cheek against mine.
“Can’t you tell?” I laugh softly, letting my head fall back against his collarbone.
“If the way you were riding me before is any indication, then yes…” he replies, circling my slender waist with his arms.
I reach for one of the two glasses of red wine resting on the tub’s edge. It’s a rich Malbec, one of my favorites. I take a deep sip, savoring the dry warmth of the wine and the steam heat rising off the water. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this satisfied in my life. Jay and I made good on our plans to spend the entire day exploring each other’s bodies. But even though we’ve done nothing today but lavish each other with pleasure, my hunger for him only grows as it’s stated. The taste of him has come to be more intoxicating than any fine wine.
“Are you enjoying your first day as an engaged person as much as I am?” I ask Jay, setting my wine glass back in its place as I turn around to face him in the tub.
“Oh, I dare say I am,” he replies as I wrap my legs around his waist, letting my sex press against his.
“I don’t know about you…” I tell him, “But I’m still able to lift a finger over here…”
“That makes two of us,” he says with a sigh, grabbing hold of my ass under the warm water, “Guess we still have some work to do.”
“You don’t say?” I murmur, circling my arms around his shoulders as I begin to grind my hips ever-so-slowly.
Jay’s eyes close as I rub myself against his cock, my red hair gathered up in a loose, tousled bun above the water. I can feel my own sex start to ache once more as I feel him stiffen against me, growing harder by second. His chiseled chest rises and falls above the water’s edge, and I can practically see his heart begin to beat faster in his chest.
“I love feeling you get hard against me,” I whisper, trailing my fingers down his chest.
“Can’t help myself,” he murmurs, bringi
ng his mouth to chest.
He blows cool air lightly against my breasts as I press my slit to his cock. The sensation makes my nipples go hard at once, and I groan as he takes first one erect peak and then the other into his warm, perfect mouth. As much as I want him to keep going, I have other plans for my own mouth at the moment.
“I want to taste you…” I breathe, my voice echoing off the tiled walls of the spa-like bathroom, “Can I?”
“Of course,” he says, his blue eyes gleaming in the candlelight.
Kneeling between his legs, I place my hands on his hips and guide him out of the water. He sits on the tiled edge before me, his cock glistening and hard before me. Jay gazes adoringly down at me as I wrap my fingers around the full length of his manhood. Keeping my eyes firmly on his, I bring my mouth to the swollen tip of his cock. I work my hands down the length of him as I take his head between my lips. I draw the tip of his shapely member into my mouth, running my tongue all around the bell-shaped tip of it. Jay lets his head fall back between his shoulders as he stiffens in my eager mouth.
“Does that feel good?” I ask, loosing one hand to his balls as I pump my fingers along his shaft, taking more and more of him into my mouth.
“Fuck yes,” he growls, burying his hands in my head hair as I suck him off.
I flatten my tongue against the sensitive underside of his cock, taking his thick manhood as deeply as I can. I let my fingertips brush against his perineum, relishing the low groan that rises from his chest as I do. I love learning exactly how to touch this exquisite man, how to make him feel good. He’s rock hard in my mouth, bucking his hips as I work him over. His fingers tighten in my hair, and I know at once that he’s right on the edge.
“Leah…” he growls… “You’ve got me right there baby.”
I lift my eyes back to his, my mouth full of his rigid, staggering cock. Bringing both hands back to his shaft, I suck long and hard along his gorgeous length, never letting our shared gaze waver. It’s more than enough to do him in. Jay’s face twists into a mask of rapt bliss as he comes in my mouth. The taste of him plays across my tongue as I feel his come spill into me, swallow it down until the very last drop. I let his cock fall from my lips, licking up one last drop of him from the corner of my mouth as he breathes hard above me.
“Well fuck,” he breathes, “Now you’ve got me feeling hungry again…”
I laugh with surprise as Jay picks me up out of the water and swings me around to take his place on the tile ledge. I perch there before him as he presses my legs apart, spreading me wide open before him. Goosebumps spring up all along my arms and legs as I feel Jay’s breath against my pulsating slit. My back arches as he pushes my knees back, bringing his lips to my inner thigh.
He inches up slowly, kissing along my thigh. Teasing me. My entire body responds to every little touch of his lips and tongue. He has me wound so tight that I swear I’m already halfway to coming when he first runs his tongue along the length of my slick sex, tasting my desire. Digging his fingers into the flesh of my thighs, he flattens his tongue against my pussy, stroking my pink flesh as I tremble above him.
I lean back against the wall, unable to hold myself upright any longer. Jay smiles up at me as my chest heaves, presses the tip of his tongue firmly against my clit. He flicks that tender nub with expert precision, drawing deep, moaning cries from my throat as he edges me closer and closer to orgasm. I gasp as I feel his fingers glide down from my sex to the tight muscular circle of my anus. Still plenty slippery from the bath, his fingertip traces around that forbidden ring as his tongue flutters deliciously against my clit.
“You want to feel me here?” he asks, pressing his finger gently against my asshole.
“Fuck yes I do,” I gasp, grabbing a firm hold of the bathtub’s edge to steady myself.
With renewed vigor, he brings his mouth to my clit, sucking and flicking as he presses his finger into my ass, just as inch. And inch is all it takes to send the room spinning around me. His hand and mouth are like a completed circuit, sending electric pleasure shooting through me. Red hot bliss sizzles along my every nerve as I come hard for him, holding on for dear life as the sensation threatens to level me.
Jay kisses softly up along my belly as I float back down to earth. Scooping me up into his arms, he eases me back into the steaming bath beside him. He wraps his arms around me as we both regain our senses.
Laying a long kiss against the crook of my neck, Jay murmurs in my ear, “Think you can still manage to lift a finger?”
“You know what?” I reply dreamily, “I really don’t think I can.”
“Allow me, then…” he says, reaching for a disc of expensive lavender soap sitting in a golden dish beside the tub.
I close my eyes as Jay works the soap into a lather and rubs his hands all over my body. It’s a simple gesture, but just as intimate as anything we’re shared today. And that’s saying something, after all. I know that tomorrow I’ll have to return to the real world—that I can’t just stay holed up in Jay’s brownstone, coming every hour on the under with the help of his expert touch. But I can rest easy knowing that this wonderful man will be a part of my life from here on out, if all goes well.
And as much as anything else that’s happened today, that fact seems almost too good to be true.
Chapter Eleven
“Are you sure a lunch meeting won’t be too casual?” I ask Jamison, as we step out of the car in front of DeLeonardo’s.
“Not at all,” he says, “Trust me. It’ll put everyone at ease.”
The day of our next big meeting with Elsie Walker has arrived. I was on the fence about including Jamison in the meeting at first, seeing as Loudon had placed the Huntress of Tomorrow project firmly in my care. But after spending countless hours talking about the trilogy with Jay, I know that he shares my vision for the series. He’s my partner. I can trust him with this.
“Just let me take the lead though,” I remind him, pausing on the sidewalk to have a final word. “It took me a while to win Elsie over. We don’t want to spook her with yet another new face on the team.”
“Got it,” Jay agrees, “I’ll follow you.”
Franco is waiting to usher us back to our usual table when we step inside.
“They’re waiting for you,” he says excitedly.
“Great,” I reply, “Lead on.”
Not only will Elsie Walker be joining us today, but we were also able to get our potential lead actress in the room as well. Svea Andersson, the Swedish actress I like for the lead of the Huntress of Tomorrow trilogy, is in New York shooting an indie feature. She agreed to join us this afternoon—a huge win in my book. I twist my beautiful engagement ring on my finger as we walk back into the quiet dining room of DeLeonardo’s. Nervous energy courses through my veins as I spot Elsie and Svea sitting together in our booth.
The two young women couldn’t be more different, in terms of their looks. Svea’s Scandinavian beauty is intense enough to be almost otherworldly. Her icy blonde hair, wide set eyes, and full expressive mouth are composed and intriguing—perfect for film. Elsie Walker is like a photographic negative of Svea. Her figure is absolutely minuscule, almost childlike in its proportions. But although she’s only in her mid-twenties, her deep brown eyes are heavy with sharp wit and laser-like judgement. Elsie wears her hair in a raven black pixie cut. Despite their aesthetic differences, Elsie and Svea seem to be having a perfectly lively conversation when Jamison and I step up to the table.
“Elsie, Svea,” I say, holding my hand out to each of them in turn, “I’m so glad you could sit down with us this afternoon.”
“It’s great to finally meet you in person,” Elsie says, giving her pixie cut a tousle, “Skype is great and all, but it can’t beat being face-to-face.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” Jay says, offering his hand to Elsie, “I’m Jamison King. It’s great to meet you, Elsie.”
“You’re Loudon King’s son?” Elsie says, her dark eyes going wide as her
tiny hand disappears into Jay’s.
“That’s right,” he tells her, holding her gaze.
I tense up for a moment, worried about what Elsie might say next. She and Loudon were never each other’s biggest fans. Loudon thought Elsie was a difficult, fussy kid; Elsie thought Loudon was a stodgy, out-of-touch old dude. I hope the author’s distaste for the senior Mr. King doesn’t trickle down to his son.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Elsie says adamantly to Jay, taking me totally by surprise. Her entire manner seems to soften as she takes in Jay’s charming, relatable presence. I can practically see Jay’s ego expanding as Elsie takes an immediate liking to him. Christ, it took me months to establish even a cordial business relationship with this woman. Now here she is, getting all google-eyed over Jamison King. I try not to take it personally, but that sure as hell isn’t easy to do.
“Yes, it’s just terrible what happened,” Svea adds, taking Jay’s hands with both of her own the second Elsie has freed them.
Her low-cut blouse falls open a bit as she leans over the table to comfort Jay, revealing an ample and impressive pair of tits. I’m not the only one to notice, either. Jay’s eyes dart down as he shakes Svea’s hand…or at least, I think they do. Maybe I’m just being paranoid. Either way, it’s not a huge deal. Who wouldn’t be distracted by that gorgeous rack? I need to stop comparing myself to the infamously charming Jamison King and remember why we’re here.
“Thank you both,” Jay says to both the women, settling into his chair beside me, “I miss my parents like you wouldn’t believe. But being here, helping to keep the company going, is the best therapy a guy could ask for.”
Cross Check (Marriage Contract #1) Page 12
