by Erica Hobbs
“I really like it.” Because I did. In fact, I liked it a lot. Jake smiled and nodded, satisfied before he reached for his own glass. I looked down at the tablecloth. I had decided to come here to play hard to get, to be sexy and unobtainable, but now that we were here, I felt unsure. I liked Jake. He was showing me a different side of him, one that wasn’t bad at all. But that woman outside the club…
“So, tabloids are a curse, huh?” I said, pulling the conversation back to the topic. Jake glanced up at me and nodded. “You know how ridiculous those stories can get.”
I nodded. “I suppose you know a lot of women.”
“Everyone wants to be seen with a Pro Football Player,” he said. “You’d be amazed who wants to jump in a photo with me.”
Or into bed with you? I didn’t ask that out loud, of course. I hadn’t had enough wine for that.
“Am I going to be another one of those, draped on your arm for one or two photos before you move on?”
His face darkened. It had come out wrong, but I couldn’t change it now. Besides, I wanted to know. I wanted to know if he had someone already. Google said he was single but was it true? He wasn’t James, I reminded myself. But how could I be so sure he wasn’t just another version of him?
“If I can help it you won’t have to worry about any of the photos,” he said. His voice was level and his eyes guarded. Wasn’t this the wrong way around? Wasn’t I supposed to be the one guarded and he the probing one?
“So, no one sees me?”
“So, you don’t have to worry about someone knocking your door down to find out who you are and why you’re in my life.”
Has that ever happened? Of course, it has. I shuddered. It sounded quite barbaric. It made Jake sound like a victim, not someone who sucked up all the limelight. I took a deep breath. Maybe I was laying on the bitch a little thick tonight.
“I don’t want to be another girl outside a club,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking. He put two and two together pretty quickly, though, and I saw the realization on his face. “She was no one. You don’t have to worry about her.”
I shrugged. “I’m not. What I’m trying to say is that this can’t be serious.”
Jake’s face changed again, a cocky grin slipped into place, and his guarded look slowly melt into an ‘oh really’ expression. “Well now, that’s an odd way of telling me so.” I shrugged. “She was nothing serious,” he added. “You know, just to clear that up.”
I smiled and sipped my wine, trying to drown the fluttering in my stomach. I was not going to fall for this guy. He was arrogant and cocky and so full of himself. He had a string of girls following him wherever he went. I would just be a number, and I wasn’t interested in that.
Even though he had great eyes and a mouth which made me wonder what it would taste like. Even though his hands were sure and strong and he knew exactly what he wanted. Even though everyone jumped when he snapped his fingers because his word was law, there was something hot about a man in control like that. And it was getting under my skin far too easily and quickly for my liking.
Dinner had been a series of small plates with pieces of art on them rather than food. A seafood amuse-bouche. A cold cucumber and avocado soup for starter. Lamb cutlets with, melt-in-your-mouth-gravy and miniature vegetables for the entrée and the finest crepes with a structure of chocolate balanced over it so delicate I was scared to touch it.
The whole thing was beautiful. It was perfect.
A different wine accompanied each course. The wines were all perfect, including the dessert wine, as it was called. Jake made sure he gave me all the necessary details I needed to know. Well, we would see if I could still remember them tomorrow. When we were finally done eating, I was satisfied, not stuffed, and my skin tingled all over with the amount of wine I’d consumed. It wasn’t in a bad way, though. It was light and airy, and I felt as if I was walking on air.
“Shall we?”
Jake was next to me, holding out his hand. I smiled and took it. His skin was warm against mine, and my body tingled when I touched him like he had his own current. I looped my arm through his, and we walked to the front door together.
“My car is right outside to take you wherever you need to go,” he said. “If we walk out together there might be photos.”
I frowned at him. He was leaving me, here? He wasn’t even walking out with me? I didn’t want the night to be over. It was a fairy tale. I wanted more.
“I don’t want to go home,” I said. My voice was breathy. Jake’s eyes were evergreen and his pupils large. He swallowed and glanced at the door.
“Okay. I have a suite upstairs.”
I frowned. He saw my reaction and shook his head. “I don’t mean it like that. The suite has a living room. We can sit down and talk. Away from waiters and away from the cameras which might be waiting outside.”
It sounded ominous. Ominous and tempting. He didn’t want anything from me, just to spend time together. What were the other options? I certainly didn’t want him to come home with me. Not just because I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression, but because I wanted to keep my personal life as far from his as I could. It was safer that way.
“You don’t want to go back to your place?” God, that sounded even worse. “I mean…”
He chuckled. “I don’t take anyone home with me.” Really? None of the string of girls who followed him around?
I didn’t want to go home yet. He didn’t want to take me home – something I hoped wasn’t an insult but just a policy he had – and I didn’t want him to come with me to my place. That left very few options open.
“Okay,” I said softly. He smiled at me and held his arm out again for me to hold onto. This gentleman act he had going was attractive.
We walked through the back of the hotel where one of the waiters bowed slightly, and then we were in the hotel lobby. It was all marble and chandeliers just like the restaurant. Jake led me over to the elevator and pressed the button.
I was probably making a mistake. This wasn’t a very good idea. But his company was intoxicating, the way he looked at me, the way he smiled at me...he was addictive. Although I didn’t want to admit it, I didn’t want to end the night because a part of me was scared that if I did, then that would be it. He was too good to be true, and I knew how those scenarios ended. I wanted this to last as long as I could possibly let it, and then when it was over, I would at least feel like I’d held onto it a little longer.
We went all the way up to the penthouse. ‘I have a suite here’ he’d said. Of course, it had to be the penthouse. Why had I thought otherwise?
The doors opened into a small foyer with double doors, and they, in turn, opened into a living room which choked on its luxury. The carpets were white and thick so my feet could sink into them. The couches were sunken into the ground like they were something from a vintage movie, but the furniture and decorations were as modern as it got. A wet bar adorned one corner of the living room, and a dining table with another chandelier and a long glass table occupied the rest of the room. Another set of double doors led through to a room where I could see a double bed.
Jake walked toward the bar and poured himself a glass of amber liquid. “Do you want something to drink?” He asked. I shook my head. I’d had enough for one night – my head was spinning slightly, and the carpet felt a lot plusher than it probably really was.
“This place is beautiful,” I said. “Why do you have a place here and your normal one in town?”
Jake shrugged, and I watched him move around, comfortable in his surroundings. He seemed comfortable with everything he did – maybe money did that to someone. Money and confidence, I reminded myself.
“I don’t like people knowing about my home. Everyone knows everything about my life – I’m always in the news or the center of attention in the tabloids. I know I’m no saint, I make a lot of these happen. Still, I want some parts of my life to be mine and mine alone. My family an
d my home are important to me. I want them to be private.”
Family. Right, there was a mention of a family, although I hadn’t really bothered with that part. I’d been more worried about the other women in his life. Jake walked with his drink in hand toward me in the sunken seating area and took his seat next to me. He was so close that I could smell his cologne. It made my head spin.
“You’ve got a family?” I asked. Good, I could still create a somewhat coherent sentence. I had to keep it together, I wasn’t going to go mad over this guy. Although, he was the kind of guy I could mad over.
“Yes, my sister and my aunt,” Jake said. His eyes bored into my soul, daring me to look at him back. He sipped his drink without breaking eye contact. Suddenly, I felt an urgent need for him to kiss me. I wanted to taste him, to know what it would be like to kiss someone who was this sure of himself.
I took off my pumps gently and folded my feet under me on the couch. Maybe I was being rude, but I felt relaxed. I didn’t know if it was because of my move, but Jake put his drink down on the table and moved even closer to me. He reached his hand up, slowly; it was as if he thought he might scare me away. He brushed his fingertips down my cheek.
“Can I kiss you?” He asked.
Did I want him to? I had been playing hard to get, and I had meant to take him for a ride. He didn’t let me say anything before he moved forward and pressed his lips against mine.
I froze. I didn’t have any more than a second to prepare for this. I should have seen it coming. I should have known he would make a move – a guy like Jake was a smooth operator, and he knew exactly how to charm and seduce. And I’d been lost in the luxury of the evening, the comfortable way he carried himself and handled me.
Jake kept still, his lips against mine, giving me the chance to pull away if I wanted it. Either he was a gentleman who respected a woman when she said no, or he was confident I would give in. Maybe it was both. I could tell him to stop right now, and I was almost sure he would. But I didn’t.
My body didn’t allow my mind any more time to mull over what was happening. I closed my eyes and kissed Jake back, melting against his body. His hand was on my cheek, and he touched me as if I was delicate. I felt beautiful. I felt rare and exotic. He kissed me as if I was the only woman he’d ever kissed…as if I was the only one that mattered.
Somewhere at the back of my mind, a voice screamed at me that he was a pro at this, that my feeling this way was probably exactly what he’d had in mind. I killed the little voice and opened my mouth, letting him slide his tongue into it.
Jake was all male – lust filled the room, and I recognized it as something I used to be familiar with. I hadn’t been attracted to someone in a long time; a broken heart could do that to you, but with Jake, it felt natural. My body responded to him – his calloused hand on my cheek, his lips firm on mine and his breathing speeding up like I wasn’t the only one affected by this.
Desire bloomed at my core and muscles clenched deep down in secret places I’d forgotten about. I sighed into Jake’s mouth.
‘He’s just like James,’ the voice in the back of my head whispered. I pushed it away. I wasn’t going to let my subconscious scare me out of this. I deserved a second chance. I deserved a shot.
He pulled me closer to him, pressing his chest against mine. My body was tipped at an awkward angle, but I didn’t mind. I’d passed the point where I could be rational about it.
My blood rushed in my ears, and my heart hammered against my ribs. Heat flooded my body and pooled between my legs. Jake slid his hand down my neck, thumbing my collarbone before he moved even further downward. He moved slowly as if he didn’t want to startle me. I knew where he was headed. The skin on my breasts burned with anticipation. I wanted him to touch me.
Jake’s hand slid further down my chest, his palm coming to rest on my breast. My nipples tightened against my bra. My stomach turned, and I shivered. Oh, to be touched like this…
“Do you want to go to the bedroom?” Jake asked through his kissing. His hand was still on my breast. He moved his thumb up and down, stroking me, working me up just enough not to be able to think straight. Yes. Bed.
I couldn’t.
I shook my head and broke the kiss. Jake moved his hand to my upper arm. Nice of him. “I’d rather stay here,” I said. That way, we could mess around but stop before it went all the way. Jake nodded, his eyes impossibly green. He moved forward slowly, kissing me again. I was proud of myself, my limits. I’d taken care of my own safety. I’d done the right thing.
But then, I let myself get lost in him.
Jake leaned against me, urging me to lie back. I did. I was on my back on the couch, and Jake lay next to me, his body half on top of mine so I wouldn’t strain under his weight. He was muscular. I felt his taut muscles all the way down to his back buckle pressed against my hip. Underneath it, I felt his sex, hard and wanting. I shivered again. I knew what happened when men were aroused. Feeling it sent me reeling every time.
Jake’s hand was back on my breast. He kneaded the mound, circling his thumb over the nipple. It was like he’d found the switch that turned me on all the way. Every time he circled over the nipple, my body responded with a twinge of desire, with the urge to do more. I whimpered.
Jake moved his mouth to my neck, and I tipped my head back to give him better access. He was kissing and licking and sucking, nibbling occasionally. We were both still fully clothed, but the intensity was so great we might as well have been naked.
As if he’d read my mind, he slid his hand into my top, his fingers expertly finding the lace of my bra and pushing it aside. The thick underwire supporting the strapless bra I was wearing bit into my ribs, but I didn’t care. His hand on my bare skin, searing an imprint on my breast, made me forget about it.
“Have I told you how hot you are?” He mumbled in my neck. I smiled against his lips. He’d called me beautiful, and now he called me hot. This guy knew just what to say. Jake shifted onto me, pressing his erection between my legs, balancing over me and I forgot all my inhibitions. My thighs fell over for him, and he rubbed himself against me. I could barely think anymore. My mind was clouded. My body cried out for more.
Jake pushed up and grabbed hold of the bottom of my dress, hitching it up to my hips. His fingers found my core and electricity shot through my body, making me curl around him. His eyes were on mine as he pushed my underwear to the side and dipped his fingers into me.
My body undulated beneath him. I moaned. This was beyond anything I’d felt before. I shivered, coming undone at the seams.
Jake sat up for a moment and unbuttoned his shirt halfway before pulling it over his head like a t-shirt. He dropped it on the floor. He unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants and worked his pants down enough to let himself free. I looked at him. He was hard. The flesh straining, the tip slick with lust. I swallowed and glanced up at him. He lifted both my legs up and pulled my panties past my knees and over my feet, dropping them to join his shirt on the floor. He opened my legs and lowered them on either side of him, his eyes on my sex for a second before he looked me in the eye.
His pupils had dilated to leave only a small green rim. Hungry. His lips were parted. Jake reached over to the coffee table and found his wallet. I frowned, watching him. He opened it and produced a foil packet. Why did he have a condom on hand? He ripped it open and rolled the rubber glove over his thickness. The semi see-through rubber only pronounced his member, making him look that much more erotic.
When he crawled over me again, I ran my hands over his shoulders. They were toned. I could trace every muscle. His muscles bulged as he held himself up, so he didn’t crush me. I gasped as he positioned himself at my entrance. His eyes found mine, and he paused, waiting for me to so no. But there was no going back. I was about to implode. He was already wearing a condom, and I’d already melted into my panties.
The rejection never came. I nodded instead of shaking my head no, and Jake pushed into me. He moved slowly at
first, stretching me and I gasped, feeling him pry me apart. The further he pushed into me, the fuller I became. When he was in all the way, he stopped again, letting me get used to the feel of him.
I gasped when he moved again. He pulled out of me, paused a second and pushed in again. Urgency frothed between us. I wanted release. I wanted an orgasm. I wanted to be reduced to a gasping heap, and I wanted it now. My body ached with desire. Jake picked up the pace, pushing and pulling, sliding in and out. I closed my eyes and surrendered. My muscles clenched. My breathing became shallow and erratic, and somewhere deep inside me an orgasm started to build, fueled by the friction.
Jake’s face was on my neck, his breathing ragged in my ear. I grabbed onto his shoulders, my nails biting into his skin just enough to make him groan and pick up his pace. He plunged into me, and I cried out. My legs were numb. His skin was getting sweaty under my hands. I felt him reach the very end of me and I let the sensation pull me closer and closer toward the edge.
