Briefly, she imagined them dragging over her bare skin, and then she decided she was being silly. They were going to talk about her artwork, not make out on the sofa like a couple of teenagers.
She nervously took it with both hands and hung it on the coat hook beside her front door. It looked perfectly in place right there next to her red parka, she thought with a smile. Not that he’d be over here all the time or anything, but still. It was a nice feeling having another man’s things in her home.
My God, why on earth had she dwelled on her ex so long anyway?
“It looks like you were right,” Jason said.
“About what?” she asked as she turned around.
“The snow is already melting.”
Amy laughed. “Right, it’s always like that this early in the season. We might get a snowstorm, but it’s over almost as quickly as it started. Anyway, let me show you the painting. My studio is upstairs.”
“Sounds great.”
She turned, and he followed her up the stairs. It felt almost intimate leading him back toward the spare room, which was just across the hall from her bedroom. But all her artwork was in the small office/studio, so it seemed the most appropriate place to show him the painting she thought he’d like. She had a few others that could be possibilities as well if the one she had in mind wasn’t exactly his style.
Jason entered the room and stopped beside her, letting out a low whistle as he caught sight of the painting she’d set out.
“Wow, Amy, this is amazing. Seriously. Are you sure you want to give it away?”
“Yes, of course. I paint a lot during my summer vacation and was just playing around with a more abstract piece. I have enough artwork on my own walls, and I’ll be painting more once I have time off from school again. This one needs a good home.”
“Well, at least let me pay you for it. I was planning to purchase a piece at the gallery.”
“Oh, no, I couldn’t accept anything for it. Maybe someday I’ll open my own studio and charge you an arm and a leg then,” she said with a grin.
Jason laughed. “Are you sure? I seriously don’t mind.”
“Absolutely. I have more art than I know what to do with at the moment.”
“All right. At least let me take you out to dinner sometime to say thank you.”
“Dinner would be okay.”
“Just okay?” he teased.
“Dinner would be great,” she corrected, glancing up at him. Their eyes locked for a beat, and for a split-second, she thought maybe he was going to kiss her. Her gaze fell on his full lips, and she felt heat rising within her.
The moment passed, and Jason gestured toward the painting.
“Why don’t you come over and help me figure out the perfect spot for this?”
“Right now?”
“Sure, why not? We can see where it looks best and then have a drink or something. I seem to recall inviting you over yesterday. And I’d love the opinion of the talented artist herself.”
Amy laughed. “Well, how could I turn that down? Flattery will get you everywhere.”
He chuckled as he crossed the room. “I’ll carry it over.”
***
“It does look good there,” Amy said an hour later, admiring the artwork hung prominently above Jason’s leather sofa. The blues and greens in the painting added a splash of color to the room. The rest of the neutral abstract stripes across the canvas simply blended right in.
He really did need decorating help, she thought as her gaze again swept the room. There were no pictures or paintings anywhere else, no knick-knacks lying around—just a cool, sparsely furnished space. Complete with a giant flat screen TV and surround sound, of course.
Boys and their toys....
“It looks incredible. You seriously don’t know how much I appreciate it. Those watercolor paintings we looked at last week never would’ve done it for me.”
Amy laughed. “Yeah, I realized that the moment we stepped into the gallery. Sorry about that.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what new pieces come in. Not that they’d be better than anything I saw of yours. Maybe you could do an art show there sometime.”
“Maybe,” Amy agreed. “I never really thought about it before.”
“You should consider it. Seriously. Although I may regret that if you start charging me for your artwork from now on,” he added with a wink.
She flushed, and then watched as he turned and put the hammer he’d been holding back in his toolbox. He snapped the lid shut and crossed the room, stopping right at her side.
Her skin prickled as he stood so near to her, and she imagined that he could hear her heart beating wildly in her chest. The heat between them was palpable, and she wondered how many times she’d imagined him pulling her into his arms. Did he feel it, too? That spark and connection between them each time they were in the same room?
She’d almost thought he was going to kiss her earlier when they’d been at her house, but he’d just been casually polite the entire time they’d been holding her painting up around his living room for the past hour. Now, with him standing so close once again, she wondered what he was thinking.
“Thank you again,” he said in a low voice. “And thanks for letting me drop by this morning to pick it up.”
She glanced up at him and smiled. Since she was in her boots and Jason was barefoot, for once she only had to look up a few inches to fully meet his gaze. All he’d have to do was dip his head down ever so slightly, and those full lips would be on hers.
Kissing her.
Proving that there was some inexplicable chemistry between them.
She held his gaze a moment too long and then glanced over to the door.
When she looked back, his blue eyes were still firmly fixed on her. He hadn’t made a single move though, and doubt started creeping in. “I should probably get going,” she said, suddenly feeling flustered. “I’m sure you have other things to catch up on. Bye,” she added hastily, turning to leave.
“Amy.”
His voice was rich and deep. When he said her name, it wasn’t a question or a command. The slow, smooth way that her name came from his lips was almost more like a caress.
She stopped and looked back, the electricity between them magnetic.
“Amy,” he said again, softer this time, as he stepped in her direction.
She felt rooted to the spot, barely able to breathe, and her heart pounded in her chest as he walked closer. He didn’t stop inches away like he had done before and hardly even gave her the chance to think straight. In the next moment his large hands were on her face, cupping her cheeks, holding her just so, and his lips were hot, desperate against hers.
He swallowed her cry of surprise, and she hungrily kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, so that their bodies were pressed tightly against one another.
He tasted of mint and man, and as his mouth moved over hers, kissing her again and again, she felt dizzy with desire.
Desperate for more.
Her breasts pressed against his firm chest as they stumbled back together, and she felt his hard length against her stomach as he pulled her even closer to him. His hands slid down to her ass, and then he was lifting her into his muscular arms, her legs wrapping around his waist.
She gasped as his erection rubbed up against her core.
Heat coiled within her, spiraling down toward her center. Her nipples pebbled, every step Jason took jostling her against him. Leaving her whimpering for more.
***
They clumsily fell back onto the sofa, Jason’s large frame covering Amy’s smaller one. Her lips were swollen from his relentless kisses, her face flushed, and he suddenly wanted all of her, now.
Needed to have her beneath him, moaning with desire, crying out his name.
He was aware that she was kicking off her boots, pulling him down closer with her small, delicate hands. She’d looked so damn nervous earlier, he’d wanted to pull her into his arms
and assure her that yes, he wanted her, too.
Jason ran his hands down her sides, feeling her tremble, and slowly edged them beneath her lightweight sweater, pushing it up to reveal a black lacy bra.
God, was there ever a woman who didn’t look sexy as hell in black satin and lace?
Amy put every other woman to shame though.
She was breathtaking.
The creamy skin of her luscious breasts poured out over the top of her bra, just beckoning for him to touch and caress. He felt dazed for a moment, staring at the woman beneath him. Did she have any idea how turned on he was right now?
He tugged one cup of her bra down, feasting on the sight of her bare breast. It was so round and smooth, with her dusty pink nipple pert, practically begging for his touch—suddenly he was impossibly harder, his erection straining against the confines of his jeans.
God this woman would be the death of him.
He cupped her full breast, squeezing it gently as she gasped, and then ran his thumb over her nipple, watching as it peaked under his touch. “God, you have perfect breasts,” he said in a low voice, tugging the other cup down and watching them both rise and fall beneath his breath.
“Jason, please,” she murmured, gazing up at him with wide eyes.
“I’ll take care of you,” he said huskily. He lowered his head to one breast, kissing and tasting until his lips were encompassing that softness and female perfection. He slowly kissed his way around her areola, savoring the moment, and she cried out as he flicked his tongue over her taut bud. Jason groaned in approval, sucking her nipple into his mouth, male pride filling his chest as she whimpered and squirmed beneath him.
He moved his mouth to the other breast and kissed and laved at her nipple. Oh, what he wouldn’t do to hear those sounds come from her lips again and again. To have her begging for more. He lightly flicked his tongue across the nipple, teasing her, and she arched up off the sofa, completely at his mercy.
His hand trailed down her flat stomach, deftly unbuttoning her jeans and sliding the zipper down. He briefly registered her surprise at the ease he’d had, and a moment later she gasped as his fingers slid across the satiny fabric of her delicate panties.
Jason trailed thick fingers up her slit, feeling her arousal even through the fabric. She was so hot and wet for him already. He slipped a hand inside her panties, his sure fingers automatically knowing the way. A moment later he was easing through her slick heat, and he sucked in a breath at just how wet and aroused she already was for him.
His fingers slid through her silken arousal, circling her tiny bud, and she gasped again and arched her back, pushing her breasts up into the air. He silently groaned as he took her breast even further in his mouth. He suddenly was desperate to be inside of her. As quickly as possible.
But first he began to pulse his fingers against her sex, determined to finish what he’d just started—to unyieldingly make her come undone.
Chapter 12
Amy gasped as Jason began to pleasure her. She hadn’t been with anyone since Ben, and that was months and months ago. And although sex with Ben had certainly been good, she’d known him for practically a lifetime. There was a certain level of comfort she’d always felt when they were together. And comfort didn’t always mean excitement.
Jason was practically a stranger compared to her ex.
A tall, sexy, Marine type of stranger.
He was new and mysterious; she’d known him for a matter of months compared to years. Now his muscular body was hovering over hers, his mouth was hot on her breast, and his fingers were working their own magic—and damn, did he know exactly what he was doing.
With each stroke of his fingers against her, Amy arched closer to him. The tension radiating through her felt magnificent—delicious and earth-shattering and unstoppable all at once. As the warmth began to spread through her body, she knew in only moments she’d be losing all control.
“I can’t wait to be inside you,” Jason said huskily into her ear, his breath tickling her with each word. His hand caressed and kneaded her aching breast, taking over where his mouth had just left off. “But maybe I should finish what I’ve started first?”
“Please,” she whimpered, unable to give him more of a response.
“God, how I’ve wanted you,” he ground out.
His strong fingers caressed her swollen nub, and he suddenly slipped two thick fingers inside of her, filling and stretching her for what was certain to come next. He worked them in and out, and she automatically thrust her hips to match his rhythm. His thumb slid back and forth across her clit, faster and faster, and a moment later Amy’s cries filled the living room.
“Oh! Ohhhh! Jason!” she screamed, unable to contain herself any longer, as a surge of pleasure rushed through her.
He continued thrusting his fingers in and out as her inner walls clamped down around him, pulsing again and again. Her body arched up one final time and then collapsed back onto the sofa.
She panted as she looked up at him, the heat in his blue eyes scorching right through her.
“Oh my God. That was—I can’t—”
Pure male satisfaction filled his gaze. “Honey, we’re just getting started.”
***
They’d made love once right on the sofa, in such a hurry they’d barely had time to rip the clothes off of each other first. When they were finished, and after he’d managed to give her a second amazing orgasm, Amy had relaxed in the warmth of Jason’s arms, sharing kisses with him in the waning afternoon light. As the day had given way to evening, Jason had lit a roaring fire and opened a bottle of wine. Content to relax together knowing that the hours of the night still stretched out before them, they’d talked and kissed in front of the flickering flames.
Jason had pulled his jeans back on and Amy her long sweater to ward off the chill, but she lay snuggled against his chest, inhaling his masculine scent and the hint of soap and aftershave she detected. She absentmindedly caressed the hard planes of his firm torso, practically in disbelief that they’d just made love right here in his living room.
Jason ran his muscular hands up and down her bare legs. She shivered in delight at the feel of his slightly calloused fingertips running over her bare skin.
“I kind of liked it better when you were wearing nothing at all,” Jason whispered huskily, running his fingers farther up her bare thigh.
“And why is that?” she teased, trailing her fingers down his washboard abs so they just hooked under the waistband of his jeans.
“Ugh—you’re killing me,” he groaned. “But in the best, most erotic way possible.”
She straddled his lap, kissing him slowly, and felt the bulge beginning to grow beneath his jeans. Lowering her lips to his neck, she sucked gently, and Jason unwittingly began to gently thrust beneath her.
“Hmmm,” she said, feeling his male hardness brush up against her sex.
She lowered her mouth to his shoulder, and as he reached around her, pulling her closer, the flash of his tattoo caught her attention.
Jason followed her gaze, and she slowly began to trace the emblem with her fingertips.
“Do you have a thing for guys with tattoos?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“I never did before...,” she admitted. “But I have to say—it’s kind of hot.”
“Time to go upstairs,” he said desperately, clenching his jaw as he stood up, lifting her to the ground as well.
“What’s upstairs?” she challenged, knowing for the first time this afternoon that she was the one in control.
“A bed.”
He took hold of her hips, guiding her closer to him, and in a moment his hot mouth was once again on hers. Their tongues intertwined and soon he was raising her sweater up and over her head and then desperately caressing her full breasts as she fumbled with the zipper on his jeans. They stumbled backward again, bumping into a low-back leather chair to the left of the sofa. “On second thought, this will do.”
He gripped h
er shoulders and turned her around, bending her forward over the back of the sleek leather. He cupped her breasts as he stepped even closer, and her heart pounded in her chest. The leather felt cold against her bare skin and was in stark contrast to Jason’s heated flesh. “Trust me,” he whispered. She could feel his erection pushing up against her, and she felt a throbbing in her sex as she was suddenly desperate for him to take her.
He nudged even closer and kneaded her breasts with firm hands as he slid his erection back and forth through her wet folds. She groaned as the head of his penis brushed up against her sensitive bundle of nerves.
Jason gripped her hips in his strong hands, tilting her to meet him. The tip of his erection was pushing up against her wet entrance, and in one single, powerful thrust he was pushing inside her, filling her up with his immense girth.
She gasped as her inner walls clamped down around him. What had been amazing earlier was unbelievable in this position. Jason began to thrust inside of her, pulling her hips back to meet his every movement. She closed her eyes, lost in the moment as Jason took all control, filling her up again and again.
She was powerless bent over like this, and she gasped as he seemed to know just how to make her once again come undone. A moment later, his fingers slid to where their sexes joined, and she moaned as they teased her swollen nub. “That’s it,” he murmured, seemingly more to himself than her. He caressed her clit as his thrusts continued, and as the heat surged through her, she lost all control and once again screamed out his name.
Jason grew even harder and released as well, holding her to him as he gave one more final thrust. “Amy,” he said reverently. “You have no idea how God damn sexy you are.”
She lay panting and sated over the back of his chair, gasping for breath as he slowly pulled out. Jason was breathing heavily as well, and she took pleasure in knowing she affected him as much as he did her.
He helped her stand up and then pulled her into his arms.
She collapsed against his muscular chest and let him hold her, still in a daze from the powerful orgasm she’d just had. There was no way sex with him—with anyone—could get any hotter than that. He knew just what to do and exactly how to please her.
One Night with a Marine Page 8
