And why should she, when he hadn’t done the same for her?
The thought sent icy shots of regret through his veins. That was it, wasn’t it? He was scared of letting go of his control. But if he wanted Jess that was exactly what he had to do, because he was more terrified of losing her than any other inconsequential thing in his life. His program meant nothing. He didn’t give a shit whether he stayed here…in Baltimore or fucking Timbuktu…
His phone let out a beep and Van caught his breath when he saw another message.
Maps.
It was Jess. This couldn’t be a mistake.
Van sat on the couch before his legs gave out.
“It looks like you might get what you deserve after all,” his mom said, a smile flirting around her lips. “I’m off to the beach with Fran now. Don’t wait up.” She dropped a kiss on top of his head and left him to it.
By the time Van had washed up and changed, another two texts had come through.
Snacks.
Compass.
A ball of heat spread out from the center of his chest, spreading like warm liquid through his limbs. He knew where this was going.
He contemplated his phone for a moment before swiping his thumb across the screen.
“Van?” The call connected straight to the person who held his heart.
Something settled inside him. Just the sound of her voice bringing Van the sense of peace he’d been missing since the day Jess had left.
“If this is hiking essentials, you’re missing the most important thing.”
“Oh?” Jess’s voice was light and teasing, like she knew she had him.
She totally had him.
“You and me.” He breathed the words into the silence.
“Well, I’m here.” Jess paused. “Are you?”
Van jumped to his feet, glancing around the room like an idiot, as if he expected her to jump out from behind the stack of boxes.
“Tell me where you are and I’ll be there,” he vowed. He would drive across every state in America if he had to.
“I’m outside.”
Van dropped his phone and ran to the door. His heart slowed to a stop, warmth buzzing through his chest. There she was, leaning up against a giant black SUV with Thomas Langford at her side. And then she was in his arms.
Van closed his eyes. She felt so good. Like everything was suddenly right in the world. Her hands were in his hair, brushing at his cheeks. She pressed her lips against his and he knew he was close to losing it. Van concentrated on the feel of her mouth, the soft rasp of her tongue as she licked inside. With a groan, Van pulled back. He didn’t want to do this, not in front of Thomas. Not out on the street. He wanted this moment for him and Jess alone.
“You’re here,” was all he could think to say.
“You promised to take me into the Appalachians,” she said, grinning. “You can’t welch on a promise.”
“Uh, if you’re done with me, I’ll head off.” Thomas drew their attention his way.
“Sure. And thank you so much.” Jess wriggled out of Van’s hold and scooted around to hug her cousin.
“Any time.” Thomas glared over her head at Van. “You take care of her.”
Van nodded. Message given and received. This was his one free pass as far as the Langford men were concerned.
“Jess can take care of herself.” He spoke out loud, returning his own sage advice.
“Damn straight.” Jess waved Thomas good-bye, then came over to fit herself back in Van’s arms.
“So you really want to go hiking?” Now they were on their own, going for a walk in the mountains wasn’t big on Van’s list of priorities. Besides, he didn’t know if he could physically let her go right now.
“Yeah. Not just yet though.” Jess nodded toward the house. “Is this where you grew up?”
Van tilted his head to look at her. “How did you know I was—” The answer dawned on him. “My mother?”
“Yeah. She must have gotten my number from your phone, because she called me. I got the message yesterday when I came back to Wellsford.”
“And she told you everything, I presume.”
“Yeah.”
He closed his eyes, trying to imagine what exactly that would entail. He sighed. She would know absolutely everything.
“So, you know I love you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And that I’m so fucking sorry?”
“Yes.” Jess fiddled with the hem of his T-shirt, lifting it enough to slide her fingers underneath. “Me too.” She looked up slyly.
Van sucked in a breath. “What are you doing?”
Jess nuzzled up to his throat. “We have a lot to talk about, but I want to talk later.” She nipped at his neck then soothed the sting with an open-mouthed kiss.
Van about shot out of his skin. He shuddered, pressing his lips to the top of her head.
“What do you want to do, then?” He didn’t know how he got the words out without tripping over them.
Jess pushed her hands farther under his T-shirt, running her fingers over his chest, skirting around his nipples. He sucked in a breath.
“I want you to make love to me,” Jess said.
Van stifled a groan as she moved in to capture his lips. Her mouth parted on his and he slid inside to taste her sweetness. She kissed him slowly and thoroughly until they were both breathing hard, fighting for air. He pressed her hand to his chest and his heart beat hard beneath her fingers, pounding out his love for her. He groaned, deep and low, feeling the perfection of their connection all the way through his body.
She drew back a little, enough to see his face. “Aren’t you going to sweep me up and carry me off?” she asked, wriggling against him.
“Not unless you want me to.” Van leaned his forehead against hers, breathing deep. “I’m not going to ruin this by trying to control it. This moment belongs to you. I’ll do whatever it takes.” His mouth dipped as the enormity of what he’d nearly lost hit him again.
Jess brushed fingers against his jaw, bringing his gaze back to her. “I fucking love you. So deal with it.” Her hand slapped at his shoulder, punctuating her words. “I want you to pick me up,” she said, heat blistering in her gaze. “I love that you take control. I love that you know exactly what I want before I do. I love it when you lose control.” She paused to smile at him smugly. “You can carry me wherever you want, caveman. As long as we’re together, I don’t care.”
Van had her in his arms and was shouldering his way into the house before she’d finished talking. He headed for the couch, then stopped and turned for the stairs.
“Definitely a bed moment,” Jess murmured against his lips.
Van wasted no time getting her to his room.
“Stay here,” he growled, propping her on top of his dresser while he wrestled half-packed boxes off his bed.
She mewled with disappointment. Which was exactly how Van felt. His balls were tight and aching, his hands shaking with the need to be on her. Once the bed was clear, he went back for Jess, easing between the vee of her legs, getting in as close as he could. Jess could still reach between them to undo his pants. She pushed them over his hips. Van followed suit, lifting her ass to get rid of her panties, pushing the cups of her bra down to expose her breasts.
“Mmm, just the right height,” he murmured, sucking the pink tip of her nipple into his mouth. She gasped, back arching, thrusting her breasts out.
Control danced between them in their urgency to come together. Jess snatched at the condom he offered, ripping it open with her teeth, her brow furrowed in concentration as she rolled it on to his cock.
“Mission accomplished.” She leaned back to survey her work.
“Not quite,” Van growled.
He tugged her hips forward, his cock finding her entrance. He could feel
how wet and ready she was for him. He wanted to close his eyes and relish the sweet feeling of pleasure the knowledge gave him, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to miss a minute of this.
Jess wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his mouth to her. Her feet settled into the small of his back and she lurched forward to impale herself on his length.
“Ah. Fuck. Yes.”
Van nearly tumbled over, the intense pleasure of having his cock so deep inside Jess buckling his knees. He swung around, aiming for the bed, tumbling onto the covers, still joined with her at the hips. She tried to roll on top of him, but Van held her beneath him, thrusting deep. Pounding into her.
It wasn’t a show of control. It was because Van was out of control. Her sexy little noises urged him on and he drank in her wild-apple scent, burying his nose in her throat, needing to taste her. Take her. Her back arched into the air, her sheath tightening around him like a glove, her nails digging furrows in his ass.
“Yes, Van. Yessss.”
Her scream flipped his switch and Van stopped noticing anything but the exquisite slide of his cock, the clench as her orgasm gripped him, his balls tight and heavy. He jerked inside her, come spilling up his cock in hot spurts, pleasure an explosion that hit deep, a moment of perfection.
“I lose myself every time I’m near you,” he said, needing her to understand exactly what she did to him. The fact she shredded every last inch of his self-control when she was around.
“And I was out of control.” She burrowed her head into the crook of his shoulder, pressing a kiss against his chest. Van went to protest but she shut him up by clamping her hand over his mouth. “We both have things to learn. But let’s save the best for later.”
“The best?” Van spoke against her fingers.
“Shh. Later.” Jess replaced her hands with her mouth, the softest of kisses.
A tremble shuddered through him, his love for Jess a ferocious need that came close to consuming him.
“Later,” he promised. “Yeah, later.”
Then he relinquished himself into Jess’s control.
About the Author
Toni J. Strawn lives in New Zealand and loves everything romance. Hot, bad, crazy, out-of-control romance. In her One Moment series, Toni enjoys setting up her characters for the ultimate one-night stand and turning it into happily ever after.
While not locked away in her Romansion, a tiny writing shed at the bottom of the garden, Toni can be found feeding her addiction to paranormal romance, or hanging with super-hubby, Chris, and her three children.
www.tonijstrawn.com
www.twitter.com/toni_strawn
Look for these titles by Toni J. Strawn
Now Available:
One Moment
Moment of Weakness
Momentary Lapse
Not for a Moment
Don’t miss the other titles in Toni J. Strawn’s One Moment Series!
Any man can get down and dirty. A real man cleans up his own mess.
One Moment, Book 2
Madison St James’s life is a glittering fairy tale until her Prince Charming turns out to be Prince Cheating. With the help of a sexy stranger, Madison becomes someone she’s not for just one night. Confident, uninhibited, and up for no-holds-barred sex.
It’s hot. It’s sensual. And so real that Madison doesn’t see how she can ever return to her superficial life. But with no money of her own, no job and no experience, Madison is trapped. Just like her manipulative mother planned.
Cole Langford has one of the most powerful names in Maryland, but none of the money and prestige that go with it. But he knows first-hand what it’s like to get kicked to the curb by power-wielding megalomaniacs.
Lately Cole’s libido’s been on holiday. Even his old hobby of seducing rich social climbers and leaving them begging has lost its appeal. But Madison is like decadent candy, and Cole isn’t satisfied with one tiny taste.
Even if going back for seconds has disaster written all over it.
Warning: Contains an appetizing one-night stand in a hotel, saucy sexcapades in a deserted stairwell and proof that sometimes you have to strip down and get naked in front of the mirror to truly see yourself.
The rules of engagement are clear: it’s all-out war. And their hearts are on the line.
One Moment, Book 1
It’s not that Abby Harkness’s ex cheated. Hell, it’s not even that he did the dirty with her own sister. The worst part? Everyone—even her own mother—knew about it before she did.
These days, Abby’s nomadic job makes it easy to stick to the rules that protect her heart. Rule number one: Never stay in any man’s bed more than one night. But when a carefully planned tryst falls through, she finds herself stranded in a boardroom—naked—with the one man who makes her body scream danger.
Three hours of mind-blowing sex later, Marcus Brookhein walks out of the boardroom feeling like he just lost. That doesn’t sit with someone who lives and breathes competition. Next time, he’s making the rules. Starting by getting her assigned to work side by side with him.
Abby is desperate not to repeat a night of pleasure that left cracks in her carefully constructed defenses. But four long weeks of close proximity loom before her. And Marcus has a lot to teach her about playing dirty…
Warning: Contains a contest of wills with hot sex. Epic hot sex. Pushing-the-limits sex. On a conference table. On the kitchen counter. On the floor—because they never quite make it to the couch.
eBooks are not transferable.
They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Not for a Moment
Copyright © 2016 by Toni J Strawn
ISBN: 978-1-61923-494-9
Edited by Holly Atkinson
Cover by Angela Waters
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: May 2016
www.samhainpublishing.com
Not for a Moment: One Moment, Book 3 Page 19
