"Um...uh...excuse me." A tentative male voice spoke from behind me.
Ford released my lower lip from between his teeth and lifted his head to look behind me with an annoyed expression that instantly turned into a lopsided grin. He let my leg fall back to the ground.
"Sorry about that, man," he said kindly. "We just got carried away there."
I turned to see a pizza delivery guy that looked like he was barely out of high school looking at us. He was tall and lanky, looking equal parts embarrassed and aroused. I felt bad for him, that was until his eyes moved pointedly down to my breasts. I glared at him as Ford's arm tightened around my waist possessively.
"What do I owe you?" Ford asked in a deep threatening rumble that I swear dropped his voice down a whole octave. The kid's eyes flew up to Ford as they widened in fear. I glanced at Ford to see his eyes glittering menacingly as he stared the kid down. I had to fight the wry smile that pulled at the corners my lips.
"Uh...uh..." The delivery guy, started looking anywhere but at us, fidgeting on his feet. "It's...it's $22.78."
Ford nodded tersely and got his wallet out. He handed the guy twenty-three dollars along with a hostile stare that just begged him to say anything about the minuscule tip. The kid practically shoved the pizza box at Ford and fled back to his car without even counting the money or looking at either of us again.
"Well, that was fun," I said with amusement as I looked up at Ford. "You scared the shit out of that kid."
"Didn't I?" Ford asked as his mouth quirked up in a smug smile, but I noticed that his eyes were still hard as he watched the kid drive away. Oh yeah, I really, really liked possessive Ford. Probably more than I should.
"Of course, who could blame him." Ford's eyes met mine, and finally softened with amusement, before moving down to my chest. "Considering what he had in front of him." His eyes darkened with lust before returning to mine again.
I stepped closer and took the pizza from him, then reached up and patted his cheek a few times. "Come on, big boy," I told him with a smirk. "Let's go eat. You can play with my tits later. Okay?"
"Is that a promise?" he asked with a wide grin, his eyes flashing with excitement.
"And a guarantee, baby." I gripped the scruff on his chin in between my thumb and index finger, and pulled his lips gently down to mine. I gave him a brief yet ardent kiss, then walked away, leaving him stunned and both of us breathless as I headed up the stairs up to his apartment.
"Holy hell," I heard him mumble under his breath as he followed me. I smiled in self-satisfaction at the power I could wield over this imposing man.
"Want a beer?" he asked as we walked into his living room.
"God, yes," I said fervently.
"You got it." He left the room, and I set the pizza box on the coffee table. I kicked off my heeled sandals and sank down onto the couch with my legs curled under me.
When Ford returned he had two bottles of beer in one hand and two plates in the other. He handed me a beer and settled down on the couch next to me. He opened the pizza box and put two pieces on each plate, then offered one to me. I took it with a grateful nod. He watched me take a long swallow of beer before setting it down.
"Rough day, Jen?" he asked curiously before taking a sip from his bottle.
"Yeah," I said with a heavy sigh, thinking about my farce of a lunch with Tori.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I really didn't want to do that. After my initial guilt and sadness, I spent most of the afternoon getting angrier and angrier at Tori. I didn't know what I was going to do about this rift with my best friend, or how to make things right between us. However, I did know that I didn't want it to affect my evening with Ford.
"No, not really," I said apologetically as I frowned. "I'd rather just focus on you tonight, if that's okay."
"That's fine, honey." He smiled softly, but then his eyes turned ornery. "Wait until you see how very focused I'll be on you later." His suggestive tone made me smile.
We ate and drank our beers while we chatted, laughing often and just bonding. I felt so comfortable around him, and he was so open and willing to talk about anything. After we finished eating, Ford rose to get us a third round of beers and put the leftover pizza away. As he walked back into the living room, his doorbell rang. He made a perplexed and annoyed expression as he set the bottles on the coffee table.
"Let me get rid of whoever that is," he grumbled out and headed downstairs to his front door.
A moment later, I could hear a woman's voice. I couldn't make out much of what she was saying, but I clearly heard the word "baby" and "honey" float up the stairwell. My body stiffened in sudden anger, but before I could get too worked up about it, Ford walked back in with an older woman. She was tall and slender, with perfectly-styled shoulder-length reddish-brown curls and appeared to be in her late fifties. She was wearing a knee-length sleeveless purple dress and white heels. A beautiful white Coach bag hung from her shoulder. Her outfit was obviously designer and fit her perfectly. This woman was really put together. She jerked to a halt when she set eyes on me, her green eyes widening in surprise.
"Mom," Ford said as he shifted on his feet uncomfortably and motioned toward me. "This is my girlfriend, Jenny." He made a point of meeting my eyes with a smile as he called me his girlfriend. "Jenny, this is my mother, Victoria."
I rose, watching Ford's mother smile at me as a rush of nerves hit me. This was how I was going to meet his mom? Dressed in skin tight jeans with my cleavage on full display? Holy shit, the last thing I wanted was for her to think that her son was dating a slut.
"Hi," I said in a friendly voice as I stepped toward her with an outstretched hand. "It's nice to meet you." I put on my best smile and hoped for the best.
"Hello, Jenny. It's a pleasure to meet you too." She shook my hand, and her smile faltered a little as she eyed my outfit up and down. However, her smile widened as she glanced over at her son. "No wonder I haven't heard from you in over a week. You had much better things to do with your time. She's gorgeous, honey." A sudden blush came over me. This wasn't the reaction I expected at all.
"Mom," Ford grumbled uncomfortably. She ignored him and looked at me again.
"Ford hasn't mentioned you before," she said in a scolding tone that I'm sure was directed at her son. Ford rolled his eyes behind his mother's back, and I had to stifle a laugh. "Have you been dating long?" She was still holding my hand and looking at me avidly.
"Uh...I guess it's been a little over two weeks now." Wow, I didn't add up the time until now. I'd never been monogamous with the same guy for that long before. Ford was right. I was already changing.
"How did you meet?" Victoria asked enthusiastically. You'd think she'd never seen Ford with a girl before. I glanced over to see Ford watching us uncomfortably in bemused silence. Shit, maybe she hadn't.
"I met Ford at Apex Ink." I told her, hoping Ford didn't mind me telling her. "He gave me a tattoo." I turned and showed her my phoenix. Her eyes lit up as she admired her son's work on my shoulder.
"It's beautiful." She touched the tattoo gently. "My Ford has always been very artistic. He got that from my mother." Her eyes suddenly turned sorrowful. "It's like I still have a piece of her with me in my son's art."
"I'm sorry," I murmured sympathetically, unsure what to do in this situation as her eyes glistened with unshed tears for a moment. I placed my hand on hers to comfort her.
"No, I'm sorry, honey," Victoria said softly to me as she struggled with her grief. "It's been a long time since my parents passed away, but sometimes it still hurts a lot."
"It's okay, Mom," Ford said in a comforting tone. He pulled her into a hug and gave me a soft grateful smile over her shoulder. I smiled back warmly. Even though he was exasperated with his mother a moment ago, it was obvious he adored her, and it was sweet.
A moment later, Victoria stepped away from Ford, pulled a tissue out of her bag, and began dabbing carefully at her face. Her eyes fell on the six b
eer bottles on the coffee table, and she turned disapproving eyes on her son.
"It's just beer, Mom," he grumbled at her with a frown. "It's not the end of the world." They glared at each other for a second before his mother turned away. "At least it's not scotch," he mumbled under his breath in annoyance. I'm pretty sure she heard it, but chose to ignore him and the deeper meaning that I was clueless about here.
"Well, I should be going," she announced as she smiled radiantly at me again. "I didn't mean to interrupt your date, honey. I'm sorry."
"That's alright," I said sincerely, even if his mother confounded me with her shifting emotions.
"Hopefully, he'll remember to call his mother, even if he is distracted by his new girlfriend," she added with a sideways glance at Ford. This time Ford didn't hide his eye rolling from her at all. She pursed her lips and gave him a disapproving glare.
"I'll walk you out, Mom." Ford ushered her toward the door with a gentle hand on her back, clearly anxious for her to leave.
"It was very nice meeting you, Jenny," Victoria said kindly with a genuine smile. This woman was giving me whiplash.
"You too," I called out as Ford finally got her moving down the steps.
I followed them to the doorway, and stood listening to her berate him about making her worry since she hadn't heard from in over a week. Ford promised to call her more often in an apologetic tone. After he finally managed to get his mother out of the door, he stood at the bottom of the steps running his hand through his hair, his entire body tense and keyed up. He let out a deep heavy sigh then turned to come back upstairs. His eyes met mine halfway up, and a sheepish expression fell over his face.
"And that is the emotional roller coaster that is my mother," he said apologetically. "Sorry about that. If she doesn't hear from me in a while she gets a little crazy." He stopped next to me at the top of the steps. "More than normal anyway," he mumbled beneath his breath as he closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Wow." It was all I could manage to get out at the moment.
"I know how you feel," he said as he smiled down at me softly. "Even though I've been around her my entire life, she still throws me off and confuses the hell out of me."
I smiled up at him like an idiot, enamored by this big imposing man who clearly loved his mother, even if he thought she was nuts.
"What?" he asked in bemusement as he ran the knuckles of his left hand down my cheek softly.
"You are adorable," I told him as I rose up on my toes and kissed his chin.
"Adorable?" he asked as he gave me a mock glare.
"Yup," I patted his cheek. "Adorable. Get used to it." I walked away smiling and falling even harder for this man. I wondered how much longer I could stay in denial of the L-word, or if I even really wanted to anymore.
**********
"I could sit and stare at you all day, honey," Ford blurted out. We were sitting on his sofa again after his mother left, drinking our beers and talking.
He told me about the plane crash that killed his grandparents before he was even born. They were only in their forties at the time, and Victoria was just a teenager. It was no wonder his mother was still torn up about it. I couldn't imagine losing my Mom and Dad, let alone like that and at such an impressionable age. He just finished telling me about how overprotective his mom was because of her loss, when he paused in the middle of our conversation. He was looking at me now with a warm smile that made me feel soft and gooey inside.
"You're so beautiful, Jen."
I had to look away from his intense gaze to stare at the almost empty beer bottle in my hand, feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable about his compliment. No matter how many times he said things like that, I had a difficult time accepting them without feeling self-conscious. Having spent so many years feeling insecure about myself after Carter, it was hard not to think that he was just saying lines to get what he wanted from me. From my experience, it was what most men did to get in a girl's pants. I knew that wasn't what Ford was doing, but it was still hard for me to get used to it.
"Jen," he said softly. "Look at me."
I looked up to see a worried frown on Ford's face.
"You know, most people like compliments," he said with a wry twist to his lips. I know he intended his comment to ease my discomfort, but all he managed to do was to make me feel guilty.
"I'm sorry." I looked away again. I could feel the weight of Ford's gaze on me as I fiddled with the label on the bottle. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want him to know that I was so messed up that a simple compliment had completely discomfited me.
"Jenny," Ford said in concern as he took the bottle from me, set it aside, and grabbed my hand. I finally looked up to meet his troubled eyes. "When I tell you that you're beautiful, it's because you are. I'm not saying it because I expect something in return, or because I'm trying to manipulate you."
I nodded jerkily. I swear he could read my mind. "I know, but..." I sighed softly. Why did this have to be so hard? Why did something that happened to me so long ago still affect me so strongly?
"I'm not Carter," he said sharply, his intense eyes holding mine, and I couldn't look away again. His hand tightened around mine. "I'm not any of those other men who just wanted to use you. I...I care about you, Jen. I want you for you. Your beauty is only part of what makes me want you." Ford's other hand rose to cradle my cheek. "You're beautiful, Jen, inside and out, and I'm going to keep telling you until you believe me."
I bit my lip as a wash of equal parts desire and affection overtook me. This man never ceased to amaze me. His eyes darted down to my lips and began to darken with deep intense desire. His now midnight blue eyes looked like they wanted to own me and consume me. No man had ever looked at me like that before. Ever.
"You do things to me," Ford whispered in a harsh rasp. "You make me feel things that I've never felt before. I've never wanted anyone like I want you, Jenny."
"Ford..." I said in a breathless whisper.
He leaned closer, his lips almost touching mine. "Let me show you what you do to me." His hand slid to the back of my neck and gripped me in a firm possessive manner that made me shiver. "Let me show you how much I want you, how much I need you." His voice was a low rumbling growl, his eyes black pools of desire now.
"Show me," I whispered. "Show me all of it."
"I'm not going to hold back," he warned me in a voice that was taut, as if he were restraining himself by a mere thread. His lips brushed mine. "I'm going to own you." I shivered at his words.
"What if I want to own you?"
He licked his lips, a seductive smile pulling up at the corners of his mouth. "You already do," he growled, then kissed me ferociously, his mouth forceful and insistent. Holy shit, Ford had never kissed me like this before. He surged forward, pushing me down onto the sofa underneath him until I was on my back, his big body pinning me. His lips continued their assault on mine as his tongue thrust into my mouth, twisting and twining with mine. His hands began tearing at my clothes, like he couldn't get to my skin fast enough. Within moments, he had me naked under him. His hands roamed my body, setting me on fire as I clung desperately to him, my fingers clutching his shirt.
He ripped his lips away from mine, and began tracing a path of hard kisses and almost painful bites down my neck to my shoulder. I twisted and thrashed underneath him, already unbelievably turned on and desperate for him. I arched my back, offering my breasts to him. He snarled and latched onto my nipple, taking it into his mouth and sucking on it with deep pulls as his tongue lashed across it. A jolt of electrifying pleasure surged down to my clit, making it throb in time to my ratcheting heart rate. I dug my nails into Ford's chest and let out a long guttural moan.
"Holy hell, you drive me insane, Jen," he snarled between clenched teeth as he lifted his mouth from my breast. "You turn me into a goddamn animal." His teeth clamped down on my other nipple, his tongue working at it feverishly. My entire body seized as I hovered on the cusp of an orgasm from just his mouth
on my nipple alone. I teetered frustratingly right on the edge, until Ford abruptly thrust two fingers into my sex sending me careening over the other side, screaming and wailing out in pleasure.
When I came back to myself, Ford had taken his shirt off and was sliding down my body, his warm tongue trailing down my belly. Please, please, please let him be going where I hoped he was headed. It had been far too long since I had his mouth between my thighs. There was no finesse as his mouth reached my pussy and he thrust his tongue into me with a growl that vibrated against my clit. He fucked me with his tongue, his hot breath and scruffy facial hair tickling my inner thighs. I flew apart again and came down to the feel of his wide magical tongue licking up my pleasure.
Then he attacked my clit almost viciously, holding it firmly between his teeth as his tongue laved across it. My hips bucked off the cushions, the pleasure so intense that it was overstimulating and overwhelmed me. I couldn't help myself as I tried to move away from his mouth.
"Don't. Move," Ford snapped out commandingly, his tone low and intimidating. I glanced down to see that he had lifted his head to look at me. His eyes captured mine and held them, his gaze hard and fierce. I stilled immediately. "You will hold still, and you will take it." Ford was in Dom mode now, and I loved it. Disobeying wasn't even an option at this point.
"Yes, sir," I whispered breathlessly.
"Color?" he asked in a softer tone, giving me my out if I needed it. No one ever took care of me like Ford.
"Green, Ford," I whimpered, desperately needing his tongue back on me. I didn't have long to wait. He came down hard on my swollen sensitive clit, his tongue swirling and pressing into me. I came immediately, screaming and wailing his name. I don't know how I managed to hold still.
He continued his assault on my willing flesh, one orgasm after another blasting through me with barely a pause between them. Last time we did this, I had to call out "yellow" when the pleasure from so many orgasms became too much to bear, but this time I was determined to please him. The unbelievable waves of pleasure crested again and again, each one higher than the last. It pushed me to the edge, and threatened to tear me apart.
An Act of Restraint: Order & Chaos Book 1 Page 21
