Game, Set, Match (A Humorous Contemporary Romance) (Love Match)

by Malone, Nana

  She shook her head. “No. Well, yes, she did that earlier. He’s got a sleepover with a friend tonight. I saw her come back though.”

  “I last saw her in the midst of giving Simon a proper what-for about something.”

  She flashed him a grimace as she searched the main office. “I hope they didn’t kill each other. I suppose I should be grateful they didn’t get into a bitch fight in the middle of the opening.”

  He wondered if he should tell her about their earlier sparring match, then thought better of it. Let her believe everything went smoothly. No reason to ruin her image of a perfect evening. “Yep, we’ll thank God for small favors.”

  “I don’t know what it is with the two of them. They were never the best of friends, but it’s gotten worse of late.” She chuckled. “Part of me wants to tell them to either go ahead and shoot each other, or go ahead and sleep together. At least that way, we’ll all get some peace.”

  The clashing images of uptight Simon and punk rock Jessica in flagrante forced a snort of laughter out of his lungs. “Somehow I doubt we—”

  A thud from the coat check interrupted him. The two of them exchanged a curious look before simultaneously heading in the direction of the noise. As they approached, the thud turned into a series of thuds and increased in frequency.

  Izzy levered her hand on the doorknob, and he flashed his out to meet hers. “Iz, wait. We might interrupt someone.” He raised his eyebrows to add emphasis to his meaning.

  “Oh c’mon, who has sex in the coat check? It’s so cliché. I mean—” Her voice cut off abruptly as she swung the door open.

  The sight of the broad back of a charcoal gray suit jacket and bare brown male ass wrapped by pale feminine legs greeted them. Eyes squeezed tight, Jessica’s head rolled back as she moaned. “Yes, Simon. Harder. Yes—”

  Izzy closed the door on a rush of air and avoided his gaze. Shit, was she still hung up on the guy?

  Jason cleared his throat and rocked back on his heels. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  Eyes wide, she leveled a gaze up at him. “Are you kidding? This is fantastic.” As she pulled him away from the door, she giggled and chattered at high speeds. “They’ll finally stop sniping at each other, and he’ll finally stop giving me attitude about breaking up with him.”

  His eyebrows drew in. “So you’re not upset?”

  “Why would I be?”

  Unsure, he rubbed the end of his nose. “I don’t know, your best friend and your ex going at it in the coat closet.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not with him for good reason—absolutely no chemistry. If they make each other happy, all power to them.” She smiled and sidled up to him at the end of the darkened gallery hall. “And, in case you haven’t noticed, I came to this event with the world’s sexiest man.”

  “Well I won’t argue with a beautiful woman. You and People can’t be wrong.” He took both her hands and drew her closer. “So, am I to take you home, or am I to take you to Malibu?”

  The look she gave him made the blood rush out of his head about two feet south. “Is that what we’re calling it now? Going to Malibu?”

  He couldn’t help the laugh that burst forth. He shook his head and said, “I guess that is what we’re calling it now.” Leave it to Izzy to diffuse some of the thick tension that surrounded them.

  Turning serious, she gave him a long look and nodded. “Let’s go to Malibu.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Hey, why so far away?”

  Jason bit back a groan as she patted the seat next to her. Everything about her sent a siren call to him. Her perfume, her satiny skin, the rise of cleavage that peeked out above her dress. His fingers and tongue itched to taste and tease and explore. Not to mention plunder and ravage and live out every dirty fantasy he’d ever had about her. If he touched her now, they’d never make it into the house.

  He shook his head to clear the lust thickened cobwebs and croaked out, “Not yet, I want to look at you.”

  She dipped and angled her head, her lips parted in a feminine smile. All the while, she patted the seat again more insistently. “You’ve been looking at me all night. I want you to touch me.”

  Damn, he wanted to touch her. His hands ached as they remembered the feel of her full breasts. He wanted to feel her hair through his fingers and kiss the nape of her neck and a slew of other things he wouldn’t be able to stop once he started. “And I want to touch you.” He shifted to give himself more room in his pants. “I want to take you home and treat you like the princess you are. Not go at it like two teenagers in the back of a Buick.”

  She considered him, then narrowed her gaze. Delicate French tipped fingers adjusted the material of her dress, bringing the sleeves into perilous danger of slipping off her slender shoulders.

  He coughed, desperate to clear an airway to his lungs, as his eyes snapped to the line of material just above her breasts. He prayed and willed it to slip off. His fingers gripped the edge of the leather seat, but he didn’t join her. Stubbornly, he set his jaw, and gave her a smile somewhere between wolfish and pained.

  Her resulting grin made his cock swell and leap against his trousers. She studied him for a several moments before she shifted to showcase the slit in her dress. Crossing her legs forced the satiny material to fall and reveal a smooth chocolaty expanse of bare leg to mid-thigh, tormenting his imagination. He locked eyes with her, and she cocked her head at him and smiled in invitation.

  His already ragged breathing ceased as he watched her slide her dress past the mid-thigh point. One inch, two inches. She kept up the movement, crossed and uncrossed her legs again, and drew his attention to the darkened valley between her legs. Is she wearing underwear? Did she wax?

  “Shit.” The ragged word slashed through his teeth as he launched out of his seat to join her.

  “Little girls who tease get punished.”

  Her eyes searched his face, a light of mischief danced through her expression. “I’m counting on it.”

  His response was swift and consumed him. He couldn’t hear any of the soft music that played in the back of the limo for the blood rushing in his head. His hands fisted in her hair. He dipped his head and hovered above her lips for several beats. Her mouth parted in open invitation, pink tongue moistening her lower lip.

  He tried to be gentle, but one taste of Champagne and chocolate and Izzy, and he forgot all about gentle. He cupped her head and held her in position while he explored every nook and cranny of her mouth with his tongue. Blood rushed and roared, and drove him to brand her, make her his, he didn’t know if he could stop even if the limo were on fire.

  She clamored to get closer to him, and straddled him to get better access. Her kisses were curious and sensual as she nipped at his lips, and he could have spent the rest of his life kissing her.

  Gasping, he fought for control. He broke the kiss and locked eyes with her. Brushing fly-away strands of her hair out of her face, he tucked them behind her ear. “You are so unbelievably beautiful.” She dipped her head shyly, but he held her head in place.

  “You make me feel beautiful.” Breaking eye contact, she looked around. “I think we’ve stopped.”

  Reluctant to let her go, he took a deep breath. She was right. The limo had crawled to a stop. “I guess we’ll have to wait until we can get inside. Do you think you can wait that long?”

  She groaned like a plaintive child forced to wait till Christmas to open her presents. Bending her head, she nipped, then licked his neck. “But I don’t want to wait.” She moved against the ridge in his trousers, forcing a groan out of his throat.

  Shit. Neither did he, but the chauffeur would open the door in a minute so they needed to disengage. With pained reluctance, he shifted her away from him and led her out of the limo. Once inside the house, Jason could feel the tight rein of his control begin to slip and eventually fade away. “Izzy, come here.”

  ****

  Izzy had no choice but to obey.
Every time Jason spoke her name, delicious tremors took over her nerves. She stepped toward him, her heart pounding in time with each step she took. Thud. Thud. Thud.

  When she stood directly in front of him, she could smell a familiar musky scent mixed with cologne. Voice hoarse and thick, she said, “I’m here.”

  Mouth dry, she peeked her tongue out to moisten her lips. His eyes tracked the travel of her tongue. They clouded, darkened until she couldn’t see his pupils. She couldn’t help but sway into him, the energy of his body pulled her in.

  “Put your arms around my neck.” His voice lowered several octaves, and she shivered.

  She obliged because it brought her closer to him and there was nothing she wanted more. When he dipped, she swore she’d feel the searing heat of his kiss, but he held back and only brought his lips close enough to tease and commingle their breaths.

  In an instant, steel-gripped hands lifted her off her feet and forced her legs around his waist. She felt his hands on her ass and gasped in surprise. He kneaded her flesh bringing her core against his shaft.

  “Jason.”

  “Remember what you did in the limo?”

  “Yes, I—”

  “Do it again.”

  Instinctively, she moved against him. Desperate to be closer. Desperate to feel all of him. He dipped his head to kiss her. His tongue teased her lips apart, eager to find its playmate.

  She felt them move, and she assumed he directed them toward the back bedroom. However, when he sat and took her with him, she realized they were in the living room. The fire burned strong and high in the fireplace, warming her to the point of overheating. She gave him a quizzical look. “You don’t want to go to the bedroom?”

  He trailed scorching open-mouthed kisses from her ear down to her neck. “We’ll get there.” He took a nip out of her neck which sent shivers coursing down her spine. “I’ve dreamed about you on this couch since I saw you curled on it last weekend.”

  She felt the heat rise and flush her face. He’d thought about her. Dreamed about her. That thought filled her with feminine power. She rocked her core against him once, then twice, and he bit off a curse. “Damn, Izzy.”

  She did it again, unable to deny herself the pleasure of feeling the length of him press against her. “Mmm,” she moaned, unable to stop touching him.

  While she worked on the buttons of his tuxedo shirt, he grabbed fistfuls of hair with both hands, gently tugging her head back to give him better access to her neck. The combination of pleasure and pain sent another shiver through her body. “God, Jason.”

  He kissed his way back up her throat to her lips. “You like that?”

  She muttered a yes, and he did it again with his left hand. His other hand traced a path of heat from her neck down the center of the dress. He alternated murmuring love words and taking nips of her neck, lips, shoulders.

  His right hand found its way into the bodice of her dress, and he muttered another curse as he dragged his lips from hers. He took several sharp, ragged breaths. “You’ve been running around all night without a bra haven’t you?”

  She gave a slow nod, and he rewarded her with a brief flick of his thumb over her left nipple. Intense pleasure forced a cry from her throat. She wanted to tell him that a bra wasn’t the only thing she’d gone without, but she figured he’d find that surprise on his own.

  Jason dragged the top of her dress down, and she wiggled to get her arms out of the sleeves. His eyes transfixed on her breasts with such intensity, she wondered if something was wrong. She looked down to see his bronzed hands splayed over her dark skin. His hips rocked, and she smiled. She wondered if she could die from pleasure.

  She dragged his shirttails out of his pants and went to work on the rest of his clothes. She unhooked the clasp of his trousers and slid the zipper down. His hands constantly moved and touched, but they jerked to a stop when she slid a hand inside his boxers and released him from the confines.

  He sat still for several heart beats as she stroked, jaw clenched. When she stroked him again, he growled out, “Izzy, stop. We should slow down.” She could feel his sharp intake of breath when she pumped him again. He growled out another warning before he placed a hand over hers to stop her ministrations. “You’re naughty, you know that?”

  She almost laughed. If desire weren’t pouring through her veins, and the ache at her core so strong she thought she might die from need, she would have. “I want you.”

  He released her and worked the piles of dress fabric to her legs. Strong, calloused hands grasped her thighs and trailed up her legs. When his fingers traced what would have been her underwear line, his half-lidded gaze widened, and he stared.

  “Shit, if I’d have known—”

  She rocked her hips against his seeking fingers, needing the penetration, needing the release only he could bring. “What would you have done if you’d have known?”

  He smiled, locking his gaze with hers as he slid one finger into her fevered center. Izzy moaned at the penetration. “Jason, what are you doing to me?”

  “Teasing,” he replied and inserted another finger. He began a steady rhythm, refusing to allow her to take over.

  “Please.” She tried to drag in a breath. “I don’t want to wait anymore.”

  He chuckled. “Impatient aren’t you?”

  “Yes.” She pulled him to her so she could kiss him.

  Grabbing the fabric of her dress, he bunched it together and pulled it up over her head. Completely bare, Izzy felt the prickling unease of exposure, and she wanted him just as naked. She tugged at his shirt until he dragged his arms free, a task made more difficult by his fascination with her breasts and the silken folds between her legs.

  His trousers demanded more creativity. He pulled a condom from his pocket, scooted to the end of the couch, and shimmied his legs free. The tremble in his hands as he sheathed himself sent a little thrill all the way down to her toes. Before she could fully recover, he shifted her into position and moaned her name. She was everything he’d ever dreamed of.

  Gripping her tight, he slowly levered them down back onto the couch and sheathed himself inch by inch. Izzy gasped his name as he filled her, and seared her tender flesh. The fit was snug, but her body accommodated and stretched to fit around his large size.

  “Jason,” she breathed.

  “Baby…”

  “Too big.”

  “God, you feel so—” He gripped her tightly to him caressing her back, hands moving to grip her cheeks, he moaned. “Baby, move for me.”’

  She didn’t need any invitation. As her body adjusted around him, she gripped his shoulders for support and used her legs for leverage.

  When she leaned back for a better angle, he dipped his head, taking her left nipple between his lips. As he laved and suckled, she felt the deep ache at her core. He grazed her nipple with his teeth, and she could feel her impending orgasm.

  He felt it as well because he stopped and mumbled against her breast. “That’s it. Let go. Come for me, baby.”

  Jason kept up the same slow and steady rhythm as if he were in no hurry at all. But, his clenched jaw, and his insistent stroking of her flesh, said he was as far gone as she. He kept up their rhythm and locked his lips with hers. His thumb circled her clit, massaging it into fevered attention.

  “Jason, I…”

  “Yes, Baby…”

  “I, I….”

  “Come on, Baby, come on…” Spoken on a guttural growl as he pumped and increased his movements. He never removed his lips from hers.

  The tingling spasms began at the base of her spine and spread until she barreled toward the edge of the cliff. On a scream, she came apart in his hands.

  She clutched him to her as he bucked his hips and increased the speed and force of his thrusts. Roaring, he joined her in a freefall off the cliff.

  ****

  A deep chill woke Izzy out of her slumber. She peeked an eye open and looked around trying to see through the pitch black that su
rrounded her. She reached for her blanket, but snatched her hand back when she came in contact with hard searing heat. Jason. Memories flooded over her as she recalled the limousine—the couch—the floor.

  She bit back the moan as her body responded to the memories. She’d been his to do what he wanted with, and she’d loved every minute of it. It wasn’t like she’d never had sex before. Just never sex like that. Raw and dirty and so satisfying. With Jason she could do anything with no fear.

  She sighed when Jason pulled her close to him and turned her over on the rug so they could spoon. As she nestled against him, the hard length of him nudged against her ass.

  He couldn’t possibly.

  “Hmmm, baby. You cold?” he whispered into her neck.

  She nodded and murmured something noncommittal. She didn’t feel nearly as cold now resting against his heat, but they couldn’t stay on the floor forever. She wiggled to get closer, and he growled.

  “Damn woman, I’m not a machine.” But that didn’t stop him from lifting her leg and shifting behind her to align his cock with her warm femininity.

  She felt him searching for something with his free hand.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Damn honey, I think we’re out of condoms. I left a couple down here, in the hopes you might, erm, come to Malibu. I didn’t think we’d go through them all.”

  She felt a flush warm her body from the inside. “Oh. I uhm. I’ve been tested in the last year, and I’m on the pill.”

  He hissed in a breath. “I had a clean bill of health at my last check-up. But we can just go upstairs. I’m pretty sure I have some more around here somewhere.”

  “I don’t want to wait.”

  “Are you sure, Izzy? I—”

  “Shut up and make love to me.”

  He chuckled and drew her back up against him. “Somebody sure is bossy. I could get used to this.”

  As he entered her with slow precision, she gasped. She hadn’t thought her body could handle any more, but her flesh parted and stretched to accommodate him.