I laughed and nodded. “Yes. I work at Arch Limited. I tried to contact him about his book,” I said and sipped my drink.
“For the book,” Ian said and lifted the corner of his mouth. “I want to read it too, but he’s been quite tight lipped about it. You know if you ever do go out to San Francisco, I know a few people there. I actually toured Skywalker ranch.”
A grin spread across my face and I mockingly clasped my chest. “Oh my God. Wow. Did you take photos?”
Ian’s smile broadened. “Of course I did.” We laughed. “Now I’m smiling. Your smile is infectious,” he said quietly.
Jonas came back to the table and I turned to him.
“Paul was trying to squeeze in a few friends with him for his visit with me,” Jonas said, the corners of his mouth turned up.
“He doesn’t want to hang out with his dad. Give him a break,” Ian said. “You didn’t give in?”
“Nope,” Jonas said, lifting his chin and taking a sip of his drink. “I did, however, agree that he can meet a friend already living here.”
I ate a few bites and put my fork down.
“A little more, Lily,” Jonas said softly. He held out his chopsticks with a beefy slice of salmon before my lips.
I looked away. “I’m full.”
Jonas leaned next to my ear and said. “You’ll need your strength.”
“Jonas,” I said in mock annoyance.
His lips twitched.
“That’s sweet,” Ian said and chuckled.
Jonas didn’t say anything, but continued to feed me more until I placed my hand over my mouth in mock refusal, which made Ian laugh all the more.
“Lily, if you ever want to see those photos of my trip to Skywalker ranch….” Ian said. He reached in his coat and handed me a card.
Jonas looked at Ian. “What photos?” his tone light.
I smiled. “Ian is a Star Wars fan, and he said he has pictures of a tour of the Skywalker ranch.”
Jonas’s eyes flashed at Ian. “Oh, did he?”
“Yes.” Ian cleared his throat. “I visited a while ago. Since I’m here now, I thought I could show her the photos if she wanted to see them. As a fellow fan.”
Jonas merely stared at him.
I reached under the table and squeezed Jonas’s hand. “I’m fine. I don’t need to see. Thank you.”
“No,” Jonas said. “Maybe we can all do this together sometime.”
I broadened my smile and let go of the breath I hadn’t even known I was holding. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Ian said evenly. “So, Jonas, do you think we can reach Steven…?” He launched into a renewed conversation about business.
I sipped a little of the sake and listened as Jonas spoke, his inflection and tone so confident. I marveled at his ability to negotiate. Hell, whatever he said he had sold me, though I wondered why he invited me to dine with them in the first place. Finally, he motioned for the waitress to come and paid the bill. Then we all walked out of the restaurant, Ian stopping at the door. “This is where I leave you two.” He tilted his head. “Very nice to meet you, Lily. Jonas, I’ll see you soon.”
As we moved to the car, I couldn’t help but feel a distance from Jonas. I wondered if I had done something wrong, though Jonas hadn’t said anything. When we settled in the car, I glanced over at him. “Is everything alright?” He pulled me close to his side and kissed my lips. “Everything is fine. Just Ian testing me.”
“Testing you in what way?” I asked as David pulled right into gridlock traffic.
Jonas exhaled. “Trying to,” he paused, “never mind.” He kissed my lips lightly.
Once the door was closed, I smiled and scooted a little closer to him.
“I know you like Star Wars, but….” Jonas said.
“But you don’t want me hanging out with Ian while you’re out of town,” I said, peering at him through my lashes.
“That obvious, I suppose,” Jonas said, looking straight ahead. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I don’t trust him. Don’t get me wrong, Ian is probably as close to a friend outside of Dani that I have.” He turned his head and looked at me. “But we are just getting…used to each other. I would rather we spend time together.”
Jonas, insecure? I stared at him in bewilderment. “Ian seems nice and all, but I don’t feel the same way I feel about…. “ I let the words die as I held my own uncertainties. Jonas reached out and placed his arm around me. I sunk in against him as we rode through the night traffic.
The sounds of the sirens, and beeping horns blocked out the quiet that settled between us. The thoughts of having Jonas still ruled my mind as we made our way over to Park Avenue and back to the Astoria. Once out of the car, Jonas kept me close as we made our way back up to his suite. However, when we reached the suite, I felt a shift between us.
“Remove your clothes,” Jonas commanded the second the door was closed.
My lips parted. “Right now? Come on. Can’t you just take me?” I said, laughing as I removed my coat and hung it in the closet.
“Is that your fantasy?” Jonas asked with a salacious grin. “If you want to try a capture fantasy, I’d be open to hearing about it. And any others you have.”
I flushed. “Maybe. I don’t know. I just feel under the spotlight undressing for you.”
“I like you under my spotlight,” Jonas said, his gaze heavy on me.
A tingle went through me and my pulse increased. “Do you have a fantasy?”
“Yes,” Jonas paused as if relishing my apt attention, “that’s the look of my fantasies. Your attention and eagerness to please me.”
I sucked my bottom lip in. I couldn’t deny it. “That’s the part that gets me in trouble.”
“Not with me,” Jonas said. “My fantasy has you naked at my feet, ready and eager to do anything and everything I ask of you.”
I covered my face to hide my reaction. That sounds hot, except for the naked part.
Jonas walked over and tugged my hands down. “You like that part. It gets better.” He pecked my lips. “But you’re not ready for that.” He removed his shoes and suit jacket, then walked further into the room. I followed after him, until he stopped inside the bedroom and hung the jacket inside a closet there, then sat down on the king-sized bed.
He held out his hand. “Follow me.”
My nipples hardened as heat sparked inside me. I took his hand.
“That’s the look I enjoy seeing on you,” he said.
My mouth went dry as I pulled the end of my dress up and over my head, revealing my white lace bra.
“I’m speechless, Lily,” his response was husky and deep. “You make it hard to show any restraint around you.”
My hands shook as I eased my bra down my arms and off. His breathing quickened as he watched me bend down and fold my clothes for him.
I stood and handed him the pile. Placing them on the side table, Jonas sat back and adjusted the front of his pants. My breathing grew ragged as his gaze roamed over me.
Jonas stood up. “Lay down on your back and spread your legs.”
Pulling back the duvet and climbing on the bed, I trembled in anticipation as I spread my legs. His gaze was on my pussy, making me wetter as he quickly removed his shirt, trousers, and briefs. I ran my tongue over my lips as I watched him grip his cock and climb on the bed. He settled between my thighs.
“Masturbate. I want to see how you pleasure yourself,” Jonas said.
My skin heated. “I’m not comfortable doing that with you right here looking.”
Jonas leaned down, kissed my thigh and smiled. “We’ll do it together this time.” He positioned himself behind me, his erection pressed against my ass as his arms circled my waist. His skin hot against my back. He opened me up and leaned his head over my shoulder, his warm breath coming in heavier as he focused in at the apex of my thighs and waited.
I trembled as I timidly moved my left hand and circled my finger around my clit,
an unanticipated moan escaping.
“So sexy, Lily.” Jonas’s fingers followed the same path as my own. My breathing sped up as we circled, my fingers dipping down through my slick labia fast.
“That’s right. Use me,” he grunted. His fingers drove me faster as the coiling low on my body tightened. Opening my legs wider, I took Jonas’s fingers and put them to use, rubbing and pressing against me as I moaned and rocked against them. “Jonas. I’m. Coming. Jonas.”
“Yes,” he hissed. I cried out as I came. Breaking apart in his arms. He moved on top of me. The head of his cock just penetrated my sex. Grasping my arms, he secured them over my head before pushing inside me in one continuous hard thrust, making us both cry out.
“I can’t be gentle right now,” Jonas said roughly. “I need you to take it.”
“Yes. I will,” I said, though he probably wasn’t looking for an answer. Using every muscle in his arsenal, he slammed his cock inside of me.
Arching to meet his need, I cried out as pain and pleasure filled me.
“Oh, Jonas.” My voice wasn’t one I recognized. Born from the sensation of his deep and fast penetration. I gazed up at him. Heavy eyelids. His jaw clenched tight. Holding on, until his mouth went slack and he came. He kept thrusting and I joined him convulsing, my arms still trapped in his.
He kissed me and let go of my hands, then moved me to spoon against him. I was completely sated and exhausted, ready for sleep. To my surprise, Jonas joined me. He stirred hours later and I woke in his arms.
“Is it always like this?” I asked, closing my eyes.
“What? Sex?” Jonas asked.
“Yeah. Well. Never mind,” I said. I moved away and twirled the ends of my hair.
“Doesn’t matter what it always is,” Jonas said. “What matters is what you feel when we have sex together.” Jonas turned my head and kissed me. “I should get some work done. I have some press coming up. Part of my self-promotion for the book everyone has been asking me to write and publish.”
Yeah the book. I blushed. “Like me.”
“Now you,” he nuzzled my neck, “I don’t mind a bit.”
My brows came together. Because I already got a presentation out of him.
“What are you thinking about?” Jonas asked.
I smiled at him and relaxed my face, but decidedly didn’t tell him. Instead, I said, “You’re like a machine. Always working to do more. I admire that.”
Jonas sighed. “I didn’t have a choice, to be honest. It was the way I was brought up. My father chose every part of our lives. Planned it out from birth to death. Like all Cranes before him. Trinity School, then Harvard Business. My brother Vincent escaped, but not me.”
My heart constricted as I saw raw emotion on his face. I pulled him to my breasts and he rested his head. “That must have been hard. Did you want to do it?”
He snuggled close. “I don’t know. I believe it was now, but I never knew different. It was his expectation of me, and his expectation became everyone’s around him. He wanted me to be him. A leader. I was raised to set the bar, and do whatever it took to stay on top.”
“Yeah. Mathias Crane was renowned,” I said stroking his hair. So soft like silk. “You too.”
He exhaled. “When I was young in his business firm, he found out I let a friend get away with stealing a client. So he demoted me, and promoted him.”
I frowned. “That’s completely unfair. You must have been devastated.”
Jonas looked up and gave me a small smile. He rubbed the skin between my brows until I stopped frowning. “He told me his ‘fucking me over’ proved he was smarter and more committed than me. After that, I worked harder and took every client away from that friend. I crushed his business. That earned me my first partnership.”
I stroked the sides of his face. “That must have been so difficult.”
Jonas leaned into my hand. “It was. I learned then that if you want to succeed, you put your work first. And do whatever it takes to attain success and keep it.” He peered at me through a fan of thick lashes. So achingly beautiful, Jonas.
I kissed him and wrapped myself close, cuddle against his body. “That’s harsh, but you were under a lot of pressure.”
“I was,” Jonas said quietly. “But it was my father’s way. He didn’t have any friends, just business. My mother divorced my father when I was nine. Or ‘upgraded’, as my dad put it, to his friend. A friend he crushed in business too, mind you. She put us in boarding school the second we could walk, so I didn’t care or notice when she left, but that didn’t work for my father. He needed to see her suffer for leaving him alone.”
“Where is your mother now?” I asked gingerly.
He blinked. “She’s in Connecticut, at a nursing home. She has early onset dementia. Doesn’t even know or remember what she did.” The raw emotion on his face made it difficult for me to sit by, but deep down I knew he needed to be heard. I leaned in and kissed him. He exhaled and was silent for a few minutes, but then continued.
“Dani made it so that Paul and I go see her. That’s just how she is…was, with me. Followed me and led when I needed her to.” He cleared his throat, “As for my father, after my mother left, he made sure he was never alone again. He made…arrangements with women.” He flicked his eyes at me. “The only people that attended his funeral were me, Dani, and Paul,” Jonas said. “Dani and I promised each other that Paul would make his own path. Follow his dreams. I want him to be better than my father…and me.”
A pang went through my chest as I met his cloudy eyes. “I’m sorry for your father, but I don’t believe you’re like that.”
“I am. I became him now, anyway,” he said dully and sighed. “There you go again. Pulling me out of myself and getting me to share things I don’t tell anyone.” He rose up and clasped the sides of my face. “Only you, Lily. I don’t know how, but you make it easy. I did with Dani too, I guess, but….” He gazed into my eyes intently. “Even after I told you how cruel I have been in business, you still look at me the same. Like I’m special.”
“You are special, Jonas. You work hard and care for your family. You employ thousands of people through your companies. You work tirelessly to help educate those coming after you. You’re caring, thoughtful, passionate, generous, and.…”
He stopped me with a kiss. “So are you, Lily.” A small smile playing on his lips. “Now enough about me. I would love to sketch you,” he said.
I rubbed my eyes. “Now?”
“Yes.” Jonas pecked my cheek then climbed off the bed, walking over to the closet and removing a sketchpad and a small box of art coals. He seemed almost shy as he made his way to the bed and sat back down and waited for an answer from me.
I grimaced. “My face?”
Jonas rubbed my leg. “Not just your face. All of you just as you are.” He leaned down and kissed my inner thigh. “Beautiful and perfect.”
I looked down and let my hair fall into my face. “I’m hardly perfect.”
Jonas put the sketchpad down and climbed on top of me, kissing me passionately. “I think you are. And this means a lot to me.”
I curled my chin under. “I guess, but….” I lifted up and tugged the sheet.
“If I give you some modesty. May I?” Jonas draped the sheet around me.
My chest fluttered as I watched the joy spread across his face at the possibility of sketching me and I knew instantly I would agree to keep it there. “Okay.”
He smiled broadly. “Thank you.”
Jonas maneuvered me on my side and back and became engrossed in his sketching. I tried to peer over to look at the pieces, but he stopped me.
“Wait until I’m done,” he said.
I smiled and nodded at him as his eyes moved over the curves of my body while he sketched on his pad. When he was done, he climbed on the bed and presented the images to me. His drawings were beautiful and I could see that, but I could also see everything I wished to change about myself.
; He sensed the shift in my mood, and put his pad and coals away and came back to the bed.
“What’s wrong, Lily?” Jonas climbed in the bed next to me.
I averted my eyes and turned the corners of my mouth up. “Nothing. I’m tired.”
Jonas frowned. “You’re lying. You have that sad look again, but now you’re trying to hide it,” he said. “Did you dislike the sketches?”
I swallowed. I could tell he was guarded and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. “They’re beautiful. I guess I wish…I don’t know.” I glanced over at the sketchpad. “She could be a little different.”
Jonas captured my chin and lifted it up to him and studied me. “The sketches are not separate from you. You’re beautiful. Your full breasts, your hips. Every piece of you,” he said assuredly.
My bottom lip trembled. “Thank you,” I said softy.
Jonas studied me, then said softly, “Oh, Lily.”
What did he see? He didn’t explain, but started kissing me and stroking his hands over my body. When I was completely desperate for him to fill me, he moved my legs open and pressed inside me. And though I knew it was my own personal demons, I moved my legs around him and admired his willingness to try to change my mind.
Chapter 13
My desk phone chimed, calling me back from the fog that had clouded my thoughts since I arrived at work this morning. “Lily Salome, how may I help you?” I said, using my professional voice.
“It’s Olivia at reception,” her tone musical. “You have a delivery.”
“I’ll be right down.” Placing the phone back down, a grin spread across my face, chasing away the melancholy that had settled there since Jonas had dropped me off at Arch after our breakfast. Our last night. Jonas was leaving New York tomorrow morning. Although we shared a lot over the week, we hadn’t yet discussed when he would return or if he wanted to continue our companionship.
Rising from my desk, I took the stairs down to the lobby and walked over to Olivia at the reception desk. Her big brown eyes were as wide as her smile when she motioned towards a pretty large bouquet of Tiger Lilies and dark truffles, which I opened right away and shared with her. I inhaled deeply the incredible scent of the flowers. They were beautiful and smelled incredible, just like the man I knew sent them to me, Jonas Crane.
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