He stands in the middle of the living room. “I can run out and grab take-out.” I shake my head, not hungry, not thirsty, not tired…only craving him. His muscular chest and shoulders fill out his shirt enticingly. My gaze sweeps down his long legs and back up to his angular face. I see uncertainty in his eyes. Has it occurred to him that he might need to question his stance with me?
“We need to talk,” I say. I gesture to the sectional.
“You’re right. I should never have hid anything from you, and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I knew you’d find out and it would be the end of us the minute I saw Lamont, my brother, with your mom—”
“Your brother?”
He ambles over to the sectional and sits, pats the space next to him. I settle beside him, intrigued to hear more.
“Speaking of secrets, turns out I’m not quite a Zephyr. Lamont Stephens and I have the same father. I suspect that’s the reason for Lamont’s animosity towards me now that we’re older. He feels the affair his father had with my mother led to the downfall of his family. But that’s neither here nor there. The point is, Kitrina, I really didn’t stay away because your mother was blackmailing me. I stayed away because I felt you needed the space and opportunity to grow into yourself…and I was right. Look at you. You’re flourishing.”
“Is that what you see?” He nods as he gazes intently into my eyes. I shake my head. “Because what I see is an empty house without you. A cold, hungry place with no love. It doesn’t matter how big it is or how well furnished. Don’t you see? None of my success brings me joy without you in my life.”
He takes my hands. “You sound like your old self,” he says with a tremulous smile.
“I love you. Do you love me, Jayson Zephyr?” I was afraid to ask before. I was afraid to take charge of the direction of this relationship because there were so many things that could go wrong. Now that I’ve hit every last pitfall and bump in the road, the fear is gone.
Jayson licks his lips thirstily. He leans forward and sips delicately from my mouth. I inhale his aroma and get lightheaded with desire. My hand rises to his chest. “I love you,” he whispers against my lips. His tongue eases into my mouth. He swallows my soft moan and nibbles at my bottom lip, pulling back to flick his tongue against the top. “I love you, Kitrina Schneider,” he repeats.
“Then, why don’t you let the future take care of itself, now that the past isn’t in our way anymore?”
A deep chuckle rumbles up from his chest as he wraps his arms around me. “I hear,” he says, “if you stick with a guy like me, you’ll be living paycheck to paycheck.”
“I’ve heard something like that, too. Fortunately, I’ve had a little experience with living paycheck to paycheck. I survived.”
He kisses me again. “I hear you’re out of my league.”
“I’m in your arms.”
“I hear—.”
“Did you hear me telling you I’m in love with you?” I interrupt.
Suddenly he reaches for the buttons of his shirt and begins to unbutton them. My eyes drop to his belt as the shirt comes free. My lips part slightly in anticipation. I take a deep breath when the shirt drops to the floor. “Are we ready for this type of commitment?” he asks.
“What type?” He grabs my face and brings my mouth to his. “Touch me,” I plead, eyes squeezing shut. My arms race around his neck, and my body presses against his warm, bare chest. The minute his arms encircle me I feel it. Home. He plunders my mouth with a passionate kiss that steals my breath.
“I want you to be mine, Kit. I want to marry you. Say yes.”
With wild abandonment, we come together in a clash of ribcages and thighs. Jayson lifts me off the sectional and stands me between his legs. “Yes!” I gasp, gazing down at him through a haze of desire. I run my hands over his crew cut.
“We’ve spent too much time with uncertainty,” he pants as he fumbles with the tie on my jogging pants, managing to push them down my legs. He groans lustily when he realizes I don’t have panties on underneath. He hoists me up and positions me on his lap. Time halts. “I’m still not certain, Kitrina. Not of anything but that I want to be with you. Forever. Can you accept that? I’m a work in progress. You’ll have to help renovate—”
“Shut the hell up and make love to me!” I cry. The hardness of his cock pulsates through his slacks. Dogged by desire, I anxiously tear open the fly of his pants and shove aside his boxers to wrap my fingers around the meaty sword.
“Kitrina, oh my God, baby,” he whispers hoarsely.
I shimmy down to show him with my mouth how I’ve missed the very taste of him. Sucking and fondling him, driven by overwhelming need, I draw ragged cries of pleasure from him with the tip of my tongue. I feel his gonads tighten, his cock grow ever harder. I rise back to his lap and sit astride, ready to receive.
“I love you. I want you,” I repeat over and over into the hollow of his neck, inhaling him and kissing him at the same time. His skin tastes like tears, salty and sweet. Jayson rips off my sweatshirt and tosses it to the floor. He grabs my breasts with both hands and runs his mouth from nipple to nipple. I cry out at the searing heat. Unspeakable pleasure zips through me from areolas to cervix with the tug of his mouth, suckling, licking, laving. He grabs himself and puts his swollen member to my entrance as if he would never forget how to get to me, and my body responds as if it will always remember how to open for him.
Jayson slips inside with a throaty moan, past the tightness of my untouched state. He powers into me deep and true, only to pull out and surge inside me again, writhing together like the fierce human animals we are. After months of not having him, my body explodes with excitement. I throw my head back and cry out in a long, loud wail as convulsions sweep through me. His arm snakes around the base of my spine to hold me as I climax, the length of my hair cascading down to the curve of my ass, my breasts pressed to his face.
As soon as the ecstasy returns to a high-pitched frenzy for more, I dance against Jayson with every single day of missed opportunities between us turning the desert into a rainforest, lush and steamy. Our mouths devour. Our hands chase swirls of pleasure through each other. I know he feels it too because he clings to me, sobbing my name just as intensely.
He takes me down to the floor and stretches above me, stroking sensually in and out, as my back arches above the antique rug. I take it. I take it all. Pleasure bursts through me in waves. Jayson coos love words that erase the hurt of thinking he had been with someone else. His nails dig into my hips as he clutches at me like he’ll never let go. His pelvis grinds against mine. His shaft slams inside of me. Pleasure, smoky and hot, races through my veins. Clinging to him, I counter-thrust with aggressive pumps of my hips, meeting his force and raising it.
I want him to feel every silky, pillowy, wet inch of my womanhood stroke and squeeze him as I take him deep and let him go. “Don’t stop,” I urge. I feel my sex become engorged. I feel it spasm. I feel my body slick and ready, ready to go tumbling over the edge into oblivion. Screaming out his name, I climax so hard my thighs clench around his hips as his pelvis juts forward to push all the way into me. “Jayson!”
He growls and lets go. My wetness multiplies.
But the frenzy doesn’t leave. I need him. My lips clamp against his, swallowing his throaty moans and groans. “Take me again,” I demand, half-sobbing. His arms come around me and he rises shakily to his feet. His lips burn a kiss on my shoulders, and he carries me up the stairs to my bedroom. We make love until our bodies give out. Until the panic fades. Until we fall asleep, positive we’ll wake up in each other’s arms.
Chapter 42
JAYSON
I stare at the velvet box in the middle of my desk. There’s a knock at my door which rouses me from erotic memories of what happened the night before—well, every night since Kit and I got back together. With late nights filled with explosive sex and long days spent talking on the phone, linking up when we can, I feel like an entirely different man than
the one who used to put work before everything. Hell, even my family has seen more of me lately since Kit spends as much time at my place as I spend at hers.
Smiling to myself, I temporarily stifle the kinky flashbacks before telling whoever it is they can come in, and to my surprise, it’s the prodigal son, Castiel. “What the hell are you doing here?” I ask with mock surprise.
“Bite me,” he laughs. “You knew I couldn’t stay gone for long. Four days doing absolutely nothing, and I’m going stir crazy. So, what have I missed?”
“Well…” I gesture at our surroundings as I lean back in the black leather office chair that complements the new office space. He looks around and gives an appreciative whistle. Gone are the days of dust, clutter and secondhand furniture. A fresh coat of paint on the walls brightens the place. I have new carpet, some framed art, decorative plants. Kit did a fantastic job.
Castiel snatches the ring box from my desk. “And what’s this?”
I chuckle. “Like you don’t already know. I’m sure Grace told you about it.”
“You really did it, you lucky bastard! I told her I wouldn’t believe it until I saw it for myself. Are you sure you want to make the big leap? Wow, man…this is…a change for you.” My little brother looks at me with awe. I can tell he’s blown away by the news.
I shrug. “Weren’t you the one who said I shouldn’t make this place my heart and soul?”
“How does Mrs. Schneider feel about it?” His voice drops at the end, skeptical of any good news.
“Mmm, I’m hoping she’ll come around. Kit seems pretty confident things will get better between them soon. She told me yesterday her mom started seeing a therapist to talk through some of her attachment issues. I hope it works out for the best for Candace. She seemed like a miserable woman when she couldn’t have her way, but I know there’s gotta be something sweet in there. After all, she made Kit.”
“Look at that loopy smile. Hot damn, you’re in love! This is hilarious.”
“Next up,” I fire finger pistols at him. “You and Grace.”
“Ha! Yeah, right. I still have some good years left in me, ole hoss. Nobody’s taking me down any time soon.”
Devon pops his head in the office. Ashby pushes in behind him, on internship at the company this semester. “What are you doing here?” Dev asks Cast with a grin.
“Congratulating—”
I hurriedly interrupt him by clearing my throat. “Actually, I haven’t made an official announcement yet.”
Dev blows out a breath. “About you and Kit tying the knot?”
“How’d you know?” I ask in surprise.
Ashby rolls his eyes. “Well, duh, you brought her home to meet Momma.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” I protest.
Castiel slaps his knee. “Well, it does now! Remind me not to bring any pretty ladies to Sabine anytime soon.”
“Got you covered,” says Dev.
“Why am I the one who always has to set precedents?” I complain with a grin.
“The minute I saw you talking to her at the bar, I knew,” Devon says confidently.
“Oh, yeah? How so?”
“Because I didn’t get to her first. Otherwise…”
I throw a fake jab at him and all of us bust out laughing. My assistant knocks before entering. “You have a visitor.”
“I wasn’t expecting anyone. Who is it?”
She glances down at a sticky note. “Uh, Lamont Stephens?”
Castiel, Devon, Ashby and I share a look. Cast pops his knuckles. “You need backup?”
“I don’t think we’re going to have any problems.”
Lamont slowly strolls into my office and looks around uncertainly at the four of us. It takes me to step forward with a handshake for the rest of the guys to relax a little. “Hey, bro. Can I help you with something?” I ask lightly.
He opens his mouth to speak. Nothing comes out. I see his eyes well up. Cast, the loveable rascal, charges at Lamont and wraps him in a bear hug. “Man, I haven’t seen you in eons, Monty! How ya been? You look good.”
Lamont chuckles nervously. “I’ve, uh, been well actually.”
“Great! Yeah, Jayson told us you were in town. We were wondering when we’d get to link up. Remember we used to play pickup in that trashy park across the street from our apartment complex? Hey, you remember, right, Dev?” Castiel drums up conversation. Devon nods. Ashby steps up and shakes Lamont’s hand.
Monty’s eyes widen. “Wow, look at you! You were a little tyke last time I saw you.”
Ash blushes, always uncomfortable with being the center of attention. “You used to help me put my chain back on my bike every time it came off.”
“Yeah,” Lamont sniffs. “Yeah, I did. I remember that.”
“We were about to step out and get lunch together,” I say quietly, improvising on the fly. He looks like he could use some friends…or family. “You want to join us?”
Lamont nods gratefully. He rakes a hand through his long, dark hair. “I’d like that. But first I want to say I’m sorry, Jay.”
I drag him into a hug. “No harm, no foul. Now, let’s go get some grub.”
“Zephyr style!” Cast pumps a fist in the air.
Ash pauses. “Wait, so since he’s your brother, does that make him an honorary Zephyr now?”
I laugh, caught off guard by the question. It’s funny, because when we were growing up, Monty used to ask something similar every time we pulled off any wild hijinks. “Does this make me an honorary member of your club now?”
“Yeah,” I murmur, looking at the newest addition to the brotherhood. “Yeah, it does.”
Epilogue
KITRINA
Standing in front of the full-length mirror, I gaze at my reflection and have to fan my face to keep from tearing up. This is the single biggest day of my life to date. My mother steps up behind me and pins her pearls around my neck with a pleased smile. “Oh, Kit, you look beautiful.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I murmur gratefully.
Grace peeks into the changing room. “Kit, you have to come line up. It’s almost time for everything to start.”
“I’m coming! I’m coming,” I say with nervous laughter. “Have you seen Jayson?”
“He’s out there. You don’t want to keep him waiting.”
“Do you have the camera, Mom?”
“I’ve got it right here. I can’t get over how beautiful you look! Oh, I’m so proud of you.”
I giggle at her gushing compliments. “I’ve gotta go, Mom. I’ll see you afterwards.”
“These things always make me cry,” she says, dabbing her eyes.
I dash out of the dressing room and follow Grace to the area where the rest of the graduates are lining up. She adjusts my graduation cap on my head and flashes me a final thumbs up before scurrying to her place in line, and I burble with excitement. I’ve done it. I’m graduating.
After two internships, countless class hours, careful tutelage from my mentor, and juggling a job and a loving relationship, I’m finally about to walk across that stage and accept my diploma. As I take my seat, I look over the crowd of smiling faces for his. Jayson and the rest of the Zephyr crew, including Lamont, sit in the same row as my mom and Grace’s family. I wave gleefully.
When at last the words I’ve been waiting to hear get spoken, it’s like time pauses for just a second, giving me the space to reflect on everything that’s happened in the past three years. The really big changes all started when I bought a house.
After a lifetime of being told what to do, being sheltered and protected in the process, the most terrifying thing for me was to step out on my own two feet. When I finally did it, I encountered stumbling blocks that made me question my choices, but I also learned that this questioning process was all a part of growing up. I learned that nobody gets it right every time. Nobody’s perfect.
I met a man who made my dreams come true when he renovated the quaint little place in Western Addition. And,
then he taught me how to dream new dreams when he renovated my heart.
To this day, Jayson will tell you it was me who renovated him. He no longer works super long hours as owner of a growing franchise of Zephyr Brothers Construction companies throughout the western half of the United States. He has qualified professionals handle the hands on management, which means he has more time to spend with his family and friends. He’s more hands off in his approach to dealing with his brothers, now that they’re all grown and living their own lives, but he’s always there when they need him.
For me, Jayson represents everything it means to be home. He’s safety. He’s security. He’s stability. He’s love.
The announcer tells the graduates to release their caps. I throw mine in the air and gaze up into the sun, waiting for it to come back down.
And, it just goes up and up and up and…
END
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Jayson: A New Adult / Coming of Age Romance Page 31
