Taking Jana (Paradise South #2)

by Rissa Brahm

  And it started when he’d given her the music player. When he’d known what she needed when she’d needed it. And he’d gone without so she’d be happy.

  “Hey.” His voice sent vibrations through her.

  She only smiled in reply as his hands reached for her.

  His hands were stealthy and confident, unzipping her dress. He lifted the strings from either side of her neck, his fingers brushing her skin as he did. Electricity shot through her. God, it had been so long. Forever. Or ever? That such a sensation graced her body.

  He gently pulled the straps wide, down over her shoulders, and down her arms. The brisk air of the room caught her off guard, and she felt her nipples harden while a chill sprinted up her spine. She had no bra, no barrier to his tender, sultry eyes. His fingertips tickled her skin as they slowly brought the satin straps down her forearms, the dress’s halter now bunched at her bellybutton.

  He smiled and shook his head. “You’re…astonishing.”

  She watched his thick, muscular neck as he swallowed hard, and she quivered from her core.

  He leaned in closer. At her ear. “You glow. You really do.”

  His breath in her ear drove her wild. Then, as if he knew she needed more, he pressed his lips to her neck, her collarbone, her shoulder while his fingers let go of the strings of her dress, and the black satin frock fell to the floor.

  He tilted his head as if studying her bare body, then circled around her and placed his fingertips on her shoulders from behind, sending tingling ecstasy up her neck.

  With his mouth at her ear, he kissed her lobe and moaned his apparent delight. “You are magnetic and mesmerizing Jana Park.”

  She was amazed and thankful and in heaven that he thought so.

  He moved one hand from her shoulder across her collarbone, sending such intense shivers down her body that she couldn’t help but giggle. His hand paused midway across the top of her heaving chest as his other hand dropped to her hip. He gave her a quick jerk back, and her ass was tight up against him and his solid manhood. A deep moan escaped her lips. He dragged the back of his hand now at her throat down her center and between her breasts, which were heavy with ache for him to hold her tight in his grasp. But he didn’t. He obviously wanted to take his time. And she’d be patient, trusting he knew exactly what she needed, what she wanted, what was best.

  His hand reached her navel, palm flat against her stomach. Then he spun her around to face him. He pulled her tight to him and cradled her neck, gently forcing her head to look up. And in a swift motion, he kissed her mouth more deeply than she’d ever been kissed. His tongue and lips were masterful, teaching her mouth how to take such a sweet assault. The hand on her back swooped down her back, down to her thighs, and he hoisted her up, his mouth still taking hers, making her core tense with heightening arousal.

  Three steps to the bed and he gently placed her down. He slowed his kiss to a halt and pulled back from her. His eyes absorbing her, she watched him examine her entire body. He stood back a pace, maybe better able to see her in full view? Of all the thousands of pairs of eyes on her in her lifetime, she’d never felt anything like his, like this. Antonio made her feel heavenly, priceless. Divine.

  He blinked as if to take a mental snapshot of her, then he gave her a sultry smile as he moved his hand up to the top button of his shirt. “I want to dance for you, Jana Park. I want to strip for you.”

  *

  He smiled, a troublemaking glint in his eyes. She shook her head as a light giggle fled from her lips.

  He reached into his front pant pocket and pulled out his mp3 player. “Are you ready?” he asked with a painfully sinful quality in his voice.

  Her core shuddered in response. God, she was so wet for him now. Anguishing.

  He selected a playlist then moved to his side table to place the device on his speaker dock. He’d picked the second Latin track from her playlist. Oh God, this was going to be good.

  He backed up a few paces and then anchored himself in a strong wide stance. As the punchy beat kicked in, he started the show with a slow and sexy hip roll. God, he was adorable and so scorching hot at the same time, it made her crazy with need.

  He lifted one eyebrow as if he read her thoughts. “Do you like the show?” he teased as he took his top shirt button apart, then the next.

  “I really, really do.”

  The music picked up then, and he really started to get into the role. A flare with his wrist here and a Latin hip snap there. He was making her laugh out loud, and at the same time, he drove her out-of-her-mind wild. She was already so primed for him, and she was only getting hotter as he teased on. His gentle gyrations made it impossible for her to ignore his bulging erection, held back by his snug black slacks. She’d leap off the bed and tear them off him if he didn’t get closer to her soon.

  His shirt finally fell to the floor. Jesus, his body was unbelievable, god-like. Then he started to work on undoing his pants. She licked her lips; she was so thirsty for him. With the way his body maneuvered, his rippling abs flexing with each body roll and hip thrust, she could only imagine his hardness over her and in her, rounding and seeking pleasure centers inside her she didn’t know she had.

  He was too damn delectable. Her mouth got drier as she watched him undo his belt, his clasp, his zipper. Oh God, she couldn’t contain herself. She flipped over on her stomach and spun around on the bed for a better view. On her elbows, chin in hands, her nipples were satiated for the moment with the firm cool pressure of the comforter beneath her. That would have to do until Antonio was done teasing her. Then he’d begin pleasing her. Oh Lord, with his ever-loving mouth and hands and cock, would he ever satisfy all of her. Every bit of her ravenous body.

  He grinned as if so pleased with himself, glad to make her insane with desire, and to make her wait for satiation. “Am I taking too long to undress for you, my beautiful princess warrior?”

  She clenched her teeth and huffed. “You know you are.”

  He only smiled bigger, but instantly threw down his arms, and his pants and boxers were all at once crumpled at his feet.

  He was so much man; she gulped down hard, imagining him forever inside her. “Antonio, I want you now. Please, just come here to me.”

  *

  He leaped onto the bed, rolling her over with a light nudge of his knee. His enormous length hovered over her body, and she clenched hard at the sight of the glistening tip just above his silken smooth crown. God, she craved the taste of him like a parched lioness finally nearing the edge of a watering hole. The wait had been too long in so many ways.

  “I want to make love to you, Jana. God, so badly.”

  “If you don’t, I’ll kill you.” She smiled and pulled him to her, finally hot skin on skin, she dug her fingers into his back as she felt his glorious cock sliding in between her slit, but only hovering outside her sex, teasing there. He was so close it hurt.

  He nibbled at her ear, his hot breath showing her how badly he wanted her, needed her, as badly as she needed him. Her lower lips held his beautiful cock, embracing him, keeping him while her sensory spots ignited with every rocking stroke. His hips moved expertly, and his hard ass cheeks tightened with every plunge forward, flexing with every retreat back. Her clit sparked to life, engorged and needy, getting more sensitive with every one of his thrusts forward. She hummed in response.

  He continued to tease her there while he moved his mouth from her ear to her breasts. Thank you, God! Her heavy and incited breasts, her tight nipples, had been waiting for his attention.

  His moist lips kissed one nipple while his hand gently pinched the other then cupped that breast firmly. It was like he’d goddamn read her mind–again. His kisses turned to wet trails with his tongue, the air in the room chilling her everywhere his tongue had been. Swirls around her nipple made her sex squeeze, his cock still just outside her need, waiting there, baiting her at the outside of her arousal. He moaned, and the pleasure in that sound made her demanding. “Be deep
in me, Antonio. God, now, please.” She was exhausted from waiting. For so long, she’d waited for him. The him she didn’t know existed on Earth.

  Finally, after such a life-crushing string of time, she’d been sent a gift from above. Antonio, her guardian angel, her rightful lover, her sweet and powerful friend.

  CHAPTER 40

  He did make love to her, long sweet love. And he didn’t ever want it to end. His fit with her was so perfect, too perfect. And their ability to read each other, find each other’s every sensory spot, every pleasure point, was like nothing he’d ever experienced. Their lovemaking was a symbiotic joining of two souls. He was factually hooked.

  He held her tight as she finally fell asleep. He was on the brink himself, but couldn’t stop watching her and that glow of hers. He moved his hand to the space between her tender breasts to feel her chest rising with each breath. He didn’t want to fall asleep and by mistake actually wake from the dream that he’d fallen into.

  But sleep did take over. Not even a Sahun master can defeat the body’s natural mechanisms, and when he woke with the sun, she was indeed gone from his side.

  *

  He stretched and reached for his boxers then left his bedroom to find his dream come true.

  It didn’t take him a minute to find her in his tiny apartment. Jana was leaning up against his kitchen counter, a coffee in one hand, his tri-folded morning paper in the other. A vision in white, she was wearing the shirt he’d worn the night before, and only that shirt. Please, God, make this be every day.

  “Hey, you. How’d you sleep? You worked hard. I imagine you slept hard too.”

  “Sleep? Hah! Not with you tossing and turning,” he teased. Actually, she hadn’t moved a muscle. Her stunning body had fit perfectly along his, and she’d stayed tucked in his shape for the entire five hours. “Want some breakfast?” he asked, heading to the barely-filled fridge.

  “No, thanks. I’m okay. Kinda want to get today started so it ends that much faster—the bank, the hospital and my mother, the club, Johnnie.” Her smile wasn’t convincing, but she tried all the same. “Coffee’s here. Then maybe we can go through a donut drive-thru.” She laughed. “I totally deserve deep fried sugar craziness after such a workout.”

  “You’re so bad, and yes, we should. That is what we’ll do. Deep fried sugar craziness.” He winked in agreement, and then poured himself only half a cup of coffee. “Which bank do you need to stop at?”

  “No bank with you in those boxer briefs,” she said, eyeing him, her arm outstretched to pull him to her. “I’m bound to procrastinate our departure to anywhere with you in those. Or out of them.”

  Where had this woman come from? This could not be further from his reality, and in case it was a delusion or a waking dream, he moved toward her and kissed her mouth with all he had. He pulled away for air, then kissed her neck, pecking his way up her jaw line, her earlobe, and then drew back again, only his hand holding her hair back from her face. He stared, taking her in. In case it was a dream, he needed to memorize every minute detail. If it were a dream, he’d live it until the dream bubble burst. He placed his lips on hers again and lingered there until she slapped his ass.

  “Let’s go shower together,” she said, hopping up excitedly. “The bank doesn’t open until nine anyway.”

  *

  His recurring shower fantasy had been nothing compared to the real thing.

  Seeing her body glistening under the water’s downpour, her curves highlighted, her soaking hair down the length of her back, it was enough to take him over the edge. And learning her body, exploring, discovering what made her writhe with pleasure, was his pleasure, and was pure and unadulterated magic.

  Don’t you dare wake up, Antonio. Because pure magic is what dreams are made of. And they’re as fleeting as this single moment.

  *

  She was so used to taking care of people.

  For the first time in her life, someone initiated genuine care of and for her. Antonio and his sweet attention toward her were too strange, too surreal, almost uncomfortable, yet deliciously blissful at the same time.

  But she couldn’t hope to fight her nature, and really, she had no desire to, not with Antonio. She wanted to give him pleasure, happiness, and sweet ecstasy too, like he’d given her.

  She made her way around his solid body and knelt down on the shower’s hard tile floor, the warm water pouring over her. She took his beautiful, shimmering steel into her mouth and worked to bring him to the ends of the earth. Every dip of her tongue, each deep insertion, and the energy she put into giving him release made her own sex clench and quiver. But her heightening arousal wasn’t nearly as important to her as him coming to his peak.

  He came as the hot water ran out; the icy needles pelting down had no effect on the brute force of his orgasm, his cock’s pulsating release rippling against her tongue. She held him in her mouth for the aftershocks, loving the power she’d pulled from him and the pleasure she’d given him.

  He lifted her up from kneeling, hoisting her to his chest, cradling her bottom in his arms. Her breasts were flush with his chest’s slick, muscular planes.

  He leaned her up against the shower wall, kissed her mouth gently, sweetly, and whispered through his kiss, “God what you do to me.”

  “Feeling’s mutual.” Her words couldn’t do justice to what her body and heart felt while in his embrace.

  “Now, it’s my turn to get you, but we need to relocate, it’s too damn cold in here.” He laughed as he carried her back to the bed, laying her down dripping wet and shivering. He grabbed the throw from the bottom of the bed and covered her up. He bent her knees, holding her feet up at the edge of his bed, and ducked under the heavy throw.

  When his soft lips grazed her clitoris, she bucked her hips up from the sensory overload. He pressed her hips back down with one firm hand while his tongue moved into place at her slit. Back and forth, back and forth, sweeping through her needy lips, hitting her most sensitive points all along the way. He took such delicate care of her, putting all his dedicated attention into every teasing twirl of his tongue. He sent a continual tingling wave up her spine, and she’d arch her back in response only to have him force her body back down so he could continue his onslaught.

  Then he hit it, her point of no return. All the deepest and most closely guarded holdings within her were released in a torrent.

  Oh God, this man. He was a cathartic potion that she’d never known before.

  CHAPTER 41

  After that morning’s deluge of release, she thought she’d reached her maximum quota for the day. But when she left the dress, the purse, and shoes on the kitchen counter of Johnnie’s apartment, another spark of relief warmed her insides.

  But she’d have to see Johnnie tonight and the nights after that. Still, she wouldn’t let anything get in the way of her current high.

  She collected her clothes, threw them in her bag, and locked the studio apartment door behind her. It was a huge step away from being at Johnnie Demonte’s mercy.

  She buckled her seat belt as Antonio pulled away, heading toward the commercial district, for donuts and the bank before going north to Fort Lee. His hand slid over to her leg, and she took his hand and squeezed. She felt a constant rush of new life each time she thought of last night, of this morning, and of them now. She felt lighter than a damn cloud. Screw all else; she was happy.

  “You good?”

  “Really good. Yeah.” She smiled at him.

  “You nervous about seeing your folks? About the bank statements?”

  “Nervous probably isn’t the word. My fury from Sunday has just turned into exhaustion. And not the good kind of exhaustion, like this morning from last night. More like a deep and desperate weariness,” she said, her shoulders falling that same instant. It was going to be such a long road. And her parents’ insistence on continuing to support her brother was a losing battle. The whole situation was a lose-lose for Jana. But it was her obligation.


  At least, Antonio was her glimmer of hope. He made her feel like it would all be okay. Like she’d find and fit all the floating puzzle pieces together over the next couple of months. Somehow. Somehow together, they’d make it work.

  “You still sure you want to go in tonight, to the club?”

  “I have no choice.”

  “You may have a choice.”

  “Winning the lottery?”

  “That or I could loan you the money.” His words lingered while his eyes stayed glued to the road.

  Was he serious? She coughed, trying to clear the sudden knot of all-too-familiar warning from her throat. “I could never, would never!”

  Like he even had enough. She didn’t think he had a clue what kind of money was at hand here. “And you’ve been saving to go back to Mexico. I couldn’t take that from you.” Even though she didn’t want him set on Mexico. She wanted him to be here, with her, near her work, her city.

  Her heart sent a warning to her head in the form of a sudden headache, thick and furious. Morse code under her skull.

  “I’m not leaving for Mexico without you, Jana. So if it makes things faster, takes care of your family situation, why not?”

  Wait. Me in Mexico?

  Her eyes must have spelled out her thoughts.

  “We are too good together to be apart, Jana. Won’t you come home with me? To Puerto Vallarta? You will love it. You won’t believe how amazing it is. No cutthroat, superficial games, and bullshit like life is up here. Just you and me and my family in paradise. Our family…yours and mine, princessa. Our very own life, children, future.”

  *

  A flood of confusion and wonderment swept through her.

  A family? A real family? Their own family? With Antonio. Paradise.

  Paradise? That’s a state of mind, not a real place, right? A place of make-believe.

  But being with Antonio definitely felt like heaven, like paradise. And it felt real.

  Couldn’t they be in paradise together wherever they were and stay here, in or near Manhattan? Because all she’d worked for, God, that was her paradise, too. Puerto Vallarta was a world away. Her lifelong purpose, since she could hold a toy stethoscope, was to be what she’d finally become.