Jordan grunted as she flung herself against him full force, but quickly recovered, wrapping his arms around her so tightly she could scarcely breathe. She buried her face against the side of his neck, breathing in the wonderfully familiar scents of his soap and skin, and dimly tried to recall exactly why she was supposed to be mad at him.
“Does this mean all is forgiven?” he whispered teasingly. “And after I was prepared to grovel and beg and be your willing slave for as long as it took to make things right.”
Aubrey gazed up at him, smirking a little as she took the roses from his grasp. “Oh, you’re still going to do all of that, mark my words. As far as the forgiveness bit goes, I suppose the roses are a good start. We can discuss everything in further detail when you buy me a really expensive dinner tonight. Pick me up at here at seven o’clock.”
Jordan grinned, giving her a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am. Whatever you say, ma’am. I’ll make a reservation at one of the best restaurants in the city. Anything else I can do for you until then? Name it and it’s yours.”
“Just this.”
Without warning Aubrey picked up Liam’s ball and threw it at Jordan’s head, smiling in satisfaction when it smacked him right in the middle of his forehead.
“I’ve been wanting to do something like that for the past two and a half weeks,” she announced cheerfully. “I feel much better now. See you tonight.”
***
“You look gorgeous in that dress, darlin’. But then, you looked gorgeous in your old jeans and wrinkled T-shirt earlier today, too.”
Aubrey groaned, holding her head in her hands. “Oh, God! So you did notice how awful I looked! I wanted to go change, you know, but Ian pointed out that there was no way to go around you in order to get to my bedroom. Ugh, I’m not even sure I combed my hair this morning.”
Across the dinner table, Jordan chuckled, then took her hands in his. “I didn’t notice. Nor would I have given a damn, because I was so happy to see you it didn’t matter in the least what you were wearing. Though if I’m being honest, this dress is a whole lot sexier than a faded San Diego Padres T-shirt.”
“Actually,” admitted Aubrey, “this is one of Tessa’s dresses. When I was trying to decide what to wear tonight, I realized I’d left all the nice things you’d bought me back at your place. And since I didn’t think one of my sundresses would be appropriate, she dragged me into her closet and helped me pick something out. Good thing we’re the same size, including the shoes.”
Aubrey had been incredulous to see the neatly organized contents of the enormous walk-in closet her sister shared with Ian. Tessa had readily admitted that her husband liked to spoil her to excess, and that she had far more clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories than she could ever possibly wear. And when Aubrey hadn’t even known where to begin to select an outfit for tonight, Tessa had quickly chosen this form fitting red sheath dress and a pair of black patent stiletto pumps. The dress had fit Aubrey like a glove, and she’d instantly felt both beautiful and sexy in the obviously expensive garment. Tessa had also grabbed a matching black clutch bag, and some discreet gold jewelry to accessorize the simple but stunning dress.
“Well, you can tell Tessa thank you for me,” drawled Jordan. “Because you look like sin in that red dress. Lucky for you sinning is something I’ve always enjoyed doing, especially with a gorgeous woman.”
She arched a dark blonde brow at him. “And here I thought you had mended your naughty ways, Doctor Reeves. Have you had a relapse since the last time I saw you?”
“No.” Jordan shook his head adamantly. “I swear to God, Aubrey, I haven’t even looked at another woman, much less had any interest in dating one. You’re all I’ve been able to think about, darlin’, and I’ve been a wreck without you.” He brought her hand to his lips. “You do believe me, don’t you?”
There was such an earnest, worried look on his face that he reminded her of a little boy who was trying to convince his mother he hadn’t been the one to knock over her precious vase, and Aubrey couldn’t help smiling at him reassuringly.
“Yes, I believe you. Because if I find out you’re lying to me, this time I will find a basketball and throw it at your head. And as you might have noticed, I have very accurate aim,” she replied sweetly.
He winced, then rubbed his temple. “Yeah, I definitely noticed. Is that a skill you acquired from playing basketball or baseball?”
“Actually, it was probably dodgeball,” she mused, reaching for her wineglass. “Though of course we were never allowed to aim for the head. Didn’t mean we weren’t tempted, though.”
“Speaking of being tempted,” he began, in a very seductive voice. “All I’ve been able to think about since I saw you in this dress is what you might - or might not - be wearing underneath. It, uh, doesn’t look as though you’ve got any visible panty lines, which of course makes me wonder if you’ve got any on.”
Aubrey winked at him saucily. “Well, if you play your cards right, Doctor Reeves, you might get to find that bit of information out for yourself. But not until you answer a few questions for me first. And I’ll warn you now, Jordan. No bullshit, okay? I expect you to be completely and totally honest with me, an open book all the way. Got it?”
Jordan spread his arms wide. “Baby, consider this book open to whatever page you want to flip it to. So ask away.”
She nodded, then drank the rest of her wine down in a single gulp. “Okay. First question, and it’s a doozy. Was the fact that I looked exactly like my sister the only reason you first approached me on the beach?”
He hesitated, as though carefully thinking over his answer. “That’s a tricky one to answer, Aubrey. I mean, of course, I was shocked to see another woman with the same face and body as Tessa several hundred miles from home. I think even if I wasn’t instantly attracted to you I would have approached you, to find out if there was some connection between the two of you. So let me answer your question this way. If I had never met your sister, I would have certainly still been attracted to you. No doubt about it. You were and continue to be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I would have had to be a complete idiot to pass up the opportunity of meeting you.”
She pondered his response briefly, then nodded in satisfaction. “I guess that’s a fair response. So, next question. When you realized that aside from our physical resemblance Tessa and I really weren’t all that much alike, were you - well, disappointed?”
Jordan stared at her incredulously. “Disappointed? Are you nuts? Why the hell would I have been disappointed? Just the opposite, in fact. You were so much better suited to me than your sister could have ever been that I couldn’t quite believe my luck. You’re funny and outgoing and fearless. You make me laugh, and even better you laugh at my stupid jokes. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who was so joyful and carefree, and who made me smile just by being in the same room. So, in a nutshell, darlin’, I was over the moon at meeting a woman who turned out to be so absolutely perfect for me. The only woman who will ever be perfect for me.”
Aubrey felt a warm sensation spreading from her chest down to her belly, and knew it wasn’t entirely due to the glass of red wine she’d just gulped down. Jordan’s earnest, heartfelt words, along with the glow in his gray eyes, had touched her deeply, and she knew with every instinct she possessed that he was being completely honest with her, was opening up not just his heart to her but his soul as well.
“Good answer,” she replied faintly. “In case you were wondering, so far you’re passing the test with flying colors. But I do have a couple of more questions. Namely, are you - were you - really in love with my sister? I know how Tessa feels since we’ve had more than one discussion on the subject. But I’d like to know what your feelings are, Jordan. I want to hear the whole truth from your lips.”
“Fair question,” he acknowledged. “And I’ll be totally honest with you. At one point in time I probably did imagine myself in love with Tessa, but I’m a
lso not sure I knew what being in love actually felt like. I thought she was beautiful, of course, but mere beauty isn’t a reason to have those sort of feelings for someone. As I got to know her a little better, mostly as my patient and then at social events, I found her to be very different from any of the other women I’d dated in the past. Sweet and shy, a little on the innocent side, and, well, just plain nice, I suppose. I’d unfortunately met a lot of not so nice women over the years, predatory, catty, self-centered ones. Tessa intrigued me, I think, just because she seemed like such a breath of fresh air from what I’d been used to. But my feelings, as you refer to them, never really progressed much beyond that sort of intrigue or fascination. I always knew I never had a chance with her, not so long as she was with Ian. And I would never, never have made a move on her. Not only would Ian have beat me to a bloody pulp, but I would have upset Tessa terribly.”
“So you continued to admire her from afar, something like that,” observed Aubrey. “Wishing she was yours but accepting the fact that she belonged to another man.”
“I also wished,” he murmured huskily, “that somewhere in the universe Tessa had a twin sister. One who hopefully wasn’t already spoken for. And I guess someone up high finally heard my wish and decided for some crazy reason that I had earned the right for it to be granted. Because when I met you in Maui, it felt like every wish and dream and hope I’d ever had in my whole life was coming true all at the same time. And believe me, darlin’, it was the best damned day of my life when I met you.”
She blinked furiously, determined not to start crying in a public place, no matter that they were mostly happy tears. “That’s so sweet,” she whispered. “I’d almost forgotten that in addition to being such a dirty talker you can also say such sweet things. Now, one last question, okay?”
Jordan placed a kiss to the hand he still held tightly in his. “Anything at all, baby. I told you. Open book here.”
“All right. Then answer this one. When you took me to bed the first time, did you ever pretend - even for a minute - that it was Tessa you were making love to and not me? Be-because I don’t think I could handle the thought of being a substitute for her in any way, and especially not that way.”
A tear did trickle down her cheek this time, and when he reached over and kissed it away it was nearly her undoing.
“Aubrey.” The way he said her name was more caress than spoken word. “You could never be a substitute for any woman for any reason. And when we make love, the entire world around me ceases to exist because the only thing that matters is being with you. So the answer to your question is no. Unequivocally, absolutely, positively no. And just to be perfectly clear here - you’re also the only woman I want in my bed from here on out. Got it?”
She nodded, brushing away the last of her tears and giving him a wobbly smile. “Got it.”
“So, tell me. I’m dying to know. Were those the right answers? More importantly,” he added with a goofy grin, “did I pass your test?”
Aubrey reached across the table and grabbed hold of his dark blue silk tie, then pulled him towards her until their lips met in a long, slow kiss. “Aced it,” she replied huskily.
Jordan was breathing a little unsteadily after that torrid kiss. “Uh, so what else do I need to do to make it all up to you? Begging? Pleading? Telling you that my balls are starting to turn blue because I haven’t had sex in over two weeks? Hey, I haven’t got down on my knees yet to kiss your feet, but I’m more than happy to do it.”
“Tell you what, Doctor Dreamboat,” she teased. “You can definitely kneel down before me, but it isn’t my feet I want you to kiss.”
***
“Are - are you sure you haven’t been - oh, God! - practicing, because I swear - oh, yeah - that - that you’ve got some new moves there.”
Jordan deliberately flicked his tongue against her clitoris, knowing that it always drove her wild. His hands were splayed across her naked buttocks, having made short work of the red silk thong that she’d indeed been wearing beneath the form fitting dress, and he was trying his best to hold her still while using every skill in his considerable book of tricks to bring her pleasure. But holding her in place was anything but easy, given how she bucked and wiggled and squirmed with every lick of his tongue, every nibble of his lips, every thrust of his fingers inside that delectably tight, hot pussy that he’d had nightly wet dreams about for the past two and a half weeks.
“Mmm, no new moves, darlin’. Just some old ones I haven’t had the pleasure of using on you before,” he purred, trailing a line of kisses across her taut belly. “And since I’m a little out of practice, you might have to have a little patience with me. For example, you’re going to have to tell me if this feels good or not.”
“Ohhh!”
He winced as she dug her fingers into his scalp, pulling his head in closer as he thrust his tongue inside the slick opening to her body. God, he’d missed this, he thought wildly, missed hearing her moans and pants, missed the sweet, musky taste of her on his lips, missed caressing the soft, lush curves of her sexy body. But more than anything, he had missed bringing her pleasure, taking her to the edge and then keeping her there as she screamed and trembled and cried out in release.
“Wow,” was all she could say faintly, her legs visibly shaking in reaction from the climax he’d just wrung from her body. Her hands hung limply by her sides as he continued to kneel before her, and then she squealed in surprise as he hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her fireman-style to the bedroom. Unsurprisingly, thought Jordan with a satisfied grin, they hadn’t been able to make it any farther than the living room before falling into each others arms and kissing as though they’d been separated for years instead of a couple of weeks.
“Hey,” protested Aubrey as he gently tossed her on the bed. “No fair. I was all ready to return the favor you just did for me. If you know what I mean.”
He snickered as he began to undo his tie and unbutton his shirt. “Yeah, darlin’. I know exactly what you mean. And as much as I’m dying to feel that sexy mouth of yours sucking my dick again, tonight’s about me taking care of you. After all, I still have an awful lot of groveling to do, don’t I?”
Her blue eyes darkened with arousal as they watched him finish undressing, his painfully aroused cock tenting his black cotton briefs. “You, um, might have earned yourself some points a few minutes ago,” she breathed, licking her lips as he shucked his underwear. “That was a pretty awesome demonstration of your very impressive oral skills, after all. Not to mention a really, really fabulous orgasm. So I might be prepared to, ah, overlook any additional groveling I’d originally planned for you to do.”
Jordan crawled onto the bed beside her, with the slow, precise movements of a big, lazy jungle cat. “Tough,” he told her as he straddled her thighs. “Because I’ve just begun to grovel, baby. Just begun to worship you. To show you just how much I missed you.” He bent and kissed her tenderly, softly. “And to make sure you know exactly how much I love you.”
He rolled onto his side then, taking her with him as he kissed her again, but this time with unabashed hunger, his mouth opening against hers as his tongue explored every inch of her mouth. Aubrey moaned beneath his lips, her tongue tangling with his as she kissed him back. He unhooked the red lace bra that matched her discarded thong, and sighed in bliss as her warm, naked breasts tumbled free into his palms. He pinched her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, tugging on them lightly until she was squirming in reaction.
He tumbled her onto her back, ignoring the small sound of protest she made, a sound that quickly became a gasp of pleasure as he sucked first one and then the other nipple between his teeth. He lingered over those incredible breasts, cupping and squeezing them, licking the nipples before sucking the entire areola into his mouth. By the time he lifted his head from her swollen, glistening tits, Aubrey was almost frantic with need, her hips lifting off the mattress in a silent plea for satisfaction.
“Don’t rush me, darlin”,” he admonished gently. “Let me enjoy this, hmm? After all, I’ve dreamed about these beauties every single night since you left. But there’s nothing quite as spectacular as the real thing.”
She whimpered as he bent his head to her breasts again, running his tongue over each nipple until it was glistening. “Jordan, please,” she begged. “As good as that feels, I need - I need you more. I need you inside me.”
He trailed a fingertip down between her breasts, then splayed his hand over her quivering belly. “How badly do you need me?” he whispered, his fingers teasing the damp curls between her thighs. “How badly do you need to get fucked, baby?” He bent over her, his teeth nibbling at her earlobe. “Bad enough to forgive me for all my past transgressions?”
He yelped as she smacked him on the ass - hard - and then gulped when she took a firm hold of his cock.
“I need this inside of me now,” she demanded. “And whether or not I decide to forgive and forget is going to depend on how hard you can make me come.”
He threw back his head and laughed, even as Aubrey guided the head of his penis inside her eager pussy. “Well, then, looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me, don’t I? Hold on tight, darlin’, cause that sure sounded like a challenge to me.”
But in spite of her impatience, he refused to rush. Instead of slamming his cock inside of her with one swift motion, he entered her a little at a time, savoring each slow thrust, gritting his teeth at how tight she felt around him. When he was all the way in, he remained perfectly still for long seconds, his hand clamping down on her hips when she would have begun to move.
“Shh,” he soothed her, rubbing her hip. “Easy, baby. Just give me a minute, okay? You feel so fucking good, Aubrey. The best feeling I’ve ever known. And I was afraid for awhile that I’d never have this again, would never have you again.”
The Girl of His Dreams (Bachelor #1) Page 34
