“Rosie, I just went on a date with him last Friday.”
Rose scooted closer to the desk. “Yeah, and you didn’t even tell us how it went.”
Ivy pushed her paperwork aside and clasped her hands together, trying to figure out what she should say to Rose without revealing her true connection to Jonathan.
“Okay, if he agrees to go, then I’ll go.”
Rose got up and smiled. “Good. I’ll see you tonight, then.”
After her sister left, Ivy couldn’t deny the fact that even though she’d spoken to Jonathan on the phone several times since their date, she was eager to see him again.
In fact, she had relived every sensuous moment of their date; every sweet kiss, every touch and every gentle caress. This was the kind of man that had only shown up in her dreams.
Gwen buzzed in, bringing Ivy back from her daydream. Ivy pushed the button. “Yes, Gwen.”
“Jonathan is here to see you.”
“Thank you,” Ivy said before hitting the button.
She quickly went to the wall mirror to examine her hair and makeup. She smoothed out her clothes and waited for him to come in.
“Hey, baby,” he said as he walked into the office.
A shiver went down Ivy’s spine at the sight of his towering figure and the sound of his raspy voice.
“Hey.” Ivy liked the term of endearment. “Rosie just left my office. She wants me to go ice skating Saturday.”
“Yeah, I know. Marc and I just talked about it.”
There was a pregnant pause before Ivy spoke. “Is that why you came over here?”
“Yes, and I needed something else, too.”
Ivy didn’t remember how or when he pulled her into his arms, but suddenly she found her breasts pressed against his chest, sending waves of passion coursing through her body.
The next thing she knew, Jonathan’s lips were on hers, and Ivy became instantly lost in his kiss. When she moaned, his hands went from her shoulders to her waist, deepening the kiss as he brought her even closer.
When they came up for air, Jonathan whispered, “I needed that.”
Ivy blushed, but met his gaze. “What do you think about going skating this Saturday?” After that kiss, she could barely string a sentence together.
“I think it will be fun.”
Ivy hadn’t been skating since she was in high school. “Jonathan, I don’t know how to skate.”
“That’s not what Rosie told me.”
“She talks too much,” Ivy said and smiled.
“Don’t be afraid. Rosie and Marc, Destiny and Nicholas, Vanessa and Richard and my friend Kenny and his wife Monica are going, too.”
Jonathan once again kissed her lips. “I’ll be there to catch you if you fall,” he said, trying to reassure her.
“This is going to be interesting,” she said, smiling at him. “Where are we supposed to meet Rosie?”
“Marc wants to drive us, so I’ll be at your place by seven. We’ll drop my truck off at their house.”
Jonathan beckoned for her with his index finger. Ivy closed the gap between them.
“Just one more kiss and I’m out of here.”
“One more.”
He leaned forward and surrounded with his arms, resting his head against her. “I’ll see you later.”
Ivy kissed him back. “Okay, see you later.”
Jonathan walked out of the office and Ivy sat at her desk, reveling in the unexpected direction her life was going.
Chapter 13
Saturday evening, Jonathan arrived at Ivy’s house at six o’clock. He decided to come early so that they would have time to spend together before they had to go to Marc and Rose’s house.
Ivy opened the door and said, “Be careful where you step, my contact lens just fell on the floor.”
Jonathan raised his foot to check the bottom of his shoes and tip-toed around her, as he looked down at the carpeted floor. “Where were you when it fell?”
With her left hand, Ivy made a circular motion in the area to the right of where Jonathan was standing.
They both got down on their knees and gently ran their hands over the carpet in that area, trying to find the missing lens.
Jonathan spotted the clear round disc. “Baby, I think I’ve found it.” Carefully he lifted it from the floor with his forefinger. Holding it up, he gave it to her. “Don’t these things tear or dissolve?”
Ivy carefully took it from him. “Yes, I have to be so careful. Thanks so much. I thought I was going to have to buy some new ones.”
“Don’t I get some kind of reward or something for finding your precious lens?” Jonathan gave her a big smile.
Ivy couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Give me just one minute.” She ran to the bathroom and poured saline solution on the lens and gently rubbed it to clean and moisten it.
She placed it in her eye and when she looked up, Jonathan had stuck his head inside the bathroom door.
“I’m still waiting on my reward.”
Ivy turned to him and kissed his cheek.
“Is that all I get? Girl, you kissed me like I was your Uncle Bubba.”
Ivy playfully hit his arm. “Let’s get ready to go.”
Jonathan blocked the doorway to the bathroom. “Nope, not until I get a proper kiss.”
Ivy playfully placed her hands on her hips. She knew he was kidding around with her, and she actually liked it.
Walking over to him, Ivy pulled him to her and kissed his forehead, his nose and then his lips.
Breaking the kiss, she stepped back. “Better?”
“Better,” he said, grabbing her hand, pulling her out of the bathroom and down the hall.
Glancing at his wrist, he checked the time. “We’d better get going. I don’t want to start anything we can’t finish.”
* * *
It had been a year and it still surprised Jonathan how in love Marc and Rose were. He never thought a woman would be able to capture his playboy brother’s heart until he met Rose. The sweet and nurturing dark-skinned beauty was just what his brother needed.
He pulled up to the Victorian-style house and turned to Ivy. “You ready?”
She nodded.
He got out and walked around to open the door for her.
Walking up the sidewalk together, Ivy rang the doorbell.
Marc answered the door. “Baby, they’re here, hurry up,” he yelled toward the stairs.
“I’m coming,” Rose yelled back.
As the brothers embraced, Marc asked, “Did Aunt Rachel call you?”
“No, why? Is something wrong?” Jonathan asked.
“No, she wants us to help her with the canning this year.”
“With all the females in our family?” Jonathan asked, recognizing one of his aunt’s ploys.
“Who knows? But I’m going to be there, and I think you should, too,” Marc replied, checking the time and looking toward the stairs.“Baby, come on,” he called out.
“I’ll go and get her,” Ivy said, heading toward the staircase.
* * *
Ivy looked for Rose in her dressing room, but she wasn’t there. She then walked down the hall toward the bathroom. She could hear sounds, but wasn’t sure where they were coming from. The closer she got to the bathroom door, the louder the sounds became.
Once she was directly in front of the door, she realized her sister was crying. It broke Ivy’s heart. Rapping on the door, she called out, “Rosie, it’s me. Open the door.”
“I’ll be out in a minute,” Rose responded.
“No, I want to come in.”
Ivy stood in front of the closed door for what seemed like an eternity. When the door flew open, she walked in and gathered Rose into her arms. “What’s the matter, Rosie?” she asked, stroking her sister’s hair.
“Vee, I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Rose said, dabbing her face with a tissue.
Ivy led her over to the tub and they sat facing each other. “What do you mean? A
re you sick?”
“No, I’m not, but there’s got to be something wrong with me,” Rose replied, her voice small and sad.
“Rosie, I’m not following you. Can you start from the beginning? Why do you think something is wrong?”
“We’ve been married for two years and I haven’t gotten pregnant yet.”
Ivy searched for words to ease her sister’s pain. “You will; stop worrying. I bet you’ll get pregnant if you don’t think so much about it.”
“I’ve tried to push it to the back of my mind, but I just can’t. I want to be a mother so badly.”
Ivy felt her stomach tightening. She hadn’t even thought about whether or not she could be a mother herself after what happened to her. She couldn’t allow her feelings to show too much, though. Rose had enough going on, and she didn’t need to add to her concerns.
“Why are you going skating, then? Aren’t you afraid that you might fall down?” She didn’t want to be the voice of gloom, but her sister had to be realistic about things.
“I’m not going to skate; I’m just going to be with you guys.” Rose gave her a half smile.
Ivy hugged her sister to her, saying, “Let’s get your face cleaned up.” They both stood and went to the mirror over the basin.
Studying her sister’s reflection in the mirror, Ivy said, “Stop feeling sad. I think you’ll be a wonderful mother. We’ve got to get downstairs before your husband comes looking for you.”
As they headed for the door, Rose stopped and said to Ivy, “I really hope you like Jonathan, Vee, he is such a nice guy.”
Ivy thought to herself, but didn’t say it aloud. I know and I think I’m in love with him.
When they walked into the kitchen, Jonathan was on one cordless phone and Marc was on another.
“They must be talking to Rachel,” Rose guessed.
The men quickly ended their call.
“Is Rachel all right, baby?” Rose asked Marc as she moved into his arms.
Marc kissed her forehead and said, “She’s fine, ready to do her canning. She wants us to help her with some other stuff around the house. She doesn’t want Uncle Isaiah on the ladder, and he’s too cheap to pay somebody else to do the work.”
“So M & J to the rescue,” Jonathan joked. “Hey, we’d better get out of here; Vanessa is probably driving Richard crazy by now,” he added as they headed out the door.
Chapter 14
Ivy hadn’t had so much fun in a long time, at times feeling like a teenager. At first she had refused to go on the ice, but Jonathan kept telling her it was like riding a bike. She finally relented when everyone insisted that she join them.
Ivy had trouble keeping her balance, and Jonathan’s assistance didn’t help much. He held her hand or wrapped his arms around her waist, and his sheer nearness was disconcerting, making it hard to even keep her balance. She had finally gotten the hang of it, and ended up being happy she had gone out with him.
After going to a fast-food restaurant, they headed home.
* * *
Leaning back against the headrest, Ivy closed her eyes and reveled in the fact that she was completely relaxed.
“Tired, baby?”
“Yes, but a good tired.” Ivy smiled, but kept her eyes closed.
Jonathan parked his vehicle in front of her house and eased his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer. After kissing her passionately, he said, “I had fun, too. We’ve definitely got to do this again.”
“Do you want to come inside?” she asked, her face flushed from the kiss they just shared.
Jonathan looked intently at her. “Are you sure?”
Ivy nodded before saying, “Yes.”
They got out of the car and went inside.
“Have a seat. I’m going to change into something more comfortable,” Ivy said, leaving him in the room.
Leaning back against the sofa, he rested his arms on the back of it and said, “Make it something sexy.”
Ivy admitted to herself as she walked down the hallway to her bedroom that she didn’t know what she was doing, but she was going to roll with it because tonight was the night.
Trying to figure out what to wear wasn’t easy. She loved pretty, silky lingerie, and had an armoire full of it, but had no idea what he liked. She rummaged through her drawer at first, then suddenly had a devious thought. “Jonathan, can you come here for a minute?”
Jonathan got up from the couch and walked down the hall. “Where are you?”
“I’m back here,” she yelled.
Once at the door, he saw her standing in front of her dresser wearing a short navy blue silk robe.
“Can you help me find something you would like?” Ivy asked innocently with a peach and black negligee hanging from the tip of her finger and a lacy blue thong dangling from the other.
Jonathan clenched his teeth to keep from running across the room to grab her. “You don’t have to wear anything.”
Ivy dropped the lingerie back in the drawer and said, “As you wish.”
Without thinking about what she was doing, she loosened the tie around her waist, causing the robe to come apart and revealing her blue lacy bra and panties.
Jonathan moved farther into the room, meeting her. Ivy fingered the collar of his black polo shirt before kissing him lightly on the lips.
“Girl, you better stop playing with me,” he said, attempting to restrain himself from picking her up and taking her over to the bed.
“What did I do?” Ivy asked innocently.
“Don’t play innocent little schoolgirl with me, Ivy.”
Ivy wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed the back of his neck.
“So you want to play, huh?” he whispered huskily.
Ivy kissed his neck in response.
The atmosphere in the room changed dramatically. There was no more kidding around; this was serious.
Jonathan stepped back and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to hate me in the morning.”
Ivy’s stomach tightened and she took one step forward. “I’m sure,” she whispered in his ear, then nibbled it with her teeth.
Excitement exploded in every nerve of his body as he slipped her robe off and watched it fall gently to the floor.
Reaching around her, he unhooked her bra in one smooth motion. Pulling the flimsy material forward, he paused to give her time to move away in case she was having second thoughts. When she didn’t move, he finished removing it and pulled her to him.
“Ivy, you are a beautiful woman,” he whispered, dipping his head and lightly kissing her right nipple first, then the left.
Ivy was grateful he was holding her; otherwise she would have surely hit the floor.
Jonathan reached up and massaged her temple before undoing her pinned-up hair. Running his fingers through her loose curls, he said, “You look so sexy with your hair loose and free. I want that for you like nothing else.”
“What?” she asked, trying to focus because she was a bundle of nerves.
“To be sexually free; no inhibitions.”
“Show me,” she said, her hand moving to his belt buckle.
Jonathan lifted Ivy into his arms with ease and carried her over to the bed. He gently lay her down on top of the covers. He kicked his shoes off and climbed into the bed beside her.
For a few moments, he just drank her body with his eyes, from the beautiful wisps of dark-brown hair that had fallen in her face to her perky dark-brown nipples and her flat stomach.
Jonathan kissed the tip of her nipple again, almost sending Ivy over the edge with anticipation of what was to come.
He rained small kisses on the surface of her stomach before moving further down her body. The warmth of his lips on her skin made Ivy feel as if she was going to come off the bed.
Jonathan peeled back the top of her panties and kissed the exposed skin. Ivy panted as she helped him push the lacy material over her butt and hips and down her legs.
Shaking his head,
Jonathan said, “It doesn’t make any sense for a woman to have a body like yours.”
He got up, reached in his wallet and retrieved the small gold foil packet; he then pushed his jeans and underwear to the floor and stepped out of them, releasing his manhood.
Watching him, Ivy’s tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth; she wanted to say something but couldn’t. She marveled at the fact that he was about to make love to her.
Jonathan got back into the bed on his haunches, rolled the condom on to his rigid sex, and positioned himself between her thighs. He gently grasped her legs and pulled her down to him. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he stopped suddenly.
Rising on his knees, he caressed her face.
“What is it, baby? Don’t be afraid,” he said, trying to reassure her.
Jonathan moved next to her and gathered her into his arms. Maybe he was moving a little too fast. He was anxious to make love to her again, and maybe he had scared her when he’d pulled her toward him.
Moving several loose strands of hair from her face, he asked, “Did I scare you just now?”
“No, I’m fine,” Ivy lied. Besides that fateful night in Las Vegas, when she was impaired by alcohol, she hadn’t been with a man since Randall.
“We don’t have to go any further if you don’t want to,” he said, reassuring her that even though he wanted to make love to her like there was no tomorrow, he would stop.
Ivy pushed Jonathan on his back and lay her upper body across his. The intensity of her need shocked her, so she could only imagine what it did for him.
As Jonathan caressed her buttocks, their lips met, releasing all their pent-up desires. He pulled her fully on top of him so she could feel his desire.
With his hands firmly palming her behind, in slow motion, Jonathan moved her body up and down against his. Watching the anticipation on her face, he knew it was time to move to the next level.
Lifting her, he quickly positioned her beneath him. With a deep kiss, he parted her legs and touched her wet heat; she was ready, and he was glad. He needed to be buried deep inside her, her long legs wrapped around his waist.
Ivy didn’t think she could stand anymore. When he touched her feminine core, that was her undoing. If he didn’t make love to her, something bad was bound to happen.
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