Moving back into the present, he laughed and said, “I’d never,” as he pulled a T-shirt out of his dresser drawer, then tossed it to her.
She caught it in one hand and inspected it. Thankfully, she seemed to have no gripes against Social Distortion.
He had already changed into a pair of gym shorts the minute he’d gotten home, so he wandered back into the kitchen to get two bottles of water.
As he walked back in the room, she was standing in her panties and in the process of taking off her bra. He stood there, watching as she slid the shirt over her head. Seeing her standing there in his shirt...it did things to him.
When her head popped through she gave him a knowing look and smirked.
“What?” he asked. “A man can’t just enjoy the show?”
Cora shrugged one delicate shoulder and then yawned again.
His lips quirking, he said, “Here you go, sleepy,” as he passed her a bottle of water.
She set it on the nightstand and then pulled the covers back. As she slid into bed, she made a noise of contentment.
He followed quickly behind her, shutting off the bedside lamp. As soon as he had slipped beneath the covers, Cora immediately adjusted herself to lie against his side. When her legs twined with his, he let out his own sigh of contentment.
As his hand drifted up to play with her hair, she said, “This is absolutely perfect.”
“Yeah. It is,” he agreed. There was nowhere he’d rather be.
He continued to stroke a hand through her hair as he marveled at the changes over the last couple of months. He’d been this close to taking the VP position. He’d still be at work, most likely. Sure, he’d have been making more money. That would have been nice, but there wasn’t much point in having money if you didn’t have any time or real inclination to spend it.
Instead, he had ended up back home with something far more valuable. Brushing a kiss over the top of Cora’s head, he said, “Night, sweetheart.”
Seconds later she murmured, “Night,” as she drifted off to sleep.
Jamie closed his eyes and enjoyed the warm feeling of contentment. Life was good.
* * * *
Before he even opened his eyes, Jamie knew Cora had gotten out of bed. The smell of bacon was what roused him. It wasn’t that he was upset about breakfast, but he’d had plans that morning. Those plans had included talking her into making French toast later. Much, much later. He grimaced.
It was time to get up, he supposed.
A few minutes later, he wandered into the kitchen and said, “Mm. That smells great. You didn’t have to make breakfast though.”
She turned from the stove, where she stood, to look at him. She was still wearing his T-shirt, and her hair was in a messy bun. The makeup was long gone from her face. He’d never seen her look more beautiful.
“Morning,” she said, a slow, sleepy grin pulling across her face. “I figured you’d be hungry.”
He watched as she turned back to the stove and removed the bacon from the pan. When she set it on a paper towel to drain, he moved forward and wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m hungry, all right.” He growled against the side of her neck. “But I had plans to eat you for breakfast.”
When her breath caught in her throat, he slipped a hand up her rib cage to cup her breast. Giving it a squeeze, he asked, “Bacon and eggs can wait, can’t they?”
Rather than responding verbally, Cora reached over and turned the burner off. As she slipped hands behind her to grip his hips, Jamie began to gently tease her nipple.
She ground herself back against him, eliciting a moan of pleasure from both of them as his dick stirred to life. When she continued to rock against him, he steered her over to the other counter.
Taking her hands in his, he wrapped her fingers around the far side of the counter. His breath ragged, he leaned down next to her ear and said, “Don’t move those hands.”
When he heard her breathy response, “I won’t,” his cock began to ache. Slowly, he released the grip on her hands and let his fingers travel up her arms. He felt the goose bumps raise in the wake of his touch as he continued the slow trail down the sides of her body.
Jamie slid his hands under the hem of the T-shirt and cupped her breasts. Cora arched her back, pressing herself further into his hands. He took full advantage, squeezing until he heard her breath catch in her throat.
Moving his fingertips, he traced them lightly around her areolas, until he felt them harden. Despite the wiggle of her hips back against him, he did nothing but gently tease them for long minutes. When she began to rock steadily back against him, he gripped the tight peaks between his fingers. He pinched and pulled them until her mouth was lax with pleasure.
He continued to fondle as he let one hand drift lower. He drew slow circles over her belly and traced intricate patterns against her soft skin. Finally, his hand toyed with the lacy edge of her panties. He could already feel the heat radiating from her pussy before he had even dipped his fingers inside.
He brushed his fingertips against the outside of her pussy and felt the damp heat. He trailed them along her wet slit until she moaned, “Touch me.”
Pressing his fingers inside her, he found her absolutely drenched with desire. He rubbed two fingers in a circular motion around her hard clit, and said, “Fuck. You’re so ready.”
“I need your cock inside me,” Cora whimpered as she worked her hips against his hand. “I don’t want to come without you.”
Jamie slowly removed his fingers from her, and said, “One second.”
He hurried into the bedroom to grab a condom, and moved back into the kitchen. Her hands still gripping the counter, Cora looked over her shoulder for him, arousal written all over her face.
Quickly he slid down the gym shorts, rolled on protection, jerked her panties to the side, and buried himself inside her. He rocked his hips steadily against hers. Even through the thin barrier, he felt the warm clutch of her cunt as it pulsed around him.
“Oh,” Cora cried out as his hips pistoned against hers. “Fuck, Jamie!”
Jamie reached up, grabbing the loose bun at the nape of her neck and asked, “Are you gonna come on my cock now, sweetheart?”
Seconds later, he felt her clamp down on him as she screamed out in release. Each pulse around his dick felt like fucking heaven, but he wasn’t through yet.
His hips continued to slap against hers until he felt the stranglehold on his cock loosen. He slowed his strokes down as she frantically panted for air underneath him.
He released her hair, and let his hand run soothingly down her spine. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he dipped the hand back into her panties and found her swollen clit.
“I can’t,” Cora moaned as she shuddered against him.
“Give me one more,” he gritted out as he sped up the thrusting of his hips again.
He could feel the sensation gathering at the bottom of his spine and knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. He sped up the motion of both his hips and his hand until she moaned.
“Give it to me,” he said, as he felt her tighten around him. “That’s right, baby. Come for me.”
Seconds later, her pussy clamped down on him again as she screamed out his name. No longer holding back, he thrust into her one last time, then groaned out her name as he came.
He collapsed against Cora’s back and panted out, “God. Damn.”
Her voice was slightly hoarse when she answered, “Wow.”
A moment later she said, “Shit. How loud was I? Your neighbors...”
“Pretty loud,” Jamie said, laughing as he stood back up and pulled out of her.
Cora released the countertop, flexed her fingers, and then stood up. Rearranging her panties, she said, “That’s a little embarrassing.”
As he saw the flush come across her face, he moved quickly, disposing of the condom and rinsing his hands. Before she could say any more, he moved to stand in front of her.
He put
his hands on her shoulders and said, “Baby. There is nothing sexier to me than knowing that you’re enjoying what we do together in bed...or in my kitchen.”
When she nodded, he continued. “I don’t give a shit what my neighbors think. Watching you come apart is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. The fact that you’re so uninhibited and that you ask for what you want, only brings us both more pleasure. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
Her lips curled upward and she asked, “It is pretty amazing, isn’t it?”
He pulled her to him and said, “You’re pretty amazing.”
Their mouths melded together in a slow, sensual kiss that had his cock twitching back to life. He had never been like this with anyone else. He was damn near insatiable.
“Any chance,” she asked, “that I could grab a shower before we eat? I’m all sticky for some reason.”
Jamie said, “Absolutely. But, Cora, did you know that we’re in a drought? I feel like we should conserve water. Maybe we should shower together.”
“Strictly in the interest of water conservation,” she teased as she nonchalantly tugged his shirt overhead and tossed it on the bed. Stopping in front of him, she slid her panties down. Deliberately, she bent at the waist to pick them up.
“Oh,” Jamie said, no longer teasing about water conservation. “Don’t tempt me. You know I’ll spank that beautiful ass of yours.”
All sass, she said, “And I’ll keep on pretending like that’s some sort of punishment.”
His erection standing at attention, Jamie followed her into the shower with a shake of his head. This woman would be the death of him.
Chapter Eleven
When Cora walked through her office door on Monday morning, it was hard to keep the bounce out of her step. She’d ended up spending most of the weekend with Jamie. Part of it had been in bed, but the part that was out of it was just as satisfying.
They’d stopped off at her place for a change of clothes and then spent the day in the park Saturday. They had gone for a hike and then spent the rest of the day lazing on a blanket in the sun. In spite of the fact that they knew each other so well, the conversation still flowed so easily between them. There was always something to talk about.
Cora was startled when she saw Celia already at her desk.
“Are you early or am I late?” Cora asked, checking her watch.
“I had to get caught up on some filing, so I came in a bit early. And, aren’t you chipper this morning, Cora?”
“I had a relaxing weekend.”
Celia laughed and said, “I just bet you did. Care to talk about it?”
Cora rolled her eyes at Celia’s obvious prying and asked, “Any messages?”
Disappointment over the abrupt subject change clearly written on her face, Celia said, “No. Just a couple random hangups with heavy breathing.”
“Oh really?” Cora asked, her eyebrow raised in speculation.
“Must be all those “sex me” vibes I’ve been throwing off since my divorce.”
Both women giggled. Celia had been wearing a man-hating invisibility cloak for the last year. Between fighting for custody over their two-year-old and having to deal with her soon to be ex-husband’s twenty-year-old fiancée, she had no interest in men.
Reaching down, she gave Celia’s shoulder a squeeze and said, “If you need to talk, honey. You know where I am. Not as a doctor. As a friend.”
“I know, babe,” Celia said, patting the hand on her shoulder. “I’m handling it, I think. He brought Kiki with him when he came to pick up Sasha this weekend. When she started speaking in baby talk to him, I wanted to choke her out. That’s a healthy emotion, right?”
“Baby talk,” Cora asked, cringing. “To a grown man? That’s just gross.”
“You’re telling me.”
Cora smirked and added, “If you need some help burying the body, call me.”
“Girl,” she said, a look of disgust on her face. “Don’t even tempt me.”
When the phone rang, Cora took the opportunity to shuffle into her office. After she had dumped her bag and briefcase into the file cabinet, she sat down to go through e-mail. She saw the forty-seven messages waiting for her and knew it was going to be a long day.
Between the correspondence, the backlog of paperwork she had been putting off, and her patient load, she didn’t start to break free until a little bit after two. When she heard the knock on her door, she said, “Celia, you don’t have to knock. You know that.”
She was surprised to see Jamie pop his head in ask, “Got a second, Doc?”
Pleasure bloomed across Cora’s face as she said, “For you? Several. Come in.”
She took him in. He looked particularly amazing in his dark slacks and crisp blue dress shirt. Her eyes zeroed in on the brown bag he held. She sniffed the air and asked, “What’s that in the bag?”
“Lunch. Pot stickers and lo mein. I picked up lunch on the way back from my consult. You interested?”
“I’m starving,” she said as she slid out from behind the desk. She approached him, stretched up on tiptoe, and pressed a kiss against his mouth. “Thanks. By the time I got ready and left, I didn’t have time to stop for breakfast. Now I’m buried in paperwork.”
He stroked a hand lightly over her hair and said, “Yeah. I just barely made it to my appointment on time this morning. So hungry.”
“You can leave some stuff at my place if you want,” Cora said as they settled in together on the couch. “If that makes it easier.”
“Thanks. I will,” he said. “It’s easier than carrying a bag back and forth. I’ll clear out a little space for you, too.”
“Kay,” she said as her focus zeroed in on the bag again.
As he unrolled the top of the paper bag he laughed and said, “Someone’s got a one-track mind, it seems.”
Cora conceded the point by saying, “Maybe I’m a little focused,” as she reached for her lo mein.
When he reached into the bag and pulled out a diet cola for her, she smiled and said, “You’re really the best ever.”
Cracking open his own food, he asked, “Ever?”
She nodded, a mouthful of food and mumbled, “Ever.”
Jamie watched her for a moment, a grin pulling at his lips, then moved for his chopsticks. As he was cracking them apart, she heard a disembodied ring from his pocket and sighed.
He looked at his food, and said, “Really? Come on!”
A moment later, he fished his phone out of his pocket and answered. Cora parked her chop-sticks in her lo mein and gave it a mournful look. As much as she didn’t want to stop eating, she thought it would be rude to continue without him.
He gave her an apologetic glance and then gestured to her food as if she should go on without him. Not requiring any further instruction, she continued to eat her meal and listen to his half of the conversation.
From what she was gathering, he was talking to an old contact and they were discussing video games. When he uttered the words “level 38 paladin,” she bit down on her lip to stop the giggling. Jamie had been really into online games. He got so serious when he played that it bordered on hilarious. She’d even gotten him a headset for Christmas so he could talk hands-free instead of typing.
Jamie, she realized, was a little bit of a nerd. The combination of his outgoing personality and the fact he was absolutely ripped, made it a little difficult to reconcile the image in her mind. It took all types, she supposed.
Cora helped herself to a few of the pot stickers and continued to unabashedly eavesdrop on the conversation until he disconnected ten minutes later.
In a daze, he sat down and said, “Holy shit.”
“Good news?”
“Great news,” he said. “That was Tim, my old contact at Shinobi Games. They’re launching another MMORPG later this year and they want me to work on the campaign for them.”
Cora’s eyes widened. “Holy shit,” she echoed. “That’s amazing!”
&n
bsp; “They’re sending me a copy of the beta so I can get a feel for the game. It’s apparently some sort of space cowboy adventure type thing. But a multinational launch, television, online, the whole nine.”
“Wow,” Cora said. “That’s great for your business!”
“I’ve gotta go through a bidding process and all of that, but I’ve already got a couple of good ideas. Apparently, they liked the fact that I liked their games so much and that’s why they thought of me. I’m just thrilled to even have the opportunity. I was completely addicted to their last game,” he said.
Cora’s facial expression turned solemn as she asked him, “So, how does that make you feel, Jamie?”
Grinning, he rolled his eyes and said, “C’mon. You know what I mean.”
“I do,” she agreed. “That’s so exciting for you.”
He nodded enthusiastically and said, “I should be able to download the file later today. Tim’s emailing me some of the specifics about when they’re looking to launch. I’m really looking forward to playing.”
“Does this mean I’m being abandoned tonight?” Cora asked, her pout mostly for show.
With a wince, Jamie said, “Not abandoned.”
Cora waved him off and said, “I’m just teasing. I’m buried in paperwork anyway. I’ve been putting it off for way too long.”
“Bring it with you,” he said. “We can have dinner then work on what we have to work on. It’s not the most romantic night...”
When he trailed off, Cora agreed, “Definitely not, but I like falling asleep next to you.”
Jamie set his food down on the table, then leaned across the couch. His lips brushed against hers and then clung for a moment. They were interrupted by the growl of his stomach.
She laughed against his lips and said, “Eat. Eat. There’s time for this later.”
They sat there on the couch, finishing their meals and talking until finally Cora said, “I’ve got a patient in ten minutes.”
“That’s my cue, then,” Jamie said. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
When You Were Mine [Second Chances 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 10
