To her surprise, Jonathan made no mention of his father, or his sibling’s father or fathers, whoever they might be. He’d only said his mother was fiercely independent, loved all of her children, and chose to raise them alone. She was truly a one woman show. She dedicated her life to the reserve, and with her parents help in raising the children while they were younger, she’d been instrumental in getting first the federal government to recognize their tribe as a first people. Then she had come home to raise her sons and push the state into giving them the same recognition the federal government had given the western tribes long ago. The battle with the state had been a long and arduous one, but luckily she was able to stay home to do that. It meant she was home with her children while she fought with the state to recognize Lantern Hill’s rights to reservation status and first people. As soon as her sons entered college, Tawny found a new battle to champion. The casino. Her daughters had still been young teenagers while she brokered the deal that had gotten the loan from Malaysia to build the Mystic Nights Casino & Spa. And her sons had come home to help her run it.
It was a remarkable story. It had taken three years to build. With her sons by her side, they had opened the casino just four years earlier. And it was well on its way to becoming the success she knew it would be, and currently it rivaled Foxwood’s and the Mohegan Sun.
“I just moved back to Lantern Hill the year after the casino opened,” Aliya murmured around her salmon. It was delicious. This restaurant was a favorite among the locals. All the fare was fresh year round, purchased from local fishermen and farmers.
“Why didn’t you come and apply to work for the casino sooner?” he asked, genuinely interested and wanting to know what she had been doing with her life in the interim. He wished they could have met earlier although they all worked eighteen hour days those first few years. Running the casino then had been a lot more complicated as they were all learning the ropes as they went. They’d had a team of advisors helping to oversee things.
She let out a soft, slow sigh remembering her homecoming. It had been difficult starting over, but it was something she had to do and she wanted to be home to do it. “I was enrolling in U-Con. I had school, and that was in Hartford, so it was a bit of a drive. I was able to find a teaching job at a studio there. So . . .,” she allowed the rest of her sentence to go unfinished.
He smiled broadly, sitting back in his chair, watching her finish the remains of her food. “Well, I’m glad you’re back now.” And he was. This woman fascinated him.
Aliya set her fork down and glanced across the table at the man before her. Getting to know him had opened her eyes, and made her remember what it was like to date, and to be curious about the person you were with. All the little things that made him them man he was helped her to understand him better. And she liked what she saw. A lot. The smile he was giving her was bright and mischievous. She swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. He was truly remarkable. His eyes pierced her and set her blood to roaring with just a glance. Those dark eyes in that chiseled face set off her desire for him so fluidly.
Clearing her throat to help clear her mind of the wayward thoughts that were beginning to take shape, she spoke, “Tell me about your sisters.” Aliya picked up her fork and scooped up a forkful of the delicate wild rice that had just a hint of jasmine.
“Ah,” he laughed. “The twin terrors. Well, Eve finished her business management degree last year, and she now operates the entertainment venues at the club. And Dawn, she has nearly finished her masters in accounting. And both are quite happy to stay here and continue to work at the casino. My Mom is thrilled about it of course.” He picked up his glass of wine and sipped it watching Aliya over the rim of his glass. Her hair shone under the lights of the chandelier. She was stunning. Her features angled and her eyes, much like his, were almond shaped hinting at her heritage.
“I’m sure she is. My parents only had me, but they brought me to New York when all I wanted to do was dance, and do ballet. But New York was tough for me. For all us. I just missed home, and my friends. And ballet was so hard. So much competition. I think they were relieved when I decided to pursue other kinds of dance, and decided to go more the traditional route of show girl, then opening up a studio.” She purposefully left out the part about her engagement, pregnancy, and how that fiasco turned out at 19. That was too deep for a first date.
“So they returned here, when you went to Vegas.”
She just nodded and once more set her fork down. “So, Dawn. Accounting, huh? The rest of you studied business and law?”
“Yes, she took her love of math and numbers to the extremes. Dawn was sick a lot when she was younger, allergies, and often was indoors. But for years we didn’t know what made her sick. Anyhow, she always used to say numbers were the only things that ever made sense to her. So yeah, accounting.”
“That’s cool. Your Mom allowed her to pursue her own interests.”
“My Mom has never pressured any of us. Well, she wanted us to do well with whatever we attempted, but the choices were always ours. She’s great. She is excited for Dawn to be working in the upstairs offices soon. She doesn’t like her working on the floors.”
“What do you mean?”
“Right now, she’s actually a dealer at one of the tables. Good too. She has caught many a card shark, and Mom gets nervous about her working on the floor. Unfortunately, casinos sometimes attract a dangerous element, and because Dawn was so sick when she was younger, she tends to baby her a bit more. We all do at times, I guess. It drives Dawn nuts. But, she will go into the accounting department next year when she finishes up her degree, and then none of us will have to worry about her,” he finished.
“Well, Mystic Nights is definitely a real family affair,” Aliya sighed, melancholy evident in her voice.
“Was it difficult being an only child?” he asked.
“Yes, and no. My parents doted on me, but it would have been nice to have a younger brother or sister. My parents tried after me, but my Mom had some complications during her pregnancy with me and she was never able to carry another child.”
He gave her a sympathetic smile. “Are you close with them?” he asked. He remembered her father. He had been his high school PE teacher. One of the reasons everyone had left the stunning beauty alone in school. The man was a bear, a grizzly, in and out of the gymnasium. That and she always seemed to disappear after the bell rang. Dance classes, he presumed.
“Oh yes. Dad is retired now. But Mom still writes for the local paper, The Lantern Hill Gazette.” She smiled at him across the table. He had finished eating awhile ago, and was waiting patiently for her to finish. She pushed her plate away after setting her cutlery on it. A waiter appeared out of nowhere to snatch their dishes away.
“Dessert?” he asked. Jonathan looked to her, and when she shook her head in the negative, his smile got even broader, sexier, if that were possible. It made her shudder in anticipation. The waiter silently slipped the bill onto the table and left giving them a moment. Jonathan slid his credit card inside, and once more the waiter appeared out of thin air to collect it and left to go settle the debt.
“Jonathan, what about your father?” she asked, broaching what had so far not been discussed at all.
His smile faltered briefly. He cleared his throat before he sat back in his seat. The waiter reappeared and dropped the folded leather case the credit card had been placed in and left. “My father, according to my mother, was a wonderful man she met in college. In fact, he fathered all of us. He was in and out of my mother’s life, and she loved him. But other than that, she won’t say. She has only told us that it was a whirlwind romance that lasted two years. She didn’t see him for quite some time, and fate had thrown them together once more. That’s where they reconnected when she was finished school, but his life was elsewhere.” Jonathan’s short speech was delivered quickly.
Aliya didn’t want to press for more. If he knew more, he would share when he felt comfortable.
But she had learned a few things. The whole reservation had always been curious about Tawny Sassacus and her children. While growing up everyone assumed the man had died. But no one asked. It wasn’t the way of her people. Ages ago, it was the mother’s lineage they always looked to anyhow. But the knowledge that all four were fathered by the same man was new information. Many assumed the girls had a different father than the brothers.
Jonathan quickly pulled his credit card from the leather sleeve, after signing the bill and writing in a generous tip. As he returned his credit card to his wallet, he asked in a smokier tone, “Are you ready, Aliya?” At her shy nod, he smiled.
She didn’t know what came next after a date like this, with a man like Jonathan Sassacus, but the husky tone and the smoldering look he gave her as he took her arm and escorted her to the coat check gave her some idea. His hand on the small of her back was doing things to her that she knew by now, only he could satisfy.
Chapter 9
‡
Jonathan did not even ask to come in when he escorted her to the door of her small home, he simply followed her inside. He helped her to remove her coat, and then flung his onto her sofa while taking in her small, but tastefully decorated home. It suited her. The furniture wasn’t overly large, but it looked comfortable and worn.
But he wasn’t interested in her home right then. It was the woman he’d spent the evening with that interested him now. By the time she turned around his eyes were already smoldering. He began to approach her like a man stalking its prey and surefooted she backed up towards her bedroom with him following her all the way.
Aliya knew what he wanted. And she wanted it too. No words needed to be spoken. The look each of them gave the other as they approached her front door was the only communication they needed. They both knew what was coming next. They were good at this. Being together.
He gave her room a brief glance admiring the tranquil blues, but the moment she reached for the zipper on the side of her dress, she had his focus once more. He stopped her. He wanted to do this. Undress her. His woman.
Covering her hands with his, he helped her to unzip the dress and then helped her by pulling the sleeves down. The simple dress she had chosen to wear that evening instantaneously pooled at her feet. And when she stood before him, glorious legs, flat stomach, breasts heaving in her black lacy demi bra, he was riveted. Her panties matched the set, and he appreciated that too. For a moment. His cock throbbed as he began to remove the tie at his collar.
Aliya watched him in the glow of the lamp she had left on, admiring him just as he’d admired her. He dropped the tie next to her dress, and removed his suit jacket. It was slow torture.
“Get on the bed, Aliya,” he commanded her as he began to unbutton his dress shirt. She did, but her eyes never left him.
She sucked in her bottom lip as more of his body was revealed to her. She didn’t know how he kept it so incredibly toned with all the hours he worked, but she appreciated it nonetheless. Before he unzipped his pants, he took out his wallet and placed it on her dresser, but not before removing several condoms.
She giggled. Like a teenager. There must have been at least six she quickly counted, but returned her gaze to the man before her. She didn’t want to miss a thing.
His pants were down and he stepped out of them, the evidence of his arousal already straining in his boxers. She scooted over to the center of her large four poster bed as he quickly slipped them off and climbed into the bed next to her.
The moment he turned to her, she could think of nothing but him. All her thoughts fled her except for the sensations he evoked deep down inside of her. His hand splayed across her flat stomach, stroking it, and then dipped down to her panties toying with the edge. Her body began to thrum and she pivoted her hips up to those long sexy fingers wanting the touch he was only hinting at. “You’re perfect,” he murmured before dipping his hand inside and cupping her wet pussy.
She let out a small gasp of pleasure, as one finger found her tiny bud already unsheathed. He watched her from under smoky dark lashes, and when her eyes began to close, he told her to keep them open. And she did. She snapped them open upon his demand.
He pivoted his body once more. “It’ll be slower next time, but right now, I need to be in you, Aliya.” At her nod, he yanked down her panties and helped her out of them. Getting between her long legs, Jonathan trembled and tried to restrain himself. All night, he had been imagining burying his cock deep inside this woman. He reached for one of the condoms and handed it to her. She made quick work of it, and when he felt her hands on his cock, felt her rolling the sheath down his manhood, he gritted his teeth in restraint. When it was on, he lowered his head to her breast. She had pulled down the cups in anticipation, instinctively knowing what he wanted, needed. He took one nipple into his mouth, rolled it with his tongue and teeth, and placed his cock at her waiting entrance. He broke from her breast long enough to watch his cock slide into her, joining them together. Glancing up as he fully seated himself, he noticed she was doing the same thing. Watching their bodies connect, become one. That look almost undid him. He slowly withdrew and then plunged again, watching her watch him sliding in and out of her sweet pussy. She was tight. He hadn’t fully prepared her this time, the need to be inside of her had been too strong, so he took his time, giving her time to accommodate to his size.
He returned his attention to her breasts. They were perfect. Rosy tipped and puckered.
“Oh, Jonathan,” she moaned, and he began to feel her body move beneath him, joining him in the ageless, timeless rhythm of their bodies dancing together on her bed. Her nails began to rake his back, and he felt his balls tighten. This woman had cast her spell over him.
“I want to see your eyes when you come, Aliya,” he reminded her as he picked up his pace, fucking her deeply, and harder, until her pants became moans.
It encouraged him to go faster, and he shifted the position of his thrust so he could further excite her clit as he pounded into her.
“Jonathan, that feels . . . . so . . .” her words were lost on another moan of desire.
“What? What does it feel like, baby?” he grunted, pummeling her pussy, slamming against her clit on each downward thrust. He wanted to hear the words spill from her lips.
“Good. It feels so good,” she panted and he felt the walls of her pussy tighten around his shaft.
“You’re. Mine,” he enunciated each word as he thrust himself into her over and over again. “Mine,” he repeated.
His words sent Aliya over the edge. She saw stars, as her pussy quaked and the heat of the man plunging into her sent wave after wave of pleasure coursing through her.
Jonathan too was there. She watched the man’s face tighten with his own loss of control as he pumped into her furiously. She could not keep up the rhythm as he spilled his seed inside her, and then stilled with his own release ongoing. But instead of slipping out of her liked he’d done before, he rolled so she was atop him, his cock still deeply planted inside her.
She lie there, head pressed against the hard planes of his chest, and listened to his heart. It thundered in his chest, much like hers was doing at that moment. She felt his hands caress her back, and the sensualness of it had tears spring to her eyes.
She kept her face hidden. She didn’t want him to see that. She knew she was beginning to care for this man. More than she should so soon. But it still felt right, even if she thought she didn’t deserve it.
Their bodies lie intertwined for a while. Neither of them spoke, they just touched and stroked one another wordlessly, until she felt him begin to stir within her. His cock was growing larger inside her. When she felt his hands squeeze and cup her ass, she knew he was ready for more. And she was ready too. She’d never felt so complete.
It went on like that all night. Lots of touches. Not many words. None were needed.
*
The dawn’s early light was cascading through her windows when Aliya felt the bed shift once
more. Her groggy head sensed this was different from the other times. She felt a chill as Jonathan pulled away from her. Her tired and exhausted body yearned for him to stay.
“Hush now,” he crooned in the pale morning light. “Stay in bed. I have an early meeting,” he informed her. He also wanted to get in an early workout at the gym.
“Let me make you breakfast,” she managed to get out.
“No, darling. It’s okay.” He pushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen across her face and pressed a light kiss to her cheek. A sleeping Aliya was even more beautiful than he ever imagined. She took his breath away. “But I want to see you again, and again, Aliya.” His voice was thick with the emotion he felt, yet did not have the words to express.
She smiled as her eye lids fluttered closed once more. Her lashes dark against her tanned skin. Just remarkable, he thought as she faded into slumber.
She murmured softly in her sleep and rolled over onto her back. The blanket shifted, and one rosy tipped nipple peeked out. His body had a mind of its own. His cock sprung to immediate attention. He could not help himself and lifted the blanket just a tad so he could see both of her perfect breasts. God, she was beautiful. To him, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Fuck the gym, he thought, as his mouth descended. He could work out later. He bent to take her nipple into his mouth.
Aliya moaned her pleasure, and her eyes peeped open once more. He saw her desire and that was all it took to convince him he could stay just a little bit longer. “I guess I can be late,” he murmured around her breast as he felt her arms pulling him back to her.
“I’m glad,” she panted reaching for the last condom on her bedside table.
Chances (Mystic Nights #1) Page 7
