by Lauren Smith
“So wet, so hot,” he murmured huskily before pushing two fingers into her.
“Oh God.” Felicity blinked, trying to focus, to grasp at any remaining strands of self-control she was supposed to have.
“Tell me now if you don’t want it hard and rough. Because I’m about to let go, princess.” The clink of his belt, the whir of a zipper, and she was nodding.
“Yes, please, Jared.”
The crinkle of foil, the continued strokes of his fingers—they blurred together, and there it was. The sweet torturous moment when she was empty and then he shoved his cock inside her. She rocked forward, arching up on her toes even more as his powerful pounding rhythm rammed her against the leather couch. She was pinned at a perfect angle for his furious fucking. The overwhelming sensations of him surging into her again and again, waking up nerve endings as he claimed her body and soul.
There wasn’t a part of her that wasn’t full with him. Jared fisted his fingers in her hair, tugging her head back a little, which gave her the perfect view of their reflection in the dark TV screen. The way he towered over her, the wild, wanton look on her dazed face, the way her breasts spilled out against the babydoll, bouncing with each jerk of her body as Jared rammed into her. The orgasm exploded through her with the force of a firebomb. A hoarse scream ripped from her lips, but it was drowned out by Jared’s harsh shout and three last thrusts hard enough that her whole body snapped forward. Her head dropped onto the couch, and she exhaled a shaky breath. Her shoulders and legs twitched, and then she went fully limp. Jared’s ragged breaths puffed out across her back. He rocked inside her, and she whimpered helplessly as little aftershocks rippled through her.
“You okay, sweetheart?” The gentle concern in his tone meant everything.
What they had just done was raw, hard, almost violent, but she had trusted him, and it had been worth it. He was still here, asking if she was okay and showing he cared about her. The thought made her eyes burn with treacherous tears, and she choked down a sob.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry, Felicity.” Jared pulled out of her and was fixing her clothes and his. Then he scooped her up and carried her around to the other side of the couch and sat down with her in his lap. His hands smoothed up and down her back with sweet strokes.
“Talk to me. Was that too much? This is why I didn’t want to—”
Felicity reached up and clamped both of her hands over his mouth, silencing him.
“No. Stop. I’m happy. So happy.” She met his gaze, and when the worry darkening his eyes lifted, she removed her hands from his mouth and swiped at a few stray tears that had escaped.
“You better explain.” He touched his forehead to hers, patiently waiting.
“It’s just…after what we did, you…cared.” How else could she explain it?
He rolled his eyes playfully. “Of course I care. I care about you. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be doing any of this,” he said as he waved a hand around them. “So what we did just now, that was good, right?” Jared nuzzled her nose with his and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Mm, yes. It was very good. I’m sorry I sort of sprung myself on you without much warning. I felt you trying to slow things down, but I don’t want to slow things down, unless…” She bit her lip. “Do you want to?”
“Princess, I’m up for this any day.” He kissed her, nibbling almost delicately. Her body responded, and her sensitive core throbbed with renewed interest.
“But—”
He met her gaze steadily. “If we go into this at the speed we’re going, you’re going to have to trust me. You need to start telling me things. I don’t want you to still be a stranger to me, and in a lot of ways you are. And I’m a stranger to you.”
The words stung a little. If she was being honest with herself, they made her ache. She wanted to tell him everything, but she wasn’t sure he’d want to hear or care. She wasn’t special, and she wasn’t worth knowing, at least she didn’t think so. But he wanted her, despite all of that. Maybe sharing herself with him wouldn’t be the end of this perfect dream. She ran her hands over his shoulders. His expensive shirt was rumpled.
“What’s the worst that could happen? No matter what you tell me, I’m not going to let you out of my arms. We’ll stay right here and talk.”
It sounded reasonable. She continued to let her fingers trace the little furrows in the once-crisp dress shirt where it covered his beautiful pectoral muscles.
“I am so afraid you’ll figure out that I’m just a nobody, and you won’t want me anymore.” The words came out of her barely above a whisper. There, she’d told him the worst part about herself, her self-doubt, her fear that she wasn’t good enough.
Jared tilted her face up to his so they were close enough to share quiet breaths.
“I see you, Felicity Hart. And what I see is a beautiful, intelligent, and compassionate woman. How could I not want you? You’re my dream.” He pulled her flush against him, cradling her in his arms as he pressed a kiss to the crown of her hair.
The sincerity of his words gave her a momentary sense of peace. She could believe him. He would still want her. At least for now.
For nearly an hour and a half, Jared held Felicity in his arms on the couch. He’d tucked her up in blankets and started the movie. When the movie credits rolled on the screen, he reached for the remote and turned it off. Felicity woke up from her light sleep and wrinkled her adorable nose.
“One of these days we’ll actually watch it all the way through,” she muttered.
“Yeah.” He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Let’s go to bed. You wore me out, princess.”
When she tried to stand up, he merely picked her up in his arms, blankets and all, and carried her to the bedroom. He set her down on his bed and then shut the door. She watched him from her nest of blankets, eyes wide and so full of emotions that tugged at his heart. Like a frightened rabbit, she seemed ready to bolt, and he guessed her instincts screamed for her to run because she was afraid to care too much.
Jared stripped out of his clothes and then walked over to stand in front of her. He uncoiled the blankets until she was lying there in nothing but the hose, babydoll, and heels. He’d completely forgotten all of that as his desire toward her had shifted from lust to the need to protect. He removed her shoes and held one up, flicking at the bows with a wicked smile.
“These are hot—real hot. You’ll be wearing them a lot, but just in here.” He gestured to his bedroom.
Her little smile was back, a sassy smirk. “Layla picked them out.”
He dropped the shoes to the floor. “Of course she did. I bet the trench coat was her idea too.” He placed his hands on her right thigh, rolling down the hose and noting with no small amount of male pride that it made her flush pink. He liked that she was shy, even with him, but she was brave enough to share herself with him.
She’s mine. All mine.
When he reached for the bottoms of her lingerie, she actually sighed in relief. He cocked a brow at her unexpected reaction.
“This thing…uncomfortable. The bottoms were giving me a wedgie,” she admitted, then blushed and glanced away. “That was probably too much info, wasn’t it?”
He laughed and immediately stripped her out of her babydoll completely. “Princess, a man always loves to get a woman fully naked.” He held up the lingerie, dangling it from one finger. “This is a fine way to start, but when I sleep with you, I want you comfortable and, if I get my way, with no clothes between us.” He waggled his brows, and she giggled. He inwardly marveled at how easy it was to be with her. She could go from sex kitten in heels to a sweet little thing he wanted to cuddle with, to a woman he wanted to talk to about his job, her job, everything.
Things had been easy with Shana at the beginning before she’d lost her love of real estate law. But things between them had never been electric—they’d been comfortable, that was all. With Felicity it was a cosmic pull that he felt when he was around her. They didn’t make
a ton of sense together on paper, but screw that. What mattered was what he felt when he looked at her, the way she heated his blood and encased his heart in warmth at the same time. That mattered.
“Get under the covers before I revisit your punishment,” he commanded, letting his lips twitch in a hint of a smile. She’d seemed okay with him spanking her—more than okay if he was watching her reactions now.
Once she was under the covers, he turned off the lights and got in bed beside her. Questions still plagued him, and he wouldn’t be able to resist until he had some answers.
“Felicity?”
“Hmm?” She burrowed into him, that hesitation she’d had when they’d first shared a bed slowly vanishing.
“You would tell me if something bothered you, right?”
“Yes.”
“I mean it. If I do something that scares you—”
“You won’t. You haven’t.” She kissed his chin, his cheek, and then his lips. “Whenever I’m with you, I’m excited. I love being with you.” Her lashes lowered at the admission. It was so close to saying I love you.
A startling pang of disappointment shot through him. He wanted to hear her say it, to have it be true. Did he want to love her back? Frightening, yeah, but he had to admit that he did. For the first time in a long while, something was more important than work. Felicity was more important than his job.
I’m in deep shit.
19
Felicity was in love with Jared.
There was no doubt about it. As she woke the next morning in his arms, feeling safe, sated, and happy to the point of being ridiculous, there was no denying what she felt. She lifted her head enough to slide her chin across his naked shoulder so she could study his sleeping face. She wanted to memorize each feature—the aquiline nose, the sweep of dark lashes that graced his cheeks, the slight pout of his relaxed mouth. She wanted to paint them each upon her memory, to cherish through the rest of her life, wherever it would take her.
Looking at him was like coming home in the truest sense. It wasn’t the home she’d grown up in, in a little house too small to accommodate her and her parents, but rather it was the home she’d always craved, the one she’d always hoped she would deserve someday. The one that would make her happy, nourish her, excite her.
If only she didn’t have class, she could’ve stayed in bed all day and just cuddled with him. But the day was slipping away, she had Professor Willoughby’s class, and he would be returning the scored tests. Jared stirred, rolling onto his back, exposing his bare chest. All that smooth, perfect skin was irresistible. She laid her palm on his chest, relishing the way his heartbeat thumped slow and steady.
He opened one eye and looked her way, making her jolt. She hadn’t thought he was awake. Jared flashed a sleepy smile at her startled jerk.
“What if we pretended we didn’t have work or class?” he mused softly.
“Hmm,” she sighed softly. He had no idea how tempting that was.
“Is that a yes?” He rolled onto his side to face her, offering her a winning smile that she strove to commit to memory.
“I can’t. I’m getting my exam paper scores back today for my colonial art exam. Don’t you need to work?” she reminded him gently.
The smile on his lips faded, and it cut her deeply, knowing that she’d splashed them both with an unwanted wave of reality. He leaned over and kissed her, showing her just what she would miss by choosing class over him. It was a kiss that sent her heart skittering and a flush of heat beneath her skin.
“Right, I’d better get up before I talk myself out of going to work and instead just stay right here, keeping you flat on your back on my bed.” Jared climbed out of bed and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, creating a silent barrier between them. The sound of the shower pushed at her uneasiness, forcing her to sit up and face the day. She shoved the covers on the bed back and sat up, shivering. She retrieved a clean T-shirt from Jared’s closet and padded over to the bathroom.
Felicity lifted her hand to knock, unsure of whether or not she should do what she wanted, invade his space, give in to those baser instincts Jared had created in her.
Would it be so bad if I extended our morning just a little?
She licked her lips, her eyes catching on one high heel shoe strewn on the floor, forgotten in the heady rush of lovemaking the previous night, and her skin heated anew. Determined to get what she wanted—Jared, naked in the shower—she pushed open the door. Emboldened by her own desire, she stepped into the bathroom and made her way to the shower.
She found him in the glass shower, back to her, his head resting against the back wall, water cascading down his body. His lean muscled body was fully exposed to her gaze, the shadows playing across the planes of his body, from his shoulders to his tight buttocks. When he turned to look her way, she saw his tortured gaze.
“Jared?” she whispered. The tentative note in her voice was mixed with a husky desire she couldn’t conceal.
He opened the shower door and held out a hand to her.
“Join me.”
She placed her palm in his and let him tug her into the stall with him. The water was cool on her skin, soaking the shirt in seconds as he pulled her to him under the showerhead and captured her mouth with his. Fire exploded within her as his erection brushed against her abdomen, the spacious shower suddenly smaller as he crowded her toward the tiled wall. He broke their kiss, reaching between them and tugging the hem of her shirt up, his fingers trailing against her wet skin, tickling her and stoking the fires already lit, even as he lifted the shirt over her head and let it fall onto the marble floor with a smack.
They stared at each other for a long moment, the heat between them only getting stronger. Without a word, he turned her around to face the wall, and he slowly, agonizingly stroked her body with his hands. His palms massaged her shoulders, cupped her breasts, pinching the nipples lightly. He shaped her hips and teased the backs of her knees with exploring fingertips until she was shaking, her core wet and throbbing. Felicity parted her legs and arched her back, pressing her bottom into his groin, encouraging him to take her.
With a throaty growl, he gripped her hips, pulling her ass toward him even more, and then she felt one hand leave her hips. The tip of his shaft nudged her entrance, and she relaxed, letting him sink into her inch by delicious inch. He rode her slow, gentle, deep, one hand on her hip, the other on her shoulder, using it to anchor her to him. Her palms slid against the tile, and she rested her cheek there, breathing hard as sensations overwhelmed her, as he overwhelmed her. She was so close to coming, so close she just needed…
He moved his hand from her hip around to the front of her and feathered his fingers over her pulsing clit. She cried out, her body jerking hard with a long, powerful climax that ended with a whimper from her lips. He picked up his pace, thrusting harder into her a few more times, hard enough to make her see stars, and then he groaned and she felt his cock jerk inside her as he came.
Jared leaned over her, their bodies connected. The moment their bare bodies were flush against each other, he nuzzled her neck, kissing her softly, but she could feel the tension in every line of his body.
“What’s wrong? Talk to me,” she begged. They separated, and she turned around to face him.
“It’s so easy to forget my job and the things I need to do when I’m with you. That’s dangerous, Felicity. I could fuck up everything if I’m not careful.” His words were uttered roughly, as though he truly worried about it, but as he spoke, he brushed a lock of her wet hair back.
She flinched at the sting of truth in his words. This was what she’d feared since the moment she’d met him and realized she’d wanted more than just a night in bed with him. She was a distraction to him, a burden, and couldn’t be anything more to him without causing problems. No woman wanted to be a problem to the man she loved. It made her emotions raw just beneath the surface.
“Now you get why I tried to stop this before it star
ted.” She dropped her hands from his shoulders and tried to get around him to exit the shower. He caught her by the waist and pulled her back against the wall.
“I didn’t say I wanted you to leave. I just…” He paused as though searching for the right words. “It’s going to be hard, that’s all. I want to make this work. Because I need you in my life.” He gazed at her with ragged desperation. “Do you feel the same way about me?”
Felicity swallowed the lump in her throat. “I do. But we have to keep each other in check. I can’t risk my scholarship, and you can’t risk your job. I want a relationship with you, not just sex. Don’t get me wrong, the sex is amazing, but if we stay together I want something more.”
He closed his eyes a brief moment before he opened them again, and she caught a glimpse of that steady determination that made him a wonderful lover.
“Me too,” he admitted. His voice, soft and rich now, made her tingle, and a glimmer of hope blossomed in her chest.
“Busy people date all the time. We shouldn’t be any different. We can do this.”
Felicity nodded, the small well of hope inside her growing into a surge of joy at knowing he wanted to make this relationship work. She curled her arms around his neck and pressed herself closer, clinging to him. Maybe they could actually do this, have a relationship and not let it ruin anything they had built in their lives before they met each other. Jared’s lips brushed along the column of her throat, and she moaned softly.
“Felicity, I’m going to ask you something, and I want you to think about it before you say no. All right?”
She felt so good in his arms at that moment, and she was quite sure he could’ve asked her anything. “What?” she murmured and tucked her head underneath his chin.
