by Lauren Smith
Maybe the peanuts had done her in. She rested her forehead against the arm that she’d braced on the toilet seat. She closed her eyes, breathing slowly and trying to swallow.
I am so not flying after this trip. Never again.
“Princess?” Jared appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, and she waved him away.
“I’m fine, just need to have a minute to sit here.”
He joined her on the floor, and one of his hands settled on her back, rubbing lightly.
“I’m sorry. I’m really ruining your vacation.” She groaned and reached for a Kleenex to wipe her mouth.
“Honey, you aren’t ruining anything. I’d rather be right here with you on the floor of my bathroom than back in Chicago.” His gentle chuckle was a balm to her, and she exhaled slowly. The nausea was fading bit by bit.
“You need water?” His brows drew together as he watched her carefully.
“That would be nice,” she murmured, focusing on her breathing.
He pressed a glass of water into her hands, and at first she took small sips, but then she began to gulp it down. Her stomach finally settled, and she climbed to her feet. He was there, gripping her waist as she got up, and she was grateful for the support. Jared was always there for her when she needed him most.
“Why don’t we take you downstairs and you can rest by the fire and watch some TV. I think I’ll order us a pizza.”
Felicity followed him out of the bathroom. She took one look at the thick snow clouds outside and shivered.
“Won’t it be dangerous for the delivery guy to drive up the hill to the house?”
He chuckled. “This is Colorado. The delivery guys have snow tires. It won’t be a problem.”
Jared curled an arm around her waist as they left his bedroom and walked toward the stairs. She loved it when he did that, when he held her or touched her as though they’d been together for years, not a month and a half. She’d never forget that night in his bedroom when she’d woken up next to him and how his touch had soothed her. That night had changed her life. Jared had changed her life.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked when they entered the large, cozy living room. A fire was crackling and popping over a stack of logs, and through a large doorway she caught a glimpse of Nancy and Gerald in the kitchen, talking and smiling. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected when she’d thought a hundred times about meeting them on the plane flight over. They were warm and sweet, just like Jared. They were not at all like the rich clients she’d been forced to deal with while working at Sabine’s. The Redmonds had heart.
“I was thinking how wonderful everything has been since I met you.” Heat built in her cheeks, but she couldn’t help it.
Jared’s eyes softened, and his sensual lips curved in a half smile.
“I’m so glad you’re mine, princess.” He dipped his head and cupped her face in his hands as he kissed her. The press of his lips was heaven, and she could have let him kiss her for hours, days even.
“Ahem.” Gerald’s voice came from behind them. “Let her have a chance to breathe, boy.” That broke them apart, and they both laughed, completely embarrassed.
“Gerald!” Nancy admonished her husband from the kitchen. “Don’t tease them.”
Jared didn’t acknowledge either of his parents. He kept his gaze on Felicity. “Sit down and rest.”
Felicity let him guide her to the large dark-brown leather couch, and she watched him over the back of the couch as he joined his mother in the kitchen.
“Mind if I sit?” Gerald pointed to a space at the opposite end of the couch.
“Of course,” Felicity replied.
Gerald sat down and stared at her for very long moment, his focus not unfriendly.
“So Jared tells me you’re finishing up a master’s at the University of Chicago. You’re focusing on art history, right?”
“Yes.” Felicity turned her attention from Jared to his father.
“Art history…what do you want to do with a degree like that?”
It was a question she’d faced before, and thankfully she was prepared. “Museum curation. I’ve been working at an exclusive art and design studio called Sabine’s, and the owner is well connected to all the major museums around the country. She’ll give me a reference and help me with interviews.”
“So you’ll stay in Chicago and work at the Art Institute?”
“I’ll probably move out to Los Angeles next year. I’m applying for a job there in a few months at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art once I get my fall grades on the record.”
“Los Angeles?” Gerald’s eyes widened. “Does Jared know?”
“Yes, but…” She paused. “We haven’t really talked about it.” Because neither of us can face the future we won’t be together in.
“Ah…” The dawning comprehension on his face made her heart sink. No doubt he was mentally checking a box on her that labeled her as a fling for Jared, not someone who would be with their son permanently. It hurt, even if it was the truth.
“Gerald, honey, we need to leave if we’re going to be at the restaurant in time for dinner,” Nancy called out. Felicity watched her kiss Jared’s cheek before she left the kitchen.
“Have a good evening, Felicity.” Gerald’s smile was still warm, but she sensed that he had put distance between them.
“Good night,” she called out, feeling completely wretched. If only this wasn’t temporary…
She folded her arms on the back of the couch and watched Jared call for a pizza.
He leaned back against the marble countertop, his legs crossed at his ankles, his lean, muscular body so beautiful.
And he’s mine…for now.
She didn’t want to think about what it would be like when she moved to Los Angeles and he moved on to a new girl.
Jared ended the call and strolled over to the back of the couch, leaned down, and covered her startled mouth with his. The kiss sparked with eager heat, but a tenderness simmered below all that. It never ceased to amaze her how she’d found such a wonderful, sexy god of a man.
“We’re all alone now.” He gave her those bedroom eyes that made everything else around them fade away. All she could think about was their bare bodies entwined between the sheets.
“We are,” she agreed against his lips.
“The pizza will be here in an hour. Do you want to sit in the hot tub?” Jared suggested as he massaged her neck and shoulders, their faces still close enough that she detected his slightly quicker breathing.
“A hot tub in the snow? Are you sure?” It sounded insane. They’d freeze to death.
“Oh yeah, princess. You haven’t lived until you sit in a hot tub while it snows.”
“Okay.” She arched up for one more kiss before she got off the couch. “I’ll go change into my suit.”
“Good, I’ve got my suit down here. I’ll throw on my trunks and uncover the tub. It’s just outside there.” He pointed to a pair of doors just off the living room.
Felicity rushed up the stairs to where Jared had put her suitcase. It was a hideous, beaten-up old duffel, but she had no other bag. Jared’s own elegant black roller suitcase was tucked by the door. It made her wince when she looked at her own bag. She shoved the rush of negative thoughts aside and searched for the suit she’d packed, and then she cursed. The tasteful one-piece navy-blue bathing suit wasn’t there. In its place was a two-piece white-and-black polka-dot suit. The top and bottoms each had some creative ruffles that…well, they would look cute, but Felicity had never worn a suit like this.
“Layla…” she said with a growl and stomped all the way to the bathroom, cursing her best friend’s craftiness.
What would Jared think when he saw her in this itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie, polka-dot bikini?
21
Jared hummed as he leaned over the hot tub, peeling away the cover. Fluffy white snow that had been sitting on the top of the cover showered down on his bare feet as he peeled the cover off the h
ot tub. Then he tested the water with his fingertips. Nice and hot. He walked over to the control panel and crouched down to search for the knob that would turn on the jets. Bubbles burst forth and filled the big hot tub.
“Yes.” He grinned and rested his hands on his hips. This was going to be so good. He’d get his little princess hot and wet in more ways than one. It was a perfect night with the barest breeze drifting through ice-dusted pine trees. There was a natural calm and quiet isolation to the night that made Jared forget about the bustle and noise of Chicago. The sky was a light purple, and the snow-filled clouds were drifting closer. It might even snow tonight. He hoped it did so he could see Felicity’s face light up with joy.
The soft click of the patio door opening made him glance away from the skies. Felicity stood in the doorway, a fluffy white towel wrapped around her body, reminding him of that first morning she showered at his apartment. Her shoulders were bare.
“God, please tell me you forgot a suit and you’re naked beneath the towel.”
Her cheeks reddened, but she smiled. “You’re determined to get me naked, aren’t you?”
Jared chuckled and raised his palms in surrender. “I won’t deny it. I’m desperate for you. I just hope you want me too, because sex in a hot tub is one of my fantasies.”
Her eyes twinkled. “I always want you.”
“Then drop that towel and get over here, princess.”
She crept on bare feet across the snowy deck and reached the hot tub. Only then did she drop the towel away from her body.
His heart stopped.
She wore a two-piece polka-dot suit that seemed to come out of his fantasies. It looked like a suit from the 1950s, something Marilyn Monroe would have worn. It cupped her breasts and her bottom. It wasn’t a strappy thing, and it covered more skin, but the way it hugged her drew his eyes to her curves. Curves he had dreamed about tracing with his hands or nipping with his teeth. The ruffles really got to him. It screamed innocent and sex kitten all at once.
“Do I look okay? Layla stole my suit and packed this instead.” Her uncertainty dragged him away from his wicked thoughts. She didn’t think she looked good? His cock certainly thought she looked amazing, and the rest of him was in complete agreement.
“Fuck, you look amazing, Felicity. It’s not exactly manly to admit this, but I just about came in my trunks.” He groaned and reached for her. He needed her body pressed to his or he might die.
She laughed, and the rich, husky sound was not helping his painfully aroused state. When he noticed her shivering, he gripped her waist and lifted her up to sit on the edge of the tub.
“The water’s hot—get in,” he encouraged. As she slid into the tub, he folded her towel and set it on a chair beside his. Then he climbed up the side of the tub and eased into the bubbling water beside her. He watched in amusement as she used her hair tie to pull her long brown hair up into a cute, messy bun. The movement exposed her graceful neck, making him hot just picturing nibbling it while he seduced her out of that little bikini.
“What?” she asked when she noticed him watching.
He struggled for words. How to explain to her that she fascinated him? That everything about her made him feel funny, like he was aroused and sated and excited and calm all at once? To him she was…everything.
“You’re fucking cute as hell, princess. Get over here.” He patted the water near him since she was perched on the seat opposite him.
Felicity laughed again as she scooted off her spot and slid through the water over to him. He caught her and guided her into straddling his lap, facing him. The position was heaven and hell for his aching cock. Her hands settled on his shoulders, and she leaned into him, her lips curving in a sweet smile.
“This is nice.” Her gaze dropped to his lips.
“It is nice.” He cupped her bottom, pressing her close against his groin. She made a soft little sound the back of her throat, like a cat purring.
Fuck…
He slid his hands inside her bikini bottom to cup her bare ass cheeks. There was nothing that could stop him from torturing and teasing her until she was as desperate to be fucked as he was to fuck her. He slid his hands farther down until his fingers reached her silken folds. She jolted and gasped, and her lips parted as she stared at him in shock.
“Jared.” She almost whimpered his name when he slid one finger into her. She was wet and tight, and the feel of her made him so hard and desperate for her that he was having trouble breathing.
“Ride my hand, babe,” he encouraged, his voice a low growl.
“Hmmm.” She rocked her hips wildly as she did as he commanded. Her hands dug into his shoulders as she clung to him.
“That’s it.” He rocked his own body up to meet hers, and he felt it on his fingers when she climaxed. Her body gripped him, and she dug her nails into his skin. She came so quickly, so hard, and so fucking beautifully just for him. It made him feel like a god.
When she collapsed against him, panting, he lifted her up off his lap and tugged her suit bottoms off, letting them drop outside the tub.
“Hey!” she gasped, trying to reach for the bottoms, but he kept her beneath the water.
“You don’t want the neighbors to see you,” he warned, laughing against her neck between hot, hungry kisses.
“Jared, you devil,” she hissed, but he could hear the smile in her tone.
“I’m just getting started.” He used one hand to tug his trunks off, and then he settled her back on his lap.
“Put me inside you,” he whispered in her ear. “Take me, princess.” He bit the lobe of her ear, and she tensed and moaned with pleasure. As she lifted her hips, she used one of her hands to grip his shaft and guide it into her. She eased down onto his cock, but he couldn’t wait. He gripped her hips and pulled her down hard.
“Oh, God!” she cried out and arched her back.
Sliding into her felt like heaven. She was hot and slick, and her body gripped him as tight as a fist. She bit her bottom lip and stared at him, her gaze hazy as though buzzed with pleasure as he started to push in and out of her, possessing her, harder, faster, his hold rough. Her nails dug into him. All the while their gazes locked as though in a silent battle of wills to see who would surrender and come apart first.
“You’re fucking beautiful,” he growled and slid his hands from her waist to her hips, getting a firm hold on her to better jerk her down on his cock.
“Oh, God!” she cried out so loudly that he swooped in to capture her lips and stifle any further cries.
The moment their lips touched he moaned in delight and climaxed. He’d never been more thankful she’d gotten on the pill. Being skin to skin with her was like nothing else in the world. He’d never done drugs, but he imagined that making love to Felicity was like heroin. There was no coming back from that exquisite high. He’d always crave more.
Neither of them spoke, but Felicity buried her face in his neck and held on to him tight, as though she feared he’d vanish. Her body trembled, and he held her against him. He was shaking too.
“It’s okay. I’m right here,” Jared reassured her, unsure why he did, but something had changed between them. He could feel it pulsing beneath his skin where she touched him as though they were connected on a level too deep to comprehend.
A little strangled sound escaped Felicity’s lips. She was…crying.
“Princess? What’s wrong? Was I too rough?” he asked, worried that he might have hurt her.
After a few sniffles, she lifted her face. “We have to talk.”
The words cut him and filled him with dread. “About what?”
“Jared, I’m applying for the job in California. That means I’m leaving Chicago in the spring. Leaving you.”
It was something he’d been purposely ignoring whenever he could. The thing was standing between them.
“Okay, let’s talk,” he replied, holding her close. It was hard to imagine her being on the West Coast, not when they were still connecte
d right here. A cold breeze trailed up his shoulders, and he fought off the chill that came with it.
“There’s no way you can stay in Chicago?” he asked.
She hesitated and shook her head. “Not if I want to work in a museum in a career path that will lead me to a curator job. It’s my dream. I can’t just…” She looked away from him.
“Give it up? I know.” He nuzzled her cheek. “I don’t want you giving up your dreams for me.”
“And you, could you give up a partnership at your firm to come with me to California?”
It took him several long seconds to reply. “No. As a lawyer, transferring to a different state is complicated. I’d have to take another bar exam or try to get grandfathered in, but the pass rates for the California bar exams are extremely low. I also don’t have any connections. It’s not impossible, but it’s complicated and difficult.”
“What happens in May when I graduate?” she asked him. Her gray eyes were wide, and a dozen questions burned in the depths of her gaze.
“I don’t know what will happen, princess. You don’t have to decide that now. Things could change in four months.” He didn’t want to think about her leaving. It left him hollow inside. She nodded, but sorrow still gleamed in her gaze as she pushed off his lap. Disconnecting them.
“Hey, come on, princess. Let’s enjoy your vacation. We’ll face this soon enough.” He curled his fingers under her chin and lifted it so she had to face him again.
“Tonight should be about us having fun,” she replied solemnly. Her serious expression inspired him.
“Let’s forget about everything except us, right here, right now.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly at first, but soon—as always when he kissed her—he lost control. Every touch of her lips to his sparked new fire.
