“Please,” I whisper as he pushes against me again, his tip slipping over my opening as I wrap my legs around his lower back.
That’s all the encouragement he needs. He pushes into me.
The feel of him inside me again is euphoric. Jordan shudders slightly when he’s as deep as he can go and then kisses me hungrily, moaning into my mouth as he starts to move inside me. Neither one of us closes our eyes. We both want to see this—see what we’re doing to each other. We both tip our heads to watch where he’s moving in and out inside of me, like we both need to see it to believe it’s actually happening again.
It’s almost completely different this time.
He’s much more aggressive, pulling my breasts free from my bra, covering them with his mouth, sucking and nipping as his thrusts continue, sharp and deep. I’m much more assertive than the first time. I roll my pelvis with every push of his hips and tug his hair and nip his neck. He grunts and moves his lips to my neck as I pant and dig my nails into his shoulders. What’s the same is how we fit together—perfectly. No one else has ever felt like this—the way he fills me completely, the perfect, tight pull as he slides out, and the way he keeps his pelvis low, sliding over mine, creating that delicious friction against my clit.
My fingers slide lower, over his toned back. Every muscle under my fingertips is taut, like a wire pulled tight about to snap. His lips part and I kiss the dimple in his chin before I whisper, “So close.”
And then he pushes in as deep as he can—once, twice, three times—and I claw at his back as I drown in my orgasm. He rides me through the ecstasy and then he chokes back a guttural moan and trembles, coming hard before collapsing on top of me.
We’re both heaving like we’ve run a marathon. Luckily the sound of our rapid breathing does not mask a thud in a room down the hall or creaking sound of a door opening.
Jordan jumps to his feet, grabbing his pajama pants and pulling them up. I grab the knitted throw off the back of the couch and cover myself as Jordan kicks my discarded clothes under the couch.
Luc staggers into view. I snap my eyes closed and pretend to sleep.
“What are you doing?” he slurs to Jordan, clearly still drunk from the celebration.
“I was getting water,” Jordan mumbles. “And Jessie is sleeping on the couch.”
Luc mutters something but the only word I can catch is “Rose.”
“She’s downstairs with Callie in the den,” Jordan says, and I can hear him move, walking over to Luc, I assume. “You need to go to bed. Sleep it off.”
I steal a peek with one eye and see Jordan holding his best friend by the shoulders, guiding him back into their bedroom and shutting the door behind them. I wait a few minutes and then reach for my clothes, quickly getting dressed.
I lie back down on the couch and wait, but Jordan doesn’t come back out. At least I don’t think he does. My body and mind are suddenly exhausted, and before I know it, I fall asleep.
Chapter 27
Jessie
It’s the smell of bacon that first starts to pull me back to the world. And then it’s the sound of Conner’s giggle. I shift and stretch.
“Hey, sleeping beauty,” I hear from somewhere to my left.
I open my eyes, squinting against the morning light. Cole is sitting in the recliner with a Sports Illustrated on his lap and a coffee in his hand. Devin is sitting on the floor cross-legged with Conner across from him. They’re playing with the brightly colored trucks we bought him for Christmas.
I realize I’m in the Garrisons’ living room, on the couch. There’s a blanket across me—a duvet. Jordan’s duvet.
Jordan.
I slept with Jordan!
I bolt upright and my head spins as I glance every which way, trying to find him, trying to get confirmation that it wasn’t a champagne-induced dream.
“Jessie, you okay?” Devin asks, turning his attention from Conner to me. His brow is furrowed with concern.
I nod. “Yes. I’m fine.”
“Really? Because you look like you might barf,” Cole observes with a smile on his face.
I have no idea why the hell he’s smiling. Who grins like an idiot when they think someone is going to be sick?! I look around again. Ashleigh is in the kitchen in front of the stove. She’s cooking the bacon I smell, but I don’t see anyone else.
“Your sisters are still asleep,” Devin tells me. “Luc got up to dry heave and then went back to bed.”
“He better learn to handle champagne,” Cole mutters. “Or else what’s he going to drink out of the Stanley Cup if he wins one?”
“Ha! Let him concentrate on making playoffs for once,” Devin teases.
I curl my knees to my chest, pulling the duvet up higher. It smells like Jordan, and my heart flutters. I try to muster up enough courage and composure to ask casually where he is, but before I can, Devin volunteers the information.
“Jordan’s flight was first thing this morning. Mom and Dad are driving him there now.”
“He left?” I can’t keep the horror from my voice.
Ashleigh starts giggling from the kitchen. Devin laughs too. Cole is still grinning mischievously.
“He said you might freak out,” Ashleigh tells me as she walks over with a mug of coffee. She hands it to me before going back to the kitchen.
“Thanks,” I say as I blush. I wonder what the hell else he told them.
“He’s got practice this afternoon. I think they’re going to try to play him in the next game,” Devon explains. Then he then he points to a folded piece of paper on the coffee table between us. “He left you something.”
I reach out quickly and grab the paper. I unfold it and read. And then reread.
J,
If I’d known that last night was going to end the way it did, I would have pushed back my flight. But it was too late last night to do anything about it and I have to join the team for practice. I hope you understand.
I need you to not think about anything until we see each other again. I know you and you’ll freak out. Don’t, okay? It wasn’t a mistake. At least it wasn’t for me.
Call me as soon as you’re back in Seattle.
Love,
J
His phone number is at the bottom of the page. When I look up again Cole is grinning at me—even bigger than before.
“You read it, didn’t you?” I accuse with a narrowed glare.
“Of course I did,” Cole says honestly. “The kid is my brother. I always invade his privacy. It’s my God-given right. So, what happened last night that’s going to freak you out?”
I sip my coffee. “None of your business.”
He smiles. “My first thought is that you two totally…you know, did the deed.”
I thank God he’s keeping it PG with Conner in the room.
“Cole!” Ashleigh interrupts disapprovingly. “It’s not your business, first of all. And second of all, where the heck would that happen? The house is filled with people. There’s no privacy.”
I keep sipping my coffee.
Cole glances around the room. “I wish I had a black light. Then I could check for fluids and tell you exactly where it happened.”
We all make various noises of disgust. Callie and Rose come wandering up the stairs from the basement.
“Hello, family.” Callie yawns and glances around. “What’s with the moans and groans?”
“Cole is a pig,” I reply, folding up Jordan’s note and putting it in the back pocket of my jeans.
Cole tries to look innocent. “Hey! All I know is Jordy was smiling when he left here. He looked the happiest I’ve seen him in years.”
I try not to react to that news, but it’s impossible.
“Why are you smiling?” Callie asks absently as she tries to smooth her bed head.
“I’m happy that Jordan is happy,” I mumble, and shrug like it’s no big deal. “I like to see my friends happy.”
Callie stares at me for a long, contemplative moment
. “What did you do to make him happy?”
Cole laughs. So does Devin.
“You’re all being ridiculous!” I say, pushing my hair back over my shoulders. I stand up, put my mug on the coffee table and then begin to fold up Jordan’s duvet.
Rose cocks her head at me, steps closer, smiles and covers her mouth with her hand.
“What?” I ask, startled by her reaction.
I glance at everyone and they’re all smiling and snickering—everyone but Callie.
“You’ve got a hickey on the side of your neck,” Devin says, pointing. “It’s huge.”
“About the size of Jordan Garrison’s fat mouth,” Callie mutters.
I look down, not that I can see it, and then quickly move my hair forward again over my shoulders to cover it. I start to blush furiously.
“So, was it awesome?” Rose asks giddily. “As awesome as you remember? ’Cause you look like it might have been awesome!”
Devin and Cole both groan.
“Don’t answer that in front of me!” Cole begs.
“Or me,” Devin adds.
“You can tell me later.” Ashleigh winks and then walks over to pick up Conner. She carries him into the kitchen for breakfast.
“I am not going to talk to you freaks about anything,” I announce before someone else can ask something I don’t want to answer—or don’t have the answer to, like what the hell we were thinking. “So, please stop asking. I mean it.”
We all gather around the breakfast bar and grab forks, everyone diving into the big platter of scrambled eggs and bacon Ashleigh left there. We don’t bother to divide it up on individual plates, we all just start going for it.
“Maybe there’ll be two Garrison weddings this year,” Rose says quietly.
“Shut up. Seriously. Shut up,” I tell her, panicked.
The way everyone is jumping the gun is freaking me out. I have no idea what will happen with Jordan. At this point, anything could happen…It could either all work out great, or it could all go horribly awry again.
Half an hour later, as we get ready to leave, Callie grabs the keys out of my hand.
“She still insists on driving?” Devon smirks and wraps Callie in a headlock. “Little Callie Control Freak.”
I laugh. He hasn’t called her that in years, but it’s still accurate.
“I’m going to check on Luc and say good-bye,” Rose announces, and then skips down the hall.
“Make it a quickie,” I snark. I’m fed up with all the jabs coming my way and decide someone else deserves it.
“I’m pretty sure that’s all Luc is capable of.” Cole snickers.
Devin laughs at his youngest brother’s joke as he finally releases the struggling Callie. He gives her a proper hug her good-bye. I hug him too and then move to Cole, who wraps his arms around my waist and picks me up.
“He’s crazy about you, J,” he whispers in my ear seriously. I nod even though his words make me panic.
Callie pushes me out of the way and hugs Cole as I move on to hug Ashleigh. Rosie suddenly appears in the hallway. She waves at everyone.
“Bye, everyone. Love you all,” she says in a forced jovial tone and heads straight out the door.
Luc comes storming down the hall. “Rosie?”
“She left,” Callie says, giving him a suspicious stare.
“Oh. Okay,” Luc’s hand moves to his bare stomach and he turns suddenly pale. “I need to lie down again.” He wanders back to the bedroom.
We all exchange awkward glances. I’m just happy the focus is off Jordan and me.
Chapter 28
Jessie
I make my way through the airport slowly, trying not to freak out about being back in Seattle.
I’ve been trying not to freak out ever since Jordan left Silver Bay five days earlier. It was easier once Luc went back to Las Vegas and Devin went back to Brooklyn. My sisters didn’t tease me mercilessly like they did. Callie just stared at me with hard, skeptical eyes, and Rose looked at me like she was secretly planning our wedding and naming our babies.
Now being back in Seattle—knowing he’s here and I will see him again—is basically causing a panic attack. I know his note told me not to freak out, but how can avoid it? I mean, just last week we weren’t even talking, and the next thing I know we’re having sex.
Sex.
Holy hell, that was great. I blush as I meander toward the exit.
When Jordan took my virginity, it was beautiful and it was hot—as hot as two eighteen-year-olds can be. But sex with adult, experienced Jordan was just a heightened version of sex with young, barely experienced Jordan. Mind-blowing. No work, no awkwardness, just pure intense pleasure.
I walk out of the Arrivals gate and glance around for signs to tell me which exit has the taxi stand. But, instead, I find him.
He’s standing there in dark, worn jeans and a form-fitting black turtleneck sweater under his black wool winter coat. He’s hatless, his growing blond hair actually styled for once. He’s wearing black leather boots that make him even taller than his already towering height. I notice he hasn’t shaved, and the stubble on his chin and jaw is sexy as all hell.
He smiles at me. It’s soft and gentle and so completely the real Jordan—the one not many people see. I blush furiously and feel that panic attack I’ve been trying to squelch start to bubble up again. He just took away the one thing that was keeping me from freaking out—the time I thought I would have today to find the confidence to face him and whatever it was we’d done. I was headed straight to work from here so I thought I would have all day. Now there’s no time. I have no choice but to walk up to him, since running in the other direction would be a little dramatic.
He wraps his arms around my shoulders, dips his head and his lips make contact with my forehead. I force myself to look in his eyes. He’s looking at me with such…tenderness.
“I called Rosie and she told me when you were coming in,” he says with a wink. “I figured I’d save you the cab fare. You heading straight to work?”
I nod and let him take my bag as we walk toward the exit. “Don’t you have practice?”
“This afternoon,” Jordan says as we approach his black Mercedes SUV. He loads my bag into the backseat and then opens the passenger door for me.
I climb in as he walks around the car to get into the driver’s seat. I watch his face as he maneuvers his way out of the parking area. He glances over at me with an expression I can’t quite read. I used to be able to read everything Jordan was thinking in his face. Not because he was more obvious about it, but because I knew him that well. It makes me realize that we might have a few new things to discover about each other.
“So, tonight…” he says softly. “Do you want to celebrate New Year’s Eve with me?”
“New Year’s Eve?” I repeat like I’ve never heard of it.
“My goalie, Choochinsky, and his girlfriend are having people over to his place. I thought we could go. You could meet the guys.”
I suddenly feel dread. Meeting more of his buddies and hanging out with a bunch of people I don’t know would be uncomfortable enough, but doing it while not knowing where we stand seems daunting. But I can see in his face that he really wants this, and I don’t want to pull him from his teammates; his injuries have done that long enough.
“Sounds good.” I smile.
His pretty blue eyes light up. “Great!”
As we make our way down the I-5 toward downtown, he starts to tell me about how awesome Chooch’s parties always are and about all the guys on the team he wants me to meet. I ask him about his wrist and how his first game since the injury went yesterday. I’d watched it with Donna and Wyatt and he played well, but I wanted to know how he felt. The conversation is easy and light but the heavy, tense feeling inside me doesn’t lift. It feels like the elephant in the room is sitting directly on my chest.
He jumps out of the car and walks around to my side as I open the door to get out. Jordan pulls my bag o
ut of the back and then stands in front of me, trapping me on the seat with my legs dangling above the pavement.
His hand reaches up and cups the side of my face as he leans in to kiss me. It’s slow and tentative for a second—but only a second. I can’t keep it casual, and neither can he. His tongue pushes against my lips, which I part willingly, eager to deepen the kiss.
He grabs my hips and pulls me to the edge of the seat, stepping between my legs. My hands push their way inside his jacket, my fingers skimming across the heavy knitted cotton of his sweater and slipping under it to wrap around his strong neck.
I pull back reluctantly. “I have to go to work.”
He groans, but he’s smiling. And I’m grinning too, like an idiot. I can’t help it. I push him out of my way and hop out of the car, taking my bag from him. I kiss his cheek again and then walk swiftly toward the front door of my building. If I do it slowly, without conviction, I’m likely to turn around and haul him into the back of his SUV and have parking lot sex. I’m that attracted to him right now. As I glance back from the front door, he’s leaning on the side of his car, his eyes on me. He gives me a quick smile. He looks so happy. And I feel happy. It makes me nervous.
Do we even know what the hell we’re doing?
The day seems to fly by way too quickly. I text Jordan my address, head home after work and the next thing I know he’s knocking on the door to my tiny, humble apartment. I’m not ready. I spent way too long trying on everything I own and fussing over my hair, which I decide to curl. I still have to find the right shoes and the one lipstick I actually like.
I stumble out of the alcove I call my bedroom, drawing the gauzy curtains that separate it from the rest of my studio apartment, and rush to the door. I pull it open and find him already leaning in for a kiss, his arm resting above his head on the doorframe.
I don’t even manage a hi before our lips connect. I think it was meant to be a peck but the contact is like two sticks that have been smoking, smoldering and finally catch fire. Everything in me flares with desire. My mouth opens and his tongue slides against mine. Now the kiss is deep and a little rough. He moves his lips to my jaw. The scrape of his unshaven face against my neck makes me shiver, and I can feel him smile against my skin. “Are you going to show me your place or make me come in my pants right here in your hall?”
One More Shot (Hometown Players #1) Page 20
