Chapter 8
Jessie emerged from the dressing room in the hotel room, her aims raised as she struggled with a recalcitrant earring. The flame-red Isaac Mizrahi she wore was one of a dozen designer gowns Joshua had surprised her with for this trip to Monaco.
She'd felt like a kid in a candy store when she'd seen the gowns the hotel maid had unpacked earlier. Each gown was a brilliant, vibrant color, each more tempting than the last. The red chiffon had a short, frothy skirt, no back and a deceptively modest front—until movement revealed the throat-to-waist slit and a tantalizing glimpse of small firm, lightly tanned breasts.
"Why aren't you dressed?" she asked, seeing Joshua sprawled on the bed, his arms folded under his head. Hah? the bedcovers were on the enormous bed, the other half on the floor. He was gloriously naked.
Jessie met his bold look and his eyes darkened. "Don't you have jet lag?" he asked in a seductive drawl. "Perhaps you should come back to bed and take a little nap."
Oh, no, you don't, Joshua Falcon. That's what you said three hours ago." Jessie's pulse quickened under the heat of his smoldering gaze. "We've been in Monte Carlo for four hours and already made love twice." She dropped her hand when the earring back slipped home. "I thought you brought me here to gamble."
"I did," Joshua said, rising and coming toward her like a panther, all sinewy grace and rippling muscles, arousal blatant and unashamed. "And to see you dressed like you are now. God, you look incredible." He ran the backs of his fingers inside the narrow opening of her bodice to touch bare skin; Jessie couldn't help arching her back as his hand slipped inside the opening. "You turn me on whether you're clothed or naked. I love the way your lush little breasts play hide-and-seek in this dress."
She licked her shiny red lips, watching as Joshua's eyes smoldered. "Don't get me all jazzed up," she warned, fearing it was already too late. She stood her ground as his fingers played against her sensitized skin.
"I want to see the casino," she said with a laugh, her fingers small around the thickness of his wrist, as she halfheartedly tried to restrain him. He could rip these five ounces of chiffon off her and have her on the bed in a heartbeat.
A tremor rippled across her skin. He saw it and smiled. The backs of his fingers slid from the pulse in her throat to her waist and back again. Her nipples were excruciatingly hard and blatantly outlined beneath the soft fabric of the expensive dress.
Jessie closed her eyes, waiting for Joshua to cup her breasts, to taste her nipples as he had done just before she'd called it quits and run into the lavish bathroom for a shower not forty minutes ago. She'd locked the door, hearing his mocking laughter as she shot home the bolt.
"You love being a woman, don't you?" Just the backs of his knuckles rode the edge of fabric over her midriff. Jessie arched an eyebrow, a trick she had learned from him. He seemed impervious to what he was doing to her as he continued in that soft, silky voice. "I love watching you get ready to go out." His touch moved a little higher. Jessie shivered.
"I'm always fascinated by the way you primp and fuss with your hair when you know it won't stay where you put it. And no matter what, it always looks sexy, as though I've just run my fingers through it." With two fingers, he touched the pulse at her throat, and smiled down into her eyes. Her breath hitched.
"And I'm fascinated by your concentration when you apply makeup. Every move you make is graceful, feminine. You love the textures and scents and ceremony that go with being female."
Jessie felt hypnotized by the sensual timbre of his voice and the rhythmic stroking of his fingertips. She took a step back to clear her head. "Goodness. What brought this on?"
Joshua shrugged. "I've never known anyone who enjoys being in their own skin the way you do." He reached over to pick up a toweling robe, then shrugged it on. He looked back at her with a small frown. "Given the way you were brought up, I don't know how you acquired your amazing sense of self-worth."
Embarrassed and flattered Jessie didn't quite know what to say. A lot of her self-confidence was a protective device she'd perfected growing up. "I somehow managed to teach myself. I realized, even as a child, that my mother's life wasn't mine, and I did everything in my power to make sure I knew who and what I was."
Joshua cupped her cheek. "I admire the hell out of who you are, Jessica Adams." He dropped a light, yet somehow intense, kiss on her mouth, and then strolled into the bathroom.
Jessie flopped down on the bed and stared at the closed door.
* * * * *
The main floor of the casino was an opulent mix of gilt and mahogany, the very old with some modern concessions. It retained the same air of genteel elegance and lavish style it had when it was built in the early 1860s. Jessie was entranced. "It's not fair the locals aren't allowed in the casino." She was afraid to blink—she wanted to see everything. "They're missing a wonderful part of their heritage."
"A small price to pay, considering they don't pay any taxes in Monaco," Joshua said dryly.
"It's their heritage—" Jessie gazed around her "—not the money that matters."
"Tell that to the man trying to feed his family. Hardly anyone leaves a casino with more money in his pocket, Jess. They're doing the locals a favor."
"Cynic. I still don't think it's fair," she said without heat, distracted by the sights and sounds of the casino. Elegantly gowned women and handsome men wearing tuxedos strolled through the vast saloons, their voices an exotic blend of accents and pitch. Her eyes lit up as they wandered through a room with dozens of roulette tables.
"It's only the gaming rooms they're forbidden to enter, little Miss Bleeding Heart," Joshua said, amused. He toyed with the loose strands of her hair at her nape. "Everyone can come to the Grand Theater to see the ballet or opera." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. Her lids drifted closed and she whispered for him to stop. He tasted her knuckles and her skin flushed, but she didn't pull away.
Jessie felt the ripple in his thigh muscles as he brushed against her; she carefully moved away a few inches, brushing her palm up the back of her upswept hair feeling for those loose strands as his gaze remained fixed on her face. She had known she was playing with fire when she put on the dress, but now, as his X-ray eyes touched her naked breasts, she realized she hadn't meant to start a forest fire.
She closed her eyes briefly. If she gave in to this insatiable craving, they would be upstairs naked before she could say strip.
"Behave," she warned, then drew in a shaky breath.
He smiled, then tucked her arm through his. "You are a hard woman."
"Shh, I'm absorbing." The smell of wealth discreetly perfumed the air. The aroma of power and money mixed with the fragrance of the fresh flowers overflowing the priceless vases in lighted alcoves along the walls.
Jessie's gold heels sank into luxurious royal-blue-and-deep-black Axminster carpet. The murmur of refined voices wove between the dulcet notes of a small orchestra screened behind a fringe of luxurious potted palms nearly reaching the intricate gold plaster ceiling soaring above their heads.
Joshua's hand rested lightly on the small of her back as they strolled across the enormous casino, his caress absentminded. Jessie didn't think he realized how much easier it was for him to touch her in public now. The familiar contact in a crowded room meant more to Jessie than she'd ever thought possible.
"Now, why are you smiling as if you just ate a canary?" Joshua asked, leading her into the next room.
She looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "I'm happy."
He touched her face with his fingertips, as if he couldn't help himself. "This has all been here for more than a hundred years, Jess. We don't have to run."
"Someone might take my lucky seat." She slowed and looked about her as nonchalantly as she could.
"Find a table. I'll get you some chips."
She caught her lower lip in her teeth and looked up at him with a delicious mixture of terrified anticipation and unholy glee. "Not too many," she warned. "I just want to play at playing for an hour or so."
Joshua returned moments later and Jessie dropped the stack of chips into her purse, turning in a little pirouette as she perused the tables before picking the one she wanted.
"I've died and gone to heaven." She grinned, opening her small Chanel clutch and taking out a handful of black and gold chips. "Come and play with me."
Joshua leaned forward, his lips brushing her ear. "I wanted to play with you upstairs." He pulled out one of the elegant brocade chairs for her.
"Patience has its rewards," she whispered, setting her chips in neat piles on the green bias table. She could feel Joshua behind her as she concentrated on placing her bet.
Actually, she had no idea how to play roulette. She only placed bets on red or black and on the double zero. It was the adrenaline rush she relished as her chips were scraped off the table or returned to her.
With several more chips than she had started with, Jessie'd had enough. Joshua had stood behind her, his hand possessively on her shoulder and without comment for an hour.
"I'm starving." Jessie swung her legs off the high chair. Joshua laughed as he helped her scoop up her chips.
"You're so predictable." He aimed her toward the five-star restaurant with a view of the bay. "Always hungry. Come on. I'll feed you, and then you can bring me some luck."
After being seated, Jessie took a handful of chips, turning them around between her fingers. "You know, these are so pretty I think I'll just take them home and frame them so I can remember this fabulous trip."
Joshua almost choked on his wine. Jessie's eyebrows rose at his expression. "What?"
"Do you have any idea what those chips are worth, Jessie?" Joshua dabbed at the corner of his mouth with his napkin.
She shrugged. "I don't know. Five dollars?"
"Each chip is worth the *****alent of ten thousand dollars."
"What!" Jessie squeaked, her hand at her throat "You're kidding. There must be… oh my God, Joshua. There're at least thirty-five chips here. What happened to the dollar table?"
"That's Reno. This is the big time. The sheik sitting on your right was playing with hundred-thousand-dollar chips."
"Lord." Jessie stuffed the chips into her purse and laid it carefully in front of her on the table. "If I'd known that, I would never have played."
"You were enjoying yourself. What difference does it make how much the chips are worth? It's only money."
"What if I'd lost?" Jessie felt sick to her stomach. She closed her eyes before looking back at him. He was still smiling.
"It's only money, Jess."
"Yours, Joshua. Not mine. It would have taken me forever to pay you back if I'd lost."
"You didn't." His smile disappeared and a strange look came over his features. He handed her the enormous tasseled menu. "Decide what you want to eat and don't think about it."
Jessie hid behind the menu, her appetite gone. She'd had no idea. She felt so stupid. In such opulent surroundings with Joshua's casual wealth, she should have guessed they wouldn't have dollar chips, for heaven's sake!
She felt like a fraud. Sitting here on the patio of one of the most famous casinos in the world, wearing a designer original. Who did she think she was?
Just Jessie Adams, daughter of a prostitute from Bakersfield.
She'd done the unthinkable. She had complacently believed she wouldn't fall in love with him. She'd thought that it was impossible. That she'd been inoculated and would be immune. As if love were something she had control over!
I love him.
She mentally tested the words, tasting them bittersweet on her tongue.
Oh, my God. How could this have happened? It had been so insidious she hadn't even noticed.
It didn't matter how much she now wanted things to be different. There was no happy ending. She was welfare housing: he was penthouse. He might care for her, but he'd never fall in love with a woman like her in a million years. He'd pick someone from his own social circle.
Not only was she never going to have his baby—hell, no—she had neatly compounded her loss. On December 23 she'd leave without Joshua as well.
The sparkle went out of the evening.
She asked Joshua to order for her. The entire menu was in French, and she didn't understand it anyway. He ordered their meal in his impeccable French before leaning forward and taking her hand. "What's the matter?" His voice was husky, his pale eyes intent as he scanned her face. She wondered what he was seeing there. "Jet lag getting to you at last?"
"I don't belong here, Joshua." Jessie's eyes felt scratchy, her mouth trembley. God, she hoped she wouldn't cry. Not now, not here, in front of Joshua and all these fancy people who belonged.
"You are the most beautiful woman here tonight, Jessie. Of course you belong." He picked up her hand, and Jessie realized too late she'd forgotten to put on the red nail polish she'd brought with her. Her nails were short and unpolished. She curled her fingers in his hand. Even her hands didn't belong. Her throat closed up. She was going to cry, damn it.
"Jessie, look at me."
She raised her eyes and looked at him through a shimmering veil of tears.
"What's this all about?" he asked gently, his thumb rubbing circles on her palm. She bit her lip helplessly. "The chips are no big deal—"
"I'm sorry." Her voice was muffled by the napkin she had pressed to her mouth. "I don't know what's wrong with me." She peered at him over the damask. "It must be jet lag." She glanced up just as the waiter brought their first course. "Saved by the food." She injected a cheerful note into her voice.
Determined not to spoil an otherwise marvelous evening, Jessie got a firm grip on her emotions and picked up her fork.
Jess was sure the Boeuf Alexandra she had just eaten must have been delicious. She liked artichokes, and the truffles were interesting, but she could barely taste them.
Damn it. She didn't want to be dwelling on the end when she still had weeks and weeks left to enjoy with him.
For a split second she reconsidered her decision to use birth control. It was darn inconvenient and maybe… no. She'd made that decision and wouldn't retract it.
She straightened her spine and tucked her arm through Joshua's as they left the restaurant "Where are we going now?"
"You sure you don't want to play roulette a little more?"
Jessie gave a mock shiver. "Way too rich for my blood. In fact, here." She handed him her small shell-shaped clutch. "Stick this in your pocket so I don't have to worry about it. I'll watch you play… whatever it was."
"Chemin de fer. See those tables over there set on the raised dais?" Joshua led Jessie across the chandelier-lit room. He talked to a gentleman standing guard at the entrance. The man gave Joshua a deferential bow and ushered them into the exclusive area. Chemin de fer was a complicated high-stakes card game, Joshua explained quietly to Jessie, much like baccarat. As he took his seat, Jessie refrained from asking what these chips were worth. She didn't want to know.
All the other seats were taken by spectators. This time it was Jessie who stood behind him.
She enjoyed the action. Even if she hadn't a clue what the players were doing or how the betting worked, she was engrossed in watching. At one point she slipped off her high-heel sandals. The carpet felt luxuriously soft under her stockinged feet.
A waiter brought her a drink which she left beside Joshua's on the table. Dinner settled uncomfortably in her stomach. She was thirsty but wanted water, not alcohol. She looked around for a waiter.
A wave of dizziness caused her knees to buckle. Saliva flooded her mouth. She swallowed convulsively as prickles of hot and cold washed over her skin. Her sandals slipped from her lax fingers to drop with a thud to the floor. Blindly she felt for the back of Joshua's velvet-covered seat. "I n-need to sit dow—" The lights dimmed, and then went out completely.
"Jessie?" She heard alarm in Joshua's voice, which came from far, far away… Something cool and damp moved gently over her face. "Open your eyes, sweet love."
Not Joshua. He had never called her love in his life and he'd never sounded that panicky. Jessie drifted.
"Jessie, open your eyes. Now." How typically Joshua to order her conscious.
His lips. Joshua's lips. He kissed her hand. His fingers felt safe and hard around hers. Jessie's eyelashes fluttered as she managed to drag her eyes open. Joshua was kneeling beside her where she lay on a sofa, his eyes narrowed on her face. "What the hell happened?" he demanded as soon as her eyes opened.
His mouth was white bracketed, his hair disheveled as though he'd run his fingers through the dark strands. There was even a pleat of worry between his aristocratic brows. His grip on her hand tightened as she stared up at him blankly. She winced and he relaxed his hold. Just a little.
Her stomach rolled once, twice and then seemed to settle. So much for the five-star dinner that cost as much as the national debt of a small country.
"Jessie?"
"What?"
"What happened, damn it?" He turned to a shadowy form behind him. "She must have a concussion. She doesn't seem to—"
"I just fainted, Joshua." Rolling her head so she could look directly at him, she managed a weak smile. "I don't have brain damage—I'm fine." She straggled to sit up, grateful when Joshua supported her with his arm. They were in an office. Two men stood discreetly across the room.
"I don't think the rich food on top of all the excitement did my stomach any good. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."
"You didn't," Joshua said shortly, scanning her face. "God, you're as white as a sheet."
That's 'cause you just wiped my makeup off." Jessie rested her head against his arm. She was feeling much better now and enjoyed Joshua's worried look. "Please tell me my dress stayed in place, and I fell like a lady."
"There were so many men vying to pick you up we almost forgot why you were lying on the floor," Joshua said dryly as he smoothed back her hair from her face. Her skin felt clammy. His hands felt cool and dry.
"Before I embarrass myself anymore, can we go back to our room?"
"I'll have the good doctor come up to check on you."
"I don't need a—"
Joshua gave the doctor instructions in rapid French before picking Jessie up. She felt as light as a feather, and as pale as a sheet. Her brown eyes were enormous in her pale face. He'd picked up the plastic combs she used to hold her hair up and stuffed them in his pocket.
"Make sure my bottom isn't showing." Jessie closed her eyes as he carried her through the casino to the elevator. Joshua bid his smile, making sure the short dress was tucked neatly against her legs with his arm.
You're quite decent," he said gruffly, maneuvering her into the empty elevator.
"I feel ridiculous." Jessie's voice was muffled against his pleated shirtfront.
"Everyone thought you fainted very elegantly," Joshua teased as he managed to open the door to the suite and get her inside.
"I know you're not telling me the truth—that I fell flat on my nose in front of a million well-dressed gazillionaires and their diamond-studded wives. I bet everyone saw my underwear." Her lower lip trembled. When she looked up at him there were tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry I embarrassed you."
He used his thumb to wipe away the steady stream trickling down her cheeks. "It's only a big deal to you, Jessie. Nobody noticed, I promise. Seconds before you wilted, the prince and his entourage walked in. Everyone was looking at him, not you."
"It's going to get worse," she suddenly said, her face draining of every vestige of color. "Don't slow down until we reach the bathroom."
Joshua set her down just in time before she was violently sick. He held her head as spasms wrenched her slender body. When he was sure she was done, he supported her as she washed her face and brushed her teem, then he carried her back to bed.
"Don't." She moaned as he wiped her face with a cool damp cloth. He had never been more relieved than when the doctor knocked on the door some minutes later.
When the man had left, advising rest and simple foods for a few days, Joshua helped a very wilted Jessie undress and crawl back under the covers.
She looked up at him with those big brown eyes as he sat on the bed beside her, careful not to jiggle the mattress.
"Can I get you anything?"
"No, thanks. I feel like an idiot. Why don't you go back to the casino? I'll see you later."
"I'm staying right here, with you." Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he gently pulled her close to his side. "Close your eyes and try to sleep."
* * * * *
Jessie woke him the next morning, bright-eyed and ready to start the day. She lay across his chest. He groaned. "You're sick. Go back to sleep."
"Nope." She leaned harder, nudging him with warm sleek skin. "I feel fabulous, and you promised we'd go for a cruise today."
"I'll attest to the 'feel fabulous' part." He slid his hand down her back to her bottom.
"Oh, no you don't." Jessie rolled over, then kicked off the blankets. She was like a jack-in-the box as she shot out of bed.
Naked and glowing, she paused at the bathroom door.
"Come on, Joshua, get dressed, please?" She fluttered her eyelashes, managing to sidestep him as he backed her against the Louis Quatorze credenza. "I'm taking a quick shower, then I want to go somewhere lovely for breakfast."
After her "lovely" breakfast, Joshua found the yacht and crew he'd hired the day before.
Dressed in brief white shorts that showed off her gorgeous legs and a cropped top that made his mouth water, Jessie sprawled in a deck chair beside him. Her ponytail, caught up in a hot-pink scarf that matched the stripes in her top was, as usual, quite crooked. She looked tanned, healthy and sexy as hell.
The crew discreetly kept their eyes on their business as they sailed lazily up the coast.
Joshua had stripped down to his black shorts earlier and settled back against the soft cushions with a sigh of pure pleasure. The hot Mediterranean sun baked his skin as the smell of the ocean and Jessie's subtle fragrance lulled him into a light doze. He opened his eyes when he felt soft lips on his cheek some time later.
"You're sleeping away this beautiful day," Jessie complained, running her warm hands up his bare chest. He saw his own sleepy face reflected in her sunglasses. Gulls glided above them in a painfully blue sky and the white sails snapped in a breeze he couldn't feel.
"There's a nice big stateroom downstairs," he suggested, lazily running his hand around her back under the short top. She wore no bra. Her skin was hot, smooth and slightly sweaty.
She arched her back at his touch. "With a nice big bed, I suppose?"
"Probably."
"How about lunch first?" She wriggled her eyebrows.
Trust Jessie. Laughing, he took her hand and allowed her to lead him below deck.
Chilled lobster and a dozen mouthwatering salads vied with fresh fruit and several dessert dishes, the fare spread out artistically on a long, linen-draped buffet table. The crew discreetly returned to their duties after closing the door.
He watched as Jessie helped herself to a bit of everything. Her plate was piled high by the time she brought it to the small table at the large window overlooking the bow.
"You're going to be sick again if you eat all that," he warned as she bit into a chunk of lobster. She had acquired more of a tan and her skin glowed with health and vitality.
It was hard to believe she was the same woman he'd helped into bed last night. He'd never experienced anything like the terror he had felt seeing Jessie on the floor of the casino. While she'd slept the night away in his arms, he had been wide-awake and waiting to see if he'd need to call the doctor.
"No, I won't." Jessie dribbled mayonnaise on the succulent white flesh before picking up another chunk with her fingers.
She was so damned stubborn. Joshua pushed her bangs out of her eyes then settled back to watch her eat.
There was not a morsel of food left on her plate when she finished. After rinsing her fingers in the finger bowl beside her plate she yawned. "I'm not taking a nap," she warned as if she could read his mind. She dried her hands on the napkin he handed her. Hers was probably on the floor.
He looked at her coolly. "Who said anything about a nap?"
"You have that let's-take-a-nap look about you." She wore not a scrap of makeup and she looked so beautiful she took his breath away.
I didn't get a wink of sleep last night, Jess. Take pity."
"You just want to do nasty things to my body."
"That, too."
* * * * *
It was a darn good thing they'd taken a nap after they had made love after lunch. Joshua figured he had another long night ahead of him. Because by dusk when they got back to the hotel, Jessie was as sick as a dog again.
She came out of the bathroom, her face pasty. "Don't you dare say 'I told you so.' "
"Crawl into bed, Jess. I've called the doctor." God, he hated this. He watched her, worried out of his mind, as she limply climbed under the covers and closed her eyes.
Joshua paced while the doctor examined her.
"It's not fair. I didn't understand a word either of you said," Jessie complained after the doctor had presented his bill and left.
"He still thinks it's some kind of food poisoning." Some of her color had come back, but she still looked washed out and limp.
Thank you for being so good to me, Joshua," she said with a simplicity that made him certain that very few people in her life had been good to her. The thought infuriated him. He felt overwhelmed by a damned heart-wrenching emotion he'd never experienced before he'd met Jessie.
He traced the dark circles under her eyes. Was the doctor right? Could a touch of food poisoning and jet lag make her this sick? More than likely, she had caught that damn bug from him last month.
"I did this to you," he said, feeling guiltier than he could ever remember feeling. He felt helpless in the face of her illness. There wasn't anything he could do.
"You don't make me sick." She gave him one of her special smiles, one that pierced his heart, as she reached up to touch his face.
"I probably gave you my cold." Joshua smoothed a thumb across one silky eyebrow and her eyes fluttered. "Close your eyes and rest."
"I just want to go home. I'm too embarrassed to throw up in that fancy bathroom again," she said in a woeful voice, which almost made him smile. "I want to be sick in my own toilet and sleep in my own bed."
"Then home it is," he said gruffly, as she looked up at him with the absolute trust of a puppy. "Close your eyes and rest while I make the arrangements."
* * * * *
Perversely, as soon as the plane took off she felt fine. "What are you doing?" she asked from the sofa where she had been made to lie down and take a nap.
"Paperwork. Why are you awake?"
"I'm lonely."
"I'm only four feet away from you, Jess." She tried to look pitiful. He smiled and held out his hand. "Want to sit in my lap?" he asked softly. She felt her heart smile.
"I have to go to the bathroom first." She threw off the light blanket and picked up her purse.
"Are you okay?"
"I'll be back before you've noticed I'm gone."
Jessie made quick work of the birth control. She came out, snapped the door closed behind her, tossed her purse in the general direction of the sofa and padded over to his seat while he watched her with those pale eyes of his. His hair was smoothed back neatly, and he was wearing his yellow Tahoe shirt and jeans. She removed the papers from his lap and placed them carefully on the table beside his wide leather chair.
The engines hummed as she straddled his lap. He leaned back and settled her against his chest, her bottom nestled against him. She put one arm around his neck and the other around his waist, resting her head against his chest. She loved the way his arms enfolded her with gentle strength. "Make love to me," she demanded softly, her hand running lightly down his midriff to the snap of his jeans.
"I don't think that's such a goo—"
She smiled up at him, then her lips came down on his, cutting off words and thought. She rubbed erotically against his instant erection as her mouth clung and seduced. He nibbled gently but Jessie was having none of that. She brought both binds up to hold his head in place as she aggressively deepened the kiss.
He widened his mouth, giving her only moments to be the aggressor before he took over.
"What if Joe comes in—?" she asked suddenly.
He won't. Don't look away, Jessie. You started this. Finish it."
"Is that a dare?" She ran her fingernail lightly down his now open shirt, and he shuddered. He smelled of soap and the brandy he'd been sipping.
Static electricity spun her hair into wild ripples and curls around her shoulders and down her back. She probably looked like a wild woman. "Make love with me. Now."
The top button of his jeans came undone at her touch, and she slipped her hand inside. There, she encountered crisp hair and hard flesh. He dragged his mouth across hers in a brief searing kiss and then held her wrist firmly away from him.
"There's nothing I want more right now than to make love to you, but let's make it last." Joshua drew her hand up his chest and kissed her palm, and she curled her fingers against his cheek. It felt rough—he needed a shave. Her skin tingled as the tip of his sharp teeth skimmed over the pad of her thumb.
He reached over and picked up the phone beside him on the wall. As he instructed the flight crew, he slowly pulled her T-shirt over her head. His breath felt warm on her bare skin. He put the phone gently back in the cradle. Lifting her with both hands on her hips, he set her on her feet. Methodically, he removed her jeans and underwear in one clever move. Jessie kicked them aside, her hands going to his jeans.
"Let me do it, darling." He rose quickly to shuck off his jeans and shirt, then sat and pulled her onto his lap.
"Here?" Jessie looked over her shoulder. The door between cabin and cockpit was only a few dozen yards away.
"They can't hear us." His mouth found the sensitive spot beneath her ear.
Jessie wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he guided her hips down. The learner chair felt cold on the outside of her calves, his thighs hot. Her back arched as he filled her liquid heat. His hands held her still. "Don't move," he whispered against her mouth then nibbled at her lower lip.
"Oh, God." Jessie closed her eyes. The sensation of him filling her was exquisite. She felt the roughness of his hand move up her side, lingering on the indent of her waist before climbing to her breast. He caught her nipple between his fingers, manipulating the hard bud until she moaned. Instinctively, insistently, she wanted to press down.
His left hand held her hips still. "This is torture," she complained, panting now, body on fire. She blindly found his mouth, sliding her tongue inside only to shudder deliciously at the dark, familiar flavor of him.
She used her own hands to tease and torment him. His nipples were just as hard as hers, his skin just as slick, as he drew out the agony for both of them.
Jessie tasted the salty skin on his shoulder, nipping him with her teeth until she felt him leap inside her. She trembled and pressed down, her body desperate to start the rhythm that would bring them both release.
His hand firmly on her hip frustrated and aroused her. She used her hands to drive him wild, feeling his low growl of excitement in her own bones and tissue. Blood rushed in fiery trails through her body and electrified her skin.
Joshua shifted his hips slightly, lifting her enough to lave her breasts with the hot, dark promise of his mouth. She clung to his shoulders, digging her short nails into his skin, wild with wanting, frantic for release.
I love you. I love you. I love you, Jessie wanted to cry out loud. She bit her lip instead, her mind spinning, her reason going. She pressed down against the punishing grip of his hand on her hips.
He muffled her shout against his chest as he plunged inside her with enough force to convulse her body, the sensation so piercingly exquisite, tears squeezed between her tightly closed lids. Every muscle, every nerve in her body participated. She arched her back, grinding in counterpoint as she felt the sweet waves of release building.
Joshua's face was sheened with sweat, his eyes glazed and unfocused. Jessie could feel her internal muscles pulling him deeper. She watched through her own sweat and tears as his jaw grew rigid and the tendons in his neck stood out in relief.
The climax they shared seemed to go on forever. Their bodies locked in mortal combat until they collapsed, satiated.
Jessie leaned weakly against him, her arms leaden, her body limp. Sweat cooled on her burning skin. Small tremors shook her as sharp aftershocks clenched muscles and nerve endings already pushed beyond endurance.
One moment she was awake. The next she wasn't. Her hand lay curled against his chest, and her breathing was deep and still uneven. Joshua watched her with a bittersweet twist in his gut. He ran a light finger down her bare arm, her skin feeling like satin. She didn't move. He'd still been inside her when she'd fallen asleep as easily as turning off a light switch. She hadn't even twitched as he'd carried her to the bedroom in the back of the plane.
In that fleeting moment, she was more precious to him than his most priceless sculpture, his most exquisite work of art. Her loveliness had increased as he'd known her—not just the animated face she showed to the world, but the soft, intensely private face she wore when no one was looking.
It was becoming almost impossible to keep any emotional distance from her. Jessie could always make him smile. And each time, he felt an unfamiliar softening inside him. He wasn't sure he liked it but didn't know how to prevent the odd sensation.
He wanted to gather her against his body, hard, and never let her go. She was a priceless treasure, and he'd been complacent in his possession of her, until he'd seen her so pale and weak.
Only then had he instantly and painfully realized that unlike a painting or sculpture, Jessie could be taken from him. By something even he couldn't fight, couldn't negotiate and couldn't buy.
26-08-08, 03:24 PM
Thank you
Chapter 8
جديد مواضيع قسم الارشيف
العرض العادي
