Madi eyed him with such intensity that his legs felt weak. How could she have such a hold on him? Was there anything he wouldn’t do for her?
“I know I haven’t lived even half the life that you have, but there is one thing I do know: there are no guarantees about anything. I know that I would rather be hurt being with you than feel the hurt of never being yours. At some point we’ll probably fight and one of us will be upset. Making up will be worth the fight as long as we promise to always make up.” She grinned as she ran her fingers over his chest and slid her eyes up to his. “Our relationship may be harder than most, but there is nothing I want more than to try to give you what you need.”
Jake sighed as he pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “There’s no need for you to try. You’re everything I need, just by being you. You’ve changed me somehow. If anyone needs to prove anything, it’s me. I need to try to prove to you, and to myself, that I can be what you need.”
Madi smiled at him and his insides began to melt. He could see the confidence building within her and it left him at a loss for words. She was so damn beautiful. Madi lifted her hand and gently touched the stubble on the side of his face. Jake’s eyes closed at the feel of her touch.
“Do you know how many times I wished that you would kiss me and how many times I wanted to kiss you?” she asked.
Jake’s eyes opened and he could feel his heart constrict. “Tell me.” He couldn’t help but smirk.
“Too many to count,” Madi grinned. “And now...” She moved closer to him and lifted her mouth to his cheek. “I can kiss you here and you won’t stop me…” Her lips grazed his cheek and he took a breath. “And here…” Her lips kissed his neck and he stopped breathing. “And here…” She stood on her toes as her mouth sucked his earlobe and she rubbed her hands through his hair, pulling him in around her. “And most definitely here…” Madi’s lips reached up to his and gently pressed against his mouth. Jake kissed her tenderly, for a moment.
His hand slid into her hair as his lips caressed hers. There was something about the taste of her that made him greedy for more. When she parted her lips briefly, he took advantage of the moment, sliding his tongue into her mouth. She accepted him hungrily, meeting his tongue, point for point with her own. He wondered why in the hell he hadn’t kissed her in his bedroom that first night she came to stay with him. He should never have waited so long to taste her.
Jake slowly broke away from her and stared into her eyes. His forehead rested on hers. “I need to stop before I get carried away,” he sighed. “I want you to know that I’m happy being here with you and that I’m perfectly content to just hold you in my arms. I don’t want you to feel like I’m rushing you in any way. I want to make that clear. I’m sure you have a lot of questions and a lot of doubts. I know I fucked up, and I want to explain anything and everything to you. I want you to believe me when I say how much I want this thing between us to work. You were never a onenight stand. You never could be.”
Madi’s head gradually pulled away from his as she studied his expression. Jake searched her face in an attempt to read what she was thinking but came up with nothing, as usual. She always beguiled him. It was one of the things he cherished most about her.
A slow, devious grin crept across her lips, and Jake desperately needed to know her thoughts. “Mads, for the love of God, you need to tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”
“Didn’t I just tell you that I wanted the steak?”
Jake’s mind raced back to Madi, standing in red garter belts, drunk out of her mind in his apartment in L.A. He remembered her telling him she’d always had the chicken salad because it was safe. Back then she’d also said she wanted the steak. She said he was the steak. “Are you hungry?” he asked, motioning toward the table.
Madi’s smile widened as she glanced over his shoulder at the table of food. “That’s not the steak I want.”
Jake closed his eyes and smiled, shaking his head. He opened them suddenly when he felt her fingers begin to unbutton his shirt. He followed her trembling hands with his eyes as they deftly stripped his chest. Madi took a deep breath, and Jake smirked as her eyes traveled the length of his torso. She flexed her hand over his pecs before circling the nipples on his chest and running her fingers through the small amount of hair there. She smiled and sucked in her lip as her hand gently examined each one of his stomach muscles. That same electricity they had between them before was present like another force in the room. Her touch sent shivers through him, directly to his manhood.
“You are a beautiful man, Jake Morgan.” She turned behind him, pulling his shirt down his arms. She skimmed her fingers over him, kissing his shoulders.
“I assume you’re satisfied with the cut of your steak?” he asked with a mischievous tone as her hand reached around him and squeezed his stomach. Her tongue and lips kissed the area between his shoulder blades. He could feel a smile in her kiss. Jake closed his eyes and tried to remember to breathe. His mind went back to the morning he awoke with her hand on his stomach. He remembered her saying how tight it felt and how she had wanted to touch him. He also remembered her bare legs wrapped in the covers. He felt a twitch in his pants. They were suddenly becoming a little too tight.
He almost said something, but he couldn’t focus on anything but the way her touch made him feel. He’d denied himself her for so long. He silently promised himself that he would never take a single kiss from her for granted. She continued to press her lips to his back as her hands made their way down to his belt. She quickly unfastened it, undid the button of his jeans, and gently pulled his zipper down. Jake could feel the effect she was having on him and wondered how long he’d be able to stand still. Her hand reached inside his boxer briefs and found him. He couldn’t help the sharp intake of air that left his mouth at the feel of her hands on him. She stood there for a few moments with her lips on his back and her hands knowingly stroking him from behind, as if she could read his inner thoughts and desires. Before he knew it, Madi turned and was on her knees in front of him. “Jesus... Madi…” He could barely get her name out as he panted.
“I… want… the… steak. This piece of steak.” Madi pulled down his boxer briefs and gently flicked her tongue on him.
“Fuck…” Her mouth covered him and all other thoughts, besides those of her lips and tongue, vanished. All he could think of was how expertly she had touched him, how knowingly her mouth savored him, and how she had turned his heat into a raging fire. His eyes bore down into her as she briefly lifted her eyes to meet them. The sight of her mouth on him made heat radiate through him. His eyes closed in reflex as the pressure began to build. She was good… No, she was amazing. Really amazing… He grasped her hair in his hand. His eyes trailed down to her and she glanced up, meeting his gaze as she sucked him deeper into her mouth. The sight and feel of her sent him over the edge, and he needed to stop her before things went too far, too quickly. He pulled her arms, lifting her, and kissed her mouth through his groaning desire. Madi’s body pushed into his as he began to unbutton her blouse.
His lips left her mouth as he explored her neck and shoulders. The smell of her skin made him moan. His fingers pushed inside her blouse as he finished unhooking the buttons, grabbing onto her breast through her bra. He slid the shirt off her shoulders and ran his finger gently over her collarbone. Her head dipped back at the feel of his hands, and he bent down to kiss the center of her throat. He slid her bra strap down her arm as he sucked her shoulder and held her neck in his opposite hand. He could tell by the way her hands gripped him that he had done something she liked. He did the same with the other strap, but more slowly and deliberately.
Madi squeezed his shoulder before moving her hand down to his ass. He reached behind her and unfastened her bra as he continued to nibble her neck. He worked his way down her until his mouth found her nipple. Gently, he flicked his tongue over her before kneading her breasts in his hands and gently sucking her into his mouth. He leaned down further and continued to worship her breasts with his lips and his tongue, pulling her nipple with his lips until she began to squirm and pant. Madi moaned as Jake’s hand trailed along the line of her jeans, stroking her from the outside with his fingers. His lips gently sucked, then pulled and twisted her nipple in his mouth. He had to have her. She was perfect. He would never let her go again. He kneeled in front of her as he slowly pulled her jeans down her thighs. He lingered at her stomach, gently inserting his tongue into her belly button while his hands reached behind her and pressed into her flesh. Her hands grasped his hair as she stepped each leg out, allowing Jake to run his tongue down the outside of her thigh and to her knee. He stood and lifted her into his arms, carrying her to the front of the bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips tenderly. He pulled back the covers and gently laid her head on the pillow. He kissed her lips softly before he stood up and began to remove the last of his clothing. Madi bit her lip as she nervously watched him. The way her shy eyes surveyed his body made him want her even more.
He angled himself over her as his mouth found hers, and his fingers felt the soft, lacy fabric of her panties. He slid his finger under her panties from the side as his tongue continued to dip into her mouth.
“Jake… I want you now.”
Her words incensed his fire. He hooked his finger in the lace and yanked her panties down her legs. She gasped, then giggled through their kisses. Jake climbed in bed next to her as his fingers trailed over her hips and stomach before finding their way to her most sensitive area. He loved how wet she was and how tightly she clenched his finger as he slid it inside her. He watched her face as she closed her eyes and focused on his touch. He pulled his hand to his mouth and licked his fingers before touching her again. Madi moaned and bucked her body as he slid two fingers into her wetness. He trailed kisses down her stomach before stopping at her waist. His fingers caressed her as his tongue tasted her tenderly with a pressing need. He licked and flicked his tongue on her before greedily pulling her into his mouth. Madi’s back arched as she grasped the covers of the bed. After several minutes of feeding on her, licking, sucking and caressing, when he could feel her muscle beginning to tighten and hear her breath begin to quicken, he descended on top of her. Just as his tip touched her entrance, he wondered if he should use a condom. He stopped and furrowed his brows.
“We never discussed the protection thing,” Jake managed through his panting need.
“Still on the pill.” Madi moaned and shifted under him to pull him in.
Jake pulled back slightly. “I want you to know that I’ve always used condoms. That first time with you… you felt like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I don’t want you to worry about me. I take my health seriously and I’m clean. Okay?”
Madi smiled nervously at him and took a deep breath as her hands wrapped around his strong shoulders. “I need to tell you something.”
Jake felt himself tense as he looked deeply into her eyes. He wondered if she could tell he was worried about what she might say.
