Love Required (20 page)

Instinct took over as his hips began to move. Keeping his eyes on hers, he slowly and thoroughly made love to her. Sliding in and out over her most sensitive spots, he listened to her responses. He absorbed her expressions, her sounds, as they alternated from need and desire to pure satisfaction. Every whimper, every moan were a plea for more. Answering her request, his thrusting increased, as his need to finish became almost unbearable. Her body began to tighten and tremble beneath him as her breathing became loud and insistent in his ears.
More, she needs more
.

Reaching down, his hand found the curve of her knee, and he hooked his arm under it. Tori gasped, and her muscles contracted around him. Pulling her knee up and changing his angle, he thrust harder and she cried out. “Oh God! Jason!”

They were both teetering on the edge of release. Keeping the pace, he spread her leg a little more to the side, further exposing her sensitive nerves to his body’s assault. Her whimpers matched every thrust as he drove to find her pleasure. With his lips latched on to the spot on her neck he discovered she liked, she exploded. Crying out, she buried her face in his neck and bit down, muffling the sound as her body convulsed around him. The sharp bite of her teeth on his neck sent him over the cliff, and his body pulsated deep within her.

Holding her to him, he slowed his movements until they were lying in silence. Only the sounds of their breathing filled the air. Tori’s hands slowly stroked up and down his back. Lifting his head, he found her gaze, praying to God there weren’t any tears. When she smiled at him, he relaxed, and his sated body became heavy.

Smiling back at her, he cautiously asked, “Are you okay? You had me worried …”

Tori shushed him with a finger to his lips. “I’m perfect, Jason.
You
were perfect.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

TORI blinked the sleep from her eyes as she tried to assess what had woken her. A small snore escaped from Jason, and she smiled, figuring it must have been that. Closing her eyes again, she snuggled in closer to his sleeping form. With one arm and one leg crossed over his body, she couldn’t help but sigh in contentment, especially since it was still early. She heard a small sound come from Lexi’s room, so she turned her face into Jason’s chest and gently kissed it before getting up.

Grabbing a pair of underwear and a tank top, she first slipped into the bathroom. After quickly dressing and simultaneously brushing her teeth, she pulled her hair up the best she could. It was a mess, but she wanted to take care of Lexi before she woke up Jason. Opening the door, she was met with the sight of one sexy backside covered in boxer briefs, standing in the doorway to Lexi’s room.

Jason turned, Lexi already in his arms. Smiling, Tori said, “So much for not letting her wake you up. I’m sorry.”

He smiled down at Lexi, who was currently digging her fingers into his beard. “I can think of far worse ways to wake up in the morning.” Placing a kiss to her forehead before turning back to Tori, he added with a wink, “I can think of far better ways, too.”

Moving to them, Tori said, “I agree, on both counts.”

When she went to take Lexi, he tightened his hold and then wrapped his arm around her, too, pulling her against him. Kissing her forehead, he said, “Good morning, sunshine.”

“Good morning to you, too. Did you want to go back to sleep? I know it’s Monday, but I don’t know what time you go to work,” she said while grabbing a reluctant Lexi from his arms.

Jason laughed at Lexi’s disgruntled expression. “No, I’m an early riser. In fact, I would usually be on my way to work already if it were any other day.”

Feeling instantly bad, she rushed to say, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think to set an alarm for you.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m a grown man, I know how to set an alarm.” He kissed her on the forehead again and added, “Did you think maybe I didn’t want to get up any earlier?” His expression was questioning. When she didn’t respond, he gave her a smirk before excusing himself.

She watched him walk away until the bathroom door closed, blocking the view of his tight ass. Flashbacks of the night before, and her hands gripping those toned cheeks, made her body instantly hum with awareness. Turning to leave the bedroom, Tori shook her head and whispered to Lexi, “Can you say
Captain Orgasm
?”

A little while later, Tori was perched at the end of the couch, breastfeeding Lexi when Jason came into the room. Her position allowed her to see him before he noticed her. He’d put his jeans on but left off his shirt, and she was more than okay with that. Not only did she get to stare at his bare chest and strong back a few moments longer, but it meant he wasn’t leaving yet. Having had a few quiet moments to reflect, she was battling her own insecurities. Would he leave and not call her? Nothing he’d done up to that point indicated he would do something like that, though she felt her fear was justified. Going from a man like Damien to one like Jason—too good to be true was definitely a possibility. And even though he might be, she was hoping to enjoy him for as long as she could.

When he turned his head and found her, his surprised expression made her laugh. He walked to the couch and sat close to her and Lexi, watching as she nursed. “Never seen a woman breastfeed before?”

His hand stroked over the back of Lexi’s head, almost reverently, before he brought his eyes up to hers. Shaking his head, Jason answered, “Gillian and Morgan breastfed under a cover, and since they’re like sisters, I really didn’t pay attention. But this,” his gaze fell back to Lexi, “… this is beautiful, Tori.”

“Really?” she asked. For
her
, it was a beautiful thing. The beauty for her was the fact that only she could provide for Lexi in this way. For him, a person on the outside witnessing it, she was curious to know why he felt that way.

“Yeah, really. It’s amazing to think what women can do with their bodies. I mean—when you think about what men can do in comparison, it’s definitely a one-sided contribution.” He laughed and she agreed as he continued, “Without sounding all philosophical, a woman can produce and sustain a life. Where all we were given was fertilizer and the overwhelming need to spread it everywhere.”

She snorted a laugh, disturbing Lexi. When she got her latched back on she said, “That provides one hell of a disturbing visual.”

Jason slipped his arm across the back of the couch and positioned himself against her shoulder. Reflexively, she leaned into him as she continued to nurse Lexi. A few moments later he asked, “Is it okay that I’m sitting with you? I don’t want to intrude or make you uncomfortable.”

Tori just smiled, because for as confident as he almost always was, every once and a while he’d show a bit of insecurity. She considered his supposed intrusion, especially since she cherished the time with Lexi—it was their mommy-daughter time. But she realized it didn’t feel like an intrusion to her. Not with him. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

She felt his body relax further. After a few moments of silence, he asked in a soft voice, “What time do you work today?”

“My shift starts at one o’clock. We have an off-site job today,” she answered, shifting Lexi to her other breast. The change in position allowed Jason to rub the top of Lexi’s head. His touch was so cherishing that Tori couldn’t help but watch. Lexi deserved that kind of attention.

Without looking to her, Jason asked, “Do you have plans for breakfast, ‘cause I could make us something or go pick up something. Or if you have the time, we could go somewhere and grab a bite.”

She really didn’t care what they did; she was just happy that each option involved a ‘we.’ Shrugging her shoulders, she looked to him. “I’m fine with anything, really. You can decide.”

Jason kissed her quickly on the lips before he smiled and said, “Then I pick making something here, that way you can stay in just those panties and tank top.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively then added, “Hey, there’s more cupcakes, right?”

She laughed as she recalled what Jason would do with his cupcakes. “Sadly, the cupcakes are all gone. Sorry.” His disappointment was evident, and as endearing as it was, she wanted to replace that look with another one. “But there
is
frosting,” she added with a smirk, and he groaned before burying his face in her neck.

~*~*~*~

JASON finally pulled up to the jobsite around one o’clock. Walking into the office, he set his laptop on the desk before placing his lunch in the fridge. It was so nice to be sent to work with a care package. From a woman he was dating. Just another first for him. How he had survived that long without experiencing it, he’d never understand. But it didn’t matter, because he had a feeling it wouldn’t matter if it was another woman. It was all Tori.

Sitting at his desk, he got himself situated so he could get to work. A few minutes later, Logan walked in. “Well, look who finally made it to work today.”

Jason ignored Logan’s condescending tone; he’d expected it. In fact, he welcomed it. After the morning he’d had, it was definitely worth it. Jason and Tori had had breakfast together, then went for a walk with Lexi. She’d let him drive her to work and had teased him about needing to return her spare tire. He’d reluctantly agreed but promised he’d find something else to use as collateral, just in case she needed an excuse to see him. It was a simple morning of them continuing to get to know each other, but it was more than satisfying, filled with stolen kisses, gentle caresses, and promises for more to come.

Smiling to himself, he flipped Logan off and continued working. Logan laughed as he dropped into his chair. “Oh, come on. You come in over five hours late, after no more than a text saying,
I’ll be late
, followed by the middle finger salute. That’s all I’m gonna get?”

“Fine, I promise to give you a more definite timeframe next time, boss man,” Jason offered sarcastically.

“Seriously Jay, I’m not your mom or anything, but that’s not like you. It’s more like the crap I would pull. Is everything all right?” Logan asked. Jason agreed, as once upon a time, Logan did do stuff like that.

Jason sighed and turned his attention to Logan. “I know, but I didn’t know how late I was going to be. I was keeping my options open.” He finished with a smile. “And yeah, everything’s good. Really good.”

The two of them went about doing their own things as Logan continued the conversation. “So, I assume you were with Tori this morning,
and
you said everything’s good. Congrats man, she seemed great yesterday.”

“She
is
great,” Jason clarified for Logan.

“You really like her?” Logan asked, though it seemed more like a statement, his voice a cross between humor and surprise. “I mean you
like her
like her, don’t you?”

Looking his friend straight in the eyes, he nodded. “Yeah, I really do. Damn.” He sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair as he evaluated his words. “It’s kind of crazy, man. I was barely able to leave her this morning. If she didn’t have to work today, I probably wouldn’t have come in.”

The pull he felt to be with Tori was shocking, to say the least. His days usually consisted of a steady routine of work, home, friends, and whatever else came up. With Tori, it was like he was just doing stuff to keep busy until he could see her again. There had been a shift in his balance. Looking at the time, he was counting down how long until he got to pick her up from work. He was comforted knowing he was definitely going to see her; there was no question as to
if
.

Logan nodded and smiled. “Sounds like the real deal for you. I’ve never known you to talk like that. It’s kinda fun watching you fall for a woman.”

He considered that, not really thinking about
what
was happening, just knowing that it was different—more. Was he falling? He wasn’t sure, but he knew he wasn’t going to worry about it. If he was going to fall for someone, he had no problem with it being Tori.

“Glad I could entertain you,” he tossed at Logan. “Now can I get some work done?”

Hours later, he shut down the site office and headed out to pick up Tori. It didn’t take too long to get to her work, so as he sat waiting for her, he assessed the possibilities for dinner. She’d fed him leftover enchiladas for lunch, so it was only right for him to take care of dinner.
Not presumptuous at all
, he told himself. Besides, if she didn’t want him to stay, he still needed to feed her. Examining the route between Lexi’s daycare and Tori’s place, he came up with a few options.

Engrossed in his phone, he hadn’t known she’d come out until there was a knock on the window. Though saddened he missed the opportunity to watch her walk to him, he hopped out and made his way to her side. “Hey you,” Tori said when he rounded the car.

“Hey yourself,” he said as he stole a quick kiss, not wanting to be inappropriate at her work. “How was your day?”

“Great. How was yours?” she asked as she got in. He closed the door and quickly walked around to his side before answering.

“It was good. Had a fantastic morning with this amazing woman, then she packed me a lunch that had Logan jealous, which is always fun. And now I’m going to buy her some dinner to say thank you. So my day couldn’t have been better.” He winked, and she gave him a smile so genuine, he wanted to lock the car doors and never let her out of his sight.

“Is that so? Well, I’m afraid that isn’t going to work for me.”

Instantly, his ego deflated, and he couldn’t contain the disappointment. But then she smiled and said, “You’re gonna have to cancel with that other chick because
I
was hoping to have dinner with you.”

His smile was instantaneous. “Oh, that was good. I totally set that up for you.”

“Total amateur move, big guy.” Her voice was laced with laughter. “I couldn’t resist.”

“Ah, so you’re saying you can’t resist me. That’s good to hear, Cupcake.” She blushed before he leaned over and stole a kiss. Putting the car in gear, he pulled away from the curb and gave her the choices for dinner. He was anxious to get their evening together started and hoped his day ended much like it started ... with Tori.