Patience (11 page)

Supporting my weight, he backs away from the car, carrying me toward the stairs on the side of the building. My body is wrapped around him, my arms looped around his neck and feet tightly knotted behind his back as he climbs the stairs.

He walks, his mouth never leaving mine and his hands fisted in my hair, tight, just enough to be pleasurable without hurting. Or maybe it does hurt, and I like it.
Oh, I do like it.

His tongue shatters any other illusion I had that I might be in control.

He owns this moment.

He owns my heart.

Chapter 26

Eric

Oh, the irony.

To wait so long and finally decide that this was the night... then end up in the shittiest hotel in America?
The fucking irony.

As soon as I push the door open with my foot, the filthy stench fills my nostrils, almost causing me to gag and drop Jenna on the floor. It's almost enough to make me throw her back in the car and drive as far away from here as possible.

But we're here, we're together, and she'd never go for it anyway.

Her legs tighten around my waist, her warmth enveloping me, drawing me in like a moth to a flame. I turn around, pressing her back against the door. When I wrench my mouth from hers, my lips find her neck. I taste her, breathing in her now familiar scent.

I briefly wonder if I had never made the bet, would things be different? Would I have taken the time to memorize the soft, flowery scent I associate with her? Would I have noticed the small dimple that appears only with her brightest smiles? Or would I have missed the smallest details that make up this beautiful, witty girl?

"Eric..." Her voice is rough, raw with need. I smile as my tongue traces circles on the skin just under her ear. I love knowing I can do this to her, being responsible for the chaos going on inside her body. Her chest heaves as her breath catches in her throat. I roll my hips into her, causing her to moan loudly.

Reaching up, I wrap my hands around hers, unwinding them from my neck, and lower her feet to the floor. Her body slides down mine while I continue to tease her with my tongue. She arches her back, her head falling back to expose her throat as I continue to explore. She feels so natural, looks so delectable, I can almost pretend the room doesn't exist behind me.

Almost.

I back away, torn in half. Part of me wants to put the bet to rest, to assure her that she means everything to me, so much more than a wager. The other part tells me that this is Jenna, and I can't make love to her the first time in a seedy hotel just because I have something to prove. Looking around the room, it pisses me off.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

When I catch my breath, my heart still pounding in my chest, I ask, "Who's making the bed?"

She smiles, biting her bottom lip and releasing it. "I will." She steps around me, walking further into the room. As I look around, I instantly regret stopping while we were ahead. At least I wouldn't have to worry about catching crabs from the door. "You go take care of business. I've got this."

She bends over, picking up the Target bags I threw on the floor when we came in. I walk to her, giving her a quick kiss, before grabbing my bag and heading to the small bathroom. I brush my teeth and strip to my boxers, still wondering just what to do about this dilemma I've found myself in.

When I walk out of the bathroom, my eyes are instantly drawn to the bed. I laugh when I take in the red satin sheets, the hot pink hearts making me smile. Jenna stands, still in her dress and heels, and laughs with me. "I know, right? This is epic." I love those heels. I really do. But she is so overdressed right now.

Her smile freezes as her eyes darken and focus on my chest. I find it all kinds of hot when her eyes travel down my stomach, lingering on my boxers, before returning to my face. She's not afraid of her own sexuality, and I love it.

I break the stare, looking around the room as if it's the first time I've seen it. "What? You mean this?" I sweep my arms around. "I didn't even notice. I only see you."

I walk toward her, but she holds up her hand. "Stay away. It's my turn to hit the bathroom." I reach for her, but she jumps back, giggling, and rushes into the bathroom, just out of my reach. She closes the door in my face and yells through the door, "I mean it, Eric James. Stay out of here." She must have noticed the broken lock on the door. I could have so much fun with that.

But I have preparations to make.

I rush down to my car, gathering my supplies from the trunk, and jog back to the room. She's still busy in the bathroom, so I get to work. First, I arrange candles around the room, lighting them as I go. Thank God, they're scented. I reach into the bag, realizing that we won't be using the bath salts and bubble bath. But if there is one thing I've learned from Jenna, it's that sometimes, you just have to make the best of the situation.

I turn off the lights, taking a deep breath. At least it no longer smells like shit in here.

The bathroom door opens behind me, and when I turn around, I freeze. My heart stops in my chest. Stops. Before restarting with a loud thump in my ears.

Standing there in only a tiny black negligee and those heels I love so much, her beauty hits me right between the eyes. Slowly, she walks toward me, and I feel as if I'm in a trance. Hypnotized.

When she's standing in front of me, she reaches out, one finger pointing in my chest as she backs me toward the bed. When my knees hit the mattress, I sit, my eyes level with her thighs. I can't help myself. I reach out to touch her, but she steps back, wagging her finger at me and smiling. "Uh uh. Not yet, Mr. James." I drop my hands, my elbows resting on my knees, trapped in a dream where I can look but not touch.

Backing away, she reaches for her phone. I briefly wonder what she's up to, when music fills the air. No, not romantic-I-want-to-make-love music. It's naughty-come-and-get-me music.
Fuck.

Her eyes glimmer with mischief, as she comes to stand in front of me. This time, I don't touch her. I'm a quick learner.

Slowly, she begins moving her hips, then faster, until she is moving in rhythm with the music. I lean back, resting on my elbows as I watch her. She closes her eyes, raising her arms above her head, as she continues to swing her hips, only inches from my face. She kicks her leg to the side, spreading her thighs, teasing me with a glimpse of exposed skin. Slowly, she lowers one strap, then the other, before sliding the negligee down her body and stepping out of it.

When she stands in front of me, in only a sexy black bra and a thong, I feel like the luckiest man in the world. She throws a leg up, her foot coming to rest on the bed, next to my thigh. Rolling her head back, her hair falling over her face, the song ends with her standing over me just like that.

I stare into her blue eyes, drowning in them, lost to everything around me. The last bit of  my resolve shatters. Gone. Destroyed.

I reach for her, roughly cupping her head in my hand and pull her mouth to mine. Her lips are full, soft, and taste like heaven. I suck her bottom lip, drawing it between my teeth and gently nipping it. She gasps, her breath whispering across my lips, as she trembles against me. I move to her neck, to the softest, sweetest place on her body. Her pulse quickens and becomes erratic beneath my tongue, the rapid beat urging me on. And when I take the lobe of her ear into my mouth, her knees weaken as she sags against me. Her heat instantly warms my leg, driving me wild with the knowledge that she wants me as much as I want her. My lips finds hers again, hungry and sweet. I deepen the kiss, my hands tangled in her hair.

She wraps her arms around my shoulders, her nails digging into my skin, urging me closer, as if she can't get enough. Abruptly, she pulls away, and looking at me from beneath her eyelashes, says two of the sexiest words I've ever heard.

"Don't stop."

I rise and quickly roll her underneath me, my leg parting her thighs. Crawling over her body, my mouth never leaves her skin. The journey continues as I trail kisses to the other side of her neck, leaving no area unloved. She tastes as good as she smells, and it's so damn addictive. I can't get enough.

I support my weight on one elbow as my other hand finds its way to her thigh, caressing the smooth skin at the edge of her thong. Jenna moans softly in my ear, as she struggles to catch her breath. I pull my mouth from her body and look down into her face. With closed eyes and her breath coming in short gasps, she is the most erotic thing I've ever seen.

I'm going to make Jenna mine.

Finally.

Chapter 27

Jenna

For one, agonizing moment, I thought he was going to say no. Then, I was afraid he would say yes. Ok, so I temporarily lost my freakin' mind, but who can blame me? A clothed Eric James is dangerous, but a half-naked Eric James is downright lethal.

This is gonna hurt.

I didn't mean to let things get this far. All I wanted to do was give him a taste of his own medicine, but the minute he touched me, all sense of reason was lost. His mouth worked his magic on me while his hands erased all logical thought.

Taking his hand in mine, I look up into his eyes and whisper something I never thought I'd say. "We can't."

If I didn't have a plan, I'd punch myself in the mouth.

The look of shock, then resignation, that passes over his face hits me harder than I imagined it would. So, OK, this is an immature game I'm playing. But I didn't account for just how much I actually wanted this man. His lips, his hands, his... heart.

All of him.

He falls backwards, lying beside me, as he fights to gain control of himself. With his eyes closed, he takes several deep breaths. In and out. In and out. Until I find his controlled rhythm calming me as well.

When I finally open my eyes, he is watching me, a contemplative look on his face. "I don't care about the bet if that's what this is about."

What!? No. That wasn't part of the plan.

"It's not." I exhale, pushing the air from my lungs. I roll onto my side, propping my head up with my arm. His eyes never leave my face, unasked questions swimming in the blue depths. "Well, sort of. I don't want you to lose the guitar, and I was just trying to sexually frustrate you, but I was better at this than I thought I was, and things just got out of hand." The words rush out of my mouth, uncensored. I stare at the clock, waiting for his response.

He rolls onto his side, facing me, and takes my chin in his hand, turning me toward him. "Jenna, I don't give a fuck about the guitar. Look at me." My eyes find his. He's smiling broadly, his lips twitching, as if he's trying not to laugh. "I love you. Don't you know that by now?"

Oh. My. God.

Tears pools in my eyes, and I smile, trying to blink them away. "You do?"

"Of course I do, you silly girl. I'm willing to lose the bet. I'm willing to lose my guitar. The only thing I'm not willing to lose... is you."

I reach for him, my hand skimming the hard muscles just above his waistband. For a moment, I can only stare into his eyes, lost to everything around us. "I love you, too. Don't you know that by now?" I throw his question back at him.

He rolls over, lying on top of me, taking my hands in his. He pins them to the bed above my head, trapping me beneath him. "Then don't fight this." There are just some times when a girl, even me, does what she's told.

This would be one of them.

I wait, patiently, as he gazes into my eyes, for him to touch me, kiss me, anything to alleviate the fire burning within me. It's then that I realize that he's waiting for something, and it dawns on me that he's asking for my permission.

With a slight nod, I give myself to him.

His eyes burn with a desire so real that I can feel it beating in his chest, and then a slow, sensual smile kisses his lips. He lowers his head, his lips once again finding the curve of my neck. With my hands still captive, he kisses lower, his chin nudging the black lace bra aside, as his lips slowly drive me crazy.

I want to touch him, to tease him and drive him wild, but instead, I'm his hostage. When his lips find my stomach, I gasp, arching my back. "My Jenna. My sunshine," he whispers, his breath ghosting across my skin. I can't concentrate, his words drowned out by the sound of my own soft cries.

I'm surprised when he releases my wrists, reaching for the clasp of my bra. My breathing hitches as he removes it and tosses it aside. He knows my body, knows exactly what I like. For the first time, I feel as if someone knows me better than I know myself.

As if his only goal is to please me.

My hands twist in his hair as my body aches for him. He licks and kisses every inch of me, blazing a trail of pure, agonizingly sweet torture across my stomach, lingering over my hip bone, and down my thigh. On his knees, between my legs, he sits back on his heels, his hands finding the edge of my thong, tugging it down.

I reach out, my fingers wrapping around his wrist, stopping him. His eyes flash to mine, a question hidden there. "No. Rip them." My voice is gritty from not being used, the words sounding more porn star than sexy diva.

But the sudden fire in his eyes, the way his hand grips my thigh, pulling me to him, makes it worth it. This time, when he smiles, it's devilish, sexy as hell, and makes me want to rip my own panties off. His fist grips the thong, and it one sharp move, he tosses it aside. I smile. He smiles.

I think we're on the same page.

I sit up, reaching for him. His eyes follow my hands as they explore his chest, his abdomen, and below. He watches as I touch him, and I hope this moment is burned into his memory forever.

As well as he knows my body, I also know his.

He's sensitive right over his hip bone. With my thumb, I trace lazy circles over that smooth skin, outlining the firm muscles that disappear under his boxers. I rise up, kneeling in front of him, as he kneels in front of me. My hands move around him, dipping into his boxers and smoothly lowering them over his hips. He lifts each knee, allowing me to slide them lower, then kicks them off. His fingers twitch at his side as I continue to touch him.