Falling for Her (25 page)

He sat back against the sofa and blinked moist lashes, then one side of his mouth quirked up. “They’re sitting on a cloud this very minute?”

Sugar nodded. “Yep. Looked out the window a few minutes ago and saw them float by.” She leaned forward as if to impart a secret. “They were kissing.”

Both sides of his mouth lifted. “They did that a lot. Used to disgust me when I was a kid.” The smile faded. “I do know they’d want me to be happy. Until you, I didn’t think that was possible.”

Oh, well then.
When his hands found their way to her thighs, gliding his palms over the thin material of her lounge pants, she tugged on the waist of his jeans. “Make love to me, Jamie.”

With a tenderness that didn’t surprise her, he slipped an arm under her knees and one behind her back. Lifting her, he carried her to his bedroom, kicking the door closed before Junior could follow them in.

As he held her over the bed, he peered down at her. “Are you sure you’re well enough?”

No longer wishing to talk, she wrapped her fingers around his neck and pulled his mouth to hers.

“Sugar,” he hissed, the vibration of her name against her lips sending electrical currents across her skin. The muscles in his arms flexed their strength as he lowered her to the bed, then he stretched his long frame alongside her. “Are you well enough for this?” he asked again.

“Shut up, Jamie.” She hid the little wince of pain in her side as she straddled him. So much love for him bubbled up, consuming her to the point she feared she’d bite off her tongue to keep from telling him again.

His gaze lingered on where her legs pressed against his hips, and she waited for him to lift his eyes to hers. When he did, she smiled and grasped the hem of her T-shirt, pulled it over her head, and tossed it behind her.

As she looked down at her beautiful man—a complicated mix of warrior and wounded soul—she wished she had the power to heal, wished she could lay her hand over his heart and bring light to the dark corners of that damaged organ. She didn’t have that kind of magic, but she put her hand there anyway.

Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed his eyes did grow brighter, clearer. As if he understood what she was doing, he placed his hand over her heart, and his heat coursed through her, easing the ache of her father’s betrayal and Rodney’s treachery.

Time hung suspended between them, and although neither spoke, she sensed it was the moment they truly gifted their hearts to each other. She prayed it was true.

Still holding her gaze, he skimmed his hand over her skin, from her heart to her waist where he spread his fingers across her stomach. From there, he cupped her mound with his palm, his long fingers curling into the material of her pants. His eyes stayed locked on hers.

“Mine, Sugar. Everywhere I just touched is mine.”

Her heart, her womb, her feminine core, the most important parts of her he’d just claimed for himself. Earlier, he’d said something about those he loved, and although he’d yet to say he loved her specifically, it was there in his eyes and his touch, in the declaration he’d just made. It was good enough for the moment.

She tugged on his shirt. “Off, please.”

His eyes narrowed. “Did you hear what I just said?”

She swallowed a jubilant laugh, loving that he needed confirmation she belonged to him. Silly man. She’d been his since the day she laid eyes on him. “Yes, I heard you, and if you would be so kind as to get naked, I’ll give you this . . .” she put her hand over his and pressed down. Then she moved his hand to her stomach. “This.” Next, she put his palm against her heart. “And most of all, this.”

A low growl rumbled from his throat, and he flipped her so fast, she yelped in surprise. Positioned between her legs, he rose to his knees, and in seconds, his shirt went flying across the room. She watched in anticipation as he unzipped his jeans, pushing them and his briefs down his hips.

Unable to help it, she licked her lips when his erection sprang free. His eyes—darkened to that midnight blue she loved—locked onto her mouth. Liking the hungry look she saw in them, and to drive him a little crazy, she did it again. Slower this time, though, watching his reaction as she inched her tongue across her top lip.

Air hissed past his mouth, and not wasting any time, he pulled her pants down, dropping them over the side of the bed. As he kneeled in front of her, her gaze roamed over his magnificent body. She could spend days doing nothing but admiring him.

His cock jerked when her eyes settled on it, and she reached up and with her finger, spread the drop of moisture around the head. The thrill of willingly wanting to touch a man there brought more tears to her eyes. The hands hanging at his sides fisted, and his thigh muscles tensed. A heady feeling of power surged through her that she had that kind of effect on him. She wanted her hands all over him, wanted to explore him, wanted to learn every contour and plane of his body.

“Don’t move.” Sitting up, she raised to her knees in front of him. He stared back at her, the only movement a tick in his right jaw. So much heat radiated from him, and she couldn’t wait to be covered by it. First though, she had other things in mind.

One corner of his mouth twitched. “Can I at least talk?”

She nodded. “Talk away, just don’t move.” Scooting around to his back, she decided to start at the top and work her way down his body. His hair, such a lovely golden honey color, was cut military style. She put both hands on his head and closed her eyes, letting her senses take over. The bristly ends tickled her palms as she massaged his scalp with her fingertips. His drawn-out sigh delighted her.

“Are you off on some kind of adventure, Sugar?”

How did he know? “I am. I never thought I’d like touching a man, not after . . .” She didn’t want to bring Rodney into their time, but she wanted Jamie to know what it meant to her to want her hands on him.

“I understand.”

By the softness of his words, she believed he did. Staying on his knees, he remained still as her exploration moved down the back of his neck and to his shoulders. Broad and muscle hard, she glided her hands over their width, smiling when little goose bumps rose on his skin. From there, she explored his back, running her fingers down his spine, then back up.

“Why did you decide to call yourself Sugar Darling?”

The question took her by surprise, and her hands stilled.

He glanced over his shoulder, his blue eyes shimmering with desire. “Don’t stop, baby. I like what you’re doing.”

“That’s good because I like what I’m doing, too.”

He smiled and winked, then turned his head forward. Although it seemed a silly idea, she thought maybe her heart had smiled back at him. Back to her examination of his body, she slipped her hands under his armpits and flattened her palms over his skin, then trailed them down to his waist. Muscles rippled under her touch like soft, undulating waves.

“When I was a little girl, my dad’s pet name for me was sugar, and my mom called me her little darling. When it came time to pick a new name, I wanted something as different from Hannah Conley as possible. Hannah was meek . . . she-she was scared. I needed to be her polar opposite, and it seemed to me anyone named Sugar Darling would be confident and not afraid of anything.”

“Your dad, he didn’t try to protect you?”

“He changed after my mom died, but I told you about that. He stopped being my dad, and now he’s just the man who fathered me. Once he went to work for Rodney, he let himself be corrupted by the pure evil that was Rodney.”

“Did your father know how Vanders treated you?”

A question she’d often pondered. “He had to know life wasn’t a bed of roses for me, but I pray that he didn’t know the extent of Rodney’s abuse. If he had and did nothing, I think that would kill me.” Several times, she’d tried to tell her father things, but each time she’d panicked at the possibility of him going straight to Rodney.

“You could say I lost both my parents on that horrible day I found my mom on the kitchen floor. I was ten years old the last time anyone loved me.”

“Sugar.”

The way he said her name with so much tenderness almost undid her. “I know. Poor me.” A lump the size of a small rock lodged in her throat, and she tried to swallow it away.

She hadn’t thought she wanted to talk about all that stuff, but now that she’d started, the need to share her heartbreak with him kept the words coming. It was funny how she could tell him her secrets as long as she was touching him, like she was stealing some of his strength for herself.

His butt cheeks flexed when her fingers danced over them, and she pressed her hands down, smoothing her palms across the taut skin. Rodney prided himself on keeping his body in prime shape, but she’d hated touching him with a passion. Why it was so different with Jamie, she didn’t know, but she loved having her hands on him.

“How old were you when you married Vanders?”

“I didn’t marry him. He married me. I consider that a big difference.” Hanging between his legs, the edge of his sacs were visible. Slipping her fingers under him, she lifted them, testing their weight. He let out a long breath, and spread his legs apart. Taking that as a sign he liked her touching him there, she cupped him in her palm.

It was as if there were two of her. The one whose hands were investigating all the parts of Jamie, and the one who had a story to tell. She let her mind separate from her body, let Hannah continue her sad tale while Sugar shut out the words as she held a man’s balls in her hand and glorified in doing so.

“He married me the day after I graduated high school. He stood on one side of me, my father on the other, and poof, I was a wife to a man I’d already learned to hate. You’re probably wondering why I let that happen, so I’ll tell ya. Rodney made sure I understood he had the power, that he could make me or my father disappear without anyone wondering where we’d gone.”

Letting go of his balls, she lowered her face and kissed the dimple on Jamie’s lower spine. Although she was tempted to linger on the area of his ass, she still had his legs and feet to explore. The hairs on his thighs and legs were golden—like him. That’s how she saw him, golden and beautiful. She trailed her fingers over his skin, down to the backs of his calves. Touching him sent liquid fire to the deepest part of her, and she felt the wet between her legs, felt the ache of wanting him.

“Can I kill him for you?”

Sugar froze. As she stared down at the soles of his long, elegant feet, she fought the urge to cover her eyes and weep. Jamie might be kidding, but she didn’t think so. Not even her father had cared enough to protect her from Rodney. She curled her hand around the high arch of his right foot.

“He’s not worth going to prison for, so no. Let’s just do what it takes to make sure he’s the one who goes away.” The sparse hairs on his legs were honey colored, and she combed her fingers through the springy curls, up the back of his knees, returning to his amazing ass.

“I’m not going to be able to take much more of this, sweetheart.”

The low huskiness of his voice vibrated though her, drawing her around to face him. She sucked in a steadying breath at the hunger in his eyes.

Jamie’s gaze roamed over Sugar’s breasts, her narrow waist, and then to the flare of her hips. He leaned toward her, fully intending to kiss her until they both forgot their names.

“On your back,” she said with a sneaky smile, as if she had plans for him he just might like.

He rolled over and looked up at her. “Now what?” It seemed she needed to have control, and although he preferred being the one in charge, her inspection of him had been the most erotic experience of his life. He was more than willing to see just what she had in mind.

“Now I get to learn the front of you.”

Already hard, he gritted his teeth at the thought of what she might do. He expected her to start at his top, but after a lingering glance on his erection, she turned her back and leaned over his toes. Mother Mary, the view! Nothing but her rounded bottom and the back of her thighs were visible, and he fisted his hands into the sheet to keep from grabbing her and pulling her down on him.

“So I knew I had to get away before he killed me . . . before the day came when I did something that sent him over the edge. I researched how to disappear, and here I am.” She lifted her head from her inspection of his feet, glanced over her shoulder and smiled, as if she’d just told him something as trivial as the day was a nice one.

She’d made him forget she was telling him her story—one that was breaking his heart—with her exploration of his body, with the soft touch of her hands as they glided over him. He wished they could save this conversation for later as one second he was in a wonderful place with her touches, and then she’d say something that made him want to don his warrior gear and go kill a man. It was disconcerting. But if this was the only way she could speak of her life, then somehow he would bear it.

When she pivoted, he lost the lovely view of her backside, but the front of her was just as beautiful. Her hands skimmed up his legs to his knees, stopping there and tracing his kneecap with the tips of her fingers. The woman was seriously messing with his head.

Finally, she reached his erection, licking her lips as she eyed his raging hard-on. He about lost it then. “Sugar?”

A mischievous smile lifted her lips. “What?”

“Touch me, damnit!”

Her eyes narrowed in disapproval. “You cursed.”

“Because you’re driving me crazy.”

“Is that what you want? For me to touch you?”

Was she kidding? “Yes, that is what I want.”

“I plan on doing just that,” she said as her hand wrapped around him.

Even though it was obvious she didn’t quite know what to do with him, her experimental licks and sucks were sending him to the edge. When her exploring fingers found his balls and squeezed at the same time her tongue trailed a wet line from the base of his shaft to the sensitive F-spot, he squeezed his eyes shut. Somehow, she had instinctively found that little knob of flesh under the head, sending an electrical bolt throughout his body. Jamie clenched his stomach muscles to keep from coming in her mouth.