Movie Lovers (10 page)

In the car, Jake pulled Grace into
his shoulder and they snuggled for the entire ride home. Once in the house, she
toed off her shoes immediately, leaving them by the front door.

“Geez, you got short.”

“Those shoes were killing me,” she
said, rubbing her foot.

“Can you swim at night?” Jake asked,
pulling his tie until the bow came undone.

“Sure. Come on.” Grace padded out
onto the deck and switched on the light on the bottom of the pool then soft
lights on the deck.

“That’s so cool,” Jake said, his
gaze on the water shimmering in the light. “They change the color of the
water.” Grace pulled a chaise close to the edge. “It’s romantic,” he chuckled.

“Would you mind? Without heels, this
dress is way too long. Besides, I want to get comfortable.” Grace backed up to
him.

“Unzip?”

She nodded. His long fingers took
their time unzipping her. She clamped her arms to her sides to keep the
strapless dress from falling. When he was done, he cupped his hands over her
shoulders and kissed her neck. She shivered. “It’s cold out here.” She tried to
cover up her response to him.

Jake took off his shoes and socks
and dipped his toes in the water. “But the water is warm.”

“I turned the heater up before we
left. Figured you might want to swim in February.”

She padded over to the chaise and
turned, poised, staring at him. He stopped and returned her stare. Suddenly,
she let go of her gown, which pooled at her feet, revealing her naked body.
Jake swallowed. Sweat appeared on his forehead as his gaze raked her form.
Grace took two steps to the side of the pool and dove in. When she surfaced,
she motioned to Jake, who was already ripping his clothing off as fast as he
could.

Standing on the edge, he dropped his
boxers and dove in. He swam to her side, but she ducked underwater, swimming
away. She led him on a merry chase. At one point, he was doing a speed-crawl
when she came up behind him and smacked his bare behind. He stopped
immediately. “This means war!” he hollered.

Grace’s eyebrows shot up, and she
tried to get away, but Jake was too fast for her this time. He lunged at her,
his palm connecting with her head as he dunked her under water. She came up
sputtering and laughing.

She was trapped in the corner of the
shallow end while trying to swim backward as Jake zoomed across the pool,
closing the distance between them in a matter of seconds. He reached his long
arms out to prevent her escape. Slowly he moved closer, his gaze feasting on
her nakedness, desire glittering in his eyes. “Does this mean ‘yes’?”

She nodded, looking up at him. He
lowered his head, his lips claiming hers in a hard, demanding kiss. He pulled
her up against his wet chest with one hand while the other closed around her
bare bottom. When he lifted her, she wound her legs around his waist and her
arms around his neck.

“I want you,” he whispered, his hand
on her breast, massaging. “I want you bad.”

She gasped for breath when his mouth
lifted off hers. “Me, too.”
Never wanted
anyone like I want him. God, oh God. He’s so beautiful.
Grace slid her palm
down over the light brown hair on his firm chest. Her hands seemed to have a
mind of their own as they wandered over his body, touching, caressing, feeling
his hair, skin, and muscles.
He’s all
man. Gorgeous.
She peeked at his abs, nicely defined but not too much.

His stare burned a trail down her
skin. He raised one foot to rest on a stair and seated her on his thigh. With his
hands freed-up, he explored her body, starting with her chest then moving
downward. With his face in her neck, he started to moan her name.

Grace leaned back and Jake
immediately put his arm behind her to keep her from falling. He kissed his way
from her neck to her chest, closing his mouth on her peak. Now it was Gracie’s
turn to moan. Her fingers gripped his shoulders, squeezing into his muscles as
heat grew in her core.

Jake raised his head. “You’re
incredibly beautiful.” Something tickled her, and she realized it was his
erection. A giggle escaped her throat. “What?” He asked, his golden eyes rimmed
with fire for her.

“You’re ready…”

He chuckled. “Figured that out, eh?”

“I can feel it.”

He laughed. “Then let’s go. Need to
get you up to speed.” He picked her up as if she was a feather and carried her
out of the pool, lowering her slowly onto the chaise. They both began to shiver
in the sixty-degree chill and wrapped themselves in bath sheets they found
stacked on a small table.

With her lips turning blue, Gracie
took Jake’s hand and led him into the master bathroom. The enormous shower
stall had two shower heads on opposite walls. This water palace was tiled,
floor to ceiling, in white tiles with beautiful designs painted on in light
blue and lavender. She turned on both jets and within seconds a warming steam
had filled the room.

“Join me,” she said, stepping under
the warm spray. Jake didn’t hesitate.

“Ladies first,” he said, grabbing
the soap, lathering up, and spreading it over her body. Gracie smiled into his
eyes as he caressed her with lavender-scented suds. His hands slipped over her
skin, not missing an inch then settled between her legs. She soaped up his
chest, then continued down until she closed her fingers around him. He was hard
as granite.

“Rinse off. I can’t wait much
longer,” he said, stroking her with an ever-increasing rhythm.

Grace bent her head back to rest
against the tile and closed her eyes while warm water cascaded down on her.
“Oh, God. Don’t stop.” Fire raged within her. Passion coiled up tighter and
tighter as his fingers played her.

He supported her bottom with one
hand while he slipped two fingers into her. As he pumped her, her hips moved in
tandem with his hand. She groaned his name as she lost control. Jake lowered
his lips to her neck and whispered, “Are you protected?”

Her eyes flew open as she shook her
head. “It’s okay, okay,” he said, lowering her and stepping out of the shower.
Jake grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist as he ran into his room to
retrieve a condom. He was back in a flash. While he fiddled with the foil
wrapper, Grace lowered herself and took him into her mouth.

“Holy Hell!” he said, dropping the
packet as he braced himself against the shower wall.

Grace raised her head and smiled
broadly at him. “Like that, do
ya
?”

“Where did you…?”

“Condom?” she interrupted. Jake bent
over and retrieved the small package from the shower floor. In a few seconds,
he’d covered himself and turned to Grace. He signaled her to come to him, then
cupped her behind with his palms and lifted her up. She braced herself by
holding onto his shoulders as he lowered her onto his erection.

The feeling of him entering her sent
her pulse racing again.
Hot damn!
Her
eyes closed as she gave herself over to him completely, softening in his arms.
Jake balanced her with ease, moving her up and down, slowly at first then
progressively faster and harder.

Their slippery bodies bumped then
rubbed together, making her tingle. Arching her back pushed her breasts against
his solid chest, exciting her more. His moan signaled his response to her hard
nipples brushing his skin. Gracie heard their panting and soft groans over the
sound of the water.

He’s
so strong, taking over…
Her fingers sensed the tension building in his
muscles as their passion grew rapidly with each thrust. Jake was no longer the
shy, country boy who didn’t know what to do. He was the masterful lover, taking
her places she’d never been. His strength braced her, allowing her to let go in
ways she never had before.

Within minutes, a powerful orgasm
ripped through her, causing her head to fall to his shoulder, her lips to suck
on his skin, and her nails to dig into his back.

“Jake…I…” Then speech failed her.

* * * *

Seconds later he called her name,
hugged her tightly to him while he buried his face in her neck. Jake closed his
eyes and saw sparks of color, like tiny fireworks, as pleasure shot through to
every corner of his body. Making love to Grace had sent him beyond any previous
experience. The satisfaction coursing through his veins also trickled into his well-guarded
heart, bringing with it a sense of joy.

Loosening his vise-like grip, he
cradled Grace in his arms as he regained normal breathing. He stroked her wet
hair and kissed her cheek then her mouth tenderly. Opening his eyes to the
stare of her large blues looking innocent and questioning, his heart squeezed.
He held her in his grip, reluctant to let her go.

“Gracie…I…” he whispered. But the
words of love he intended to utter caught in his throat. Jake didn’t declare
his love to women often. A sensation of vulnerability washed over him, suddenly
he was naked with her in a way he’d never been naked before, and it wasn’t
comfortable. Slowly, he lowered her to the ground. She leaned in and placed her
palm flat on his chest then planted a sweet kiss there.

She reached up and turned off one
shower, and he turned off the other. Fresh, soft towels were wrapped around
clean, sated bodies. A wall of embarrassment flew up between them. Grace
blushed at her nakedness, covering herself quickly.

“It’s late,” she said. He turned
toward his room, but she caught his hand. “Stay with me tonight?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” he
replied.
I never spend the night. Love ’
em
then home to sleep alone. Tonight I want to be with her.
They padded into her large, orchid-colored bedroom. She pulled down the covers
on her queen-sized bed and got in, sliding over to make room for him. He
followed, pulled the bed clothes up over them and inched closer to her.

She lay on her side, leaving room
for him behind her. He moved up flush against her and draped his arm around
her, pulling her in tight and securing her there.

“Do you always spend the night with
women you have sex with?”

“Rarely…actually never.”

“Oh?”

“I want to be here with you,
together all night. Is that all right?”

“More than all right.”

“Do you spend the night with guys…?”

“I don’t sleep with a lot of men. I
had one steady boyfriend for three years in college. He never wanted to spend
the night. It was hard to find privacy at school anyway.”

“What happened to him?”

“He took a job in Hong Kong, and
that’s the last I saw of him.”

“Did he break your heart?” Jake
stroked her arm.

“A little. Though I don’t think I
was in love with him. He was convenient. But my pride was hurt.”

“I get it. His loss and my gain. I
can’t imagine making love to you and not wanting to spend the night.”

A smile curved her lips. “I agree.”

“So if I had made an excuse and
escaped to my room, you’d have…”

“Broken your neck.” She giggled.

Jake cuddled up closer, bending his
knees to mirror hers. He moved to her neck and took a deep breath. “You always
smell so good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. That first night in the
limo…God. What were you wearing? The smell drove me wild.”

“Oh, so it’s my perfume’s fault that
you pawed me?”

“I thought we were forgiving and
forgetting that incident.”

“Oops. Right. Sorry.” The couple melded
together into a comfortable position. Grace broke the silence. “You were
awesome tonight. Where’d you learn to make love like that? No, don’t answer!”

“You’re inspiring.” He nuzzled her.
“If we don’t go to sleep, I’m afraid you might get me going, and I’d have to
take you again here and now.”

“Really?”

“How about in the morning?”

“Oh, yeah. Wake up sex.”

“Almost as good as make-up sex.”

“With you…just as good.” He could
hear the sleepiness in her voice.

He kissed her hair. “Sleep now,
Gracie, honey.”

“Hmm, yeah. Love you, Jake.”

His breath stopped.
Did I hear right? Did she say she loves me?
But
her even breathing told him he was too late to confirm what he heard. Grace was
asleep.
Yeah, baby, I love you, too.
He
closed his eyes and sleep came faster and easier than it had in months.

In the morning, Jake opened his eyes
with the invasion of the sun and rolled over. To his delight, Gracie slept next
to him, her long hair tangled, framing her face beautifully, her shoulder and
one breast almost exposed. He rolled on his side, taking advantage of being the
first one awake to study her.

His gaze traveled down her serene,
lovely face to her chest. Slowly, he peeled the sheet down a little bit until more
of her was bared. He devoured her flesh with his eyes, his fingers tingling to
touch and his lips to kiss.

She stretched her arms above her
head, gave off a little squeaking noise from her throat and her eyelids
fluttered. A smile spread slowly across her face as she spied him staring at
her.
Remember, she said she loved you.
Confirm that? What if she denies it? Just shut up.

“Morning.”

“Morning,” he replied. “You’re beautiful
when you sleep.”

“Been watching me long?”

“Only a few minutes. Like Sleeping
Beauty.” Seemingly suddenly self-conscious, she covered herself with the
bedclothes. “Don’t do that,” he said, easing them down again. “Let me look at
you.”

She lay still, a blush stealing up
her chest into her neck. Reaching out, she combed his unruly hair off his
forehead with her fingers. The gentle, loving touch soothed him.
She loves you. You love her, too. Tell her.
But
the words wouldn’t come as a wave of cold fear swept through him. She looked
vulnerable, bringing him closer to confiding his feelings.
Start slow.