Reunited (7 page)

          “Cancel
your plans.”

          I
looked at him, confused.  “Why?”

          “We
need to spend time together.”

“
Really.
 
We need to spend time together Jake?  How would Vivienne feel about that?  And
how would she feel about what happened between us last night?  You know, your
girlfriend
?”

My eyes
captured his, waiting for his response.  He took a deep breath and I saw his
dark eyes soften as they returned my gaze.  “I may not have been completely
honest with you about that.”

I knew
it!

“I
ended things with Vivienne before I came here.”

Was he
telling me the truth?
  I didn’t see any twitching.  “Is there really
a Vivienne, Jake?”

He
looked completely confused.  “What do you mean?”

“I
mean
,
does she really exist?”  My hand was still sitting impatiently on my hip.

“Of
course she does.  I didn’t lie about her, I just was not completely honest
about the state of our relationship.”

“You
mean you
lied
about your relationship with her.”  I wasn’t going to let
him off the hook with this one.  “Why did you do that?”

“I
wanted to hurt you, plain and simple.”

I stood
there stunned looking at the floor. 
Well it worked Jake, it did hurt
.

“I know
it was wrong, but I was still so bitter about our break up Lauren.  Look at
me.  Please.”  His voice was gentle now.

I looked
up and his gorgeous dark eyes earnestly searched mine.  “Going forward, I won’t
lie to you again.  I promise.” 

Going
forward?  What was he saying?   

“And
what are you going to do about Arianna?  You seem to enjoy her company and I
know she enjoys yours.”

He
gently pushed my hair behind my shoulder and caressed my arm.  “Arianna means
nothing to me.  You’re the one I want.  You’re the one I’ve always wanted. 
It’s always been you Lauren.”

I
couldn’t believe this was happening.  I could feel the tears coming as I
realized what this meant.  Jake didn’t hate me; he wanted to be with me.  I had
to pinch myself to make sure this was real.  I reached up and threw my arms
around his neck.  “Oh, Jake.  I’ve missed you so much.”

His
eyes said everything.  “I’ve missed you too.”

He
leaned down to kiss me and his lips gently touched mine, softly at first and
then with increased urgency.  We couldn’t get enough of each other as our lips
and tongues danced.  My body tingled all over and the butterflies were fluttering
like crazy in my belly.  He entangled his fingers in my hair and I let out a
soft moan as he pulled me tighter to him.  I was right where I wanted to be.

He
pulled away and smoothed the hair out of my eyes as his beautiful eyes perused
my face.

“Let’s
spend time with Amy and Paul today.  That way we can all catch up and you and I
can still spend time together.”

“OK,
I’ll let Amy know that plans have changed.”

CHAPTER
5

          The
four of us walked around the ship for a while and then we went to the casino to
play the slots.  We were having a great time goofing around together even
though none of us won any money.  Later, we were all getting hungry for dinner
so we decided to eat at a fish restaurant on one of the upper decks.  We sat at
a table that overlooked the ocean and I took a minute just to take it all in. 
The water was so blue and so beautiful.  The wind lightly whispered through my
hair as I inhaled the fresh ocean air.  I was with my best friend, and the love
of my life still had feelings for me.  I had never felt happier in my life.

          Paul
and Amy seemed to be getting along perfectly.  I saw her bat her lashes at him
a couple of times so I knew she was interested. 
I hope they can reconnect
again.  They are so cute together.
  They were chatting away while we were
waiting for our food to arrive and I caught Jake looking at me.  He mouthed the
words “you look beautiful” so that only I knew what he was saying.  I felt my
cheeks flush as I tried to hide a small smile.  I mouthed the words “thank you”
back to him and he winked at me.  Butterflies were dancing like crazy in my
belly. 
This is nuts!  I want to attack him right here in front of everyone!
 
I decided to strike up conversation so that I could take my mind off of wanting
to feel his hands running up my thighs.

          “How
is Joshua doing?”

          “Oh
yeah, how is your brother doing?”  Paul chimed in.

          “He’s
actually doing very well.  We were just in Dubai for a month on business. 
Joshua brought our newest associate fresh out of the intern program along with us. 
She is quite the spitfire and very bright.”

          “Wait,
he brought a new associate to
Dubai
for a
month
?”  I was
shocked.  Joshua was usually extremely reserved and as far as I knew he had
never brought someone new to the company anywhere.

          “Had
he ever done anything like that before?”  Amy was shocked as well.

          “Yes,
he did bring her and no, he’s never done that before.  On our way back to the
U.S. we all stopped in California to see mother.”

          “The
associate went with you guys to see Bunny?”  I loved Jake’s mom.  Her real name
was Eleanor but everyone, at least everyone she liked, called her Bunny.  “How
did that go?”  This was a totally different Joshua than the one I knew 10 years
ago. 

          “It
actually went really well.  Bunny really likes her and the feeling seems to be
very mutual.  I like Sarah too.  I can’t explain it but we had an instant
connection.  She’s very easy to talk to.  She actually is the person who
suggested I try to connect with you.”

          “
Really??
” 
Amy jumped in before I had a chance.

          Jake
chuckled at Amy’s reaction.  “Yes,
really.
”

          “Smart
girl.”  Amy was being a bit too vocal tonight.

         
I’ll
have to remember to thank Sarah if I ever meet her.

         
“How is
Bunny, Jake?”

          “You
know mother, busy, busy, busy.  She’s doing well.  She still asks about you
from time to time.”

          “Bunny
was always very sweet to me.” 

          “Maybe
you’ll have a chance to see her again sometime soon.”  I shot Amy a playful
warning look as the words came from her mouth. 

          “I’m
planning on it.”  He had a devilish grin on his face as he winked at me.

          “You
know, we should all get together after the reunion.  Let’s go on a trip or
something.  Lauren, I know you and Amy see each other all the time because
you’re in the same city, but I’d like for all of us to get together.  It’s been
so great hanging out with you guys.”  Paul sounded sincere and we all agreed it
was a great idea.

          “If
we can all agree on a date I will take care of the travel arrangements for
us.”  Jake seemed to be 100% on board with the idea.

          “Does
that mean we all get to fly on your private jet?”  Amy’s eyes were sparkling as
she grinned at Jake.

          His
laugh was so refreshing to hear.  He seemed really relaxed and happy.  “Of
course, Amy.  I’ll save a special seat just for you.”

          She
pretended to clap her hands together.  “Oh, goody!”

          We
all laughed at her silliness as our food arrived.

          We
were just finishing dessert when Jake told Amy and Paul we were taking off.  “I
hope you guys don’t mind, but I’d like to steal Lauren away.  It’s been so long
since we’ve spent any real time alone together.”

          “Oh,
that’s fine Jake.  I was actually hoping to have some alone time with Amy so
this works out perfectly.”

          Amy
looked over at Paul and smiled flirtatiously.  “You were, huh?” 

          I
could always tell when Amy liked a guy and she definitely liked Paul.  I knew
she was in good hands.

          “Well
you two have fun, but not too much fun.”  I teased them as we walked away.

         
CHAPTER
6

          We
were strolling for a while in silence hand in hand under a full moon, with the
sound of the waves softly hitting the ship.  Jake stopped and we leaned against
the railing as he looked at me.

          “This
is so surreal Lauren.  Being here with you…”  His words trailed off.  He
reached out and lightly caressed my face as his eyes searched mine with a
desperate yearning.  “So this boyfriend back in Chicago, is he still going to
be around when you get back?”

          He
seemed worried about this and I wanted to alleviate any concerns he had.  “No. 
I will let him know how I feel and that he should move on.  It won’t be a big
deal.”

          He
dark eyes suddenly narrowed. “Good, because I don’t like to share.”

          My
eyes widened in surprise as I saw his serious expression.  I had never seen
this side of Jake and while it was perplexing, it was also very sexy.

          He
held my gaze and his dark eyes sparkled with lust.  He traced my mouth with his
thumb and I felt like I was going to melt.  He leaned down to whisper in my
ear.  “I can’t wait to taste you again.”  His lips grazed my ear and my breath
caught as his tongue flicked my earlobe.  His hands gently cradled my face as
his eyes devoured mine.  He leaned down and gently touched his lips to mine,
his tongue softly outlining my lips before plunging into my mouth and sliding
over mine.  His touch was more forceful now and I could feel his need.  A soft
groan escaped his lips as he pressed against me.  I could feel his hard cock
through his shorts and I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer
to me.

          When
we came up for air, Jake was smiling at me.  “I should probably walk you back
to your room.  I don’t trust myself to behave right now.”  His words were
almost a growl.

I
looked at him demurely.  “Maybe I don’t want you to behave.” 

          “Let’s
go to my room.”  He barely was able to get the words out.

          As
soon as we were inside Jake’s room he grabbed me and pressed me up against the
door and his mouth dipped down to my ear.  “You’ve been thinking about me all
this time, haven’t you?”  His gravelly voice sent chills down my spine.  His
hand found its way to my backside as he caressed what he knew was already his. 
I felt faint. 
Am I really letting this happen?  Does Jake really have me
pinned against the back of this door?
  I was aching with need.  Sex was
oozing out of all of his pores
.
  He grabbed my face in both hands, his body
still pressed against mine.  I could feel his hard member pressing against me
as he leaned in to kiss my neck.  I felt his tongue trail along my neck and up
to my jaw line and he let out a low groan as he let one hand wander over my
breast and down around to my backside, pulling me closer to him.

          I
turned my head sideways leaving my sensitive neck vulnerable.  His lips
devoured the soft skin, his tongue lightly flicking my ear lobe.  I let out a
moan and reached up to wrap my arms around his neck.  He grabbed my wrists,
pinning them above my head.  He leaned down to give me a scorching kiss; his
lips crushing mine, his tongue furiously probing mine.  I arched my body
against his wanting to feel all of him and I moaned softly as he moved to suck
and nibble the other side of my neck.  Shallow breaths escaped my lips as I
tried to catch my breath.  My panties were soaking wet by now and I wanted to
feel him inside me.  It had been so long and this was a sexy, domineering side
of Jake I had never seen.

          “You’re
so fucking sexy.”  That deep voice growled softly in my ear.  He released my
wrists and I felt his hand slowly run up my outer thigh and under my dress. 
His fingers lightly skimmed across the soft skin of my inner thigh and brushed
against the outside of my wet panties causing me to ache even more.  I grabbed
onto his broad shoulders for support out of fear that my legs would stop
supporting me.  I felt his finger slip under the silk fabric and graze my
hardened bud.  My body bucked at the sensation and he rubbed across my clit
with increased frequency.  I felt his finger slide into my warm core and he
whispered in my ear, “Let me taste you.”  Without waiting for my response, he
got down on his knees and slid his hands under my dress and pulled down my panties. 
I stepped out of them to give him better access.  I didn’t care that he was
upset with me yesterday and I didn’t care that he decided to seduce me so
quickly.  All I cared about was that Jake Hunter had me pressed up against that
door and was awakening feelings in me I had forgotten existed.

         
I
want him to take me right here.
  He spread my legs and slowly slid his
hands up my thighs holding my dress above my hips, exposing me completely.  My
breath caught in my throat as I saw him start to lean in toward my mound.  My
grip on his shoulders was unyielding.  My heart was pounding and my mouth was
dry in anticipation of feeling his warm tongue on my sensitive opening.  He
slowly licked around my sensitive bud as I tried to quiet the loud moans escaping
from my lips.  Then I felt his tongue delve into my tender opening, once and
then twice. 
He’s going to make me come standing up right here.
  He
inhaled my scent as he licked from my entrance to my clit and then back again. 
His tongue made tiny circles around my hardened bud as I moaned loudly and my
fingers dug into his shoulders.  His tongue made one last circle and then he
stood up and quickly turned me around, my hands splayed across the back of the
door.  His body was pressed against mine and I could feel his hardness against
my backside.  He slowly licked the back of my neck as he unzipped my dress and
it fell to the floor.  I stepped out of it and his hands found their way to my
bra and unhooked it.  His hands softly glided across my skin as they came
around under my bra to cup my breasts.  He let out a soft groan as he pressed
himself against my ass, lightly squeezing my breasts and kissing the back of my
neck.