Twenty One (Love by Numbers Book 2) (12 page)

Nine long days later in Tokyo Japan….

I’
m here; today is the day I get to finally hold him in my arms again.

A
fter believing Jake’s version of events that led up to the media storm surrounding him and Vanessa Havers, things between us seemed to escalate with every text and every phone conversation.

I can feel our connection deepening into something more.

He’s funny, intelligent, interesting and so damn sexy, even on the phone, that I often allow our conversations to stray from innocent flirting into borderline erotic.

When I’m not texting with him, I’m thinking of him and late at night when I do get to speak to him on the phone, I want more.

I want the butterflies in my stomach to take flight and lift my body away from this island.

I want the yearning in my chest to ease with his presence.

I want the incessant ache between my legs to be soothed by his touch.

I want him like I’ve never wanted anything ever before.

P
erhaps that’s how we ended up having full blown phone sex last night. Yes, that’s right PHONE SEX.

I should be ashamed to admit it and it’s not something I will be sharing with Liv when she badges me for details but in all honesty, it’s all I’ve thought about ever since.

I barely slept.

Even after using my own hands to bring me to an earth shattering orgasm, one which caused me to drop my phone from where I had it wedged between my shoulder and my ear, every part of me still throbbed. That tender spot between my thighs felt like it had its own pulse and it wasn’t blood rushing to it but pure lust.

If I lose control just from the sound of his voice, God help me when he finally does what he’s vowed to do and make me his.

I think I already am.

No, that’s not the honest truth. I
know
I’m already his and it scares me. In fact it petrifies me.

I want to surrender to the magnetic force between us, want to trust in this undeniable connection we have, a connection that I’ve given up everything to pursue but I still wonder why me?

Why does this man who can have
anyone
he desires, want me?

Will I be enough for him? Will everything I have to give be
enough?

Despite the nagging voice in my head that tells me I’m not, my heart still tells me I could be and I will take that small sliver of hope and allow it to override all of my insecurities.

My future, my life and our connection needs hope to flourish, not regrets, not what ifs.

If you want someone, truly
want
someone, all those doubts and fears should be pushed aside and you should be strong enough to offer yourself completely, without regrets.

I truly want Jake.

I would rather risk getting hurt than never have this chance with him.

That doesn’t mean I’m not terrified and it doesn’t mean that I relish the thought of being hurt. In fact, I know it would be Jake that could hurt me more than anyone else ever has, or ever could.

T
he sixteen hour flight passes in the blink of an eye, I expected it to drag.

I think my nerves have kept me in a perpetual state of anxious excitement. It’s like all my cells are ricocheting off one another, causing a continuous buzz throughout my entire body.

My very skin feels like it vibrates.

We land smoothly and as soon as we get the all clear from the flight staff, I switch on my mobile to check for messages.

Hey Emmy, I know u r in the air right now but I’m hoping u get this as soon as u land. Fans r so crazy here that security won’t let me enter the airport 2 meet u. Nina my PA will b waiting for u at arrivals. I’ll b right outside. I wish it was me who gets 2 see u first, I’ll make it up 2 u. That’s a promise x

I
will never get enough of him calling me Emmy. Even in a text I can hear the deep timbre of his voice forming those two syllables and my heart skips a beat.

I also have a text from Liam wishing me luck and telling me to text him later and one from a very excitable Liv.

Eeek!! I’m guessing u r half way there by now. I’m gonna miss my best girl but I’m so chuffed for u!! Em, you are soooo gonna get some HOT Foxy action when u arrive (and I want deets!) :p

I
blush at the cheek of her. I’m already wound up like a spinning top I don’t need her making me nervous, I might get performance anxiety.

“Ladies and gentlemen thank you for flying with us today. We wish you a pleasant trip to Tokyo and in just a moment I will be able to open the airplane doors and you can depart.”

The stewardess’s announcement jerks me from my increasingly naughty thoughts. That continuous buzz in my body is now concentrated on one specific area and I unconsciously rub my thighs together.

You have thirty minutes to get it together Em. Do not go getting off this plane in this state and end up walking like John Wayne into Jake’s arms.

The elderly lady, who has been sitting besides me the entire trip, clears her throat and stands, motioning her intention of exiting her seat. I get up slowly and turn away from her to hide my embarrassment. If only she knew the thoughts that were causing this blush on my cheeks or who was the cause of it, she’d be patting me on the back for a job well done.

The plane starts to empty and I finally feel more in control of myself, so I grab my hand luggage and make my way to the open doors.

I step out of the cool, air conditioned, plane and the humidity immediately sucks the air from my lungs. This is a totally different heat to what I’ve just left and I can feel sweat forming under my arms within seconds.

Great, not only will I have to see Jake looking all bedraggled after a sixteen hour flight but I’ll also be sweating like a pig; one that has just seen a hog roast for the first time.

“So attractive Emma”, I can hear the words as if my mother had spoken them herself.

Yeah, well, you’re not here now Mum, so I’m just going to ignore that little bit of yourself, that you’ve embedded into my self conscience.

I
get through baggage claim quickly and I’m one of the first to enter the arrivals lounge but I have no clue what Jake’s PA looks like, so I scour the waiting crowd like a lost child.

A voice calls out from my left and a petite but curvaceous blonde, with a short but funky haircut, waves a card with Emma Campbell in my direction.

“Miss Campbell, I’m Nina. I hope you got the text Jake sent you and you were expecting me, not that 6ft 2” hunk of yours.” She winks at me and I’m thrown for a second. How well does this new PA know Jake to be this personal already?

“Relax Emma.” she smiles at me. “Jake’s got the wrong equipment for my tastes, if you know what I mean, it doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good looking man when I see one.”

I’m flustered and my reply makes this obvious, “Oh okay, I… ummm, well I don’t know what to say to that to be honest.” I laugh lightly and I know a blush has found my cheeks again.

“Oh I can see why you’ve got that one wrapped around your pinkie finger, takes something special to catch the eye of a guy like Jake and you my sweet have caught more than his eye.”

My cheeks are aflame and I bend to grab my suitcases, unable to reply. Is she flirting with me?

“Don’t go dragging those; I’ll grab a porter to take them to the car. Just wait here a second.” With that she’s heading towards a customer service booth and is back in seconds with a guy pulling a trolley.

“I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.” She speaks softly as I catch her eye while the porter loads my luggage. “My girlfriend is always telling me that I engage my mouth before engaging my brain.” She laughs to herself, “I guess she’s right.”

“Don’t worry about it, I guess because this thing with Jake is quite new for us, I don’t really know where I fit in at the moment.” I give her light smile and hope my red cheeks are finally fading.

She places a hand gently on my arm and turns serious, “I’ve only just started working for Jake so I’m not here to give advice. I don’t really know him well enough yet. The thing is, you might not know where you fit in yet but Jake does. He’s made a place for you and
only
you. For someone with his previous form, I think that’s quite a big deal. Don’t you?”

I give her a small nod “Yes. Yes I do, that’s why I’ve flown half way around the world to see him.”

She squeezes my arm slightly before turning to the porter and motioning him to lead the way.

“Then let’s go and get you to your man before he makes a break for it and comes in here to find you. Do me a favour and send him a quick text, I told him I’d let him know when we were on our way.”

I grab my phone out of my handbag and send him a short text, before following Nina and the porter through the throngs of people, towards the exit doors.

T
he porter exits first, followed by Nina, both blocking my view of outside.

I don’t need to see him to know he’s there, I can
feel
him and I know the instant his eyes find me as a shiver consumes my entire body.

I look around the porter and when our eyes meet, the connection that’s always been between us, heightens. I cannot help the smile that forms on my face.

This man, this utterly beautiful man, is standing here waiting for me.

I want to run to him and do the totally clichéd ‘meeting at the airport’ embrace, but before I take another step he darts away from the two humungous guys on either side of him, runs at full speed towards the porter and at the last minute he dives over the top of the trolley, like some crazy bloody stuntman.

It catches me by surprise and is so over the top that I cannot help but full on belly laugh at his antics.

N
ot a moment later I am scooped up in his arms and his mouth attacks mine in a hard, claiming, kiss.

My own body reacts on instinct and instead of surrendering to his kiss, I return his forceful embrace, our tongues entwining and our breaths melding, until everything else disappears and it’s just us.

No drama, no nerves, no doubts.

No darkness, no tears, just heat.

All consuming, so hot it physically burns.

M
y lips still tingle from the blistering kiss we shared.

W
e are on our way to the hotel; Emma is sitting with her head resting against my chest, I have one arm wrapped tightly around her back, cradling her to me and the other hand holds hers across my heart. My frantically beating, yet soothed beyond words, heart.

She disentangles herself from my embrace and looks up at me. Her eyes, those same eyes I felt I’d drown in months ago, look up at me filled with both excitement and contentment.

Her plump lips are still swollen from our public make out session, one that we would undoubtedly still be engaged in, if Nina hadn’t tapped me on the shoulder to make me aware of the crowd we’d drawn, many with their camera phones out after recognising me.

“God I’ve missed you.” Four simple words pass from her lips but I think they might just be the four, most spellbinding words, I’ve ever heard.