Unwritten Rules (27 page)

He leaned in and kissed my torso, moving my

sweater up a bit more and tracing his finger around my navel.

“You don’t need to be sad. You’l see your family soon. Maybe you should cal them? Tel them you feel down, because I bet your mom wil do whatever she can to make you smile.”

“How about you do it?” He murmured.

“Wel ...” I slid further down the bed, pressing my lips against his for a moment. “I do admit to having a soft spot for those dimples of yours.”

His mouth lifted in a sexy grin. “Real y? You know I’l have to go hunting for that soft spot now, don’t you? I’m intrigued. Could it be here?”

His kissed my neck.

“Or here?” He questioned placing a smal peck in the center of the v-neck of my sweater.

“Or possibly-”

“El e? Jonah? I have your drinks ready.”

Mom entered my room through the open door,

carrying a tray and causing Jonah to move so fast I barely saw him shift. He sat on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through his hair as Mom placed the tray on the bedside table, frowning.

“Your friend is currently snuggled up on the couch, watching television. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, how’s Meow?”

Mom tittered, “He’s pawing holes in J.J.’s

leggings, trying to get comfortable. It’s rather amusing listening to her chastise him.”

“She pretends to hate him, but I know different.” I shrugged, sitting up and reaching for a mug. “Did you warn her against leaving any doors open?”

Mom confirmed she had and sat down next to

Jonah. She patted him on his knee and tilted her head so that her eyes met his. “How are you doing? You seem a bit lost in thought.”

Jonah tried not to grimace, but it didn’t work. “I’m fine, Mrs. Sampson. I think I need a walk.” He looked over at me. “Mind if I have a wander along the beach, Red?”

“Sure. I can catch up with Mom while J.J. is being abused by Meow.”

He placed a soft kiss on my forehead then left us alone. I braced myself, knowing my mom would have something to say as soon as the front door closed. Her expression was that of pure concern as she said, “He’s an extremely sad young man.”

I couldn’t deny it, because she was right. He was lost – in a state of limbo. It had to feel worse than when he ignoring his family. Right now he could only imagine what the holidays would be like with them. I suppose on some level he may feel jealous, but happiness was within his reach. In a week his family would be waiting for him with open arms.

I stared out of the window, watching as Jonah

stepped onto the sand. His hair whipped around his face as his scarf bil owed behind him, his stubborn nature not al owing the wind deter him.

“He’s trying, Mom. He’s just confused and needs a bit of time and patience,” I responded.

“He’s special to you.”

She made it a statement, rather than a question. It made me grin, because she knew me so wel . Even spending the time apart since I moved to New York hadn’t altered our relationship. She was, and always had been, my best friend.

“I love him. Jonah’s not like other men. Before you say it, I know you’ve heard that before but I mean it. He’s mixed up and has made mistakes, but he’s turned himself around. I’m not going to lie to you, emotional y, he stil has a lot of work to do. I couldn’t stop myself from fal ing for him, Mom. He’s such a good guy.”

Her intense gaze softened as she wrapped an

arm around my shoulder. “I can see he adores you.”

“Real y? Because he hasn’t ever told me, but then I only told him a few weeks ago. I wasn’t sure we could even make something of this. His emotional scars kept him closed off, and I had to fight to get him to open up to me. At one point, I actual y gave up.”

“Your dad wasn’t an easy man to deal with when it came to emotions,” she interjected.

I leaned my head on her shoulder, stil watching Jonah on the beach. He was talking animatedly into his cel , flashing a smal smile when he spun around.

“He always told me he loved me,” I protested.

“Yes, but you were his child. It’s different. I’m sure it wil be different for Jonah too. It took months for your father to tel me how he felt the first time. After that it was very infrequent. However, it didn’t stop me from
knowing
how he felt. Verbalization isn’t always necessary. Sometimes feeling it is more important; sometimes it’s more of a confirmation.”

I sighed, understanding what she was tel ing me. I was tentative about explaining everything to her, though I knew she wouldn’t judge Jonah. She would, however, worry about me. I mentioned he’d been in trouble, yet she hadn’t questioned me any further. She appreciated and understood that people came with pasts. As a teacher, she often came face to face with it. My mother had faith in me, and the fact that she didn’t ask any more questions about his past reassured me of that.

“This is so different than it was with Nathan. It doesn’t feel forced; we’re just us.”

She hugged me tight, placing a kiss on top of my head. “And that is the way it should be, darling. I hope I grow to love him as much as you do, because that boy seems to need as much love as he can get.”

We grew silent, happy to hold each other and sort through our own thoughts.

“I’m glad to be home, Mom.”

“Me too, El ie, and it’s good to have a ful house again. I think this Christmas wil be a good one.”

She rubbed my leg and stood up, squinting to see through the window, across the beach.

“You should go to him,” she pointed out.

I didn’t question her. I rushed down the stairs, pul ing my coat from the hook, putting it on as I ran out of the door. I was vaguely aware of J.J.’s snoring as I slammed it shut.

The wind gave a great gust, almost knocking me over. I pushed on, gasping against its onslaught as I hit the beach running. I shouted to him, taking in his sul en form sitting on the sand. He was resting his forehead on his knees, his arms placed around his shins. He didn’t look up, but with the wind, I was sure he could hear me. I came to a stop at his side, and flopped down onto the sand, placing my arm around his waist. I whispered directly into his ear, “Did you cal them?”

“My brother.”

“Feel better?”

I felt him nod moments before he turned his head and pushed his lips against mine. It was salty and somewhat gritty from the sand, but I was powerless to stop it. I hummed and dipped my tongue into his mouth, gaining a shudder from Jonah. His hands moved up to hold my face as mine clenched in his jacket. I tried to pul him closer and grumbled when he gently pul ed away.

“I love you,” I breathed, unable to stop the words spil ing out.

Jonah grinned, his cheeks tingeing pink as he

said, “Funny thing, I was going to say the same thing to you.”

My mouth fel open, and Jonah chuckled. I

stammered, not confident that he’d al but declared his feelings for me. He didn’t let me struggle for long, though he seemed to be enjoying my surprise.

“I love you. I don’t know where we are headed, but you need to know that.”

My embrace was so tight I worried I might

suffocate him, but his soft laughter revealed that he was quite content. Everything was fal ing into place. Now he just needed to believe he was worthy of everyone’s love, because he was certainly worthy of mine.

Christmas morning arrived. It started in the most amazing way: Jonah kissing my body, inch by glorious inch. With each kiss, a whispered word was spoken.

“I...”

Kiss.

“Love...”

Kiss.

“You...”

I tensed mid-stretch as he swirled his tongue into my navel. My fingers pushed into his dark hair, grasping it tighter when he began to nibble at my flesh. It was a luxurious way to wake-up, definitely something I could get used to. The sheets fel to the floor as we rol ed around the bed groping one another. I tried hard to stay quiet; it was stil early. Regardless of my age, it would be mortifying for my mom to overhear us.

“I need you,” Jonah exhaled, already poised and ready to enter me.

I kissed him, mumbling confirmation against his lips. We made slow, gentle love, taking time to peruse each other’s bodies. Our mouths devoured. Our hands teased. Our bodies moved in unison.

It was bliss.

Jonah slipped back into slumber afterward; his head resting on my stomach, his shoulders pinning my thighs to the mattress. Though it was a bit uncomfortable, I couldn’t bring myself to move. I didn’t want to disturb him. Sounds of movement floated into my room,

alerting me that someone was awake and walking across the landing. I tugged a sheet across my breasts, and seeing that Jonah was already tangled in one, let him be.

“El e, sweetie? Are you both awake? Decent?” My mother questioned, fol owing up with a light tap on the door. Jonah stirred, grumbling in the cutest of ways.

“We’re just getting up now,” I confirmed, my voice raised.

“We are?” Jonah added lowly, his eyebrows

wiggling in amusement.

I laughed, pushing his questing hands off me and shouting to my mom, “We’l be down soon.”

“I’l have breakfast and gifts ready. Merry

Christmas!”

I lay back, grinning and enjoying the utter

contentment that flooded my chest. I had fretted about being here so much, worried that Jonah would feel isolated, or that J.J. would be too much for him to cope with on a twenty-four hour basis for weeks. However, they’d both surprised me, and Jonah had only a few moments of anxiety. If anything, the interactions seemed to make him stronger.

“You know...” Jonah drawled, prowling up my body and kissing my nose. “This is the first Christmas since I was seventeen that I’ve spent with other people? And it’s the first Christmas I’ve ever woken up with someone beside me. You’re my first, Red.”

Instinct was to make light of his confession, but the sadness of the words was heartbreaking. His loneliness had gone on for far too long.

“I like being your first. Makes me feel special.”

His hands smoothed up my torso; his thumbs

flicking my nipples before working their way up to cup my jaw.

“You are even more special than you realize,” he spoke in a husky voice.

“I could say the same to you.” I lifted my legs, placing them over his hips, hissing as his arousal pressed into my stomach. “We should get dressed. Mom loves eating breakfast together.”

Jonah nodded, placing a smal peck on my lips

and groaning as he moved off me. “Do you usual y give gifts after breakfast?” He questioned, uncertain. I sat up, placing my hand on his bare back and waited until he turned back to face me. “Nobody expects gifts from you, Jonah.”

His brows furrowed seconds before he said, “Oh no! I have presents. I just wanted to know
when
you did them. When I was a kid we had to wait until after Christmas lunch.”

“Real y? Damn, that would have kil ed me as a

kid!”

Jonah stood, not bothering to cover his toned, inked body. I watched him, my mouth watering, as he walked across the room to get his clothes. The sight of him caused my body to spark to life again. I wondered if it would always be this way; the sudden lust overcoming me when he was near. Just looking at him had me wanting to

forgo my mom’s bacon and eggs and have a breakfast of a different kind with him.

“I know you’re staring at me.”

“And do you have a problem with that?”

“Not at al ,” he chuckled, making eye contact with me. “I was just wondering...”

“Huh?”

He crooked a finger at me and whispered as I

shifted closer, “I was wondering if we had time to shower before your mom sends out a search party.”

I had no chance to respond as Jonah picked me

up and carried me squealing into the bathroom. Breakfast had never tasted so good.

We hadn’t been very late for breakfast, but the bacon was rather crisp. Jonah snarfed it as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. My mom took the opportunity to fuss over us and my mom piled more food onto his plate.

J.J. sat nursing a black coffee, staring at the scrambled eggs as if they were poison. The blue bruises underneath her eyes made me wonder if she’d slept at al . I placed my hand on her knee, amazed when she didn’t shy away. She didn’t seem to notice the contact at al , her light blue eyes fixed on the cabinet above the sink.