Victoria's Got a Secret (5 page)

She guided him past a small desk to the double bed in the center of the room. He saw stacks of pillows and a white comforter.

Then he only saw her. She moved in front of him, her dark hair falling over her shoulders and eyes flushing from hazel to a bright green, as they always did when she was aroused.

“You are still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He’d measured every date by her and found the others lacking.

“And you still make me weak when you smile.”

“Good thing there’s a bed behind you.” He eased her down until they sat next to each other on the mattress with legs touching.

A wave of uncertainty washed over him. He knew how to pleasure and entice women, but this was Jennifer. She was special. He wanted it to be right and perfect. They had waited so long to come together, he didn’t want to blow it now.

“What are you thinking?” She leaned against his shoulder with her head tucked under his neck and her hand on his stomach.

That she could do better than him.
The fact she even gave him a chance continued to shock him. “We’re wearing too many clothes.”

“Subtle.” She lifted her head and kissed him on the chin.

“Believe me, I’m showing remarkable restraint.”

“And why is that exactly?”

He didn’t miss the teasing in her voice or the husky invitation behind it. “Good question. Guess I’m slow.”

“Never that.”

“Well, I’m about to fix the mistake.”

He kissed her, letting his mouth wander over every inch of her lips before pressing long and deep. It was a kiss filled with pent-up heat and desire. He didn’t hold back or try to play games. He let her feel every lonely moment.

When they broke apart, she was flat against the bed with him looming over her. Her arms tugged on his hair and pulled him down for a second round of mind-blowing kisses.

His control broke.

Fingers found the edge of her T-shirt and pushed it up. She lifted her shoulders and helped him strip it off. His lips found the tops of her breasts where they plumped over her bra as her hands snaked up his back.

She froze. “Wait.”

“What?”

“Stop.”

Not again.
“Damn it, Jennifer.”

“It’s not what you think.”

“We’re grown-ups this time. We don’t have to wait or sneak around.”

“Not that.” She shoved his shirt up to his neck and sat up to peek around him. “What’s on your back.”

He felt what blood he had remaining in his brain leave his head with a loud whoosh. “Oh.”

“You got
another
tattoo?” She sounded distressed about the discovery.

He knew why. She hated tattoos. She made that quite clear when he got the first one at sixteen. She’d gone on and on about how he ruined his smooth back and how his body had been perfect without any marks.

He hadn’t really known what ticked her off so badly. He wanted one and got it. Simple. It was a step toward independence and leaving a rough childhood behind, and he’d never regretted it. No matter how much she’d bitched.

“I could lie, but since you can see it, I’ll go with yes.” He swallowed, worried he’d somehow blown it again. “It’s a tattoo.”

“That’s all you’ve got to say?”

“It’s been years.” He knew he should stop talking, but she raised his defenses and he wasn’t ready to bring them back down again. “You weren’t there when I made the decision.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it again before saying anything. “True.”

“Okay.” Several beats of silence passed before he ventured back to the dangerous topic. “Is the fight over?”

“Yes.”

He wasn’t exactly sure what just happened, but he seemed to have won, or at least he didn’t lose. “That would be more convincing if you weren’t frowning at me.”

The flat line of her mouth curled up at one end. “I sometimes forget that we’ve been apart.”

“But we’re here now.” He slid his hand over her knee. “Together.”

The stiffness left her shoulders as she fell back against the bed. “Where we want to be.”

“That was my observation, too.” He took his shirt the rest of the way off and threw it on the floor.

“Did I kill the mood?” She chuckled as she said it, her nervousness obvious.

“Hardly.”

“I just—”

He put his finger over her lips. “You could stand on a corner wearing a garbage bag and screaming obscenities at me and I’d still want you.”

“Still such the sweet talker.”

“It’s the truth.”

She trailed her hand down his bare chest to the top of his belt.

“Is there anything I can do to get us back where we were before I had my fit?”

“Let me think.” He rolled on top of her and groaned at the feel of his body against hers.

“You don’t need this.” She unhooked the belt and slipped it out of his pants.

“I could say the same about you.” He popped the button loose on the top of her jeans.

Her body trembled when the back of his hand brushed against her bare skin of her stomach. He enjoyed the sensation so much, he did it a second time and felt her sharp intake of breath against his hair.

The press of her hand against his fly and steady thud of her heart against his broke the last of her control reserves.

He sat back and stripped her slim jeans down her legs, taking her panties as he went. When she was naked, with her body flushed and him kneeling between her legs, he took a long, agonizing look at her. He had caressed that skin many times as a fumbling teenager. Now he was coming to her as a man.

He pressed forward, trapping her body between his elbows, and lowered his chest against hers. His muscles shook with the force of holding himself back as he pressed a trail of kisses along her jawline.

Her back arched off the bed. “Paul . . . now.”

“Yes, now.”

Five

Sex doesn’t always mean the same thing for men
as it does for women. But sometimes it does.

—Grandma Gladys, The Duchess

A
FTER YEARS OF WAITING AND FOUR ROUNDS OF
lovemaking, Paul could barely speak. He hoped the apartment didn’t catch on fire because he’d never be able to get off the bed and rescue them. They’d been back together for only a few hours and he couldn’t move . . . couldn’t imagine another day without her.

He lifted his head and glanced around her room. With the sun streaming in the window and his need for her satisfied at least temporarily, he could see the place much better. Everything was white and blue and very feminine. The citrus scent he associated with her filled the room. There were clothes and books stacked everywhere.

The controlled chaos reflected Jennifer. She was a thundering ball of energy. She stormed in and out of his life and left him breathless with each turn. No matter how harsh the words that passed between them, he couldn’t hold onto the anger. She was smart and so sexy it hurt to look at her.

Even now she lay sprawled over half the bed, which was impressive since she didn’t weigh all that much and sure didn’t take up much room despite her height. Since he’d kissed and caressed every inch of her the night before, he could describe her without opening his eyes.

But what a joy it was to open them and look at her.

They’d wrecked the bed. There was a sheet waded up underneath his shoulder and pillows spread across the floor. Her panties hung on the lampshade, and his jeans were thrown on a pile on the floor of her open closet. He had no idea how either piece of clothing got to their final resting places.

Just when he decided to roll her over and wake her up the fun way, her bare foot slid up his calf and her arm tightened across his stomach.

“I’m hungry,” she mumbled against his skin.

“I thought you were asleep.”

She popped up with her head balanced on top of her hands. Her eyes focused solely on him. “Not anymore.”

He’d never seen anyone shift from sleep to awake that fast. “It’s still early.”

“I get up early.” She drummed her fingers on his chest. “And I could eat.”

“Oh, really?”

“I mean food.”

“Oh. Well, don’t look at me. I can’t move.” He doubted he could make his way to the kitchen for a snack. God knew he needed one. A man could only engage in so much sex before the requirement of refueling arose.

“That’s not very chivalrous.” Her bare leg swung around in a lazy pattern behind her.

From this position he could see straight down her body. He mentally removed the flimsy sheet that was half thrown over her backside. “You sucked the life out of me.”

“You seemed pretty happy with my sucking a few hours ago.”

“Most definitely.”

“So the least you can do is feed me.”

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “I give up. You win.”

“Good man.”

He shifted underneath her, trying to ignore the spark of life to his lower half when her body brushed over his. “Anything to make you happy.”

He got the whole way to the kitchen before he realized she had followed him. He opened the refrigerator and turned around to find her leaning against the door frame, wrapped in a wrinkled white sheet.

“What are you doing up?” he asked.

“I missed you.”

“Keep saying stuff like that and we’ll see how sturdy this table is.” He knocked against the wood to emphasize his point.

“You’re naked.”

“And I plan on staying that way.” He grabbed the eggs and a chunk of cheese and dumped them on the counter. “As far as I’m concerned, this is just a break from the action.”

“Were you this hot and ready in high school?”

“And every damn day since then.”

She stepped into the room, her bare feet slapping against the wood floor. “If we keep up this pace we won’t be able to walk by Monday.”

“That’s the plan.” He faced the cabinets and started searching for a pan.

When he stood back up, she was right behind him. She slipped her arms around his waist and pulled tight against him. “I still think waiting was the right thing all those years ago.”

He turned around and leaned back against the sink. He guided her to stand between his legs and held her steady with his hands on her hips. “I’m guessing I wasn’t a very good risk back then.”

“You were sexy and sweet but so mysterious.”

“I scared you.”

“You once showed up at my parents’ house drunk.”

He winced over that one. “Admittedly not my finest moment. I was an idiot, but in my defense I was also a horny teen boy.”

“I didn’t know how to handle you.”

“I remember sitting outside your house and hearing you tell your mother you were dumping me.” The memory still stung.

Jennifer’s eyes widened. “What?”

“You said I’d started hanging around with a dangerous crowd. That I was immature and hiding things from you.” He looked away from her so he didn’t have to see the sadness in her eyes. He didn’t want her pity. He wanted her to understand. “I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I just sat there.”

“I’m sor—”

“Don’t pity me.” He shook his head. “I don’t want that.”

“You were on your own by then and didn’t tell me.”

“I’m not alone now.”

“Paul—”

“I’m with you.” He tugged at the sheet tucked over her breasts and let it fall to her feet.

“What are you doing?”

He dropped down in front of her with his knees on the cold floor and her body spread out like a naked feast in front of him. He slid his hands up the inside of her thighs, opening her legs as he went.

“Are you still confused about what I want?”

She braced her hands on his shoulders. “I’m catching up.”

“I’ve always admired your intelligence.”

She pushed his head closer to her body. “Stop talking.”

Jennifer tried to remember when she’d felt this free. This alive and happy. Talking to Paul was one thing. Curling up against him in the middle of her bed while he pretended to read sections of the paper to her was something she’d never imagined.

When he finished one story, she pointed to another headline and let him scan the article so he could make up something to go along with the bold letters.

He shook his head and threw her a mock serious look. “You won’t be interested in that one.”

“Why?”

“There’s a dancing frog, a traffic accident and a problem with a school cafeteria. Very nasty stuff.”

“The headline says: ‘Superintendent in Trouble’.”

“Well, sure. The frog belonged to him.”

She laid her hand against Paul’s stomach and felt the muscles twitch beneath her fingers. “Even a week ago, would you have thought this possible?”

“Only in my fantasies.”

Her heart did a quick jig. “It’s pretty sweet having a role in those.”

“Nice try at being humble, but you have to know you’re the star.”

“Since when?”

He pulled back so he could look down at her. “Always.”

Since he suddenly seemed so serious, she traced her finger over his full lips. “Have I told you how happy I am you came here?”

“No more than I am that I finally got in that car.”

“Took you long enough.”

He stared at the ceiling and shook his head with an impressive woe-is-me frown. “Always complaining.”