As she shed her coat, she noticed Jared didn’t. He remained by the door, as if unsure whether he was staying.
“Jared, is everything okay? You seem a little…distracted tonight. Is everything alright at the hotel?”
He nodded, leaning back against the wall, staring at her. “Everything’s fine. Now.”
She took notice of his slight emphasis. As if there had been something wrong but it’d been taken care of.
Turning away from his intense stare, she headed for the fridge. “Would you like some wine?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
As she poured, he pushed away from the wall and removed his black leather jacket. Hanging it on the coat rack by the door, he walked to the breakfast bar and leaned against the counter, watching her every move with those beautiful blue eyes. She pushed his glass across to him, then sipped at her own.
Since he didn’t seem inclined to start a conversation, and since she couldn’t stand the silence, she said, “Will you need to get back to the hotel this weekend? I do understand that you have a business to run.”
One golden brown brow arched as he tasted his wine. “Trying to get rid of me, Belle?”
She wanted to laugh out loud. No, unfortunately, that was the furthest thing from her mind. God help her, but she wanted him to stay. For a very long time.
Forcing a playful smile, she shook her head. “Not at all. There’s still a lot of furniture to move.”
Her tone was deliberately teasing and she knew he knew it. Still, his gaze sharpened as if she’d said something enlightening. “So you find me useful?”
She heard something in his tone, something she just couldn’t figure out. “You’ve been very helpful, Jared. Why wouldn’t I want to keep you around?”
His expression turned thoughtful. “Glad to hear it. So, are you planning on rewarding me for my effort?”
That heated gleam had returned to his eyes. The one she couldn’t refuse. When he stood and held out his hand, she gave up all thought of refusing him anything. She placed her hand in his and let him draw her against him.
When he pulled her close to his body and began swaying in time to the music, Annabelle closed her eyes and tried to let her mind drift.
But his scent tantalized her with remembrances of the New Year’s Eve ball.
That night she’d wished for some fun, a way to forget about her two-timing ex-boyfriend and the rut her life seemed to have fallen into.
She’d wanted to experience just a little bit of the lust for life her parents had had.
She’d experienced more excitement than she’d dreamed possible. And her fun had followed her home.
But the ties she’d wanted to avoid were beginning to wrap around her heart.
And that could be dangerous to a woman with secrets.
Annabelle felt Jared’s every exhale against her hair and the warmth of his body against her cheek. Each shift of muscle fanned the flames of her rapidly rising desire.
As if he’d read her mind, he lifted her hand to his shoulder so she could wrap both arms around him. His free hand drifted to her hair, twining into the curls and holding her to him.
The song ended but he seemed in no hurry to release her. In fact, she knew his desire was rising along with hers. She felt his erection lengthen and harden against her lower belly, and his chest rose and fell in an ever-increasing rhythm.
But he didn’t move his hands, didn’t let them wander. And that merely built the anticipation until her skin ached for his touch.
As they swayed, she pressed closer and closer until she swore she could feel the heat of his stiff cock through their clothes.
“Belle?”
God, she loved the way he said her name. Her nerve endings tingled and her pussy pulsed with need. “Yes?”
He deliberately ignored the question in her voice and instead tugged on her hair until she tilted her head back. Then he kissed her with the most devastating desire she’d ever experienced.
His lips moved over hers, eliciting a swift response she couldn’t control. And didn’t want to.
Her body buzzed with desire from her curled toes to her tight nipples. Her mind went blank and only sensation processed. The heat pouring off his body, the tension building between her legs, the pressure on her lungs that made it hard to breathe.
He kissed her with a dominating force that made every cell in her body melt in surrender and she opened to him. Her lips parted for his tongue to slide in and tangle with hers.
Her hands clutched at his shoulders, fingers sinking into sleek muscles, wishing he was naked so she could get her hands on his warm skin. His hands moved to her waist, where they slid under her T-shirt to stroke along her sensitized flesh.
He splayed his hands on her back, each finger a hot brand. Arching into him, she rubbed her aching breasts against his chest, silently begging him to ease her. Or make her burn hotter.
He chose the latter, his hands sliding up to cup her breasts for a brief second before sliding back down. She moaned in protest but he’d already begun to lift her shirt over her head.
Pulling back, he tugged the T-shirt up, having her lift her arms over her head so he could pull it off. His gaze dropped to the pink lace bra Kate had designed and his lips curved in a smile.
“Very nice, sweetheart. You’re going to be leaving that on.”
His husky voice made her sex pulse, and a flood of juices seeped into her already-wet panties.
“I’m going to lay you out on the counter and have you for dessert. I’m going to make you scream my name and then I’m going to make you beg.”
Annabelle couldn’t breathe. The air in the room had been replaced with a drugging haze that she couldn’t seem to draw into her lungs. She barely noticed when his hands moved to her jeans and pushed them over her hips.
As she watched, he went to his knees in front of her, dragging her jeans down her legs, lifting her feet to get rid of her sneakers, and tossing her jeans to the side.
Panting, she swore she felt his breath against the sheer lace panel of her pink thong. Her knees nearly buckled when he placed a kiss on her stomach directly below her belly button.
Her hands slid into his hair, grasping the strands so tightly he couldn’t get away. Not that he seemed in any hurry to do so.
His mouth and teeth blazed a path from one hip to the other, nipping and sucking and kissing. His hands reached around to caress her buttocks before filling his palms with them and pressing her closer.
As he spread her thighs wider, she was truly afraid her legs wouldn’t hold her upright any longer. Reaching behind, she braced herself on the breakfast bar just as he pressed his mouth over her clit, causing her body to arch.
He tongued her through the lace, the slightly rough texture of the material making her clit throb with each swipe of his tongue. Teased her until her body felt like one tight ball of sensation, nerves popping and flaring, muscles clenching, her brain about to overload.
And when he nipped her, a short, sharp orgasm lit through her with the intensity of a flash fire.
Her mouth parted to gasp in air as she sagged, only to have Jared stand and lift her onto the counter.
“Lay back, Belle.” His voice had dropped to almost a growl. “Lay back and hold on, honey.”
Without conscious thought, she did as he asked, her eyes closing as her head came to rest on the counter.
The surface felt cool against her naked flesh, but she only had a second to notice before Jared grabbed the strings of her thong and drew it off. He wasn’t gentle about it, and the wet material didn’t want to separate from her flesh. So the flash of almost painful sensation that flashed through her nearly made her come again.
Overstimulated and starting to ache, her back arched and she spread her thighs until she knew her sex was completely exposed.