Authors: Dez Burke
“I don’t want to let you go,” he said plainly, not moving from the door. Tiana couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t bolt if he did.
“You never had me to start with,” she said on a huff, her eyes rolling even as she caught the look of challenge on his face.
“Is that what you like to tell yourself?” he asked, advancing into the apartment. Tiana was too angry to back away as he closed the gap between them.
“What do you mean? You never really wanted to be with me or you wouldn’t have lied to me like you did.”
“But then you lied too,” he told her, now standing right in front of her before she even realized it. He cupped her face in both hands and stared deep into her eyes. “You told me we felt good together. And then you turned around and made it look like I wasn’t even your type because I was white.”
Tiana couldn’t hold back a shiver as she became aware of his stimulating closeness. She seemed to be running out of air pretty fast. Her unbound breasts grew heavy beneath her tee and somewhere between her thighs started to thaw and puddle. Goodness. How could she keep telling herself she hated him if she still felt like melting into his arms?
“You’re the one who changed your mind about attending the dinner with me,” Tiana accused, unable to keep the hurt from her tone and expression.
“I told you I couldn’t go with you
as your gigolo
,” he reminded her firmly. “You never let me explain. What I meant was that I wanted us to go together as a real couple but you were too busy telling me you already had someone else lined up and that we were both too much of an ‘odd pair’ anyway.”
Tiana’s eyes fell and she felt really dumb now that she knew the truth. But he could have tried to make her see sense – instead of giving her the shock of her life by showing up at the dinner with that ebony-skinned model on his arm. She still squirmed with jealous hurt but all those other thoughts seemed trivial to what smoldered between them now.
He took both her arms and slowly linked them behind his neck. Tiana forgot how to perform the simple act of breathing when she felt her breasts press close against his torso. She told herself she could feel his heart pounding to the same dizzying rhythm as hers. His head loomed lower and she didn’t pull away as he planted soft, searching kissing around her lips, sensual and sweet. With his hands on her waist, he tugged her hips even closer and let her feel what being this close to her was doing to him as he hardened against her belly.
“Does this feel odd to you, Tia?” he murmured, right before swiping the tip of his tongue moistly between the seam of her lips. Tiana let out a gasp and Jordan covered it with his in an open-mouthed kiss so passionate it made her head spin. His hands smoothed round to cup her ass, massaging the heavy globes and lifting her up on her tiptoes as he ravaged her mouth with a possessive yet patient kiss. He wanted her to feel it in her womb and she did. It spread out like a blooming flame, licking at her core until she was just a slippery mass between her legs.
He pulled his lips away and let her come up for air. When she managed to pry her eyes open, she found him gazing into her face with awed tenderness.
“How could you think we’re nothing but perfect together?” he asked softly, lifting one hand from her buttocks to pinch her chin in his fingers and tip her head back so she could hold his gaze as he went on soberly, “We could have had those many hours of passion and then we could have never seen each other again. I told myself all this over and over and yet, all I really wanted to do was place my heart at your feet and plead with you not to walk all over it.”
Tiana bit down a whimper as her fingers sank into the silky curls at the base of his head, her eyes growing hooded beneath the mesmerizing quality of his voice and eyes. She wanted him so much it tightened every bolt and screw within her.
“I wanted to tell you the truth especially when I found out we had invites to the same ball,” Jordan went on deeply, his lips hovering over hers. “I hadn’t realized the mix-up before it was too late. It then became paramount to let you know who I was – and that I didn’t really moonlight as a gigolo. I told myself you might never forgive me but at least I’d be able to face you with a clear conscience.”
It felt so good to feel his lips on her face, kissing every spot he could reach. She felt treasured and desired and the flip-flops in her belly gave way to the liquefying ball of fire threatening to jet down to her knees.
“Just once, I told myself. Over and over…
just once
,” Jordan groaned as he mouthed a path from her jawline to the base of her neck, burying his nose there and nuzzling. “I thought that would be all I needed: one night with you and then I’d have my fill. But now I know that it’ll never be enough.”
Tiana’s senses soared even as her heart sank. Her body…was that all he wanted? To take her again and again to satisfy his aching void?
The doorbell pealed, shattering the glass bubble surrounding them. Jordan lifted his head up with narrowed eyes as he half-glared down into her shocked face. “Are you expecting someone?”
She could see he was jealous – did he think she’d left work early to keep a steamy rendezvous with a lover? She couldn’t help give him a mischievous eye roll as she pushed against his chest. “I ordered pizza. I was hungry. And pissed.”
He suddenly grinned, and that just had her staggering. He was such a mix of angel and devil when he flashed that white-hot smile, so boyish and cocky.
He set her gently aside, and Tiana let him prop her against the wall as she tried to catch her breath while he turned and went to get the door. He settled the delivery and then returned, the front door securely closed.
Jordan was staring at the load of food he had in his arms. There was an extra-large pizza with thick crust as well as a two liter bottle of soda plus side dips and one dessert pizza. Tiana made a face as she realized she hadn’t even been thinking straight when she made the order.
“Wow. You must have been really hungry. Or really pissed,” he said with a slant to his grin. Tiana quickly made room on table in the dining area of the apartment and helped him set everything down.
“I wasn’t probably going to get through one slice anyway - and then everything else would get chucked in the freezer,” Tiana said, staring at the food and wondering why her stomach suddenly felt full – of butterflies. Especially when she felt Jordan come up behind her, his hands resting heavy on her shoulders which he kneaded with a sweet insistence.
Tiana bit hard on her lip to hold down a moan as his solid, enticing frame wedged her against the table, his maleness nestling between the rounded curves of her buttocks like a thick steel pole. Desire like one she’d never known ripped through her middle and left her gaping to be filled, claimed.
“If you aren’t that hungry…I’m hoping you aren’t that pissed anymore either,” he said, his pelvis rocking suggestively against hers in a way that made her want to sway her rear with equal seductiveness against his burgeoning staff.
Holding on tight to her common sense, she stiffened against him, clutching hard to the edge of the table for support. “Jordan…I don’t think we should. A part of me tells me not to trust you. A part of me just can’t.”
He rested his temple against the back of her head with a deep groan as if she’d just punched him hard in the gut. “Oh fuck, Tia.”
As always when he said her name like that, she trembled. If he only lifted the hem of her top and cupped in between her wobbly legs he would tell her much her body trusted and needed his touch. But her heart and brain were telling her different.
“Don’t say it. Don’t tell me it’s over before it’s even begun.
I don’t want to let you go
.”
His tortured words vibrated deep in his chest, stirring her spine as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and embraced her hard against him for a few moments, breathing deeply into her hair. And then to her surprise, he released her.
He was backing away and Tiana spun around, barely concealing her surprise and fear. Was he giving up so soon? Didn’t he think they were worth fighting for at all? Maybe he didn’t believe it was worth the effort. The damage done must seem too insurmountable for him. Tiana’s heart sank in her toes and she had that feeling again of not being good enough – of not being worthy of winning a man like Jordan who should be willing to do anything to be with her for real. All he wanted was the way they made sense when they fucked. Without that he wasn’t interested, obviously.
“I know you need time,” he said quietly, his voice a contrast to the way his body seemed coiled tight, like he would spring for her again if he saw one ounce of weakness on her part. Tiana longed to let out that whimper of surrender that would have her being grabbed in his arms again. She could just see him spreading her over that couch on her back, her legs pinned back to her chin as he knelt to slide deep into her waiting wetness. Pumping his thick cock in and out of her pulpy walls as she moaned and moaned, her spine arching to offer her thick, hard nipples to his sucking mouth and stroking hands. Oh shit. She felt her pussy lips swell and throb just picturing it happening – if only she could make the move. If only she wasn’t so damned scared.
“You don’t need to tell me I messed up,” Jordan continued, pushing a hand through his already beautifully mussed hair. “I was a fool if I thought I could be satisfied with being just your passing fancy. I wanted – I want – to be in your life, to mean something. To be the man you could count on to stand by you whenever you needed him. Someone you knew that all you had to do was pick up the phone and call and he’d drop anything just so he could be there for you.”
He expelled a ragged breath, his chest rising and then settling in a sigh. “You might not think I deserve another chance but if you just say yes I can take my time showing you I’m a man you can trust with your heart. My sister knew me even more than I knew myself and she must have known that once we met, I’ll find it hard to keep things simple. I don’t want to be your friend, Tiana. So don’t bother telling me that’s all we can share. I want for keeps and I’m ready to prove, no matter how long that takes, that I can earn a future with you.”
A future
. Those words did things to Tiana’s insides. Her soul flared with hope and she asked herself if she dared believe. But then as she stared into his compelling eyes she realized that even if she didn’t know how he would do it, she knew he meant every word he said. He was willing to try and heaven help her, so was she.
And yet a lingering self-doubt kept her rooted, her lips pressed together even as her eyes betrayed her deepest emotions. As always, Jordan could sense her submission; knew that she needed him to take that last bold step. His gaze blazed with a searing flame as he reached for her arm, slid his fingers down to link with hers and pull her slowly forward. Giving her the chance to break away, to stop him. But Tiana didn’t protest, her feet moving her steadily to meet him where he stood waiting. He took her fingers to his lips and kissed the back of her hand with passion and adulation. He took that same hand and rested it against his heart, his breathing going shallow as she began to take up initiative, sliding her palm down his torso to his belt buckle.
“I’ve waited much of my life for a chance at real happiness…but I guess now I’m done with waiting. Why can’t the future start right now?” she asked softly, lashes quivering as she lifted her eyes to his. Her fingertips skimmed over the thick wedge of masculinity straining at his groin and his breath caught audibly.
The message in her shy gaze was clear and she almost smiled to see the flush of arousal deepen on his cheekbones. “Bedroom?” he said more than asked, smoothly sweeping her off her feet with his arm underneath her knees and back. Tiana cupped his face in her hands and shook her head, her chin pointing directly behind him. He looked back and groaned deeply. “Couch.
Yes
.”
Tiana giggled at his raspy words, burying her heated face in his neck as he carried her over to the waiting couch. But then he commanded softly, “Kiss me, Tia.” And her lips found their way to his, locking with a woman’s pliant hunger to his. His hot tongue filled her mouth, making her moan with fevered arousal. He tasted as sweet as she remembered, and he was as masterful as ever, taking and giving. Damn, he gave so much in his kiss and Tiana just wanted to bare her heart and soul to him.
Their lips still locked, she felt him place her on the couch, resting her sideways on the cushions as he crushed her with his weight for a moment. Loving the sensation, she wrapped her arms around his broad back and pressed him tighter, closer. The intimacy and sweetness of the moment made her wetter than ever.
They kissed so deeply it felt like they were making up for all that time they’d been apart. He sought out her tongue and sucked on it with a growl, his whole body shivering slightly. Tiana felt his hips settle between her parted thighs, his hand cupping the back of her knee which he stroked sensually. His other hand slid in between their snugly fitted bodies and went searching beneath the hem of her tee-shirt for her naked sex.
Jordan’s lips broke from hers and he kissed his way hotly down her arched throat while his fingers keenly stroked her folds. Tiana once again felt her body flush with embarrassment to feel her vulva so drenched his fingertips seemed to slip over her swollen mound. It was almost mortifying - just as if an invisible tap had been turned on inside her and now she simply gushed.
She went hotter than ever in the neck and cheeks, her arousal reaching terrifying heights despite her best efforts as he pushed a finger then another into her slick pussy. From somewhere above the haze in her mind she heard Jordan groaning, “Oh fuck…oh God” before shoving deep in and out of her cunt, filling the room with the sounds of her lust. His face was buried in her neck and he was mouthing a piece of flesh, worrying it with his teeth. As Tiana’s inner walls involuntarily pulsed around his penetrating fingers, he growled deeply and bit her.