I Promise (17 page)

He made it all sound easy, but she knew better. If life had taught her anything, it taught her that she was destined for heartache. Her heart quickened as she answered in a firm voice. “I can't.”

C
hristian raced across the wide, open path that led back toward the house. Sharp pangs of anguish stabbed her heart at the sound of Jordan's voice calling her name. She had to get away. Her body trembled as soul-wrenching sobs ripped through her.

Bolting through the front door of the house, she made a quick prayer of gratitude that everyone had retired for the night. She took the stairs two at a time. The pounding of her heart drummed in her ears. She made it to the private sanctuary of her bedroom and slumped against the door.

Her chest heaved as her lungs struggled for air. She closed her eyes, but was unable to block out Jordan's image.

“Christian, let me in.” His low voice vibrated across her soul.

She shook her head against the door. “Please, just go away.”

The panic he heard in her voice frustrated him. “I'm not leaving until we finish what we started; what I started.”

“You are finished. There can never be an us.”

“Step away from the door and let me in.”

Her silence was his answer.

“I'm going to count to three. If you don't move away from this door, I swear I'll cause a scene so loud it will wake the whole house. Is this what you want?”

Christian tensed. “You won't.”

“One.”

“Jordan, please listen to me—”

“Two.”

“You will regret marrying me.”

“Three!”

She stepped away from the door as he pushed it open and entered the bedroom.

Christian stood near the window, silhouetted by the moon's beams. Jordan's gaze danced over her figure. His long strides swallowed the space between them.

When he stood only inches from her, he gazed down at her upturned face. Regardless of how much she wanted to hide her emotions, she knew he read them in the depths of her eyes.

They remained facing each other, neither uttering a word, as if spellbound by the other's presence.

Jordan reached out his hand and caressed her supple face.

Christian lowered her head and closed her eyes to revel in the gentleness of his touch.

“Look at me.” He tilted her chin up and locked gazes with her. “Let me stay here with you tonight.”

Her breath wedged in her throat. She had suppressed her hope into the corners of her mind, but the look in his eyes crumbled her wall of defense.

“I—I can't,” she managed to force out the words.

“Why?” he challenged as a slow, sardonic smile slid into place and a predatory male gleam sparkled in his eyes.

Weakness returned to her knees but this time her head swam with dizzy desire.

“I—I—”

“Don't you want me to stay?” He strode forward.

She stepped back.

He moved until her back pressed against the wall. “Say I can stay.”

Breathe,
she reminded herself.

“I want you,” he murmured.

His warm breath caressed her cheek. Her spine quivered.

“I've wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you.” His head descended in a seductive arc, capturing a kiss, seizing her breath. She was sure she no longer stood of her own accord, but floated on heaven's clouds.

He covered her mouth beneath his, intoxicating her brain. Desire licked the walls of her feminine core.

She whimpered, powerless to prevent her body's slow betrayal against his skilled hands. His tongue darted boldly into the warmth of her mouth, demanding more.

Pressed against his chest, she registered the descent of his hands and what he was seconds away from. “Stop.” She broke away.

Short gasps of air heaved from his chest, but he made no attempt to back away. “Do you really want me to stop?”

No
.

Their gazes locked as he cupped her face. “Please don't ask me to leave.”

Her vision blurred in a jumble of watery colors. She wanted him to stay, and thought she would die if he stopped gazing lovingly at her.

Jordan settled his hand at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. His thumb dipped into the
V
of her collarbone. “Your pulse is racing.”

She made a half attempt to pull away, but couldn't make herself reject the magic of his touch.

A low laugh rumbled from him. “You don't want me to go. Do you?”

She lifted her chin. “No.” She couldn't turn back now. With that one word, she'd sealed her fate. The fear of rejection weakened her. Her body trembled as she prepared for the heartbreak.

Jordan lowered his hand to the tiny buttons of her shirt.

Christian pressed her quivering lips together, stifling any further protest. Time suspended, hearts pounded, and love laced its invisible fingers between them.

Breathe
.

Slowly he slid her shirt over her shoulders. It fell and pooled around her legs. When she blinked, tears crested her lashes and slid down her face.

“There's no need for these.” He brushed a kiss along the dewy tracks.

“I'm scared,” she admitted in a shaky whisper.

His lips lowered to settle against her mouth. Her body arched. Her mind's protests muddled into incomprehensible words while her heart rejoiced.

She slid her arms behind his neck to draw him closer. She couldn't get enough of his hot, sensual mouth and teasing tongue. His strong arms provided a sense of security, strength, and love.

Love.
The word swirled inside her head. A warm glow radiated within her.

His hand curved around her waist and drew her even closer. Their gentle rain of kisses soon turned into a raging storm of passion. Each sought what only the other could give.

Drunk from the sweetness of her mouth, a blistering heat rose and consumed Jordan's soul. Her signature fragrance enchanted him as the softness of her body beguiled him. Hard with need and filled with longing, he struggled to prolong his seduction.

With a sense of urgency, Christian tugged on his shirt. His buttons opened with a snap. She slid her hands up his bare chest, spreading the material of his shirt wide apart.

His hand roamed over her shoulder, then his strong fingers curved around the nape of her neck. She was convinced her soul poured from her lips as he drained her strength, but he rejuvenated her by giving her his soul, his strength.

His hands lowered to cup her breast.

Christian stilled.

Jordan broke their kiss.

Against her will, tears slithered from her eyes, but she couldn't stop him, couldn't stop the inevitable.

“Look at me,” he coaxed. His fingers tilted her chin upward.

Swallowing, she lifted her shimmering gaze to his.

“Do you trust me? he asked.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

He waited.

Too scared to try speaking again, she nodded her response.

“Do you want me?”

Breathe.
She nodded again.

Dimples grooved his cheeks as a smile raised the corners of his mouth. He unsnapped her bra.

She held her breath. It was the moment of truth. Fresh tears blurred her vision as she watched him while her bra fell from her shoulders and joined her shirt puddle around her legs. The pain of waiting choked her.

Jordan's head descended.

Christian's lungs threatened to burst.

When his lips made contact, a sweet world blossomed open at the feel of his soothing mouth pressed firmly against the thin scar along the flat surface of her flat breast. He pulled himself up. He forced her gaze to meet his. “You're beautiful.”

Lips pursed, eyes shimmering, love blossomed within her.

Hope. She named the emotion. Hope at the chance of love, at the chance of a life she'd only lived in her dreams. She shook her head, not wanting to believe in the impossible.

Jordan lifted her as though she weighed nothing and carried her to the bed.

The mattress dipped as it supported their weight. She kissed him with a blind need, seeking to fill the void she'd had in her heart for so long, too long.

His parted lips moved insistently against hers. She welcomed the suggestive invasion of his tongue, and matched his erotic rhythm with one of her own.

Jordan clenched her body tighter. His mouth dominated hers. The room tilted while her mind spun out of control. Wondrous sensations ripped through her body. Vaguely aware of the removal of her remaining clothes, Christian arched her body beneath him.

Her movements became bold as she dipped her head to brush her lips across his chest. She relished the exquisite feel of his hard body.

His muscles flinched at her touch. His hands sank into the hair at her nape, then lifted her to capture another hungry kiss.

Leaning over her, he kissed her senseless. She couldn't stand much more.

Jordan shifted for the top position, his hips insistent as his mouth skimmed along the lobe of her ear.

Her mind plummeted in a vortex of frenzied emotions. His legs wedged between hers, parting her thighs, while his tongue tangled with hers. Suddenly, he stopped.

“Christian.”

She surfaced from a boggled haze, then lifted her eyes to his. He cradled her face between the palms of his hand.

“Tell me what you want.”

Stripped, vulnerable, naked. She felt all those things, but she would die if he didn't continue this slow torture he'd started.

“I want you.” Her confession hung in the air between them for a moment. She feared he would leave her wanting and needing him.

His hands glided down the contours of her body, stirring passion once again in their wake.

Christian sucked in her breath when his hand moved past the downy triangle between her legs, then dipped inside her slick passage.

She pressed her head back against the pillow. Every part of her body ached. Yearning fluttered, fanning the fire that raged out of control. Her moans and sighs mingled with his name like music around them.

His finger plunged deeper, steadily increasing the tempo. She quivered beneath him. Passion mounted then exploded into sparks of pleasure.

Christian fell limp beside him, too weak to move.

A rumble of laughter vibrated Jordan's chest. “Not yet, sweetheart. I'm not done with you.”

Before she understood his intent, he lowered his head and settled his mouth against the gate of her passion. She reached to pull him up, but instead she threaded her fingers through the low crop of his hair. Her hips arched to give his mouth better access. She couldn't think, let alone remember to breathe.

Cupping her bottom, Jordan feasted on her body's nectar. Her moans hardened his own desire and drove him near the brink of no return as he plunged onward. His name tore from her lips as uncontrollable spasms shuddered throughout her body.

He ascended to her lips and fed her the taste of her body's honey. His hands caressed her chest, surprising her with the sensations that coursed through her left breast. With his body over her, the pressure of his pulsating member rubbed against her aqueous entry. Anticipation rippled through her body.

Jordan's heart soared and swelled within him. He no longer resisted the sweet agony to unite their bodies. He called her name, straining with patience for her eyes to open.

“Christian,” he coaxed.

She managed to open her heavy lids and met his smothering gaze. When she did, he penetrated her.

She gasped at his size as he filled her. Clutching his back, her fingers kneaded the taut, smooth skin. She marveled at his trim hips and firm, muscular buttocks.

Jordan set the pace with sleek, powerful strokes that teased, then fulfilled their promise of satisfaction. His body clamored for release, but he held a tight rein on his craving. He savored her body's sweetness as ragged gasps of air filled his lungs. He sank deeper into ecstasy.

He recited her name in a low husky whisper as he moved his hands over the curves shaping her back. She clung to him. Heat deepened their insatiable hunger.

His mouth moved over the column of her neck to the base of her throat, then lowered to rain attention on her nipple.

Pleasure rippled across her in the wake of his lips as he kissed her with excruciating and deliberate slowness. He etched her every curve in his memory, careful not to miss an inch. He wanted to remember her flavor, her scent, and her cries of pleasure.

Christian's fingers clawed his back as she tightened around him.

Jordan's teeth clenched. A deep groan rumbled from his chest.

Her nails sank into the groove of his back. Fireworks exploded behind the lids of her eyes, while a cry of fulfillment ripped through her.