Promises (25 page)

In return he slammed his hand atop hers on the armrest, looked down at her, devoured her with the heat in his eyes as he continued to plunge into her, his strokes long and fierce, claiming her as his, leaving no room inside her for anything else but him.  Filled her so full she knew the sensation of him inside her would linger for hours.

Gloried in it.

He changed angle, shoved hard, nailed something deep inside her, pounded into a sensitive spot that had her crying out, nails scouring his back as she squeezed her thighs against his side in helpless ecstasy.  Spots danced before her eyes, colours bursting, the fiery tide of heat making her body cream, coat his shaft, easing the way as he continued to thrust almost savagely.

He took her with him, spun her along a path of fire, shoved her up a glittering conduit, and finally, with one last powerful thrust of his hips, her name a roar in the air, Jason propelled them into a roiling storm of exploding ecstasy, everything shattering around them in a voracious tempest of emotion, sensation and carnal desire.

When Izzy finally came to in a dreamy, hazy fog, she smiled, stretched as much as she was able to beneath him, and resettled.

Slumped on top of her, his face buried in the crook of her neck, Jason groaned, kissed her pulse which had slowed to a more normal rhythm and hugged her close.

“Mmm.”  She giggled against his shoulder.

“What?” he mumbled.

“Maybe I should tell you things more often.”

“It’ll kill me, but God, what a way to go.”

“So that’s a yes?’

“A bloody huge yes.”  With a heave, he propped himself up on his elbows above her, his eyes slumberous, heavy with sexual satisfaction. “Any time, Iz.  Anytime.”

“Mmm.”  Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him back down to kiss his smiling lips before cuddling into him.  “Thank you.”

His breath was a warm puff of air against her skin.  “My pleasure.  Believe me, Iz, my
very
great pleasure.”

She giggled again, he grinned and rolled.  She squealed as they fell off the sofa, but he landed on his back with her atop him, keeping her securely wrapped in his arms.

Horrified, she started to struggle.  “I’m too heav-”

“Quiet.”  His arms tightened.  “You’re not too heavy, and I like you right here, right now, like this.”  He tucked her head beneath his chin and gave a sigh of satisfaction.  “Just like this, Izzy.”

It did feel nice.  Izzy stopped worrying and joined Jason in delicious post coital bliss.

~*~

Jason was calm on the outside when Izzy told him her story, but on the inside he was furious.  He kept a close eye on Izzy’s home, on the lookout in case either her sister or brother-in-law turned up again.  He could smack Jarrod in the chops, but he wouldn’t hit a woman.  He could, however, give Moira the sharp end of his tongue.  Neither of them would be game to come near his Izzy ever again.

Several weeks passed but there was no further sign of either Moria or Jarrod.  It looked like Izzy’s confrontation had finally made them see she wasn’t going to change her mind.

Izzy was the delight of Jason’s life.  She frustrated him at times with her independence, but he was also glad to see she could stand on her own feet if needed.  She was strong, bright, funny, and his feelings for her were deepening, turning slowly but undeniably to something stronger, deeper, lasting.

It happened quickly, a miracle that sprang up in his life.  But he wasn’t stupid enough to push Izzy into anything for which she wasn’t prepared. He might accept how fast his feelings were developing but she might not feel the same, so he went at her pace.  They dated, had fun, visited each other, burned up the sheets at least four nights out of seven, spending those nights together.  They greeted each other on their way to and from work, and he spent time with his family, she spent time with Mikki, and they all spent time together.

Friendship, Jason knew, was important, and friends like Mikki didn’t come along every day.  He had no idea what or how much the bubbly redhead knew about Izzy’s past, but he knew a good sheila when he saw one and Mikki qualified.  Plus, it amused him to see her and Luke spark off each other.  That was an added bonus.

Arnie made himself at home in either house.  They still hadn’t figured out how he got out of Izzy’s house and into Jason’s.  He certainly couldn’t go the other way - out of Jason’s and into Izzy’s.  However he got into Jason’s house, it was one-way only.  Jason liked that, it meant Izzy came around more often for her errant cat.  Okay, so Luke accused him of tempting Arnie over with tins of sardines, but hey, a man had to do what a man had to do.

The big house they were working on was almost completed and in a bid to meet the deadline, Uncle Harris decided to pay the overtime and had his team hard at work on Saturday to finish it.

It stuffed up the plans Jason had for himself and Izzy, but she saw him off with a kiss and a wink.  “Don’t sweat it.  I’ll hang with Mikki.”

Taking the bag she passed through the window, he gave it a shake.  “What’s this?”

“Doughnuts.  No cream, just lots of sugar and cinnamon.”

His mouth watered.  “Home made?”

“Told you I can cook mean desserts.”  Cupping his cheek through the window, she leaned down and rubbed the tip of her nose against his.  “You owe me a roast, Chef.”

“I’ll give you more than a roast.”  Catching the back of her head in his palm, he kissed her deeply.

God, she rocked him to his toes.  Heat blossomed as it always did and he was half tempted to go drag her back inside for another round of morning delight.  It’d be worth risking his uncle’s annoyance turning up late for work.

Breaking the kiss, his commonsense took over and he sucked in a deep breath.  “You’re a bad influence, Iz.”

“Aw, are you all hot and bothered?”  She winked.  “Good thing you have a strong work ethic.”

“Be the death of me,” he muttered, starting the ute.

Her laughter was still echoing in his ears as he drove away.  In the rear-view mirror he saw her wave before turning to walk across the yard to her house.

He wished he had the guts to ask her to move in with him, but what if she refused?  What if she was horrified?  Hell, he’d ask her to marry him, yeah, he really would if he thought she’d say yes and not be scared away.  People would think him a nut, they hadn’t been going out for long and he was already hearing wedding bells.  Marriage was a big commitment.  A huge commitment.  He knew he wanted it, but Izzy…it was too soon to spring that on her.  And in his point of view, moving in together was just another step on the wedding ring pathway.

No, he didn’t want to scare her off.  He’d bide his time, ease her into it.  Or something.  He winced.  Shit, what did he know about it anyway?  How did one ease the girl he was growing to love into something as big as moving in together, buying an engagement ring, making plans for a future together?

He really needed to talk to someone.  Or just go by his gut.  His gut said to take things steady and enjoy the trip. His heart said to - bugger it.  He sighed.  A problem for another day.  He wasn’t letting the only good thing to come into his life leave because he couldn’t hold his feelings back until her own matched them.

The morning sped by as the last of the fixings were checked, the paint work inspected by Uncle Harris, Jason checking that the tiling was done, the cleaners coming in, and then finally as late afternoon arrived it was just him, Uncle Harris, and Luke left.

The landscaping was completed, the gardens looked beautiful.  Sweeping green lawns that would cost a fortune to water, but which Luke hadn’t been able to talk the owner into reducing in size.  Stone walls, garden beds which, luckily, Luke had been able to talk the owner into using water-wise plants.  Luke had arrived Saturday morning just to help where needed.

Now it was all over.  Monday would see the start of a new home, a new project.  Plenty of work for a company with a good reputation.

They were packing up when a car appeared around the bend in the road.  No longer a track, it was covered with bitumen. The car came to a halt not far off and Jason saw his mother get out of the driver’s side door.  Jim hauled his bulk out the other door.

Okay, he had come to have a grudging liking for the big man.  He treated his mother right, always courteous, kind and considerate, and his mother blossomed under his attention.  She was happy, so Jason was happy.  Kind of.  It was still a bit of an ick factor, but he was becoming more used to it.

Then, the back doors of the car opened and Mikki and Izzy appeared.

“Geez,” said Luke. “Mikki.  Oh, my day is made.”

Leaning his hands on the tray of the ute, Jason watched as Izzy approached.  Man, she looked good dressed in those hip-hugging slacks and lemon-coloured jumper, that thick sandy hair gathered up into a messy knot of some kind on top of her head.  Then his gaze was caught by a flash of neon green and he looked down to see the colour came from a bright pair of sneakers.  “Good Lord.”

“Hey.”  Iz came to a stop beside him, smacked his arm lightly.  “I like them.”

“Glad you do.”  He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before returning his amused gaze to her sneakers.  “At least I won’t lose you in the dark.”

“Want me to wear them in bed so you know where I am?”

“No, but how about stilettos?  Silver, ‘cause that’d be nice and bright.”

“You’ve never seen me in stilettos, have you?”

“Only in my fantasies.”  He leered.

“That’s where it’ll have to stay.  I can’t wear high heels without falling arse over tit.”

“I’ll pick you up.”

“Still not happening.”

“Then you’ll have to think of something else to replace my fantasy.”

She grinned, pale green eyes sparkling with mischief.  “I’ve been reading up on blow jobs.”

He choked.

“Will that do?”

“Hells bells.”  The image of Izzy with her mouth on him had Jason’s loins almost burning.  Catching her hand, he looked down at her.  “Are you serious?”

“Well, I was, but then I thought, hey, he needs a fantasy to think about.  And as we all know, fantasies aren’t real, so-”

“Screw the fantasy.  I want the reality.”  Mindful that his family was close by, not really caring they could see but not wanting to embarrass Izzy, Jason refrained from grabbing her delectable bum.  Instead, he bent down to place his mouth at her ear, breathing in her scent as he whispered ardently, “I’m more than happy to be your experiment buddy.”

“Just my buddy?” She cooed.

His breath sucked in when her palm cupped his crotch.  Hell, she was going to kill him.  His shaft swelled.  Pulling back, he narrowed his eyes at her.  “I know what you’re doing.”

She blinked innocently up at him.

“You’re being so brazen because you know no one can see where your hand is.”

Her smile was pure wickedness.  It made his blood surge.  God, he loved when she got in this teasing mood.  He found all her moods enchanting - serious, quizzical, miffed, but her teasing moods, yeah, he really liked them.  It invariably led to a hot roll in the sack and a lot of blissful, satiated cuddling later.  Plus it made him laugh, made him tease in turn, made their combined lustful humour sizzle.

He loved everything abut her.  Right now, he loved her eagerness to experiment.  Hell, yeah.  He was only a red-blooded male after all.

“Maybe I shouldn’t push it.”  Demurely, she lowered her lashes.  “You’ve been working so hard I’m sure you really only want to go home, have a shower and crawl into bed.”  With a pert grin, she swung away.  “Another day, hey?”

Oh boy, she loved throwing challenges and he sure as shit was happy to take them on.

Grabbing her arm, he swung her back to him and bugger if everyone saw or not, he gathered her to him and kissed her hard.  And deep.  With a whole lot of tongue.

When he released her, she sagged into him, her eyes were hot, his blood was firing, and Luke was shaking his head.

“Hey, man!” Luke called out.  “Get some control!  I don’t know where to look!”

Jim slid his arm around Lora’s shoulders.  “A real man doesn’t let a lady take the blame.”

“Ah, so that’s Luke’s problem,” Mikki piped up cheerfully.

Luke flipped her the bird.

Lora smacked his hand.  “Manners!”

“So is that your problem, too?” Luke asked Mikki while shaking his hand.

“You mean, am I a real lady?”

Before she could reply, Uncle Harris moved between them.  “So, what are you mob doing out here?”

“Jim had the idea that maybe we could all go and have dinner tonight at that new Italian restaurant on Adamson Street,” Lora answered.  “We were going out for a drive, met the girls to ask if they were free, and decided we’d all drive over here to ask you blokes as it’s such a lovely afternoon.”

“Sounds perfect, and yes, we’re finished.  Just give me and Jason time to do a last walk-through of the house then we can all go home and clean up.”

Still leaning against Jason, Izzy smiled up at him.  “Jim has the best ideas.”

“Unlike me?”  He raised an eyebrow.