Seduce Me Sweetly (Heron's Landing Book 1) (12 page)

“Good.” He nipped her wrist then stood. Cupping her cheek, he kissed her, his tongue delving into her mouth. “I want you to beg me to fuck you. I want to hear you say how much you want me.”

She laughed; he bit her bottom lip. “Why am I not surprised that you like to play the dom in bed?” Pulling away slightly, she pushed his cotton t-shirt up and over his head. She sighed in sheer pleasure, raking her fingers through the hair on his chest. He was well muscled, tan from the sun, and she traced a finger down the center of his abdomen.

That was when Joy realized he had a small tattoo on his left pectoral. Squinting, she saw that the black blob was actually a…rose? “Mr. Proper has a tattoo?” She traced the ink, looking up at him. “Who would’ve thought?”

“It was a long time ago. When I was dumb and young.”

“Well, now you gotta tell me about it.”

He took her hand away from the tattoo, and, in one swift movement, pulled her tank top over her head. “Later.”

Then he bent her backward over his arm, taking a nipple into his mouth.

Joy moaned, long and low. He licked at the nipple, swirling it around in his mouth. His mouth—hot and relentless—played with her until her hips bucked against him.

“Fuck, Adam,” she said on a sigh. “Your mouth should be criminal.”

He bit her nipple in punishment, and she let out a yelp. But the bite of pain only intensified the pleasure as he sucked her into his mouth. He then moved to her other breast, and Joy’s body prickled at seeing the nipple, red and wet with his attentions.

“You’re so sweet,” he muttered against her breast. “I want to lick you all over, taste every inch of you.”

“Oh God, please do.”

He laughed low in his throat.

If Adam Danvers were anything, it was a man who kept his promises. He kissed her belly, swirling his tongue in her belly button, and spanned her waist with his hands, stroking the sensitive skin there. She wiggled a bit, ticklish. Normally she was a bit self-conscious about the slight curve of her belly, but as Adam nipped and licked and kissed her? She didn’t care. She was awash in pleasure, completely unconcerned with how she looked.

She barely noticed he had his hands hooked into the elastic of her pink pajama shorts before she felt the cool rush of air as he pulled them off. They were going to go there, were they? Joy laid back on her elbows and watched as Adam watched her. His eyebrows rose as he kneeled, but then he stood back up again. He picked her up, and she yelped.

With little ceremony, he carried into her bedroom and tossed her onto the bed. Pulling her toward him as he kneeled on the floor, he murmured, “Much better.”

Joy had to agree. The counter sounded sexy, but really, her butt had been starting to hurt.

“Hey, as long as you’re comfortable,” she said prosaically. And then she yelped again when he bit the inside of her right thigh. “What is it with you and biting?”

“If you’d hush, I wouldn’t have to.”

“Oh, it’s my fault? Typical man. Always blame—ooooh my God.”

He kissed her on her mound, and she could feel the heat of his tongue against the cotton of her underwear. She knew she was wet already, and her body buzzed and her limbs shifted against the bed sheets. Her entire world focused on his mouth on her. She pushed against him, but he pushed her back down again.

“Patience,” he said.

Joy moaned and groaned. She had half a mind to kick him, but as he peeled back her underwear, she forgot all about injuring him. The feeling of his fingers parting her, the cool air brushing against her folds, and the heat of his breath coalesced until she could only work toward release. Her heart pounded and her sex pounded in time with her heart, her blood heating. She knew she was flushed all over, and she didn’t even care.

Then he licked her.

“Ah, I knew you’d be just as sweet down here.”

She made a noise that was part moan, part squeal. She’d be embarrassed, but she was too far-gone to care now.

Her previously whining libido? It was singing with joy now.

He licked through her folds, tracing them with the tip of his tongue. Teasing her into a frenzy. Did he have to take his sweet time? She lifted her legs and set them on his shoulders, digging her heels in an unspoken command.

But Adam wasn’t one to listen, and he enjoyed her, licking and lightly sucking. Joy threw an arm over her eyes, her hips lifting in supplication. She was so close already, so close, if he’d just move…up…slightly…

That was when she felt him push a finger inside her, slowly thrusting in and out of her body. Her breathing increased.

“Joy, look at me,” Adam commanded.

She moved her arm away, her eyes opening. She looked down as he fucked her with his fingers, his eyes dark, a slight flush on his cheeks. The sight of his finger disappearing inside of her, his tongue licking her and laving her? She had half a mind to burst into tears. What was he doing to her?

“Adam, Adam, Adam.” She chanted his name like a prayer. She dug her heels harder into his shoulders, probably bruising him. He inserted a second finger, and then finally placed his mouth on her quivering clit. Her entire body jolted. He sucked, curving his fingers at an angle, and it only took a few more thrusts for her body to dive into complete and utter bliss.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, Jesus Christ.” Joy didn’t even know what she was saying anymore. But when he sucked her clit one last time, her body erupted, her orgasm filling every inch of her body. Her legs shuddered and a cry fell from her lips and he kept sucking and thrusting and driving her insane, the orgasm lengthening until it was almost painful.

She didn’t know how much time passed. She lost herself in the pleasure, the orgasm dancing throughout her body. She bucked against his mouth and the hand on her hip. She felt wetness on her thighs and she didn’t care if she were sweaty and flushed. Adam had taken her somewhere she’d never gone before, and Jesus Christ, she almost felt like getting down on her knees and thanking the good Lord for this experience.

He kissed her mound one last time before hoisting himself up, lying down beside her. She gazed at him, and he looked at her, and it was such a strange, terrifying thing that Joy couldn’t—wouldn’t—comprehend it. So she kissed him, tasted herself on his mouth, and wondered how this man had gotten under her skin so quickly and without her even putting up a fight.

Some moments later, Joy felt a blanket wrapping around her. Warm, soft, and comforting, she snuggled deeper into Adam’s embrace. Her body was so heavy and languid, she couldn’t stop her eyelids from fluttering and falling into the deepest sleep she’d had in a long time.

***

When Joy awakened to her phone dinging the following morning, she thought two things: one, why was she naked? and two: why did she feel like human putty?

Then she remembered: Adam. Adam, kissing, licking, going down on her, and then…leaving? She rubbed her eyes and looked at the time: nine o’clock. When had he left? And why did she feel irritated that he had? They were two consenting adults and there was no shame with having fantastic oral sex and then falling asleep.

Well, she’d received fantastic oral sex. To her mortification, she’d fallen asleep without even trying to reciprocate. Not that she’d
had
to, but, common courtesy dictated that she at least say thank you.

Her phone sounded again. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” Then she laughed—haha, she sure had come last night! Now she was delirious. She needed some coffee.

And when she picked up her phone and saw who was texting her? Definitely coffee first. Preferably spiked with something.

Joy filled up the pot with water and dumped it in, hardly caring if she ground up enough coffee beans. She was here for the caffeine, not the taste. Plus, you couldn’t get anything better than Folgers here in Heron’s Landing, so acting snobby about coffee was, in a word, pointless.

Sipping the hot, vaguely coffee-tasting brew, she stared at her phone.

Can we talk?
the message from Jeremy read.

I don’t know, Jeremy, can we?
she thought acerbically. What in the ever-loving hell did her ex want now? Couldn’t she move on without him haunting her every move?

Replying, she wrote,
What is there to talk about?

Nothing. Then the three dots. Then…her phone rang.

She stared at it. Was he really calling her? At nine thirty? She considered letting it go to voicemail, but she also knew he wouldn’t let up until he got what he wanted. Better pull the bandage off and get it over with.

“Hello?” she answered. Her tone was neither chipper nor particularly sharp. She had other things on her mind more pressing than Jeremy’s needy bullshit.

“Oh good, you picked up. How are you?”

Despite everything—despite his betrayal, and the fighting, and the end of something she thought had been real—her heart contracted at his voice. She hadn’t heard it for weeks. Months, really. She’d loved his voice, once upon a time: cheery, amusing, always having something to tell her. She’d loved how he’d said her name, too.
Jooooy
, he’d said, elongating it. Or the nickname he’d given her, Jo-Jo.

Now though, his voice hurt. But it was a faint sting, like one that had faded and only reminded her of its presence occasionally. Not like the pain of the initial breakup.

“I’m good. Why are you calling me?”

He laughed. “Did I wake you? Sorry. I just wanted to see how things were down in Stork’s Landing.”

“Heron’s Landing. And they’re fine. How’s Chicago?”

“Gorgeous, now that it’s summer. But now it’s gotten hot, so you picked a good time to leave. So what have you been up to down there? Still writing?”

Joy didn’t know how to respond to this…banal questioning. Were they really going to act like they had no history? That Jeremy hadn’t cheated on her with her best friend? Like they were cousins who chatted a few times a year about nothing because they had to?

“Yep, still writing. I’m doing a few projects for some of my Chicago clients, and some work here in Heron’s Landing. Nothing extremely exciting.”

She sipped her coffee, wondering how long she’d have to go through the motions. Part of her wanted to ask why Jeremy even cared, but her mind was still too languid from last night. She shivered, her body heating from the mere memory. What Adam could do with his hands and mouth should be illegal.

Jeremy took that response as a sign to tell her all about what he was doing, which she didn’t really give a shit about now. Had he always been this self-centered? Probably. She just hadn’t noticed until that selfishness had been turned on her. He was working primarily for a news agency in Chicago, and was hoping for a promotion soon. The money was just flooding in, he said in a cheerful voice. Joy merely stared at her apartment wall, wondering if she could act like her phone was dying to end this before she killed herself.

“But what kind of projects are you doing?” Jeremy asked her. “Is anything happening in that Podunk little town?” He laughed.

She wished she could give someone the bird through the phone. “I am working on a piece about the vineyard here. Well, trying to. The owner wasn’t really into me doing it, but... You know me.” She didn’t even know what she was saying—just anything to end this conversation.

Jeremy asked a few more questions, and then, finally, he told her he had to go. Joy hung up with a “Thank God” before going to the living room to watch morning television. She had work to get done, but her mind couldn’t concentrate on anything.

It was strange, she thought, having Adam and Jeremy collide in this way. To have Adam come over and kiss her and give her the best orgasm of her life, and then to have Jeremy talk to her like they were still engaged and he wanted to know how she felt about the day-to-day things that couples talked about. Her heart hurt for some odd reason, like she couldn’t figure out how to feel. She didn’t regret what she’d done with Adam, but she also felt a smidgen of fear for letting him to get close to her like this. For letting another man see her vulnerable and aching and pleading. It was easier, she’d thought, to not let anyone get close to her again after Jeremy. But that wasn’t how life worked, was it?

She sipped her coffee, her thoughts tangled. She remembered the look on Adam’s face as he’d touched her. And she wondered if she could expose her heart to him—or if she’d only be filled with regret instead.