Authors: Tessa Dayne
“There’s not much more to see,” she said, leading the way back through the living room. They entered a short hall and Jonas looked into the rooms as they walked.
“These two rooms were ours as kids,” she said pointing to the two rooms on the left of the hallway. “The boys shared the one on the left and the far room was mine. The bathroom is across the hall from mine and this is the master suite,” she said, opening the door.
Jonas glanced in and found an exquisite room decorated in soft hues of red, brown and gold. The bed was large, possibly a king size with a russet and gold colored duvet on it. A huge fireplace graced the wall opposite the bed, and probably shared the same flue as the one in the living room. A soft forest green chair sat in the corner. Two large oak dressers rounded out the room.
“Beautiful,” Jonas said.
“I had the whole cabin refurbished when Dad gave it to me. He quit coming here a long time ago.”
“Your brothers don’t come here anymore?” Jonas asked, wondering why Paige was the only one of the three siblings to come up here.
“No…they hate coming here,” Paige said sadly.
“I don’t understand. It’s beautiful here. It’s so peaceful, so tranquil.”
“And that’s precisely why my mother came here to die.”
Jonas looked at her, surprised that she could come here at all. “Your mother died here? I’m sorry. I didn’t know. We don’t have to stay here.”
“Jonas, it’s okay. I loved my mother and she loved this place. I come here to feel close to her. Besides, I want this to be our place now. I want happy memories to fill these rooms,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Think we can start now?” she asked, eyeing the bed.
Jonas caught her round the waist and pulled her tight against him. Slowly, he leaned his head down to hers, covering her mouth with his. Her fingers reached between them, searching blindly for the buttons on his worn flannel shirt. She loved the soft material under her fingers, the strength of his arms and chest hidden deceptively by the shirt. Slipping the buttons loose, she slid the shirt over his shoulders, leaving him bare to her explorations.
Her fingers ran through the tufts of his chest hair, glad he hadn’t taken the time to have it waxed off for the new role. She loved the soft feel of him against her skin. Drawing her fingers up his arms and across his shoulders, she reveled in the strong lines, the well-defined muscles, the thin, puckered lines of scar tissue.
His body was a wonderland to her. Each scar, each tattoo had a story that he loved to tell her and with each new story, she learned something else about him. Tracing her fingers down his chest, Paige encountered the waistband of his jeans. With slow deliberation, she pulled the snap apart.
Gently, Jonas lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed, placing her in the center of the huge mattress. He stood there, staring down at her, thanking his lucky stars that he had found her. She held out her hand to him, beckoning him to her. With a smile, he slipped his hand into hers, allowing her to pull him down to her.
“Do you know how much I love you?” he whispered, lying beside her.
“Tell me…”
Jonas grabbed her hand and placed it over his heart. “Feel that?” he asked. When she nodded, he continued. “You are my heart beat...” Drawing her hand to his lips, he breathed in and out. “The air that I breathe…” He closed his eyes and brought her fingertips to his eyelids. “The beauty in my life.” Jonas slid their hands down over his chest, back to cover his heart. Opening his eyes, he stared into her deep blue ones. “You are my life, my heart, my reason, my soul. I love you, Paige.”
~*~
Jonas held his breath, feeling her tongue slide across his skin. He could see the scene play out against his closed eyelids. Her long hair draped over her shoulder, the tip of a painted nail gliding over his tattoo. The delicate pink tongue slipping between lush lips to tease his flesh.
Her breath was warm, her lips soft. Feeling her kisses move over his abdomen, his whole body quivered in anticipation. His fingers clutched the sheets at his sides, grasping the cotton, trying to keep a tight rein on his rapidly declining control.
Paige trailed wet kisses down the inside of his left leg. A shudder coursed through him, sending a fresh wave of desire through his body. There were sensitive spots that drove him wildly insane. Unknowingly, Paige was approaching one.
When her lips brushed over the inside of his knee, Jonas groaned. Tingles raced across his body, causing him to shiver. He heard her little giggle, and knew his secret was out. Paige had filed that reaction away for future references. Slowly, she kissed her way up over his kneecap and down the outside of his lower leg.
When she reached his ankle, she switched to his right leg, and trailed light little nips up his leg, kissing the inside of his knee once again. Her giggle this time as he shivered caused yet another little tremor to race along his spine. She was enjoying the slow torture of his body.
Smiling against his flesh, Paige eased her way back to his groin. With a quick flick of her tongue, she teased a shudder out of him. Delighting in her power, Paige continued on, pressing her body against his, enticing him, wanting him to lose the thin thread of control he clung to so desperately.
Lacing her fingers with his, Paige pulled his arms over his head. She knew he would be able to break any kind of hold she had on him with little to no effort.
She also knew he would let her control this for as long as he could, that he would accept her role as aggressor.
~*~
Jonas closed his eyes, sinking further into the delicious sensations she was creating. His hands above his head, her delicate fingers caught between his, it was all he could do not to use his strength to roll her under him and ravish her. The tight hold he had on his desires was rapidly fading and he feared he wouldn’t be able to control himself.
“Paige?” he ground out, trying to concentrate on anything other than her warm mouth on his ear.
“What?” she whispered hotly, her warm breath blowing across his earlobe.
“I can’t…”
“Can’t what?” she asked.
“Aw…damn….” he growled, turning her to her back effortlessly.
Paige looked up at him, smiling. She knew it had only been a matter of time before Jonas could take no more of her teasing and playing. She was surprised it had taken this long.
~*~
Jonas’s hands trailed over her body, exploring and caressing, teasing and arousing.
His lips followed the trail his hands began, leaving a trail of wet kisses down to her slightly rounded abdomen. He flicked his tongue over her belly button, causing her to shiver. His hands continued down her body, resting against her hips.
He heard the moan full of pleasure and moved further down her body, kissing every inch of her delicate skin. He found a sensitive spot behind her knee, much in the same place as she had found on him and kissed her until she writhed under him. He then traveled back up her body, licking and kissing her, whispering in Spanish softly against her skin.
Paige felt the blood rushing through her veins. Listened to her heart pounding loudly in her ears. Sensations ruled her until she could barely register one, before another one assaulted her senses. She had never known a hunger so great. Had never wanted a man as desperately as she wanted Jonas.
~*~
“I have something I want to show you…,” she said, easing gingerly from the bed.
Jonas watched her cross the room to one of the doors. When she opened it, he frowned. He had thought the door was to a closet, but she disappeared into the room and didn’t come back out.
“Are you coming?” she asked, leaning her head out.
Jonas slipped from the bed, crossed the room and slipped through the doorway. He found himself in an opulent bathroom. “This isn’t the one in the hallway…,” he said, looking around the room.
Paige laughed. “This is the master bath. I had it added after Mom died. The master bedroom was bigger, but I took about half of it to make this bathroom and a larger closet. So what do you think?”
Jonas looked around the room, appreciating the design. Eyeing the tub, he grinned. “We going to use that tub?”
“That was the idea…,” she said, smiling.
Jonas grinned and closed the bathroom door.
~*~
Chapter Six
~*~
Paige and Jonas cooked together in the kitchen after their afternoon romp, the silence between them comfortable. Paige fixed the salad, while Jonas grilled two steaks on the built in grill. The microwave hummed behind them, their baked potatoes cooking. Jonas reached for the season salt and happened to glance up at her.
“What?” he asked, finding her eyes on him.
“Just enjoying your company,” she said, returning to her task of cutting up broccoli florets for the salads.
Jonas smiled and sprinkled the salt on the steaks. Checking the fire under them, he turned them down, not wanting to cook them too much. Satisfied that the steaks were under control, he turned to help Paige with the last of the salad preparations.
“Darcy called while you went out to take your pictures,” Paige said, tossing the broccoli in the salad bowls.
“Oh? Anything wrong?”
“No. She was inviting us to her New Year’s Eve party. I told her I would think about it and let her know. I wasn’t sure if you would want to go.”
“I don’t mind. I’d like to meet Darcy. I know the two of you are friends. What time do we need to be there?”
Paige leaned against the island counter and smiled at him. “She always throws this elaborate, catered party. I usually help her set things up early in the day, stay for her quiet get together dinner, then party until after midnight. It’s kind of an all-day affair. But it’s not necessary to do that this year.”
“No…really. Let’s go. It won’t be mobbed with photographers since it’s a private party. And if you do this every year with her, it’s tradition. We can’t break that.”
“I’d like to make some new traditions with you,” Paige said softly.
“Oh, we will. Don’t you worry about that,” he said, reaching out to tap his finger against her nose.
Paige laughed, brushing at his hand. “Turn the steaks, you goof!”
Jonas laughed and returned to the grill. Flipping the steaks, he added more season salt to the other side. “So, we have several days before this big shindig of Darcy’s. What do you have planned?”
“I just want to relax, enjoy the peace a
nd quiet the cabin offers. Did you want to do something special?”
Jonas plated the steaks, retrieved the baked potatoes and set their plates on the island bar between them. “I want to spend every moment with you. Of course, I have to be back in Los Angeles for a few days to get the publishing house business out of the way before I head to Spain. That won’t take long, maybe three, four days at the most. I won’t worry about that until after the New Year.”
“Good,” Paige said, placing the salad bowls by the plates. “I called my doctor. She’s setting up an appointment with an OB. I’m supposed to drive into town to see her tomorrow.”
“You want me to be there?”