Authors: Christine Glover
Tags: #romance, #Springs, #Entangled, #Sweetbriar, #Indulgence
Chapter Five
“Fits perfectly.” Jessie’s mother finished hooking the eyelet at the back of the strapless, midnight blue dress with a beaded bodice, each stone a different hue. “You’re beautiful.”
Jessie smoothed her hands down the shimmering skirt. She didn’t recognize the woman reflected in the mirror, nor the luminous glow that seemed to come from somewhere deep within her. “When Blake promised he’d take care of everything, he wasn’t kidding.” She scoped all the boxes and bags that had been delivered to her family’s living quarters at dawn.
Her mom held up a shoebox. “You ready to put these on?”
Jessie checked the contents again. Sandals any red-blooded woman would covet were nestled inside the protective tissue. She lifted one out, and the heel had just enough height to accentuate the curve of her calves. Caressing the sweep of satin, playing with the beadwork at the ankle, she sighed. “I do love them.”
“Hurry up, Cinderella.” Her sister Hannah popped into Jessie’s bedroom. “Your date’s getting antsy. After all, he’s giving the bride away.”
The entire day had been like a strange fairy tale told in fast forward with no time to press pause. From the minute she’d accepted Blake’s request to join him at the wedding, he’d catapulted into full-on action. First they had Skyped Constanza with the news about his walk-on role in the next Quinn Sawyer
movie. Then Blake called in his stylists and arranged for Jessie to have a complete makeover.
Though this date was only part of a casual fling, she didn’t dare deny the fantasy. Not to her mother. Not to her sister. And not to herself.
For months she’d been a shadow of herself, her injuries making her feel like a monster held together by stitches, pins, tape, scars. But with her cropped hair professionally styled into a chic short sweep across her brow, her face polished by a makeup artist’s deft technique, and the long open slit in her designer dress revealing her left leg to perfection, she kept wanting to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Blake had given her butterfly wings and enough pixie dust to soar.
Reality didn’t have a place in this room. Not even if it loomed in the near future.
She spread her arms, twirled, then wiggled into the sexy designer sandals. “And they fit like a dream,” Jessie said, smiling at her sister and mom.
They grinned back. Something loosened inside Jessie’s chest, drifted out of her heart, and welled up behind her eyes. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a pill.” Her voice wavered.
“Don’t cry, or you’ll ruin your makeup,” her mom said with an answering sheen of emotion in her gaze.
“Just don’t turn back into a badass pumpkin.” Hannah crossed the room to spritz some of her homemade body spray on Jessie’s shoulders.
The aroma of sunshine and meadows from her sister’s fragrance tickled her nose. “I won’t,” Jessie promised. “And thanks again for the massage lotion. It’s helping.”
“I’m glad.” Hannah flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “Get out of here. Your prince is waiting for you by the Christmas tree downstairs. And I’ve got a hot date.”
Jessie hugged Hannah. “Have a blast.”
For the first time, the word didn’t carry the tag of hurt behind it. Then Jessie’s mom wrapped her arms around her. “Love you, Momma,” she whispered, inhaling the comforting scent of chocolate chip cookies.
“Love you right back.” Her mom held her at length, gave her one final approving glance. “I believe I’ll give that man of yours extra marshmallows next time I see him.”
“You’re on.”
Jessie whipped around. Blake leaned against the doorjamb all sexilicious in a black tux that hugged his broad shoulders to perfection. An instant chorus of hormonal hallelujahs rang through her. Unable to find her tongue, dizzy, Jessie remained speechless.
While she had plenty of exposure to his testosterone during their workouts, Blake Johnston in a tuxedo was devastatingly gorgeous. He radiated sex appeal in all caps followed by super seductive with multiple exclamation points.
Blake’s video footage and publicity photos didn’t capture the sheer animal magnetism, the overpowering charisma, or the intensity of his penetrating emerald green eyes. Eyes that seemed to drink her in as if she were a tall glass of sweet tea on a sultry, southern summer night.
The atmosphere charged between them. As quick as lightning, her sister and mother bolted out of the room, leaving her, and her sensually fired up nerves, alone with Blake.
He moved toward her with an easy, confident stride until they were mere inches apart. “If I’d known buying a beautiful woman a pretty dress and some sexy shoes would guarantee me top billing in your mom’s marshmallow handouts, I’d have decked you out sooner.” His teeth flashed white and his cheek dimpled, the humor reaching his eyes, crinkling the corners. “You look good enough to eat.”
Jessie’s tongue seemed to have tied into a pretzel. Dear Lord, the man was scrumptious and he wanted her. Man oh man, did she ever want to be the main entree. “Thanks,” she said when she unraveled the knot. “But aren’t you supposed to be with your sister?”
“I wanted to take you to the ceremony, then I’ll get Maisey and make sure that Andrew doesn’t back out of the wedding.”
“As if he would.” She’d gotten to know Maisey’s fiancé during the past few days. Blake’s sister had definitely found the right man. “He adores your sister.”
“I’m happy they found each other.” Blake stroked her shoulder, caressed the length of her arm, and slipped his hand into hers. “They’re a perfect match.”
Unlike she and Blake. Though the dress and shoes and makeup had given her a boost, she’d never be considered a knockout. Yet Blake looked like he wanted to feast on her. Tiny zips of pleasure tingled through her skin and into all her female zones, which more than made up for the fact that she’d only have him temporarily. Still, being with him was like taking the first taste of cotton candy with her tongue. One lick would never be enough, but she had time to savor every sexy second.
Blake continued to drink in her figure-hugging couture dress, giving her a secret thrill. For some inexplicable reason, Blake Johnston didn’t see a wounded warrior, he saw a sensual, sexy woman. And though she’d never been the type to hop into the sack with just anyone, having Blake Johnston want her
that way
was intoxicating.
Oh, she didn’t need happily-ever-after. She just needed him.
…
Blake had known Jessie had a stunning figure, but up until tonight he’d only seen her in her customary gym rat outfit. Her spandex and form-fitting tops accentuated her muscular, yet feminine body, but she’d never bothered with makeup—not that he thought she needed any. He preferred her natural good looks to the plastic veneer of the models he’d dated. Plus, pumping iron and pushing herself to succeed had dominated their time together.
But now?
Now heat pushed through his veins, thundered in his ears. Sweet mother of God, she was drop-dead gorgeous. He’d unleashed a sassy woman with the ability to render him speechless. He drank in the couture gown, which caressed Jessie’s slim waist and hips to perfection, opening to reveal one fantastic, long leg. Her slate blue eyes, smoky and seductive, mesmerized him. And those luscious, plump, pink-stained lips begged for his kiss.
Hell, if he didn’t have a sister to give away in less than an hour, he’d act on the current throbbing pronto.
“I love the dress,” Jessie said, turning her left foot slightly.
She sounded shy, and the subtle movement exposed a hint of vulnerability. This was a side to Jessie he hadn’t ever expected to see. Sweet. Demure. Tentative. And damn it all to double hell. He liked her all the more for it.
Tough Jessie was a challenge. But this woman, all soft and delicate and sinfully beautiful, digging her pretty pink-polished toes into the carpet, made him feel things he didn’t expect to feel at all. Precarious, proprietary feelings that had no business entering his sex-starved brain.
Blake shuttered his emotions, brought up his public persona with the skill born of years of parading his million-dollar ass on the red carpet. “The result was worth it,” he said.
“I had fun.” She walked out of her bedroom with him. “All of it—the clothes and the hair and the makeover. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this pampered.”
“One of the many perks that comes with my job,” he said. One he’d never expected to have when he’d been a latchkey kid from the wrong side of town. As a teenager, he had been good enough to fool around with, but he sure as hell couldn’t bring a girl or have friends over to his ramshackle house.
After a Hollywood talent agent had discovered him, everything changed. Then Blake had risen out of poverty by capitalizing on his looks, scoring fortune and fame.
They entered the main lobby. “You’re the prettiest woman at the resort.” And the most brave.
Which meant that none of the success he’d achieved could erase the certainty that he’d never be right guy for Jessie.
“Doubtful since there are super models and actresses here who haven’t got a single wrinkle, pimple, or scar.” Jessie clasped his hand tighter when the ballroom’s fairy lights twinkled into view. “Maybe I should wait until the reception. I don’t know anyone in there other than your sister and her groom.”
“Not true.”
“Huh?”
“Your brother Michael’s in there with one of the guests. Seems like he’s quite a hit with the single ladies. They can’t stop asking to see his 2004 Olympic gold medals,” Blake said. “I’ve got you seated up front with them.”
“Great. Just what I need, my big brother watching my every move tonight.”
Warmth radiated inside his chest. Though she talked a big game, Blake heard the relief in her voice. Her family cared, and she was letting them tiptoe back inside her heart. “Spoken with the same passion as my kid sister.” He guided Jessie to her seat. At least he’d given her a push in the right direction even if he wasn’t stick-around material.
She greeted her brother along with the rest of the row of guests.
“Relax and enjoy the evening,” Blake said after she’d taken her chair. He didn’t want to leave, but after his sister got hitched he had every intention of seducing his sexy Marine.
Chapter Six
“I can’t believe I caught the bouquet.” Jessie cradled the white roses. “And I danced. The last time I did the Macarena was at my senior prom.”
Blake shrugged off his tuxedo jacket, loosened his collar, and draped the coat on a chair back located next to the desk in his suite. “You fit right in with my crew. Told you they wouldn’t bite.”
She unstrapped her shoes and kicked them off. “They were nice—not at all what I had expected.” The lights had been dimmed. Candles flickered in the corners and moonlight illuminated the room. She caught sight of his open laptop. “What’re you working on?” she asked.
A muscle jumped in his jawline. “Just reviewing my next contract.” He closed it quickly, then wrapped his arms around her, stroking the length of her back. “More champagne?”
“I’d rather have you.”
He smiled. “And you will.”
Her pulse rate accelerated. A warning label should come with Blake Johnston’s one hundred watt smile. She was more nervous than she wanted to admit. “Champagne would be nice.” A little extra liquid courage for what was to come.
He lifted the bottle out of the silver bucket, removed the cork, then poured two flutes. “To new beginnings.” Blake passed her a glass.
She clinked hers against his and sipped. The bubbles tickled her nose. And his electrifying presence tickled other parts. “To your sister finding her perfect match.” Though she had no illusions about the same being true for her and Blake.
“Amen.” He encircled her wrist with his index finger and thumb, stroking her thrumming pulse. “Now I can concentrate on you.”
Jessie sipped her champagne, savoring the effervescence. And savoring his touch. She’d worried that the manual for Sex 101 had been erased from her memory. But being with him tonight, dancing and flirting, had restored a measure of her confidence.
They finished their champagne and placed the flutes on the sideboard. Blake traced her collarbone, circling until he cupped the back of her neck, possessive. A delicious thrill traveled through her, hit all her erogenous zones.
Jessie feathered her fingers down his muscular chest, inhaling his clean scent, so uniquely male. And oh-so-tantalizingly yummy. She wanted to press her mouth against his naked flesh, taste him. Slowly, Jessie undid three buttons, slipped her hand beneath the crisp shirt.
He shuddered. Her libido surged, her body hummed with desire. Oh yeah, this was what she needed. Good, fun, amazing, rock-her-world sex. Love didn’t need to exist for her to want—to crave with a hunger she’d never possessed before—this magnificent man.
And though he would never be part of her future, every fiber of her being knew that Blake Johnston would be an incredible, passionate lover.
Blake caressed her nape, angling his head to brush a light kiss on her lips. “I’ve been waiting all night to do this,” he said.
Their breath mingled, time accelerated. She heard his heartbeat thumping in time with hers. “Then let’s not wait anymore.” She locked her mouth on his with wild thoughts coursing through her fevered brain.
Possess.
Take.
Be taken.
The commanding slide of him inside her mouth made her knees go weak. Jessie coiled her hands around his neck, her tongue tangling with his in an age-old, intimate dance.
Kissing Blake was deliciously decadent. Sinfully seductive. Dangerously addictive.
He cupped her bottom, curving around it before pulling her closer. Reason fled, scattered. There was only the magnificent sensation of him stroking her back, the building electricity of anticipation when he unhooked her dress. Any last lingering fears of not measuring up were crushed by the sound of her zipper tugging down, the cool air hitting her bared skin followed by the sizzling sensation of his broad palms cupping her breasts.
She answered his possession with hers. Popping the rest of the buttons on his shirt, pushing the fabric off his shoulders, reveling in the sheer perfection of his washboard abs.
He groaned. “God, you’re incredible.”
And in this moment, she wanted to believe him.
…
Blake pushed Jessie’s dress over her hips, raking his fingers across her breasts, feeling her answering shiver as they pebbled.
Lust slammed into his groin. “I want you.” And with an intensity that shocked him.
Jessie moved her hips against his pelvis. “Blake, please.” She arched her back, giving him easier access to her exposed breasts.
His erection strained for release as he moved his mouth lower, licking his way to her tight, rosy nipples and drew one in.
She gasped, scraped her nails against his back. “Oh God. God. Blake.”
Still kissing her breast, savoring the sweet taste of her skin, he pushed the dress over her hips, hooked the thin strap of her panties, and tore them away.
Jessie’s pupils dilated and pink flushed her high cheekbones. Her chest rose and fell. He heard the sound of her heart thundering in tandem with his. He stroked her honeyed arousal across her taut bundle of nerves.
He parted her folds and dipped his finger inside. Liquid satin and velvet clenched around him. “So ready. Tell me, Jessie. Do you want me?”
Her hips hitched, edging closer to him. “Yes,” she cried.
With self-control he didn’t think he possessed, Blake grabbed a condom from his pocket as she fumbled for his zipper, reaching inside to stroke his erection.
“You’re driving me insane,” Blake said.
He tore the foil and sheathed himself, then lifted her, pressing her against the wall. Her mouth fused to him, locking them in a fierce kiss.
She tasted like sin. Bold and strong and delicious.
Blake slid into her welcoming warmth. Her legs tightened around his waist, and he heard a catch in her breath. He wrenched his mouth from Jessie’s. “You okay?” His voice caught somewhere between his lungs and his throat.
Her smoky eyes darkened. “Better than okay,” she said. “You?”
“Stellar,” he said. “You feel incredible.” And so incredibly tight.
“So do you.” Her lips curved seductively as she wiggled to give him greater access. “Really amazing.”
He hitched her higher, drove deep inside her. The aroma of her perfume melded with the musky scent of her sex. He held her pinned to the wall, felt her stretch to accommodate him. All reason raced out of his brain. There was only the sound of her erotic cries as he moved faster, the satin, slick feel of her sex drawing him deeper, bringing him home.
Blake held her rounded, perfect bottom, increasing his rhythm. Her waves of pleasure intensified with each thrust. Murmuring erotic promises, his breathing ragged, he plunged into her over and over until she shattered, and then he followed her over the edge.
…
Later, after they’d finished their champagne and had engaged in another marathon session of lovemaking, Jessie curled into Blake’s body and slept. When she awakened, she allowed herself the luxury of gazing at him while he slumbered.
The early morning sunrays illuminated his amazing sculpted muscles, and a hint of light caressed his gorgeous features. His eyelashes swept the planes of his cheekbones and not a single line marred the perfection of his brow.
Here was a man, a glorious and beautiful male, who commanded a movie empire as its star, but in sleep she could see beyond the gild he used to guard his emotions.
He wasn’t just a Hollywood icon. Not to her. He was so much more. Oh, how she longed to draw out this time, stretch it through eternity, if only to keep this man in her life. But that was the stuff fairy tales were made of, and Jessie was a realist.
She snuggled closer and he wrapped his arms around her. Jessie ghosted her fingers across his face, kissed his lips, and he stirred.
Opening his eyes, he said, “Hey there.”
“Hey there yourself.” She skimmed the length of his broad back, glorying in the steel underlying his satin skin. “You want to order room service?”
“Taken care of. Should be here in thirty minutes.”
“You’re almost as much of a control freak as Maisey,” she teased. “Or are you making sure you don’t miss a meal?”
“We learned to politely accept what was given to us,” he admitted. “And we like order in our world. Nothing wrong with that.”
His brow furrowed and she caressed the lines. One thing she’d noted about Blake was he never said no to food. “Nope, nothing’s wrong with that.” There was a little boy in this hulk of a man who called to her. And after everything he’d done and the magical evening they’d shared, she wanted to know more. “Woodall’s the same way. Said the day he walked into the recruiting office, he got out of a life filled with chaos. I’m guessing that’s what happened to you and Maisey after your folks were killed. How did you ever get over losing them?”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “I never really had them.”
Part of her wanted to stand down, but she wanted to give Blake something more than her body. She wanted him to trust her as a friend. “Why not?” she asked.
“We didn’t have the all-American, apple pie life you had growing up, Jessie.” His grip tightened. “They were busy. Running from bill collectors, unable to hold steady jobs. While they were keeping what little they had from going, I looked after Maisey.”
Something tugged at her heart, making her ache. “That means you had to look after yourself,” Jessie said. She couldn’t imagine the loneliness that accompanied parental neglect. How readily she’d taken that for granted with her own parents. And that was going to change ASAP.
“I handled it.”
“True. Now you’re rich and famous. People all over the world adore you.”
“They’re fans, not friends.” He shrugged and raised a brow. “But they do pay the bills.”
He’d raised his guard with that subtle movement, and Jessie understood the need to protect himself from more scrutiny. “I’m a fan.” She brushed his lips. “And I’m your friend.”
“A very sexy friend.”
His arousal pressed against her, making her hum with anticipation. Before she acted on the impulse to rush into another heated sensual sexcapade, she’d make sure Blake did believe that he could rely on someone else. “I bet you never had Christmas with all the trimmings, right?”
“No.” He moved his thigh between her legs. “You planning on giving me a present?”
Her nipples pebbled and need spiraled through her. Oh dear Lord, he made her want to lick him from top to bottom and back up again. “Yes. No. I mean…if you want to have a taste of a real Christmas this week…”
He caressed her back, circling to the small dip just above her bottom. “You inviting me over for Christmas dinner?”
Her sex pulsed. “Unless you have something better to do,” she said, her voice raspy.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than with you and your family for Christmas.”
“Awesome,” she said. “And by all means, consider this an early present.” Jessie coiled her arms around his neck and brought his lips to hers.