When You Were Mine [Second Chances 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (13 page)

“I would have come with you anyway,” she said as she curled up against him. “As much as they infuriate me sometimes, I really like your family. Oh, and I want to find out who instigated the bet.”

“Michael,” Jamie answered. “I already did the research, babe.”

Cora pulled her head back and gave him a confused blink. “Michael? Really!”

“According to him, the reason you avoided me at the birthday party is because you wanted me to chase you,” he said. “He guessed way too ambitiously, though. He was thinking within the week.”

Snorting, Cora said, “It was more nerves and trying to avoid a weird scene in front of your family than anything. I’m revoking his armchair psych license. And seriously, a week?”

“I know. He’s too much, sometimes,” he agreed as he stroked a hand through her blonde tresses. “I told him he was off base but, that’s what prompted the whole bet.”

“Taryn is making him give the money to charity,” Cora said, her eyes drifting closed.

“Home for the Terminally Nosy?”

“Well,” she said as she laughed softly. “It seemed the most appropriate under the circumstances.”

“I figured it would have been Patty,” Jamie said.

“Me too,” she said. A moment later her eyes fluttered open and she examined his face as she asked, “You’re sure you had no idea I worked in that building?”

“I didn’t even occur to me,” he said. “It probably should have though. She was acting funny all morning.”

“I’ll never tell her this, but I’m glad she meddled,” Cora said softly.

Unable to help himself, Jamie leaned down and brushed a kiss against the crown of her head. “Me too.”

Stifling a yawn, Cora asked, “How did your consult go? The crane people, right?”

“Pretty well. They’re actually a bigger operation than I thought, based on our first conversation. They’ve got a few offices across the country and in Canada too. It could be a really good opportunity.”

“Awesome,” she said, as she nuzzled further into his chest.

Jamie could feel his own eyelids getting heavy again, and clearly Cora was down for the count.

“Baby,” he said, shifting her gently. “Let’s go to bed. You’re falling asleep.”

Sluggishly, Cora moved off of him and said, “Mm. Good idea.”

He watched her sleepily shuffle toward the bedroom for a moment before he scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way there.

She clutched on to him, buried her face against the side of his neck and said, “That wasn’t entirely necessary, but it’s appreciated.”

Once they were in the bedroom, he set her down on the edge of the king-size bed and asked, “You want something more comfortable to sleep in?”

“Is this another sad attempt to convert me into a Hawks fan, Jamie? We’ve talked about this,” she asked, grinning.

He grinned at the memory. The first time they slept together was right after a Hawks-Panthers game. They had gone with Evan and Taryn. He’d had to listen to her and Taryn both cracking jokes about the Hawks getting their asses kicked on the way back to his place.

When he’d tossed his wallet and keys down, she had accused him of pouting. He was forced to admit that he was indeed pouting, but she’d been quick to take his mind off of it. All thoughts of anything but her had disappeared from his head when she had crawled into his lap and straddled him.

Thing had been really tame between them up until that point. She had been relatively inexperienced, so he hadn’t wanted to push her. He could still feel her hot breath against his cheek, hear her timid little voice when she had asked, “Be my first?”

He’d already been half in love with her, but in that moment, he fell the rest of the way. It wasn’t the sex, but the trust that she’d placed in him. She had been so open and earnest. It had destroyed him.

Hell. It still did, he realized.

Afterward, when she lay curled up in his bed, he tried valiantly to make her wear a Hawks shirt, to no avail. She was nothing, if not stubborn. He’d made it a point to tease her with it any chance he got after that.

Moving back into the present, he laughed and said, “I’d never,” as he pulled a T-shirt out of his dresser drawer, then tossed it to her.

She caught it in one hand and inspected it. Thankfully, she seemed to have no gripes against Social Distortion.

He had already changed into a pair of gym shorts the minute he’d gotten home, so he wandered back into the kitchen to get two bottles of water.

As he walked back in the room, she was standing in her panties and in the process of taking off her bra. He stood there, watching as she slid the shirt over her head. Seeing her standing there in his shirt...it did things to him.

When her head popped through she gave him a knowing look and smirked.

“What?” he asked. “A man can’t just enjoy the show?”

Cora shrugged one delicate shoulder and then yawned again.

His lips quirking, he said, “Here you go, sleepy,” as he passed her a bottle of water.

She set it on the nightstand and then pulled the covers back. As she slid into bed, she made a noise of contentment.

He followed quickly behind her, shutting off the bedside lamp. As soon as he had slipped beneath the covers, Cora immediately adjusted herself to lie against his side. When her legs twined with his, he let out his own sigh of contentment.

As his hand drifted up to play with her hair, she said, “This is absolutely perfect.”

“Yeah. It is,” he agreed. There was nowhere he’d rather be.

He continued to stroke a hand through her hair as he marveled at the changes over the last couple of months. He’d been this close to taking the VP position. He’d still be at work, most likely. Sure, he’d have been making more money. That would have been nice, but there wasn’t much point in having money if you didn’t have any time or real inclination to spend it.

Instead, he had ended up back home with something far more valuable. Brushing a kiss over the top of Cora’s head, he said, “Night, sweetheart.”

Seconds later she murmured, “Night,” as she drifted off to sleep.

Jamie closed his eyes and enjoyed the warm feeling of contentment. Life was good.

* * * *

Before he even opened his eyes, Jamie knew Cora had gotten out of bed. The smell of bacon was what roused him. It wasn’t that he was upset about breakfast, but he’d had plans that morning. Those plans had included talking her into making French toast later. Much, much later. He grimaced.

It was time to get up, he supposed.

A few minutes later, he wandered into the kitchen and said, “Mm. That smells great. You didn’t have to make breakfast though.”

She turned from the stove, where she stood, to look at him. She was still wearing his T-shirt, and her hair was in a messy bun. The makeup was long gone from her face. He’d never seen her look more beautiful.

“Morning,” she said, a slow, sleepy grin pulling across her face. “I figured you’d be hungry.”

He watched as she turned back to the stove and removed the bacon from the pan. When she set it on a paper towel to drain, he moved forward and wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m hungry, all right.” He growled against the side of her neck. “But I had plans to eat you for breakfast.”

When her breath caught in her throat, he slipped a hand up her rib cage to cup her breast. Giving it a squeeze, he asked, “Bacon and eggs can wait, can’t they?”

Rather than responding verbally, Cora reached over and turned the burner off. As she slipped hands behind her to grip his hips, Jamie began to gently tease her nipple.

She ground herself back against him, eliciting a moan of pleasure from both of them as his dick stirred to life. When she continued to rock against him, he steered her over to the other counter.

Taking her hands in his, he wrapped her fingers around the far side of the counter. His breath ragged, he leaned down next to her ear and said, “Don’t move those hands.”

When he heard her breathy response, “I won’t,” his cock began to ache. Slowly, he released the grip on her hands and let his fingers travel up her arms. He felt the goose bumps raise in the wake of his touch as he continued the slow trail down the sides of her body.

Jamie slid his hands under the hem of the T-shirt and cupped her breasts. Cora arched her back, pressing herself further into his hands. He took full advantage, squeezing until he heard her breath catch in her throat.

Moving his fingertips, he traced them lightly around her areolas, until he felt them harden. Despite the wiggle of her hips back against him, he did nothing but gently tease them for long minutes. When she began to rock steadily back against him, he gripped the tight peaks between his fingers. He pinched and pulled them until her mouth was lax with pleasure.

He continued to fondle as he let one hand drift lower. He drew slow circles over her belly and traced intricate patterns against her soft skin. Finally, his hand toyed with the lacy edge of her panties. He could already feel the heat radiating from her pussy before he had even dipped his fingers inside.

He brushed his fingertips against the outside of her pussy and felt the damp heat. He trailed them along her wet slit until she moaned, “Touch me.”

Pressing his fingers inside her, he found her absolutely drenched with desire. He rubbed two fingers in a circular motion around her hard clit, and said, “Fuck. You’re so ready.”

“I need your cock inside me,” Cora whimpered as she worked her hips against his hand. “I don’t want to come without you.”

Jamie slowly removed his fingers from her, and said, “One second.”

He hurried into the bedroom to grab a condom, and moved back into the kitchen. Her hands still gripping the counter, Cora looked over her shoulder for him, arousal written all over her face.

Quickly he slid down the gym shorts, rolled on protection, jerked her panties to the side, and buried himself inside her. He rocked his hips steadily against hers. Even through the thin barrier, he felt the warm clutch of her cunt as it pulsed around him.

“Oh,” Cora cried out as his hips pistoned against hers. “Fuck, Jamie!”

Jamie reached up, grabbing the loose bun at the nape of her neck and asked, “Are you gonna come on my cock now, sweetheart?”

Seconds later, he felt her clamp down on him as she screamed out in release. Each pulse around his dick felt like fucking heaven, but he wasn’t through yet.

His hips continued to slap against hers until he felt the stranglehold on his cock loosen. He slowed his strokes down as she frantically panted for air underneath him.

He released her hair, and let his hand run soothingly down her spine. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he dipped the hand back into her panties and found her swollen clit.

“I can’t,” Cora moaned as she shuddered against him.

“Give me one more,” he gritted out as he sped up the thrusting of his hips again.

He could feel the sensation gathering at the bottom of his spine and knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. He sped up the motion of both his hips and his hand until she moaned.

“Give it to me,” he said, as he felt her tighten around him. “That’s right, baby. Come for me.”

Seconds later, her pussy clamped down on him again as she screamed out his name. No longer holding back, he thrust into her one last time, then groaned out her name as he came.

He collapsed against Cora’s back and panted out, “God. Damn.”

Her voice was slightly hoarse when she answered, “Wow.”

A moment later she said, “Shit. How loud was I? Your neighbors...”

“Pretty loud,” Jamie said, laughing as he stood back up and pulled out of her.

Cora released the countertop, flexed her fingers, and then stood up. Rearranging her panties, she said, “That’s a little embarrassing.”

As he saw the flush come across her face, he moved quickly, disposing of the condom and rinsing his hands. Before she could say any more, he moved to stand in front of her.

He put his hands on her shoulders and said, “Baby. There is nothing sexier to me than knowing that you’re enjoying what we do together in bed...or in my kitchen.”

When she nodded, he continued. “I don’t give a shit what my neighbors think. Watching you come apart is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. The fact that you’re so uninhibited and that you ask for what you want, only brings us both more pleasure. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Her lips curled upward and she asked, “It is pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

He pulled her to him and said, “You’re pretty amazing.”

Their mouths melded together in a slow, sensual kiss that had his cock twitching back to life. He had never been like this with anyone else. He was damn near insatiable.

“Any chance,” she asked, “that I could grab a shower before we eat? I’m all sticky for some reason.”

Jamie said, “Absolutely. But, Cora, did you know that we’re in a drought? I feel like we should conserve water. Maybe we should shower together.”

“Strictly in the interest of water conservation,” she teased as she nonchalantly tugged his shirt overhead and tossed it on the bed. Stopping in front of him, she slid her panties down. Deliberately, she bent at the waist to pick them up.