When You Were Mine [Second Chances 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (21 page)

The bed was gigantic, too. The headboard was wrought iron and curled itself into intricate shapes. Jamie sank down on to the bed and then stretched out, testing it. He let out a pleased sigh when it conformed to the arch in his back.

“Soft,” he said.

He forced himself back up off of the bed, and moved to the French doors. He fiddled with the locks until they gave way, then moved a couple of small statues to prop the doors open.

When the sea breeze whispered into the room, he took another deep breath. God, he had missed the ocean. New York had been on the Atlantic, but nothing could replace this. He watched as the waves crashed against the rocky shore.

“Wow,” Cora said. “I didn’t get a chance to come up here when I dropped everything off earlier. This is amazing.”

Jamie turned around to face her, and saw her poking her head into the bathroom. When she turned back around her eyes were wide.

“Jesus,” she said. “You could fit a football team in that shower!”

He peered at her suspiciously and then asked, “Is there more to this present that I’m unaware of, Cora?”

She waved him off, laughing, and said, “Hardly. You’re mine and I’m not sharing.”

He moved across the room and wrapped her in his arms. “You’re right. I am yours,” he said, seconds before he lowered his mouth to brush against hers. They slid into a long, slow kiss that seemed to go on forever.

When Cora finally broke the kiss, they were both breathless. A look of infinite regret on her face, she said, “As much as I hate to stop you, dinner is ready.”

Jamie stroked a finger down her cheek and said, “We’ve got time.”

A little over an hour later, Jamie leaned back against the one of the jets and let it work at a knot in his lower back. Cora curled against his side and said, “This is awesome.”

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed as he wrapped his arm around her waist and moved her so she sat on his lap.

He leaned her forward, so she perched at the edge of his knees and then dug his thumbs into her shoulders. When she let out a soft groan, he continued to knead her neck and shoulders. He let himself momentarily enjoy the feeling of her lax shoulder muscles before he worked his way down between her shoulder blades.

Eventually, when he reached a point where he couldn’t massage any further where they were, he pulled her back against him.

She settled back against him comfortably. Her voice was almost slurred when she said, “That was amazing, Jamie. Thank you.”

“Thank you,” he responded. “For this. I didn’t realize how much I needed to get away. I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed.”

“I feel like cooked spaghetti right now,” Cora said.

“Mm,” Jamie said, tightening his arms around her. “You do look good enough to eat.”

He pressed his lips to her neck and then laughed when she only gave a slight wiggle. It seemed that hot tub debauchery would have to wait for another time. Judging by the way that Cora slumped against him, she had to be exhausted.

He shifted and said, “Sweetheart, I’m wiped out. Let’s go rinse off and go to bed.”

“‘Kay,” Cora agreed, sleepily.

As they dried off, shivering in the cool sea breeze, Jamie wrapped his arms around her. Pressing his chest to her back, he propelled them quickly toward the sliding glass door. They ran, shivering, up the stairs and into their bedroom.

They stripped out of their suits and clambered toward the huge bathroom. Jamie opted to heat up the shower rather than fill the tub. Cora was a little more alert now, but she still swayed on her feet.

As he twisted the knobs until the water was warm but not scalding, he asked, “When did you get up?”

Cora gave a yawn and said, “Five this morning. I had to grocery shop and take everything into the office, then ran out here on lunch to deliver it and get the keys from the realtor. I squeezed in a half-hour phone session with a patient having a panic attack. I’m glad you ran a little later than you thought you’d be. Today was busy.”

“Aw. Come here, baby,” he said, directing her under the warm spray. He dug quickly though his toiletry bag and got out his shampoo and soap. When he looked back at her, her chin was resting on her chest. He decided she’d be okay with smelling a little manly for an evening.

He stepped into the huge shower and squirted some shampoo into his palm. Carefully, he tilted her head back and washed her hair. She reached up and made a token protest, but gave up when he said, “I’ve got it. Just relax.”

Fifteen minutes later, no longer itchy from the chlorine in the hot tub, they both slid under the covers. Next to him, Cora let out a small sigh of contentment and said, “Night, baby,” as she curled up next to him.

“Night,” he said, and then pressed his lips against her temple.

* * * *

Jamie poked the center of the steaks on the grill. They were getting close, but weren’t quite done yet. He glanced into the kitchen, where Cora was baking potatoes and making a salad. He couldn’t help but grin when she spotted him watching her and then blew him a kiss.

Today had been incredible. He’d gotten up early and made breakfast for them both, and then they went walking on the beach. They must have walked at least three or four miles. He could feel tightness in his calf muscles already.

They had stopped at a little Tiki hut on the beach and had lunch. He’d also managed to get in the swim he had wanted. It had been fucking cold. His boys were only just starting to creep back out of his body and it had been a little over an hour. Swimming had been a bad idea.

Cora had stood on the shoreline laughing. She told him there was no way in hell she was getting more than knee-deep in the water. Despite his attempts to coax her into the water with him, she’d stayed firm. Smart girl.

He gave the steaks another poke and decided they were ready. Leaning over, he cut the gas from the grill off and then put the steaks back on the plate. Once again, he was starving.

After they enjoyed a leisurely dinner out on the patio, they sprawled out on the deck chairs and listened to the ocean for a while. When the sea breeze kicked up, he moved out of his lounge chair and stood next to hers. He held out a hand and asked, “Wanna go inside, baby? It’s starting to get a little cold out here.”

“No,” Cora responded, shaking her head. Still, she took his hand and rose. “It’s a perfect time for the hot tub. Let’s go change.”

This time Jamie shook his head no, as the idea he’d had last night sparked back to life. He cupped Cora’s cheek and said, “You don’t need a swimsuit.”

Her eyes were pure mischief when she reached down to the hem of her shirt. “I guess I don’t, do I?”

“Hold that thought, baby,” Jamie said. He moved inside quickly to grab two beach towels from the linen closet, and then shut off the patio light on his way out.

They slid out of their clothes and into the hot, bubbling water with twin sighs of contentment. Once Jamie settled back in one of the corner seats of the hot tub, he reached his hand out to Cora. He pulled her from where she bobbed next to him, onto his lap.

When she straddled his thighs, he took her mouth in a deep, slow kiss. She responded immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck and relaxing against his body. He rested his hands on her hips, pulling her snugly up against him.

They spent so much time rushing to the finish line. Maybe, he decided, it would be nice if they took it slow time. He pulled back from the kiss and wound his fingers into the wet ropes of Cora’s hair.

“I can’t thank you enough for this, Cora. This is the best thing you could have possibly gotten me.”

Her expression was earnest when she said, “I really hoped that you’d be able to relax for a little while. You’ve been working so hard.”

“You take such good care of me, baby. I’ don’t know how I got so lucky,” he said, absolutely humbled.

“One look at you with your shirt off, painting Evan’s flower shop and I was a goner, Jamie,” Cora said, laughing softly.

“I’m just glad Evan wasn’t interested in you. It might have been a battle to the death, sweetheart.”

“God no,” Cora said. “It was always you.”

Swamped with need and a million other feelings, Jamie lowered his mouth back to hers. He pressed gentle, nipping kisses against her lips and then nibbled his way down her jawline. He sucked a smooth patch of skin into his mouth and rubbed his tongue against it.

Cora let out a soft sigh and scooted closer to him. She shifted on his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist and tilting her head to the side. “More,” she said softly.

Jamie took advantage of the newly exposed flesh. He swirled his tongue along the side of her neck, nipping gently until she began to move against him in a silent plea. In answer, he moved his hands to her ass. He pressed her closer, and controlled the movement of her hips, slowing it down considerably.

Jamie took her mouth again. He gave her a soft, languorous kiss. He tried to show her, without words, how she affected him. It wasn’t simple lust. It had never been strictly sexual between them. He had known before their first kiss that she was going to be something special to him.

Cora broke her mouth away from his and said, “I need you inside me, Jamie.”

He bit back a groan and used one hand to adjust his throbbing erection at her opening. “Are you ready for me?” he asked.

“Yes,” Cora said, her voice edgy with need. “Please, Jamie.”

He moved his hands back up to her shoulders. He pressed her down over his cock, letting out a groan when her slick heat slid down over him. “The feel of you around me is fucking indescribable.”

Using her arms, Cora raised herself up and rolled her hips against him. He felt the tight clench of her pussy as she moved against him. He pushed down on her shoulders again, causing them both to let out shuddering breaths.

They continued to work against each other, the slow pull and slide, until they were both lost in sensation. Jamie took her mouth again, if only to stop himself from saying the words that were there on the tip of his tongue. In this moment, he knew with absolute certainty that she was the one. She had always been the one. He loved her desperately.

The continuous, steady motion of their bodies continued until he felt Cora’s cries against his mouth. Jamie wanted to see her face as she went over so he pulled back from the kiss and said, “That’s it. Come for me, Cora. Let me feel you come on my cock.”

Seconds later, her cunt gripped him so tightly that it was almost painful. He cursed and let out a groan of pleasure. “Cora,” he moaned, unable to articulate anything beyond her name as white-hot pleasure overtook him.

Her cries pierced the otherwise silent night and her eyes went glassy with pleasure. Jamie, lost in the feeling of her clenching and unclenching around him, pulled her down against him one last time and then exploded, emptying himself inside her.

Still buried inside her, he slid them both down further into the water when he felt Cora tremble against him. He asked, “Are you cold?”

“No,” she said as she pressed a kiss to his neck. “That was just...”

When her voice trailed off, he just said, “I know, baby.”

They were connected. Not just in a physical way, but in some soul deep kind of way. It was a little scary. He knew he had to tell her. He knew she needed to know how he felt. Even if he wasn’t entirely sure that she wanted to know.

On the drive back from the beach, Cora was lost in thought. Last night had been beautiful. And absolutely terrifying. After they made love in the hot tub last night, they went upstairs. They had showered and then ended up in bed. The way that he had touched her so reverently reminded her a lot of the way that they used to be together.

She had been helplessly, hopelessly in love with him. When they split up, she had been destroyed. She had lost not only her lover, but her best friend in the process. It had taken her a long time to recover from that.

She had known at the time that it was doomed. The distance, along with their crazy schedules, made it difficult to talk most of the time. Let alone visit each other. Even before they’d had the talk, she had known it was coming. Their conversations were becoming more infrequent. They’d begun fighting. Things had ended long before either of them had been willing to admit.

That’s why she was a firm believer in moving things along slowly this time. She knew he had feelings for her. She knew she had feelings for him. Maybe, like the breakup, the longer they ignored them the easier things would be.

Things were good between them. She was blissfully happy. Happier than she had been in a long, long time. Surely that was enough, right?

Jamie broke into her thoughts and said, “You’re doing some heavy thinking over there, baby. You okay?”

“I’m mostly zoning out,” Cora said. “This weekend was amazing. I’m kind of bummed we have to go back to reality now.”

“I know,” he said. “This was by far the best birthday present of all time. I’m sad it has to end. Makes me wanna drop about six million on a beachside cottage in Malibu.”

Cora snorted and said, “Yeah. Just write them a check.”

“I’ll include a note asking them not to cash it just yet,” he said, laughing. His tone was more serious when he added, “But seriously. Best gift ever. Don’t tell my mother I said that either.”