Chapter Twenty-One

Jon knew he was staring like an idiot, but he couldn’t help himself.

She looked so – incredible – the tiny red lace getup showing off every curve of her body, every plane and contour and slope….and those long, strong legs. He sucked in a breath at the thought of the moisture between them.

Good Lord. He was almost in pain inside his jeans.

“C’mere,” he growled.

Erin smirked and began moving toward him slowly, accentuating her hips by swaying them slightly. Eyes never leaving Jon’s, she came within a few feet of him – close enough to tease him mercilessly, but far enough away that he couldn’t reach.

The voices on the giant television screen talked on, but Jon and Erin were deaf to them. Jon’s eyes were nearly black as he hungrily devoured the sight of her, wanting to imprint her image in his mind.

“I hope you didn’t pay too much for that outfit,” he said seriously.

Erin stared back at him, heart thundering in her chest as she summoned all her willpower not to throw herself on him. “Even if I did you wouldn’t spare it, would you?”

Jon shook his head. “Baby, you got me all figured out.”

Two steps and he was there, his mouth crushing down on hers hungrily, tongue begging entry. She willingly obliged as his hands tangled into her hair, pulling her closer to him. Their bodies pressed against each other tightly, and Erin whimpered against his mouth at the feel of his arousal at her hips. She slid her hands up and down his chest before reaching down and grabbing the hem of his black shirt. Their lips parted for a split second as she pulled the shirt up over his head, and ran her hands up and down the ridged muscles of his chest.

Jon maneuvered them toward the sofa, kissing furiously all the while, and backed her up against it until one more move would send her on her back, at his mercy. She slid her fingers down his chest once more toward the snap on his jeans and undid it quickly, loosening the waist so he could get them off. Jon kicked them off quickly and pulled her close again, so their bodies were nearly seamless against each other.

One teetering move and she was on the sofa, Jon crawling between her legs silently. He slowed suddenly, allowing the sound of their heavy breathing to permeate the room along with the voices in the movie. Their eyes locked, a gaze so intense that Erin nearly screamed for him to take her.

Jon seemed to notice, and a small smile crept around the edges of that sexy mouth as he touched his fingers to her thighs. The connection was like an electric shock to Erin, and she watched breathlessly as he slid each finger up slowly – agonizingly slowly – toward the hem of that tiny babydoll.

He tore his eyes away from hers and focused on the exploration of her legs, sliding his fingers up beneath the lace and toward the warm wetness between them.

“Jon,” Erin whimpered. “Not again. I don’t need fingers again – I need the real thing – I need you…”

Jon didn’t say a word, but gently pried her legs apart and slid his hands up to her hips to pull her closer to him. He lowered himself on the sofa toward her, and gently draped each leg over his shoulders. Sliding his hands back up to her hips, he held her firmly as he lowered his head.

The first feel of his hot tongue made Erin jump so violently that she instinctively grabbed the back of the sofa. Her surprise quickly turned to blinding pleasure as he began to lap her, gently and delicately pressing the flat of his tongue into her. He ran it slowly up and down her slit, then just as she started to groan, dove inside to drink her. Erin threw her head back in one long guttural moan, fighting between wanting to pull away and make him come inside her, and exploding right then and there in sheer pleasure.

Jon continued his torture until she was writhing beneath him, his fingers gripping her hips tightly as hers tangled into his hair. He waited until he could hear the change in her breathing, the tell-tale quickened panting that signaled the finish.

As her legs began to tremble, he stopped and looked up at her. Her head thrown back, she was even sexier than he could imagine – the slope of her heavy breasts beneath the tight red silk gave way to the flat plane of her stomach, which tapered off to the hips he was gripping, and the center of her body that he was so intimately familiar with.

She groaned loudly and looked up in surprise, her eyes darkened and her lips flushed. “What the hell, Jon!”

He grinned and released his hold on her waist, reaching down to the hem of lace and pushing it up around her curves. He slid his body up along hers until their hips met, and she could feel him right between her legs. “I need you,” she panted. “Now.”

Jon didn’t need telling twice. He reached an arm down beneath one leg and pulled it up toward her chest, nestling himself right against her snugly. He positioned himself quickly, and just as neither of them could take it any longer, slipped inside.

Erin gasped as her entered her, the pressure causing a mingling of pleasure and pain. She instinctively grabbed his back, digging her fingertips into his flesh as he began to thrust inside her, hard. He took hold of one side of her waist with one hand, the other slammed down onto the cushion beneath her head for better leverage as he pounded into her.

They moved in sync together, bodies fused seamlessly, lips and tongues battling furiously as Jon slammed into her mercilessly. Erin felt herself beginning to tremble sooner than usual, and she shut her eyes tightly, preparing herself. Jon watched her as a frenzy overcame him, and he drove as deep as he could get without hurting her…wanting to feel all of her.

Tremors quaked through Erin’s body suddenly, clenching Jon tightly from within over and over again. As she tipped her head back and lips parted, her dark green eyes shut against release, a powerful emotion grabbed at Jon’s heart, taking him so completely by surprise that he yelled, spilling into her.

His arms trembled as he waited for her to finish, his name on her lips – loudly at first, then gradually to a guttural whisper. As the violent tremors slowed, her eyes sprang open to meet his – lust-filled, dilated pupils staring into his own.

He groaned loudly and released his position, collapsing into her. He brought his hands up to the sides of her head as he bent into her neck, breathing heavily. Her raw, heady scent overwhelmed his senses as he breathed her in, her heart beating wildly against his as their chests heaved up and down together.

They lay like that for a minute as their bodies calmed, hormone-driven tension releasing from their muscles almost palpably. When their hearts slowed, Jon lifted his head so they were face to face.

Erin looked back at him, their eyes meeting yet again. But this time, she read more than lust in his. He held her gaze firmly, a look so searching it seemed to reach down into her very soul. Almost impossibly overwhelming. She could barely force herself to hold it.

As their eyes communicated an unspoken message, Jon leaned down slowly until their lips met. He kissed her gently, his lips soft against hers – full of tenderness and love. In sharp contrast against the wild passion of only a few moments ago.

When he pulled away, he said nothing, but smiled down at her in a way that made Erin’s heart melt. “What?” she asked quietly.

Jon shook his head. “Not right now,” he grinned, the gleam suddenly back in his eye. He lifted himself off of her and tugged at the red lace. “We got one good use out of this thing,” he said. “But I prefer you naked.”

Erin gasped as he ripped the babydoll clean off her body, the thin material ripping easily in his strong hands as if it were made of tissue paper. Jon eyed her hungrily, running his fingers along her smooth, creamy skin and leaving goosebumps behind in their trail. “Erin…” he breathed. “You are so damn beautiful…”

Erin watched him as he explored her body, running his fingers up her sides, along her breasts, down her belly, to the inside of her wet thighs. “Come on,” he growled. “Let’s go upstairs.”

***

An hour later, they lay entangled in each other and panting again, their bodies slick with sweat. Exhausted and spent, they could barely move. The dim light of the bedside lamp threw a faint glow across Jon’s massive bed, bathing them in golden shadows.

Jon peppered her shoulder and chest with tiny kisses as they rested, making her sigh contentedly. She threaded her fingers into his thick blond hair and brought him up to meet her lips, kissing him gently. His breath on her face was like a whisper, soft and intimate.

He rolled over and propped himself up slightly on several of the dozens of pillows that adorned his bed. Erin wiggled over and snuggled up against him, breathing in the musky scent of sex on his skin.

“I’m exhausted,” she proclaimed. Jon laughed lightly and kissed the top of her head. “Me too.”

Erin traced slow circles on his skin, twisting the light hair that dusted his chest. “What was it that you were going to say earlier?”

Jon didn’t answer at first. She waited, and felt him swallow as he fidgeted slightly. He leaned his head to one side, and she looked up at him curiously.

He smiled down at her, and her eyes questioned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he answered, seeming to regain composure. “I just don’t know how to say what I want to say in words,” he laughed, embarrassed. “I’m a lyricist, for God’s sake, and I can’t find the words.”

Erin laughed but said nothing, knowing whatever he wanted to say was important. Her heart beat a bit faster as she waited. Jon swallowed again.

“I-” he started. “I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t been on the same plane at the same time,” he said. “If we hadn’t been in the seats next to each other.”

Erin nodded slowly as he paused.

“You’ve quickly become so important to me. On so many levels. Hearing your voice gives me butterflies – I haven’t had butterflies since fucking high school,” he laughed. “Your eyes, the way you look at me – I’m a goner. Your laugh, your smile, everything about you is beautiful and confident and sexy. It radiates off you.”

Erin blushed, her cheeks hot against his chest.

“Look at me, I’m blubbering on like an idiot. You’ve turned me into a sap.”

Erin laughed and looked up at him, shaking her head. “Shut up, it’s refreshing to see real emotion and depth in a man.”

Jon laughed, then turned serious again. “I mean it though,” he said. “I want you to understand – you mean so much to me. I’m quickly getting to the point where I can’t understand how I got on without you.”

He paused, fixing her with intense baby blues again. “I love you, Erin.”

His eyes were sincere, filled with the same deep emotion she’d seen in them earlier. His jaw was set firmly, his face serious…and suddenly she knew that he didn’t say those words very often. Not to a woman.

She stared back at him, unsure what to say. Her mind reeled, her heart danced. She struggled to find the right words. She felt complete and broken all at the same time.

He was waiting.

Finally, she smiled and leaned forward to kiss him, her lips lingering on his. He kissed her back unquestioning, seemingly content with her response.

She said nothing as he tucked her into his arms and rested his head on hers. And she continued to lay there quietly for hours, long after he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009