My eyes shoot open before they narrow in anger. “What! Why? Who says that unless they’re up to something?” I don’t mean to yell, but my fight or flight reaction is kicking in and flight is not in my vocabulary. “What the fuck, Raven? I told you I don’t want you anywhere near that guy, and you promised you’d stay away from him!”
“I know, I promised but—”
“But what? Do you have any idea what this guy’s like? Word around town says he’s got his hands in everything, not just prostitution. He’s been questioned for murder, drugs, weapons. Shit, Raven, he’s only walking free because he’s got his money so far up law enforcements ass I’m surprised they don’t shit gold.”
“Please, stop.” She whispers to her lap.
“Stop! Stop what? Your psycho dad calls and wants to meet with you alone, and you want me to sit here on my f**king hands and do nothing? God, Raven! This guy’s a criminal.” I pace the around the bar to burn off some aggression. The last thing I want to do is scare her, but fuck. “If you think I’m going to let you meet that dickhead alone, you’re crazy.”
She sniffs and wipes her eyes. Ah, crap. I breathe in and out of my nose and count to ten. My heart rate slows enough that it’s no longer throbbing in my ears as I wrangle my wild impulses.
“Baby, I’m sorry.” I smooth her hair behind her ear. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just lost it for a second.”
She wipes the tears from her cheek. “You don’t understand.”
Closing the space between us, I pull her chin up to look in her eyes. “Explain it to me.”
“Ever since I was a kid, I’d dreamed that one day he would come along and ask for me. Even after I found out what he was, I still wanted him.” Her eyes look away, but I don’t release her chin. “I still wanted a dad.”
Her words shoot through my rage, straight to my heart. I wouldn’t give up the twelve years I had with my dad for anything. And as painful as it was to lose him, I had a dad who loved me. Raven’s never felt that.
Who am I to say that Dominick’s intentions aren’t good? Maybe he does want a relationship with Raven. I’d bet my balls that’s not true, but if I don’t allow her to find out for herself, if I stand between her and the possibility, she’ll never forgive me.
I brush my thumb along her lower lip, feeling it quiver beneath my touch. “Okay, baby. I get it.”
Her eyes smile through her tears and she kisses my thumb.
With a tug, she’s up from her barstool. I wrap my arms around her waist. She locks her hands behind my neck, holding me to her.
“You’ll call me when you get there.” I’m so close to her mouth, I can smell the sweet tea on her breath.
“Yes.” Her answer is breathy and full of need.
My girl. Always so responsive.
She puts pressure on my neck to bring me to her, but I’m not finished.
“And you’ll call me when you’re finished.” I slide my hands down to her ass, drawing her h*ps closer.
“Mm-hmm.” Her answer comes out on a moan.
“Not when you get in your car, not when you get home, but when you’re walking away, you call me.” I tighten my hold to make sure she understands. I’m not f**king around.
“Yes, Jonah, I’ll do anything. Just kiss me, please.”
“That’s more like it.”
I drop a soft kiss against her lips. She pushes up on her tiptoes, pressing hard against me searching for my lips, but I hold back. She whines adorably, and I reward her by feathering another kiss on her lips.
“Please.”
Her final plea shatters the last of my control. I cover her mouth with mine. My hand slides up her shirt along her spine, desperate to feel her skin. She arches her back, and pulls me in, shifting her weight so that our torsos are touching from chest to hip.
With her body soft and pliable in my hands, the taste of her tongue flooding my mouth, my chest tightens with feelings I’m only beginning to name. She owns me completely. The pull I felt toward her when we met, waking up with her in my arms, my conversation with Owen, my compulsion to protect her, everything jumbles in my head until need coils in my sternum. Not the usual need that rips at me, but something stronger. It’s been seeping in slowly and now crushes me from the inside out.
I hold her to me, hoping the strength in my arms will give me the power to do what I’ve never done before. Breaking the kiss, her eyes lock on mine, questioning. Even through my nervousness, in this moment, nothing has looked as clear or as obvious.
“I love you, Raven.”
She gasps and her body jerks. She looks at me as if seeing me for the first time. Her shaky hand covers her mouth. Her head rocks back and forth slowly in what looks like disbelief. She doesn’t say it back and I don’t care. I love her. If she’s not there yet, I’ll wait as long as it takes until she is.
Without warning, she launches into me, our lips fusing together in wild passion. Her tongue slides into my mouth along with a soft moan that shoots to my throat. I tilt her head to plunge in deep, walking her backwards to the closest lounger. I crave Raven in a way that makes the dozen yards to the house seem like miles.
Laying her back, I brace my body above hers to keep from crushing her. I flex my h*ps into the warmth between her legs. She grinds into me, and I fight the urge to claim her here by the pool. Not like this. She deserves better.
I move to my spot at her neck and feel her racing pulse against my tongue. Her hands slide from my lower back to my stomach where she runs her fingers along the waistline of my shorts. She pulls at my zipper.
“Not yet, baby. Soon, but not tonight,” I whisper against her skin before nipping at her earlobe.
Her hands fall away on a hopeless sigh. I nuzzle her neck to avoid the look of rejection that I’m sure colors her face. My body screams to join with hers. To show her how deep my feelings run. But I’d never forgive myself for taking her in my backyard like a cheap party date.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I want you, I do. But you deserve—”
“It’s okay. But you said soon. Promise?”
I grimace at the dejected sound in her voice.
My lips skate along her jawline to her mouth. “Yes. I promise.”
Sliding my hand against the smooth skin of her belly, she writhes against me. I pull her shirt over her head and take in her bright green bra. My thumbs make firm passes over the sensitive tips through the silk. Feeling isn’t enough. I need to see them. I tug the fabric down, releasing her full br**sts to the tepid night air. Fucking gorgeous.
I kiss the valley between them, breathing in her subtle sweet fragrance. She arches her back in a silent plea. I smile against her eager little body before taking her br**sts into my mouth, first one and then the other. The sweet taste of her delicate skin increases my appetite for more.
I pop the button of her shorts, and she lifts her h*ps for me to slide them down her legs.
“Good girl.”
“Jonah—”
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take care of you.”
Her eyes flare and she bites her lip. I take a deep breath and remind myself to take it slow. This isn’t the get in, get out operation I’m used to. For the first time, I’m not thinking of my own needs. Only about taking Raven’s body to new places, to express what I feel emotionally through loving her physically.
Her lips curl in a wicked grin as she shimmies off her matching lace panties. I watch in awe as she reveals her perfect body to me. Sitting up to unhook her bra, she removes the last scrap of covering, my gaze held firm by her seductive show. She’s completely exposed, and I stare in wonder as she falls back on the lounger, legs parted.
“You’re stunning.” My voice sounds heavy and rough with desire.
I rip my shirt off over my head and toss it behind me. My lips ache with the urge to taste every inch of her olive skin.
“Hmm, I was just thinking the same thing.”
I run my hands along her thighs, her knees falling wide open in response. “Raven, I need to taste you.”
She nods her head once, her body yielding to my every touch. Perfect.
Taking my time, I kiss the tender skin of her inner thigh. With teasingly long swipes of my tongue, I give her a sample of what’s to come. Her heels dig into the lounger, and she pushes her h*ps up, searching for contact. Just the invitation I need.
I take my first taste and growl in pleasure. So sweet. I fight the urge devour her, wanting to take my time and make it last. She moans and rolls her hips. I look up the length of her toned stomach to see her eyes squeezed shut. That won’t do.
I back off. “Baby, look at me.”
Her eyes lock on mine, passion swirling in their blue-green depths. I slow down, but maintain eye contact. Every hitch of her breath stimulates my need to please her.
This is so different. And more arousing than anything I’ve experienced in the past. My love takes a front seat to my body’s desire for release.
I stare, absorbed in the visual of her mouth dropped open as she pants for breath. Her bare chest heaves with every flick of my tongue. Moans turn into desperate cries and her legs quake. Slow is no longer an option. I want nothing more than to hold her, to feel her against my lips while she falls apart for me. Her h*ps push and roll, seeking. I lock my hands on her hips, holding her still, and give into her body’s demands.
She grabs a fistful of my hair, holding me to her, pressing me deeper. Her voice catches and she calls out my name in release. Moans of pleasure fall from her lips, and the sound sends shockwaves straight between my legs. My stomach tightens, and I flex my h*ps into the lounger, groaning at the relief in the friction. I continue until she squirms, unable to give her up. With a final, tender kiss, I pull away. She falls back, her body sated and limp.
My girl. Her eyes are closed, and I’m entranced by the rise and fall of her br**sts as she breathes. I gently press her legs together, removing myself from in between, to climb in next to her. Moving her hair from her damp face, her eyes flutter open.
“That was amazing.” I marvel in the beauty of her satisfied expression.
“I thought that was my line.” Her sexy post-orgasm voice vibrates in a way that I feel in my shorts.
I grab a towel from the table next to us and cover her nak*d body.
“Do you want to go inside?” I trace the delicate angles of her face with my fingertip.
Her mouth tilts to a grin. “I have a better idea.”
She pushes herself up off the lounger, leaving the towel behind. With her back toward me, I admire the luscious curves of her bare flesh in the moonlight. She winks at me over her shoulder and, with a small bend of her knees, she jumps into the pool. Skinny dipping? Hell, yeah!
Kicking off my shorts, I jump in after her, keenly aware of my killer hard-on that even the cool water won’t tame.
She floats on her back, and I shamelessly gawk at her perfect br**sts poking out from the water. Catching my stare, she swims over to me in the shallow end.
“It’s your turn,” she says as she pushes me back to the steps of the pool.
My heart pounds in my chest. Does she mean what I think she means?