Be Here Now: A Cedar Creek Novel (33 page)

I cocked my head to the side. “One of your conquests?” I asked, a little irritated that Jason wouldn’t fess up. I realized I would probably run into a lot of women he had been with, as proven earlier today, and it would make it a lot easier if I at least knew in advance if we were going to meet one of them instead of going in blind. I tried to pull my hand out of his, but his tightened and he pulled me closer.

“No. I’ve never touched her.” Jason reassured me in a low voice.

“And therein lies the problem,” Nathan muttered. “Though, it was probably the smart thing to do. I think she’s the clingy kind. She wouldn’t have just let you drop her. And then things would have gotten really awkward.”

Jason turned his glare back on and stared Nathan down. “Thanks for clarifying that.”

“Just keeping it real, my friend,” He said and winked at me.

Jason pulled me behind him as he turned and walked us to his bedroom without saying anything else.

“Jason,” I called his name when I closed the door behind us.

“What?” I could tell he was still upset.

“I need you to tell me when you know we’re going to run into someone you’ve been with. I don’t like being blindsided.”

“I told you I’ve never touched Dana.”

“Okay, but if you know we’re going to see one of them, please tell me, so I know what I’m dealing with.” He was sitting on the bed, taking his shoes off with his eyes on me while I was still standing by the door. He got up and walked to me then cupped my face in his hands. “I’ll tell you. I promise.” I could see the remorse in his eyes, remorse for having slept around and for me having to deal with it now. I could also see that he understood my request and would keep his promise even though he didn’t like telling me any details about that part of his past. He leaned his forehead against mine and sighed deeply before he leaned back and kissed me, softly at first, then harder and deeper.

“I was looking forward to the hot tub with you all wet and naked for me. Since that’s out, I’m gonna make love to you in that big bed right over there.” He was walking backwards, leading us towards said bed while he was talking against my lips. His hands let go of my face and started undressing me slowly but determinedly. My hands followed his lead and did the same to him. We were naked in less than a minute and, just as promised, Jason proceeded to make slow and intense love to me.

“As soon as we get to my house, I want you naked in that tub, baby.” I wasn’t going to decline but couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow at him teasingly. “You telling me you’ve lived in L.A. for almost six years and you don’t own any swim shorts at all?”

Jason chuckled but ignored my question. “Naked, baby,” was all he said before he leaned in and devoured my mouth until all I could think about was him and his mouth on mine.

His house was exactly what I thought a big celebrity’s house would look like: huge windows everywhere, letting in the bright Californian sun; sleek white marble floors; a gourmet kitchen—also white; rooms that were so big they made you feel a little lost. I bet I would get an echo if I shouted, that’s how big and empty and clean cut the rooms were. Coming in the front door, I could see the big double glass doors at the other end of the room that led out to the deck and backyard. Just a few steps outside those doors there was an infinity pool that made you think it was part of the ocean beneath you. We were up in the hills and from here had an amazing view of the Pacific.

The house was impressive.

And utterly cold.

I hated it and couldn’t imagine why Jason was living here. It was nothing like him. So sleek and clean and white it gave me goose bumps. There were no personal touches anywhere, no pictures, no nothing.

It was depressing.

“You hate it, don’t you?” Jason asked. I couldn’t read the tone of his voice so I schooled my features to neutral and tried my best to give him a smile. He had wanted to bring me here to share his life with me and I shouldn’t be so judgemental.

“It’s a great house,” I managed to sound impressed if nothing else.

Jason threw his head back and burst out laughing. It was a sight to see and I watched like I always did. His body was still shaking with silent laughter when he walked over to where I was standing by the back doors and laid his hands on my hips.

“Baby, you’re a terrible liar.” He murmured against my forehead.

I looked up at him through my eyelashes with what I hoped was an apologetic expression, making him chuckle once more. “You don’t have to spare my feelings. Tell me what you think.”

“I…uhm…it’s quite something,” I stalled.

“Spit it out, honey,” Jason said through his smile.

I sighed. He wanted to hear the truth? Well, I was nothing if not straightforward. “It’s awful. Yes, I hate it. It’s cold and impersonal. Lonely. It makes me want to run screaming. Why do you live here?”

“Well, if I’m correct, I don’t really live here anymore. I’ve never really thought about it before, but now that you’re here, my vibrant and sassy and full of life fiancée, it’s crystal clear to me why I chose this house.”

“And that would be?” I asked when he didn’t continue and stared out the window as if lost in thought. It pained me to imagine Jason living here, by himself, with nothing and nobody to comfort him. His gaze came back to mine.

“Don’t you see it? This house, this life that I’ve been living, has been empty without you here with me. I was nothing but a shell, just like this house.” His words made my heart ache for him. “Do you remember how we used to dream about the house we would buy once we could afford it?” He seemed to wait for my answer so I nodded and he continued. “This house is nothing like that. You’re right. It’s cold and impersonal. It makes you feel lonely. I didn’t realize I was doing it when I bought it, but it’s as far away as possible from the house you and I imagined living in together. Don’t you see? If I couldn’t have you, I didn’t want what we’d dreamed about without you.”

My heart melted as did my body and I leaned into him. Jason’s arms slid around my hips and held me to him as his mouth brushed the top of my hair. “We’ll sell this one and buy a house we both love, a cottage maybe, down by the beach, yellow, with a big wrap-around porch where we can sit and enjoy the view and listen to the waves crash on the sand while our kids are inside sleeping.” That was exactly what we’d always talked about: a small cozy house right on the beach with a big porch to lounge on. And I had wanted it to be yellow. Jason really did remember everything. I melted into him even more.

“Okay,” I breathed into his neck, overwhelmed by the love that was coursing through me.

“It might take a while to find exactly what we want. Most of the houses down there are massive and look nothing like what we’ve dreamed about, but we’ll keep looking until we find it.”

“Okay,” I breathed again.

“And keep in mind that we’ll need a space for Frank. Not to mention, all the babies I plan on giving you, so it might turn out to be a little bigger than we planned.”

Another “okay,” came out of my mouth. I sounded like a complete idiot, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything more.

“I know we won’t be staying here year round, but I want us to have exactly what we want for when we’re in L.A.” I said nothing this time. “You’re very complacent. What happened to my little firecracker?” Jason asked in a soft and teasing voice.

I shrugged. “I just can’t believe we’re standing here, talking about our future and our dream house like that. I can’t believe it’s all real.”

“Believe it, baby. It’s real. And nobody and nothing will ever take it away from us again. I won’t let them.” I leaned my head back to find his mouth and kissed him with everything I had. It was deep and passionate at the same time it was loving and cherishing. It was everything.

Jason pulled his mouth away from mine and we both breathed heavily. “You. Naked. In the hot tub. Right now.” I shivered at his words as a soft moan escaped my lips, making Jason take my mouth again with a growl.

“I love you, Loreley. So much it hurts.” He gripped the edge of my shirt, pulled it up and over my head, and let it fall to the floor. Then his hands were at the button of my jeans. I stood there, breathing hard, as he undressed me, then watched as he undressed himself. When we were both naked, he lifted me up into his arms, and I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. Neither of us said anything as we stared into each other’s eyes in complete understanding.

This was it.

This was us.

This was what we were supposed to be.

Together.

And it felt absolutely beautiful.

I could feel his erection pulse between my legs as he walked us onto the deck and into the hot tub. As soon as we were submerged to our chests, he crushed his mouth down on mine in a searing hot kiss. All I could do was let him as he explored every inch of my mouth with his hot tongue. His hands were roaming my body. They were everywhere, touching me, gripping me, massaging me, pushing me higher and higher. I gripped his hair and held on as I gave myself over to him completely. His mouth released mine and moved down my neck over my collarbone down to my nipples. He licked and nipped and bit, making me writhe in his arms, rubbing against him. I needed him inside me so desperately that I started begging.

“Please, baby, I need you.”

“You’ll get me. Let me play first.” I moaned, not sure I would be able to hold on as he kept torturing me, bringing me to the brink then backing off, over and over again, until finally, I could feel the tip of him pressing against my entrance. I braced for it, wanted it, needed it, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes and found his on me.

“Say my name,” he growled, his teeth clenched. His body was shaking with the effort of holding back.

“Jason,” I breathed, my voice needy and begging.

“Say you love me.”

“I love you.”

“Say you need me.”

“I need you.”

“Say that you’re mine.”

I gripped his hair and pulled his face close to mine. “I’m yours. Forever.” He groaned and slammed into me with one swift thrust. Our eyes stayed connected as he moved, slowly pulling out of me, then slamming back in so forcefully it bordered on pain, the good kind of pain. I moaned as I moved with him, urging him to go faster, to thrust deeper. He gave in and let go, his thrusts becoming irregular and uncontrolled. I closed my eyes in bliss.

“Eyes, baby. I want to see you.” My eyes snapped open to his. They were burning with fire and passion and a love so deep it almost hurt looking. My breath hitched and he went even faster, his hard cock touching every sensitive spot inside me. I was close to coming.

“I feel it. You feel so good, baby.” His mouth took mine again, but our eyes stayed open and connected. His hand on my breast tweaked my nipple at the same time the thumb of his other hand pressed my clit, pushing me over the edge. I heard his groan as I exploded around him and felt it when his cock swelled inside me and he came with me.

When we came down, we were both breathing hard. We kept holding on to each other and staring into each other’s eyes and waiting for our breathing to even out.

“Marry me,” Jason said to my surprise.

I giggled. “I already said yes.”

Jason grinned. “So you did.” He brushed his lips against mine and murmured, “I mean right now, today.” I stilled in his arms and searched his eyes. He was completely serious.

“Today?” I almost screeched.

Jason tightened his grip around me. “Today.” His voice held no doubt. He didn’t want to wait any longer. He wanted to get married now.

“How?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“You want a big wedding?” I shook my head. I had hoped we could have a small wedding, maybe in my dad’s backyard, with only our closest friends and family.

“Me neither,” he said. “We could get married here, on the beach, just you and me.” That sounded perfect, so perfect I almost gave in.

“But what about my dad? And Chris and Cal and everyone else?”

“We can have another ceremony for them when we get back to Colorado. But I want you to be mine now. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“I’m already yours.”

“I want you to have my name, to wear my ring for everyone to see. I ache for it, Loreley. Please, say yes.” He nibbled my lips as he said this. I wanted that, too, for him to wear my ring. And I wanted to carry his name, be his completely.

“Yes,” I whispered against his lips and he stilled.

“Yes? You’re gonna marry me today?” His eyes shone with pure happiness. I nodded and he crushed me against him, squeezing me so tightly it was hard to breathe.

“Thank you, baby. You have no idea how happy you make me.”

“I do have an idea,” I said, “because you make me just as happy.” His lips took mine again in a soft and loving kiss.

“All right, as much as I would love to spend all day with you wrapped around me naked and wet, I’ve got a few phone calls to make, very-soon-to-be Mrs. Sanders.” My heart jumped in joy and excitement at hearing him calling me that, telling me I’d made the right decision. He stood up with me still wrapped around him and walked out of the hot tub then put me on my feet and reached for a towel. He wrapped me up in it before he reached for another one for himself and wrapped that around his waist, then grabbed my hand and led me into the house.

I heard noises as soon as we crossed the threshold, and so did Jason. He changed directions and walked to where the noises were coming from. “Good, Maggie’s here. I can introduce you.”

“Maggie?” I asked, not accusingly, but appalled. He was going to introduce me to someone while I was wearing nothing but a towel?

“Maggie. She’s my assistant. You’ll like her. And she’ll be thrilled to finally meet you.”

“Jason, I’m naked under this towel!” He really had to pull me behind him now since I was resisting and trying to pull my hand from his. He smirked at me over his shoulder. “I know.” I glared at him and he chuckled. We drew closer and I could hear voices now. One of them was Frank’s, the other a woman’s I didn’t recognize but assumed was Maggie. Then she laughed and I couldn’t help but smile at hearing that laugh, it was so great and genuine. Then we entered what looked like an office on the other end of the house and I saw her at the same time she saw me. Her face split into an even bigger smile than was already on her face and she leaped towards me and grabbed me in a big hug, surprising me. She was so enthusiastic that I had to wrap my arms around her and take a step back to prevent us from going down. When I looked up, I saw both men grinning at us. Frank was shaking his head.