Defensive Heart: The Donnolleys, Book 2 (12 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Sunlight glared harsh through Jimmy’s loft windows. Rolling over and untangling himself from the sheets, he sat up and called out her name. He glanced over at the bathroom. The door was open, the light off. Damn. “Sonja, you downstairs?”

Silence.

At least until Norton jumped onto the bed and answered with a purr-filled
mmmrrwaawww
. Jimmy ran his palm over the cat’s sleek black fur. “You’re certainly not the pussy I was looking for, but good morning to you too.”

Falling back to the pillows, he pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. When the hell had she left? And how had he not felt her go? Jimmy grabbed the pillow she’d slept on. Pressing it to his face, he inhaled. Yeah, there it was…the lingering scent of her shampoo and perfume. He might never wash the stupid thing again. Which meant he needed to get up right now and put the bedding in the machine. The idea of trying to preserve her scent on his sheets was way too chick-lit for him to even allow.

Norton meowed again and nudged Jimmy’s leg. “Some help you are. Why didn’t you tell me she was leaving?” The cat gave him a disinterested look before curling up next to him. Jimmy tucked the pillow under his cheek and closed his eyes. Images of the night with her flooded his mind. His sensory memory went into overdrive. Her taste, her scent, the way her skin felt beneath his hands. Her body wrapped around his while he buried himself inside her heat. All of if flowed through him, drawing a groan from his throat. His body tensed and his cock twitched, coming to life.

But that wasn’t even the half of it. The way she’d been—the way she took control—had knocked him on his ass for sure. Sonja burst from her Upper East Side upbringing, and in doing so, took him to a place he never knew he wanted to go. In all his sexually active life, he’d never felt anything like it. After round one, Jimmy believed he’d died and gone to heaven. Then she completely let loose on him for round two, taking him higher than he’d ever been before.

Sonja had directed him to keep his hands above his head, not allowing him to touch her as she stroked his skin with her fingers and tongue. But then the situation went into overdrive. With his cock buried in the warmth of her mouth, Sonja drove him to the brink of pleasure-induced insanity, refusing to allow him to come. And as Jimmy was swept into a storm of physical bliss, he’d begged and pleaded for her to let him orgasm.

“Please” was the only word he’d been capable of saying. Until finally she granted permission and he exploded, spurting his climax down her throat.

Jimmy died a thousand deaths, only to be revived again and again with the sweet power of her words, mouth and hands. The road back from heaven led straight to hell. And what a sweet, carnal trip it’d been.

He burned for her, was still burning. The woman lit an inferno inside him no one had ever struck before. And he knew he’d burn for her forever. There’d be no stopping it now.

A loud bang at the front door ripped him from his thoughts, and also the bed. Jimmy was up and moving toward the stairs before thinking twice. Half way down the spiral staircase, he remembered he was buck-ass naked.
Shit.
Pivoting, he barreled back up and retrieved his sleep shorts.

The pounding resumed, echoing through the loft in a methodic beat. “I’m coming!” Jimmy hopped down two and three steps at a time, somehow managing to pull his shorts up over his ass. He didn’t bother checking the peephole, just threw the door open.

Andy blew past him and hung a left into his kitchen. “’Bout time you opened up. Jesus.”

“Come on in.” With a shake of his head, Jimmy closed the door and followed after her.

“So?” Andy pulled a couple of bagels from a brown paper bag, sliced them and popped them in the toaster. Jimmy leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. She glanced at him with one eyebrow raised before moving to his empty coffee pot.

“I’ll get it.” Entering his small kitchen, he pulled the filters and coffee from the cabinet.

“Ooh, nice perfume.” Andy grinned and pulled a small tub of cream cheese from the bag. “She’s got good taste. Tell me what happened.”

“Of course she’s got good taste. She’s with me.” He chuckled and set the pot to brew.

“
With
you, huh? Spill.”

“After I’ve had some caffeine and a shower.”

“Dude, I’m not waiting for you to shower before you tell me what happened. Yeah, obviously you fucked her. That much I can smell.” Andy scrunched up her nose and laughed. “On second thought, maybe you should shower first.”

“Andy, you’re such a girl. And yet…not.”

“Dick.”

He grinned and pulled two plates from the upper cabinet. “In your mouth.”

Andy gagged. “Fucking wrong, dude. Just wrong.”

“Hey, don’t knock what you haven’t tried.”

She rolled her eyes, pulled the hot bagels out of the toaster and tossed them down on the plates. Using a butter knife, she slathered each of the halves with a liberal amount of spread. His best friend knew he was kidding, and likely her silence meant she was contemplating her response. Knowing her, she’d wait until he had a mouthful of coffee or bagel before tossing a smart-ass comment his way, ensuring he’d almost choke to death.

The coffee pot beeped. Jimmy poured them each a cup. Andy took her plate and mug and headed toward his little dinette set in the living room area. Jimmy followed. Sitting across from her, he watched her with caution while she took a sip from her mug, and he took a bite of his bagel.

“A dick is a dick, is a strap-on, is a dick. Whatever works.” She shrugged and took another sip of coffee.

There it was.
Shit.
Jimmy laughed around his mouthful of food, covered his mouth with the napkin and did his damnedest not to choke. He swallowed. “I knew it was coming. Only a matter of time.” He chuckled. “And thanks for the visual. Christ, Andy.”

“Hey, what can I say? You asked for it.” She bit into her bagel. “So, are you officially off the market?”

He nodded and added a wink. “Consider me a taken man.”

“Noted. But tell me…” She leaned forward on her elbows. “Does your dream girl know this?”

Jimmy stared at his best friend, trying to figure out how best to answer the ten-million-dollar question. Leave it to her to ask him the one thing he didn’t know the answer to.

Andy raised her brows. “Go shower. You can think about your answer while you’re in there.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Now who sounds like a girl?”

Jimmy grunted and stood. “Eat your bagel. I’ll be back in ten.”

She grinned up at him. “Yes, dear.”

It wasn’t a hard question, and one he should know the answer to. How could Sonja not know she’d stolen his heart? Figuratively updating his Facebook status to “In a relationship with…” without him having to do it himself? She must know. And if she didn’t, he guessed his next move was to make sure she understood exactly what the deal was between them.

He was a man, after all. Men were hunters by nature and instinctively went for what they wanted. Jimmy wanted Sonja—had wanted her from the moment he met her. Okay, maybe not the exact moment he met her. Technically he thought she was a bitch when they first met, but about five minutes after, and once he’d started plying her with shots of Jäger, getting her to loosen up, he knew he wanted her.

Problem was, he still wasn’t sure if she wanted him.

After spending the afternoon with Andy, Jimmy settled on his sofa, his phone pressed to his ear, listening to it ring for what felt like a thousand times.

“Hello, James.”

Her sweet voice through the phone line was a balm to the anxiety knotting his stomach in fear she wouldn’t answer. Jimmy blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “How’s your Saturday been?”

“Overall it’s been okay. You?”

Slouching down on the couch, Jimmy propped his feet up on his coffee table, crossing them at the ankle. “After waking up in an empty bed, which kinda sucked, I have to say, it got better. Hung out with my best friend for most of the day.”

“Surely you didn’t expect to wake up next to me. I would think you’d prefer to wake alone. After all, isn’t that how things work when you’re single?”

Jimmy closed his eyes. She didn’t get it. “Yeah, I guess, except…”

“Except what?”

Screw it. He may as well hit her with it straight. “Except I would rather have woken up with you there, that’s all.”

“I can say your answer both surprises and confuses me.”

He chuckled before letting out a loud sigh. Nope, Sonja-the-lawyer did not get it. “And I can say your reaction, sadly, does not surprise me.”

“I’m not sure why or what to do with you.”

Jimmy dropped his feet to the floor and straightened, rubbing the spot between his brows. “No need to be sure. I have plenty of ideas.”

She let out a soft laugh. “Oh yeah, like what?”

Memories of the prior night with her played through his mind—vivid images of her naked body. Her voice echoing in his ears…
Bliss.
It’d been fucking bliss. But really, could you call something you hadn’t stopped thinking about since it happened a memory? It was more like a steady stream of awareness of an event he for sure wanted to repeat. He lowered his voice. “Liiiiike…what you did with me last night. That’s a fine place to start.”

“Hmm…so your desire is to have more than a one-night fling with me?” Her tone was matter of fact, almost threaded with disbelief, nowhere near inquisitive.

“Desire? No, Sonja. I
intend
to have much more than a one-night fling with you.”

“You sound quite sure of yourself.”

“I am.” He stood and walked to the loft’s big windows. “I know last night was more than a fling for you too, so don’t try and deny it. That kind of chemistry and being in sync with another person is rare and it
will
happen again.”

Silence stretched over the cellular waves between them. Her soft breaths in his ear were the only indication she was still on the line, until finally she spoke. “I can’t deny there was chemistry between us, but I’m not sure it’s wise to continue.”

“Wise?” He laughed. “Of course it’s wise. It’d be the smartest thing you’ve ever done. Trust me on that.”

“You love to annoy me. You love to pick fights with me. Why on earth should I trust you, James?”

“Tell you what. Come have a drink with me tonight and I’ll explain all the many reasons why you should trust me.”

“No.”

“No? That’s it? Just…no?” Jimmy pinched the bridge of his nose and paced in front of the windows. Jesus, she was stubborn.

“No is a complete sentence, James.”

“Yeah, you’ve said that before and, yeah, it is, but I don’t get it. Your favorite word to say to me is no. But last night you said yes. Finally. And you have to admit you’re grateful you did. The many orgasms we shared are proof of that.”

“I can admit I’m very grateful for the experience of last night.”

“Come have a drink with me, Sonja.”

“No. But if you must know, I have other commitments tonight I have to attend to.”

“Okay fine, you win. Tomorrow.”

“Sunday has its own set of commitments.”

Defeat and disappointment warred for first place in Jimmy’s heart. Resuming his spot on the couch, he rested his head back on the cushions and closed his eyes again. He thought for sure after last night, they’d be past the constant problem of her pushing him off. But, no. “No” was still her favorite answer when it came to him. And that fucking sucked. “You’re not going to make this easy, even a little bit, are you?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

Jimmy blew out an exasperated breath. “Oh, I think you do, but I’ll let it go for now.”

“Look, I had a very nice time last night.”

“Sonja, don’t. I’m not going anywhere. No matter how many times you tell me no, I’m not giving up. So, although I’ll concede defeat tonight, be ready for me to call tomorrow.”

“Fine. Have a good evening, James.”

“You too.” Jimmy tossed his phone on the couch beside him.

It was clear Sonja intended to keep him at a distance. Being patient wasn’t going to be easy for him, but he’d give it hell. He would show her, at every turn, he was serious. He’d found something that lit his world on fire—he knew it lit hers up just the same.

There was no way in hell he was going to let her rob either of them of that.

Chapter Nineteen

Sonja looked up from the file she was reading at her desk to find James standing in her office doorway.
Damn.

He smiled that wicked smile of his, holding up a large paper sack for her to see. “Care for some lunch?”

She blinked, straightening in her seat. “Um…”

James strolled into her office as if it were perfectly normal for him to be there. A black T-shirt, with some sort of white skeleton-and-angel design on it, clung to his chest. A pair of faded blue jeans with a few faint stains on them—might be paint or actual stain—hugged his long legs. Crap, he looked really good.

“Close your mouth, Sonja. It’s just food.”

She snapped her mouth closed and her cheeks got warm. Good grief, how embarrassing, but why did he think it was okay to just show up? “I realize it’s food, James. I just wasn’t expecting you.”

He smirked and set the paper bag on the meeting table to the right. “Well, if you checked your text messages once in a while, you might’ve known I was coming.”

She glanced at her phone resting on her desk. He was right. She’d heard her phone beep many times throughout the morning, even noticed his name coming up on the alert notifications, but chose to ignore him. The way she’d been with him the other night had been on a constant loop in her mind. Sonja had been out of control in a very controlled manner; her behavior was far too out of character for her.

She rubbed her arms. But what made it worse was she enjoyed every minute of the dominant actions she’d taken with him. She’d liked it—it made her uncomfortable how much she liked it. With her lifestyle, career and daughter, Sonja couldn’t afford such reckless behavior. She had no intention of seeing him again, and hoped, perhaps foolishly, he’d simply…go away. “I was busy. Working.” She pushed away from her desk and stood, annoyance prickling her skin. “I’m surprised you’re awake, really. What is it, twelve thirty? A little early for you.”

He looked her up and down. “Ha ha ha. You say the sweetest things to me. Come on, my uptight attorney. Come eat. I bet you didn’t even have breakfast, did you?”

The look in his eyes told her he approved of her chosen work attire. Though she couldn’t care less, her skin warmed in excitement knowing she pleased him.
Stay focused, Sonja.
Smoothing her palm up the back of her hair, she peered at the bag of food. “You shouldn’t worry about my eating habits, James.”

“And you shouldn’t worry about my sleeping habits, Sonja.” He pulled out a several cardboard containers of Chinese food. “Unless of course you plan on being next to me while I sleep.” His eyes were wide, like an inquisitive child asking for a treat. Good grief.

The aroma of the food hit her nose and her stomach let out a growl. Okay, yes, she was hungry. Fine, she’d eat. People could eat together and have it not be a “thing”. Plus, they’d eaten together before, but then again, they ended up at his loft with her pressed against the brick wall of his studio, his thigh nestled between her legs. Sonja stifled a groan and reached for the bag. “Don’t count on it.”

James tugged it out of reach. “Sit. I got this.”

“Okay, fine. As you wish.” Sonja pulled out a chair and took a seat.

He winked and set a cardboard plate and chopsticks in front of her. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got a bunch of different things. Veggie, non-veggie and a mix. Hope that works for you; I know how picky you are.”

It was sweet, even if she didn’t want to think of it that way, how he arranged the narrow paper package atop a napkin beside her plate. She didn’t want to pay attention to the endearing things he did, like how he wrapped the blankets around her when she was in his bed the other night. Sonja’s agitation melted into a warm puddle in her stomach. She clasped her hands together in her lap. “I’m not
that
picky.”

“Sonja, you give new meaning to the word picky.” He opened carton after carton of food. “Brown rice or white?”

“Brown, please. Can I get you a drink? Water, soda, coffee?”

“That’s the one thing you can do. Water works fine.”

Sonja nodded, stood and pulled two waters from the mini fridge behind her desk. Returning to the table, she set one in front of his plate and cracked her own, taking a healthy sip.

James deposited a large pile of brown rice on her plate. “What would you like?”

Sonja eyed the cartons. “What do you have that’s chicken?”

“Sesame chicken or sweet and sour?”

“A little of both.” She held her hand out. “May I serve myself please?”

“Can you not
let
someone do it for you?”

“Of course I can. But judging by the pile of rice on my plate, you’re going to force me to buy a new wardrobe.”

He held the container in his hands. “Please, like you have to worry about gaining weight. You’re perfect.”

Sonja flushed hot from head to toe. The man was delusional. She wasn’t perfect. Not too bad for her age, but definitely far from perfect. Especially compared to women his age. Sonja cringed and took the paper carton of sesame chicken from his hand. “I’m not perfect. But, thank you.”

“You’re also stubborn. Anyone ever tell you that?”

“I prefer to call it set in my ways.” She shrugged and scooped some chicken onto her plate and did the same with the sweet and sour. “You know, because I’m old. Too old for you.”

“Boo hiss. Killjoy. Age is a number and you know it.” James filled his plate with white rice, beef and broccoli and then some lo mien noodles, plus an egg roll.

Good grief where did he put it all, because Lord knew there wasn’t an ounce of fat on his delicious body. Sonja opened her package of chopsticks, split them apart and rolled them together in her hands to get the splinters off. “Everyone who’s under the age of forty says that.” When she looked up, he was beside her chair. Sonja’s breath caught in her throat.

He turned her, seat and all, toward him. Placing both hands on the arms of her chair, he leaned forward, coming nose to nose with her. “When are you going to let the age bullshit go?” His voice was a low grumble, vibrating over all her nerve endings.

Still recovering from her loss of breath, she did the only thing she could think of, she glared at him. James gave no ground. He simply glared right back. But then, instead of saying anything else, or waiting for an answer from her—the one poised on the tip of her tongue—he kissed her.

Hard, wet, hot and full of everything she hadn’t realized she was starving for. Sonja moaned into his mouth. He deepened the kiss, pressing her against the back of her chair. She tangled her tongue with his and threaded her fingers into his thick hair, pulling him closer. Have mercy on her soul, his mouth was a drug. How she had gone two-and-a-half days without it was beyond her realm of consciousness. It was ludicrous to deny herself this. What the hell had she been thinking?

James wrapped both arms around her waist and pulled her up and out of the chair. A frantic clash of tongues lit an inferno inside Sonja, which traveled between her legs and sent her clit pulsing. She pressed her body against him and explored his sides and back with her hands. Finding his hair again, she tugged the thick strands and nipped his lip.

James growled. Grabbing her ass, he hiked her closer and pressed the evidence of his arousal against her abdomen. With a whimper, Sonja reached between them and grabbed for the waistband of his jeans. She needed this—wanted his shaft in her hand. She got the button free, slid the zipper down and pushed her hand inside his pants. The heat of him was like a brand on her palm.

James grabbed her wrist.

Sonja froze.

He pulled away from her lips and pressed his forehead against hers. “Fuck. Does your office door have a lock? Because I’m about to bend you over the table.”

They were both panting and Sonja had to clear her throat before she could answer. “Yes, it has a lock. But we should stop.”

He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “Then you might want to take your hand off my cock.”

Sonja yanked her hand from his jeans like she’d been touching a hot stove. She cringed, and her face flushed hot. Embarrassment filled her like a rising tide, smothering any trace of the lust-infused fire burning a mere ten seconds ago. “Sorry.”

James threw his head back and laughed. “Christ, you’re fucking adorable.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Eat, Sunny.”

Sonja disentangled herself from his hold and stepped back. “Sunny?”

He took the seat next to the one she’d been in and dragged his food in front of him. “Yeah, short for sunshine.”

“Sunshine?”

“Yeah.” He popped a piece of broccoli in his mouth. “Sit, eat.”

Sonja took her seat and placed the napkin on her dress slacks. “I don’t do nicknames.”

He chuckled and took another bite. God, he was infuriating! Sunshine? Sunny? Really? Sonja was back to glaring at him again until she pinched a piece of chicken between the chopsticks and placed it in her mouth. With her senses back where they should be, her stomach reminded her she was, in fact, hungry. So, she swallowed her agitation along with the food he’d brought.

After a few mouthfuls, guilt settled like a cold breeze. It was
very
thoughtful of him to bring her lunch. She should be thanking him instead of being a bitch and picking apart his comments. However the fact she was about to drop to her knees a minute ago and take him into her mouth might’ve been thanks enough. She rolled her eyes.
Sexual favors for food? Great idea, Sonja.

They sat in relative silence and ate, and Sonja was grateful for the reprieve from the constant fight with him. Talk about a mental whiplash. One minute she was agitated and ready to throw him out, the next she was ready to climb his body like a play gym, and then boom, back to agitation a second later.

Mental-freaking-tennis.

Jimmy rubbed his stomach and leaned back in his seat. Lunch had hit the spot. Making out with Sonja had hit a better one. Eating dessert first had always been his favorite thing to do. True to form, she was fire and ice for him. And he fucking loved it. He loved kissing her and feeling her go all soft and hot against him and he also loved fighting with her. In his opinion, there was nothing better. Sonja wiped her mouth before folding the napkin and setting it on the table. She had very precise table manners. And he found them beyond adorable. He pretty much found every damn thing about her either sexy or adorable.

He was, in no uncertain terms, fucked.

He took a swig of his water. “Come out for drinks with me tonight.”

“I can’t.”

“Seriously, will you ever stop telling me no?”

Sonja sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

She wore a pair of fitted black dress slacks. A pale, almost-sheer, mint-green, loose-flowing blouse with what looked to be a green tank top underneath it. And his favorite: spiked pumps. Christ, she was tall already, and those heels made her runway-model tall. He wanted to see her in those heels and only those—or any others she had—naked in his bed. “Sounds promising. Maybe there’s hope. By the way, you look beautiful today.”

She frowned, her brow creasing above the bridge of her nose. “I’m dressed for business and the courtroom. I wouldn’t classify this as beautiful.”

“Thank you, James. Very kind of you to say.” He glanced away toward the floor-to-ceiling windows in her office, then back to her. “You’re very welcome, Sunny. But really, I think you would probably look beautiful in sweats and a T-shirt, so yeah.”

“I think you may have lost your mind.” She chuckled.

“Maybe so. But at least I’m enjoying the benefits of it.”

“What would those be?”

“You. You’re the benefit, Sunny.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“No. Ha! See, I can say no just like you can.” He grinned. “So, a negative on the drink tonight. What about tomorrow?”

“Hmm, probably not.”

“Tell you what. We can discuss it when I come by for lunch again.”

“James, you can’t just come here when you feel like it. I have work to do.”

“I’m well aware you have work. And, yeah, I can. So, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He stood, gathering the trash from their lunch and folding up the lids on their leftovers. “Gonna put these few cartons in your mini fridge. That way when you stay too late tonight, which I know you’ll do, you can pick at what you want.” Sonja watched him—her gaze like a brand on his skin—as he got everything in order and stowed the remainders in her fridge. When Jimmy turned back toward her she’d gotten to her feet and was still staring at him. He stepped in front of her. “I’ll let you get back to work now.”

“Thank you.” Her lips tilted into a small smile. She raised her hand as if to touch him, but stopped herself.

Jimmy inched closer. “Go ahead. Please. Touch me, mo chroí
.
”

“You still haven’t told me what that means.” She smoothed her palm up his arm. “Whatever it means, it sounds beautiful.”

Jimmy pulled her against him and poised his lips at her ear. “Beautiful is the perfect way to describe it.” He pressed a light kiss to the side of her neck. Her breath hitched and her delectable breasts pressed into his chest. “I want you,” he whispered. “And I know you want me. So, think about that tonight when you’re working. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Her words, riding on her sharp breaths, caressed his neck.

He gripped her waist in his hands, pressed a soft kiss to her lips and walked out of her office.