Love Realized (33 page)

Now that he had her total undivided attention, he would put her mind at ease. “I think last night with you was more than wonderful, baby.” Pausing to kiss her softly on the lips, before he continued, “There is no word good enough to describe how it felt for me.” This time he kissed her on the tip of her nose, maintaining eye contact as he slowly withdrew and thrust again. “I’ve waited for well over a decade to feel the passion that I knew we could have together …” His kiss was on her forehead this time as he once again pulled himself from her body before slowly thrusting back in. He made sure she could feel every inch of his body entering hers. “It was more than I could have ever hoped for … and it is all I will ever need in this lifetime.” He punctuated his statement by claiming her mouth again and sliding his tongue against hers.

He felt her body respond once again when it tightened around him as her tongue dueled with his. The pure arousal he felt and the passion that ignited between them set him on the edge of losing all control. Again. She didn’t say anything in response to his words. She didn’t have to. He could see it in her eyes, feel it in her body’s response to him. She knew enough about him to realize that this was it for him, there was no turning back … she was his now. His always.

He pressed her hard into the wall and took up a steady pace of thrust and retreat that had them both climbing to the crescendo of bliss they wanted to reach. It just couldn’t get any better than this, he thought, as he felt the signs of her body going over the edge. Gillian’s head fell back against the wall and her body tightened around him as her orgasm began to take over. “Oh, God … Jake …
Oh …”

Jake bent forward and pressed his mouth to space on her neck, just below her ear, and gently suckled her skin as he kept up his rhythm. He felt the grip of her hands in his hair as she held his head to her neck. He growled as she spurred him on with her response to him. God, he loved the feel of her hands on him. And the moment he sank his teeth into the skin of her neck, he felt her come undone. Gillian gasped and cried out as her body once again came apart in his arms. The sheer ecstasy of the moment pulled Jake under, too, as he listened to her cry out his name in release. That was when he realized that it could get better, because there was nothing more satisfying than hearing Gillian call out his name while he was pulsing deep inside of her body … absolutely nothing.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

Gillian couldn’t get over how easy it was to be with Jake. Once she got past her concern that things would be too complicated, she was able to relax. They had known each other for so long and had always spent time together, that just
being
with him now felt like second nature to her. Only now, she was able to enjoy the benefits of his touch, and damn, that touch was fantastic. After Jake had her panting his name in the shower, they managed to untangle themselves and actually do what was necessary to get clean. He helped her wash her hair, which felt so great; she thought she could’ve fallen asleep on her feet. The way he caressed her body and tended to her was a little surreal, almost like she was being cherished … worshipped. The way he made her feel, and how comfortable she was with touching him, she realized how right all this felt. She knew this was definitely where she was supposed to be.

Standing in front of the mirror, in only a tank top and comfy shorts, she was brushing her teeth when Jake strolled in, looking delicious in only a pair of jeans. The mirror afforded her the ability to watch him as he pressed up against her, and his hands found her waist. She watched as he leaned down and reverently placed a kiss on the exposed skin of her shoulder and his hands snaked around her waist and just held her. He stayed like that for a few moments, inhaled deeply, and then lifted his head to meet her gaze in the mirror. Once again, she was surprised with how normal it felt to have him do that. None of it seemed awkward like she feared it would. It was as if the pieces just … fit.

He smiled at her and said, “You smell so good.” He buried his face in her hair that had just been dried and inhaled deeply again. “I just can’t take in enough of you.” She smiled at him as he looked back at her reflection, then she remembered she was brushing her teeth. She bent to spit in the sink and it pushed her bottom right into him, allowing her to feel his erection. After quickly rinsing and spitting again, she stood up and turned within the circle of his arms.

“You can’t possibly want more,” she said as her hands cupped his cheeks, and her hips pressed forward into his.

“Baby, I just told you, I can’t get enough of you. Your smell.” She felt his nose against her neck as he smelled her before he said, “Your taste.” And then his tongue warmed the skin there, which tickled, making her laugh a little then squirm in his arms. He pulled back and smiled at her, “Your laugh.”

“That’s very sweet, Jake.”

“It’s true, Gillian. Yes, I want more, I
need
more. I can’t get enough of your body, of your touch … I want it all.” He placed a kiss to her lips and slowly retreated, watching her as he did. He was waiting for her response.

There was only one thing to say to all of that, “I'm already yours, Jake.”

His smile was electrifying as he proceeded to pick her up so she had no choice but to wrap her legs around his waist. She had to giggle again as he began to carry her out of the bathroom. “I can walk, you know.”

“I like you better like this. I’ve decided this is my favorite position to have you in. Make sure you understand that means you will be in this position whenever I feel it appropriate or necessary,” he declared as he carried her out of her bedroom toward the front of the house.

“Um, Jake, you missed the bed,” she said in a playful tone that only had him grunting like a caveman in response.

“Must feed woman. Need food for energy. Jake have you again after.”

Her laughter at his antics couldn’t be contained at that point, and she leaned down to kiss him. As he placed her bottom on the cold kitchen counter, she squealed at the contact. “Oh my God, warn a girl before you do that.”

“I'm sorry, baby. Should we do something to create some friction that will allow your ass to warm up the counter top. I’ve got an idea of what might work.”

“I bet you do. But you’re the one who said ‘must feed woman,’ and now I'm hungry.”

Jake huffed a laugh then leaned in and kissed her again. “And what does my woman want?”

“What are you offering?” she asked.

He pressed up against her more firmly so she could feel his hardness again, “Oh you know what I'm offering babe.”

She was really enjoying the sexual banter they had going on, since they had never done that before, so she played along. Reaching down, she cupped him through his jeans, gave him a sultry look and replied, “Oh, I know what you’re offering.”

“Fuck. It feels so good to have you touching me.” He closed his eyes and groaned as he pressed into her hand more. “But if you keep doing that, I’m going to have you naked and bent over this counter in two seconds flat.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” She had barely finished her sentence before she was flung over the top of Jake’s shoulder and presented with a perfect view of one very fine ass. Jake’s stride as he hurried back toward the bedroom while carrying her wasn’t slowed down a bit.

His hand gave her ass a smack, and she squeaked as he said, “You’re damn right it’s a bad thing, Gillian. People have a terrible habit of just showing up here and barging in. I’m not risking this sweet ass being seen by anybody else ever again. It’s mine.” Gillian wasn’t giggling anymore as she once again found her system flooding with arousal when Jake tossed her down on the bed. And breakfast was all but forgotten as Jake proceeded to show her exactly how much he wanted and needed her.

Once Jake had Gillian again, he felt comfortable enough to let her out of bed without the risk of groping her in public. His need to touch her, though, was just as strong as ever so there was rarely a moment he wasn’t holding her hand or wrapping his arm around her waist. He was very proud of the fact that he managed to control his desire to carry her around. After the morning had gotten away from them, he had to take her out for breakfast; otherwise he knew they would never eat.

Jake decided to head over to Coronado Island where they could get some good food and then take a walk. The scenery was great, the day was warm, and conditions were perfect to just enjoy the day. They were walking hand in hand along the sidewalk next to the Hotel del Coronado, one of the historic landmarks on the island that was well over one hundred years old, when Gillian stopped. Jake turned to see a hesitant look on her face so he asked, “What’s the matter, beautiful?”

She was biting her lip, seeming to be thinking of how to answer. He didn’t like that she felt nervous about whatever it was she was thinking about so he had to reassure her. He stopped and sat on a bench at the edge of the sidewalk and pulled her into his lap. Once she was there, and his arms were secured around herm he asked again, “Tell me what has you worried? You have to know you can tell me whatever you’re thinking about.”

There was a soft breeze, and it blew her hair forward so that it surrounded the two of them. There was so much of it that almost blocked out the beach around them, which he had no problem with. She smiled as she tried to gather all of it and then proceeded to twist and braid it over her shoulder in an attempt to control it. He watched the expression on her face as she pondered what she was going to say. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, then said, “I wanted to talk to you about Logan.” Immediately on guard, for no reason other than remembering what happened between him and Logan the night before—which he had almost forgotten about completely—he rubbed his hand up her back, gently trying to encourage her to go on.

“I’m sorry about what happened last night. He apparently felt he should try to make one more attempt to beg me to reconsider our divorce.” She wasn’t looking at him as she played with the thick braid of hair she had just created. Jake wasn’t going to push her since she was talking, so he just continued to stroke her back. He was fine with it so long as he was touching her. After a long pause, she said, “I, of course, made sure he knew that was a firm no— that there was no chance for reconciling, and that I was not his anymore.”

She lifted her head to make eye contact with him, and smiled shyly. “But I realized something last night. I realized that for the first time in months, I didn’t feel lost. I felt comfortable with the fact that I was no longer married to Logan, that I was moving on.” After another pause, she placed her hand on his cheek, and he couldn’t help but lean into her touch. “I realized that I was moving on, and that I wanted to do that with you.”

Jake felt warmth immediately infuse his chest as he listened to Gillian’s sweet confession. She didn’t declare her love for him, but she would, he was sure of it. He smiled up at her and stroked
her cheek just as she did to him. “You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear words like that from you.” Pulling her lips down to meet his, he whispered, “Thank you.” Then he kissed her. He kissed her with all the passion he felt between them; it was the only thing to do. It was what the moment required. Sitting there in his lap, on a public beach where people were mulling about, Jake fell even more in love with Gillian, and he knew that no matter what, she needed to know that he was her future now.

Slowly breaking off the kiss, he held her forehead against his as they caught their breath. He hugged her tighter to him as he said, “Gillian, baby, you’re mine. I need you to know that this is it. I'm not going anywhere. I’m so glad that you realized you wanted to move on with me,” he pulled back and gave her a mischievous smile and said, “But I already knew that.”

She did that adorable snort thing and said, “Is that so?”

“Oh yes, it is … and it’s about time you caught up with the plan.” Because he knew her so well, it was very easy for the two of them to have their conversation go from deep and emotional to light and fun.

So when she retorted in a playful snarky voice, “And what exactly is this plan you speak of, Jake Michaels? Or is it more of a
need to know
kind of plan?”

“Of course not. It’s a simple plan, and it will be very easy to carry out. You see there is only one thing that needs to be done.” He gave her a pointed look and said, “All you have to do is love me, because I already love you. Everything else, it’s just fluff, it can be dealt with. Logan, the kids, our friends, all of it can be handled, so long as we get to love each other.” She was quietly watching him, absorbing his words. He knew it was too much to expect she would actually say the words I love you, but he couldn’t help but feel hopeful. And while hope was a dangerously evil emotion to have at times, he didn’t think this was one of those times. He was confident that he would get it sometime very soon.

Still looking at him, she smiled sweetly, leaned in, and pressed her lips against his forehead before pulling back and saying, “So long as we get to love each other, huh?” Jake just gave a quick nod at her question. Then she said words that were as close to an
I love you
as he could hope for, “You know what? You’re right. That seems like a very easy plan to carry out.”

~*~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~*~

Gillian knew that if their relationship was any older, she would have said the words I love you to Jake then. But for some reason, it just felt like a response. He deserved more than a response to his declaration. He deserved it to be delivered to him with all the emotion that she was feeling then. It deserved its own declaration, and he would get it that way. His answering smile to her response was big, and beautiful, and so full of happiness that she couldn’t help but smile at him indulgently. He was definitely like a drug to her—she fed off his happiness. Knowing that there was still plenty to discuss about complications they could face, she knew the biggest was going to be Logan.