No Dress Required (5 page)

He brushed a kiss over her forehead, a habitual gesture he couldn’t shake. Didn’t want to. “You do realize,” he began, his voice as thick as the lump in his throat, “that once we do this, I’m going to want to do it all the time. Daily. Maybe hourly, at least until the cramps set in.”

Nellie smiled up at him, her eyes more golden than he’d ever seen them. In the early morning light, she looked ethereal and impossibly pretty. “I damn sure hope so.”

Jake pressed her back into the mattress and covered her body with his. She reached for his hands. Knotting their fingers one by one felt like an oath, and his heartbeat sped up at the feel of the pulse in her wrist. Trust swelled between them, linking them as surely as their bodies, when he dragged in a breath and thrust inside her with one long stroke.

She cried out and he dropped his forehead to hers. His thighs quivered with the effort it took to stay still, and his skin stretched too tightly over nerves that skittered from the sensation overload. Even his body seemed aware of the significance of this moment.

“Jake.”

“Nellie,” he replied hoarsely, kissing away her wince. He’d been rougher than he intended but he’d make it up to her.

When he started to move, she hurried to keep up, her hips arching and falling in a graceless rhythm. No matter how hard he tried to gauge her reactions, he couldn’t match her movements. The exact opposite of their well-orchestrated kisses, this was awkward and messy and
real
. Not some star-dusted love scene, but inept sex.

Ironically, it made him feel miles more confident.

Eventually, he gave in to the laughter dying to escape and released one of her hands to grip her chin. “Stop thinking,” he whispered, dropping small kisses all around her mouth. “Just this once, give me the reins.”

“Okay.” She blew out a breath and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, as if concentrating on loosening her muscles one by one. Almost immediately some of the tension left her body.

“There’s my girl.” He sucked the underside of her jaw in a way that left no doubt of how she made him feel. Hot, hungry, wild with need.

Like magic, she relaxed further into the sheets. Letting him take control and guide her where they both wanted to go.

He didn’t start thrusting again until she softened and heated around his length, every part of her melting underneath him. Slowly he rocked, the weight of his body a subtle dominance she would either respond to or fight. Judging by the bloom under her skin and the drops of sweat that popped up along her hairline, she liked it.

Their fingers locked and she gasped when he pushed in a fraction of an inch, then an inch more. Fucking heaven. Instead of clenching up, now she opened for him like a tulip in the sun, taking him so deep that he lost track of giving her pleasure and could only drown in his own.

There was no stopping the commands of his body as he began to drive into her. Hard. Fast. One stroke leading to another until his balls began to throb. Again, he’d gotten there too quickly, just like last night. But he needed to spill himself inside her, to know that she’d come with him. Later he would take his time.

For once, an orgasm wasn’t the finish line. It was a beginning.

He slanted his mouth over hers and drew in her cries, his cock pumping as she writhed through her climax. And then it was his, too, spinning out to encompass them both.

Dimly, he felt her wrap her arms around him, her warmth enveloping him like a blanket. Why had he ever been afraid to reach for something that felt so…safe?

“Jake,” she murmured, ending with a sigh that said everything.

He had no doubts left. He was ridiculously in love with Nellie Gregory.

Noelle drifted on Jake for a good long while. His scent, his weight, his length filling her. She’d happily die just like that, once she got some of the unpleasantries out of the way.

“Jake?” He lifted his head, his eyes still unfocused all these minutes later. She sifted her fingers through his hair, wanting to smother his face with kisses. “I’ve got something to say. You might not like it, but I’m okay with that. Just like I thought I’d be okay with sleeping with you for only one night.”

That
got rid of the cobwebs fast. His eyes cleared. “Yeah, that shocked the hell out of me. I thought I was the only one whose brain lived in the gutter.”

She tried not to giggle at the irony. With as many wet dreams as she’d had about Jake, she could’ve charged him rent in her subconscious. “Not hardly. But then we kissed and you completely changed my plans. Even getting carjacked didn’t screw up my night as much.”

“Uh, thanks. I think.”

Now she did laugh, so happy that she could with him. Having sex with him had been wonderful, yes, but it wasn’t what she’d needed deep down. She’d been looking for home. Security.

Him.

“You made me fall in love with you,” she said, already bracing for his response. Did his claim of not being ready mean he’d fallen or wouldn’t let himself? “Not just from your kiss, of course. I think I was most of the way there. But that tipped me over.”

His silence gnawed at her spine. As did his owlish expression. “You’re way too young for me.”

She’d expected as much, so she didn’t blink. “Six years is nothing. Next?”

“You’re my sister’s best friend.”

“Which means I’m already vetted by the family. Next?”

“You’re a shameless flirt and you drive me crazy with jealousy every time you start dating some creep who could never deserve you.”

“I do?” The glow of joy couldn’t be squelched. Then she peered closer at his grin. “You don’t get crazy over anything. You’re as steady as a sunrise.”

“Wrong.” He kissed the tip of her nose and shifted inside her, making her moan. “I’m crazy about you.”

“Really?”

“So crazy, in fact, that I’m going to break my devout moral code and go get another of my sister’s condoms so we can immediately have more sex. In her guest bedroom. Like horny teenagers.”

She giggled as he pulled back. “Wait. So you don’t mind that I’m in love with you? It doesn’t freak you out? I thought you weren’t ready.”

“I may be more ready than I thought.” His smile grew. “And actually it’s pretty handy you love me since I’ve already had my heart smashed around like day old potatoes once this year.”

She waited,
her
heart chugging in her chest like a runaway train. He wouldn’t just stop there, would he?

Jake sucked in a breath and reached for her hand, pressing a tender kiss to her palm. “I’m in love with you, too.”

She went stock still beneath him. “You can’t be. Can you?”

“I sure can.” He forcefully flexed his lower half and she didn’t know whether to whimper or laugh. “I’ll prove it you by extending our New Year’s celebration just as soon as you let me get latexed up again.”

“Wait,” she said when he again tried to rise.

Jake rolled his eyes. “What now, woman?”

“I just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to worry.”

His dark brows dipped low over his eyes. “Huh?”

“About your ex going into the convent because you suck in bed.”

He shuddered and passed his hand over his face as if he wanted to wipe away his thoughts. “Was I that transparent?”

With a smile, she stroked his prickly jaw and marveled at how sexy he looked with stubble. How sexy it was that she’d feel it on her cheeks and the tops of her breasts… “Yeah, just a little. But the good news is you’re officially a stud. I should know.”

“Am I going to want to hear this?” he asked, wincing.

“Yes. Because I fantasized about you so damn much I figured there was no way the reality could measure up. But it did. More than. Better than Christmas, New Year’s, and the Fourth of July wrapped into one.”

“Oh. So no pressure for next time then.” Laughing, he lowered his head to her breast, nuzzling the pebbled tip gently until her moan prompted him to claim her mouth. His kisses drugged her, so sweet and delicious she’d happily stay right there forever.

“None at all. We should pretend it’s the first time, every time. That we just met and fell in love at first sight. Then we won’t have to think about pesky things like sisters and best friends and that I really don’t mind that much when you call me Nellie, no matter what I say.” She spoke against his mouth, thrilled that she could see the same bubbling excitement she felt shining back at her in his eyes. “So…hello, Jacob. Nice to meet you. Can we please have sex now?”

Another laugh rumbled through his chest. He rolled off the bed and waggled his brows. “Absolutely,
Nellie
.”

“I’m so going to make you pay for that.” She reclined seductively against the pillows. From the way his expression glazed, the pose had the desired effect. “One of the things in my car was the dress I bought to wear for you at the party. The cops verified it was still in the backseat. So unless you get back here fast, I might not ever let you see it. And Jake? You
want
to see it.”

Without another glance her way, he dashed out of the room. “Back in under a minute. Time me,” he called.

She chuckled and stretched her arms over her head. Even though
nothing
had gone according to plan, she’d had the most amazing New Year’s ever.

Best of all? They’d created the magic all on their own.

No dress required.

To my amazing editor Heather Howland, thank you for your endless patience, your mad design skills, and for making me laugh!