AJ's Salvation (19 page)

It was a foggy morning and the water looking almost as pale as the sky above it. Aly was drinking coffee and enjoying a free day off. After the excitement the day before, she had decided to take a few quiet hours. She had even told Spencer to stay away. She knew he was only worried, but Aly needed to clear her head. It was scary knowing people were finally in on her big, bad secret, yet she felt liberated in many ways.

“I don't know what it is about mornings, but you're never more beautiful than in those early hours.” Her mind was playing tricks on her. She was wishing for Jam so bad, she even heard him. 

“Stop torturing me,” she pleaded in a low voice, hoping her brain would follow suit and just stop its tempting whisper.

“I'm not here to hurt you more,” the voice in her head promised, and she closed her eyes, hiding her face in her hands. She couldn't take any memory of Jam, especially not the way his voice caressed her skin. “Alessia, look at me,” the voice pleaded and then warm hands engulfed her own, taking them away. In utter surprise, her eyes sprang open, and she found green eyes staring at her warm and tear-filled. 

“I'm so sorry,” Jam whispered over and over again until Aly couldn't help but shake her head. He shouldn't be with her; as much as she had wished he'd be so she could make things right with him, he needed to be back in Townsend with Alessandro.

“You left our son ... your son alone back home? With no one to watch over him?” she screamed, starting to beat her fists against his chest in a rapid succession. He caught her wrists, pulling her close so she had no room to move.

“Greg will check on him, and so will Phil and Dorly. They'll figure something out. Your lawyer called my lawyer, which, by the way, is the woman in the picture,” he said carefully, still holding onto her wrists as if he was worried she'd hit him more. Just then, she remembered who stood in front of her and instant regret took over her body. She had hit him. As if he hadn't suffered enough. Appalled at her own actions, she stepped back, raising her offending hands to her mouth.

“I'm so sorry, Jam. I shouldn't have hit you. I just didn't ... I was so upset, but it's no excuse to hurt you like that! I'm so sorry!” She stepped back farther, but another time, he reached for her hands, making sure she met his eyes.

“In contrast to what you might think, you aren't that strong, Aly. You couldn't hurt me with that. I've known much worse. I understand you're upset, and you have every right to be.” He caressed her knuckles and then raised her hands to his lips to kiss her palm before pressing them against his cheeks. “I could even understand if you tell me to get lost after all I said to you the last time I was here. I felt cornered, so I attacked. You didn't deserve that.”

She heard the words but couldn't believe he was apologizing. 

“Stop it, Jamison! Just stop it! I had no right to say the things I did. I had no right to push you as I did. It was my fault you lashed out. And by any means, I have no illusions about your sex life. And while it maybe didn't mean anything to you what we shared, it -” He hushed her with his fingertips on her lips. She had missed him so much; this little touch gave her tingles like none had in a long time.

“Aly …” He just whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. She could see it all on his face—worry, regret, longing—and it made her weak. Looking at him, she knew he could make her forget her pain just for a little while. 

“Jam,” she gave back, just holding his glance while taking a deep breath. She had imagined what it would be like to make love to him for the last decade, but ever since he'd been with them, every night he slept innocently next to her, her heart had been racing and she had wondered how it would be. Now, she needed to find out, and nothing short of her son returning would keep her from it.

Jam saw the change in her posture, and it made his breath hitch. 

“Do you have anywhere to be?” she asked, her eyes getting dark as she let her gaze roam over his body. They had everywhere to be, but Jam couldn't care less. Shannon was meeting that Lenard guy, and maybe it wasn't the worst idea to let the two lawyers talk it out first. They could do without them for a few hours, right? Besides, he had wanted to make it up to Aly, and he was more than glad he had the chance now. No one knew what would happen once he and Shannon returned to Townsend. He had an uneasy feeling in his stomach, a sense of foreboding hanging over his head like a cloud in a stormy sky. 

Without an answer, he drew her close, kissing her as if his life depended on it. Even though that was not the case, she could very well affect his sanity.

“Good,” she breathed against his lips, and he picked her up, carrying her back to her own house. He didn't bother locking the door. He didn't even bother making sure that it had fully shut before carrying her up the stairs. He had expected this to be a frantic thing—tearing off clothes, nibbling on lips—but suddenly, she looked as if she was afraid of him.

“What now?” he asked, frustration making him sound whiny. Amusement had entered her eyes before she sobered again.

“You didn't like it much when I undressed you. In fact, I had the feeling you didn't like undressing. Period,” she explained carefully, not meeting his eyes any longer. He placed her on the bed and then leaned over her, one hand on either side of her beautiful face.

“For the things I have in mind, and the ones you obviously have been thinking about, I kinda need to get out of my clothes.” Even if it made him feel uncomfortable. Especially since he couldn't cloak the room in darkness. She must've seen something in his eyes since she reached out and then moved to kiss him gently. With her body only, she forced him to sit back on his heels, making his whole body accessible to her. She cupped the back of his neck, drawing herself closer to him while intensifying the kiss. It was crazy, but his whole body instantly stood at attention. Her lips traveled down his jawline, brushing the slight shadow of a beard he kept carefully trimmed. Her reaction to his other scars had been enough; he didn't need her to know he had more than just the cut on the lip on his face.

Tentative, yet without taking her lips from his skin, she brushed her hands under his shirt and he involuntarily tensed. If she realized it, she didn't let on, just pushing the material higher and then pausing long enough to pull it over his head and throw it to the floor. Her eyes stayed on his face as she leaned in and then kissed him again, letting her hands touch his skin. He watched her until her fingertips brushed his chest and then his nipples. He hissed, sensations exploding in his body. It was as if for years he had kept himself from feeling the little things. Making him feel the way her nails teased his skin, the hot trail her lips were leaving on his neck, or the way her shaky breath zigzagged over his shoulder every time she exhaled.

He let his head fall back, deciding to fully enjoy her sweet torture for now. He didn't mind her taking over control because he knew she was nothing like Collene. With Aly it would be a kind of giving and taking; raw desire reflected in every one of her movements.

She nipped and bit lightly wherever she liked until Jam was ready to come in his pants. She knew exactly how to be gentle yet tempting. When she pointed him to lay down, he swallowed. She instantly went for the buckle of his belt, her hands brushing the erection straining against his jeans, ready for her to worship.

“Aly, Aly, Aly,” he brought out, his voice rough with need and longing while he grabbed her arms, trying to stop her. “If you touch me one more time, this is not gonna take long for both of us,” he promised, but the glint in her eyes told him that she didn't care.

Pants and boxers were gone at once, and he was naked on the bed while she looked down at him, licking her lips. She was the sexiest thing he had ever seen, and he needed to get her undressed
pronto
! 

Crawling to where she was standing at the edge of the bed, he felt strangely liberated. No matter which scars he had, she didn't mind in the slightest. In fact, he almost felt handsome with the way she looked at him. It was something no one else had ever been able to give him, and Jam suddenly wanted to propose to her right there and then because, rain or shine, he wanted her tied to him. Somehow, though, he figured asking her to marry him naked with his cock hanging out in the cold air probably wasn't what she expected or deserved. Besides, Alessandro wasn't yet safe. Going down on one knee would have to wait until after they’d solved this situation.

“You're looking at me funny. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind staring at your absolute divine sight, but this kinda makes me nervous,” she said in a hushed whisper, and Jam grinned, having her under him before she had even realized he had reached for her. 

Her delighted giggle made him take a deep, calming breath, especially since he wanted to wipe that smug smile off her face. He pushed her shirt up and pulled the cups of her bra down until they didn't cover her breasts anymore, but supported them, making her nipples jut out to him. He leaned down, sucking them between his teeth until she all but writhed under him, her fingers digging into the sheets. He let his tongue tease the sensitive peak before switching sides and applying the same treatment to her free breast. Aly panted, goosebumps covering her body as he gently blew on the skin he had just worried with his teeth. Another time he leaned in, now cupping one breast with his hand while taking care of the other. It was a game he enjoyed playing until she cried out his name in a desperate plea. 

She wanted more, and he was definitely ready to give it to her.

Aly was sure Jam meant to kill her with anticipation. She wanted them to become one, but instead, he kept teasing her skin until she was ready to take matters into her own hands. As if he had felt the direction her thoughts went, he finally kissed his way lower and lower until his handsome face vanished between her thighs, making her panic. It had been forever since she'd been close to a guy, but never before had she allowed anyone to kiss, let alone do other stuff, where Jam was heading right now.

“Jamison,” she started just when he put his mouth on her and deliberately swiped his tongue up and down slowly. “Oh, my God,” she moaned, her body tingling in all the right places.

“Still want me to stop?” he asked, his eyes shining with mischief. So he had known exactly what she intended to say. 

Her thoughts were jumbled, yet she tried to collect her wits enough to reply. “Well,” she started just as he lowered his lips again, flicking the tip of his tongue over her sensitive nub in a few quick successions until she bowed off the bed, drowning her hands in his hair. He pulled her closer, holding her hips still while varying between letting her have his whole tongue and just the tip. She couldn't say what she liked more, but there was no question that both brought her close to a very intense orgasm. Just then, he started to suck her sensitive nub between his teeth, biting down ever so slightly. It was enough to make her call out his name as she came. He didn't stop, drawing her orgasm out until she was a shivering mess. 

He looked too damn self-satisfied when he came up to meet her lips, and she absolutely didn't like that. They both should be on the same page.

He actually was cocky enough to smack his lips and rest back against the headboard in all his naked glory; looking like a man who had just cured an incurable disease. 

“You feel pretty good about yourself, don't you?” she asked, moving slowly, realizing her voice was huskier than she thought. He just gave her another grin, and she leaned over him, biting her lip while he was watching her. 

Jam just popped an eyebrow, looking a lot less smug as she wrapped her fingers around his erection, gently moving her hand up and down, actually lowering her eyes to the task at hand. “Aly?” he inquired quietly and then made her meet his eyes.

She crawled closer, still holding onto him before positioning herself right above his cock. His eyes widened as she lowered herself down on him. It gave her intense pleasure to watch the way he drew in a sharp breath and then threw his head back, his fingers digging into the same sheets she had gripped not ten minutes prior.