Burning Up (3 page)

“Do you really need that to talk to me?” He pointed at the glass in my hand. I shrugged and stared at the pungent liquid as it sloshed around the glass.

“Layla, you don’t need an alcohol shield. We’re just talking. You’re here and that’s the important thing. But we both have things to say. It’s best we do it now rather than later.”

He sauntered over and took the glass from my hand. Shooting me a half smile, he downed it and spluttered.

“Straight, huh?”

I chuckled as his face screwed up. Jared preferred a little soda with his liquor. Shaking his head, he held out his hand for mine. I obliged gladly and smiled as he lifted it to his face and held it against his cheek. Pressing a kiss to my palm
, he gazed at me.

“Come, sit with me.” He led me to the couch and we sat side by side. Our fingers entwined and rested between us. I stared at the floor. I didn’t know what to say or where to begin. But fortunately, I didn’t have to.

“Layla, I need to know what happened to us. Where did it all just fall apart? Why?" It was a simple question with a difficult answer.

“We both fucked it up
, Jared. We could never seem to just be honest with each other. You had your secrets and you were so infuriatingly intense all the time. Sometimes I felt like I was flying while other times I felt like you were suffocating me. I don’t think we were really broken until …”

“Until you kissed him
…” he interrupted.

My lips pressed into a hard line and I nodded. It was the truth. That kiss had sealed my fate where Ollie and I were concerned. I lusted, ached
, and longed for him. The sexual chemistry between us was tangible. 

That kiss had confirmed it and I was powerless to control the fallout it created. The way I felt about him now, well, that was something entirely different. It was something that had surprised even me.

“That broke me, Layla. I’d given you everything, including my trust and faith. Then, finding out you’d betrayed me like that, even if you didn’t want or ask for that kiss, you still kept it from me. You broke my trust in you.”

I understood how he must have felt
, but I hadn’t been the only one to mess up. Lifting my head I stared across the room at the bar.

“You broke my trust
, too. That morning I found Lucy at the house, it almost destroyed me. Even now I can’t get over why you kept it from me. You say you trusted me, but you clearly didn’t trust me enough to tell me you had a sister. We both played our parts in this Jared.
We
lied, hid things, and snuck around. I know it must have really hurt you when you found out about Ollie and me at Christmas. I didn’t want you find out that way. Mel was so wrong to do that.”

He let out a long and exasperated sigh.

“Layla, you know why I couldn’t tell you about Lucy. I thought we went over that. It wasn’t about trust. It was about keeping you safe. Look what happened in Felix’s apartment. Look at what he almost did to you! I can’t even think about what could have happened to you. It makes me sick. And no, I can’t say that particular piece of news really made my Christmas. It’s right up there with you walking out on me, twice, and you telling me you love him. All things I’d rather forget.” He held my chin between his thumb and finger and turned me to face him. His piercing blue eyes penetrated my soul.

“This brings me to my next question
, and I need the truth. Do you still love him?”

I gulped
, and he saw it. It was also written painfully all over my face. I nodded, completely unable to force a single word past the lump in my throat.

He nodded back at me, released my chin and pressed his lips into a hard line.

“Then why are you here?”

I reached out and cupped his face in my hands forcing him to look into my eyes as I spoke. “Because I want us to have this chance. How often does a feeling like this come along? I chose you, Jared. I’m here and I’m staying. I’m serious about us and I want to be with you. It’s true
; I love him. I won’t lie about it. A small piece of me always will. He was my friend first and I’m sure, in time, it’ll fade. But this thing between us is strong, and I know where I am meant to be.” I traced my fingertips down his neck to his chest, resting my palm over his thundering heart.

“I belong right here
… with you. I love you.”

His eyes burned and I could feel his breathing quickening beneath my hand.

In a swift movement, he leapt at me, pushing me down onto the couch with his weight as he pressed me into the thick leather cushions. He kissed me deeply as his hands roamed over my body. I melted in his arms. It was familiar, secure, and I ached to be closer to him in every way. But as his hand slid inside my shirt, I halted him, gripping his wrist in my palm.

He snapped his head up and stared at me, wounded and confused.

“No. I can’t. Not yet. Too much of
us
, is about sex. I just got here, and we still have
so
much to talk about.”

“What is there to talk about? You’re here, I’m here, we love each other and I want you, Layla. I ache for you. I thought you felt the same or did I read you wrong?”

He wasn’t wrong. He was
unbelievably
right. He usually was. I was hot for him, that was obvious to both of us, but we were falling back into our old patterns, and let’s be honest, they didn’t exactly work for us before.

“I
do
want you. I want you
so
much that it’s making me crazy. But this is too fast. I want us to get to know each other again. I want us to be friends as well as lovers. Don’t you?”

“We are friends, we always were. You’re my
best
friend Layla.”

“The best friend you didn’t trust with secrets? The best friend you lied to and hurt? I know I’m not innocent in it all
, but you have to see that we need time. I’m not going to run, Jared. I’m here. I chose you. Sex won’t make me want to be with you. This does.”

I took his hand and placed it on my chest. He gazed at me and smiled a little. “I love you. We don’t need to rush. We have all the time in the world.”

His smile widened and he slowly leaned closer. His lips were so close to mine I could feel his warm breath on my own partially opened mouth. I sighed gently. His lips were simply delicious. They made me quiver just knowing what those lips could do to me. I remembered how they could make me need, ache, and beg for him.

“You’re anxious.”

I gazed at him as his hand reached up and pulled my bottom lip from the clamping of my teeth on it. I hadn’t even noticed I was doing it. I wasn’t anxious; I was excited and turned on purely from the proximity of his body to mine.

I pressed my lips together and he shook his head lightly before closing the tiny space between us and kissing me again. I could feel my resolve weakening. Kisses from Jared were more than pleasurable. They were essential to my very existence. Abstinence was going to be very difficult.

He had the ability to make me clench on demand and he knew just how to do it. He groaned into my mouth and I felt it all the way through my body to the bottom of my stomach.

Feeling the heat between us simmering again, I pressed my hands firmly against his chest and pushed him away from me. I was panting and he was equally as aroused. His eyes had that all too familiar darkness that I had grown to adore.
Self-control was the key to this right now, and I wasn’t sure I had enough for both of us.

Springing to my feet, I stomped over to the bar. I grabbed the bottle and glass and poured myself a drink. After all, he’d stolen my first one. He sat back on
the couch and stared at me. I lifted the glass to my lips and caught his gaze. He shook his head slowly in warning.

“Seriously? I’m almost twenty one for crying out loud and right now a strong drink would certainly steady my nerves.”

He arched a brow and I pressed my lips tightly together.
Damn him and that brow!
I huffed and soon discovered that it may have been a poor decision. Jared wasn’t one to take my tantrums lightly. I felt I was right, though.

“
Sass
. You’ve been here less than two hours and you’re sassing me.” Did he just use the word sass? I wanted to giggle, but the look on his face was full of that erotic mischief I loved so much. I took a deep breath and tried hard to seem un-rattled. 

“You sure you want to play this game? Right now you’re making all the rules. If you hadn’t just put the veto up on my advances, I’d have a good mind to take you over my knee and spank that sass out of you.”

Holy fuck
.

I wanted him to. I wanted him to smack my ass till I was raw. I’d missed that strong and forceful hand that Jared so readily gave me. It made me feel
… sedated. I know it’s strange but in a way, I needed that. I had a habit of getting lost in my thoughts and out of control with my own anger, stubbornness, and demands. Jared brought me down off my soap-box with a simple look or darkened gaze.

A spanking would send me spiraling out of control right now. My libido was dancing the cha
-cha and my insides were clenching so hard, a single touch might push me over the edge. But he was right. I was making the rules and that meant playing by them, too.  

“I would strongly suggest that you put it down
, though. You don’t need it. You’ve no reason to be nervous around me.”

I snorted
, “I don’t?”
Because I was sure it was you that had just had me panting on the couch.

He stood and sauntered over to me. His chest pressed against m
e as he stood so close. His tone was serious. “No. You made a rule and I’ll play by it. You said take things slow and I’ll do just that. No pressure and no pleasure till you say so.”

I gave him a suspicious look. He’d really abstain from any sexual contact with me till I gave him the go ahead?

“Don’t give me that look. I promise. This is your game, Layla. I’m merely a player in it. That being said, I do have one rule of my own.”

T
here he was. Cocky, dominant, and bossy Jared was making an appearance. It was kind of good to see him actually.

“Stop doing things that you know I won’t like. I’m sure, at times, you do it deliberately and it’s infuriating. You did it all the time back in Long Beach and New York is a much more dangerous place. If I say do or do not do something, I will expect you to listen to me. I have your best interests at heart and what I say is always for your own safety. Underage drinking is something I really dislike, Layla. Besides, bourbon is not your drink. When you’re
old
enough
, I’ll introduce you to a whole world of delicious drinks that are suitable for a woman of your caliber. Till then …”

He wrapped his fingers around the glass in my hand and pulled it away from me.

“… hands off.”

I smiled as he downed the entire glass. Pressing myself against him, I grazed his lips with mine. I could feel his hard, deliciously tempting erection against my thigh and it simply made my smile widen. I leaned in to his ear and his whole body tensed.

“My thoughts exactly, Mr. Garrett. Hands off.”

He exhaled loudly and turned his head so that he was now speaking directly in to
my
ear. His breath on my skin sent a shiver through my body and caused goosebumps to appear.

“Game on, Miss Jennings. Game on.”

A strong pair of arms wrapped themselves tightly around my waist, and the hard erection prodding me in the back, told me that Jared was definitely feeling the effects of our total lack of sexual encounters. I had to give him his dues; he’d been true to his word. It’d been a month since I arrived and aside from some very heavy make out sessions, we’d kept our bargain to refrain and spend time getting to know each other.

I shifted on the bed and he groaned as the tip of his cock brushed against my hip. His embrace tightened around me and I smiled to myself.
My poor man
. He sighed heavily in my ear.

“I swear, Layla, if you keep moving around like that, I’m going to have to break some of your rules. Just being near you is driving me crazy. You have no idea how much self-control it’s taking not to pin you to this mattress and fuck
you till you’re senseless.”

And there was me thinking he was handling it so well. In truth, I was beginning to struggle myself. Several times I’d had to relieve the tension, alone, in the shower. We’d thrown ourselves into a whole host of activities to burn off the sexual energy. We even played tennis together at the local club
of which he was a V.I.P member. But every time we played, the grunting, panting, and sweat that was going on just made it that much harder.

After one particularly grueling game, I’d made my way to the women’s locker room and showered. With a towel wrapped around my body, I was just slipping into a cubicle to change when a familiar voice whispered in my ear and two strong arms held me tightly from behind. “Don’t make a sound.”

Hearing his voice sent shivers of excitement through my body.

Pushing me quickly into the cubicle, he released me and locked the door behind him. I stood in the corner and clutched my towel. He was shirtless and his white tennis shorts clung to his firm and thick thighs.
Abstinence Layla. This is your game and your rules, right?

The corners of his mouth curled up and his cheeky, yet mischievous smile began to appear.

“Oh, no you don’t Mr. Garrett. My rules remember?”

Slowly, he moved toward me. “And I intend to play by them entirely. In fact, I won’t lay a finger on you.”

Damn
. Though I was fully supportive of my choice to refrain from having sex with him, I was also a slave to my own lust and need. And I
needed
Jared. My body trembled as he backed me further into the corner. Placing his hands, palm side down on the cubicle wall on either side of my head, he grinned wickedly.

“Not a finger.”

Catching my bottom lip with his teeth, he gently nipped before running his tongue over it to soothe the bite. He leaned forward and breathed softly in my ear. “Drop your towel, Layla.”

I closed my eyes as the warm and sensual feeling of his breath on my skin caused every nerve in my body to leap into action
. Jared knew it all too well. “Drop. The. Towel.”

His words were forceful and filled with erotic promises that we shouldn’t have been making. But, as I always did, I obeyed his command. Gripping the towel tightly, I pulled it away from my body
, and as it dropped to the floor, Jared took in a sharp breath.

His eyes roamed all over my naked body
, and I could feel his erection against my thigh. His hands remained firmly pressed against the cubicle wall.

My limp, damp hair sat on my shoulders, flowing down and almost covering my breasts.

“You’re anxious again. That lip you insist on gnawing on is real telling. You’d make an awful poker player.”

I wasn’t anxious; I was a gigantic bundle of excitement and anticipation. I released my lip and smiled at him. “What do you plan on doing here exactly? The rules are
…”

“No sexual acts. I know. But, would you consider allowing me just one kiss, a violation of those rules?”

I glanced down at his shorts. He was solid and the pressure of his hard cock against the tightly pulled cotton must have been agony. He continued to stare at me, never touching me or even inching his hands close to my body. I could see the desire burning in his eyes and it took all my strength not to leap at him and unleash my favorite toy from its confines.

“One kiss?” I asked.

He nodded assuredly and I gave him a suspicious look. Jared was a man of few words but what he did say, he meant. Keeping his roaming hands to himself was going to be a real test of his commitment to our game.

“Promise?”

He rolled his eyes at me and I grinned. “On my honor, as a gentleman, I swear that I will not lay a single finger on your beautiful and tempting body. And it
is
tempting me, Layla.”

His eyes wandered over my body again, lingering on my breasts before heading south. He licked his lips and let out a hard breath as he gazed at the lines leading to my sex. With my legs crossed, he could see very little
, but I knew that the thoughts of what hid between my damp and water glistening thighs must have been driving him crazy.

I leaned forward a little and parted my lips. He moved in closer and I could smell the sweet scent of his cologne. He licked his bottom lip
, and I let out a small whimper. I could feel the familiar and welcome clenching in the base of my stomach, and he wasn’t even touching me.

I watched him with lustful anticipation. Jared had a way of kissing that you only saw in movies or read about in books. I could feel my excitement growing and I was beginning to feel a little wet just thinking about his mouth. Closing my eyes, I took in a breath and waited. But he didn’t kiss me. Opening them again, I gave him a confused look.
I wanted my kiss damn it.

Shaking his head, he grinned. “I don’t want to kiss you here.”

He blew gently on my lips and I immediately licked them in response. His eyes watched my tongue intensely.

He leaned in to my ear and spoke breathlessly. “Don’t worry. I
will
kiss you.”

He blew cool air onto my neck, gently and somehow erotically. How could it be so hot? It was a sound away from a whistle but this was silent, sexy
, and driving me crazy. His hands pressed harder onto the cubicle wall causing them to creak a little.

I was caged in and I couldn’t imagine what he was going to do to me
, but nothing prepared me for the absolute euphoria that followed.

Working his way over my shoulder he continued to blow gently on my skin. The cool air caressed the curve of my breast and he lingered, teasing my nipple until it became pert and puckered. I moaned and arched my back, begging him to warm it in his mouth
, but he denied me my pleasure.

“Your rules
, Layla. Not mine. Control yourself. You’re driving me wild and if you don’t stop soon, I’m going to lose control myself. Understand?”

I groaned in frustration but nodded in compliance. His smile widened.

“Good girl.”

Leaving me wanting, he continued down. His hands slid down the walls as he dropped to his knees in front of me.

The cool air swirled and breezed over my bellybutton, and I inhaled sharply. The sensation was unexpected and sent a direct message to my sex. I clenched, hard. It was almost impossible to remain still but seeing the serious look on Jared’s face as he gazed up at me, I knew I had to control myself.

His teeth sank into his bottom lip. It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. He headed south to the apex of my thighs
, still tightly pressed together. He cleared his throat loudly and raised an eyebrow at me.

“If you’d do me the honor my lady, I’d like to give you that kiss now.”

Oh. Holy. Fuck!

“I thought you were going to kiss me
…” I stuttered and stammered as excitement rapidly built inside me.

“I am. Just not the ones on your delicious little mouth.”

My jaw dropped at his words.
He wasn’t serious was he? Here? Now?

“Jared, someone might come in here.”

He tutted at me, “The door is locked. Provided you can be quiet, there’s no reason that we should be discovered. Besides, I don’t pay for platinum membership for nothing. Now, if you would kindly grant me access, I am going to have that kiss.”

I bit down on my bottom lip and listened to the sounds of the empty locker room. Satisfied that we were indeed alone, I uncrossed my legs and stood in front of him, wet with arousal and desperate for some relief. The sexual tension between us was tangible and had been gaining momentum since the moment I’d walked into his apartment.

“Oh, Layla, you are the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. And you’re so hungry for me.”

I squirmed as his lips grazed the folds of my sex. He chuckled
, and I knew he was enjoying his little game. I may have been making the rules, but Jared was certainly pushing the boundaries. I was powerless to stop it. I wanted it. I needed this and I needed him to give it to me. His tongue slid gracefully up my slit and I groaned.

“Spread your legs wider and I suggest you find something to hold on to.”

I clutched the top of the cubicle door tightly and pressed my other hand against the wall. Sweeping my clothes from the bench beside us, he gestured for me to place my foot on top of it. I was more than willing to obey him now, in fact, I was eager to give him anything he damn well wanted!

His strong and muscular arms tensed as he pushed even harder against the panels of the
cubicle. They creaked louder this time and I giggled a little, earning me a disgruntled look from the scorching hot man with his tongue currently teasing my desperate body. I knew how much he was aching to touch me and I felt the same. The bulge in his shorts was driving me crazy. I wanted to feel him, run my hands up and down the length of his throbbing cock and ease the tension that I felt between us. I could feel his ragged breaths against my skin, and as his tongue slid gently inside me I let out a long moan.

It was bliss. My knees almost buckled from beneath me
, but with our rules in place Jared was unable to steady me. I writhed against the wall as he unleashed his cruel and intense teasing on my clit. My hips ground against his mouth and he moaned. It was the sort of sound you made when enjoying a particularly delicious meal or something exquisitely mouthwatering. His fingernails dragged and scratched against the walls as he tried intensely to control his desire to touch me. 

I could feel my climax edging closer as my whole body tensed and clenched around him. His lips caressed and sucked gently on my clit causing a shudder to run through me. I knew he’d noticed because I could feel him smiling against me. I panted loudly and tried desperately to control my breathing
, but it was useless. I’d been aching for him for so long that I was unable to hold back even slightly. I could hear footsteps in the locker room and immediately tried to back away from him, but his mouth followed me, continuing the delicious flicks, licks, and strokes. I closed my eyes as the sounds of the room faded away. My orgasm was taking over, and with one last thrust of his skillful tongue inside of me, I was swept away by the intensity of my climax. My legs trembled and my whole body weakened. The clenching, pulsating, and rippling pleasure flowing through me was more than I could take. I let out a loud gasp.

“Hello? Are you al
l right in there, dear?”

My eyes flew open and I looked down to see Jared grinning at me with satisfied and triumphant glee. I shook my head at him and bit down on my lip.

“Stubbed my toe. I’m fine.”

Getting to his feet, he stifled a laugh. “Well, that was by far the sweetest kiss I’ve ever had. Thank you my lady. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should go shower and dress. I have a lunch meeting.”

Handing me my towel, he stood, adjusted his shorts and opened the door. A tall, middle-aged woman was standing in the locker room in her tennis gear. She glared at him as he exited the cubicle and I had to try hard not to giggle. Giving me a quick wink, he smiled and nodded at her as he walked past.

“What you get for ordering the platinum membership around here. Always going that extra mile for my students.”

Oh dear God.

The woman turned and stared at me. I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.
Jared and his quirky sense of humor
. I was about ready to kill him!

I was sure we might be reported and banned
, but, thank goodness, we weren’t. I needed the sport to burn off my pent up sexual energy, and the spa was keeping me in the beautiful condition required for the endless events I was being dragged to as Jared’s girlfriend.

We attended countless parties, socials
, and dinners, which meant that I had shopped in all the top stores in New York.
That
was something Jared practically had to force on me. I’d packed in such a hurry that my case lacked anything suitable or fitting of a woman who was seen on
Jared’s
arm.

He was very well respected in the city and now that we were official as a couple, he insisted I should have all the finery of a queen. I was actually getting used to being all dressed up and dripping with diamonds. That’s not to say I enjoyed it, I was just simply becoming accustomed to it. It was necessary
, and I bit by tongue on the subject for Jared’s sake.