Come To Me (10 page)

She
noted a strange look in his eyes but this time she couldn’t quite interpret if it
was hurt or anger. So she tried to explain. The last thing she wanted to do was
bring pain to this man. She suspected that she did love him, but she had
questions and only Tony could really answer them for her. “I have some
questions,” she said. “I’m trying to remember the night of the accident. What
was I doing with Tony? Where were you?”

His
fingers flew across the electronic tablet, she stood up and read it.
‘I was out of town and Tony took you to
dinner.’

“Okay.”

He
stared at her and then typed again.
‘I’ll
call him back and see if he can come for dinner.’

She
smiled. “Thank you.”

Chapter
Twelve

Lunch
was a disaster. He’d ordered a couple of tuna sandwiches on marble rye from
the deli down the road and had gone to pick it up. It was her favorite, and
while he thought she enjoyed the sandwich, she’d been really quiet. He’d done
all the talking via the iPad, and then they moved to sit on the couch, he
carried the tablet over with him and sat beside her.

“How
did we meet?” she asked.

‘We fell in love before we’d ever met,
’
he wrote.

“Huh?”

‘I fell in love with you from talking with
you on the phone. You manage this condo building and we spoke on the phone all
the time.’

Her
eyebrows rose. She looked at him like he was nuts. He smiled and continued.
‘Yeah, I did. And you fell in love with me,
too.’

“Too
bad I can’t hear your voice.”

Her
words hurt him to the core. She was right.

She
looked sadly at him. “I’m sorry, my head’s pounding. I think I need to take my
medicine.”

He
nodded and rose to get the meds on the counter. He filled a glass of water and
handed her both. After taking her medicine, she went to their bedroom, alone.
He watched her turn away from him. A muscle inside his chest clenched so hard
he had to rub his hand against it. Would that ache ever go away, he wondered.

When
he came into the room to wake her up after a couple of hours, it almost killed
him not to crawl into bed beside her. But she wasn’t ready for that and it was
time for her to get up anyway. Baron thought it wasn’t good for her to sleep
too long. She might not be able to sleep tonight. He sat on the bedside and
brushed her hair out of her face. She opened her eyes and stared at him, then
smiled. For a split second, there was the love he was accustomed to seeing in
her gaze. He bent and kissed her, but before he could take the kiss deeper, she
pulled back. He had to be patient. She was worth it. At least she knew the
truth now, and dammit, she responded to him the way she always had. At the
hospital, she didn’t shy away when he tried to touch her or kiss her, but
something in her manner told him not to go any further. But god, he wanted to.
He left the room, knowing he had to because he wanted to hold her tighter to
him, to take her inside of him so they would be together always.

He
missed her so much. He just needed to remind her of what they were to each
other. But ever since they got back to the condo he sensed her withdrawing from
him. Closing herself off. She was still unsure, scared maybe. At first he was
angry when Tony had called and she wanted to see him, but he thought maybe her
need to see Tony was understandable. She was trying to put all the pieces
together. Perhaps talking to his friend about that night would help. He hoped
so.

They
spent the rest of the day chatting with him again doing most of the talking,
telling her about himself and what she did for a living. He sat with her as
they flipped through the album they’d started three months ago of pictures of
them, their life together in D.C. There were even a few of them from when he
spent time back in San Diego with her and a couple of Tony posing beside them.
Then they went through the albums she’d had shipped there when she’d moved to
D.C. She didn’t recognize her best friend or any of the other photos. A look of
sadness slipped over her face when he pointed out some of her friends.

“Maybe
this wasn’t such a good idea,” Baron said aloud and typed on the iPad.

“No.
It was worth a shot that I might remember something.”

For
a second, he thought about calling Karen and having her talk to Jasmine, but
that wasn’t going to work since she couldn’t hear.

He
got up, went to the kitchen and then came back with a couple of restaurant
menus. He’d never been much of a cook, and while Jasmine cooked sometimes, he
never expected her to. But there wasn’t any food in the house. He’d been gone
all week and Jas had been in the hospital for the last few days. He went back
to the couch and handed her the menus.

“These
all look good,” she said. “What do you feel like eating tonight?”

She
still wasn’t sure how she managed to get the nerve up to ask Tony the question
that had been haunting her. But Baron got a phone call and went into the den to
take it, leaving them alone for a few minutes after dinner.

“Tony,
I’m sorry for the confusion.”

He
shook his head then opened the iPad they’d been using all evening to
communicate with her.

‘No worries. Not your fault.’

Baron
had asked him questions about the night of her accident, trying to help her,
but nothing triggered a memory. Tony’s answers cleared up a lot, like why
they’d been together. However, there was one question she needed to ask him
without Baron present. She never wanted to hurt Baron. The thought alone
cramped her stomach muscles. She knew he loved her. She felt it in every look,
every touch. But she had to be sure. How could she make such a mistake?

“Tony,
I have to ask you something. Please, I need to know.” She took a deep breath.
There really was only one way to put her fears to rest. “Was there something
more between us other than friendship?”

He
frowned like he didn’t understand the question, but at that moment Baron
returned to the living room. She thought he’d asked Tony a question because
Tony glanced up at him, shook his head.

Jasmine
didn’t know what Baron asked Tony, but when Tony handed him his wine glass she
understood. Then Baron touched her shoulder, and she looked up at him. He held
up her empty glass of sparkling water. And she nodded. “Yes, please.”

When
Baron moved toward the kitchen to fill their orders, she turned back to Tony,
who handed her the iPad. She hadn’t realized he’d written on it. She’d been
focused on Baron. After she read Tony’s words, her gaze found his. He smiled,
and a weight lifted off her shoulders. She swung around to stare at Baron as he
approached the couch. He sat beside her. For the first time since she found out
Baron was her fiancé, she took the initiative and kissed his cheek. The look of
joy that lit up his eyes told her she’d done the right thing.

There
was an awkward moment when Baron had taken the tablet to respond to something,
and she knew he’d seen what Tony had written, but it hadn’t occurred to her to
erase it. They hadn’t really been doing that. But all Tony had written was
‘No. Just friends.’
From that point on,
the evening couldn’t have been over fast enough for her. There was nothing
stopping her from exploring this intense attraction and deep emotions she had
for this man named Baron. From the moment he’d entered her hospital room, what
was it about him that drew her to him?

Jasmine
liked Tony but was glad to say goodnight. Baron sent her to the bedroom while
he cleaned up the kitchen. They’d had food delivered, but they’d used up a few
dishes and wine glasses. She didn’t protest. It had been a long, emotional day.
She went to the bedroom, passed the bed and headed straight for the bathroom
and a shower. They hadn’t discussed it, but it didn’t escape her notice that
the condo only had one bedroom. The den just had a desk and two chairs. And
while the couch in the living room was comfy to sit on, she wasn’t sure it
would be an easy fit for Baron’s at least over six-foot frame. She could offer
to sleep on it. But did she really want to do that?

After
she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off she realized there was no
robe in the bathroom. She dressed herself in a towel, dried her hair, and put
it in a damp braid. The walk-in closet was right next to the door, so she’d
spent a few minutes looking through her things already. She liked her clothes,
which was good. She thought she’d find something to sleep in. But she’d just stepped
out of the bathroom when Baron moved out of the closet, a shirtless Baron, and
they collided. She wasn’t sure if it was the brush of skin against skin that
had her feeling weak at the knees or the impact. Either way, she stumbled but
his arms snaked around her, holding her steady.

He
held her against his chest. Her heart rate began matching the rapid rhythm she
felt beating in his chest. When he looked down at her, the fiery need in his
gaze seared a burning path right through her. When his head lowered toward her,
she had no choice but to meet his lips. They’d kissed a few times now, but this
one was different. This time, he let her know she belonged to him, and some part
deep inside her recognized that and responded. Had been responding to him all
along.

She
wound her arms around his neck, and he pulled her closer. Without breaking
their kiss, he picked her up and placed her on the bed, only tugging away long
enough to open her towel and rid himself of his sweats. She didn’t even have
enough time to get a really good look at his Adonis build before he’d covered
her completely with his body. Opening her arms, she welcomed him. Yes, he felt
right, oh-so familiar. He captured her mouth again. She closed her eyes, and
for a moment, the sound of the surf filled her senses. She opened wider to take
even more of him in. Their tongues clashed and played like waves licking at the
shore.

He
lay cradled between her legs, and she felt him shift and raised his head to
stare at her. “I love you.”

Jasmine
didn’t have to hear the words. She just knew what he’d said, and she felt them
in her soul. “I love you, too.” She knew in her heart her words were true.

He grinned and
fused their lips together again, he moved his hand upward to cup the underside
of her breast, and she moaned into his mouth. Shifting his position, he kissed
her chin, then her neck. He lifted his weight off her a little and, as he
rubbed his thumb over one nipple, he lowered his head to swirl his tongue
around the other. She arched her body up into his embrace, and closing her eyes
she let herself go. Yes, he knew her body. He touched her like a man who knew
how and where.

Chapter
Thirteen

When
she’d told him she loved him, too, Baron almost exploded. He wanted to ask if
she remembered him, remembered them. But it didn’t matter, he knew some part of
her did and it was that part he would bring out. It was that part that
responded to his touch. Their love for each other bound them and nothing could
ever change that. So he proceeded to show her exactly how much he was hers and
she his, how much they loved each other.

He
hadn’t planned on making love to her tonight. He’d wanted to give her time, but
this was what they both wanted. And perhaps what she needed to fully come back
to him. He knew what she liked and slowly made his way down her body, stopping
at her belly button to swirl his tongue in the indention. Next, he kissed each
side of her hips, then her inner thighs. She spread her legs wider to
accommodate him. He rocked back and placed his arms under her knees, raising
her ass off the bed, leaving her vulnerable to him.

He
watched the moisture gathering at her opening and inhaled. “God, I missed your scent.
I’ve missed you so much.” She stared at him sadly. She couldn’t hear him, but
when she smiled, he thought perhaps she understood. He pulled her sex closer
and covered her with his open mouth. His sucking sensation made her thighs clamp
around his head. He spread her open even wider for his tongue. He felt her sex
muscles contracting around it and couldn’t wait any longer to reclaim what was
his. This should have gone slowly, been a build-up to their lovemaking. A way
to remind her. But not this time. He lowered her legs and crawled up her body,
his shaft fitting perfectly into her open and waiting sheath. The moan coming
out of his Jasmine told him she needed him inside her as much as he craved to
be there. She opened her eyes and stared into his. He saw her love for him,
more than he could have ever imagined or hoped for.

She
raised her legs and enveloped them around his waist. He began thrusting slowly
at first, straining for it to last for them both, never taking his gaze off
her, losing himself in the emotion in Jasmine’s eyes. “Mine.”

“Mine,”
she replied and smiled. “Now faster.”

There
was his Jasmine. He kissed her again and then he began to do as she wished. He
drew almost all the way out and then pushed in again with long, hard, fast
strokes. But he desired to go deeper, needed to bury himself inside her, to be
a part of her the way she was a part of him. He raised her legs over his
shoulders and drove into her. Her muscles squeezed his cock, and he knew he’d
not be able to hold out much longer. It had been too long since he’d been where
he belonged. He moved one hand between them and passed his thumb over her clit.
Her stomach muscles clenched at his touch, and she groaned, holding him
tighter. He did it again, and she exploded right before his very eyes,
screaming his name. A coming Jasmine was a beautiful sight. She could no longer
maintain eye contact. Her eyelids fluttered and she squeezed them shut as she
came around his shaft. That’s all it took.