Intimate (37 page)

Jake thought about that as they got closer to the house. Without being conscious of the fact, he'd done that with Marc Reed and now with Kaz and her roommates—built his own family. He felt as if it was finally complete, now that Ben was back.

They were the family that mattered, not those two cold, unwelcoming people who'd raised him. He couldn't wait to get home to Kaz. He really wanted to hold her.

*   *   *

Later, after a wonderful Italian dinner, no mention of the visit to the parents, and a lot of laughter with people who mattered, Jake and Kaz took the elevator to his apartment.

“This was an excellent idea.” Kaz clung to Jake's arm and smiled at him. “I hope Ben didn't mind you choosing me as a roommate over him.”

He knew Ben was perfectly happy sleeping in Kaz's bed again tonight. “If his curiosity about Lola means anything, he'd rather stay there. Did you notice the two of them?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I think I only noticed you.” She waited while he unlocked the door to his apartment. “I'm glad you and Ben told Marc the truth together. He's a terrific guy. I can see why you're such good friends.” Then she put her hand on his arm, stopping him as he stuck his key in the lock. “Are you really okay with the way things went today? You and Ben didn't say much when you got back, but from what you did say … well, I can't believe your parents.”

“I like Mandy's take on things,” he said. They'd told her the story as well, after taking Marc aside and speaking privately with him. Opening the door, he stood back for Kaz to enter and realized this was the first time she'd been to his apartment.

“Which take? She said a lot—mostly involving illegal acts of retribution.”

He closed the door. Locked it. “When she said we should merely think of them as the sperm and egg donors, because they weren't really parents. That's the truth. We were raised by housekeepers and nannies. I know Marc understands that. His parents were divorced, fought over custody, and then, when his father won, he was raised the same way Ben and I were. Paid help.”

“I really like Marc. He's so self-contained, like an island amid all the emoting that was going on.” She actually blushed, and he couldn't help himself. He ran the backs of his fingers over her warm cheek. He loved to see her skin turn that deep burnt umber shade. Only a few of his photos had caught that beautiful color.

“I didn't expect you to cry when you told everyone about my proposal.” He tilted her chin up, kissed her lips. “You even had me tearing up.”

“I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. I love you, Jake. Every time I look at the ring on my hand, I want to cry because it makes me feel so complete. You make me feel complete.”

Damn. She was doing it to him again.

“It's still not official, though.” He lifted her hand to his lips, kissed the backs of her fingers. “We still have to go talk to your dad. What if he doesn't approve?”

Laughing, she shook her head. “Are you kidding? He'll be thrilled. Once he knows I'm yours, it means he can quit worrying about me.”

“Does that mean you're going to be trouble?”

“I certainly hope so.” She unbuttoned the top button on his shirt.

He covered her hand before she undid the next one. “I need a shower.”

“Want someone to scrub your back?”

“You offering?”

“I am. Which reminds me … from now on, if another woman offers, you do not accept.”

“Got it.” Crazy woman, thinking any other woman would be of interest. He led her through the bedroom, straight to the bathroom. She'd worn a form-fitting cotton knit dress that did amazing things to her curves, the dips and swells of her perfect body. He ran his fingers across her shoulders, along her arms, and somehow ended up cupping her totally flat stomach.

She glanced at his hand on her belly and slowly smiled. “What are you thinking?”

He was almost embarrassed to tell her—they might be engaged, but he hadn't known her very long, and yet … “I was thinking how you'll look with our baby growing there. We've never talked about children, and my father wasn't a role model, but I hope…”

“Me, too. I'm definitely interested in motherhood at some point, but not yet. We've got time, but Jake…” She looped her arms over his shoulders and gazed directly into his eyes.

“Yes, Ms. Kazanov?”

“You're going to be a wonderful father. There's no doubt in my mind.”

He shook his head. “How can you be so sure?”

She smiled, kissed him quickly, and then laughed. “Because you know what not to do.”

“There is that.” He glanced down as she slowly began unbuttoning his shirt. He reached for her, and she gently batted his hands away.

“Stand still.”

He took a deep breath. Let it out. “That's not very easy when I really want to…”

“Not tonight. Tonight is about what I want.”

She kissed him and then went back to those damned buttons. The slightest touch of her fingers against his chest had his body reacting. His breathing quickened, his muscles tightened, and he had to clench his hands to keep from touching her. And slowly, so damned slowly, she unbuttoned each button.

Then she slid her hands beneath the fabric, pushed the shirt back from his chest, and pulled it off his shoulders. He held his hands at his sides, fighting everything in him that said he needed to hold her, to bring her close and show her just how much he loved her.

Except, this was showing her as well. Standing here as Kaz drove him slowly insane. Grumbling, he said, “I really hope I get points for this.”

She laughed as she tugged his undershirt up over his head, taking care over the big bandage on his shoulder, following the soft cotton with kisses over his ribs, across his chest. Teasing his nipple with the tip of her tongue just about drove him over the edge. He'd never thought of that as an erogenous zone—at least not on his body.

He practically salivated, thinking of tugging on hers, of the way that taut little bud felt between his lips, against his tongue.

But her hands were fumbling with the button on his pants, her warm fingers sliding between the waistband and his belly. There was no hiding the fact he was hugely aroused, especially when she shoved his pants down his legs and there was nothing between Kaz and his dick but a thin layer of sleek, stretchy boxers.

She raised her head and watched him as he toed off his shoes and lifted first one leg and then the other, obediently stepping out of his slacks and socks. She tossed them aside, and then, instead of pulling his boxers down, she went to her knees in front of him.

He groaned. “You're trying to kill me, aren't you?”

“Never.” She rested her cheek against him, sliding over the smooth fabric, and then holding her mouth over the thick curve of his erection, teasing him with the heat of her breath, the knowledge that she was so close and yet still separated by the soft underwear covering him. He thrust forward, not a lot and not on purpose, but he had so little control with Kaz. Would it always be this way? This deep, mind-numbing pleasure when they were together?

She ran her fingers up the tight leg of his shorts, stroked the curve of his butt, and then ran her fingers under the fabric, between his legs, cupping his sac. He grabbed her shoulders as his knees went weak, but she wasn't through.

Slowly tugging his shorts down over his throbbing penis, she nuzzled the thick patch of dark hair at his groin and placed her lips against the curve of his shaft. He was so damned close, but it was too soon to allow himself even to think about coming. Kaz slipped his boxers over his feet, as he lifted them, one at a time.

Concentrating on not falling on his ass helped him gain a bit more control. He started to say something, had to clear his throat to find his voice. “How come I'm naked and you're not?”

She gazed up at him from those dark chocolate eyes and gave him a bright smile. “Because usually it's the other way around. It's my turn. But if it'll make you happy…”

She stood and whipped the cotton dress over her head. The bruises had mostly faded, but she'd worn the rubies tonight, and he hadn't even known. Her nipples, her navel, the one in her clit, visible through the fine lace of her tiny pair of panties, all of them connected by fine golden chains.

And that beautiful monarch butterfly, its wings spread across her torso as if ready to fly.

This time, when he finally got the words out, he might have been talking through gravel. “It's probably a good thing I didn't know you were wearing these.”

He wanted to drop to his knees, but she held him up. “Not yet.”

Instead, Kaz again went to her knees, so strong and lithe, her body glowing in the overhead light that would have made any other woman self-conscious. Not her. She'd been just as proud and beautiful yesterday, shopping in town with all the wine-country tourists, her face bruised, her eye swollen. She was a woman who made her living with her looks, and yet she'd thrown on a floppy hat, a pair of cheap rubber flip-flops from the drugstore, and a borrowed dress and still carried herself like a queen.

Yet she loved him. A man so damned flawed he didn't deserve what she offered, but he'd be a fool to tell her that. She gazed up at him and then wrapped those beautiful lips around the length of him, licking and nibbling, sucking and blowing soft puffs of air over his sensitized flesh while he stood there like a damned fool, mentally going through his collection of quality digital cameras by model number and megapixel rating to hang on to the last thread of his control.

He'd never played Little League. Batting averages and home runs scored wouldn't work.

Nothing was going to work. There weren't enough cameras on the face of the earth to take his mind off what Kaz was doing to him right now. “Kaz?”

She smiled around her mouthful.

“Stop. Now. Shower.”

He didn't think it was possible to pout while taking charge during oral sex, but she managed. “I don't think so. Not yet.”

*   *   *

The power was a rush all on its own. The fact he'd so easily turned it over to her made Kaz love him even more. Everything about Richard Jacob Lowell made her want him and convinced her that, yes, even though they'd not known each other a month, she loved him. She could so easily picture herself spending the rest of her life with this man.

Having children with him.

Growing old with him.

She drew him into her mouth, used her tongue to tease the sensitive crown of his penis. She cupped his warm sac in her right hand while her left held on to his hip, pulling him closer to her mouth as she sucked him deeper. There was something so sexy about this position, kneeling in front of the man she loved, taking him in her mouth, pleasing him in such a submissive position.

She loved it. Loved the taste of him, the textures, the fact that he was willing to stand here with his legs trembling and the breath rushing in and out of his lungs while she took her own sweet time bringing him right to the peak.

She might be the one on her knees, but there was no doubt in her mind she was the one in charge, especially as she held him there, balancing him at the edge.

But going no farther. Slowly, even regretfully, she slipped him out of her mouth, letting the long, thick length of him tease her lips. Then she stood, rubbing against him as she stretched up long and tall, flowing against his lean body. His arms came around her, she felt the thick curve of his erection against her belly and hugged him close.

“Shower?”

He let out a deep breath. “Thank you, Lord!”

*   *   *

They made love in the shower and again after they'd crawled into bed. Kaz looked ready to fall asleep until Jake decided to kiss her bruises and got sidetracked by the rubies and gold chains. They made love again, and while it seemed impossible, each time was better than the time before. He'd never imagined anything like this.

He lay beside her, every muscle lax, his body sated, trying to catch his breath, while Kaz ran her fingers through his hair. She leaned close, kissed him, and said, “I hope Marc realizes he's going to make a fortune with his jewelry.”

Jake didn't even open his eyes. “Marc's already rich. This was just a fun project.”

“Do you think he has any idea what effect those gold chains have on the male libido?”

He chuckled softly. “Don't know. Marc doesn't have a girlfriend.”

“I know.” Kaz flopped over on her back. “Why is that? He's gorgeous, he's funny and smart, and the guy has a bazillion dollars.”

“All true. So why are you here with me?” He missed the warmth of her lying across him and realized that was probably a really stupid question to ask. What if she thought about it? Realized she'd made a huge mistake with him?

“Because I love you, silly, not Marcus. Somebody else will love him, but it won't be me.”

Was it really that simple? Kaz snuggled close against his side. Her lips pressed against his neck and the tip of her tongue made a quick lick beneath his jaw. “You taste so good,” she mumbled. A few minutes later, her body relaxed in sleep.

He lay there for a long time, absorbing the sense of Kaz lying beside him. Her scent filled him, a subtle perfume all her own. Their bodies fit together perfectly—the first woman he'd ever dated who met him eye to eye, at least when she wore heels.

She made him laugh, had even made him cry. Hopefully, she would continue to make him a better man. Somehow, when Kaz was beside him, the flaws that had weighed him down for so long, the mistakes he'd made, the horrible failures in his past—all were surmountable.

He closed his eyes and buried his nose in her tousled curls. Drew another breath filled with the sweetness of this perfect woman he hadn't even known a few short weeks ago.

Something was different, but he couldn't quite figure out what.