He brushed his lips against hers. “Over and over and over, until you’re so full of me, it will take every muscle you have not to drip what’s left of me all over the catwalk.” He gave her ponytail a tug and captured her mouth in the kind of kiss he’d been dreaming about since they left Portland. “Any more questions?”
She shook her head slowly.
Satisfied, he bent to give her a long, lingering kiss. “We’ll find a way to make this work, Vanessa. You and me. We’ll figure it out if that’s what you want.”
This time she nodded, her eyes growing wet. “It’s what I want.”
He nipped her nose. “Good, because I’m ready to admit it’s what I want too.”
Her dazed, heated look made him smile. She lifted her mouth to his for another kiss, but he shifted back.
“You’re expected at the fitting in twenty minutes.”
The smile that curved her mouth was nothing short of devilish. “I think you can give me what I want in half that time.”
Before the words even left her mouth, he scooped her up and tossed her onto the bed with a bounce. “Those are fighting words, princess.” He flicked the button of her jeans and tugged them off in one swoop.
She hadn’t been naked and writhing since Cannon Beach, and he was as desperate as she was.
Adding fuel to his fire, she lifted her knees and spread them wide. “If you want me dripping, Zeus, you better get started.”
With a growl of approval, he fell on top of her.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
The butterflies in her stomach were ones she hadn’t experienced in a long time. They were different from what she’d experienced before her show at The Link. Different from the ones that fluttered when Jordan was close.
These were the butterflies that had propelled her into this business in the first place. The thrill, the excitement, the anticipation of knowing all eyes would be on her.
She’d thought this feeling had died along with her career, but their revival was redemptive. Today she was making a comeback, and she wasn’t going to let anyone stop her.
The knock on her door interrupted her pre-show inner pep talk. She tied her hair in a ponytail and took one last glance in the mirror. Her skin was prepped but makeup-free. Her comfortable lounge set was perfect for hours of sitting in a chair but easy to slip off without smudging anything.
Jordan had booked her a private room to get ready without distractions. Smart, considering anytime he wasnearby,distractionswere imminent. Especially of the naked variety.
When the second knock sounded, she rushed to the door. She wouldn’t put it past him to break down the door if he worried she was in trouble. Honestly, his protective streak was starting to grow on her.
“I’m coming. I’m coming!” she shouted. “You know, not doing my makeup sometimes takes longer than doing—” She swung open the door and stopped short.
Jordan filled the entire doorway. Broad, imposing, and completely irresistible as usual. He wore an all-black suit that looked custom-made. Tailored pants, crisp black shirt, fitted jacket. A sleek earpiece curved from his collar to his earlobe, adding an edge of danger that made her pulse kick up a notch.
His expression was all business, grim and focused, but the second his dark eyes caught hers, they smoldered.
For a few charged seconds, neither of them spoke. They stood there taking each other in. She let her gaze drift over him, slowly and shamelessly.
“This black on black really suits you, Zeus,” she murmured, as he shoved his way through the door and backed her inside the hotel room.
His hands were already on her, sliding to the side of her head, gripping the nape of her neck, like he always did when he was about to plunder her.
She stood on her tiptoes to meet him and caught his scent. “Mmm, you smell so good.” It did things to her, like the fragrance was designed to turn up her desire.
“And you,” he growled, dragging his mouth over her jaw up to her ear. “Are so fucking gorgeous.”
“I’m not wearing a single drop of makeup or any prettyclothes. Wait until you see me tonight. I’ll look a thousand times better.”
“Gorgeous.” He edged her to the bed. “Every way. There is no one more beautiful than you, Vanessa. Inside and out. Makeup or no makeup. Fancy clothes or butt-ass naked.”
Open-mouthed kisses turned to groping in no time, her hands tracing up his muscled chest and around his sides. She froze at the leather holster she encountered under his suit jacket. “Is that…?”
