Damn, boy. That was anicydismissal. We’d barely been there half an hour and had already had to brush off two exes. His fingers interlaced with mine, and he focused on me. “This sucks. I can’t wait to get you back home.”
“I don’t know if you noticed, but Giada is sucking down wine to prepare for going home with Garrett. I don’t think she’s very happy in that relationship.”
“I’ve given up enough of my time worrying about her happiness. I care about your happiness. So, tell me, what would make you happy right now?”
“You do. It’s that simple.”
“Kendra, part of me feels like I’m fucked in the head or something. But when I’m with you, I can see everything so clearly. Everywhere I look, it’s you. You make events like this worth going to. You make it easy to face my demons and fears and make me want to push through.”
Here we were, in a crowded room, having a moment, and Jonathan brings up facing his demons when my actual demon just finished staring me down. And while yes,Tucker is a constant reminder of my trauma, Jonathan is real and grounding me in the future I want.
Fuck. I loved him.
“Is it possible that someday you could see yourself falling in love with me?” I hated the way my voice shook when I asked the question. I didn’tdovulnerable.
“Someday? How about yesterday? I already do.”
I stared at him, every nerve in my body firing. “This is an awkward place to have a moment. Do you know of a coat closet or private bathroom somewhere? Ineedyou. Now.”
His eyes flashed with excitement, and he nodded. “I know a place. I’m going to walk ahead, and you follow about ten seconds behind me.”
I watched as he slipped out of the ballroom and drifted behind him, doing my best to avoid anyone who might try to talk to me. I watched him slip in through a door at the end of a quiet hallway and followed.
I knocked, and the door opened, his arm dragging me inside before he slammed my back up against the door. His mouth was on mine, bruising and desperate. Jonathan had my gown at my waist in seconds, and my hands went to his belt. I heard the tear of fabric and laughed against his mouth.
“I love when you’re desperate enough to rip my clothes off me.”
“I love everything about you, baby. Legs up.”
I wrapped my legs around him. His stiff cock bobbed between us as he reached down to guide it into me. My breath caught once he was fully seated inside me. I took his face in my hands and stared into his eyes. “I love you, too.”
His cocky grin met mine. “I know. We’ve got less than ten minutes before the auction. Hold on.”
He unleashed inside me. My back was hitting the door with every thrust, and his mouth covered mine to hide my cries. I bit his lip as I came hard, the emotions of the night, the intensity of my need for him, the forbiddenness of fucking in a barely hidden bathroom, sending me over the edge fast and hard. He finished right after me.
Jonathan found the box of tissues on the back of the toilet and pulled one out to clean up our mess.
“I’m feeling charitable tonight. Bid whatever the fuck you want on anything you want. Okay?”
“For charity?”
“Yeah. But maybe I feel like throwing my dick around and seeing what else I can win tonight. Because right now, I’m on top of the world, baby.”
I heard a soft knock on the door as we adjusted our clothes. Opening the door, I came face-to-face with Colby.
She smirked. “You guys are lucky I’m not one to get squirrelly about my brother’s sex life. But you’d better get back. Nonna’s noticed your disappearance, and she’s going to be pissed if you’re not back soon.”
THIRTY-SIX
hawk
Family dinnerat Nonna’s went off without a hitch. Not that I was concerned about Kendra, but Nonna hadn’t always been kind to the women I brought home. Granted, that was Giada, and there were other obvious red flags…but it appeared that she loved Kendra.
While my grandmother’s opinion wouldn’t have changed anything, I still wanted the important women in my orbit to get along. I smiled, remembering how Nonna had cornered Kendra and pulled out the family photo albums. When I tried to save her, Kendra had shooed me away.
I had to make a trip to Florida at the end of the week to catch up with the manager and coaching staff. I tried to talk Kendra into going with me, but she said she wanted to be around if Kylie needed her. I also quickly realized that while Kendra never shied away from a work-related request, she was working far above her pay grade, even with her promotion. Anyone who thought she benefited from ourrelationship wasn’t paying attention. Kendra pulled more than her own weight.
Me: What time will you be home tonight?
