Jacquie ’Alessandro - Holiday Inn Bed

It wasn’t a question. It was a statement made in a raw, hoarse voice that sounded ripped from his throat.

She rose and framed his face between her hands. “Not about my feelings for you.”

“Just about marrying me.”

“No, but…” She released a long sigh and lowered her hands. “I’ve now reached a whole new level of exhaustion, Eric. Do you know how many arguments we had during the entire six months we dated before getting engaged?”

He considered for several seconds. “No. Other than a few disagreements while figuring out our work situations, did we have any?”

“I can only recall two. Both of them silly misunderstandings, quickly resolved and completely forgettable. The rest of the time, it was…magic.” Yes, romantic evenings filled with conversation and laughter that melted into sultry, sensual nights of discovery and exploration. Ice-skating and walks in the snow when they’d first met last winter had bloomed into springtime hikes and quiet evenings at home. Then summer, with private indoor and outdoor picnics. But then came the end of summer and Eric’s proposal and the start of their current situation.

“I’ve lost count of the number of arguments since our engagement,” she continued quietly. “I feel like I spend all my time fighting. If not with my mother, then with one or more of my brothers, or with you. I like peace. Quiet. Managing Hayden’s is stressful enough-I can’t handle having my personal life fraught with constant turmoil. I’ve never considered myself a quitter, but I’m just so damn tired of fighting.”

He raised her hand to his lips and pressed a quick, hard kiss against her palm. “Then let’s stop fighting.”

“Based on the last four miserable months-which seem to grow more miserable by the day-easier said than done.”

“No, it’s not. We just need to stop fighting each other. If there’s fighting to be done, let’s do it together-for each other. Our families are causing the tension. It can’t touch us if we don’t let it.”

“A great theory, and one we’ve discussed before. But as these last four months have proven, it’s difficult to ignore one’s family. Especially when you work with them. And live only a few miles away from them. And when they show up during your get-away-from-them weekend.”

“Difficult, definitely. But not impossible. And they’re gone now.” He took her other hand then pressed her palms against his chest. “I love you, Jess. So damn much. Nothing…nothing is as important to me as you. You know that…don’t you?”

She blinked back the tears burning behind her eyes at his words and nodded. “It’s just that I’m so…disappointed.”

“In me?”

She shook her head. “No. In this whole situation. In how badly it’s turned out. I always imagined this one big, happy family scenario-gatherings, holidays, cookouts. And instead it’s one big unhappy mess.”

“As long as you and I aren’t a mess, that’s all that matters, Jess. Your mother and Kelley will just have to fight it out without us. After the wedding, everything will settle down.”

“I keep telling myself that-”

“Good.”

“-but I’m not sure I can stand this for another two months. At least not without the benefit of a morphine drip.”

One corner of his mouth twitched, but remnants of worry still lurked in his eyes. “We have the next few days all to ourselves. No pressure, no arguments. Nothing to worry about except us.”

He brushed his mouth over hers, once, twice, softly, and her weariness melted away, replaced by a sudden, fierce need to feel. A need to feel Eric. To recapture the magic between them. To rediscover how good they were together. To remember what they stood to lose if they were foolish enough to let it all get away from them. A need to forget everything and simply drown in sensation.

“Nothing except us sounds really nice,” she whispered against his lips, slipping her hands over his shoulders and twining her arms around his neck.

He leaned back and his gaze bored into hers. “Do you love me?”

The uncertainty reflected in his beautiful eyes shamed her, filling her with a hollow ache she couldn’t name that he’d felt it necessary to ask. That she’d made him doubt her feelings. While there was no doubt she hated this situation, there was also no doubt she loved him. And she was so afraid it was all slipping away.

A surge of fierce love rushed through her, coupled with an almost desperate need to reassure him, to not only tell him, but show him how much she loved and wanted and needed him. Now.

Rising up on her toes, she pressed herself against him and pulled his head down for her kiss. “Yes. God, yes. I love you. So much-”

His lips silenced hers in a hot, deep, passionate kiss that left her breathless. “Love you so much,” she repeated, sprinkling kisses along his jaw to his ear where she raked her teeth against the lobe. “And I miss you. It’s been so long…”

“So long,” he agreed, tunneling his fingers through her hair. “Too damn long.”

Her hands slipped beneath his sweater to run up his smooth back, and he groaned.

“Are you trying to seduce me?”

“Yes.” She rubbed herself against him. “Is it working?”

“Absolutely.”

Eric looked into Jess’s eyes and his body hardened to instant attention at the heat simmering in her chocolate-brown depths. She certainly didn’t need to put much effort into seducing him-she could accomplish the task with a mere look. A lone touch. A single word. A fleeting smile.

Need, sharp and edgy, scraped him, overwhelming him with the desire to yank her into his arms and spend the next few days blocking out the last few stressful months, specifically the last few stressful hours. All he wanted to do was drown in her.

If he lived to be one hundred he’d never forget the first time they made love. It had been after a dinner and movie date. His place. A cold March wind blew outside, a stunning contrast to the burning desire they’d both felt. No woman, ever, had felt like Jess. Had suffused him with such a complex mix of emotions, leaving him vulnerable yet stronger than he’d ever felt. One night with her had reduced every other sexual encounter he’d ever experienced into a distant and hazy memory. He’d known without a doubt that he’d never want or need to touch any woman other than her for the rest of his life.

Looking at her now, a powerful wave of tenderness flooded him. This woman meant everything to him. And he wanted, needed to show her that, make her remember how perfect they were for each other. How they absolutely, positively belonged together.

“Jess.” Her name sounded like a hoarse rasp, filled with all the love and want and need she inspired. The instant their lips touched, he was lost. His mouth melded with hers in a deep, hot, wet, tongue-mating kiss that perfectly imitated the act his body craved to share with hers. Without breaking their kiss, he lifted her straight up and walked the few steps to the bed. When the backs of her legs hit the mattress, he trailed his lips and tongue down her neck. God, the way this woman tasted…a heady combination of heat and spice and vanilla that never failed to leave him hungry for more. No woman, ever, had tasted like her. Felt like her. The first time he touched her she’d all but left him shaking.

He interrupted their kiss only long enough to pull her heavy sweater over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra and the sight of her rounded breasts, topped with hard, rosy nipples rumbled a growl in his throat.

He kissed her plump lips again then dragged his mouth lower, down her scented neck, over her delicate collarbone while his hands skimmed down to her jeans, which he quickly unfastened. His tongue slowly licked around one plump nipple before drawing the taut bud into his mouth while his hands slipped beneath the lace of her panties to cup the sweet curve of her bottom. She gasped and arched her back, offering him more, an invitation he instantly accepted. While his lips and tongue laved and teased her breasts, he pushed the denim and her underwear over her hips. Licking a trail down the center of her torso, he lowered himself to his knees, bringing her jeans down with him. He helped her step out of her clothes, removed her socks then looked up the long, curvy length of her gorgeous body, into her eyes that glittered with arousal.

Reaching up, he teased her taut nipples, still damp from his mouth. She moaned and combed her fingers through his hair, arching into his touch. Pressing his face against her belly, he traced the tip of his tongue around the indent of her navel. He breathed deep and the musk of her arousal invaded his senses, making his head reel. His hands cruised down to her hips and he urged her down, until she sat on the bed, then ran one hand up her body and gently pressed her back until she leaned on her elbows.

Grasping her knees, he spread her legs, wide, his avid gaze drinking in the sight of her glistening sex. He slipped his hands beneath her and dragged her closer, setting her thighs over his shoulders. Leaning forward, he gave her slick folds a long, lazy lick.

“Eric…” His whispered name ended on a feminine sigh, one that deepened into a groan when he slipped two fingers inside her and slowly pumped while his lips and tongue pleasured her, licking, teasing, sucking, flicking, swirling.

His other hand skated up to her breasts and he rolled her taut nipples between his fingers. She lifted her hips, writhing against him, seeking more, her breaths quickening into erratic puffs. He felt her body tensing, her arousal tightening, until with a sharp cry she came. With tremors still shuddering through her, he slipped a third finger into her wet heat and drew her clitoris into his mouth. She gasped and arched her back as she peaked again.