Worry continued to eat at her, but just being there, with him, like this, was enough to reassure her, however little, that whatever was going on had nothing to do with her and everything to do with him. It gave her a small ray of hope that they might be able to get past it together.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked him. He opened his mouth, then shut it, and opened it again as though struggling to find the right words. Patti braced herself, her next breath being trapped in her throat as she waited.

“It’s not that I don’t want you,” he began, his voice tight. “I do. So much I have to take cold showers several times a day just to take the edge off.”

A small smile pricked at her lips. “Haven’t you…you know.” She let her hand trail softly down his stomach, but before she reached her destination, Jon seized her hand in his and brought it to his lips.

“I’ve done…you know,” he said meaningfully, “enough times to make myself go blind.”

Patti’s shoulders shook with laughter and she tilted her head back to look at him. “Then what’s wrong?”

He held her hand against his chest, his thumb rubbing back and forth across her knuckles. He looked down at their joined hands, and frowned. “You don’t know who I am, Patricia.”

“Then tell me,” she urged, lifting herself on to her elbow so she could look down at him.

A pair of sad blue eyes met hers, and Patti felt her heart squeeze painfully in her chest. There was so much emotion swimming in them, and she couldn’t begin to fathom what could have put it there.

“If I tell you, you’ll change your mind about being with me.” The surety in his voice dropped like a stone in her stomach.

“Well, I doubt that, but we’ll never know unless you tell me.” Draping herself over him so her leg twined with his, her elbows resting on either side of his head, she combed his hair back and looked him straight in the eyes. “I need you, Jon. I need you so bad my every cell aches for you.” She nuzzled her nose against his and breathed in his intoxicating scent. “Tell me so we can fix it.”

One arm came around her, holding her in place, while his other hand explored her curves. He skimmed the back of her arm, trailed lightly down her spine, and when he reached her ass, he gripped one cheek, pulling her in tighter so her clit scraped deliciously across his leg.

“I fuck up everything,” he said quietly, burying his face in her neck, concealing himself with the curtain of her long, blonde hair. “I’ve hurt people. I’ve ruined lives…” Pain, deep and profound, laced each of his words, touching Patti so deeply, that she felt the back of her throat begin to thicken and burn.

Kissing his forehead and temple, she repeated every one of his tender touches, lingering at his skin, hoping he would feel the sorrow inside of her.

What was this man doing to her? Never in her life had she experienced such an immediate, visceral reaction to anyone. She’d always been able to keep her head and her heart separate, but with Jon, it seemed impossible. There wasn’t a single part of her that this man didn’t touch.

It was both exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

“We’ve all hurt someone,” she told him, kissing his lips softly. “We’ve all been hurt. It’s a fact of life that you can’t escape.”

“It’s not that simple,” he protested.

Pressing a finger to his lips, Patti silenced him. “It is that simple. You just have to learn to forgive yourself, and everything else will fall into place.”

“Is that what you do?” he asked, his brows pulling together. But to Patti, it didn’t sound like a true question. It was more like a hopeful challenge.

“I try,” she said sincerely. “If I dwelled on every single mistake I made in life, I wouldn’t have one. I’d never be happy.” She pressed a kiss to his face, over the tiny lines marring his forehead. “And I want to be happy.” Right then, the thing that would make her most happy was if he’d make love to her. By his slackening muscles, she sensed that she might be getting through to him, which was well worth a victory dance.

“Do you want to be happy?” she asked him, pausing to study his expression.

He peered up at her, his blue eyes intense, and she could practically see the war being waged in his mind. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he nodded. “Yeah, I want to be happy,” he said pulling her face down to his.

In one deft move, Jon flipped her on her back. His hand found the back of her knee and drew her leg up, tucking it under his arm so that it nearly touched her chest. Then he slid inside her slick, wet heat, burying himself as far as he could go.

Patti shouted as ripples of pleasure shot through her, and Jon made a manly grunting sound in the back of his throat. Slowly, he eased back, and then drove into her again, setting a torturous pace of slow and then fast, hard and deep, so she felt every thick inch of his throbbing erection.

Digging her nails into his back, Patti held on for dear life, panting and moaning, shouting his name when he pushed so deep, she felt him touch her womb. The bite of pain whipped through her, her muscles seized, clamping her inner walls down tight around him.

Jon’s guttural growl spoke to something deep inside of her, and when she felt him thicken as his orgasm approached, she felt her own answer the call.

Bringing both legs up as high as they could go, Patti locked her feet behind Jon’s back, allowing him to drive even deeper into her. They both cried out this time, the sheer force of the pleasure demanded them not to be silent.

With every thrust, Jon’s balls slapped against her ass. His pelvis rubbed against her swollen, needy clit, and the sounds of their wet flesh clapping together echoed around the room.

Jon’s arm snaked under her, lifting her bottom higher, angling her for a more direct contact. Then, just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, he bent his head to her shoulder and bit down.

Sparks flew behind Patti’s closed lids like a Fourth of July celebration. Her pussy contracted, clamping down on Jon’s cock and drawing out his own brutal release. She felt his hot seed spurt deep inside of her, filling her, and it sent off another round of spasms that made them both groan in ecstasy.

When they were both completely spent, Jon rolled to his side and gathered her to him. He kissed her deeply, spending what felt like hours nourishing her mouth with his loving kisses, until their lips were so bruised and swollen, that they were forced to stop. Only then did he press her face against his chest, and fall asleep in each other’s arms.

14

Jon’s internal alarm clock roused him some time later. His back was sore and his abs felt tight, indicating they would be tender later, too. Travis would be thrilled when he showed up at the course later to find Jon’s driving scores dramatically low. His old friend might finally win himself a game for once.

He smiled into the shadowed room thinking of how he’d earned those aches and pains.

It was well worth the sacrifice.

Beside him, Patricia was curled up like a cozy kitten, her lush body draped over him like a warm blanket.

He let his fingers coast along her back, relishing the feel of her sweet, mouth-watering curves beneath his hand. Sometime in the night, she’d tossed her leg over his hips, nestling her hot, wet pussy against his thigh. He could feel the remnants of their lovemaking against his skin, and it made his cock twitch back to life.

She was nothing as he expected, yet everything he had hoped for…

For so long, Jon had existed in some sort of dream state, breathing, but not really living. He’d gone through the motions, running a business, maintaining friendships, sleeping with any woman who threw herself at him, but he had been empty inside. That’s what guilt did to a man. It ate at him, every single day, until there was nothing left of him but a hollowed out shell.

Then Patricia, with her fiery attitude and a body made of sin entered his life, and now he felt…alive. It was the most invigorating, eye-opening feeling he’d ever experienced. He hadn’t realized how much he resembled the walking dead until the haze surrounding him was lifted away. Now everything felt bright, fresh, and new.

The novelty of having this woman in his bed was not lost on him. He hadn’t spent a full night with a woman in so long, that he’d almost forgotten what it felt like. Almost.

Every moment he spent with Patricia felt as if she were breathing life back into his world, rounding out the rough edges, little by little.

How could one little woman do so much?

And where had she been hiding all this time?

She stirred beside him, rolling on to her back, and stretching languidly. Unable to get enough of her, Jon propped himself on his elbow and looked his fill as her small, firm breasts pushed toward the ceiling, and the muscles in her legs bunching up as she pointed her toes. She was the sexiest, most beautiful woman he had ever set eyes on.

The thought hit him like a sledgehammer.

If he didn’t know better, he’d say these feelings were the trappings of love.

A private smile coasted across his face, and Jon reached out to touch her. Truthfully, he didn’t know what this…feeling…was. All he knew was that he was in no hurry to see it go. He wanted to wake up every day to this vision of beauty before him, and he wanted to end every night between her soft thighs.

He knew without a doubt that Patricia was a woman who could hold his attention and his affection for a long time. She was special, which made it easy to say what he did next.