Kelly Jamieson - Sweet Deal

He twined his fingers into the pearls once more, made them a snug collar, the gesture utterly dominant, possessive and claiming. And still she held his gaze, submitting to him, surrendering to him, allowing him to claim her and in doing so, completely captivating him and making him hers.

He lifted her thigh, pushed into her body, and as his bare flesh met hers, scalding hot and wet, as she surrounded him and tightened around him, sensation poured over him, and the overwhelming intimacy of it made him feel like he was dying and flying up to heaven, lost, completely lost. He slid in and out of her silky heat as she squeezed around him, her small hands pressed to his chest.

“Jake.”

He gazed down at her, riveted by the sight of her beautiful face, his hand holding the pearls at her throat, her bare shoulders, as he thrust deeper, harder, felt her lift into him. He watched her eyelids drift closed, her mouth open, drank in her hot little whimpers and soft sighs that built to a climax of pleasure, her fingernails digging into his pecs in a sweet bite of pain. He’d never seen anything as beautiful as watching her come, her body tightening, her pussy rippling around him, and it undid him, the surge of sensation and emotion inside him almost unbearable.

This was what he wanted, what he needed, what he wanted to give, this was everything. It was sex. It was life. It was love.

His thighs quaking, his balls tight, the tension at the base of his spine sizzled painfully. His vision darkened, electricity sparked up his spine, frying his brain, singeing every nerve ending in his body. He dropped his head between her breasts and he came, his cock jerking with every wrenching pulse inside her, so hard and violently, he was afraid he’d completely lost his mind.

And his heart.

A melting sweetness throbbed through Shelby as Jake’s heavy weight pressed her into the mattress, and tears welled in her eyes at the perfection of it, the overwhelming intensity of it, the rush of emotion inside her so strong, so sweet.

She wrapped her arms around his back and held on tight, as tight as she could. His face buried between her breasts, he drew in long, ragged breaths. He had to feel it too. It was too powerful not to.

Oh dear lord. This wasn’t supposed to happen to them. This was a deal. A sweet deal, yes, but a deal nonetheless, both of them on the same page about not wanting a relationship, not wanting anything more than hot sex and a fake boyfriend for her.

There was nothing fake about the emotion swelling in her, so achingly lovely, so terrifyingly real. He consumed her, he took possession of her, and she’d willingly let him, given herself over to him completely, and not just her body, knowing that giving herself to him was not only what he wanted and needed, but was what she wanted and needed. He was what she wanted and needed.

She was in love with him.

She sucked in her bottom lip, eyes stinging, heart constricting. She knew he’d felt something, but he was a guy, and maybe it was just his orgasm that had made him look so…what? What had that look in his eyes been? It looked like tender possession, like worship and devotion, but was it really love?

“Oh, Shelby.” His murmured words had her blinking tears as he moved on her, lifting himself so he could kiss her. A long, tender kiss that had her heart turning over. “You undo me, baby. Completely undo me.”

She blinked up at him and gave a shaky smile as he rolled to his side, pulling her with him, still inside her in the most intimate of connections. He pulled her thigh over his hip and tucked her head under his chin.

She wanted to talk. She so wanted to talk, to ask him a million girlish questions about his feelings. But she’d done that before—asked all those questions right after sleeping with a guy, a guy she probably shouldn’t have slept with, then felt him withdraw and cool off. Never to be seen again. So she kept her questions to herself, snuggled into Jake. She loved how he felt against her, big and hot, hair roughened and masculine. She loved how his hand stroked absently up and down her spine, sending a torrent of tingles over her when he reached that sensitive spot at the base of her spine and lingered there.

“Back to work tomorrow?” he asked her, his hand sliding back up her spine.

Okay. So this was where the after-sex talk was going to go.

“Yeah.” She sighed. “Thanks for your help with my project stuff. I’m going to have to meet with Andrew and go over it all.”

“You’re welcome. I like doing stuff like that. Better than my own job, in fact.”

She lifted her head. “If you don’t like your job, you should quit. Life’s too short to be miserable all day, every day.”

“I guess.”

“The economy is picking up. Are you sure you couldn’t do it?”

“I need a partner.”

“Why?” She rubbed her hand over his shoulder. “Really, why? You’ve got everything you need. Look how you helped me with that problem. You know your stuff. That wasn’t even your company and you knew how to help me. You didn’t make me feel like an idiot. You even came up with a great idea for how to fix things.”

“No. You came up with the great idea.” He smiled at her. “Maybe my suggestions sparked something, but you came up with it on your own, and I have to say, it’s brilliant.”

Warmth spread in her chest. “I’d hire you.”

“Thanks.” His smile deepened.

“Seriously, Jake. Is it the money? Do you need someone else to make it work financially?”

“No.” He ran his hand over the curve of her butt and she wriggled against him in response. “I have enough money put aside. There aren’t huge start-up costs for a consulting business. I could even work from home at first.”

“You might need to tidy up a little.”

For that he gave her a little swat on the butt, but he smiled.

“I just need money to keep me going until revenue starts coming in. That could take a while.”

He told her then about his plan, about the contacts he’d made, about how he’d approached many of them about whether they’d use his services and how he’d felt confident he had a good start on a client base.

“There you go. You could totally do it.” She paused. “Look at what happened to Adam.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was only a few years older than you.”

“I know. It’s scary, isn’t it?”

“But in a way, it makes you think. What if we only had a few years to live? How would you want to spend it?”

He gazed back at her and then his eyes closed and his arms tightened around her. “Yeah,” he said, raw emotion roughening his voice. “Yeah.”

The next day both Jake and Shelby returned to work full time, ready to get caught up. In his office, that feeling of a new beginning stayed with Jake. He remembered how Shelby’s faith in him when they’d talked last night had made his heart squeeze, how he’d gazed back at the beautiful, loving, supportive woman in his arms, and how that sensation of falling had come over him, and how he’d grabbed on to her and held her tight.

He also recalled the conversation he’d had with Drew.

Having just attended the funeral of a thirty-three-year-old man must have shaken him up a bit, made him think of all kinds of shit. Shelby made him think of all kinds of shit. The bigger picture of his life. He was usually so good at seeing the big picture. But now he saw how for the last year he’d been so narrowly focused on how wrong he’d been done, rejected, abandoned, full of self-doubts, that he’d lost sight of his goals and plans and hopes and dreams.

He went back to the file he’d kept on his USB drive for the last year. The business plan for the consulting business he and Andrew had been starting he’d told Shelby about. The financials. The market research. The list of potential clients. The economy was picking up. Things were a lot more positive than they’d been a year ago.

She’d been right. He didn’t want to sit there working for someone else for the rest of his life, all safe and secure, but bored and frustrated. He’d never been afraid to take risks.

He thought of Shelby getting fired from her job for something she hadn’t even done, how she’d been kicked in the teeth, but hadn’t let it get her down, how she’d gone on with dogged determination and optimism that everything would work out fine. And how when he’d been kicked, he’d let it drag him down and keep him there.

He wasn’t going to be like that anymore. He closed his eyes briefly as he considered what he was about to do. Yeah. He was going to do it.

Then he rose to go into his boss’s office.

“You’re kidding me,” Tom said, moments later, staring at him. “You’re quitting?”

“Yeah.” Jake ran a hand through his hair and gave a weak smile. “I’ve given this a lot of thought and it’s what I want to do.”

Tom leaned back in his chair. “We’ll miss you, Jake. You’re bright and talented. Could I convince you to stay? Is it more money you want?”

“No. It’s not the money.” He briefly explained his plans to Tom, who, despite their different styles, had been good to work for. “The usual notice is two weeks, but if you need me to stay longer while you find a replacement, I can be flexible.”

“We’ll see, thanks. Maybe we have someone internally we can move into your position.” He shook his head. “Wow. That takes some guts. I wish you well, though.”

“And keep me in mind if you need a consultant.” Jake grinned.

His boss laughed. “Yeah. I’ll do that.”

Jake returned to his office, excitement building in him now that he’d done it. Holy shit! He’d quit his job. He laughed out loud, alone in his office, eager to share his news with Shelby. He didn’t want to tell her over the phone though. He’d go see her later, tell her in person, and celebrate with some sheet-twisting sex, maybe. He knew she’d be happy for him, after her encouragement last night, and he wanted to see that approval on her face, to know she had his back.