Page 74 of The House on Blueberry Lane

She lowered her mouth to his and Jaye took it with a hunger he felt in every cell of his body. And then her tongue began mating with his. Soon it became obvious that she wanted to own this kiss and he let her, while loving every stroke and lap of her tongue. This was the kind of kiss that affected him in all kinds of ways, and she had to know it. He’d always had a weakness for her kisses. He’d taught her well.

When she finally released his mouth, Jaye exhaled a shuddering breath, but soon discovered she wasn’t through with him. Leaning in, her tongue licked his bottom lip, then moved to the top one. By then, he was a mass of greedy need and he intended to make sure she felt the same way. He might not be able to tell her in words yet, but he intended to translate it with his actions every chance he got.

When she went for his mouth again, he used that moment to flip their bodies and now she was the one looking up at him. He leaned in and kissed her the same moment he slid into her body and began thrusting hard. Then harder and harder still. The deeper he went, the more his senses became overloaded in pleasure. It was as if something that had been holding him back had finally loosened him from its grip. Telling Velvet about his mother had broken chains and he was no longer bound. He was free.

Jaye loved seeing her thrash her head back and forth against the pillow, and the way she was lifting and rolling her hips against him, as if enticing him to go deeper still. Somehow, he was able to oblige her. Her inner muscles clenched and it felt like he’d gone to heaven and back, and was getting ready to go there again.

“Jaye!”

The sound of her screaming his name compelled him to increase the pace of his thrusts. Passion had taken over and all he could do about it was growl his pleasure and hold tight to her hips, tilting her to hit the spot that he knew would push her over the edge again. They were skin to skin, flesh to flesh and, whether she knew it or not, heart to heart. One day she would know it and would never have reason to doubt that he loved her and just how much.

They climaxed together and sensations he only felt with her rolled through his body and curled his toes. He tightened his hold on her, feeling totally in sync with her. A short while later, he slowly shifted off Velvet and held her in his arms. He would have her for a week in the Keys, and their time wouldn’t just be behind closed doors. He couldn’t wait to take her out and engage in regular activities in the open like a normal couple.

“You’re going jogging with me in the morning, right?”

She looked at him through glazed, satisfied eyes. He thought she looked amazing. “Hmm?”

“Tomorrow morning. Me and you. Jogging in the blueberry field. Okay?”

“One of these days we need to do something other than jog in that blueberry field, Jaye.”

“You got any suggestions?”

She leaned in and whispered a few, which got him aroused all over again.

“And one day we will,” he whispered before claiming her mouth.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“ONLY A COUPLE of hours left to go,” Donna Elloran said excitedly, smiling over at the three other women in the room. She, Velvet, Bryce and Vashti were bridesmaids in Vaughn and Sierra’s wedding, and they had been housed in one of the twelve bedrooms at Zara Haven since noon. They had helped put on each other’s makeup, worked on their hair, and in a little while, they would put on their bridesmaid dresses.

Sierra was in the master suite, which was located on a wing of its own, with her mother. While in another bedroom were the matron of honor, Sierra’s sister, Dani, and her goddaughter, Teryn, who was junior maiden of honor and standing in for her deceased mother, Rhonda, who’d been Sierra’s best friend. Vaughn’s sister, Zara, another bridesmaid, was in a separate bedroom assisting Vaughn’s twenty-year-old twin goddaughters, Jade and Kia—who were also bridesmaids—with their makeup and hair. Dani’s daughter, Crane, was the flower girl and Vashti and Sawyer’s son, Cutter, was the ring bearer.

Velvet was just as excited. Last night, Zara Haven had been theirs for the bridal party. Vaughn had held his bachelor party next door at Donna and Isaac’s home. It, too, had been an all-night affair, and from what the women had heard, it had been a wild one. Velvet could believe it and had missed sharing a bed with Jaye.

The time spent with him over the past weeks had been more than she could have wished for. They jogged together every morning and then, after sharing dinner together, they would sit in their rocking chairs and enjoy a glass of wine or on those colder evenings, a cup of hot chocolate. At night, they made love until exhaustion drove them to sleep. It was as if they had carved out a world at the house on Blueberry Lane that was just theirs. And like she’d told Ruthie just that week, she was deliriously happy with the way things were going between them. After removing elements of love and forever, Velvet had settled into what was happening now. A short-term sexual affair.

Although he never said how much longer he planned to remain in Catalina Cove, she knew it couldn’t be much longer with that new branch being built in Birmingham. That’s why spending a week with him in the Keys meant so much to her. She was beginning to look forward to being in a place where no one knew them. That meant they would lift some of the restrictions she had placed on their affair while in Catalina Cove.

Not to call attention to both of them leaving town at the same time, she was all packed and ready to fly out tomorrow morning. Jaye wouldn’t fly out until Monday. He hadn’t liked the idea of her arriving in the Keys before him until she’d promised to make it worth his while when he got there.

She jumped when Vashti snapped a finger in her face. When she saw the other women grinning, she’d realized that she had been asked a question while her thoughts had been a million miles away.

Smiling sheepishly, she said, “Did I miss something that was said?”

“Umm, we were all wondering when you were going to fess up that something is going on between you and our sexy banker?” Vashti said.

Velvet’s head fell back and she couldn’t help but laugh. Yes, something was definitely going on between her and Catalina Cove’s sexy banker. Jaye was rocking her world. She would even go so far as to say things were better than they’d been before. She figured it was because she’d removed the element of expectation. She wasn’t expecting anything from him and knew the score. They were enjoying the moment and nothing more.

Not to make it too easy on her friends, she asked, “What makes you think something’s going on between me and Jaye?”

“Excuse us, Velvet Spencer,” Ashley said with a huge grin on her face. “We were at Sierra’s bridal party when the atmosphere between you and Jaye Colfax was sizzling. Trust me, we all felt the intensity of your attraction to him and his to you.”

“Heck, there were times when the two of you seemed to be out-staring each other, like you were the only ones at the party,” Vashti added.

“The sexual chemistry was so thick you could slice it with a knife,” Bryce tacked on.

“And then some,” Donna brought up the rear by saying.

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