Page 44 of Hooked on a Feeling

“You okay?” he asked.

“Perfect.” She gripped his forearms. “Are you okay? Is he always so blunt like that?”

John nodded. “Always. He’s been angry at the world for most of my life. But no real reason for it. I mean, financially, he’s in awesome shape—I’ve seen Blue’s profit margin. As far as family, for the most part we are all good kids. It isn’t like he’s stressed about that. Plus, we’re all grown up now.” John peeked out the window before looking back at Starr. “You know what shocked the hell out of me most just now though?”

Starr couldn’t even guess. Not when she was feeling the negative effects of Mr. Davenport. “What’s that?”

He stepped closer to her, his lips inches from her mouth. He smelled like sunscreen and some kind of body wash—the combination of the two was heady. “You said you loved me.”

Chapter Sixteen

“I did?” Just when she thought she was getting control of her adrenaline, there it went again.

“Did you mean it?” he asked.

Her eyes searched John’s. Wide-open honesty. Deep inside, he was the kind of man she’d always wanted in her life. Every time he touched her, it was like a live wire was being put to her skin. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”

His face didn’t show an expression. His mouth didn’t curl into a grin or frown. Maybe she shouldn’t have admitted it. “I know that wasn’t part of our plan—my plan—and I’m sorry I can’t change it. One day we were just friends that shared a mutual attraction, and then all of a sudden, I realized how perfect you are for me. All the things we share in common—”

His mouth claimed hers. His lips were firm and unyielding. She pressed her hands against his chest, trying to capture everything he was giving her. She opened her mouth on a gasp, and his tongue slipped inside, tangling with hers. His groan was deep and vibrated against her palms. She would never tire of hearing it. He picked her up, and she willingly wrapped her legs around his. Like every time they were this close to one another, she was consumed with all that he was. All that he gave her.

He carried her into her grandfather’s office. Her butt pressed against the desk, and John was already unbuckling and unzipping his shorts. She undid her own shorts, and he pulled them down along with her panties and tossed them. One second later, his cock was sliding inside her. Hard. Thick. Hot. She dug her nails into his back, hoping like hell she wasn’t the only one experiencing such raw and deep emotions. “John,” she muttered against his lips. “Don’t stop.”

“I could do this for the rest of my life.” He lifted her off the edge of the desk, the movement spreading her farther apart. She was literally being held up by him while he was impaled inside her. The friction was too much. Too sensitized. Too erotic.

Her orgasm peaked, and she couldn’t do anything but hold on tight as convulsion after convulsion swept through her entire body. She may have even blacked out from all the stars shooting across her eyelids. John’s body stilled, and he buried his head into the crook of her neck, letting out a groan that vibrated against her nipples. Her body was slick with sweat, and when John raised his head and met her gaze, she saw it. The undeniable, soul-deep attraction and love that she felt for him. She was drowning in it.

She swallowed.

John caressed her face with the tips of his fingers. “I love you. And I’m gonna be totally fucking honest here—and selfish—I sure as fuck don’t want you going back to Colorado.”

That was the large elephant in the room, wasn’t it? He set her gingerly back onto the desk, and the irony of the situation hit her. Laughter bubbled from her throat. “We just confessed our love and had sex inside my grandfather’s office. He must be rolling in his grave.”

John tugged his boxer briefs on and helped her off the desk. He sat on the long couch and pulled her into his lap so she was straddling him. “You know, I don’t think so. I can feel it in here.” John pressed a hand against his chest. “I think this was your grandfather’s ultimate plan. To reunite the Davenport and Young families in the hopes of creating a legacy once more. Together, it’s a dynasty. His first venture at it failed, and the guy seems witty and wise enough that he would try something like this even in death.” John gestured with his hand around the office. “Look around. The guy had big plans. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he has set the stage for more plans.”

Her stomach skipped with butterflies. Starr had never thought of it that way. But her grandfather had been cunning. He’d also been a dreamer. “That makes zero sense, though, doesn’t it? I mean, why hold a grudge when you’re alive? Why not just get over it and move on?”

John twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. “That I’m not sure about yet. Maybe it was too much to deal with. You know there are things that can break people’s hearts. Maybe he couldn’t live with it, but he never managed to get rid of his dream.”

“But he can’t mastermind a Young-Davenport hookup from his grave. No one can.”

“Bigger things have happened in this world. Like Mother Teresa curing that woman with the lump in her abdomen. Or—”

“Or the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” they said together. They both laughed.

“Exactly,” John said.

“I don’t know. Anything is possible.”

“Anything sure is.” He put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. “I never thought there would be a day of my life that I wouldn’t be at Blue.”

“Is it possible that tensions are just high right now between you and your father? He’ll surely come to his senses.”

“I’m not sure I want him to. I don’t know what the world has in store for me, but I’m game to try.” He opened one eye. “Maybe this is a sign I could buy the marina.”

She blew out a breath. “I’m not sure what the attorney is going to say tomorrow. I have an all-around bad feeling about it. But I guess it’s better to hear it now and not when I’m back home and can’t do anything about it.”

“Aside from that meeting, what do you plan to work on next?”

---