Page 27 of Now and Forever

He shrugs and looks around. “I don’t know. You never asked about my house.”

Before I have a chance to say anything else, he puts his hands around my waist. He lifts me up onto the kitchen island and pulls my legs up.

“Have you lifted my punishment yet?” he asks in a sweet tone, his mouth near mine.

That question and his quick proximity are so surprising that I don’t know what to say. On the one hand, I know I have to be tough and make him pay for what he did, but on the other, I need him so much, I’m perfectly capable of forgiving everything for the rest of my life and asking him to fuck me right here and now.

We look at each other for what feels like an eternity. We’re heating up. And as his lips come near, I begin to debate: Do I forgive him or not?

Tired of waiting, he puts his tempting mouth on mine. I feel his lips burning.

“Kiss me ...”

I don’t move.

I am so paralyzed by desire, I can barely breathe.

“Sweetheart, kiss me,” he insists.

When he realizes I’m not moving, he holds my head in his hands and does that thing that drives me crazy: he runs his tongue on my upper lip and then my lower lip, ending with a delicious little nibble. His breathing gets harder, and then he kisses me. I stop breathing. He takes me with his mouth in such a way that I’m willing to do absolutely anything he asks.

As he’s kissing me, one of his hands moves from my head to my neck and then to my back. His fingers dig into my flesh as he pulls me close enough to feel his hot, tempting, and exquisite erection.

Thank God I’m wearing jeans. Otherwise, Eric would have already torn off my panties, or rather, I would have torn them off myself. I close my eyes and throw my head back. I’m enjoying myself and, evidently noting the change in my breathing, he bites my chin and runs his wet tongue down my throat.

“Let’s go to our room, love. I need to undress you and take you the way I’ve wanted to for days. I want to open your legs and, after tasting you, bury myself in you over and over until your moans calm the living desire I have for you.”

Living desire! Just hearing that makes me dizzy.

I’m instantly drunk on him, and, like always, I want more. But no, I shouldn’t. I’m struggling mightily with my arousal, and, with what little strength I have left, I push myself back and pull away from him.

“No ... you’re not forgiven.”

“But ... I want you.”

“No ... you shouldn’t.”

“Jude ... love,” he protests.

“Just tell me which is my room and ...”

I don’t even finish my sentence before he pulls away. His face is as hard as the erection in his pants. He closes his eyes and leans on the kitchen island. His knuckles have gone white.

“Fine,” he hisses. “We’ll go on with your game. Follow me.”

This time he doesn’t take my hand when I follow him up the stairs. I stare at his broad back, his strong legs, and his butt. Pure temptation and—uff!—I’m well aware of what I just said no to.

When we hit the second floor, he walks decisively to his room, opens the door, picks up my bags, and comes back out to the hallway. “Which room do you want to sleep in?”

“In ... in whichever’s free,” I manage to say.

Livid and determined, Eric walks to the end of the hallway and opens the door farthest from his room. We both go in, and he leaves my bag next to the bed.

“Good night,” he says without looking at me or kissing me. He closes the door behind him.

For an instant, I stand there like an imbecile, contemplating the door, and my chest heaves up and down. What have I done? Maybe I’ve lost my mind. Unable to do or say anything else, I put on my pj’s and lie down on the pretty bed. I don’t want to think, so I turn on my iPod and sing along.

I finally turn off the light.

---