Page 36 of Laying His Claim
The sensation of being inside of Jalissa after so long apart was overwhelming. When she lifted her toned legs and wrapped them around his back, his excitement rose, breaking what control he’d managed to maintain. Justin began to thrust more deeply into her, harder and faster, as if the blur of movement could obliterate all the differences between them; all the unresolved issues.
They were making love; connected, body and soul. It was sublimely dangerous, and dangerously sublime. Briefly, it passed through his mind that they both had so much to lose. But that treacherous thought was washed away by the intense pleasure that jolted down his spine, letting him know that his orgasm was fast approaching. Justin focused all of his energies upon Jalissa, making sure to take her with him. He took in the sight of her face as she screwed her eyes tight, gritted her teeth, face taut with her heated release, and only then did he let himself go.
Chapter 14
Jalissa stretched luxuriously as she wandered out of Justin’s room. It was the third straight morning that she’d woken up in Justin’s bed, in his arms, and she was beginning to think that it would suit her just fine if she happened to do so every morning from now on.
The man’s loving was exquisite; tender when she needed it, and rough and rugged when she was in that frame of mind, too. And after the loving was over and they lay in each other’s arms in a sweaty heap, the next phase began, in which they snuggled, holding hands and gently whispering about inconsequential things.
Sheer heaven.
She stopped dead. Awful Nanny was standing at the entrance to the corridor that led to the bedrooms, and it was perfectly obvious that she knew what room Jalissa had just exited. It was also perfectly obvious that Nanny didn’t approve. As a matter of fact, if it was humanly possible for a person to turn green, she would have.
I need to do something about her,Jalissa resolved. She understood that Justin had been the one to hire her, but surely she had a say in who took care of her baby? The level of tension in the house whenever Justin was gone was untenable. It was time to put a stop to this nonsense.
Since the other woman’s arms were empty, Jalissa assumed that Sebastian was in the nursery. Sure enough, he was dozing in his crib. With a quiet huff, Jalissa took a moment to remove the fluffy woolen sweater that Seb was wearing. The nanny seemed to think he needed to wear warm clothes indoors. Who puts a baby to sleep in a sweater?
Looking around the room, Jalissa noticed a pile of plastic building blocks on the floor, next to a heap of documents and a set of blueprints, neatly bundled into scrolls. She smiled when she thought of father and son keeping each other company in the early morning, both doing their “job”.
Once again looking at Seb, Jalissa realized that the stuffed iguana she’d bought him was missing. Considering that he’d taken to sleeping with it every night, it was strange that he wouldn’t have it now. After a quick search, it was clear that it wasn’t in the nursery, so Jalissa headed for the kitchen. Something was wrong here. Big stuffed toys didn’t just disappear.
“Lorena?” she didn’t even try to keep the sharpness out of her voice.
“Yes, Madame Jalissa?” The answer was as sweet as pie.
It was only then that she noticed two things: First was that the dress Lorena was wearing was more suited to a poolside party, rather than for taking care of someone’s child. The material was far too thin for the season, and both the neckline and hem bared a generous helping of skin. Lorena’s blonde hair was carefully combed into ringlets, as opposed to her normal, professional-looking bun.
Second, the table in the breakfast nook had been set for two and there were two used breakfast settings there. Jalissa knew that from time to time Lorena had shared a meal with Justin, but this had not been bacon and eggs. The pastry boxes on the counter were immediately recognizable as having come from her favorite pastry shop. A glass jug sat beside the empty plates, partly filled with juice.Probably hand squeezed, Jalissa grumbled internally.
Clearly, the woman had been making a move. A wave of territorial anger rolled through Jalissa. She would definitely address that later, but right now she had more important business to attend to. “Have you seen Cucumber?” she demanded.
Lorena looked profoundly innocent. “What?”
“My son’s stuffed iguana,” she responded curtly. Her patience with this woman was at an end. “Where is it?”
Lorena laughed a tinkling laugh. “Oh, that? I threw it out.”
“What?”Jalissa couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“He spilled a cup of grape juice all over it. And you know how grape juice stains. Washing it would have been a nightmare, so I threw it out.”
Lorena was still smiling cheerfully as she proceeded to prepare a plate of pastries and poured Jalissa a cup of orange juice, offering them up as if everything was settled. “Justin said to make sure you got breakfast. He went out early to get it just for you. He said these croissants are your favorite.”
Jalissa glared from the plate to the woman and back again. “No, thank you. I’m not hungry.” She was too furious about Cucumber to swallow a bite.
Lorena pulled her lips down dramatically. “Aww., are you sure? They’re delicious. Justin and I enjoyed them so much!”
“I’m sure,” Jalissa ground out.
Lorena shrugged and sighed gustily. “Fine.” She set down the glass of juice on the table right in front of Jalissa and then dumped the plate of croissants into the sink. “At least drink the juice. Justin said he’s been squeezing oranges for you every morning.”
He had for the last few mornings. They’d even shared a glass of fresh juice in bed. Grudgingly, she took it up and brought it to her lips, inhaling the scent of fresh Naples oranges. Her favorite. Without another word, she spun on her heel and returned to her room. Jalissa’d had enough. She and Justin were going to have it out when he got home.
That woman had to go.
* * *
“Jalissa!” Justin’s voice was frantic, etched with worry, and he was shaking her roughly by the shoulder.
