Page 34 of Then Came Love
As they picked apart each gown, discussing the pros and cons of various necklines, styles, and types of lace and embellishments, they both loosened up, and he got to see a whole new side of Jordan. She strutted like she was on a catwalk, and he fell into the game as the announcer. She wiggled her hips and arms to see how it felt to dance in each gown, and Jax took her hand, teasing her over needing to make a quick getaway at the wedding, and they ran across the showroom, both of them laughing. He’d never had so much fun doing what he loved.
“I’ll go try on the last dress. I’ll be right back,” she exclaimed.
She was adorably sexy, dancing across the floor toward the dressing room. He couldn’t resist stepping in and twirling her, just as he’d done at the wedding, earning more of her addicting laughter. As the dressing room door closed behind her, he grappled with how the universe could be so cruel, putting her in his path twice when she couldn’t be his? Was there a lesson in this that he was missing? Was he being punished? Hell, even that didn’t seem right, because this time with Jordan was anything other than a punishment, and it was likely all he’d ever get with her.
“Jax?” She peered out of the dressing room door, holding the front of the high-neck, open-back gown against her chest. “I was able to unclasp the collar, but the zipper is stuck. Would you mind helping me?”
“Sure.” He stepped into the dressing room behind her, and as he moved her hair over her shoulder, his gaze fell to those tempting freckles trailing down her back. “We should definitely consider an open-back gown.”
“With all my freckles? I’m not sure.”
“Yes, with all your freckles.” He traced those sexy freckles down her warm skin to the base of her spine, where the zipper was stuck, and heard her breathing catch. He reveled in that sexy little sound as their eyes met in the mirror. “They’re one of the most beautiful things about you.”
Her lips parted in surprise, giving her an air of innocence. Not innocence as in naïveté, but as if she was hearing some of these things for the first time ever and didn’t quite believe them. If that were true, it was a tragedy. But he couldn’t afford to get lost in that, in her, because he knew it was a point of no return, so he set his attention on the zipper. “Let’s see if I can work this free.”
“I’m sorry I got it stuck.”
“Helping you take your clothes off is not a hardship.”
“Jax Braden, might I remind you that I am here to design my wedding gown?” Her tone was sharp, but her eyes told another story. One he didn’t think she even realized she was conveying.
“I wasn’t flirting. I was—”
“Just stating a fact,” they said in unison, and they both laughed.
He freed and unzipped the zipper, revealing the edge of pink lace panties. If that wasn’t enough of a temptation, just above them were two of the sexiest dimples he’d ever seen. He wanted to get his mouth on those sweet indentations so badly, he could taste them. He gritted his teeth and tore his gaze away, catching hers in the mirror. That metal-to-magnet effect took over. He told himself to look away, but she bit her plump lower lip, and he desperately wanted to kiss it free. He knew he wouldn’t stop there. He ached to wrap his arms around her and grind his hard length against her ass until she begged to be touched. To peel that dress down and fondle her breasts with one hand, pushing the other into those sexy pink panties, teasing her as he sealed his teeth over her neck, making her come so hard, her legs would give out.
But he wouldn’t stop there, either.
He’d take off those panties with his teeth and bury his face between her legs, devouring her. Then he’d take her in his arms, breathing new life into her lungs as he made love to her the way she deserved to be loved, with every ounce of his being.
Fucking hell.
Now he was hard, and her eyes bored into him with as much confusion as heat, snapping him out of his fantasy, and he realized he was clutching her waist. He released her, swamped with emotions and a good amount of self-loathing.
“I’ll be out there if you need me.” He made a beeline out of the dressing room before he got them both into trouble and paced, giving himself hell. That could not happen again or he’d have no choice but to back out of designing her dress and hand the job over to Jillian…and he sure as hell didn’t want to do that.
“I love the way this hugs my waist and hips, but it’s too tight at my knees,” she said nervously. “Am I too tall or—”
He turned, and for the tenth time that evening, she took his breath away, and a vision appeared in his mind like a movie. He saw her walking down the aisle in the most divine dress he’d ever seen, and standing at the end of that aisle, he saw himself.
“What’s wrong, Jax?”
“Absolutely nothing.” A laugh bubbled out. “I’ve got it! I can see it!”
