21. Joel

CHAPTER 21

JOEL

" Y ou're right, this is good," Anna says as she takes a sip of beer. "It's kind of sweet."

"But in a fruity way, not a gross one, right?"

"Yeah, that's exactly it!"

She takes another sip and I don't even pretend not to watch the way her lips wrap around the can. There was a spark when we touched hands. I know she felt it too. I saw her eyes, and I know what someone's eyes look like when they're attracted to you. I've seen it enough.

Now the question is how to bring it up without getting it wrong.

"You'll have to teach me how to cook like this," I say. Flattery is always a good start.

She bites her lip and shrugs awkwardly. "It's not that much. It's not like great cuisine."

"Yeah, but I can't cook at all. You're good at it. You shouldn't talk bad about yourself like that."

She looks up from her food to fix me with a highly suspicious raised eyebrow. "Right. Because you're the expert at not self-deprecating."

"I just say what's true. You're good at cooking, you're smart, and you're pretty good-looking too."

"Shut up," she says in the way you do when you haven't got a better comeback and you're really embarrassed about the whole situation. But it wasn't a shut up in the kind of way that really meant be quiet .

I'm taking it as a win.

I'm also super hungry because we haven't really eaten since gelato and that was hours ago. Where did that easy atmosphere go? Why did I have to freak out?

She's right though, of course. We're both guilty of talking ourselves down. For the first time in my life, Anna makes me want to believe that I'm more than a dumb, sexy billionaire. It's like I could almost be Joel Lockhart, renowned CEO, not just outrageous Joel with his pants down again.

As I eat, I try to figure out what to say next to get the conversation going. I'm desperate to ask her why she kissed me and what it meant, but I don't know broach the subject.

Fortunately, she takes the words right out of my mouth.

"It was on purpose earlier, you know. Kissing you. And I liked it. Sorry."

I swallow hard. She's still flushed, her cheeks a pretty pink, her hair framing her face perfectly, her gaze fixed on her fork so she doesn't have to see me react. Which means she doesn't see my enormous smile. "Really?"

"Yeah. It was an accident, but I wanted to do it." She sighs shakily like it's a weight off her chest or a regret. Like she really thinks I'm not falling for her so hard I think I might explode.

"Good," I say, putting my fork down.

She's about to take another mouthful, but she hesitates, trying to make sure she heard me properly. She blinks at me, her lips wobbling like she's trying not to smile. "Good?"

"Yeah, good. Because I've been thinking about kissing you for days. And I'm kind of thinking, maybe we should do it again."

Slowly, she lowers her fork again and stares levelly at me. "You'd better not be fucking with me, Joel Lockhart, because it's not funny to say that and—"

Before she can launch into a whole huge rant at me, I stand up and walk over to her, cupping her cheek in my hand and leaning down to meet her in another gentle kiss. She freezes in surprise and I'm ready to walk away and stop, but then she grabs the back of my head and kisses me hard, our lips crashing together like that's what they were always meant to do.

Nothing else in the whole world could feel as good as this. Her hands on my skull are burning hot, branding me with desire for her. Her skin under my hands and her hot kisses make me feel higher than any drug.

Breathing hard, she pulls away to fix me in a stare again. "You really mean it? You wanted me to kiss you?"

"Anna. I've never wanted to kiss anyone more in my life." She opens her mouth as if to protest and I cut her off before she can start. "You're beautiful. You make me feel something I've never felt before."

"What, sober?" she teases, standing up too so we're just inches apart, her chest rising and falling in waves like she can't catch her breath, her hair fully escaped from the band that was trying to contain it. I want to sweep her up in my arms and never let go.

"More sober than I've ever been."

She stands up on her tiptoes to try and reach my lips again, but I lean back to ask her the one thing that could make this a dealbreaker for me. I don't want to and I don't believe it really, but I have to hear her say it or it'll bother me for the rest of my life. "You don't just want me for my vast wealth and incredible looks, do you?"

"Joel," she says, planting herself back down and looking me squarely in the eye, making me feel stupid in the way only she can. "Do you really think I'd want to make out with someone as annoying as you if I didn't mean it?"

"Point taken," I say, then wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her in close to me at last.

She leans up to kiss me again, her hands grabbing the back of my head like I'm about to fly away and kissing me with all the pent-up emotions we must have both been feeling all this time. I could laugh about it if I wasn't so set on kissing her until she kisses all the breath out of me. She tastes like spices and beer and I'm sure I taste the same, but none of that matters at all.

All that matters is her mouth on mine, her fingers tracing their way down my back and making me shiver. My own hands go to her hips, holding her tight like a promise.

For a second, she pulls away to whisper in my ear, "You're a little excited, huh?" To prove her point, she grinds her hips against me, bringing undeniable attention to my growing erection.

As she leaves a trail of kisses down my jawline, I chuckle in embarrassment. She's right, of course. She's turning me on like crazy. "I can't help it when you're so hot," I growl, pushing her hair out of the way to kiss at her neck where her skin is so soft and smells like soap.

She gasps hard, throwing her head back to let my tongue trace the length of her throat. As I bury my face in the nape of her neck, she grinds against me again, her hand sliding down my front towards the tie of my sweatpants. "Maybe we should do something about that."

Another wave of lust courses through me at the idea of it. "Maybe we should," I echo, letting my hand slide round to her ass to squeeze gently.

She giggles at the touch, then grabs my shirt and pushes me backwards towards the bedroom.

We spin like dancers on the way, pushing and pulling each other across the floor, snatching kisses and pulling at fabric, neither willing to let go but both wanting the other so completely naked. By the time we crash through the door, my pants are halfway down my ass and her shirt is unbuttoned, revealing a simple black bra beneath. But simple doesn't mean unsexy and being able to feel her hard nipples underneath is definitely sexy.

She moans as we stumble through the room, shedding shirts and pants and socks all while trying to maintain as much lip-on-lip contact as possible. Which is harder than it looks, and a bunch of times we have to break apart, breathless and giggling to rip our clothes off.

By the time we fall onto the bed, all that's left is our underwear.

I roll us over so she's underneath me and start kissing her again, but she holds her hand up. "Wait, do you have any condoms?"

"Shit," I say. Annoyingly, that's not something I thought of bringing when I fled from the media. I sit back up and crawl over to Ben's nightstand. "Maybe your brother has some."

" Please don't make me think about my brother right now," she groans.

There's so much crap in here it makes me wonder if every drawer in Ben's house is secretly full of all the stuff that seems to be missing from the rest of the house. "Aha!" I say triumphantly, pulling out a box of condoms. "Sweet, and they're in date."

"Great. Now get back over here and kiss me again."

How can I refuse a command like that?

I let my hands roam her body as we kiss, letting myself slip between her legs. She gasps as I feel the wetness soaking her underwear and urges me on, whispering pleas in my ear. I let my hand slide inside her underwear and can't help grinning at the way her body moves when I make contact with her clit.

Lucky for her, I'm pretty good at figuring out the best way to make a woman feel incredible pleasure.

The way Anna yells out and trembles as she orgasms is just more proof of that.

"Joel," she says, breathing hard as her brain comes back online. "I need you inside me, now. Please."

I don't say a word as I throw my own boxers to the floor and roll a condom on. I'm achingly hard and I want to touch and kiss every inch of her perfect skin.

But then she's grabbing at my chest and flipping me over and straddling me and as she starts to move her hips, my mouth drops open. Seeing Anna above me like that is enough to me feel giddy and paired with the way she's grinding down on me, I think my brain is about to melt out of my skull.

It must be, because I catch myself thinking something I've never thought before: I love her.

I'm in way too deep. But she feels so good and the faces she makes when I let my thumb drift back to her clit are exquisite.

Everything about her is exquisite. She's everything I could ever want and I don't think I could bear to lose her. She comes again and I grab her waist to stop her falling over, her tremors rippling through me. Her fingers dig into my arms and I almost want them to bruise, to leave proof of her on my skin.

"Fuck, Joel," she gasps. "Do that again."

There's no way I can resist following her command.

Eventually, after we've both climaxed, Anna flops down next to me, exhausted. She presses her naked body against mine, looping her arms and legs over me. I shuffle to let her settle in, feeling every inch of her warm skin, letting my hand drift over her back, tracing patterns into her. Her breathing slows as we lie there in the quiet until she shifts to whisper in my ear, "I see why everyone wants to do that now."

"I'm so sorry for catching you with seductive charm," I say sarcastically, making her hit me gently in the chest and laugh into my shoulder.

"You're assuming I've fallen under your spell at all."

"Let's test that theory," I grin before rolling over to kiss her again. She melts into my arms and our limbs tangle together until we become one, moving in a harmony I've never heard before but can't get enough of.

Hopefully, this is going to be a long, long night.