Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

JOE

I walk into the laundry room, catching Jane in the act, a pile of my wet clothes clutched to her chest.

"Please tell me you're not about to?—?"

"Dammit, Joe." Startled, her voice cracks. "You scared the shit out of me."

"What are you doing with my clothes?"

"I was just putting them in the dryer for you."

"Sure, you were." I shake my head and take the pile from her, throwing it into the dryer before she can do any more damage.

"I really was," she insists.

After adding a dryer sheet, and starting the machine, I glance up. She looks offended, sticking out her bottom lip, staring at me with an expression I haven't seen before. Regret? Sadness? I don't know, but it sure as shit isn't anger or hostility.

I cross my arms, and her eyes follow the movement before coming up to my face. The air definitely shifts between us. Everything feels tight—my chest, my breathing—it's strange and feels intrusive right now. But also, exciting .

Frustration takes a back seat and lets me take her in.

Her white pajama T-shirt falls mid-thigh, and the neckline is worn and stretched out. The light above her head reveals the curve of her silhouette beneath the thin faded cotton fabric, and my throat tightens. I force myself to swallow.

"I know I can be…" she begins. "A little demanding."

"Demanding? I would have used a different word, but go on." I lean against the dryer.

She cocks her head, biting her lip before continuing. "I'm sorry for making you feel like I didn't like you, or making you uncomfortable living here."

"You haven't made me uncomfortable, Jane. I just can't understand why you keep acting like this around me."

"I don't know." She shrugs a shoulder. The little flower on her nape catches my eye. "I guess, maybe…"

Her cheeks darken and her bare foot traces an invisible line on the floor. She keeps clenching her fists at her sides—open, close—as if she's fighting to hold something back. And fuck if I'm not incredibly curious to know what that something is.

"Does this have to do with what I said the other night?" I ask.

Another shrug, but her eyes stay down, telling me I've nailed it on the head.

"Jane, enough with the silent treatment. You're going to need to say something here."

Slowly, her gaze slides up from the ground, painting my body with a scorching heat that shocks me. "You're right. This—our problem—it's tension."

Well, I'll be.

I roll my shoulders back. " Sexual tension?"

She shakes her head, narrowing her eyes, but then nods and takes a cautious step closer.

"Yes… sexual." She struggles with the word, forcing it through her lips and it's so damn adorable.

"And what are we going to do about it?"

She takes a long, steady breath. "The way I see it," she starts, all business-like. "We have two choices. Either you move out."

I frown. "Or…?"

She shuts her eyes and licks her lips, taking another deep breath. This seems incredibly difficult for her and I'm impressed with how hard she's working through it.

Speaking of hard, I cross one foot over the other, trying to hide the effect she's having on me.

"Or…We give in."

The air rushes from my lungs. The room suddenly feels ten times smaller. "What do you mean by ‘give in'?"

Her lips shift to one side and her forehead creases. "You know what? Forget it."

She steps away, but I reach out, taking her by the arm and gently tug her back. Her eyes lock on my hand with a severe glare. "Jane, you can't say that and then walk away."

"Yes, I can. I didn't mean it."

I free her, releasing my hold. "You so did."

"Joe, please don't be a dick about this."

Refusing to let this opportunity slip through my hands, I move enough to block her way out. "How am I being a dick?"

"You're going to make fun of me."

"No, I'm not."

"You will."

"I swear I won't. But I want to be one hundred percent sure you're saying what I think you're saying."

What I hope she's saying.

I drop my chin, searching her eyes. They widen expectantly and make my heart ache, but in a weird, pleasant way.

"You know perfectly well what I'm saying." She tucks a curly strand of hair behind her ear.

"I think I do, but if you can't even say it, then I won't bother."

"Bother? Oh, wow, this is so the sign I needed." She drops her head back with an exhale.

"A sign for what?"

"That this is a horrible idea and so wrong."

"You think us fucking would be wrong?"

She frowns, but the pink flush spreading from her chest up her neck tells me she's not that offended. At any point, she could have left the room if she didn't want to have this conversation. She hasn't even tried to go around me.

"Do you always have to be so obnoxious?"

I arch an eyebrow. "Is it obnoxious if it's something you want to hear?"

"What are you—?" I press a finger to her lips. She stills as I step into her bubble.

"You want to hear it, don't you? You'd love to hear how much I want you." Her cheeks darken and her pupils expand. "How much I want to spread your legs and taste you?" A soft exhale slips past her lips, tickling my finger. I lean in and whisper in her ear, "How I can't think of anything but bending you over this dryer right here and making you scream?"

I wait, anticipating one of two things. Option one, she hops on this dirty-talking train, or option two, she knees me in the balls. Option two seems more likely and I ready myself for the chance I'll be looking for a new place to live in the morning.

Strangely, she chooses neither option and instead parts her lips, sucking my finger into her warm, wet mouth. The sound she makes sends blood coursing from my fingertip, down my arm, straight to my cock.

JANE

The tip of Joe's smooth finger glides along my lip, its warmth calling out to my tongue, which sneaks out to taste him. Surprising myself, my mouth falls open and I suck his finger in deep. All I can think of is damn, it's long.

His brandy eyes darken, locking on my lips, as the corner of his mouth lifts.

"Fuck, Jane," he hisses.

There's a loud, sucking pop when he pulls his finger from my mouth and he offers me a lopsided grin. Then, his wet fingertip drifts along my lower lip and his dark eyes follow the movement, as if it's the most mesmerizing thing he's ever seen. When he takes my chin and tilts my head back, my breath hitches, anticipating his kiss.

This is it. We're crossing the line. There's no turning back.

To be fair, I think I sped past that line once I sucked his finger into my mouth.

While I wait for the worry to set in, for the panic to make me reconsider what I'm doing, a rush of calm runs through me, rousing me on, begging me to continue.

Joe moves in, his lips landing on my lotus tattoo at the base of my neck. His deep growl sets my skin on fire and releases millions of goosebumps that erupt over every part of my skin. When his warm breath skates up my throat, and his mouth tickles my ear, I seriously think my legs have melted away.

With a firm grip on my hips, he pulls me up onto my toes, pressing his hard length into me. He's so fucking tall, my neck stings when I drop my head back to look up at him, but his salacious grin makes me wonder what he's about to do.

And how much I can't wait to find out.

All at once, every possible scenario runs through my head, making me dizzy. The ground feels weak, as if it's slipping away beneath me, and I wobble, but Joe lifts me up and settles me on the dryer. The so-not-sexy-but-super-comfy-to-sleep-in XXL T-shirt I'm wearing rises and I feel the cool metal lid beneath my thighs.

I quickly tug down the hem of the shirt to cover my legs.

"What are you trying to hide there, Janey?" he asks, a coy smile lifting his dark pink lips.

The heat in his voice trickles down to my belly. "Nothing. And stop calling me Janey ."

"Then spread those legs for me, Jane ."

"Excuse me?" I scowl, as if I can't believe he's suggested such a thing. As if the words aren't making me want to grab fistfuls of his dark hair and shove his face between my thighs.

Concerned, he pulls back. "Do you not want to do this?"

The air grows cold around me from his sudden distance. His large, warm body is too far from my bare legs and I reach for his shirt, tugging him back. "I do. I just… I'm not used to this."

"Used to what?"

I shrug, darting my eyes away, too embarrassed to answer.

"Dirty talk?" he asks.

While focusing my gaze on the olive slope of his skin that disappears beneath his collar, I flinch.

"Jane, you're driving me fucking crazy here." He pinches my lower lip with his thumb and leader, pulling it out of my bite. "You know there's nothing to be shy about, right?" He waits for me to nod before continuing. "This can't happen if you're not honest with me."

"That's easy for you to say."

"What does that mean?"

"You being a player and all."

He leans in, his waist pushing between my knees, and cups my cheek with his hand. "Honey, I'm not a player."

I wonder when these nicknames started and arch an eyebrow, earning his smirk.

"Sure, I like casual sex," he says. "But everyone I sleep with knows that."

Distracted by his thumb tracing the curve of my knee, I avoid his eyes. "Do they?"

"Yes, they do. And you know what they all have in common?"

I shake my head, holding back from saying serious confidence issues , because, hello, look at me.

"They told me exactly what they wanted."

I swallow hard. "And you always did what they wanted?"

"Of course."

I glance up. Again, my eyebrow lifts. There is no way he's being honest. "You never have sex for purely selfish reasons?"

His brow dips. "Getting a woman off? Doing something she wants? Feeding her fantasies while indulging mine?" He bites his lower lip hard and shakes his head. "There's nothing sexier."

The intensity of his fiery gaze seizes my capacity to breathe. He dips his chin and wets his lips before adding, "Tell me, Jane. Tell me what you want me to do to you."

All hushed and croaky, I say the first thing that comes to mind. "I want you to go down on me."

He cups his ear. "What was that? A little louder."

His playful grin means he absolutely heard me. He squeezes my kneecaps, the heat of his skin against mine slowly prying them apart.

This time, I nearly shout the words. "I want your face between my thighs and your mouth on me."

I hear his long inhale and watch his eyes turn to brimstone. "Why Jane, I thought you'd never ask."