Chapter 29

29

Lena

"Good morning," JJ's dark voice rumbles across the space.

I stiffen. "Morning." I keep my gaze lowered as I shuffle over to the electric kettle that's plugged in on the side of the counter.

"There's coffee for you," Miriam volunteers.

"Eh?" I squint at her. "Coffee?"

She nods in the direction of the brand-new coffee machine that's appeared on the other side of the counter. It's not your average drip-coffee maker, either. It's one of those fancy, shiny machines that looks like it's straight out of a sci-fi movie. I stare at it. "Uh, how do I operate it?"

"Let me." His voice vibrates up my spine. I stiffen. My eyelids snap open. All remnants of sleep drain from my eyes like sand through an hourglass. I spin around and almost face-plant into the wide chest that seems to loom above me and to either side of my line of sight.

"Excuse me," I say stiffly.

"Ah, but I'm just about to get you your morning cup of joe." He leans around me and the scent of his aftershave, something complex and dark and spicy, just like him, assails my senses. My head spins. Must be because I forgot to eat dinner last night, not to mention the drinking. Also the angry words Isaac and I exchanged after we'd fucked hadn't helped. The act in itself had been satisfactory, if a little emotionless. Luckily, Isaac's been blessed with a big enough cock and he knows how to use it. Imagine how much more honed his father's technique would be, eh?

"Did you say something?" JJ straightens.

Heat flushes my cheeks. "Coffee, just need my cup of brew," I choke out, then slide out from between him and the counter and stumble toward where the cups are kept.

"Are you okay, Lena?" Miriam asks in a kind voice. "You seem exhausted."

"Yes, Lena, did you sleep well?" The smirk in JJ's voice has me shooting him a sideways glance. His lips twist. There's a knowing gleam in his eyes. Does he know I've been thinking about a particular asset that both he and his son possess? Am I really thinking about both JJ and his son in the same breath, the same line, the same sentence? Next to each other? Jesus H. Christ. I need therapy. And coffee. "Coffee?" I croak.

I hear the gurgle of the coffee machine, the hiss of steam, and turn to find JJ holding a cup under the machine. I leap toward it, and even before the dark brew has stopped trickling out from the spout of the fancy-ass contraption, I've grabbed the cup and raised it to my mouth. I take a sip, then gasp. "Ow, it's too hot." I fan my mouth, then race toward the sink where I start rinsing my mouth with cold water, swishing it around, spitting it out, then swallowing the cool liquid to soothe my throat. I turn to find both of the other occupants staring at me.

"What?" I scowl.

Miriam shakes her head and turns back to the counter where she's making omelets.

JJ merely smirks. "You could have waited until the coffee cooled."

"Where's the fun in that?" I walk over to the table on the other side of the island and drop into a chair. "I haven't seen you in the kitchen this early before, Miriam."

"JJ wanted me to come by and make sure I had breakfast ready for the both of you."

"Both of us?" I scowl at JJ.

"You're riding with me today," he announces.

"I am?"

He nods.

"Oh."

His grin broadens, the flash of his perfectly white teeth between those lips that look so hard, but are actually quite soft, seems more than a little predatory. A frisson of uncertainty crawls up my spine. Why is he looking so happy with himself? What's going on in that head of his?

"Hmm." I raise my cup and take a sip of the brew which is now the correct temperature. The scent of rich dark soil, the feel of green moss weaving through my fingers, and the sound of thunder as water pours onto rocks far below sweeps through me.

"Wow," I breathe. "This coffee is amazing."

"It should be, it's made from the poop of Thai elephants."

I choke on the mouthful I've barely swallowed. "You're shitting me."

"It's the shit of the elephants, actually," he drawls.

"You're kidding." I scoff. When he doesn't reply, I blink. "Right?" I ask.

"Right." He smirks.

"Oh, thank God." I glance at the coffee then place it back.

"It's actually extracted from Indonesian cat poop."

"Excuse me?" I whip my head back in his direction. "Now you really are joking."

"'Afraid not. It's the second most expensive coffee in the world."

"O-kay." I place my hands in my lap and stare at the remainder of the dark liquid in my cup. "I… I'm not sure I want to drink the rest of it."

"You just said you loved it."

"That was before you gave me the lowdown on what it's made from."

"Relax, it's rich Colombian coffee from a private plantation." His eyes gleam.

"Why don't I believe you?" I scoff.

The machine runs again, I glance over my shoulder to find he's filling another cup with the dark liquid.

"Thought you didn't drink coffee?"

"I don't."

Huh. Does he mean that he bought the coffee machine for me?

Miriam plates out the food, then slides it onto the table. "If that'll be all?"

JJ nods. "Thanks, M."

She smiles at me, then leaves by the back door. JJ fills the cup and prowls over to stand next to me. He blows into the cup and the steam rises. The bittersweet scent of coffee intensifies. Mixed with the spicy scent of his aftershave, it's a potent combination that sinks into my blood and arrows straight for my core. I cross my legs and his gaze sharpens. "You seem restless this morning."

"I'm fine," I snap back.

"Where's Isaac?"

"He, ah, left earlier to get some early morning shots," I lie. He left last night after our argument, when I accused him of not being completely there when we made love. I couldn't really call it making love. More like, fucking? No, not even that. He penetrated. I faked an orgasm. The usual.

"Trouble in paradise?" JJ drawls.

"None of your business," I shoot back.

"You're wrong. Everything about you is my business."

"I don't know what you?—"

"Open your mouth," he growls.

"Excuse me?"

"Open. Your. Mouth. Lena."

I do.

The next second, he takes a sip from the cup, then leans over and dribbles it into my mouth. My gaze widens. My stomach clenches. An insidious heat flares to life between my legs. I hold those dark, fathomless eyes of his as the liquid pools on my tongue. His gaze deepens further.

"Swallow." He lowers his voice to a hush, and my pulse rate rockets through the roof.

I close my mouth, do as he commands. The thick taste of him combined with the aromatic notes of the coffee is an aphrodisiac that leaves flashbulbs of desire popping in its wake. He lowers his gaze to my mouth, and I realize my lips are parted, waiting… Waiting for him to take another sip, swill the coffee in his mouth and dribble the now lukewarm liquid onto my waiting tongue. I close my mouth, swallow, then part my lips a third time. He inhales sharply and his chest planes swell until I'm sure he's going to burst out of the seams of his jacket. He places the cup on the table, then lowers his mouth until his lips are poised over mine. His hot breath sears my cheek. Goosebumps pop on my skin.

"I heard you last night. Heard you as you moaned for him. Heard you as you opened your thighs for him."

I gasp. "Wha?—"

He pinches my chin so I can't speak. I try to pull away, and he grips my shoulders, holding me in place.

"It made me want to walk in there, turn you on your front, pull you up to your hands and knees, and fuck you until you screamed my name. If it had been me, you wouldn't have been able to walk this morning. You wouldn't be able to speak, except to ask for my cock. You wouldn't be able to sit down—I'd have reamed your arse and made you come on my dick so many times, you'd still be floating down from the endorphins saturating your bloodstream... Until you've forgotten everything except the shape of my face, the feel of my shaft inside you, the essence of me coursing through your veins as your heart opens to the only man who'll ever be able to satisfy you again."

My entire body seems to detonate into a million little flames. Sweat beads my brow. I draw in a breath and my lungs burn. My toes curl. "JJ, what are you?—"

"I am going to have you, girl."