“Of course not, but I’m an ex-soldier. You’re a decorator, Deanna. You aren’t trained to deal with guys like Valdez.”
“I’m not trained to deal with criminals, that’s true. But don’t cheapen what I do. I’m proud of being an interior decorator. It gives me pleasure. It’s hard and demanding, but I love it.”
Jonas plucked her right off her feet and held her at eye level. “I know and I’m sorry.”
Well, that sure took the air right out of her sails. “You don’t play fair,” she complained.
“No, I don’t,” he said with total sincerity. “It would be smart to remember that, kitten.”
She squinted at him. “Put me down.”
“Nope. Not until you accept my apology.”
She kicked his shin. “This is not a comfortable position, darn it.”
Jonas looked around, seemed to notice his chair knocked over, then stepped around the table and took hers instead. He plopped her onto his lap and took her face between his palms. “Say you forgive me.”
She merely picked up another cheese puff and popped it into her mouth. Crap, it might’ve been cardboard for all she noticed. Honestly, how was a woman supposed to concentrate on food with so much hard, male flesh beneath her butt?
Jonas kissed the side of her neck, turning her insides to mush with the little gesture. “Pretty please, forgive me?”
When he licked her pulse, Deanna caved. “I forgive you.”
She felt his lips curving upward and wanted to punch him, but he kissed the tender spot behind her ear, and her hands decided there were better things to do. She opened her legs to give herself access to the erection poking into her backside, then cupped him through his boxers. Jonas made a deep, gravelly sound in his chest and kept on teasing her with little tiny kisses. His hands came up and cupped her breasts through the thin T-shirt he’d given her to wear. All the sexy lingerie she’d brought along with her and he wanted to see her in one of his T-shirts. The man was constantly confusing her. Deanna no longer knew which end was up.
She forced herself to stop fondling him, then batted his hands away. “Wait, did we come to an agreement or not?”
Jonas coasted one hand down her belly until he cupped her mound protectively. “We’ll figure it out later.” He littered little kisses over her collarbone and nibbled on her neck. “Why can I never get enough of you? It’s never been this way for me.”
Deanna understood all too well. “I know what you mean. There’s some serious chemistry between us, I guess.”
“It’s more than that,” he admonished as he picked up a cheese puff and fed it to her. “It’s your strength. Your intelligence. Your feisty attitude. You’re the whole package, Deanna.”
She liked hearing that. And for some crazy reason, she liked him feeding her too. A man had never treated her with such care. “You know, after I found out about Gary cheating on me, I thought maybe there was something wrong with me. Like I wasn’t woman enough or something.”
Jonas cupped the back of her head and forced her to look at him. “And do you still feel this way? Even after last night?”
“No
. You make me feel sexy and treasured. You’ve discovered a side of me that no other man even took the time to find.”
“I like that, Deanna. You can’t know how much that pleases me.”
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You do?”
His arms came around her middle, holding her tight. “I love knowing that no man has ever touched you the way I do.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can see I’m going to have to be careful what I say. Otherwise you’ll get a big head.”
He chuckled and grabbed a cheese puff. “Open up, kitten.”
Deanna obeyed, letting Jonas pop the tasty treat into her mouth. As her lips closed around it, he muttered something unintelligible, and she felt his cock harden beneath her buttocks.
“Thirsty?” he asked in a rough voice.
“Yes.”
Jonas picked up the bottle of water he’d retrieved from the refrigerator earlier and handed it to her. Deanna took several drinks before handing it back to him. He gulped down the rest and placed the empty bottle on the table. That’s when it dawned on her that the house had been ready for them when they arrived. Curious, Deanna asked, “How is it that this place is all spick-and-span and so well stocked?”