I gasped when he used his free hand to cup my ass and pull me against him, then full body shivered when his erection pressed against my belly.
When he dropped his hand from my mouth, I leaned in closer.
Every part of me knew he was going to kiss me. I was more than ready for it.
When his mouth covered mine I let out a little sigh and put my hands on his shoulders. He ever so softly rubbed his lips back and forth against mine several times… before he pulled away.
The tension rolled off of him in waves, and it was obvious to me he wanted to go further.
I wanted that, too.
“Why did you stop?” I whimpered.
He groaned as his body thrust against mine, just once.
“Because I want to savor you. I’m not going to rush you into this.”
It was crazy and completely out of character for me, but I couldn’t even conceive of going slower. Wanting to be with Jordan came as naturally as breathing.
“I don’t feel rushed,” I assured him. “I need…”
My voice trailed off because I wasn’t sure how to explain why I felt so desperate for him.
He sighed and feathered a series of soft kisses along my forehead.
“I need it too, Angel. So fucking much, you have no idea. But you deserve a hell of a lot more than me laying you down on that bed and fucking you until neither of us can move.”
My breaths started coming faster as I imagined what it would be like. I hungered for him in ways I’d never known were possible.
“What if I want that?” I asked breathlessly.
He actually growled as he gripped my ass harder.
“There is nothing I won’t do to be worthy of you. Taking you like a mad man within ninety minutes of meeting you is in no way what you deserve, and I’ll never treat you like anything less than what you are. You’re my treasure, Natalie.”
I knew I was blushing furiously as I blinked up at him. I’d never felt as valuable to someone as I did in that moment.
“Jordan,” I whimpered as I sagged against his chest. “You make me feel so…”
“I know,” he murmured. “Put your hand over my heart and feel how fast it’s racing.”
I let out a happy sigh when I set my hand against his heart and confirmed he was serious.
“A million miles an hour since the second I saw you in aisle six,” he said.
“Mine too,” I admitted.
“This is the beginning of us,” he said, “and the next step is for me to get you home. You ready?”
I smiled as I looked up at him. “I’m ready.”
Chapter Three
Jordan
The tension in my shoulders dissolved as I pulled out of Natalie’s driveway with her safely in the passenger seat. She hadn’t changed her mind, and no one had stopped me. I was one step closer to making her mine, permanently. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to make her mine when she said she was ready, but I was so locked onto doing the right thing by her I’d refused to be swayed. Besides, I knew soon we’d be as connected as two people could be.
And once we started, I knew we were never stopping.
“Tell me about your mom,” I instructed as I guided the car toward the freeway. “What does she do that she’s gone for such an extended period?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her smile as she turned in her seat to look at me. Having her close made me feel settled in a way I never had before. I loved it.
“Mom’s a sound tech,” she began. “She works on different movies and television shows, and she’s often on location. Right now she’s doing an action movie that’s filming in China.”
“And you live alone while she’s gone?” I asked stiffly.
I understood that Robert and Eric were downstairs, but fuck. It was California, not small town Utah or some other safe as fuck place.
“It’s not as if she left me alone when I was twelve,” she replied. “I went to online school until this year. I forced the issue of going to school for my senior year, and she caved in because Robert and Eric live in the unit downstairs, and they’re always around. She isn’t a bad mother or anything.”
“Are you close?”
She nodded as she turned her head and looked out the windshield.
“We’re very close, but she was hurt that I wanted to stay home for school this last year. I stuck to my guns no matter how hard she tried to change my mind. Too bad high school wasn’t what I thought it would be.”
“Why?” I asked as I glanced over at her before putting my attention back on the freeway.
“Because of the life I’ve lived, I’m not a typical teenager,” she answered quietly. “I get along better with adults, and I always have. I don’t care about drinking; I don’t gossip, and I avoid drama. The girls thought I was boring and the boys… let’s just say I was written off as being an uptight prude. High school turned out to be exactly as lame as my mom warned me it would be.”