I don’t finish the sentence. I don’t need to because he comes right back as he lifts himself on his elbows, glaring at me.
“Would still want you? Why? Because you have this idea in your head I’m looking for perfection? You honestly think that of me?”
“We’ve barely known each other a few weeks,” I mutter defensively.
“Bullshit,” he snaps, pointing a finger at me. “And you know it. I put my cards on the table from the get-go. I told you I’m not the kind to share, but I bared myself to you. Laid it all out because I wanted you to go in, eyes open. And I thought that went both ways.”
“It does.” I put a knee on the mattress. “Maybe it was me I didn’t trust. I don’t claim to be perfect but I’ve worked hard to get where I am. I’ve had to. I guess part of me expects people to look at me differently if they find out I failed to pick up on something which might’ve saved a life. I just wanted to…I don’t know…oomph.”
The air is expelled from my lungs when he grabs for my hand, pulls firmly, and I land hard on top of him, his arms immediately banding around me. I prop my chin on my hands and glare at him, ready to protest, but he shakes his head sharply.
“Not your doing. Even if it turns out that woman’s case is connected, how were you supposed to know what to look for back then?” His hands slide down my back and pull up the edge of the nightie I went to sleep in last night. Then his warm hands settle on my ass. “Sweetheart, you have enough responsibility weighing on your shoulders, why add a load that’s not yours to carry?”
His fingers dig into my cheeks before he slides them down the back of my thighs, pulling my legs down on either side of his hips. The gentle tingle that started the moment I landed on him turns into a flood of sensation when I feel his long cock press against the wetness gathering between my legs.
But he’s not done talking.
“Not gonna lie, I was pissed when you shut me out but that lasted for all of two seconds, because I get it. I get you. We’re not that different, you and me.”
“I don’t know,” I mumble, rolling my hips, which makes him suck in a breath. “Feels pretty different to me.”
“Merry…” he growls, slipping his hands under my nightie and up slowly until his warm palms cup my breasts.
“Yes.”
My hair falls forward like a curtain as I lean down to reach his mouth, shutting out everything but the heat in his eyes and the feel of his rough palms against my skin. The kiss is deep, hot, and wet, and so delicious I want it to go on forever. The sound of my alarm heralding seven o’clock is like a bucket of ice water on my heated libido.
“Fuck,” he groans against my mouth, but he lets me go when I push myself up on his chest. “Looked forward to having you for breakfast.”
I crinkle my nose. “As tempting as that sounds, I would’ve needed a shower first anyway. Which, seeing as my mornings are carefully timed, I should get to right away or I’ll be late.”
He drops his forearm over his eyes and groans again when I climb off him, taking a moment to admire him in my bed. The rumpled look is a good one on him; the messy hair, slack lips, and relaxed body barely covered by the sheets draped low over his hips. He pulls them even farther down when he plants a foot on the mattress, his knee cocked. The boxer briefs he’s wearing not successful in containing his spectacular erection, and for a moment I contemplate the impact if I were an hour—maybe two—late to the office.
“I can feel you watching me and in about two seconds you can forget about that shower,” he threatens from behind his arm.
I hurry for the bathroom, but pause at the door.
“You know, I’m pretty good at multi-tasking.”
A squeal escapes me when he flings back the covers and knifes out of bed. I expect him to follow me into the shower and am a little disappointed when I hear his footsteps go down the stairs. I adjust the temperature of the water and lift my face in the stream to wash my hair. A few minutes later, as I’m rinsing out the conditioner my dry hair needs, the shower curtain pulls back and a very naked Jay steps in.
“I can multi-task too.” His hands replace mine in my hair as he brushes his fingers through the strands. Then I feel his lips against the shell of my ear. “Coffee is brewing. I just bought us another five minutes.”
As he talks, he slicks his hands over my wet skin, brushing my breasts, and down my stomach. He keeps one hand splayed there, pressing me back against his body, while the fingers of the other start playing between my legs.
“Turn around, Merry, and arms up.” I turn, sad to lose his fingers when his hands slide up my sides to lift my arms above my head. “Hold on,” he whispers.
His face is so close I can see the water droplets clinging to his lashes. His strong fingers curl mine around the showerhead and I can’t help wonder how much weight it can hold.
That thought is gone the next moment when Jay goes down on his knees before me, hiking one of my legs over his shoulder and opening my folds with his thumbs. I moan when he rubs lightly along the sensitive skin coated with my arousal.
“Fuck, Merry,” he mumbles, as his mouth closes over my core, proving he’s as orally gifted down there as he is up here.
His thumbs never stop moving—exploring—working in tandem with his tongue and lips to bring me to the brink. I snap my head back, hitting the tile, but all I can feel is the surge of my fast-advancing orgasm.
“Don’t stop.” I gasp the words as my body trembles so hard I can barely stay upright.
“Not yet,” Jay orders, lifting his head.
He ignores my protesting moan as he gets to his feet and grabs my hips, turning me to face the wall. His body molds against my back as I press my cheek to the cool tile.
“One leg up on the ledge, sweetheart.”
A tad unsteady, I need a little assistance to accomplish that feat. His hands massage my ass before spreading my cheeks. I sharply suck in air when I feel the tip of his cock brush up and down my crease, pausing to tease lightly at my puckered hole, before sliding down and filling me with one powerful thrust.
That’s all it takes for my pussy to clamp down on his cock as I cry out my release.
“Hang on,” he mumbles, wrapping one arm around my waist. The other he crosses between my breasts, his hand firmly grabbing my shoulder.
Then he powers into me, his mouth latched on to the back of my neck, as the sounds of wet skin slapping drowns out everything else. My body goes through a series of aftershocks as he comes on a grunt, planted deep inside me.
I get to the office twenty minutes later than normal, but for once I don’t feel guilty about it.
Not even a little.
If I’d known make-up sex would be that intense, I’d have picked a fight sooner.
Chapter 22
Jay
I wave at Meredith and watch her disappear inside the office.
The officer stationed just inside the front door gives me a chin lift, indicating he has it under control. Still, I feel uneasy pulling away from the curb and driving the additional two blocks to get to the station.
Security for the coroner’s office was something Blackfoot told me in the early morning hours he’d be putting in place. That was after a tense exchange about the call he felt I should’ve made to fill him in and the trust between partners that supersedes the chief’s instructions. When I shared the general observation he had seemed off the last little while, he surprised me by admitting he hadn’t been ‘his best.’ Then he told me how he’d been easily tired the past few months, finally went to see a doctor after Autumn had bugged him long enough, and was diagnosed with coronary artery disease.