TWO

Bella woke with an arm firmly pinning her to the mattress. Good God, she didn’t even remember making it to her bed.

The tickle of breath with a side of purr at her neck told her Jon was utterly and completely out. Was he actually snoring? She gently wiggled free of him until she could look down at him. She pushed his hair back from his eyes. It had grown some while he’d been over in Australia. The cinnamon strands were taking on that shaggy, fluffy life of its own that meant he was probably going to cut it again. “Pity,” she said softly and stood.

She was slightly ashamed to admit it, but she’d gone hunting and caught a few internet clips of him. From the shake-a shake-a delights of his truly spectacular ass, to the cocky smile, she’d watched him own the crowd. But that wasn’t the man here in her house. It was the man without the gloss that was in her bed, and had taken her with such desperation. Dark rings carved out a few new lines on his face. Even the light tan he’d managed to get while he was over there couldn’t cover the bone deep tired.

She leaned down, brushed a kiss over his brow. An ache bloomed across her chest and up into her throat. She was learning that he was one of those people that just didn’t stop until his body stopped for him. They were so much alike, in totally different ways.

And he came to her first. The fact that he’d searched her out even before his bed, when the exhaustion was so obvious…well, the word stunned came to mind. She pulled her down comforter higher on his shoulder. Add in the fiercely protective instincts he brought out in her and it was a weird day indeed.

She grabbed a quick shower and rummaged through her kitchen for some food. Nothing like a little mid-morning sex to revitalize a girl. Within a half hour she was back on her overstuffed chair in her bedroom, clicking away at her keyboard. Evidently her McKenzie muse liked the sex too—and perhaps the company. Words flowed easily as she lost herself in the world of Alex and McKenzie’s tumultuous relationship.

And as Jon slept the day away, she managed to plow her way through nearly four chapters. It was an oddly cozy thing, working as her man...My man?

Well crap, she’d never actually labeled him in her head, but it certainly seemed like it was pretty much what he was—her man. Her boyfriend. They hadn’t really discussed exclusivity, but the way he’d greeted her at the door certainly spoke of a man that was jonesing pretty hard for his woman.

Nope, let’s not go there.

She forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand. Oddly, she worked better with him in the room than she had for the last two full days without him. As night fell, the wind kicked up until icy rain pelted against her house. She scrunched down in her chair, laptop between her knees as she researched a new locale for her series. The endless rain made her think of Ireland with her endless green. It might be fun to make the ever urban McKenzie soften toward Alex.

As she plotted Kenzie’s romantic torture, Jon slept. Even when the thunder rolled in and her house shook—he stayed down. She’d thought about waking him to eat, but decided sleep was better for him in the end. He rarely had more than four hours a night under his belt and with the battery of interviews he’d done while he was over there, he’d probably tapped himself out.

Finally the stranglehold of Ireland and its rich history eased enough that she could skim back through the pages she’d finished. They were good—better than she’d written in a while, actually. “Looks like a little Jonny was just what I needed,” she said to the room and closed her laptop. With one last look at her sleeping stud, she shut off the lights and went downstairs to keep herself busy.

~

Jon woke to a dark room that smelled of…He grinned into the pillow. Cinnamon. No stupid, lonely hotel room for him tonight. He slid out of her bed, stretching slowly as his body adjusted to an upright position. A singular glow from her Bose dock told him that he’d been twelve hours down.

Damn, he was a dumb schmuck. Like she wanted him to just come over and take over her bed. He wandered into her bathroom and found his backup toothbrush next to hers, in the cup holder next to the faucet. He grinned, oddly touched that he’d scored a spot in her permanent morning rituals.

After he brushed the fuzz out of his mouth, he tugged back on his battered jeans, leaving his t-shirt off. Her house was pleasantly warm and with a willing female in his arms, he’d be just fine. It had only been a month since he’d seen her, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Talking on the phone, the suggestive emails that she came up with, hell even an overseas flight had been mere foreplay. All of it little pockets of time he had to live through to get to her.

He padded down the stairs, grinning as he saw her sprawled across her couch with her arm outstretched, flicking through channels. Her hair was loosely tied in a knot at the top of her head. Pajama bottoms hugged her generous bottom and a stretched out tank left the rest of her in a delicious state of relaxation. Just what he needed.

He flicked his thumb down the arch of her foot and laughed when she jumped. “Hey,” he said and crawled over the arm of the couch.

She instantly rolled to cup him between her thighs. She laughed as their legs tangled and he settled himself against the heat he’d be exploring later. He coaxed her lips apart, smiling and moaning his way through a very thorough, very lazy kiss. “Sorry I slept the day away, babe.”

She nipped at his jaw as he settled his forearms on either side of her. “You obviously needed it, Jon.”

He groaned again as she cradled him, and hissed when she undulated her hips against him until he was hard. “You’re evil,” he said between kisses that held heat, but no flashpoint fire. He knew what she wanted. Hell, it was what he wanted too. Content to have a little lazy sex in the flickering light of her TV, he lowered himself until he was eye level with her truly gorgeous breasts. The tips gently pushed at the powder blue tank, keeping her from him. The straps were loose enough to simply nose them down a freckled shoulder to find the upturned tips.

She hissed as he sucked her deep, rolling his tongue around her nipple until she arched against him. Still enjoying the easy play, he slid a hand along her belly and into the cotton bottoms. He grinned against her nipple as he realized panties were still banished from her bedroom ensemble.

Finding her quickly warming to his touch, he slid two fingers inside of her, watching as her eyes widened, darkened and the pink tip of her tongue swiped over her lips. He pressed his thumb against her clit and rubbed. Her chin lifted as pleasure seeped out of every pore. God, he could practically taste it.

She pushed at the pants, impatient to get him against her. Instead, he held her hands away with his other hand, cuffing them above her head along the cushioned arm of the chair. Her eyes snapped to his, the flashpoint right there waiting to be fanned.

“You need a proper hello,” he said against her neck. When her fingers curled around his wrist, he drew his other hand away. Her body sucked at his middle and forefinger, begging him to dip back inside. With each precious inch, he yearned for the same pressure around his cock. The way she surrounded him, welcomed him. There was nothing sweeter.

She deserved the slow and generous after the way he’d treated her earlier. Sometimes, when it came to Isabella, his intensions got lost in the overwhelming need for her. Her breath hitched and she strained against him, rolling her hips to increase the stroke.

“Shhhh,” he said in a whisper and slowed the thrust even more. She coated his hand as each pass included a flick of his thumb until she was swollen and ready for him. Just enough to keep her right there, but not let her go over.

Nosing the other half of her shirt down, he feasted on her skin, giving the other nipple just as much care and attention until she was nearly bucking him off the couch. “Had enough?” he asked against her neck.

Her response was less than articulate, but one thing came through loud and clear. “Now! Inside me, now!”

Pushing aside her pants he freed himself and drove inside of her. Instantly her legs lifted and locked around him, holding him tightly inside of her for just a moment before their achingly familiar rhythm found the release they both sought.

Her voice was hoarse, her breath hot against his neck as she shouted out his name. When her fingers locked around his, he looked down at her sightless eyes. Was there anything more beautiful than a woman completely lost in the moment? And when she quaked against him, he finally let himself go.

He leaned back, when his brains stopped rattling around. God, she drained him in the best way. “I could get used to this.”

“Welcome home.” She nibbled her way across his clavical.

He tried to move off of her, but she locked her ankles at lower back. She nuzzled him, the quick rasp of teeth at his Adam’s apple had him laughing. “I’m too heavy.”

“Nuh-uh, just right.”

He made himself more comfortable, the warm clasp of her body was enough to keep him right where he was. He tugged at her hair tie until the gold curls sprung free. A kinky curl wound itself around his finger—so coarse and yet so silky, kind of like the woman herself. “I missed you, Iz.”

“Yeah?” She smiled up at him. He still had one of her hands clasped in his free one. She wiggled until she could lace their fingers together and played with the tail of his watch band with her other. She missed him like crazy as well. It was humbling to know just how much.

She wouldn’t meet his eyes. Had he read her wrong? “Is that all?”

“What?” She blinked, frowning as she came back into the conversation. “Is what all?”

He rolled back on the balls of his feet and tucked himself back into his jeans with a wince. He sat in the corner of the couch, dragging her up to a seated position. Her hair fell forward, wild and untamable. She pushed at a hank that fell in front of her eyes. The amber of her eyes deepened even as she tried to look away from him. The tanktop still dripped off her shoulder, her creamy skin and raspberry tip of her breast distracted him enough to ease it back up.

She hiked up her pajama bottoms and crossed her arms over her chest. Why had he covered her up? The sweet tone of the gentle loving went cold. She stood. “You must be starving.”

He grabbed her arm before she could walk away. “Food can wait.” He stood up, cupping her cheek. “What just happened?”

“We had sex. It was awesome.” She tried to turn away and he turned her back.

“Dammit, Bella.”

She stepped back. “Don’t dammit, Bella me, you’re the one that just covered me up.” What, now that he was done with her, he wanted her all buttoned up?

Exasperated, he blew his bangs out of his eyes. “I wasn’t covering you up because I don’t want to look at you.”

She crossed her arms again. “Coulda fooled me.”

Giving up, he fisted his fingers into his hair. All he could think about was touching her. Day, night, afternoon, hell—on stage there were things that made him think of her. And the stage was his ultimate getaway. He could figure out nearly everything in his life in one hundred forty minutes of a show. Not since she’d been in his life. “God, you make me crazy.”

“Yeah, well—feeling’s mutual, buddy.”