As with everything Jackson does, he’s slow and careful and pays very close attention to detail. As his mouth and fingers explore the dips and curves of my body, he pauses when he elicits a particularly breathy sigh or a soft moan.
“You are absolutely perfect,” he murmurs as he kisses his way along my collarbone, up the side of my neck, and back to my mouth.
“So are you.” I run my fingers through his hair and ease my hand down his back, between his shoulder blades.
“I can’t tell you how glad I am that I found you again.” His gaze is soft, expression earnest.
“Me too. And I’m also very glad that you hoodwinked me into all those nonofficial dates.”
“I feel the same way. About everything.” He skims a nipple gently, wet from his mouth, and continues to trail lower, circling my navel. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anyone the way that I want you, London. I would have lived in the friend zone for another six months if that’s what it took, but I have to tell you, I’m very, very glad it didn’t. It was killing me trying to hold back and not slip up.”
His fingers glide lower until he dips between my thighs.
“Oh my God, yes, please.” Our little admissions cease as he explores, touching me, making me sigh and squirm and moan. Lust, hot and thick and overwhelming, blankets me, and I pull him over me, wrapping my legs around his waist.
We grind against each other, bodies slick and hot, and when neither of us can take it any longer, he sheaths himself with a condom and eases inside.
In all my life, I’ve never been with someone who makes me feel so connected, not just physically, but on another level. As though we’ve truly become one. He moves over me, and I shift, rolling my hips, meeting every slow thrust. I feel as though I’m spiraling up, and when I orgasm, it’s the headiest sensation, radiating through my center, all the way to the tips of my fingers, and makes the hair on the back of my neck rise, as though I’ve gotten too close to an electric current.
I’m grateful that I come first, because it means that I get to watch Jackson as he reaches his own peak. He doesn’t pull out or roll off me. Instead, he braces himself on his forearms and kisses me, long and languorous, in no rush to break the connection.
And I realize that this is the spark I’ve been missing all along. And now that I’ve found it, I want to nurture it and turn it into a flame that will never extinguish.
17
SO THIS IS CHEMISTRY
LONDON
We end up being half an hour late for our dinner reservations. The benefit of going on a date with Jackson is that the restaurant doesn’t give away your table when you don’t make it on time. We’re escorted to a small, private room, completely isolated from everyone else at the restaurant. It’s gorgeous and decadent and the nicest restaurant I’ve ever had the pleasure of dining at.
I’m also famished and half-drunk on the afterglow of sex.
Jackson orders appetizers and we settle in. We’re seated in a high-back booth, beside each other rather than across. His eyes roam over my face like a caress.
“What are you thinking about?” I take a sip of my drink. I’m also parched, and I probably need to chug a gallon of water.
“That I’m on the fence as to whether your proposition was a good idea or not.”
“Oh?” I arch a brow. “Have you made a list of pros and cons in your head?” I’m only being slightly cheeky.
His eyes narrow slightly, but his smile is full of amusement. “You know me too well already.”
“Well, we have been on a lot of dates, so I suppose it makes sense that I can predict your reactions. Also, I’m feeling very much the same way. I thought it was bad enough knowing what an amazing kisser you are, but now I know you’re proficient at everything, which is both a blessing and a bit of a curse. As much as I’m glad that I’m very relaxed, I’m also very keen to get dinner over with so I can get back in bed with you.”
“I feel the same. I thought it would settle the craving, but all it’s done is magnify it. The torture of knowing is worse than the anticipation of finding out.”
“Exactly.”
He holds his hand out and I slip mine into his. “We should probably stop talking about this.”
“That seems wise.” I give his hand a squeeze and withdraw mine from his grasp, aware that the contact only serves to heighten the awareness of his proximity and what it does to me.
We shift the discussion back to last night’s event and who Jackson thinks will be the best sponsors for Spark House.