Jess moved toward him, then wrapped her arms around him and simply held him tight.
Jordan couldn’t guess how long they stood there. Time seemed to stand still. The noise of the wind and the city below grew muffled and muted. He didn’t want any of it to end, just wanted to seek solace in the comfort of her embrace.
Finally, he felt her breathe out a deep sigh before she spoke his name. “Jordan?”
“Yes?”
“You told me that you’d leave it to me. Whether we would kiss or when.”
His heart started to pound in his chest at where her words might be leading. “Yes?”
“And I’ve decided.”
“You have?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes. I’d like for you to kiss me now. I’d like that very much.”
Jordan didn’t need to be asked twice. Taking her about the waist, he pulled her up against his length. “A deal is a deal.”
Then he crushed his lips to hers. And he was lost. Lost in the feel of her. Lost in the taste of her. Her soft moan of pleasure nearly had him undone. But he couldn’t break away, was convinced his soul would shatter if he did.
He hadn’t expected this, hadn’t meant for it to happen. Though he was helpless against it now. In this moment she was air and light. And right now she was his. Her hands traveled up to his shoulders and held on tight. In response, Jordan deepened the kiss even farther. He couldn’t get enough of her and perhaps he never would.
Jess was the one to finally pull away and he had to clench his hands by his sides to keep from reaching for her and pulling her back. Every last bit of this had to be her decision. Or he’d never forgive himself.
So her words when she spoke sent a spear of thrill right through his very core.
“Jordan, I’d very much like you to take me downstairs to your apartment now.”
* * *
Jess could hardly think. The next few moments were a desire-filled haze as Jordan led her back to his penthouse. Then he started kissing her again as soon as the door shut behind them.
A wealth of emotion bubbled in her center at what he’d just confided. Emotion so overwhelming that she thought she might burst with it. But she held herself steady for Jordan’s sake. He needed her strength right now. And her understanding. She wasn’t going to bother with platitudes about how he shouldn’t blame himself. Nor would she bother to point out that the accident had occurred when he was still reeling from the loss of his father and that he could be forgiven for being distracted at such a time.
Didn’t he see just how overwhelmingly his life had been turned upside down through no fault of his own?
There was no use in trying to point it out to him. Not now. He wasn’t ready or willing to hear any of it, she knew. Jordan would have to work his way to those conclusions on his own and in his own time. She would help in any way she could as he struggled with the reality of what he’d just confided. No matter how long it took.
But there was tonight. She didn’t have much to give, but tonight she could offer him some comfort. Tonight she could be the woman Jordan wanted, not the woman that so many of those in her life had found so lacking. Tonight she was enough. For one night she wouldn’t be the little girl who was abandoned by a mother who didn’t want to change her lifestyle for her daughter. Nor would she be the teenager who’d been sent away by a father who’d never wanted her. And she would not be the college grad who’d had to return a ring to her fiancé because he’d suddenly found her to be far less than what he wanted in life. Or a visiting tourist’s summer fling who didn’t even warrant a simple goodbye.
Tonight would be different. Tonight would be about only the two of them.
“Jess.” He whispered her name against her lips, his voice full of longing. Longing for her. “Tell me this is what you want.”
She gripped his shoulders, tried to get her brain to function well enough to form a coherent answer. Somehow, she managed. “Yes. More than anything. More than I can say.”
The last few words barely left her mouth and she felt herself being lifted off the ground. Jordan carried her through the hallway and to his bedroom. He set her down gently near his bed, all the while consuming her in another soul-shattering kiss.