Mile High (Up in the Air #2)(13)

My words came out as a rough gasp. “I’m yours, James.”

“Come,” he ordered, thrusting so fast and hard that I sobbed as I came.

He groaned my name again and again as he poured into me.

Afterwards, he braced himself carefully on his elbows, protecting my still tender chest and ribs.

He grabbed a clean t-shirt from his open suitcase to wipe me, and then himself. I lay and watched him almost lazily as he changed into a new pair of boxer briefs, jeans, and a soft light gray V-neck shirt.

He crouched beside me once he’d changed, straightening my clothes almost tenderly.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked as he buttoned my shirt.

“Mmm, no,” I said. Anything that could be considered pain certainly hadn’t bothered me at the time.

“Not even your ribs?” He smoothed my shirt as he finished with the buttons.

I took a deep breath, but no, there was still no pain. “No, not at all. They finally aren’t bothering me so much. Breathing was a little rough there for awhile.”

His mouth tightened as he smoothed my skirt back down. “We don’t have to do any of the rough stuff, if you don’t want. I don’t just mean while you’re healing. I could give that stuff up completely, if it isn’t what you want anymore.”

“I still want it. Nothing’s changed in that regard. What he did… and what you do, I don’t see them as the same thing. I can’t explain it, but the one helps me cope with the other. Can we not talk about this anymore?”

He smoothed my hair back from my face, kissing my forehead. “We need to talk more, not less. About a lot of things. If you would just let me talk to you, we could get things settled between us. I can’t stand this constant uncertainty where you’re concerned.”

I sat up, feeling a need for some distance.

“Let’s make a deal. How about we not talk. I’ll go home with you tonight. I’ll stay at your place. We can do anything you want. You can f**k my brains out all night.” My voice was getting embarrassingly thick, even a hint of accent was coming out. “But I don’t want to talk about the attack, not any part of it. And I don’t want to talk about our relationship, or lack of one.”

His jaw clenched, but I saw almost immediately that he wouldn’t turn me down.

“Do we have to go back to the party first?” he finally asked, his mood clearly darker.

“Yes,” I said firmly.

CHAPTER SEVEN

We walked back into the building without another word. James gripped my elbow in a proprietary manner.

We re-joined my group of friends. A few people gave us good natured smirks for our absence, but no one said anything about it.

James was quiet and withdrawn. I had a hard time enjoying myself when I knew I had put him into his sudden dark mood. He was barely even touching me. It wasn’t until Damien engaged me in conversation that he became suddenly affectionate. Damien was asking me if I had any plans for the next New York layover when I felt James press against my back, wrapping his arms around me very carefully, just under my br**sts.

Contrary man, I thought darkly, as he buried his face in my neck.

“Um, no, I don’t think so.” I tried to answer Damien, distracted by the mercurial man at my back. He’d pressed his groin against me, and I had no doubts as to what he was thinking about.

James raised his head at my answer. “I have an event I’d like you to attend with me, if you’re up for it. It’s a formal affair, for charity.”

I stiffened, bewildered by the offer. It was an about-face for him, asking me to something so public. We had established from the start that we weren’t going to date. It wasn’t what either of us had wanted from each other. I had quickly found myself hurt by the arrangement, but I hadn’t known he’d changed his stance on any of it. When had it changed and why? Or was this just a stunt to show his ownership to Damien?

“Um, I don’t have anything to wear to something like that,” I said, naming off the first excuse that came into my head.

His hands started moving along my stomach, stroking. He grabbed my hips, holding me still as he straightened behind me. The motion brought his erection more flush against my butt, and I had to stifle a gasp. I didn’t want anyone to see just what he was doing. I tried my best to look normal, but had no idea if I succeeded.

“I’ve had my dresser select a wardrobe for you, to keep at my place,” he said in a perfectly casual tone.

“And she’ll be there Friday morning to help you either select something from the wardrobe, or find something else. She’ll have a sampling from several designers for you to try on.”

I blinked, not sure what to think of that. “You shouldn’t-“

“It’s only fair, if I want you to attend a bunch of stuffy affairs with me, that I provide the clothes you’ll need to wear to them. And besides, we’ve already discussed the gift thing exhaustively. If I recall, that was one of the concessions that you actually agreed to.” He was moving against me as he spoke. It was hard to hold on to a thought when he did that.

“When did you do all that? The wardrobe thing?” I asked, baffled.

“Weeks ago, when I realized that I was just going to have to get used to the idea that I couldn’t shelter you from the paparazzi, so I might as well show you off.”