The Exception(48)

Drew grabbed two plates and brought the food over to the couch. I pressed play and the movie began. This was one movie I would never grow tired of. We ate and finished off the bottle of Prosecco while we watched the movie.

“You like when he does that?” he asked as he pointed to Channing Tatum.

“Maybe.” I chewed on my bottom lip.

Drew got up from the couch and stood in front of the TV. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor while his hips moved back and forth. Cupping my hands over my mouth, I smiled in delight and could feel my panties getting wetter by the second. His tongue swept over his lips as he seductively moved towards me. Hooking his fingers in the waistband of his sweatpants, he slowly took them down with a smile. I had never been so turned on as I watched him dance in front of me. He approached me and took my hand, lifting me from the couch, grinding his body against mine as his eyes stared into mine.

“Perfect.” I smiled. “Thank you for the show.”

“Oh, baby, it’s not over yet.” His lips pressed against mine. “It doesn’t stop here.” He swooped me up in his arms and twirled me around, then carried me to the bedroom.

****

The riveting feeling that flooded my body from my third orgasm seemed to stay with me longer than it should have. Some serious mind-blowing sex had just taken place and left me feeling breathless. His fingers lightly swept over my ass as he held me under the sheets.

“You’re something else, Mr. Westbrook.” I softly stroked his arm.

“Thank you, Miss Bell. I aim to please and I hope my performance went way beyond your expectations.”

“Oh, it definitely did.” I laughed. “Way beyond.”

I should have been happy as I lay there in his arms, but something took its place. It wasn’t sadness, but confusion. What was I confused about? I had this generous, kind, loving, sexy-as-f*ck man who was attracted to me and wanted me. He occupied every area of my body and mind. He comforted me. He gave me strength when I thought I already had it and he was there for me in more ways than one. Even when he didn’t know me from Adam on the plane, he was there for me. I wanted to love him, and a part of me already did. But there was another part of me, deeper inside, that told me no. It was the stranger that I saw in the mirror every day.





Chapter Thirty


Jillian



Friday had come and Kellan had to cancel his flight to New York because he was sick with a 102 fever and a bad cough. When he skyped me, I knew the moment he appeared on the screen something was wrong. He had been sick for a couple of days but didn’t feel the need to tell me because he thought he’d get better. Stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around me, I walked into my bedroom and stared at the long red, sleeveless, deep v neckline, with a cut out back evening gown I was going to wear tonight to the charity event.

“So, are you excited about tonight?” Kristen asked me as she stood in the doorway holding a glass of water.

“I think it’ll be fun.”

“You hate these things.”

“I hated them with my parents and Grant. I’ll be with Drew, so it’ll be fun.” I walked into the bathroom and started applying my makeup.

“You’re in love with him. I can tell. You don’t have to hide it from me.”

“I’m not hiding anything and I’ll admit, I do like Drew.”

She cocked her head at me as she sat down on the toilet.

“He’s a good man, Jill, and I know he loves you. I can tell just by the way he looks at you.”

“Maybe it’s lust on both our parts. He doesn’t want marriage. I don’t want marriage. So why get heavily involved? If I wanted marriage, I would have married Grant.” I shuddered.

She sighed. “You never loved Grant to begin with and the marriage was just a way to get revenge on your parents. You knew you’d never go through with it. But it’s different with the man you love.”

“I’m not in love, Kristen. I need to love myself and the person I am before I can love another.”

“Well, I love you for the person you are and you can’t tell me otherwise.”

I looked over at her with a small smile. “I love you too.”

“I have a feeling Mr. Westbrook is going to get his heart broken.”

I didn’t reply to her comment. After my makeup was applied, I curled the ends of my hair and pinned my sides back into an elegant style. Slipping into my dress, I stared at myself in the mirror.

“You look sexy.” Kristen smiled. “I hope you have matching panties on underneath that dress.

“I do.” I winked.

“Oh, by the way, Noah and I mailed out the invitations today and I posted a ‘save the date’ on Facebook. I apologized to everyone for the short notice, but time isn’t exactly on my side.”

I hated when she said things like that and a sick feeling emerged in the pit of my stomach.

“Everyone will be there, and it’s going to be fabulous.”

“I’m going to head out before Drew gets here.” She kissed my cheek. “Have fun tonight and I want all the details in the morning. That’s if you and Drew can manage to drag yourselves out of bed.”

I laughed. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”