Mountain Man's Virgin Page 7

  “What are you doing? You can’t do that,” I hissed as I took a step back, so my back was hitting the counter.

  “I can, and I just did,” he countered as he pressed himself against me. “I’ve missed you.”

  He tilted my head up, so that his lips crashed against mine, and I couldn’t help the startled squeak that escaped my lips. My shirt fell to the ground, and he kicked it to the side as he hoisted me up so that I was resting against the counter, and he was between my legs.

  In no time, his shirt was on the floor, and my hands were all over his naked chest clawing at him like some kind of animal. A voice in the back of my mind was screaming at me to get a grip, but I told that voice to shut it as I pushed myself closer.

  Swiftly, he disposed of my bra, so that my breasts spilled out. He began to knead them between his fingers as his hips circled mine suggestively. I gasped as he flicked my nub while he bit down on my bottom lip.

  His tongue plunged itself into my mouth, and my tongue tentatively reached out to meet his. A sensual battle for dominance began as he craned his mouth to give him a better angle, and I wrapped my legs firmly around his.

  His hand reached down between us to snake its way under my skirt. I gasped and squirmed against his grasp not used to the friction that I was feeling. He growled against my lips as his finger circled the edge of my panties.

  He tore his lips away and left a trail of wet kisses all the way till my nipple. Once he got there, he began to suck on it till it was as round and hard as pebbles. I threw my head back and arched my back to give him better access, and that was all the permission he needed to dart his finger underneath my underwear.

  I cried out when he made contact with the smooth skin, and he wasted no time in swiping back and forth then up and down until my hips practically left the counter just to meet his thrusts.

  His finger continued to tease me until I was about to tumble over the edge at which point he increased his pace and bit down on my nipple hard.

  I came apart underneath him, shaking and shivering in pleasure as I rode out my high. Jesse was very still as he waited for me. I swallowed thickly when I was done, white spots dancing in my field of vision as my head lolled forward, and I fought to catch my breath.

  There was definitely not enough air in my lungs, and I couldn’t remember ever feeling this way about an orgasm.

  “That was intense,” Jesse commented, and I noticed the beads of sweat pooling on his forehead. I reached out and wiped my hand across his head, and he gazed at me in confusion.

  I nodded shakily as I inclined my head forward just to be able to meet his eyes.

  “We need to stop,” I said, my voice still filled with tremors.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know how to do this, Jesse,” I admitted.

  “You mean hook ups? It’s fine, I can teach you how.”

  “No, I don’t mean hook ups.” My eyes fell down, unable to meet his. “I mean this.”

  “Have sex in a bathroom? Look, it’s not that big a deal—”

  I groaned in frustration. “No, I don’t mean it like that either.”

  Jesse cupped my face in his hands, giving me no choice but to drag my eyes off the ground and look up. “Tell me.”

  “I’m a virgin, Jesse,” I said quietly, and I shuddered as the words left my body.

  There it was.

  It was out in the open now, and I couldn’t take it back no matter how much I wanted to.

  Jesse stared, his dark eyes unnervingly still. “I don’t understand.”

  “Do I really have to explain it?” Dismay crept into my voice, and the tips of my ears turned red in embarrassment. I could feel myself flush all over, and I really wished I didn’t have to live through this moment right now, but I grit my teeth and stood my ground.

  “No, I understand.” Jesse sounded dazed as he blinked rapidly. “What I don’t understand is how.”

  “Well, generally a man and a woman have to have sex in order for one or both of them to lose their virginity,” I commented, very dryly.

  Jesse pressed his mouth into a thin line. “This isn’t funny.”

  “I never said it was,” I retorted as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why would you think that?”

  “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Jesse leaned back and began to scratch the back of his neck.

  “It never came up.” I shrugged as I felt suddenly exposed. I wanted to reach down into my bag and take out my clothes, but the way this was going, I wasn’t going to be able to for a while. I settled for keeping one arm over my chest, and the other draped over my stomach.

  “Something like this should damn well come up sooner,” he snapped.

  “Excuse me?” I drew myself up. “You’re the one who kept cornering me, Jesse. Not the other way around.”

  “You never objected to that, and we both know that, Nia. You said your only concern was that we weren’t being safe, and I took care of that, but this? This is something you shouldn’t have lied about.”

  “I didn’t lie about it,” I bristled. “If you had bothered to get to know me first, you would know this about me. I never planned on getting this far with you.”

  “What did you think we were doing?” His voice rose in pitch as he stepped back and watched me through clouded eyes.

  “I thought we were having fun. I was planning on stopping you before it ever got that far, or at least telling you,” I seethed as I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re the one who wouldn’t let me speak.”

  “It isn’t that hard to say that you’re a fucking virgin!” he yelled.

  “It is when you have a reaction like that. I don’t have a disease, Jesse. It’s a choice that I made,” I bellowed back as my chest rose and fell angry.

  A knock on the door has both staring at it.

  “Nia? Are you okay?”

  It was Marlisee.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be right out.” My voice sounded strained.

  “Are you sure? I heard voices yelling. Wait, I’ll go get the extra key.”

  I hastily grabbed my bra and hooked it while simultaneously looking for my shirt. I yanked it over me. Marlisee opened the door a minute later, and her gaze swung between the two of us, looking confused and slightly weary.

  “Everything okay in here?”

  “What’s up, Sis?” Jesse greeted, gravely.

  Chapter 6

  “Sis?” My voice sounded slightly pitchy as my gaze swung back and forth between Jesse and Marlisee who were having some sort of private conversation with their eyes.

  Finally, Marlisee dragged her gaze away and gave me a small smile. “Yeah, I thought you knew that I was this Neanderthal’s sister. He’s the one who told me about you.”

  My heart plummeted to my chest.

  I thought I’d gotten this job based on merit, not some kind of favor.

  That made me wonder why he went out of his way to get me here.

  Just to sleep with me?

  That seemed a bit extreme, but then again, I fell for it. Hook, line and sinker. He couldn’t have planned it more perfectly.

  It was a shame considering how much I actually liked Marlisee, but it wasn’t her fault. It’s not like she knew about her brother’s underhanded schemes. If she had, she might’ve tried to stop him, or at least talk some sense into him.

  Then again, maybe not.

  Perhaps she was the kind of sister who pretended she didn’t know a thing that her brother was doing.

  “I didn’t know that,” I said, my voice sounding hollow and strange.

  That was probably the sound of betrayal ringing.

  I could feel Jesse burning holes into the side of my head as he practically pleaded with me to look at him, but I steadfastly refused. I pretended like Marlisee was the only other person there besides me.

  As far as I was concerned, she was.

  “Yes, well, look I just came up here to check on you, so I’m just going to go and wait downstairs.”

  Marlisee shifted as she avoided looking directly at me, not that I could blame her. I’m sure my scrunched up shirt wasn’t fooling her. It was like she could tell that right before she walked in, I was half naked, and her brother was driving me insane.

  Not that I wanted to think about her thinking about that, but somehow, the harder I tried, the more the image kept replaying itself in my brain. It was seared there, in my mind’s eye.

  I opened my mouth to protest, to say something, but the excuse was lodged in my throat. I didn’t even know what to tell her. What was I supposed to say?

  Sorry I was making out with your brother during an event that you hired me to do?

  Yeah, that just didn’t sound right in spite of the sincerity.

  She left the door slightly ajar on her way out, and I tried not to notice the pointed look she gave Jesse, who simply glowered back.

  The silence stretched between us as I picked at invisible lint on my skirt, and twirled a loose strand of hair around my finger.

  Jesse cleared his throat, startling me, which was surprising considering Jesse wasn’t the type of person you could forget. “Look, I know what this seems like.”

  I cut my eyes to his, careful to keep my expression schooled into nonchalance, “Oh?”

  “Yes, and I know you do too,” he said, matter-of-factly.

  “Don’t assume you know how I feel,” I snapped as I placed my hands on my hips. “Just like you don’t want me to do that to you then kindly afford me the same courtesy.”

  Jesse held up his hands in mock surrender. “You’re right okay, that’s only fair, but you know what I’m talking about.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Why don’t you tell me what it is I’m thinking Jesse? Since you seem so intent on doing that.”

  Jesse blew out air through his mouth. “I know that it seems like I’m the one who got you this job not because you’re good, but because I asked my sister to hire you.”

  “Word of mouth isn’t a bad thing Jesse,” I pointed out, tartly. “That’s not what’s bothering me. If that was all there was to it.”

  Jesse’s brows scrunched as confusion played out across his face before recognition finally dawned on his face. “What? You don’t actually believe that, do you?”

  “That you got your sister to hire me, so that you would have another chance to see me thus increasing your chances of being able to sleep with me?”

  Jesse winched. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think it through, but—“

  “You’re damn right you didn’t think this through.” I shook with barely concealed rage. “What did you think? That I’d be so grateful for the job I’d practically beg you to sleep with me? Did you really think I had that little self respect?”

  Jesse began to scratch the back of his neck, shame etched across his features, but I didn’t care, and I kept plowing forward. “What kind of woman do you think I am, Jesse? I own my own business, and I don’t need to spread my legs for a man to keep it that way.”

  “I didn’t mean it that way,” Jesse said, apologetically. “Truly, I didn’t. I’m well aware that you worked your way to the top. I just wanted a chance to see you again, and if anything happened because of that, then so be it.”

  “Then you should have asked me out like a normal human being instead of being sneaky and underhanded and trying to trick me into sleeping with you---“

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He held up his hand to stop me. “I may be a lot of things, and yeah I asked my sister to hire you so I could see you, but I wasn’t going to trick you into sleeping with me. I wouldn’t do that. You wanted to of your own accord, and you can’t deny that. I never forced you into anything, Nia.”

  My face burned in shame and embarrassment. “Well, it doesn’t matter now, does it? You put me in a really bad position, Jesse, and you don’t even get that. This is my job, and now what do you think your sister is going to think of me? The event planner who couldn’t keep her legs closed when her brother showed up.”

  Jesse shook his head. “Marlisee wouldn’t think that. She knows you’re a professional, and she knows me.”

  I threw my hands up in the air. “ She may not think ill of you because you’re her brother, but I am not going to be afforded the same courtesy. She doesn’t know me.”

  “Nor do I think she has any desire to after today,” I commented. “Not after the display she just witnessed. I mean you could be her favorite brother—”

  “I’m her only brother,” Jesse interrupted, wryly.

  “Whatever.” I waved his comment away. “You’re missing the point here, Jesse. This is my job. I know your job is different, and it doesn’t require that you conduct yourself in a certain manner, but mine does, and a lot of it is based on how I act when I’m in a professional setting, and how my clients perceive me.”

  Jesse tilted his head to the side and studied me carefully. “Okay, I agree, but that doesn’t mean that she’s going to judge you for that. She knows me, she’ll probably blame it on me.”

  I shook my head and groaned as I placed my head between my hands. “I can’t be put in this position again, Jesse.”

  “What?”

  I realized my voice sounded muffled, so reluctantly, I lifted my head and sighed. “I am a professional, and I will not risk my job for this. The next time you want to run into a woman, try asking for her number.”

  Jesse pressed his mouth into a thin line, confusion and hesitation dancing across his features. It struck me as odd. Jesse didn’t seem to be the type of man who let insecurities get the best of him.

  Yet, here we were.

  “You’re here now,” Jesse whispered. “Can’t that be enough?”

  “I don’t like mind games, Jesse. If there’s anything you should know about me it’s that,” I informed him as I straightened out my clothes, happy to see that my blouse was now as clean as it was going to get under the circumstances.

  I quickly ran my hands through my bob to give it a more presentable look and straightened my spine. “I’m going back to work unless you have something else you’d like to add.”

  Jesse just stared at me as I’d sprouted three heads. I shook my head and made my way out of the bathroom. I didn’t stop till I was outside on the other side of the van. I leaned my back against it and began to rub my temples in slow circular gestures that were meant to soothe.

  Once I was sure I had my frazzled nerves under control, I made my way back inside, my practical smile already in place. The door already had a makeshift Tardis in the front which looked very realistic, and the inside looked very similar.

  It was as if I’d stepped into the actual show, and it made my heart swell with pride as I took in all the hard work everyone put in. The house had random quotes from Doctor Who hanging from the ceiling. I double checked to make sure we had everything on the list then I carefully picked my way to the kitchen where I cautiously announced my presence and kept a few feet between the food and I. The entire staff chuckled at my ambivalence to come closer, but after Heidi explained my earlier mishap, and what had transpired at the restaurant the other night, they all nodded in pity and gave me small smiles.

  My leg shook as my phone vibrated in my pocket. Startled, I took it out and peered at the screen. I continued to stare at it as Aiden’s name flashed across the screen, reminding me that I still needed to figure things out with him before I started anything with Jesse.

  Not there was anything to start, but still.

  “You still haven’t ended things?” Heidi whispered, furiously, her eyes squinting at the screen. “What’s the matter with you? You like Jesse, so even if you don’t date him, you aren’t going to date Aiden.”

  “I know that. I just haven’t found the right moment yet,” I said, defensively as I shut the ringer off and shoved the phone in my pocket.

  Heidi was giving me a stern look as she placed her hands on her hips. “You can’t avoid this forever, N. I know you hate conflict, and you’d rather not be the one to break his heart, but it’s better to end it now, so it won’t hurt as much as it would when you end it down the line.”

  I kept fiddling with my fingers as I thought of what to say. I knew that Heidi was right, but I didn’t know how to do it. I’d never said no to someone before. Usually, they figured it out beforehand, and I was left dumbfounded.

  What was I saying?

  Always the dumpee, never the dumper.

  Okay, I knew that wasn’t an actual saying, but it did apply to me. More than I would care to admit. I knew how to navigate those waters, but this? This was unchartered territory for me, and I had no idea how to even begin to figure it out.

  Maybe I wouldn’t have to.

  Perhaps he was calling to go ahead and end it himself.

  In any case, I doubted it mattered. I had just confessed to Jesse one of my biggest secrets, and I didn’t mean to. It just came cascading forth like a waterfall, and I was powerless to stop it, defenseless against the strength of its current.

  Logically, I understood that it was better that I said it when I did rather than after he and I let things go too far because at the rate we were going, I wouldn’t have gotten the chance, and I didn’t like the way it transpired, nor the where, and definitely not the who. I had a feeling deep in my gut that if I had let it continue I would’ve deeply regretted it. I wasn’t romanticizing my first time or anything, but I at least wanted it to be on clean sheets, and with a man who did care about me.

  “We’ll see I guess,” I said, finally as I affected a cheery tone.

  Heidi nodded as she wiped her hands across her jeans. “Alright, well I’m going to go check on something, and I think Marlisee wants to tell you something.”

  Dread pooled in the pit of my stomach, but I tried to keep my practiced smile on my face. There was no reason we should treat each other any different given what had occurred earlier

  None at all.

  “Everything alright?” Marlisee asked, cheerfully, her bright gaze assessing. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before, but she did resemble her brother in many ways, and so did her daughter. His niece had definitely inherited the eyes. Marlisee’s were similar, but a lot lighter and far more expressive than smoldering.