Emotion poured into him as if a dam had broken, shaking him, flooding his system with unexpected and unwanted . . . what? Not love. It couldn't be love. The thought, the feeling, terrified him, but he couldn't deny touching her, kissing her, feeling her body melting into his was unlike anything he'd ever come close to experiencing when he'd thought he'd known passion and great sex. Something about Emma brought out every male instinct he had--even tenderness--when he'd never known it for himself. He hadn't expected the waves of feeling that came rushing over him, the joy bursting through him, sweeping him up with every bit of the intensity and adding to the strength of his physical need of her.
The jackhammers drilling into his head increased their tempo while his leopard leapt and roared for supremacy. She gasped for breath, going boneless under the onslaught of his hands and mouth. His knee slid between her legs, grinding into her, the junction like a furnace, inciting him all the more. He dragged her thin top down, exposing her breasts, his mouth never leaving hers, still feeding ferociously while his hands found bare flesh.
He jerked at her bra, desperate to feel the soft, creamy mounds spilling into his palms. The feel of the soft weight in his bare hands nearly made him weep. He wanted to know every single inch of her, needed to find a way to slow down to savor the taste of her. His mouth left hers and he blazed a trail of fire down her throat to her breast.
Emma gasped and arched to him as he took her in his mouth, suckling strongly, his tongue flicking the hard peak, his teeth biting down, sending shock waves through her body.
Emma heard her own keening wail and knew she was in terrible trouble. The chemistry between them was explosive, her skin so sensitive she could barely stand the touch of her clothing. She couldn't stop herself from rubbing back and forth against his knee. Her mouth felt empty, just as her body did. She wanted him to fill her up, to relieve the terrible ache that was building and building until she needed to scream and plead for him to be inside her. This was Jake, the man she loved desperately, and she wanted him with every cell in her body.
He lifted her with one strong arm. "Wrap your legs around me." He needed to be closer, needed to be inside of her, sharing the same skin.
Emma did as he asked, opening herself to him. A strange purring sound came from her as he rocked against her, and she rubbed her body hard against his thick bulge. The thin material between them frustrated her and she glanced down. She could see herself, her full breasts spilling out, her body flushed and needy, her hips bucking against him while her legs wrapped around him tightly. She'd lost her mind. She was attacking him.
"Stop." It came out a whisper, a hoarse, needy whisper, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "We have to stop."
"We have to get our clothes off," he countered, his mouth greedy at her breast.
Her body nearly convulsed with pleasure. She was building to an orgasm, something she'd rarely had with Andrew, yet Jake hadn't even penetrated her. "Jake, please." She didn't know if she was begging him to take her right there in the hallway or if she was looking for freedom. She'd never in her life felt so desperate to have a man inside of her.
She felt his hands tugging at the drawstring of her pants while his mouth continued to suckle at her breast. His teeth tugged and nipped while his tongue flicked back and forth. She felt each touch deep in her womb, so that her inner muscles gripped at nothing. She was empty and needy, aching for him. She needed to push him away but she couldn't find the strength. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself," she whispered. "Or with you."
He went utterly still. He even seemed to stop breathing for a moment, and she knew he was struggling for control. He held her tight against him, so tight she could feel his heavy shaft pulsing against her mound. His mouth reluctantly left her aching breast and he buried his face between her neck and shoulder. They stayed that way a long time, neither moving, fighting for breath, for a way to pull back, for a way to defuse what had just happened between them.
Jake moved first, slowly lowering her legs back to the floor, his hands framing her face. "I'm sorry, Emma. There's no excuse and I'm not going to try to find one for you."
She couldn't blame the entire thing on him; she'd more than responded. She didn't know what had come over her. She stood there, the wall holding her up, looking at his face, her breasts spilling out of her bra, wild and wanton, with the strawberry marks from his teeth and mouth all over them. She couldn't find her voice, or her will.
Jake pulled her top up, but the material rubbed against her hard nipples, sending streaks of arousal lashing from her breasts to her spasming womb. "I'm sorry too," was all she could manage.
"I need to know what Linda said to you," Jake said, "whether you want to tell me or not. It's important, Emma. It isn't just about my ego and my being a control freak. I know you think I'm paranoid about you and the children, but I have good reason."
The last thing she wanted to do was talk and make sense. She needed to take a cold shower and then hide her head under the blankets for the rest of her life. Jake seemed to be able to switch off intense arousal with little problem. His body was still hard, but she rarely saw him any other way. He still was close to her, nearly skin to skin, the heat of his body warming her and his masculine scent enveloping her. She didn't push him away because her legs were so weak she was afraid she'd fall if he stepped back.
She fought to control her breathing and tried to make sense, tried to be as nonchalant as he managed. "Linda said she needed to talk to me, that it was important. Although she never said it outright, she implied she had a message for me from you."
He frowned down at her, shaking his head as if disappointed in her. "I would have called you myself if that were the case."
"I know that. I do. I don't know what I was thinking." Which wasn't entirely true. She'd been curious to see what Jake's "girlfriend" looked like. Emma had an acute sense of smell, and all too often she scented another woman when Jake came through the door in the evening after he'd been to his downtown office. Curiosity and maybe a little jealousy had gotten the best of her and she told Jerico to have Linda escorted up to the house.
"What did Linda have to say?"
Emma tried to keep color from spreading up her neck and into her face. Linda had said a lot of things, most of which had been downright insulting. It had only taken a minute in Linda's company to realize that the message she'd come to deliver wasn't from Jake but from Linda herself. The gist of it was: Emma would never have Jake because Linda had staked her claim. Kyle had unfortunately heard Linda screaming at her that no matter how many illegitimate bastard children she had with Jake, he would never stoop to marrying someone so far beneath him.
"Emma." Jake said her name in warning.
Emma tilted her chin at him. "She was insulting. I handled it. It was unfortunate that Kyle overheard her yelling at me. He's never really heard yelling before, so I think it was disturbing and he remembered it. Don't worry, Jake. I learned my lesson. It was quite uncomfortable, and Kyle was upset afterward. I rocked him to sleep for a couple of nights before he got over it."
"You cried." His throat closed unexpectedly. He hadn't been there to comfort her when she went to sleep.
"A little. I'm not used to people yelling at me or being insulting either. She said some pretty ugly things, but I realized she thinks we're living together. Obviously she believes you're Andraya's father . . ."
"I am Andraya's father," he said in a low tone.
"Of course. I meant birth father. She feels threatened by that, and evidently so do your parents."
Every muscle in his body contracted. His head came up, eyes glittering dangerously, and he had to suppress the rumbling growl rising in his chest. "How did they get into the conversation?" He had never been able to acknowledge them as his parents, let alone refer to them as his mother and father. To him, they would always be his enemies.
Emma shrugged. "Linda is apparently good friends with them and they don't want to see you brought down by a nobody like me. They
want to make certain I know that my children will never be welcome into their circle. As I wasn't planning on joining any circles, I wasn't too upset by it."
She was lying. Jake could always smell a lie. The things Linda had said had hurt. No one wanted to be told they weren't good enough to be part of a family. Jake cupped the nape of her neck, his thumb sliding along her soft skin. "You aren't anything like those people, Emma. You're so far above them you can't even imagine. They're all cruel and vicious. I don't want you anywhere near them, unless I'm standing right beside you. And I don't want the children exposed to them--ever."
"I can take care of myself."
"They would eat you alive. You have no idea what they're capable of and I don't want you ever to find out. I protect you all for a reason. I employ bodyguards for a reason. No one comes onto the property without my permission."
"I understand, Jake. I really do, and I'm sorry. I should have protected the children better. It never occurred to me that Linda Rawlins would be involved in anything that could harm either of them. I don't know her, but I've read about her in newspapers and magazines numerous times. She seemed a little haughty maybe, and frivolous, running from one party to another, but I honestly never thought of her as dangerous."
"Anyone who runs in the same crowd, anyone connected at all to the people who gave birth to me, is extremely dangerous. Given the chance, they would harm either of the children, and certainly you."
"I understand. It won't happen again. I'm sorry it happened this time. I really am."
Jake bent his head and brushed his mouth across her temple. "I should have made the situation much clearer to you. Joshua should have stayed in that room with you every moment and Jerico should never have allowed her onto the property in the first place."