Sushi: A Forbidden Flowers Story Read online

  He gripped the back of her thighs and dragged her forward, sliding her wet pussy up the length of his shaft. “What if I’m better?”

  His confident gaze challenged hers with the assuredness that he would not disappoint.

  She reached around, snagged a condom off the table, ripped open the packet, and placed it in his hand. “Excellent point, Mr. Stone.”

  “I wish the movie execs I deal with every day were as easy to negotiate with as you are,” he said, rolling on the condom, tugging it once to make sure it was secure with just enough of a reservoir at the tip.

  “Are you saying I’m easy?” She eased herself down on him, gripping the back of the chair on either side of his head.

  “Maybe.” He clenched his bottom lip between his teeth and pushed his shirt off her shoulders, shoving it down to her elbows with enough force that she had to let go of the chair and drop her arms. “But you make me work in other ways.” He pushed her arms behind her, using his shirt to restrain them at the small of her back.

  “What ways are those?” she asked, trying without success to pull her arms free. Looked like he was intent on keeping her in bondage for the time being.

  Fine, she didn’t need her hands to fuck him. She braced her feet on the bottom of the chair and rolled her hips forward and back, giving herself one hell of a lower body workout that would leave her muscles aching tomorrow.

  “You test my restraint,” he said, pulling her body forward so he could flick his tongue over her nipple. “You make it hard for me to focus.” He lashed her breast again, closing his lips around her nipple for a quick, hard suck before letting it go. “And you make me wish I were twenty years younger so I could beat away all the young studs who are no doubt clawing at your door.” He lightly bit and scraped her nipple with his teeth, flicking it with his tongue, igniting the mounting pleasure inside her without warning.

  “Gabe, Gabe!” Her body took over, riding him hard, her thighs burning as she pumped herself forward and back.

  He must have known what he’d done to her . . . must have felt her imminent orgasm contract her inner muscles around him, because he grunted his approval and locked her within his embrace, crushing her to him, pinning her arms as he continued tonguing her nipples, abrading them with his teeth.

  Her head tipped back as the first wave rose inside her. When it crashed in an explosion of pleasure, she fell forward, hips pulsing, her trembling breasts mashed against his face, her inner muscles contracting rhythmically around his cock, setting off his own orgasm.

  His hips jerked upward as his body flung forward in the chair, muscles twitching, tensing, and surrendering through each powerful wave. A long, ragged growl rolled from his throat.

  When he released her arms, she wrapped them around his shoulders, still gently rocking against him as her own pleasure simmered and cooled.

  When the contractions finally ceased, she was nothing but boneless muscle, slumped against him, his arms the only thing holding her up.

  “Mmm, that was nice,” she muttered against the side of his neck.

  He lifted her away from him and pushed the sweat-dampened hair from her face, then kissed her brow. “So . . . better than the fantasy?” He was breathing as hard as she was.

  “Much better.” Her hands and feet were still tingling. “But, Gabe . . .” She needed to address what he’d said to her right before he sent her body into nuclear fusion. “I don’t want you to be twenty years younger.”

  In the last three weeks, he had opened her eyes. Maybe he had hair that was more silver than brown, and maybe he had a few more lines around his eyes, but he was the sexiest, most virile man she’d ever met. She didn’t think she would ever find younger men appealing again after spending these last few weeks with him.

  His gaze curiously searched hers as if he were looking for reticence.

  “Gabe, you’re what I want. There’s no one else. No other man I find even remotely as attractive and as appealing as you. You don’t have to worry about beating away anybody, let alone some twentysomething metrosexual who’s more interested in staring at himself in a mirror than admiring me.” She lowered her gaze, suddenly feeling shy. “I like how you look at me. I like how you make me feel like I don’t have to compete with your own reflection for your attention. I like that you ignore other women who come onto you while we’re out, and how you make it a point to let them see you with me.” She met his gaze again. “You don’t give me any reason to be jealous or feel insecure, and I’ve never had that before.” She brushed her fingers down his lightly stubbled, handsome, and slightly more weathered face. “I like you just the way you are. I like that you’re older.” A month ago, she never could have imagined she would have said that, but now, it was the one thing she was most certain of. “I don’t think you would make me feel the way you do if you were younger, and I like the way you make me feel. So you don’t need to wish you were twenty years younger, okay? I’m not going anywhere. My eye isn’t roving. I’m not seeing anyone but you, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.” If ever, she wanted to add, but thought better of it. She didn’t need to scare him away.

  He stared into her eyes for a long time, his gaze dancing back and forth between them as if a million thoughts were rushing through his gray matter and he didn’t know how to put any of them into words.

  He brushed back her hair and cupped her cheek. “Jordan, I was happy with my life that day I met you at Delaney’s. I had my work, my kids, my new grandchild. I was in a good place. I had a routine. I didn’t need anything or anyone and was content. I had a list of women I could call and ask to be my plus-one if I needed a date for a party or some other event. Safe women.”

  Jordan didn’t like thinking about those other women with him. “Safe?”

  “Women whose purpose was simply to go with me to these events, be my company for the night, not cause any problems, and wouldn’t get clingy. Women who knew I was happy being single and unattached and that I didn’t want anything else.”

  Jordan began to feel sick. Was that all he wanted from her too? Did he just want to add her to his list of safe women so she could be his plus-one when he was in the mood for her? The thought stung more than she wanted to admit.

  She hadn’t thought she was growing this attached to Gabe, but now she couldn’t deny that she was. She didn’t know if she could say she was falling in love with the guy, but she certainly didn’t like the idea of sharing him with these anyone else, and she absolutely didn’t want to be added to some list of women he called up when he needed a date . . . or something more.

  “Did you have sex with them?” she asked softly, her body tense.

  “Sometimes,” he said, swallowing thickly, maintaining eye contact.

  “Oh.” She really didn’t like where this conversation was going.

  “I wanted to tell you this because . . .” He took a deep breath and cupped her face again, his gaze filling with wonder. “I wanted to be completely honest with you. Completely up-front.”

  “I see.” She tried to turn away, but he wouldn’t let her, holding her face in both hands now.

  “Jordan, I realize now that I only thought I was happy.”

  Her gaze shot back to his.

  He brushed her cheeks with his thumbs. “I saw you that day at Delaney’s and felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. It was exciting the way you looked at me. I tried to ignore it, but the longer I sat there, the more I knew I had to take a chance. So I wrote that note. My head was telling me that I shouldn’t, that I should just walk away and stay in my safe, sheltered life. But my heart wanted me to go for it.” Silenced stretched between them as he searched her face. “My heart was talking louder than my head that day. And I haven’t regretted it for one single minute.”

  Her mouth fell open, but no words came out.

  “Jordan, you have obliterated my routine and disrupted my entire existence. And it’s fucking incredible.” He smiled, releasing her face and tucking her tousled hair
behind her ear. “I thought I was happy. I thought I was content. I thought I liked my life the way it was.” He tugged her forward and kissed her, then murmured against her mouth, “I was wrong.”

  “And those safe women?” she said, pulling away. “What about them?”

  “I called each one of them last week, told them thank you, but that I had my plus-one from now on.”

  “You were being a little presumptuous, weren’t you?”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “I was kind of hoping you’d want the job.”

  She leaned back, saying nothing. Of course she wanted the job, but it wouldn’t be any fun if she didn’t make him work for it after the roller-coaster ride he’d just taken her on.

  “Do you?” he asked hopefully. “Do you want to be my one and only plus-one from now on?”

  “We’ll see.”

  He groaned and rolled his eyes to the ceiling, sinking back in the chair. “You’re bustin’ my balls.”

  She laughed. “Only because you make it so fun to bust them.”

  He affectionately rubbed up and down her legs, as if trying to persuade her to tell him what he wanted to hear. “You can’t do that to me, baby. I’m older, remember. My heart might not be able to take it.”

  “Your heart is just fine.”

  “It will be once you stop teasing me and tell me you want to be my gal as much as I want to be your guy.”

  It wasn’t a marriage proposal or a vow of forever, but it was a promise that he was invested in her as much as she was him. He wanted to see where this—whatever it was between them—could go if they committed to it.

  Laughing again, she leaned forward and kissed him. “Of course I’ll be your plus-one, Gabe. As long as you’ll be mine.”

  His palms caressed a trail up her thighs and around to her back as he released a relieved sigh. “I think I can handle that.”

  They remained at the table a few more minutes, kissing, whispering all the things they wanted to do to each other, and letting this new layer of their relationship settle in. Then he lifted her off his lap, took her hand, and led her to the bedroom, where he guided her to the sparkling marble-tiled en suite bathroom. He drew a hot bath in the deep soaker tub, helped her out of what remained of his shirt, then sank into the steaming water behind her, cradling her to his body.

  It might not have seemed like it at first glance, but a lot had been decided between them tonight. At no point had either of them used the word “exclusive” or said they were boyfriend-girlfriend, but after that conversation, that was more or less what they were. He had no intention of seeing anyone else, and neither did she. And while neither was prepared to use the L-word, strong emotions clearly existed between them. The kind that could hurt like hell for both of them if what they’d started were to fall apart.

  “You’re not going to fall asleep on me, are you?” he said softly against her hair, kissing her scalp.

  “No.”

  “You sure?”

  “Uh-huh.” But she was already feeling the luxuriously drowsy pull of sleep on her eyelids.

  He had promised her all night, but after that last orgasm, she wasn’t sure she could manage any more, and with the warm bath water cocooning her against the gentle rise and fall of his body, staying awake was becoming more than just a challenge. And they still had two hours before sunrise.

  And yet two hours later, after soaking for forty-five minutes, sharing a cold bottle of water, and almost nodding off twice, Gabe brought her to one last blissfully luxurious orgasm as the eastern horizon glowed orange.

  Lying on top of her, he grabbed the iPad from the nightstand, set it on the mattress beside her head, and tapped a series of icons on the screen. There was a soft whirring noise and the curtains slid closed, blocking out the sun.

  After setting the iPad back on the nightstand, he kissed her, letting his lips settle softly against hers.

  They stayed like that for a while, kissing like longtime lovers lost in each other and in no hurry to separate. After a few more minutes, he finally broke away, grinned down at her like he knew the significance of all they’d shared tonight, then rolled to the side and faced her as she did the same.

  “Not bad for an ‘old man,’ huh?” he asked, tucking her hair behind her ear.

  She smiled, too tired and pleasantly sated to laugh. “Gabe, that wasn’t bad for any man.” She placed her palm on his cheek.

  “So . . . it was worth the wait.” His self-assured gaze dared her to deny it.

  She scratched her fingernails over his scruff. “Oh yeah, it was worth it. Everything about tonight was worth it.”

  They gazed into each other’s eyes for a long moment, neither of them bringing up their conversation, even though it was obvious they were both thinking about it, then he pulled the covers over them and positioned himself behind her as she rolled over.

  “I’m so glad you wanted sushi that day at Delaney’s,” he murmured drowsily, curling his arm around her.

  “Me too.” She layered her arm over his and snuggled against him. “Me too.”

  Who knew how long their relationship would last? Maybe they would be in each other’s lives for a few months, or maybe for a few years. Maybe longer. She didn’t need the answer right now. For now, she was his, and he was hers, and that was good enough.

  Chapter Nine

  Dr. O’s Office . . .

  I set my legal pad aside and let Jordan come out of the narrative reverie she fell into as soon as she started talking.

  A moment later, her eyes lift and meet mine. “He’s the best lover I’ve ever had.”

  “Is that all he is?” I ask. “A lover?”

  She blushes and fights back a smile. “I think I’m falling in love with him.”

  The fact that she said she’s falling in love rather than in love gives me hope that her and Gabe’s relationship might last. In my opinion, it’s too soon for her to know she loves him, especially given their careers and the challenges that could make things more complicated the longer they’re together. But two months is plenty of time to know she’s falling in love.

  “Does he feel the same?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but I’m still his plus-one, and he doesn’t seem in a hurry to replace me, so . . . maybe we have a chance.”

  I offer a sincere, hopeful smile. “Maybe you do.”

  I shut off my recorder and walk her to the door. “So, what made your experience with Gabe so memorable?” I already know, but I want to see if she knows too.

  She tucks her hair behind her ear, her coloring youthfully healthy. “It was so memorable because he made me wait to have sex.” She smiles to herself. “He slowly seduced me and taught me the thrill of waiting. That anticipation is even more exciting than just jumping right into bed and satisfying our primal urges in the heat of the moment.”

  Yep, she knows.

  She takes her keys out of her handbag as we stop beside the door. “He also taught me that dating an older man isn’t gross.” She laughs softly. “And it’s a lot more exciting than dating a younger one.” She winks at me like we’re old friends. “Older men know what they’re doing.”

  “It’s all that extra experience,” I add, making her laugh again. She doesn’t disagree.

  As I watch her cross the parking lot to her silver coupe a few minutes later, I have a feeling that when I follow up with her in six months for an update, she and Gabe will still be together.

  And maybe even engaged.

  I certainly hope so. Everyone deserves that kind of happy ending.

  I hope you enjoyed Sushi, book one of the Forbidden Flowers series. For more quick, hot reads, check out Meet Me at Midnight and Jaw Breaker, books two and three of the series. More information about Donya’s full backlist, including her FREE books, can be found on the following pages.

  Meet Me at Midnight – Forbidden Flowers 2

  When Corinne interns for her best friend’s powerful and intimidating father, Harrison Devereaux, the last thing she e
xpects is that she’ll want something much more intimate from him than just a flattering reference letter. But when she unexpectedly catches him in a provocative position, desire so deep that she’ll risk everything to satisfy it awakens inside her. Will the dominant Harrison Devereaux be so easily seduced by a woman young enough to be his daughter? Or does he prefer to be the one doing the seducing? Anything is possible at midnight.

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  Jaw Breaker – Forbidden Flowers 3

  Katherine isn’t made like other women, and only a man who’s packing in the meat department can scratch her itch. And not just packing, but overloaded. What most women can’t handle is exactly what she needs, and she’s all but given up on finding it. Then she meets Greyson, and her prayers are answered. But can a good thing last?

  NOTE: Those who’ve read the Banger Trilogy already know the story of Katherine and Greyson. Those who haven’t will want to after reading Jaw Breaker.

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  Finding Lacey Moon

  Scott is a single dad struggling to move on from the tragic accident that ended his football career. Lacey is an Olympic gold medalist in hiding as she recovers from a disastrous fall that almost took her life. Neither were looking for love, but now that they’ve found it in each other, one devastating secret could destroy both their hearts.

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  Little Things

  Cami has been in love with her brother’s best friend Gunner since she was a kid. Now she’s all grown up, and Gunner is spending the holidays with her family. Living under the same roof, will he finally see her as more than just his best friend’s baby sister, or will he only bring her heartbreak?

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  Rise of the Fallen

  A lonely, volatile vampire loses his heart to an exotic dancer when she saves his life. Now he must protect her from those who tried to kill him. A USA Today Recommended Read and eLit Gold Medal Winner.