Chapter 8

When Jon opened his eyes again, he saw it was morning, and he saw he was alone. He took a moment to reflect on last night. He didn’t understand what had come over him. His actions were totally out of character for him. He smiled, glad to be surprising himself. He had no regrets, and hoped that Valerie felt the same.

He moved to get out of bed, and grimaced. His lower back twinged a little, and his shoulders were sore. He had slept in the same rumpled heap he was left in after their last bout of lovemaking, and smiled again at the memory. These kinds of aches and pains he’d gladly wake up to any day. Jon stepped into his jeans and found his way to the bathroom.

Leaning into the mirror while he was washing his hands, he scrutinized his face. There were more lines around his eyes, but he noticed his eyes didn’t look haunted today. The lines around his mouth could actually be construed as smile lines now. Most noticeably, however, was the seemingly permanent furrow to his brow – it looked to be gone. Taking a mental inventory, Jon decided he felt better this morning than he had in a long time, and he had Valerie to thank for that.

Jon caught a whiff of coffee, and sighed deeply in anticipation. He just loved a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. How anyone could do without it was a mystery to him. He followed his nose to the kitchen, and saw a lone stoneware mug sitting alongside a half-full pot of the most heavenly-smelling brew. He poured himself a cup, and set out to find Valerie. He headed out the kitchen door, and followed the porch around to the ocean-side of the house.

Valerie was sitting in a rocking chair, looking out at the slow moving waves. Her fingers were all but hidden in the sleeves of an oversized fisherman’s sweater; their tips wrapped around a mug that matched his own. Her bare legs were tucked up on the chair next to her. She had swept her hair into a sexy, messy topknot, and Jon had the urge to nibble on the back of her neck. She smiled as she heard him approach, but didn’t take her eyes from the ocean.

“Good mornin’,” Jon said, helping himself to her neck, and the chair next to her.

“Morning, yourself,” Valerie answered. She still couldn’t quite believe this man was here with her. He looked almost unbearably beautiful; half-dressed in unsnapped jeans and bare feet, hair all mussed, and a day’s worth of growth on his cheeks. He was just sitting on her porch, rocking slowly in the chair and gazing out across the water. He looked comfortable; like he had always been there; like he belonged there. She searched his face, but didn’t see anything other than a very contented man. No regrets. Good, she thought. She didn’t have any either.

“How’d you sleep, darlin’?” Jon drawled.

“Like the dead,” Valerie replied, making Jon chuckle a sexy chuckle low in his chest. “You?”

Jon rolled his shoulders, making Valerie’s mouth water. The play of muscles as they bunched and moved made her remember how they bunched and moved under her hands last night. “The same,” he said. “I don’t’ think I moved at all last night.” He winced slightly, and Valerie put her coffee mug down on the table and went to stand behind his chair.

“Are you OK?” she asked, as she began kneading his shoulders; her small hands belying their strength. Jon closed his eyes and groaned loudly, letting his head drop forward. Valerie’s nimble fingers pressed and pulled at all the little knots and kinks that were paining him. Valerie laughed. “So, that’s a ‘yeah’?”

“Yeah,” Jon agreed. “That’s a ‘yeah’. God, that feels good. I could have you do that all day.”

Valerie kissed him softly between the shoulder blades. “Surely not all day,” she said. “There must be something else you’d want to do.”

Jon laughed huskily. He turned to look at Valerie as his stomach grumbled. He winked. “Yeah, I’d want to eat something.” His voice was thick with double meaning.

Valerie laughed and smacked Jon on the back of the head. She stood in front of him, cocked a hip, and crossed her arms, causing the sweater that reached mid-thigh on her to rise up an inch or two, making Jon swallow hard. “You men,” she said playfully. “Always thinking with your stomach’s best interests at heart.”

“Not always,” Jon countered, flashing a saucy grin. Jon held out a hand to Valerie, who took it, allowing herself to be drawn into his lap.

Valerie settled in, her arms winding around his neck as his wrapped around his waist. Their eyes met and locked a second before their mouths did the same. Valerie pushed her hands through Jon’s hair. The silky, heavy feel of it, combined with the taste of coffee on his breath, and the feel of his arousal beneath her made her sigh.

Jon deepened the kiss and pulled on the hem of her sweater until he could touch skin. He moaned into her mouth. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath the sweater. He let his hands trail up and down Valerie’s side until she was squeaking and twitching on his lap. He let his fingers drift to her core, and dipped inside, finding her wet and wanting. Jon couldn’t stand the temptation anymore. He scooped Valerie up, making her laugh.

“You’re going to spoil me, you know, carrying me off to bed,” she teased.

“Well, darlin’,” Jon answered, “maybe I think you deserve to be spoiled.”

Valerie wrapped her arms tightly around Jon’s neck and buried her face in his shoulder so he wouldn’t see the tears that were forming. He’d think she was a basket case for sure, tearing up all the time. She just couldn’t help it. This man, this familiar stranger, was awakening in her feelings and sensations she hadn’t experienced in some time. The fact that it was this particular man doing the awakening made it just that much more intense.

She latched her mouth onto Jon’s neck, and bit him lightly. “Hurry,” she said.