He points to his lap and I can already see the growing bulge. My insides heat and contract, and I actually consider a quickie before we go inside.
I close my eyes and turn back to face the windshield. “Okay, okay, okay. Fooocus. Fooocus.”
Jasper’s long, warm fingers wind around mine and give them a little squeeze. “Come on. This is more important that your fiancé’s libido anyway.”
I open my eyes and meet the gaze of the love of my life. “Nothing is more important than you. No dream, no job, no art exhibition. Nothing.”
“Well, I’m looking at it this way. Later, you ought to be so wound up after signing a contract to get your work on display in a famous French art gallery that I can just sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s win-win.”
I laugh. “You make an excellent point, Mr. uhhh . . .” I have to pause and think about his name. Jasper picked a new identity, too. We started over. Clean slate. Completely blank. Blank. The only thing we brought from our old lives was each other. And my father, when we get a chance to meet up with him. “Mr. Blank.”
“Besides, soon-to-be Mrs. Blank, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
I lean my temple against the headrest as I consider the man before me. More handsome than anyone I’ve ever seen, more fierce than anything I’ve ever known and more mine than I ever thought he could be. “I wouldn’t miss you for the world.”
He leans forward to take my lips in a kiss that’s both sweet and passionate. There’s enough electricity passing between us to give light to a small country, and within seconds, it crackles into something that nears the “wild and hungry” side.
Jasper pulls away, his breathing harsh and heavy. “Unless you’re up for attending this meeting with a sweaty dress and smeared lipstick, you’d better stay on that side of the car. That or we’ll have to skip it altogether.”
His smile is devilish and I actually consider rescheduling. But then I remember how important this is, not just to me as an artist, but to our future. Jasper told me we need not worry about money, that he had made some good investments, but I want to be able to invest in our life and our happiness, too.
I sigh loudly. “Fine. I guess we’d better get in there.”
His smile is crooked, and I wonder how I got through the first part of my life without it. “We can just . . . postpone this. How about that?”
“Maybe call it ‘dessert,’” I suggest.
“I’ll bring the syrup. And the ice cream,” he says in a voice that sounds like caramel. His words alone conjure an image that affects me in a very visceral way. Muscles low in my belly clench spasmodically. I can all but feel slick syrup and cool cream being dribbled all over my body and then licked off by Jasper. I have to stop myself after I imagine the second swipe of his tongue.
“You’re evil,” I tell him breathlessly.
“I’ll show you just how evil later.”
With a quick peck to my lips, he gets out and comes around to my side, opening my door and taking my hand like a perfect gentleman, like he didn’t just nearly cause me a hands-free orgasm in the parking lot of a restaurant.
When I’m standing beside him, he looks down into my eyes, staring into them like they hold a thousand wonders. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
I nod, my mouth so dry my tongue is stuck to the roof.
“Have I told you how incredibly talented you are? And how much you deserve this?”
Again I nod.
“And have I told you how lucky I am to call you mine? No matter what tomorrow holds?”
I nod and smile, my skin warming as though I’m being bathed in sunlight. And that’s about right. That’s what it feels like to be loved by Jasper. It’s sometimes rough and fast, sometimes sweet and languorous, but always bright and hot.
“I love you, baby.”
I feel tears prickle. I will never get used to hearing those words from his lips. Nor will I ever get tired of it.
Before I can respond, Jasper tucks my hand in the crook of his elbow and we make our way into the crowded restaurant.
We are greeted immediately and taken to a private dining nook where Hugh and Julienne await us. They both rise when we appear, both kissing my cheeks before greeting Jasper. I can tell by the look on Julienne’s face that her appreciation for art extends to my jaw-droppingly gorgeous man. I smile. It doesn’t make me jealous. It makes me proud. So proud that he’s all mine. Although he’s polite, the greeting he gives her pales in comparison to the look he slants my way after he pushes in my chair.
Conversation is easy and light, the food exquisite and expensive.