Sinners On Tour 06 Sinners at the Altar (32 page)

Jessica nodded. “It was a complete surprise.”

“I think you have a keeper.” She winked and turned to give Gary a kiss before climbing over the basket to leave.

“A keeper, huh?” Jessica said, grinning at Sed
, who was looking very pleased with himself.

He
cocked his head slightly, looking so sexy that Jessica had to cling to her squishy chair to keep from leaping across the table and tackling him.

“Was there ever any doubt?” he asked.

She chuckled. “Not in your mind.”

Jessica felt increasingly light
-headed and she realized that the balloon was free of its tethers and rising. She hadn’t even felt it lift off. The burner roared as Gary pulled some rope that made the flames shoot high into the interior of the balloon.

“I’d think the thing would catch fire,” Jessica said nervously.

“You’re safe,” Sed murmured.

He always made her feel safe. “I know.”

She watched the earth slowly fall away as Sed rattled around in the basket and produced a pair of plates, utensils, and champagne flutes. She melted when she saw that their toasting glasses were engraved with a pair of wedding rings tied together with a ribbon, her and Sed’s names, and the date. He’d thought of everything. He really was a keeper. Well, most days. Some days he was positively infuriating, but those days were becoming increasingly rare.

“I’m not sure how much I can eat after all that cake at the reception.”

“I think you’ll manage,” he said.

He stood to
get the food from the coolers. First he scooped tossed salad on her salad plate, then he opened the hot food containers. When she reached toward a spoon to help herself to some delicious-smelling herbed risotto, Sed snatched the spoon away from her.

“Allow me,” he said.

“Sed, I can serve myself.”

“I never doubted it,” he said. “But just because you can doesn’t mean you have to. Let me take care of you tonight. Without argument. It would really mean a lot to me.”

She drew her eyebrows together. “Why?”

“Because I care about you.”

“I care about you too, but I don’t feel the need to serve you to demonstrate it.”

“Well, tonight I do
have that need. Can you handle it? Someone who loves you trying to take care of you?”

“I never said I couldn’t handle it.”

But as he filled her plate with food, she had to admit that it did bother her. She’d promised herself long ago that she’d never allow a man to rule her life and for some reason, this felt like a step in that direction.

“Can I serve you?” she asked, thinking that might make her feel a bit more comfortable
about allowing him to choose how much and what kind of food she would receive.

“You can service me,” he said, his voice gruff with desire.

Jessica pursed her lips. Was he trying to get a rise out of her? She knew her temper turned him on, but she really didn’t want to argue tonight. Especially not here, where everything was so romantic due to his thoughtfulness.

“I think I’ll let you service me,” she retorted.

“I am willing, if not able,” he said with a crooked grin. “The table is kind of low for me to get at you properly. Wasn’t the shower enough?”

“You know I never get enough of you.”

He grinned cockily and opened another container of food. The scents of basil and garlic, tomato and oregano stirred her appetite. She loved tortellini and couldn’t wait to see what it was stuffed with.

When he had Jessica’s plate full and arranged as he wanted it,
Sed took his seat again. Everything looked and smelled delicious and the tortellini was stuffed with mushrooms and sausage—her favorite combination, which she was certain was not a coincidence. Still, she picked at her food, hardly sampling a bite.

“It really bothers you, doesn’t it?” Sed said, having no qualms
about devouring his own dinner.

“What bothers me?”

“The fact that I fixed your plate.”

“What bothers me is that you decided what I wanted and how much and where on my plate it should go.”

“I know you don’t like me to make decisions for you, but don’t you think you’re over-reacting?”

“Probably,” she admitted. “But I can’t help it.”

“Try,” he challenged. “Learn to compromise.”

“You don’t compromise either,” she said, spearing a bit of yellow squash and popping it into her mouth.

“I compromise with you more than I’ve ever had to compromise with anyone else,” he said. “The problem is, we both like to be in charge.”

She couldn’t argue with that. It was blatantly obvious.

“So if you let me be in charge every once in a while, I’ll let you be in charge occasionally, and we’ll both have that need met. The rest of the time we can butt heads and argue if you like.”

“I don’t like to argue,” she said.

“Right,” he said, the word twisted with sarcasm. “And I’m sure that’s why you became an attorney. Because you hate arguing so much you decided to do it for a living.”

She flushed as she realized he was totally right. She loved to argue. In fact, no one argued with her the way Sed did. And few men would have been strong enough to give
it to her as good as she gave it. Most men were afraid to cross her. Not because she was scary, but because they were attracted to her and thought by bending to her will, she’d be more likely to give them what they wanted. But not Sed. Sed pushed her relentlessly. It was one of the things she loved most about him. And the very thing about him that drove her crazy.

“So I like to argue,” she said with a shrug. “I’m not the only one. You like to argue too.”

Sed chuckled. “I only argue with you, babe. With everyone else, I boss and they obey.”

“Just try to boss me and see if I obey,” she said in a clipped tone.

“I know bossing doesn’t work with you,” he said. “I thought maybe taking you up in a hot air balloon and asking you nicely would do the trick.”

“Do I not make you happy the way I am?”

“Of course you do. Never doubt that.”

“Then where is this coming from?” she asked.

He stared out the basket at the passing treetops for a long moment. “It’s hard for me sometimes. To step back. To let you do your own thing without interfering. It makes me feel less of a man.”

She gaped at him. Had she really made him feel that way? “Sed, that doesn’t make you less of a man.”

“Yeah, well…” He shrugged. “I’m learning to compromise. But I do crave a bit more control. I can’t lie about it. It’s a struggle to keep that side of me under wraps. But you’re worth the trouble.”

He
was
getting better at compromising. They didn’t fight nearly as often as they once had, but she hadn’t realized it was because he was the one compromising the most, letting her get her way. She needed to meet him halfway. And if that entailed allowing him to choose what she had on her plate when he surprised her with a romantic dinner, she could handle that. Maybe with a little practice, she could let him have a bit more control of her life. But just a little. Their marriage would have to be a partnership. She would never tolerate living under a dictatorship. Of course, there was one place she never minded him being the boss.

“You know there are times when I like you to boss me around,” she said.

He met her eyes and lifted a skeptical brow at her. “When?”

“In the bedroom,” she said. “You know how hot that makes me, don’t you?”

“I thought you obeyed in the bedroom because you know I never disappoint.”

She laughed, choosing to take her husband’s ego with a grain of salt. Besides, she couldn’t argue with his boasting when it happened to be true.

“I guess that’s part of it,” she said. “But when you fuck me and make me say things—things I would never say anywhere else—it’s exhilarating. Freeing.”

“What kinds of things?” he asked.

“
This pussy is mine
,” she said gruffly. “
Say it. Say it, Jess
.”

He shifted in his seat. “Well, it
is
mine.”

“Actually,” she said, “it’s mine.”

He tilted his head slightly as he assessed her. “I never realized how much it must cost you to give me that much power over you.”

“You know if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t let you.” She nibbled her lower lip as she put
her thoughts to words. “So dominate me in the bedroom, but let me decide on my own dinner.”

“Is that why you aren’t eating?”

She nodded. “Ridiculous, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t mean to dominate your dinner, Jess. I just wanted to show you that I care about you.”

“I know, baby. I’ll try not to blow these things out of proportion.”

“If you don’t want to eat, you don’t have to. I thought you liked tortellini.”

He still wasn’t quite understanding the reason it bothered her, but she needed him to get her. She knew how things got between them when they weren’t perfectly clear. She reached across the table and plopped a spoonful of squash onto his plate. Sed didn’t like squash. He’d ordered it because she liked it.

His brow crinkled. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Would you like another roll?” she asked.

“Um
, I guess.”

She placed another roll on his plate.

“So which method did you prefer? Me taking it upon myself to dump squash on your plate without consulting you or me asking if you’d like a roll before putting it on your plate?”

“Are you treating me like a kindergartner, Jess?” Sed chuckled and rubbed his forehead. “Okay, I get it. It isn’t that you don’t want me to show you that I care about you, you just want to be involved in the decision-making process.”

“Yes!” she said, emphasizing the word with her hands. “That’s exactly it.”

“I’ll work on that.”

“And what should I work on to make you happy in this relationship? Because nothing is more important to me than making this work, Sed. I love you.”

“I am happy in this relationship. You’re perfect just the way you are,” he said.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Oh, please.”

“You are. I don’t want you to change—not a single thing about you. But I’ll try to change if it will make you happy.”

Oh no, she’d hurt his feelings again. She kept forgetting how sensitive he was about certain things because he was so good at hiding that sensitivity. She climbed from her cushion and squeezed in beside him on his.

“I don’t want you to change, Sed. I just want you to
be more careful about pushing my buttons.”

“But I like pushing your buttons,” he said close to her ear. “It makes your passion burn bright. But I wasn’t trying to push your buttons tonight. I was trying to make
the night special for you. A gift just from me and just for you on our wedding day.”

And she’d made him feel like it wasn’t
special. Fuck. She was really screwing things up here. This was what she needed to work on, whether he realized it or would even admit to it. She had to be more careful with his feelings. Better at recognizing things that would hurt him
before
the fact rather than after, when the damage had already been done.

She touched his face, delighting in the slight roughness of a five o’clock shadow on his cheek. “Tonight is special,” she whispered. “You made it special for me.”

He smiled, his dimples cutting deep into his cheeks. “I did?”

“Mmm hmm.” Her body recognized his close proximity and instantly awakened, craving his touch. “Kiss me.”

“Our dinner’s getting cold,” he murmured just before he claimed her mouth in a searing kiss.

The coat dropped from her shoulders as she wrapped her arms around his neck and got lost in him. His large, strong hands dug into her back
, drawing her closer—closer—as if he wanted to meld their flesh. That wouldn’t be happening while they were fully clothed, sitting mostly side by side, and with an audience.

Jessica tore her mouth from Sed’s, breathing hard as she attempted to regain her wits. No good. Her brain was never fully functional in his presence
, and it refused to start functioning again until her body found release. Sometimes several releases.

“God, I want you,” she said with a groan.

“You’ll have me after dinner.”

A shiver of delight tingled at the nape of her neck. She wanted him behind her, his hands holding her breasts, teeth nibbling that spot under her hairline, cock buried deep.

“But I want you now,” she insisted.

“But you have to wait,” he said, his
mocking grin making an appearance. “Are you cold, love?” he asked.

If she was, she hadn’t noticed
on account of the heat burning through her sex.

“
Your nipples are hard.” He cupped one breast and massaged the stiff point with his thumb.