Chapter 7

Learning to Make Love

"You sound pretty confident," she grinned.

She noticed his smugness falter for a heartbeat before a smile quirked one corner of his mouth that would have looked perfect on a high priced hooker and was somehow sexier on him.

He grazed the tip of his finger down the center of her back, making her feel warm and cozy inside, even through her skin was covered with goose bumps.

"The ball's in your court Jordan," he glanced at the exit. "If you want me go, I will. But I'm hoping you'll ask me to stay."

Jordan pulled her hand away from him and toyed with the flowers in her hands crushing the petals between her fingers.

Could she be sure? Was what just happened only pretty words spoken during an enchanted evening? There were hundreds of women that could fit the description Woody just gave her. One or two she could name herself. Jordan's heart screamed to believe him and take the chance while her mind wanted a safety net. Some kind of guarantee that once the clock struck midnight, what Woody had just offered her wouldn't dissolve into a pumpkin and a couple of rats.

Somehow he had gotten under her skin, into her heart, and then into her very soul, and into a place that a frightened ten year old girl had shut down years ago: For the first time in forever she wanted to live the fairy tale. She didn't want to think about tomorrow and its implications. Only she wasn't ten any more. Too many years and too many...things have happened.

He told her she was his ideal of perfection. Sleeping with him would prove how imperfect she was. Sex was something she was very familiar with. At that moment she wished it wasn't. Without even asking, she knew Woody could probably count his sexual partners on one hand. For him, it would have never just be sex. It would be making love.

And for all her experience, Jordan didn't have a clue how to make love.

Her silence wore on. Woody swore under his breath and said, "I understand..."

Jordan cut him off by putting she finger against his lips. "I want to be with you...I really do," she blurted.

"...there's a but in there somewhere," Woody murmured. He was ready to turn and walk out but a single word stopped him.

"No."

He studied her, waiting for her to continue.

"I'm tired of lying. I'm tried of standing by and watching everybody else find happiness...but when it comes to you, I'm scared Woody. I don't think I've ever been more scared in my entire life."

"Jordan..." he said, dropping the seduction, and reaching for her like he had a hundred times before. "...it's just me. I could never hurt you. At least not intentionally."

"I know," she whispered against his lapel. "That's why I'm afraid. I don't know how to do a real relationship..."

Woody visibly relaxed, setting her more on edge.

"Is that all?" he smiled against her hair. "I hate to break it to you like this Cavanaugh, but we've been in a relationship for years, untraditional and problematic at times...but a relationship none the less. There's no manual or how-to book to tell you how to make a relationship work. There are ups and downs and you hope you both don't hit that valley at the same time. You just have to remember why you're there and trust the other person does too. I love you, Jordan. And to me, that's half the battle. "

Jordan lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "You love me?" she asked in amazement.

"Of course," he smiled. "Why else do you think I'd do all this? It's because of what we mean to each other. What you mean to me. "

He could still see the disbelief in her eyes. He cupped her face between his palms so there was no way she could not see his sincerity. "I Love You, Jordan."

Jordan didn't reply. She just blinked twice and once more the flowers fell from her hands, forgotten. She rose to her tiptoes and reached for his lips with hers.

The kiss started out frenzied. Her mouth opened hungrily under his, he answered with equal urgency. Their hands groped, clutched and traveled over each other, exploring, grasping, needing closer contact. Woody's heart told him to take her quick, before she could change her mind, but his brain said to take his time to make sure it was special for both of them.

"Room?" he murmured against her throat. He felt her nod. Slowly he peeled himself away from her, letting his hands slide down her sides and to her hips.

Her face was flush, her dark eyes nearly black with dilated pupils. Her lips were slightly swollen from his kisses. And her expression was even more seductive in reality than it ever was in his dreams.

With a relieved sigh, he cupped her face once more and took a long sip from her lips.

"Follow me," he whispered breathlessly. He took her hand in his and led her to the elevator and to the door of the suite Kim reserved for them for the night.

"I don't want you freak when you see my stuff in there..."

Jordan cut him a dirty, but sultry look. "Are you telling me you planned this?"

Ashamed, he didn't answer.

Haughtily, she reached in his pocket and pulled out the card herself and opened the door. She backed her way in reaching out to grab him the shirt front and dragging him in after her. "Always the Boy Scout..." she smirked.

Without letting him go, she backed through the darkened suite until she reached the bedroom. She stopped only to kiss him passionately, reaching out to pull his shirt out of his pants.

Woody felt like he was going to explode right out of his body. His blood hummed and his senses were reeling out of control. With great effort he slowed the kiss, brushing his hands over her face.

"We've got all night, Jordan," he whispered against her lips.

Jordan sighed against his mouth as he teased her lips with his teeth and his tongue. His hands held her head gently as he tasted her, wordlessly sending her the message that he wanted them to slow down and appreciate what they were about to do...fully and completely.

Jordan felt a moment of panic. She wasn't used to this slow pace Woody wanted to set and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to react to find her own pleasure. She pushed back; pressing closer and daring him to find an all consuming rhythm that would take them both where they needed to go.

But Woody stood firm, shushing her, calming her like a trainer does with a spirited thoroughbred. He held her loosely, resting his forehead against hers, taking deep breaths trying to convince his rebellious body to make this special for them both. He shrugged his jacket off and pulled off his constricting tie.

With tender fingers, he reached for her hairdo. One by one he plucked the flowers and bobby pins out, scattering them on the floor. When he pulled the last fragrant blossom out, he saved it, and tucked it behind her ear. Jordan smiled at the gesture and touched the flower, finding her self blushing. She realized even though he knew he was going to be with her, he still wanted to make her feel like he was still trying to win her.

This fact became even more evident as his eyes asked her permission when his hands trailed over her shoulders to the thin straps of her dress. He was making her feel like it was her first time...

In some ways, it was.

Jordan gave him a slight nod and his fingers curled under the thin silk. Slowly, he peeled the straps over her shoulders and pushed them down her arms. The dress didn't give any resistance and floated to the floor leaving her wearing only a pair of matching shoes and a flesh-colored thong.

Woody stepped back and just drank in the delicate beauty of her body.

Jordan was never comfortable with her figure. Her breasts were too flat, her hips too harsh. She missed the soft curves that most men find attractive and had been told as much, more than once. She started to fold her arms over her chest when Woody stopped her.

"Don't."

His voice was low, husky, and he gave her a heavy lidded smile that was so seductive, it kicked her in the gut. She let her arms fall limply to her side.

Before she could do anything but utter a surprised gasp, Woody swung her up in his arms and laid her on the cool sheets of the turned back bed. Jordan breathlessly braced herself, waiting for him to fall on top of her, finally ending this dance they had dancing for so long.

...but, she'd have to wait.

His hand reached out and skimmed her waist almost chastely as he leaned over to kiss her lips softly. She bucked under his teasingly slow tempo and, with demanding hands, she reached for his shirt, opening enough buttons to wrestle it over his head. Woody didn't give her much of a fight. He pulled his arms out of the sleeves and sent it flying across the room with a flip of his wrist. But when Jordan reached for him once more, he backed off again. This time wagging a finger at her.

"Not yet," he smiled moving to the foot of the bed.

Jordan sighed in frustration and flopped back on the pillows. "I'm ready now."

Woody ignored her with a low chuckle. Wordlessly, he sat down and pulled her feet into his lap. One by one, he unbuckled the narrow bands of her strappy shoes and dropped them to the floor. Tenderly, he pressed his thumbs into the ball of her left foot rubbing small circles.

It was all Jordan could do to keep her eyes from rolling back in her head. As it was, she closed her eyes and sighed, figuring she could take a break... from getting busy...to enjoy a good foot massage.

And a good foot massage it was. Woody worked magic with his fingers, all but erasing the pain of wearing shoes that were designed for looks over comfort. She felt herself relax, in more then one way, until she felt his lips on her arch.

Jordan's breath caught in the back of throat as the tip of his tongue traced a line around to her ankle and his hands traveled up her leg. A nip of his teeth on the back of her heel shot straight to her groin. Funny, she never considered her feet as very erogenous...but then again she couldn't remember anybody ever paying this much attention to them before.

His mouth followed the path his hands were forging. Her legs parted easily as his torso moved over her. Almost unconsciously, Jordan realized that the rest of his clothes had disappeared while he was rubbing her toes. What she couldn't see, she could feel. His body was hard and smoother then she thought it would be. His skin was soft and warm. Very warm. She bent one knee and wrapped her calf around his lower back urging him closer.

Jordan inhaled sharply as his fingers brushed her center. She could have sworn this slower, more tender approach to intercourse would leave her struggling for her own fulfillment, but Jordan was quickly learning that Woody's way of doing things might have some merit after all, especially when she could feel the warmth of his breath brush over the silk of her panties. She wanted to scream and tell him to just rip them off, but in the back on her mind she knew he was giving her another way out if she wanted it. Jordan had no doubt that if she should change her mind, at anytime, he'd honor her wishes. She had been with men that didn't.

She shuddered and swore under her breath as his lips found her. Her fingers dove through his hair alternating between guiding him in one direction and pulling him in another.

Woody used his tongue to dampen the wedge of material that covered her. She was warm and responsive, even more so than in his dreams. He slipped his finger easily around the edge of her thong to find out just how warm and responsive she really was. As his finger entered her, a deep hissing moan echoed in the room. For the life of him, Woody didn't know which one of them it came from. Her body wrapped around his finger like a glove. He wondered if she was that hot around his finger what she would be like around...

"Come here..." she whispered pulling him up.

He rose above her pressing his erection against the thong's thin slip of fabric. His lips found her breast, first one, then the other, drawing her nipples deep into his mouth. She arched into him sending the pull of his mouth straight through her body.

Dimly, she heard whispers that alternated between sweet and raunchy... surprising her with his intensity. This man was not the farm boy she met on that cold January morning. Maybe he never was. Suddenly, she needed to taste him, touch him, and feel him in her own way. Jordan couldn't lie submissively any longer. She hooked her calves with his and rolled them over.

She reached down between them, and wrapping her fingers around him, biting her lip at his moan.

"Hi there," she smiled against his lips. Her kiss started softly, slowly, matching the pace he had demanded, only to find his control melting quickly. The knowledge that she had the power to make such a strong, confident...ideal man go crazy, gave Jordan a rush from the power. She backed up tisking him with her finger like he did earlier. With a sly smile, she leveled up to finally pull her panties off, and flung them across the room like a frilly rubber band. She wanted him to know that she wasn't about to back out.

The Mona Lisa soft smile she gave him was beautiful enough to rock him through his core.

"Woody, I love you."