Chapter Fourteen

Play It Forward

"Don't leave me…Please, don't leave me…" she continued between his soft kisses, barely aware that he stood and took her with him. "Please…don't…." Jordan could feel the hot tears begin to form in her eyes and slide down her cheeks. If he pushed her out of his life again, she knew she couldn't bear it. She didn't know what she would do. He was the love of her life and she wasn't sure she could go on if he chose to reject her again. "Don't leave me…." The phrase became a litany as she prayed he would understand the depth and sincerity of her feelings.

"I'm not…baby, I'm not….I'll never leave you…." Woody murmured against her lips and in between kisses. "I'm not…I'm not…I won't…" He felt his own rush of tears against his eyelids. He finally pulled back to wipe her tears away with his thumbs, and Jordan slowly opened her own eyes to gaze at the truth behind his words. He wouldn't leave her. This time, Woody played her for keeps…and he won. His own tears were silent testimony to that fact. Tentatively, Jordan brushed his tears away from his face, slowly trailing her fingers down his cheeks and traced his lips with her index finger.

"You won't…." she stated, finally convinced that he was telling her the truth. After nearly a lifetime of lies, she had to be sure he was telling her the truth.

"I won't…" he promised, running his fingers up the back of her neck and anchoring them in her hair, pulling her against him so her lips met again…clinging this time as he traced the outline of her lips with his tongue so that she opened her mouth for him, melting against him and allowing him access…and somewhere between then and minutes later, Jordan somehow found herself in his bedroom, on his bed, being held tightly in his arms as he continued to convince her how sincere he was…making this as different as night and day from their one evening of angry sex in that seedy hotel room…taking his own sweet time to slowly undress her before undressed himself and joined her in his bed.

Leisurely, he kissed her until Jordan was gasping for breath…only then did he just as unhurriedly began to kiss his way down her body…wanting her to feel desired, wanted, and loved in a way that maybe in the past she had only imagined…but never dreamed really existed. He kissed his way over her collarbone and down each arm, pausing at the curve of her elbow and traced erotic patterns with his tongue on her hand, before he kissed his way back over each breast and down to her navel…down one leg and then back up the other before lightly kissing her center and feeling her buck beneath him….Then in no apparent haste, continued back up to her mouth one more time. "Say it again, Jordan," he whispered against her lips. "Please…one more time…."

She opened her eyes then, and held his gaze for a long moment, feeling the results of his warm kisses on her body….it was humming and waiting for him. She'd been waiting for him all her life… "I love you, Woody…" she whispered, before he claimed her lips again.

Woody let out a long sigh, before taking her hands in his, one on either side of her head, and leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you, too, Jordan Marie Cavanaugh." He reached over to his nightstand, opened a drawer, and pulled out a condom.

Jordan put out a hand to stop him, remembering her emotions from the weeks before…her desires not only for Woody, but also to carry his child. "You don't have to…I mean…" she stammered.

Softly Woody smiled at her. He figured as much from the tone in her voice this afternoon when she told him she wasn't pregnant. "I know…" he replied gently. "And maybe one day before too long….but right now, I want you to myself…just for me."

It was sometime later, when the moon was beginning to paint its glow on the walls of Woody's bedroom that Jordan roused herself to look over at Woody, who was sound asleep on his side facing her. His tenderness and concern over the past several hours had made her lose her breath and feel her heart finally mend all at the same time. He had been an incredibly thoughtful and tender lover…better than she had ever dreamed of…

More than she had ever hoped for.

Without stopping to think, she leaned over and gently kissed his lips. "I love you, Woody," she whispered…only to feel his strong arm snake around her waist and pull her closer with a slight poke to the ribs. She let out a squeal.

"You woke me up to tell me something you've said over and over for the past …several hours?" he chuckled, pulling her closer.

"Yes, I did…" she poked him in his ribs in return.

"Good." He paused to run his fingers down the length of her long, chestnut hair and pull her lips down to his again. "Because I'll never get tired of hearing you say that … no matter how many times you tell me that, I'll never get tired of it…"

"Really?"

"Yes, really…because you see, I love you, too. And I'll never leave you, Jordan." His blue eyes held her whiskey-colored ones in a solemn gaze. "You never have to worry about that again."

Jordan held his look. She had bee lied to most of her life by the men she had loved the most. Her father. Eddie…and for a while, Woody. But Woody wasn't lying now. He was very, very serious. "I know," she said softly. "I know."

"I know I've been an asshole in the past…and I never meant to hurt you…well, maybe I did at the start…but I never meant…."

Jordan stopped him with a finger to his lips. "In all the time we've known each other, we've worked on cases as a detective and an ME. On a personal level, we've either hung out, or fought like cats and dogs. I can count on one hand the times we've kissed. We've made love twice. I think we've got some baggage there, despite our feelings of each other. And maybe…just maybe….you're right…."

Woody gave her a quizzical look. He wasn't sure where she was going with this, but she had admitted he was right and was still snuggled up warm and willing against him. His body reacted strongly to the memory of her once again wrapped closely around his, urging him on with soft words of encouragement and deep moans. "Right about what?" he managed to get out.

"That we need some closure….to the past….the way we treated each other and why. Maybe we need that in order to really go forward….because God knows, Woody, I don't want to go back to the past. I love you and just want to keep moving with that."