Chapter Twenty: Spaghetti & Orgasms

I feel like I want to pinch myself. I'm about to head over to Jon's for the night and I'm actually excited about it. Who would have thought?
Jonathan gave me stick all damn day long because I was happy, Kelly overbooked three clients and I didn't even care. I should have but I let her deal with the mess and got on with it. I'm in big trouble and I know it.

So many things keep rushing through my head - what am I doing? How far will this actually go? I barely know the man and already I know I'd miss him if I didn't see him again, how pathetic is that? I've decided to live in my bubble just for now. Take things in their stride and deal with anything I need to as it comes up. I'll just be careful as I always am. I've never been more myself with a man than well, in forever. I'd forgotten what that was like as Jared wasn't anything like Jon at all. Jon is smart, funny and he knows what he wants and I guess that happened to be me in this instance. Jared knew what he wanted too, I just didn't know at the time I should have never taken it.

Devon had the second blessed shower of the day as she got ready for her dinner date with Jon. This time she dressed sensibly and she was taking a small overnight bag as it was obvious that the intention of tonight meant she wasn't coming home in a hurry. She smiled as she rolled out her lipstick and applied it. It would be a lie if she said she wasn't just a little excited about tonight. Jon had stirred something inside her, something she'd closed off to the rest of the world for a long time.

The lemon strappy summer-dress had a high waist so the flowy skirt billowed out to her knees. She left her hair loose and used a curling iron to give her hair some body and shadowed her eyes with some natural sparkle. A little mascara on her lashes and a spritz of citrus around her neck and shoulders and she was all set. Under her arm was her business proposal that she'd worked on for the last two and a half hours and in her other hand was her overnight bag, it was presumptuous of course but she wanted to be prepared.

She smiled freely at the man that collected their trash every-day she stepped outside and he wished her a good night. Was it obvious she was off to have a good night? Probably not but she wanted to shout it out to the street that she was having sex tonight.

The foyer was cluttered with people in Jon's apartment building and she smiled as Ralph winked at her. He totally knew what she was up to. God, how many other women has he winked at on their way to Jon's? The elevator doors popped open and she quickly stood back as a dark-haired woman bustled out with her ear attached to her phone.

"Excuse me." She stopped and looked Devon up and down with strong dark eyes before carrying on. "He wouldn't listen and he was being his normal pig-headed self."

The doors closed and she blew out her breath. What would she expect tonight she wondered? She frowned as the door to his apartment was already open. She tapped lightly on the door. "Jon?" There was no reply so she cautiously walked in. There was no music and no candles, not that she really expected him to lay on the romance every time she saw him, that could be saved for the books she read late at night in bed. "Jon?" She saw the bright orange tip of his cigarette through the slider on the balcony so she dropped her bag and pulled it open.

"Hey." She said softly as he paced the small length of his balcony.

He stopped and turned, looked at his watch and then her. "Shit. I didn't know that was the time." He flicked his ash over the railing and took another deep draw.

She hugged herself and swung back on her heels. "You ok?"

He looked away from her out to the city and rubbed his forehead. "Oh yeah. Perfect. My ex-wife just arrived unannounced to let me know she's taking the kids away for a week." He gripped the railing until his knuckles went white.

"I'm sorry-is that bad?" He was pissed off and he wasn’t hiding it from her.

"Of course it's bad. She's dating this guy Bruce and he’s going with them."

"Oh." Snap. "And you don't want the kids to be with him?"

"No I don't. He's Bruce, everyone loves fucking Bruce. He owns a toy-store for fucks sake. How can I compete with that?"

And there it was. She saw the vulnerability briefly flash across his face. She paused as he stood and faced away from her and quickly thought. "Oh I don't know about that. I don't think someone that owns a toy-store could compete with their father, do you?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and blew out his breath. "No I guess not. I'm being a prat aren't I?"

She snuck up behind him and rested her chin on his shoulder from behind. "A little, yes. But I understand. They're your kids." Her first thought was that he didn't want his wife with someone else. But she dismissed that as he talked.

"I just miss them and family vacations used to be all of us. This is a first with her and him... and I just don't like it. I'm allowed to not like it." He covered her hand at his waist and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Yes you are. But they're your kids Jon. You'll have your own holidays with them. This is just one week out of the rest of their lives with you." She put two and two together and realized it was Dorothea that was leaving downstairs as she was coming in.

"I'm still not happy."

"I know. And that's ok." Her hands slid up to his shoulders and she kneaded them gently.

He groaned and turned around and faced her. "Now I'm a real prick as I didn't even say hello or comment how stunning you look this evening." His finger wound through a curl by her cheek. "I'm no fairy tale Devon. This is my life."

She smiled. "Fairy tales are over-rated anyway." His hands sat on her hips as he stepped forward and their lips met in slow sweet kiss.

He tasted like cigarettes and coffee so she screwed up her nose. "Especially princes that taste like smoke and coffee."

He tipped back his head and laughed. "I'll go brush my teeth. How about you head up to the roof? I have the fire going and dinner will be here soon so I'll meet you up there?"

"Sounds good." She stayed a few moments on the balcony and grinned. She was glad she saw this side of him and in a way it only made her weaker in her resolve to not rush in. He was real with real problems and a past, just like her. The reality was though that she knew if he knew hers he wouldn't be quite so understanding and that was a little scary.

When she reached the roof her breath caught in her throat. Wow. The fire crackled in the fire pit and the wine was chilling on a bucket of ice and two glasses were stacked neatly beside it. Fairy lights were twisted in between the fragrant ivy around the walls and the city was like a sparkling canvas of pretty lights and textures in front of her.

The large stainless steel grill was closed up by the outdoor dining set and she wondered how many rooftop barbeques he would have had up here. It was the perfect backdrop that money could buy.

Jon made her feel alive and made her toes tingle every time he came close. It was as if she wasn't really thirty-five more like seventeen on a first date with the intention to make out at the end of it. It was silly really. The last couple of years had been anything but magical but here she stood on a rooftop penthouse in Soho being wined and dined by one of the rock and roll industries most finest.

She'd been happy with her life, her salon and her little world. Jon was opening her up to something so much more and it was going to be hard not to become addicted to the richness of it all.

"Dinner is here. Right on time." He half-smiled as he strolled across the rooftop and rested the covered tray on the table.

"Do I get a hint?"

"Well I figured since you're from a foreign land we'd have some local cuisine from mine."

"Mac and Cheese?" She teased.

"Ha! You automatically assume American."

His eyebrow cocked as he lifted up the dome. She grinned as spaghetti and meatballs spilled over a large oval plate with two forks and spoons resting beside it. "Ahh Italian. That would explain the fiery temper."

"Hey now."

"There's only one plate... are you not eating? I'm pretty hungry so I'm not sacrificing mine."

He laughed. "We're sharing. Geeze, I go all romantic with the pasta, the setting and you boss me around as usual.”

"Someone has to keep you in line don't they?”

"Because I acted like a spoilt brat before? I guess you're right."

“This is pretty amazing though. The lights are very pretty.”

Jon glanced at them. “Steph put them up on night she had her girlfriends over for a sleep over in the summer. I’ve just never taken them down.”

She smiled. “Don’t.” She winked and leaned over the table and picked up a fork. "This looks incredible."

"Best Italian place in Manhattan and they don't deliver...except for me."

She twisted some angel hair around her fork and lifted it. "Show off." The flavours of oregano and tomato with a hint of garlic popped in her mouth. "God. You're not wrong." She nudged him aside. "You're really not getting any now I hope you realize."

He wrestled the cork off the wine and poured them each a glass. "If you could finish that I'd be impressed, not even my teenage son can finish a full plate of Giuseppe’s pasta and you're half the size of him."

"Hey buster. You certainly didn't have any problems with my size last night throwing me around the bed like a ragdoll."

"Well excuse me for letting passion take over."

The teasing element between them was fun and unexpected. It made sense since they both worked pretty hard so they relaxed around each other at the end of it. She'd never had that with someone though. In her mind she was trying to over-complicate Jon any way she could but in reality he was just a good guy that was driven and appreciated the good things in life. Jon chatted about his kids for a while and she loved the way his eyes sparkled when he did. She talked about her salon and her family there.

Jon took a sip of his wine and stood back. "Bruce is a good guy but he’s a little dorky. I honestly don't know what Dorothea sees in him but she's happy which is cool. I just don't want him near my kids."

We're back to Bruce again huh? She knew it he hadn't let it go the way he'd shut the discussion down so quickly on the balcony. “Do the kids like him?”

Jon snorted. "Yea well Romeo and Jakey love him he brings them toys before they are even on the shelves."

"Part of that will also be to impress them, he wouldn't do that if he didn't love her and if he is going to be in their lives he’s got a big shadow to live in so he's got a tough job."

Jon shrugged. "Yeah. I guess so but he's still a dorky guy."

Devon rolled her eyes. "You men are all the same. Territorial."

Jon forked some pasta and nodded. "Yeah that's amazing. You sound like you speak from experience?"

She'd barely given anything to him about her and she'd walked right into his family issues within a week of knowing him. She paused and ran her finger around the rim of her glass. "My last relationship was back home and it wasn't particularly a good one. I was a little gullible." Gullible was to say the least. When she started seeing Jared the first reason had been that he the exciting go-getter and even though her parents never approved of him she held her resolve to keep her relationship going.

"Oh?" Jon asked carefully but let her continue.

"I was wrong and then was too weak to see it." She gulped her wine back until she finished the glass.

"I couldn't imagine you being weak at all Devon." He stood back and scoffed. "God. I can't believe how much I'm opening up to you and we barely know each other. I don't do that."

"Well I walked into it so you didn't have a choice. But I’m glad I did. It's nice to know you have some kinks in your armour."

He pulled out her chair and she slid into it not before a kiss to the lips. He held her suspended as he cupped her jaw and slid his tongue in her mouth.

Her eyes fluttered open and she caught her breath. "Your kisses however are a different kettle of fish altogether."

Jon smiled and the lines in his face softened. He held out his hand. “Come.”

She raised her eyebrow and obliged. He led her to the outer deck that looked down to the stone wall that guarded them from the city. “Dance with me.”

Her hands slid up around his neck and her body melted into his. Their noses bumped and their lips brushed. Her heart beat steadily as his hands slid down her back and cupped her ass.

“There’s no music.” She whispered as her breath hitched as his gaze locked on hers.

“I don’t need it. I just need you.” She moaned as he kissed her slow and full, her nipples bulleted through the thin cotton of her dress. Her fingertips trailed under his jaw as his tongue moved into her mouth. He was as intoxicating as the wine as she fell under his spell, pasta forgotten.

Her head tipped back as his mouth left hers and kissed down the line of her neck to her breasts. He perched her on the edge of the table and sucked her nipple through the thin material. Her toes curled and he pushed down the tiny straps of her dress. She was wet for him and she made it known as she ground against his leg.

The cups of her dress fell away and her breast spilled free into his hungry mouth. His hand splayed across her back as he held her on an angle. He bit gently and she cried out desperate for friction to build the orgasm that was buried inside her.

“Oh god.” Her nails ate the lacquer on the table and she fought hard to not come undone. His breath was hot against her skin as his gaze flicked up to hers as his mouth left her breast. They were dark and full of intent making her skin tingle.

Jon hovered over her and laid her flat back on the table. His lips barely inches from hers as his hand inched up her thigh. “I want Manhattan to see you come.”

The air on her nipples stung as he slid two fingers inside her and groaned. “Eyes on me.” He pumped her twice and she wanted to die. The pleasure roared through her and she arched back as it took over. His cock was hard against her thigh as he stood and watched over her as she came.

It slammed through her without effort and she cried out. The slump against the table hurt as she caught her breath and his gaze. “Shit.” She panted rolling her head back and closing her eyes.

He removed his fingers and straightened her dress. “We don’t want to let the pasta get too cold.”

Was he kidding? He just blew her head off again and he wanted to eat? She evened her straps and sat up. She’d eat dinner but once that was over, he was dead. It was time to show him exactly what she could do.