Free Falling

Kiss Me Slowly

I listened to Parachute's "Kiss Me Slowly" while writing this chapter, and I think it really fits everything. I recommend listening to it, as it's really a good song.

There were no words Jamien knew that he could use to describe just how good he felt as he rode the elevator up to the loft of Safeword. He was so thrilled with himself, that he hopped from foot to foot, too impatient to see her again. He had news he was certain would make her day. By the time the doors opened, he was practically dancing with excitement. "Dee?"

"Yeah?" The delicious aroma of her cooking told him exactly where to find her. She turned away from the stove, hair pinned back in a ponytail wearing yet another one of his t-shirts with rainbow vomit pajamas, wielding a spatula. He looked in the skillet and his mouth watered: quesadillas. He hadn't eaten something solid damn near all day. "What is it?"

"Oh, yeah." He looked at her and tried to put on a serious face. "Pack your things."

Confusion flittered across her face, closely followed by suspicion and hurt. "Why? Are you sending me home?"

He tilted his head to the side, causing his hair to hang lower than his shoulder. "What? Why the fuck would I do that?" He shook his head, dismissing her craziness. "I just got a new crib over in Burns Hill!"

She blinked a few times. "Okay...?"

He huffed. "You're killing me. We're moving to a new crib, one without a brothel downstairs!"

She gasped and hopped up and down. "Are you serious, Jay?!"

He was more than pleased with her response. She was happy to get away from the strippers. He was happy because with the Deckers' former compound being three times the size of Safeword, it would give them more privacy than they got. The University of Steelport was in Ashwood, just southeast of Burns Hill.

'She'd have no excuse not to come back...'

Denitra threw her arms around him, bubbling over with laughter. He caught one of her hands and danced with her, enjoying himself, then dipped her low, crushing his lips against hers.

The second their lips touched, shock shot through him and he froze, realizing what he'd just done. Immediately, he stood upright with her. She was still giggling with glee when she realized that he was staring at her with a look that sent a pleasant chill up her spine. She licked her lips and looked down, then slowly back up at him. "What's wrong?"

He groaned low in his throat, picked her up, put her down on the kitchen island, and stood in between her legs. His hands found her soft cheeks and held her in place. Nothing would stop him this time - he swore it. He allowed his thumbs to once again feel her soft lips, giving him what he was sure was a watered-down version of heaven. Her eyes were wide and, in them, he saw everything he felt. Hope. Anticipation. Love.

Love? Yeah...love.

He paused briefly to allow that last bit to take root in his heart. There was no rejection of the idea, only complete and total acceptance. He loved her. It felt good to say it in his head and be at peace with it. Warm fuzzies didn't have shit on this.

He allowed one hand to drop onto her thigh as the other gently held her chin. "Jay?"

He swallowed hard. "Yes?"

"Do you plan on kissing me sometime this year, before Christmas?"

He closed his eyes and chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, I do. Before the night's over if I can help it."

Her arms went around his neck and yanked him closer. "Then let me help you." She whispered and pressed her lips delicately to his. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of the perfect bath water over him, leaving him pleasantly warm from head to pinky toe. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to let his guard down, for her. He heard her whimper, and it made him eager for more, eager to claim all that she offered him. His hand found her hair, and he gently gave it a tug, pulling her head back. She gasped, and he took advantage of her open mouth. Their lips and tongues danced, pushing and pulling, nibbling and caressing. He felt her hand push through his hair and gently massage his scalp as the tip of her tongue lightly skimmed the roof of his mouth, causing him to shudder with delight.

He felt like he could spend eternity just kissing her.

The elevator dinged, and he heard someone step off of it. "Hey, Boss! Congrats, man - " Without even stopping to see who it was, Jamien whipped out his pistol and aimed it, hoping like hell it was pointed at the intruder or that they at least understood the fucking message. It was hard to concentrate when absorbed in a kiss as hot as this. "Um, okay. I can see you're busy. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

It wasn't until the doors of the elevator closed again that Jamien lost his composure and laughed into the kiss, causing her to follow suit. "That was mean."

"I'm sick of being interrupted." He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, resting his head on top of hers. "Remind me to go apologize to Pierce later. I try not to make it a habit of aiming a gun at my lieutenants. Breeds bad blood."

She pressed her cheek to his chest. "So, tell me about the new place."

"It honestly looks the same as this, just without stripper poles and some other minor details, but I plan to omit those to open the floor up and give it some distinction from this one."

"And you said it was in Burns Hill?"

"Yeah. About a five-minute drive from the University." He waited.

She pulled away and looked up at him. "Jay, I told you I can't - "

"I'm not asking you to move in with me - yet." He gave her a hard look. "So you have to finish school first, I can deal with that. But you can't avoid it forever. Once you graduate," he leaned over and put his lips close to her ear, "you're all mine."

******

On the ride over to Burns Hill, Denitra had been anxious, just barely able to keep still in her seat. Her lips were still warm and kiss-swollen. She didn't know if her light-headed feeling was from the medicine she needed or from his captivating kisses. To be safe, she assumed it was from both. He drove their Temptress with precision, carefully weaving in and out of traffic, all the while pushing a hundred miles per hour. There were more than a few moments when she wondered if she'd live to see the new penthouse, and in some attempt to reassure her, he reached over and held her hand. It did little to help.

The Burns Hill Reactors wasn't what she envisioned. She expected some run down, abandoned set of buildings. They were well maintained. Though the lights that illuminated the exterior were still blue, it was ready for the Saints to occupy. From what little she saw as Jamien rushed her to the executive elevator, the base housed members of the gang round the clock - one wing dedicated to sleeping quarters and bathroom facilities. When he told her that the penthouse was designed similarly to the one at Safeword, he wasn't too far off. If he omitted some renovations that had been made in the old penthouse, like the stripper poles, then it would look different.

She hoped like hell he was serious about not installing stripper poles.

She put down her duffle bag, drawn to the huge floor to ceiling windows. Sure, Safeword had them too, but it didn't have the beautiful view that this one offered. Safeword faced the water to its east. Burns Hill faced downtown Steelport. Suddenly, the lights dimmed and Denitra looked over her shoulder. Jamien approached her with a remote in his hand.

"I found the universal remote." He held it up for her to see. "Did it make the view look better?"

She turned back to the window and wrapped her arms around herself. "Yeah, it did. As if it needed help. It's so beautiful."

She felt his arms go around her and pull her close to him. He kissed her cheek and leaned his head against hers. "Not as beautiful as you, but yeah, it's something to look at."

Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she closed her eyes, smiling damn near from ear to ear. "That's so cheesy."

"Then grab a bowl of macaroni and chow down. It's still true, though." He shrugged. She laughed and turned around to face him.

"Thank you for the compliment, Jay."

"It's too late; you've already ruined it." His words were harsh, but his expression, his smile, was anything but.

She pressed her body along the front of his and looked up into his eyes, the brilliant glow of downtown Steelport casting a romantic glow on his face. "I'm sorry. Forgive me?" She pouted.

He fought hard not to give in. He leaned down and captured her bottom lip with his teeth, biting it lightly. "Yeah. I forgive you." With the skyline as their background, Denitra enjoyed the second round of many kisses for the night.