Love Rents A Room
Chapter 81: Burning Desire

Chapter 81: Burning Desire

"Jo..." His breath fanned against her lips, warm and unsteady.

He hovered, lips grazing hers, waiting. Just the smallest sign—that was all he needed to lose himself completely.

But then—

Hic.

A trembling sniff.

JD froze. His head jerked back just as her eyes brimmed with fresh tears, spilling silently down the sides of her face.

"Hey..." He cupped her cheek, thumb brushing away the wet streaks. His voice softened, tinged with alarm.

This wasn’t what he wanted. He hadn’t cornered her, hadn’t forced her—she wanted this too. He was sure of it. But now, seeing her like this, seeing the pain surfacing in waves, he felt something inside him twist and snap.

"Look, I’m—"

But his words died as she sobbed, the sound raw and jagged, pulled straight from the hollow ache in her chest.

"He... He didn’t even want to see me," she choked out. "He left. He forgot me. He hated me..."

JD’s jaw tightened. He wasn’t even in the picture, was he? Not really. Even in this moment, with his hands on her, his lips just a breath away—her mind was somewhere else. On someone else.

His grip on her wrists tightened, frustration coiling in his chest like a caged animal.

And then, before he could stop himself, he bent down—and bit her nose.

Joanne gasped, eyes flying open, her hand darting up to cradle her nose as she glared at him. "What the hell?!"

JD didn’t move, his own breath heavy, his patience utterly shattered.

"What do you think I am? Some gay best friend? A stray you picked up off the damn road?" His voice came out harsher than he intended, but he was done—done being the man she ran to when she was broken but never the one she reached for when she was whole.

She blinked at him, stunned. The tears stopped, as if his sudden outburst had shaken her straight.

Her lips parted, hesitant. "JD..."

That was all she said, just his name. But the way she looked at him—JD felt his anger unravel, dissolving into something deeper. He exhaled sharply.

Her hand, still trembling, cupped his cheek.

Just like that, the fire between them shifted. Softened.

His body, tight with restraint, relaxed against her. Her scent—sweet, maddening—swirled around him. The heat of her skin beneath him made his fingers twitch. He wanted to devour her, wanted to drown in the way she made him feel. But more than anything, he wanted to make her forget.

Forget whoever the hell had made her cry like this.

His eyes fell to her nose—still red from drinking, and from him. His chest ached with something like regret. With a sigh, he leaned down and pressed a kiss there, soft, lingering.

She chuckled.

JD pulled back, eyes narrowing. "You find this funny?"

Joanne smirked, her fingers threading through his hair. "Do you want to get in my pants?"

JD froze—but only for a second.

"So what if I do?" His voice was hoarse, roughened by the tension coiling between them.

His hand moved, fingers grazing the zipper of her dress, tugging it down just enough to kiss along her collarbone, the curve of her breast.

The old pendulum clock ticked steadily in the background, the only sound filling the quiet space besides the hushed rasp of his lips against her skin.

She chuckled again, fingers curling deeper into his hair.

JD groaned, pulling back just enough to meet her eyes. "Damn you, woman."

She chuckled, low and teasing, but there was something unreadable in her gaze. "Do you really want me?"

Her voice was light, almost playful, but he could hear it—beneath the teasing, beneath the liquor, there was doubt.

JD sat up, gently pulling her with him so she was seated beside him.

I want you, he wanted to say. More than you know. But she wasn’t asking if he wanted her. She was asking if he wanted her the way she needed to be wanted. Not just as a woman, not just for this night.

The strap of her dress slipped down her arm, baring the curve of her shoulder. She didn’t bother to fix it. She didn’t seem to care.

"Why did you stop?" Her voice was quieter now, edged with something vulnerable. "Do you want to run away from me too?"

JD shook his head, his fingers flexing against his knee. His body still burned with the force of his desire, but he had the whole night. He wanted to know. To understand what she felt for him—if anything at all.

He was done suffering through one-sided love.

Turning toward her, he slipped a finger beneath her fallen strap, letting it rest there for a moment before slowly sliding it back up.

Joanne turned to him, her lips curling into a smirk.

Goddamn.

Those eyes. That smile. The kind of woman who could make men kneel with a flick of her lashes, the kind of woman legends were written about.

And tonight—he was the only audience.

Her brows raised, curiosity flashing across her features. "Bored already?"

Before he could answer, she moved—quick as a cat—straddling his lap.

JD stiffened, breath hitching as she settled against him, her warmth pressing into his most sensitive ache. He was sitting with his legs stretched on the floor, leaning against the couch, and she perched above him, her knees pressing into the rug on either side of his hips.

Both straps of her dress slid down her shoulders, exposing smooth, porcelain skin.

JD clenched his jaw. His hands twitched, torn between pushing her away and pulling her closer, between self-control and the kind of madness only she could bring out in him.

Damn it.

His manhood throbbed in painful protest.

She leaned in closer, slow and deliberate, as if she was savoring his self-restraint. Her forehead pressed gently against his, her breath warm against his lips.

"Jeffrey..." she murmured, then chuckled again, soft and teasing.

JD’s grip tightened instinctively around her waist, his fingers pressing into the thin fabric of her dress. He could feel the heat of her skin beneath it, her body light but undeniably there, curled against him like she belonged nowhere else.

"What?" he muttered, his voice rougher than he intended.

It wasn’t just the way she said it—it was why. Liam had done the same, saying his name in that strange, almost knowing way.

What was it with her and his damn name?