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She’d agreed to meet him earlier, then to come to this cabin, because, well sex. No, that was only part of the reason and an unfair excuse, especially to Jack.
“I’m sorry. Maybe I’m the one who sucks at this kind of thing, not you.”
She hadn’t considered that before, but she admitted it now. Jack twisted the lids off the bottles and handed her one, set his on the table, and moved to set up the grill using the charcoal side. Once it was blazing, he sat across from her at the table.
“I didn’t realize you had such serious abandonment issues. Delia has always been there for you, and it’s not like your mother had a choice.”
“I never looked at it that way, not consciously, but you have a point. My father wasn’t in the picture either,” she reminded him. Which reminded her of something she’d always been curious about but hadn’t dared to ask. “You’ve never mentioned your father.”
He took a long pull of his beer before answering.
“I have no idea who he is and even if I could find him, I have no interest in doing so.”
He gave her his charming rogue’s grin, and she got the feeling he was about to drop a bomb. “My mother went to a sperm bank.”
She hadn’t expected that, cut off a laugh when his expression turned serious. “No shit?”
“No shit. She wanted a kid, but she never met a guy she wanted to have kids with and she gave up looking in her thirties.”
“And you never wished for anything different?”
She had, when she was young and before she’d understood how fruitless the longing was. He shook his head.
“My mother was great. I never felt I was lacking in anything. She did baseball and scouts, all the typical boy stuff, even taught me how to catch and clean fish.”
She grinned. “Delia taught me how to shoot and fight.”
He arched his eyebrows. “Your sweet, petite aunt?”
“Can probably kick your ass,” she said dryly.
“Huh. Guess that makes her a good match for Faine.”
“Yeah.” She paused. “What happened to you, Jack? You told Quinn you understood what he’d been through.”
“A little. It was one of my first missions, not long before I met you. My team was ambushed and the survivors taken prisoner. I figured we’d end up with some of those prisoners executed live on the internet, but we got lucky. We radioed in during the fight and there was another team in the area that got us out a few days later.”
So few words to describe what had to be a harrowing and horrific experience. She wanted to ask more, but his expression made it clear he was done with the subject.
“Your turn,” he said. “What happened to the guy you were dating last year?”
Well, she’d known that would come up eventually and honestly, it stung her pride more than anything else.
“You met my old roommate, Jen?” He nodded. “Turns out during my last deployment she consoled my boyfriend,” she said drolly.
“You don’t sound like you got your heart broken, but you tried to use that experience to keep me at arm’s length. What made you think I was like him? No, you thought I was like him before that even happened. So he just proved to you that all men are faithless? Is that it?”
Every word, every accurate guess, made her feel like shit. She’d judged him unfairly. “Yeah, I know I’m an idiot,” she said softly, watched him quirk one eyebrow then give her a slow, sexy smile.
“You’ve come to your senses, then?”
“I’m working on it.”
“Thank god,” he muttered, standing and reaching for her.
“What about dinner?” she asked as he pulled her close.
He bent to kiss the curve of her neck, nipped. “The grill needs to burn down a bit,” he murmured. “I have an idea what we can do while we wait.”
“You do have great ideas.”
She turned her head to find his lips while his hands slid down her back, gripped her ass, and pulled her close. His mouth opened to hers, tongue and teeth teasing. He kept the kiss slow, languorous, and slid his hands under her shirt, stroking her back before flicking the hook on her bra. Then her breasts were in his hands, his thumbs rolling over her nipples with soft pinches until she broke the kiss on a gasp.
He spun her around and nudged her towards the door, but they didn’t get far inside. She turned and he pressed her against the counter, kissed her deep and demanding this time. His hands were busy too. Before she knew it, he had her stripped, perched on the edge of a stool, and was kneeling in front of her with a wicked smile. She held her breath as his hands slid from her knees up the inside of her thighs, spread her and flicked his thumbs over her clit once, twice. He held her gaze while leaning forward slowly, so slowly, until finally his mouth was on her.
And damn, was he good. She’d been interested since they got in the golf cart, turned on since the first kiss. Desperate now. He, on the other hand, was taking his own sweet time. His breath was hot on her sex, one finger, two slowly pushing inside her. Then three, filling her, stretching her as he gently pushed in and out.
“Damn it, more, Jack. You know what I want.”
His grin was evil and his tongue flicked over her clit. “What about what I want, darlin’? I want you desperate, wild, begging.”
She panted when he sucked her clit between his teeth and bit down too tenderly to send her crashing into orgasm. “Fine, I’ll beg. Make me come, baby. Please.”
“Mmm,” he hummed against her skin, making her tremble. “Not yet. Hands behind you, Olivia. Hold on to the counter.”
Oh fuck. He was going to tease her, to torment her. If she couldn’t touch him, she couldn’t push him into hurrying up. He’d drag this out, and damn, would it be good, so she did as he ordered. His hands moved to her upper thighs and held her spread wide, while he licked, sucked, and nibbled on her clit. Sometimes hard, sometimes soft, every touch and stroke forced her higher and higher until she cried and writhed and begged. Finally, he sucked hard and thrust two fingers inside her, and she came screaming his name.
He didn’t let her come down from the high before lifting her and leaning over the stool, entering her in a smooth, long thrust. One hand held her hip and the other moved under her to press against her clit. His thrusts were slow but a little rough, as if he was losing control too. She tried to move back against him, but didn’t let her.
“Not yet,” he grunted. “You feel so fucking good, Olivia. Slick and clenching on me. I want it to last forever. “
He knew just how to drive her crazy, to make her plead, and he did it. He froze deep inside her, squeezed her clit and tugged, then pressed it in circles before squeezing again. She straightened to press her back against his chest and palmed her breasts, pinching her nipples in rhythm to match his teasing fingers. He groaned.
“Not fair, darlin’. How can I keep this up with you playing with yourself like that?”
She heard the huskiness in her laugh. “Maybe it’s my turn to torment you a little.”
He took his fingers off her sex so he could push her back down, leaned over her and whispered. “You do that while I do this.”
He moved, hard and fast and unrelenting. He claimed her down to her soul, and she fought against her instinct to open herself completely. She was starting to believe he was her man, that he would stick around no matter what happened, but she wasn’t all the way there yet and she had to be careful not to bond with him too soon. Then his fingers were on her clit again and she forgot how to think. There was nothing controlled about him now. He moved in her, hitting her G-spot with each perfect stroke, and in seconds another orgasm exploded through her. She flew apart, shook and squeezed her eyes shut until she saw stars.
His thrusts grew almost frenzied and ended with a cry muffled in her shoulder, shaking against her. It was a long time before he pulled free of her with a low groan, wrapping his arms around her when she stumbled. After they regained their breath, he released her carefully.
“You okay?”
“Oh yeah, but now I’m starving.”
He chuckled softly as he stepped back and tapped her ass. He grabbed his clothes, which she hadn’t even noticed him removing, and went towards the downstairs bathroom.
“I’ll meet you on the deck. If I join you in the shower, we’ll have to start dinner all over again.”
“That’s a bad thing?” But her stomach grumbled, reminding them both lunch had been a long time ago. He grinned.
“You need energy for what I have planned for you, darlin’.”
Anticipation filled her, and she hurried to meet him outside. It promised to be a long, sensual weekend, and she planned to enjoy every second of it.
