From the corner of her eye, Nickie caught a glimpse of her brother stalking from the bar at the far edge of the great room and of Jase who stayed rooted there, looking her way. His square-cut jaw was tense and his lips were in a firm line. Dimple-less. His gaze was so . . . intense.
A second later, Jase was marching in her direction, purpose in every long and powerful stride.
He was clearly a man on a mission and her heart sped up at the thought that she might be his intended target.
“You must be very proud of your brother,” said the older gentleman across from her. He was a business associate of her father's and she forced her attention back to him, smiled and nodded.
“We are proud of him and I know Dad is very excited that Tommy will be joining him in the family business.”
“He's going for an MBA, isn't he?” the man's wife asked just as Jase reached them.
“Yes, yes he is,” she said, but stumbled with her next words as Jase laid a possessive hand at the small of her back. “H-h-a-ave you met Lieutenant Hart? He's an old family friend.”
“Thank you for your service, Lieutenant Hart,” the man said and Jason dipped his head gratefully.
“Thank you, sir. I hope you don't mind if I steal Nicole away for a little bit.”
Before she could protest, he exerted gentle pressure at her back and urged her away from the couple and toward the French doors leading outside.
“What do you think you're doing?” she hissed beneath her breath and plastered a smile on her face, trying not to attract too much attention as he hurried them out the doors and to the large flagstone terrace that ran along the back of the house.
It was a beautiful early summer night and many of their guests were gathered outside to enjoy the weather. Various tables and chairs had been laid out on the terrace and at the far end, a second bar had been set up to serve drinks to the party-goers. Luckily most people were gathered in that area as Jase led them toward the edge of the terrace.
“You and I need to talk,” he said and urged her to the lawn beyond the flagstone, but she dug in her three inch heels and skidded to a stop.
He faced her, a determined look on his features. He shifted his hand to her waist and held her possessively. His touch punched the air from her lungs and awakened sharp need as she imagined him urging her closer and closer until . . .
“What do you think you're doing?” she repeated to stop those too sexy thoughts.
He glanced all around the terrace and his lips thinned into a grim line again. He leaned near and whispered in her ear, “Not here, Nickie. Please come with me somewhere private.”
He moved his hand away from her waist and slipped it into hers, twining his fingers with hers as if afraid she'd pull away. He tugged gently, prodding her to follow him as he turned and strode toward the beachfront.
It was crazy to go, she thought, but it was just as crazy not to explore where this night might take them.
* * *
Jase breathed a sigh of relief as Nickie relented and followed him down the steps of the terrace and onto the lawn. He waited for her as she slipped off her incredibly high crimson-colored heels and they hurried from the lush manicured lawn to the wooden boardwalk that took them through the protective shelter of the dunes and down to the beach.
There wasn't a soul along the sand and for that he was eternally grateful.
As they walked down the stairs at the end of the boardwalk and back around beneath it, he grabbed her shoes and placed them on the edge of the wooden boards along with his hat.
“What's up, Jase? Why did you almost drag me out of the party?” she asked and leaned against one of the thick pilings for the boardwalk.
He braced his forearm just above her head on the support and shifted until her warm breath spilled against his face. She smelled of something flowery and of Nicole and he inhaled deeply to memorize that aroma.
With his free hand, he brushed away a windblown lock of her hair and then skimmed his fingers down her smooth cheek. She trembled beneath his touch and he hardened as he imagined how smooth the rest of her skin would be and how she would shiver against him while they made love.
“I want you, Nickie.”
Her eyes widened in surprise and the words rushed from her. “Hell no. I don't believe you.”
“Believe it, Nickie. I’ve wanted you for a long time,” he said and moved ever closer until his body was pressed to hers.
At that touch, she sucked in a shaky breath and closed her eyes. In a husky voice she said, “Don't play with me, Jase.”
He chuckled and her eyes snapped open to meet his gaze. “Babe, I am so not playing with you. At least not yet,” he said and dropped his hand to trace the rounded swells of her breasts visible above the bodice of her killer dress. It was the kind of dress that invited him to touch and to see. The fabric was fine enough that even in the dusky night, the pebbled tips of her nipples were visible.
“There's no sense in starting this. You're leaving tomorrow.” She dragged in another irregular breath as he continued his caress across the sensitive skin beneath his fingers. Despite her words, as her gaze locked with his, he detected her hesitation, but also her need.
He decided to press on with his campaign to convince her that the two of them together was a good idea.
“Does everything have to be sensible with you, Nickie? Can't you just let go? Even if only for this one night? It would be good between us. I promise.” To prove his point, he dipped his hand down and cupped her breast. He tweaked the tight tip between his thumb and forefinger as he pressed his body to hers and nuzzled the side of her face.
“Jase,” she said on a long exhalation, but didn't move away.
His cock jumped to attention at the sound of his name on her lips. He lazily rubbed his erection across her belly and whispered into her ear, “I love the way you say my name, Nickie. Say it again. Please.”
“Jase, this is crazy,” she said, but she cupped his head with one hand and stroked her fingers across the short buzz of hair. She wrapped her other arm around his waist and dug her fingers into the fabric of his uniform.
“What's crazy is how long it's taken for this to happen,” he said and trailed a line of kisses down her neck and across the tops of her breasts, but it wasn't enough. Not after so long.
He eased the fabric of the strapless dress down to expose her breasts and cradled them in his hands. Tenderly he teased the taut points of her nipples as he met her darkened gaze. Her hazel eyes were nearly chocolate brown with desire and she licked her lips and shot a quick glance down at his hands.
“Jase – ”
“Tell me what you want, Nickie. I'll do whatever you ask . . . except stopping, that is,” he teased and smiled.
* * *
Damn that boyish grin that was always my undoing, Nickie thought barely a second before she said, “Kiss me there, Jase. Please kiss me there.”
With a rough groan, he dipped his head and dropped a quick kiss on the tip of each breast before alternately sucking and caressing her nipples with his mouth. Each wet tug sent a corresponding pull to between her legs where her clit pulsed and pleaded for more. She was already wet for him and every suck or bite or lick brought another wave of dampness between her thighs.
Her body shook as she held him to her and urged him on with soft cries until the sound of someone coming down the boardwalk made him pause.
He met her gaze, but instead of stopping, he inched his hand beneath the hem of her dress and continued upward, dancing his fingers along the sensitive inner skin of her thighs. When he reached her panties, he dipped his fingers inside and found the swollen bundle of nerves at her center.
“Jase,” she whispered urgently and grabbed hold of his wrist as from a few feet away on the boardwalk came the murmured conversation of others.
“They can't see us. Or hear us if you're quiet. Can you be quiet, Nickie?” he asked and stroked a finger across her responsive nub, dragging a strangled moan from her.
“Or are you a screamer?” he continued and kept up his caresses, drawing her ever closer to a release.
Nickie grabbed hold of his shoulders because she needed something to keep her upright. Each shift of his fingers raised her higher and higher and weakened her knees. Her heart pounded with both excitement from his touch and fear at the thought of being discovered by whoever was still nearby on the boardwalk above them.
“Jase, please,” she keened in a whisper and shot a worried look above them as the footsteps came ever closer.
He whispered against her ear, “Come for me, Nickie.” He pressed against her clit and slipped a finger inside her. Stroked her urgently as he bent his head and suckled her breasts. Gently teethed the hard tips and tugged on them.
Oh God, she thought, biting her lower lip to keep from crying out as he stroked and enticed with his lips and fingers. As the juices of her release spilled over his hand and down her thighs, she wanted to scream and rip off her clothes and his and fuck him right there and then on the sand like she had in her fantasy. Even if there was someone right there watching.
From above them came another footstep and then a laugh, chilling her passion for only the short moment it took for whoever it was to head back up the boardwalk toward the house.
“They're gone, Nickie. Come for me, babe. Scream if you want,” he said and shoved a second finger into her while pressing his thumb against her clit and circling it possessively.
“God, Jase. I want you inside me.” She reached down and covered the long hard ridge of his erection with her hand. He groaned and laid his forehead against hers.
“Later, Nickie. I promise. Right now is all about you,” he said and kissed her, his mouth warm and mobile against her lips. Coaxing her mouth open as he stroked her and slipped his tongue past her lips to taste her.
She held onto his shoulders and bucked her hips against his hand, reaching for her climax. Loving the taste and feel of his mouth against hers and his hands on her breasts and inside her. As she moved for him, the tips of her breasts rubbed against the fabric of his uniform, making them ever more sensitized and alive.
God, so alive. So damn incredible, she thought and closed her eyes, giving herself over to the sensations he was creating in her. Sensations like nothing she had ever experienced before with anyone else.
But then again, no one, anywhere, was like Jase.
“That's it, Nickie. I can feel it coming,” he whispered against the shell of her ear before he bent his head to suck a spot near the crook of her shoulder.
She could feel it, too. Building inside her, higher and higher. Sending shock waves throughout her body until with one rough pull of his mouth against her skin and a sharp bite, she came.
Her body shook and trembled against his and she keened his name over and over as she shoved her hips against his hand.
“I'm here, Nickie. I'm not going anywhere,” he said as he held her and gentled his caresses, letting her ease back from her release. His kisses tender and less demanding, although she knew he still wanted more.
But she wanted it, too. Her earlier hesitation about what to do with Jase was totally gone, burned away by the fire he had ignited inside her. She wanted him and if this night was to be the only night they had, she intended to make it memorable.