by Maggie Cole
“Is that right? Been dreaming a long time about that one?”
“Something like that.” He kissed the top of my head and gave me his dimpled grin.
* * *
Jack
How dare he touch her. My stomach flipped when I saw him and my anger started to bubble when he sat next to Maddie. Then he touched her.
I wanted to kill him, but I knew I couldn’t make things worse for the investigation. The last thing I needed to do was make anything harder or last longer. We were a year into it and I needed it to be over.
It took all my strength not to kill him when he touched her.
I lied to her. The truth was too gruesome and shameful. Maddie could not ever find out. She would surely realize I was not worthy of her and that would be it.
My blood boiled, but Maddie wouldn’t let Jim’s out-of-line actions ruin our night. She surprised me once again, when she wanted to have sex on the rooftop bar. I seriously didn’t know where this girl came from, but I was officially the luckiest guy in the world.
Maddie shocked me with her openness to the sex club and threesomes conversation. I assumed she would have judged me, but she didn't. Instead, she teased me about being a prude, and that made me think of more things I would do to show her I wasn't. And while she was innocent, she was adventurous, inside and outside the bedroom, and that turned me on more.
It wasn’t only the mind-blowing sex. Maddie was so much more than someone to fool around with. After we ate a little bit more food, we walked the beach. It was dark and the beach was empty. The moonlight was over the ocean, and lit our path, as the waves crashed at our feet.
We walked on the wet sand, strolled hand in hand, and talked about all sorts of things. Maddie’s childhood in California, mine in New York, her career, my career, and what she loved so far about New York.
“You are going to stay in New York, right?” It dawned on me, now that she broke up with her ex, maybe she would want to move back.
“Yes. I really like my job and New York is exciting.”
A wave of relief hit me. Most of my travels kept me on the East Coast, so if she moved back, that would make it more difficult to see her.
“What do you find exciting?”
She shrugged her shoulders and laughed, “I think it’s the energy!” She twirled around so fast the skirt on her dress swirled up, and she eventually fell into my arms.
She was carefree, the opposite of me, and I felt calm around her. I leaned into her, and devoured her mouth. My arms were around her, one hand cupped her butt, and the other hand pulled her head into me.
“I want to see you when I get back to New York,” I told her when I pulled out of the kiss.
“I thought you were going to show me around neighborhoods?”
“I will. I mean take you out.”
“You better. I did after all, fulfill your rooftop sex fantasy.” She took off running, as I chased after her.
8
Maddie
I woke up to the sound of the waves crashing, opened my eyes, and saw Jack standing naked on our balcony. I walked over to him, and put my arms around his waist. “Penny for your thoughts?”
Jack stretched his arms behind me and cupped my butt cheeks before he turned around and kissed me. “Morning, Gorgeous. Did you sleep well?”
I laughed. “Pretty much think you thoroughly exhausted me last night.”
“Sorry, but not sorry.” Jack winked.
“Not complaining! What were you lost in thought about out here?”
“Nothing,” but I wasn’t convinced.
“Do you feel guilty about not working?”
“Maddie, I have a girl I’m crazy about naked in my arms, and a perfect day of sun, sea, and sand in front of me. I absolutely don’t give a fuck about work today.”
“So you’re crazy about me, huh?”
Jack’s face was serious. “One-hundred-percent full-blown crazy.”
I gazed into his serious eyes and wondered again if he was real or only a vacation fantasy playing out? Would Jack Stevens actually exist outside of this trip?
He leaned in and kissed me. A passionate kiss that made me believe that he wanted more than a vacation fling.
“You’re so freaking hot.” I didn’t realize I said it out loud.
Jack laughed and my face burned red. “Let’s shower, get our suits on, then go grab some breakfast and hit the beach.”
I gave Jack a sly smile. “I do deserve to be scrubbed down after last night’s activities.”
A naughty grin consumed Jacks face. “Well, let’s not miss an inch then.”
An hour and a half later, we finally left our room after some pretty intense shower games. We found the beachside cafe and ordered coffee and breakfast.
“This place is beautiful.” I glanced around and took it all in. The waves crashed gently against the shore and the sand was pure white.
“Crazy, all the times I’ve been in Tampa and I’ve not been here before.” Jack looked around absentmindedly.
“So Tampa isn’t a one-off thing? You’re here a lot?”
“Enough.” Jack shrugged his shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal.
“Do you travel all the time?”
Jack thought a minute and put his hand over mine, his fingers trailed over my hand. “Yes. But I don’t have to be gone as much as I am.”
I didn’t say anything for a minute. The gravity of his words hit me. He was telling me that he would change his schedule to be with me more. “That won’t hurt your business?”
“No. I can rearrange my schedule to be tighter when I travel.”
Something occurred to me. “Do you intentionally stay away from New York?”
Jack shrugged his shoulders.
“Why do you stay away?” I wanted to know.
But Jack wouldn’t tell me. He shrugged again.
“Jack—”
“Maddie, I’m telling you that I can be in New York more, to be with you, because I want to. Can you give me some credit and leave it at that?”
I backed off, not sure why Jack wouldn’t tell me why he stayed away, but I wasn’t going to push any further. Hopefully, one day, he would tell me.
"Okay.”
Jack put his hand back on mine. “Hey, I’m sorry if that came out mean.”
I put a smile on my face. I didn’t want to spoil our day. “It wasn’t. All’s good.”
Jack picked up my hand and kissed it. "Okay, delicious girl. Let’s get on the beach, shall we?”
We were soon in lounge chairs, under an umbrella. Jack eagerly rubbed sunscreen all over my body.
“I see your perv self is back.”
He raised his eyebrows at me though his sunglasses. “You thought it left?”
I giggled.
The rest of the day we spent doing fun beach activities. We rode on jet skis, swam and made out in the ocean, snorkeled, and took advantage of the hotel’s Hobie cat sailboat.
When we set off to go back to Tampa, the sun was setting. Jack opened the car door for me, but instead of getting in, I turned around and wrapped my arms around him. “This was the best date ever. Thank you.” I gave him a long kiss.
His dimples popped out as he grinned. “You can thank me later tonight when we get back.”
I licked my lips. “What do you want?”
He winked at me. “Whatever you want to give me.”
“Aren’t you easy?”
“Yep.” He kissed me again.
We drove back mostly in silence, tired from our sunny day, happy, and content. The time we spent together was fun and easy. I thought of all my wasted years with Mike, when I worried about where he was, if he would show up, and who he was with.
Jack was refreshing. While he kept telling me that he wanted to see me back in New York, I decided right then and there that if this was only meant to be a vacation fling, then I would still savor it as a gift. Jack Stevens brought me back to life, and for that, I would always be grateful.
“I am. You put this smile on my face.”
Jack grinned like a schoolboy. “Good. Is it better than getting your luggage in the middle of the night? Because I liked that reward...”
I swatted him playfully.
We sat the rest of the car ride in a happy and content silence. It was pitch black when we pulled up to the hotel.
“Mr. Stevens. Ms. Burns. Welcome back.” The valet greeted us when we pulled up.
Quickly, we got to the penthouse and when we entered the room, I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I grabbed one of Jack’s t-shirts, threw it on, and crawled into bed. I was exhausted and must have fallen asleep, when Jack was in the bathroom.
In the middle of the night, I woke up when I heard the phone ring. It took me a minute to realize the buzz was my phone.
I jumped out of bed and found it on the charger in the kitchen. Without looking at the screen, I answered it.
“Hello?” My voice cracked, and I tried to stay quiet so that Jack wouldn’t wake up.
“Maddie, where have you been?” Mike accused me.
Irritated, I replied, “Seriously, Mike. It’s the middle of the night. Why are you calling me?”
“Maddie, where the fuck are you?”
“None of your business. My life is no longer your concern.”
“This game of yours is over, Madelin. Get your ass back home now.”
“I’m not playing a game. We’re done.” I forgot about Jack in the other bedroom, as my voice rose with anger, and my face heated up in flames.
Mike hissed. “What about all your stuff? It seems we aren’t quite done yet, Maddie.”
Panic filled my chest. “Mike, leave my shit alone. As soon as I find a place, I’ll remove it. I gave you six years, you can give me a few weeks.”
Mike laughed.
“I’m hanging up now. Don’t call me again.” I hung up, threw my phone on the counter, and brought my shaking hands to my face.
Suddenly, I felt Jack’s arms around me. “Hey, what’s going on?”
I leaned back into him and sighed. “I think Mike might destroy all my stuff before I get back. He’s pissed I broke up with him.”
“What a dickhead.”
“Yup.”
Jack turned me around. “Listen, I own a moving company and a storage facility. Why don’t we send them over the day you get back? He probably won’t do anything; he only wants control again.”
“Jack, that’s very sweet of you, but this is my problem. I don’t want to involve you in it.”
“Maddie, don’t be silly. Just say thank you and let me handle it, please?” Jack pleaded.
I thought about it. I didn’t want Jack to have to fight my battles, but I was in a bad situation, and I knew it. The Mike I met six years ago was nowhere to be seen, and I disliked the person he had become. I really didn’t know what he would do. I finally agreed. “Thank you.”
“Good. What day do you leave for New York?”
“Thursday.”
"You want to stay until Friday and leave with me? Tom’s coming in for a meeting Friday morning, and we are going back on his jet around eleven a.m.”
I froze. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to share Jack and me with others yet. Everything was so new and I needed to figure out my own personal shit. I hadn’t even told anyone at work about my breakup. Plus, we had only known each other for a few days. What if he woke up tomorrow and decided this was a vacation fling?
“Sorry, did I say the wrong thing?” Jack’s worry spread throughout his face.
“Come sit with me.” I grabbed his hand and led him over to the couch.
A confused Jack glanced nervously at me. I sat on his lap and put my arms around his neck. “I don’t want you to take any of this the wrong way.”
"Okay…”
“You are the sweetest, kindest person I have met in maybe forever.” I stroked his cheek, leaned in, and kissed him.
He pulled away after a bit. “But...”
“I haven’t told anyone except you about my breakup with Mike and—”
Jack cut me off. “Because you weren’t sure if you really wanted it to be over.”
I grabbed his face in my hands. “No! That is not it at all.”
Jack released a big puff of air. "Why didn’t you then?”
I closed my eyes and focused on my lap. “I felt like I failed. The longer I’m away, I see that I stayed in that shitty, almost sexless, emotionally abusive relationship because I didn’t want to fail. I believed him when he said I wasn’t good enough. I held onto the Mike I first met, not the Mike he had become. I just couldn’t tell anyone yet. It was too fresh, too raw, too scary, when I didn’t even know what my next steps were to find a place, move, and all of that.” There. I admitted out loud all the things I hadn’t even wanted to admit to myself.
Jack picked up my chin. “I’m so sorry you went through that. You deserve better.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding in. “I know that now.”
Jack started to speak and then stopped.
I waited.
“Maddie, tell me you want to keep seeing me when we leave here and go back to New York.” The vulnerability in his voice shot through my heart.
“You really do want this to be more than a vacation fling?”
Jerking his head back, “Have I given you any reason to think otherwise?”
“No, but I don’t want to assume anything or make you feel like you’re obligated to give me more.”
“Maddie, I don’t feel obligated. I want to see where this goes and I mean it. I want more with you. But is that what you want? A vacation fling?”
I smiled at him. My insides did a happy dance, and I was surprised how much I wanted to hear that. “No, Jack, I don’t want a vacation fling.”
“Please, tell me you want to keep seeing me when we get back to New York,” he repeated.
I ran my hand through his hair. “Jack, I want to keep seeing you. But I don’t think I can get on a plane with Tom and explain my breakup and how we’ve been together this week. I haven’t even told Liv. Can we keep this between us till we get back to the city? I’m not saying I want to hide us, but can you let me tell Liv first? I feel as both my friend and employer, I need to do that. I’ll do it first thing Monday or maybe over the weekend.”
Relief flooded Jack’s face. "I can do that. But that means I have to spend a night here on my own.” He gave me a pout and a tickle.
“What will you and your gigantic dick do?”
“You think my dick is gigantic, huh?” He gave me a cocky smirk.
I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"What time do you land in New York?”
“I have an early flight out and I go direct. I think around ten a.m.”
Jack thought. “Why don’t I have the movers at Mike’s by two. Will that give you enough wiggle room?”
"Yes. Thank you again. That’s very generous of you.”
“Pack up anything you need on a day-to-day basis and your clothes. I’ll give you my key and the movers can take it to my place. Stay as long as you need. The rest, put in storage.”
My eyes widened, “Jack, that’s very sweet but I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” he frowned.
“I want to be with you, so I don’t want you to question that, okay?”
“All right…”
“You’ve been on your own. I haven’t in six years, and even before, I always had a roommate. I need to do this for me.”
Jack exhaled. "I get that, but stay at my place when you get back, and this weekend I’ll take you around neighborhoods. I’ll help you find a place like we discussed. It’s only temporary, Maddie.”
It made sense, but I didn’t want to risk messing anything up between Jack and me. “Don’t you think that might be bad for us?”
“You in my bed ev
ery night? Nope.”
I swatted him. “I’m serious. I don’t want my messy baggage in the way of what this might become. I really like you, Jack.”
“I really like you too, Maddie. This won’t mess anything up. Just think about it.”
Fair enough. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good. Now you fell asleep last night, so I think I need to punish you a bit. You left me with a hard on.” Jack gave me his full-dimple smile.
I laughed. “Hmmm...what’s my punishment then?”
Jack mischievously ordered me, “Get that t-shirt off, stand in front of the balcony door, and I’ll be right back.”
I looked at him in question.
“Do it,” he commanded.
I gave him a little salute and wondered what he had up his sleeve.
I stood naked in front of the balcony door and waited for Jack, my curiosity in full bloom. My juices began to flow with the anticipation of whatever new skill Jack was going to show me. The air conditioning made my nipples stand erect, and goosebumps started to form on my skin.
Jack finally came out of the bedroom with a bunch of ties slung over his shoulder, and he carried the bench that was at the end of our bed.
A tiny smile played on my face. I wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but I realized I was about to find out.
“Step aside for a minute, Maddie.”
I did as Jack instructed, and he set the bench in front of the glass. Then, he looped two ties over the curtain rod. He took my hand and instructed me to step up on the bench and face him.
I stepped up, and he tied one tie around each of my hands and put another tie over my eyes. The ties were made of silk and felt soft around my bare skin. My arms were stretched out with little ability to move.
Suddenly, Jack seized my legs and spread them apart. I felt the silkiness of the ties around my ankles.
If this was a punishment then I needed to get in trouble more often. This was hot and he hadn’t even touched me yet. I could feel my body start to bubble.
I couldn’t see anything but suddenly felt Jacks lips on mine. I leaned forward to take in more of him, but he backed off. “Ever been tied up before, Maddie?”
I shook my head.