Trailing her fingers around his neck, she stroked the sensitive skin behind his ears. His eyes slid closed against the sensual pressure she was exerting. She shifted her attention to the bunched muscles in his neck and giggled softly at his moans when she stopped touching him.
Once his eyes opened again, she reached up and pulled the band from her hair. She gently combed the thick strands around her face before pushing Jackson to lie on his back.
“I was trying to be the good guy here.”
“Don’t be,” she whispered. She licked her lips slowly and Jackson cursed softly. “So, we’re in agreement?”
“Hell yeah. I’ve got a lot to work out of my system where you’re concerned.” His hands came up and found her breasts through the tee shirt she’d borrowed. “Damn, girl. My shirt never looked this good on me.”
“It’ll look even better once I take it off.” She yanked it over her head and let it drift to the floor next to the bed.
The thin cotton panties she wore couldn’t conceal the wet heat between her legs as she leaned over him, tendrils of her hair trailing over his chest and stomach.
Despite her protests, he flipped her onto her back and covered her body with his before she could move. He grabbed her hands and held them over her head. Ridley tried to free herself, but found she had no strength to struggle. The force of his arms holding her down was strangely thrilling and she savored the feeling of his thick body pressing her into the mattress.
Jackson would never hurt her and her trust in him made her feel safe despite her captivity.
Then he licked a path from her neck down to her shoulder. She squirmed beneath him as he gently laved a nipple before kissing each of her ribs. He licked into the dip of her belly button and then glanced up at her before moving lower.
“If you only knew the things I want to do to you,” he breathed against her thigh.
Is he? Oh, yes he is, she thought breathlessly, right before he bit her lower belly.
She cried out when he licked her through the soft silk at her core, the heat of his tongue penetrating through the fabric.
“Open for me, baby girl. That’s it.” He growled his approval when her legs fell open and then he moved forward, his whole body crowding into the space between them. He kissed her like he was kissing her mouth, like he couldn’t get enough. He held her thighs open, not letting her close them.
“Jackson.” She shuddered beneath him as he tongued the material until it clung to her skin. He looked up at her, his eyes even darker, glazed over with lust.
Then he hooked a finger in her panties and edged them to the side. He held her gaze as he leaned back down, his mouth meeting her skin to skin for the first time.
“Oh my god.” She grabbed the sheets, twisting them until her fingers felt like they’d break. Perspiration broke out over her skin as he did something with his teeth that sent her flying. Colors exploded behind her eyelids as she came under his mouth, her flesh contracting against his lips.
She clamped a hand over her mouth as sensations raced over every inch of her skin. He kept at it, licking deeper until she felt herself climbing again.
“Jackson, please!”
Her cries seemed to incite him, drive him harder as he pulled her between his lips over and over. She pushed backward with her hands, instinctively trying to escape from the overwhelming sensations, but he wouldn’t let her. Her breaths came faster and faster as he gripped her thighs and forced her to take it. Forced her to take the pleasure until she came for him again.
Tears slid down her cheeks as she shivered under him. The wave of ecstasy finally crested and she was left panting in its wake. Once she was aware of herself again, she looked down to see him watching her. She turned her face against her arm, suddenly embarrassed.
“Don’t get shy on me now,” he teased. He gently pried the tangled sheet from her fists and then yanked it from the bed.
She let out a startled laugh. “Sorry about that. I didn’t rip it, did I?”
He gave her a slow, sexy smile.
“Not yet.”
***
Jackson could barely hear his own thoughts over the sound of his blood rushing. Ridley lay sprawled on the bed, her lush naked breasts taunting him as he tried to remember what he needed to do. He’d just had the thought but lost it every time he looked at her.
“I have to cover you up. I can’t think when you look like that.”
He put her shirt back on before he wrapped her in the sheet. As crazy as she made him, he knew he needed to take her back to his bed. They were too close to his sons’ room and he didn’t have any protection with him.
He picked her up and cradled her against his chest. He paused at the door to the guest room and listened before he stepped out into the hall. It was quiet, so he carried her down the hall to his room. After he settled her on his bed, he walked back to the door and locked it.
When he turned around and looked at her, she bit her lip and pulled the sheet up higher.
“Oh, you won’t be needing that again for a few hours.”
“Hours?” she squeaked.
He grinned and pulled open the top drawer of his dresser. There was an entire box of condoms in the corner.
Shit, how long have these been in here?
He flipped it over to check the expiration date and almost cheered. He pulled out a strip of six and carried it to the night table next to the bed. Ridley watched him with wide eyes.
“Don’t worry; I’ve got more if we need them.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh, I see. Someone’s pretty confident.” Her eyes held a hint of a challenge as she kneeled on the bed in front of him.
“Shouldn’t I be? Or perhaps I haven’t convinced you I’m worth your time yet?”
He climbed on the bed next to her and buried his face in her neck. The skin there was so delicate and soft and she smelled so damn good. His soft bites drew a strangled cry from her throat.
“I can’t wait to be inside you.” He put both hands under her shoulders and pulled her against him for a deep, punishing kiss, his hips rocking his erection against her core. “If I only get one night, I have to know what it feels like. Just the thought of you squeezing me so hard while you’re screaming my name—”
“Jackson.” She moaned beneath him, her hands tightening on his shoulders so hard that her nails bit into his skin.
“Damn, hold on, baby.”
It took a little maneuvering to remove his sweatpants without being separated from her soft body for too long. He reached over to the nightstand and pulled a packet off the strip. He ripped the foil open and was just about to roll the condom on when she propped herself up on one elbow and placed a hand on his arm to stop him.
“Wait, I just want…” She pushed him onto his back. “…to taste you, too.”
He stopped breathing at the first touch of her moist lips against his shaft.
“Oh, shit.” His fingers fisted in her long locks when she suddenly took the tip into her mouth and swirled her tongue over the head. Her long lashes settled against her cheeks as she lapped at him, her little pink tongue curling around the base before she worked her way back up. When she finally pulled back to trace the tip of her finger around the tip, her full lips looked slightly swollen.
Just the sight made him feel like a caveman.
He was a patient man but there was only so much he could take, and if she didn’t stop teasing him, it would be over before it began. He wanted their first time together to be amazing. And this time there would be no interruptions.
He pushed her back on the bed, unable to think of anything other than getting inside her. He rolled the protection down over his shaft and lay in the cradle of her thighs. She sighed as their naked flesh met and clung.
“You feel so good,” she whispered. She wrapped her long legs around his waist.
He rocked his hips, sliding inside her in one thick thrust.
He threw his head back, the tight grip of her body almost too m
uch. He pulled out and then thrust again, grinding himself into the soft heat between her legs. She sighed and arched up against him. The movement pushed her breasts against his chest.
He sucked in his breath at the sight of her perfect, toffee-colored breasts. Her dusky nipples looked like Hershey’s Kisses against the caramel of her skin.
“So pretty and perfect. And so responsive.” Her unique aroma wrapped around him as he pressed his face between her breasts. He wanted to roll himself in the sweet scent until it clung to his skin.
He teased the tip of one nipple with his finger before he took it into his mouth and sucked it deep. She cried out as he rolled it between his lips, drawing the tip between his teeth lightly. He played with it as he moved inside her, his thrusts coming faster and harder until they ended up diagonal on the mattress with her head hanging over the edge.
“Oh, you’re going to make me come again,” she panted, her words almost incoherent as he rode her with long, thick thrusts that had her full breasts bouncing against his mouth.
Moisture flooded her core and he groaned. She was so wet, so hot.
“Come for me.” He turned his face and muttered the words against her open mouth. He had to see her face when she came. He needed it. “Come for me again. Let me see how much you want it.”
Then her back bowed and her inner muscles clamped down around him. Her eyes flew open and he saw it, the moment she lost control of herself.
“Oh God, I can’t,” she wailed before her hands tightened in his hair.
They both cried out at the exquisite sensation as he pistoned back and forth through her rapidly clenching muscles. As her inner walls trembled around him, he couldn’t hold back any more and just let go.
Moments later, as he lay panting in the cradle of her arms, he looked at her in amazement. He’d expected it to be good. He’d even expected it to be better than anything he’d ever felt before.
What he hadn’t expected was not wanting it to ever end.
Chapter Eleven
WHIRRRRRRRR.
Ridley flopped over in bed, pulling the pillow over her head. She was so cozy and warm. She could just stay in this bed forever, especially since she’d just been dreaming about the best sex of her life.
A second later, her eyes popped open as the events of the previous night rushed back. The heated talk in the hall. Going to bed alone. Waking up from her nightmare in Jackson’s arms. She turned and looked at the space next to her.
Empty.
Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.
The man had done things to her body that she’d only read about in books. He’d touched her in places and licked her in places that she couldn’t even think about without blushing.
She dropped her head back down on the pillow as heat rushed from her head to her toes.
If she’d wanted to know what all her girlfriends had whispered about in college, what had made them do the crazy things they did for their boyfriends, she’d definitely gotten her wish. A man who could make you feel like that at night could get away with pretty much anything in the daylight.
What had she been thinking? Had she really believed that they could have sex and then pretend like it hadn’t happened?
WHIRRRRRRRR.
Ridley pushed the pillow off her head violently and it fell over the side of the bed. “Ugh. What is that noise?”
The morning sunlight coming through the sheer white curtains in her room was almost blinding. She blinked against the light and groped the night table until her hand hit her cell phone. She lifted her head just enough to see the time.
“It’s only seven thirty. Who’s making this much noise at seven thirty?” Her head dropped down to the bare mattress and she took a deep breath.
WHIRRRRRRRR.
“That’s it.” She sat up and pushed the heavy comforter and silky-soft sheets back. It almost pained her to do it. Jackson had carried her back to her room in the middle of the night and she’d been in the most restful sleep ever since then.
Before being awakened at the unseemly hour of seven thirty a.m., that is.
She marched down the stairs, still wearing Jackson’s shirt and her terry-cloth shorts. Her bare feet barely made any noise on the carpeted stairs. Once she reached the bottom she looked both ways. Nothing seemed amiss. The family room looked undisturbed. The only thing that was different was the can of unopened paint next to the front door.
“Who’s painting at this hour?”
WHIRRRRRRRR.
She jumped, the noise so much louder now that she was downstairs. It had come from behind her, so she spun on her heel and went into the formal living room. It was done all in white with accents of Wedgwood blue. It didn’t look like Jackson’s style at all, but now that she saw how snooty his ex-girlfriend was, she had to wonder if this room reflected her taste.
She bent to look out the window. Matt was kneeling in the front yard next to something that looked like a big piece of white cardboard. A cloud of white dust flew around him. A second later, the noise started again.
WHIRRRRRRRR.
Ridley shook her head. She’d heard Matt when he said he would fix the hole in the wall, but she hadn’t thought he’d come over at the butt-crack of dawn to do it. Just when she was about to pull the window up and tell him what she thought of his timing, he stood and pulled his shirt up to wipe his face, exposing a perfect six-pack.
“Wow.”
“I’ll let him know you think so.”
Ridley turned slowly to face Jackson. “Oh, um, hi. I came downstairs to see what was making so much noise.”
Not to ogle your best friend’s insanely ripped abs.
Neither of them said anything for a moment and Ridley could only stare at him greedily. He looked just as good wearing slacks and a dress shirt as he had the previous night in nothing but sweatpants. And without sweatpants.
It doesn’t count, remember?
She was the one who’d come up with the stupid idea to keep their sex-a-thon to just one night, but she was already wishing she’d kept her big mouth shut. How was she supposed to pretend she didn’t know what he looked like under his clothes? That his skin was smooth and warm and felt like wet silk under her tongue. She shivered and crossed her arms.
Just then the door opened and Matt stepped in carrying a piece of the white cardboard. Jackson rushed over to help him.
“I needed to replace more than I thought,” Matt said. When he saw Ridley, he raised his chin in greeting. “Morning. Sorry for all the noise. I didn’t even think about it since Jackson sleeps like the dead.”
“Well, I won’t deny I was ready to give you a piece of my mind when that sawing noise woke me up. What were you doing, anyway?”
Jackson pointed to the cardboard Matt had propped against the wall. “Since he punched out a section of the wall, he had to cut another piece of drywall to replace it. Then we’ll spackle and sand it. After that, we’ll paint over it so it all matches.”
“Oh. I was wondering if you were redecorating or something.”
“Well, it was a forced redecoration.” He smirked at Matt.
“I’ll get out of the way. I’m sure you guys have a lot of work to do.” She walked back to the stairs.
“Hey, wait.” Jackson jogged over to stand next to her. Since she was on the second stair, she was able to look him right in the eye. The perfect height so that she couldn’t avoid his whisky-brown gaze.
Geez.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay after last night.” He stepped closer until he brushed up against her. “I wish I could have kept you in my bed all night.”
Pleasure spread through her at his words. “I understand. I wouldn’t want the boys to come running in and see me there. Plus, we did say just one night.”
His eyes searched hers. “Yeah, just one night.” Then he looked away and cleared his throat. “Anyway, I hate to do this but I need a favor.”
“Of course. Whatever you need.”
“The baby-sitter my mom recom
mended is coming over this morning. Her name is Bessie Johnson. The thing is, I have an early meeting with a director about my group’s first music video that I don’t want to miss. If it was anyone else, I would cancel, but it’s not like I really need to meet her since I’ve known her for years. Would you mind letting her in?”
“Of course. After everything you’ve done for me, I’d love to be able to return the favor.”
He let out a breath. “Oh, good. I hate to ask but I really don’t want to cancel on this director. He’s our first choice and hard to pin down. So, ok. Um, Chris is old enough to pour cereal; they just need help with the milk. Once Miss Bessie arrives, she can take it from there.”
Ridley put her hands on his shoulders. “It’s going to be fine. Breathe!”
“It’s been kind of stressful. The boys’ grandmother used to watch them four days out of the week and then my mom would take them on Fridays. But now that Cynthia’s mom has moved away, I’m really struggling. It’s harder than I thought to find a childcare provider that you trust.”
“Of course it is. After all, this isn’t something you can afford to get wrong. I totally understand.”
“Thank you. Hey, you should come with me sometime. I’m working on something a little different and I’d love to get your take on it. I’m trying to branch out into pop music and I’ve found this girl group I think could be the next big thing.”
“I would love to see what you do.” Ridley hadn’t given much thought to how music was produced previously. Like most people, her impressions were mainly what she’d seen on television and in movies.
“Tomorrow, then. I’ll show you around the studio and maybe you can even watch the group record a session.”
“Okay. Now, go! You don’t want to be late. We’ll be fine here.” She pushed him toward the door.
“Thank you, Ridley. I’ll owe you one.”
Their eyes met and she gulped. Jackson might not want to start making her promises because if he owed her one, she had a pretty good idea of how to collect.
***
“Jack? Have you heard a word I’ve said?”
Jackson turned to his left and raised his eyebrows at his assistant’s scowl. “What?”
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