by Annie Seaton
Jesus, man, get a grip.
He cleared his throat and turned back to the computer. “Look, it seems like your sister doesn’t want to be found. Did you ever consider that?”
“No way. If she knew I was around, there is no way she’d hide from me.” Slowly she shook her head from side to side. “There must be something wrong, she has to be a prisoner or something.”
This bloody woman was so obtuse she was getting under his skin. His temper began to build.
Anyway that’s the only reason for wanting to grab her and shake some sense into her.
Nothing to do with the blood thudding to his groin.
“Gracie, has anyone ever told you how naive you are?” His words were harsh and he regretted them as soon as he spoke. Her eyes widened, and she stared at him without saying a word.
“Now let’s look at the rest of these photos and see how wrong you are, and then you’ll understand why I don’t want you to get on that boat.”
“Just hang on a moment. We’re going through them because I want to see why Regan disappeared and why she doesn’t want me to know she’s there.” Gracie shook her head slowly and pointed to the screen. “If she’s in trouble, Jake, I need to help her. She’s not there for any other reason you may be dreaming up.”
“Can’t you see I’m not dreaming anything up?” Jake realized Gracie still didn’t get it. She looked at him, confusion clouding her face. “Your sister has hooked up with Rodrigo Cabal.” He turned back to the screen and scrolled through the photographs until he came to one where Cabal had his arm looped around her sister’s shoulders. “And from all accounts he’s big trouble. Now look at these photos and you’ll see your sister is quite happy where she is.”
Half an hour later, feeling like a voyeur, he clicked on the mouse and stopped the show. “Have you seen enough?”
Gracie nodded without speaking before she pushed the chair back, stood, and walked to the door. Her face was pale with twin spots of color high on her cheekbones. They’d spent the whole time scrolling through photographs of her sister in Cabal’s arms, laughing up at him. In some shots he was kissing her, in others she was gazing up at him with adoration. Interspersed between the photographs of Regan and Cabal, were hundreds of photographs of other women in a variety of compromising photographs with men and other women as well as crew members Jake recognized.
No inhibitions—the zoom lens had captured every movement, every expression. The heat rose in Jake’s chest. He’d become anesthetized as he’d snapped photographs and uploaded them over the past three weeks. He’d done it with a cop’s detachment and hadn’t really given it a second thought. Sure, he’d been aroused a few mornings but he’d taken care of that in the shower.
Now, watching the procession of candid photographs with Gracie beside him, her innocence made the whole thing seem tawdry and demeaning. At least there’d been no explicit shots of her sister with Cabal. He could almost imagine he’d felt the heat coming from her face, her stiff posture screamed embarrassment.
“Is it okay if I go for a swim in the pool?”
Jake glanced up with surprise; he thought she’d gone to her room but she was still in the doorway watching him with a frown on her face. Her eyes were hooded and her mouth set in a straight line.
“Of course it is,” he replied.
The storm had passed while they had been sitting at the computer. The thunder rumbled in the distance as the storm moved out to sea and the muggy humidity of the tropical night descended again quickly.
“Do you want to swim, too?” she asked. The light from the hallway silhouetted her body and he closed his eyes, trying to fight the arousal that had been building all night.
Innocent. Babe in the woods. Let it go.
“Yeah, sure. Good idea. I’ll be out in a while.”
Jake closed down the computer and sat at the desk mulling over the…situation. He couldn’t call it a case because he wasn’t a cop. He suspected that Gracie’s sister was very much a part of whatever was going down on that boat. Too much didn’t add up. In these days, a simple text or an e-mail to her sister would have allayed her fears. When he was a cop, it was the thinking time that had solved his cases. He had a knack for it, and now he missed it like hell.
Yeah, sure you needed the facts but he’d always found thinking over them for a few days was the way to come up with the answer.
But he had a more immediate problem to deal with.
Keeping my hands off Gracie.
He smiled grimly to himself. He hoped to God she wore a neck-to-knee swimsuit in the pool but he didn’t think there’d be much chance of that. He’d swim and stay away from her, and the exercise and the cool water would get rid of this crazy need to touch her.
Leaving the room, he switched off the light and plunged the room into darkness before heading for his room to change into a pair of loose board shorts. No way was he putting on swimming trunks. The state he seemed to be in permanently since she’d been around would be a bit daunting for an innocent like her.
…
Gracie slipped into the pool and let the warm water wash over her. The gentle lapping against her bare skin did little to soothe her. Anger, agitation, and frustration warred in her chest with a good measure of desire.
He showed me the photos so I would understand why he doesn’t want me to go and chase a job on the boat tomorrow.
And what the hell is Regan playing at?
No matter what Jake thought, Gracie knew her sister was in trouble. He had no idea of their close relationship. If Regan was able to contact her, she would. There was something strange happening and she was going to get on that boat as soon as she could.
Once she saw Regan, she would play along however she wanted. If she pretended not to know her, well then, she’d go right along with it until she could get her alone and talk to her.
Jake was treating her as though she was some schoolgirl who needed protecting.
Just who did he think he was?
Well, he was about to have a lesson in being proved wrong.
Big-time.
So he thought he could sit there, oozing sexuality and she wouldn’t notice?
The last way she wanted to be treated was like some inexperienced teenager who couldn’t make her own decisions. She knew what was safe and what was dangerous. And she was about to show him she was no innocent. Anticipation curled in her stomach. She lightly brushed her fingers down her stomach and tucked her thumbs into her bikini bottoms…and waited for Jake.
The sliding door on the edge of the timber deck opened. Jake walked out and stood looking over the pool. Gracie pushed off from the side and began to swim laps but the image of him standing above her was imprinted on her mind like a photograph. White board shorts contrasted with his deeply tanned skin. Dark and dangerous with raw untamed power simmering below the surface.
His dark eyes held so many secrets but she’d discovered his mouth was the key to his feelings. Over the past day, she’d watched his lips. When he was angry, frustrated…or aroused, they tightened. When she’d slid down the front of his body this morning, it was as though his face was chiseled from stone and his lips were rock hard. But she’d felt the evidence of his arousal against her legs and her stomach as he’d lowered her to the ground.
When he’d kissed her gently in the car, his lips had been soft. She smiled to herself as she flipped over at the end of the pool and started another lap. Sympathy and comfort were not what she wanted from him. When she’d left him at the computer, his lips had been tight and his dark eyes hooded.
So he thought he was in charge and calling the shots?
Well, he was about to discover that little Miss Boring Kindergarten teacher was not as compliant as he thought.
In more ways than one.
The rush of the water caressed Gracie’s heated skin as she stroked up and down the pool. Finally out of breath, she surfaced at the deep end beneath the waterfall. She didn’t have to look up to know Jake was in the poo
l with her. The movement of the water from his steady strokes pushed against her as she tipped her head back under the cascading water.
Closing her eyes, she let the rivulets run down her face onto her neck and trickle between her breasts. She shook out her wet hair and opened her eyes. Jake leaned against the pool wall beneath the cascading water.
His eyes were still hooded and she pushed off from the side and floated across on her back until she was in front of him. The storm had blown itself out and the sky was clear; the inky darkness was awash with stars. The moonlight reflected off the heart-shaped stone in her belly button piercing and his eyes widened in surprise as her bare skin slipped against his.
“Will you trust me, Jake?”
His arms were stretched along the edge of the pool supporting him as he kicked lazily at the water, his shoulders and chest glistening in the soft moonlight. Gracie lowered her legs in the water and gripped the edge of the pool on either side of him to keep afloat. Her body pressed against the hard length of his, and he didn’t move. The water from the bubbling spa in the corner of the pool washed over the side and swirled in a current between her legs adding to the tingling sensations humming through her body.
“What do you mean?” He lifted his gaze to meet hers and she smiled at the tightness of his lips. He was barely holding himself together and the knowledge rocked her to her core.
“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.” Letting go of the side of the pool, she placed her hands on his shoulders and brushed her lips lightly over his until they relaxed under her mouth. She flicked her tongue along his lips until he opened them and let her in.
With a soft groan, he slid his hands up her arms and tangled his fingers in the wet strands of her hair as his tongue caressed her mouth. Gracie gasped as the water closed over their heads but Jake’s lips stayed firmly on hers until he pushed herself to the surface with one hard kick. She laughed as his head broke the surface next to her and he spluttered and spat out water.
“See what you do to me, woman? You almost drowned us.” His voice was a low growl, but there was a smile on his face as he pushed her gently to the ledge under the waterfall.
She shook her head and pointed to the ledge. “Sit up there.”
“Try to drown me and then boss me around? Hmm, I’m enjoying this swim more every minute.” The muscles in Jake’s shoulders bulged as he pushed himself out of the pool and turned around to face her in one swift movement. His legs dangled in the water in front of her and he leaned back, supporting himself on his arms as he watched her intently.
It was like their own hidden grotto, the wall of steadily flowing water locking them away from the outside world. Soft-colored lights lit the water from behind and a wide bench ran along the back wall of the space. Gracie gave in to the moment and pushed all the worries from her mind—allowing the exquisite sensations flowing through her body to guide her movements. She lay back and kicked lazily in the water and returned Jake’s hot gaze through lowered lids before gliding over to the edge of the pool and settling between his open legs. Running her hands up the slick wetness of his thighs and hips until her fingers reached the tie of his board shorts, she pushed herself higher in the water and used her teeth to pull the single knot undone. Jake groaned as she pushed his shorts open over his flat stomach.
His hands tangled in her hair and she teased her tongue in lazy circles around his skin before he groaned. “Oh God…Gracie.”
Holding his gaze until he closed his eyes and tipped his head back, she finally took him into her mouth. The sensuous sound of the water, the softly muted light, the feel of his firm thighs clenching her shoulders lulled her into a slow, steady rhythm and she slowly worked her mouth and tongue to pleasure him. Arousal shuddered through her as she focused on sliding her lips over his hot, hard length. After a few moments, a ragged groan tore from his throat as his thighs clenched. She took him into her mouth even more deeply as he came.
Gracie raised her head when his hands pressed gently into her hair and she smiled at him. Satisfaction and bemusement crossed Jake’s face before he reached down, placed his hands on each side of her waist, and lifted her easily to the ledge under the waterfall.
His dark eyes glistened with desire and he parted her legs, his fingers gentle on her wet skin as his thumbs slowly caressed the outside of her thighs. With each light caress, his fingers moved closer to her sex. Goose bumps rose on her arms and she whimpered as the muscles between her legs quivered involuntarily. She arched her hips and pushed against his fingers as exquisite sensation rolled through her.
She’d lit the fire, and then lost control to him as soon as he touched her.
But I don’t mind at all.
“Look at me, Gracie.” His voice was as dark and dangerous as his eyes.
The warmth of his skin rubbing against hers, the soft lights, and the sounds of the water sent her feelings spiraling out of control. She looked down and swallowed—the same raw need was mirrored in his expression as his dark gaze held hers. He tugged at the bow on each side of her bikini bottoms and gently undid them before he lowered his head. His tongue slowly explored her as his hands gripped her thighs. Pushing hard against him, she whimpered, wanting more, needing him closer to her. His warm, gentle tongue continued to tease as she grasped at him, digging her fingers hard into his shoulders.
Goose bumps skittered across her wet skin when Jake lifted his head and looked up at her, before removing his hands from her legs and placing them on either side of her thighs. “No rush,” he whispered.
Her heart beat so fast she caught her breath as he supported his weight above her and sensation pounded through her body, pooling in the hot center between her thighs.
His touch had pulled her from reality on a tidal wave of sensation. Fascinated, she drew a quivering breath when he moved higher and tugged at the ring in her belly button with his teeth. “Not the sort of adornment I expected to find on a quiet little mouse like you,” he murmured, his breath hot against her wet skin.
“Why? Too innocent?” Gracie caught her breath on the words, and the husky whisper from her lips sounded unfamiliar. If it hadn’t been for the sensations shooting through every nerve in her body, she would have sworn the sound hadn’t come from her.
He laughed and the heat in her groin flared. She clenched her thigh muscles as his tongue slid down her bare stomach. He slipped his hands beneath her legs to hold her firm against his lips.
…
It wasn’t only the feel of her naked butt grasped in his hands that almost brought Jake undone again. Gracie held his gaze as she lifted her butt and grasped the bottom of her bikini. She shot him a cheeky smile as she flicked it over his head into the pool. No, it was the absolute trust on her face that set his heart thudding and frightened the life out of him. Lowering his head, he groaned softly as the silken feel of her soft hair tickled his face. Her soft sighs blended with the splashing of the water in the pool beside them as he used his tongue and teeth to pleasure her.
Goddamn it, I can’t stop. I’ll worry later.
For the moment, he pushed the reason for her being there right out of his mind and focused on the quivering flesh beneath his mouth. He flicked his tongue in slow circles until she pushed up into him and he used his lips to suck the hard nub into his mouth. As she came, her husky cry engulfed him and all he wanted was to rip his shorts off and slide into her.
But he wasn’t going to.
He hadn’t intended for this to happen and he certainly didn’t keep a stock of condoms out by the pool. Taking advantage of her wasn’t an option. He’d had no intention of touching her when he’d followed her out to the pool and had been stunned by her sexy come-on.
He had no regrets.
Jake took a deep breath and buried his face in Gracie’s soft stomach as her body slowly relaxed. He bit his lip as the tiny contractions pulsing against his cheek sent more heat rushing to his groin. After a few moments, she tentatively ran her fingers down the side of his face and touch
ed his lips. He turned his head and kissed them.
“Jake?”
“Hmm?” He lifted his head and smiled at her.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You?”
“Mmm.” Her voice was sleepy, and he slid his hands up beneath her back and half turned her toward him. They lay together surrounded by the soothing lull of the waterfall. Gracie’s breathing deepened and Jake lifted his head.
Her eyes were closed and a warm flush touched her cheeks. She breathed deeply and evenly through softly parted lips and he smiled to himself. It had been a long time since he’d put a woman to sleep. Hopefully it was her exhaustion and satisfaction that had lulled her off and not his technique. He gently removed his hands from around her and she didn’t stir. Rolling away slowly onto the edge of the pool, he protected his bad knee and swore softly when his leg cramped. At least it took his mind off the return of a more pressing need a bit higher up.
Gripping the edge of the pool, he levered himself slowly into the refreshing, cold water, and let the cool water chill his desire before diving to retrieve her bikini bottoms.
Chapter Nine
Gracie had slept soundly after Jake had carried her into the guest room last night, and now bright sunshine slanted though the timber window shades filling the room with light. She woke slowly and stretched and for a brief moment, she let the memory of Jake’s touch linger in her thoughts, before she gave in to the ever-present worry about Regan that was lodged in her chest.
When he’d picked her up and carried her upstairs, she’d nuzzled into his shoulder expecting him to carry her to his bed but he’d let her down gently in the en-suite bathroom adjacent to the guest bedroom.
“Sleep well.” He’d ruffled her damp hair as though she’d been a child and gestured to the luxurious bathroom surrounding them. “You should find everything you need. I’ll see you in the morning.” Then he’d stepped out without a backward glance. Still treating her like an innocent.