Jordan walked out into the stateroom wearing only a towel. He lifted his head and watched her approach, his eyes gleaming. She tried to pretend this was the Presidential Suite at the hotel on a Friday afternoon. She’d done this a dozen times…
He’d cleared the table and now sat on the sofa, holding his glass. “Shall I find you a robe?”
Jordan shook her head, confusion welling up again. Why wouldn’t he just stand and take charge? Tear the towel off, put his hands on her…
“Would you like coffee?” His voice was so soft that she strained to hear him.
“Maybe later,” she said huskily, moving closer. Her bare legs were just inches from where his stretched out in front of him.
“You want me, Nick?”
He moistened his lips. “You’ve never asked me that before.”
“I’ve never had to.”
He laid his head back on the back of the couch, watching her inscrutably. Never had she known him to exhibit so much restraint. Admirable restraint, considering the impressive bulge at the apex of his trousers.
Goose bumps rose on her arms and she shivered, the tension coiling up her insides.
“Remember our first time?” he asked suddenly, his voice low and hard. “You trembled then, too, just like now. Were you nervous?”
She exhaled in a rush. “Just like now.”
She hadn’t meant to admit that.
She took a tentative step closer.
“Why?”
There was nothing in his upturned face she could read, no clue as to what he was thinking. “Because I was overwhelmed.”
The back of her neck—her whole back prickled like freezer burn.
“And now?”
“Because I don’t know what you want anymore.” Jordan hadn’t intended to say that either. But she couldn’t think with his impenetrable eyes boring into her.
“I told you the other night,” Nick said quietly. “I. Want. More.”
Someone had switched scripts. She suddenly felt all at sea again—she nearly snorted but it wasn’t funny. Desperate to regain the lead—wasn’t that what he wanted?—she slipped her fingers between the folds of the towel, under the knot, peeling the sides back a little, slowly revealing what was underneath. “You can have everything.”
Nick smiled then, as if to himself. “Oh, I intend to.”
It sounded like a threat.
Firmly pushing her worries aside, she stepped inside his legs and sank down onto her knees before him. That got a result. Quickening breath, eyes widening and alert. The column of his throat bobbed in a hard swallow. Got your attention now, she thought.
She reached out and spread her hand on his groin, soaking up the heat that radiated out. The answering surge of welcome under her palm made her smile and she pressed down gently. “You want this?”
His chin dropped down to his chest. Nick always liked to watch.
“You know what I want.”
She bent to her task, brushing off the niggling unease about his unaccustomed passivity, the way he answered her every question with a variation of “I want more.” His arms were still, hands on his thighs, when usually he moved, directed, arranged her to his satisfaction.
Thankfully as she unzipped him, her natural instincts took over. Jordan was enthralled, turned on beyond belief. She didn’t need to ask again. She knew by the fire in his eyes. The way the veins on his hands stood out, even though they appeared to be relaxed. The muscles in his upper thighs tightened with each swirl of her tongue around his swollen flesh.
She knew exactly what he wanted when she felt his hands in her hair, firmly holding her in place while he moved under her.
But then someone changed the script again. His hands tightened in her hair and he lifted her head and pulled her up over him.
Nick had never stopped her before.
It cost him. The strain on his face, a single bead of sweat crawling down his temple, told of the cost. He framed her face with his hands and kissed her, deeper and deeper, and it was somehow more intimate than her ministrations a minute ago. She felt heavy, dragged down by desire.
They kissed and kissed, cupping each other’s faces, learning the shapes of their cheekbones and skulls, fingers lacing through hair. There seemed to be no urgency and neither of them closed their eyes. To Jordan, the sight of him was just so good.
His hands slid inside the still-knotted towel, stroked slowly down her body, massaging gently while they kissed. Lying on top of him, feeling him hard and wanting underneath her, she drowned in pleasure.
Maybe she’d begun by seducing him, showing him how sexy he made her feel, teasing him until he begged. But he was involved now, involving her completely, taking her under. She needed skin and squirmed to get her arms down, trying to get to his buttons. There was too much between them. She fumbled and tugged and got his shirt undone so at least she could feel his warm skin on her front, the hairs on his chest causing fantastic friction on her breasts.
Under her towel, he stroked and stroked, his hands questing and probing. She lay across him, lifting her hips. His fingers played her like music, inside and out, and she flowed into orgasm with blinding ignorance, not even realizing she was close. Her hands fisted, her knuckles pressing into his chest and for the first time since she’d walked out from the bathroom, she broke eye contact and sank into deep and shuddering satisfaction.
Soon, he slid out from under her, sitting her up, pulling her forward—this was more like it, she thought, taking charge, directing operations. All thought fled when he knelt in front of her and made love to her with his mouth.
Too sensitive to bear, she had nowhere to hide. Her hands plunged into his hair. She arched her back, fighting for breath that refused to come and then roller-coasted over her with a low keening sound that went on and on.
When it was over, she attempted to relax her stiff fingers from his hair, but it wasn’t easy. “Yes,” she said and her voice sounded a million miles away. The boat rocked gently on its mooring. “This. This is what I want.”
Nick sat back and pulled his shirt over his head. Sated yet burning for more, she watched him strip and take care of protection. Then he pushed her down on the couch, moving purposefully over her and looked into her eyes.
“No,” he said, matter-of-factly. “It’s not all you want.” He nuzzled her lips before raising his head again, his gaze triumphant.
She felt his tip nudge her, realized he was right.
“You just don’t know it yet,” he said in a voice that told her with certainty that the lesson was about to begin.
Her eyes flew wide as his hands moved up her forearms, pushing her arms above her head, lacing their fingers together.
She was tired of wondering and wanting. She just wanted him inside her. “Nick…”
He obliged. The blistering invasion, slow and strong, deep and relentless, filled her so utterly it forced the air from her lungs. He stilled, tense as a board, his hands pressing hers down into the sofa, forcing her to look at him. They gazed at each other for long seconds while he pulsed inside her, and Jordan understood. Never again could she not take this seriously. Never again could she think it was just sex.
Not just sex. Sex of the mind and body and soul. As he moved, slowly withdrawing and then sliding home again, imprisoning her eyes, she forgot everything but the wonderful warm rush of emotion that accompanied this act, this time.
Countless Fridays, countless orgasms, but never a bond so deep before. It shone from his eyes, so strong she turned her head but he wouldn’t let her. It pumped through his body till she felt it in her womb and in the pulse beating through his fingers as they gripped hers. I want more, his eyes said as he moved, each deep thrust shattering her fears. “More,” she answered him, exhilaration bursting through when he smiled down, warming her heart.
Drunk on it, she wrapped her legs around his waist as he plunged with consuming intent. The pace and intensity got crazy, the flashpoint poised, hissing, and then boiled over in
a rush. He choked out her name once as she moaned her satisfaction. And she knew nothing could ever be desired again. The rush slowly ebbed. The thud of their calming breath and the occasional sound of small waves lapping the hull was all she could hear.
Still looking into her eyes, Nick slid his arms around her and held her, for the first time ever.
Ten
Jordan awoke slowly, in her customary manner. It took a few seconds to realize she wasn’t alone, quite a few more to replay the night’s events in her mind and think about how she felt, waking next to Nick.
They’d enjoyed many sexual adventures in the past, but last night easily qualified as the best night of her life. It was almost like a real date, spending the day together, making dinner together, talking. And then, the most emotionally-charged lovemaking she’d ever experienced. How could she even think of holding anything back? He wouldn’t let her.
Nick stirred behind her with a contented growl. Jordan sighed, her erotic memories scattering. Moving an inch at a time, she began to edge toward the side of the bed but hadn’t gotten far when his warm arm clamped around her middle.
“Morning,” he mumbled.
Jordan mumbled a similar response.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He shifted closer, his big warm body enfolding her back like a heated cloak.
She half-turned, craning her neck to see him. “Bathroom. I need to clean my teeth.”
Nick lifted up on one elbow, blinking owlishly.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “You’re not allowed to look at me until I’ve got my face on.”
He tapped her on the nose until she looked at him. “I’ve seen you with the green goop, remember?”
Oh, God, how could she forget?
“You, Jordan Lake,” he said gallantly, “don’t need makeup to look beautiful.”
She smiled into his eyes, thinking she could get used to waking up next to a sleepy, unshaven, tousled man whispering sweet nothings in her ear. But within seconds, his gaze sharpened and flared with heat. He shifted his body, imprisoning her under him and she felt his arousal, thick and hot against her thigh. The messages to her brain had nothing to do with vanity now.
How long before this wanes? she wondered, running her hands over his long, broad back and thickly-muscled arms? With one look, like the flick of a switch, he turned her on instantly. Her body responded, quickening, moistening. Would the time come soon when they could look at each other and resist succumbing to the most urgent and primitive desire?
Nick’s hand slid under the small of her back, lifting and angling her hips, then bent and sipped at the corners of her mouth. She kissed back and decided to enjoy it while it lasted. “While we can both still walk,” she murmured against his chin. He pulled back an inch, his eyes questioning. In response, she hugged him tighter, welcoming his advance, his slow, slick invasion. Welcoming him home.
An hour later, she was in the galley making coffee when she heard strange noises outside. Peeking out the porthole window, she saw her runaway sitting on the wooden jetty, hugging her knees to her chest and sniffing loudly.
“Letitia!” Jordan rushed out and sank down beside her. The poor girl sobbed with relief, nearly hysterical with nerves and cold. She wore scruffy dungarees, sneakers with no socks and only a thin hoodie.
Nick responded to her calls and they helped the teen aboard and wrapped her up in a duvet. It may have been late spring, but the sun hadn’t made it over the valley yet and the air was crisp and cool. Nick set about making breakfast while Jordan sat with the girl, rubbing her frozen hands between hers.
Letitia had sneaked under the tarpaulin of a utility as it boarded the inter-island ferry in Wellington. She then walked from Picton to Anakiwa and linked up with the Queen Charlotte Track to get here, which had taken “at least a whole day.” She’d eaten the biscuits and made cups of black tea from the provisions the Working Bee left in the old lodge kitchen. But the cold was her enemy.
“There was nothing to sleep in, not even any old curtains.”
The Working Bee had disposed of all the moldy old drapes that had hung in the lodge for decades.
When Nick and Jordan docked, the girl hid, determined not to be discovered, but another night alone in the cold had changed her mind.
“Why didn’t you answer our calls? You must have heard us.” It occurred to Jordan that while she and Nick were making love here on the boat last night, this poor girl was frozen and alone. “You should have come to the jetty and called me.”
Letitia wolfed down eggs and toast like she hadn’t eaten in a week. Then Jordan tucked her up in the bed in the second cabin. “Poor kid,” she said to Nick as they prepared to set off back to Wellington. “She just wants some attention. She’s the youngest of six. Her older brothers are in and out of jail and her sister has leukemia. Her parents spend all their time either at the hospital or bailing the boys out. No one has time for Letitia.”
Jordan couldn’t comprehend that, coming from a one-child family, the apple of her parents’ eye. She resolved to keep a much closer eye on the girl from now on.
“Told you so,” Nick said lightly.
“What?”
“Sounds to me like that family needs a decent holiday, spend some quality time with their kids…somewhere nice and remote with fishing and tramping…”
Jordan felt her face color in pleased embarrassment. He liked her idea after all. That meant a lot, even though it was no longer hers to develop.
They made good time on another amazingly calm day. After a couple of hours, Letitia appeared and helped Jordan cobble together enough leftovers to make some sandwiches. Then they sat out of the sun in the stateroom, leaving Nick on deck. Since neither had gotten much sleep the night before, it wasn’t long before they stretched out on the sofas and their chatting dwindled to sleepy sighs.
Jordan awoke an hour later and the city of Wellington sprawled on the horizon. Letitia was on deck, steering the powerful boat, supervised by Nick. Jordan smiled at the nice picture the two of them made. It was kind of Nick to spend time connecting with the troubled teen.
“Letitia is going to talk to Russ about letting me join the Outreach team,” Nick told her, as if it was something he’d always wanted to do. Jordan grinned, thinking if only he knew what he was getting himself into.
“Nick knows some people at the Marina,” Letitia enthused, “and he’s going to speak to them about teaching us water sports.”
“I believe I said water safety,” Nick cut in, reaching across her to nudge the wheel slightly.
Jordan had never seen him so relaxed and at ease. His teeth gleamed in his tanned face and his eyes shone when they looked at her. He was so breathtakingly handsome. She imagined drawing a frame around him, depicting with fine detail everything a man should look like, should be.
As she watched him smile and tease, and the young girl’s shining face as she bantered with her new hero, something warm and heady washed over Jordan, through her. The cautionary walls she’d erected to protect herself melted and seeped away. Her heart began to beat, slow and strong, so strong she could feel it in her fingertips. A giddy feeling made her wobble on her seat and grab the side.
She loved him. It was as clear and shining and joyful as Christmas. She loved him and wanted him, and all the problems that would entail were as far away as the shoreline. Still there, still beckoning, but with a lower level of importance.
Nick said something to her and she was so distracted with her newfound knowledge, she had to ask him to repeat it. He reached out and ruffled her hair and she felt his hand there for long seconds after he’d taken it away, caressing, caring, branding her as his.
Once ashore, they reunited Letitia with her grateful parents and then Nick drove Jordan home. Her stomach growled as they entered her apartment, reminding her that the meager sandwich she’d had at lunch was many hours ago. “Would you like to stay for…”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Nick growled, pushing her up aga
inst the wall in the passageway. Her bag hit the deck, her clothes were roughly pushed aside. He ravaged her mouth and she soared so high, so quickly as he took her against the wall. They didn’t even make the bedroom.
Nick stayed the night, waking her early to make love once more before he had to go to the office. Jordan linked her arms around his neck as he kissed her goodbye. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
He smiled and leaned forward to sear her with another kiss.
“The sales agreement?” she laughed.
“Ah.” He nodded. “I’ll have my lawyer witness it.”
“What are you going to do with it?” Jordan asked, leaning back on her pillows, looking like Aphrodite.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he told her. “Maybe I’ll turn it into an exclusive art gallery and exhibit some starving but brilliant artist who’s got a bunch of insecurities about her work.”
Her eyes shone with amusement.
“And people will come from miles around,” he continued, enjoying himself, “and she’ll be famous the world over.”
Jordan chuckled. “Except that no one will ever know because the gallery is so exclusive, no one can find it.”
“Which will add greatly to her fame, in turn, making her forever grateful to me.”
Nick found he liked this, waking with someone, sex, chatter and banter before getting on with the day. The prospect of making it a permanent arrangement entered his mind. It was a win-win, as far as he was concerned. He enjoyed her company, and the sex was beyond incredible.
“Did you get around to having plans drawn up for the refurbishment?”
“As a matter of fact, I did,” she said, her eyes shining.
“Give me a look at them sometime.”
Jordan kissed him fervently and asked if she’d see him Friday.
Nick groaned. “Friday is eons away. I have to go to Sydney on Wednesday for a meeting, but I’ll be back late Thursday.” He lifted a strand of her hair, ran it slowly through his fingers. “You’ll be in court today, right?”
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