by Aimee Duffy
As she came closer, Sean found his tongue. “Caitlyn, you look stunning.”
Jake gripped the beer bottle tighter. He knew Sean wouldn’t try it on with Caitlyn, not now that he knew she and Jake were seeing each other. Still, hearing him praise her so openly pissed him off.
She paused beside them and then beamed at Sean. Jake’s irritation flared. “Thank you. It’s amazing what Julie can do with tongs and a ton of makeup.”
Sean laughed, but Jake frowned. “You don’t need any of it.” His words came out harsher than he’d intended and they both turned toward him with raised brows. “I mean, you’re stunning without the makeup.”
Caitlyn turned her beaming smile to him and his breath caught in his throat. Unable to resist, he pulled her against his chest and stole her lips with his. Caitlyn’s gasp only unfurled the raging emotions which had been knocking him for six all week. But now, lost in the sweet taste of her and the floral scent of her perfume, none of it mattered. Being with her like this felt right and it wasn’t until they parted that there would be doubts. Just now, he couldn’t think of a reason to ever part from her.
Sean cleared his throat. “Guys, I thought you two were keeping your relationship low profile.”
Caitlyn pulled away from Jake’s hold and then common sense returned. He scanned the party goers, and other than Julie and a few others, no one really noticed. Those who had, didn’t appear to care.
“Um. We’re not in a relationship,” Caitlyn whispered, and Jake’s shoulders tensed.
He finished his beer in a few quick gulps so he wouldn’t say something he’d regret. After all, Caitlyn was right. They weren’t together, not like Sean meant anyway. Regardless, anger festered in his stomach.
Sean eyed Jake for a moment. “I’ll catch up with you guys later. Enjoy the party.” Sean turned and walked across the tiled floor in the direction of Julie.
Jake turned to Caitlyn who was watching him go. “Would you like a drink? I think they have a bowl of non-alcoholic punch inside.”
Since the two shots of vodka she’d drunk before they filmed the love scene, Caitlyn hadn’t touched another drop of alcohol. He wondered whether there was more to her sobriety than just her father’s addiction to the stuff. Still, he’d made a promise to himself weeks ago to leave her secrets alone. They were having an affair, nothing more. Why bother to dig further into a past she clearly tried so hard to hide? It didn’t stop him wondering though. Biting his tongue against ferreting out her secrets was starting to feel like a chore.
“Erm, no thanks. Do you want to go for a walk along the beach?” Caitlyn turned to face him.
Along with the usual desire in her eyes there was a deeper emotion he couldn’t put a name to. The scar tissue on his heart twisted. What if she had decided to end their time together now? He was counting on tonight, a last ditch attempt to try and burn Caitlyn out of his system for good. Jake knew that wouldn’t happen, but to keep himself sane he had to try and convince himself that it could. Anything to avoid studying the emotions playing havoc in his gut or face the fact she would be leaving him tomorrow.
“Sure.” He followed Caitlyn across the granite tiles and then on to a set of wooden stairs leading to the beach. She walked down ahead of him and he noticed she looked thinner. Her legs were slimmer and her arms seemed to have lost all their muscle tone.
“Caitlyn.” Jake took the steps two at a time until he was a few in front of her. He turned to meet her eyes, now level with his. “Are you feeling okay?” He touched her clammy forehead. “Are you sick?”
Caitlyn’s smile looked forced. “I felt a little sick earlier. The sea breeze is helping. Drowning must have taken more out of me than I thought.”
Jake frowned. “You didn’t have to go straight back to work. You could have taken more time off. Sean would have understood, and he would have let you go to Amanda’s fashion show.”
“It’s okay.” She cupped his jaw with her hands. “I’m fine. Can we just enjoy tonight. Please?”
The hope in her eyes made it hard to say no. Caitlyn never asked him for anything. Now that she did, he couldn’t refuse. Jake had never met anyone quite like her. She never asked for a damn thing from anybody. She was brave and strong and good to the core.
Jake was torn. Caitlyn didn’t look herself and he wanted to take her home, make her something to eat, and then let her rest. It hadn’t escaped his notice she’d ate less than a sparrow for weeks. But he couldn’t do that, not now when her eyes held a silent plea.
“Okay.” Jake took both her hands in his. “Let’s go for a walk and then get back to the party. If you start to feel worse let me know and we’ll go home.”
The smile she rewarded him with was more genuine this time and a little jolt shot through his heart. Jake ignored it, knowing the battered organ wasn’t capable of giving more than it did.
* * * *
By the time they returned, the party was in full swing. The nausea in Caitlyn’s stomach was beginning to ease and she managed to eat some of the finger buffet, washing it down with a bottle of water. As they mingled with the others, Jake never left her side and for that Caitlyn was glad. She’d stopped caring about people finding out about their affair. What was the point when it would be over in less than twenty-four hours? So she enjoyed the night as Jake’s girlfriend and it felt wonderful. So far, her plans for the perfect evening were spot on.
“Do you think people would mind if we sneaked away?” Caitlyn whispered in Jake’s ear as one of the cameramen stripped off and dove into the pool.
Others started to follow his lead and Caitlyn began to feel uneasy. It was still a challenge to be around people when they were drunk. It brought back too many nightmares she didn’t want to relive.
Jake threw her a grin loaded with promise. “I think people are too far gone to notice. Did you have something in mind?”
A blush heated her cheeks. “I don’t know what you mean, Jake.”
Jake laughed as he lifted her off the ground so they were nose to nose. “I’m sure you don’t.”
This time it was Caitlyn who pressed her lips to his. It didn’t matter to her who saw them anymore. They could tell who they liked for all she cared. Tonight was about her and Jake. As his tongue swept inside her mouth and danced with hers, Caitlyn pushed all thoughts of leaving tomorrow right out of her head. She was going to enjoy what they had now and stop fretting over what would happen later.
When Jake finally set Caitlyn back on her feet she felt like the earth was swirling beneath her. She gripped his arm to steady herself and Jake chuckled.
“My kissing skills should come with a health warning.” Jake pulled her against his chest and whispered in her ear, “Exposure to my lips may cause dizziness.”
Caitlyn playfully smacked him on the arm. “You wish.”
She was pleased to see his cheeky grin had returned. For weeks it seemed his smiles were forced. The teasing felt right. Natural. Her heart swelled and she didn’t try to fight it. If Caitlyn was going to enjoy tonight with him, she was going to do it with all the love she had for him.
“I may just have to take you home, Miss Hart, and show you exactly how dangerous my kissing skills can be.”
Caitlyn shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold. “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t deliver on…”
He snagged her hand and kissed her palm. A dart of heat flew up her arm and straight down to the pit of her stomach. “I love a good challenge. Let’s get you back to my villa and stripped naked so I can prove just how much you love my kissing skills.”
Caitlyn really didn’t need proof. She loved the way Jake could make her body quiver and shatter with an intimate kiss. Still, she wasn’t going to stop him from trying. “I’m only getting older here.”
Jake’s head swooped down and he kissed her with a hunger that turned her blood molten and made the heat in her stomach spread from her head to her toes. After a second, he pulled away and she couldn’t help but pout.
Anticipation fluttered through her. Caitlyn had no doubt that the evening to come would be nothing less than fun.
* * * *
“Where do you want me to kiss first, Miss Hart?” Jake asked the moment she’d shut the door to his villa. In one smooth move, he trapped her between the door and his body. This time there was no fear, only a burning hot desire.
“How about…” She swept her hair back and cocked her head to the side. Caitlyn trailed a fingernail from her earlobe all the way down to the sensitive skin at the base of her throat. “Here.”
Jake obliged and a moan escaped her lips. God, she loved it when he did that. He always knew the right amount of pressure to apply and exactly where to kiss to make her writhe with need. Caitlyn ground her hips into his, groaning in frustration when she realized it wasn’t nearly enough.
Jake laughed against her throat, making her shiver. “Patience, Caity. We have all night.”
Yes, but it’s the only night we have left.
Caitlyn tried to push the thought away, but it was no use. Her heart felt like it was being torn from her chest.
Enough! You knew this was going to happen when you signed up for it.
Although, even the voice of logic didn’t make the hurt stop. She was glad Jake kept things light. Caitlyn didn’t know if she’d be able to leave him if she knew he was hurting too.
She slid her hands up his shirt and clasped them behind his neck. The blond silky hair was long enough now to spill over his collar. She playfully tugged a strand. “Then let’s start now.”
Jake grinned his cheeky grin and lifted her off the ground. He devoured her lips as he carried her through the house, and Caitlyn wrapped her legs around his torso. Heat flared at her core when his arousal pressed against her thin, silk panties.
Having only a limited amount of time left with Jake, she wanted him to take her right there against the door, but the urgency in his kiss slowed. He set her down at the foot of the bed and traced her lower lip with his tongue before he nibbled the corner of her mouth. The intimacy of the gesture made her heart melt with the raw force of her love for him.
Caitlyn tried to retreat to the bed, but Jake’s arms encircled her waist. His hands slipped down over her rear while he watched her with unreadable eyes. When he reached the hem of the silk dress, he slid it up past her hips, lightly pressing his thumbs against her skin, raising goosebumps. It seemed to take forever before the dress reached her breasts, but when it did, Caitlyn lifted her arms and he peeled it off. He then proceeded to feather the skin he’d bared with the lightest of kisses. Caitlyn’s pulse went haywire and her nipples tightened into twin bullets.
Her knickers, which were a little damp by that point, were the last to go and anticipation of what he would do next made her center throb painfully. Jake sunk to his knees before her and gripped her hips with both hands. She couldn’t believe she’d ever thought this was too intimate, too much. The sensations his tongue surfaced were magical and a little more than addictive. Jake kissed and licked at the folds of her sex, but avoided touching where she needed him to the most.
Caitlyn’s thighs quivered and her heart sped. She fisted her hands in his hair and bit her tongue so she didn’t beg. Instead, she locked her knees so she didn’t fall to the floor with the torturous waves of heat swirling through her.
At last, his tongue swept light as a feather across the sensitized nub. Caitlyn couldn’t hold back her whimper. The gentle pressure was nowhere near enough. Caitlyn dimly wondered if he had a masochistic streak. Right now she’d put money on it.
Jake upped the pressure and his skilled tongue licked, teased, and aggrieved her pulsing center. All coherent thoughts promptly flew from her mind. Caitlyn hovered on a golden edge for what seemed like an eternity. She looked down and met Jake’s chocolate eyes with a silent plea. Jake sucked her nub hard and the force shot Caitlyn out of her body and into another world entirely.
When Caitlyn returned to herself, she realized she was now lying on Jake’s bed, being held against the most beautiful chest she had ever seen. She mused, in a haze of lust, that the firm expanse of muscle could be a tribute to the epitome of male beauty. Caitlyn turned her head and tasted the salty flesh with greedy eagerness.
Jake’s erection bobbed between them, hard and achingly beautiful, but she ignored it for now. Caitlyn only had one night to ingrain the image of Jake firmly into her mind so she’d have the memory to pull out when the pain subsided. From the way her heart felt like it might shatter when she left him, Caitlyn knew there would be a lot of pain.
After she was sure she had tasted every inch of Jake’s glorious torso, she sat up and simply stared at him. The arousal was back, stronger than before, coiling in her stomach, but she fought against it. Her gaze swept his body from his strong thighs, up past the indents at his hips, and higher. Bronzed skin covered a six-pack which she figured a male model would be proud of. Her visual exploration paused at his shoulders. Caitlyn didn’t dare to meet his dark eyes yet. She was afraid she might fall in to their depths and drown if she did.
When she eventually met Jake’s gaze Caitlyn’s heart melted into a puddle of mush. Gone was the teasing glint, replaced by an emotion she couldn’t decipher. Caitlyn looked deep, imagining she could see into the light of his soul. It may have been hours or minutes they stayed that way, affixed by each other, before Jake gently pulled her down beside him and kissed her with a sweetness that made her want to cry.
He kept the pressure of his lips gentle as he nestled himself between her thighs. After sheathing himself, Jake’s erection probed the folds to her sex. Caitlyn lifted her hips and took the tip of the solid length of him inside her. It wasn’t enough. She needed to be filled by him completely, to join with him once more. To connect with him on another level, regardless of how fruitless that seemed.
Jake understood, or maybe he just wanted the same thing. He slid into her in one long, slow thrust and filled her completely. Caitlyn’s whole body welcomed him eagerly and the flame at her core seemed to burn brighter. For a second, she felt whole again, like this was exactly how they were supposed to be. When Jake stopped kissing her, she opened her eyes. A shadow was cast over his sculpted face, but she could tell his expression was serious. Caitlyn longed for the teasing side to come back. This expression on his face made the fact this was their last night all too real.
Jake rocked his hips and all her worries whooshed from her mind as the fire inside burned hotter. She closed her eyes, dug her fingernails into his shoulders, and arched her hips up to meet his thrusts. The tension built in layers at her core.
“Caitlyn,” Jake whispered. Her eyes flew open. “Come to London after you go to LA.”
“Wh—” Before she could ask what he meant, the first throws of an orgasm hit her like a kick to the stomach. She tried to think around the sensations crashing through her body, but it was no use.
When the spasms eased, Caitlyn wondered if she’d misheard. She couldn’t go to London with him. He wasn’t her Mr. Right, regardless of how right being with him this way felt. Plus, Jake made it clear from the beginning that their relationship was no more than a fling. She must have misheard. Or perhaps it was just wishful thinking on her part.
Chapter 11
Jake felt like he was being sucked into the depths of the ocean by a tide which he struggled to fight. Making love to Caitlyn did that to him. When her body clenched around him and her eyes glazed over with pleasure, he was sucked down with her. Vicious waves rolled over his body with the intensity of a stormy sea. Jake trembled as the euphoric release dragged him under.
Once Jake found the energy, he rolled onto the bed next to Caitlyn and waited until her eyes opened. The minute he’d decided to invite her to com
e to London, the tension in his shoulders had relaxed. So what if this fling was running on longer than they’d planned? Who said it had to have an expiration date? Besides, Jake had already told her he couldn’t offer any more than what they had. Not that she’d asked. He didn’t see why they couldn’t be together until the combustible passion between them burned out.
Caitlyn still hadn’t answered him. “Caitlyn?”
“Hmmm…” Her smile lit up her face.
A jolt of emotion swelled in his chest. Jake frowned. That was happening more and more these days. The excuses he was making for it started to sound thin. “Will you come to London after your sister’s show?”
Caitlyn’s eyes flew open and he thought he caught a flash of fear in the emerald depths. “I can’t.” She swallowed and his brows shot up. He hadn’t expected her to say no.
“Why not?” Jake knew she’d left Days and Nights and had no plans of going back. Hell, if he didn’t have to fly to the UK tomorrow and start convincing his brothers to sell the company, he’d have gone to LA with her. Tension knotted his shoulders. Jake wasn’t looking forward to the next few weeks. Having Caitlyn in London with him as a distraction would make it more bearable.
“I…I have to get back to LA. I need to call my agent and arrange auditions.”
If she didn’t hesitate, Jake might have believed her. Caitlyn may be a good actress, but he’d learned over the last few months she was rubbish at telling fibs. The brilliant red blush and inability to meet his eyes gave her away every time.
Anger welled up inside him and tried to shake it off. After all, she was just sticking to what they’d agreed. So why the hell was it bothering him so much?
“Fair enough.” Jake rolled over on to his side and willed sleep to come, but knowing her warm, welcoming body was right behind him would make that impossible. Almost every night for three months she’d slept in his arms. The fact that she wasn’t tonight, when it would be the last night they’d spend together, bugged him more than he was willing to admit; even to himself.