by C. R. Ellis
“Emmett…” I rasped through choppy breaths. My hands sailed along the smooth ridges of his chest down to his sculpted abs, appreciating each of his toned muscles equally. I reached for the strings of his swim trunks, but he pushed out of reach at the last second, simultaneously hauling me against his body and lifting me up. He gripped the backs of my thighs, just under my ass, keeping me in place against the hard plane of his chest, and stalked through the cabin with a purpose—a man on a mission. My hands gripped his shoulders, and I trailed my mouth down to his neck, a place I’d never known could taste so good. He smelled good, too, the subtle spice of his cologne utterly intoxicating.
I didn’t have time to appreciate all the luxurious details of the yacht’s master suite because after Emmett laid me down on the king-sized mattress, he consumed the space in front of me. I had no choice but to soak in the sight of him. Fine with me. I had no desire to see anything other than the man in front of me, slowly letting his eyes roam freely over my body.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Jade,” he drawled. “You’re beauty and light and truth. Everything I never thought I’d find.” He slowly slid on top of me, his skin grazing mine, eyes searing into me as his fingers made quick work in removing my bikini top. He sucked in a shallow breath as he let his gaze fall to my breasts.
“But you did find me, Emmett,” I reaffirmed, tilting his chin up toward my face.
His eyes blazed, ready to set me aflame with the sincerity swirling in their depths.
In a flurry, we raced to strip the other’s clothes off first. Swimsuits went flying, and our hands quickly explored the new territory left bare in the materials’ absence. As Emmett’s smoldering gaze traveled south along my bare skin a shyness crept over me, and I squirmed and tried to cover myself.
I wasn’t insecure with my looks; I knew I had a nice body from running. I just wasn’t used to eyes actually seeing me. It had been a long time since a man made me feel like he saw more than just a set of great tits, and Emmett’s eyes, his gentle caress, held the unspoken promise he was interested in more than just what met the eye.
“Don’t,” he warned roughly, catching my eyes at the same time he caught my hands with his. “I meant what I said, Jade. Every single part of you is perfection, inside and out. And I plan on exploring all of you,” he promised, trailing his lips down my neck to my breast, while his fingers toyed with the other overly-sensitive nipple.
I groaned and let his words wash over me.
He slowly made his way down my body, brushing his lips over my skin in soft kisses that only fanned the flames of the inferno between my legs. Emmett’s torturous pace was enough to drive me wild with anticipation.
By the time he made his way to the area just below my navel, I was practically shaking with desire. He flickered his gaze up, and I felt my breath catch at the sight of his tongue darting out over his lips before they parted in a panty-melting smirk. Before I could expel the air from my lungs, his tongue reappeared and dipped lower, stroking my very center in a deliciously torturous pace that had me weaving my hands through his hair and moaning incoherent words of encouragement.
He gently edged my legs farther apart, giving himself better access. Just when I thought the expert swipes of his tongue were going to tear me apart, he brought his thumb into play and stroked me until I was writhing against him.
“My god, Emmett,” I gasped, losing myself in the feel of his heated breath, of the tender-yet-demanding strokes of his fingers against my flesh. Sensing how close I was, he quickened his pace until I was falling apart around him, my orgasm ripping through me like a bomb detonating at the tip of his tongue.
With shaky hands, I reached down to tug him upward to meet my lips, needing to kiss him more than I needed my next breath. Even though I was still riding the high of my orgasm, the brush of his skin along mine, the feel of his cock sliding against me, was enough to have me panting all over again.
I smiled and dipped my head to meet his lips. He wove his fingers through my hair, holding me close, deepening the kiss until I moaned against his mouth.
“If that is how you fuck with your mouth,” I groaned, breaking our kiss. “Then I feel certain you’re actually part sex god, and I can’t wait to worship all of you,” I huffed, ready to switch roles and find out how he tasted.
I wiggled beneath Emmett, reaching to grip him gently on my descent. I didn’t get far before Emmett realized my intentions. He pressed his body down on top of mine to halt my movements.
“Oh, no you don’t, Tiny” he called, his grip against my wrist was gentle, but enough to stop me. “Believe me, I appreciate the gesture, but I’m barely fucking hanging on here,” he explained through labored breaths. “And I’m not through with you. Not by a long shot.”
A small part of me wanted to hold on to his words, wanted to believe he actually meant he wouldn’t be done with me come tomorrow morning. But that wasn’t something I could dwell on right now, so I pushed the questions aside and reached up to grip him once more.
“That makes two of us.”
A growl escaped Emmett’s lips as I stroked his length. He suddenly shifted his weight so he could free himself from my grip and position himself directly over my entrance.
Emmett had asked if this was too much, too fast, but I meant every word I told him in response—the speed of light wasn’t fast enough as far as I was concerned. Not when today was all we’d have. I’d never felt such a sense of urgency before, and I couldn’t tell if the urgency stemmed from knowing he’d be halfway across the country after tomorrow, or from feeling more connected to Emmett than I ever had to anyone.
I couldn’t explain the way I felt if I tried, and I knew it didn’t make sense.
But maybe that’s why this felt so right.
Maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Because, when he slipped into me, inch by inch, I could feel myself losing the ability to think; I could only feel. And I felt myself falling over a cliff and into an abyss where Emmett was all there was to feel. All I’d need to feel. The sensation was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Emmett wasn’t only taking possession of my body, he was taking possession of my heart, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.
His hips rocked into me with a maddening rhythm that set all my nerve-endings on fire, as he whispered words of passion in my ear I never knew I wanted to hear.
I gasped as he plunged even deeper and told me exactly where and how many ways he’d thought about taking me. “Yes, yes, all of the above,” I moaned, my hands gripping his back and pulling him closer.
His hips dictated the pace, but he took a moment to lock eyes with mine before flipping us over so I was on top. “Your turn, Tiny,” he informed me, smirking and gripping my hips before moving them to my ass.
I took advantage of my new position and worked my hips into a pace that elicited a deep, gritty groan from Emmett’s throat. Adjusting himself slightly, he brought his lips up to my breast, earning a moan from my lips in response. Our tempo built until we were both breathless and desperate. He slipped a hand between us and rubbed my clit until I cried out and my limbs nearly gave way, the explosiveness of my second orgasm shattering my ability to continue.
The sound of his name on my lips was enough to push Emmett over the edge and find his own release. Breathless, sweaty, and spent, he hauled me up against his body and held me. My head rested against his chest, feeling each wild pulse of his heart. Eventually, I felt the chaotic rhythm slow down into steady beats, and I sighed contentedly.
His arms wrapped around me, like he wanted to hold me there forever. He brought one hand up to stroke my hair, lazily running his fingers through my strands. The level of comfort Emmett’s embrace held sent me reeling—how could someone who was a stranger twenty-four hours ago suddenly feel like home?
The thought startled me so much I stiffened in his arms.
He gently shifted out from under me and tilted his head to meet my eyes. “Hey, ever
ything okay?”
“Yeah,” I offered with a small smile.
“If you’re worried because we didn’t use—”
“No,” I insisted, shaking my head against his chest. For some reason, I wasn’t at all worried about protection; my level of trust in him was that deep, which was inexplicable and reckless, but I couldn’t stop my heart from trusting him. “I’m on the pill. I was just thinking. This is crazy, right?”
His brows pinched together in thought for a few seconds. I was about to clarify what I’d meant when he finally answered. “Maybe. But I know not doing this would’ve been crazier. I always would’ve regretted letting you walk away.”
I sucked in a breath and tried not to hold on to his words too tightly.
“Yeah, I’m going to need you to stop saying sweet things when you’re going to be the one walking away in less than twenty-four hours, Boston.”
He didn’t reply and instead pressed his lips together at the top of my head and started tracing circles on my back. His rhythmic finger-tracing began lulling me into sleep.
In the limbo between consciousness and sleep I cursed myself for not sleeping last night. A warning bell rang in the back of my head, reminding me that to sleep would be to lose too much of the precious time we had left. But breathing in his presence, feeling the weight of Emmett’s arms around me, I couldn’t help but feel like this was anything but a waste of time. I didn't know if minutes slipped by or hours, but eventually I felt my heavy eyelids slip closed.
“But I don’t think I’ll be able to walk away,” Emmett whispered, though I wasn’t sure if the words had actually left his lips, or if they’d been a product of my imagination concocting words I wanted to hear.
Then say you’ll stay.
Chapter 7
Emmett
I slipped out of bed and moved through the master suite, needing space to think clearly about the situation without the un-fucking-real sight of Jade sleeping naked next to me clouding my judgment. I needed distance, because one look at her soft curves and silky hair fanned out around the pillow, and my reasons for keeping this a one-day-only adventure suddenly lost value.
As much as I didn’t want to lose time with Jade, I figured I’d let her nap while I got my head on straight, then I’d climb back into bed with her.
I grabbed a water from the fridge and headed outside, hoping solitude and the calm of the lake water would clear my thoughts. Knowing we needed to talk, I’d stopped near an alcove in a secluded area Colby had shown me. Remote, with a rock and a rope swing, the space afforded us privacy.
I’d planned for today not knowing what Jade expected, not even knowing exactly what to expect myself. I’d thought about being with her, and even told Jade in no uncertain terms exactly how much I’d thought about it. But the reality was so much more than anything I’d imagined, so much better than anything I could’ve conjured up.
But I’d also meant what I said about my life being messy and complicated because of my family. I absently toyed with the wrapper on the water bottle as I let the conflicting emotions rage through me. I didn’t usually throw myself a pity party for being born a Sinclair, but today was a tease, a glimpse of what life could be like without the complications that were routine to me. I leaned on the railing, my mind drifting off into a fantasy world where I didn’t have a manipulative, power-hungry father and a brother who’d become dangerously obsessed with winning the fierce rivalry between us.
In my mind’s fantasy world, John and Emily were my parents. They practically raised me anyway, so that wasn’t much of a stretch. Where my biological parents were callous and only showed affection and love when cameras were trained on them, John and Emily had always treated me like a son. When I was younger, I was convinced I’d simply been born into the wrong part of the Sinclair family. I thought, surely, Hope and I were meant to be John and Emily’s children.
Hope was the reason I didn’t hop on the first plane out of Boston after high school. I knew if I told her about Jade, she’d try and find a way to talk me into believing our meeting was fate or some shit. Despite the small part of me that wanted to believe in fate, putting a fairytale spin on the situation wouldn’t help. Fate or not, I had to leave Jade and go back to Boston tomorrow. Hope would point out that, because she and Colby split time between California and Texas now, I’d been coming to Austin occasionally. But I couldn’t start thinking there was a future with Jade.
Seeing her again wasn’t an option. Not when there were reminders around every corner of Boston about the consequences of what any amount of happiness could cost me.
My phone dinged in my pocket, and I automatically reached down to fish it out.
LANCE:Heads up. News of our trip and night out reached some shitty gossip website. No specifics; just a few lines telling all fourteen of their readers the three of us are in Austin.
Fucking perfect. Curiosity won out, so I clicked the link he attached.
‘Boston Bad Boys Take Austin,’ read the headline.
Three of Boston’s most well-known playboys have taken their quest for fun to the capital of the Lone Star State. Though their reasons for taking a trip to Austin are unclear, Lance Campbell, Damon Harris, and Emmett Sinclair were spotted at multiple downtown Austin bars Friday night. Campbell, Boston-based sports agent to some of the country’s most elite athletes, and Harris, former Boston-born shortstop for the Red Sox, are confirmed bachelors, notorious for their partying ways. Sinclair, COO of J.S. Innovations, Inc. has remained largely out of the public eye for the past four years.
The trio has been friends since childhood and were regular fixtures at Boston’s hottest night clubs before Sinclair married Tracy Carrington. Sinclair’s marriage prompted the end of his partying days, and Harris, too, adopted a low-key profile to focus on his career. While his friends opted out of the party scene, Campbell has remained a fixture in it, having had several brief, public affairs in recent years. With his baseball career cut unfortunately short, Harris has reverted back to his playboy ways, and frequents Boston’s premiere night clubs along with pal Campbell.
Over the course of their marriage, Emmett and Tracy Sinclair remained tight-lipped about their relationship. Rumors circulated there was trouble in paradise for the couple in the months leading up to Tracy’s tragic—
I immediately closed the app and sucked in deep breaths, attempting to rein in the frustration rolling through me. I tried to train my eyes on the water and watch passing boats in the distance as a distraction, but my mind wasn’t having it.
Just a few lines? Was Lance fucking insane? The article was way more than just a few lines. I didn’t care that it was a shitty gossip site with an abysmally low number of readers; they had brought my name, Tracy’s name, back into the forefront of people’s minds. Which was exactly why I flew under the radar these days.
I couldn’t bring myself to reopen the app and see for myself, but I needed to know one thing.
EMMETT:Stopped reading after the shit about my marriage. Tell me they didn’t mention anything else about last night, like Jade or Jasmine.
LANCE:Nah, they just went on to list all the women Damon and I’ve boned.
Lance’s reality check was a necessary reminder of what exactly was at stake. I vowed not to drag Jade into the chaos of my life, and I had to stick to the game plan. Before now, I hadn’t given much thought to the possibility of Jade figuring out my identity.
A stupid line of thinking on my part. Of course she’d find out. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but I knew she would at some point, especially knowing I gave Jasmine my last name. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jasmine had already Googled me today—what kind of person wouldn’t be curious about the stranger with whom her best friend had agreed to spend a day? I knew there was no way I’d let her find out about my life from Google or a random gossip website. I just had to figure out a way to tell her the truth that would also help her understand the reason why today was all there’d be for us.
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��I can’t believe you let me fall asleep!” Jade called, shoving open the sliding glass door and pulling me back to the present. I’d tried to fight it, but the fucking article had brought up memories I’d been running from for years. Some happy, some painful enough to break me in two, and all equally guilt-ridden and centered around my late wife.
Tracy. I hadn’t thought about that night, hadn’t felt the guilt flood through my veins, in months.
I pushed off the railing and whipped my head around to see the raspy, fantasy-inducing voice’s owner. Jade’s presence instantly loosened the vice grip the memories held over me. A quick sweep of her features told me she’d put an effort into taming her hair, but it was still sexed up and spilling over her shoulders. Her satisfied grin reached all the way up to those soulful green eyes of hers, and only broadened when our gazes met.
Christ, she’s beautiful.
Actually, “beautiful” wasn’t even an accurate enough word.
I could scour the dictionary and still not find the right word to describe this woman.
Jade’s presence brought me out of my memory reverie, and her smile was enough to melt the iciness plaguing me since receiving Lance’s text. Usually thinking about Tracy sent me into a tailspin of self-loathing and binge drinking, but Jade’s presence broke through the throng of memories and demanded my attention. After living with the guilt and pain for years with nothing more than passing distractions for temporary relief, the sway Jade held over my mind and body completely caught me by surprise. I couldn’t wrap my head around why a woman I’d just met held this power over me.
“You looked so peaceful and content. I couldn’t bring myself to wake you.” I wrapped my arms around her slender shoulders and pressed my lips to the top of her head. “Plus, once you started snoring I figured a fog horn wouldn’t even wake you.”