by Jill Shalvis
“I could kiss you all night,” he whispered. “Tell me you feel the same.”
“Jared Skye, what does shh mean? No talking, that’s what!” With a huff of impatience, she sat up, pulled off her shirt and tossed it aside. There. She looked up at him, figuring that would finally get her message across.
His gaze took in her white lace bra, his eyes on fire. Rising up to his knees, he pulled off his shirt, too.
Finally. In reward, she ran her hands down his torso, but he backed away.
Huh?
Smiling, he stood up, then kicked off his shoes.
Okay, she liked where this was going. A lot.
And then he shucked his pants. Yeah, she really liked where this was going…
There he was standing beneath the meager starlight naked as the day he was born.
She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Okay, that works. Now—”
But she was talking to herself because he’d turned, and without a single word—which was just as she’d asked so what could she say?—he dived into the water in one clean, cat-like movement.
Sitting up, she stared in disbelief at the black ripples on the lake until he re-emerged and tossed the water from his wet hair.
Without a moon for light, she couldn’t be sure, but she thought maybe he was grinning.
“Come on,” he said, and lifted a hand.
“Skinny-dipping?”
“Why not?”
“Because…” Because I’d thought you’d be inside me by now. “It’s juvenile.”
“Actually…” He stood up so that the water lapped at his shins. His body gleamed by the meager starlight as water sluiced off him, down his shoulders, his arms, his chest, his belly…
Lower, and, oh yes, she looked. He was aroused, hugely so, and her mouth went dry. God, he was a beautiful man, so beautiful she wanted to lap him up one sip at a time.
“I don’t feel so juvenile,” he said very silkily.
Oh boy.
“You coming in?”
“I don’t know,” she murmured, still staring at him. She’d wanted mindless, wild, animal sex. Him inside, her wild, no thoughts allowed.
And yet everything he did, every time he touched her, or spoke, or even just looked at her, her thoughts raced. She was yearning and burning, all of her, not just her body but her heart and soul, and that scared her deep.
Damn it, she’d just wanted to have some mutually satisfying sex, that’s all. Why couldn’t he oblige?
As if reading her mind, he let out a slow, daring smile. “What’s wrong? Someone else took charge of the moment, and you lost your place?”
She opened her mouth. Then carefully closed it again. “No.”
But he laughed. “Yeah.”
“You’re pissing me off.”
“I know it.” He splashed her, just scooped his hand into the water and splashed her, wetting her from her roots to her toes and all the places in between, including her bra. Water dripped off her nose as she looked at him. “That was juvenile, as well.”
“Yeah? What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m sitting here without my shirt on, and you want to play?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You’re crazy.” But she toed off her shoes.
He smiled.
“I don’t want any strings between us,” she said, pointing at him. “Just this.” She unzipped her jeans. “Got it?”
“This being…”
“Us. Naked.” She unhooked her bra. “Can you handle that?”
He was still smiling. “What if you decide you want more?”
“I won’t.” She let her bra fall. “Can you handle it?” she asked again.
“I can sure as hell try.”
And then she slid her jeans and panties down in one fell swoop. His smile faltered, replaced by a fiery look of desire that stole her breath.
“Come here,” he said very softly, and held out his hand.
A light breeze blew over her and she shivered as she stepped into the water, reaching out for him. He pulled her in, tight, close, and just like that, at the feel of his wet, warm body against hers, he banished the chill.
He kissed her as he pulled them both down into the water, and as the water closed around their shoulders, lapping at their bodies, she tasted the inside of his mouth and found unbelievable comfort in the familiarity of him.
Comfort, even as she wanted him to make her explode. So, so unbelievable. But at least she wasn’t alone in this odd phenomenon. She could hear his ragged breathing, as well, feel the pounding of his heart as he nudged her even closer, wrapping one arm around her lower back, the other sliding into her hair to tug her face up to his. He felt it, too, whatever “it” was, and a little stunned, a little overwhelmed at it all, she touched his jaw.
“Lily,” he whispered, his longing making his voice thick and husky.
She was a strong swimmer, and yet he held her up in the water. It felt incredible, leaning on him, letting him do the work, knowing he wouldn’t let go. Her toes bumped his shins, their bare thighs slid together. His hard abs pressed into her softer ones, and without conscious thought she ran her hands up his chest and around his neck, pressing her mouth to his for more of his achingly slow, melting kisses.
She hoped like hell no one else decided to go for a late-night naked swim, but then he slid a hand down her spine, stopping to squeeze her butt before stroking further, down the back of her leg, urging it around his waist, which opened her up for him, and oh God, he arched his hips into hers so that she could feel exactly what she did to him.
He was hard, gloriously so, and boldly nudging at her opening, and she forgot all about the others.
He was a stranger, and yet she’d never felt closer to anyone in her life. Pressed even closer, she made a sound of intense need, and he met her more than halfway, his mouth welcoming hers, harder and deeper this time, as if he’d pulled the plug on any hesitancy, on the leash of his control. His hands roamed wildly over her, and hers did the same, and when she wrapped her fingers around his glorious erection, he swore and staggered unsteadily, and they both fell.
Water closed over their heads, and laughing breathlessly, they crawled to the shore. Lily lay back on the sand, her head and torso out of the water, looking up at Jared as he towered over her, his eyes glittering.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered, lowering his body to hers as the water lapped at their calves. “So damned beautiful you take my breath.” He buried his face in her hair, then her neck, breathing her in as if he meant to inhale her, his hands skimming up and down her body, spreading the heat within her.
When she opened her legs for him, he groaned, low and raw, and made himself at home between them, cupping her face for another soul-wrenching kiss. Then he took that kiss on a cruise down her throat to her breasts, and she couldn’t help it, she cried out.
“Shh,” he murmured, and sucked her hard into his mouth.
It turned out it was hard to “shh.” She tried, she really did, she just couldn’t, so he put his fingers over her lips and slid further down her body, kissing each rib, her belly button.
Lower.
Oh. God.
Slipping his hands beneath her, he lifted her high enough that he could kiss her.
There.
And with the water lapping at her legs and Jared lapping at her center, he took her right out of herself and back again, leaving her gripping wet sand in her fists, staring blindly up at the stars, shuddering, stunned.
“Again,” he commanded, and though she’d just exploded so hard she thought she couldn’t come again, he proved her wrong.
Twice.
Good lord. He might have been a classic workaholic, a self-described ordinary working stiff, but there was nothing ordinary about what he did to her there on the shore. Whatever his experience had or hadn’t been, he was earthy, giving, a masterful lover, and even when she had him in her hands, making him tremble and swear as she slowly stroked, he took car
e of her, almost intuitively knowing what she needed and when, which was him, inside her.
When he sank into her, their twin groans mingled in the night air, and when he began to move, she couldn’t have come up with her own name.
“Lily.”
Right. Her name was Lily. Good. Great. But she promptly forgot it again because he’d opened his eyes and locked them on hers, letting her see what she did to him, letting her watch the pleasure, the hunger, the sheer need for her roll over him, through him, and back into her.
No one had ever been this deep within her before, inside her body, her mind, her soul.
No one.
And she gave herself up to it. Really, she had no choice. It was the first true joy she’d experienced in a very long time. Given the look in his eyes, he felt the same. Marveling, she touched his jaw, his mouth, her heart quickening as he kissed her fingers and thrust deep within her.
Unbelievably, she felt her body tightening again, but then he did the one thing she wanted him to never do—he stopped.
“Lily—”
“No. Please don’t stop.” Was that her, all breathless and panty, sounding like Marilyn Monroe? Yeah, and she didn’t care, all pride had deserted her, because damn it, she needed him to keep moving, she needed that more than she needed anything else in the entire world. Her toes were curling, her body on the very edge. “Please, please…”
“God.” Dropping his forehead to hers, he panted for breath. “Lily, don’t move.”
“I have to.” Arching up, she wrapped her legs around his waist, which brought him even deeper within her, and they both gasped in pure, unadulterated pleasure. “Jared, you have to—”
“No condom.” He grated this out, his fingers gripping her hips as if she was his lifeline.
Condom.
How she’d nearly put that little thought right out of her head was beyond her, but he’d fried her brain cells. “Front pocket of my jeans.”
He blinked. “You have a condom in your pocket?”
She stared up at him. “I think the correct reaction here is gratitude.”
“Oh, trust me.” He reached up for the clothes they’d tossed on the shore, and fumbled through her pocket. “It is sheer gratitude. I’m also flattered.” He was back, kneeling between her thighs, his hands sliding slowly up her legs, his gaze following his own movements, his breathing going ragged again.
“Hurry,” she panted.
“On it.” But he leaned in and kissed her inner thigh, then turning his head, nuzzled her very center.
Her gasp filled the quiet night. Lifting his head, his eyes were dark as he tore open the packet and rolled the condom down his length. Then he was poised at her opening, going still as he looked at her. “So beautiful,” he murmured.
She touched his mouth, his jaw, then sank her fingers into his hair to tug him closer. “Kiss me,” she whispered, rocking up to meet him, and when he sank into her again, she let out a sound of sheer relief. Between the dark night, the heat between their bodies, and the power of his thrusts, she was lost. Lost.
And apparently he felt the same way, because he tore his mouth from hers and arched his back to thrust even deeper, gripping her hips as he did, his gaze locked on hers, driving her higher and higher, watching her with eyes gone glossy with passion. He was beautiful, too, so beautiful, and then, with a surprised cry, she shattered again, and this time, took him with her.
It took a good long moment to come back to herself, and when she did, the night air was cooling her damp skin, blowing her hair in her flushed face as she lay bare-ass naked on a rock with an equally bare-ass naked man she’d known all of a few days holding her tight to him.
Oh, boy.
Sitting up, she reached for her top.
Beside her, Jared sighed. “Fun time over?”
She’d told him she didn’t want any strings, just this. She’d made sure he knew that, and yet she’d forgotten one tiny little thing—to believe it herself. Now she was fighting the urge to cling, and that was just disconcerting enough to have her needing to run for cover. “I should get back.” Yeah, that was it.
He watched as she slipped into her jeans and shoved her panties in her pocket. She pushed her hair out of her face and looked for her ponytail holder, but it’d vanished. Willing to write it off, she jammed her feet into her shoes.
“What was it,” he asked quietly as he rose. “The intimacy? Or the fact that you engaged your heart?”
Her entire body went from limp-as-a-noodle satisfied to drawn tight as a bow. “Not that I have to explain myself here, but I prefer not to lie around naked for anyone else to find us.”
“No one is even going to look for us.” He smiled grimly. “It was both. We got too close too soon, and you regret it.”
“I don’t do regret.”
“Right. You just shut yourself off.”
She turned to face him as he pulled up his jeans. “Shut myself off?”
“Sure.” He jammed an arm into his shirt. “That’s easier than facing the truth, right?”
“And what is the truth?” she asked, knowing she wasn’t going to like this one little bit.
He buttoned his shirt atop the abs she’d just had her hands all over. “That what we did got a little too close for comfort. And now you need to back off. You need to be alone, where you can tell yourself that no, you didn’t just nearly come right outside yourself because it was that amazing.”
She put her hands on her hips and absorbed that unexpected punch of truth. “A little sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
“No.” He laughed harshly. “Hell, no. It’s just that I was there, Lily, and I know damn well that’s not how it usually is. At least for me.” He shoved his fingers through his hair and just looked at her.
She knew what he wanted to hear. That no, hell no, it wasn’t usually like that for her either, but she was still reeling from what he’d pulled out of her. She was nearly staggering with it.
This was so not what she’d expected tonight.
She’d wanted a little escape, a little fun, a little oblivion, that’s all. Only what she’d found was so much more than that.
So much more.
Hating that he was right, about everything, she turned away and started back toward camp. “Actually, my usual MO is just to walk away,” she called back. Like she was doing right now, as a matter of fact. “’Night, Jared.”
“Lily.”
She turned back and lifted her chin. “I warned you.”
“That this would be just sex.” He stood there watching her, hair standing straight up, eyes sleepy and sexy, clothes rumpled. Rumpled. “Yes, yes you did warn me, thank you. Your conscience can be clear.”
“I hope this won’t affect our working relationship.”
He just looked at her in disbelief, and yeah, she felt stupid. Working relationship? God. “Good night,” she managed around a thick throat, knowing she was being impossibly rude, but was utterly unable to stop herself.
She’d been looking for herself, and here she was. Pathetic. Weak. Needy.
And she’d let him see.
“If we don’t talk about it,” he warned as she turned away again. “You’re going to dream about it. About me.”
Yeah, of that, she had no doubt.
11
OF COURSE she dreamed of him, how could she not? What Jared had done to her in the woods by the lake’s edge beneath a starlit sky, had been the most erotic, sensual time of her life, and she wasn’t likely to forget it.
She’d wanted oblivion and he’d delivered. In spades. She stared at the ceiling of her tent, her body still humming with the aftermath of great sex.
It’d been a while, she told herself. That’s why she’d gone off like that.
But now she had to face the dreaded morning after. No regrets, she reminded herself, and, facing the music, got up, dressed, and left her tent. Keith was gone, which was vintage Keith.
She’d turned him down, however gently, and he’d m
oved on without a backwards glance.
Just as he had the first time.
She looked around at the group of tents, at the fire she’d rekindled, and felt a real pang. She did love doing this. She had, for a few days at least, loved the thought of continuing to do it, even though it’d meant roots, ties.
Relationships.
Hadn’t it happened already, with Jared? At that thought, another not-so-little pang tugged at her heart, which only proved her point. If the thought of walking away from him was hurting already, she was in far too deep.
Rubbing the ache in her lower back, she got to work. No looking back, she told herself firmly. She’d done too much of that and it hadn’t gotten her anywhere but Heartache City.
From now on, forward was the only direction she’d move in. Over-Herself City, here she came.
ROSE WOKE UP early for the third time ever and rewarded herself with a bath in the lake, which turned out to be cold enough to shock her skin into glowing like a twenty-year-old’s. Go figure, she’d just given herself a cheap spa day. Laughing at herself, she put on her makeup and headed back to camp.
Lily was cooking breakfast, which made her a hero in Rose’s book. She was also pretending not to be watching Jared’s tent for signs of life, something she understood extremely well because she’d made a new Olympic event out of watching Rock the Cutie Patootie. “Smells delish,” she said with a smile.
“It is delish,” Lily responded, and handed her a plate. “But I’m afraid you’ve wasted your mascara. You know we’re going canoeing today.”
Rose took a peek at Rock’s tent and was relieved to see him coming out of the woods with his toothbrush. He wore his black jeans, black boots and a black T-shirt that emphasized the physique that made her need a bib. Good Lord, the boy was hot. “It’s waterproof, and don’t worry, a good application of makeup is never wasted. God, he’s such a muffin. I just want to spread him with butter and eat him up. Do you think I’m getting anywhere with him at all?”