Gathering her wits, Tess rushed forward to grab Patrice’s arm. “Jesus, Patrice, it’s not like we’re naked. It’s all right,” she soothed. “I’d forgotten they were coming today. Come on in and I’ll fix us something to eat.”
Taking some of the supplies from Patrice’s hands, she ushered her toward the kitchen.
Jack smiled and moved forward. “No, you two go take care of the paint, and I’ll fix us some lunch.”
The smile that covered Jack’s face sent a pang of pleasure straight to her heart. She’d feared that this interruption would finally be the one that would push him over the edge, but it wasn’t. Jack didn’t seem any more distraught by this interruption than any of the previous ones.
As she followed Patrice into the living area to sort through the paint supplies, Jack grasped her arm and pulled her to him for a final quick kiss.
“Better luck next time,” he whispered, and she smiled.
“Will there be a next time?” she teased.
“You better believe it.”
* * * *
Rinsing the soap from his hair, Jack hoped he’d been able to get all of the paint out of it. After Patrice had interrupted them earlier, he’d been able to do nothing but think of Tess pinned beneath him as he drove her wild. He was certain this time she wouldn’t be pushing him away. She’d certainly welcomed his advances earlier in the day. He would be packing up and moving back into his home in the morning. If he was going to make his move, now was the time.
Tomorrow night, he’d be back in that house across the street, living the same bachelor life as before. The only difference would be Robbie’s temporary presence, and even that wasn’t out of the ordinary. Shaking his head, Jack ran his hand through his hair and sighed. He’d never realized just how lonely his life was until coming to live with Tess. She made life interesting. There was never a lull in conversation, and she was funny, witty, and smart. She made him think and learn and discover feelings he’d never experienced before without even trying. Tess was an amazing woman, and he had the feeling that whether or not he was ready, she was the one for him.
Yes, he lived right across the street and would continue to help her throughout the days until the house was finished, but his moving back into his house would definitely limit the time he had with her. There would be no more dinners or late-night chats.
Now was his chance. The house was quiet, and they were finally alone. There was no chance of interruption, and at this point, he feared nothing could stop him once he had his hands on her.
Decision made, he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Tonight would be a night neither one of them would forget. He needed to feel Tess all around him, needed to hear her scream out his name in ecstasy as he drove into her again and again. Wandering back into the bedroom, he stopped abruptly as he discovered he wasn’t alone.
* * * *
She had no idea what she was doing, but she couldn’t wait a moment longer.
Jack had been in her home, driving her wild with his sensually erotic kisses and caresses for the last two weeks. Every moment she was near him she found herself wrapped in the deep blue pools of his eyes and the soft, yet firm, press of his lips. Even though she’d been dead set on not having a relationship with Jack in the beginning, those thoughts were long behind her now. She couldn’t let what they could have together pass her by. Their earlier encounter had held her on edge all day. She’d been more than ready to give herself to him right there in the entryway of her house where anyone could have walked in, just as Patrice had.
Jack was kind and considerate, always looking out for her well being. He stirred her desires like no man ever had. He was the one good thing that had happened to her since her partner’s death. What kind of fool would she be to let him go without at least trying to grasp what they could have together?
On many a night, she’d wanted to sneak into his room and seduce him. She imagined herself screaming out in pleasure as he drove her over the edge with his skilled caresses, but she’d never dared act on her imagination. Danger still lurked around the corner, and she would do whatever she could to keep him safe.
But now that danger was long gone, and her desire was permanently set to overdrive. Her need for Jack was at an all-time high. She wanted him unlike any man she’d known before.
Every time he’d pressed his lips to hers or lifted her against the wall to hold her there with his body, she’d gone to him willingly and with enthusiasm. After the episode in the entryway today, she’d decided it was time to take matters into her own hands.
If she wanted this relationship to finally hit the next level, she was going to have to take it there herself. Jack had been a gentleman and accepted her pushing him away day after day, but now, she had no intention to continuing to do so. Looking out into the darkness of night, she’d watched as Robbie crossed the street to let himself into Jack’s house. Robbie was a sweetheart. He had many of the same characteristics as Jack, and yet, even though he was exceptionally handsome and charming, she only had eyes for Jack.
Watching a moment longer, she then turned from the window and strode to the full-length mirror to check her appearance.
Checking the pins holding her hair into place, she adjusted the form-fitting bodice of the baby-doll camisole she’d chosen to wear and grinned. It was light pink and so sheer it was nearly transparent. She could clearly see the outline of the tiny matching thong covering her most intimate area.
She only hoped Jack liked this sort of thing and wouldn’t consider her a tramp upon finding her in his bed dressed so provocatively.
Thanks to her placing Jack in the guestroom right next to hers, she was able to hear the shower start and know the perfect time to make her entrance.
Gathering every ounce of courage she possessed, she gave herself one final glance in the mirror and tiptoed out into the hallway.
Gripping the doorknob to Jack’s room, she paused and took a deep breath. This was it.
Twisting the knob, she grinned at finding it unlocked and pushed it open slowly. Sticking her head in, she peered about the room cautiously. When she spotted the bathroom door slightly ajar, she knew she’d be able to slip in unseen.
Twisting the dimmer switch to lower the lights in the room, she hurried over to the bed and halted abruptly.
Images of her and Jack rolling around on that bed had been the fodder for the seemingly never-ending erotic dreams that had plagued her since meeting Jack. Now she was about to live out one of those scintillating dreams. The thought left her slightly breathless.
As the sound of the shower shutting off reached her ears, she grabbed the indecently short hem of her camisole and crawled onto the enormous bed, settling herself in the center.
She didn’t know what had gotten into her, but as Jack came out of the bathroom covered in nothing but a towel, his broad, muscular chest and shoulders shimmering with small droplets of water and his hair dripping slightly onto said chest and shoulders, she was more than happy it had.
*
Jack stopped abruptly and gaped most inelegantly at the woman seated so provocatively on his bed.
For a long moment he stood as still as a statue, afraid that if he moved, the image before him would waver and disappear like a thin fog. How many times had he dreamed of this very thing happening? Immediately he felt himself harden as he took in her scantily clad body. The sheer pink material of her top clung to her dewy skin intoxicatingly as he peered at the tightly budded nipples pressing against the fine material.
Her hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders and trailed lovingly to the middle of her back.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He’d never seen anything as beautiful as the woman seated before him. The urge to race forward and throw himself upon her pressed against him heavily.
“Is something the matter?”
Blinking, he forced himself to meet her inquiring gaze. “What are you doing here?”
He knew it wasn’t the best thing to
say at the moment, but the sight of her sitting in the middle of his bed, so sensual and alluring, caused a major malfunction in his brain. He was lucky he could even get that short sentence out.
An expression of uncertainty crossed her delicate features as she regarded him warily, then she shifted slightly as though to get off the bed. “I just thought … p-perhaps I should go.” Clutching her chest with shaking hands, she slid off the side of the bed and started quickly toward the door.
She was getting away. This was the chance he’d been waiting for, and he was letting her get away.
“No, wait!” he shrieked as he raced forward, catching her wrist just as she grasped the doorknob.
She looked at him.
“I didn’t mean for you to go,” he said.
“No, really.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have come. This was a mistake.”
He didn’t know if she was trying to convince him or herself, but either way, it wasn’t working. Color rose to her cheeks as she tried fruitlessly to pull her wrist free of his gentle hold, and the quickening of her breath as he moved closer to her told him as much.
Lifting her hand to his lips, he pressed a gentle kiss to her palm and smiled as he watched goose bumps dot her skin
“No, it isn’t,” he said quietly as he raised his eyes to hers. “Nothing between the two of us could ever be a mistake.”
Tess blinked up at him, bewildered.
Stepping closer, he slid his hand over her shoulder to the nape of her neck before sliding his fingers into her thick, silky strands of hair.
She shivered under his touch, and he hardened for her immediately. Her eyes blazed with undisguised passion as he lowered his lips to hers.
What he’d intended to be a soft, measuring kiss before a slow night of long-anticipated lovemaking turned heated and frantic in a matter of seconds when Tess turned to fire in his arms.
Slipping her arms around his neck, she kissed him hungrily. Her soft lips against his and the feel of her feminine curves shifting subtly against his naked flesh sent his already rampant arousal to its peak.
Quickly, she lowered her hands to the towel and ripped the material away.
Reaching down, Jack slid his hands over the round globes of her ass and lifted her off her feet. She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing his diamond-hard erection between them against his stomach and her barely-covered torso.
The damp heat of her core shifting against him drove him to the edge of insanity as she held him tightly with her legs and let her hands roam over him freely.
Lowering his head, he trailed open-mouthed kisses along her jaw line to her neck and lower still to her breasts. His body pulsed with desire as she pinched his nipples.
He needed to get control of himself or he wouldn’t make it much farther. He hadn’t felt this level of need in his entire life. Something about Tess turned him into a mass of unadulterated, uncontrollable arousal, and he’d be damned if he’d waited this long to have her only to spill himself like a horny teen before he even entered her. Biting his lip, he struggled to push his last remaining ounce of control back into place.
Taking a step forward, Jack pressed Tess against the closed door and held her body against it with his own, freeing his hands to explore her further.
Sliding his hands over her breasts, he slipped his fingers inside the sheer material of her camisole to find her already budded nipples. Rolling them between his finger and thumb, he teased and toyed until she gasped with pleasure. Gripping his hair, she pulled his lips back to hers and groaned loudly into his mouth.
Breaking the kiss, he lowered his head, pulled her breasts free from the confining material, and took one firm nipple into his mouth. Suckling the tender flesh greedily, he thrust his rigid erection against her core.
“Oh God, Jack.” She moaned louder as he continued to have his way with her ample bosom.
Thrusting himself against her again, she gripped his waist tighter with her legs and pressed herself into the thrust.
Gripping the material of her camisole, he ripped it over her head and tossed it to the floor before reaching down to grasp the scrap of material she considered panties. With one smooth tug, he ripped the cloth from her and tossed that piece of clothing to the floor with the other.
Her center immediately pressed flesh-to-flesh with his cock, and they both shuddered.
*
The feel of Jack’s naked flesh pressing against hers sent a heated chill the length of her entire body. She’d never wanted someone as badly as she did Jack. Her body hummed with pleasure as he nipped and laved at her sensitive nipples.
Sliding her hands over his broad shoulders and chest, she shivered as he continued his torturous nipple play.
She ached to have him inside her. The press of his hard manhood against her feminine flesh sent her into a whirlwind of need. With every subtle thrust against her naked flesh, she came closer and closer to her peak.
The thought that she needed him deep within her desperately had just flown through her mind when one of his hands left her breast and slipped between them.
Her breath caught in her throat as his fingers danced across her intimate area, finding the sensitive bud of her womanhood.
Slowly, he circled the tender flesh with the pad of his thumb.
“Do you like that?” he asked, his voice gravelly against the curve of her neck where he nipped playfully.
The sound of Jack’s rugged voice uttering those words sent her soaring. Was there anything she wouldn’t like about him?
Apparently not.
As much as she wanted to answer him, she couldn’t, not with him teasing her as he was, so a frantic nod would have to suffice.
“And what about this?” he asked, pressing one long finger deep into her core ever so slowly.
Her body jerked against the intrusion but immediately relaxed as he set into a delectable rhythm, pressing his fingers deep, all the while circling her clit with his thumb.
A strangled “yes” answered his question.
She was on fire, burning up from the inside out as he tormented her with his expert touch. Unable to control herself, she writhed shamelessly against his hands. Reaching between them, she grasped his cock and smiled as he sucked in a breath.
Slowly, she stroked him in rhythm with his ministrations.
Quickly, he brushed her hand away.
Opening her eyes, she’d started to protest when he grinned and removed his hand from her.
“If you like that, then you’ll love this.”
With one quick, fluid movement, he slid himself into her.
His size was more than she’d bargained for, and as her body stretched to its limit, she immediately began to climax.
It was all too much, too overwhelming, and the feel of Jack seated deep inside her pushed her over the edge into the brilliant abyss of release.
He held as still as a stone as she cried out while wave after turbulent wave of passion washed over her.
Gripping his hair, she floated down from her all-time high and opened her eyes to peer into his. He watched her reaction to his lovemaking with sheer pleasure, and that fact sent another round of heat searing through her.
As strongly as she’d just come, she was shocked to realize she needed more. She needed him again, and now.
Tightening her legs around his waist, she pressed him deeper within her.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered against his mouth as she pressed a soft kiss to his lips.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said huskily. “I need you, Tess. I need to take you, hard.”
Just the sound of his voice sent tremors of passion shooting through her, and in that moment, she knew no matter what he needed from her, she would give it. It was a frightening thought, but a fact she couldn’t deny.
“Yes,” she moaned when he thrust into her with force. “Anything.”
The cold door bit into her back, but she didn’t care as Jack thrust into her again and
again.
Slipping his hands beneath her ass, Jack stepped away from the door and still standing, pumped into her relentlessly.
Her head lolled back as every slide in and out built the most delicious friction. Suddenly, she was hurtled violently into ecstasy as her climax hit her hard and fast.
“Jack!” she screamed out with her pleasure as, one last time, Jack plunged into her and cried out her name as he claimed his own release.
Chapter Fifteen
Shutting off the water, Jack grinned.
The night had gone by in a flurry of heated caresses, hungry kisses, and frantic lovemaking.
Tess was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman, and now if he hadn’t misread the situation, she was his. Or, at least he hoped she was. Things were still a little sketchy in that department. But he was confident. She’d responded to him without reserve through the night.
Things were looking up for them, and he was thrilled. The threat to Tess’s life seemed to have waned, and they had finally moved on to the next step in their relationship.
A relationship, he mused. For the first time in a long time, he was in a real relationship with a woman he not only desired but also truly cared about.
Grabbing a towel from the nearest rack, he quickly dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist. Due to their full night of lovemaking, he’d overslept, and it was already afternoon. Robbie would be arriving any minute.
Just as the thought entered his mind, the sound of his cell phone ringing caught his attention.
Hurrying from the bathroom, he strode to the nightstand quickly and retrieved his cell before it woke Tess.
“Hello,” he answered softly.
“Hey, bro. Are you busy?” Robbie asked.
Glancing to the clock, Jack shook his head. “No, I just got out of the shower.”
“Good. I’ll be there in ten.”
The sound of Robbie disconnecting the call reached his ear, and he frowned.
Something was wrong. Robbie rarely ever sounded serious.
What was happening? Robbie insisted on looking into her deceased partner’s family, but Jack was confident he wouldn’t find anything. After all, there hadn’t been any attacks on Tess since the attempted kidnapping.
The Stranger Next Door Page 12