Beach Reads Boxed Set

by Marie Force

  He awakened with a start, his eyes holding hers with an intensity that stopped her heart.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  With his hand buried in her hair he brought her mouth to his, devouring her as he rolled her under him and took her to the place she could only go with him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  When Jessie heard the bathroom door open, she got up to go to him. With any other man, she would have told him to get lost after the way he’d lashed out at her. But she knew he was distraught over the vandalism and needed to vent. For some reason, she was pleased he had chosen to take it out on her. People only did that to those they were most comfortable with.

  “I made you a sandwich.” She led him into the kitchen and nudged him down into a chair. Placing a heaping turkey sandwich and a beer in front of him, she reached for her glass of wine and sat with him while he ate.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “No problem.”

  He swallowed a bite of sandwich and took a long drink of his beer. “I’m sorry for what I said.”

  “I’m sorry if I’ve distracted you from your work.”

  “You haven’t.” His face lifted into a small smile. “Well, you have, but I’m not complaining. It wasn’t fair for me to talk to you that way.”

  She reached for his hand and linked her fingers with his. “You were upset, I was handy. It’s okay.”

  “It’s not okay.”

  As he looked at her with those piercing blue eyes, a strange sensation came over her. Oh God, I love him.

  “Jessie? What’s wrong?”

  She cleared her throat and took a sip of her wine. “Nothing.”

  “You just got this crazy look on your face, like you were freaked out by something.”

  Smiling, she marveled at how he saw right through her. “I’m just very grateful that you weren’t hurt in that fire.”

  He finished the sandwich and pushed the plate to the side. “I’m sorry you were worried.”

  “Will you talk to me about how you’re feeling? You’re all but vibrating with tension and frustration.”

  Abruptly, he released her hand and got up to put his plate in the sink. He stood there for a long moment before he turned back to her.

  What she saw on his face broke the heart she had recently given to him.

  “Can we go outside? I need some air.”

  “Sure we can.” She followed him to the patio where the night sky was peppered with stars, and the moon cast a silvery glow on the bay. “It’s so beautiful here.”

  “Isn’t it? When Travis first told me what he wanted to do, I thought he was nuts. He’d made a fortune in the stock market and could’ve lived large for the rest of his life. Instead, he wanted to build something lasting.”

  “That’s admirable.”

  Beck nodded. “He had a real vision, and I have to give him credit. Against tremendous odds, he’s made it happen.”

  “And you hate that someone’s messing with it.”

  “Hell yes I hate it! It pisses me off.”

  “And you hate that you can’t stop it.”

  “Yes,” he said softly.

  “It’s not your fault, Peter. You’ve done everything you can and then some.”

  “But it’s not enough. Someone was nearly killed here tonight. Do you know what that would’ve done to Travis?”

  “How about what it’s doing to you?”

  “That doesn’t matter.”

  She stepped closer to him and slid her arms around his waist. “It matters to me.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not worth it, Jessie.”

  “I don’t agree.” She resisted his efforts to break free of her embrace. “You can fight me and you can push me away, but I’ll keep coming back.”

  “Why?” he asked, baffled.

  She wasn’t sure he was ready to hear the real reason, and she wasn’t certain she was ready to say it. “Because you are worth it.”

  “I don’t deserve you.”

  “Why would you say that?” she asked, alarmed to see him so defeated when he was usually upbeat and confident.

  “I’ve got a miserable track record.” He paused and looked down at the floor, his shoulders stooping. “I’ve been engaged. Twice.”

  “What happened?”

  “They both found someone they liked better.”

  Jessie’s eyes burned, and her heart ached. “And you’re worried that if you take a chance on me, on what’s happening between us, I’ll do the same thing?”

  He shrugged. “Look at you. All you’d have to do is snap your fingers—”

  “After everything I’ve told you, everything I’ve shared with you, do you think I’d snap my fingers at someone else? I’ve told you things I’ve never told another living soul.”

  “Why me? That’s what I don’t get. Why me?”

  She reached up to run her fingers through his thick blond hair. “Because I recognized you. That first moment I saw you I knew you, and I’ll never want anyone but you.”

  “How can you know that? You’ve only known me a few days!”

  “I know it. I know it all the way down to my soul.” Moving her hands to the back of his head, she drew him down to her and poured all her love into a kiss. “I’ll never leave you for someone else. I swear to you.”

  “I’m supposed to be taking care of you. How’d you end up taking care of me?”

  “There’s no reason we can’t take care of each other.”

  His strong arms tightened around her and lifted her. “I love you, Jessie. I hardly know you, but I love you so damned much.”

  “And I love you. Just as much.” Jessie gripped his shoulders, surprised by how easily the words came with the right person in the right moment. “Take me to bed, Peter.”

  He didn’t ask any questions this time. Rather he tightened his hold on her and walked them into the bedroom. Easing her down to her feet, he brushed his lips over hers.

  “Will you do something for me?” she asked.

  “Anything at all.”

  “Will you not treat me like I’m fragile? Will you treat me like you would any other woman?”

  “You’re not any other woman. You’re the woman.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You’ll hurt me if you coddle me. Make me your woman.”

  “You already are, Jessie,” he whispered as his lips took fierce possession of hers. His tongue swirled through her mouth, darting and plunging. He tugged at her tank top. “Take it off.”

  Holding his gaze, she reached for the hem and pulled the shirt up and over her head.

  His eyes darkened at the sight of her bare breasts. He reached for her flimsy pajama pants at the same instant she tugged on his shirt.

  They laughed.

  “Hurry,” she said as clothes landed in a heap on the floor.

  When they were naked, he rolled on a condom and then took a step back from her.

  “What?”

  “I just want to look.”

  A nervous giggle rippled through her.

  He sighed. “Amazing.”

  “You’re not too bad yourself. How ’bout you bring that over here? I’ve been waiting an awfully long time for this.”

  “I’m having performance anxiety,” he muttered as he drew her down next to him on the bed.

  “Don’t.” Jessie could honestly say she had never experienced anything quite like the sensation of being pressed against his hard, muscular body. His chest hair tickled her breasts as his leg worked its way between hers. Nuzzling her nose into his neck, she took a deep breath of sexy man. “Peter?”

  His hand traced a lazy trail up and down her back. “Hmm?”

  “Will you do whatever you did the other day to make me. . . You know. . .”

  “Come?” he whispered in her ear, sending a sizzle of tension straight through her.

  Her face heated with embarras
sment. “Yes.”

  He massaged her shoulder. “You’re so rigid, baby. Try to relax. Nothing’s going to happen unless you want it to.”

  “I’m afraid I’ll chicken out,” she confessed, looking up at him. “Don’t let me, okay? No matter what I say or do, don’t stop.”

  “I’m not going to force you, Jessie.”

  “You won’t be forcing me. Promise me.”

  “How about you just relax and let nature take its course?” He urged her onto her back.

  Jessie struggled to calm her racing heart and trembling body.

  “Close your eyes,” he whispered. “Just relax and remember I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone.” He cupped her breast and ran first his thumb and then his tongue over her pebbled nipple.

  The movement of his tongue sent hot darts of desire straight to her core. He sucked her nipple into his mouth, and she cried out. As he moved to give her other breast the same treatment, Jessie couldn’t stay still—or quiet. She squirmed under him, raising her hips, the need building like a tidal wave. Since she had done as he asked and kept her eyes closed, she wasn’t prepared for his tongue to dip into her belly button.

  “What. . . What’re you doing?”

  “Shh. Relax, honey. Trust me?”

  “I do. You know I do.”

  “Then let me make you feel so good.” He continued to kiss his way down until he was poised between her legs. “Spread your legs a little more.”

  Jessie bit her lip to keep from dissolving into tears. Everything he had done so far had been wonderful, but the nagging bead of fear that had ruined this in the past lodged in her chest. Determined not to let it happen again and reminding herself that this time was all about love, she gingerly moved her feet further apart on the bed.

  Using his broad shoulders, he coaxed her knees until she was spread open before him.

  Her face burned with shame and greedy desire that was all new to her.

  “So beautiful,” he whispered against her inner thigh. Before she had time to panic over what he intended to do, he slid his big hands under her, cupped her buttocks, and raised her to meet his questing tongue.

  “Oh God,” she groaned. The position alone was almost enough to undo her, but with the added strokes of his firm tongue, he had her dangling on the edge in no time at all. Closing her eyes tight against the mortification, she listened to him feast on her wetness. The aroma of sex mingled with the scented candles she had lit earlier.

  “Come for me, Jessie,” he said, rolling her throbbing clitoris between his lips. He flicked his tongue over her. “Now.”

  On his command, the orgasm pounded through her with such force it knocked the wind right out of her. She gasped for air as the sensations rocketed from her over-sensitized breasts to the soles of her feet and everywhere in between. Still in the throes of the powerful release, she gasped in surprise when he slid into her.

  Her eyes flew open to find him gazing down at her with love and wonder and infinite tenderness. If she hadn’t already loved him, she would have fallen for him right then.

  Once he was fully sheathed in her, he held still for a long, breathless moment. “Okay?”

  Biting her lip, she nodded.

  Propped up on trembling arms, his jaw pulsed with tension. To Jessie, he had never been more handsome—or more fiercely sexy. “God, baby, you’re so tight.” Without moving his hips, he bent to kiss her.

  Jessie tasted her own essence on his lips and tongue. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she held him in place and tightened her internal muscles to hug his throbbing penis.

  Uttering a jagged gasp, he said, “Jessie. . . I need to move.”

  She raised her hips to encourage him.

  His thrusts were slow and measured.

  Jessie could feel him holding back and appreciated his effort to ensure this first time was good for her.

  A bead of sweat formed on his forehead, and she reached up to brush it away.

  “Are you okay, honey?” he asked, his voice tight with tension and concern.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Feels so good.” Nothing about this was in any way related to what had happened in the past. Filled with joy that she had finally managed to experience this with a man she loved and respected, Jessie climbed toward another climax.

  His open mouth came down hard on hers, his tongue mimicked the action of his hips, and when he cupped her bottom to hold her tight against him, Jessie came.

  He pumped hard into her a few more times, milking her orgasm, before he let himself go. Breathing hard and sweating, he buried his face in the curve of her neck to whisper sweet words of love and comfort that she couldn’t quite hear.

  It didn’t matter, though. He didn’t have to say anything. He’d already told her everything she needed to know and had given her the priceless gift of a first time she’d never, ever forget.

  Liana thought she was dreaming when she woke just before dawn to the sound of a dog barking. She lay still for several minutes and listened to the distant barking. Then she reached for Travis.

  “Travis,” she said, shaking him.

  “Mmmm.”

  “Travis! Wake up.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I think I hear Dash.”

  His eyes opened as he lay still to listen. “It’s her!” He flew out of bed, grabbed jeans from the pile on the floor, and jumped into them.

  Liana stayed in bed and listened to him leave in the elevator. After he was gone, she got up and went to his closet to borrow his robe. She was dying to go out on the patio to try to see them but was afraid there might be paparazzi lurking. The last thing she wanted was to give them a free shot of her in a bathrobe. So while she waited she paced back and forth in the living room. Her heart raced with excitement when the elevator chimed a few minutes later.

  Travis carried Dash into the apartment.

  Liana clapped with joy. “Dash!” Tears sprang to her eyes as she hugged the dog and Travis at the same time.

  Dash licked her face.

  Liana smiled at the enthusiastic greeting. “Oh, you had us so worried! Where were you, sweet girl?” She glanced up and caught Travis gazing at her again just as he had in the meeting the other day—as if she was the answer to his every prayer. “What?” she asked softly.

  He shook his head.

  Not sure whether he was unable or unwilling to tell her what he felt, Liana returned her attention to the dog. “Is she all right?”

  “She’s filthy and stinks of smoke, but I can’t see any obvious injuries. I’ll take her to the vet this morning just to be sure. Until then,” he said, kissing the top of the dog’s head, “it’s to the tub with you.”

  Dash whined and buried her face in Liana’s armpit.

  Liana laughed and coaxed the dog out of hiding. “I can’t believe the way she always understands what you’re saying.” She followed Travis into the bathroom and helped him prepare the tub.

  “You might want to take shelter in the bedroom. This usually gets ugly.”

  Liana bent to kiss Travis’s cheek. “I’m so glad you found her.”

  “You found her,” he corrected, reaching up for a better kiss. “Why don’t you try to go back to sleep for a while? We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Will you call Beck’s cell to tell him we found Dash? The number is in my phone.”

  “I’ll take care of it.” She left him to bathe the dog, made the call to an elated Beck, and got back in bed. While she had good intentions of going back to sleep, she snickered at Travis’s muttered swears as he did battle with the disobedient dog. When he emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later soaked from head to toe, Liana laughed so hard she cried.

  “You think it’s funny?” he asked with a scowl.

  The face he made as he approached the bed only made her laugh harder. “Travis . . .” Realizing all at once what he intended to do, she attempted to escape, but he grabbed her ankle, pulled her back
toward him, and plopped down on top of her.

  She squealed from the blast of wetness he brought with him and dissolved into a new wave of hysterical laughter.

  He pinned her hands on either side of her head and shook like a dog, spraying cold water all over her.

  “Travis!”

  Even his lips were cold as they skimmed over her neck. Liana shuddered from both the chill and the heat of his touch.

  Dash came charging out of the bathroom and rolled around on the carpet before she stood up and with a mighty shake sent a fountain of water flying through the air.

  Travis laughed. “It was time to change the sheets anyway.” He dipped his head to kiss Liana.

  “Probably.” She opened her lips to welcome his invasion. When she finally pulled back from him, she said, “Let go of my hands. I want to touch you.”

  “No.” He raised her arms over her head and curled her fingers around the wooden slats of the headboard. “Leave them there.” His eyes narrowed with desire as he tugged at the belt of the robe. He unveiled her like a child opening his last gift on Christmas morning and wanting to make it last as long as possible.

  Liana’s knuckles were white, her lips dry, and her heart racing as he worshiped each new discovery. His hair, still damp from bathing the dog, trailed over her belly and she gasped from the sensation. “Travis.”

  He glanced up at her with eyes heavy with desire. “What do you want?”

  “You,” she said, breathless. “I want you.”

  He nudged her legs apart, but didn’t touch her there. Instead he left soft, wet kisses on her calf, her knee, her inner thigh.

  Liana groaned and lifted her hips off the bed in invitation.

  He laughed. “What a difference a few days makes.”

  “Shut up,” she said, panting, “and just do it, will you?”