Claim Me Now (Heron Harbor Book 2)

by Lea Nolan

  “I make a mean hamburger if you need someone to man the grill,” Jack offered.

  “I thought you didn’t want to cook,” Raven said.

  “Do you see the size of that thing? It’s like an Escalade. Who wouldn’t want to take that baby out for a drive?” Jack said.

  Raven rolled her eyes.

  “The only one touching that thing is me. You can get a propane tank from behind the restaurant. Go straight through the kitchen out the back.” Juan pointed Jack toward the front door.

  When Jack was out of earshot, Juan turned to Raven. “I thought your sister did well with Smith, but you won the prize. He’s magnificent. I hope he’s not stupid. Sometimes the hot ones are unbearably dumb.”

  Heat rushed to Raven’s cheeks. “Oh, no. We’re not together. It’s a long story, but he’s Lark’s friend. And no, he’s not dumb. Far from it.”

  “Ah, Lark, the mysterious Donovan sister who never comes to Heron Harbor,” Juan said.

  Raven laughed. “The one and only.”

  Brittany’s head whipped in Raven’s direction. “Did you say you and Jack aren’t together?” Shit. Brittany’s available-man-detector had gone off. Just as she suspected.

  “We came here together, but no, we’re not together-together. Like a couple. We’re just friends,” Raven blathered. Did that sound as idiotic coming out of her mouth as she thought?

  Juan’s brow crinkled. “Are you sure? Because I wish he looked at me the way he looks at you.”

  Raven nodded. “We are. Friends. Just.” Plus a whole lot of tasty, none-of-your-business, side dishes.

  Brittany scoffed. “Wow. Too bad for you. Do you mind if I get his number? I have a feeling the next couple of nights are going to be long, dark, and boring. Might as well spice it up.”

  Oh, hell no. As long as he was on the island, Jack was all hers.

  Whoa. What the hell was happening to her? Was this feeling . . . jealousy?

  It was. And it could only mean one thing: she liked Jack more than she realized. She didn’t know how to feel about that, but she knew one thing: as soon as that ferry came, they’d go their separate ways. She had to make every moment with him count.

  Raven smiled wide. “Actually, I do.”

  Brittany’s eyelids flew open in surprise. “Oh. I didn’t expect . . . uh . . . okay, message received.”

  “Great,” Raven answered.

  “Don’t worry, Brit, there’ll be a ton of guys here today you can try to pick up,” Juan teased.

  “You’re just jealous that I’ll be successful, and you won’t,” Brittany snapped back.

  Juan clutched his heart. “Ugh, you’ve bested me once again.”

  Jack came through the front door with the propane tank and was immediately aware of Raven’s gaze. She tracked his every move with a new intensity until he set the tank on the ground beside the grill. “You want me to hook this up?” he asked Juan.

  “That’s okay. I’ll do it,” Juan answered.

  Rising to his full height, he turned around. Raven, Juan, and Brittany were staring at him, a blinking neon clue they’d been talking about him in his absence. Even Brilla was looking at him, head cocked to the side.

  Suddenly hot, he peeled off his jacket, revealing his favorite NYU sweatshirt. “Did I miss something?”

  Brittney shook her head, her greedy eyes scanning the length of him. “Trust me, you’re not missing a thing.”

  Note to self: steer clear of Brittany.

  Which was exactly what he did the rest of the day as he and Raven worked together. For hours they served food to people who stopped by because they were hungry or wanted to bring something back to a neighbor or a sick friend.

  He and Raven were a flawless team, anticipating each other’s needs and communicating without words as they filled people’s orders from the hot serving trays. She’d dish out the sides of rice, beans, pasta, veggies, or soup, and he’d get the grilled fish, chicken, or beef, and dessert. Every couple of hours, she’d brush her breasts or backside against him and apologize, then shoot him a glance that let him know it wasn’t so accidental. He wished they were back at the beach house so he could take her to his bedroom and show her how much he appreciated it.

  The kitchen closed when they ran out of food, eight hours after they’d started. Today, he’d done something good for people. No one profited. No one was exploited. Hungry people ate.

  It was pure and honest and valuable in ways that couldn’t be calculated.

  “You ready to head back?” Raven asked, a wine bottle in one hand and to-go boxes in the other.

  He’d go anywhere with her. “What do you have there?” He rose to his feet after wrangling Brilla from her dozing spot under one of the tables.

  Raven handed him the bottle. “Juan gave us this as a thank you for helping out.”

  It was a 2014 Bordeaux blend, Chateau Pontet-Canet. “This is a good wine.”

  “Let’s go home and drink it.”

  Home. What would it be like if they did live together? He shoved the thought away. It was an impossibility.

  As soon as they hit the house, Jack couldn’t keep his hands to himself. He pinned her to the wall in the hallway and kissed her senseless, running his hands through her gorgeous dark hair.

  “Jack,” she moaned as he nipped at her soft neck.

  Dropping her shoulder, she wiggled out of her coat and tossed it on the floor, then yanked at his jacket zipper.

  Shedding that layer, he kissed her with a new sense of urgency. Tonight was borrowed time, an unexpected gift from the universe. There was no telling when the ferry would come, but he’d be among the first to leave when it did.

  Until then, every moment with Raven needed to count.

  Her arms threaded around his waist, and she tugged him close, pressing herself against his body. Heat surged through him as they fell into a tangle of lips, tongues, and clutching hands. So much lust coursed through his veins that he couldn’t tell where he ended, and she began.

  Raven yanked at his belt, freeing it from its buckle. “I need you. Now.” Her breath heaved.

  He shook his head. “No. We’re taking this slow tonight. I’m going to taste every inch of your body.” Bending slightly, he scooped her into his arms and headed through the foyer.

  “Where are we going?” she laughed.

  “To bed. So I can make love to you properly.”

  In her room, he kicked the door shut to keep out the dog, then set Raven on the bed. Turning to the bedside table, he lit the candle and took note of the condom wrapper next to it.

  “Now, where was I?” Jack knelt at her feet and pulled off her tennis shoes. He stood between her legs and went to take off her top.

  She put her hands on his. “Take off your clothes first.”

  “Why?”

  “I love your body. I like to look at it.”

  “When you put it that way, how can I say no?” Jack kicked off his shoes, pulled off his sweatshirt, and his long-sleeved tee. Under her watchful gaze, he unbuttoned his jeans and slowly slid them off, then shed his briefs. He was rock hard and ready but determined to make this night last.

  Raven inched to the edge of the bed and ran her fingertips down his taut stomach. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “I think that’s my line.” He brushed her hair away from her face.

  “Doesn’t make it untrue.”

  Cupping her chin, he tilted her head to meet his gaze. “Not half as beautiful as you.” He leaned down and brushed his lips on hers. “I don’t think you understand how much you turned me on today. I wanted to take you into the restaurant, find a back room, and do terrible things to you.”

  She smiled. “They wouldn’t have been so terrible.”

  A rumble stirred in his throat. “No, they would have been very, very good.”

  “Like this.” She took him in her hands, then inched forward and closed her mouth on his smooth skin.

  Jack drew a deep inhale. “This was . . . supposed
to be . . . about you.” His thoughts melted into nothingness as he gave in to the blissful sensation. His fingers found their way to Raven’s scalp and wound around her hair. Need swelled in him. He wanted her, desperately. And not just sexually, right here and now.

  This thing between them was too good to walk away. Some small place inside him screamed that this couldn’t possibly be the last time they slept together. But that part was overshadowed by the overwhelming desire to stop now before this ended too soon.

  He pulled his hips back, breaking their bond.

  Raven looked up at him, disappointed. “I wasn’t finished.”

  “I almost did. And that would have ruined my plan to take this slow. It’s time for you to lose your clothes.” He peeled off her sweater, then her tank. Her bra was a lacy lavender. “Tell me your panties match.”

  “Take off my leggings and see for yourself.” Stretching her arms over her head, she lay back against the bed.

  He made quick work of the leggings, tossing them over his shoulder. His prize lay beneath, a pair of sexy-as-hell, lavender lace panties. He ran his fingertips over the silky satin, then crawled up onto the bed between Raven’s legs.

  “You promised to kiss every inch of my body.”

  He raised his brow. “I never break my word.”

  Chapter 15

  Jack placed his mouth on the thin, silky fabric between Raven’s legs. Heat roared over her as he nipped gently at her tender, swollen flesh. She moaned, desperate for more, and mentally commanded him to take off her panties.

  As if he’d read her mind, he hooked the elastic with his fingers, then pulled them down and off, giving him access to her most private of areas. Closing her eyes, her breath quickened in anticipation of what would come next.

  Hot, wet pleasure enveloped her as his tongue traced the contours of her sex. He kissed her there, but he didn’t linger long. Instead, he honored his promise and lavished every curve and hollow of her body with attention. It was yet another earth-quaking experience. No other man had taken this much time and care, caressing her body like it was a precious thing.

  Until tonight, sex had always been fun, fast, and sometimes a vehicle for knocking out her frustrations. After spending the weekend with Jack and reveling in his expert touch, she was starting to understand how deep and meaningful sex could be.

  The pleasure mounting in her body had a bittersweet edge. This could be the last time she ever felt this desired and adored. When the ferry arrived, she and Jack would leave the island and likely never see each other again. This experience would be a distant memory.

  Jack’s mouth was at her breast now, his tongue flicking at her hard nipple. He sucked it, grazing it across the edge of his teeth. Her fists clenched the bedsheets, and her back arched against the mattress. Desperate for release, her skin practically radiated with desire.

  “Raven, I want you so badly,” he growled.

  She placed her hands on the sides of his face. “Then take me, please,” she begged.

  He shifted the condom. Lying down between Raven’s legs, he grasped her hands, entwining their fingers. Looking into her eyes, he entered her.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said as he slowly slid inside her. “So, so beautiful.”

  Her breath shuddered. The intensity of his gaze was blinding and almost too much to bear, but she didn’t dare close her eyes.

  “Jack, I . . . ” Words and emotions locked in her throat, and her voice caught.

  If she could, she’d tell him how he made her feel, that she didn’t want this weekend to end, and her growing fear that her heart might break if she never saw him again. But those realizations were as frightening as they were foreign, and since she barely recognized them as her own, she could hardly voice them out loud.

  “It’s okay, don’t say anything,” Jack said softly. “Just relax and enjoy it. I want you to feel how much I want you.” He kissed the spot on her neck that made her tingle, and Raven closed her eyes and sank into the sensation.

  Moments later, hands clutched, legs entwined, they came apart in each other’s arms. For a long time afterward, they lay in silence, the only sound the beating of their hearts.

  Finally, Jack broke the quiet. “We’re really good at this.” As she curled against his chest, his fingertips painted lazy circles along her bare back.

  “And we’re really bad at staying separate-but-together,” she said.

  He laughed. “We’re the worst.”

  She reached to stroke his stubble. “This looks really good on you. Have you ever had a beard?”

  “Not in ages.”

  “I think you should keep it. It’s too bad I won’t get to see it grown in.”

  He paused for a long moment like he’d been mulling something. “As much as I need to get back to work, I kind of hope it takes a while for that ferry to show up.” He rolled onto his side and faced her. “The longer it takes, the more of this we can do.” He cupped her jaw, then pressed a sweet kiss to her lips.

  Funny. The same thought had been playing in her mind. She’d always known this weekend would have to end, but now that the time was drawing near, a part of her wished she could freeze the clock and hide out in this dreamland with Jack.

  But that was a fantasy. Real life awaited and she had decisions to make. She kissed him back, savoring the sensation of his lips on hers. “But the ferry will come. And then we’ll leave Heron Harbor and go our separate ways.”

  “We will.” The note of finality in his voice was somber. “Unless we decide not to.”

  Raven’s heart tripped in her chest. The possibility of taking whatever this was between them beyond this weekend should have excited her, but instead, it sent a shock of terror up her spine. She’d never contemplated being in a relationship before, nor had any man ever said he’d wanted her to. The prospect of having both offered by someone as wonderful, charming, sexy, and handsome as Jack was paralyzing.

  She shook her head. “We had an agreement.”

  “Those are broken all the time. You said so yourself.”

  She scoffed. “Yeah, by disreputable assholes. Never by me.”

  He ran his fingers through her hair, pushing it back off her forehead. “Look, people change. Things evolve. We’re allowed to change our minds.”

  A normal woman would be jumping for joy at this moment. Raven was acutely aware she wasn’t normal. Because while she was reasonably sure she didn’t want to be without Jack, she couldn’t bring herself to say she’d be with him either.

  She sat up, mostly to avoid his hypnotic gaze. A sigh slipped through her lips. “It wouldn’t work.”

  “How are you so sure?”

  “For starters, we don’t live in the same place.”

  He sat up, turning to face her. “We can drive. And there’s FaceTime and Skype.”

  He made it sound so easy. It was anything but easy. “Everything about my life is up in the air right now. I’ll be moving soon, and I don’t even know where.”

  “If you’re worried about the distance, we could fly.”

  Jack had an answer for everything. So why didn’t she feel convinced?

  “I’ll be looking for a new job. That has to be my focus.” Just because she couldn’t get one in her field for twelve months didn’t mean she wouldn’t look for something new or volunteer. She needed to be free to explore her options.

  “I get it. My job is important to me, too.”

  “Do you? Work is all I’ve done since I got out of school. It’s my entire life. My identity. I have to prioritize it over everything else.”

  Over her choking fear of the unknown, of rejection, of potential happiness. Way to self-sabotage, Rae.

  Understanding dawned in Jack’s eyes. “Okay. I hear you,” he said quietly as he leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Tell me you were at least tempted to consider it.”

  “Only a stupid woman wouldn’t have been.”

  He smiled. “Thanks.” They sat in silence for a long moment until Jack
spoke up. “Hey, we forgot about that wine. It’s still downstairs in the foyer.”

  Grateful for the change of subject, Raven smiled. “Go get it.” Her nerves could use alcohol.

  Jack got out of bed, pulled on his briefs, then headed out of the room. When he opened the door to go downstairs, Brilla bounded inside, yapping her discontent at being locked out.

  Raven leaned over the side of the mattress and grabbed Jack’s T-shirt. The black and gray dog looked up at her expectedly. She was actually sort of cute now, the consequence of a few days of healthy food, attention, and love. “Sorry, pup, sometimes three’s a crowd.” Brilla leaped up onto the blanket chest in front of the footboard and barked in defiance.

  “I thought we agreed to be friends.” Raven held out her hand, but the dog ignored her, lying down with a huff.

  Raven rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever.” She tugged on the T-shirt and breathed in Jack’s scent.

  Jack returned with the wine bottle in one hand, two empty glasses in the other, and the box of Tinks tucked beneath his arm. Raven’s stomach tightened at the sight of the yellow and blue box.

  At the sight of her master, Brilla wagged her tail, thumping it against the top of the blanket chest.

  “Sorry, girl, this isn’t for you.” He dropped the box on the bed, poured two glasses of the garnet-colored wine, then joined Raven under the covers. “What should we drink to?”

  Ignoring the Tinks, she focused on the myriad suggestions that came to mind. The weekend had given her plenty of reasons to celebrate. The best orgasms she’d ever had, Jack’s stunning body—a work of art all on its own—or the way he’d taken her mind off the worst blow she’d had in years. But there was one person who deserved this tribute over anyone else.

  She raised her glass. “To Lark and her epic scheduling screw up.”

  “To Lark. May she never lose her artful quirkiness.” He clinked his glass against hers.

  They drank the dark red wine. Its luscious spice and berry flavors burst on her tongue. “Wow. This is great.”

  Jack nodded. “Juan did us a solid. It’s probably too fine to pair with a Tink, but what the hell?” He reached for the box and tossed a cellophane-wrapped cake her way, then pulled one out for himself and tore open the wrapper with his teeth. “I’ve been wondering what these things taste like all weekend.”