by Elaine Fox
Blushing, she looked at her beer. Empty. She ordered another.
“I’m sorry?” she asked. Phil had said something to her. She dragged her eyes from Jack’s face and tried to look attentive.
“I asked if you were here with someone.” He scratched his forehead, leaving a momentary trail of white in the scorched area.
“Ah yes, actually. I just saw the person who invited me.” She inclined her head toward Jack and picked up her new beer, leaving the change for the bartender. She paused. “You know you can use calamine lotion for that burn. Or aloe vera.”
“Oh.” Phil raised a hand to his forehead and laughed self-consciously. “Yeah, thanks.”
She smiled. “Would you excuse me?”
Delaney made it through the crowd to stand just behind Jack before she noticed the petite redhead beside him. They were talking while Jack leaned both elbows on the bar, watching the bartender draw a beer from the tap.
She stood uncertainly, wondering if he’d hoped she wouldn’t actually come when he’d invited her, which was ridiculous. She let her eyes drop down his wide back to his legs and back up when the redhead turned and nailed her with bright blue eyes.
The wretched woman nudged Jack with her elbow, and said through an amused smile, “Hey, Jack, someone’s checkin’ you out.”
Delaney shook her head and exhaled, then forced a smile as Jack turned around.
The look she got in return was well worth the embarrassment. His face lit up at the sight of her, and he gave her that killer smile.
“You made it!”
Delaney was pretty sure she was glowing. “I may be sorry in the morning, but I made it.”
He pushed back to make a space for her in the crowd, and the redheaded girl behind him jabbed him in the back.
“Oh, sorry Carol.” He adjusted his stance to face both of them. “Delaney, Carol. Carol, Delaney.”
Delaney held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Carol’s mouth formed a one-sided smile as she shook Delaney’s hand in a strong, bony grip. “You too.”
“Carol was just complaining about how often she’s had to listen to this,” Jack explained.
“The bass player’s my husband,” Carol said.
“Oh.” Delaney nodded politely, relieved. Then added, “They sound good,” which was a lie so blatant both Carol and Jack started laughing.
“I told you she was nice.” Jack shifted his eyes from Carol to Delaney.
“Or deaf.” Carol smiled at her. “I’ll leave you to your date, Shep.” She threw a quick wink at Delaney, then turned back to Jack. “And don’t forget, I have some stuff to give you before you go tomorrow.”
“Might be early,” he warned.
“I don’t care. Wake me up.” She pushed off into the crowd.
Jack let her go with barely a glance. “So what changed your mind?”
Delaney shrugged, unable to repress a smile now that she had him to herself. What was it about him that turned her into a grinning idiot? “I’m not sure. I packed my bag and sat on the bed and thought, what the hell.”
Those hazel eyes, so unthreatening yet so unnerving, smiled back. He raised a brow. “What the hell, Jack? Or what the hell, beer?”
Delaney swallowed some of her beer. “That’s a very leading question.”
He raised his brows and crossed his arms over his chest. “I know.”
“I think I’m going to have to give you the safe answer and say beer.”
He shook his head and picked up his glass. “Story of my life.”
“Oh I’ll bet.”
They both laughed.
They stood next to each other for a long minute while Delaney searched for something to say. But all she could think about were his hands. What would he do if she took one in hers? she wondered. If she just held it, felt the breadth of its palm, the arrangement of its bones…
He leaned close. “Hey, this is about as slow as this band gets. Do you want to dance?” He gestured toward the packed dance floor.
Delaney glanced at the dancers locked in close embraces under a couple of dim strobing lights, and looked back into his eyes. “Yes. I would.”
He took her hand, enfolding it in his, and she squeezed it, feeling a sudden, overpowering hunger to be touched. They weaved through the crowd.
“I find myself wishing I’d decided to spend the week here,” he said, drawing her toward him with one hand and putting his other on her hip. “But then you’re leaving tomorrow anyway, aren’t you? It wouldn’t have done me any good.”
He was tall, at least six feet because Delaney at five-foot-five had to look quite a ways up to meet his gaze.
“Yes. I’ve got an 8:00 A.M. flight.” She wondered if she should mention that she might someday be back, but decided against it. Too many ifs and assumptions in that. Besides, he was probably just being polite.
“So we’re destined to be two ships passing in a weekend, huh?” He cocked his head.
“Well, one ship and a rental car.”
He laughed. “Right. Unfortunately the rental car’s moving a lot faster than my ship. So, what is it you do for a living? No, wait, let me guess.”
She gazed up at him, brows raised.
“You’re a vet. Veterinarian, that is, not a war veteran. You’ve got that scientific look in your eyes.”
The guess was so close she was momentarily taken aback.
“Wow, I’m impressed,” she said.
He bent his head toward her to hear as she spoke, and she could smell the shampoo he used, or maybe it was the fabric softener from his sweatshirt. Clean.
“So I was right? No kidding—hah!”
She’d been about to correct him, but he looked so happy to be right she didn’t have the heart.
“You know,” he continued, “I went against the obvious. Since you’re from D.C., I might have gone with lawyer, but you seem too human for that,” he said over the music.
She blinked up at him. “How did you know I was from D.C.?”
He smiled. “There are very few secrets in a town this small.”
“Goodness.” It was all she could think of to say. Why hadn’t she found out anything about him?
He chuckled. “Don’t look so nervous, now, I’m only kidding. You told Lois, at the diner, and she told me right after we had coffee this morning. Actually, I think her exact words were, ‘Don’t even think about it—she’s from D.C.’”
Delaney breathed a small sigh of relief. For a second she thought he might have called up the rental-car agency or somehow riffled through her purse. It would be just her luck to pick some great-looking stalker to flirt with.
They moved to the music, a vague, easy sort of rhythm. Her hand was on his shoulder, her palm small against its width.
She wanted to look up at him, to study his face, try to detect a flaw, but she couldn’t just stare up at him from so close. It wasn’t that he was perfect. No, he was not a pretty-boy. It didn’t even look as if he’d shaved today. But he had the kind of face that intrigued. Masculine, expressive. The flick of an eyebrow, the flash of a glance, the smallest smile, all communicated with an eloquence she found mesmerizing.
“Are you here on vacation?” His breath brushed her ear as he leaned in.
She had the ridiculous urge to turn quickly and catch his lips with hers.
She spoke loudly toward his ear. “Yes. It’s beautiful here. I’ve had a great weekend.”
“And you sure got some great weather,” he added.
She nodded, again toying with the idea of telling him she might be back. But the unusual and illicit idea of a one-night stand was still strolling around the back of her mind and revealing too much about herself somehow seemed to compromise that.
“You’re very pretty, you know.”
Delaney’s eyes flicked back to his.
He shrugged, as if he couldn’t help but pay her the compliment. “I have a weakness for blue eyes and dark hair. An Irish fixation, you might say.”
“Hm, that doesn’t sound healthy.”
One side of his mouth kicked up. “Is that your medical opinion, or a warning?”
She lifted a brow but could not stop herself from smiling. “You decide. You’re very pretty too, by the way.”
He laughed. “If that’s true, then I guess there is a secret or two left in this town.”
She smiled. Great-looking and self-deprecating. The guy couldn’t be shaping up any better.
She leaned toward his ear again, ostensibly to speak over the music but also because she liked the way his hand ran lightly up her back when she did so. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a little fresh air. Do you want to go for a walk?”
He cocked his head and regarded her speculatively. “I don’t know. Would I be safe with you?”
She shrugged. “Guess you’re going to have to take your chances.”
He shook his head, his eyes warming in a way that sent her heart racing. “I’m nothing if not a gambler. Let’s go.”
Delaney gave him the keys to her rental car. She probably wasn’t supposed to, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t in a mood for rules tonight. They rode through the night with all the windows down and their hair blowing wildly about their heads. Jack’s would probably look fabulous at the end of this beating, she thought, but hers would look like something out of Greek mythology.
But she didn’t care about that either. She felt too good. Delaney took deep breaths of the sharp, clean air. A twinge of coolness in the breeze had her cradling her arms across her chest, but the scent of pine and sea salt was so intoxicating she leaned her head on the seat back, looked out the window, and relished the feel of the wind in her hair. A half-moon sat high in the sky as the car flew down the road to the sea.
She looked over at Jack, saw his hand draped easily on the wheel, and she laughed out loud, stretching one hand out the window. The wind grabbed her fingers, and the sleeve of her white shirt billowed. Jack laughed too. For some reason she was sure he felt exactly as she did.
They reached the shore—a wide and deserted stretch of sand that Jack knew about—and stepped out of the car. The closing car doors echoed like gunshots in the stillness. The ocean rolled blackly ahead of them, invisible but for occasional whitecaps on the waves and the low hush of sound.
The beach, white in the moonlight and dotted with boulders, stretched out before a forest of dark towering pines. To Delaney it felt like an elaborate secret. Remote and primeval. She pulled off her shoes and ran toward the water, sand still warm from the day’s sun, flipping up behind her bare feet and crackling against her jeans. She slowed when she reached the dampness near the surf and was caught from behind by strong arms. She hadn’t expected him to follow, but the feel of his arms around her was so delicious she laughed as he pulled her from her feet and spun her.
“Do you know how beautiful you are?” Jack turned her around to face him. He bent his knees to look levelly into her eyes. “No, I don’t think you do. I sure am glad I waited till tomorrow to leave.”
His smile was open, and she surprised herself by putting her arms around his neck. “Me too.”
Jack’s hands ran down her sides, broad palms following her curves, warming the skin beneath her cotton shirt. Her body drank in the sensation, craving more, pushing close. She wanted to curl into his hands like a cat being stroked, wanted his touch everywhere, awakening her senses.
His lips touched hers, and she melted against him, opening her mouth as his tongue slipped past her lips. His arms tightened around her. She let herself go, awash in the feel of his hair in her hands, his chest on hers, his long, muscled thighs against her legs.
He cupped her waist, exploring the shape of her, making her feel small, sensual, and important. She wanted to disappear into his body, become nothing but a spark of heat and passion dancing along the waves.
Jack made a sound low in his throat and pulled away. “Damn.” His voice was quiet, his hands tight along the small of her back. “My heart is beating dangerously fast.”
“In that case, I prescribe a cold shower.”
Even in the dark she could see his eyes smile as his hands traveled up her back. “You might be right.” In one fluid motion he swung her up into his arms and started walking.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, but she could not help the laugh that skipped out across the beach.
She could just make out the dimples his smile made. “Veterinarian,” he said, moving toward the water, “heal thyself.”
Before she knew it, he was wading into the surf, cold waves crashing about his legs. She clung to his neck, screaming with laughter and giving in to the abandon that had taken over her soul.
Despite herself, Delaney heard herself squealing like a teenage girl who wanted nothing more than for the teasing to continue. “Don’t! Oh God, don’t do it. I’m serious. Please.”
Jack waded farther in, until Delaney felt the icy water hit her in the behind. She shrieked with surprise, pulse racing, hands gripping his shoulders. Then an unseen wave whitecapped in front of them and she knew it was all over—at least the dry part. The wall of water pushed them backward until the wave broke over their heads, but Jack’s arms were tight. He dunked them under the crest, the cold shocking, and they floated upward on the other side of the breaker.
Delaney sputtered, laughing, out of the water.
“I’m sorry.” Jack flipped his hair out of his eyes, water spraying her face. His laughter sounded close in the vast night, and she clung gratefully to the warmth of his body against hers. “I didn’t mean for that—”
Another wave caught them and this time they broke apart, rolling and bouncing in the surf. Delaney’s palms scraped the sandy bottom and water tugged the shirt from her pants. They surfaced independently in the shallows and crawled out to the shore.
Delaney’s hair and shirt were plastered to her body. Her jeans were stiff as wet cement and coated with sand. She got just out of reach of the waves and fell onto her back, shivering. Sand crunched beneath her as she gasped for air, laughing and coughing at the same time.
Then Jack was beside her, warm and potent, his lips on hers, salty, wet, and demanding. Passion exploded within her. She brought her hands up to his forehead, pushed back the hair that dripped water onto her face, then slid her fingers down his back, pulling him onto her. He stopped, sat up, and pulled his shirt over his head. Delaney’s hands instantly reached for the cool skin of his chest and stomach.
He smoothed the hair from her face and bent to kiss her lips softly.
“Want me to help you out of those wet things?” he asked, his voice low.
Delaney wanted nothing more, but she hesitated. Habits of caution die hard, she thought, then said slowly. “You know…” A smile spread itself across her face. “I think I do.”
She sat up and plucked at the buttons of her shirt. Jack stopped her, raised her arms and peeled the wet shirt up and over her head. She felt it go with a mixture of exhilaration and surprise. He unhooked her bra and tossed it aside with the shirt. The night air caressed her breasts, and the chill made her nipples stand hard.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” he murmured. His hands skimmed her body, raising shivers of pleasure along her skin. “I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but tonight I am the luckiest man alive.”
Delaney touched his cheek. “It’s not luck.” She wasn’t sure why she said it, or even exactly what she meant. All she knew was that she felt something stronger than the moment seemed to warrant.
He turned his head and kissed her palm, his eyes on hers. “No.” His voice was quiet, and they looked at each other for a slow beat.
He moved his hands to cover her breasts lightly, then brought his head around to kiss beneath her ear. Her neck curved back as his lips moved down to her collarbone, then on to her breast. He took the peak in his mouth and she inhaled with the sensation, his tongue swirling around the aureole before pulling against the nipple. She arched back, and his hips
pressed into hers, his erection obvious.
Part of Delaney’s mind attempted to get her attention, tried to reason whether or not this was smart over the thrum of nerves and the humming of adrenaline. But her limbs were molten, and only her hands sought answers. Her body was in the grip of an instinct more powerful than reason, one she had no inclination to ignore.
She shifted to her side and her fingers fumbled for, then found the button of his jeans. The zipper opened easily, and she pushed her hand into his heat. He inhaled when she touched him, and she smiled at his obvious pleasure.
“I want you,” she heard herself say, and knew for a fact at that moment that she was dangerously drunk. Drunk with abandon and excitement. Drunk with pleasure.
They parted and shed their jeans as quickly as they were able, laughing together at the effort it took to get the wet denim over their damp bodies.
As they came back together he stopped and gazed at her. “Delaney.” His voice was deep.
“Jack.” Her voice was just a whisper, and the word felt strange on her lips.
He pushed his hair back from his face and took her hand, looking down at it a moment. His thumb moved across her fingers as if counting the number of bones.
“I want you to know that…I find you incredibly attractive.”
Silence hung in the aftermath, and while he looked like he might say more, the absurdity of the statement struck her, and she began to giggle. Here she was, naked in front of him, just as he was in front of her, and he decided to tell her he’s attracted to her?
He smiled, too, but continued looking at her hand. “I guess I just want to say that I don’t do this all the time.”
Delaney paused, the smile still playing about her lips. Though she hadn’t been nervous about him before, she felt even better about him now. He was a truly nice guy. Just as she’d suspected.
“I don’t either,” she said, glad to be able to make the admission. “But I sure want to tonight.”
He kissed her, then, until they were both lying on the sand, the waves licking at their feet.
His hot skin warmed hers and the feel of his chest, his palms on her body, his tongue tracing her lips, exhilarated her. Their hands roamed, caught each other, squeezed, and moved on. Jack’s fingers trailed down her stomach and into the hair at the apex of her thighs. Delaney opened her legs and felt his fingers slide slick inside. Her muscles stretched and contracted at the same moment, and in the dark she saw him smile. She breathed out with a satisfaction she hadn’t felt in years.