by Addison Cole
“I thought you had to deal with your life.”
Jack paced. “I am.”
“In a day?”
He pictured her arching her perfectly manicured eyebrows, and it made him smile. “I didn’t say I was healed. I said I was dealing with it. Savannah, I can’t stop thinking about you.”
She lowered her voice to a seductive cadence. “That’s because we did all those dirty things, and it’d been so long since—”
“No, Savannah, it’s not, so you can just stop right there. I’ve never been a guy who gets off on sleeping around, and that part of me hasn’t suddenly changed. There have been plenty of women who tried to bed me. It doesn’t take much to find a person to fool around with if you want to.”
“To bed you?” She laughed, but Jack could tell she didn’t think it was funny.
“You’re so frustrating. You know what I mean. There have been opportunities, and if that’s all I was looking for—if I’d been looking at all—I’d have hooked up with them, but I wasn’t looking.”
“Are you now, Jack?” Savannah asked.
The question threw him for a loop, and before he could configure an answer, honesty slipped from his lips. “No, I wasn’t looking then and I’m not now. I swear, Savannah. I have no idea why or how you got to me, but you did, and that’s something, isn’t it?” Isn’t it? Or was he so out of touch with his emotions that he didn’t even know what was real anymore?
“I wasn’t looking either, Jack.”
He shook his head and covered his eyes as a different type of tears filled his eyes. What on earth is wrong with me? Jack’s stone-faced facade cracked, and he didn’t know how to handle it. He lowered himself onto a chair, and with a shaky voice, he said, “You weren’t looking, and you called back. I couldn’t stay away. Maybe we were fated to meet.”
“Fated,” Savannah whispered.
“I want to see you.”
Her voice took a seductive turn. “I want to see you, too.”
“Forgive me for being lame, but it’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like this.”
“Called a woman?”
“Well, yes, that too, but I was thinking more along the lines of even setting up a date.” Jack sat up straighter. With Savannah, even the most uncomfortable things were easier to handle.
“A date? Like, a Friday-night-date type of thing?”
The idea of waiting that long to see her was torture. “It’s only Tuesday.”
“Where are you?” she asked.
“Home.” The word resonated in a way that it hadn’t in a very long time. “Bedford Corners.” Jack rose to his feet, and four determined strides later, he had his keys in his hand. “An hour ten away if I go fast.” He stood with his phone in one hand, the keys and the doorknob in the other, while he waited for her answer.
“Go fast.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
SAVANNAH HAD NEVER been so nervous in her life. She pressed her palms against the window and stared into the darkness, watching the street below. There were so many butterflies in her stomach she was afraid they’d fly out of her mouth if she tried to speak. She’d showered and changed her clothes five times, finally deciding on a pair of designer jeans and a black, sleeveless V-neck blouse.
The roar of a motorcycle engine crawled down the street below, sending a thrill right through her. She watched as the driver maneuvered the bike into a parking spot, and she scanned the street for another open space for Jack. The driver’s powerful arms clutched the handlebar, and as he turned to look behind him, Savannah caught a clear view of his broad, muscular back, and her eyes dropped to the familiar sexy vee of his waist. Jack. She gasped a breath. A motorcycle? That’s so hot. His powerful thighs clenched the bike. The same powerful legs that had held her up in the stream and rubbed against her thighs at the boulder. She watched him climb from the bike and remove the helmet, then shake his thick hair free. She turned away from the window, her body humming with anticipation.
A few minutes later, Savannah opened the door. Jack’s broad shoulders filled the doorframe. His legs were planted hip distance apart, straining against his Levi’s. In one hand, he held his black helmet, and the other arced out from his side, the veins in his biceps ripe from the ride over. On the mountain, there was nothing to give perspective to Jack’s size. Now, with his head nearly hitting the doorframe, he seemed much taller. A smile lifted the edge of his lips as he took a step forward, and his free hand engulfed the curve of her hip.
“Hi,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her.
One word from his smooth, rich voice was all it took to steal her breath and any chance she had at making small talk. The rough stubble of his cheek brushed against her face, and the combination of his soft kiss and the rough scratch sent her heart racing.
He closed the door behind him, and Savannah took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, trying to regain her composure. He smelled clean and earthy, a smell she’d come to think of as simply Jack.
“How was your ride over?” Savannah said, to stop herself from saying, Kiss me again. Please kiss me again.
“Too long.” Jack didn’t smile. He didn’t move toward her or even look for a place to set his helmet.
He locked his eyes on her, and it was Savannah who took a step forward, placed one hand on the waist of his pants, and curled her fingers around his leather belt. She placed her other hand on his shoulder and stood on her tiptoes, but still the distance between them was too great. Jack met her halfway, settling his lips over hers. His lips were tender, his breath minty. Every swipe of his tongue was sensuous, erotic. He pulled back long enough to set his helmet on an end table, then pulled her to him once again in a long, delicious kiss. Savannah’s knees weakened and, as if he’d felt the shift in her energy, Jack pressed her to him with one large hand on the center of her back, while the other found the back of her neck as he had the first time they’d kissed. Being enveloped by his strength while he loved her mouth was so sumptuous that a needy moan slipped from her lungs into his. He drew back, and Savannah gasped—not for air, but for him to return to her.
“I’m sorry. I can’t seem to stop kissing you.” He lowered his mouth to her neck, grazing her with his teeth before stroking the tender spot with his tongue, hard and continuous.
Savannah arched her neck back, and he dug his hands beneath her hair and cupped the back of her head, then brought his lips to hers again.
“Savannah.” Her name was one long, hot breath.
No man had ever taken control of her body with nothing more than a kiss before. She could barely think, much less find the words to respond. Instead, she took his hand and led him down the narrow hallway to her bedroom. She took a step into the room, and he stopped on the other side of the threshold. She reached up and touched the cheek she’d been thinking about all afternoon and felt the tension beneath her palm.
“Jack?” she whispered.
His eyes caught hers with an ardent stare, but Savannah felt something else coming from him like a wave—nervousness, fear, sadness? She couldn’t be sure.
“Your bedroom.” He looked down at her and swallowed. “Savannah, I’m not sure I can go in there. I don’t trust myself.”
“Jack, I think we’re past that. I know it’s been a long time since you’ve been with a woman, but when a woman asks you into her bedroom, you don’t need to trust yourself.”
“That’s not what I mean.” He pulled her close and brushed her hair from her shoulder. “I haven’t even slept in a real bedroom for ages, much less been with a woman in one. I’m not sure if any weird stuff will go through my head. Savannah, I’m sorry. I know that this must sound strange coming from a man, but I’m just on the brink of dealing with everything, and I want to be close to you more than I want to breathe, but I don’t want to risk my past sneaking in.”
She wondered, briefly, if Linda’s ghost would always be between them. Then guilt swooped in, trailed by Danica’s advice. If Jack turns out not to be read
y—and there’s a good chance that he’s not—then what have you lost? She knew the risks. Jack was still bathing her with his dark eyes. The worry and want in his eyes coalesced, drawing Savannah closer. She realized that she wanted any amount of time she could have with him. An hour, a day, a week. Self-preservation stopped her from thinking any further into the future.
“I probably shouldn’t have come, but I couldn’t imagine another second without seeing you,” he said.
“Don’t be silly.” She led him back to the living room. “I have a glorious sleep sofa that has never been opened. It’ll be new for you and me. We can make our own memories.” There was no way she was going to wait another day to be next to him again, and from the way his eyes followed her as she crossed the floor and turned off the lights, then lit candles on the dining room table and on the windowsill, she could tell that he didn’t want to wait either. Jack pulled out the couch, and Savannah dressed it with the decadent satin sheets Josh had given her the previous Christmas. At the time, she’d thought they were a ridiculously lavish purchase that she’d never use. Now she couldn’t wait to feel the silky softness against her skin when she was beneath Jack’s hard body.
MOONLIGHT STREAMED THROUGH the window and danced off of the flame, casting a romantic flicker of shadows across the luxurious sheets. Jack had never wanted any woman the way he wanted Savannah, and as he watched her come to his side, then felt her delicate fingers slip beneath his shirt and across his abs, he thought he might lose it from just her touch. He had to taste her again, had to feel those sweet lips on his, and he lowered his mouth to hers. He’d almost forgotten how good it felt to kiss a woman, and as he learned the contours of Savannah’s mouth, it was as if no other woman had ever existed. His eyes blinked open at the thought, and he drew back. Savannah’s lips were ripe from their kiss; her eyes filled with desire.
This is right. So very right.
Savannah reached for his belt buckle, and he grabbed her hand. “Not yet. I don’t want to rush. I want to savor every second with you.”
Her eyes widened, then narrowed as a smile lifted her lips. He ran his hands along her silky shoulders. “You feel so good.”
He kissed the rosy blush on her cheek, then trailed kisses down her jaw to the spot just below her ear. He nibbled her earlobe, and she breathed heavier, held him tighter. When his lips found the gentle curve at the base of her neck, she arched her head back again. He freaking loved when she did that. She pressed against him, and he fought the urge to rip off her clothes and take her right there and then. But his interest in Savannah ran deeper than sex, and he planned on showing her just how much deeper.
He slipped his finger beneath the straps of her blouse and slid them down her arms to the crook of her elbow, exposing her beautiful breasts. He lifted her chin and kissed away the new flush that had risen.
“You’re beautiful, babe. Let me cherish you.” The huskiness of his own voice surprised him, and he buried the surprise in another kiss. He could kiss her all night and never tire of it.
He took his time, touching her the way she deserved to be touched, pleasuring her time and time again until she was trembling all over.
“Jack,” she pleaded, writhing beneath him.
He felt like the luckiest guy in the world to have been the one to bring her such pleasure, and he didn’t stop there. A high-pitched needy sound escaped her lips, and he had to capture it. His mouth covered hers and she returned his efforts with such fervor it made his body shake. Every sensation with Savannah was heightened, more erotic. Jack wondered what he’d experienced before and realized that whatever it was, it had made him happy at the time. What he had before was good. What he had with Savannah was magnificent.
She grabbed his cheeks. Her eyes flashed open, dark and impassioned. “Take me, Jack. I want you.”
He knew once he started he wouldn’t be able to stop. He wanted every tender touch, every taste, and every moment to last forever. None of it was enough. He pushed himself from the bed and stripped from his clothes. As he moved toward the bed, Savannah reached for him, doing all sorts of naughty, unexpected things to his body. He tangled his hands in her thick hair and let her lead the dance. She was killing him, a slow, gloriously-torturous, pleasure-filled death. This was magnificent, but he wanted to be inside of her, to be gentle and loving. But every fiber of him ached for release.
“Savannah, no. Not like this.”
She looked up at him and said, “I want to do everything with you, Jack.”
Her eyes were wide, innocent, but in the next second, darkness stole the innocence and translated as pure, sexual lust. He wrestled with his next move. He wanted to be inside her, but how could he turn down such a desirous plea?
“Explore with me. I’ve never explored my sexuality like this with anyone, Jack.” She rose to her feet. “I want you in ways I have never wanted anyone before.”
“Neither have I.” He took her in a rough kiss, their teeth clashing, their tongues digging deep.
All hope of restraint shattered. He lowered her to the bed, pressing her into the mattress.
“Yes, Jack,” she urged. “Be rough with me. Let me feel all of you.”
He’d do anything for her. With her. To her. Whatever she wanted, but this felt so good and so wrong at the same time. He wanted her to know how much he’d begun to care for her. He wasn’t brought up to believe that you treated the person you cared for this roughly—even if it was what she wanted. Even if it spiked all the dirty thoughts he’d ever conjured up.
“I want more with you, Jack. I want to experience everything with you—sexually and otherwise,” she pleaded. “I don’t know why it’s happened so fast and intense, but I do.”
“So do I. But I want you to know how I feel about you. It’s not just sex for me.”
“For me either,” she whispered. “Love me, Jack. I know it’s crazy. We’ve only known each other a few days, but I can’t pretend I don’t feel it, and if you run the other way, you do. I want whatever I can have. A day, an hour.”
She said everything he felt and had been hiding from. “A lifetime.” The words came out before he could check them, and when he realized what he’d said, he knew he meant it. “I’m broken, Savannah, but I’m fixable. I know I am. You make me believe I am.”
“I do believe it, Jack. I do.”
His heart swelled with emotions he had ignored for so long that he’d wondered if he would ever feel them again. Instead of scaring him, it reassured him. He was going to be okay. His soul hadn’t died with Linda after all.
Chapter Twenty-Three
SAVANNAH PROPPED HERSELF up on her elbow and watched Jack sleep. If only every Wednesday morning could look this good. She’d noticed when they were on the mountain that he hadn’t slept much, and now his chest rose and fell in a peaceful cadence. His entire beautiful body was relaxed. There were no bulging veins or tense muscles, just six foot four inches of perfectly sculpted sleeping man. She thought about the scars she’d felt on his back and wondered how he’d gotten them. Jack was plowing through so many changes that she didn’t feel pressure to know all of his secrets at once. She had a feeling that there were some things Jack had to reveal when he felt comfortable and safe. For him, she could be patient.
She had the urge to run her finger along the sexy tufts of hair on his chest, but it was only five thirty in the morning and they hadn’t blown out the candles until three thirty. She lay back and stared at the ceiling, thinking about the hours they’d spent caressing every inch of each other’s bodies. A shiver ran through her. She could practically feel him inside of her. A string of worry sifted through her mind. Will he think I’m slutty because of the things we did? Was I too aggressive? He said I was not at all like Linda. What if he wants someone just like her? She closed her eyes. Will Linda always be with us?
She felt the mattress move, and Jack’s large hand covered her bare stomach. He pressed a soft kiss to her temple.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he whi
spered.
Please don’t think I’m a slut. She opened her eyes, and he smiled. Sleepiness hovered in his deep blue eyes, and just beyond, a spark flickered. A hungry spark.
“Morning.”
“What time is it?” He ran his hand down her ribs, over the arc of her hip, and squeezed her thigh.
Jack’s touch, his voice, his kisses—Oh, his kisses!—nourished her in ways she’d never known she was missing.
“Five thirty,” she answered.
He sighed and lay back down. The comforter covered him from the hips down, and there was no mistaking what caused the tented fabric.
“I have to be somewhere at nine.” He rolled onto his side again and pressed himself against her.
She wanted to climb right back on top of him and forget about work and whatever he had to do altogether. She put her hand on his cheek, and the rough stubble added another wanton thought to her already horny mind.
“I have to be at work at eight,” she managed.
He kissed her lightly, then ran the pad of his thumb along her cheekbone, following the line of her jaw to her chin, and placed a kiss in the center of it. She loved when he touched her like that—like he was memorizing everything about her.
“About last night,” he whispered.
Savannah closed her eyes. Don’t say it. If it was a mistake, please don’t tell me. Send me a text. Leave me a message. Just let me live in this amazing fantasy for a few more minutes, please. She opened her eyes, readying herself for the kick to her heart that she feared.
“I meant every word I said.” Jack leaned his forehead against hers. “Every word, Savannah. I know it’s fast and maybe even crazy.”
She couldn’t breathe.
He brushed her hair from her forehead and kissed her there. “But what I feel for you runs so deep. All those things we did together…”
Embarrassment clutched her.