Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
October 10
Jack’s lips move down to my collarbone, and I take in scents of the sea from his hair.
Sliding his hands down my sides, he takes hold of the hem of my shirt and helps me pull the garment over my head. It lands with a quiet thud after I toss it away.
Jack pulls my attention back to him when he cups each of my breasts. His thumb teasing one nipple, he brings his mouth to the other and takes the nub into its warm, humid heat. He sucks on my nipple, then lets go. He blows on the wet skin, and my nipple pebbles impossibly harder. His grin is wicked as he replaces his mouth with his thumb and fingers and repeats his oral ministrations on the other nipple.
My head falls back as an electric line hums to life between my nipples and my clit, and I felt a wetness begin to gather. I squirm, the yearning to have his attention on that southernmost nub almost more than I can bear.
“Patience, darlin’,” Jack drawls, his accent the thickest I’ve ever heard it, after pulling off my breast. He gives each nipple a tiny kiss, then slowly moves down my body.
He leaves feather-light kisses over my abdomen, circling my navel, before placing a hand on each of my knees. Pushing them apart gives him a full view of my post private place.
“You’re so beautiful,” he coos. I lean back, resting on my elbows, to watch what he’s doing. He bends, caressing and kissing the insides of my knees. Slowly, he works his way upward.
He touches me gently at first, then inserts one finger while his thumb circles my clit, making me gasp.
The shockwaves from his touch are too much, and my arms shake, so I lie back on the countertop. My shift in position gives Jack more room to work, so his tongue takes over for his thumb. He licks and sucks as a second finger joins the first. I’m writing on his fingers now, as he scraps the tips against the roof of my channel. It doesn’t take long for the perfect synchronization of Jack’s tongue with his curled fingers to call forth a tsunami of energy. The wave engulfs my body, and my back arches as I cry out uncontrollably.
The kitchen island resembles an altar on which Jack just worshiped me. The marble remains cold in contrast to how hot my body feels. I have chills even though I feel like I’m on fire.
My heels involuntarily come together on the edge of the counter, my knees closing tight to keep Jack from touching me anymore. I’m too sensitive to let him continue.
“You have a lovely voice,” Jack says. Lying there, staring out the open porch doors at the boats on the harbor, I try to catch my breath. Jack strokes the lengths of my calves, bringing life back to them with his damp fingers. He starts at the knee and ends at the ankle, reversing his touch from how he started. Calming.
“How did you know how to do that? That was so…” I try to catch my breath. “So p—perfect.” Giggling, I’m unable to move.
“I watched you.” Jack is rubbing my leg and kissing my knee. “I watched how you responded to me.” I cock my head so I can see him better as he speaks. “You responded very nicely.” He grins.
“I did. Didn’t I?” I giggle more until my ebullience subsides and I regain my composure. Sitting up, I let my feet swing free, keeping Jack between my knees. “Thank you.” The scruff on his cheek rasps against my palm. “That was really nice.” With my free hand, I grab his waistband and pull him close, then unbutton his shorts, letting them fall to the ground.
“Get out of these too.” I help him get out of his boxer shorts with their pink flamingo print, pushing them far enough down so they, too, drop.
Jack slides his hands beneath my ass and tugs me close to the edge of the marble. Encircling him with my arms and legs, I take my time exploring his lips, noticing how sensuous they are. I love the feeling of my naked breasts against his smooth, muscular chest.
I trace his hairline from his forehead to his earlobes with my fingers. My lips press against his throat, and I suck on his Adam’s apple until it vibrates beneath my tongue. I crave his noises. Low, carnal growls that resonate deep in my pelvis, making me tingly and warm.
I follow down his sides, following every bump of every toned muscle. I love touching him. Every inch of him.
At his groin, I begin stroking his erection softly, leaving my lips close to his throat, enjoying the vibrations coming from there. I’m doing something right!
With one hand on my thigh, Jack reaches around me and braces himself against the countertop. “I need to be inside you,” he says, his eyes begging for permission. I grant it, letting my legs fall open so he can wedge himself close.
He lifts my thigh and delicately enters me, a look of euphoria washing over his face. “You are so wet. You’re so ready for me.”
“You made me ready,” I whisper. My mouth and eyes are curved in smiles, but my whole body is beaming. I wrap my legs over his hips, crossing my ankles against his back.
He shifts us so I’m pleasantly held between Jack and the marble counter. Closing my eyes allows me to take in all the sounds and smells of our intimacy, and most of all, I take in all of Jack.
His back becomes slippery with sweat and difficult for me to hold on to as he moves feverishly inside me. Having already reached orgasm once, I’m caught off guard when I begin to melt around him as he pushes deeper and harder.
But I’m over the edge of pleasure and falling, and I can’t hold on any longer. I come hard. My body feels weightless, and Jack holds me down, keeping me from floating away.
He leans me back, lying over me as he continues thrusting into me. As he climaxes, he cries out my name. And when he wraps himself around me, he too is out of breath.
Jack’s arm pillows my head me as we lie naked on the island, sweaty and silent. Staring out at the water and watching the boats sail around the harbor, we are at peace. Everyone is where they need to be. Everything is perfect.
“Marry me,” Jack says, breaking the silence, breaking the perfection of the moment. He squeezes me tighter. “Be my wife.”
“Hmmm?” I ask, not sure I’ve heard him correctly. I’m in a dreamlike state, a haze like a veil cloaking reality. “What? What did you say?”
“Marry me,” Jack whispers again, but this time I hear him clearly. My eyes open wide as his grip around me releases and his hand follows the curve of my body from my breast to my hip.
“I—I—I’m not sure what to say. I’m stunned.” Marriage? I never want to go through that pain again. I never want to put the boys through the pain again. I never want to…
“It’s okay. You don’t have to give me an answer now, but if you’re alright with it, I’ll keep asking.” The breeze from the ocean picks up and carries in the intoxicating smells of the crushed nutmeg shells the garden paths are laid with.
It feels like a lifetime ago when I was married to Ben. I was a different person then. The person I am now wouldn’t give a guy like Ben a second look, let alone marry him. What was I thinking? I shake my head, and Jack gasps, then gets himself together and stands up.
“Thank you for giving me the best summer of my life,” he says. “I know I can’t go through another day without you by my side. When you left for Maine, it almost killed me. I didn’t know what to do without you. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. All I wanted was to get on a plane and chase after you.” He pauses. The tone in his voice sounds as though he’s remembering something painful as he chokes back his words. “But… but I didn’t. I know you needed time.”
I listen to him intently. Ben never cared about my feelings. Ben never cared if he hurt me. Jack is a man who will defend me to the end, who will fight for me and my children, who loves us.
“Finally, I gave in. Against what I told myself I wasn’t going to do, I went to find you. To try to convince you to come back to the island. To come back to me.”
“And instead you saved me,” I say, finishing what he is saying.
“You saved yourself. But you also saved me.”
“You do seem to have good timing. It must be a musician thing.” I shut my eyes and listen to Jack, feeling the fresh air on my face and his warm breath on the back of my neck. I imagine us married. Husband and wife. He’s never been mean, not to one person. Ben was mean to everyone.
Jack’s a good man. A good person. I’m glad he showed up in Maine when he did. Not only because he distracted Ben, giving me a chance to get away, and then helping me to get my boys back, but because I really missed him too. Every time one of his songs came on at the Aqua Oyster, no matter how silly I told myself the song was, deep down, I loved it. Every word of it. Because Jack wrote it. Those songs made me think of him when I tried to forget him.
So, we both tortured ourselves by being apart. I guess that’s a good thing. At least I know that we missed each other. A lot.
“I’m not going to get into everything that I can offer you, but look at it this way. If I lost everything tomorrow and I had nothing but my love for you, would you love me back?”
“Wow.” I take a very slow deep breath and exhale just as slowly. That is a heavy question. But I know the answer right away. “When I first met you, I had no idea who you were. I had no idea you were Jack Kendall. And when I found out you were Jack Kendall, I had no idea that you have what you have.” I laugh, thinking back to when he picked me up in a Jeep that was falling apart. “I knew when I first met you that you were someone special and could be someone special to me.”
“I had potential?” Jack squeezes me. “I knew it! You liked me the whole time.”
I roll over and spot the huge grin on his face. “Jack, be serious for a minute.” He needs to come down off this cloud he’s on, but I guess I’m putting him up there. “I fought falling in love with you before I left to go north. I didn’t want to fall in love with you. I wouldn’t let myself believe it.” I place my hand on his cheek. I love feeling his scruff. “But I did fall in love with you. Hard.
“Whenever one of your songs came on the radio, whenever I heard someone at the bar talk about one of your concerts…” My hand moves to brush his unruly hair back behind his ear. “Whenever I saw waffles on a menu, I thought of us.” A feeling of emptiness washes through me as I remember how I felt when I thought I would never see him again. But that emptiness has been filled, and those memories serve a purpose. They helped me admit to myself that I do love Jack. “I missed the island. I missed us. My whole world is together right here. and I don’t want anything to tear it apart.”
“If it’s within my ability, I won’t let anything or anybody tear our world apart,” Jack says. “I couldn’t be more happier than I am right now.” Jack’s smile is gone, and he looks serious. “Isa, I love you. Marry me. Together, we can accomplish anything we want.” Jack kisses my nose and then moves down to my lips.
I pull away; I’m going back and forth with an answer for him. I know what I would like to say, but there are other people involved. Three other people. “It’s not a yes, but it’s not a no. Get back to me in a few days?”
Then I snap back to reality. “What time is it?” The afternoon has slipped away.
“It’s okay. It’s almost two. We have some time.” He jumps down off the island and helps me to my feet. “Let’s go jump in the shower.” Jack grabs our clothes and we run into our bedroom. “I really enjoyed that.”
I look back at him as he follows me into the bathroom. “I did too.” A lot.
The boys bound through the door and come running toward me and Jack.
“Hi, guys!” When I put my arms out to hug them, they both jump at me at the same time, almost knocking me over. “How was school?”
Chattering excitedly, they relay every detail over cookies and two-percent milk, which Gabrielle was kind enough to pick up for Cole. He doesn’t think twice about it today and drinks his whole glass of milk while telling me about his new friend, Isaac, and how his mommy died purple.
“I’m so sorry to hear that, Cole.” I pet his hair as he eats his cookie. It’s horrible that a little boy saw his mother in that state. He will remember her that way forever. I’m so glad the boys didn’t see Ben after the attack.
“No, Cole. Isaac’s mom dyes her hair purple; she didn’t die,” Luke says his brother.
“Momma, don’t ever dye yours purple. I like your color.” I give Cole a big hug. He’s so sweet.
“I won’t,” I say as he inspects my hair. “I promise.”
I release Cole and give Luke a hug too. “I’m so glad you guys had a great day.”
“I can’t wait until tomorrow,” Luke says.
“Do you guys want to get a swim in before dinner?” They don’t even answer my question, just take off to their room. A few minutes later, they come running back with their trunks on. “Give me a second, you guys are too fast for me. I need to change too.”
When I come back out, Jack is sitting on the couch with the boys, his guitar in his lap. He’s teaching them a few chords and letting them try to play them.
“There ya go, Luke. I think ya got it!” Jack hands his guitar over to Cole and sits next to him so he can position his tiny fingers. “Good job, Cole! Ya did it!”
“Mr. Jack? Will you teach me to play like you?” Luke asks quietly.
“Luke.” Jack puts his hand on my five-year-old’s head and looks at him sincerely. “I would like nothing more than to teach ya. I’m so glad ya guys are here! Your mom and I are happier than pigs in mud!” Jack takes the guitar back from Cole and sets it in the stand.
Cole holds his belly and laughs uncontrollably. “Pigs in mud! You’re funny, Mr. Jack!”
“You guys ready to go swimming?” Jack stands up, but Cole and Luke are already out the door and on the Lido Deck.
“Stop at the edge of the deck!” I call after them. “No going into the pool without an adult.”
“I’ll get a company out here to put a safety fence around the pool,” Jack tells me. “I want to keep our kiddos safe.”
Our kiddos. The phrase warms my heart. “And you’re worried about being a good dad. You’re already thinking like one.”
I can’t help but notice how naturally Jack and the boys interact. It’s almost like my sons have been craving attention for so long and now they have it, they’re eating it up. They’re enjoying every second of being with us as much as we’re enjoying every second of being with them.
Jack and I change into our suits, then head out to the pool. I help Cole into his life vest, Jack puts Ringo in his shark jacket, and then we release the kraken. Luke hops in from the side, and Cole splashes into the shallow end. Jack takes off his shirt and jumps into the pool, tucking his body into the classic cannonball position and making a huge splash. The wave soaks me and splashes over the boys.
“Whoa! That was so cool!” Luke shouts. “Do that again!”
“Yeah! Do it again! Do it again!” Cole shouts too.
“Guys, if I do that too much,” Jack explains, “there won’t be any water left in the pool to swim in. You wouldn’t want that would you?”
“No!” they chorus.
After dinner and with the boys tucked in their beds, Jack and I go into his study to talk. I rarely spend any time here. It has the same dark wood floors that are throughout the house.
Jack sits in a big leather office chair behind his heavy desk with carved legs. I relax in a red leather wing-backed chair trimmed with hobnails.
While Jack is shuffling through papers on his desk, I look around and count fifteen dark-framed platinum albums. “Are these all yours?”
Jack looks up from his papers and slides his wire-framed glasses down to the tip of his nose so he can peer at me over them. I didn’t know he wears glasses; he looks really good in them. “Yep.” Then he follow the direction of my gaze to the walls and lets out a deep sigh. “Never in a million years did I ever think I would sell enough to earn one of these, let alone fifteen.”
“Well, that’s quite an accomplishment. You should be very proud.”
“Thanks,” Jack says, then looks back down and continues what he was doing.
Built-in shelves around the room display an array of trophies. I slide out of the smooth leather of the chair and quietly take a closer look. I start at the top: Grammys, AMA’s, Billboard Music Awards. “You won Entertainer of the Year?”
Jack turns to me and pushes away from his desk. I see an opportunity and sit in his lap. He puts an arm around the small of my back and rests his other hand on my thigh. “I should have kept up on pop culture a little more,” I say. He actually looks really, really hot in his glasses. “You look very”—I pause to kiss him tenderly on his neck and listen for his moan of approval—“handsome with those glasses.”
Using both hands so I don’t bend them out of shape, I remove the glasses from Jack’s face and take care to put them carefully on his desk. Then I lean in and trace my tongue across his lips until they part.
Jack pushes his papers and glasses out of the way, then lifts me up and places me on his desk, kissing me deeply and feverishly. Jack steps into me as I hug him with my legs. I don’t want to take my mouth off his. He groans low with approval. I’ve never had sex on a desk before.
“Momma?” A little voice from the doorway startles us, and Jack and I jump away from each other. “I had a bad dream.”
I mouth “Finish later?” and Jack responds with a smile and a nod.
“Oh, sweetheart.” I run over to Cole and pick him up, then we get comfy in the red leather chair. “What was your dream about?”
“The pool was empty and we couldn’t get it to fill up.” Cole yawns and curls around my belly before shutting his eyes. He’s quickly back asleep in my arms.
“I’ll be right back.” I move to stand up, but Jack is there, scooping Cole out of my arms.
“You sit there,” he instructs. “I’ll carry Cole into his room and tuck him back into bed.”
Heeding Jack’s instruction, I relax in the chair and tip my head back. I must doze because I startle slightly when he brushes a kiss across my forehead.
“I’m sorry,” he says. He rubs my shoulders, and I practically melt. “Our spontaneous moment was ruined. Raincheck?”
“Of course. Anytime.” I try to flirt by fluttering my eyelids. I don’t know whether it works or if I look like I have something in my eyes.
He bends down and kisses my ear. “I love you.”
I love you too, Jack. But am I brave enough to marry you?