Chapter Eight
JACK WONDERED IF he would ever tire of kissing Sylvie’s soft and responsive mouth.
Her lips clung to his, her tongue dancing with his in a dance that sent blood thumping to his groin with incendiary heat.
He loved the vanilla milkshake taste of her mouth, the way her petite body pressed so keenly against his, as if she wanted to melt into him completely.
But it wasn’t just the physical closeness that stirred him so deeply.
He felt a deep sense of camaraderie with her.
Was it because they were both divorce lawyers and cynical about love?
Jack had taught himself to ignore the human need to love.
To ignore the need to be connected in a deep and lasting way with another person.
The sort of love that made your bones ache to be near the other person, to touch them, to hold them, to commit to them.
The sort of love that filled your chest and made it hard to take a breath without feeling its gentle tug.
The sort of love that could be obliterated in a few seconds, love that could be snatched away, extinguished when you needed it most, leaving you empty, lost, abandoned, vulnerable and that most wretched feeling of all—loneliness.
Jack wasn’t the sort of man on a lifelong quest to find a soulmate.
He wasn’t even convinced such a thing existed.
Humans were flawed and so were their relationships, even the best ones.
Since his parents’ death, he had never pictured himself growing old with someone, raising a family and doing all the things long-term couples do.
He was too aware of how it all could be taken away in the blink of an eye.
Like his parents had been taken from him.
One minute he was part of a happy family, the next he was an orphan along with his brothers.
His ability to love deeply forever shattered like the fuselage of his parents’ plane.
His career was his entire focus. He had always loved the challenge of winning a case for a client.
The fight for justice was something that motivated him to get out of bed each morning.
With the eye-watering wealth he came from, he could have easily taken over his grandfather’s business interests, but studying law had appealed to him from a young age, plus it maintained his independence from his controlling and difficult grandfather.
His career was everything he needed it to be—intense, thrilling, fulfilling, demanding and financially rewarding.
His background in law had helped him expand his financial interests into stocks and shares and property investment, similar to his brother Jago.
He and his brothers might not be as close as three orphaned brothers ought to be, but they had each fought to be independent of their grandfather rather than become trust fund kids, which they easily could have done given the Wilde family wealth.
But now, with his mouth on Sylvie’s and her arms wrapped around his neck, Jack’s desire to be a playboy was losing its shine and it scared him. It freaked him out to think he was starting to feel things he didn’t want to feel for someone who had no intention of feeling the same for him.
In a weird reversal, it was Sylvie who had insisted on a one-night stand and while he had accepted it at the time, he couldn’t help feeling uneasy about the control taken so neatly out of his hands.
He was the one who defined how long a fling would last…
not that any of his flings lasted long. He lost interest once the chase was over but with Sylvie, he was ambushed by feelings he had never expected to feel.
The need for more time with her, more of her touch and taste, more of her spine-tingling response to him that made him feel more of a man than he had ever felt before.
Was it just simple physical chemistry? An electric chemistry that drew them together in spite of their differences about their clients?
Sylvie eased her mouth away and looked up at him with eyes luminous with desire.
The same desire he was trying to control in his body.
A pounding drive to get naked and down to business, to release the build-up of sexual tension that was at an unbearable level because of one passionate kiss.
‘Are you game to risk another night with me?’ There was a spark of challenge in her brown eyes.
‘I’m game,’ Jack said, moving his mouth down the side of her neck to breathe in her flowery scent.
He teased her earlobe with his tongue and she shivered and turned her head so her mouth could reach his.
She put her hands on either side of his face, her lips pressing down on his in a hot kiss that promised earth-shattering passion.
Jack took control of the kiss, deepening it with a gliding movement of his tongue that made her breathe a soft murmur of delight. Her tongue danced with his and his blood pounded so hard all he could think of was getting her beneath him.
This time it was Sylvie who led him to her bedroom but as for him getting her beneath him, she clearly had other ideas. She took charge by pushing him down on her bed with a surprisingly firm hand on his chest, then came down overtop of him to straddle him.
Jack reached up and released her chestnut hair and it tumbled in fragrant waves over her neck and shoulders.
He ran his fingers through the silky strands and watched as the pleasure of his touch played out on her exquisite features.
Even though they were both still dressed, he could feel the pressure of her body against his arousal and he had to fight to maintain control.
Desire roared through him like the backdraft of a wildfire.
Every cell in his body throbbed to possess her, to slide into her hot velvety warmth and take them both to paradise.
But Sylvie wasn’t finished teasing him. She feathered tiny kisses all over his face, then moved down to unbutton his shirt, planting more kisses over his chest, then taking each of his flat nipples in her teeth in a kitten nip that sent sparks shooting down his spine.
She went lower with her tongue, licking, stroking, teasing until she came to his belly button.
She dipped her tongue into the tight whorl of his flesh, then went lower still, unzipping his trousers and peeling down his underwear.
Jack sucked in a breath, his blood pounding like a tribal drum, a primal urge to have her take him in her mouth sending his pulse rate soaring.
He made a sound that was largely unintelligible because his voice box was blocked by the erotic sight of her pulling her hair over one shoulder and then going down on him.
By some miracle he managed to get a condom into her hands and she gave him a sultry look and unpeeled it, then applied it to him slowly, torturously slowly.
He was gritting his teeth, his jaw, thinking of everything he could to take his mind off the need to let go.
Sylvie was in control of him, not him of her and it was thrilling, exciting, mind-blowing. Bliss…
Jack needed a minute or two to recover and watched as she undressed in front of him with a complete lack of modesty. It thrilled him to see her so confident in herself. It turned him on all over again.
‘Come here,’ he commanded.
‘I’m coming.’
‘Damn straight you are as long as I’ve got anything to do with it,’ Jack said, the double entendre deliberate.
Sylvie shook her hair back and came over to the bed, close enough for him to capture her hand and pull her down to join him.
This time, he made sure she was underneath him.
He worshipped her body from top to toe and teased her flesh until she was begging him to finish her off.
He tasted her essence but didn’t let her come.
He waited until he drove inside her tight wet warmth and thrusted vigorously, groaning along with her cries of encouragement until they both flew into oblivion…
Sometime later, Sylvie left Jack sleeping and carefully eased herself out of his hold, reached for her wrap and slipped it on to cover her nakedness.
Her body was still tingling from the sensations he had made her feel.
She went out to her kitchen to get a glass of water.
Who knew making love could be so energetic, so physically satisfying, much more satisfying than her hot yoga sessions.
She looked out at the back garden, checking to see if Shadow had eaten the rest of the food.
She had placed the dish a little closer to her back door each day.
Sylvie was relieved to see the dish was empty, although there was no sign of the little cat.
Sylvie replayed her lovemaking session with Jack, shivering as she recalled his expert touch. No one had ever made her feel what he made her feel, which meant she would have to be careful to end things before she got too addicted to his touch.
She was proud of herself for taking charge of their sexual encounters.
She refused to be yet another simpering woman who begged him to extend their time together.
So far, she was in control of her feelings.
It was physical between them, a mutual itch they were scratching, but it had no future.
Not just because neither of them were looking to settle down, but also because they were on opposing sides of a difficult divorce case, one Sylvie was determined to win for her client.
But the troubling news Jack had delivered before they got distracted by their lust for each other was gnawing away at her.
What if she had got Edwina Winters wrong?
What if Edwina played the victim so convincingly, Sylvie hadn’t picked up on other issues that could have a powerful impact on the custody battle?
She hated being blindsided and had always prided herself on being a good judge of character.
She could usually pick a fraud a mile off, but what if Edwina had hidden the ugly truth from her about her issues around alcohol?
She heard a sound behind her and turned to see Jack coming towards her, wearing his clothes now, although his shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his tanned and muscular chest.
He smiled one of his bone-melting dimpled smiles and came over to wrap his arms around her and hold her close. ‘I was wondering where you got to.’ His deep voice was like a caress down the length of her spine.
Sylvie eased back to look up at him. ‘I’m sorry I was so defensive about what you told me about Edwina Winters.’
‘I think we very satisfactorily resolved our differences, hmm?’ He bent down to nibble gently at her earlobe, sending her senses into free fall.
‘Yes, well, it was a good distraction, but I have to see her to hear her side of the story.’ Sylvie linked her arms around his trim waist, struggling to keep her emotions in check.
It felt so wonderful to be held by him. His height could easily have been intimidating—it once was—but now she felt safe in his gentle and protective hold.
She was familiar with every inch of his skin, craved the feel of it against her own.
He was an exciting lover, the most exciting and satisfying lover she had ever had.
Jack cupped her face in his hands and planted a brief firm kiss on her lips, then straightened, his expression set in more serious lines. ‘I want to see you again.’ There was an intractable edge to his tone.
Sylvie released an uneven breath. ‘Jack…it’s too dangerous. What if someone sees us?’
A glint came into his eyes. ‘I think it’s the danger element that makes it all the more enjoyable. Who’s going to see us? We can keep it under wraps here or at my place.’
‘I don’t know…’ She chewed her lip for a moment, torn between the temptation of having more time with him but the dreaded fear of exposure.
Putting herself in a compromising position was a deep concern.
She didn’t want to be so distracted by Jack that she didn’t represent her client to the best of her ability.
He was not only distracting, but also her opponent in a court of law.
Could she successfully compartmentalise her personal life from her professional?
The stakes for her were much higher than for Jack.
Everyone already knew he was a playboy but she had always kept her private life private.
She had always made sure her work came first. No exceptions.
But Jack had made her world tilt on its axis and she didn’t know how to get her equilibrium back, and that was scary. Scary and deeply troubling.
‘I have an even better idea,’ Jack said, tilting up her chin to mesh her gaze with his gleaming one. ‘Let’s go to Paris for the weekend. We can fly by private jet and—’
‘Private jet?’ Sylvie’s eyes goggled like a goldfish’s.
He shrugged off her comment. ‘I’m a Wilde brother. We fly by private jet when we want to. It’s more convenient and—’
‘And completely self-indulgent and shrieks of outrageous privilege.’
‘All true but I didn’t choose my heritage any more than you chose yours.’
Sylvie eased out of his hold and folded her arms across her middle.
She couldn’t think clearly when he had his hands on her.
The electrical charge of his touch scrambled her operating system like a hacked computer.
She’d been hacked by Jack and so far, did not have the software to deal with it.
‘I have a baby shower this weekend. If I accept your offer, it will have to be the weekend after that.’
‘Okay, that’s fine. I have to check on my grandparents and catch up with Jonas anyway. He hasn’t confirmed it but he was hoping to fly home to Wildewood this weekend.’
‘You must be excited to see him after so long.’
‘Yes and no. I want to wring his neck for not responding to my texts or emails for eight months. Jago’s angry he hasn’t been able to get married, and my grandmother could have died after a fall a few weeks back but we had no way of contacting Jonas other than leaving yet another voice message.
And I had the unseemly task of trying to convince his girlfriend that he was no longer interested.
I’m sure she thought I was lying the whole time.
’ He scraped his hair back with his hand and then flashed one of his easy-going smiles, no doubt to lighten the atmosphere that had become so serious.
‘Sorry, I’m probably boring you with my wacko family stuff. ’
‘On the contrary, I find it rather fascinating,’ Sylvie said. ‘Mine is so very different.’
He came over to her and, holding her face with both hands, planted a swift but still sensual kiss to her lips. ‘You’ll have to tell me all about it in Paris.’
He was at the door, preparing to leave before she could think of a response. ‘I haven’t said I’m going yet.’
He winked at her, his smile annoyingly self-assured. ‘You will.’ And then he was gone.