Chapter Thirty-Four
Jackie
Gus and Lina were fine—that was what she kept telling Mitch, trying to get him to leave the sandy barn.
His care and compassion for them, and for all animals, grabbed her by the heartstrings that were already branded with his name.
All they needed was a little bit of dusting off, and voila: the voices reminding her what a bad idea all of this was went eerily quiet.
Now, they were driving back to the hotel, and her blood ran so hot, it was as if someone had filled every vessel in her body with gasoline and dropped a lit match.
Jackie glanced sideways at a rattling tin, filled with a fresh batch of cocadas, in his lap. “You realize these aren’t all for you, right?”
Mitch hugged the tin, pushing it further away from her. “Estrella gave them to me. As a thank you for, you know, saving their horses. Two of them.”
Biting back a smile, she rolled her eyes. “She said you need to share with me.”
The lid opened with a pop. He took one cocada out, waving it near her face. “You want it?”
Jackie glared at him, hitting the blinker to turn onto the hotel driveway. “Not if you don’t want to share.”
“I was thinking we can have them as sustenance after all the things we talked about.”
Slutty butterflies took flight in the pit of her stomach. She switched off the engine and twisted in her seat to face him. “I really hope you back all this talk with real action when it comes to it.”
His green eyes darkened. “Have I ever disappointed you in bed?”
She swiped her tongue over her upper lip, lust bleeding into her irises. “In bed? Never. But on some other surfaces—”
Before she could finish, he grabbed her waist, pulling her into his lap.
Her thighs parted to accommodate his legs, eyes as wide as flying saucers. “We can’t have sex in this Jeep—it isn’t even mine.”
Mitch chuckled, his fingers sliding under her dress, traveling up to her hip bones. “Whose Jeep is it? We can clean it afterward.”
“It’s a hotel Jeep—the hotel manager can use it.”
Both his hands found the edge of her swimsuit, and he snuck one forefinger inside. “How about fingering? Is that allowed?”
Jackie gasped as one finger became two, and he drew slow circles around her entrance. Her nails bit into his shoulders, leaving marks in his T-shirt. “That one isn’t covered in the staff handbook.”
He bucked his hips, drawing her body to his. His lips found their way to the top of her breast and his free hand pushed the cleavage of her dress down, exposing her swimsuit. He groaned. “I hate this one-piece. You look sexy as hell in it, but two pieces are so much easier to take off.”
“Maybe I can be persuaded to wear a two-piece sometime.”
He smiled. “A red one?”
Jackie cupped his cheeks, drawing his face upward so he would look right in her eyes. “The red one.”
He growled, pulling her lips to his and kissing her hard and fast. The energetic zip of lust transferred between their tongues, sparkles at the ready in every nerve ending of her body. “You didn’t get rid of it?”
Jackie drew back, balancing on his muscular thighs. Her gaze not leaving his, she slid down her straps. “How could I? It was your favorite. I tried it on the other month, just for fun, and it still fits.”
His hands were on her breasts in an instant, pulling the fabric down to release them both. “And you think there’s anything you could say or do to make me want to leave you … Not a chance, love.”
The slutty butterflies hesitated for a beat, mid-flight.
Sex was one thing. She was good with having sex and taking emotions out of the equation.
But there was no way she could do it with Mitch.
What would be the point anyway? He knew she was a goner for him.
There was no mystery to salvage, her eyes an open book of her feelings.
Not even a well, nor a lake, but an entire ocean of them, with a single common denominator.
Him.
She pinched his bottom lip between her fingers, nose touching his nose. “I really hope you don’t. Because I think I’m so deep into you, I’d never recover.”
His forehead dropped to hers, the pads of his fingers caressing her jawline. “Good. Then we’re evenly matched.” The fingers on his right hand stilled just off her clit; he smirked. “May I?”
He teased her entrance, and she threw her head back at the sharp sensation unlocking floodgates that had been firmly shut for weeks now. “Fuck, Mitch, you must. Or bad things might happen.”
He moved his fingers in and out. “Like what?”
“Like me exploding all over the dashboard from an unfulfilled orgasm.”
He tsk-tsked. “That’d require a full valet. And would also be a shame.” His teeth dragged down her neck and all her muscles spasmed like she was spiking a temperature. “Do you think you can take three fingers?”
Her gaze raked over his features, which were misted with the desire she’d dreamed of for years. “Try it and let’s see.”
Fuck him, he did. All three of his fingers, sliding in and out of her.
She opened her mouth, a guttural moan rising at the back of her throat, but it was muffled by his hand pressing over her lips.
“Shh, we don’t want an audience, do we?” Mitch whispered, his tongue capturing hers. “I love how wet and ready you were even before I started.”
Jackie whimpered. “I’ve been wet all night.”
He squeezed her nipple between his forefinger and thumb, drawing a long, high-pitched moan from her. “The fact you’re still able to form a coherent sentence tells me I’m not doing a good enough job yet.”
His fingers picked up the pace, thrusting wildly inside her.
She rode his hand, her moans growing louder, quicker, raspier.
Droplets of sweat gathered on her hairline, her skin on fire, bones turned to jelly.
She buried her face in his shoulder, in an attempt to stifle the noises she was unable to control.
Pressure building all the way up to a tipping point, she opened her mouth, baring her teeth; once she pushed across the finish line, she bit into his shoulder, drawing another growl from him.
The orgasm washed over her like an avalanche.
Her hips bucked against his, her spine locking in. Her toes curled into the soles of her sandals, and the butterflies lay at the bottom of her stomach, spent and exhausted from flapping like they lost control. As did she.
“Sorry about that,” she murmured, when she was able to speak. Her finger traced the outline of the pinkish circle on his shoulder. “There’s going to be a mark.”
Mitch kissed her, dragging her lip between his teeth. “You know I don’t mind.” He dipped his chin, trying to look at it. “I kind of like it. It’s like you branded me as yours.”
Jackie licked her lip. “Let’s go to my room for the main course, then.”
He chuckled, helping her back into her seat so she could get out of the car. “You have no idea how much I missed you.”
She pulled up the straps of both her swimsuit and the dress, buttoning up the top and smoothing down her wild hair. “Just in this department?”
“You know the answer to that.”
The stuffy air inside the Jeep hummed with the reverent desire of their hearts and bodies.
Of course, she knew the answer. She just hoped it would still be the case in the morning, once she told him everything. What if it was all going to blow up in her face?
Then let it.
Surely, there was something poetic about burning to ashes wrapped in a blissful lust after spending a night with her soulmate, even if he chose to walk away in mere hours. She wouldn’t hold it against him; she wouldn’t be able to, even if she tried.
But they still had the rest of the night, and Jackie fully intended to fill her cup for the next ten years and beyond, if needed.
Laughter tickled her throat as they snuck into the hotel, hand in hand, Mitch pressing a finger to his lips to remind her to be quiet, but his cheeks dimpled too.
She wasn’t even sure why they were trying to be stealthy.
Perhaps she should care what the staff thought about her, but she hoped they either didn’t give a damn or were ambivalent toward her.
Besides, Rea knew something was going on anyway.
There was nothing illegal or outright wrong in two consenting adults hooking up, was there?
Jackie leaned on the cool paneled inside of the elevator. “I’m glad you became a vet and not a thief. You’d never be able to steal anything.”
He dragged her to him by the pockets of her dress, brow raised. “Probably true.”
Her breath caught, her tongue pressing against her teeth. A quick glance at the digital display told her they were a mere three floors away from their floor. She locked her gaze with his. “So, Mitch from Portland. What are you going to do to me once you get into my room?”
“Anything you want me to.”
“That might not be a wise declaration to make.”
“I don’t care. Tonight, you can have anything you want.”
The elevator pinged and the doors opened with a flourish.
Jackie cocked her head, grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the corridor. “Remember later on, when you’re having midnight regrets, that you signed up for it.”
Mitch grabbed her ass, his fingers leaving imprints in her skin through the dress and swimsuit fabric. “No regrets, love. Not tonight. We can overthink again in the morning.”
She only had a second to nod jerkily, before his mouth captured hers. Thoughts and reason scattered to the melody of rapid-fire heartbeats as her hand dived into her pocket, found the key card and opened the door. Stumbling over the threshold, slamming the door … all that was instinct.
He pushed her away, ripping his T-shirt over his head like he couldn’t wait to rid himself of it. His hands paused on the waistband of his shorts. “Enjoying the show?”
Jackie crossed her arms, lip between her teeth. “I’ll enjoy it even more when you’re fully naked.”
The button on his shorts popped open, followed by the characteristic sound of an unraveling zipper. Eyes not leaving hers, he dragged the material over his thighs and let his shorts drop to his feet. He stepped out of them, kicking his shoes off.