27. Nat #2
He and I had been good lately. We’d agreed we didn’t belong together, and that was okay.
Even if seeing his messy, tousled hair had me panting.
Even if seeing him put on his daily SPF did something to me.
What was wrong with my libido? Sunscreen wasn’t sexy.
So why did I have to control myself when Jack did it?
I rolled my eyes and finished gathering my things. I had my own cabin, which meant privacy, which was good. But as I looked around at Jack’s place one last time, I was filled with a sense of yearning. Was I actually going to miss this?
I grabbed my luggage and toiletry bag and headed over to Andromeda, not looking back. From the outside, everything seemed perfect. The cabin looked as though nothing had happened. It felt like another cute place. It would make a lovely home, with all its new charm, but it didn’t feel like mine.
That was, until I opened the door and saw Jack standing there, taking up most of the space. He was sweaty and focused, but his face smoothed out its hard lines when he saw me.
“Hey, you’re back. Welcome home.” Jack gestured around my cabin like Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune, and I melted. He looked good here, smiling at his own cheesiness. Too good.
And just like that, my eyes filled with moisture. This was a big change and something I wasn’t ready for. I didn’t want to leave our space. But most of all, I didn’t want to leave him.
Jack jumped into action, taking a step toward me, and before I could convince myself that this wasn’t one of the several dreams I’d had since our time at the fire watch, his hand was caressing my cheek, making me feel safe and whole, as though he’d solve all my problems if he could.
“Natalie.”
There was a pleading note to my name. I’d never heard it uttered like that before.
“I’m fine. It just looks so pretty,” I lied, gesturing at the room. I told myself the newly clean bedding and curtains in my favorite colors weren’t put there just for me. That he hadn’t gone above and beyond because he was doing it for me. “Jack, I—”
He cut me off with a kiss, his lips moving in slow, languorous swipes against mine. A surprised sound escaped me before my body caught up. I tugged at his shirt and reactively arched against him, suddenly needing so much more.
His controlled movements contrasted with this crazed thing I’d somehow become, but Jack put his hand on my face, cradled my cheek, and met my eyes. “I’m going to take my time with you, Nat.” The promise in his words had me instantly slowing down to enjoy this.
My hands ran up his arms and looped around his neck. He lifted me, and my legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. His eyes never left mine as he walked us to my bed and gently laid me down.
Then Jack kissed me again. A deep, passionate kiss that told me this was the start of more between us.
I didn’t know what this meant exactly, but it was already too late. I needed this. Needed to be closer to him. Needed to feel him inside me.
Everything about this was suddenly very intimate. I wanted him, even if it was a bad idea.
Jack’s lips caressed mine intensely. We took breaths between every kiss, as if this was a normal form of communication. A beautiful conversation we spoke as our bodies melded together.
I wrapped my leg around his thigh and brought him even closer.
He groaned into my mouth. “That’s it, sweetheart.”
The way Jack spoke the endearment made my stomach swoop. His gaze felt charged as his fingers toyed with the waistband of my pants and underwear. I nodded softly, urging him on, and he took them both off in one pull.
By the time my shirt and bra hit the floor, a self-consciousness had washed over me.
It had been so dark at the fire watch, and we’d moved so quickly that I was sure he hadn’t seen much of my body, but being completely naked now felt intimate in a whole new way.
He gave me a slow, appreciative look, taking in every freckle and curve.
He’s seen you naked before, I reasoned. But this was naked naked. All the emotions I was terrible at ignoring made everything feel more intense.
“You’re beautiful, Nat.” He said it with such adoration, I nearly faded away into the new mattress.
He ran his hand up my stomach, his blue eyes checking in on me as he cupped my breast, running his thumb over my nipple.
He lightly pinched one, making me moan softly.
His strong hands splayed out over my inner thighs, gently pushing them apart.
Jack applied pressure, opening me and holding me in such an exposing and beautiful way.
I met his eyes, which were lit up with intensity, as if he was excited to taste me.
Jack worked me into a frenzy with his tongue as if he wanted me stripped down and completely undone.
As if he wanted me turned into a needy, whimpering mess. And he got exactly that.
He became a forge master as he melted me down to nothing, leaving only my obsession with him. Until his name was the only word I knew.
Jack licked and sucked my clit like he knew exactly what I needed to get there.
I’d go anywhere with him.
Soon, I was grinding against him, and Jack’s large hand cupped my ass and pulled me closer against his face, his mouth driving me closer. My hands threaded through his hair, and he emitted a low growl as I gave it a gentle tug.
That sound pushed me deeper into my pleasure. I was overtaken. My legs tightened and shook as I came undone for him. I let out a whisper of his name that turned into a moan. Jack carried me through every sensation, encouraging me to take more from him.
He took a deep breath and grinned at me, messy-looking, hot as sin. And yet, that thought felt too simple and didn’t match the tenderness of the moment. Jack wanted to take his time, and I was in no position to argue. He pressed gentle kisses to my inner thighs as I slowly came back to earth.
“Perfect, princess.”
I cupped his cheek, and Jack crawled up my body like he was on a mission.
His lips were on mine, and he pinned me with his weight.
I kissed him deeply. The erotic taste of me on his tongue had my head spinning.
Jack looked at me and then at my end table.
I grinned, turning toward it and pulling out a condom.
The foil pack easily opened, and I held the thin latex in my hand.
Jack took short, thin breaths and made the most lovely sigh as I gave his cock a few appreciative strokes as I rolled the condom down him.
“Nat.”
I looked up at Jack, the movements between us, the breaths we shared, everything was emotional. There was no better word for it. I smiled softly and kissed him. “Jack.”
He hooked an arm under me and hitched my leg up over his shoulder.
Jack entered me in one long, tight thrust, and my back arched up off the bed to meet him.
We locked gazes and moved together. It was a hot position, but the way we were taking creative liberties, it was more slow and passionate.
Intense sensations crested through me as I let out hard, breathy pants.
In no time at all, Jack was thrusting deeply, hitting that place within me that had me feeling watery and uncontainable.
“Jack,” I whimpered.
He pressed a kiss to my leg and stroked my clit while he gave me maddeningly slow, deep thrusts. His eyes weren’t leaving mine. “I’ve got you, princess.”
And as if I’d done it a hundred times, I rode the wave and came again for him.
Jack gave me a moment to catch up, but soon he pulled my leg down and wrapped it around his waist. We changed positions so that he was sitting up and I was straddling his lap. We were hugging, as close as two people could be. A cosmically sensual feeling washed over me. I didn’t want to let go.
Jack kissed my neck as he gently thrust into me. Pleasure built as we moved together, kissing as if it were our new language. My whole body tightened around him and spasmed until I erupted, a sparking sensation spreading to my fingers and toes.
Our foreheads pressed together while we shared the same air back and forth. Jack looked at me like I was everything to him as he grunted my name, clutched me tighter, and finally let go, coming inside of me.
His face tucked into my neck, and his breath danced on my collar as we panted. Neither of us moved for a long moment. There was a deep sensation of peace as our hearts beat in sync and we held each other.
“You’re so comfortable.” I swooned, my limbs feeling like jelly, as Jack tucked me closer into him.
“That’s because you fit right here.” He was half-awake, and I loved this contentment between us. Secure in his arms, I was in no hurry to leave this moment. I’d linger in it as long as possible and dream of it even longer.
Last time was fast, intense, and fun. But this, the hugging, the eye contact, everything felt as though it had been ripped out of my heart and served on a platter. Raw and romantic in ways I hadn’t expected. This chemistry between us couldn’t mean nothing.
I listened to his steady heart, fiercely holding on to this moment, hoping he felt the same way.