Chapter 24
JASMINE
Those kisses we’d shared in Sinai had been nothing like this.
Those had been good. Great, even. At the time, I’d ranked them as the best I’d ever had, but these were explosive.
They were kind of kisses that made sparks fly through my entire body and fried my brain until there was nothing left in it but him.
Memories of this man and how long I’d been waiting for this exact moment, knowing I was likely never going to have it.
The very first time Isaac Thayer had smiled at me, I’d burst into Colin’s apartment one night while no one had even known I was in the States. Even back then, I had seen his face and everything else had just disappeared for a moment.
Then there had been the next time I’d seen him, when he’d picked me up from the airport after I’d made yet another surprise visit, and he’d looked at me like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to slap me or kiss me.
Instead, he’d teased me and so it had started, this weird little dance of avoidance and denial we’d been doing ever since. I’d caught him checking me out enough times to know he’d always been attracted to me too, but it had felt necessary to keep our distance, and we had.
Until now.
Although that wasn’t quite right. It was still necessary. We shouldn’t be doing this and we both knew it, but as he kicked the door shut behind us, I reached for the hem of his shirt anyway.
Apparently, he was going back to Chicago soon and I didn’t know when or for how long. After that, or maybe even before, he’d be in Sharm El-Sheikh again while I’d be here, in Cairo, metaphorically fighting for my life.
Right now, there was every possibility that by the time I saw him again, I would be married to someone I would never love, and Isaac would move on.
The mere thought of any of that was so unbearable that tears stung the backs of my eyes, but I only kissed him harder, determined to make the most of the time we had.
I tugged his shirt out of his pants, and he let out a low groan and reached for the sleeves of the sundress I’d put on after the shoot, caressing my shoulders before sliding his fingers under the straps.
He pushed them down slowly, like he didn’t want this moment to end either, then broke away from my mouth to bend his head to the crook of my neck.
We were both breathing hard, our moans and sighs mingling as he brushed his lips across my throat and shoulders, peppering kisses to every part of my skin he could reach. I dropped my head back to give him better access, my fingers fumbling with the buttons on his shirt.
At the same time, I pulled him back toward my bedroom, not bothering to look where we were going. He’d been here before and I trusted him, so I focused on the buttons standing between me and getting him naked.
He laughed when we crashed into something, but it wasn’t long before his mouth was back on mine and we were tumbling onto my bed.
My sundress was caught around my hips, one of my breasts spilled out of my bra, and most of his buttons were undone, but for a second after we crashed down on the mattress, I just caught his face in my hands and looked up at him.
“I’m really going to miss you,” I whispered into the dark, the only light in the room the glow coming through the sheer curtains from outside. “I’m serious, Isaac.”
“Yeah, me too.” He stared back at me, raking his fingers through my hair before he kissed me again, but it was much gentler this time, a deep, slow build toward something that felt so much bigger than both of us. “Shit, Jasmine. I’ve wanted this for so long.”
“I know,” I whispered between kisses. “I feel the same way.”
“I know.” He smiled against my mouth, then groaned when I finally pushed his shirt off his shoulders. “You’re going to have to take it easy on me, okay? It won’t last long otherwise.”
“Oh, but it will. It will last forever, Isaac.” Of course, I knew what he’d meant, but that didn’t matter to me. All I wanted was this, him, tonight, and just one memory of being with someone I actually cared about to hang onto. “We’ll make sure of it.”
He took my face in his hands, holding his weight up on his elbows as he looked back into my eyes. “Yeah, we will.”
As he said it, he gave me a smile filled with sadness, desire, and so much more, but I couldn’t bear to let any of the ugly outside stuff into this moment.
I lifted my head to seal my lips over his once more.
When he kissed me back, I felt him tremble a little on top of me and I wrapped my legs around his hips, tightening my muscles until he was as close as I could get him with so many layers between us.
The hard bulge under his jeans ground against my core. I moaned, flickers of pleasure shooting through me that made wet heat pool between my legs. My panties had already been damp, but they were soaked now. My heartbeat was out of control and an ache for him started up deep inside.
Isaac sucked in a breath when I rolled my hips against him, cursing. Then he kissed me harder and released my face to run one hand along my side. “What happened to taking it easy on me?”
“That’s for later,” I murmured between ragged breaths. “This has been coming for too long and you know it.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m not doing it right.”
When he broke away from me again, he sat up on his knees between my legs and reached for the sundress. His eyes burned into mine as he tugged it down over my hips. I lifted my butt, and the next thing I knew, the dress was gone and Isaac’s gaze raked slowly across the length of my body.
Since he was sitting between my legs, I couldn’t exactly squeeze them together to ease the tension thrumming through me or hide the way he affected me.
His eyes lingered on the wet front panel of my panties for a few beats too long before he groaned.
He slowly moved his eyes up to trace across my hips, my stomach, and my chest before bringing them back to my gaze.
“You have got to be the most beautiful woman in the world,” he murmured. “Inside and out.”
“But mostly out?” I joked breathlessly, sliding my hand behind my back to unhook my bra. “It’s okay. You can be honest.”
“Then, actually, it’s mostly in.” Somehow, he managed to look like he meant it too, even if those eyes seemed positively hungry when he tracked my movements as I tossed the bra away.
“Don’t get me wrong. On the outside, you’re pretty fucking stunning, but everyone knows that. Even you. On the inside, though…”
He swallowed hard, running the flat of his palm up over the center of my stomach. My back arched, my nipples aching for his touch, but he didn’t go for the boob. Instead, his hand slid carefully between them and very deliberately came to a stop right over my heart without touching anything else.
“Inside is where you really shine,” he murmured, and for a beat, the moment grew so heavy that I almost started crying, but then he laughed and finally dropped his gaze to my breasts. “These are going to kill me, though.”
I smiled through the tears that had already been pressing at the backs of my eyes and reached for him again, pulling him down and kissing him until I’d forgotten that he was about to leave.
As his lips crashed into mine, I worked my hands between us and unbuttoned his jeans, grateful that the rest of his fly zipped open once I’d taken care of just one more annoying button in my way.
He slid his wallet out of the pocket, then kicked the jeans off without much care for trying to look elegant while doing it. When I reached for the band of his underwear, he slowed our kiss and brought his forehead to mine. “We don’t have to do this, Jasmine.”
I raked my fingers into his thick hair, almost sighing with relief about finally getting to do it. “I want to.”
“Last week, I carried you the long way around over a dune to avoid our tent.” He gave me a pointed look. “To avoid ending up exactly where we are right now.”
“That was last week,” I said honestly. “This is now.”
“Nothing has changed,” he whispered. “If anything, we’re worse off now than we were then.”
“Exactly.” I pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw. “I’m ready, Isaac, and before you ask, I’m sure. I’m ready for everything. With you.”
Adding those last two words hurt like stubbing my pinkie toe again, but then he nodded and released the hand he’d caught to stop me from reaching for his underwear. I slid both palms under the elastic band, grabbing that firm ass I’d stared at so many times before quickly pushing the garment down.
Isaac let out a husky chuckle that morphed into a groan once his underwear hit the floor. Before I could even touch him, however, he hooked his fingers into the waistband of my panties and pulled them off in turn. Tossing them away, he brought his gaze back to mine.
Without a word, he reached for the wallet he’d dropped on the mattress beside me, slid a condom out of one of the slots, and handed it over to me. Surprised, I took it from him. As my fingers closed around the latex, he sat back on his knees again, his eyes intent on mine.
I tore the package open, wondering why it felt like we were suddenly communicating without words. While I’d been surprised that he wanted me to do this instead of taking care of it himself, I didn’t need to ask to know I wasn’t just holding it.
His throat worked as I pulled the condom out and brought it closer to him.
I dropped my gaze to look where I was going.
Ever since the first time I’d laid eyes on him, Isaac had had that easy, natural confidence that seemed to whisper he had nothing to compensate for, and my instincts had absolutely been correct.
Rock hard and curving up toward his abs, his cock was as pretty as the rest of him—as much as it could be, anyway—the tip a shimmering purple while his shaft was thick enough that I knew it would be a bit of a stretch.
His stomach dipped as I rolled the condom on. His eyes tracked my every move with burning intensity and his features tightened with restraint. The second it was on, he snaked an arm around my waist, brought me crashing into him, and sealed his mouth back over mine for a searing kiss.
We lay back against the mattress together, our lips never parting. He settled between my legs and slowly pushed into me. I moaned into his mouth, wisps of pleasure already coiling inside as his tip slid against my entrance, both of us tensing once he was fully seated.
“Holy fuck, you feel good,” he murmured between kisses that were suddenly growing fervent again. “Too good, Jasmine. Shit.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Is slow still for later?”
“Definitely.” I hooked my legs around him again and bucked my hips, desperation rising like a tide from deep within me. “Move, Isaac. Please. Now.”
As if the plea had snapped something inside him, he kissed me hard and withdrew before thrusting back in.
My breath caught and my very being ignited.
He fell into a rhythm that set my blood on fire.
I moved with him, giving as good as I got even as I realized that I’d definitely been right.
I could absolutely feel the stretch, but since it also allowed him to drag against parts inside that had never felt any friction, I didn’t even care that I would still be feeling him tomorrow.
I just surrendered, losing myself to him with complete and total abandon. An orgasm rushed up on me, and when Isaac’s hips rolled to provide some friction against my clit, I was gone, flying into an orbit where only euphoria existed.
Barely even aware of him swelling inside me, I kissed him hard. He went over the edge after seeing me through. Then I kept him inside of me as I kissed him until we were starting all over again.
It was hours before we finally surfaced, sweaty and exhausted but sated.
He held me in his arms for a long time afterward, kissing my temples sweetly and drawing little patterns on my back until I almost drifted off. My eyes flew open when I felt him tense, however, obviously preparing to get up.
“I should get going,” he murmured. “I have an early flight to catch, so, uh…”
As he trailed off, I nodded and lifted my head so he could climb off the bed. I lay back as he got dressed. I drew the covers a little higher as he covered himself back up piece by piece, and then, when he was done, he strode back to me across the room.
“I’ll see around, Jasmine.” He leaned over and pressed a long, lingering kiss to my lips. “Be good, okay? I’ll be looking out for your adventures on Instagram.”
With that, he straightened back up, and before I could even get a word out, he was gone, leaving me to wonder if I was ever going to have control over my life again—and wishing he would’ve stayed. Even if just a little while longer.