29. Sara
29
SARA
O n the fourth floor of the townhouse, there are two bedrooms and a snug area with a desk and yet another bookcase, not to mention more images of Jack in the wilderness which line the sage-green, sconce lit walls.
Jack is in the bathroom, showering after the hose assault while I snoop around.
I pull a couple of bands from my wrist, and section my hair in loose pigtails so my shirt can dry off. I look ridiculous but it’s the only hairstyle where I won’t be left with tie marks while still preserving my style.
Then, I decide to take a closer look at his reading material. Unsurprisingly, most are non-fiction. Surprisingly, they’re not Business 101 and The Experts Guide to Hostile Takeovers , but instead appear to be geared toward hiking, climbing, camping, and wildlife. Glimpses of the man I met back in Maine, rather than this suave, polished version I’ve come to know.
I move across the corridor to another bookcase at the same moment a floorboard creaks, and heavy footsteps approach from behind. I twist to see Jack wearing a navy towel wrapped around the lower part of his hips where a defined V arrows toward an area I should definitely not be staring at right now. Especially not after my no kissing rule.
Suddenly, he’s not the nerdy beekeeper anymore.
He looks nonchalantly at the sandy floorboards while rubbing his hair with another smaller towel.
“Oh!” I whip around when I realize I’m gawking, tugging my eyes from his muscled torso and skipping into the nearest room to avoid his gaze.
He doesn’t respond in the way I expect. No acknowledgement of the intrusion, or sarcastic comment to highlight my lack of shame for snooping.
Instead, he laughs. Chuckles.
“What’s so funny?” I peek my head around the doorframe of the bedroom I’m hiding in, calling into the now empty corridor.
“You,” he replies from the other bedroom. The navy towel flies through the threshold of his room before landing in a heap outside the door. “Acting like you’ve never seen me naked before.”
A dizzy feeling coils inside me.
“What?” I cry. “You mean when you saved me from the moose? You were wearing pants. Pants aren’t naked.” My nails dig into the wooden frame.
His voice echoes from the bedroom. “Nope. I mean after that. When I stripped in the tent. I thought we had an understanding, but then I caught you looking.” A pause. “Twice.”
Holy mother of fuck.
My hand covers my gaping mouth as I stagger back to feel my shoulder blades hitting against the door inside the bedroom .
“I…” My voice breaks as I slide down the door. “It was an accident! I didn’t know you were going to be naked,” I say too loud before sliding all the way to the floor, landing in a rough heap on the hardwood.
“It’s cool. I forgive you.” He’s laughing.
“It wasn’t my fault. You should’ve given me a heads up,” I say. “Like I did for you. I told you to turn around, which meant I was going to get a little naked. I mean, if I knew we were going to be naked at the same time, I probably wouldn’t have stripped down.”
A strained groan comes from his room. “Sara, don’t talk about you getting naked, please…or ‘ stripping down.’ ”
I huff. “But you’re allowed to talk about it?”
More groaning. “That’s different.”
I roll my eyes. “How? Besides, it’s not like I’m saying I’m getting naked right now, I’m saying I was naked.” I press my lips together, a mischievous grin forming. “At the same time you were naked.”
He groans again. “Sara…”
“You brought it up,” I say, sliding my legs out in front of me, crossing one over the other.
“And now I’m regretting it.” He sounds grumpy.
Now I’m fully grinning. “What’s the big deal? Are you feeling dumb because you tried to embarrass me, and it kinda backfired?”
The floorboards creak in the corridor and I hear footsteps.
“No, I’m feeling like you’re making me picture you without any clothes.” His voice is getting clearer, closer, until he appears above me, damp haired with pink cheeks from the hot shower. “And that’s not a good idea right now, so I’m begging you to stop,” he barks out the order.
He’s wearing a white T-shirt and light gray sweatpants, no socks— huge feet—and a fresh layer of leather and pine lightly hovers around him. His entire appearance is exceptionally reminiscent of the Jack from the trails. Even the way he’s scowling is the same. I forgot how cute he looks when he does that.
“Fine.” My eyes relax. I rest my head against the door, my throat exposed, gazing up at him with my lips parted. “I wasn’t naked anyway.” He narrows his eyes. “I was in a little matching lace black bra and panty set.”
His eyes go wide. “Christ, stop!”
“Why?”
A growl rumbles in his chest and the next thing I know, he’s extending an arm, his swollen bicep tensing as he grabs my hand and tugs me to my feet. I’m up in a second, drawn close to his chest, our bodies touching, faces close enough to exchange breath.
“Because I was an inch from touching heaven earlier in that boardroom,” he says in a low hum, leaning further into me so my back jams against the door. “An inch, Sara.” His hand comes to my waist, his thumb pressing into my hip. My back arches as my body begins to tremble. “An inch from feeling you beneath those silk panties I can’t stop thinking about.”
Those silk panties that are going to get wet all over again if he doesn’t stop brushing his damn crotch against me.
“Jack…” I breathe as he looks down at me, his nose grazing my cheek. I sink my nails into his chest, half pushing him away, half clawing into him to keep him pressed against me.
“Did you think you could just kiss me?” he growls. “Get my dick hard, in that short fucking skirt, and I’d just forget about it?” His hips press into mine. “Maybe that’s what you’re doing with all the naked talk, maybe you’re trying to remind me.” Maybe. “Maybe you made a rule earlier, and now you’re regretting it. You remember your rule?”
I dig my nails in harder, this time I know I’m pulling him in. He winces, grinning into my cheek. “No kissing,” I whisper.
He nods, his thumb pressing harder at my hip, his face brushing against my temple. “Unless you ask me to.”
I can feel things begin to twitch below his waist. He’s not totally hard, but if we stay here like this, it’s going to happen.
“Let’s hear it Sara, you either ask for what I know you want, or you quit playing this game with me.” His other hand sinks into my hair, tilting my head up to meet his gaze.
Fuck. What do I say? And is he right? Probably. I’m teasing him while forcing him to stay at arm’s length. I inhale deeply, not breaking eye contact when I finally submit.
“Fine,” I whisper, watching him eye me with caution. “I’m sorry I teased you.” I swallow, offering him a weak smile. “I’ll stop.”
He exhales a breath that sounds like it’s been trapped for minutes. His hold against me loosens and he lowers his head.
And then, he steps back, slowly inching away from me.
That’s when I think he’s going to ask me to leave. Tell me he’s done with this game of cat and mouse I’ve invented.
You said you weren’t going anywhere…
It’s on the tip of my tongue, his words from earlier that I want to yell. They play over in my head.
Then his eyes are roaming over my hair, surveying my pigtails, assessing me with a smirk. “Nice hair,” he says while gesturing ahead. “Now let’s go downstairs. I have something for you. ”
We cross a kitchen dining area lit only by a single soft lamp glowing amber in the corner, and a couple of brass portrait lights on the far wall that dimly beam down on a couple of water paintings.
When we reach a white, marble-topped island, Jack digs around in a lower cabinet before emerging with a jar consisting of thick, yellow syrup.
“Here.” He hands me the jar. “A gift from the hive.”
“Honey?” I grin before my expression dips, and I can’t help but pull my brows together in a tight frown.
“You don’t like it?” Jack asks, a bit wounded.
I shake my head as I fight to put into words exactly what has me questioning this moment when the not-so-mean boy from my childhood gifts me a jar of home-produced honey labeled, Nectar of the Gods .
“Maybe you are different, Jack. Different than this image I have...” I admit, chewing on the corner of my mouth. It doesn’t escape my notice how intensely his eyes track the gesture.
“What’s the image?” He narrows one eye.
Oh, only that you’re probably someone who spends their days at the head of a very long, shiny table in a dimly lit boardroom, lined with staff who quiver like a twanged piece of string.
“I think what I’m trying to say is…thank you.” The words lurch out of me, unplanned and clumsy.
“What for?”
“For being patient with me,” I say. “I know everything I do right now is probably confusing the hell out of you. It’s a miracle you’re still here.”
He leans against the counter opposite me. “I’m keeping up better than you think. ”
“You are?”
He nods. “I’m guessing you went through something.” He tilts his head. “I don’t know what, and I’m not prying, but something made you stop trusting.” His voice becomes more serious. “I’m still here because I can see how hard you’re working to believe in someone again.”
It hits me hard. I take a steadying breath as I fight to recall if I’ve ever met anyone who’s been this perceptive around me before. This is new territory. It’s a little scary, but it’s also making me feel like being vulnerable right now won’t come back to bite me on the ass.
“You’re right. I did go through something. And I’m trying not to let that get in the way.” My throat feels tight. “But…I really am trying, Jack.”
He pushes from the counter, takes a stride toward me and without hesitation, pulls me into a hug. No hips pressing into mine, no dick twitching in his pants, just warmth. Wrapped around me in the same safe cocoon as when I lay on him in the storm.
I bury my face in his T-shirt, mumbling into his chest. “Sometimes I’m a little dramatic, and my actions and reactions can be over the top. I guess it’s how I deal. Noise first, sense and resolve later.” I laugh uncomfortably. “I tried so hard to change that, but I think that’s just who I am. I think that’s my package.”
“I know,” he says into my hair with light amusement.
“You do?”
“I spent the best part of twenty-four hours with you on the trails, I saw.” I feel him shrug. “I mean yeah, you freaked out for sure.” He clears his throat. “ Is that… ” he says in the most awkward girl voice I’ve ever heard, “ a tent?”
My jaw hangs open and I shove him off. “You’re seriously mocking me?” I contemplate stomping on his foot with my stiletto before a grin spreads across my face.
“Ohhh yeah,” he says smiling with the corner of his mouth before he’s twisting, reaching into the overhead cupboard to retrieve a couple of glasses. “Being dramatic is exactly who you are. It’s part of your energy, part of what makes you light up.”
Light up? I feel my cheeks heat, and I don’t know whether to blush or feel embarrassed.
Then Jack twists to fill the glasses with water and when he turns to set them down, he’s got another serious look in his eye, but this time it’s different to the ones I’ve seen before, because this one comes with a hint of anger.
“Someone killed that light before, didn’t they? Someone tried to silence you, forced you to question yourself. It’s why you keep apologizing for being too loud. It’s because that’s what your ex made you do, right?”
Things get really still. He said he wasn’t going to pry but I know I won’t get away with not admitting this one thing to him. I swipe at a tendril of loose hair and drag it behind my ear as I nod.
Jack straightens. As in he sticks out his huge chest and grows a foot taller. His face is the sexiest combination of determination and passion, and it makes my heart ache wondering what the hell he’s about to say with such a look.
“You want to know what I think?” His voice is low, deeper than I’ve ever heard it. “I think you are light . Shining, bright light.” He steps toward me, his voice dropping again, everything about the gravelly texture invites me in. “I think you are energy and chaos in the best way. I think there’s no chance of ever being bored with you.” I step back, swallowing thickly but he comes toward me again. “I think you’re afraid to make noise right now, and you shouldn’t be. Because trust me when I say people notice you and they like what they see. I like what I see.” My back hits the island and Jack closes the gap between us entirely. “I like the noise, and I like that you take up space.” He places a hand either side of me on the marble, leaning in. “And you know what else I think?” His eyes map my features. “I think that scares some people. People who can’t keep up. And Sara,” he says as his lips tick up at the corners, a wicked grin with no humor appearing. “I think your ex was a pussy who couldn’t keep up.”
At that moment, with Jack’s mouth hovering so close to mine, I think I might break my rule. He knows I need actions over words, but here’s the thing – words are important too, and his just mended something inside my chest. When was the last time someone told me they loved the things I hated most about myself?
Jack sighs. “He’s why you won’t let me in.” He removes his hands from the counter before stepping back from me. He picks up his glass, drains it dry. His lips have a coating of wetness from the water, and all I want to do is run my tongue over them and taste him like I did earlier.
“Jack…”
“Yeah?” he says absently, twisting to fill the glass again.
He doesn’t get a chance, because I pluck it from his grip, set it on the counter, then reach for his face. I step on tiptoe and crush my mouth against his. His shock only lasts a second before he’s leaning into the kiss, his lips working against mine. It’s fierce and messy and something neither of us can pull away from. Not like earlier kisses that were uncertain and teasing. This is hungry and violent and passionate, something which starves the mind of oxygen and blurs the lines of reason.
His hands wrap around the back of my thighs, his fingers sinking into my flesh as he picks me up. My legs mould around his waist as he steps forward, thrusting me on top of the center island. I feel my miniskirt fly up as my ass connects with the cool marble.
His mouth devours mine, and his teeth graze my lips before moving to my jaw, causing me to tilt my head back and moan against his touch. “I’ll be patient with you like you have no idea,” Jack says, mouth pressing kisses to my neck. “But you have to give me some honesty. Admit why you came here tonight.”
Because you feel like light to me too.
“Paperwork, contracts.” I gasp as one of his hands slides beneath my blouse and travels up my ribcage until he finds my breasts. Yes yes yes.
“Bullshit.” He finds my nipple and pinches on top of the material. “What are you doing here, Sara? In my house,” he growls against my ear. “I gave you every option that didn’t involve you coming here, yet you still chose to walk through those doors when you knew I’d try to fuck you the moment you stepped inside. Why did you come?”
“I don’t know,” I say, sinking my fingers into the solid muscle above the waistband of his pants.
“I do.” His other hand slides into my hair and he makes a fist, holding onto a section so he can angle my face to look up at him, exposing my throat. With his other hand, he tugs off my necktie and lets it sail to the floor.
“You’re here because you want to be fucked.”
My jaw hangs open, yet right before I’m about to protest, he wedges himself against me, his dick pressing against my pussy. We’re eyelevel, and it’s the most intimate fucking thing. The ache between my legs is back.
“You’re here because you know I can make you feel good.” He tugs my hair again. “You’ve been fucking me with those beautiful eyes all night. You even marked your territory...” He presses my hand to his solid pectoral muscle where I sunk my nails in earlier. I bite my lip and stifle the grin that wants to come out. “And I know that if I reach between your legs now, I’m going to find you wet for me.”
Not wet, soaked.
“Then make me feel good,” I moan into his mouth. “You have no idea how much I wanted to feel you inside me in that meeting room. I didn’t want you to stop when you did. Does that tell you why I’m here?” I find my voice at last, drawing him into me, hungry for his mouth to be on mine again.
Jack’s entire body stiffens.
His head drops to my ear and his hands move to the countertop beside my ass where I see his fingers bite into the marble.
“Fuck,” he grinds out, like he’s never practiced so much restraint. “Yeah. That explains why you’re here,” he says slowly, like he’s trying to form a distraction in his mind. It doesn’t work, because I can feel him through the seam of his sweatpants, swelling against me.
“But here’s the thing,” He slaps a hand against the side of my ass, hard. I yelp as the tingling sting sends a thrill of pleasure coursing through my entire body. “You’ve been playing games with me all night. So if you want something from me, I need to hear you ask for it.”
“It’s not a game. It’s not like that,” I whisper, running my teeth over his ear lobe.
“Oh, it’s a game, pigtails. A game where you say jump and I leap for the fucking sky. That’s what you do to me. But it’s okay, because for you, I’ll play.”
I wriggle on the island, my legs shamelessly slipping around Jack’s waist. Pigtails? Yeah, I can work with that.
“I kissed you, we broke the rules,” I whine, my body begging him to touch me where I need him to. “What else do you need from me?”
His hand leaves the countertop to trace along the side of my thigh, over the material of my skirt before sliding beneath my blouse. The sensation of his touch against my skin sends a ripple of heat coursing through me, triggering a series of feathery moans to slip from my throat.
“I need three things from you.” He finds my breasts again, then tugs down at the lace of my bra and starts to massage my nipples in slow excruciating circles. My back continues to arch into his touch. “First, I need you to let me do something for you. Something that doesn’t involve me asking for anything in return. You understand?” He slips his hands out from my blouse, runs his fingers down my legs, before sliding me away from him on the island, guiding me onto my back.
“Mhmm.” I manage to moan as the ache swelling inside me climbs to new heights.
Jack grabs my ankles and puts them over his big shoulders, his hands gripping my ass beneath my skirt that’s ridden up past my thighs. “Second, I need you to get real noisy when I play with your pussy and make you come against my tongue.”
Holy shit.
“I said I’d give you things you can’t find anywhere else…” he growls. “You’re about to have one of those things.”
My pussy is throbbing and he hasn’t even touched me. My back is already arching while my eyelashes flutter, my eyes fixating on a spot on the ceiling, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip as the anticipation kills me. A whispered laugh comes from above me. “Third thing I need, is to hear you say you want me to kiss you. I need to hear you ask for it. No more games. ”
His fingers begin to stroke the material of my thong, sliding up and down my center. I writhe beneath his touch and push my hips into him as he massages the material, circling over my pussy. I inhale deeply, knowing I must be flushing scarlet because there’s no way he can’t feel the moisture already gathered there.
“You want me to kiss your clit, you ask for it baby.”
“Jack…” I plead.
“Say it.”
My nails sink into the marble at my sides, and when it gets too much, I pant, “Kiss me. Please. Please, just kiss me. I want you to kiss me, Jack.”
“Good girl.”
He hooks a finger beneath the thong, pulling it to the side and exposing me bare. I look up at him from my back to find him grinning at me. “You’re beautiful. So fucking perfect.” His mouth travels against the inside of my thigh, grazing the soft flesh with his teeth.
Then, his fingers slide against my wet center, tracing over my folds and massaging my pussy.
My hips rise and I gasp from the thrill of his touch, every nerve ending tingles.
He presses me hard into the marble, keeping me still. “Keep those noises coming,” he says. “Let me hear them. Don’t stop.”
“I won’t,” I say, right before he slips a finger into me, and then another. “Jesus, how can I stop?” He begins to slide in and out of my slickness as I cry out in pleasure like I’ve been starved my entire life.
Then, he drags his tongue over my pussy, and oh my god, I don’t even know if I’m in my own body anymore. Heat flames between my legs as his tongue licks into my folds, working me into a frenzy. And when he plants a kiss against that most sensitive spot, I know I could come apart any second because the ache swelling at my clit is enough to send me over the edge.
I reach down, sink my hands into his hair and moan his name. “Jack…oh my god, Jack.”
His tongue moves quicker, with more pressure, more need. His fingers work in and out of my pussy as my orgasm begins to climb. Then he’s sliding his fingers out, digging his hands into my ass as he anchors me to his mouth. He picks up my hips, driving his tongue into my pussy, then sucking my clit hard, paying it the most attention its ever had.
“Jack, I’m so close,” I moan as the ache between my legs multiplies. “I’m…” The cry comes out as I finally let everything pour out. The moans, the trembling, loud cries while liquid fire courses through me. Every part of me shakes as I come apart.
I lie on my back, stars glittering in my vision, my breathing rapid. I feel Jack’s hands slide from my inner thighs and work their way down my legs where he grazes the skin with his teeth and plants kisses. My thong is still pulled to the side but right now I don’t care about how exposed I am – all I care about is the orgasm Jack gave me that I’ll be chasing for the rest of my life.
“Oh…my god,” I say as my breathing returns to a normal pace.
Jack unhooks my legs from his shoulders, then takes my hands, pulling me from my back as he draws me into his body. My arms wrap around his neck and my thighs hug around his waist. My body practically collapses against his as I anchor myself to him.
“Let’s get a couple things straight, pigtails,” he says, sliding his hands back under my skirt and slipping them under the curve of my ass. “You want something from me, you get used to asking for it, okay?” He delivers one of those sexy, stern looks as he watches me. “That’s how I know you really want it. You have no idea how much that turns me on.”
I nod, lifting my head from his shoulder, then brushing my lips over his. He responds by gripping my ass harder.
“Ouch,” I say as a stray giggle leaves my throat and I peck at his lips again. “Okay, I’ll ask.”
His body tenses as he draws me in even closer, lifting me from the countertop. “Good. Because I was serious before. You and I are done playing games.”
An ache forms in my stomach, deep and warm, and unfamiliar. I bite into my bottom lip, not knowing what the fuck to do with his words and this warm feeling inside of me. All I can do is lean in and close my mouth over his. I moan when I feel his tongue meet mine and our lips begin to work against each other, the rhythm steady, the fit perfect.
I wrap my legs tighter around his waist as he carries me from the kitchen.
“We don’t have to do the dating thing just yet. I’m fine getting to know each other like this,” he says, fingers sinking into my thighs.
“Like how?” I smile against his face.
Jack tilts his head back just enough to look me straight in the eye. “By me fucking you with my mouth or any other part of me until you realize this thing we’ve started, is good.”
Oh boy. That ache in my stomach does a little flutter.
“We can even attempt some form of professionalism at work while we’re at it.” We both laugh at that as Jack carries me down another flight of stairs. He inhales deeply. “I like you Sara, and I think you’re starting to realize it might not be such a bad thing if you’re into me too.” We reach the lounge area on the second floor. “So, let’s cut the bullshit. No more kissing me in your office if you don’t want my dick to get hard for you. No more talking about you getting naked unless you’re taking off your panties and sitting on my face. No more games.”
While I contemplate if it’s possible to orgasm from the sound of another person’s voice, I kiss Jack’s mouth, his bottom lip, the dimple on the side of his stubbled cheek. I keep kissing him until I get to his ear where I bite down gently and whisper, “Okay, no more games.”