by MK Meredith
“It’s like we stepped through a portal or something.”
His pleased grin eased her worry about his mood. “My brother and I used to hike in these hills all the time when we were young. A little bit of an escape from the everyday.”
He hadn’t really mentioned his brother before though she knew of his existence from her friends.
“Your brother?”
His lips drew into a thin line, and he hauled the bag off his shoulder. Clapping his hands together, he looked at her intently. “Are you ready?”
It didn't get past her that he left her question unanswered, but there was something about the set of his shoulders that kept her from pressing.
“I'm afraid to ask,” she said.
His laughter bounced off the walls of their secluded hiding place, not only cutting through the earlier tension but sending a small shiver of awareness down her spine. He raised his eyebrows slowly, and her mind immediately went to the gutter. Whatever adventure he posed, she couldn't convince herself that her answer wouldn't be yes.
“Have you ever gone skinny-dipping?” His question was low and suggestive.
“What? No!”
“Well then, this is as good a time as any.”
She put her hands out. “No, it's not.”
He ignored her protests as he pulled a few things out of his bag. Towels, bottled water…and was that trail mix? “I'm a professor at Pepperdine. Pepperdine professors do not skinny-dip.”
“They do today,” he said. “Today, you are taking a risk…and, might I add, a well-thought-out kind of risk.” He gestured with his hand. “If you look around, you’ll notice there is no one here.”
“Somebody could walk up on us at any second.”
His chuckle was low and skittered up her spine. “The ten years that my brother and I hiked these hills, no one ever walked in on us.”
Untying her hiking boots, she grumbled, “With my luck, this would be a first time for everything kind of situation.”
Jimmy lifted his face to the sun, acting like he was soaking it in. His broad chest was huge and wide with muscles that rippled down his torso in mounds of flesh.
Bel licked her lips. “Fuck,” she whispered. At this point, she wasn't sure which scared her more, getting caught naked or not seeing the rest of him without his clothes. Then adrenaline rushed through her at the thought of him taking his shorts off.
“We have an agreement,” he reminded her.
“One where, if we’re honest, you benefit the most.” She tried to make her complaint legit, but the truth was she really…really wanted his pants off.
He dropped his hands to his waist and winked. “What’re you afraid of, professor?”
“That kind of question doesn't work with me. When it comes to dares, the person asking about being afraid is the one who's actually afraid.”
She studied him hard for a beat, but he didn’t react. “Fine! I see what this is.”
“Oh yeah? And what's that?”
“A cheap trick to get a lady naked.” She pulled off her shirt and bra, then shoved down her shorts as if ripping off a bandage.
Jimmy’s eyes went wide, then dark. When he spoke, his voice was a barely discernable growl. “I only meant down to your underwear, but damn. Thank you.”
She froze.
His bark of laughter echoed up the walls of their small oasis, spurring her into action. Her jaw dropped, and she threw her shoe, hitting him square in the chest. But there was no denying the rush of warmth through her limbs at the husky timbre of his voice.
She was always a bit too thin, a bit too bony, a bit too small-chested, but living with a dad and a brother—who were the only people she could turn to with her lady questions—she’d gotten used to her body a long time ago.
Jimmy's eyes roamed over her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Do you mind?” she asked, letting the sarcasm drip from her voice.
“Absolutely not at all. Frankly, this is one of the best ideas I've ever had.” There was no shame, no grimace of embarrassment from this man. Just one-hundred-percent male satisfaction.
She laughed but turned her profile toward him, feeling a bit more inconspicuous. “Oh my God, you are incorrigible.” But as he shoved his cargo shorts from his lean hips, she was glad he was distracted with the fabric catching on his foot. Because holy fucking cow…the man was perfection.
His thighs were rock hard, his body strong, and if his erection was any indication, when God divvied up portions, Jimmy Callahan got an extra serving and then some.
Her mouth fell open with a ridiculous indrawn “oh.” She caught it just in time, slapped her teeth shut and jumped in the water.
It enveloped her skin and should have been a reprieve from so much heat. But instead, the seductive slide only reminded her how naked she truly was.
A large splash sounded beside her, and she whisked the water and hair from her face to see Jimmy surface and do the same.
“I'm impressed. I thought it was gonna be a much tougher fight to get you in here.”
“Underestimating me would be a huge mistake,” she replied, then sank beneath the water and swam over to the waterfall.
Fighting feelings of self-consciousness, she stood underneath it and let her head fall back so Mother Nature could wash her worries and distress away.
“You like this.” Jimmy slowly lapped the small space.
“I'm going to need to come back on a regular basis,” she said. And meant it. This was a sweet luxury that everybody should have.
Especially with Jimmy swimming naked. It both hurt and helped that most of his body was submerged. It kept her self-control from being so challenged that the mere sight of his round shoulders threatened a sex-starved frenzy. The thought alone made her want to jump him on the spot.
They played in the water, splashing and racing from side to side. Any time his large, muscular body got close to hers, sizzling streaks of desire raced through her, leaving her breathless.
Caught up in the excitement, she grabbed him by the top of the head and shoved him under. The idea of retribution immediately registered, and with her heart in her throat, she shoved away from him, trying to get to the other side.
He came back up sputtering and laughing with a warning. “I hope you can swim a hell of a lot faster than that.”
She got to the far side of the pool and put her hands out to ward him away from her. “Wait! I'm sorry! I was just playing.” She was afraid if he touched her, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from pouncing on him.
A few feet from her, she watched the expression on his face make a sudden change from determination to horror. He shouted an expletive so loud it made her ears ring.
Before she could even understand what was happening, he was hauling her up and out of the water. “What? Wait!”
They landed on the rough ground, but he twisted, shielding her from the hot, hard rock. But it did nothing to shield her from his hot, hard—
“Something touched my foot.”
She looked down at him, taking in the serious set of his lips and the intense look in his eyes. And nothing could have stopped the hilarity from spilling from her mouth.
Dropping her head to his chest and laughing so hard her sides ached, she finally sputtered, “You felt something on your foot? Are you kidding me? You're huge. One hundred times bigger than any living thing in this area,” she continued, laughing and panting for breath in between her words.
When he didn't answer, she leveraged against his chest to look him in the face once again. But this time, the intense look held a lot more fire than fear.
All the nerve endings in her body came alive, and she felt every inch of hard muscle beneath her that settled into each of her soft angles like a gift.
In spite of his fear, he had taken her with him and not leaped out of the pool on his own, leaving her behind. That realization rocked her to her core.
Spending time with him was too much and not e
nough all at the same time.
She stared at him.
“What?” His voice was a strained whisper.
“Everyone in my life keeps pushing me to take a risk, keeps challenging me to take action. Well, I'm taking action now. Touch me, Jimmy.”
Heat flared in Jimmy’s eyes that promised everything Bel had been dreaming of since meeting him.
She felt a rush of excitement straight through to her clit, and the desire for more consumed her.
He took a firm grip of her ass while his other hand slid up into her hair, molding to the shape of her head and holding her in place as if he was afraid she'd slip away. Nothing could make her change course. She couldn’t remember a time she’d ever wanted something more.
“Are you sure, Bel?” he whispered in between taking a breath and sliding his tongue against hers.
She drew one leg up, rubbing herself against the hard length of him.
He dropped his forehead to hers on a groan. “Holy fuck. If you're not careful, this is going to be over way too soon.”
She giggled, feeling lighter than she had in years, and moved against him once more. With wonder, she ran her nails over his chest then followed suit with her tongue. She was intrigued by his mounds of muscle and the smoothness of his bronzed skin.
A spray of chest hair tickled her palms, delivering an interesting diversion. There was something so unbelievably sexy about this man
His size, his tattoos, the mystery of his story.
He was a giant, yet with each move she made, he seemed under the spell of her every whim. The power of it all went straight to her head. Straddling his waist, she thrust her breast toward him. Without hesitation, he closed his mouth over her nipple.
The heat of his mouth jerked a cry from her lips while his hand gently shaped to her other breast, testing its small weight and grazing over the tight peak of her nipple, drawing it until he could slide his mouth against her.
Every slide of his hands, every stroke of his tongue sent a thrill of fluttering sensations through her until she could feel herself rising.
She writhed against him, increasing the pressure.
“Good God, woman.” His gruff growl sent a shiver down her spine.
“One second.” She rummaged in her bag next to them.
“What are you doing?”
She dangled a condom from between her fingers.
Cradling her head, he dove deeper into the kiss. “I love how you think, Professor.”
She wanted to remember every one of his flavors, every texture of his skin. His hands were everywhere, making her stroke faster and faster along his length, her knees digging into the stone beneath her.
Pressure built, and it was so delicious she couldn't find the will to slow down—and he wasn’t even inside her yet. “Jimmy, I'm sorry.” She wanted to wait for him. Wanted to savor their time together, but her body was on a mission.
“Go for it, professor. I'm right behind you. Nothing says we can't turn around and do it all over again.”
The thought of it all pushed her over the edge. She pressed her mouth to his, loving his limitless zest for life. His cock, hard and hot, pulsed against her. Adjusting so that the large head of him pressed just lightly into her, she slowly took him inside of her, soaking in the amazing sensation of being stretched and filled.
Small flutters of contractions grew from her center, and with gritted teeth, she rode him, repeating the action again and again. The feel of him pushed her limits and sent her soaring over a precipice with an intensity she'd never experienced before.
“Jimmy!”
He kissed her roughly as his own body exploded, his cock throbbing inside of her, spurring on her own orgasm until they both lay spent against the sun-warmed rocks.
“Wow.” She hid her face against his chest, breathing in his musky, masculine scent.
“Professor, I…”
Off in the distance, the small echoes of conversation met them.
All the warmth of their cocoon vanished, and Bel sprung up off his still very hard body.
“What the fuck?” Jimmy cursed under his breath as he shoved up from the stone. They yanked their clothes on and grabbed their packs as two hikers crested the top of the small waterfall for a look at the small pool.
The people waved, asking, “How's the water?”
Bel smoothed her damp and tangled hair from her face as Jimmy replied.
“Water's great. We're just heading out.” The hiker nodded, searching for the path down.
Bel couldn't reconcile the phantom pulsing of her body to the pins and needles of adrenaline from almost being caught. She looked down at her disheveled clothing then back at Jimmy. “Oh my God.”
He threw her a wicked grin. “Now that was fun.”
With a small shake of her head, she said, “You mean crazy and irresponsible!”
And damned if she didn’t want to do it again.
CHAPTER 9
A fter hours spent at his attorney’s office trying to find a way to ensure he got custody of Cleo, Jimmy finally closed his front door against the world. It didn’t look good, and the stress of it all made him feel sick.
Margo had made sure they knew of every night he’d spent in jail…and it didn’t seem to matter that it had been over a decade ago or an act of self-defense. And his traveling as a location manager had been brought to the table over and over again.
What the hell was he going to do?
Cleo needed him.
But more, he needed her.
She was the one bright light in his life. His chance to make up for everything he’d done so wrong.
Once he knew she was safe and sound under his roof, and once he found the perfect images to clinch Bel’s project, maybe he could finally breathe.
And feel like he deserved to.
Right on time, a buzz alerted him to Bel’s arrival, and he let her in.
In the familiar surroundings of his studio, Jimmy stared into the blue eyes that had been haunting his dreams since Christmas, searching for anything that would indicate Bel regretted her decision.
“I want you to take a look at these shots. We only have two weeks left before your deadline.” He nodded toward his large worktable with a collection of both black-and-white and color photographs.
With barely a glance, her mouth landed on his, and the ability to think ceased upon her touch. He’d wanted to taste her since the day they’d met when he’d turned into a bumbling, tongue-tied idiot. The night at the library only increased his craving and left him consumed with thoughts of when it would happen again.
However, nothing had prepared him for the feel of her body against his own at the little waterhole.
Willowy with dips and valleys he craved to savor, her body set his ablaze head to toe, and though he could easily lift her light frame away from him had he wanted to, when she bound his chest to hers in a surprising show of strength, he wasn't quite sure he actually could slip from her grip.
Or that he’d ever want to.
He glided his hands over the silky skin of her back and grabbed her round ass cheeks, pulling her against him to ease the ache in his cock. Skinny-dipping had seemed like a fun challenge, a way to encourage her to loosen up. When she’d met his dare, he’d had to gather every bit of his self-control to keep their time easy and lighthearted.
The hell if he could figure it out, but there was something about this damn woman that set him off like no one else. Leaving one hand on her ass, he slid the other up into her hair, gripping the curve of her head so that he could sample her how he wanted to. Because holy hell, if he was getting the chance to do it again, he was taking it.
“This mean you like what you see so far?” Pressing a hard kiss to her lips, he picked up a photo. “This one in particular is one of my favorites.”
It was of her under the waterfall, eyes closed, head back, water sluicing over her hair. He would bet his next location project that it had been a long time since she’d felt that free.
Clearing her throat, she tucked her hair behind her ear and blinked a few times. She focused on the photo with a shake of her head, then narrowed her eyes. “And you said we wouldn't get caught.”
He placed a hand to his chest in faux indignation. “And we didn't.”
“Hah! I should have known. Bad boys like you always cause trouble.”
Jimmy studied the humor on her face. She didn't know the half of it. If she ever found out, she’d run as fast and as far away from him as she could.
With a mischievous crook of her lips, she trailed her fingers over his large worktable, looking from one photograph to the next. “Your eye for composition and lighting is extraordinary. And you're giving me examples of relationships I've never considered.”
She looked good in his space. Right. The perfect complement to his masculine surroundings.
“What made you get into photography?”
He could tell her that as a child it was the only way he could see the ugly world around him in a beautiful light. That would be the truth, but it would also invite questions he was unable to answer. “When I was a kid, I came across an old disposable camera, you know the ones in the little cardboard casing?”
She nodded.
“I started fiddling around with it, taking a few snapshots, and then I saved any pennies I could get my hands on until I could afford to get the film developed.”
“You didn't have very much money growing up?”
“That’s an understatement,” he answered with a small shake of his head.
She moved from his table to a black wall that held a collection of black-and-white photographs. He and his brother as children, his little Cleo, sunsets and sunrises.
Anything that reminded him that the potential of tomorrow made today worth facing.
She stared at a photo of him and his brother, and his chest constricted. “Your brother?”
