by Aimee Duffy
“You have to put these on.” Julie handed Caitlyn a pair of skin colored panties and bra.
Caitlyn accepted the garments without fanfare, all the while wondering if the drink really had changed her. She frowned at the thought. It was ridiculous. Two shots of vodka weren’t enough to change her. Only relax her like Jake said it would.
Jake. God, how had he known? There was so much she tried to hide from everyone—and managed to surprisingly well—but it seemed she couldn’t hide everything from him. The thought should terrify her, but it didn’t. Caitlyn was too busy enjoying the artificial warmth creeping through her veins to worry about anything at that moment.
Julie slid out of the master bedroom where filming would commence, leaving her alone to change. Caitlyn paced over to the huge window. The rain spattered against the glass and rang in her ears.
Yesterday, Jake had slipped in casually that it would be all right, she just had to follow his lead, to trust him. And Caitlyn was beginning to. If not would she have drank vodka, knowing how alcohol had transformed her father into a monster? It was merely herself she couldn’t trust.
All week she’d fought against her attraction to him, and it had been harder since the kiss they shared. Now, she’d be kissing him again, their almost naked bodies twined together beneath the sheets on the impressive king-sized bed. Caitlyn had no idea how she would be able to mask her attraction under those circumstances. Even under the influence of the vodka and after she’d convinced herself he wasn’t her Mr. Right, she still wanted him.
Caitlyn shucked her clothes and donned the underwear and a robe, and then walked across to the bed and sunk onto the edge. She placed her head in her hands. Five deep breaths later, and the sound of Sean’s voice grew nearer. God, it was happening. It was really, really happening.
Thankfully, the build up shot was in the lounge and would be filmed another day from a smaller villa. Sean just wanted this room for the love scene, and she could see why. Four posts rose from the corners of the sturdy oak bed frame. White silk material draped with art-like precision around the top, and the view of the ocean, even with the dark clouds, was spectacular. The room was magical.
The bedroom door swung open and Julie entered, followed by Sean, two cameramen, the boom operator, and, at their heels, Jake. Her eyes widened as he entered and her heart leapt into her throat. He hadn’t bothered with a robe.
His body was a masterpiece. A sculpture of flesh and muscle even Michelangelo would have been proud of. Wide shoulders rippling with undisguised strength led down to a slightly narrower waist. His chest was defined solely by muscles, and gold hair sprinkled from the heart of him all the way down to a pair of skintight bare briefs. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Caitlyn turned her attention away to hide the fact that her body was melting from the inside out.
“Okay, guys, you know the drill,” Sean said and sunk into a fold-out chair beside the wicker wardrobes.
The cameramen set up at the side and rear of the bed. Jake approached her, his jaw tense and his eyes shuttered. She tried to stand, willed herself to run, tried to move at all, but couldn’t. She was trapped in his gaze and under the spell of want his near-naked presence had caused.
He lowered himself onto the bed next to her, and then leaned close to her ear. “It will be okay. You’ll do great. I promise.” The whisper of his breath made her shiver.
The secret place between her thighs ached and her nipples tightened. She wished, with all her heart, she could just be immune to him. Caitlyn had been counting on the vodka to assist. She never had any luck.
Caitlyn nodded, not trusting her voice. He took her hand, stood, and pulled her up with him. One of his hands settled on her lower back and rubbed small circles, while he threw back the sheets. Even through her robe, she could feel the heat of his skin seeping into her, turning her body into a shell of vibrating hormones.
He laid down on the bed and tugged her hand for her to follow. She kept her attention on his eyes, knowing his body would only make her arousal far worse. A deep, almost feral hunger was barely concealed in the chocolate depths. Her stomach quivered as that same hunger sped through her body, banishing her insecurities. With trembling hands, Caitlyn slid off the robe.
Jake pulled her to his side with a tenderness she wouldn’t have guessed he possessed. Her heart gave a tug in her chest, but the heat raging through her veins, blended with the warmth of the vodka glow, made every inch of her skin sensitive and wiped the thought away.
With the covers propped loosely on his hips, he rose over her and she instinctively opened her thighs. Jake moved between them and propped his weight on forearms bracketing her head, the muscles there bunched with the pressure. He gave her a tense smile.
“Action,” Sean called, and Caitlyn’s breathing sped.
Jake threaded his fingers through her hair and angled her head toward his face. Tension lined the hard planes of his jaw. She linked her arms around his back and felt the muscles bunch beneath her fingers. His breathing grew ragged along with hers.
Jake brushed his mouth against her jaw, her cheek, and then finally her lips. Caitlyn could feel his bare thighs against hers. Fire spiraled out from her core and spread to every part of her body. His spicy smell made her blood boil, and her hands snaked around his neck as she wrapped her legs around his torso.
“Caitlyn,” Jake whispered into her mouth, a broken whisper which she didn’t so much hear as feel. She groaned, tasting the addictive substance his kiss was made of and let instinct take over.
The length of Jake’s arousal rubbed the thin, cotton panties which were now almost soaked through. She groaned into his mouth as one pretend thrust skimmed her sensitive nub of flesh, now swollen and desperate to be touched. She ground her hips against him, again and again, the vodka warmth and fire inside her morphed into a pressure which ached to be released.
What on earth had she been thinking of, shying away from something as amazing as this all her life?
Jake’s thrusts increased in speed and pressure. Her mind went fuzzy around the edges. Everything around her disappeared. All that was left was the sound of blood pounding in her ears. His mouth against hers. The feel of his hard strength pushing her closer to some unknown pleasure.
Caitlyn hovered at some undiscovered edge. Needing more pressure. Needing, something. She couldn’t think. Moans escaped her mouth that sounded almost alien to her. This…this was almost bliss. It was so close she could feel it.
“Cut!”
Jake froze, the tension in his body clear from his rigid frame. Caitlyn trembled with unfulfilled need. For a moment, she couldn’t figure out what had happened. Where she was. Then the world came back into focus, and she remembered.
The frustrated embarrassment made her cheeks flame unbearably. The vodka burn did nothing to hide her internal torture. Just one more second and she’d have known. She’d have known what that unbelievable mounting of pressure would do when it exploded. She’d wanted it more than she’d ever wanted anything. And now, now it was ripped away.
“Let’s shoot that again. Less panting, more moaning,” Sean declared.
Jake sank his head into the pillow next to her and groaned, his body still taut. She could understand his frustration. If he felt even an ounce of what she did, then this would be torture for him too.
If you wanted something to happen, I certainly wouldn’t protest.
Jake’s words rang in her head, and at that moment she wanted to grab his offer with both hands. How could she not want more of this? If he could rouse so much pleasure from a barely-there touch, what would it be like when he did touch her? When his impressive length was hard inside her?
She swallowed. Her core ached for him. Jake wasn’t her Mr. Right, Caitlyn had no doubt about that, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be her Mr. Right Now. After all, they both wanted each other. Why not make the most of the time they had on the island?
No, he wasn’t her soul mate. She knew that. But he was hot and they had
chemistry. What harm could a short fling do? She wasn’t exactly storing her virginity for Mr. Right. The only reason she’d never had sex was because she’d never wanted to sleep with a man. Not Archie. Not any other man she’d met.
Or was it the vodka making her think this way? She knew alcohol could change people. It had turned her father into a monster. Was it turning her into a wanton fool? Or was the attraction she had for Jake some sort of chemical reaction?
Then again, from the second she’d met Jake, he raised her temperature and made her want. Why couldn’t she have him? At that moment in time, Caitlyn couldn’t think of a single reason.
* * * *
Jake cursed as he stood with his back against the freezing spray of the shower, his hands braced against the tiled wall. Four hours after he filmed the scene with Caitlyn and his erection hadn’t abated. Not even a little.
All the last twenty minutes spent in the cold shower had done was threaten him with frostbite. Giving up, he switched the tap off, got out of the shower, and slung a towel around his waist. There was only one thing left to try and quell his raging arousal. Whiskey.
Jake left the bathroom. The light rap at the door froze him for a second. After readjusting the towel to disguise the world’s largest erection, he made his way to the door.
Caitlyn. Hell.
“Can I come in?” she asked, her gaze fixed on his chest.
His erection throbbed. “You’re asking now?” he asked in an attempt to lighten the tension pulsing in the air between them.
She looked at his face then. Her eyes a dark shade of emerald. The color they’d been today when she’d wrapped her legs around him, writhing in undisguised passion. The heat burning in his groin rose to torturous levels at the thought.
Get your mind out of your boxers, Campbell.
“Sure.” He stepped aside and she entered. “Would you like a drink?”
Her eyes dipped to his chest again. The heat of her gaze scorched his skin. Why the hell was she here? Was she intent on torturing him to death?
Jake hadn’t forgotten what she’d said earlier in the week. The reason she wanted the love scene dropped. It had made him back off. He’d pulled up his moral shorts and stopped trying to charm her into his bed. Though it had been hell.
And now she was there, in his personal space, when his erection was refusing to disappear and his control was at an all-time low.
“No, thank you.” Caitlyn clasped her hands together while her teeth nibbled her lower lip. Hell, how he remembered the taste of that lip. Not at all sour like he’d initially imagined. Quite the opposite in fact.
“Not that it isn’t a pleasure to see you, but why are you here?” He prayed she wanted to borrow a cup of sugar.
“Well…I…I’ve been thinking.” Her gaze went to the floor. “About how you said…you wouldn’t turn me down if I wanted something to…happen between us.”
His erection swelled painfully as his stomach filled with dread. What did she want to happen? He didn’t do commitment, didn’t even do relationships. He couldn’t give her love or security or even someone to rely on.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He was pleased that his voice betrayed none of his frustration or anxiety.
She lifted her head and her eyes flashed green fire. “Why not? What’s changed?”
You told me you were a virgin.
“I’m sorry, Caitlyn. I’m just not looking for a relationship. I’m not good with responsibility, nor do I want it.”
Caitlyn burst out laughing and he frowned.
“What’s so funny?”
“Who…said…anything about…a relationship?” she asked between giggles.
“What then?” Her fit of giggles made his irritation spike. Was it really so ludicrous to think that was what she wanted from him? Other women mistook sex for intimacy.
Caitlyn wiped away an escaped tear. “I was talking about sex.”
Arousal punched his groin, hard and fast. “You want a fling?”
* * * *
Caitlyn immediately sobered at the rough timbre of Jake’s voice. God, she was so nervous she’d giggled like a little girl. After spending hours debating whether or not coming to his villa and proposing a short-term affair would be wise, her newly found hormones had won out. As well as her unfulfilled frustration from earlier that day.
To hear the words on his lips made her tummy swirl with nerves. Fling. It sounded foreign and exotic and so unlike anything she would ever do.
Wasn’t that why she became an actress? To escape who she really was, even if only for a little while? There were thousands of courses she could have studied at university, but acting had appealed the most. The thought of getting to think like someone else for the better part of the day was exhilarating. It meant she wouldn’t have to be Caitlyn Hart and could leave her baggage at the door. Now she could do it for real.
So why was she having second thoughts? This was another chance to step away from who she was, another distraction from her life, and it would be glorious if today was anything to go by. Plus, Jake knew she was a virgin. Caitlyn wouldn’t have to explain that. She knew deep in her bones he’d be gentle and patient. He had been both since she’d met him.
Pulling all her courage together, she said, “Yes. That’s what I want.” She couldn’t meet his eyes though. The nerves were making her shy.
Jake cupped her chin and tilted her head up, making her look at him. His jaw was tense and his eyes serious. “Are you sure that’s all you want, Caitlyn? It’s all I can offer.”
She knew that already. Her tongue fused to the roof of her mouth so she nodded. He blew out a breath and pulled her against him. Caitlyn’s hands went to his pecs and immediately they bunched. She inhaled the fresh scent of his shower gel and longed to trace her tongue along his skin to see if he tasted as clean as he smelled.
She tore her gaze away from his impressive chest and looked up. The knee-melting grin was back and an answering smile spread across her face.
Then, as suddenly as his smile came, it was gone. “How much of that vodka did you drink?”
Caitlyn pulled free from his arms. “I only had twoshots. Are you suggesting I’m drunk?” Was she? She felt in control, but…
“No. I just…I didn’t think you were much of a drinker and well, two—”
“That was hours ago. This afternoon in fact. If you don’t want to be with me, Jake, fine. But don’t accuse me of not knowing what I want.” Especially since the doubt crows had hovered for hours.
He pulled her back into the circle of his arms. Caitlyn placed her palms on his shoulders, intending to push away, but she quivered at the feel of silky skin covering hard muscle.
“Hell, Caitlyn, you have no idea how much I want this. I’ve dreamed about you all bloody week,” he said right before his mouth came crashing down on hers.
The feel of his lips was like a shot of some intense drug. Sensation rippled through her body and her heart beat double time. She felt every sweep of his hands with tingling awareness. His breath tasted delicious on her tongue and Caitlyn heard the low growl in his throat. She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled herself flush against him, pressing her aching nipples against his chest.
A dim part of her mind noted she was wearing too many clothes. The sensations were only a fraction of what she knew they could be. Impatiently, she released him and tugged at the hem of her top. She only managed to lift it a bit before his firm grip around her wrists halted her.
“Not here. Bedroom.”
She nodded eagerly, dying for his hands to be on her skin. Jake swung her up into his arms and his mouth came down on hers. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist. The hard ridge of his arousal pressed against her flimsy leggings and her panties grew moist.
Jake carried her out of the hall and into one of the rooms. He placed her on the floor in front of a huge bed covered in white sheets. She barely glanced at the dark, cloudy sky beyond the patio doors, the impressive
metallic furniture, or the thick, colorful rug. No, Caitlyn’s attention was glued to the impressive tent in his towel.
“We’ll take it slow,” he assured her. It sounded to Caitlyn like he was trying to convince himself.
Caitlyn didn’t want slow. She felt like she’d waited forever for this. For a feeling so powerful it pushed away all the bad memories, all of the weight on her shoulders, and kept it far from her mind. Again, she reached for the hem of her top and managed to pull it up past her midriff before he stopped her. She frowned at him.
Jake’s chuckle sounded strained as he went to his knees before her. “Slow.”
His breath brushed the naked skin on her stomach and she gasped. His hands ran over her exposed flesh as his lips trailed feather soft kisses across her hips. Heat raged through her body and flared hotter at the secret valley between her thighs. She wanted his touch there. Everywhere.
“Jake, please.” A dim part of her mind wondered if he was intentionally torturing her. Still, she couldn’t summon the appropriate fury. Her body had taken on a mind of its own and she was lost in the feel of his hands, skimming over her skin, turning her insides to an inferno of want.
Finally, he rose, pulling her top over her head. The air felt cool against her burning flesh and she shivered. Jake’s gaze molded to her breasts and she waited for the embarrassment to come. Waited for discomfort. Fear. Nothing came but more want. His flaming eyes open half mast only made the heat inside flare hotter.
“Wow,” he exclaimed before dipping his head down and feasting on her nipple. Jake’s free hand tweaked the peak of her other breast and a rush of moisture flooded between her thighs. She let out a feral moan, but it wasn’t even enough to shock her back to her senses and for that she was glad. Twining her fingers thorough his silky blond waves, she arched into him.
Once her other breast was treated to the same, torturous exploration, Jake slid her leggings to the floor. The hitch in his breathing made her smile and filled her with confidence. He didn’t have to tell her how attractive he found her, his actions spoke for him.
Feeling bold, she pulled the towel from his waist and let it drop to the floor. Her gaze latched on to the silky flesh of his erection and she longed to reach out and wrap her hand around the thick length. Before she had the chance, Jake grabbed her hips and pulled her close against him. His lips nibbled the sensitive flesh at the base of her throat. Heat spiraled through Caitlyn and her breathing grew labored.
