She wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than him inside of her and they both knew it, but she was playing the odds. His shaft was straining so hard, it tented his trunks in front, and she was betting that if it went much further, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.
"You sure about that?" He stared down at her thoughtfully, completely aware of what she was doing, but he was determined not to give in. The challenge was there, though, and he decided maybe it was time to teach her a different kind of lesson. He'd warned her that it wouldn't be spanking for something like this and that she wouldn't like it, but apparently, she'd forgotten.
"Yes, I'm positive," she assured him.
Slipping his fingers under the shoulder straps of her suit, he pushed them down her arms and, with a quick tug, exposed her breasts, pausing to look at them for a few moments before he dragged the clingy damp spandex all the way down her body. He turned her slowly, eyes dropping to her backside, still nice and red. His hand ghosted over the warm flesh and then he landed a playful spank.
He chuckled at her reaction and pulled her naked body back into his arms, holding her from behind so that she could feel his erection pushing hot and heavy against her sore ass. It excited her, and he knew it. Her nipples tightened as his hands slid up to cup her full breasts, thumbs teasing over the hardened peaks until she whimpered and practically writhed against him.
"You're a very tactile girl, aren't you, Kitty? You need to be touched frequently?" he asked, whispering in her ear as his hands squeezed her breasts firmly.
"Yes, yes, Jack, please," she said in a breathless little voice that nearly drove him crazy.
"You're touch starved. That's part of the problem, isn't it, darlin'?" he asked, his voice rumbled in a low growl against her ear.
She wasn't sure what touch starved meant but it sounded like an accurate description of what she was feeling. "I think—yes."
"I'll touch you, Kitty, but I'm not going to let you come, not while that chain is still locked on your ankle. I think you're going to find it a special kind of torture, but you did ask for it," he said, chuckling.
She made a low whining sound in her throat, barely paying attention to his words; his hands were far too distracting, especially when they flattened out and skimmed down over her belly. The closer they got to the juncture between her thighs, the more desperate she became to feel them there. "Please, Jack?"
Her urgency didn't affect him at all, and he took his time inching his hand down until he was cupping her lightly-furred core. He'd never doubted she was a natural redhead, but if he'd ever wondered, the proof was in the tiny red curls that hid her treasures from his eyes. He slid his long middle finger deep between her thighs, parting her nether lips and finding the warm wet heat between her folds.
She was wet and ready for him, needing his touch so desperately that the minute his finger slid over her clit, her hips bucked and a low liquid-sounding moan spilled out of her. His cock jumped against her ass, wanting to be inside her as badly as she wanted it, but he had other plans.
His finger slowly circled her clit and it stiffened under the attention, but he didn't let her reach the peak, always drawing back when her reactions got too excited. He avoided touching her nub directly, always coming close enough to tease her and then drawing away, even when her hips canted to try to guide him there.
She'd begun to beg, mostly in small sounds and the way her body moved, but occasionally there were words, too, but he wouldn't be persuaded to go any faster or deeper, no matter what she did. Eventually, he let his hand curve lower, and one finger did slide up inside her, pumping slowly in and out while her hips rocked against the base of his hand, trying to get friction.
There were no longer coherent words, just a cacophony of needy sounds pouring out of her that got increasingly louder and more desperate as she neared her peak. Just as she was about to topple over the edge, just as the pleasure began to coil up in her belly ready to explode through her body—he stopped. One second, she was nearing orgasm, and the next, she was blinking in bemusement as he stepped away from her.
"Wha…Jack?" she asked, confusion heavy in her voice as she tried to pull out of the haze of physical pleasure enough to focus on what had happened.
"I warned you, Kitty," he said, shaking his head with a slight smile on his lips. "I told you I wasn't going to let you come, remember?"
She stared at him in disbelief. Her mouth worked in silent shock, unable to form the words she wanted to say. While she tried to sort out what she was feeling, he leaned down to scoop up her damp bathing suit and carried it into the bathroom to hang.
By the time he returned, holding her bathrobe, she'd recovered the ability to speak. "Jack, you can't just…leave me like this," she whined. "Please, I need you. I need—"
"We talked about this; you're the one who said you were fine with not having sex," he said as he lifted her arms and slid the robe onto her chilled skin. She hadn't noticed it while she was excited, but now, there were clearly chill bumps rising all over her from the air conditioning against her damp skin.
"Yes, but not this. You can't bring me right to the edge and then leave me hanging, Jack!" she blurted. Her look was starting to darken as she realized she really was going to lose this fight. As much as he wanted her, and she only had to look down to see the proof of that poking up proudly behind the thin layer of swim trunks, he wasn't going to give in.
He leaned in, gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead, saying, "I told you that you wouldn't like it if you pushed."
"I-I know, but, I didn't think—" She didn't think he'd be able to stop and walk away. She'd never met a guy who could or would do that when a girl was willing. She'd listened to him but assumed it was an idle threat and she'd win.
She was wrong.
"Goodnight, Kitty. I'll pick you up at eight am for breakfast," Jack said firmly. He smiled at her, wrapped a towel around his waist to cover the obvious erection and slipped out the door.
She stood there in silence for a few seconds. There was an almost comical look of dismay on her face, as though she couldn't believe what had happened and then she ran to the door and pulled it open. "Jack, wait; I'll take it…off?" She stopped short in confusion, looking up and down the hallway. "Where the hell did he go?" Once again, he'd disappeared in a mysterious fashion, but this time, she wasn't drunk and she knew there was no way he could have made it all the way down the hall in the few seconds it had taken her to follow.
Something was weird about this, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what was going on. She stood there trying to sort it out and then sighed and went back into her cabin. She had a pressing need to take care of, by herself, before she could sleep. In fact, she had to use her fingers to get herself off twice before her body would settle down enough to rest.
But as she lay there in the dark waiting for sleep to take her, she couldn't help wondering about his disappearing routine. It had happened now several times, and she couldn't find a plausible explanation that made sense. It was still on her mind when she finally fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
Chapter 4
The next morning, she was ready when he knocked on the door promptly at eight. She was beginning to notice that he was always on time, even here on vacation, and she made a mental note, adding it to all the other little bits of information she'd learned about him. It was time, she decided, to find out more about her rescuing dominant.
"Sleep well, Kitty?" he asked when she opened the door.
"Eventually." She shot him a pointed look, hoping to make him feel guilty about what he'd done to her, but he just gave her a smug grin. She sighed; she really couldn't say he hadn't warned her.
They made their way to breakfast, this time skipping the fancy dining room and visiting one of the casual buffets. It was another beautiful day, and the sun was already shining down from a clear blue sky, making them blink and shield their eyes when they stepped out on deck and made their way to the food line. As always, it
moved quickly, and in a couple of minutes, they were settling down at a table for two, under a shade umbrella.
Her small breakfast of eggs and bacon was dwarfed by the two plates he'd piled high with food and she just shook her head, wondering where, in his lean body, he put all that food. They made small talk at first, but she slowly worked her way to asking a few pointed questions, waiting until she'd finished her breakfast.
"You have a habit of disappearing, Jack," she said abruptly as he was lifting a forkful of food to his mouth.
One eyebrow went up and the fork paused in mid-air. "I do?" he asked.
"Yes, you do. Last night, I looked out in the hall just seconds after you left, and you were gone," she said.
He put the food in his mouth and sat back, chewing. "Oh? Doesn't take too long to walk down a hallway, Kitty," he pointed out.
"It's a long hallway, it takes more than a few seconds." Her fingers played with her silverware, rolling the fork around without noticing as she watched him.
He shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. I left; I went to my room."
"It happened when you left the dining room after breakfast yesterday, too," she said quietly.
"There were a lot of people; you probably just missed me." He sighed and set down his fork, his dark brown eyes focused on her.
"And the other night after the club, when you left me in my room. Before you came back and…" she trailed off with a flush, still embarrassed over that whole incident.
"Katherine, you were drunk that night. I'm surprised you could even see straight." He paused and then shook his head. "What exactly are you trying to say?" he asked.
"I don't—I don't know exactly," she said, sounding frustrated. "There are all these little things that stick out as odd, and I don't understand."
"Do you really think it's possible that I'm just disappearing? Like magic?" he asked, that eyebrow creeping up again. There was a note of incredulity in his voice.
"No—but I think there's something you're not telling me." She sounded frustrated, and the fork clattered against her empty plate with a jarring sound.
Looking at her in silence, he inclined his head in the slightest of nods. "There are a number of things I'm not telling you. And I'm not going to tell you—yet," he said finally.
She blinked and sat back. "So, there are things." Somehow, she hadn't actually expected him to admit to withholding information from her. That he was doing it threw her for a loop.
He pushed his plates to the side, leaned in and rested his arms on the table in front of them. "Yes. Katherine, I thought I'd made it clear I didn't like lies," he said.
"What? I didn't lie!" she blurted.
"No. But when I say I don't like lies, I mean I don't like hearing them or telling them. I'm not going to let you lie to me, so I'd be a hypocrite if I lied to you. There are things that you don't know, and I'm admitting it, and I'm not going to tell you what they are right now," he said firmly.
It was completely fair and honest, and she still wanted to argue it but couldn't figure out exactly how. "Do these things affect me?" she asked finally.
"Yes."
"Don't you think I should know then?" Her voice was filled with frustration now.
"No, I really don't think so. Why don't we talk about what we're going to do today?" he suggested.
"Jack, you can't just—"
"Yes. I can. If you keep pushing me, we can start our third day off with a reminder of why that's a bad idea," he said with a note of warning in his tone.
Her mouth snapped shut. She wasn't feeling any leftover effects from the punishment she'd received yesterday and she wanted to keep it that way, but she couldn't just let it go, so after he'd moved his plates back to start eating again, she tried a different approach.
"Jack?"
"Yeah?" he replied, in a cautious tone, as though expecting this.
"When are you going to tell me?" she asked carefully.
He stopped and, for a second, she panicked, thinking she was in trouble, but he turned to face her with a serious look. "When the chain comes off, I'll think about it. Deal?"
She hesitated, rolling this over in her mind. So much had become dependent on that stupid silver anklet now. She nodded. "Deal," she said. All of this emphasis on a small piece of jewelry and she wasn't even sure why she was being so stubborn about removing it, but she now had more reason to take it off and no reason at all to keep it except the need to hold onto something that was gone.
She was pensive, sitting quietly as he finished his meal. But considering the amount of food he had in front of him, he put it away surprisingly fast, and once he was done, they discussed the day ahead of them, which was just the topic needed to lighten the mood.
"Up for another island excursion? Or would you like to hang out on the ship? I think we're docking in a few hours for an afternoon in Belize City, but tomorrow is Cozumel and there's a lot to do there. You may want to relax today and rest up for Mexico," he said, offering her the choices.
"Um, my feet are kind of sore from all that walking yesterday, but I don't want to miss anything. What's Belize like?" she asked. She leaned in, elbows on the table, feeling lucky to have such an experienced traveler as her companion because she certainly wasn't.
"It's not terrible. I mean these ships never stop any place that's unpleasant, but Cozumel is definitely better, if it's a choice between them. If you have the stamina for both, though…I have an idea; what about a helicopter tour? That shouldn't be too exhausting and you'll get some fantastic pictures." He flashed her a smile as he stacked the empty plates out of the way. "There's a natural wonder there that I think you'd enjoy seeing," he added.
"A natural wonder? What is it?" she asked, curious. She'd never seen anything you could call a natural wonder, unless you counted the world's biggest rocking chair. She'd had her picture taken in that when she was a kid.
"It's called the Blue Hole of Belize." He laughed at her expression and shook his head. "It's more interesting than it sounds. It's a huge hole in the ocean, one-hundred-and-forty meters deep. The water around it is the normal blue and then, suddenly, there's this deep, almost black, circle. The tour also takes us over one of the largest barrier reefs, and there are the Turneffe Islands, too," he explained.
"It sounds like fun, and I did want to take some nice pictures to bring back home." She hesitated and then nodded. "Yeah, let's do that. Like you said, it won't be too tiring, right? And when we get back, we can have a relaxing night and be ready for Mexico," she said.
With the plan set, all they had to do was figure out how to fill a few hours. Luckily, on a cruise ship of that size, killing time was never a problem. A couple of hours of window shopping, a short stop in the casino just for fun, and then the ship was docking in Belize and she ran to her room to get her things. They were among the first off the ship, and once again, he knew exactly where to go.
"There are a lot of tours that all visit pretty much the same places. There's one company that works with the cruise line and most of the people off the ship will take that one if there's space. They fill up fast, but I happen to know a smaller company," he explained as they looked for a cab on the pier. "They're less structured and professional. The pilot pretty much shows you what he feels like, but he'll still include the big things. I think you'll like it better."
An hour later, they were soaring above the ocean in a helicopter just big enough for five people. She and Jack were the only customers, alone with the pilot who kept up a running tourist guide patter through the headsets they wore. It was amazing and terrifying, but she took a ton of pictures with her camera to document the adventure. It took longer than she thought, nearly three hours, before they landed. She felt like her whole body was vibrating by then and her ears kept popping from the ride, but it was worth it, without a doubt.
"That was brilliant, Jack, thank you!" she blurted, throwing her arms around him in a hug.
He laughed and squeezed her tight, patting her back gently.
"Anytime, darlin'," he assured her. There was that faint hint of a southern accent in his tone. He chuckled over her excitement and led her through the parking lot with an arm slung casually around her waist.
After his lesson in pushing too far, she'd tabled the seduction plan, but having his arm around her did make her wish that he'd bend on that issue. She distracted herself from the feel of his hard body pressed against her side by starting a conversation.
"How do you always know the best places? I mean, you must have traveled an awful lot to be such an expert. How many times have you been here, anyway?" she was asking as they went to find a place for lunch.
He laughed and shook his head. "Exactly enough times to make this day perfect for you, Kitty," he said, giving her one of those enigmatic answers that didn't really tell her anything.
"Always the man of mystery," she sighed, but for the moment, she was content. Her mood was high and she was surging with adrenaline from the exciting flight, so she was just amused at how secretive he was about the smallest things.
"I hear women like a mystery to unravel," he said, tossing her a smirk as they walked down the busy street.
"Hmm, maybe," she replied, refusing to admit that she did kind of enjoy trying to figure out what his big secret was.
"So, do you want to try some local dishes or something more American?" he asked. The casual subject change wasn't to avoid discussing it, but a necessary topic as they got closer to the section of town where most of the restaurants could be found. They stopped at an intersection, and he waited.
"What do you recommend?" There was hesitance in her voice; she felt like she was closing in on her limit for exciting new foods already but was loath to admit it. Christopher was always so disappointed when she chose the mundane, but she really tended to prefer the familiar.
Jack gave her a look and then a soft smile as he realized that she was once again waffling with insecurity. "Tell you what, how about a nice Americano style place? Give us a break from trying new things," he suggested.
In Time for Love (Timeless Love Book 1) Page 11
