by Kristi Gold
“It’s going to be tough to leave it at that, Jenna.”
She brushed a kiss over his cheek. “I know it will be. But I also know you’re strong enough to deal with it.”
“I’ll try.”
“That’s all I’m asking of you.” At least, for the time being.
Chapter Eight
Did you know that in every square inch of skin, there are over a thousand nerve endings?” Logan was aware of every one of them at the moment. “No, I didn’t know that.”
He did know that he was back on the blanket near the fire he’d rekindled, covered only by a thin sheet and a pair of boxers, an incredible, half-naked woman curled against his side—and they’d done nothing more than talk for the past half hour. None of his brothers would believe this. He didn’t believe it.
Jenna lifted his hand and gave his fingers a flex test. “Did you know that over thirteen hundred nerve endings exist in one fingertip alone?”
And he could think of at least that many reasons why he should put her in the tent while he slept outside tonight. But leaving was the last thing on his mind when he rolled to his side to face her, bringing him up close and personal to her bare breasts. “You must’ve enjoyed your anatomy classes in college to have retained all that information.” And he really didn’t need an anatomy lesson. His own anatomy was giving him enough problems as it was.
“I didn’t come by the information in college.” She flipped her hair back from one shoulder, a feminine form of enticement that Logan recognized immediately. “When I realized it was inevitable that I’d eventually lose my sight, I started studying the optic nerve, which led to the discovery of neurons and receptors, specifically those involving touch. Now, close your eyes and lie back so you can get the full effect of my research.”
“I like looking at you.” He also worried he might not endure her research without having a lapse in judgment.
“I promise you’ll enjoy it.”
Exactly what he feared. “Does it mean that much to you?”
“Yes, it does. I want you to experience what I do without the benefit of sight. And don’t cheat just because I can’t tell whether you have them closed.”
“Fine. Be careful or you’ll stir up more trouble.” He’d only recently recovered from the effects of their swim and her insistence on remaining topless.
After he shut his eyes and shifted onto his back, Jenna whispered, “I’ve learned that several areas are very sensitive, such as the face.” She kissed him on the forehead, the cheek and the chin. “So are the back of the neck and upper arms.” She massaged his nape before raking her nails lightly over the bend of his shoulder and down his biceps. “And the chest.” She pressed her lips against his sternum, not once, but twice. “Of course, the area between the legs is very sensitive.”
Thankfully, she didn’t go there, otherwise he’d be saluting the entire campground. “Interesting.”
“There’s more.”
Logan wasn’t certain he could stand much more. “Can you give me hint so I’ll be prepared?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.”
Even with his lids closed, he was all too aware she’d moved partially on top of him and very aware of her breasts rubbing against his chest. As much as he wanted to touch her, he kept his hands balled at his sides and waited for what would come next.
“Receptors known as Krause corpuscles respond to pressure,” she said. “They’re located in the lips and on the tongue.”
She did exactly what he’d expected, and wanted her to do—kissed him. She also demonstrated exactly how much pressure on his tongue it took before he was tempted to turn her over and plunge inside her. Luckily, she pulled away just in time for him to get his grip on the last of his control.
“You’ll also find those same receptors a little lower.” When she streamed her hand down his abdomen and traced the path of hair below his navel, he opened his eyes and caught her wrist. He brought her hand back to his chest right before she could reach beneath his shorts to discover the rock-hard land of no return. “Don’t do it, Jenna. I’ve been able to handle your little seminar to this point, but if you keep this up, I’m going to lose it.”
He couldn’t completely make out her expression in the limited light, but he did see a flash of white teeth, indicating she was smiling. “That’s the idea.”
In one smooth moved, he flipped her over onto her back and raised her arms above her head. “I’m only so strong, Jenna.”
“But the only way I can see you is through touch, and I have to see you.” She threaded her fingers through his hair and sighed. “It’s been so long since I’ve had any intimacy with a man, Logan. I just want…” She covered her face with her hands. “Maybe I don’t know what I want.”
But Logan recognized what she needed, and he’d gladly give it to her. “Do you know what I see when I look at you?”
She attempted a half-hearted smile. “A desperate woman?”
He ran his finger down the column of her throat. “A beautiful woman.”
“I don’t know about that.”
He pressed a fingertip against her lips. “Don’t speak, Jenna. Just listen.”
He guided his palms down her rib cage and back up again, coming closer and closer to her breasts with each stroke. “You have a great body, and right now I want to do things to you that you won’t forget.”
You’re a master at knocking the ground from beneath a woman’s feet and getting her flat on her back in your bed using sexy, provocative words…
Ignoring Helena’s intrusion into his brain, he outlined Jenna’s nipples with a fingertip. “I want to use my hands and my mouth on you.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “Where?”
“Everywhere.”
… you also have the talent and skills to back them up.
He toyed with the lacy band below her navel. “I want to hear you beg for more, Jenna. And I want to give you more.”
… let her know you’re interested not only in her body, but in her mind, as well. You’d be surprised what a difference that makes…
Damn Helena for dropping into his mind at an inopportune moment and for making sense.
Logan planted his palms on either side of Jenna and lowered his head. “And as much as I want to do all those things to you, I can’t.”
She looked totally dejected. “Why not?”
He straightened and sat beside her, arms draped on his knees. “It has to do with something someone told me.”
“Excuse me?”
“Someone I used to know.”
“I’m glad you’re referring to a real person. For a minute I thought you were hearing voices.”
He had heard only one voice—Helena’s—and he wished he could shut it up. “She surprised me with a visit.”
“She?”
“My former girlfriend.”
“You mean your former fiancee, Helena, don’t you?”
He centered his gaze on Jenna to find she’d thankfully pulled the sheet over her breasts. “How did you know about her?”
She folded the cotton edge back and forth. “Mallory mentioned her last Sunday. She told me the circumstances behind why you called off the wedding.”
Leave it to Mallory to air his business. “And I haven’t seen Helena since, until she showed up at my office three days ago.”
“I see. You’re getting back together with her and I was your last hurrah until your conscience intruded.”
He could understand why she might think that, even if it was an erroneous assumption. “She stopped by to tell me she’s getting married.”
“Oh. That’s good.” She sounded and looked relieved.
Logan reclaimed his spot beside Jenna, stacked his hands behind his head and stared at the sky. “She also said a few things about me that I didn’t particularly like. But she’s right.”
When Logan turned his head to gauge her reaction, Jenna rolled onto her side and propped her cheek on her palm. “What sort of thing
s?”
As difficult as it was to tell her the truth, she deserved that much. “She told me I have the seduction technique down pat, but I don’t know how to be a good friend to a woman.”
“And you believe her?”
“I didn’t want to, but it’s true. I’ve had my fair share of lovers, but not any female friends to speak of.”
“I don’t agree.” She snuggled up against his side and laid an arm across his chest. “Since the night we met, I’ve considered you a friend. Someone who was willing to take off my mascara and not my clothes. Someone who took me home only to make sure I was safe. And most important, someone who brought me to this wonderful place where I feel totally liberated for the first time in years.”
He grinned. “Someone who still wants to jump your bones.”
She returned his smile. “I’m so happy to hear that. I thought perhaps my receptor recitation was a huge turnoff.”
“It was sexy as hell.” He lifted her hand and kissed it before sitting up again. “But right now we’re going to go inside the tent and we’re going to sleep together, literally.”
“Then, you’re saying we’re going to keep our relationship strictly platonic?”
“I’m saying we’re going to take it slow, for now.”
“For as long as we’re here?”
“For as long as it takes to know each other better.” After wrapping her up in the sheet, Logan stood and pulled her into his arms. “First, you’re going to put your clothes on, otherwise I might be tempted to get too friendly.”
“Can you handle a little sociable spooning?”
Another test of his will, but something that she needed. For that reason, he’d accommodate her. “You bet. And before we go to bed, I want to let you in on a few things I’ve learned about you. Good things.”
She smiled. “I know a great male butt when I feel it?”
He appreciated her attempt at humor, but what he had to say was serious business, particularly for a man who wasn’t always good at expressing himself outside the realm of sex. “You know who you are, you know what you want out of life, and you’re determined to get it. You have a killer body, but your strength, Jenna Fordyce, is the most attractive part about you.”
She rested her cheek against his shoulder. “I don’t always know who I am, Logan, and I’m not always that strong. But I do know I’m thankful that, for the first time in a very long time, I won’t have to wake up alone.”
The following morning, Jenna awoke to the smell of fresh coffee and a soft kiss on the cheek, delivered by a man who had put honor above all else last night. As much as she’d appreciated his resolve to take it slowly, it still didn’t change her decision to have a more intimate relationship with him before the end of the weekend. Before the end of the day, if she had her druthers.
“Did you sleep okay?” Logan asked in a very tempting, very grainy voice.
She stretched her legs and tried to focus on the figure beside her, to no avail. She ached to see him in the light of day, and imagined how he might look. Tousled hair. Unshaven face. Bare chest. Her favorite combination.
Jenna reached for his arm to discover he’d put on a T-shirt, ran her fingers through his thick hair and touched his scratchy chin; her only means of confirmation. “I slept great.” And she had, in his arms. “How about you?”
“I was up earlier than I’d planned to be, thanks to Perry. I’m surprised you didn’t hear him barking.”
“I vaguely remember that, but I was too tired to pay any attention.”
“He returned this.”
After Logan pressed a ball of damp fabric in her palm, a moment passed before Jenna recognized what she was holding. Lovely. “It’s my bra.”
“Yeah. He must have found it on the bank where we left it last night.”
“Once a retriever, always a retriever.”
Logan’s ensuing laugh served as morning music to Jenna’s ears. “True. After his wake-up call, I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I built a fire and made coffee.”
An extremely nice memory filtered into her mind. “Speaking of that, I do remember waking up sometime during the night. You had your hand on my breast.” And she hadn’t bothered to remove it.
“I don’t remember that, although it could account for the dream I had.”
She’d had a few nice dreams of her own. “Was I in it?”
“What do you think?”
“I hope so.” Yet she wanted to be more to him than just the subject of his dreams. She wanted the reality.
“Take it from me, you were definitely there,” he said. “What were we doing?”
He patted her knee. “A guy’s gotta have some secrets.”
“Maybe we could have a reenactment tonight.”
“Maybe you better get dressed so we can go fishing.”
At least he hadn’t said no, a positive sign as far as Jenna was concerned. After kicking the sheet away, she groped for her bag she’d left nearby and set it in her lap. “I need to wash up. Looks like it’s back to the creek again.”
“Not necessary,” Logan said. “I hung a tarp between some trees a few feet away to give you some privacy. You’ll find a pan of fresh water and a washcloth.”
What a wonderful way to start the day—a spit bath. “Guess it will have to do, although I wish you would’ve packed an inflatable pool.”
“The princess will have to manage.”
She leaned over and pinched his thigh before rummaging through her bag. “You’re asking for it, O’Brien.”
“I’m kidding, Jenna. You don’t have a spoiled bone in your body.”
When she withdrew the travel-sized bottle of shower gel, he snatched it from her grasp. “Aroma therapy?”
She held out her hand. “I’m willing to make some concessions, but not when it comes to personal hygiene. Now, give it back.”
He placed the bottle in the well of her palm and curled her fingers around it. “Have a good time with your avocado and papaya scrub.”
“Don’t knock it unless you’ve tried it, Mr. O’Brien. It smells very good.”
“Does it taste as good?”
“How should I know? I bathe with it, I don’t drink it.” She pulled a loofah from the duffel’s side pocket. “And I wouldn’t advise you taking a swig, either.”
“I could always see how it tastes on your skin.”
Jenna sensed his honor armor had begun to crack, and it wasn’t even noon yet. “Is the ‘friends only’ thing getting old, already, Logan?”
He cleared his throat. “Not at all. I just momentarily forgot myself.”
And. if Jenna had her way, he’d keep forgetting himself all day long.
* * *
Jenna stood on the creek bank wearing a pair of low-riding, high-on-the-thigh denim shorts, giving Logan a case of the can’t-touch-that blues. Obviously she’d only packed one bra because she wasn’t wearing one now, and that was almost too much for a man who’d been struggling to maintain his composure for the past sixteen hours. Not that he was counting the hours. Okay, he was.
If he made it through the day without putting his hands on her unless absolutely necessary, that would be just short of a miracle. But in order to show her how to cast, he’d have to touch her, just as he had with the camera the day before. So far she’d seemed content to chuck rocks in the water, something that would have to stop if they expected to catch anything. Teaching her how to fish in one morning could be challenging, but then they didn’t have anything better to do.
In reality, they did, but he still wasn’t ready to go there yet. Not until he’d proven he could control himself.
After baiting the line, Logan straightened from the tackle box and approached Jenna from behind.
He hesitated a moment just to get a good view of her back and below. Damn, she had great legs and a great butt and if he didn’t stop, he’d drop the damn fishing pole and his promise to go slow and steady. Slow and steady sounded about as appetizing as liverwurst for breakfast.
He came up close behind her, but not too close. “Are you ready to do some fishing?” She glanced back at him. “I’ve been ready for at least fifteen minutes.”
“I wanted to pick out the right lure,” he said. “It took a while. Now I’m going to show you how it’s done.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, really.” He placed the pole in her grasp and put his arms around her. Damn, she smelled good. “First of all, make sure you have a firm grip on the rod at all times, and keep it in the correct position.”
She sent him a smile over one shoulder. “You know what they say. A well-positioned rod is hard to find.”
He ignored the suggestive comment, even though his body had begun to take the bait. “I’ve already set the drag, so you won’t have to worry about that. When you cast, the trick is to keep your motions smooth. You don’t want to create a backlash.”
“Let me see if I have this straight. You take the pole in hand, don’t j erk it too hard and use a nice, fluid motion.” She circled her fingers around the rod and stroked it. “I think I can manage that.”
He started sweating like a marathon runner heading for the finishing line. “That’s right.”
“I do believe I have it.”
So did he, and it was making him uncomfortable way down south. “Are you ready to try it?”
Again, she grinned. “Are we still talking about fishing?”
“You’re killing me, Jenna.”
“I don’t mean to do that, at all, Logan.” She reached back and patted his cheek. “But just so you know, if I hook a fish, I’m a firm believer in catch and release.”
Logan had the catch down; now, if only he could release her. But the area at the back of her neck, exposed because she’d pulled her hair up into a ponytail, was just too damn appealing. Without thought, he lowered his head and kissed the spot, then worked his way around until he had her face in his grasp and his mouth on hers.
She discarded the rod and reel, turned easily into his arms and fitted herself so closely against him that he started calculating the distance to the nearest copse of trees. All the latent sexual energy he’d stored since last night came out in the kiss. All the arguments for avoiding this very thing jogged out of his head the minute she had her hands on his butt and he had his hands up her shirt to confirm she wasn’t wearing a bra.
