She stepped into the pool. “Ah, this water feels awesome.” She threw her head back, allowing the water to wash over her before she popped back up. “This was a great idea and exactly what I needed. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Jaxon said as she swam toward him. “So you wanna tell me what had you so fired up before?”
“Family, work, you, all of the above.”
“Me?” He smiled. “Now that’s an interesting thought and we’ll get back to me in just a moment. Why don’t you tell me about your family? What’s going on?”
“It’s actually work and family entwined together.”
“How so?”
“Out of the blue the Belleza recently got some bad reviews within the last few days.”
“Has this happened before?”
“Hardly ever,” she replied. “We rarely get one bad review online, but four back-to-back? It’s unheard of.”
“Sounds like sabotage.”
“Exactly!” Kim pointed to Jaxon as she trod water. “And that’s what I told my parents. But that wasn’t what stirred the pot.”
“What did?”
“My father accused my brother Sean of posting the bad reviews.”
“Your brother who left the resort because you were named general manager?” Jaxon asked.
“You have a good memory.”
He hadn’t forgotten when she’d confided some of her family troubles to him during their first encounter by the pool. “I do. But why would your father think that?”
Kimberly shrugged. “I don’t think my father appreciated having his decision second-guessed and, well, let’s just put it this way, he’s now in the doghouse by accusing Sean. My mother refuses to speak to him.”
“That’s her baby boy,” Jaxon said. “Mothers get defensive over their cubs.”
“To the say the least,” Kimberly said. “Anyway, I have to figure out who has it out for the Belleza.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do. I know how hard it can be recovering from a media disaster.”
“You do?”
Jaxon nodded. “I’ve been misrepresented in the media recently and it’s caused me some hardship, which is why I’m here at the Belleza lying low.” Kimberly stared hard at him and he could see the wheels of her mind turning. “I’m not in any trouble or running from the law. I’m just tired of constantly having to defend myself or being pushed into things I don’t want to do. I’m actually a very up-front kind of guy.”
At her dubious expression, he said, “Let’s get out of this pool. I’d love to chill in the hot tub.”
“Oh, okay,” she said.
He could see she wanted to know more, ask more questions, and he would comply, but first he wanted Kimberly in a more comfortable setting so he could tell her exactly what was going on with him. She was a trustworthy person and his intuition told him he could tell her his secrets.
She swam over to the steps and Jaxon followed her. He purposely let her go ahead of him so he could check out her butt as she walked up the steps of the pool and sauntered over to the hot tub. He tried to focus and not think about her rear end, but she was wearing the hell out of that leopard-print bikini.
Eventually, they both sank into the swirling bubbles of the hot tub. Jaxon sat on one end and Kimberly sat on the other. He wished she wasn’t so far away. Then he could act on the lascivious thoughts he was having about her, like removing that bathing-suit top.
“You realize that’s the most you’ve shared about yourself since we’ve met,” Kimberly said, breaking into his thoughts as she leaned her head back to allow the jets to reach her lower back.
Jaxon blinked. “I—I’m sorry about that,” he replied. He knew he’d not been forthcoming with information about himself, but if Kimberly was willing to share her world with him even though she had doubts about getting involved, he at least owed her his story. “That wasn’t fair, but I want to be honest now. I want you to know more about me. How about we start with my name.” He offered her his hand from across the hot tub. “Jaxon Scott Dunham.”
Kimberly’s eyes flew open. “What did you just say?”
“You heard right,” Jaxon replied. “Jack is short for Jaxon and it’s the nickname my family uses.”
“The Dunham family,” Kimberly added, sitting upright. “Why didn’t you say something before now? You let me go on and on about impressing your family.”
“I didn’t say anything because my family and I are estranged at the moment, much like you and your brothers.”
She frowned. “You are? Why?”
“My parents interfered in my life. They tried to force me into a relationship with a longtime family friend who they thought was right for me.”
“Because she came from the right background?” Kimberly surmised. “Care to tell me about it?”
Jaxon nodded. “I began casually dating Stephanie because it’s what my parents wanted. I knew they wanted me to get married but I thought that our dating would appease them for a while. Plus, Stephanie seemed as though she was on board with the arrangement. I was wrong. After a few months of dating, my parents announced to the press that Stephanie and I were getting married.”
“Without talking to you?”
“Yep, and when I went to Stephanie to figure out how to get ourselves out of the pickle, I found out she’d been in cahoots with my mother the entire time. I guess she thought she could change my mind and when that didn’t work she began sullying my name in the media. Calling me every name you can possibly think of. I didn’t lead her on, Kimberly. I swear I made it clear to her from the start that I wasn’t interested in marriage.”
“That’s terrible,” she responded. “I can see why you’ve been staying here for weeks.”
“I was so angry with my parents and their role in this entire debacle that I packed my bags and left the family estate in Beverly Hills and came here to the Belleza. I’d heard great things about your hotel. I checked in under an assumed name because I didn’t want my family to get wind of where I’m staying. So there, that’s the whole sordid mess.”
Kimberly smiled. “It’s not so sordid, but I’m glad that you finally felt like you could confide in me and, most important, tell me your real name.”
“You’re welcome. I just ask you one favor. My family has no idea where I am and I’d like to keep it that way, if that’s all right with you.”
“Of course, I would never betray your confidence.”
Jaxon suspected she was talking to him as a guest but he hoped she thought of him as more than that. “I know. And I just want you to know that I’ve been lobbying hard for the Belleza to get the Dunham gala.”
“You have? How so?”
“Even though I’m not physically at the board meetings, I dial in remotely and I can express my opinion like any other board member.” At her curious expression, he continued, “Each member of my family has a seat on the Dunham Foundation board and a vote. And if I have anything to say about it, you’ll get the business.”
“Only if you think we’re the best,” Kimberly replied.
“I know what I like and what I want.” His gaze dropped from her eyes to her shoulders to her breasts.
“And what’s that?”
“I want you,” he said unequivocally. He watched her eyes grow large and heavy-lidded. “Matter of fact, I want you right now.” He walked over to her and stepped between her open legs.
“Jaxon—” She tried to move, but there was no escape; he had her blocked in.
“I don’t know what the future holds, Kimberly. Can’t you live in the moment and just be with me?”
* * *
Kimberly was taken aback by the words coming out of Jaxon’s mouth. She knew the risk he’d taken by coming clean with her about who he was, his famil
y and the tabloids who were smearing his name. But they’d just gone from zero to one hundred in the span of five minutes and she needed to slow down the pace before they combusted.
She pushed against the solid expanse of his chiseled chest and asked him one question. “Why did you tell me everything?”
“Because you’ve opened up to me about your family and I wasn’t being equally forthcoming. And quite honestly, this secret life isn’t me. I wanted to be real with you, full disclosure, before things went any further between us.”
“And what do you see happening between us?”
One of his massive arms reached around her, pulling her to her feet and mere inches from his mouth. “What I see right now is a woman I can talk to, confide in without fear of recrimination, and you can do the same. I see a woman I want to be with.”
Kimberly was stunned by the smoldering flame she saw in his eyes and the implication sent waves of excitement surging through her. It had been a long time since a man had offered her support of any kind. The ordeal with her brother and the stress of work had taken a toll on her and for the first time in God knew how long she really wanted a man. But if she wanted to get close to Jack—Jaxon—she was going to have to let down her guard. He wasn’t offering marriage or commitment, but her intuition told her that Jaxon would never hurt her. And making love with him would be the closest thing to heaven she would ever experience on earth.
“Do you wanna get out of here?” she whispered huskily.
“Hell, yes!”
They quickly climbed out of the hot tub and dried themselves off, and she wrapped her waist in a sarong. While Jaxon grabbed his wallet sitting on one of the lounge chairs. They made it to Kimberly’s condo in record time. She didn’t even bother to look around her to see if anyone was around. She could think of nothing she wanted more than to be with Jaxon Dunham.
Kimberly fumbled with the key card to her door, unable to insert it into the slot. Jaxon did it for her and opened the door. She walked inside the foyer, but he stayed outside.
“Ask me in.”
She did so by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him inside. They fell back against the closed door and he swept her up, capturing her mouth with his. He teased at the seams of her lips until she opened willingly to his greedy tongue. She arched against him, pressing her body urgently against his in a whiplash of lust.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, lifting his head momentarily before covering hers again. His lips were more demanding this time as he explored her mouth. His tongue dived inside, exploring every crook and crevice. It was as if he wanted to devour her whole. As he kissed her, his hands came behind her to untie the halter bikini top she wore and release her breasts from their confines.
His lips left hers to sear a path down her neck and shoulders until he came to one pert brown nipple, anxious for his tongue. Before taking the bud in his mouth, he wet his lips as if he was about to take part in the best meal of his life, and then his mouth closed over her breast.
“Oh!” Kimberly’s head fell backward as Jaxon had his way with one breast, then the other. He tasted, teased, licked and fondled her breasts until her knees were weak, but he didn’t stop there. He gripped one of her thighs and then slipped his palm underneath her sarong to her bikini bottoms and pushed them aside.
Her breath caught in her throat as Jaxon slid one finger inside her. He moved and swirled it inside her, causing her whole being to flood with desire. With each stroke, she felt passion inching through her veins.
“I want you to come for me here, right now, Kimberly.”
“I—” She couldn’t think; his fingers were sending pleasure jolts straight through her, but his mouth and tongue hadn’t left her breasts. Instead they were sending her on a sensuous path to ecstasy of the most profound kind.
“Tell me you want me,” he said as a second finger surged inside her. His voice was throaty and breathless with passion.
Kimberly couldn’t speak because Jaxon was ravishing her right there in the hallway of her condo. They hadn’t even made it to the bed yet. His two fingers slid in and out of her womanly center, making her horny as hell. Who was he that he could make her feel this way? Make her behave so shamelessly?
“Tell me you want this,” he urged.
“I want this... I want you, Jaxon.” She arched her body toward him, eager for more of his fingers, of his mouth, of Jaxon.
His fingers became more insistent and Kimberly could feel him tipping her over the edge fast. His mouth moved from her breasts back to her mouth. His tongue mimicked the motion of his fingers deep inside her, causing Kimberly to fragment into a million pieces.
“Jaxon!” She clutched his shoulders, clinging to him for support.
When the eruptions began to subside, he swept her up in his arms and began walking toward the back of her condo.
“Where’s your bedroom?” he grumbled.
“Next door.” She could barely manage the words as Jaxon kicked the door open and walked over to her large king-size platform bed and placed her half-naked body on the comforter.
“I’ll be right back.”
Kimberly had no idea where he was going. She didn’t have to wait long because he returned with two large candles from her living room and lit each one. Then he closed the drapes, blocking the sunlight so they had only the flicker of the candlelight to illuminate the room.
She soon smelled the sweet scent of lavender and honey wafting through the air, but nothing was more fragrant than the manly scent of Jaxon as he approached the bed. He looked at her and she could see the desire in his eyes. She recognized it because it mirrored her own. She rose on her haunches and moved like a panther toward him until she met him at the foot of the bed.
He closed the gap between them and they reached for each other simultaneously. She melted when he kissed her. It was an impossibly tender kiss, drawing her in. Then his kiss grew urgent and insistent and her arms twined like a rope around his neck, pulling him forward until they fell back onto the bed, a mass of legs and arms. Kissing, touching, tasting each other.
“I want to make you feel good. May I?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, make me feel good,” she whispered. Kimberly couldn’t remember if ever a man had made her feel so alive, so wanted, so desired. She wanted Jaxon badly.
He trailed a blaze of hot kisses along the base of her neck, jawline and cheek before slowly moving back to her mouth and taking it with an intensity that took her breath away. He thrust his tongue deep inside her mouth. He rubbed his palms over her nipples. His hands weren’t rough, but rugged like a man’s hands should be, and she welcomed his possessive caress. Her nipples perked at his touch.
His mouth left hers and moved to her neck. When he found her sensitive spot, he stayed there sucking her and Kimberly just knew she would have a love mark tomorrow to prove it, but she didn’t care. She wanted more of his tongue. “Yes, oh...yes,” she moaned, urging him on.
Jaxon returned to his earlier ministrations and took the turgid buds of her breasts in his mouth. He alternated between sucking and teasing them with quick flicks of his tongue, but she didn’t complain; she was loving every minute of it. Jaxon was the first man in years to make her feel like a woman. When she felt his tongue move lower from her breasts to her stomach, she jumped slightly. He was at her belly button, teasing it ever so subtly, and Kimberly felt like a giddy schoolgirl being touched for the first time. But she wasn’t. She was a grown woman in need of his touch, so she didn’t shy away when she felt his breath at the junction between her thighs.
He quickly removed the bottom half of her bathing suit as he’d done with her top earlier. He kissed her inner thighs before reaching her moist folds. Kimberly held her breath waiting for what she knew was to come. He hovered over her, heightening her awareness of what he was about to do her, and when he finally
dived his tongue inside her wet heat, she rose high off the bed. Jaxon was masterful with his tongue, lapping at the folds of her wet center.
Kimberly grasped hold of his head, holding him in place as she relished every wicked thing he was doing to her. But he didn’t use just his mouth; his fingers soon joined his agile tongue and slipped inside her. She could feel both his tongue and finger simultaneously inside her and she knew she wouldn’t be able to hang on much longer.
* * *
Jaxon didn’t want Kimberly to hold back with him. He’d sensed her nerves when they’d made it back to her condo. She was skilled at hiding them, but he could see through it.
He wanted her to break for him, to cry out his name, and she had. He’d already made her orgasm once and he was looking forward to making her come a lot more before the day was over. He was greedy, needy and anxious to have her open for him. He couldn’t wait for her to wind those sexy legs of hers around him so he could do with her as he liked and in any way he wanted. Kimberly was a woman used to being in control, but right here, right now, he was in control.
He thrust his tongue deeper inside her and heard her moan in delight. “Yes, babe,” he urged. He wanted to hear that she was enjoying what he was doing to her. And she was, because she moaned softly.
Again, he thrust deep, in and out, until he began to feel her muscles contract. He grasped both of her hands that had once held his head in place and put them to her sides while he took full advantage of her and brought her to climax.
Kimberly cried out his name as her thighs quivered around his face. “Jaxon!”
Her head fell backward against the comforter and Jaxon slid upward until he could brush his lips across her. He could still taste her on his lips and she tasted so good that he couldn’t wait for another go-round, but first he needed to be inside her.
Before she could recover from her second orgasm, he pulled down his swim shorts and tossed them onto the floor, but not before removing a condom from his wallet, which also held his hotel key card. Intuitively, he’d known that they were headed for this moment and had come prepared. He sheathed himself, protecting them, and then moved over her.
Heat Wave of Desire Page 8
