I had to admit, I was a little disappointed that he wasn’t trying to at least sneak a peek. If he was naked, I knew that there was no way I would’ve been able to resist checking out the goods.
There’d been two times now that I’d been sure he was going to kiss me, but with him seeming to have no interest in my nakedness, I was second guessing my instincts. Mia was right, I was very out of practice with the three Fs.
“It’s gone,” he rasped.
“Thank you so much!” I honestly didn’t know what I would’ve done if Jackson hadn’t heard me scream. He was staying in the adjoining room, which was why I hadn’t locked the bathroom door, and he was able to get in without breaking the door down. Although, I had to admit, that would’ve been sort of hot. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of rescue fantasies. “Can you do me one more favor?”
“Anything,” he practically growled.
Three syllables from his gravelly voice was all it took for my entire body to explode into flames. Heat spread through me as I quickly reminded myself that Jackson was off-limits. There were so many reasons why nothing could happen between us. One of which was that he didn’t seem to be remotely interested in me being naked.
“Um,” I swallowed over the lump of arousal clogging my throat. I pointed in the direction of the linen cabinet. “Can you…hand me a towel?”
His lips pulled up in a lopsided grin, and my ovaries exploded. Damn, Jackson Briggs’ serious face was dangerous, but his half-grin was lethal. The sight of his dimple appearing in his stubble covered face sent all sorts of signals to my body that I did my best to ignore.
My mouth watered. My sex clenched. My breasts heaved.
I didn’t even know that breasts could heave. But mine were now heaving beneath the pressure of my forearm covering them.
In seconds he was handing me the white terrycloth. As I took the towel I asked, “Can you do me one more favor?”
He didn’t answer, just nodded, still not allowing his eyes to venture south of my chin.
“Can you look behind there to make sure he didn’t leave behind any friends?” I tilted my head once again in the direction of the linen closet and the trash bin. I wouldn’t be able to get down from this counter, or use this bathroom again, until I knew that the coast was clear.
He turned his back to me, and I quickly wrapped the towel around my body. When I looked back up, I was treated to the strong planes of his back flexing and the muscled lines of his triceps as he moved the wooden cabinet away from the wall and looked behind it. His eyes may have been staying above my naked equator, but mine dipped down south to his backside that filled out his sweats nicely. Guys’ butts had never been a thing for me. Although, in all fairness, guys’ anything had never really been a thing for me.
After a thorough inspection, he stood and pushed the cabinet back into place. He glanced over his shoulder and I felt my cheeks heat from embarrassment at getting caught ogling him. I wondered if what I was doing would be considered workplace harassment. Technically, he did work for me.
Although, he wasn’t getting paid. He was doing this as a favor. So, did he actually?
“You’re all good.”
“Thank you.” I nodded, holding my towel in place as I scooted off the counter.
He must’ve taken a step forward because when my feet hit the floor, I was looking down and I saw that they were almost touching his feet. I could feel heat radiating off of his body. As much as I wanted to look up, I couldn’t. Fear kept my eyes cast down. I was scared that if I lifted my head and made eye contact, he would lean down and kiss me. But…I was even more scared that he wouldn’t.
“Josie.” The deep timbre of his voice sent a thrill racing down my spine, but I did my best not to react to it.
As I stared down at our feet, I noticed how different they were. The delicateness of my size five feet tipped with pink, painted toes in stark contrast to the masculine ruggedness of his size fourteen feet with hair sprinkled on the tops of his toes, was oddly erotic. I was still riding the adrenaline high from my scare causing the arousal and vulnerability I was feeling to be amplified.
Or maybe I would’ve felt the intensity of those things without the aid of the chemical reaction seeing the scorpion had provided. Who wouldn’t feel exposed and turned on wearing only a towel, standing in front of a half-naked Jackson Briggs?
“Josie,” he repeated my name.
I knew that I had to face the music, which in this instance was, “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and lifted my chin. When I opened my lids, I was struck by the potency of Jackson’s stare. His aqua blue gaze held me captive, and apparently, I had Stockholm syndrome, because I had no desire to be freed from it.
“I’ve wanted to do something since the first time I saw you.”
I was 99.9 percent sure he was talking about a kiss. But since I was so rusty with my triple Fs—flirting, foreplay, and fornicating—I breathlessly asked, “What?”
“This.” His hand reached up and cupped my jaw.
He paused for a second, I assumed giving me time to reject his advance, before he lowered his mouth to mine.
His lips were soft, yet firm as he masterfully moved them against mine. I’d only kissed a handful of people in my life, and no one since Gio, so I knew I was out of practice and maybe not the best person to judge, but this was the best kiss I’d ever had.
The pad of his thumb traced my chin as he tilted my head back, giving him even more access. Automatically, my lips parted and when they did his tongue slid inside. The moment our tongues met my knees went weak. I reached out, grabbing onto him for balance and strength. My fingers dug into his shoulders and I felt the whoosh of my towel dropping to the floor.
If this would’ve happened pre-“fuck ’em” conversation, then I would’ve definitely broken the kiss and retrieved the towel and covered myself, retracting back into my turtle shell, as Mia had put it. But that one talk had given me an entirely new outlook on things. Instead of retreating, I advanced.
With a newfound confidence, I rose up on my tiptoes, wrapped my arms around Jackson’s neck, and closed the distance between our bodies. As my breasts pressed against his torso, a primitive groan vibrated from his chest and he deepened the kiss, exploring the recesses of my mouth.
Between the passion in the kiss and the friction of the skin on skin contact, my core was pulsing wildly with need. My nails dug into his muscled shoulders as his arm wrapped around my waist and his hand gripped my backside. He flexed his fingers, kneading my bare flesh, causing the pulse between my legs to turn into a throb. With a desperation I’d never felt before, my hips rolled into him, searching, seeking relief from the growing ache in my sex.
The next thing I knew, my feet left the floor and my legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as he carried me out of the bathroom to the king-sized bed in the center of my room. With each step he took, the waistband of his sweats rubbed against the exposed, sensitive feminine flesh. The friction only served to increase the pressure building in my sex.
His mouth never left mine as he laid me down on the comforter. He continued kissing me as he moved above me. I held onto his shoulders, loving the feeling of his muscles beneath my touch. The hand that had been holding my face now moved between our bodies and cupped my breast. His thumb and forefinger pinched my nipple sending a zip of bliss straight to my palpitating center.
I gasped, breaking our kiss. When I did, Jackson’s mouth moved south. His hand massaged my full breast as his lips brushed across my jawline, down my neck, and over my collarbone until they reached the pebbled peaks of my mounds. His movement caused his lower body to shift. It was no longer material I felt between my legs, but skin on skin.
His abs were rubbing against my tender flesh as he sucked my nipple into his mouth, licked and bit it lightly. The combination of my sensitive folds rubbing against the velvety heat of his skin combined with the teasing assault on my nipple caused my body to shudde
r with a pent-up release. I closed my eyes at the unexpected sensation.
“You’re so wet,” he growled against my breast.
I touched my still very damp hair. “I was in the shower.”
He stilled and I opened my eyes to find him looking up at me, his lips a breath away from my nipple glistening with his saliva. I could see from the look in his eyes that I was missing something, but my brain was too busy trying to process all of the competing sensations I was feeling to figure out what it was.
“I wasn’t talking about your hair,” he gritted out as his hand travelled farther south and his fingers glided along my sex.
“Oh!” I gasped.
His touch felt so good, my legs parted even further in invitation. I wasn’t thinking about how I was responding to him or what that said about me. I wasn’t thinking about the repercussions of my actions or what this meant for us. I wasn’t thinking about anything except for, wanting more.
I gripped his shoulders tighter as his thumb began making circles around my clit while one of his fingers ran along my seam. He was basically doing the sexual equivalent of rubbing his belly and patting his head, and I was a fan.
My release was building rapidly but felt just beyond my reach. His sensual ministrations caused my hips to buck up in search of it as a whimper escaped from me.
“Please,” I begged. “Don’t stop.”
My request surprised me. In the limited, very limited, experience I did have, I hadn’t been driven to pleading. I didn’t even know I had it in me. But I would get down on my hands and knees and beg if it meant that Jackson would keep touching me.
“I’m just getting started.” When he spoke, the heat of his breath fanned over my damp nipples, causing my back to arch up.
When my body lifted from the bed, Jackson switched things up. He sucked my breast into his mouth and the tip of his tongue flicked my pebbled flesh. At the same time, his thumb began rolling back and forth across the tender nub at the top of my sex as one of his fingers pressed inside of me.
It was all too much for me to handle and within seconds I went up and over the edge of oblivion. I heard a cry but didn’t recognize my own voice as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over me. Jackson continued his masterful touch as I rode out my release.
Finally, when my limbs relaxed, Jackson slowly pulled his finger out of my tight canal. I opened my eyes and found Jackson making lazy circles with his middle finger, tracing the pinkened skin surrounding my nipple, leaving a glistening trail. He was coating my breasts with my juices.
A small moan sounded in the back of my throat at the erotic sight and his eyes lifted to mine. My heart was still pounding from my orgasm as he held my gaze and lowered his mouth, licking the same trail that his finger had just made. Not only did it feel amazing, it looked really hot, and knowing that he was tasting my release only added to the titillation.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
He grinned. “I was planning on it.”
I couldn’t believe how totally and completely relaxed I was being, in bed naked with Jackson after he’d just…pleasured me. I had to admit I was surprised how natural things felt between us. I’d been so closed off, for so long, I’d built this moment up to the point of being terrified of it.
But I was here now, and it wasn’t scary at all. A smile lifted on my face, but at the same time his grin fell and so did my stomach.
“What’s wrong?”
Maybe I’d celebrated too soon.
Chapter 17
Jackson
“Intimacy is not something you can force. It’s like talent, darling, either you have it or you don’t.”
~ Josephine Grace Clarke
The look in Josie’s eyes broke my heart. Vulnerability and uncertainty shone through her amber-tinted stare.
“I don’t have a condom,” I said aloud.
I wasn’t just talking about on me. I didn’t own any contraception at the moment. It had been that long since I’d even entertained the idea of needing one.
“Um…” Her large eyes stared at me, still filled with apprehension. “I’m on the pill.”
I’d had other women tell me things like that before, but I’d never considered having unprotected sex. My family was fertile. I came from strong sperm. My mom used to joke that all my dad had to do was look at her and she was pregnant. Even though I knew that was biologically impossible, I couldn’t argue with the fact that they had nine children.
The thing was, even though I knew that it was crazy, the thought of Josie being pregnant didn’t sound like that bad an idea to me. Every other woman I’d been with, it was a nonstarter. If I didn’t have protection, then I called it. Game over. No hesitation. My soldiers didn’t march without the appropriate gear. We could do other things, but nothing that could end in a delivery room.
But the thought of being in a delivery room with Josie wasn’t a turn-off. It was actually appealing. And that was unnerving.
When I didn’t immediately respond, she added, “And I don’t…have anything.”
“Neither do I. I get full panels done every time I go out of the country…and it’s been a while.”
“How long?” I saw a glimmer of something that resembled hope spark in her eyes.
I wasn’t sure why she would be excited about that fact, especially considering it more than likely meant that my lack of recent sex would shorten our time together. “Over a year.”
My answer acted as a fire extinguisher, dousing the flame that had burned there just a moment before.
Seeing her lose that flicker of joy caused my chest to tighten. I didn’t even know why she’d reacted that way, but it felt awful being the one that had caused it, whatever the reason. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head.
I waited. Something was wrong and nothing was going to go any further until we talked about what it was.
“It’s fine. Really,” she assured me in vain.
When I still didn’t respond or move a muscle she sighed.
“It’s just when you said…” She licked her lips nervously. Now I knew what those lips tasted like and my mouth watered to claim her mouth once again. “It’s been…a while for me, too. And when you said—”
“How long has it been?” I cut her off. My answer had clearly disappointed her and I needed to know if that was because it was longer than she’d expected or shorter.
Not that it mattered, either way, but I just wanted to have some clue of where her head was at.
“Um…” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and her eyes cut to the side. “I haven’t been with anyone since…since Gio. It’s been ten years.”
Holy shit. Not only had it been a decade, Gio had been her first. That meant I would only be the second person that she’d been with.
When she looked back at me, the depth of vulnerability I saw in her hazel stare squeezed around my heart like a vice. She sucked in a shaky breath. “I just didn’t trust anyone after that. So, I just never…wanted to…you know…”
“You trust me.” It was a statement more than a question. I knew that she wouldn’t be lying beneath me naked if she didn’t trust me.
“I do,” she said softly.
The heart that had felt like it was being squeezed in a vise just moments before, now expanded so much it felt like it could explode. I pushed up on my arms and stood. For a split second I saw the cloud of confusion darken her beautiful face. But it cleared right up when I pushed my sweats and boxer briefs down.
I stepped out of my clothes and watched her taking in my naked form. Her eyes traveled from my chest, down my abs, and widened when they alighted on my rock-hard erection, jutting out from my body. A flush rose up her chest, neck, and cheeks as she stared at my manhood. I’d never had any complaints in that department. I’d been gifted genetically. I supposed it was a trade-off for being so damn fertile.
When she licked her lips this time, there was no convincing the head below my waist that it wasn�
��t intended for him. He jumped in excitement and my balls curled up tightly.
Before that moment, if someone would’ve asked me if it was physically possible for me to come without some sort of manual, oral, or vaginal stimulation, I would’ve said no. Absolutely fucking not. But as I stood before Josie now, I wasn’t so damn sure. If she kept looking at me like a starving person at a buffet, there was a chance I might just blow my load into the air.
Realizing how embarrassing that would be, I returned to the bed. I hovered above her, resting my forearms on either side of her face. As I looked down at her I was as overwhelmed, if not more so, by her beauty than I had been the first time I’d seen her.
She was the sort of beautiful that even a picture couldn’t capture, and no words would ever properly describe. Part of that was her outer appearance, but there was more to it than that. It was like she was lit from the inside and wherever she was, that light shone through.
Urgency roared in me as her fingers explored my shoulders, back, neck, and threaded through my hair. I loved the way her discovery of my body felt. There was an innocent boldness to it that had me wanting to drive into her and claim her as my own. I wanted to brand my name in each thrust. I wanted to make love to her until she forgot any other men existed. I wanted her wake up sore from our night together. That way she’d be reminded of me with every step.
But I knew that I had to go slow.
Josie had only had sex once in her life, and that was a decade ago. I needed to make sure that her body was primed and ready. I needed to take my time and contain the primal urges that she alone inspired.
Slowly, I lowered down and pressed my lips to her forehead. Next I moved to her left cheek then right. After that it was her nose and chin before I covered her mouth with mine.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and surrendered to the kiss completely. I gently sucked first her top then her lower lip between mine, licking and nipping them both. She returned the favor, her tongue running along my lips and her teeth sinking into them. When our lips met, hers parted and I deepened the kiss, taking my time, memorizing the way her tongue felt, the way it moved against mine, the way she tasted. Everything.
Loving Jackson (Wishing Well, Texas Book 10) Page 11
