“I’m not,” he said. “If you hadn't come here I would have spent my whole life looking for you, and the chances are I wouldn’t have ever found you.” The intensity in his voice was over powering.
“You would have been better off without me. You would have found someone else, someone better.” She couldn’t hold herself together, her sobs escaping in huge gasping breaths.
His voice became rough, his grip on her tightening. “You still don’t understand. There is no one else for me. I’m not saying I wasn’t disappointed when I found out you were my mate.”
His words cut into her, she thought of how men always preferred Kim’s slim figure instead of her curves. How her sister always had a way of getting people to eat out of her hand and give her everything she wanted.
The only reason Jack Greystone wanted her was because of some invisible force. It had seemed so far fetched, but she knew it must be true, because now he had admitted he had been disappointed when he had seen her.
Again she apologised, “I’m sorry I’m not your type. If you want me to leave, I will.”
“No!” His grip on her became possessive. “I’m the one who should apologise. I didn’t mean it like that. I was disappointed that my mate had already been bedded by a member of my pack. It cut into my pride like you wouldn’t believe.”
He turned her to him now and his lips sought hers, she wound her hand into his hair as their lips touched, and he evoked all those wonderful feelings in her again. His hand went under the shirt she wore and kneaded her voluptuous breasts, his large palm brushing her nipple.
Suddenly he broke away. “I’m sorry, but if I don’t stop now I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop at all.”
“Then don’t,” she said.
He groaned and pulled away from her. “Take some time to think about this. Please don’t do anything you might regret. I never want you to think of me with regret.”
She placed her hand on his and pulled him back towards her. “The only thing I’ll regret is leaving here without knowing what it is like to be with you. I know I’m inexperienced, but I want to please you.”
“You already please me,” he said, and his lips went to hers, while his hands tore his shirt from her body, leaving it in shreds.
His hand slid between her thighs, and he drew his fingers up along her slit, this time she parted her legs for him, wanting him to push inside her. Instead he teased her, stroking her clit with his thumb and pressing his finger against her slick entrance, but no further.
She writhed under him, lifting herself off the bed to push against him, but he took control and didn’t penetrate her. His mouth sucked on her breasts, his tongue rolling over her nipples, driving her wild. Caroline stroked his back and his arms, and then slid her hands along his chest, feeling his hard muscles.
His cock pressed against her, but she didn’t have the nerve to move her hands lower and touch him there. Yet she longed to stroke him and tease him in the same way he was doing to her, making her wild with need.
Then, before she reached her peak he moved between her thighs, and she held her breath while his hands stopped touching her and guided his stiff length towards her sex. The head of his cock pressed against her outer lips, and then he pushed further until he penetrated her sex for the first time.
His control was incredible, taking it very slowly, allowing her to adjust to him internally before pushing deeper, and deeper. A stinging sensation ripped through her, and she tensed with the shock, knowing he had broken her. She was no longer a virgin.
Caroline cried out softly, and he held her while the pain subsided, before moving deeper until he was completely buried inside her.
Kissing her neck, and caressing her he lay still while she adjusted to this new fullness, her inner walls stretching for him. Then he began to move slowly, his hardness sliding against her tight walls, the friction sending waves of pleasure through her body. The pain left her and she relaxed under him, her body gradually coming to life.
Responding to his touch she moved to meet him at every stroke, thrusting herself forward onto his cock. Encouraged by her enjoyment, he thrust harder into her, and his hand cupped her breast and held it for his mouth to suckle on her nipple.
The sensations connected, jolting her body into an awareness she had never felt before. Her orgasm grew more intense, and she wrapped her arms around him and held him close as she came. Caroline's internal muscles gripped him tightly and the sensation of her throbbing sex contracting around him sent him over the edge.
He cried out, his seed pumping into her, filling her sex with its warmth. They had taken no precautions, and she prayed she wouldn’t get pregnant; it would complicate her life in a way she had never contemplated before. But it was too late to worry and so she let herself go, swept away by the moment.
It was like nothing else she had ever experienced, more special because it was with a man she shared so much with, although he was a stranger. While her body thrilled to his powerful thrusts she tried to shut out the insanity she had landed herself in. For a woman who wanted nothing more than a peaceful life she had made everything ten times worse than even her sister had managed.
However, when Jack cried out, telling the world of his dominance over her, and the fact that he had claimed his mate completely, she knew it had been worth it. She did not doubt the truth in what he had told her, and she knew that if she said the word he would never let her leave his side.
Yet that was the problem, she would never be happy here. Caroline would always feel torn between her father and Jack. She would have to leave him, no matter how hard it was for them both.
The promise she made to her father was too important to her, and to have failed in her mission to buy the land back she would now have to return home to him and break the news. With all her heart she hoped it wouldn't be the thing that finished him off, and she hated her sister for ever putting them in such a sad position.
Jack eased himself out of her, and she felt a sudden loss as he moved away. Her sex ached and throbbed now that he had withdrawn, she missed the feeling of fullness he had given her. It had made her feel complete. Now it was gone and Caroline was resigned to never experiencing it again. It was nothing to the way she would miss him when she left. In such a short space of time he had become an important part of her life, although she did not really understand why.
“Are you OK?” he asked.
“Yes, it was more than I imagined it would be.”
He chuckled, a warm relaxed sound. “There is so much more I want to do to you, but I don’t want to make you too sore.”
She stroked his chest, feeling the light covering of hair against her fingertips. How was she ever going to tell him that she couldn’t stay, couldn’t share in his dreams?
“I have to catch a plane back home,” she said quietly.
“Home? Your home is here with me now. We had a deal.” He held her close.
“I’m sorry, Jack. I can’t stay. I have to go back to my father, he’s ill, and I can’t leave him.”
“You had no intention of staying did you?” His grip on her relaxed and he drew away from her almost imperceptibly, but she felt it.
“No?”
“What did you think, I’d cave in and give you the land after one night?” he asked, and she could hear the undercurrent of anger in his voice.
She could have lied, and let him think she was as bad as her sister, it might have made her leaving easier on him, but she couldn’t, it wasn’t her way. “No, Jack, please believe me. I knew when we left the conference room that I wouldn’t be getting the land back.” She lifted her hand and stroked his cheek, trying to draw him back to her.
He turned and kissed the palm of her hand, sending shivers down her spine. “But you came back here anyway?”
“I had to, I’m sorry, perhaps I should have walked away, but I needed to know what it was like to be with a man.” She looked into his eyes, seeing his pain. “To be with you.”
�
��I could make you stay,” he said, and she had no doubt he could.
“I want to stay, Jack. All I’ve ever wanted was to find a man and settle down. But my life right now won’t let that happen. I have to go.” She kissed his mouth and for a moment she didn’t think he was going to respond.
However, he did, pushing her back down onto the bed, and kissing her fiercely, and the strength of him frightened her. She didn’t understand what it was that made him different to anyone she had ever met, but it was there, an undercurrent of primal power. He could subdue her with such ease; make her stay here with him forever, if he wanted her that much.
His lips against hers were warm and firm; his tongue snaked along the inside of her lips and pushed into her mouth. Caroline didn’t fight him; she didn’t have the strength either physically or emotionally. How could she fight something she wanted with every fibre of her being?
When his mouth moved to her breasts she gasped and offered him more, and he took it, sucking her nipple into her mouth. He covered the other one with his hand, a large palm brushing over her sensitive flesh. She kissed his neck, trailing down along his collarbone, breathing in the scent of him, he was all man, and at this moment he was all hers.
He slid between her thighs, his hand sliding along the length of her slit finding her ready for him, and in one swift movement he took her, claiming her body. He thrust straight into her making her sex throb and ache with the intense invasion. Although it hurt she enjoyed the pain, and then it turned to pure pleasure, a need to come with him inside her again.
This time he was not so considerate, he thrust into her hard and fast, his earlier control having left him. Clinging to him she dug her nails into his back, and cried out with each strong thrust. His hand held her head, tilting it back while he kissed her throat, and down her neck. His passion all consuming as he took her.
His need for her was insatiable, driving them both wild, she felt her orgasm crashing into her, and let herself go. She felt like a woman now, not some fragile virgin, her body urged him on, joining him in the rhythm of their lovemaking as she gripped his cock and eventually milked his seed, drawing it deep inside her.
Jack's thrusts became hard jerks, his powerful hips pushing him deep into her sex. Her hands covered his firm butt and she urged him deeper, a sweat breaking out on her body in the incredible heat of their joining.
His face contorted in a snarl, and then he cried out, finally jerking the last of his seed into her, leaving him completely drained and spent. She felt him go limp, his whole body relaxed as his arousal passed. Yet he still lay on top of her, and she held him, her arms wrapped around his waist while they stayed together in silence.
***
Slowly the sun came up, and they dozed together. He moved off her at some point, and they slept contentedly for some time. It was his phone that woke them, making her jump, while Jack felt around for it clumsily.
“Hello?” he said. “Yes, sorry, something came up. I’ll be in later today. No. It’s fine. I will speak to you later Miss Riley.”
He pressed a button on his phone and then threw it on the table by the side of the bed. Caroline tried to focus, her eyes were sore with lack of sleep. But squinting she managed to see the time on the clock. It was past ten, she had to get herself up and to the airport, if he would let her go.
Jack sensed her tension, mixed with worry, and said, “Come on, you go shower and I’ll fix breakfast.”
He got up, and she watched him move, feeling incredibly lucky to have such a man. His body was toned and tanned, and he moved with a grace she had never noticed in a man before.
Then she pulled herself up short, he wasn’t her man, not any more. Today she would go home, and never see him again. Her heart contracted in pain; she wanted to stay, to make a life here with him. Instead she had to return to the emptiness she had left behind.
Work and nursing her father would take up all her time and energy. There would be no time for men, for dating. As she watched him she realised it didn’t matter anyway, there would never be another man for her, she was totally lost and consumed by Jack Greystone, and always would be.
“Shower,” he ordered, pointing at the door to the bathroom.
She stirred and slowly got up, dragging herself to the bathroom while he disappeared downstairs. Switching the warm water on she sighed, at least it looked as though he was going to allow her to leave.
It should have been a relief, and yet the thought of being trapped here, of him taking all decisions from her was inviting. She was fed up of waging war with her normal life, of trying to tame her sister and please her father. Being controlled by Jack Greystone would be welcome.
Who was she kidding? There was no way she could ever be happy being controlled by another person, even one as thoroughly sexy as Jack.
Chapter Three
Caroline came out of the bathroom to find her bag on the bed; she had left it in the car when they had arrived. Gratefully she opened it up and pulled out clean clothes, she hadn't packed much; after all she had not planned to be in the city long.
She applied her make up, and stood looking at herself for a moment. No. She still couldn’t work out what Jack saw in her. With a sigh she packed all her belongings into her bag and went down stairs, taking everything with her. She would definitely be leaving today, no matter what it took to persuade Jack to let her go.
“Feeling better?” he asked, passing her a steaming cup of coffee.
“Yes, thank you.”
This seemed even more bizarre than she imagined. Here she was standing in the kitchen of a man she had only met yesterday, and who she had lost her virginity to. The weirdest thing was how natural it all seemed as if she woke up every morning with him, and they had been sharing breakfast for months.
It made her long to stay even more. Yet it could not be, some how she had to strengthen her resolve to leave. The confusion she felt threatened to overwhelm her.
Jack handed her a plate of eggs and bacon, and Caroline decided her departure could at least wait until a little later. He sat with her and they ate in silence, she glanced up at him from time to time, but he looked deep in thought. Hopefully not planning how to kidnap her and keep her prisoner here, tied to his bed, a slave to his body. She forked eggs into her mouth and tried to get her mind working sensibly.
“I checked your flight times.” he said at last.
“Thanks...how did you know...?”
“Where you came from, where you're going to? Miss Riley can be very thorough when I ask her to be. I know quite a bit about you.”
“Oh.” Caroline wasn’t sure she wanted him prying into her life.
“Yes, I needed to find out about your sister, Kim. I think she needs to be taught a lesson.”
“What kind of lesson.”
“If I’m going to let you go, I want to make sure she never gets you into this kind of mess again.”
“If you let me go,” she repeated.
He looked at her, and her heart skipped a beat at the intensity of his expression. “You have no idea how hard it is to have found you and then to let you walk away from me.”
“I think I understand.” she bowed her head so he couldn’t see how moved she was by him.
He cleared his throat before speaking again. “I know you feel it too. I wish I had time to explain it all to you, but Miss Riley has you booked on a flight in two hours, so we'd better get moving.”
With that he got up and put the dishes in the dishwasher while Caroline watched, numb with longing. Nevertheless, when he grabbed his keys and her bag, she followed him out to his car. He helped her in before putting her bag in the trunk.
Wordlessly they drove to the airport, Caroline didn’t trust herself to talk, She was sure if she did she would beg him to turn the car around and take her back to his house. What Jack was thinking she had no idea, but he looked as though he was brooding on something.
“You can drop me off here,” she said when they got to the airport.
>
“I don’t think so; I’m planning on spending every last minute with you.”
She caught his eye, and hated what she saw there. This was impossibly hard for him, and she wanted to ask him for an explanation, to demand he tell her where this sudden and intense attraction came from.
Something told her she probably didn’t want to know, because whatever it was it wasn’t normal, it must be some love spell or something. Part of her hoped when there were a few hundred miles between them it would fade away. Yet the other part of her would rather live with the pain than to lose the connection she had with him.
He parked the car and grabbed her bag, taking her to get her ticket, which was already paid for.
“I’ll send you the money when I get home.”
“No, you won’t,” he said, handing it to her and leading her to the gate to board.
They stood looking at each other, neither of them able to speak. What could they say? In the end he pushed her gently towards the desk where she handed over her bags.
At the last minute, before she disappeared from his life for ever he pulled her roughly into his arms, and kissed her hard.
“Come back to me.” Were his only words before he turned and walked away, leaving her trembling with pain and loss.
Somehow she got on the plane. Unable to eat the food the stewardess brought to her she simply turned and stared out of the window. The miles between them were becoming greater with every minute. She didn’t remember anything about the flight, and got off automatically when they landed.
Her car was where she had left it, and it wasn’t until she had driven half way home that she came to. Pulling over she hunched over the steering wheel and sobbed as though the world had ended, because for her it had. Her world was back with Jack Greystone, but loyalty meant she had to live this half life instead, caring for her father, and cleaning up after her sister.
When she had cried until she could cry no more, she wiped her face and drove the rest of the way home. Drawing up in front of her father’s house she wearily climbed out, this was it she would have to tell him she hadn't got the land back for him.
Mistaken Curves Page 3
