Maddie’s eyes opened wider. This wasn’t what she’d been anticipating. So far from it, in fact, that she couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“I’ve slept with my share of women and I know you said you had your glory days in Paris, or whatever, but…” Jamison trailed off, running a hand through his mussed hair as he let out a long breath. “Shit, I’m fucking nervous, and I’m never nervous. That says something right there, right?”
Maddie shrugged, her brain still having trouble connecting the dots. “So…what are you saying?”
“I’m saying I don’t want me and you to be a one night thing,” he said, a shy note in his voice that was as surprising as his words and so nice it made Maddie’s chest flood with a soft, warm feeling. “I think we should give this a shot, see where it goes.”
“You mean like…date?” Maddie asked with a nervous laugh, a part of her still certain she was misunderstanding him.
“You say that like it’s ridiculous,” he said defensively. “I know you date. I saw you out with that creeper from the hardware store.”
“Tom isn’t a creeper.”
“He collects toy trains,” Jamison said, raising a wry brow. “Anyone older than ten who collects trains is automatically a creeper.”
Maddie nodded, seeing his point. “Okay, he’s a creeper, but at least he’s not my sister’s ex-boyfriend.”
Jamison frowned. “Neither am I.”
“But you two kissed,” Maddie said, pacing back and forth through the gravel. “I have never kissed a guy that Naomi has kissed before. Never. It’s gross.”
“You didn’t act like I was gross last night,” he said, a wounded note in his voice that made her feel like an insensitive jerk, something Maddie had never been accused of being in her entire life.
She just wasn’t prepared for this. She’d never dreamed Jamison was the kind to get attached after a one-night stand, especially not to a woman who was the opposite of his usual type. Maddie had rarely seen him with a woman who wasn’t blonde, tan, and about as big around as her right thigh. She knew she had a nice figure—despite what fashion magazines might do to convince her otherwise—but before last night she would have bet good money Jamison wouldn’t be into a woman whose dress size was a double digit.
“I don’t mean you’re gross,” Maddie said, fingers tangling nervously together as she turned to face him. “I mean I’m gross. You should have been off-limits. I should have known better, even after five shots of whiskey.”
Jamison shook his head. “Maddie, that’s crazy. It’s not like Naomi ever liked me as more than a friend. That night was a mistake, and it was fifteen years ago. She’s marrying my brother, for God’s sake. My Naomi kiss is ancient history.”
“Then why do you still act so weird around her?” Maddie asked, knowing he wasn’t as blasé about Naomi as he was currently pretending. “And don’t say you don’t act weird because you do, and we both know it.”
Jamison shrugged, gaze shifting to the trees over Maddie’s shoulder. “I don’t know. I guess I still feel guilty about hiding the truth from Jake for so long, or something. It’s just…uncomfortable to be around her.”
“And how much more uncomfortable will it be when you and I start dating?” Maddie asked. “Or stop dating, because you know we will. Eventually. And then we’ll have to see each other at family events and things will be weird and we’ll never have that easy, friendly relationship we used to have ever again.”
“We’re never going to have that again anyway,” Jamison said, eyes meeting hers, sending another shiver of awareness through her as his smolder did its wicked work. “Because I’m never going to be able to look at you again without thinking about you naked in the ocean last night.”
“Never is a long time,” Maddie whispered, heart racing as Jamison stepped closer and his arm circled her waist.
“It is,” he agreed. “But you calling out my name when you came, with me inside you, isn’t something I’m ever going to forget.”
Maddie swallowed hard, embarrassment and awareness combining to make her face feel like it was about to catch fire. “Don’t. Please. I’m…I can’t do this.”
“Why not? Give me one good reason.” Jamison’s arm tightened around her, crushing her against his chest, sending currents of arousal coursing through her from head to toe, making her thighs ache with wanting him. She’d had him four times last night, and she was still dying for more. It didn’t bode well for quitting this thing with Jamison cold turkey, but she had to try.
“I’ll give you two. Naomi and Jake are christening Noelle in two weeks, and getting married in three.” Maddie ducked her chin to her chest, keeping her gaze on Jamison’s wrinkled shirt. “It’s their time to be in the spotlight. We don’t want to distract from their special days, or make things awkward.”
“How would we make things awkward?”
“If the godparents, who also happen to be the maid of honor and the best man, who also happen to be the sister of the bride and the brother of the groom, have recently been through a break up, that would be pretty awkward,” Maddie said, forcing herself to meet Jamison’s eyes, surprised when her words made him smile. “What? It’s not funny. It would be uncomfortable, and we’d been standing within a few feet of each other at the church and seated at the same table at the reception and—”
“I don’t know about you, but I seriously doubt I’m going to get tired of making love to you in two to three weeks,” Jamison said in a husky voice that set things low in Maddie’s body to tingling. “But on the off chance you decide my body isn’t as addictive as I find yours, I have the perfect solution.”
“What’s that?” Maddie asked, trying not think about his body, which was pretty darned difficult considering she was pressed up tight against every delicious inch of it.
“We don’t tell anyone that we’re dating until after the wedding,” he said. “And if we break up before then, no one has to know. No harm, no foul, no distracting from Jake and Naomi’s special day with their baby or their wedding.”
Maddie frowned. What he was saying made sense, but for some reason she was still completely freaked out by the idea of dating Jamison.
What about seizing the day? Having a little fun while you wait for Mr. Right? You and Jamison clearly have fun together, and you were just moaning and groaning about how sad you would be if you never got to have sex with him again, so what’s your problem?
“I don’t know…” Maddie mumbled.
“Then take today to think about it,” Jamison said, not realizing Maddie had been talking to herself. “There’s no reason to decide right now. Let’s think about it, and we can decide tonight whether we want to keep seeing each other after we go home.”
Maddie nodded. “Okay.” There was definitely no harm in thinking about things, and maybe a little time to mull this over would help her sort out her mixed emotions.
“Good,” Jamison said, nodding his head back toward camp. “You want to go get some breakfast? I saw they had coffee and cinnamon buns out on the picnic tables near the host tent.”
“I should probably shower, and clean up,” Maddie said, as she started down the path beside him. “I’m sure I look like a shipwreck survivor.”
Jamison shot her a sideways glance. “Nah. You look gorgeous. As usual.”
Maddie turned to demand he stop blowing smoke up her skirt, but when she met his eyes he looked so sincere she swallowed her words and mumbled a soft, “thank you,” instead.
“Just callin’ ’em like I see ’em,” he said with a grin. “Catch you after dinner.”
Maddie nodded and Jamison broke into a jog, trotting off toward the camp, leaving her to trudge through the gravel on her own, accompanied by nothing but the sound of her own footsteps and the voices warring in her head.
Chapter Five
By the time dinner rolled around Jamison was an uncharacteristic bundle of nerves.
He’d told himself a dozen times it didn’t matter what Maddie dec
ided. There were other fish in the sea, several of which he could probably convince to come back to his tent before sunset if Maddie turned him down. There had been no shortage of lingering glances his way while he and the other guys were playing beach volleyball, and Debbie didn’t seem to be holding a grudge over the fact that he had abandoned her on the beach not long after Maddie caught them kissing.
But his inner pep talk fell flat.
He didn’t want any of the other fish in the sea, or the women on the retreat, or any other woman in Summerville, for that matter. Ever since that day in February, when he’d suddenly seen Maddie through new eyes, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. After last night, he’d be lucky if he could masturbate to anything but memories of his night with Maddie for the next few years.
She’d gotten to him in a way he never could have imagined. He’d always known she was a sweet woman with a big heart and a secretly wicked sense of humor, but he hadn’t realized that she was every bit as much a sex fiend as he was, or that sleeping with her would feel like being granted access to a corner of heaven.
When it came to the effect it might have on their families, he didn’t know if their dating was a good idea or a bad one; he only knew he wanted more time with her, and wasn’t about to let her shoot him down without a fight.
He hadn’t felt this passionate about a woman since before Wendy, the woman who’d broken his heart and spurred his move back to Summerville from Atlanta last year. But unlike Wendy, Maddie wasn’t off-limits. And unlike Wendy, Maddie would never give him emotional whiplash.
If Maddie decided to give him a chance, she would be honest with him. She was an open book—one of the things he liked most about her. You never had to wonder where you stood with Maddie. She told you exactly what she was thinking, called you on your bullshit, and didn’t have a mean bone in her body.
He was positive he wanted to give this thing between them a shot. Now, he could only hope Maddie had come to the same conclusion.
“You want to come with?” Eric, one of Jamison’s friends from his old department in Atlanta—and the man responsible for strong-arming Jamison into coming on this camping trip—broke into his thoughts.
Jamison glanced up, surprised to see Eric and Freddie had finished eating, while his own plate was still half full of ribs and potato salad. “Go where?” he asked, not missing the look Eric and Freddie exchanged across the table. “Sorry, I was zoning out.”
“Does it have anything to do with that girl you’ve been staring at all day?” Eric asked, a smirk on his face Jamison didn’t care for.
With his thick blond hair, bright blue eyes, and gym rat physique, Eric looked like the kind of guy who would have no trouble picking up girls. But there was something about him that turned off all the genuinely cool women he encountered.
Probably because Eric valued women about as much as he valued the fish in the custom tank he kept in his apartment—the ones he never remembered to feed and simply replaced when they went belly-up. Cool women were generally smart women; they saw through Eric’s facade and steered clear from the get go.
“Her name is Maddie.” Jamison did his best to keep his tone light, but knew he’d failed when Eric’s smirk spread wider and Freddie laughed beneath his breath.
“Maddie,” Freddie mimicked with an exaggerated sigh, batting his eyelashes. “What a pretty name.”
“Shut up.” Jamison threw his wadded up napkin at Freddie’s face, but the other man dodged it easily.
Freddie was smaller than both Jamison and Eric, but he was lean and fast, making him one of the best tillermen Jamison had ever met. He’d also been through a rough divorce last year, and didn’t seem quite ready to jump back into the dating pool. More than one attractive woman had approached him while they were goofing off on the beach, but Freddie hadn’t been anything more than polite.
“Relax.” Freddie held up his hands in surrender. “She’s cute, man. I say go for it.”
“She’s got amazing tits,” Eric said, earning a scowl from Jamison. He and Eric had never been as close as he and Freddie, and hearing Eric talk about Maddie like she was a piece of meat reminded him why.
“Manners, man,” Freddie said, beating Jamison to it. “You’re not at a strip club.”
“No, if I were at a strip club, I wouldn’t be surrounded by sixes and sevens.” Eric sighed as he cast a bored glance around the picnic tables, where the crowd was thinning as people finished their meals and retreated to the beach or down the trails for one last hike before darkness fell. “Or if I were, at least they’d be topless.” Eric shifted his attention back to Jamison. “So are you coming or not?”
“We were going to head into town,” Freddie supplied. “Thought we might hit that honky-tonk we saw near the exit to the highway, get a few beers, see if Eric has better luck with the ladies there.”
Eric leaned across the table to punch Freddie on the arm hard enough to make the smaller man grunt. “Half these women are closet dykes, man,” Eric said. “That’s the only reason I’m striking out.”
“I’m going to stay here,” Jamison said, resisting the urge to tell Eric his attitude was probably more to blame than any of the women’s sexual orientation. He had better things to do than fight with Eric, namely finding Maddie and putting an end to the suspense that had kept his stomach in knots all day.
“All right. Good luck with your girl,” Freddie said, clapping Jamison on the back as he stood and grabbed his empty plate.
“Yeah, at least one of us should get some action this weekend,” Eric said as he rose and followed Freddie.
As the two other men walked away, Jamison sent up a silent prayer of thanks that neither Eric nor Freddie had heard anything while Maddie was in his tent last night. Jamison didn’t want to share those sexy little sounds Maddie made when she came with anyone.
Speaking of Maddie…
Jamison did a casual survey of the remaining diners, heart leaping when his eyes met Maddie’s across the picnic tables. She’d been watching him. Hopefully that was a good sign, and not an indication she was thinking about ways to let him down easy.
Jamison grabbed his plate and tossed it into the garbage bin, trying not to feel guilty for leaving it half-full. He’d been too nervous too eat.
Too nervous to eat? What are you, a sixteen-year-old girl?
“Apparently,” Jamison muttered to himself, downing the rest of his beer and tossing the bottle into the recycling container, pulse picking up as Maddie excused herself and crossed the picnic grounds to meet him.
In a dark blue sundress and pair of athletic-looking sandals, she shouldn’t have taken his breath away, but she did. He couldn’t keep his eyes from skimming over her—from the curly brown hair swirling around her shoulders, to her curves, to her toned legs disappearing into her sensible sandals. She looked good enough to eat, and Jamison suddenly found he’d recovered his appetite…though this particular appetite wouldn’t be satisfied by ribs or potato salad.
“Want to walk on the beach?” Maddie asked, a cautious look in her eyes that did nothing to allay Jamison’s fears.
So what if she tries to let you down easy? That doesn’t mean that’s the end of it. You don’t go down easy—never have, never will.
“Sounds good.” Jamison fell in beside her as she set off toward the sound of the ocean waves pounding the shore.
It was true, he’d never gone down easy, but that wasn’t always a good thing. If he’d backed off the first time Wendy had rebuffed him, he could have spared them both so much guilt and heartache.
But he hadn’t backed off, he’d used the heated glances Wendy shot his way when she came to visit Art at the station as an excuse to cross the line, to apply another round of pressure one night when they were walking to their cars after a mutual friend’s party. Sure, Wendy had caved without more than a few whispered words, but still. Jamison knew things could have been different—would have been different, if he had simply taken no for an answer.
/> But he didn’t want to take no for an answer with Maddie. Last night had been more than insanely hot sex, it had been one of the best nights of his life, period. It wasn’t simply that he’d finally met a woman who was his match sexually, it was because that woman was Maddie, a person who had been a friend since he was too young to understand that the warm, safe feeling that filled his chest whenever he was around the Whitehouse girls was a kind of love.
And look how you confused that kind of love for something more with Naomi. Look how that turned out. Now you can barely say three words to her without wanting to make a run for it. Keep this up, and you’ll wreck things with Maddie, too.
Jamison sighed as he and Maddie stepped onto the sand, grateful the sound was swallowed by the roar of the waves. It was true; he could be on the verge of ruining one of his longest-standing friendships.
But then, he’d meant what he’d said to Maddie—he could never go back to the way things were. The memory of her riding him in the moonlight filtering through his tent was permanently etched upon his brain. They were either going to move forward as more than friends, or they weren’t going to move forward at all.
The knowledge was enough to make his palms sweat as Maddie turned back to him, the setting sun catching the caramel streaks in her hair, making her even prettier than she’d been a moment before.
“So?” Jamison asked, after an uncomfortable moment of silence. “What’s the verdict?”
“What’s your end game?” Maddie asked, answering his question with a question.
Jamison blinked. “Um, nothing. I want to spend time with you.”
Maddie shook her head, the skin between her eyebrows wrinkling. “No, I mean, with dating. Why do you date? What’s your end game? Do you even have one?”
Jamison fought the urge to pull Maddie into his arms and kiss the frown from her face. It was a decent question, and one that deserved an honest answer. “I don’t know. I mean, someday I’d like to find someone, get married, I guess. I don’t want to play the field forever.”
Sweet To You (Fire and Icing) Page 4
