Janelle had dated his youngest brother Levi when they were in high school. She’d been pining after him ever since, but Levi had moved on to about two dozen other women since then. She was a nice enough girl, always friendly and good-natured. Young. Not at all his type. Nor, he suspected, was he hers. Levi was a blond surfer boy, the kind of guy who never stressed a day in his life. He didn’t have a single responsibility other than running his jet ski rental business, and even that was a stretch because his employees did most of the work for him.
Jax gestured for Kassie to follow the waitress, then fell into line behind her. It was the perfect opportunity to watch her hips sashay. He couldn’t help himself. She was like a delicious package that he very badly wanted to unwrap. And he would if he had anything to say about it. Just not tonight. Tonight, he was going to show her a good time and keep his hands to himself.
They were seated at a semi-private table in a corner of the open deck that overlooked the harbor and the inlet where the Atlantic Ocean spilled into the shallower waters of the bay. Fishing boats lined the docks before them, waiting for their next runs. The air was salty and sweet all at once. God, he loved it here. He’d take a day on the beach over a day in the city any time.
“What a gorgeous view,” Kassie murmured, her eyes traveling over their surroundings before settling back on him. “I didn’t even know this part of town existed.”
That piqued his interest. “So, how long have you been in Atlantic?”
“About a month.”
Not very long then. Maybe her breakup was even more recent than he suspected. He’d have to take this one slow. “I’m surprised you didn’t run into me sooner,” he teased.
Her lips quirked into a reluctant smile. “I’m usually not that bad at driving, I swear.”
He had a feeling that her idea of bad driving and his were vastly different, but he wisely kept that to himself. He’d never know how she managed to smash into him when they were at a complete stop and the light was still red. Had she been texting? It didn’t quite make sense, but she’d been majorly distracted, that much he knew. “As long as traffic lights aren’t involved, that is.”
She grimaced, managing to somehow still look adorable. “When am I going to live this down?”
He pretended to think her question over. “Never.”
“You don’t play fair,” she accused, but her eyes were sparkling.
“I try not to,” he agreed, grinning unrepentantly.
Their waitress stopped by the table to take their drink orders. Jax requested a beer, Kassie a margarita. When the server was gone again, Kassie toyed with her napkin-wrapped utensils. He could almost hear her mind working. She was a thinker, this one. He liked that about her.
“So you’re well-known around here,” she said nonchalantly.
She was finally getting around to asking him about Janelle. He couldn’t blame her. After the way he’d reacted to her this morning, it was reasonable for her to suspect he had a string of broken hearts in his wake. In actuality, it was only one or two. He wasn’t like his brother Levi. He valued quality over quantity every time.
“I’m one of four brothers,” he said by way of explanation. “If you knew them, you’d understand.”
“Four boys? Your poor mother.”
“She’s a saint,” he agreed. Over the years, he and his brothers both had put their mother through more than her fair share of headaches and worries. Some of those times had involved women, some whiskey, and some broken bones. “You’d love her.”
Whoa. Easy there, Don Juan. How had that slipped out? He didn’t invite women to meet his mother on the first date. Even with Mandy, he’d waited a good eight months. “Everyone does,” he hastened to add.
The waitress reappeared, drinks in hand, saving him from further embarrassing himself. Jesus, you’d think he’d never had sex with a woman before. If he weren’t careful, he’d be professing his undying love to her by the end of the night and taking her ring shopping before the week was over. He took a healthy swig of his beer, hoping to drown the idiocy that had taken up residence in his brain.
Kassie took a delicate sip of her margarita, licking a swipe of salt off the rim as she did so. A dart of heat hit him in the groin. The unavoidable thought of that tongue working its magic on his cock slipped into his mind.
Shit. He took another swig of beer, deciding it was time for a change of subject. Anything to get his mind off fucking Kassie again. “So what brings you to Atlantic?” he asked, genuinely curious.
She pursed her lips, seemingly crafting her words with care. “I needed a change.”
“From?” he pressed, wondering what had caused her to run, what caused her to close herself off even now when she was hundreds of miles from New York.
“I just wasn’t happy there,” she said, and when he thought she was about to continue, she stopped, toying with the stem of her margarita glass. Her expression was drawn, uncertain.
“I’m making you nervous,” he guessed.
She raised a brow at him. “How do you do that?”
He took a sip of his beer. “Do what?”
“You’re awfully perceptive for—” She caught herself, the rest of her words lying unspoken between them.
For a man like you.
The heat sliding through his veins abruptly cooled. His gut clenched. He’d been through this before, with Mandy. He’d never quite lived up to her Ivy League expectations. It had taken him far too long to realize that she’d only been after Jax the business owner, the life he could give her, rather than Jax the man who worked with his hands. He was damn proud of his blue-collar roots, and if there was one thing he’d vowed to never do again, it was to be with a woman who looked down on him because he’d chosen trades over academia.
“For a man like me,” he finished for her.
She winced. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounds.”
But of course she did. Her defenses had been down. He realized then that she saw him as the guy who’d shown up at her house that morning with a tattoo and a tape measure and worn old jeans. I’m pretty sure this isn’t the kind of measuring your employer had in mind, she’d said. She’d thought he was driving his boss’s truck. He was damn glad he hadn’t disabused her of that notion.
“You don’t have to explain,” he said coolly. Maybe he’d misjudged her. Maybe she really couldn’t see beyond the man she thought he was to the man beneath. To the only part of him that should really matter.
“Jax, I didn’t mean it like that,” she persisted. Her eyes pleaded with him.
He almost felt bad for her. Almost, but not quite. The guard he’d let down was back up, on high alert. It was possible that he’d allowed the amazing sex they’d had that morning to cloud his common sense. He should have known better than to think he could trust a woman he’d just met. Especially a woman who was as beautiful as she was complex. A woman with a past she didn’t want to discuss.
“It’s fine.” He took another swig of beer. “I get it all the time.”
Really, he did, in one way or another. Women either wanted him for his money or they thought he didn’t have two nickels to rub together. No one had ever wanted Jax Taylor for nothing but Jax Taylor, and it looked like Kassie wouldn’t be any different.
“I really didn’t mean to say that,” she said quietly.
“But you did,” he pointed out. And that changed everything.
Kassie wished she’d thought before she’d spoken. She’d hurt Jax’s feelings, that much was apparent. His expression had gone from open and teasing to completely closed off in under a minute. But she’d been taken by surprise when he started going down the personal road with her right off the bat. She didn’t know what she’d expected from him—maybe nothing more than a casual dinner date capped off with some more great sex—but he had proved her wrong. He seemed to have a genuine interest in her.
No, scratch that. He had seemed to have a genuine interest in her. Now it looked as if she’d hit a trigger point for him. S
he took a healthy gulp of her margarita, feeling horrible for unintentionally insulting him. Of course, she hadn’t meant to say “a man like you” as if to suggest that something was wrong with him. She’d merely meant that to look at him—one hundred percent fierce, badass man—she never would have guessed he had such a sensitive side. But he didn’t believe her and she didn’t know how to close the suddenly widening gap between them.
She tried to focus on the menu, but the silence was killing her. Finally, she looked back up at him. “What do you recommend?”
His gaze met hers, darker now, a little more unfathomable than before. “The Chicken Chesapeake is pretty killer, but I’d almost lay down my life for one of the crab cakes.”
He wasn’t looking at her as if he hated her. It was a step in the right direction. “When you put it that way, I can see I have to go with the crab cakes.”
Their waitress returned to take their orders, and the rest of the dinner passed without any more major gaffes on Kassie’s part. She learned that he was the second oldest of his four brothers, that his parents were happily married retirees who lived on a horse farm outside Atlantic. He hadn’t been in a serious relationship in almost a year. Never engaged, never married, no kids. It was the standard date, and by the time they finished their food, his good humor seemed to be restored. As the sun sank low over the back side of the bay, Jax insisted on taking care of the check.
“Thank you,” she said softly, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand on impulse. “I had a really great time.”
And she had. In addition to being inhumanly hot, Jax was also easygoing and good-natured, and being with him felt natural in spite of the unconventional way they’d begun their acquaintance. She had to admit that touching him sent a skitter of awareness over her, and she couldn’t quite keep herself from recalling in vivid detail the way he had made her come that morning.
He turned his hand so that their fingers tangled. “I’m glad.”
Maybe it was the two margaritas she’d consumed over the course of dinner, maybe it was just Jax, but she was getting turned-on all over again. Would it be too much to hope that they’d end the night the way they’d started the day, tangled together and having mind-bending sex? She knew it was wrong, that she shouldn’t lead him on, that she shouldn’t allow herself to get involved with someone new, not when she was still readjusting to life as a single woman.
She pulled away from him, wondering where they went from here. Where they could go from here. Their waitress brought back the check and Jax’s card, and he signed the receipt before looking back up at Kassie.
“Do you have an early day tomorrow?”
It was Wednesday, and she had a full day of editing ahead of her. She had three pressing manuscripts in her queue and a ton of correspondence to catch up with. “It depends on your definition of early,” she hedged.
He grinned, and this time, his dimples were back. Her heart flip-flopped and a warm sensation unfurled in her belly. “Good answer. Want to head out on the beach for a little while? I’ve got a blanket and some firewood in the back of the Jeep.”
A dark beach, a blanket and Jax? That combination sounded far too good to be true. She really should tell him no, tell him that she couldn’t be out late with so much work waiting for her in the morning. The chance of her being on the beach with him under a sky full of stars and not having sex with him was very slim. Especially after how good it had been between them. He’d woken up a part of her that she hadn’t even known was sleeping. Tell him no, said her conscience.
“Sure,” she found herself saying.
“Another good answer.” He winked. “Let’s head out.”
The drive to the beach was only about ten minutes, but by the time they wound their way along a thin macadam road to an over-sand vehicle area and Jax aired down the tires, the sun had totally set. She’d never driven on a beach before, and she didn’t know what to expect.
“It’s going to be bumpy,” Jax warned. “Hold on to your seat belt.”
The paved road ended and they headed out onto the beach. As the Jeep settled into the ruts in the sand, she knew he hadn’t been joking about the bumpy part. But she had to admit that she kind of liked it. The salt air was cool, the ocean was roaring, and the night was alive.
“What do you think?” he called to her, casting a look her way.
“I love it,” she said truthfully, smiling. This was living at its finest, she thought. The sand, the Jeep open to the night, the man in the driver’s seat, the ocean glistening in the early light of the moon. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
Four-wheel drive vehicles dotted the beach here and there, along with campfires and the glowing tips of fishing rods. Jax drove for a few minutes before settling on a spot that was a good distance from any other vehicles. As he killed the ignition, he looked back to her.
“You might want to take off those shoes,” he suggested.
He’d noticed her heels. Okay, so maybe they hadn’t been the most practical, but she was a shoe girl. It was all about the look, and to hell with the rest. “I can manage that,” she said wryly, wondering if he was taking a dig. “I’m not as helpless as you seem to think I am. I may have lived in New York for ten years, but I grew up in the suburbs.”
Jax slid down from the driver’s side. “I never said you were helpless, darlin’.”
Darlin’. The way the endearment rolled off his tongue made her shiver. She unbuckled her seat belt and toed off her shoes, waiting for him to round the front of the Jeep and pluck her down again. The night air was cool off the ocean, ruffling her hair. He stopped in front of her and she wished she could discern more of his expression through the darkness that had fallen.
“You implied I don’t have the common sense to know I can’t wear heels at the beach,” she pointed out as his hands settled on her waist. The simple touch sent a warm wave of awareness crashing over her. She wanted him. Badly. It didn’t matter that she’d already talked herself out of getting involved with him. She needed him inside her the way she needed air.
His hands lingered even after her bare feet hit the cool sand, tightening on her rather than releasing her. He pulled her against his tall, lean body. Every part of her clamored for him to continue. To kiss her. Take her. Fuck her against the hood of his Jeep. Anything.
So much for her sense of self-preservation.
“Did I?” he asked, his voice whisper-soft. He was near enough that his breath fanned over her lips, a teasing precursor to what she wanted most. His mouth on hers.
Did he what? She didn’t even know what he was talking about at this point. All she did know was that the part of the evening she’d been anticipating all dinner long had finally arrived, and she was ready to carpe diem. More than ready.
“I don’t know,” she admitted, leaning into him. His cock was an unmistakable ridge against her belly. He was ready too, it would seem.
His hands cupped her ass through the flimsy fabric of her dress, grinding her against him. The fervor of that morning returned, and suddenly, Kassie was desperate. She yanked his head down to hers and their lips met. His tongue was inside her mouth in an instant, claiming, taking. She felt an answering rush of moisture in her pussy, a long, sweet pulse of desire.
She hooked a leg around his hip, pressing herself into him. She wanted to be as close to him as possible, tangled up in him, in the crazy passion he made her feel. She’d never experienced anything more potent in her life.
His fingers grazed the sensitive skin of her upper thigh in a delicious caress. And then they went higher still, finding the lace of her panties and slipping beneath the elastic waistband. He toyed with her clit and she almost came right then.
He broke the kiss and dragged his mouth down her throat, pressing a series of hot, open-mouthed kisses against her. She tipped her head back, allowing him better access. He sank a finger inside her pussy, teasing her, dipping in and out. She moaned, arching against him. Oh God. She was going to come already. She
couldn’t hold it back. Her orgasm came fast and swift, shaking through her like a hurricane.
Holy crap.
She had a feeling she was never going to have any control when it came to this man.
Jesus. He had no control whatsoever when it came to Kassie. He had to be either crazy, stupid or both.
How had they gone from polite conversation to him finger-fucking her? Jax pulled her lacy panties back into place and wished his dick wasn’t rock hard and ready to replace his fingers deep inside her hot, wet pussy. He wanted her so badly he could barely breathe. His reaction to her scared the hell out of him. He’d never been this on fire for a woman, especially not one he’d only known for the span of a day.
What was wrong with him? He’d told himself to go slow, especially in the wake of her comment at dinner. He’d learned the difficult way that seeing only the good in a woman was a huge mistake. But he liked her. Even if she didn’t think he was up to her high-and-mighty New York standards. Yeah, he was crazy all right.
He was about to set her away from him, rein in his rocketing lust, when she palmed his cock. Even through two layers of fabric, it was enough to send him over the edge he’d been trying to toe. He captured her mouth with his again, so hungry for her that it hurt. She kissed him back as if he were the best thing she’d ever tasted. And then she slid his fly open before reaching into the slit of his boxer-briefs to close her fingers over his cock.
Jax groaned. His every good intention disappeared like footprints in the sand. He had to have her again. Thank God he’d brought more condoms. He’d stuffed three into his wallet before leaving the house, just in case. Keeping their mouths fused, he led her backward until she was trapped between his body and the side of the Jeep.
With the sun down and the next cars on the beach a good half mile on either side, he had no worries about being seen. There was something about taking her in the night air, the ocean crashing alongside them, the moon rising high, that was arousing as hell. And the truth was that he’d been imagining fucking her like this through all of dinner.
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