Savor the Danger
Page 65

Only after she’d insisted had he rolled on a condom and slid inside her. She’d moaned with verve, clung to him, bit his shoulder.
But other than saying she couldn’t get enough, other than praising him and doing a little sexual praying— Oh God, oh God—she hadn’t confessed a damn thing.
That was hours ago.
Midday, rays of sunshine finally cut through the gray skies. His third day with her.
And yet, nothing had changed. Or it hadn’t changed enough.
Wearing only jeans, his chest and feet bare, Jackson stood on the covered patio and let the humid breeze drift over his body. Thanks to the rain, the air was fresh but thick. He filled his lungs and watched the waves on the shore.
He should have felt peaceful. Since arriving at his house, he’d been sating himself on Alani’s body, soaking up her smiles, her sighs, and at the height of pleasure, her lusty groans of release.
He loved the raw, real sounds she made, her naturalness during sex. Physically, she never held back from him.
She gave him her body. But her heart? Her mind?
Damn it, he didn’t know. As an astute man in all things, and especially a man who knew women well, Jackson could tell something wasn’t one-hundred percent right.
Around making love to Alani, he’d kept to a schedule of sorts. He made use of his gym to burn off excess energy when Alani fell asleep on him. He worked on his house whenever she wanted time on his computer to search out interior designs—usually for decorating one of his rooms.
He loved it that she took an interest, and so far, her suggestions had been perfect. Soon as they could, he’d take her with him to hit up a store. Together they’d pick out more furnishings for him.
They took turns cooking, with her mostly doing breakfast, and him grilling their dinner on the back porch under the overhang. They often soaked in the Jacuzzi tub together, and each night they slept entwined.
But it wasn’t enough. Jackson had the burning need for more.
A lot more.
As usual, he felt Alani’s presence the moment she joined him. He turned to find her at the patio doors, her face clean of makeup, her hair in a loose braid.
She wore a bikini, and like him, her feet were bare.
“God Almighty, woman.” His mouth went dry. “That’s some sexy icing on the cake.”
“I’m glad I thought to include it when I packed.” Her shy smile didn’t fool him; she knew the effect she’d have.
The slinky white material, edged by black lace, clung to her body. It showed off the outline of her ni**les and every plump seam of her sex.
Jackson reached for her, but she darted back and held a beach towel in front of her body.
“I’m going swimming.”
“No, you’re not.” He was already hard and getting harder by the second.
As if he hadn’t spoken, she said, “If you want to join me, that’d be great. But this is the first clear day we’ve had—”
“It’s not clear.” He started toward her, and she backed up, circling away from the doors. “More clouds are rolling in.”
Giggling like a schoolgirl, she stayed just out of reach.
And he continued to stalk her.
“Then I’d better hurry.” She back-stepped off the patio.
“Careful.” The land sloped gently down to the lake, and the wet grass could be treacherous to slippery feet.
She held up a hand, palm out, still giddy and teasing. “I want to swim, Jackson.”
“We’ll swim after.”
“You said it yourself, the sunshine might not last.”
“If you really wanted to swim,” he told her, keeping her in his sights as she took another step back, “then you shouldn’t have put on that boner-inspiring getup.”
He finally got close enough, and Alani stunned him by cupping her hand over him, kneading him, stroking a little. His eyes closed, his breath quickened.
“How about,” she teased, “we count the swimming as foreplay?”
“I won’t last.”
“We had sex this morning.”
“So?” He caught her wrist and held her hand in place while he stripped the towel away from her. Man, she was a feast for the eyes. Staring at her belly, he muttered, “Around you, I stay hard and ready.”
“I noticed, and I’m flattered.”
Flattered? His gaze shot back to hers. “What the f**k does that mean?” Flattered. He snorted. She should be a damn sight more than flattered. “What do you think? That all guys are sexual machines? ’Cuz I can tell you, they aren’t.”
“Sexual machine…yes, that describes you.” She snickered, but quickly sobered. “Do you know you always get fractious when you’re aroused?”
His brows shot up. Fractious? Is that what she thought? More like he was desperate, lost, frantic with need.
“One insult after another.” He burned for her, and every day just seemed worse than the day before. And yet, she wanted to swim. “I ought to hold out on you.”
The smile played over her mouth. “Maybe you should.” And then, playfully pleading, “At least until after I’ve had a swim?”
Jackson measured her mood and slowly nodded. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“I’m listening.”
“We’ll swim—but you lose the suit.”
“Lose…” She blinked fast. “But I thought you liked it.”
Watching her, keeping her gaze locked in his, he slipped a hand inside her bra top, over her breast, rasping her nipple with his palm. “Yeah. I do. It’s a turn-on.”