Dream On (4 page)

“If you don’t take your clothes off, I’m going to do it for you.”

His threat sent her mind careening into visuals she had no business visualizing. Like Jack peeling layer by layer of clothing from her body, touching his hot mouth to every spot he revealed. The room temperature increased by ten degrees and she broke out into a sweat. She could call his bluff, but the determined expression on his face told her he wasn’t kidding about undressing her. “Get out, Jack. I’ll try the damn outfits on, but not with you standing in here.”

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Jaci Burton

He tilted his head to the side, then nodded. “I’ll be right outside the door. Just holler when you have one on and I’ll come take a look.”

Great. Just what she needed. Why was she even allowing herself to be pulled, prodded, and forced in a direction she didn’t want to go, anyway?

She knew the reason. Because deep down…really deep down…she wanted this. Maybe it was a challenge to see if she could somehow squeeze her body into one, just one of these gorgeous dresses. She hadn’t worn anything pretty in years and it was about damn time she made some changes.

If only she had the body to match the dresses, she could really show Jack what he’d given up when he left.

She wanted to hurt him. The realization hit like an icy chill on a wintry day. She wanted him to feel the same pain she’d felt when he left, to realize that maybe what he’d left hadn’t been so bad after all, that maybe, just maybe, he should have worked a little harder to stay.

Get over yourself, Kate. He left for a damn good reason and you know it. Quit trying to
make it something it isn’t
.

With a heavy sigh she struggled out of her jeans and sweater, then removed her underwear, refusing to even glance in the direction of the full-length mirror while she slipped into decadent underthings. Lord, it was amazing they fit her. She chose the dress she liked best. A black, slinky, clingy short cocktail dress that hugged every one of her curves. What the hell, it was good for a laugh before she took it off, right?

Smoothing the matching black hose against her legs, she slipped into the heels and braced herself for disappointment when she turned around.

“You still in there?” she heard Jack say through the door. She froze and stared at the door. “Yeah.”

“I’m coming in.”

“Wait!” But before she could reach out to lock the door, he’d opened it. 28

Dream On

“Holy shit, Kate,” he whispered, his gaze traveling from her eyes down to her feet. He was being kind. Okay, he scored points for that. “Thanks. Gimme a minute and I’ll slip another of these dresses on.”

“What the hell for? You got me hard in a second just looking at you in that thing. Jesus Christ, Katie!”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Give me a break, Jack. I look like a sausage.”

“Have you looked in the mirror yet?”

“No.” And she planned to slip off this dress and put on another without once turning around to stare at herself in the mirror. Mirrors revealed all flaws, especially dressing room mirrors.

He grasped her shoulders and turned her around. “Then take a peek so you can see what I see.”

Ugh. She didn’t want to, but she had no choice when he fully spun her around. She looked down at her feet first, not recognizing the slim ankles and shapely calves that led up to slender thighs and…

“Oh my God!”

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Jaci Burton

Chapter Five

Who was that woman in the mirror? Not the same one she’d seen last night, that was certain. Was she hallucinating? The lighting in the dressing room couldn’t be that good.

But she definitely looked…different. The dress clung to her, all right, but she didn’t look fat or out of shape. The snug fabric slenderized her shape and showed off all her curves.

Well, okay. Her curves were a bit ample. Hell, she wasn’t twenty-five anymore. What did she expect?

“You’ve always been overly critical of yourself,” Jack whispered as if he’d heard her internal thoughts. “You look hot as hell, Katie. Delectable. I’d like to eat you alive, right here.”

There went the temp in the room, notched up another ten degrees. Good thing the dress was sleeveless. What kind of game was he playing with her? Before, he’d never noticed whether she’d been dressed in sweatpants or an evening gown with a tiara on her head.

“You’ve never seen what I see in you,” he said, stepping behind her and resting his hands on the curve of her hips. Her skin burned at his light touch.

“You stopped looking at me a long time ago,” she shot back at his reflection in the mirror, irritated that he was giving her the full-court press. He had to be after something. Some ulterior motive for his oddly attentive behavior. But what?

He frowned, his lids half closing. Then he looked up and met her gaze head-on. “I never stopped looking. I was just… I don’t know what happened to me, Kate. Somewhere along the way I lost sight of what was important. You, the boys, everything that should have mattered. I told you I screwed up. I’ve spent the past five years 30

Dream On

thinking of nothing but that, wondering if you realized how much better off you were without me causing you such pain.”

“Leaving me caused me more pain that I thought I could bear.” But she
had
borne it, had survived it, had learned to live with the sense of betrayal and mistrust ever since the day he left. “Why did you come back, Jack?”

“To appreciate you the way I never did before. To make you appreciate yourself the way you never did. Beyond your surface beauty, there’s a kind, gentle heart that always gave and gave and gave without hesitation, while I took and took and took. You were always there for me, Katie. Me and the boys. You were unselfish and loving with a hundred percent of your heart and soul, and that’s what makes you beautiful to me.”

His words knifed through her middle, making her ache to turn around and throw her arms around him. But she held back, the part of her that still hurt hesitant to allow her to open her heart again.

He bent his head and pressed a soft kiss to the side of her neck. Her nipples tightened against the snug fabric of the dress as, despite her irritation at him, her body responded with a wild flare of desire.

“I don’t need you to appreciate me.” But the words sounded as hollow as they felt. She
did
need him to appreciate her, more than she could admit to herself.

“Yes, you do. Now look at yourself and let me tell you what I see.”

“I don’t want to play this game, Jack.”

“It’s not a game. I’m serious. Look.”

She did, meeting his gaze in the mirror, forcing herself to face who she really was now.

“Your face has a glow about it. That always mesmerized me about you. The way your eyes light up when you smile and your cheeks turn pink when you’re embarrassed. Do you remember how shy you were when we first met?”

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Jaci Burton

“Yes.” She’d almost died when he’d asked her out the first time, sure he was playing some kind of joke on her. He was a senior football player and she was a geeky, gawky sophomore who hadn’t a clue how to act around boys. But he’d been kind and gentle, never pressuring her for more than she was ready to give. And she’d fallen hopelessly in love with him. He’d been her first love. Her only love.

“The way you used to smile at me when you thought I wasn’t looking drove me crazy. God I loved that yearning in your eyes, Katie. That sweet innocence in those warm eyes that made me want to take care of you and protect you forever. I fell in love with your eyes first, and I still love them best about you. They tell me everything you’re feeling.”

She studied her reflection as if she could see any telltale signs in her eyes. They had a dark, honeyed look to them right now, as if there was molten fire behind them. Is that what Jack saw when he looked at her? Were her emotions always that transparent?

Memories did that to her. Made her remember all the good times, instead of concentrating on the bad times like she should be doing. His hand on her hip caught her attention. Squeezing gently, he caressed the curve from waist to thigh, his breath hot against her neck as he bent down to pet her body.

“You know, I love your eyes, but there’s a lot more. Especially the way you feel under my hands.” He pressed his palm against her hip. “I love this part of you. Every curve in your body entices me. I’d like to undress you and lay you out naked in the sunlight so I could study every inch of you.”

She cringed at the thought of every bump of cellulite exposed to the glaring sun. His laugh was husky and dark, his chest rumbling against her back. Her legs trembled. “You always thought I scrutinized every flaw. I don’t. I adore the perfection of you. You are an amazing creature, Katherine Mary McKay. From your remarkable intelligence to the fierce way you protected our sons to the unselfish way you gave up everything so I could do my job. It will take an eternity for me to repay you for all you did for me, and even that won’t be enough.”

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Dream On

This side of Jack was so new, so unexpected, that she was at a loss for words. A snappy comeback to an empty promise was easy. But she heard sincerity in his words, and a depth of his soul he’d never revealed to her before. He kissed her shoulder, drawing one thin strap down her arm, his fingers blazing a trail of sensual promise that made her shiver despite the heat in the small dressing room. Thoughts of anger and betrayal fled as her body tuned in completely to his touch, his scent, the way his hard body felt pressed against her.

“Let me love you, Kate,” he whispered, drawing the other strap down and pulling the dress to her waist. The black bra lifted her breasts and squeezed them together, offering an enticing bit of cleavage.

Jack moved his hands in front of her, caressing the swell of her breasts. “You always had beautiful breasts, babe. So full and soft. And your nipples, now those are a work of art.” He drew the straps of her bra down and pulled the fabric away from the mounds. Her breasts fell into his hands and he cupped them, using his thumbs to draw circles around the pink areolas, tantalizing them with unbearably soft strokes until she gasped. He circled the distended nipples, plucking gently at first, then a little harder. Watching him touch her was embarrassing and yet so erotic her panties flooded with cream. She’d definitely have to buy the underwear now.

“Jack, please,” she begged, not sure whether to plead for him to stop touching her in public or urge him to fuck her right here. She had no idea what she wanted, and was tired of thinking. It had been too damn long since she’d been touched, too long without feeling alive and desirable. She deserved this moment and to hell with how she
should
feel!

His hands worked magic on her breasts and nipples, firing her libido to life in a wickedly tortuous way. He licked her neck, scraping his teeth along the side of it to take a bite from her nape. She shuddered and backed against him, instinct driving her ass against the rigid bulge in his jeans.

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Jaci Burton

“You make me so fucking hard, Kate,” he ground out. She switched her gaze from the movement of his hands to his face. His jaw was clenched tight and a bead of sweat formed along his temple.

A sizeable erection was evident in the firm swell pressed against her buttocks. Her throat went dry. But the rest of her was wet. Hot and wet. He rocked against her and more moisture spilled from her pussy lips onto her panties.

“I smell you,” he said, licking her neck like he thirsted and she was his drink. “I’ve missed that sweet smell of sex, that sweet scent of you when you’re hot and wet and needy for me.”

He trailed his right hand over her rib cage and abdomen, pausing to squeeze her hip before moving down to the hem of her dress. He bunched the fabric in his hand and yanked upward, revealing the decadent stockings she’d slipped on earlier. The black garter belt was hot. Even she thought so, revealing only a smidgeon of the pale skin of her thighs peeking between her panties and the stockings.

“Ah, Christ, Katie.” He jerked the dress all the way up, then moved around to face her. His expression was tight, fierce, almost as if he was angry and trying to hold it in. He pulled her against him, his mouth crashing down over hers. He took, he ravaged, plunging his tongue between her parted lips and fucking her mouth with an intensity that left her breathless. She moaned at the sheer exquisiteness of tasting him again, familiarity as exciting as the newness of his bold domination of her. She clutched his shirt, her nails digging into his chest as he drew her even closer. His erection rasped against her swollen clit, shooting off sparks and flooding her with more of her juices. She’d never wanted like this before, not even in the beginning. Now she was starving for it, for Jack, desperate to grab onto whatever fleeting moments they could have together, no longer caring that she was supposed to hate him for what he’d done. She palmed his cock and caressed the part of him she was desperate to feel embedded deep inside her.

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Dream On

“No,” he said, his voice rough with passion. “Not yet.” He dropped to his knees, his gaze locked with hers, and reached for the thin straps of her panties. With agonizingly slow movements, he dragged them down her hips and legs, each brush of the silken fabric against her skin making her grit her teeth in anticipation. She held onto his shoulder as she stepped out of the panties, shocked when Jack held them to his nose and inhaled, his eyes closing for a second. When he opened them, the gray orbs had darkened like a pitch-black night. “I love the smell of your pussy, Kate. Just the scent of you makes me so fucking hard I could come in my pants right now.”

Her knees buckled and she squeezed his shoulder for support. But he withdrew her hand, backing her up against the door and following her on his knees. He spread her legs apart, lifting one over his shoulder. Like this, her pussy was right in line with his face. He studied her, tilting his head from one side to another, then breathing deeply as if he couldn’t get enough of her aroused scent.