Her Singapore Fling (8 page)

‘I want you.' She nudged his cheek with hers and tilted her head to capture his lips but he wouldn't give them.

‘Tell me you like what I do to you.'

‘You know I do.'

This time his mouth met hers willingly, his lips parted and his tongue gentle. Not the uncontrollable hunger that had driven them last night, this hunger went deeper and hit harder than that. Tonight wasn't about fighting what they felt for each other. It was about surrender.

His lips teasing hers as he bunched up the skirt of her dress and slid it up her legs. Jake sinking into a chair and dragging her down on top of him, his jacket and shirt gone and his belt buckle undone. The straps of her dress making way for his lips, his lips at her breasts and her hands in his hair as she offered herself up to him and the sensual surrender he demanded.

So easy to become lost in him, in the feelings he created.

Fragile panties ripping because they were a barrier he didn't want. Fragile folds parting to allow for a possession that filled her soul.

‘Take your hair down,' he ordered. ‘Take it down for me.'

She did as commanded, pearl-tipped pins dropping to the floor as his teeth grazed her breasts and his hips moved in time with hers, slow and undulating. She arched back, relying on the strength of Jacob's arms to keep her in place as her hair finally tumbled free.

Jake groaned and stilled inside her. Willing his beast back in its cage, willing himself to stay in control, just this once. Possession didn't always have to be about dominance, though that was the need that rode him hardest.

Sometimes it could be about giving in.

She slid off him then and took his hand and led him up the stairs and to his bed. They shed their clothes until they stood naked in the half-light and then she reached for him again.

‘Would you do it?' she whispered as they sank down onto the bed and into a kiss. ‘Would you let a woman cuff you? Restrain you?'

Only Jianne would ever have dared ask such a thing of him. Only for Jianne would Jake have made the decision he did. He never took didn't take his eyes off her as he lay back on the bed, raised his arms over his head and wrapped his hands around the wrought-iron bars of the bedpost. They'd stay there now, no matter what, until she drew them down. ‘Only you.'

She started at his throat. By the time she got to his stomach he'd bent the bed bars but he did not let them go. He bucked beneath her hand as she slid down even lower. He died a thousand deaths when tip met tongue and tongue danced along his shaft. She knew how to touch him, to drive pleasure to the point of pain. She knew how to soothe him and destroy him all over again.
And still his hands did not leave the headboard, even when she mouthed him to the brink once more and then sank down onto him with a ragged little whimper.

He flung his head back and cried out. He strained against the words that bound him but he did not let go. Not until she slid her hands up his arms and past his wrists to prise his fingers from the bars did he rear up and fist his hands in her hair as the wildness inside him finally broke free.

J
AKE
woke slowly the following morning. Still in his bed with Jianne sprawled out beside him, lost to sleep. Small woman who took up a great deal of space, both in his bed and in his mind. As for his heart—it had always belonged to her and always would.

None of which made morning afters any easier.

The physicality of the sexual act was something Jake revelled in. Problem was, total abandon had always been followed by aching remorse and he'd never really figured out the why of it. Maybe it had something to do with him being too demanding when it came to sex—he who'd spent so much of his time trying to be the strong one, the calm one, the one too balanced to ever demand too much of anything. Maybe it had something to do with losing control the way he did and waking up and knowing he'd have to claw it all back and lock it down hard. Maybe it had something to do with his fear of breaking fragile things with the weight of his need. And maybe the why of it didn't matter one little bit.

All he knew was that in order to survive a night like the last one, a man kept his mouth shut and his morn
ing fears to himself and tried hard not to reveal with excruciating clarity how truly dysfunctional he really was.

He slipped from the bed and padded around the wall to where his clothes had once hung. Jianne's wardrobe now, but there was a box full of old clothes in the corner and old clothes were as good as any other when it came to getting himself downstairs and into the dojo showers where he wouldn't wake Jianne with the noise.

He found a pair of old sweats and tugged them on. He didn't bother with a shirt. He closed his eyes and took a breath, wiling calm to come and take away his uncertainty, and fatigue to take away his need for still more of his beautiful and sensual wife.

He started across the vast expanse of space towards the door, his feet making no sound on the polished wooden floorboards. He risked a glance towards the bed. Jianne hadn't moved but her eyes were open and the desolation in their depths bit deep. He stopped. He ran a hand through his hair. ‘Morning,' he muttered, and when she didn't reply, ‘I have to—' He had to what exactly? Escape?

‘Teach?' she murmured and propped her head in her hand.

‘No. Not until nine. I, ah, shower,' he said next. ‘Downstairs.'

‘There's one here.'

True. This was true. ‘I didn't want to wake you with the noise.'

‘And you won't.' She eyed him gravely. ‘But if it's distance you want, or need, go right ahead and shower downstairs. Or stay here if you like, and I'll get up and
go in search of some breakfast.' Jianne glanced down and plucked at the bed sheets with nervous fingers. ‘It's okay, Jacob. Go.'

It was her fragility that did it. Made him return to her, and sit on the bed and put his arms either side of her as he pressed a gentle kiss to her hair, the edge of her eyebrow, and finally her passion-crushed lips. He didn't know what she wanted from him this morning.

She was supposed to be under his protection. Instead he was devouring her every chance he got and dragging her down into a world light years removed from her own. ‘I like what I do,' he murmured. ‘I like the way I live. This is me,' he said raggedly as her hand came up to cup his cheek and her lips trembled beneath his. ‘I can't be like those other men in that ballroom last night.'

‘No one's asking you to be.'

‘I can't give you the kind of life you're used to.'

‘Am I complaining?' she whispered.

‘You never do.' That was part of the problem. ‘I never know what you
want
until it's too late.'

‘I want some of your time of a morning. A look. A kiss. Acknowledgement of what passes between us in the night, even if it
is
so raw and needy that it's hard to examine it in the daylight.'

‘You have it,' he murmured, and closed his eyes.

‘Tell me you want me,' she whispered.

‘I do want you.'

‘Tell me you think of me when you leave me.'

‘I always think of you.'

‘Tell me you don't regret what happened last night.'

But that he could not do. ‘I'll bring you some tea,' he said, and kissed her one last time before he fled. One last ravenous and needy taste of her and a desperate apology all rolled into one.

 

By Friday, the window blinds were up, Jacob had moved back into his bedroom and Jianne had not moved out. Jianne had put in a tentative request for the downstairs bedroom closest to the kitchen to be turned into a lounge room, of sorts. All he would need to do, she'd told him speculatively, was knock out the wall between kitchen and that first bedroom and she could take care of the rest.

A man was in big trouble when a woman started messing with his walls.

‘How come, if she likes it here so much—and she says she does—how come she keeps wanting to change things?' Jake asked the soon-to-be married Luke and the ever-helpful Po as they stared at the wall they were about to destroy.

‘The power's off, right?' said Luke.

‘It's off. According to the building plans there's no wiring in this wall at all.'

‘Brother, this is Asia,' muttered Luke with a curious lack of faith given that he'd already been all over the wall with a stud detector. ‘Home of creative wiring.'

‘No, this is Singapore,' countered Jake. ‘Home of every building rule and regulation known to man. By the way, did you know that Maddy can get building alteration plans through council in a day? Tell her I'm impressed.'

‘That's my girl,' said Luke, hefting his sledgehammer, showing Po how to heft his in the process. ‘And
if you ask me—which, may I remind you, you did—I think getting rid of this wall and opening up a bit of extra living space down here is a fine idea. Face it, brother. Your family's expanding. You have Po's needs to consider these days. The boy needs some growing space.'

‘No, I don't,' said Po quickly. ‘I don't even need a bedroom. I can sleep anywhere.'

And had, thought Jake grimly. But not any more.

‘And then there's the dynasty princess to consider,' considered Luke blithely. ‘You want her to stay, you'd better start considering her living needs. Besides, it's not as if she's asking for a miracle. She's asking for a couch.'

‘I'm doing it, aren't I?' grated Jake and his brother shot him an angel's smile.

‘Yes, you are.'

 

‘So they're really going to do it,' said Madeline as she opened her apartment door to a waiting Jianne, and ushered her inside, before promptly walking Jianne through to the kitchen where Madeline proceeded to raid the fridge for nibbles. ‘Knock out a wall, free up some living space, and hopefully throw in a new kitchen while they're at it. May wonders never cease.'

‘I don't know what came over him,' said Jianne. ‘It was only a suggestion. A throwaway one.'

‘Also a good one,' said Madeline. ‘Do we need to shop for furnishings? I think we do.'

‘I can't,' said Jianne. ‘When it comes to furnishing Jacob's home I'm feeling conflicted. I want to shop. I'd
love
to shop for downstairs furnishings. But it's not my place.'

‘Even though you're his wife,' said Madeline. ‘And you're living with him.'

‘Estranged wife,' corrected Ji. ‘And you're forgetting the reason I'm staying at the dojo in the first place. The murderous stalker.'

‘Are you sleeping with him?'

‘The murderous stalker?' said Jianne. ‘Hardly.'

‘Cunning misdirection will get you nowhere,' said Madeline smoothly. ‘I'm taking that as a yes. Was it a one-of misdemeanour or is sharing Jacob's bed a nightly event?'

Jianne blushed and held her tongue.

‘I'm thinking nightly,' said Madeline. ‘This is, after all, a Bennett male we're talking about. Which means you're currently reunited and living with your husband as opposed to still estranged and just renting a room from him. Which means you do, in fact, have some say when it comes to household arrangements. As demonstrated by Jacob's willingness to tear down that wall on the strength of a throwaway comment.'

‘Is there a point to this conversation?' said Jianne.

‘Of course,' murmured Madeline. ‘I'm thinking that if he's come this far already he's hardly going to object to a few new furnishings turning up. I'm thinking we're good to shop.'

Jianne chewed on her bottom lip. She didn't have Madeline's optimism.

‘I'm sensing hesitation,' murmured Madeline. ‘Is it a money thing?'

‘Kind of,' said Jianne awkwardly. She wasn't used to sisterly confidences. She didn't really know how much to reveal. ‘I have money.'

‘Also a talent for understatement,' said Madeline dryly.

‘Okay, so I have a lot of money,' Jianne amended with a wry smile. ‘Jacob has considerably less money, although I wouldn't call him on the breadline by any means. It's just that we never quite figured out how to turn my money and his money into our money. He never let me use my money for anything and it wasn't just because of his pride.'

‘No?' queried Madeline gently. ‘Sounds like pride to me.'

‘It's not pride,' said Jianne. ‘You don't know him. You didn't see how hard he fought to give his brothers and sister a normal home life after their mother died and their father went…away.

‘Jacob worked as a labourer and studied karate at night and he held that household together. He put food on the table and paid the bills and went to parent-teacher nights and made sure everyone got to play sport and be children. He gave up his time and his heart, and he laid down house rules and made sure that they stuck. Jacob provides for others. That's what he does, what he's always done. It's how he defines himself. It's why you sent him Po. Challenge that—try and provide for
him
for once—and you strip him, not just of his pride, but his identity as well.'

‘Oh, sweetie,' said Madeline softly.

‘I learned not to overstep Jacob's boundaries when it came to providing for his family the hard way. I don't want to go through that again.' Jianne looked away from Madeline's sympathetic gaze. ‘On the other hand I am what I am, money and all, and if Jacob can't accept the things I
can
provide, and
want
to provide, then we don't
have a future. Maybe we don't have one anyway,' she said quietly, and voiced aloud the notion that haunted her. ‘Maybe I just want to hold onto what we
do
have for as long as I can and if that means pretending our money issues simply don't exist, then so be it.'

‘Oh, sweetie,' said Madeline again. ‘I'm hearing you. I am. But give the man some credit for growing up somewhat during these past twelve years. At least give him the
chance
to bend a little when you offer to provide. He might surprise you.'

‘He did say he'd let me pay for the new blinds in the bedroom,' said Jianne. ‘He hardly even flinched.'

‘See?' said Madeline. ‘I say we shop, and if you see something that's perfect for the dojo we just call Jacob up and see what he thinks. We're not talking about buying the man an island, Jianne. We're talking about buying him a couch. And possibly a lamp.'

‘A sideboard would work in that space too,' said Jianne. ‘Dark wood. Simple design. Useful.'

‘You're absolutely right.'

 

Luke's phone rang just as the last section of wall came down. Luke downed his sledgehammer and reached for the phone that he'd left on the counter along with his wallet and a stack of keys. Jake stopped to wipe his face on his dusty sleeve, while Po leaned back against one of the remaining walls and grinned at the mess.

‘It's Maddy,' said the boy.

‘How do you know?' asked Jake.

‘It's her ringtone.'

‘Maddy and Ji are out kitchen shopping,' said Luke after he'd talked for a bit and listened for a while. ‘Is there anything you want them to get?'

‘Tongs,' said Jake.

Luke repeated the request and then sniggered into the phone at whatever was said in reply. ‘That's not the kind of kitchen shopping they mean,' Luke informed them next.

‘What other kind is there?'

‘There's food shopping,' said Po. The kid was growing like a weed these days and training with an intensity the likes of which Jacob had rarely seen—little wonder he was all about the food.

‘Apparently,' said Luke, not even trying to hide his grin as he held out the phone towards Jake, ‘there's also the kind where you go out and you buy yourself a kitchen.'