If I Return (5 page)

“You’re perfect.”

Lowering his mouth, he lays a gentle kiss on the upper swell of my chest. My hands go up to cup the back of his head, and I hold him there while he lightly peppers me with kisses. Then he moves lower and flicks his tongue over my nipple. The sensation is exquisite and a thousand points of light dance before my eyes.

“Do you like that?” he asks.

“Yes,” I breathe out before sucking in a lungful of oxygen. Because I’m breathless. Jack makes me breathless.

His mouth returns, and he gently sucks at me, then he licks. Finally, he pulls back slightly and blows lightly over my nipple. I didn’t think it was possible for it to get any harder but it does.

Jack pushes back from me and stands. He pulls his sweater over his head, revealing inch after inch of hard flesh. His chest is chiseled and his abs are ripped. I half expected him to have tattoos, because that’s what I think of when I unwillingly stereotype someone in the military, but his skin is smooth and blemish free.

I know I’m just staring, but I can’t help it. I’ve only seen men like him on TV, usually on some ridiculous fitness infomercial promising me a toned and tight body for the low, low price of $99.95. My eyes travel down and take in, with appreciation, the erection that is pushing hard against his jeans. I wantonly want to curl my hand around it.

Somewhere, in the back of my head, the tiniest thought starts to take root. Am I doing something terribly irresponsible?

But then I look to Jack, and I see how he’s looking at me... as if I’m the sexiest woman on the planet, and I realize that I
am
being true to myself. I’m not throwing myself at some random guy. I’m giving myself to Jack, and in return, I’m going to be getting something, too. I’m getting liberation from my uptight self.

“I need to see more of you, Hope.”

Jack steps up to the bed and proceeds to divest me of all my clothes. I sit up slightly to help him remove my sweater and the cool air against my skin makes me shiver. Jack removes my boots and socks, and, before he unzips my jeans, he places his hand between my legs and softly cups me.

“So warm,” he murmurs.

When he peels my jeans off me, I lay before him in my full, naked glory. He just stares at me, running his eyes back and forth from my head to my feet. He seems mesmerized... enchanted by me.

And I don’t feel the slightest bit conscious. In fact, I stretch slightly, thrusting my breasts out, which causes him to growl low in his throat.

“I believe you have some clothes that need removing,” I comment.

That seems to spur Jack back into motion. He pulls his wallet out of his back pocket and takes a condom out. He looks at me a bit sheepishly for having one so handy and I give him a sly grin. Tossing it on the bedside table, he makes short work of removing everything from the waist down.

Then he’s standing before me fantastically naked. I’m slightly shy and don’t want to look at him so brazenly, but my eyes are drawn to the hardness that is standing at full attention for my viewing pleasure. I’m shocked when Jack brings his hand to himself and strokes his length, causing a pleasurable cramp to settle in between my legs. I’ve never seen a man touch himself like that and it’s incredibly wicked and devastatingly sexy.

Jack releases himself and kneels at the end of the bed, crawling his way up my body. Then he covers me and starts kissing me again. Except this time, there’s more heat, more insistence. Our teeth clash a few times and his hands start moving over me. Lifting his body up slightly, his hand moves down between my legs. He moves one finger over me gently, and even I can feel how slick I am against him.

I expect him to put a finger in me but he doesn’t. He just continues to run his finger over me... in that exact spot that is filled with nerve endings that are firing like crazy at this moment. He goes faster, harder, and my hips are gyrating against him. I peak quickly and, before I know it, I’m crying out into his mouth.

“Fuck... that’s sexy,” Jack whispers against my lips while my body shudders against him.

I can’t even respond but a tiny sigh slithers out.

Jack removes his hand and leans up. He rips open the condom and deftly covers himself with one hand. Positioning himself in between my legs, he gently starts pushing his way in while laying his forehead against mine. His breathing is harsh, but then so is mine. I can feel him pushing in further and my body literally sighs as it welcomes him in. After a few shallows pushes and retreats, he finally sinks in all way to the hilt and we both exhale loudly at the feeling.

“You feel amazing,” Jack murmurs, just before grazing his teeth down my neck.

He starts to move. Slowly, deliberately.

Each push inside of me is done with exquisite care. He tilts his hips at the perfect angle so I feel it at the deepest point inside of me, and his pelvis grinds deliciously against my sensitive spot. My hands move down to his hips, urging him on, beckoning him to go faster. He complies, his thrusts becoming harder, pushing my body backward on the bed with every move. Before long, the top of my head is knocking against the headboard, which is in turn knocking against the wall. I have a brief moment of embarrassment that we may be heard, but then Jack twists his hips in such a way that every bit of sense flies out of my head.

I’m a quivering ball of nerves, flashing and pulsing. I can feel my second orgasm building when Jack leans down and whispers in my ear. “This feels so good, Hope. Tell me it feels good to you.”

I can only nod, my cheek rubbing against his as my answer.

Then he reaches his hand down between us, pressing against me, and I can’t help the shriek that comes out of my mouth as I climax hard. I can feel my body gripping him tightly... oh, so tightly, and he gives one last push inside of me and his whole body goes still.

I look up at Jack and his eyes are closed, and then he whispers, “Fuck... I’m coming.”

Those words send a thrill through me and I swear my orgasm fires up all over again, causing my hips to buck against him. His eyes fly open in surprise and he pushes back against me, giving me a few more hard thrusts, which push me over the edge again. When I finally come back down, Jack is hovering over me, his hips still pushing himself in and out of me, coaxing every last bit of pleasure out of me that he can.

When he stops, he leans down and gives me the softest kiss on my lips. “That was incredible.”

I reach my hand up and rub my thumb over his lower lip. “I agree.”

After a few moments of reveling in the afterglow, Jack pulls out and lies beside me. He gathers me into his arms and I lay my head on his chest. Closing my eyes, I listen as our breathing returns to normal and I keep waiting for a feeling of shame or guilt to overcome me.

But it never does.

I slowly come awake and immediately take stock of my surroundings. I’m lying on my side with Jack pressed up against my back, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist. His other arm rests beneath my head and I’ve used it as a pillow all night. The bedside clock says it’s almost eight AM.

My sleep was not very restful last night. Jack and I had drifted off after that spine-shredding sex, but I was awoken by the piercing shriek of my cell phone. I say piercing because by the time it rang, it was almost three AM and the alcohol had definitely faded, leaving me with a throbbing headache.

The call was from Audrey, wanting to know where I was. She was really drunk, as evidenced by the way she slurred her words to me. I assured her I was fine and that I’d see her in the morning. Whether she remembers that or not remains to be seen.

After I hung up, Jack had gotten out of bed, getting us both glasses of water and aspirin to take. He made me drink three glasses, claiming I wouldn’t have a hangover if I did that.

And he’s right. I feel amazing this morning with no headache, no upset stomach, and a gorgeous man holding me in his arms.

I sigh slightly, not wanting to move too much and wake Jack up. It feels so nice lying here like this; I want to hold onto this a bit more. Because I know once we wake up and look each other in the eyes, it’s going to be over. I mean, this was a one-night stand, right? It was my way to walk on the wild side, to be the wanton jezebel that Audrey wanted me to be. But I know guys don’t come back for seconds from women like that. I fully expect Jack to be very nice to me, but I’m sure our goodbye will be a true goodbye. I just hope it’s not awkward at the wedding, but I suppose I can stay out of his line of sight.

It’s sad really. Because I like Jack. I mean... I know I just met him, but sometimes you can just judge a person’s character. I keep waiting for a flood of regret to hit me, and the only thing I’m regretful for is that I can’t spend more time with him. But I’m a big girl. I knew what I was asking for when I told Jack I wanted to be with him last night.

Correction. I told him I wanted him to fuck me.

My embarrassment flares hot over that but there’s no sense in bemoaning it. Like I said, I don’t have any regrets about having sex with Jack. We were responsible, we were safe, and holy hell, I never knew what I had been missing. This had been a real eye-opener for me.

“Are you awake?” Jack murmurs in my ear.

I’m jolted out of my thoughts, wondering how long he’s been awake.

“Yes. Just for a few minutes though. How about you?”

“I’ve been up for a while. Since about six-thirty.”

I start to sit up but he pushes me back. “Six-thirty? Why didn’t you wake me up? I could have gotten out of your way.”

Jack’s arms tighten around me and he leans down to kiss my shoulder. “Now why would I want you to get out of my way? Besides, it’s not been a hardship to hold a naked and beautiful woman in my arms.”

I smile but I know Jack can’t see it. His words are so sweet and kind, and I choose to believe them. Again, this Camden sister has never had a man tell her that before and I find myself liking it.

“So, what are your plans for today?” Jacks asks, while he continues to lay soft kisses on my shoulder. My blood starts to zing at the gentle touch.

“Not much. I want to go hang out in the snow for a while, but then I’ll probably just relax around here.”

“You’re not going to come skiing with us?” Jack loosens his hold around my stomach and moves his hand over my hip. He continues skimming his fingers down over my outer thigh. The sensation causes my heart to start hammering, wondering where his hands will venture next.

“Um... no, I don’t ski.”

Jack’s fingers trail to the inside of my thigh and move upward. Now my brain starts to sizzle and my breathing becomes a bit shallow.

“You don’t?” Jack asks playfully in my ear just before he bites lightly on my earlobe, causing me to have a near seizure. “How come?”

How come what? I don’t even remember what we are talking about, because now Jack’s fingers are directly between my legs, brushing over me softly. I can’t stifle the moan that comes out and my hand goes down to rest over his, to hold him in place. I can feel Jack starting to get hard and he pushes up against my rear end.

Apparently skiing is forgotten because Jack places his lips near my ear and says, “Do you like that?”

My hand grips his, pushing him more roughly against me. He inserts a finger and flexes inside of me deeply. “God, yes. Don’t stop.”

Jack chuckles. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

My head falls back onto his shoulder and he uses that opportunity to kiss on my neck, lightly biting at me. He adds another finger and my legs fall open, my hips pushing against his hand.

“Are you going to come for me, Hope?” His voice is soft, with almost a taunting quality to it. “Are you going to come hard against my hand?”

I’m practically mindless by now and, while I’m flying faster toward my impending explosion, I want Jack inside of me when I come. “Jack...”

“What do you need?” His fingers work faster and my breath starts coming out in choppy spurts.

“I need you... inside of me.”

“Not going to happen, baby girl. I only had that one condom. This is about you right now. Just let loose. Let go.”

I groan out loud, partly because I’m disappointed I won’t feel Jack inside of me, but mainly because his words are sexy as hell. He’s doing this just to please me, wanting nothing in return right now. The thought alone has me peaking.

When Jack licks the outer shell of my ear and says, “Come on, baby... give it to me,” I can’t contain myself anymore and my back arches away from him as I climax hard against his hand. With his fingers still firmly embedded in me, he pushes my hips back against his erection, grinding into my butt.

I finally crash back to earth and Jack removes his hand, wrapping his arm back around my stomach and pulling me in close to him. I can still feel him hard against my backside, and even though I just had a Richter-topping orgasm, I want to have sex with him... badly.

“Jack... how about I slip some clothes on and go get us some condoms. I know Audrey has some.”

Pulling back away from me, Jack eases me onto my back so he can hover over me. He leans down and gives me a soft kiss. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll get some more later. A big box.”