Little White Lies (4 page)

Miranda shivered.  “I must be getting sick.  It feels awfully hot in here.”

“But your skin is cold.”

She met his gaze, and what she saw hidden in their depths sent a million butterflies into flight inside her stomach.  Her heartbeat began a steady assent while her breathing slowed until it was practically non-existent.  Was it the alcohol that was making her feel so intoxicated or was it Jack?  He reached out to brush back a stray lock of hair then gently stroked the side of her face with his fingertips.

“So soft,” he whispered, “so beautiful.”

Oh, it was definitely Jack, she thought, as his fingers glided down her cheek and curled around the back of her neck.  “Are you, um, going to…to…”

“Kiss you?”

She nodded.

“Do you want me to?”

Oh, God yes
!  She nodded again.  He pulled her mouth down on to his; slowly, slowly pressing their lips together until they melded into one.  The taste of him sent a rush of desire pulsing through her that was heightened by the soft, sensuous raking of his tongue over her teeth.  He slanted his head, coaxed her mouth open and deepened the kiss, igniting a passion deep inside of Miranda that she hadn’t even known she possessed. 

It was insane to be kissing a man she’d only just met, even more insane because he was Holt’s brother.  She was in love with Holt and had been almost from the first moment she laid eyes on him.  Sobered by her thoughts, she pulled her mouth away from his.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered hoarsely.  “I can’t do this, Jack.”

Disappointed, but understanding her reluctance, he rose to his feet and offered her his hand.  “Come on, I’ll show you where the bathroom is.  You can change out of your clothes and put on the robe that’s hanging on the back of the door while I go make some coffee.”

She started to protest that she wasn’t cold but now that he wasn’t touching her the chill was starting to settle back into her bones.  Taking his hand, Miranda let him lead her to the bathroom then closed the door behind her with a regretful sigh.  She shouldn’t have let him kiss her like that, she thought, as she worked the zipper down on Bri’s dress, because now that she’d gotten a taste of him, she wanted more.  It made her wonder if it was because his kiss had been so incredible or because Jack looked so much like Holt she could almost believe it was him.  It would be absolutely horrible of her to let him do it again if she wasn’t sure.  So the only sensible thing to do was make sure it didn’t happen again.

She discovered that was easier said than done when she wandered into the kitchen and got an eyeful of his backside.  Broad shoulders, a bulging biceps, and jeans that fit as snug across his rear end as her dress had done to hers.  The muscles in her abdomen clenched unexpectedly when he turned around and gave her a warm smile.

“Feel better now?”

She held out her arms so he could see how the sleeves of the robe draped a good six inches past her hands.  “It’s a little too big.”

Jack laughed and closed the distance between them in two long strides.  “Allow me.”  He rolled the sleeves up, laughing again when he noticed the robe was dragging the floor.  “You’re drowning in it.  You can practically wrap it around you twice.”

“It’s warm though.”

He slipped his arms around her waist and gathered her closer.  “Warm enough?  Because I’m sure I can get your body temperature up a whole lot faster than that hunk of terrycloth.”

The sexual tension hung between them, magnetic and utterly irresistible in spite of her resolve not to kiss him again.  She pressed her palms against the hard muscles of his chest and was surprised at how rapidly his heart was beating.  Was she doing this to him?  She lifted her head, green eyes meeting brown, and once again felt a rush of heat as her inner muscles tightened. 

Whether she made the first move or he did, Miranda didn’t know, but the need to feel his mouth on hers was much too strong to question or resist.  What started out as a hesitant meeting of the lips turned hot and hungry within seconds and had her clinging to him like a human vine.

She was only vaguely aware that he’d lifted her in his arms because his mouth never left hers, but when he eased her back onto the bed and lowered himself over her, she was fully cognizant of the reaction her body had.  Jack braced himself on his elbows to keep the bulk of his weight off of her as he continued to kiss her.  Even so, she gloried in the way she sank into the soft mattress and the feel of him pressing her deeper and deeper as the urgency of his love making escalated.  

She’d been kissed before of course, but never like this; never with such fire and passion and unrelenting
need
.  Miranda boldly tugged his shirt loose from his jeans and slid her hands beneath the material, letting let out a deep, throaty moan when her fingers touched bare skin.

Reluctantly, Jack lifted his head and waited for her to open her eyes.  He’d never seen any woman look as enticingly beautiful as Miranda was at that moment and wanted nothing more than to strip her naked and bury himself in the warmth of her body.  Her face was flushed, her lips slightly parted, and when her eyelids finally fluttered open, he saw the raw desire reflected in her eyes. It took every ounce of will power he possessed to keep from kissing her again.

“I want you, Miranda, more than I’ve ever wanted any woman in my life, but I have to be honest. I’m not interested in a long term relationship. I’m just not cut out for it and want to make sure you understand that before this goes any further.  I think making love to you will be the single most pleasurable experience of my life, but it won’t be anything more than that; a pleasurable experience.” 

He lowered his head and gave her a soft kiss.  “I don’t want you to do this because you think you owe me something for coming to your rescue tonight in the parking lot. I don’t want any doubts now, or any regrets later.”

Miranda was hardly in a position to maintain any clear thoughts, but she did know one thing.  She wanted Jack.  She wanted him to make love to her. And she wanted to fall asleep wrapped in his strong arms and wake up in the morning to his handsome face.  Tomorrow when she left him, she could look back on it and see it for what it was; a purely satisfying sexual encounter that they had both wanted. 

There would be no guilt afterwards and no strings attached.  Maybe he wasn’t Holt, but he was as close as she was ever going to get and that was good enough for her.  Cupping his face in her hands, she drew him down for a long, lingering kiss.

“I am grateful for what you did tonight, but that’s not why I’m doing this.  I want you, Jack.  It’s as plain and simple as that.  I’m not asking for forever, I’m just asking for tonight.”

“You’re sure?”

A soft smiled curved her lips.  “I’m sure.”

“Thank God,” he sighed as he tugged on the tie of her robe. 

An animalistic growl rumbled deep in his chest when he folded the material back to expose her naked breasts.  They were full and round, softer than the finest silk and incredibly sensitive to his touch. It excited Jack to cup his hands around their exquisite perfection and to hear the little gasps and moans that escaped her lips as he gently stroked them.  Unable to resist the urge to taste, he lowered his head and took a rose colored tip in his mouth. It beaded instantly, growing more taut as his tongue swirled around and around. He performed the same ritual on her other breast, sucking hard and then capturing the hardened pearl between his teeth.  He lavished his full attention on them for quite some time before leaving a trial of kisses down her stomach and across her flat belly.  She was everything he’d thought she would be and so much more, and Jack couldn’t seem to get enough of her.

She cried out his name when he slipped her panties off, her slender thighs quivering when he gently pried them apart to look at her.  Her sensitivity to his every touch aroused him and he relished each moment.  Cupping her bottom in his hands, Jack lifted her hips and lowered his head, tasting the sweetness of her with his tongue.  Miranda trembled uncontrollably and tried to wiggle free, but he held her firmly in place, torturing her, reveling in the writhing of her body and the power he had to elicit this kind of reaction from her.  He took her to edge and held her there until she was practically hysterical then plunged his finger deep inside and found the one magical spot he knew would send her tumbling over the side.

Miranda would have been horribly embarrassed by the wild gasps and moans that rolled continuously from her throat if she had a mind left with which to form a thought.  What he was doing to her was incredible, beyond any pleasure she had ever experienced and when he finally allowed her the release she so desperately needed, she wasn’t altogether certain she would survive an entire night with Jack Devlin. 

She was still wallowing in a mindless stupor when he lifted himself from her and began stripping off his own clothes.  Miranda’s breath caught at the sight of his magnificent body, his muscles rippling in the soft light when he returned to her and freed her from the robe.

Desire tamped down her innate shyness as she reached out and flattened her palms against his impressive chest, boldly allowing them glide down to his belly and the rigid flesh of his manhood.  She smiled up at him then pushed him onto his back.  Tonight was about exploring her own sexuality and learning everything she could about a man’s body.  She wanted to know what made him feel good, what touch would give him the most pleasure, and what would make him react as she had. 

Miranda maneuvered herself over him and straddled his thighs, intensely pleased by the look of sheer agony on Jack’s face when her moist flesh pressed against the rigid length of erection.  Leaning forward, she kissed the small nipples, nipping and sucking as he had done, then smiling to herself when he groaned.  She touched him everywhere, her fingers light and feathery as they passed over his skin.  By the time she finally worked her way down between his thighs, Jack’s breathing had become decidedly ragged. 

She stroked and squeezed, thrilled by the way he grew harder and thicker each time she did.  But when she leaned down and timidly took him in her mouth, he nearly came unglued.  With a harsh growl he bucked her off of him, rolling so that she was pinned beneath him.  His mouth crashed down on hers, all control lost as he kneed her thighs apart.  Miranda held her breath, anticipating the pain that was to follow.  She supposed she should have told him she was still a virgin, but it was too late now. 

A strangled sob tore from her throat when he thrust into her and buried himself to the hilt.  For a moment Jack didn’t move.  He tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t have it.  Wrapping her legs around his thighs, Miranda kept their bodies locked together and whispered that she wanted him. She insisted he hadn’t hurt her, but the strain in her voice told him otherwise.

He should have been gentle with her. Instead, he’d taken her like a sailor back on shore leave after six months at sea.  She was so small, so delicate and…and she’d never been made love to before.  A strange sensation curled around his heart.  No man had ever touched her the way he was doing.  No man had ever experienced the tight sheathing of her body or the softness of her skin, no man but him. Miranda had given her virginity to him, and was deeply humbled by that knowledge.

Jack lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her with great tenderness.  He eased his hips back, sank slowly down into her, repeating the gentle motion over and over until she began to respond with equal fervor.  Gradually, his thrusts grew harder, drove deeper, the perfect rhythm of their bodies sending them soaring higher and higher.  Miranda cried out, arching her back as liquid heat exploded from deep inside her, enveloping him in its warmth. 

She bucked against him, shuddering violently for several minutes before finally falling back against the mattress as if she had no strength left.  Jack had never experienced anything like this before.  He’d been with more women than he could count, but nothing could have prepared him for the pleasure of making love to Miranda. Or the thunderous climax that ripped through him only seconds after hers had subsided.  He collapsed over her, gasping for air and wondering inanely if the earth had really shook or whether it only felt as if it had.

Gathering what little power was left in his arms, Jack eased himself out of her and rolled onto his back, pulling her up close to his side.  She molded herself to him, resting her head on his shoulder and draped one arm across his chest.  It felt good and right, as if they were made for each other, which seemed completely illogical considering how much bigger he was then Miranda. 

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, breathing in her soft, sweet scent. Regardless of his little speech about not being into long term relationship, Jack felt extremely possessive of Miranda at that moment.  She was his, only his, and he’d be damned if he was going to let her go so she could give herself to another man.

Miranda nestled her head in the crook of his arm with a contented sigh. “That was incredible, Jack.”

“I wish…” his throat constricted.  “I wish you would have told me it was your first time.  I was too rough, I hurt you.”

“Only at first.  Everything that followed more than made up for it.”

“I should have been…”