Playing Hooky (Teach Me Tonight) (7 page)

“I
want everything,” said Jack, “every minute until you go.”

“But
your work – ” said Molly.

“Fuck
the work.”

Jack
drew his fingers back despite her soft protest, and freed his cock, hard and
aching for her. He slid between her thighs, found her clit with the fat crown,
and rubbed until she cried out.

“Oh
God, Jack! Please – ”

“More?”
he gritted out.

“More!”

He
gave her more. He gave her everything, fucking her with deep, heavy strokes,
swallowing her cries with his mouth as his hands stroked every inch they could
reach. It was over fast, but they were both so revved up, it didn’t matter.

Jack
was shocked to find her cheeks damp with tears as he scooped her up just inside
the door.

“Did
I hurt you?” he asked, worried.

“No,”
she murmured, peppering his face with kisses, “Make love to me, Jack.”

And
he did, tenderly for once, drinking in her sighs and pleasuring her until they
were both floating in drowsy haze. Tangled and sated, they slept.

SIX
DAYS OF BLISS, and a whole week to go.

Molly
looked up from her book to find Jack ignoring his laptop to appreciate her
bikini-clad form with hot eyes.

“I
thought you were going to proof your book proposal?”

She
couldn’t let him ignore work entirely, but it had been incredible to have him
all to herself for long, decadent days. All the sex, sun, and snorkeling a girl
could handle.

“There’s
plenty of time for that,” he said and scooted over to her chaise to lift her
feet into his lap.

Before
she could respond, he’d lifted one foot and pressed his thumbs into the arch. Sensation
speared straight to her pussy, and she groaned. Jack grinned and continued his
foot rub.

“Don’t
think I won’t exploit this weakness,” he advised.

“Anytime,”
she said, too busy melting into a puddle to care.

She
noted the yacht at the dock down the beach.

“I
guess the new guests are arriving today. That’s too bad. It was nice having
this place all to ourselves.”

“We’ll
just have to get creative.”

Jack
waggled his eyebrows suggestively and pressed a spot that had her arching.

“Oh
God, do that again,”

“Not
with the cabana boy watching,” he said.

In
the distance, a gaggle of tourists poured down the gangway, and Molly felt a
frission of unease. There was something familiar…

“No!”
she gasped, sitting up, wrenching her foot from Jack’s grasp.

“What’s
wrong?”

“It
can’t be!”

He
turned to look as Molly surged to her feet. The tourists were racing down the
beach in their direction.

“Oh
my God,” said Jack in horrified tones.

“It’s
my family.”

THE
CALLAHANS SWARMED AROUND Molly, laughing at her shock, while Bree sidled up to
hug Jack with a knowing gleam in her eye.

“We
wanted to surprise you, Uncle Jack!” said his pint-sized nephew Fred.

“I’m
definitely surprised,” managed Jack.

Molly
still looked stunned.

“It
wouldn’t be a reunion without you, Molly,” said her mother, kissing her cheek.

“When
Bree said you needed a vacation, we thought we’d give you a little time to
yourself and then come join you!”

Her
father, a bear of a man, looked quite pleased with himself.

“That’s…great.
I’m so glad to see you guys!”

“I
hope Jack’s been keeping you entertained,” said Bree blandly, and Jack watched
as Molly kept her expression carefully blank.

“I’ve
been trying to stay out of his way so he can get some work done,” she said.

Bree’s
face fell.

And
so did Jack’s stomach.

Just
like that, it was over. She wasn’t going to force him to acknowledge a
relationship in front of her family, and he wasn’t about to step up and
announce it either. He caught one look of absolute devastation in her eyes
before she turned back to loop her arm around her petite mother and guide her
toward the resort.

“Let’s
get you checked in. You’re going to love the day spa, Mom.”

They
trailed down the beach, followed by a horde of Callahans, who stopped to shake
hands, clap Jack on the back, or throw themselves at him in effusive hugs along
the way. Finally, he was left alone with Bree.

“I
was really hoping...” she began, “Oh well. It’ll be nice to spend some time
with you, Jack. I haven’t had a real vacation in forever.”

She
kissed his cheek and followed the others.

Jack
watched Molly disappear, feeling hollow and cold, like someone had abruptly
turned off the sun.

It
was going to end next week anyway
,
he reminded himself.

“Shit,”
he said.

LUNCH
WAS TORTURE, AND Molly moved food around her plate as her family laughed and
talked over each other. Jack sat at the end of the table, not looking at her.

It
wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her family – after nearly a week to
recharge, she’d started wondering how they were all doing. And now that they
had all shelled out a pretty penny to come halfway around the world to join
her, the least she could do was enjoy their company.

But
she couldn’t.

All
she could think about was the future stretching out in front of her.

Without
Jack.

This
sucks,
she
thought miserably.

Her
father nudged her.

“You
know, Molly, if you wanted time by yourself, you only had to say so.”

His
blue eyes, so much like hers, were filled with understanding.

“Sometimes
you guys are a little much, that’s all. And it was the end of the year, and I
was so frazzled...but I’m glad you’re here. Really. You’re going to love this
place.”

Dad
relaxed and patted her arm.

“I
just want you to be happy, sweetie.”

Down
at the other end of the table, Jack and Bree were arguing.

“…And
I didn’t come here to play, Bree. This is my work!”

“The
least you could do is spend a little time with us, Jack. I’m not asking for
much. What did I do that was so terrible?”

“I
think we
both
know you’ve done quite enough.”

The
table fell silent as Jack stormed away, leaving the Callahans shocked.

Molly
watched him go, her heart aching. This was what it was going to be like from
now on – Jack avoiding them whenever possible, retreating into his lonely work,
and Molly wondering what might have been if she were brave enough to stand up
and take what she wanted, no matter what the consequences.

She
was standing before she even realized it, and her mother looked up at her in
surprise.

“Okay,
family. It’s time to get a few things straight. I love you and it’s great to
see you, but if you’re going to share my vacation we have to have some rules. Some
boundaries. No waking me up for early morning runs, no conga lines on the dance
floor, and most of all, no aggravating my boyfriend when he’s got work to do.”

JACK
GRABBED THE ROPE looped around the tablet in the pond and
pulled
,
relieved when the massive chunk of stone moved an inch. He should probably wait
for help, but the physical labor helped him focus on something other than Molly
Callahan.

It
had taken every ounce of willpower not to claim her as his own in front of her
family, especially when her sisters had started pushing her to flirt with one
of the resort’s swim instructors, a muscled meathead whose eyes lingered far
too long on areas of Molly’s exquisite body that belonged solely to him.

Or
did.

He
was hurt that she hadn’t acknowledged him as her man.

He
was irritated that it was at least fifty percent his fault.

He
was going to have to apologize to Bree and the rest of the family. At some
point they were just going to stop including him, and
that
thought hurt
far more than he expected it to.

Right
now, Jack was going to bury himself in work and go back to his original plan –
avoiding Molly Callahan at all costs.

SHIT.

He
pulled harder, and the tablet slipped back to its original spot.

“Fuck,”
Jack muttered.

“You’re
going to give yourself a stroke,” said Molly, stepping into the clearing.

Jack
froze.

“How
did you find me?”

She
rolled her eyes.

“This
island is the size of a postage stamp. There are only so many places you could
be.”

“What
do you want, Molly?”

He
collapsed on the bank, knees on his elbows.

“I
came here to ask you how you feel about me.”

Jack
frowned.

“I
don’t think it matters anymore.”

“I
think it’s the only thing that matters,” said Molly, and tugged off her sundress,
kicking off her sandals.

She
was naked underneath, and Jack could only stare, jaw dropped, as she stepped
into the cool water of the pool and started across to him. Her nipples puckered
with the chill.

“Don’t
do this,” begged Jack, “I can’t be around you and not touch you, Molly. And I
can’t touch you and pretend a fling is enough. It’s bad enough that you’ve
ruined every family gathering for me for the rest of my life.”

“You
don’t even like my family.”

Jack
laughed, harsh.

“I
love your family. But I’m not one of them.”

Molly
tsked, ducking down to soak her hair, rising like the goddess of his dreams.

“Shit,
that’s cold! Of course you’re one of them. They drag you everywhere, drive you
totally batty, and set a place for you without asking.”

She
reached for his hands and tugged him into the water.

Like
a sailor lured to his doom.

“I
should have told them the minute they arrived.”

“Told
them what?”

It
was hard to concentrate with Molly slowly undoing his wet shorts.

“That
you were mine.”

She
paused, uncertain.

“If
you want to be, of course.”

“For
how long?” he asked, hope making his blood pound.

“For
as long as humanly possible,” Molly said firmly.

“But
I don’t do relationships,” he said.

Molly
tugged his shorts down.

“Good.
The only relationship you should be doing, singular, is me.”

She
wrapped her hand around his cock and he stifled a whimper.

“Besides,
I already told my family to leave my boyfriend alone while he’s trying to work.
So, you’re going to have to deal with that. Sorry.”

Jack
shuddered as she started to stroke him, but tried to focus on her words.

“What
if I’m a terrible boyfriend?”

“Then
I’ll totally let you know, and you can make it up to me.”

“But
I’m out of the country half the time, and – ”

Molly
nudged him back until they were pressed against the stone wall next to the
pounding water.

“And
I’m up to my ears in pre-teens nine months out of the year. We’ll manage. I’ve
never had video chat sex, but I’m sure it’s fun,” she said conversationally, “You
can buy me some new sex toys to try out.”

She
maneuvered him until her back was to the wall.

“Now,
you’ve got your hot, naked girlfriend pinned underneath a tropical waterfall,
and about an hour until her family can’t help themselves and come looking for
us. Do you really want to waste time on logistics?”

The
frown smoothed away from Jack’s face, and he grinned, hoisting Molly up to wrap
her legs around his waist.

“Girlfriend,
huh?”

“And
occasional love slave, proofreader, and family intermediary.”

“Works
for me,” he said, and kissed her as he slid home.

THE END