Rules of Entanglement (24 page)

Growing up in a landlocked state, he’d never known he had such an affinity for water until he moved to the islands. The first time he ever saw the Pacific, it called to him like the moon to a lone wolf. And ever since, water had become as much a part of him as his fighting. Which was why sex with an element of water—whether in a shower, hot tub, rain, or waterfall—was such a huge turn-on for him.

And why his cock was thick and straining against the confines of his board shorts.

Jax stepped in to her, crowding her against the rocks that had been smoothed by hundreds of years of streaming water. Her smile died with the firm grip of his hands on either side of her neck. Her breaths turned shallow, her pulse jackhammered under his touch, and her pupils nearly swallowed the green of her eyes.

He brushed a thumb over her lower lip, the way the plump flesh gave way to his touch so goddamn erotic. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?” His voice sounded harsh and broken, like he’d lost it the day before and it was only now starting to come back. “Every time I look at you, I fucking lose my mind.”

“Good.” She raked her nails down his abs, leaving trails of heated desire in their wake. Then she nipped the pad of his thumb. “That makes two of us, then.”

Needing her kiss like he needed to breathe, Jax descended and laid claim to her mouth. He moved his lips over hers, pushing her onto the rock until the water cascaded around her body, a fluid outline of the soft curves that tempted his baser self. Her arms hooked under his, her hands gripped the backs of his shoulders, and she pulled him in so not even air could pass between them.

Shifting the lower half of his body, he positioned one of his legs between hers, grabbed her ass in both hands, and hauled her onto his thigh. Without further instruction, she rolled her hips to slowly grind her sex over his solid muscle. His tongue danced with hers to the music of the rushing falls surrounding them. She tasted of mint, coffee…and her.

No one tasted like her. No one felt like her. No one touched him—physically or emotionally—like her.

“Make love to me, Jackson.”

Fuck, yes. Wait…
Gathering every shred of willpower he had, he said, “Not here.”

She retaliated with a, “Yes, here,” and bit his bottom lip before her tongue swept in and scattered his resolve to the four winds.

The woman was dangerous. She had the power to make him lose control, something he’d never experienced before with anyone else. He could easily lose himself in her emerald eyes, from the scent of her skin or the power of her kiss. And he wasn’t sure he’d care if he never found his way back.

Jax shifted his weight and felt his foot slip a little on one of the rocks, reminding him of exactly
why
he’d said no to begin with. He wrenched his mouth from hers, but before he could reiterate his earlier statement and tack on the safety explanation, one of her hands snaked down to run the length of his stiff cock before lightly squeezing his balls.

He took a sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth and let it out on a groan as he pushed himself into her palm. She looked up at him with an impish smile, clearly proud of herself for eliciting such a reaction from him.

“You think it’s funny when you get me to lose my shit, don’t you?” he asked. She nodded, a glimmer of mischief in eyes framed by wet, spiky lashes. Her lips, swollen and red from his kisses, held the barest hint of a smirk, as though she knew enjoying the moment too much would get her into worse trouble than she already was. Smart woman.

Willful woman.

“Let’s see how funny you think it is when the roles are reversed, princess.”

…

Vanessa became weightless as he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up to find him staring down at her.

She could almost see the flurry of thoughts in his mind; he looked that intense. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t begin to guess what they were. Did they have to do with what just happened? Or something about her? Were they good or bad? Shit, when did she become so neurotic?

“Everything okay?” she asked.

He blinked, then gave her the smile that made her insides melt. “Better than okay. You hungry?”

“Famished.”

“Good. I brought some things I think you’ll like.”

He carried her over the rocks as easily as if they’d been flat, dry, and she weighed little more than a feather. Such grace in a man so large not only defied basic physics but spat in its face. It also turned her on something fierce.

Once they reached their blankets, Jax set her down and started to rummage around in the small cooler. The sun bounced off his tan skin and the dark images in his tattoo. The waves almost looked as though they rippled from the way his bicep moved with the simplest of motions. She loved his arms. So strong and sure, Vanessa couldn’t remember ever feeling so safe and protected as when Jackson wrapped his arms around her.

Lowering herself to the blanket next to him, she said, “I’m suddenly hungry for something other than food.”

His mouth quirked up in the corner as he turned to look at her. “That’s the dessert menu you’re talking about, babe. That typically comes after the main course.”

She bit her lip for a second and then remembered that one of her coworkers told her that she has special days with her kids where they have dessert for dinner and then watch movies. “But it’s a special day, right? So on special days we should be able to have dessert first.”

“I don’t know,” he hedged. “That sounds an awful lot liking breaking the rules.”

Her jaw dropped a second before he started to laugh. She retaliated by smacking him on the arm and pushing him away when he tackled her for a makeup kiss. She lasted all of two seconds before releasing a fit of giggles from her chest and giving in to the magic of his mouth.

A minute later he set them both to rights again and said they could indeed skip to dessert. So she was confused when he went back to the cooler instead of building on the amazing lip-lock they had going on.

He held up a bottle and two plastic flutes. “Thirsty?”

“Ooh, champagne. Absolutely.”

Holding it over the grass, he freed the cork and waited for the initial foam to stop running from the bottle. He poured both of them half a glass and handed her one, then set the bottle on the lid of the cooler and turned back to her holding a small white box. When their eyes locked, all humor had been replaced by an intense seriousness. Something she hadn’t seen much of from Jackson.

His natural settings were Charm and Flirt. She had a feeling most people rarely saw his serious side. He covered it up with the jokes and playful personality he portrayed so well. But he’d shown her what lay beneath in their talks about their pasts. And he was showing her now…but for what reason this time?

“Champagne
and
a gift?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Someone’s stepping up his game.”

“I’m not playing games with you, Vanessa. It’s important to me that you know that.”

For a long time she studied him, hoping his underlying meaning would appear in his caramel eyes or in the stern set of his stubbled jaw. She didn’t find it, but what she did find was sincerity. Something honest, something pure, letting her know she wasn’t just another conquest. Another notch on his headboard.

“I believe you,” she answered softly.

A palpable relief settled over him. “Open it.”

She removed the lid and pulled out a beautiful silver necklace. A two-piece pendant hung from the bottom. At the top, a square aquamarine sea glass bead dangled from its corner, and beneath that was a pewter—

“Starfish.”

She smiled up at him through watery eyes. “Sea star.”

He flashed her that brilliant white smile that hinted at his dimples. “Whatever. Here, let me help you put it on.”

A few seconds later it was fastened and the cool metal of the sea star warmed where it rested in the center of her chest. “I love it, Jackson. Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome.
Now
we can have dessert.” Setting his glass on top of the cooler next to the bottle, he kissed her long and slow. “Take off your suit, then lean back on your elbows. You can leave your legs straight or bend them, but I want them open. ”

“What happened to worrying about spectators?”

“Chances are slim to none, and I find that right now I wouldn’t care if we had a studio audience. I’m taking what’s mine. Now.”

The commanding tone he used during their sexual encounters both surprised her and sent a rush of heat between her legs.

What she hadn’t realized until a couple days ago was that her need for control exhausted and frustrated her. After years of never letting up, her brain desperately needed a break. A chance to let go and trust that someone else could take over and give her what she needed without taking advantage of her vulnerability.

Jackson gave her that.

He was so in tune with her and her body. He’d known she secretly craved to submit her control even before she did. He knew how far he could push her and when it was far enough. And in only the few days they’d been together, he’d somehow trained her subconscious to instantly let go of her need for control when he slipped into his more dominant role with her.

Gazing up at him through her lashes, she did as she was told.

…

Jax watched Vanessa untie all four bows that held her suit to her lithe body and set the dangling scraps to the side. Though she’d used a ton of sunscreen all week to prevent burning her fair skin, she’d still gotten enough sun for a light base and a few new freckles. He’d never thought tan lines were particularly sexy, but he loved how her breasts and the triangle over her sex were still milky white against the light tan everywhere else.

She leaned back as he’d asked, holding herself up on her forearms. Her legs were bent at the knees but only separated by a few inches. He narrowed his eyes just enough to make his point. “Wider,
wahine
. I want to see how wet you are for me.”

Slowly she spread her legs, and he fought the urge to gulp in breaths of air.
Breathe, Jackson.

He needed to make this count. To create a memory so powerful it would stay with her forever, even if the rest of their days together slipped away over time. He could say it was ego, but he knew better than that. It was fear, plain and simple. Fear that she didn’t feel for him as he did for her. Fear that she would leave, and he’d be nothing more than a collection of memories. But memories faded, and the thought of not even having that small place in her life rattled him to his very core.

Jackson locked eyes with her and stretched out on the blanket between her bent legs. The intoxicating scent of her arousal made his mouth water.

His hands gripped her ass. She bit her lip.

His face lowered and held. She held her breath.

His lips met the soft flesh of her inner thigh before his teeth nipped her.

She gasped before dragging in short bursts of air, her hands fisting in the blanket.

He’d normally make her wait, make her beg. Build the anticipation until she was dripping and writhing without him even touching her sex. It sounded cruel, but in reality it only made her orgasms that much more explosive.

But he couldn’t hack it this time. He didn’t have the strength to hold out on her like he should. He needed to taste her, to drink of her, and he needed it right fucking now.

Feeling weak and selfish, he took exactly what he wanted.

Vanessa cried out the moment his mouth met her wet core. As he feasted, he watched her throw her head back, bowing her body, her pale breasts thrusting up to the sky like an offering to the sun.

Nothing else in the world compared, nor would it ever. Everything about her was unique, and this was no exception.

She felt like silk on his lips as he explored her moist folds, and when he fucked her with his tongue he thought he’d burn up from her heat and the way her body clamped around it.

“Oh, Jesus, Jax,” she said on a harsh exhale. “You’re killing me.”

Not yet, I’m not.

He moved up slightly and found her clit. He flicked over it with the tip of his tongue, then sucked hard, then repeated both steps until her hips began to rock instinctively, searching for that final thing that would make her see stars in the middle of the day.

And he was only too happy to get her there.

He eased three fingers into her opening, knowing she could take them, but staying aware of how tight she was in the beginning. Slowly but firmly he pressed forward, feeling the walls of her channel clamp down on the welcome invasion. Once she’d taken their entire length, he met the rhythm of her hips thrust for thrust and went back to work on her clit with his mouth.

She reached through her legs and fisted a handful of his hair like grasping the horn of a saddle as she galloped toward her climax. His dick throbbed, wanting the friction his fingers currently had the pleasure of feeling.

Her breaths became moaning pants, keening cries, and finally a scream that rent the air as her entire body curled into itself, her muscles contracting and then convulsing with the pulses of her release.

Before she had a chance to come down, Jax yanked his shorts off, gently laid her the rest of the way on the ground, and poised himself at her entrance. As her body kissed the sensitive head of his cock, he groaned and pushed in to the hilt. Again her back bowed, but this time her breasts pressed into his chest until she relaxed beneath him.

“Vanessa, baby,” he said, his voice no more than a rasp. “Open your eyes.”

Long auburn lashes fluttered open to reveal lust-hazed eyes the color of wet moss. Her hair had dried partially in the sun, giving it multiple hues from brilliant red to deep mahogany. She was beautiful and amazing and…

“You’re mine. Right here, right now. Only mine.”

She reached up and trailed the tips of her fingers over his brow, down his nose, across his cheekbones, his lips. Finally, she placed her palms on the sides of his face, looked up at him with her heart in her eyes and whispered, “Only yours.”