A warm sensation rushed through my abdomen. My muscles began to tighten in that electrifying kind of way that told me just how much I wanted this man. My body trembled in his arms and my breasts strained to be released from their confinement. As though feeling my sudden urgency, Jett reached around to unfasten my bra, releasing my breasts into his waiting hands. Stifling a moan, I tossed my head back, my body tensing beneath the pressure of his hot lips on my nipple.

“You’re so hot I could do this forever.” He began to suck and flick his tongue in equal measures, sending jolts of fire down my spine, over and over again, until I lost all sense of reasoning.

“Jett.”

My head jerked back against the pillow and my hips shot up, grinding against his crotch. He was hard beneath his shorts. I could feel his generous length sliding down my abdomen. My hands slid inside the waistband of his shorts and pulled down, revealing what I had been dying to see since the morning I woke up with him in my bed.

My gaze trailed down the muscles of his chest, past his abdomen, to his shaft. My senses reeled as my mouth went dry.

He was already hard for me, the tip slick with moisture.

I gazed up into his moss-green eyes now hooded with anticipation. He wedged his weight between my waiting thighs and entered me in one push, my soft flesh tightening around his thick shaft. I let out a deep moan and clutched at his shoulders, grinding my hips against his in the need for more. For a moment the pleasure consumed me, and I let out a deep moan, wondering whether a single thrust from him would be enough to send me over the edge. As though sensing my thoughts, Jett’s lips jerked up and he stopped moving. I quivered against his chest, shuddering with the effort to hold back.

“Jett.” My hungry eyes met his again as I chanted his name, my cry for more burning on my lips, unspoken.

“You’ll have to say what you want,” he whispered. His eyes shimmered with fortitude, challenging me.

Two could play this game.

I slowly shook my head.

“No?” He grinned. “As you will, Ms. Stewart.”

Cupping my buttocks, he forced his shaft deeper inside me, filling every inch. I threw my head back with a cry. A soft tremble rocked my body, signalling my need for release. But, damn, I wouldn’t beg. In fact, I’d make him pay for his impudence and make him beg me.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” I whispered through gritted teeth.

His eyes darkened with need, taking me up on the challenge. Slowly, he pulled back and blasted into me, rotating his pelvis in the process so he’d stroke against my clit. A whip of passion rushed up my spine like fire and erupted in another strangled cry.

I was so damn near and yet so far away.

Something about his naughty smile told me he could keep this up all day. He might have the willpower, but I didn’t.

I squirmed under him to better accommodate him inside me. The movement sent another jolt of pleasure through me, making me wince from the sheer torture. “Oh, for crying out loud just do me,” I whispered, barely able to contain the need in my voice.

He laughed. “You forgot to say please.” His gaze bore into me with such intensity I felt him inside my core. His hands reached to cup my buttock and then he began to move hard and fast.

I felt orgasms rippling through both of us. A moment later, hot moisture spilled deep inside me and his satisfied moan echoed within my own cry. The room seemed to spin as one wave of ecstasy after another washed over me. Eventually, Jett rolled us to the side and he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer. Still breathing hard, I snuggled against his broad chest, marvelling at how delicious his skin felt beneath my open palms. I touched the roughness of his stubble and gently rubbed my fingertips against it, the way I had been dreaming of doing ever since meeting him.

“Take tomorrow morning off,” Jett said.

“Why?” I sat up to regard him, relishing the remnants of two orgasms in a day. The prospect of staying just a little bit longer in his arms delighted me.

As he placed a soft kiss on my forehead, I tried to come up with a witty line; something to make him smile and maybe even kick a tiny dent into that ginormous confidence of his, but as usual in his presence my mind remained surprisingly blank.

“Because I have other plans for us. Now go to sleep.” A wicked grin spread across his beautiful face. “You’ll need all the energy you can muster.”

Chapter 19

I woke up to an empty bed and a warm yet slightly sore sensation in my lower body. My arm stretched out to the imprint on Jett’s pillow and touched the place where he had been sleeping a few hours ago. We had a written understanding, which included no clause on romance and intimacy. Hence, falling asleep in Jett’s arms had been strange, if not to say scary, because deep down I knew this wasn’t part of the deal. In the end, when his breathing had flattened and his muscles had become limp, I just rolled with it, thinking one night wouldn’t hurt.

I had been wrong.

Bad move, Stewart.

Because, as I lay on my back, staring at my reflection in the oversized mirror above my head, I could see something in my eyes that hadn’t been there before.

I was beginning to like him—everything about him. His body, his touch, his smile, his way of talking, and him as a person. Usually, when that happened in the past, I ran as fast as I could, leaving my feelings and the person behind. What I saw in my eyes was an unwillingness to run. For some reason I wanted to stay and see where it might take me.

“It’s not going to take you anywhere because nothing’s happening,” I mumbled to myself, jumping out of bed annoyed. I had never fallen for anyone, and I wouldn’t let it happen now. I had liked Sean, but I wasn’t in love with him. I never was with anyone. Sure Jett was handsome, witty, and amazing in bed, but he was also the kind of guy you had fun with, not the one you brought home to meet the parents. When I signed the contract I knew what I was getting myself into.

I headed for my room to take a quick shower, brush my teeth, put on a clean pair of jeans and a shirt, and then joined him downstairs in the kitchen. He was leaning against the open balcony door, holding a cup of steaming coffee, his back turned to me. A warm morning breeze wafted in, carrying the sylvan scent of damp wood and blossoming flowers. He had slipped into a pair of blue jeans, but his back was naked—all flexed muscles under flawless, bronze skin. For a split second I just stood there watching him—mesmerized. I wondered how he would behave after our first night together. Would he bolt? Would he keep his distance? Pretend like nothing happened?

Lost in thought he didn’t hear me, so I cleared my parched throat and took a step forward, watching him intently as he turned. For a brief second I caught a dark shadow in his eyes, and then it dissipated into appreciation, as though he liked what he saw, and a lazy grin spread across his beautiful lips.

“Good morning, gorgeous.” His dark hair framed his face in a disheveled way that invited me to run my fingers through it. His voice was raw and sexy, rich with lust, just like his electrifying eyes. He reached me in two long strides and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me against his strong chest. My breasts rubbed against him, and the air charged between us.

He handed me his mug of coffee and watched me take a sip. It was black and unsweetened, just the way I preferred it. No one I knew had their morning coffee this way.

“Thanks.” I handed the mug back to him. His arm remained wrapped around me as he took a sip and then handed it back to me. It was such a simple yet intimate gesture that it threw me off balance. I don’t know why my mind made such a big deal out of it, but somehow, the way we shared this cup of coffee made my heart beat just a little bit faster and turned my smile just a little bit wider.

Post-coital bliss.

“I figured it’s the way you’d drink it,” Jett said.

“Why?”

“Because it’s the way I drink it.”

I peered up at the nonchalant expression on his face. Was he suggesting that we had lots of things in common? I wanted to ask, but decided against it. Did it really matter what he thought? In a few weeks, we’d be done shagging this insane attraction and lust out of each other, and then we’d move on as planned. No feelings whatsoever. Maybe we’d stay friends, and maybe not. It didn’t matter either way. I intended to enjoy it as long as it lasted.

“Slept well?” Jett asked, changing the subject. I nodded. ‘Good’ was an understatement. Cradled in his arms, I hadn’t slept this well in years. “You said something in your sleep.” His tone changed slightly and I instantly froze.

“What?” I asked warily.

His eyes bore into me with such intensity I feared they could penetrate years of steel and rake through my soul. “You said, ‘please don’t hurt me’.”

A cold shudder of dread rushed down my spine and turned my insides as cold as ice. The sudden urge to free myself from his embrace and get the hell away from him overwhelmed me. And yet, years of calculated planning kicked in, and I didn’t move an inch. Jett wasn’t the first man to come close to the truth, and he wouldn’t be the last. No need to panic. I had enough experience to deal with this.

I drew a long, silent breath to steady my nerves and clutched at the coffee mug just a little bit tighter while hiding my hands from his view, so he wouldn’t notice the white knuckles. “It was just a nightmare. I don’t really remember it.”

But I did. Vivid and cold in all its glory.

“Do you have those often?” His scrutinizing gaze brushed over my face, and his expression changed to brazen interest.

“Not really.”

I did, almost every night for the past twelve years. Twelve years of blaming and self-hate, of wishing I could turn back the clock and do things differently.

Jett hesitated. He didn’t believe a word I said.

Shit.

He was growing suspicious. I could see it in his intense gaze and worried frown.

“Did someone hurt you?”

“What?” I laughed, and almost choked on the sudden tears blurring my vision. “No, of course not. I told you it was just a dream. Just leave it at that.”

His shoulders remained tense and he didn’t look away. He didn’t even blink.

Double shit.

I knew my words came out all defensive and incriminating the moment he nodded slowly, as though I had just confirmed his suspicions. The vein in his right temple began to throb visibly beneath his skin. His jaw set and his eyes blazed with anger. I knew that look. It was the same look the police officer gave me the moment he told me they wished they could help, but it was probably too late.

I hated that look and everything it implied. You couldn’t change the past, no matter how hard you tried to shake at the gates of your life. People kept saying time heals all wounds, but in my case the memories buried deep within my soul never stopped torturing me with their vivid pictures and hurtful words.

So all that remained was me pretending it never happened. I had been trying that for years and almost succeeded, until a card popped up in the mail a few weeks ago, and turned my carefully planned lie of a life upside down.

“Who was it?” Jett asked softly, his voice barely able to contain his anger.