FIRE AND ICE (23 page)

“Come in,” she said.

“Did you set your alarm clock?”

“Yes, four-thirty. Did you find the towels?” Dumb question since he had one draped over his shoulder.

As he disappeared into the bathroom, she wondered if he noticed that she was now wearing a robe. She heard water running in the shower, and that meant he was getting naked. She picked up a book from her nightstand thinking she’d get lost in a good novel, but several minutes passed and she hadn’t read one word. Her imagination was in that shower.

Apple. She’d get an apple and stay in the kitchen until he was out of the bedroom, and she would quit acting like a budding nymphomaniac, but before she could leave, Jack stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. No shirt, no shoes … no service. Why that saying came to mind she couldn’t imagine.

Jack barely glanced at her as he walked past, and that made her all the more bewildered. Damn it, he had kissed her. Didn’t that mean he was attracted? Must have changed his mind.

She followed him into the next room. “Jack …”

“Yeah?” He turned to face her.

“I want the truth. Why are you really going with me?”

He didn’t hesitate with his answer. “I lost a bet.”

“Lost a bet? Very funny.” He couldn’t come up with a more believable lie?

“Really, Sophie, I lost a bet.”

She shook her head. “I can take care of myself.”

“Sure you can, except when someone calls and tells you to look out the window.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“I’m going with you.” Each word was carefully enunciated. He picked up the comforter and unfolded it. “And Sophie …”

“Yes?”

“I swear to God, if you open your door dressed like that again, I won’t be sleeping on this sofa.”

“A
LL RIGHT THEN.” SOPHIE TURNED AROUND AND WALKED
back into her bedroom, the sass back in her stride. She didn’t smile until she’d closed the door. Her world made sense again. Her insecurities were gone, for the moment anyway, and she was feeling desirable once more.

Jack had noticed and had obviously been affected by the sight of her in her nightgown. Was she disappointed he hadn’t taken her into his arms and kissed her? Of course not. But why hadn’t he?

Oh, no, she wasn’t going down that road again. She knew she could be neurotic and obsessive about certain things, but her feelings for Jack were making her all sorts of crazy. One minute she was convinced he was a jerk, and the next minute she thought he was the hottest man she’d ever met. If that wasn’t crazy, what was?

Sleep would be impossible if she didn’t stop thinking about him. She forced herself to be practical by going through her checklist of what she had packed and what she would need to buy in Fairbanks. If she needed an extra pair of wool socks or thicker long underwear, she was sure she could pick them up in one of the stores there. Should she take her laptop? What about her cell phone? She knew
she could get a signal in Prudhoe Bay and probably in Barrow as well.

An hour later she hung up her robe and got into bed. Her head had barely touched the pillow when she remembered she needed to call her father and leave a message for him.

She crept to the door to see if Jack was asleep yet. She peeked out and saw the television was still on, but he wasn’t sitting in the easy chair. She could only see the back of the sofa, but she assumed he’d fallen asleep.

The soft light from the bathroom spilled into her walk-in closet. Leaving the door open a crack, she got the cell phone from its hiding place and sat back against the wall with her legs stretched out and one ankle crossed over the other. Once she was comfortable, she called her father. She didn’t have to leave a message. He answered on the second ring.

“It isn’t midnight yet,” he said. “Is everything okay?”

Sophie quickly explained that she was leaving for Alaska early in the morning, and she didn’t want him to worry when he called at the scheduled time and she didn’t answer. She didn’t have any idea how long she would be away. One week, maybe two. Once she’d filled him in on her itinerary, she wanted to hear what he’d been up to. He told her that he was working on a resolution for Kelly’s, but he wouldn’t explain what that meant or even give her a hint of what his plans were. Her father liked to be cryptic, and she had learned not to ask questions.

Daddy was in a chatty mood and told her a couple of very funny stories that made her laugh, and by the time she ended the call and put the cell phone back in its cubbyhole, she was feeling relaxed and sleepy.

She was still sitting in her dark closet when Jack opened the door.

“Sophie? What are you doing?”

It should have been obvious, but apparently it wasn’t. “I’m sitting on the floor.”

“In your closet.”

She looked around. “It would appear so.”

With as much dignity as she could muster, she slowly stood and walked past him into the bedroom. She couldn’t help but notice that he was wearing a pair of faded plaid boxer shorts and nothing else.

“I heard talking and then laughter,” he said.

“Uh-huh,” she agreed, nodding. “That was me … talking and laughing.”

He had to think she was crazy. How could she have been so careless as to assume he was asleep and couldn’t hear her? She had kept her voice to a whisper, but she shouldn’t have laughed, no matter how funny the stories had been. If he had heard anything, it was inevitable he would figure she was talking to someone on the phone, and it wouldn’t take a leap to guess who that someone was. She needed to distract him.

“How did you get that scar?” She took a step toward him and put her hand on his chest. His skin was warm, wonderfully warm. “This scar,” she said as she traced a tiny circle above his heart.

“I don’t have a scar there,” he said.

“I know.”

He grabbed her hand and held it against him. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

She looked into his eyes. “Yes, I do. I’m distracting you. Is it working?”

He slowly nodded. “Pretty much.”

She could feel his heart beating under her fingertips, and the way he was looking at her made her own heart race.

“You should get some sleep,” he said.

He didn’t move. Neither did she.

“You should kiss me,” she said.

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

He sighed. “Want me to tell you what will happen if I kiss you?” He started walking her backward to the bed.

“I’d rather you showed me.”

His hand cupped the back of her neck, and he roughly pulled her toward him. “This is going to get complicated.”

“I can do complicated,” she whispered.

It was all the permission he needed. He tilted her head back and kissed her hungrily, letting her feel the passion inside him. His tongue delved into her mouth to mate with hers, and the sweet taste of her was so intoxicating he had to have more. He kissed her again and again until he was shaking with desire.

She threw her arms around his neck and melted into him. Her unrestrained enthusiasm overwhelmed him.

In the bedroom Jack was a master of pacing and control, always giving his partner the ultimate pleasure, usually multiple times, before he took his own. Slow and easy. Satisfaction guaranteed.

But Sophie changed all that. Kissing him with such abandon, her mouth so warm, her lips so wonderfully soft, she held nothing back, rubbing her tongue against his, her fingertips stroking his shoulders as she moved seductively against him. Her erotic sighs drove him wild, and within seconds she had turned him from a master to a novice with raging hormones. His breathing was harsh, ragged. He held her tight against him, burying his face in the side of her neck.

“Slow and easy, Sophie.”

She gently tugged on his earlobe with her teeth. “Why?”

Before he could think of an answer, she pushed him back, keeping her eyes locked on his, as she seductively lowered the left strap of her nightgown and then the right, letting it slide down the length of her body.

Suddenly, slowing down didn’t make any sense to him at all. She was beautiful. His gaze slowly moved over her golden skin, her full breasts, her tapered waist, and her long, perfect legs. Oh yes, she was magnificent. A tightness settled in his chest, and he was desperate to touch her. He stripped out of his shorts and wrapped his arms
around her, groaning from the surge of arousal he felt when she moved against him.

Together they fell into bed. He wedged his knee between her silky thighs, then stretched out on top of her. His arms bore his weight so he wouldn’t crush her. Her soft full breasts rubbed against his chest and sent tremors through him. He buried his face in her hair. Her feminine scent aroused him; her velvety skin felt so good against his. He wanted to touch her everywhere, to use his mouth, his tongue to excite her. Caressing her breasts, he kissed a path down her neck, her whispered sighs urging him on.

Sophie loved the way he stroked her, loved the feel of his hot mouth against her skin. When his hand slid down her stomach and moved between her thighs, the fire inside her intensified until it became unbearable. Her nails dug into his shoulder blades as she arched against him and cried out.

Their kisses became ravenous, their caresses more demanding, rougher. Sophie made him burn like no other woman had, and Jack could feel his control slipping away. When he knew he could wait no longer to make her his, he moved between her thighs and thrust inside, groaning from sheer ecstasy. Liquid heat surrounded him, and the jolt of pleasure was so intense, he thought her fire would consume him.

He stayed perfectly still for several seconds. “You feel so good,” he whispered.

Her breathing was as ragged as his, her need as demanding. He kissed the base of her throat, felt the frantic pulse of her heartbeat.

Sophie wrapped her arms around his waist and raised her legs to take him deeper inside.

Jack moved slowly at first, but the urgency built inside him, and his control snapped. Their lovemaking was wild, passionate, and when at last they climaxed, she cried his name.

With a loud groan he collapsed on top of her, pinning her to the mattress. He stayed inside her for long minutes, savoring the intimacy.
She’d taken his strength, but he was able to roll to his side, keeping her wrapped in his arms. He was reeling from the sensations coursing through him. What the hell had happened to him? Sex had never been like this before.

Long minutes passed before his breathing was once again steady. Sophie took a little longer to recover. She shifted onto her back and stared at the ceiling. Jack raised up on one elbow to look at her and was arrogantly pleased with what he saw. She looked dazed. Her eyes were misty; her face was flushed, and her lips were rosy from his kisses.

She was the most amazing creature. She was totally uninhibited with him, and in the aftermath of their lovemaking, she didn’t hurry to cover up.

Jack couldn’t stop touching her. His fingers slowly trailed down her neck to her navel. He gently touched the skin where the bullet had struck and was shocked by the surge of anger he felt that someone had tried to hurt her.

She looked into his eyes and asked, “Are you okay?” And before he could say a word, she asked, “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

His head dropped to her shoulder, and he began to laugh. “I think I’m supposed to ask you that question. Are you okay?”

“It was lovely,” she whispered.

She turned toward him and began to stroke his chest. The mat of hair tickled her skin. She snuggled closer.

“Very lovely,” she whispered.

“Yeah? Give me a minute. I’ll show you spectacular.”

Jack was a man of his word.