Simply Irresistible (17 page)

To be wanted. And a little bit of ravishing and cherishing would be good. Love would be better, but as Tara had noted, she
wasn’t ready for that. She was, however, ready for this, this one time. And even if she wasn’t, it didn’t matter. She wanted
him.

Grabbing his hand, she pulled him with her out of the kitchen. Allowing it, he brushed his big, hard body up against her back.

In the small bathroom, she dug through Chloe’s bathroom bag on the counter and came up with a condom, which she handed to
Jax, who hit the lock on the door.

She started the shower, then reached for the hem of her shirt. He took over, slowly pulling it off, tossing it to the floor.
Then he repeated the gesture with his own shirt.

She found the tattoos, which made her weak in the knees. A tribal band around a biceps, another down one side from the top
of his ribs to his oblique muscle.

She wanted to lick them.

“Maddie.”

She couldn’t stop staring at him, all hard and warm and delineated with strength. “I don’t want to talk,” she said.

Amusement crowded for space with the hunger in his gaze. “What do you want?”

“You. Now. Fast. Maybe hard, too.”

“You got me. But not fast, not hard.” He ran a long finger over the front hook of her bra. “Not our first time.”

“Our
only
time,” she corrected.

“Hmm,” he murmured noncommittally, and with a flick of his wrist, her bra fell to the floor. He covered her mouth with his
and unbuttoned her jeans, slowly sliding them to the floor.

“Christ, Maddie. Look at you. You take my breath away.” His dark gaze took her in and got darker as he kicked off his boots
and shucked his clothes, revealing the rest of his mouthwatering body in its entirety, including the part of him she wanted
inside her,
yesterday.

Leaning past her, he checked the temperature of the water while she checked out his perfect ass. As usual, he caught her at
it and sent her a heated smile that dissolved her bones as he tugged her into the shower with him. In contrast to the hot
water, his hands were still a little chilly from being outside, giving her a zing when he slid them up to cup her breasts.

Her eyes drifted shut and her other senses took over. His body was unyielding, strong, rippling with power against hers. He
was hard, and huge.

It should have made her nervous. Instead, it turned her on, and she pressed closer, wrenching an appreciative male growl from
him.

“Be sure, Maddie.”

She opened her eyes. The steam from the shower was fogging the tiny bathroom, making it hot and humid. “If you even think
about stopping now, I’m going to have to hurt you.”

He stared down at her for a beat, then murmured her
name before kissing her, slow and deep. She’d never felt more aroused, more wanted, and it made her tremble.

Jax pulled back, his hands threading into her hair, holding her gaze. She had no idea what he was looking for, but something
in her expression must have reassured him, because he brought his mouth back to hers, his tongue flicking out over her bottom
lip. His hands slid down her body, cupping her bottom, lifting her to grind his hips to hers. He was hard and thick against
her, straining between them. Pushing her back further into the shower, he kissed his way over her, starting with her throat
and working his way down. He had a nipple in his mouth, sucking it hard between his tongue and the roof of his mouth when
she reached down and wrapped her hand around his hard, pulsing length. When she stroked him, he groaned and covered her hand
with his, moving with her, showing her what he liked, until suddenly he stopped her.

“You don’t like that?” she asked.

“I love that.” His voice was hoarse, unsteady. “But it’s been too long.” With the water washing over their bodies, he nibbled
at her neck, cupping a breast, rasping his thumb over her nipple, none of which deterred his free hand from slipping between
her thighs. When he felt how ready she was, he dropped his forehead to hers and said her name in a jagged whisper.

She clutched at him. “Now, Jax. Please, now.”

His finger was tracing over her, stroking, teasing. “I love how wet you are,” he murmured against her ear, sucking the lobe
into his mouth as he slid a finger inside her.

With a strangled cry, she rocked to him. “It means I’m ready.”

He brushed his lips against hers. “Just making sure.”

“I’m
sure!
”

He added another finger, gliding deep while brushing his thumb over her in just the right rhythm until she came with a rush.
While she was still shuddering, he rolled on the condom and slid inside of her with a single, sure push of his hips.

She gasped, arching helplessly as it extended her orgasm. When she could open her eyes, she blinked him into focus. His eyes
were solid black and locked on hers, intense and fierce. As he began to move within her, she felt the tile at her back, warm
from both her own body heat and the hot water pulsing down over them. His strokes were strong and steady and sent her spiraling.
He came with her, the both of them rocking together, gasping for breath. Unable to stand, they slid to the shower floor, still
entwined.

Completely spent, Maddie dropped her head to his chest, managing a smile when he drew her in against him with a wordless protective
murmur, pressing his face in her hair. At the tender touch, something came over her, something new. It was both warm and wonderful.

And terrifying. Because he’d given her just what she wanted.

Only she already wanted more.

T
he next day Jax spent most of his time at the inn, stripping old windowpanes and carpeting.

And watching Maddie.

She’d pretty much kicked him to the curb after yesterday’s shower. It was a first for him, not being the one to need space,
and he hadn’t known what kind of reception to expect this morning.

She’d greeted him with a sweet, warm smile, and because she wasn’t one to fake anything, that had told him that they were
okay. “How about dinner tonight?” he asked her midday.

Maddie glanced at him, then back to her task of hauling out the debris. She was looking hot and just a little bit breathless.
Her hair was wild, her shirt untucked, and the seat of her jeans was dirty.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Can’t,” she said.

He tossed the load in his arms into the back of the Dumpster they’d had delivered and brushed his hands off on his jeans,
catching her arm before she could turn away. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

She closed her eyes but then surprised him by dropping her head to his chest. “I’m all dirty and sweaty, Jax.”

“I like dirty and sweaty,” he said, drawing her into his arms. “And it’s just dinner, not a ring or a white picket fence.”

Choking out a laugh, she pressed in even closer, sighing when he kissed her temple. But then after a moment, and far before
he was ready, she backed away from his touch and met his gaze. “But no condom on this dinner date, right? Because…”

“… Because you’re not ready for this.”

“I just need… I really need to take a step backward from anything serious.”

And sex for her was serious. He understood. Hell, what they’d experienced in the shower was so serious, he still hadn’t recovered.
“Take the step back if you need it. Hell, take two. Just don’t go running away.”

That brought a small smile. “I no longer run.”

“Good,” he said and went back to work, for the first time in five years wanting something he couldn’t have.

Maddie divided her time between the marina office and painting the inn’s bedrooms. Tara helped with the painting. Chloe couldn’t
do much because of her asthma. Maddie got that, but the way she held herself separate from them, working on her skin care
line instead of the inn, was
more worrisome than annoying. At some point, Chloe was going to have to exercise the swing vote, and Maddie had no idea which
way she’d go. With a sigh, Maddie watched Tara walk across the yard, gingerly carrying paint supplies. Tara had at least deigned
to get her hands dirty, risking her manicure. Not because she believed in the cause.

Nope, what Tara believed in was saving money.

Over the past few days, Maddie had finished the paperwork for refinancing their loan and filed it at the bank. Her fingers
were crossed. Tara and Chloe were both leaving tomorrow, and Maddie would be on her own. But that was a worry for later, she
told herself. For the moment, she was covered from head to toe in paint.

“I’m changing my penny-pinching stance,” Tara huffed at her side, with hardly any paint on her. “We should have hired someone
to do this part.”

Maddie had no idea how her sister had managed to stay clean, but it was really annoying. Perhaps it was the invisible bubble
of righteous perfection that clearly surrounded her. “We should have hired someone? You did not just say that.”

Tara sighed. “I hate being peasant stock.” She swiped her brow, but Maddie didn’t see a drop of sweat on her. Maybe she had
a sweat-gland disorder or something. That thought made her smile a little. Only Tara could have a medical condition that aided
her perfect southern belle image.

“You okay?” Tara asked.

“Yes, why?”

“Because for the past few days, you’ve been… different somehow.”

Yes. Multiple orgasms tended to do a body good.

“You went out with Jax last night.”

“Just for dinner.” And a few hot-as-hell kisses. Turned out, she didn’t really want to take
too
many steps backward, only a little one. A real little one.

“So you’re okay?”

“Yep.”

Tara nodded and looked at her hands. “You know, I’m not normally one to gripe.” She narrowed her eyes when Maddie snorted.
“But I would like to make an official complaint that
I
didn’t get the asthma in the family.”

Maddie had to give her that one. Chloe was sitting a hundred yards away on the dock, free of the chemicals that would have
sent her into asthma hell, surrounded by bowls and containers filled with ingredients like eggs and honey and almonds. “What
is she making today?”

“Some facial to clean out our pores when we’re done,” Tara said. “And she’s brewing some sort of soothing homemade sun tea
that reduces stress.” Her tone said this was as likely as them making a go of the inn. “She said it’d be better than a spa
day.”

“I’ve never had a spa day,” Maddie said on a sigh.

“And you have the pores to prove it.”

“What? I do not.” Maddie moved to the hallway and stared at herself in the full-length mirror leaning against the wall, the
one they’d pulled off one of the interior guest room doors. Oh, boy. Her hair looked like she’d stuck her finger in a live
electrical socket, and her skin was shiny with perspiration, but she didn’t see any pores. Probably because she was layered
in a fine dusting of paint. She paused, searching for a natural transition to the question she wanted to ask and found none.
So she
jumped right in. “Why are you mad that Chloe kissed Logan’s best friend?”

“Because
she
wanted Scott for herself,” Chloe said from behind them, having come inside without either of them noticing. She was wearing
leggings, a miniskirt, and a sweater that said
DEAR SANTA, LET ME EXPLAIN
. Eyes inscrutable, she handed them each a small vial. “Try this. Let me know if you notice a difference in the next twenty-four
hours.”

“But you’re both leaving in the morning,” Maddie said.

Chloe shrugged.

Tara didn’t say anything. Done painting, she pulled on her sweater and wrapped a red scarf around her neck. Maddie had finished
the scarf the night before, when she couldn’t sleep because she’d been too busy reliving Jax’s hands on her body.

The scarf was crooked, but just looking at it gave Maddie a little tug of pride. Her next project, started this morning, was
with the green skein of yarn she’d commandeered from her mother’s stash, which made it feel just as special as the red one.
It wasn’t quite as crooked—yet—but give her some time.

“You can text me,” Chloe told them, voice flat.

Tara sighed. “I didn’t want Scott for myself.”

Chloe just gave her a long, level look.

“I didn’t. I was just jealous because… well, because you make it so damn easy. You make friends in the blink of an eye, and
I don’t. This may come as a surprise to both of you, but some people find me… unapproachable.”

Chloe was quiet for a long moment, and it wasn’t clear if she was trying to fight a grimace or a smile.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Tara told her. “You’ll get an asthma attack.”

“I know but the bank just called. You and I each missed signing one of the loan docs. I’ll take you on the Vespa.”

“Are you going to promise not to kill me?”