Tempting Sydney (23 page)

“Hey, don’t fall asleep on me.”

“I’m not.”

“Are you too tired to walk a little?”

I frowned. I wasn’t too tired, but the bears in this area were black, which meant I couldn’t see them coming to eat me in the dark very well, either. “No, I’m not too tired. I just need to get something first.” I went to the tent and grabbed a can from my bag. I felt much better about wandering at midnight now that I was prepared.

Jax furrowed his brows as he noticed my hand. “What is that?”

“Bear spray. I rented it. That way if we need it, we’ll have it, and if we don’t have to fight off any angry nine hundred pound animals, I’ll be able to get my deposit back.”

He laughed out loud and shook his head. “You’re kind of nuts.”

“You say that now, but just wait until a bear’s on your ass. You’ll be eating your words.”

“There’s not really even proof that bear spray works.”

“Tell that to all the people who had it and didn’t get eaten by bears.”

“If it makes you feel better, that’s what matters.” He took my hand. “Come with me.”

We walked on a trail near the campsite that wound its way up a hill. When we came to the top, I could see what seemed like fog. Fog in movies was always the catalyst for something horrible happening. Ghosts, zombies, and beastly monsters always came out of fog. I looked at Jax, concerned. He smiled reassuringly, pulling me onward. As we rounded a corner on the trail, I noticed pools and pools of steaming water.

Jax released my hand and bent down, taking off his shoes. “What are you doing?” I asked, shifting my gaze between Jax and the pools.

“Getting in. I told you there were hot springs.”

I’d been pretty traumatized by the entire camping discussion and had tried to block it from my memory. I brought it back and vaguely remembered him saying something like that. “Oh, yeah.”

He lifted his shirt, his abs rippling with the movement. I lost all train of thought.

“Come on, get in.”

I shook myself out of the haze his naked upper body had created. “Is this what you had to show me?”

He smirked. “Part of it.”

I stared at his wide chest then let my gaze trail to his arms. His tattoo caught my eye. There was something so sexy about a man with huge arms and tattoos. The number seventeen was sky blue, and the tribal design wrapping around it was grey. I’d noticed the tattoo before on the day he’d started to strip in his bedroom. It was the only ink he had. “Does the other part involve you naked?”

“I can keep my shorts on if you want. It might make you more comfortable.”

It didn’t. I was a fan of Jax naked. Big fan. Huge.

He undid his belt. “I can’t show you until you get in the water with me.”

“How often are these things cleaned?” I asked, eyeing the water and waving my hand in the general direction of the pools. It looked like spring break for microbes.

He froze, staring at me. “You’re kidding, right?”

I pushed my brows together, confused. “No. Who knows what animals or other disgusting things are in there. Do you know how many germs thrive in warm water like that?”

He came toward me, his abs flexing as he walked, belt hanging off his shorts, the top button undone. Putting his arms around me and leaning down, he pressed his mouth against mine. His tongue ran over my lips and between them as his hands moved over my white tee shirt and inched it up. He moved from my lips to my neck and I sighed, tilting my head back. He lifted the shirt over my head, and I heard it drop on the ground. I felt his warm hands on my back as he trailed his mouth over my chest, where he lingered between my breasts, before continuing down near the waistband of my navy blue shorts. As he kissed my stomach, he popped the button on my shorts, slowly sliding the zipper down as his lips went lower with it. He tugged my shorts, and before I knew it, I was standing in the middle of an Arizona campground half naked. I opened my mouth to protest and Jax chose that exact moment to drop his pants. And he’d lied about keeping his boxers on. He wasn’t wearing any.

Oh. My. Hell.

I gaped at the Greek god standing in front of me in the moonlight, with steam rolling into the sky behind him. I’d seen Jax almost naked before, but never in full glory like this. I was positive I’d never get tired of the view. And naked in this setting—good hell, he looked like he’d just stepped out of an ad for all things hot and wonderful. His sculpted abs tapered into a lovely V—the kind that athletes always seem to have, but never real men. Well, Jax had it, and wasn’t shy about showing it off. The V directed my eye straight down to his crowning glory—the Beast. Jax was an incredible male specimen, and I couldn’t stop staring. He moved his arms back around me, and kissed me again, then bent down, picked me up, and took me straight into one of the bubbling pools.

“Hey!” I said, fighting him a little. Naked Greek god or not, I still hadn’t gotten an answer about the germ issue.

“They’re natural hot springs, sweetheart,” he said, reading my mind. “They don’t get cleaned. And you won’t get a disease or anything else from them.” He sat down and settled me on his lap. I could feel his hard length pressing against me, and suddenly I didn’t care much about microbes. Not. At. All. “Relax.”

“So, this was a ruse to get naked and seduce me in water?”

The corner of his lips lifted. “No, that’s my plan for tomorrow.”

I gave him a playful punch in the arm.

“I wanted to show you this.” He turned me in his lap and tilted my head back so it was resting against his shoulder. I looked up and gasped. I’d never seen so many stars. It was like the sky was sprinkled with glitter. I could even see the Milky Way threaded across it like a wispy cloud.

“Oh my God! It’s breathtaking, Jax. I’ve never seen so many stars!” I immediately found the Big and Little Dippers and pointed them out to him. It was a habit I had anytime I looked up at the night sky.

“And there’s Orion,” Jax said, pointing at the three stars lined diagonally like a belt.

I noticed Jax’s tattoo, framed by the stars, as he lifted his arm. “You know what I love?” I said, turning my head to look at him. “Tattoos. They just do it for me. I’m really glad you have one.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “The artist did a good job.”

“How long have you had it?” I asked, wondering why he suddenly seemed more somber.

“Years,” he answered. “It’s hard to remember a time when I didn’t have it.”

I nodded, thinking about it. “I’ve always wanted one, but I’m afraid I’ll regret it.”

Jax held me tighter. “Just make sure it has meaning to you, then you won’t.”

“I don’t know if there’s anything I’m passionate enough about to put on my skin permanently.”

His lips ticked up in a smile. “You could always get one of a werewolf.”

I blushed. Jax chose that exact moment to slip his hand inside my bra. The lace above the cups scratched against my sensitive skin, and my nipples tightened immediately as he rubbed his fingers back and forth. “Do you like that, Syd?”

I nodded, my breath ragged as I felt his hardness straining against my back.

“So do I.” His voice was a husky whisper in my ear. “I can’t keep my hands off of you.” He moved his hands lower, teasing the top of my panties before he pushed under them, spreading his palm out as he reached my center. My breath came in gasps as he slipped a finger into my slick heat. Pressing in—“I want you.” –pulling out. “All the time.” He curved his fingers, stroking the exact right spot, the rhythm changing as he added another finger. His pace quickened and I writhed in his lap.

“Jax,” I said on an exhale. I tried turning around, but he held me firm.

His breath was scorching on my neck. “I’ve been thinking about what you’d feel like since I met you.”

I squeezed my thighs tighter, not caring whether I hurt—or even broke—his hand in the process.

“I’ve been fantasizing about you, too,” he said, his teeth nipping at my ear.

I could barely get a breath—I was almost there.

“I can’t wait to act some of them out.” His words sent me screaming over the edge. It was the best orgasm I’d ever had. As he held me close, I got the feeling that unless someone had a mold of his fingers, Jackson West had just ruined sex toys for me. And I was totally okay with that.

We’d been hiking all morning. After Jax had made me a yummy breakfast of ham, eggs, and toast right over the fire, he’d told me we were going out. “Going out” means a lot of different things depending on the context. In some cases, it could require nothing more than a pony tail and a tee shirt; in others, it required a little black dress, or even a pair of skinny jeans and a sexy top. I’d needed more information.

“Where
exactly
are we going?”

He gave me a look. “It’s a surprise.”

“What should I wear?”

His lips slid into a seductive smile, voice husky, “Something you can get dirty in.”

I’d blushed fiercely and then pulled on some shorts, a tee shirt, and hiking boots.

We hiked through beautiful canyons with red rock. Some were so narrow I didn’t think Jax’s shoulders would be able to make it through them. We didn’t see anyone the entire afternoon, and the solitude was extremely peaceful. We hiked mostly in silence, taking in the beauty surrounding us.

When we finally stopped, it was to eat lunch overlooking a stunning sixty foot waterfall. “I love waterfalls,” I said, taking a bite of my peanut butter sandwich. Jax had used white bread to make them, and the peanut butter was crunchy—my favorite.

“Me, too.”

“The sound of rushing water is soothing. I used to want to get married with a waterfall in the background.”

He gave me a sideways glance. “It would have to be a quiet waterfall, or you wouldn’t know what you were agreeing to when you said your vows.”

I pinched my brows together. “Good point.”

He looked at the waterfall for a minute before turning back to me. “So you’re one of those girls who have their wedding all planned out?” he asked, taking a bite of his own sandwich. “Actually, that doesn’t surprise me. You plan everything.”

I gave him a playful glare. “As a matter of fact, I do not have my wedding planned, because I don’t want a wedding.”

His eyes widened, and he almost choked. I patted him on the back and he took a drink to wash it down. “You don’t believe in marriage?” he asked. “Did your parents get divorced or something?”

I ate the last bite of my sandwich. “No, my parents are really happy. One of the few couples I’ve seen make it work—through the good times and the really bad times.” I leaned back against the rock. “I think it works for some people. I’m just not sure if I’m one of them.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a girl say that.
Ever
.”

I shrugged. “Marriage has serious consequences.”

He tilted his head, interested, and waited for me to go on.

I took a drink of water to wash down the sandwich that was sticking to my throat. “I don’t like what marriage does to people.”

“What does it do?”

“Changes them.”

“How?” He seemed genuinely curious.

I stretched my legs out in front of me and crossed them at the ankles. “The person you choose as a partner has a huge affect on the person you become. You have to compromise and change with the person, or the relationship doesn’t work. You’re no longer making decisions for yourself. You’re making them for two people, and if you have kids, you’re making them for an entire family, and God knows, it’s easy as hell to screw that up. I don’t want the responsibility.”

He watched me for several moments. “What you really mean is that you don’t like the loss of control that relationships require.”

I lifted a shoulder as I grabbed a granola bar from my lunch bag and opened it. “I admit that. Watching my mom go through cancer changed me. I couldn’t control the disease. Nothing was more frustrating than knowing someone I cared about was going through something horrible, and there was nothing I could do to fix it. Ever since, I’ve tried to be as in control of situations as possible. It’s hard for me to let go.”

“Interesting.”

I narrowed my eyes, annoyed that he was analyzing me. “Why is that interesting?”

“Because no one can be in control like that all of the time, Syd. Yeah, marriage—and relationships—are hard. They’re a flat out bitch sometimes. But being alone isn’t any easier—trust me, I should know. You live your life by this carefully chosen set of rules, thinking nothing will ever happen to make you deviate from it.” He paused, his eyes downcast and his expression falling into sadness. He sat like that for a few seconds before tilting his head to me. “I wonder what will happen when you meet the person you want to break all of your rules for.”

I shifted, uncomfortable. Though he didn’t seem to know it, I was pretty sure I’d already met that person, and didn’t know how it was going to affect me in the future.

“What about you?” I asked. “You don’t like relationships, either. It’s taken me months to get you to open up at all. I wouldn’t have pegged you for the marrying type. If relationships are so hard for you, how do you think you’re ever going to find someone you can be with forever?”