The Morning After The Wedding Before (9 page)

‘Jake …’ She sighed. Wanting it all. Wanting it now.

His eyes swept over her and his smooth seduction vanished in the blink of an eye.

His fingers scrambled for the laces. When she loosened her hold on the post in a frantic effort to hasten the process
he grabbed her wrists, pinning her in place, a firestorm in his dark gaze.
‘Stay.’

A thrill spiralled through her body, clenching low in her belly as he renewed his task. His hands weren’t steady, she noticed, and his breathing was ragged. He swore, then a hand dived into his trouser pocket and reappeared with a miniature Swiss Army knife. A handful of condoms spilled onto the floor.

She glanced down at them, then met his eyes. ‘Boy Scout?’

‘Just prepared,’ he muttered thickly.

His eyes darkened. She knew his intent, and her pulse kicked into a wild erratic rhythm. No trace of the suave urban sophisticate—just prime, primitive male. She loved that he’d lost control with
her
—plain and ordinary Emma Byrne.

He flicked the tiny blade open and nicked the first ribbon. The second. Her breath sucked in. So did her stomach. His knuckles grazed a nipple as he worked his way down. The erotic response echoed in her womb, drawing it tight at the same time softening and moistening the internal muscles, slackening her inner thighs.

‘Jake …’

Snick, snick, snick
. ‘I’ll buy you another one.’

‘Doesn’t … matter … it’s … only ribbon.’

The undergarment fell apart and slid to the floor and her breasts spilled free. And suddenly it didn’t matter that she didn’t have the breasts she’d like to have, because he was looking at them with awe and appreciation.

‘Gorgeous,’ he whispered. ‘Absolutely perfect.’

Dropping the knife, he filled his hands with her, thumbs whisking over the tight buds, rolling and pinching them between his fingers until she thought she’d pass out with
the pleasure. Wayne had never,
never
worshipped her body the way Jake was doing.

She writhed against the post, tilting her hips and arching her back. Closer … she had to get closer … She needed more. Him inside her.
Now
.

A groan rumbled up his throat and she heard the sharp rasp of his zipper. Without taking his eyes off hers, he somehow produced a condom that hadn’t fallen from his pocket and ripped the foil packet open with his teeth.

Her breath stalled in her throat as he quickly sheathed himself. ‘Hurry.’ Anticipation and that aching, devastating need had reached flashpoint.

Hard wide palms clamped onto her hips, a sensuous vice, holding her in place. With unerring precision he plunged deep and hard and true. A torpedo finding its target. Invading her, stretching her, filling her.

Where he belonged
.

Somewhere in a dark corner of her pleasure-fogged mind she fought that concept even as she embraced it. Then all thought melted into oblivion as she gave herself wholly over to layer after layer of sensation.

His hard thighs abraded hers through the rough weave of his trousers while he hammered into her. The sound of his laboured breaths, shockingly harsh in the room’s stillness, and her own rapid sighs of response.

The golden light pulsing behind her eyes as she felt her climax building, building … Her legs threatening to give way, she clung tighter to the satin-smooth pole behind her, then Jake’s hands were covering hers, holding her upright. From heads to toes their bodies collided, naked skin to fully clothed.

She was slick, hot and unbearably erotic, and Jake couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so turned on. She bucked against him, all wild, wanton woman, meeting
his thrusts with an eagerness and energy that rivalled his own.

He hadn’t expected Emma to be so utterly responsive, and the pleasure of it, of
her
, slapped through him, sharp and viciously arousing. Clenching her hands between his own he drove into her, the urge to plunder and possess riding roughshod over anything sane and rational.

He’d not known it could be like this. That need for a woman—for one woman—could be so desperate, so powerful, so consuming. Some kind of madness had seized him.

She came in a rush, all but sobbing his name, her internal muscles clamping around him, silky walls of heat that triggered his own climax.

Their joined hands slid down the sweat-slicked post and he released her, and they flopped onto the bottom of the bed together in a tangle of sated limbs, their ragged breaths filling the air.

‘Come here,’ he murmured when he felt able enough to move again, shifting up the bed and dragging her with him. He hauled her on top and she lay spread-eagled over his body like one of those ragdoll cats. Against his thundering heart, he felt hers pounding in unison.

‘Do you realise this is the first time we’ve actually been horizontal together?’ she said drowsily.

‘Mmm,’ he answered, almost as lazily. Her body fitted seamlessly against his, curves to angles, womanly soft where he was hard, as if she’d been made exclusively for him. She made him feel like the king of the universe. Already he was becoming aroused again, his body stirring as she arched a bare foot over his calf.

‘Hey, you gonna get naked with me or what?’ Her voice was slurred with fatigue.

He tilted her face so he could look at her, skin peach-perfect
and sheened with a translucent film of moisture, eyes still glazed with residual passion.

Emma
.

An unfamiliar feeling stole through him. One he wasn’t sure how to deal with. He eased her off to one side. Her hair was in disarray; he smoothed it away from her face and kissed her damp brow. ‘Give me a minute.’

In the bathroom he dealt with the condom, then splashed cold water on his face. He’d just had wild sex with Emma.
Emma
. Looking away from the frown he glimpsed in his reflection, he swiped a towel and dried his face.

When he came back she’d burrowed beneath the quilt and was fast asleep, dead centre in the middle of the bed, one arm flung across a pillow, long dark lashes resting on cheeks the colour of dawn.

She looked tiny, all alone in that master bed. As if the snowy mountain of quilt might swallow her up.

Vulnerable
.

That odd feeling intensified. He watched the slow rise and fall of the quilt as she breathed. He’d not anticipated this … this surge of emotion. What had he done?

He should go back to his own room, he thought, even as he stripped off his shirt, tossed it over the chair. Collect a few essentials. She might need some space. Hell,
he
needed some space.

But he toed his shoes off, shoved down his trousers and jocks and stepped out of them. Retrieved the condoms from the floor, dropped them on the nightstand, then slipped into bed beside her.

She snuggled against him with a sleep murmur. Her warmth seeped into his bones, her exotic fragrance … fresh and floral and exclusively hers, surrounded him. He’d
never forget that exotic fragrance. And when this attraction had run its course …

He closed his eyes.

Tomorrow. He’d think about that tomorrow.

T
HE
sound of a man’s steady breathing woke Emma. A hard-muscled, hairy thigh was draped over one leg, its weight effectively pinning the lower half of her body in place. A warm hand curved around her left breast.

Jake
.

Her heart leapt and her body burned as images of last night with the man of her dreams flooded back. She knew it was morning because a dull apricot light shimmered behind her eyelids, but she didn’t open her eyes. She lay still, not wanting him to wake yet, because she wanted to replay every glorious, mind-blowing minute. Her skin felt as if it had been rubbed all over with a stiff towel.

He’d made love to her again while the soft darkness cocooned them in its blanket of intimacy. Horizontally this time. And slowly, skilfully. Sinfully. The way only a man with Jake’s experience could.

And again and again. Always different, always amazing.

Her eyes blinked open and she turned her head on the pillow to study him. As innocent as a baby but she knew better. Those perfectly sculpted lips, so relaxed in sleep, could wreak absolute havoc. Everywhere. A quicksilver shiver ran through her.

His hair was sticking up and it was an odd feeling knowing
she’d had something to do with it. She smiled to herself. She itched to run her fingers through its silky softness again. Couldn’t wait to feel the weight of his body on hers, to feel him come inside her again. Now. Tonight. Next week.

But reality intruded like a thief, stealing away the lovely feeling and her smile faded. This weekend was all he’d offered. All they’d agreed on. Just for fun.

And that was all she wanted too, right?

So make the most of it
, she told herself, determined to ignore the feeling tugging at her and pleading for more.
Live in the moment
. They still had a late checkout and the rest of the day to spend together however they chose. A lot of fun could be packed into those few hours.

Easing her leg from beneath his, she slid a hand down between smooth sheets and hard-muscled belly … She found him semi-erect and wrapped her fingers around him. His eyes snapped open and that innocence disappeared in an instant, replaced with hot, not-quite-sleepy desire as he hardened beneath her palm.

‘Good morning,’ she murmured, and slid her hand down his satin-steel length and up again. ‘Sorry to wake you … Actually, I’m not sorry.’ She squeezed gently. ‘I’ve got big plans for the day.’

He stuck one hand behind his head and watched her. A smile teased the corners of his mouth. ‘Have you, now?’

‘Mmm.’ Positioning her top half over his chest, she rubbed against him once, twice, enjoying the rasp of masculine hair against her nipples, before reaching down to cup the heavy masculinity between his thighs.
Very big plans
. Resting her chin on his breastbone, she looked into his eyes. ‘What about you? Any ideas?’

‘I’m up for anything.’ His smile was wicked and wide awake, like the rest of him.

She pushed the quilt down and took her time to admire the magnificent view of tanned skin over hard-packed muscle … and the proud, arrogant jut of his masculinity. ‘I noticed.’ Before he could flip her on her back and have her at his mercy again, she took charge and straddled him, reaching for a condom. ‘Let’s start the day on a high.’

A short while later, snuggled against him, she stretched lazily. Sunday mornings didn’t get any better than this.

‘Speaking of high,’ Jake said, running his fingertips up and down her arm. ‘What else are you up for today, Emma?’

A sneaky premonition snaked down her spine. ‘Depends.’

‘I’m thinking there’s a playground of world-famous tourist attractions within walking distance that we should make the most of.’

She knew, and her stomach was already doing somersaults. Did she want to be suspended two hundred and seventy metres above the forest floor on a wire cable? Or be slung down the side of a cliff on the steepest funicular railway in the world?

Her whole body recoiled. She wasn’t a fan of heights and she didn’t care who knew it. ‘Or we could explore the local galleries, or take a drive to Leura and have lunch in one of the cafés before we head home,’ she suggested hopefully.

He grinned and shook his head. ‘Come on, Em, where’s your sense of adventure?’

‘I lost it somewhere. Really,’ she insisted, when his grin remained. If anything it broadened. ‘I think maybe I used it all up in this room,’ she finished. She stared at him, her whole body blushing at everything they’d gotten up to last night. Suddenly feeling way too naked, she sat up, pulling the sheet over her breasts. ‘Is this …
us
… weird?’

His grin faded, and for a long moment he didn’t answer while they watched each other. In the stretched silence she heard a service trolley lumber past the room, the clatter of dishes. Had she ever seen his eyes so dark? Something behind that gaze had her heart stumbling around inside her chest … It was supposed to be just physical.
A weekend on Pleasure Island, remember?

‘You’re thinking too hard again.’ Jake reached out, smoothed her hair behind her ear. ‘I rebooked my room. I want another night with you. What do you say?’

Yes, please?

One more night. Her pulse was on a fast track up the side of that mountain. Free and irresponsible was calling her, and she wasn’t ready to go back to her boring job and busy
unsociable
life just yet.

‘It’ll mean a very early start tomorrow if we’re going to make it to the city in time.’

‘I’ve decided to take tomorrow off. You?’

‘Monday’s busy. I’ve got—’

‘Stay with me. Call in sick.’

‘I can’t just take a day off.’

His brows rose. ‘Why the hell not? Your sister just got married. Your boss’ll understand.’ His voice turned low and smooth and seductive. ‘If you want, I can convince him you need the day to recover.’

She frowned. How she chose to use her recreational time was one thing, her job was quite another. An income was a necessity. A one-night stand, even a two-night stand, was a luxury.

And didn’t every woman deserve a little luxury now and again?

Still … ‘I haven’t interfered in your working life, Jake. Please respect mine. And, just so you know, my boss is a woman, and it happens she’s a real soft touch when it
comes to love and romance.’ She leant over and soothed his lips with hers. ‘I’ll organise it myself.’ And deal with the repercussions later.

‘Good decision.’ She felt his fingers on the back of her head, holding her still while he turned her smooch into a meltingly irresistible kiss.

‘Are
you?
’ he murmured against her lips a moment later.

‘Am I what?’

‘A soft touch when it comes to love and romance. You feel soft enough …’ He drifted a finger over her cheek, a bare shoulder.

She drew back, shrugged off the words and the associated emotions she didn’t want or need. Jake and love and romance were mutually exclusive. In that they were equally matched. But she couldn’t quite look him in the eye, and drew circles on the crisp pillow-case with a fingertip. ‘I don’t want the complication of either in my life.’

‘You’re a career girl.’

‘At least you can count on your career.’ Unlike counting on a man.

‘Okay, career girl. We’ll both play hooky tomorrow and then take a leisurely drive back to town.’ He sat up, swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his trousers on the floor. ‘I need to go back to my room, take a shower and change. Meet me downstairs for breakfast in half an hour and we’ll discuss our plans.’

‘Okay.’ She watched him pull last night’s clothes over his magnificent taut backside. The way the muscles in his shoulders bunched as he shrugged into his shirt. Biting back a sigh, she rose and picked up the terrycloth robe she’d worn the night before, which still lay on a nearby chair. She tied the sash and followed him to the door.

‘See you in a little while,’ he said, bending to kiss her
before opening the door. Then Emma saw his shoulders tense as he came to an abrupt halt.

‘Jake.’

She heard her mother’s chipped ice voice and Emma’s skin flushed to the roots of her tousled bedroom hair. Shrinking into her robe, she hugged the lapels up to her chin with both hands.

‘Good morning, Bernice.’ Jake’s back was towards Emma, and if he was surprised or embarrassed his voice gave no sign. ‘Em’s about to take a shower,’ she heard him say as he sauntered out, his jacket and waistcoat slung over a shoulder. ‘You just caught her in time.’

Emma sucked in a fortifying breath. ‘Mum.’ She moved forward and pulled the door wider while she imagined slamming it shut. ‘Jake was … just leaving.’ Obviously. And he seemed to have taken her thought-processing skills with him.

Her mother stalked in, missing none of last night’s carnage strewn across the floor. ‘I came to tell you I’m driving back with Ryan’s Uncle Stan.’

Was that a flicker of
excitement
in her mother’s eyes? But when Emma blinked it had vanished. ‘That’s … great, Mum …’ She trailed off. What to say?

‘I wanted to make sure you’d arranged a lift, but I assume now that you’re driving back with Jake.’

Emma heard the underlying criticism loud and clear. ‘Thanks, but actually I’m staying on another night.’ Defiance streamed through her veins. ‘Make that
we’re
staying another night.’

Her mother had been staring at the rumpled bed but she swung to face her. ‘What about work tomorrow morning?’

‘I’m taking the day off.’

‘Have you no sense of responsibility, girl? And with
a man like Jake.’ She exhaled her disapproval audibly through pinched nostrils.

‘I never take time off. As for Jake, I like him, Mum. And so does Stella.’ She hugged her arms to ward off the chill in her mother’s eyes. ‘He’s an interesting, honest, hard-working man. I make my own decisions about the men I choose to see. And my own mistakes.’

‘So you already think he’s a mistake, then?’

Maybe it
was
a mistake, but she’d never know if she didn’t take the risk. Jake had liberated something inside her last night and she wanted explore it, even if it was only for what was left of the weekend. ‘I want a chance to find out.’

‘Very well, then,’ her mother replied, tight-lipped. The stony expression remained as she moved to the door. ‘I’ll see you at home.’

‘Right. Drive safely.’ Emma maintained an outward calm until the door closed with chilling formality, then swung around to lean back against it and slap her palms on the smooth wood. And a big goodbye to allowing her mother to put a blot on the morning.

It was only a little risk, she told herself, gathering her discarded garments and all the loose buttons she could locate. She tossed them into her suitcase, took out her casual clothes. A relaxing day playing tourist in the Blue Mountains was just what she needed.

And tonight … Her newly energised body tightened at the thought. It was going to be fun. Just fun.