He’d gone out of his way for her and she wanted to repay him. Besides, she needed to regain control. Of the situation, herself and her rampaging feelings.
“Did you really think I’d let you get away with only half your oil finished?” She reached for the bottle and waved it in the air. “It’s almost time to hit the water.” She gestured toward the sliding glass doors where the outside beckoned.
The sun had dipped well below the horizon and darkness had fallen. She knew from her prior night at the cabin that soon the beach would be completely deserted. They could share a moonlit walk uninterrupted. Or a nude swim, a wicked voice in her head taunted her.
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Far be it for me to deny you the pleasure.”
She rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated groan. He was incorrigible.
Irresistible.
She crooked a finger his way. “Come here and learn all about that mirror you seem so fond of.”
He met her on the bed with a half jump, half dive, rolled onto his back, arms spread wide. “I’m all yours, sweetheart.”
She wished, she thought, and immediately stifled the sentiment. “On your stomach, head over here.” She patted the end of the bed and he stretched out in front of her. He was tanned and muscular and he beckoned to the feminine part of her she’d spent years hiding away. She swung her leg around and settled herself astride his lower back. She bracketed his waist and his warm body heat shot from her thigh straight to her core.
He let out a low groan. “Is this what they mean by exquisite torture?”
“I suppose it is.” With a laugh, she squeezed her legs tighter.
She’d meant to tease him but ended up tormenting herself instead as a wave of longing swept through her. Each time she and Jack were together was deeper and more intimate than the last. She wondered if the control she so longed for would return, or if it was gone forever, along with her easy acceptance of being the office ice queen.
And of being alone.
She pushed reality aside for the moment. Summoning her courage, she braced her hands on his shoulders and shifted her hips in a circular motion.
Jack clenched his fingers around the comforter beneath him. Feeling Mallory’s legs around his waist in a viselike grip was arousing him beyond belief. Her feminine heat, pressed hot and eager against his bare back, fed the desire. His erection pulsed into the mattress and his heart pounded hard in his chest.
He wanted to flip her over, lift her skirt, and bury himself in her hot, wet body. Problem was, he knew his emotions were too close to the surface and he’d be releasing far more than pent-up sexual energy.
From
the moment he’d retied her bathing suit and glimpsed the sweet gratitude and desire in her face, something inside him softened and he didn’t know how to repackage himself and his emotions so he was the Terminator once more. A man who felt nothing and needed nothing from the women in his life.
Seeking a distraction from the intense sensations Mallory aroused, Jack glanced into the mirror. Far from finding the diversion he sought, he found paradise. Thanks to the glass in front of him, not only could he feel the tightening of her thighs and the slight shift forward of her hips, but he could watch it as well.
Her body glistened from the coconut oil. He moved his gaze upward. Dark hair spilled over her shoulders, one long strand stuck against her cheek, and her neck arched—but her eyes shone bright as she watched their movements in the mirror. Actually viewing the play of sexual pleasure cross her face as she rode astride him was carnal, arousing all his baser instincts. And when her gaze met his in the reflective glass, he was lost.
She reached for the bottle of oil and Jack knew he couldn’t handle another massage without embarrassing himself in the process.
“What do you say we go for that swim?” His voice sounded ragged to his ears.
“Sounds great.” She swung her legs to the side, seeming all too eager to scramble off him and escape.
JACK AWOKE with a groan. He stretched, yawned and hit the floor for sit-ups before heading downstairs. But not even the morning sun shining into the restaurant helped to awaken him. Once again, he’d walked Mallory to her door across the hall from his, having separated by mutual agreement after their walk on the beach. His control had hung by a thread and he’d wanted to be with her more than he’d ever wanted another woman.
He should have just ceded control and satisfied the craving only she inspired. After all, what red-blooded man didn’t attempt to go further with a woman he desired and one who responded in kind? A man who wanted the challenge to continue, that’s who. That was one theory Jack could buy into. It was the alternative that bugged him more.
Because the only other reason he would push her away was fear. Fear of getting in too deep—something he’d never worried about before. But he did now, with Mallory.
But not enough to stay away from her.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” He jumped as Mallory’s soft voice whispered in his ear, catching him off guard.
He glanced over his shoulder as she walked around him and took her usual seat across from him. “I couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk on the beach.”
He took in her tailored pants, rolled into cuffs at the bottom and her light lavender oxford shirt. “Dressed like that?”