“More?” he asks, voice strained.
“Yes,” I gasp. “More.”
Another slap on the other cheek, and I can’t stop the trembling that’s happening on the inside.
“Harder?” He grunts.
“Yes.”
Two more slaps, and suddenly my entire body is shaking. His cock is back at my entrance and he enters me forcibly, thrusting with intent.
My mind halts. Breath stops. Sensations tip into the unknown.
I’d thought earlier he had given me the biggest orgasm of my life. I’d been oh-so-wrong. My knees weaken, the burn of the rope on my wrists and legs only adds to the way I’m awakening. I sense the intensity of his thrusts, and his loud roar in my ear sounds off in the distance. Until there is no forest, no bindings, no blindfold.
There is only him.
Chapter 5
Mallory
That next morning, after I one-up Jackson’s practically perfect pancakes with one of my killer omelets, we’re heading out behind the cabin and hiking through the thick forest with a good sheen of bug spray coating our skin. A thin trail leads us up a short hill, and when my ankle twists on a small rock, I’m only too happy that I thought to bring my running shoes. The plus side of being a girl who likes comfort, I suppose.
When we pass the spot in the forest we’d immensely enjoyed last night, Jackson winks and grins. I shiver and laugh softly, not oblivious to the heat just walking by those two trees brings.
Once we finally reach the top of the hill, Jackson says from behind me, “All right, Mallory, I know you’re a sassy, sweet little thing, a legal assistant, and Aria’s best friend. What else don’t I know about you?”
I keep an eye on the rocky ground beneath my shoes. “Is Jackson Keller capable of having a serious, in-depth conversation?”
He snorts, and when I glance over my shoulder at him, he gives me a flippant look. “Why would you think otherwise?”
I focus back on the ground in front of me, not wanting to fall. “Because Aria’s told me you’re not really the deep-talking kind of guy. You keep to the facts, very logical, she says.”
When he stops, I turn to face him, finding him frowning. “How often do you two talk about me?” he asks firmly.
“Not as often as you would like, I’m sure.” I grin.
He tips his head back and barks a laugh. I can’t help but look at him a little deeper now. Aria knows him well. Very well, in fact. They spend time together outside of work but have always had this sister-brother vibe going on. She’s always told me that Jackson has an easygoing, sweet side that he doesn’t show many people. Truth be told, I hadn’t believed her. In the boardroom, he’s all business. Hot as hell, of course, with all the power and intensity but still deadly serious. Which makes all this more confusing. If Jackson’s this great guy, then why does Liam hate him so much?
Though the way he laughed now, the crease to his warm eyes, I’m beginning to see that maybe Aria was onto something. He’s just not the guy I thought he was, but perhaps that’s because I was seeing him through Liam’s eyes. Now I’m seeing him through mine, and I like what I’m seeing.
He gestures me forward so I turn around and start walking down the trail again, trees all around me, when he says, “Back to what I don’t know about you.”
When we reach a group of boulders, I ponder through all the obvious things but figure he wants to know something personal. “I volunteer at the animal shelter twice a week.”
He climbs onto the first boulder and offers his hand down to me. “How long have you been doing that?”
Once he pulls me up, I answer, “A year or so.”
We climb up three more large rocks before the ground flattens out and Jackson’s addressing me again. “What made you get into volunteering there?”
“A commercial.”
His brows rise in blatant surprise. “A commercial?”
The path is thicker up here so I stride beside him, catching the sheen of sweat glistening over hard muscles. Really, he belongs in some lumberjack commercial. “You know those animal abuse commercials about dogs in shelters?” I focus on his face. “Have you ever seen one before?”
He shakes his head. “Can’t say that I have.”