Chapter Nineteen

Sophie woke up sprawled across Jake in his bed. Her head was resting right over his breastbone, his heart a strong, steady beat in her ear. She vaguely remembered curling up against him after they came back from the pool and falling asleep, but at some point in the middle of the night, she must have wanted to get closer, and just climbed on top of him.

Not, she figured, that he minded being her new mattress much, if the enormous erection pressing into her stomach was any indication. That made two of them who didn’t mind it, she thought, as all that hard male muscle beneath her quickly brought her from sleepy to aroused in a matter of seconds.

For all the years she’d dreamed of being in bed with Jake, those visions had always been of Jake touching her, Jake kissing her, Jake making love to her. Yesterday at the pool had been the first time she’d ever taken the lead with sex.

She’d loved it. But even more than that, she’d loved the way he’d begun to share pieces of himself with her the previous night. Their physical connection was undeniable. Could their emotional connection become just as strong, too?

Was there a chance that Jake would keep letting her in, bit by bit, until he actually shared his whole heart—and soul—with her?

She ran her fingertips over the strong muscles of his shoulder, tracing the veins and sinews just below the surface of his skin. Sophie feathered her fingers from collarbone to bicep, wanting to memorize Jake from feel alone, already putting together a mental map of his masculine perfection. She was also glad for the chance, at long last, to really study the tattoos on his tanned skin. What, she wondered, did each one of them mean? Jake wasn’t a man who did anything without a reason, and she couldn’t imagine the tattoos had been painless. Regardless of how tough he acted, he was flesh and blood like anyone else.

Being able to touch Jake at her leisure like this was such a gift. But it wasn’t nearly enough to whet her suddenly ravenous appetite for more. She didn’t just want to know the contours of his body with her hands, she wanted to feel them all against her lips, wanted to know the taste of him on her tongue.

She shifted her head so that she could press her lips to his breastbone. His body was so solid, so strong. He smelled so good and he tasted even better, still faintly covered in the chlorine from the swimming pool. She shifted again, just enough to lift her head from his chest so that she could lick him, barely managing to hold back a moan of pleasure as she laved his slightly salty skin. No wonder men were so fixated on women’s br**sts. Already, she was an addict, could spend hours with her mouth on him, her tongue, her teeth all vying for superiority.

Slowly shifting her weight, she moved her legs to either side of his hips and let her weight fall to her knees on the mattress so that she could kneel above him and feast her eyes. That was when she realized his dark eyes weren’t closed.

“You’re awake?”

His mouth curved into a sexy smile. “Do you actually think there’s a guy alive who could sleep through that?” His hands curved over her backside, gently squeezing the soft flesh there. “I’ve been awake since you made me your body pillow a couple of hours ago.” He chased his words with the slow drag of his hands from her hips to her waist.

“Poor baby. I should make those sleepless hours up to you, shouldn’t I?”

His eyes lit with surprise—and heat—at her soft words, just a beat before his fingertips skimmed the bottom of her rib cage and his hands curved over her br**sts. She wanted to keep focusing on him, on the heady adventure of exploring his body, but when he touched her like that she couldn’t keep her spine from arching her deeper into his hands. His shaft was hugely erect between her thighs and her body moved into position over it as though they were connected by magnets, so that she could glide over him, back and forth, until her breath was coming fast.

“God, I love to watch you come. Do it now for me, princess. Ride me all the way there, just like this.”

Every time she was with Jake, she disappeared deeper and deeper into the sensual spell he wove around her. She’d never thought she could be this woman, one who brought herself to climax while her lover urged her forward, had never imagined she would break into the swim center to skinny-dip with him.

Then again, she’d never felt this safe before, had never had a man look at her as though she was the only person in the world who mattered.

The intense appreciation in his dark eyes sent her hurtling over the edge. As she ground her pelvis into his, as his fingers played over the taut peaks of her incredibly sensitive br**sts, Sophie wasn’t nice anymore. She wasn’t naughty either.

She was simply a woman who finally understood how deep pleasure could run when she was with the right man...especially when love was bringing them together as much as hormones and attraction.

Their mouths met in a tangle of desire, tongues slipping and sliding, teeth catching on lips as waves of ecstasy crashed into her, through her, over her. Her orgasm seemed to go on and on forever, spiraling higher and higher before leaving her muscles loose and limp. Even then, despite the way his shaft was throbbing between her legs, he simply stroked her hair, her back, as she worked to catch her breath.

“Mmmm.” She couldn’t get her brain around anything clearer than that little hum of pleasure. Still, any minute now, she was sure he’d roll them over on the bed, push her legs open, and take her in a deliciously dominant way. And, oh, how she’d enjoy every second of it.

But even after she could breathe normally again, even when she realized his muscles had tensed up so much that he was nearly a living, breathing rock beneath her, he didn’t move.

She lifted her head from the crook of his neck and brushed the damp strands of hair from her face so that she could see him properly. “Aren’t you—?” She paused, blushing despite the fact that they were already naked and she’d just climaxed in cowgirl position over him. “Don’t you—?”

His mouth captured hers. “Yes.” He kissed her again, the thrust of his tongue the perfect window to his desire. “God, yes.”

Suddenly, Sophie was struck with an idea that she never would have dared to see through before. But being with Jake made her feel brave. Moving off him, she slid off the bed and went to her bag to pull out a couple of hair clips. Within seconds, she had her long hair pulled off her face into a tight bun. She rooted around for the nonprescription glasses she kept with her to wear to important meetings—when she needed to make sure her brains were the only thing people noticed.