"Then you better start kissing me again."
Jack should tell her no. He should end this thing, right then and there, and let Gwen get on with her life.
He knew what he should do. But he didn't have the strength to do the right thing. Not with Gwen gazing up at him, like she believed he could do anything.
No one had ever looked at him like that. It humbled him, and it terrified him. It reminded him that he'd let her down. If not now, then someday.
She was too tempting, with her smile and her red hair, her green eyes bright with desire. She'd blossomed so much since they'd started this thing, whatever it was.
Affair. Fling. Friends with benefits.
Jack marveled over the silk of her skin as he caressed her cheek. Her throat. The shadow inside her collarbone. Her eyelashes, tipped in blond, fluttered as he touched her.
"You're addictive," he admitted. He let his fingers roam across her back. "I can't get enough of you."
"I feel the same way."
When she pulled his head down for a kiss, he didn't resist. He couldn't. Not with how soft her lips were, or how she tried her hardest to get as close to him as she could, like she wanted to meld their bodies together.
He licked inside her mouth, tasting the cider she'd drunk, and she giggled when he nipped at her bottom lip. The kiss was lazy, sensual, as Jack rubbed the bare skin of her lower back before lifting her into his lap.
It didn't take long for him to slip her out of her shirt or her bra. He played with her breasts, still kissing her, loving the way she wiggled on his lap. His cock was already hard as iron.
"I want to do something different tonight," said Gwen, her eyes glassy.
"Like what?"
She just smiled, shaking her head, before going on her knees in front of him. He didn't need her to explain what she was thinking about. As she began to unzip his jeans, he tensed.
"You don't have to." Even as he said the words, he knew he'd die if she stopped.
Gwen cupped his cock through his boxers. "I want to." She freed his length, gently stroking it, her touch so light that it was almost painful.
Jack groaned when she began tasting him. She was tentative at first, licking at the tip, swirling her tongue around to see his reaction.
"Do you like this?" she asked.
He licked his dry lips. "Squeeze me at the base when you lick the tip or suck it."
When she immediately took him inside her mouth, he nearly came right then and there. The heat, the wetness, the flush on her cheeks, the redness of her lips around his cock were nearly his undoing.
"Fuck, Gwen." He touched her hair. "You're amazing."
She just winked at him. Then she was squeezing and sucking at the same time. She'd lost that hesitation and instead seemed to revel in making him writhe.
He could feel himself getting close. He'd never gotten this close, this fast, and especially not from a blowjob.
"Gwen." Jack gently lifted her away and brought her up for a deep kiss.
"Why'd you stop?"
"Because I want to be inside you when I come."
He pulled out a condom that he'd put in his wallet just in case, all the while knowing he should let Gwen go. But as she shimmied out of her pants and underwear, all his doubts disappeared.
Once he had the condom on, Gwen sat on his lap, his cock rubbing against her dripping core. They both moaned when he nearly sheathed himself inside of her but missed.
Gwen took his cock and notched the tip at her entrance before slowly sliding down his length. Jack gripped her hips, not sure if he wanted her to go faster or slower.
"Gwen. Shit, Gwen." He was incoherent as she began to bounce on top of him.
Gwen titled her head back, her hair trailing down, her eyes closed. She rode him in quick strokes. Jack had to restrain himself from making her go faster. He squeezed the globes of her ass, which made her quicken her pace.
"Oh my God." Gwen was going faster, faster. She was breathing hard. "Oh my God—Jack!"
She squealed. As her sheath gripped him and her release burst through her, Jack's exploded, too. He shouted as he came. His entire body was wracked with convulsions.
He was barely aware of Gwen kissing his face and rubbing his chest. He was panting. He felt like his heart had exploded and then had come back together again somehow.
"That was fun," said Gwen breathlessly. She pushed sweaty strands of hair from his forehead. "How about you?"
He couldn't speak. He knew that he'd have to let her go, but it was unbearable.
Don't look too closely. Don't think about the future just yet. Let yourself enjoy this one last time.
He pressed his forehead to hers. "I think you broke me," he admitted with a sad laugh.
"I hope not. Because I'm not done with you tonight."
And Jack, not being a complete idiot, wasn't about to deny her a second round.
Chapter Nineteen
A week before Thanksgiving, Gwen and Jocelyn headed to Luke Wright's place. They planned to present their business plan for the restaurant they would call Lyn’s Eatery. The name was a play on Gwendolyn and Jocelyn’s names. Jack would also meet the two of them at Luke’s for the presentation.
Gwen's palms were sweaty as she drove the winding roads up to the Wright house. She'd never been there. She'd heard about it—everyone on Hazel Island knew how huge it was—but she'd never had a reason to be invited. When she'd asked Jack what it was like, he'd only said, "It's big."
It didn't help that the roads were narrow, and it was raining. And there were no guard rails, either. Everyone had heard horror stories of tourists driving too fast and careening off the roads.
Gwen slowed down further. The car behind her honked impatiently.
"You know we need to get there before noon," said Jocelyn, her tone joking.
Gwen shot her a glare. It was currently only ten AM. "You want to switch places?"
"Not particularly."
Gwen returned her focus to driving. The car behind her eventually passed her, flipping her off in the process. Great. That was surely a good omen for this presentation this morning.
"Then again, it might be preferable to end up on the side of a cliff instead of going to the Wright's," muttered Jocelyn.
Gwen ignored that comment. She didn't much care that Jocelyn disliked Luke Wright. Gwen had asked Jocelyn to keep any snarky comments to herself when they arrived. Jocelyn had looked offended, replying sarcastically that she'd keep things completely professional.
They arrived to see Jack parking his truck. They hustled into the house, the rain coming down harder now. The housekeeper ushered them to the mudroom, where they could hang up their coats. They were then given slippers to wear in the house.
No outside shoes in the house said a large sign inside the mudroom.
"I wonder if they throw you in the dungeon if you track mud inside," joked Jocelyn as she slipped on some house slippers.
"They just toss you into the ocean," was Jack's deadpan reply.
Gwen shot them both glares. "Behave yourselves. We're trying to get money here, aren't we?"
Jack and Jocelyn just looked at each other, as if wordlessly agreeing that Gwen was in a strange mood.