She was nervous, he realized. Nervous, and trying not to show it. It warmed him to think that she wanted this dinner to go well just as much as he did. But his past wasn’t much to talk about. Not compared to hers.
“It’s a boring story.”
“Somehow, I doubt it.” She finished the donut and licked cinnamon sugar from her fingers, her pink tongue darting out from between her lips.
He grabbed a chip and shifted to conceal his growing erection. “Do you really want to hear it?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I want to know what made you You, you know?” She giggled. “I just said ‘you’ way too many times, didn’t I?”
He held his fingers an inch apart. “Just a little.” He considered her question. There was no way to tell his story without mentioning Claudia, but it wasn’t good form to prattle on about ex-girlfriends, so he decided to keep it as brief as possible. “You already know the basics. I messed around for a while after high school, working odd jobs, then once I had my head on straight, I did an outdoor education course in Auckland. Planned to leave as soon as I was finished, but then I met my ex and ended up staying for a couple of years.” Which had been a constant source of tension between him and Claudia, because he’d resented her for keeping him in the city, and she wouldn’t hear of moving away. “When we broke up, I came here and set up my own business. I knew Logan—we studied together—and he let me room with him until I was back on my feet.”
She nodded. “Seems like everything worked out for you.”
He shrugged. Yeah, he could see how it looked that way, on the face of things. But something was missing. Something he was beginning to think might look a lot like Brooke.
“I could say the same for you, Dr. Griffiths.”
She laughed. “I don’t get to call myself ‘Doctor’ until I’ve stood in front of a panel of experts and defended my thesis. That’s a way off yet.”
“You’ll rock their socks off.”
“I don’t think I’d go that far, but I have faith in myself.”
A thought occurred to him. “You always do, don’t you?”
Not once had he seen her waver. Not while she’d been dead on her feet, and not even when her feet were raw and blistered.
She popped a chip in her mouth and looked uncomfortable. When she’d finished chewing, she swallowed and said, “I guess I’ve never seen the point in doubting myself. Enough other people do that already. In my experience, if I’m patient, persistent, and work hard, everything is possible. It just takes time.” She ate another chip, gazing at a stain on the tabletop. “Even if I wanted to run a marathon one day, I know I could do it. It might take years of grueling training, but eventually I’d get there.”
“That’s amazing.” He’d never been more attracted to any woman than he was to her in that instant. Her attitude was sexy as hell. “Are you still hungry?”
She cocked her head. “I think I’m good for now. What did you have in mind?”
He wiped his hands on a napkin and winked. “Come to the bedroom and find out.”
20
“You mean we’re going to be old-fashioned and start in the bedroom this time?” Brooke asked as she laid her glasses down, took the hand Jack offered and followed him to one of the only open doors in the house. Either he really liked to compartmentalize, or the place was as much of a pigsty as any single man’s, and he was trying to hide it to make a good impression. Strangely, she found that prospect hopelessly endearing. “What did I do to deserve this treatment?”
He drew her inside and pinned her between him and the wall, with scarcely enough room to breathe. She’d seen his eyes darken with arousal moments earlier, but didn’t know what had caused it.
“You’re just so damn sexy,” he said in that raspy tone she was beginning to recognize as his horny voice. “Your body is sexy.” He nuzzled the side of her neck. “Your mind is sexy,” he continued, his lips moving against her skin, sending shivers dancing down her spine. “And your attitude is the sexiest thing of all.”
“My attitude?” This, she had to hear.
He scooted closer, if such a thing were possible, and she could feel the hard length of him through the clothes separating them. His proximity muddled her mind. She wasn’t used to men like him. Ones who were virile, rough around the edges, and accustomed to taking what they wanted.
The guy she’d lost her virginity to had been sheltered during his teenage years, like her. They’d never been more than friends, but they’d made a pact to be each other’s first if no one else came along in the initial semester of university. No one had, for either of them. Sex with him had been okay. They’d both been totally inexperienced, but it could have been worse. He’d been gentle and attentive, and they’d stayed friends afterward.
Nothing about what Jack was doing to her could be called friendly.
“Your whole ‘I can do anything’ talk. It really inspired me.” He imbued the word “inspired” with innuendo.
A sense of power surged through her. For the first time since she’d arrived, she had the reins. They were on a more level playing field. Or maybe it had never been anything but, except in her mind.
“Oh, you like that?” She bit her lip and closed her eyes. “I can fly to the moon if I want. No, wait. I can take a spaceship to Mars. I can trek across Antarctica. Sail around the world. How’s that for inspiring?”
He chuckled, and the vibrations traveled through her body, then he gripped her hips and lifted. Her eyes flew open and she wrapped her legs around his waist instinctively. His palms smoothed around the underside of her bottom.
“I’m feeling very inspired.”
So was she. She rubbed herself against him and sighed. “I like it when you’re inspired.”
Resting her head on his shoulder, she rocked into him, loving the way he hissed and swore at the contact.
“Fuuuuck yes. Just like that, baby. Let me feel your sweet spot.”
Every nerve ending tingled. Every part of her was inflamed and battling to get closer to him. Closer still. It would never be enough.
He smelled like citrus. She kissed up and down the length of his neck and breathed him in. God, his scent was good. Addictive. She wanted to find the source and roll around in it. He carried her to the bed and sat. She straddled his lap, her knees on the duvet, and raised herself up, taking his face between her palms and kissing him like she had all the time in the world. She tasted him, caressed his tongue with her own, drank him up like he was her favorite cocktail. He groaned and yanked her more firmly on top of him, grinding into her, pressing up with his hips to feel more of her.
They were wearing too many clothes. Brooke stripped off her shirt and Jack raised his arms so she could do the same for him, then he reached around and flicked her bra open. Cupping a breast in each hand, he buried his face between them.
“Mmm,” he hummed, gently squeezing their fullness. “Love these.”
“Glad you approve.” She was aiming for sarcasm, but fell short.
Her hands skimmed up his sides, learning the feel of him, the bumps of his muscles and bones, and the tiny scars that spotted his skin, souvenirs of past adventures. His muscular arms banded around her, pulling her tight to his chest, and the friction between their lower bodies increased. She shifted. It still wasn’t enough.