‘Caro thinks I should have a red-hot affair to boost my confidence,’ she said.
‘Sounds like good advice to me.’
Her look was wry. ‘Yes, well, it would to a man. But I’m not really wired that way. I suspect a lot of women aren’t.’
He released her wrists and stepped back from her. ‘Not all men are after one-night stands,’ he said. ‘I would eventually like to have what my parents had. They were friends as well as lovers. After my father was killed my mother never looked at another man. He was the love of her life. I admired that commitment. She was still young and attractive, she could have had another chance at happiness, but she loved my father too much to even consider it.’
‘My parents have a similar relationship,’ Fran said. ‘I can’t imagine what either one would do if something happened to the other. It must have been so hard for you and your mother when your father died.’
He held her look for a lengthy moment without speaking, a shadow of something moving in his eyes.
‘I was meant to be working with him that evening,’ he finally said, his tone weighted with regret.
Fran frowned at him. ‘You’re surely not blaming yourself?’
His expression was still grim. ‘What would it have cost me to give up watching a movie with some mates?’
‘It could have cost you your life,’ she pointed out.
He dismissed that with a wave of his hand. ‘I should have been there. I might have been able to save him if I had been.’
‘I can understand how you would feel that way, but you might not have been able to do anything for him,’ she said.
‘Something would have been better than nothing,’ he said, raking a hand through his hair. ‘I wasn’t much better at looking out for my mother when it came to the end. She died before I could get there.’
She moved towards him and touched him on the forearm.
‘Not everyone can make it in time. The important thing is she knew you were thinking of her. Think of all you did for her here. It was just bad luck things didn’t work out the way you both wanted it to.’ She took a little breath and added, ‘If I had been here while she was here, I would have seen her and treated her. I would have fought back my fears for you and for her.’
He placed his hand over hers, squeezing it softly. ‘Thanks, that means a lot to me. I think she would have liked you. She would have certainly been impressed with your baking abilities. She made the best cakes, or so I thought until I tasted yours.’
Fran smiled up at him. ‘Wait until you taste my double chocolate macadamia nut cookies.’
He smiled in return. ‘Speaking of food, I guess I should get started on our dinner.’
‘What can I do to help?’ Fran asked, trying not to stare at his mouth. She wanted to stand on tiptoe and press her lips to his, to finish what they had started minutes earlier.
Was
it too soon? How did one measure such a thing? She was as fiercely attracted to Jacob as he was to her. She could see it in his eyes every time they met hers. It felt as if she had come into contact with a live power line. Her body fizzed all over with sensation, the blood in her veins rocketing through at breakneck speed.
‘For a start, you could help by not looking at me like that,’ he said with a wry slant of a smile.
She felt her cheeks begin to flush all over again. ‘I’m sorry…was it that obvious?’
He tipped up her chin to lock gazes with her, his finger like a fiery brand on her skin. ‘It might be too soon for both of us but I want you.’
The bald statement made Fran’s eyes flare. Her belly gave a little kick of excitement and a pulse-like ache began deep and low inside her. ‘I want you too.’ Her voice came out husky and soft and breathless.
‘The way I see it, we have two choices,’ he said, still holding her gaze. ‘One: we step back right now before we go any further.’
‘And…and two?’ Again Fran’s voice was so husky it was barely audible.
His pupils were like black holes in a startlingly blue ocean. ‘Two: we kiss again and see what happens.’
She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, trying to sound casual and easygoing about it all. ‘Sounds like a plan.’
His gaze went to her mouth. ‘I don’t know about you but I’m leaning towards the kiss and see what happens.’
‘Yeah, me too,’ she whispered as his mouth hovered above hers.
When his lips came down over hers she felt giant shock waves of reaction course through her. His kiss was leisurely at first but then it changed to full-throttle passion, leaving her senses spinning. His tongue curled around hers, tasting her, exploring her until she was clinging to him unashamedly. Her body was on fire, she could feel the flames of desire licking at every secret place, her hunger for him ravenous. With his mouth still fused to hers, his hands slipped under her top, sliding up her bare flesh until he was cupping her breasts. Her nipples were painfully tight and she shuddered when his mouth left hers to suckle on each of them in turn over her top. She arched her spine, her breathing coming in short, sharp gasps as his tongue laved her, his freshly shaven skin still abrading her slightly. It was a delicious reminder of his
maleness and her femininity, his hardness and her softness. It made her heart hammer with the thrill of expectation of how it would feel to be in his arms, skin on skin.
This time when he lifted her in his arms she simply laced her arms around his neck, relishing the strength of him as he carried her to the master bedroom.
He placed her on the mattress, coming down over her, his weight pinning her to the bed. His mouth came back to hers, sending her into another vortex of feeling as his hands slipped back under her top to possess her again.
She writhed beneath him restlessly, aching to do the same to him, to feel his nakedness, to explore the muscled contours of his body. Her hands searched for him, tugging his T-shirt out of his jeans, her palms sliding over the satin-covered steel of his chest and abdomen. The light dusting of masculine hair snagged on her fingertips, and she drew circles around his flat hard nipples, quivering with delight when he made a sound of pleasure at the back of his throat. Gaining confidence, she moved her hands downwards, undoing the fastening on his jeans, slowly rolling down the metal zipper, sensing the way his abdominal muscles clenched in anticipation as she came to the final barrier of his underwear. Her fingers brushed over him experimentally, her heart leaping at the length and latent power of him. She heard him suck in a breath as she rolled back the fabric of his underwear, her fingers dancing over him lightly.
He made another deep guttural sound as she enclosed him inside the warmth of her hand, tightening her hold, sliding up and down until he placed one of his hands over hers in order to keep control.
‘Whoa, there,’ he said, breathing heavily. ‘I’m fully loaded and you’re not even undressed. Let’s even up things a bit.’
Fran felt her insides twist with longing as he started to work on her clothes. Her top went first, her bra next, freeing her breasts for his touch.
‘Beautiful,’ he murmured against her creamy flesh. ‘So soft, just like silk.’
She felt her skin pop all over in goose-bumps when his mouth closed over each nipple in turn, the moist lave of his tongue making her spine arch like a cat. Sensations fired through her like fireworks exploding beneath her skin, leaving spot fires all over her flesh wherever his mouth kissed her.
He worked his way down from her breasts, helping her out of her gym pants, the soft little thuds of her trainers barely registering in her hearing as his mouth found the tiny bowl of her belly button. He dipped his tongue in before circling it, and then moving lower, millimetre by millimetre until he came to the scrap of lace she was wearing. She pulled in a ragged breath, her whole body bracing for his next move. She shuddered when he slowly peeled the lace away from her body, her senses so finely tuned to his touch her skin felt super-sensitive.
He cupped her with the palm of his hand, the warmth of him seeping through her tender flesh. Her whole being pulsed with longing and, as if sensing her need, he gently traced the feminine seam of her body before parting her to slowly glide one finger into her silky moistness. The sensation of being explored by him so intimately made her breath catch in her throat. He was so unhurried, so patient and yet so passionate in his every caress. Her body was alive with need, prickling with it, pulsing with it and aching for it to be brought to completion. She made a tiny sound of impatience and he smiled lazily as he moved back over her to cover his mouth with hers.
She gave herself up to the kiss, the weight of his naked
body over hers making her tingle all over. His chest hair tickled her breasts, and the steely flatness of his abdomen against her belly burned her skin until she could feel the moist beads of perspiration gathering between their bodies.
It was so primal, the way he was pinning her, his strong legs entwined with hers, the rough hair of his limbs contrasting with her smoothness, the friction of their bodies, straining to get closer, to get as close as physically possible. She felt giddy with anticipation, feverish and breathless and more than a little out of control. It was as if her body was ruling her mind. She was no longer the sensible, cautious woman of the past, a little shy and uncertain of herself. In Jacob’s arms she was a wanton woman, not ashamed of showing how much she needed him. Her body was speaking for her, writhing beneath his for the final act of possession, her mouth feeding off his, her tongue licking and stroking his, her teeth biting at him in playful, kittenish bites that made him groan in response.
He lifted his mouth from hers and reached past her to open the bedside-table drawer, rummaging through the contents before he located a condom.
Fran tried not to think of who had been in his bed last. She didn’t want to think of where she was located in the line of his past and future lovers. She daren’t think too far ahead. For now all she wanted to concentrate on was how it felt to be the one he had right now.
He wanted her, he had told her and he had shown her in the most telling way possible. His body was straining to keep control; she felt the tension in him as she watched him apply the condom, the overwhelming need for release so like her own.
He moved back over her to kiss her again, his tongue playing with hers as he positioned his pelvis against hers.
She shifted her legs, her body opening to him instinctively as he possessed her in one deep slick thrust that knocked the air right out of her chest. She gasped as her body gripped him, each tender ridge of her feminine form holding him tightly as he moved within her. Hot sparks sizzled down her spine as he increased his pace, the rhythm of their rocking bodies making her sensitised nerves go into a frenzied spasm. She could feel the tension building in her body, the invisible strings of desire tightening like a violin being tuned after years of toneless laxity. Her whole body was humming, vibrating with her need of him.
He changed his rhythm, slow and easy and then faster, and then backing off again as if he was holding himself back from the edge. It thrilled her to think how affected he was by her. She had not thought of herself as irresistible before and yet in his arms she felt as if he was fighting for control every step of the way.
She loved the feel of him inside her, the smooth glide of him within her, the way he filled her, stretching her to accommodate him, making her feel totally his. Her body strained against him, searching for that extra pressure, aching for the final completion. She arched her back, groaning, whimpering, begging him to send her to paradise.
He reached down between their bodies and played her with his fingers, stroking her until she shuddered her way through an orgasm so intense she felt as if everything inside her head was spinning. Brilliant lights like thousands of camera flashes went off, heat coursing through her like liquid flames, searing her as she quivered and shook beneath his powerful body.
Fran was still floating back down from the ceiling when he gave a rough grunt as he tensed all over, every muscle
pulled as tight as a bow before he surged forward, spilling himself, his body quaking with the after shocks of release. She felt every one of them reverberate through her body, sending waves of vicarious pleasure washing over her that she had brought him to this.
She held him to her, listening to his hectic breathing, her body still exquisitely sensitive where it was in intimate contact with his. She was reluctant to break the spell of intimacy that had woven them together. It felt so good to be in his arms, to be lying in the afterglow of spent passion, to feel him inside her, to feel satisfied in a way she had never felt before.
She felt a little embarrassed at her lack of experience. Had he been able to tell? she wondered. How mortifying if he had. She was a doctor, for pity’s sake. How could she have lived this long and not realised what pleasure her body was capable of giving and receiving?
Jacob rolled away and discreetly disposed of the condom, turning back to lie on his side beside her, his fingers tracing a circular pattern on each of her slim hips in turn. He came to the scar at the top of her right thigh, noting how she tensed, as if preparing herself for his revulsion. ‘It’s just a scar, sweetheart,’ he said. ‘It’ll fade in time.’
She averted her gaze from his, plucking at the sheet beneath her with her fingers, her teeth sinking into the flesh of her lips.
He frowned and angled her head so she had to face him eye to eye. ‘Is everything all right?’ he asked.
She gave him a forced smile. ‘Of course.’
His frown deepened. ‘I didn’t hurt you, did I?’
She looked a little shocked at his question. ‘No of course not! You were…’ she gave a little shuddering sigh ‘…amazing…’
He brushed some wayward strands of her long hair off her face. ‘When it comes to that, you were pretty amazing yourself.’
She dropped her gaze and her fingers began pulling at the sheet again. ‘Jacob…I wouldn’t like you to think I do this regularly…I mean, jump into bed with someone I barely know…’
He studied her for a moment. ‘You’re regretting what happened just now?’ he asked.