Jack & Jilted by Cathy Yardley Page B

pushing her body against his. “I know that. It’s using you, after you’ve been so wonderful to me, listening to me, being a friend to me. I don’t want a replacement husband and I’m not looking to start a new relationship. But I don’t drink and I don’t want to wreck somebody’s car. I just want to have sex. I want to remember what good sex feels like. I want to do it until I’m exhausted and I fall asleep smiling.”
    She could feel him still as a stone against her. She had never seduced anyone before—not that this could be considered a seduction, she realized. This was a proposition. She was propositioning him.
    “You have to be sure,” he finally said, his voice ragged. “You have to be damned sure.”
    She blinked, feeling her own hormones surge in response. She realized on some level that she’d been steeling herself for rejection—that she had fully expected him to turn her down. “I’m sure.”
    “Because I’m not going to be your husband,” he said, taking her shoulders in both hands and giving her a tiny shake. “You’re a great woman, from what I’ve seen, and you’ve had some really crappy things happen to you. That makes me feel badly. But I’m not going to hook up with someone out of pity and I don’t want to hurt you even worse just because you think that sleeping with me is going to be some kind of answer. I don’t want you making me out to be something I’m not.” His voice was downright fierce now, nothing like the laid-back seafarer she’d met only the day before. “I want you. But it’s just going to be physical, and if that seems wrong, then you’re going to be dealing with me for the rest of the trip. Now think about this very, very carefully. Can you really handle this or not?”
    She swallowed hard. Her mind was racing, throwing disastrous possibilities at her. She’d feel terrible. She’d lose respect for herself. She’d lose respect for him. She’d be faced with a long journey with that knowledge. She’d only slept with three men in her life, and all of those were from long relationships. Could she handle this?
    He was so close she could feel the heat coming off him. And her body suddenly made the decision for her.
    She stood up on her toes and kissed him. Gently at first, tentatively tasting his mouth, feeling the muscles of his chest bunch under her fingertips. Trying to get closer to him, her breasts dragged up the length of him, and he groaned beneath her lips.
    He suddenly took charge, surprising her even more. His hands, which had been clutching her shoulders, moved down to her hips, molding her to him, and she squeaked momentarily in surprise. He wasn’t harsh, though, and the rough movement felt like heaven as she felt his hardness press against her stomach. She sighed, parting her lips, and his tongue traced the soft inner flesh of her mouth. She responded in kind, feeling her heart start to beat painfully quickly in response.
    “Jack,” she murmured when he pulled away. “Jack.”
    He pulled her head against his chest, cradling her hair with one hand. She could hear his heartbeat, a fast, steady thumping beneath her ear.
    “I can’t promise more than tonight,” he said. “Damn it, don’t make me the bad guy tomorrow.”
    “I won’t blame you,” she assured him, almost mindless with the rush of pleasure and need coursing through her. Now that she’d felt the rush, there was no way she was turning back. Her body wanted it too much. “I swear, Jack, I won’t hold you to anything. Just be with me tonight.”
    She felt, as well as heard the tortured sigh come from him. Then she felt him lift her up as if she weighed nothing. With quick, careful steps, he took her back to her cabin and shut the door behind them.
    She felt her heart racing in her chest, and her skin felt alive, almost oversensitive to his touch. He placed her on the bed delicately, slowly, as if giving her every chance to back out if she so desired. But she wasn’t going to