Against the Cage (Worth the Fight #1) (20 page)

“Honey, you weigh next to nothing. If I could, I’d carry you around all day.” She laughed into his neck, and he tossed her onto the bed, making her giggle again. “That is my favorite sound in the entire world,” he said as he settled them under the covers.

“What?” she said, still laughing. For the first time in a long time, she looked really happy.

“Your laugh. It’s my favorite sound.” She smiled at him. “Scratch that. You screaming my name when you come is my favorite sound in the world. You laughing and giggling is my second favorite.”

She threw a pillow at him, and he lunged toward her, ready to tickle her, but instead pulled her to his chest. “Goodnight, baby. Sleep well.” Her body fit so perfectly against his. He gave her a kiss on the back of her head, and she sighed.

It was almost midday when Chrissy and Jack made their way out of bed. During the night Jack had awoken with Chrissy’s ass wiggling suggestively against his dick, which hardened immediately. He could take a hint. So at some point in the middle of the night,
Jack made love to Chrissy again. Slowly. Gently. By the time morning came around they were sated and exhausted. But the exhaustion had been worth it.

“You got any plans for today?” asked Chrissy.

“Not really. You?”

Chrissy shook her head.

“How about I fix you breakfast and we have a lazy day? We can even go to the beach.”

Chrissy sat up and knelt next to him. “Oh, yes!” she squealed excitedly. “That sounds like a plan. I’ve been eyeing the beach since I arrived. In Miami, the beach is always so packed. One of the things I miss most about this town and my old house is that I can be at the beach all day and not see one single person the entire time.”

“I’m going to start breakfast. You want to use the shower first?”

“Sure. Thanks, Jack,” she said with a silly grin from ear to ear.

Before he did anything, Jack went next door. He’d been worried about Slade all night. He had tried to sneak in a few calls during the night while Chrissy slept, but Slade didn’t answer. After knocking several times and getting no response, Jack used his spare key to let himself in. Nervously he opened Slade’s bedroom door and was relieved to find him spread out on his bed, one foot dangling off and the other wrapped around his sheets.
These Martins certainly know how to take over a bed!
Jack quietly approached the bed to make sure that Slade hadn’t gotten himself badly injured. He noticed a swollen eye, the opposite one from the previous fight, and a scratch on his cheekbone. “Fucking idiot,” he whispered before silently walking out of the room.
Chrissy’s going to kill him, and when she’s done killing him, she’s going to kill me. Shit. Shit. Shit
. Maybe once she understood that it was for her own good, she’d get it. She was a reasonable and rational woman. Right?

Nope, she was going to kill him.

Back in his own house, he started breakfast, and was almost done cooking when Chrissy came down.

“Smells wonderful.” She got close to Jack and picked a piece of bacon from a plate. She ate half of it and gave the other half to Drogo, who was by her feet.

Suddenly she looked a little uncomfortable. “I’m not so good with this kinda thing,” she admitted. “I don’t want to be clingy. Maybe I should go next door and—”

“If you think you’re going back to Slade’s while you’re in town, I clearly did a bad job last night.”

She giggled. “No. No, you did an excellent job.”

“Dig in.” Jack gestured to the food on the table. “We’ll go for a swim after
breakfast.”

They ate in relative silence, and when they finished, Jack went upstairs and took a quick shower while Chrissy cleaned up the mess from breakfast. He came back down in camouflage board shorts and no shirt. He really was a work of art.

“You’re staring, babe.”

“Oh, uh … sorry ’bout that,” she said. “Gonna change into my bathing suit. Be right back.”

“I’ll grab us some towels and some bottled water. Meet you outside.”

Fifteen minutes later, Chrissy was lying next to Jack on a beach towel enjoying the scorching Florida heat on her skin.

Jack rolled onto his side, his head resting on his palm, while he drew little circles on Chrissy’s exposed abdomen. “I haven’t relaxed by the beach in years,” he said.

Chrissy turned her face to him. “Really? But that’s a sacrilege, since you live on the beach. Nothing better than sand, sun, and the salty warm water of the ocean.”

“Most mornings I do go jogging on the beach, but actually bathing in the ocean and lazing around on the beach … nope, it’s been a long time.”

“Well, I think you need to start doing it more often,” she said. His hands were now a little lower on her body. He skimmed the waistband of the bikini bottom with his index finger. Chrissy’s brain went into overdrive.

“There are lots of things I need to do more often.” He lifted his sunglasses and winked at her.

“Are you flirting with me, Daniels?”

“If you can’t tell, then I’m doing a terrible job.” His hand slipped a little farther down her bikini bottom.

“Jack …,” she whispered.

“Shh. No one can see us. Just go with it.”

Chrissy sat up on her elbows and looked around. Between the sand dunes and the sea grass, it was pretty secluded. Certainly people could walk by and see them, but there was no one around. And if the neighbors stayed inside, they couldn’t see anything either.

Jack’s hand went lower still. She gasped. “Relax,” he soothed.

When he reached the exact spot he wanted to touch, he found her wet. Soaked. And they hadn’t even gotten in the water just yet. “I can tell you want this.” He rubbed
just enough to elicit a little moan. He then went lower still and, without warning he thrust two fingers inside of her. She gasped and bucked. He leaned into her so that the weight of his body held her down. “Jack! Oh, God, more …”

He obliged and moved in and out faster until her hips bucked so wildly that he had to use his other hand to pin her down. Her arms wrapped around his neck and when she was about to come he silenced her scream with his tongue in her mouth. Then he put his sunglasses back on and rolled back onto his towel. Chrissy wanted to reciprocate, but the heat from the sun and the intense orgasm made her completely immobile.

Jack stood up and extended his hand. “Come on. Let’s go in the water.”

Chrissy grunted.

Jack chuckled. “What was that?”

She grunted again and waved his hand away. “Nap. I need a nap.”

He laughed. “You are so adorable.” He reached down and picked her up. “Someone told me I had to enjoy the ocean more often.”

Chrissy squealed and kicked. “No! Don’t you dare!”

Jack threw her glasses on the beach towel and carried her to the water. She was sure he was going to hurl her in. Instead he walked in slowly, cradling Chrissy.

“Aren’t you … don’t you … I mean, it was a great orgasm, don’t you want me to …”

“Sometimes it’s about us, sometimes it’s about you, and sometimes it’s about me. This time it was about you. Now be quiet and enjoy the beach.”

Chrissy draped her arms around his neck and nuzzled closer. Yes, it had certainly been about her, and she was okay with leaving it that way. Next time it would be about him.

By midafternoon they were both hot, hungry, and a few shades darker.

“Sweetheart, can you hand me my glasses? I can’t see without them,” she said as she scrambled for her towel blindly.

“Sweetheart?”

“Huh?” She looked up at him, dumbfounded.

“You just called me sweetheart.”

“I did? Hmm, I guess I did. Is it a problem? It’s weird, right? Sorry.”

Jack walked over to her and placed her glasses on her nose, then cradled her face with his hands. “No, baby. It’s not a problem and it’s not weird at all. It’s nice. I like it. It’s just unexpected coming from you. You’re not a ‘sweetheart’ kind of girl.” He placed a very tender kiss on her lips, and they headed back to the house, hand in hand. Drogo stood by the door, tail wagging, as they walked in.

It had been one of the best days of Chrissy’s life. Well, if she was being honest, it had been
the
best day of her life.

That evening, Jack picked up some Chinese takeout since they were both too tired and lazy to cook. They sat on his bed with cartons of food and chopsticks, eating, talking, and laughing. He had put an action movie on the TV, but it had gone mostly unnoticed. After dinner they made love again, but this time it was about
them
.

“Good morning, beautiful girl.”

“Hey, you.”

“You know you take up the entire bed when you sleep?” he asked with a chuckle.

“I do not.”

“Yes, you do. I almost fell off.”

She hit him with a nearby pillow. “Well, at least I don’t snore.”

“Actually, you do.” When Chrissy pulled the covers over her face, mortified, he threw his head back and laughed. “I’m just teasing you. You don’t snore. But you are a bed hog.”

“Sorry?” She said it as a question, and he smiled.

“The chief just called me,” he told her. “I have to go in to the office for a few hours this morning. Wanna go grab breakfast at the diner before I have to head out?”

“Sure. Give me fifteen.”

Jack nodded and went to get ready. He was in his uniform waiting downstairs when Chrissy came down ready to leave. “We gotta take both cars, so I can head straight to work afterward.”

“Okay,” Chrissy said. “Did you feed Drogo?”

“Of course. I feed him every day. Although by his attitude, you’d think I didn’t give a damn about him.”

“He’ll warm up to you. You’ll see.” She crouched down and said goodbye to the pup.

When they arrived at EE’s, Jack walked behind Chrissy, his hand on the small of her back. The place was packed. There weren’t too many restaurants in the small town, and the diner had been around for years. They looked around to see if there were any available tables. Esther saw them from the other side of the diner and smiled. “We’re swamped today. Grab yourself some menus and find a seat, ’kay?”

“Sure, Esther.”

Jack got the menus while Chrissy located a booth and sat down. Instead of sitting across the table, Jack slid in next to her. He didn’t even bother looking at the menu, obviously familiar with the selection. While she scanned the choices, he nuzzled her neck with tiny kisses, which made Chrissy giggle. No one noticed, since she held the large menu in front of her face. “Your hair smells delicious,” he said, inhaling deeply. “Your neck
tastes
delicious.” She giggled again when he took a nibble of her neck. “Without sounding like a total pussy, which I undoubtedly will, I don’t remember ever being so happy. You make me happy.”

Chrissy turned her face to his and looked at him. He had a big, silly grin. It was the same silly grin that had taken up residence on her face in the last few days. She reached her hand to his face and cupped his cheek, and he leaned into it. Her heart skipped a beat as soon as her skin came into contact with his. This was bliss. This was happiness. It was the first time she’d experienced it. Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by Melinda, the clerk she’d spoken with a few days prior.

“Honey, I’m so glad to see you here. Remember I told you about my brother Miles? He’s here with me. Just stepped out to the bathroom. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”