Lake Magic (41 page)

She couldn’t wait any longer. Her hands went to the top button of his Levi’s, and she struggled to work them free. In one deft move, he popped them open. His hard erection jutted out against his white briefs, and she ran a hand down the soft cotton and hard shaft. He groaned, and that groan made her more brazen than she’d ever been. She sat up and pushed him back. She tugged at his jeans, but their position made it all but impossible. She rocked up onto her knees, and he followed suit. Kneeling on the bed, she pressed her breasts against his chest and skimmed her hands down along the hard planes of his back, the indentation of his spine, and under his briefs. She tugged and pulled again, then tipped her head up to look into his eyes. Raw, undiluted desire darkened their blue depths, while a smile played around the corners of his mouth. “Help,” was all she had to say, and he slipped out of his pants.

He came back on the bed, completely naked and fully aroused. He knelt next to her again, and as he kissed her mouth, the side of her neck, the little hollow indentation at the base of her throat, he unsnapped her shorts but before he took them off, he slipped his hand into her panties and across the warm, slick skin between her thighs. At his touch, she came undone. She arched into him and held on for dear life. Wave after wave of sensation rolled through her, buckled her knees.

His hand stilled. “Jenny?”

Embarrassment flooded her. Just one touch. That’s all it had taken.

His hand was still. Wetness dampened her underwear, seeped into the seam of her shorts. She knew he could feel it. She buried her head in the crook of his shoulder. He must think—

“Jenny.”

She looked up at him feeling completely gauche and self-conscious.

“It’s only the first of many tonight, Cotton Tail.” And then with one kiss, he took all her fears away. He slid her shorts and underwear off, and soon she was naked beneath him. The weight of him felt so right on top of her. He reached to the nightstand, slipped a condom on, and then fitted himself between her thighs. He slid into her in one long, languid motion. She arched to meet him, found his rhythm, and matched it. As he slid in and out of her, pleasuring her in every way possible, he kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, before settling his open mouth against hers in a kiss so full and deep, she knew she was about to lose it again. He quickened the pace, driving against her until they both climaxed. Jenny could have sworn she saw fireworks go off.

Jenny came awake slowly as if from a dream. She lay in the bed, wondering what had woken her, then became aware of the man beside her.

His breathing was slow and even. She knew he was asleep without even looking at him. Carefully, she eased away and got out of bed. She looked around for her clothes. She saw her bikini top but couldn’t find her shorts or underwear. She thought about going to her room and putting on her nightgown, but then she saw Jared’s T-shirt and slipped it on. The soft cotton fell to mid-thigh and engulfed her in his scent. She breathed in, and the memories of what she’d shared with him came flooding back.

She walked over to the window. A crescent moon hung high in the dark sky. Jenny leaned forward and rested her overheated cheek against the cool glass. Her breathing didn’t betray her inner turmoil. But her heart was another matter entirely.

She blew against the window until a small circle formed. In the haze she drew a heart with her fingertip and then the initial J +. Her hand paused. Always before it had been J + S, but now she left it blank.

She closed her eyes and let the rush of memories fill her. She waited for the flood of guilt, of regret, but none of those emotions came. Instead, her body ached in a way that was as foreign as it was familiar. Even now, with the distance between them, she could still feel Jared’s hands, his mouth, his body claiming her. Longing pooled in the pit of her stomach, spiraled down, and left her with a need that defied description.

Even with her eyes closed, she knew he was standing behind her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, and their gazes met in the window’s reflection. His warm breath cascaded over her hair, down the back of her neck. Goose bumps raised her skin. She looked at the fading heart she had drawn, the J she had written. Knowing Jared was still watching her she reached out and retraced the heart, the letter J. And after the plus sign, she placed another letter. Another J.

Jared drew in a swift breath of air. “Jenny . . .”

Just her name and her body remembered every intimate caress, every wanton exploration. She moved away from the window, keeping her eyes on his and her body near him. They were so close, she could feel his heat. She wanted him.
Him
. A part of her would always love Steven, but her heart was open to love again. To love Jared.

With steady hands, she faced him and slipped the T-shirt over her head. She stood naked in front of him. Never before had she been so wantonly bold with a man, but before she could let her insecurities take hold, she leaned forward until their bodies fused. “I love you, Jared.”

“Jenny,” he said again and this time her name was a rough growl of a caress. His arms came around her, and his mouth settled in the soft hollow of her neck, kissing her. Her nipples hardened in response. He wrapped her in his arms. His mouth claimed her, full of passion and possession.

His firm hands gripped her bottom and pulled her tight against him. His erection thrust into her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck wanting him with an intensity that should frighten her but didn’t. He pulled her thighs up around his waist and carried her back to the bed they’d recently vacated.

He positioned them so she was straddling his hips. “You don’t know what you do to me,” he said in a low voice.

Her hot, wet body opened for him, ready and wanting. “Yes, I do. Because I feel it.”

At the same moment he drove his hips up and plunged inside of her, a hoarse cry tore out from somewhere deep inside of him. As if he’d been holding that in forever.

Her third climax of the night came hard and fast and simultaneously with his.

Jenny woke early the next morning to find Jared staring at her. “Morning.”

“About time you woke up.”

She glanced at the clock and smiled. It wasn’t even six. He reached for her, but she scooted away, laughing at his frustrated expression. “Wait. I have a surprise for you.”

He pressed the length of himself against her. “My surprise is bigger.”

She melted right there, right in his arms. “Considerably.”

Later—much later—she was in the kitchen making him a surprise breakfast, though it wasn’t much of a surprise any longer. The only way she’d been able to leave the bed was by telling him what she was up to. Even then, he hadn’t wanted to let her go. Not that she’d wanted to all that much either. But she’d made him promise to stay put. He’d made her promise to hurry.

She’d already read the directions in her cookbook twice—determined not to screw up the waffles. She read them a third time and then began to make the batter. As she waited for the first one to cook, she put on a pot of coffee and tried to ignore the hollers coming from upstairs telling her to hurry up. She was going as fast as she could, and the adorable rat knew it.

The first waffle was a complete disaster, the second a little crispy. But the third and fourth ones didn’t look too bad. Smiling, she put everything on a tray and headed back upstairs.

“About time,” Jared said when she stepped through the door.

She held up the tray, immensely proud of her cooking accomplishments. “I made all your favorites.”

Naked, he got out of bed and took the tray from her. “You’re my favorite.” He set it on the dresser and pushed her down on the bed. He followed.

“Breakfast,” Jenny began.

“Can wait.”

She grinned and ran her hand over his bare chest. “But aren’t you the one who keeps telling me breakfast is the most important meal of the day?”

He untied her robe and kissed the soft hollow of her neck, then trailed kisses down until he reached the rounded top of her breast. “I’m an idiot.”

She laughed, and neither of them cared that the food got cold.

Sometime around eight, the phone rang.

“Let it ring,” Jared said.

Jenny kissed his jaw and decided that morning stubble only added to his good looks. “It’s probably my mother, and if I don’t answer, she’ll drive over.”

With a growl of sexual frustration that matched her own, he gave her a playful push. “We don’t want that. But make it fast.” His smile was full of wicked promises.

Jenny grabbed her robe and went into her bedroom, the room with the nearest phone. “Hi, Mom,” she said automatically, not bothering to glance at the caller ID. Her mother was the only person who ever called this early in the morning.

There was a long pause. “This is Captain Tom Beckett. I’m trying to reach Commander Jared Worth.”

For no reason she could define, Jenny suddenly felt cold. Ignoring the impulse to deny that there was anyone here by that name, she said, “One moment, please.”

She carefully set the phone down and went back to the other room.

“The call is for you,” she said to Jared. “A Captain Beckett, I think he said.”

An expression she couldn’t read came over Jared’s face. Without a word, he got out of the bed, pulled on his Levi’s without underwear, and went to take the call.

Jenny sank down on the bed and waited.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when Jared walked back in. One look at his face, and she knew.

“Tell me.”

He didn’t join her on the bed. “That was my CO. He not only refused to accept the resignation I gave him months ago, he fought to clear my record.” Jared shook his head. “Him and that damn Hart.”

“I thought . . .”

His gaze didn’t quite meet hers. “What?”

Tears burned the back of her eyes. After last night she’d thought a lot of things. Most of all, she’d thought about a forever with Jared. She’d given him everything—her heart . . . her soul. Her love.

But last night when she’d told Jared she’d loved him, he’d never said the words back to her. He’d taken her in his arms, worshipped her with his hands and mouth. And with his every touch and caress, she’d let herself believe he loved her, too. But now, looking into his eyes, she knew it wasn’t true. There was only one love in Jared’s life, and it wasn’t Jenny.

She swallowed hard. “I thought you were done with the military.” It was a pointless question, and they both knew it. Flyboys fly. How could she have forgotten that undeniable truth?

“So did I.” He didn’t say anything for a moment. “When I tendered my resignation, I accepted that my days of flying jets were over. But now . . .” He stopped, and Jenny didn’t need him to say any more.

He had his career back. The life he wanted. A life that couldn’t include her. She didn’t need him to tell her what this call meant for them. She knew.

Flyboys fly
.

She left the room before he could see her tears.