Love and Relativity (18 page)

The sunrise warmed our faces with luscious tangerine and rosy coral rays as it broke over the Gulf’s soft gray horizon. My gaze traveled the length of it, mesmerized by the seemingly endless stretch of the ocean. The cool sand felt good between my toes, the fuzzy flannel blanket wrapped around me like a cozy cocoon. Jackson sipped coffee over my shoulder, my back to his front, his jean-clad legs aligned with mine as I sat between them.

The beach was quiet and deserted, only the sounds of pods of dolphins breathing as they ascended for air along the shoreline. I’d spent the night in Jackson’s boat, determined to catch the sunrise and have breakfast with him before I headed back to my place for the weekend. Jen’s obituary sat heavy in my pocket, a horde of rocks weighing it down. I was determined to read it with him by my side, maybe even read it out loud to him, or have him do the honors—I still wasn’t sure which was the best way just yet. All I knew was the flimsy piece of paper that held those words was growing impatient, and after the week I’d had, it wouldn’t wait much longer for me to confront it.

I also needed to clean up my apartment, get ready to return to work on Monday, and let Whitney and Carter know what was going on before they thought I’d lost my mind again and went on another grief-induced self-destructive mission. I ran my fingers down Jackson’s lean forearms as he rested them around my waist, unleashing a secret, giddy smile.
Jackson Trouble Taylor
.

Okay, maybe I had lost my mind again.

“I love catching them this early in the morning,” he said, his voice following the dolphins’ direction. “They’re so close.”

“Amazing, aren’t they?” My smile spread as I watched the pod move parallel to the shore. “They’re travelling and foraging right now. See that pod to the east?” I pointed in the other direction. “They’re milling—another type of social behavior.” I paused for a beat, aware my inner marine-animal-loving geek was threatening to take over. I couldn’t help it. I was shooting for an internship working with marine mammals at the Seattle Aquarium. I’d had the privilege of doing dolphin field research on the Gulf in preparation for my major’s core classes, and I was desperate to put those studies to work elsewhere. My dream to teach others about conservation and work closer with the animals would eventually come to fruition.

If I got accepted into the university program, anyway.

“I could watch it all day,” I continued. “I used to, actually. It was my favorite thing—getting up early and going for a jog here. I’d turn around at the lighthouse and jog back, then stop at this spot when the sun would come up, to watch them swim by.”

“You don’t do that anymore?”

“Nah,” I shrugged, wrapping the extra throw blanket tighter across my chest, “it was me and Jen’s thing. We would jog here together before work every morning.”

“It can still be your thing. Maybe you’ll resume the routine again someday.”

“Maybe. By then it might be too late, though.”

“Too late?”

“I mean, I might not be here on the island much longer if I get accepted into that school out West.”

Jackson’s chest stiffened against my back, his fingers tensing around my torso. “Oh. Right.”

I decided to change the subject. “Do you dive or snorkel?”

“I fish. Never bothered with dive certification. How about you?”

“I’m not certified, either. I do love to snorkel, though. We should drive down to the Keys for a weekend and go.”

“I’d like that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he murmured, his clenched fingers relaxing again. He set his coffee down and rested his cheek on my shoulder, his mouth warming my earlobe. “You sure you don’t wanna stay with me today? I have to help John on his dock at 3 o’clock, but other than that, I’m free. I can make you dinner and we can sleep under the stars tonight. If you stay, I’ll make you feel good...” He nuzzled into my neck, biting down playfully while he squeezed me tighter against him. His feet found mine, overlapping and pinning them to the sand. “Or I can make you feel good right
now
...”

“I’d love to stay, but I have so much to do this weekend. I have an exam to study for, I have to clean, and I—”

“Fine. You leave me no choice, then. Lean back, baby.”

I shifted my head to gaze back at him. “Huh?”

“Lean
back
.”

I obeyed, thankful for the blanket’s concealment, and rested my weight against him and my head to the side of his shoulder. He kept one hand planted firmly over my abdomen, and the other gently glided down between my legs, first petting then teasing me through my jean shorts. My body responded, every part of me melting into his touch. God, he was insatiable. “You’re so good at that,” I hummed, leaning into his hand, feeling him harden against my back. It further spurred my arousal and I wanted nothing more than to taste him.

“I should take you right here,” he whispered, his mouth pressed tight to my ear, breath harsh and uneven. “Make you never want to leave.”

“I don’t want to leave.” I reached around and stroked him, rubbing with my thumb in linear, smooth motions. It was so easy to get lost in him, to forget the mountain of chores that awaited me back home, and the obituary in my pocket that beckoned to be read. His hand brushed roughly against my clit before reaching up to palm my breasts, making it even more difficult to breathe, to think straight. Nothing mattered when he touched me. Only him. Only us. Every caress of his hand, every sweep of his fingers, reminded me of what I’d missed out on over the past three years. To know I’d wasted time with Chris, then time fending Jackson off while he sought strings of meaningless hook-ups, when what he really wanted was me, was almost painful to think about now. I wanted to make up for every moment I lost with him, every girl’s name he called out that wasn’t mine, every sunrise I missed that I could’ve witnessed with him.

Like this. Like now.

Covering his hand with mine, I guided him firmly across my nipples and then swiveled around to face him, straddling him with my legs, keeping the blanket draped over us.

“Quite brazen of you, baby,” he snickered, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I feel so proud. I’ve created a little hellion.” He slipped his fingers through my hair, pulling me against him until there was no space left between us. I felt around his pocket for a condom, finding one and tearing it open, unzipping his jeans beneath me. He moaned, reaching down to grip himself, eyes alight with pure fire as he gazed down to watch me roll it onto him.

“I don’t care who sees.”

“But there might be killer germs in the sand. And seagull poop. What if you run out of hand sanitizer and you get infected or—”

“Shut up and fuck me, Jack.” I silenced his laughter with a kiss. It morphed into a groan and I yanked my shorts down. He tugged with me, his breath picking up against my mouth, no more humor in his eyes.

“Oh, I like you bossy.” He lifted my waist and slammed me down forcefully. I cried out from the pressure, savoring the feel of him, loving the way he guided my hips as I began to ride him, first rocking them slowly, then faster and more desperately when his restraint started to wane.

His arms tightened then loosened around me, his elbows finding the ground as he leaned back to let me have my way with him, lips parted and eyes trained on mine. They lowered to my breasts and I shut my eyes. His stare was too intense, too penetrating.

His legs spread apart farther beneath me, and the throbbing strain of his erection swelled with building pleasure, the head pulsing against my insides like a primal, beating drum. “
Mmmm
, you have great tits, Emma.” He kept his weight on one elbow and leaned up with the other to reach for my small curves again, his thumb grazing a nipple through my t-shirt. “So beautiful, I could watch them all day.”

I forced my eyes open and found him with his head rolled back, Adam’s apple bobbing as he worked to swallow between ragged breaths. The sight sent my desire spiraling, diving and then climbing back up, higher and higher. His waist pumped harder beneath me and his throat muscles flexed, his panting growing more labored, fingers still rubbing my breast. I reached out to grip his shirt, eyes crawling up his firm stomach to his full bottom lip. I wanted to climb across him, bend down, and latch onto it with my teeth.

“I love you, Jack,” I choked on the words, the emotion building in my throat as quickly as my climax. “Love you...so...much.”

His eyes opened and head lifted up, and he pushed off the sand to crush me to his chest, leveling us, chin to chin. “Say that again,” he growled, rolling his hips firmly, capturing every blunt slam of my body with a soft grunt. “Tell me you’re mine.”

“I love you.”

The cerulean of his eyes sliced into me, and his voice roughened. “
Tell me
.” He rolled his hips again, his thrusts transforming into punishing strikes.

“I’m yours,” I whispered.

“Again.” Another sharp blow, then another, relentless and without mercy, his fingers reaching to pull on my hair, tilting my head back. “Come on, Emma. Now.”

“I’m yours, Jack. All yours.” I began to ride him harder, matching his ardor and accelerating pace with equal weight.

“That’s right, baby, don’t stop. Oh, Em, don’t...don’t stop.”

I clung tighter to his chest and shoulders, his t-shirt bunching between my fingers, continuing to whisper the words he wanted to hear against his neck, my voice cracking in urgency. Pulling back, I scooped down to taste his tongue and kissed him deeply, then gave in to my urge to bite his lip. His fingers grinded into my hips then, pummeling me up and then down onto his lap so hard I almost drew blood.

“Ah!” I shrieked into his mouth, tugging tougher.

He delivered another swift blow beneath me and I released his lip, my body bowing against him, head falling back. His mouth found the hollow of my neck and I lost myself in my orgasm, feeling him come with me, his arms stiffening and wringing me out to dry. He took all of me, leaving not an inch of pleasure unclaimed.

“I love hearing you come, Emma,” he spat through gritted teeth, hips stilling as I slowed above him. “But I really do think you’re trying to kill me.”

“
Ha
, maybe I do hate you after all.” I slumped against him and released a sigh. He touched his lip and peered down at his fingers. “Checking for blood?”

“You’re like a vampire bat vixen. Damn, I was starting to worry you’d go for the jugular after the lip.” Heaving a heavy breath, he leaned back again, heels of his hands in the sand. My weight went with him, but I rolled over before his back hit the ground and sprawled out next to him, against the blanket, tossing an arm over my eyes to shield them from the morning sun.

“I can’t help the effect you have on me.”

“And that effect is?”

“As if you need me to define it. What, you want a demonstration?”

“No, I just had one, but I’d love another one. Your pussy is heaven. Better than all the pumpkin pie in the world.”

“Well, isn’t
that
the compliment of the year. Be still, my heart.” I pulled my arm from my eyes and reached over to squeeze his cheek, where his dimple dipped into his stubble. His smile was as luminous as my own, his thick, dark lashes framing his baby blues beneath the golden sunlight.

“Oh, shit!” He broke our heady connection, catching something off in the distance. Straightening, he tucked himself in and zipped his pants. “Where are your shorts?”

I lifted the blanket and snatched them up. “Right here, relax.”

“Look! It’s Miss Stein, coming this way!” He pointed to my left, blue eyes bulging.

I jumped and scrambled to slip them on under the blanket. “What?!”
Miss Stein? Why would she be strolling the beach this time of the morning?

“Hurry, Em. She’s coming over here to bust you for stealing her favorite shower scrub brush.”

“Scrub brush?
What
?” I snapped the button of my jean shorts and scanned the beach in both directions, searching the distance for the old woman who was recently on the receiving end of my wrath. Just what I needed after the bird-flipping incident, for her to find me naked and fornicating with the island’s infamous wild child in a public place, in broad daylight.

Okay, this was worse than the bird-flipping.

I pulled the blanket tight to my lap and craned my neck to look around some more. Jackson’s earnest tone dissolved and his chest started to shake in fits of laughter. He fell onto his back and gripped his abdomen, the howls of amusement taking over his ability to speak. “Oh, that look is...
priceless
!”

My lips scrunched tight in realization and I turned to whack him on the head, my traitor grin forcing them apart and seizing them into a reluctant smile. “Jackson Taylor,
you little shit!
”

Sitting up, he ensnared me in his arms and worked to suppress his cackling. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. You’re so fun to razz.”

I squirmed against his grip with false conviction, giving in seconds later to laugh with him. “You’re an animal.”