Bachelor's Special (7 page)

This woman probably had no idea of the power she exuded over him. He’d sworn to himself he’d stay away from her sexually. The only thing they could share was friendship, and the other night had shown him Jill could be his friend. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d had such innocent fun with a woman. But damn, friendship didn’t stop him from fantasizing about something more.

Back off, Castle
. He couldn’t become involved, especially after she’d told him about her experiences with those other men who should’ve acted like her bosses but failed. Chet was a “love-’em-and-leave-’em” type of guy and she was a “for keeps” kind of girl. He had to remember that.

What the hell had he been thinking? How could he indulge in a little water play and not get turned on?

Their bodies stilled. He tried to release her and pull away, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him in. Her legs surrounded his mid section and she crushed her mouth to his.

He froze and they sank below the surface, the rush of water swelling around them. He slid his hands around her back, pulling her into his chest. His rough fingers flowed over her soft skin and hundreds of tiny bubbles rose to the surface of the pool when she sighed. He plunged his tongue inside her mouth to mingle with her own. Their bodies swirled beneath the waters, tongues dancing their own dance, the soft skin of her legs rubbing along his lower back. Sensual longing blazed his center, made him ache for what he shouldn’t let happen but was powerless to control.

Drowning. Drowning in passion and want and need. His foot touched the bottom of the pool and he pushed upward, carrying them toward the surface. As they broke past the barrier of the water, their lips curved into small smiles, but they didn’t break connection.

“I want you.”

Did she just say that?

Chapter Nine

Oh my God, did I say that aloud?

Jill opened one eyelid. Chet’s eyebrows rose and, judging by the crinkles around his eyes, yep, she’d spoken her thoughts aloud. No getting out of it now. Not that she wanted to. Women could make the first move, be aggressive. Right? Her belly flipped.

Neither spoke. His hands slid over her backside like she’d been dipped in baby oil. Prickles of heat invaded every pore, then shot to her center. Every time she was within a mile of this guy, she lit on fire. Being submerged in water didn’t douse the flames.

He’d been right when he pegged her as no wallflower, but come on. Her scorecard, as Mel called it, consisted of a few dalliances in the backseat of an old Lincoln Town Car with her high school boyfriend. They’d shared a few episodes of three-minute-sex before they’d parted ways.

Then she’d dated an ex-football player who’d shown her what a good time he could have in the bedroom. She had to concentrate to become aroused, usually picturing a hunky movie star in the jock’s place. That didn’t make for hot, crazy sex.

No concentration needed here.

Just go with the flow, girl. You’ve hit the jackpot
. Although she had limited experience, she got the feeling this thing between them was rare. A good thing.

But how could she let anything more continue with Chet? He was her boss. If only she’d told Mel in the beginning that the man she intended to fix her up with wasn’t a stranger—at least not in the physical sense. Hell, it was just a kiss.
Don’t fool yourself; the touching of your lips to his was a hell of a lot more than the average kiss
. Instead she’d allowed Mel to convince her that what she needed to get her mind off her troubles was a fun night out. A date.

Now here she sat—or in this case, floated…

Chet’s hands slid along the length of her back. His breath fanned her face and she trembled back to the present. Lust took over, and she didn’t fight it. She sucked in a gulp of air. “Well?”

“Well what?”

He actually looked stunned.

“I said I want you.” She licked her lips. Her pulse soared when his eyes darkened as he followed her movements.

His grin spread. “I wasn’t sure if I said that or you.”

“It was so definitely me.”

“But what about—”

She pressed her forefinger to his lips. “You said it yourself. We’re both adults, we both feel the attraction. Let’s go with it.”

With no thought beyond the moment, she pressed against him and grazed his lips. Once, twice, she moved over his mouth in a soft caress before he pulled her in for a tight kiss. Their bodies became one pliant length. So close and so wrapped around each other, even a drop of water would be hard pressed to find its way between them.

Oh my God! I’m either going to die of a heart attack or wake up—I opt for the heart attack.

His hand slid underneath the waistband of her suit to cup her rear.

Her heart pounded against her chest so hard, she feared it’d burst through her sternum. She slid one palm down his pecs, marveling at the frantic pace of his pulse. At least she wasn’t in this alone. No, you should never swim alone.

Her mind fogged over as she sank into the sensations he awakened. His fingers rubbed, caressed, tugged, and pulled in the nicest of ways. So lost, she couldn’t concentrate on anything but the prickles climbing her skin.

Velvet heat bathed her from the inside out. Somehow they’d moved into the shallow end of the pool. The constraint of the pool’s smooth side on her back and Chet pressing against her front sent shots of heat—with a heady dose of anticipation—straight to the spot between her legs.

He abandoned her lips to blaze a trail across her jaw, and she released a whimpered moan. His mouth enflamed her skin as he worked his way to lave attention on her earlobe, causing her veins to explode with bursts of fireworks. He tantalized her ear, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine. His mouth trailed lower, setting the skin at the base of her throat on fire when he stopped to linger over her crazy pulse.

Unable to move, she held his shoulders in a tight grip. To breathe or not to breathe. Quick and shallow gasps escaped her lips as his fingers glided over her bare skin.

Bare skin?

Not sure how or when, but he’d managed to strip her naked. He was her boss all right—the boss of her arousal. She trailed her fingers down his torso, reveling in the divided muscles of his abs, downward further in search of the elastic waist of his trunks. Only to find a steel rod wrapped in silk.

Damn, he was good. He’d managed to blindly remove her clothes and his as well. She was in the presence of a master.

She slid her finger from the head of his sex down the shaft. With a tentative testing, she wrapped her palm around his hardness. The power he emitted filled her, grew in need, and ignited her own arousal. When he jerked from the pressure of her hand, the pit of her stomach ached and trembled.

He groaned and slid his fingers behind her neck to drag her lips closer to his. The force of his mouth increased as her hand slid along his shaft, gripping him, moving in an array of friction mixed with a teasing caress.

Her entire body pulsed with need. She arched until his thick arousal lay against the soft swell of her belly. With one hand she stroked his delicious length, with her other she delighted in the small jerks of muscle that trembled across his back. Power zipped through her and she smiled into their kiss, then pulled back to meet his feverish gaze. Her fingers drank in the feel of him and her lips drifted to his jaw and under his chin until he groaned and sought her mouth with his. One thrust and his tongue mingled with hers, branding her, owning her.

His hand slid from her backside to lazily draw circles across her upper thigh, working around toward the inside and the tender skin hidden there. Soft swirls of water lapping around their bodies only added to the pleasure.

She stiffened when his thick finger slid between her folds and gained entrance. Another joined it, then finally a third, filling her, pushing up inside of her until she wanted to scream with pleasure.

He thrust his fingers soft and slow at first, then hard and fast, then back to slow. His thumb worked the nub of her sex, carrying her just to the brink before stopping to let her come back down. She gyrated against him, feeling his hardness tapping against her belly as the water rushed around them in a soothing caress.

Her head flung back and the sunny blue of the sky with soft clouds filled her vision. She closed her eyes to let the undeniable pleasure steal her body. Nothing mattered but Chet. She wanted him inside her, filling her. She wanted him to feel like she did—ready to burst apart into a million pieces and fly into space.

Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, he grabbed her upper thighs and wrapped them around his hips. She spread her arms out beside her, holding the curved edge of the pool as he glided her over his arousal.

“Open your eyes, Jill. I want you to see my face like I’m seeing yours.” His sweet breath lingered over her lips.

Tingles burst across her skin at the sound of his voice. She opened her eyes to meet his dark chocolate stare.

“Passion.” Her voice sounded far away.

He swished her hips from side to side. Water slapped against the barrier of the pool in a sensual, deafening cadence. With each pass, the tip of his sex glided across her entrance and she licked her lips, releasing a throaty moan. But he toyed with her until her whole body ached and pulsed for him to stake his claim.

“Don’t tease me.”

His grin melted her insides another degree, if that was even possible. The already hard buds of her nipples peaked further. He bent to suckle one with his warm mouth, tugging at it gently with his teeth.

“Oh…”

Then he was inside her, his length filling her. She rocked her hips in rhythm with his, their eyes locked together, dueling for power as she pushed against his thrust.

Her palms dug into the grainy cement of the side of the pool, the discomfort adding a ruthless force to her legs as she folded them tighter around his hips. His mouth parted and he flung his head back, but he never looked away.

He worked his hips faster, sliding deep inside her, then pulling back so far he was on the verge of breaking their connection, only to fill her again with a confident thrust.

Jill pulled her hands from the cement and wrapped them around the back of his neck. He looked up as she shifted position, then crushed her mouth to his. They drew back, lips still touching, eyes still holding, and it was the biggest turn on she’d ever experienced. The muscles in his jaw tensed with each thrust and his eyelids stood at half-mast over darkened irises.

“Passion.” He spoke against her mouth.

Their bodies flew toward their shared release, both stiffening at the same time. Curls of fire burned through her, starting at her toes and tingling up her legs to engulf her whole body. Her center quivered. The vein at the side of his neck bulged, rapid pulse beats thrummed against his skin as tremors shook him. Shook her.

She fell against him, her lips sliding back and forth over his lower lip before she flicked her tongue at the edge where his mouth curled so easily when he smiled. He tasted so good, so cool, refreshing.

When she pulled back, she saw the lingering remnants of her own lust in his face. Everything became clear, not glossed over with desire. Oh my God, what type of person did she look like? Like a wanton, sex-starved…

“I need to go. Make a phone call.” Any excuse worked at the moment. She’d just had sex with her boss. Jill broke out of his arms, then swam-skipped to the pool steps. His fingertips brushed her upper arm, but she moved out of his reach.

“Jill. Jill, wait.”

“Thank you.” She stumbled up the steps. Not bothering with her towel, she took off—full-tilt—for the stone path leading to the doors of her suite.

…

“Thank you?” Chet repeated her parting words. Now that was a first. He’d never been thanked for sex before.

He leaned against the side of the pool, arms along the edge, chin resting on his knuckles. Jill’s firm bottom wove across the yard. He couldn’t drag his attention away if he wanted to. When she turned back in his direction, he saw the change in color of her skin, blushing from head to toe. She covered her breasts with her one arm, then turned away, spreading the fingers from her other hand to cover her delectable derriere. Funny girl. And sinfully sexual. She whetted his appetite like no other. He wanted her again.

When she disappeared from view, reality hit him. Not good. He preferred living in his fantasyland where real life didn’t interfere. What had they done? Scratch that. What had
he
done? He’d taken advantage of her. She wasn’t a virgin, for sure, but she also wasn’t the experienced woman-of-the-world he was used to.

Mistake. Women like Jill didn’t sleep around—she was a relationship type of girl. And although his family tried to convince him otherwise, he
wasn’t
a relationship guy.

Damn Jared for talking him into another blind date. Hell, damn his entire family for thinking he needed to get married because that’s where happiness lived. He was happy…wasn’t he?

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

If he was going to damn anyone, he better look in the mirror first. He’d been the one so focused on bedding Jill he’d asked her to act as his personal chef under the guise of catering his business meetings.

He could easily admit he’d planned Jill’s seduction from the moment he’d realized she was the woman from the restaurant. But once he’d discovered the raw deal she’d had at the hands of her previous male employers, he’d kept his desires under control. Or thought he had.

Healthy, fun, spine-tingling sex he had no problem with. He could only hope Jill wouldn’t expect more.

Or how about more, but nothing long term. Nothing wrong with a summer fling.

No
.

He should’ve never let his sexual appetite get the better of him. And he definitely shouldn’t have allowed his brother and Mel to talk him into a date. Though he enjoyed having Jill here, loved her cooking, and even found her humor and conversation oddly comforting, he didn’t want anything more. And he didn’t want to hurt her.

Chet positioned his hands on the edge of the pool and pulled himself out of the water. He strolled to the lounge and wrapped a towel around his waist before sliding a hand through his damp hair. Drops of water sprayed around him when he shook his head vigorously to clear away the remaining wetness and the picture of Jill’s behind from his mind.

He made his way to the stone path that led to her room, then stopped. A conversation with her now wouldn’t be his smartest move. He’d give her some time alone, then make sure she understood that sex was sex. Nothing more.

Niggles of doubt wound through his chest, strangling his breath. Hell, he better start reminding himself of that self-imposed mantra. He didn’t need the complications. If only he could believe his own lies. He turned to head toward his room.

No more sex with Jill.
No matter how deep the images of her face locked in the throes of passion burned into his mind.

…

“Did we just step back in time? Like to high school?” Mel’s familiar voice steadied Jill’s nerves, even though she could be so exasperating.

“Come on, Mel. You aren’t being much help. Talk me down.”

“Down from where? You’re fine. You do remember how old you are, don’t you?”

Jill gripped her cell until her fingers grew stiff. “Did you hear anything I said?”

“Um, yeah. And so?”

The gritty sound of a nail file irked Jill’s goodwill. “Are you freaking filing your nails while my life hangs in the balance here?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Talk about me being dramatic.” Mel giggled.

Jill pictured Mel’s ring-laden fingers covering her mouth. “After all these years, you’ve rubbed off on me.”

“Well, not everything. Otherwise you wouldn’t be having a cow over sleeping with someone.” Hasty filing resumed.

Jill’s patience thinned. “There was no sleeping involved.”