Jackson (13 page)

“It’s late,” he said. “We should find you a guest house for the night. We can figure out the rest in the morning.”

She nodded, then glanced behind them at the city rising above the wharf. “I’m just happy for the chance to get off the boat and do a little exploring.”

He didn’t want her running around Hvar—it was too dangerous. But there was no need to have that argument tonight. And there was no need to think about what would happen tomorrow, or the next day, or any of the days after that. Right now she was next to him and she was safe. And she didn’t pull away from him when he slid his arm around her waist and pull her right against his side.

She’s mine. No matter what else happens.

It didn’t take him long to find a guest house he deemed acceptable. The room he booked for her was small, but it was on a busy street. The more people around, the less likely she would be targeted.

“You should push the dresser in front of the door once I’m gone,” he told her. “And don’t open the door for anyone else but me.” It was unlikely that Nash’s men would come after her now—she no longer had the atlas, and they had no reason to suspect she had any important information—but he wouldn’t take any chances.

But Charlie looked up at him in confusion. “You’re leaving?”

“I’m going after the guy who shot Leo.”

Her sweet, soft lips turned down in a frown. “You really still think he’s here?”

“He was running away from the water,” Jackson said, checking his gun.
Fully loaded.
“It’s possible he circled back around, but unlikely. He knew we were there. It was too risky. My guess is the little rat is hiding somewhere.”

Her eyes were wide as she stared at the gun in his hands. “Do you have to do this?”

“Yes.” This was one of those things he suspected she’d never fully understand.

She twisted her fingers around each other, then seemed to realize she was fidgeting and tucked both hands behind her back.

“Don’t go.” The words were a whisper, but they hung in the air between them.

“I have to do this, Goose.” She couldn’t understand how their team worked, just as she’d probably never understand how much his blood burned for her.

He watched the struggle on her face, until finally she said, “Will you at least stay until I’m asleep?”

He’d lost so much time already, and with every second that passed, the chance of his quarry getting away was even bigger. But in that moment, Charlie seemed so lost, so vulnerable that he couldn’t have denied her anything, in spite of all of the other needs that tugged at him. He stepped toward her and tilted her face up to his, and her skin burned beneath his fingers.

“Only until you’re sleeping,” he said, his voice tight.

She nodded.

The bed was hardly big enough for two people. Charlie climbed in first, and he meant to just sit on the edge of the sagging mattress until she’d drifted off, but when he saw her stretched out, he couldn’t keep himself from lying down beside her and pulling her back into his arms. Her back was nestled against his chest, and he buried his face in her hair as he held her close, losing himself in that strawberries-and-cream scent.

Her heart was galloping beneath his hand on her ribs. Her body was warm and pliant, and it fit so perfectly against his that his cock was instantly hard.

Easy, boy
, he told himself. As much as he wanted to pick up where they’d left off—and
fuck
, did he want to—he couldn’t let himself get distracted. Not even if he had the softest, most beautiful body in his arms right now. Not even if her scent was driving him crazy. Not even if he was so aroused his cock was practically screaming in pain.

Soon
, he thought.
After I’ve caught that fucker.
Then he’d have plenty of time to act on these needs. Plenty of time to lose himself in her sweet body, plenty of time to drown in her cries of pleasure. He’d taste her everywhere. Suck those little nipples into beads between his lips. Explore her deepest depths with his cock.

But now, he’d just lie here and experience the exquisite joy of feeling her relax next to him, of listening to her breathing slow as exhaustion finally overtook her. He could still feel her heart beating, but it was softer, steadier now.

He brushed his lips against her neck. She murmured, half asleep, but otherwise didn’t stir. Her skin was salty from their earlier swim.

What have you done to me?
If he’d known what she’d do to him, he’d have ignored her that day at the festival in Atlanta. He was never supposed to lose himself like this. Never let a woman drive him this crazy.

But it was too late for that now. And if there’d ever been a chance of moving past Charlie, it was gone the moment he returned to her house. She’d changed in the nine months he’d been gone, but rather than make it easier to forget what they’d had, the new spark he saw in her burned right through him.

And he knew, beyond all doubt, that nothing he did would ever put it out.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Jackson woke to the sun coming in through the window.

His head pounded, and he moaned as he rolled away from the light. He was normally up before dawn, but for some reason, he was still exhausted this morning.

His arm hit something soft. Something that murmured and shifted beside him.

Immediately, his eyes flew open. He sprang up in bed.

It was morning. He’d fallen asleep next to Charlie, drifted off with his arms around her when he should have been out tracking down the rat who shot Leo.

He leaped up off the mattress. The motion woke Charlie, whose eyes fluttered open.

“What’s going on?” she asked groggily when she saw him reaching for his gun on the nightstand.

“I fell asleep,” he said. “I fucking fell asleep. The bastard’s probably long gone by now.” But it didn’t matter. If the fucker was anywhere on the island, he’d find him.

Behind him, a soft sound escaped Charlie’s lips. It was so quiet, he doubted she even realized she’d made it, but when he turned around, he found her sitting up, watching him with an expression in those gray eyes that made his heart hurt.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her in those moments just after waking. Her hair was a mess of waves around her shoulders. Her eyes were still cloudy and half-lidded with sleep. Both of the straps of her dress—and bra—had fallen, leaving her shoulders and upper chest bare. She looked so beautiful his mouth went dry.

He hated to leave her, but he had work to do. He bent over and put a knee on the mattress, leaning forward to catch her in a kiss.

When his lips touched hers, she reached up and slid a single hand around his neck. It was a gentle gesture, a silent plea. And in spite of all of his intentions, his body reacted instantly.

Fire raced across his skin. His cock sprang to life beneath his zipper, and this time, there was no denying it what it wanted. What it needed. He’d held back too long.

He sank to the mattress and pulled Charlie into his arms. She gasped against his mouth, but her fingers pressed harder against his neck. He tugged her into his lap, pulling her legs around so that she straddled him, and crushed her body to his. His mouth attacked hers without mercy. He wanted this too much to be gentle.

She didn’t seem to mind. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, sweet and wet and teasing, and he closed his teeth around it. She moaned against his lips as her nails dug into the skin on the back of his neck.

He needed her now. Needed her bare flesh against his. Needed to be buried inside of her. His hands tore at her dress, tugging it up her hips and over her head. Her bra was next, undone with a twist of his fingers and then hurled at the wall. Her dark pink nipples were begging for his touch. He dipped his head and took one between his teeth, and she cried out as he sucked it deep between his lips. His mouth repeated the process with the other breast, suckling her until she whimpered. Another time, he might have spent hours feasting on her breasts, but not today. It had been too long.

Her panties were a complication. He’d have to slide her off of his lap to remove them properly, and he didn’t have the patience for that. Instead, he took the cotton in both hands and tore it apart, shredding it beneath his fingers. The torn scrap joined the rest of her things on the floor.

She was naked against him now, bare and so beautiful he thought he might come just looking at her. Her eyes were bright with need, her skin flushed all over. Her bottom lip was bleeding from his teeth, but as he watched, she sucked it into her mouth, and her desire burned even brighter on her face.

No, this is definitely not the sweet girl I left behind.

Together they tugged his shirt over his head. Her hands went instantly to the planes of his chest, running up and down his skin as if she’d never seen or touched him before. He understood. He felt that way with her body—like he was experiencing something both familiar and new at the same time. But they could spend more time on that experience later. Right now, his cock was about to explode.

His belt was undone in seconds. His zipper pushed down. His pants shoved as far down his hips as he could get them with Charlie still on his lap. It was enough.

He pulled her right up against him, skin to skin, and he meant to slip a hand between her legs, to make sure she was wet and ready for him, but there was no need. She sank down onto him, enveloping him the way she had so many times in the past, as if she’d forgotten what it was like to be apart.

And the moment he was fully inside of her, he forgot, too.

It had never been like this. Passionate, yes; spectacular, even. But this was like knowing desire in its purest form. She was his. He was hers. Everything they’d ever felt, everything they’d ever said or not said, everything that either of them had to give was shared in that moment.

He must have kissed her. He must have touched her back, her breasts, her ass, her thighs. He must have driven into her again and again and again. But it was all a blur of sensation. The cries of passion he heard might have been hers or they might have been his. It didn’t matter.

When he finally felt the spasms of her pleasure around him, everything came to a head. His body contracted and released, filling her completely.

It was some moments before he realized they’d stopped moving, that they were just leaning against each other, panting and dripping and trembling. She felt so delicate in his arms, but he knew that if she’d just experienced what he’d experienced, if his need hadn’t broken her, then she was stronger enough.

He twisted, turning them and lowering her down to the bed. She made a sound of protest as if she was afraid he’d stop touching her or move away, but he had no intention of doing anything of the sort. Instead, he placed his head on the pillow next to hers and brushed aside the strands of hair sticking to her forehead.

“I love you,” he murmured.

She sucked in a breath, and her swollen lips parted in surprise.

But he wasn’t done. He pulled her face right up against his. “I’m tired of pretending otherwise. Of trying to convince myself that I can live without you. I love you. I need you. And I have no intention of ever letting you go.”

He didn’t give her a chance to respond. He kissed her, long and deep, until he could feel his cock twitching to life again between them. Fuck, would he ever get enough of her?

When he finally released her, her head fell back against the pillow. She was panting. Trembling. Her fingers dug into him, as if she couldn’t bear to let him go.

“What does that mean?” she whispered after a moment.

“It means that I’ll have no one else.” He rolled over her until she was beneath him. “And as far as I’m concerned, no one else will have you.” He leaned down until his lips were in her hair. “We belong to each other.”

But she turned her face away from him. “But what does that mean for you and the Set?”

Her words brought reality crashing back down.

He pushed up onto his elbows. He wasn’t willing to walk away from her again. But did that mean he had to walk away from the Set, too? What did he think would happen next? They couldn’t just return to how things were. Not now.

He knew, from the way she looked at him, that she saw all of those thoughts on his face.

“I don’t know what it means,” he said. “But I know what I want. And I’m not willing to let it go.”

She started to argue, but he cut off her words with a kiss. She moved her lips against his, still trying to speak, but he wouldn’t let the words come. And then her arms came up around him, pulling him closer, and he knew the battle had been put off for another time.

He already wanted her again. This time, though, he intended to take his time. To relish every bit of her. He kissed his way across her jaw and down her throat while his hands traveled over her belly and breasts. The hard questions would come later. Right now, she was his.

He tortured her. Teased her. Licked and nipped and tasted her all over. His mouth molded itself to every curve of her body until she was squirming beneath him, but he was only just getting started.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered against her skin. “Perfect.”