Love Like You've Never Been Hurt (13 page)

“Oh.” There went that little word again. Was that
really disappointment in her eyes?

“Hey, I’ll stay a while if you like.” So much
for his resolve!

“That’s OK” she said, standing and kicking sand
into the fire. “It is late, I should go too.”

Once the fire was out it was quite dark on the beach. He was
surprised to feel her slip her hand inside his and start to lead him
up the path to the house.

“I’ll show you the way.”

His heart was beating faster as he followed her, her small hand
holding his tightly, and pulling him on. She stopped before they
reached the front deck, at the edge of the shadows. She turned slowly
to face him and smiled up at him. She stepped towards him and circled
her arms up around his neck. He closed his arms around her and drew
her against him, breathing her in. Her lips came up to meet his,
tentative at first, but soon they were lost in a passionate kiss,
tongues dueling. He held her tight to him, forgetting caution and
pushing his arousal against her. He went wild, devouring her with his
mouth. She responded, molding herself against him.

Eventually they came up for air. He looked down at her, trying to
figure out what had brought this on, not that he was complaining. She
smiled back at him, her cheeks flushed, her breath coming quickly.
She ran her hand down his cheek then pressed a finger to his lips.

“Friends who kiss goodnight, Jack.” With that she
walked up onto the deck and into the light.

Damn!

He followed her and caught her up in the hallway. He caught her by
the shoulder and turned her to face him. She smiled again.

“Goodnight, Jack. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He shook his head and let himself back outside. He’d rather
sleep in the coach with Dan and Scott working around him than spend
the night under the same roof as Emma and not be able to do anything
about it. Where in the hell had that kiss come from? He had no idea.
He only knew he wanted more, so much more.

Emma lay in bed, wide awake.
What had she done? She smiled. Exactly what she wanted to! And she’d
enjoyed every moment of it. She’d sat there in his sweater,
enveloped in the smell and the feel of him. He’d looked so
handsome with the firelight on his face. Out here he looked even more
sexy, if that were possible, kind of rugged and like he belonged
here. Well, she’d certainly lived that moment. Remembering the
feel of his hardness pushing against her, she couldn’t deny
that his desire for her was
very
real. Now all she had to do was decide if she was brave enough to
live it for what it was, and throw caution to the wind. She wanted
to, but was it really worth the risk?

Jack walked in to the kitchen to find Pete, Ben and Missy sitting
at the big table drinking coffee and eating delicious smelling
muffins. Emma was busy again. He couldn’t help but admire her
long legs and rounded backside as she bent to put some bowls in the
dishwasher. He caught Pete watching him and lifted a shoulder.

“Pull up a seat,” said his partner.

Emma turned and greeted him with a hesitant smile. Oh no. She was
backing off again.

“Coffee?”

“Love some, please.”

She place a mug of black coffee in front of him. “Help
yourself,” she pointed to the muffins.

“Thanks.” He bit into one and moaned, “Oh, my
God, this is amazing. Is there anything you don’t cook?”

“Doughnuts!” chorused the others.

“You don’t like doughnuts?”

“I love doughnuts, but I hate having a house that reeks of
the oil you need to fry them in. Anyway,” she put a hand on
Ben’s shoulder as she came to join them at the table, “Ben
here has me covered since they make wonderful doughnuts at the
resort.”

“That’s right” said Ben, “fresh at five
every morning.”

Jack felt his throat tighten. That was crazy; how could he hate
the idea of Ben having her covered for anything? He was her friend,
and they were talking about doughnuts for God’s sake!
Nevertheless, he felt an undeniable twinge of jealousy as he watched
Ben touch her hand and smile up at her.

“Speaking of the resort,” Ben continued, “I need
to get down there, we’ve got a big changeover this morning. Who
wants to give me a ride?”

“I can,” said Pete, “I promised my folks I’d
get down there early. How about you, Miss?”

At that moment Scott came barreling through the door. “Wow,
awake before eight on the weekend? What’s up, Hon?”

“I need to show Dan some of the programs I’m writing.
He doesn’t believe I’ve taught myself PHP.” Dan
appeared behind him.

“Morning.”

Emma handed him a glass of orange juice and gave one to Scott.

“Thanks,” murmured Dan and downed it in one. Jack
watched Emma refill his glass, amused and grateful at how well she
read his little brother.

“So can we?” asked Scott.

“Can we what?”

“Take Dan home now. He has to leave this afternoon and I
need to show him.”

“Well, if it’s OK with Dan?” she looked at him.

“Sure. I can drive us down there, I’ve got the Jeep.”

“Well, OK then, let’s go.”

Pete looked at Emma, “Could you do me a favor, Mouse? Would
you mind showing Jack the site we picked out yesterday? I’ll be
back in a couple of hours.” Emma nodded and Pete smiled at
Jack, “That work for you?”

“Sounds great,” said Jack, curious whether Pete was
engineering him some alone time with Emma or simply being practical.
Either way it suited him fine.

When the others had left Emma poured him a fresh coffee.

“Want to sit out front with these?” she asked.

He brought his coffee and came to sit on the deck next to her. She
looked out at the water and he stole a sideways look at her. Her hair
seemed even wavier out here and it fell around her shoulders, wild
and untamed. She wore a white tank top and faded, cut-off jeans. His
heart ached, she was so beautiful. The throb in his pants ached too,
she was so desirable.

“About last night,” she said.

He waited, not knowing what to expect.

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Emma, don’t apologize, please.”

“Let me finish?” she asked.

He nodded and bit his lip to keep his big mouth shut.

“I want to say, I’m sorry I’m acting so weird.
I’m not playing games, I promise you. I don’t do that.”

He shook his head. She certainly wasn’t the game playing
sort, he already knew that much.

“I’m just, well, I’m scared,” she
admitted.

“What are you scared of, Emma?” he asked, relieved
that she was prepared to be honest with him.

“I’m scared of you.” Her voice was so small, it
put a dagger through his heart. He knew only too well what it felt
like to be scared of a man.

“
Em, please don’t
be scared of me. You must know I’d never hurt you.” He
turned to her and took both her hands in his. He looked into her
eyes, wanting to reassure her that not only would he never hurt her,
but given the chance, he wanted to protect her from any and all harm
for the rest of her life. He figured telling her that at this point
may scare her even more though. She looked back at him.

“By now, I don’t think you would hurt me on purpose.
But look at you, you’re rich, you’re successful, you’re…”
she paused and smiled, then continued, “the sexiest man I have
ever met.”

He had to smile at that, thrilled that she felt that way and that
she would say it out loud.

“But...”

“Why does there have to be a ‘but’, Em?”
he asked gently.

“Because I’m no good at this,” she shook her
head.

He lifted a hand to her cheek. “What’s the worst that
could happen, Baby?” She looked so small somehow and so
vulnerable.

“I like you too much. It would be too easy for me to fall
in.... even more in like with you and then have my heart broken when
you go back to your life and your girlfriends.”

“My girlfriends? I don’t have a girlfriend, Em, let
alone multiples. Whatever makes you think that?”

“I’m sure I’m not the only woman who thinks
you’re the sexiest man she’s ever met. A man like you
always has beautiful women around, waiting their turn. Like the one
at Mario’s the other night.”

It took him a moment to even remember the brunette. “Emma
that’s crazy. I admit, women do seem to find me attractive,”
he shrugged, “but I don’t really notice them. You say
I’ll go back to my life and my girlfriends. What if were to
tell you that since I met you and came up here, the only thing I can
think about is wanting to make a life here, a life with you in it?
That I’m already falling...” he too hesitated on that one
and decided to go with, “more than in like with you. What would
you say to that? All I’m asking is that you give me a chance,
let me prove to you that we could have something good together,
something special.”

She looked at him and he saw the surprise and longing on her face,
but then it was gone. Those green eyes shuttered over again. Damn.
He’d thought he was getting through.

“Men like you say things like that to get what they want,
until they want something else.”

Oh, she was infuriating. Careful not to show his frustration, he
spoke slowly. “That’s not fair, Emma. I know the guy you
married let you down and hurt you badly, but I’m not him. And
you’re not giving us a chance when you judge me to be the same
as him.” He waited, but she didn’t respond.

“So, what are you telling me?” he asked when he was
convinced she really wasn’t going to say anything.

“I don’t know. All I wanted to do was tell you that
I’m not playing games. Last night I kissed you because I wanted
to.”

She looked so small and sad. He framed her face between his hands.
“I want to kiss you now,” he breathed. She lifted her
lips to meet his. He wrapped her in his arms and gently explored her
mouth with his tongue. Her arms came up around him and she molded
herself to him, responding to him in a way that belied everything
she’d said. Eventually he lifted his head and looked down at
her.

“So where do we go from here, Em? What can I do to convince
you?”

“I’ve been thinking about Pete’s toast
yesterday.”

“How did it go again?”

“About living the moment and enjoying it for what it is.”

“I knew I liked that guy. Do you think you can do that,
Emma? Enjoy this and live it for what it is?”

She nodded slowly, “But...”

Another ‘but’; she wasn’t going to make this
easy. “But what, Baby?”

“But nothing. You’re right. We can have some fun for
the summer and enjoy it for what it is.”

He frowned. “The summer?”

“Is that too long?”

Oh, she was unbelievable. “Too long?” he asked
incredulously. “Did you hear what I said? Give me the chance to
convince you I’m for real. I don’t want just the summer,
Em, I want the lifetime.”

Her eyes were sad. “I don’t believe in the lifetime,
Jack. Not anymore. Not with a man like you especially.”

How could she be so stubborn in her mistrust? He closed his eyes
and sighed. He knew why. Because anyone she’d loved and trusted
had caused her terrible pain. She’d lost her parents when she
was a little kid, and when she dared to love a man and trust him,
she’d given him her heart completely, and he’d shattered
it. He would gladly help her put it back together again. He only
hoped it wasn’t shattered beyond repair, that one day she’d
be able to love him back.

He put a finger to her lips. “How about I work with what
you’re giving me. You want to have fun with me this summer?”
She nodded and he smiled with relief; this was a start at least.
“Then let’s have some fun but, and now I have a ‘but’,
I need you to understand that I am going to do everything in my power
to make it last much longer than the summer. I will prove to you that
you can trust me, that I won’t hurt you... I want to make you
believe in forever again.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Jack.” He loved the way
she spoke his name.

“Yes, Baby?”

“I’d like to believe you, but I’m not sure I
ever will.”

“How about we leave it at that for now then? You’ve
been honest with me and I appreciate that, I understand where you’re
coming from and I’m saying I’d like to prove you wrong.
You don’t believe me now, but I think I can make you.” He
gave her his best smile and drew her closer to him, “But it
will be by having some of that fun we were talking about, not by
talking it to death.”

With that he found her lips with his own and kissed her with even
more hunger than he’d allowed himself to show before. She
opened up and willingly let him in, kissing him back, quivering
under his touch as he ran a hand down her back. Hell yeah, this would
be a good summer. When they resurfaced, Emma seemed to have recovered
somewhat.

“We’d better start the fun by getting over to Pete’s
lot and showing you around. We don’t want him to come back and
find us still sitting here. You’ve got work to do, Mr. Benson.”
She took their mugs inside and closed up the house. “Do you
want to drive that thing around there?”

“Let’s walk over first, then I can get a feel for the
land before I put that monster in a ditch or something.”

“Good thinking. Come on down to the beach then, that’s
the best way to go.”

She ran ahead of him and waited at the fire pit. She looked happy
again now, eyes sparkling. Seeing her standing there his heart
clenched in his chest. This was a start; he hoped he really could do
enough to convince her to trust again. He knew enough to understand
that as well as trusting him, she needed to learn to trust herself.
He joined her on the beach and they set out to Pete’s side of
the cove. As they walked he slung an arm around her shoulders and was
delighted when she reached up and laced her fingers through his.