Rhapsody (The Bellator Saga Book 5) (21 page)

“Give me a minute.” He knelt down and kissed the scar below her ribcage, and she weaved her fingers through his hair. Why had she waited so long to let him do this to her? He rose to his feet and kissed her again.

“Bored yet?” she asked.

“Not hardly.” He helped her step into the water. It was warm, almost hot, the way she liked it.

“This is nice,” she murmured.

Jack knelt by the tub and removed his shirt. Caroline took a look at his chest and arms. He looked even better than he had when they first met, which was saying a lot.

“So, do you work out?” she asked slyly.

He tossed the shirt out into the hall. “I’ve had a lot of spare time the past couple of years. Had to find some way to keep up with all those young guys so they’d continue to listen to me. Burned a lot of sexual energy.”

“I bet you found other ways.”

“Only by myself. No other woman holds a candle to you.” He kissed her forehead. “That’s so cute that you just blushed.”

Caroline stared into the water. “Old habits die hard.”

“I missed that,” he said quietly. “You have no idea how much.” He folded a towel and placed it at the end of the tub, pointing at the chain around her neck. “Looks good on you.”

“We could switch back,” she said.

He idly tugged on his own chain. “No, I’m pretty attached to yours.”

“What if I want that one?” Caroline asked, fingering the hair on his chest and patting her wedding ring.

Jack rubbed the back of his hand along her jawline. “You gave it to me. I haven’t taken it off for almost two years. But you can have it back if you really want it.”

She could respect his wishes. “It’s kind of a turn on to see you wearing it like that. Rumor on the base is you’re pretty devoted to me. Of course that might have been because you thought I was dead.” Caroline paused when she saw the look on his face. “I’m sorry, Jack. That wasn’t very funny.”

“We’ll work on getting your sense of humor back. And I am completely committed to you,” he said, kissing her cheek before working his way to her lips. “Dedicated enough to be a slave to your body.”

“Ooh, I like the way that sounds. I could stay in this tub all day with that kind of attitude.”

“You’re lucky I have the nicest bathroom here,” Jack said.

Caroline looked around the rest of the bath, which was quite small. It wasn’t all that impressive. More like a crappy two star hotel room. She felt that way about most of the accommodations when she first arrived but didn’t think it appropriate to complain. The basement she and her men had trained in had been much worse. She wouldn’t even think about that dank cell at The Fed. No, she was happy to have a place to lay her head, to say nothing of some privacy and safety.

She cocked her head at her husband. “Yep, you sure know how to make a lady feel special. Does your bed rotate too?”

Jack reached for the shampoo. “There’s that sense of humor. No rotation, but it vibrates when you put a quarter in the machine by the nightstand. Close your eyes.”

He massaged the shampoo into her hair with gentle hands. When he was done he scrubbed her back and began washing the rest of her body, taking his time, relishing his task. Caroline leaned back against the towel Jack had placed at the end of the tub, sighing contentedly.

Jack lifted her soapy leg and kissed the top of her foot. “Feeling better?”

“Absolutely.” When he lowered her leg back into the tub, Caroline straightened up.

“You missed a spot,” she said.

“I was going to let you do that,” he said.

To her surprise, he looked a bit self-conscious. “Mr. McIntyre, are you nervous?”

He folded the washcloth in his hands. “No, I’m not,
Mrs. McIntyre
.”

Caroline smiled. “I like when you call me that. No one else gets to say it, you know. Not without me snarling at them.”

“I don’t want to do anything you don’t want me to do,” Jack said.

“You did it last night.”

“That was different.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Don’t argue.”

Caroline laughed. “What changed?”

“I might have manipulated you a little last night.”

If that was manipulation, she’d take it anytime and anyplace. “Jack, you did exactly what I wanted you to do. And I want you to do it again. Please keep going.”

She closed her eyes, leaning back. Jack spent more than a few minutes caressing her lower abdomen and inner thighs with the terrycloth material, stroking her face with his dry hand. Caroline removed the washcloth from his grasp and put it on the side of the tub.

“You’re not finished,” she said. “But you won’t be needing this anymore.” She took his right hand and guided it under the water between her thighs.

“Are you sure this is what you want, sweetheart?”

She’d brought some of this on herself with the mixed signals she’d thrown at him. She made a note to be as communicative as possible until he knew how to read her again. Caroline rested her head on the back of the tub again. “Yes,” she whispered.

Jack coaxed her legs open. “If anything starts to make you feel uncomfortable, tell me.”

As he began to touch her, Caroline thought the odds were pretty low that she’d want him to stop. He knew just where to tease her and drive her wild. He’d been correct; his memory was pretty damn good. He hadn’t forgotten a thing. And it didn’t take long before she realized she was close. She tried to grab the side of the tub to support herself but her grip slipped.

“I’m proud of my ability to get you off with one finger.” Jack took her hand with his free one and held it securely. Caroline closed her eyes again. “No,” he said softly. “Look at me.”

She held his gaze. His eyes were damp, but he was smiling.

“I love you,” he said.

The force of her orgasm had her splashing in the tub, crying out his name as she squeezed his hand tighter. After several very long, very intense moments, he removed his hand from between her legs.

“Okay?” he asked.

She nodded, bringing a hand up to his cheek. She left it there for a long time, letting her breathing slow down, feeling her heart rate go back to normal.

Jack kissed her palm. “That’s the look in your eyes I’ve been waiting for.” He pressed his lips to hers. “You’re so beautiful.”

Caroline didn’t know what to say so she said the first thing that made any sense. “I love you, Jack.”

“I know,” he said. “But you need to find a new line to tell me after I get you off.”

Post-orgasmic giggles were the most rewarding kind. “I’ll try.”

Jack kissed her for a long time before reaching for a fresh towel. “Bathtime is over,” he said, helping her out of the tub.

She took the towel out of his hands and started to dry herself off. “Works for me.”

He grabbed the towel back. “There’s no way I don’t get to do that.”

As soon as he was done Caroline pulled him toward her. “This is kind of fun,” she said. It was startling how they clicked together physically so quickly, after everything that had happened.

“Wait.” He plucked her brush off the vanity and smoothed out her tangles. “Your hair is a mess.”

“Am I presentable now?” she asked.

Jack grinned. “Yes.” He draped the wet towel around her shoulders. “I want to kiss every inch of you.”

His dress pants were damp. She could feel him pressed up against her. Caroline wrapped one leg around him. The towel fell to the floor as he squeezed her bare ass.

“I like this,” she whispered. She kissed him hard and leaned over to pick up the towel. She folded it and put it on the floor, then knelt down and unbuttoned his pants, smiling when she saw the obvious bulge near his fly. She unzipped him. “I thought I felt something just now. A little eager, are we?”

He groaned. “I’ve been waiting almost two years for this, woman. Cut me some slack. And before you say it, last night doesn’t count.”

She frowned at him. “You didn’t enjoy my hand job?”

Jack tapped her chin. “You know what I mean.”

Caroline pulled down his pants and boxers, and he kicked them aside. She began teasing his cock with her hands, stroking the length of it. She kept going until she knew he couldn’t stand it and was tempted to do it a little longer, but that seemed cruel. He certainly deserved the best she had to give. She took him in her mouth.

“Fuck,” Jack said. “You are incredible.”

She closed her eyes as he groaned her name. He gently pushed her head back and pulled her to her feet, tracing his finger down her cheek.

“Such beautiful eyes,” he said. “And luscious lips.” He lowered his head and trailed his tongue along her jaw. “And such a sweet, sweet mouth.”

“I thought I was the one who was supposed to do the seducing,” she said. “You barely let me get started.”

Jack kissed her jawline. “Had we settled on that? I thought we could make it a mutual thing.”

She tried not to moan when he bit her earlobe. “I guess that works.”

He grinned at her. But it was much more than a grin. She’d never been one for cheesy metaphors but the smile that danced across his lips practically lit up the room.

“Your sadness is gone,” Caroline whispered.

“What?”

“Your eyes,” she explained. “You look happy.”

“I
am
happy,” he said. “You make me that way.”

She had no words to respond to such a declaration so she bit her lip, toying with his hair.

“That smile,” he whispered. “That gorgeous smile. I almost don’t want to kiss you because I want to keep looking at it.”

Naturally, her smile widened. “I promise it’ll be there when you get done.”

Jack placed her hand over his heart. “You’re not scattered, Caroline,” he said. “All the pieces of you are where they need to be. Right here.”

He could be as alpha and as dominant and as commanding as he wanted. She knew who he really was. “I never know what to do when you say things like that.”

“Good thing I do.” He kissed her again. “Bed,” he said against her mouth, and maneuvered them down the hall until they reached the bedroom.

They stumbled onto the sheets. Jack took her hands and pulled them above her head. “I missed you so fucking much.” He kissed his way down her body until he reached her clit. “This is definitely what I want.”

Well, she sure as hell wasn’t going to stop him. He started teasing her with his tongue, darting it in and out of her. It was making her crazy. 

“You’re so wet,” he murmured.

An immediate reaction called for an immediate response. “All for you, Jack,” she said softly.

“I love when you say that,” he said, stopping momentarily to grin against her thigh.

Caroline thought about calling him out on his arrogance but she wanted him to get back to what he’d been doing. “Don’t act like you don’t enjoy it too.”

Jack teased her in all her favorite places, using his hands, his lips, his tongue.  She didn’t think she’d be able to come so quickly after what happened in the bathtub but before she knew it she sank into that glorious darkness again, screaming his name, curling her hands up in his hair as she thrust into his face.

After she was finished he brought his head up. “I knew you had that in you. You taste wonderful.” He caressed her still trembling legs. “I’m going to want to do this a lot,” he said. “Just so you know.”

Caroline laughed. She could only imagine. “You’re going to have to wait a while.”

“I’m going to wear you out regardless.”

She pulled him on top of her again. “I hope so.”

His sadness was gone. She couldn’t very well complain about that. But the affection that remained was enough to crack her open again. She fought back tears, patting Jack’s cheek with a shaky hand.

He smiled down at her. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”

She closed her eyes. It was too much. Too much like the first time. When she’d been so terrified, so incredibly nervous, and he’d done everything right. Except now it meant more. He meant more. Everything meant so much…
more.
She used to wonder why their roleplaying and control games seemed easier than simple romance and now she understood. Caroline swallowed a nervous sob. “I’m sorry I was so terrible to you, Jack. I am.”

“Don’t.” He kissed her tears away. “I forgive you. Let go of your guilt. Let go of the anxiety. Let me show you how much I love you.”

He made everything sound so easy when it wasn’t. “I can’t-”

“Let it go.” He gave her a mock stern look. “Remember what I said about how much it upsets me when you cry.”

Caroline could keep her emotions in check. Focus on the positive. All she had to do was close her eyes and he’d slip inside and make her whole again. “I’ll try.”

“Maybe if I kiss you senseless you’ll calm down. Tell me what I want to hear,” he said, sliding his cock back and forth against her still sensitive clit.

She was straddling the line between brutal honesty and mild incoherence. “I missed you,” Caroline said softly. “Please don’t make me wait any more.”