Under a Vampire Moon (35 page)

“Yes, angry,” he admitted with a smile. “I’m not used to women hating me on sight.”

“It wasn’t you. She was mad at me for not telling her about you sooner,” Carolyn assured him, and thought that was something of an understatement. Bethany had been furious that she hadn’t told her about Jack’s flirting and their date. Seeing the way Jack’s eyebrows had risen, Carolyn muttered, “I was a bit tipsy when I got back from the boat.”

“A bit,” he agreed. “But it was my fault. I was a little pushy with the punch. In my defense,” he added quickly, “I had no intention of taking advantage, I just wanted you to relax and enjoy yourself.”

“You weren’t forcing them on me,” Carolyn said, absolving him of guilt and then continued, “Anyway, when she saw the shape I was in, she immediately insisted I lie down, so I didn’t get to tell her then.”

“And after you had lain down?” Jack asked.

Carolyn forced a smile. She hadn’t actually lain down, but she was fine with his assuming that, so simply said, “Then I was out with Christian and his family. And you,” she added wryly, recalling her discomfort when he’d shown up at the table.

“And then?” Jack asked.

Carolyn just shrugged helplessly, feeling her face flush as she recalled what she’d been doing with Christian after leaving the lounge last night. Ducking her head, she picked up her water glass to avoid meeting his gaze.

“So when did you tell her about me?” he asked after a moment.

Carolyn sighed and admitted, “About an hour before you arrived.”

When he didn’t respond at first, she glanced reluctantly up to see him peering at her, eyes narrowed speculatively. Still, she wasn’t prepared for him to ask her, “So what happened with band boy after he dragged you out of the lounge?”

Carolyn stared at him, feeling the blood rush from her face and then flood back, and blurted out, “He told me he wasn’t gay.”

Jack sank back in his seat, disappointment sliding across his face. “Right. So his jealousy was over you after all.”

“I don’t know,” she muttered, dropping her eyes again.

“Yes, you do,” he said with a laugh. “If he could have keelhauled me before we left Soufriere yesterday, he would have.”

When Carolyn remained silent, he asked, “You said his cousin told you he was gay?”

“Gia,” she admitted uncomfortably.

“Why?”

“Does it matter?” she asked, suddenly impatient. “He’s too young for me.”

“And that right there tells me exactly what I didn’t want to hear,” he said on a sigh. When her eyes widened in surprise, he smiled wryly. “Sweetheart, you’ve fallen for the guy and the only thing holding you back is his age. My guess is the cousin knew it would be a problem for you and told you he was gay so you’d get to know him and not run.”

“What makes you think I’d have run?” Carolyn asked with amazement. While she had, she didn’t like the idea that others could see that so easily.

“Caro, I’m the guy who got you drunk just so you’d relax and get to know me,” he said with a laugh. “Woman, you have runner written all over you.”

When she sagged unhappily, he said, “It doesn’t take much more than a moment in your company to know you’re a good, kind-hearted woman who doesn’t have a lot of experience and got burned gaining the little experience you do have. Now you run rather than risk getting burned again . . .”

“But I don’t want to like Christian.” She snapped her mouth closed when she heard how whiney she sounded. Sighing, she took a deep breath. “I’d rather like someone like you. And I do,” she added quickly.

Jack’s lips twitched, and then he said with amusement, “You do realize that most women wouldn’t think me a much better choice than band boy, right? I mean, I dumped my life and responsibilities in Canada to grow my hair out and loaf around on a boat in the Caribbean. My life is made up of sun, fun, punch, and a never ending parade of women.”

Carolyn blinked. “A parade?”

He burst out laughing at her surprise. “I don’t seem the playboy type to you?”

“Well . . . It’s just—I mean . . . well, you’re nice,” she pointed out helplessly.

“You expected playboys would be jerks?” he asked with amusement.

“My husband was,” she muttered.

“Ah,” Jack said and nodded. “Burned.”

Carolyn grimaced and peered at him solemnly. “So why the interest in me?”

His eyebrows rose in surprise.

“I mean, you make me sound like a mouse, skittering madly away. Why would you or any man be interested in—”

“Your skittishness is part of your charm. The fact that you will likely run makes you a challenge,” Jack said quietly. “Cats like the chase.” When her mouth dropped open, he smiled and shrugged. “There’s no sense of conquest with women who throw themselves at you.”

“So Christian is just interested in me because I’m a conquest?” she asked with dismay. If so, he’d conquested last night and she’d probably left just before he gave her the boot, she thought and then realized that Jack was shaking his head.

“Oh no,” he said when he had her full attention. “Band boy is no cat, cats don’t look at women the way he looks at you, or drag them away with the barely contained emotion that was seething in him when he pulled you off the dance floor. He’s in it to win it for the long haul. He wants you all . . . body and soul. I’d stake my life on that one,” he assured her solemnly.

“But he’s—”

“Too young,” Jack finished dryly and then shrugged. “Good. Then I’m still in the game. Now finish your dinner and we’ll order dessert.”

Carolyn grimaced at her half empty plate. She wasn’t hungry, but began to eat anyway. She’d nearly fallen down the stairs of the shuttle on returning to the resort this afternoon, and would have had the driver not spotted her swaying at the top of the stairs and caught her just as she started to drop. Carolyn wasn’t skipping another meal ever until she had this blood sugar thing checked out.

Oddly enough, by the time they finished eating, Carolyn and Jack were chatting as if the whole Christian subject hadn’t come up. She was rather impressed with how he managed that, actually.

Afterward, they walked along the harbor, discussing places they both knew in Toronto, and places she’d been to here in St. Lucia as well as places he thought she should see. They then stopped for a drink before heading back. By the time they returned to the resort it was nearly eleven thirty. She expected him to just drop her off and go, but he walked her to one of the resort vans, announcing that he’d see her to her door.

Seventeen

“O
h.” Carolyn stared after the departing van with alarm.

“I told the driver I’d walk back. It’s good for me,” Jack said with an easy smile. “Besides, I didn’t want him sitting there watching when I try for my good-night kiss.”

Carolyn flushed and turned quickly away to hurry to her door, suddenly a bundle of nerves as she tried to come up with ways to avoid that kiss. She paused halfway there though when he started to chuckle. Turning back, she peered at him uncertainly. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re running again,” he said with amusement. “Even though you know I like the chase.”

Her eyes widened. “No, I—”

Pausing in front of her, Jack slid his arms around her waist. He peered down at her silently for a moment and then said, “You’re a beautiful woman, Caro. Did Christian kiss you after he told you he wasn’t gay?”

Carolyn’s eyes widened and she started to duck her head, but he simply caught her chin and lifted her face back up, saying wryly, “That would be a yes.”

Sighing, she nodded.

“Right. But he’s too young. So,” he suggested, drawing her a little closer. “How about you let me kiss you? If I’m as good or better than he is . . . ” He grinned. “Then you don’t need to worry about him or his age anymore and can start worrying about me.”

Carolyn was silent for a minute, her mind racing. She liked Jack, not as much as Christian, but maybe with a little time . . . He was also handsome, and close to her own age. It certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing if she enjoyed his kisses as much as Christian’s. Maybe it would be like that with a lot of men and she was losing her head and falling in love out of sheer lack of experience.

Carolyn blinked as that thought slid through her head. Losing her head and falling in love? What the— Unwilling even to think about something as ridiculous as that, she forced herself to relax, reached her hand up around Jack’s neck, and drew his head down for a kiss.

Carolyn was braced for fireworks. After all, she liked him, thought he was attractive, and he was apparently pretty experienced so no doubt knew what he was doing. She really thought this would solve all her problems. But instead of fireworks she got sparklers. Oh, a slow, lazy warmth stole through her when his lips moved over hers, and it gained heat as he urged her lips open to allow his tongue entrance. She even sighed and moved a little closer when his hands urged her to. But it wasn’t rockets and fireworks like it was with Christian, and she felt a deep disappointment when he broke the kiss and raised his head to peer at her.

“Well?” he asked, his voice rough.

Carolyn smiled. “It was nice.”

“
Nice
?” he asked with disbelief. “Sweetheart, that about knocked my socks off.”

“It did?” Carolyn asked with surprise.

“Well, that’s not a rocket in my pocket pressing on you,” he said dryly. “And I don’t generally respond so eagerly to a kiss.”

“Sorry,” she muttered, suddenly aware of the not-rocket pressing against her.

Jack frowned and looked her over slowly. “Your eyes are dilated, you’re breathing heavier, and your nipples are erect. You liked it too.”

Carolyn flushed at the frank assessment, but assured him quickly, “I did like it. It was—”

“Nice,” he finished with a grimace when she cut herself off. Dissatisfaction crossed his face, and then he shook his head, released her, and turned to leave, only to immediately swing back. “On a scale of one to ten, what would you have rated that kiss?”

“Ten,” Carolyn answered honestly, because really it had been nice. She’d been kissed by more than just Robert, although not by scads of men. But there had been the occasional flirtation at office Christmas parties or such. On that scale, Robert had been a one, but some of the others had reached maybe five or so. Jack was definitely a ten in comparison to them.

He nodded as if she’d verified something, and then asked, “And band boy’s kisses rate where?”

Carolyn sighed. “I can’t compare his, they’re . . . ” She shook her head helplessly and admitted, “When he kisses me the world slips away. I can’t hear or breathe or see anything but him, and my body just explodes with a pleasure so overwhelming I—”

“Jesus, look at you,” he muttered with fascination, moving back to examine her more closely. “You’re on fire just thinking about it . . . and you’re trembling.”

Carolyn swallowed and lowered her head, then raised it again and blurted out, “He did more than kiss me last night.”

“He bedded you.” Jack didn’t seem at all surprised.

“Six times,” Carolyn admitted shakily. “And each time I fainted at the end. It was just too overwhelming and I passed right out every single—What are you doing?” she asked with surprise when he grabbed her hand and suddenly turned to drag her up the walk.

“Doing you a favor,” he said grimly. “Where’s he staying?”

“Why?” she asked warily.

“It’s the villa above yours, isn’t it?” Jack asked tugging her up the road.

“How did you know?” she gasped with surprise.

“Because you kept looking up there before and after I kissed you,” he said dryly.

Carolyn grimaced. She had looked several times, but there had been nothing to see. The villa was dark. “He’s not there. And I don’t understand what you’re doing anyway.”

“Like I said, doing you a favor.”

“What favor?” she cried, stumbling along behind him.

Pausing, he turned abruptly, catching her arms to steady her when she nearly crashed into him. Staring down at her solemnly, Jack said, “Sweetheart, I’ve been with more women than I can count and have never come close to what you just described. In fact, your kiss was about the hottest I’ve ever enjoyed and it was nothing like that.
And
,” he added heavily, “I have never, ever heard of sex so powerful the woman passes out or faints. If you have that with him, then you should be with him no matter who, what, or how old he is.”

“He passes out too,” Carolyn muttered with disgruntlement and glanced up with surprise when he cursed and growled, “Lucky son of a bitch,” as he turned to continue dragging her along.

“But he’s not there,” she protested again as they hit the turnaround and started up Christian’s road.

“Oh, he’s there,” Jack assured her. “I’m pretty sure it was him standing up there with a bunch of others watching from the windows as I helped you into the van when we left earlier.”

“He saw us?” she asked with dismay.

“Yes. He’s probably been sitting up there stewing and waiting for you to return ever since,” he said. “Besides, I could feel his scowl scorching the back of my neck while I kissed you.”