Undertow (The UnderCity Chronicles) (30 page)

The second Lindsay and Jack got inside her apartment, she headed for the shower, stripping off clothes as she went. Boots, jacket, gloves and socks he expected, then she brazenly peeled off her shirt and was unhooking her bra as she heeled the door closed behind her.

Despite how tired he was, Jack had a mind to follow her in, shed his clothes and make wild love to her as the warm water sluiced away the blood and grime of the underground. What was she doing getting undressed in front of him anyway, unless she wanted him to follow?

Outside the door he could hear the patter and slap of the water as it hit her body, and thought of his own hands entering that stream. His jeans grew very tight.

He turned the doorknob. It was locked.

Guess not.

Jack sought refuge in the kitchen, and, going on her previous invitation to make himself at home, he opened the fridge door. Lettuce, yellow pepper, carrots in the crisper, chicken and fish in the freezer and lots of condiments. The buns, at least, were instantly consumable, and there was always cereal. Just like home.

He concentrated hard on not thinking of Lindsay’s naked body locked away from him at the other end of the apartment, and after what seemed like an eternity he heard her step out.

“It’s all yours,” she called out, her voice followed by the click of the bedroom door. It’d be a cold day in hell before he made a fool of himself and tried the knob on that one.

He cleaned himself off quickly, then twisted off the faucet and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. He looked in resignation at his filthy clothing. Nothing wearable. Still, he’d be damned if he was going to put on those—

There was a knock on the bathroom door.

“I’m not putting on that gay underwear again!”

A pause. “Who said anything about wearing anything?” It was said very softly and with great…intent. Jack stared at the door handle. No, he wasn’t. It was a trick. He watched the handle turn.

She stood there before him, naked as sin, and stepping forward, snapped the towel away from him.

For the first time in a year, Jack
really
smiled. His arms came around her, his hands skimming the satin smoothness of her back, her buttocks, coming around to cup the soft mounds of her breasts. Her pink nipples perked at his light touch, her instant response sending a jolt of heat through him. He pulled her against him, and twining his fingers through her hair, tilted her face up to his. Her blue eyes were shining, her cheeks glowing, and her dark pink mouth was parted and waiting.

He lowered his mouth, grazing his lips over hers. “You do seduction very well, Linds.”

“I've never tried to seduce anyone.”

He pulled back slightly. “How’s that?”

His mouth out of reach, she moved to his neck, biting hard enough to drive a small groan from him. She smiled in triumph. “I don’t consider it trying if there’s no doubt of success.”

He pressed his full hardness against her lower belly, and she pressed back, her hand sneaking between them to rub her thumb over his engorged tip. He took her wrist, but he didn’t stop her, couldn’t stop her. “Jesus, Linds, you’re going to have to slow down, or it’s going to be game over for me.”

“Okay,” she agreed, and her thumb fell away. Jack risked drawing breath again, to have it cut off when she gripped his length, giving him a long, slow stroke. This time he did pull her hand away and tossed her up onto the bathroom counter.

He bound her wrists behind her back with one hand, then pulled her up solidly against him with the other. His erection slid up along her inner thigh, stopping shy of her opening. “You,” he said, “are not playing fair.”

She slung her legs around him and dug her heels into the back of his thighs. “I know. But you and I have some unfinished business from Agharta, don't we?” She worked her tongue and teeth on his neck, until twisting, he crushed his mouth against hers.

“My turn first,” he murmured.

He ran his tongue over her lips, parting them and slipping in, playing his tongue over hers, pulling out to lick and pluck at her lips and then plunge back inside. Not stopping with his mouth, keeping her arms behind her back with the one hand, Jack let his other one drift to her breasts, at first rolling them sensually beneath his palm, then unexpectedly switching to sharp tugs that sucked the breath from Lindsay, and she could only resume air flow in short, hard pants.

And still he tantalized her mouth, gentle play there counterpoint to the harder workings of his hand. Wetness seeped between her legs. She arched her back, her lower torso rotating, tilting towards him to bring his erection against her softness, seeking connection.

He shifted in another direction.

“Please, Jack. Let me have you.”

His kiss deepened and hardened again, except now his mouth moved, sliding over her cheeks and down her neck, and his hand dropped away from her breast, crept over her lower belly and then a finger ran slowly, lightly up her wet crease.

Her entire body jumped, then settled into excited quivers. His finger stroked again and again, tickling her clit, teasing her opening. Her fingers wrapped around the edges of the countertop, her toes curled, her muscles tightened. Her quivers revved into shudders, and in moments she was only aware of the strong band of Jack’s arm around her middle and the orgasm growing within her.

Then her body broke loose, arching against his caress and sending bottles, brushes and scented candles crashing down from the countertop. Lindsay writhed against Jack, her climax running through her like a live wire, her body at once trying to ease away from his relentless manipulations while opening for more. Hoarse cries broke from her, siphoning off some of the unbearable tension that wracked her body. And still it coursed within her.

His eyes blazing, he shoved a finger inside her. Her muscles clamped around it and her cries broke into a long scream of release.

She sank against him, her forehead on his shoulder. “I’ve never orgasmed like that before. Well, except for the last time with you. Didn’t even know I was built for this.”

He didn’t answer. She twisted her head, to face the column of his neck. She could see his pulse beat like it was about to burst out of him. She glided her hand to the left side of his chest. She pulled away to look him in the eye.“Why is your heart beating so fast? I’m the one that just went and lost it.”

Jack stared at her bright eyes and kiss-swollen mouth. “Don’t you know how incredibly sexy it is to see you lose it? To be the one to do it?”

She frowned. He spun her around so that her feet were pressed up against the steamed mirror. He pulled her knees apart, exposing her pink, swollen sex.

“Then, find out for yourself.”

And he did it to her all over again. And before he stopped, she had left footprints all over the mirror and her screams were ringing in both of their ears.

This time when she slumped against Jack, she murmured, “Jack, I don’t think I can move.”

He settled her back against his chest, and crossing his arms in front of her, firmly cupped her breasts. “That’s too bad, Lindsay,” he said, his amber eyes glinting as she sprawled in front of the mirror. “because, as you said, you and I still have unfinished business.” To conclude his point, he pressed his erection against her buttocks.

She smiled weakly, thoughtfully and then fully.

“My turn.”

With a kick and spread of her long legs, she turned to face him, and lifting her hips, she melded her wetness tight against the hard head of his penis. Every cell in his body throbbed to enter, yet he held back.

He shakily brought his hands to her face. “Lindsay, I need…I want…”

“I know.” She rested his penis in her hand. “Watch.” She pressed her labia against his head until it crossed the muscled rim of her opening. He felt those muscles squeeze around his head. She relaxed and flexed again. He gripped her hips. She slid down another wet inch and his cock twitched. She paused and he waited, his eyes locked to where they connected. Then in a long slow glide he saw his penis disappear inside of her, and what he could no longer see he felt—the warm, moist, giving wrap of Linds. His Linds.

Their turn.

His grip on her hips tightened. He wouldn’t last long, no more than a few strokes. He lifted his gaze to her hair and eyes, and began to move inside her. He’d never done this before with her but he had a memory for it. Down in the hellhole he’d created a memory of this and now, now, it was real.

He was right. He didn’t last long and as he broke inside her, he realized it had finally happened. Something he dreamed of doing since he was a kid in an elevator. He'd made love to Linds.

* * *

They slumped to the floor, their bodies lying tangled on the cool bathroom tile. Jack had slipped from her onto his side, his arm slung across her breasts and over her waist. The two of them were wedged in the doorframe, and given any other circumstance, Lindsay would have felt uncomfortable.

Except she wasn’t. She’d had great sex with the man she loved. And yes, she loved Jack. She’d admitted that to herself in front of her bedroom mirror, readying herself with perfume and lotions while Jack was in the shower. Fixing him meant loving him. The thought scared her more than dangling five stories in the air ever could. But, like the time in the tunnels, she committed to it.

He shifted beside her and propped himself up to look at her face, his hand skimming along her sides and over her hair. His touch was so tender and intimate and—reverential, a teary lump caught in her throat. Keep it light, Lindsay ordered herself.

“I think I’ve got bruises on my butt,” She smiled. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”

“And I’m thinking that my jaw might never be right from where you head-butted me.”

She twisted to face him. “Head-butted? How could I have—?” She thought back to her wildness in front of the mirror. “Oh. Sorry.”

He gave her a swift, hard kiss. “I’m not complaining, either.” He slanted her a look, “Though I wouldn’t mind if you threw a few scraps of food my way.”

“Right. What was I thinking of? I got the order mixed up. Dinner, then sex.”

She sat upright, and Jack, still on his side, snagged his arm around her waist. Hauling her close, he gave her belly a series of nibbles that made her feel absolutely delicious. “No. You got the order right. Sex, then dinner,” His amber eyes, warm and alive, connected with hers. “Then sex for dessert.” He went back to sampling tummy appetizers.

“Okay, okay.” Lindsay laughed. “Stop before I lose track.” She ruffled his hair, then sobered. She wanted to say so much, ask so much, that she had to actually bite her tongue to hold it all back. “Do you still like Chinese?”

He grinned. “Sure. So long as I still get your share of the ginger beef in exchange for the spring rolls.”

He’d remembered.
“You’re on.”

As if by mutual consent, they both kept the mood playful as they dressed (Jack in a beach towel) and ate takeout together on the couch. They couldn’t seem to resist touching each other, their hands sneaking underneath each other’s clothing or gliding along exposed skin. There came a point when Jack was tweaking Lindsay’s various body parts with chopsticks and Leo proved to be a poor defense. They fell together on the couch with Jack on top. His grin faded, his hands went slow through her hair and he gazed down at her.

“Something I got to tell you, Linds.”

This was it. She wished she’d never pushed the whole Tasha business. She had him right here, right now. She didn’t want his wife or lover or whoever she was destroying the fragile thing between her and Jack.

He lifted himself off her and sat up, setting her legs across his lap. There was an edge of need, of resolve in him that had her sitting up herself, shifting so she rested sideways against the back cushions.

He lifted himself off her and sat up, setting her legs across his lap. There was an edge of need, of resolve in him that had her sitting up herself, shifting so she rested sideways against the back cushions. “I wanted to tell you about Tasha the morning after—well, the morning after. I knew you’d find out about Tasha in Agharta and I wanted you to hear it from me first. But you brought Reggie, and then Janice showed up. I don’t want to lose my chance again.