TWELVE

“I thought there were going to be lobsters.” For once, Jack hadn’t snuck up behind her. But he’d still caught her off guard. Her head down, Sadie was typing furiously on her phone, addressing that very issue.

She didn’t even bother to look up at him. “There are supposed to be.”

“Lobster Bake on the Beach.” Jack raised his phone to her, showing Sadie the title of the evening’s dinner, typed clearly on the digital agenda.

“Thank you, yes. I am aware.” Sadie lifted her gaze from his phone to his eyes, but the frustration in her brow didn’t fade.

“But,” Jack prodded, “there aren’t any lobsters.” He dropped his head so he could whisper, as if in conspiracy, “I even checked.”

“How thorough of you.” Sadie couldn’t keep back the bite of sarcasm. But rather than be put off, Jack just chuckled.

“I like to think I am. Yes.” Sadie caught the wicked gleam that flashed through Jack’s eyes, but chose to ignore it.

“Hmmm,” was the only response she could muster. Sadie returned her attention to her phone, muttering under her breath as she sent Marisol a series of heated texts.

“That’s all I get, a ‘hmmm’?” Jack was standing in front of her, his broad chest blocking the beach – and lobster-less lobster bake – from sight. When she remained silent, her eyes still on her phone, he wrapped his fingers around it and tugged. For a moment Sadie resisted, her fingers clenched around the device. But Jack tugged again, softly, and she let him pull it from her hand.

“Now that I have your attention,” Jack slid a finger under her chin and tipped her face up to his. Sadie didn’t think he would kiss her, not there. Not on the beach, in sight of all of his employees. But the possibility of it, with his fingers still hovering just beneath her chin, had Sadie’s breath faltering and her mind drifting away from everything except the man in front of her.

But Jack’s mouth didn’t drop to hers. Despite her own intense, unwavering focus on his lips. Instead, Sadie watched with some disappointment as they formed words. Words that she forced herself to pay attention to.

“Want to tell me what happened?”

“Hmmm?”

“That ‘hmmm’ again. Twice in as many minutes. Usually you’re an eloquent speaker, Ms. Carter. I expect more from you.”

Sadie knew she shouldn’t focus on him. She had other things to worry about. Like the dinner sprawling out in front of her. The dinner without lobster.

But she found her mind wandering and her eyes fixing on the subtle curve of Jack’s mouth. More than anything, Sadie wanted to see if she could force it into one of his devastating smiles.

“Perhaps I’m just used to more compelling company.” Sadie fought back the urge to smirk as one of Jack’s eyebrows arched.

“Compelling?” Jack took a step closer to Sadie so that their toes were touching, their chests almost brushing. “I’ll admit to being a little surprised, Ms. Carter. I didn’t realize you found my conversation anything less than compelling. At least, that wasn’t the impression I got last night.”

“That, Mr. Avery, explains your mistake,” Sadie’s eyes twinkled at him. “If you think back to last night, I think you’ll find that ‘conversation’ had very little to do with it.”

Jack broke into a grin, all white teeth and dimpled cheek. “Liar.”

This time, it was Sadie who arched her brow. “Ah, interesting tactic. I wouldn’t have expected such a low blow, Mr. Avery. Resorting to insults? Now which one of us could be accused of being ineloquent?”

Jack pursed his lips and Sadie could have sworn she heard a chuckle rumble and die beneath the breadth of his chest. Any impulse that Sadie had to laugh in return, however, vanished the moment he wrapped his hand around her wrist, his fingers stroking the delicate skin that hid her skittering pulse.

“Oh, Ms. Carter. I do so hate repeating myself. But, for you I’ll make an exception.” Jack’s voice was soft, deep, his words echoing through Sadie’s head as he whispered hot against her. “You’re lying. And you know it.”

Jack teased her, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear as he spoke. “Last night, what we had, what we did – it was definitely a conversation. One of the most compelling I’ve ever had.” Jack raised his head enough so that Sadie could see his expression as their eyes met. The look he gave her, it caused Sadie’s breath to catch. And her heart to stop before it jumped back to life at a violent pace.

“What I said to you last night, those words, I’ve wanted to say for years.” His hand still wrapped around her wrist, Jack pulled Sadie so that she was practically buried in his chest. Thank god his large back was to the beach; unless someone took particular interest in them, no one would have any idea who he was talking to. Let alone who he was openly seducing in full view of anyone looking. Somewhat stunned, Sadie’s gaze was unfocused, hovering around the corner of his jaw. Jack squeezed her wrist slightly, causing her to look back up at him. To focus on him.

“Years, Sadie.” Jack’s eyes bore into hers. “And, god, the way you answered me, with your eagerness, your ardor. Compelling doesn’t even begin to cover it.” Jack shifted, his lips brushing her temple for the briefest moment. The second they were gone, Sadie wanted them back. On her face, on her lips, on her neck, on every conceivable part of her that Jack could reach. “And I’m not wrong when I say we both want to continue that conversation, Sadie. Very much.”

Sadie took a deep breath and held Jack’s ardent gaze. “Very much,” she repeated his words, her voice soft but no less certain. She let her eyes reflect all of the sensations coursing through her body. The excitement from where his fingers gazed her skin, the compulsion to sink into the strength of his chest. And the undeniable longing to kiss him. His eyes flicking back and forth across hers, reading everything in her gaze, Jack inhaled a deep breath, his fingers flexing in barely contained anticipation.

Sadie brought her hand to his chest and pressed it against the cotton-clad skin over his heart. Jack’s lids fluttered shut for a second before he watched, transfixed, as Sadie teased her fingers across the slope of his muscles, over the curve of his shoulder, and down the tanned expanse of his arm.

“You’re right, Jack,” Sadie’s breath licked the curve of his neck as she spoke, “that we should carry on with our conversation.” Sadie’s lips curled slightly as she felt his pulse kick where she held his wrist. “Just not here.” Sadie slipped her tongue over the swell of her bottom lip and thrilled at the answering lust that coursed through him. “And,” she tilted her face up and met his dazed eyes, “just not yet.”

Sadie would have giggled at the surprise on Jack’s face if her own heart wasn’t racing. The tension between them was palpable, the blatant sensuality in Jack’s eyes flooding her abdomen with exhilaration. But she couldn’t put them out of their misery quite yet.

Jack opened his mouth, about to protest, when Sadie grabbed her phone from his now-lax fingers. She held her finger up to him, gesturing him to wait. His eyes were heavy on her body while Sadie skimmed the responses from Marisol, rapidly replying to the hotel, signing off on the final tweaks they’d been forced to make when the fisherman hadn’t returned with any lobsters.

After hitting send, Sadie looked over Jack’s shoulder, doing her best to ignore the arousal rippling off of him, and assessed the scene in front of her. Guests were still enjoying their drinks, relaxing around the fire pits scattered across the sand. The candles on the tables were beginning to glow brighter as the sunset faded behind the drop of the horizon. And Sadie could see the hotel staff arranging a wide array of seafood across the grills, her approval of the modified menu correctly anticipated. The evening was underway and Sadie knew she didn’t need to stay. But, all the same, she stood, watching, giving herself one last chance to change her mind. One last chance to walk away from Jack and everything she wanted from him.

He didn’t move. The entire time Sadie looked out at his colleagues collecting on the beach, Jack stayed fixed in place. His back to the ocean, his eyes moving with lurid intent from her face, down her length, and back again. Sadie marveled that she could feel his heat beckoning to her even as the cool salt breeze brushed past them. Nodding slightly to herself, Sadie took a breath and lifted her face to his.

“Your employees are expecting you.” Sadie assumed that was true, at least. Though no one was looking Jack’s way, looking like they wanted to get his attention. But he didn’t know that, not with his back to them.

Jack shook his head slowly. “There is no one on that beach I need to see.”

“Not even Mr. Donovan.”

“Not even him.” Jack didn’t move closer, made no gesture to touch her, but Sadie felt the air between them tighten and shrink. “Sadie, there is no one on this beach, on this island, hell, on the wide world beyond, that I need to see right now more than you.”

“No one?” Sadie tried to keep her breath even as she lifted an eyebrow, but she knew she failed. And she knew Jack noticed.

“No. One.” Jack murmured the words with conviction. But Sadie saw the hint of pleading that flashed in the depths of his eyes. For all of his persistence, Jack wasn’t going to push her. He was waiting for her to invite him. He was waiting for her to say yes.

Sadie felt a heady thrill push out from her chest to her fingers, the tips tingling with the sensation, even as she gave Jack a blinding smile. Then, without saying a word, she turned on her heel and walked away.

***

Jack almost fell forward in astonishment. He was strung so close to his breaking point, his knees locked, his chest heavy with the need to breathe but his lungs unable to function properly. He’d been so close. So fucking close to getting her, claiming her. But then Sadie had walked away. Without so much as a goodbye.

Jack forced his eyes shut, his hands flexing involuntarily at his sides, trying to release some of the agonizing tension. But when he opened them again he could see Sadie standing on the path winding up from the beach, her gaze fixed on him over her shoulder. When his eyes met hers she smiled – that wide, enthralling smile – and beckoned him with a small wave. Jack stood rooted to the spot, not sure if he’d imagined it. But she did it again, her head bobbing in encouragement as her fingers fluttered for him to follow.

This time Jack didn’t hesitate. With the sound of his blood crashing in his ears, Jack forced himself not to run after her. He didn’t want to scare her. And he didn’t want to catch the attention of anyone on the beach. So he forced his feet into a steady pace, his long legs easily eating up the distance between them. By the time Jack caught up to Sadie she was slipping a key into a door. The door, Jack realized, to her room.

The interior was dim, the gauzy patio curtains letting the twilight sky filter in. Sadie kept the lights off, but the ambient glow of evening was enough for Jack to see her. To watch, hypnotized, as she moved to the center of the room, her body relaxed, tempting, the fabric of her dress catching in a little dance as she walked. Jack startled when he heard a noise behind him, the heavy hotel door locking automatically as it clicked closed. That sound was enough to jump start his brain, to push him out of the fog of the past few minutes and into the gaze of the stunning woman in front of him.

For one charged moment they just stared at each other across the room. But then Sadie did it again. The little wave, beckoning Jack closer. And before he knew it, Jack had her pressed fully to him, one hand spanning her lower back, the other dug into her loose hair, holding her head as he took her mouth. Again and again. The pull so intense they could barely break long enough to catch their breath and Jack started to wonder if Sadie felt as lightheaded as he did. Drawing back on a low moan, Jack rested his forehead against hers, seeking a split second of sanity before they fell, beyond all reason.

“Jack,” Sadie’s soft voice reached him through the beat of his own pulse and Jack felt her fingers trace down his torso. She had wanted to touch him the night before. And he hadn’t let her. He’d known that he wouldn’t have been able to hold himself back if she’d laid her delicate hands on him. But, tonight, she could touch whatever part of him she wanted. So Jack loosened his grip long enough for Sadie to sneak both hands to his waist, slipping her fingers underneath his shirt. When her soft touch feathered across his abdomen Jack dragged in a ragged breath. And then it wasn’t enough. He needed all of her, immediately.

Jack reached behind his head and quickly yanked off his shirt. As soon as it fell from his fingers he pulled Sadie flush against his chest, his blood heating at the feel of her breasts, still covered by her dress, pressed to him. His lips were against hers, his tongue slipping between, sliding against hers, his groan echoing in the heat of her mouth. Jack felt the angle change as Sadie pressed up on her toes, desperate to get as close to him as she possibly could. Her fingers bit into his shoulders, the anticipation of her body flowing into his wherever they connected.

“This,” Jack ground out, his fingers slipping underneath the straps of her dress, “this has to go.” Sadie’s mouth was pressed to the sharp line of his jaw and it took a moment for his words to reach her, the wet dart of her tongue against his skin torturous. Jack clenched his fingers around her shoulders before she stepped back just enough to turn and present her back to him. Sadie swept her hair over her shoulder and glanced back at him, her eyes glowing as she watched him reach down to the zipper of her dress.

About to lower it, Jack caught a glimpse of his hands against her skin, his tan fingers stark against the delicate planes of her back. If he spread both hands wide he would span her shoulder blades, thumbs touching in the center, the tips of his pinkies brushing the outer curves of her breasts.

Absorbing the sight of Sadie, her head lowered, her hair swept aside, her neck exposed, sweeping down gracefully to where her back smoothed out beneath his hands, Jack was struck by a wave of pure, thick possessiveness. Of wanting the woman in front of him more than he’d wanted anyone or anything in his entire life. He saw his fingers tremble with the force of it. He wanted Sadie. He had for ages. And Jack knew without question that he wanted more from her than just her body. That he wanted more than just one night.

Despite the urgency beating through him, Jack pulled the zipper down slowly, the fabric giving way to reveal Sadie’s bare back. Succumbing to her own impatience, Sadie slipped the straps off her shoulders and dragged the dress down with one swift motion.

Before Jack could haul in another breath, Sadie was in front of him in nothing but her underwear, the light pink lace clinging to her curves. Jack’s hands rested on her back and he held her in place, still facing away from him, as his eyes swept down her. He’d imagined this moment, dreamed, fantasized about it so many times his brain needed a second to catch up with how much more perfect it was – she was – in reality.

As Jack’s eyes fell down the length of her back, his fingers followed. Along the elegant curve of her spine, to the dip at the base, gently over the swell of her ass, down to the subtle crease where it met the backs of her thighs. There he paused, teasing her before skimming his fingers over the tops of her legs. Sadie’s sigh shivered in the room as she leaned backwards into his chest.

Her skin to his, Sadie arched her neck in surrender. Jack brought his hand to her stomach, pulling her back against him, the hint of relief he felt as his cock pushed between the globes of her ass swiftly turning to torture as his hard length twitched against the layers of fabric still between them. Sadie parted her lips on a soft moan and Jack lifted her jaw with his free hand, tilting her mouth so he could claim it. The kiss was desperate. They fought for more contact, more pressure, their lips and tongues brushing, clinging, tangling over and over as they burned hotter with every stroke.

Jack heard a whimper deep in Sadie’s throat and it broke whatever self-restraint he’d been clinging to. He turned her, his lips never leaving hers, Sadie breathing in his groan as she pushed her naked breasts against his chest. Jack wrapped his hands around the tops of her thighs and lifted her, Sadie automatically wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms tightening around his neck.

Jack had to steady himself when Sadie teased her hot core against the ridge of his erection, his knees threatening to give out under the wave of lust that crashed through him. In just a few steps Jack had them at the bed, never releasing Sadie as he lowered them onto it.

The second Sadie felt the mattress beneath her, she pulled her hands away from Jack’s neck and began touching him anywhere she could reach. The slope of his shoulders, the wide planes of his upper chest, the line of his jaw, the cuts and dips of his abdomen. And Jack felt heat explode under every touch, a conflagration he knew would soon overwhelm him. As Sadie brought her tongue and teeth to his torso, a nibble on his collarbone, a lick just shy of one flat nipple, Jack clasped his hands around her waist and hauled her further up the bed. He thought he caught a glimmer of surprise in Sadie’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by delirium when he pressed one knee to the juncture of her thighs.

Sadie arched as Jack dragged his lips down the length of her neck, across her chest, down to one desperately hard nipple. Jack felt Sadie’s fingers drag through his hair as he worked his mouth against her breast, his tongue rasping against her flushed flesh, his teeth nipping the dusky peak.

Sadie tightened her thighs around Jack’s leg, demanding more pressure, a gasp escaping her throat. Jack brought his hand to her neglected breast, his fingers massaging the fullness as his mouth continued to play with the other, his own groan dying against her soft skin.

“Jack….” He heard his name on Sadie’s lips, a soft, plaintive moan. He wanted to prolong their first time together. But Sadie’s panting breaths told him she was close to frantic. And his cock was throbbing relentlessly where it was pressed against her leg, his own patience almost completely gone.

Jack pulled his mouth from her and caught Sadie’s eyes. Her lids were half closed, but her ravenous need for him burned bright in the flashes of green he saw beneath. Sadie kept her attention fixed on him as she bowed her body slightly under his, her invitation explicitly clear. Jack wanted to smile but the tension in his body prevented it. Instead, he dropped his lips to her skin, skating down her cleavage, across the gentle swell of her stomach, to the edge of her panties. Jack pressed a hot kiss to the flesh covered by the lace before hooking his fingers around the sides and pulling the last bit of fabric from her body.

As her underwear fell from his fingers, Jack stood at the edge of the bed and absorbed the sight of Sadie spread across it. Utterly naked. And more arousing than he could have ever imagined. He wanted a moment to burn the image on his brain, indelible proof that they’d had this together. But Sadie had different ideas. Her eyes were eating up every inch of his body as she came up on her knees in front of him. Sitting back on her heels, Sadie leaned forward and pressed an open-mouth kiss to Jack’s chest as her hands danced down his sides. Jack laced his fingers through her hair as she continued to move across his body, her touch finding its way to the hard muscles of his ass.

Jack felt a tug at the back of his pants before he grasped that she was pulling his wallet free. Lifting her mouth from him for a second, Sadie pushed the folded leather to his chest, one eyebrow lifted wordless instruction.

Jack forced his brain to function long enough to retrieve a condom before he dropped his wallet to the ground, his chest rising rapidly as he felt Sadie’s fingers beneath his waistband. In a matter of seconds, she had his pants undone and slipping past his hips along with his boxer briefs. As Jack moved back to step out of his shoes, pants, and briefs, he didn’t miss the dart of Sadie’s tongue across her lips. He was staring at the gleam left behind when Sadie wrapped her fingers around his thick, pulsing erection.

At her first squeeze Jack dropped his head forward, his lips falling open against her hair. When she ran her thumb across the drop of liquid gathered at the tip, Jack couldn’t hold back a desperate, “Oh, fuck.”

Sadie’s hand fell away from him as Jack slipped his own between her thighs. Her head tipped back as her throaty moan filled the room. Jack threaded his fingers into her wet heat, her arousal slick against his hand. “God, Sadie,” Jack gasped the words, “it’s fucking sinful, how good you feel.”

Sadie gripped Jack’s shoulders as he increased his tempo, his fingers mirroring the pulse racing across her body. Sadie rested her forehead flat against his chest and gripped his arm tightly. “No more waiting, Jack.” He barely caught the words before she repeated, “No more,” and crashed her lips into his. Their mouths fused together, Jack lowered Sadie to the bed at the same time she levered her leg over his hips. Jack blinked in surprise as his back hit the mattress and Sadie sat down on top of him, her wet flesh sliding wantonly against his erection. Her hair fell around them as Sadie lowered her face to his, lightly biting his lower lip as she found the condom he’d dropped on the bed and pressed it to his hand.

They kept their eyes locked as Jack quickly tore at the wrapper. Sadie helped him roll the condom down his length and Jack spread his fingers across the tops of her thighs. They stared at each other, breaths catching, as Sadie rose up on her heels and Jack gripped his aching cock, angling it so that it would slip into her eager body.

It took all of Jack’s self control to keep his eyes open as Sadie sank down on top of him, all of his focus not to thrust his hips up as she enveloped him in her tight, tantalizing heat.

“Christ,” Sadie dropped her head back, her breasts thrust forward, her long hair brushing Jack’s legs, “Jack….” His name was on her lips as she rocked her hips against his, her rhythmic motion drawing him inside of her as her inner muscles closed around his throbbing shaft.

“Sadie,” Jack whispered on a ragged breath. She wasn’t close enough. He needed more. All of her. He reached up and wrapped one hand around the nape of her neck, dragging her lips to his, his tongue pushing into her mouth in a mimic of the thrust of his body below. Sadie’s breath caught on a gasp. The change in angle brought delicious pressure to her clit and every pass of her tender nipples across Jack’s hard chest drove Sadie closer and closer to coming.

Jack could feel himself tightening beneath Sadie, his pounding need becoming more undeniable with every heavy beat of his heart. Sadie’s pace above him increased, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration as she moved her body on his, hurtling them both towards the satisfaction they so desperately craved. Jack dragged his fingers from her thighs and moved them to where their bodies were joined, pressing his thumb against her throbbing clit.

“Ahhhh,” Sadie’s body bowed backwards, her head falling back as he dragged a moan from her.

Jack dug his teeth into his lower lip, thrusting his hips into hers as his thumb coaxed Sadie closer and closer to the edge. Her breath caught in her throat, Jack could see the tension take Sadie. The fingers of one hand dug into his thigh behind her as Sadie wrapped her other hand around his wrist, just above where his fingers pressed into her. Her lips parted, Sadie rocked faster, once, twice, before her body broke above his.

“Yes. Oh, Jack, yes….” Jack could barely hear Sadie’s voice over the pulse of his blood, the thrumming almost overwhelming as her body clutched and massaged his. Jack continued to drive his pelvis up against hers, pounding his length into Sadie over and over as she rode her own climax. Jack’s grip on Sadie tightened, every instinct he had telling him to pull her closer, to claim her, fill her. To find paradise with her. Sadie gave one last strangled cry, her sheath tightening almost painfully around him and Jack’s groan wracked his body as he fell with her into the euphoric abyss.