His head snapped upright. “Who? Do I know him?”

“Do you care?”

“Of course I care. I want to make sure you and Riley are all right.”

Rachel met his gaze directly. “I would never put Riley in jeopardy over a guy.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

She eyed him surreptitiously, noting his edginess while she felt amazingly calm. He made her feel safe enough to be bold. He didn’t yet know what that meant to her, but she intended to show him.

Jack moved toward the open sliding glass door. “What you and Steve had was special.”

“Once in a lifetime,” she agreed. She’d been the right girl to Steve’s right guy at the right time. And she felt that way about Jack. She was so sure they were what each other needed; it didn’t seem possible that she could be wrong. If he just gave her a shot, maybe he’d see she was the missing ingredient in his life. And if she ended up being the one in their relationship who loved the other one more, that was okay with her.

“You just have to give it some more time. And be a little open-minded.”

“Oh my God.” She set her fork down. “Are you giving me dating advice? No offense, but what the hell do you know about having a serious relationship?”

Jack leaned his back into the doorjamb and shoved his hands in his pockets, giving her a breathtaking silhouette of long legs and firm pectorals. “Nothing at all. I just know Steve is going to be a hard act to follow. You might have to make some compromises, but you can be happy again. You can find a good guy for you.”

“You mean I might have to settle.” She straightened and pushed the plate away, ignoring the urge to clean up after herself. Damned if she’d fall into mommy role right now. She was dressed to kill and primed. And she was playing to win, even if that meant playing a little dirty. “I’ve never settled on the wrong guy in my life, and I’m not going to start now.”

“Then what the hell are you doing here?” he said coldly.

“Going down in flames, apparently.” She reached for both spaghetti straps of her dress. If he needed to believe she could handle a no-strings-attached one-night stand, she could give him that impression. Then she’d work her way into him from the outside. She just had to start somewhere, and standing on opposing sides of the room wasn’t cutting it. “But hey, if that’s the way this is going to end, I might as well make sure I gave it my best shot.”

Flicking the thin straps off her shoulders, Rachel held her breath. Her dress slithered down her body and puddled on the floor.

four

Jack stared, stunned and aching, as Rachel went from dressed to mouthwateringly naked in a split second. He swore. His knees weakened. He was grateful to be leaning against the house. There wasn’t a scrap of material on her. No bra, which he’d known, and no panties to cover her waxed pussy, which he was grateful he hadn’t known about or she’d have been bent over the couch already.

Sucking in air like he’d just run for miles, he devoured every inch of her pale body with a ravenous gaze. The proud angle of her chin and shoulders, her small but lushly curved breasts, her flat stomach, and her mile-long legs. She turned in a circle with her arms outstretched, showing off her elegantly curved spine and perky little ass.

“Last call,” she said, facing him again. “If this doesn’t catch your interest, I’ll head out. You can keep the cake.”

Christ, she was sassy and bold. Jack had no idea who the woman standing in front of him was. It damn sure wasn’t the Rachel he remembered, a woman who’d coped with her vindictive aunt by staying away from home as much as possible. Staying away from home led to her being assaulted when she was sixteen. Steve didn’t elaborate and Jack hadn’t pried. That one word was more than enough.

The walls started closing in. Sweat misted his skin and the knot in his gut tightened painfully. He could’ve said no to the old Rachel. With this one, he was a goner.

Her seduction was the worst sort of perdition. He was terrified he was going to fuck this all up and push Rachel and Riley away, the only people he really considered his family. The people he called on holidays and sent gifts to. The people he thought of when the chips were down and he needed a reason to get his ass out alive, if worse for wear. If he lost them, he’d have nothing. He’d forever be worried that they might be in trouble or need something, and his assistance wouldn’t be welcomed.

“You’re killing me here, Rachel,” he said gruffly.

“Well, it’s only fair.” Her arms lowered to her sides. “I’m dying for you.”

He straightened. He was going to ask her why she was here and if she said Steve’s name, he was walking out to the beach and not stopping until the sun came up. If she didn’t mention Steve, well . . . he couldn’t turn her away. He would take her to bed and try to find some closure. He’d say as much as it was possible to say, do all that it was possible to do, and somehow find a way to act in the morning like nothing had changed between them. He prayed that would ease the way for them to move forward without any awkwardness. If there was the added bonus of her feeling like she’d closed the door on her past with Steve and could move forward unencumbered, he could live with that, as long as he didn’t have to know about it.

“Why me?” he bit out.

Her arms fell to her sides. She met his gaze head-on and said, “Because I want to be with someone I feel connected to. Someone who isn’t going to fumble around and leave me hanging at the end. A man who knows his way around a woman’s body and doesn’t need me to tell him what I want.”

That was it, then. He was a dead man walking.

Jack strode forward in a controlled rush, his focus narrowed on Rachel and his goal of getting inside her as swiftly as possible. He was highly conscious of how short a time he had with her. A lifetime wouldn’t be long enough and he’d been given only a handful of hours.

As he zeroed in, he could see her tremble, but her gaze didn’t waver. When he caught her waist in his hands and lifted her, she gasped but didn’t recoil. Instead, her slender arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her face in his throat. He was damp with perspiration, but she didn’t seem to care. She nuzzled against him, her tongue darting out and licking. Impossibly, his cock swelled further. He was so hard it hurt, his dick throbbing in his jeans, demanding relief from his torment.

He headed toward the hallway leading to the bedroom, holding her partly away from him so they actually stood a chance of making it that far.

Rachel had other ideas. Using her arms for leverage, she pulled up enough to sling her legs around his waist. The brush of her satin-soft pussy against his abdomen caused him to stumble. He aimed for the wall to the right of the hallway entrance, one hand reaching out to cushion her back from the impact.

“Oh God,” she breathed in his ear. “You make me so hot.”

“Rachel.” He pressed his temple to hers and closed his eyes, fighting for control. His chest was heaving with gasping breaths, keeping him ever aware of her breasts flattened against him.

Her fingers pushed into his hair, tugging forcefully until his head lifted. She crushed her soft mouth against his, holding him at the angle she wanted. When his lips parted for a sharp inhalation, she took advantage. Her tongue darted inside, licking and stroking in a hot wet kiss.

Jack groaned, abandoning hope of reining himself in. She was going at him full throttle, her thighs flexing around his hips, her torso undulating against him. If he hadn’t wanted her so badly, it would have been molestation. Or a mauling. As it was, he was so damn turned on by her enthusiasm he was about to come in his pants. After what she’d been through in her youth, the fact that she trusted him enough to be so open and aggressive roused every possessive and protective instinct he had. As much as he’d loved her before, it was nothing compared to what he felt for her now.

He tore his mouth away. “Rachel . . . sweetheart . . . slow down. Let me get a grip.”

“Noooo,” she moaned, pressing kisses along his whisker-rough jaw until she reached his ear. “Hurry up. If you don’t get inside me soon, I’m going to self-combust, I swear. Or go off without you. This caveman thing is sexy as hell.”

He would have laughed if he hadn’t felt like he was drowning. She had no idea what she was asking for, but she was about to get it.

RACHEL sank her teeth into Jack’s earlobe and tugged on his hair. The dark, exotic scent of his heated skin made her feel wild and uninhibited. And the edge to his voice, the strain evident in his tone and the tension in his body, incited her into pushing him as far as he would go.

As far as she would go, and beyond . . .

She was acutely aware of the nearby open sliding glass door and the proximity of the public beach beyond it. Distantly, she heard voices and music. If the lights had been on in the house, she and Jack would have been on full display. As it was, they were shrouded in darkness while the outside was bathed in the faint light of the rising moon. Still, the risk of discovery was thrilling.

Jack steadied their entwined bodies with one knee against the wall. His hand stroked down her back to her buttocks, where he squeezed the firm swell of one cheek, kneading it, making her really damn glad she’d done all those lunges and squats in preparation for this night. She’d trained like she was preparing for a marathon, expecting a night in Jack’s bed would be equally strenuous.

God, she couldn’t wait, and she felt conflicted about that. It had been twelve years since any other man but Steve had made love to her, and Jack was so very different. There was nothing comfortable or familiar about his touch, yet it was just what she needed. Just want she wanted. His hands felt as if they should be on her, touching her. Not because he was so confident about it, but because it just felt right.

When his hand slid lower, she froze, every muscle tensing in anticipation of his touch going just where she ached for it. Everything was happening so fast, yet not fast enough.

“Shh,” he soothed, nuzzling beneath her ear with his lips. Spreading his fingers, he reached between her parted legs from behind.