The Sweetest Fling Ch. 08

He chuckled against her neck and said softly, "You're so going to get it later."

A tortured moan sounded in her throat, and she wished it could be later right now. She gave up on pretense and turned her head to plant a long, tongue-filled kiss on him, desperate to show him what his words did to her. Jack seemed shocked by her intensity at first, but he had no trouble keeping up.

When they finally came up for air, Meg felt drunk and disoriented, and she couldn't put the blame on chardonnay this time around. Her heart raced and it took a few minutes for her to catch her breath. While she waited for the world to stop spinning, her fingers stroked through Jack's hair, and she gazed down at him.

His lips were reddened from their kiss, his mouth partially open as he pulled in a long breath. His eyes lingered on hers and something changed in his expression, turning it softer, less guarded. He let out a gruff sound and pulled her against him, his roughness surprising her.

He didn't say anything--neither of them did--but she'd always found people's actions spoke volumes, and the fierceness of his hug had one question playing over and over in her mind.

Were they making progress?

~ * ~

"As much as I love having you on me," Jack said a short time later, "I'm hard and you're not exactly helping the situation." He urged her back onto her own towel, keeping his hands on her waist until she'd found her balance.

Meg suppressed a smile and leaned back on her palms, making sure she was facing him as she settled into her cross-legged position again. The breeze coming off the water hardened her nipples to tingling points and a flutter of excitement filled her stomach.

No one could see her other than Jack, but she didn't care. Putting herself on show for him thrilled her no matter where they were or who was watching.

"Is this acceptable?" she asked, noting how closely he was watching her.

"Yeah, that works."

He'd left his glasses on top of his head, and while his eyes dropped to take in the view, Meg studied the man she'd come to adore. Affection flowed through her, and she loved knowing she'd played even a small part in putting the relaxed expression on his face.

He'd only told her about Catherine yesterday, but he appeared lighter now, as if his hold on the past had loosened. She wouldn't kid herself into thinking it meant he was ready to move on yet--specifically with her--but it was a step in the right direction regardless of what happened next.

Jack's attention shifted to her face again. When he busted her checking him out, a faint smile teased his lips. "Uh oh."

"What?" Meg looked behind her to make sure she hadn't gathered an audience.

"You were frowning," he said, "which means you were thinking... or more to the point overthinking."

Her brows relaxed and she rolled her shoulders to loosen up, surprised he'd been able to read her so easily. The movement drew his gaze to her breasts again, and although it hadn't been her intention to distract him it at least gave her a few seconds to compose herself. "Something just occurred to me, that's all."

He rested his hand on her knee, his thumb sweeping slow strokes back and forth. "Are you planning on sharing it with me or keeping it to yourself?"

Meg watched his chest rise and fall with steady breaths and her own breathing slowed in response. She had no idea how he could excite her one minute and have her feeling totally calm the next. His influence should have unsettled her, but she'd never met a better man and she wanted to enjoy this ride with him for as long as possible.

"I like you so much," she told him, her voice competing with the sound of waves pounding the shore. "No matter what happens after Bali, I'm really glad I met you."

She didn't know if her confession had surprised him. He just closed his hand around her knee and kept up the maddeningly restrained sweeps of his thumb as if she hadn't said a thing. His gaze flicked over her briefly then moved back to her face, taking in her features as if he had all the time in the world.

Her heart pounded but she kept up the façade of patience rather than filling the silence with nervous words. When it seemed obvious that he wasn't going to reply--and she didn't even want to contemplate the reason behind that--Meg snagged her bikini top from the towel and fastened it in place.

Her eyes darted in his direction, and she found him watching her with a barely-there smile on his face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I like you, too. You're an amazing woman."

Meg felt as if she'd stumbled back in time to her teen years. Warmth rushed over her, along with the impulse to clarify whether he liked her or like-liked her. Her cheeks grew hot, and she shifted her gaze. She should have been annoyed with him for drawing the moment out and torturing her, but he deserved a little payback after the way she'd teased him earlier.

"I like it when you blush."

Her eyes shot back to meet his. His tender expression had a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. Meg took in his laid-back pose, the way his fingers lay lightly curled behind his head on the towel. His other hand swept over her calf, grazing her skin. She'd expected a conversation like this to put him on edge, but he didn't appear uncomfortable in the slightest.

"You surprised me," she said. "I wasn't expecting you to say that."

"But you liked hearing it?"

Meg nodded, twisting her fingers in her lap.

"Is that what the digs were for earlier? You think I don't care? That I'm just using you?"

"No..." She shook her head and watched an older couple walking hand in hand along the foreshore. The decision to throw her bikini top back on couldn't have come at a better time. "Not using me," she said, looking in Jack's direction again. "I don't think you work that way. It's just... the more time we spend together the harder it is for me to not get attached."

Jack reached for her wrist and pulled her down on his towel, encouraging her to stretch out beside him. Meg laid her head on his chest and let out a heavy breath.

"I do care about you," he said, caressing her upper arm. A long beat passed, and when he spoke again, his voice sounded more cautious. "I didn't mean for this to go anywhere," he told her. "It's supposed to be a casual thing. We have fun for a few days then go our separate ways at the end of the week."

Exactly like Allie had predicted, Meg thought. She'd known from the beginning he didn't want anything more involved than that, but it still hurt hearing it out loud.

A loss she hadn't even experienced yet made her desperate, and she launched herself to a sitting position again. "It's not like that, though. We share three meals a day, we sleep together every night. It's almost as if we're--"

"Don't say it," he warned.

"Married," she finished.

He groaned and covered his eyes. "Jesus, Meg. You said it."

"See!" The ridiculousness of the conversation suddenly hit her, and she laughed. "Just the word terrifies you. You're scared of commitment or anything too deep but in all the time we've spent together you've been acting like a committed man. It's making me feel things I don't want to be feeling if this is ending soon, and I--"

Jack pushed her onto her back and moved over her. Meg gasped and the words died on her lips, the swift change in position leaving her breathless. His body aligned with hers, and he used his bent elbows to keep from crushing her. He leaned down until his mouth almost touched hers then said softly against her lips, "Shh."

Meg didn't know whether to feel indignant at his way of silencing her or turned on by his strength and the heat in his eyes. Before she could think too much about it, he lowered his head, and his mouth came down on hers.

Every time... every time he kissed her, she lost herself and forgot whatever had led up to that moment. Her arms lay boneless beside her head, her position one of complete submission. She remained still and let him explore, sighing against his mouth as his tongue swept over hers.

When he pulled back it appeared to be with reluctance, and he only moved far enough away so he could look in her eyes. "I like seeing you this way," he said with a half-smile.

"What way?" she asked, hearing the huskiness in her own voice.

"Quiet."

She snorted and shoved at his shoulder. Meg wished they were back in one of their rooms so she could make him regret that comment.

He smiled along with her, and when his humor faded a thoughtful look took over. "You're right."

Meg blinked, confused. "I'm sorry?"

He gave her a patient smile. "You heard me."

"I know. I just want to hear it again. That kind of aroused me."

The growl that rumbled in his chest had her grinning. "I'm trying to be serious."

"Sorry." She wiped any sign of mirth from her face and gave him her full attention. "What am I right about?"

"The way I've been treating you, the message it's sending." He smoothed his thumb over one of her eyebrows. "And you didn't let me finish before when you launched into that rant of yours. I started out expecting--hoping--this wouldn't go anywhere, but I don't feel that way anymore. Not even close."

As far as explanations went, he'd taken the easy way out by giving her something to cling to without committing to anything concrete, but his openness made her feel more secure than she had in days. Meg stared up at him, looking in his eyes as she trailed her fingers over his stubble-lined jaw.

She could love this man. It wouldn't take much effort at all to have her falling for him.

"Okay, then." With his body leaning against hers and his hardness pressing in all the right places, she gave up on trying to talk and clasped his face in her hands, pulling him down so she could make use of that smart, beautiful mouth.