“Won’t get an argument from me there.”
She started to get up and Jack panicked. How could she simply walk away after what happened? God, he sounded pathetic.I still need her. Yes, for mind blowing sex but also for his sanity.
“Don’t leave,” he begged, throwing away his pride. He grasped her hand tightly. “Stay here for a little while, please.”
She gave a shy nod. Pulling down the sheets, he allowed her to get in. She picked up his discarded shirt and shrugged into it.
“In case Jonathan wakes up and comes in here.”
He settled her against his chest quickly so she couldn’t do the buttons. “I want to feel your skin against mine. Remind me that I’m alive.”
She rested her head on his shoulder and swirled her fingers through the scattering of hair on his chest. “Think you helped me feel quite alive a few minutes ago. I’m sure you don’t have to worry.”
Pressing his lips to her hair, he skimmed his hands under the shirt. Desire surged again but he tamped it down. The aches from the accident began making themselves known but his head didn’t throb incessantly anymore.
“My headache’s a bit better. Being with you, Callie, is better than any pain pill. I should use this remedy all the time.”
She snuggled closer, her legs entangling with his. “Mmmm,” was all that floated his way. Her body relaxed, almost asleep.
Relishing her closeness, he attempted to stay awake to drink his fill. This wouldn’t last, couldn’t last. In the cold light of day, all of this would be gone.
* * * *
Callie opened her eyes to muted sunlight dancing through the sliding door. Something was different. It took a second to remember they were at Heather’s chalet in Vermont. Another second and the sensation of rough skin against her back reminded her of what she and Jack had done last night.
She’d helped him in the shower then…whoa, things had steamed up fast. Like always. The sight of his naked, wet body had kept her watching. The desperation in his eyes and the droop of his shoulders had pulled her closer. He’d held onto the side of the shower stall as if his life depended on it. She couldn’t have walked away if she’d tried.
They’d simply exploded. His touch had a way of burning her alive yet kept her begging for more. And they’d had more in the middle of the night. Was that merely a dream, or had Jack ravished her once again as they lay curled together? The tender spots on her body told her it had been real.
“Good morning.”
She turned her head. Jack stared, his smile more crooked than ever. Not simply staring, devouring her with his eyes. It was a habit of his. Making her feel like he could eat her for lunch.
Looking down, she saw his shirt, the one she’d slipped on quickly last night, had slid off her shoulders and was wide open. He crept his hand from its resting place on her hip up across her ribs.
“Morning,” she echoed back, suddenly shy. In the light of day, she didn’t know how to respond.
Leaning down, he stopped a breath away. “Thank you for last night, Calico. I felt like I was drowning and you kept me afloat. Tell me you don’t regret it.”
His eyes shone with emotions so deep they startled her. “No, I don’t regret it. I’ve missed being with you that way. It might make it harder when we have to leave though.”
Finally, his lips touched hers. “I don’t want to leave you. How about we run away? You, me and Jonathan. We’ll leave the country. Start over somewhere else. Somewhere Victor will never find us.”
Tears filled her eyes, leaking out at the corners. It sounded wonderful. But it would never work. “I’d love to, Jack. Let’s not kid ourselves about Victor though. He thinks Jonathan is Angelo’s son. He’d never stop searching, even if we could manage to get out of the country without his knowing.”
His sigh echoed in her ear, his arms held her tighter. “Then we take advantage of every second we have now until we can put him in a hole and leave us alone.”
Skimming his lips across her cheek, he made his way and lingered on her neck. She tipped her head back and he did things that made her skin tingle. Pushing her hands into his long hair, she held him close. She never wanted to let him go. It was never that easy though.
When his tongue swirled across her nipple, making it tight and achy, she stifled the moan that slipped from her lips. He didn’t stop there. Shivers ran through her as he caressed her skin and licked all the way down to her stomach. Pausing right below her navel, he traced an imaginary line with his rough fingers.
“What are you doing?”
“These little silver lines intrigue me. They’re beautiful.”
“Those are stretch marks, you goof.” She pushed at his head but he didn’t budge, simply followed them with his fingers and tongue. “No one thinks they’re beautiful.”
“I do,” he said, and kissed them once more. “They tell me this is where you carried my child. Where he grew and was nourished by you. They’re your mark of motherhood. There’s nothing more beautiful than that, Calico. I wish I had been around to see it.”
