Grrr, he was driving me batshit crazy. “Yes, don’t ever forget my hate for you,” I said sweetly and leaped up from the swing. “Oww—” Shit! I winced at the pull in my wound. Karma was a darn pain in my butt.
Jack grasped my arm, his tormenting smile gone. “Hey-hey, you need to be more careful there, Bug. You don’t want to tear those stitches and cause mayhem when you bleed out.”
At the gentle teasing in his voice, my anger faded, and my stomach dipped in a titanic wave, those churning feelings sweeping over me once more. This side of Jack would be my undoing.
“What do you want as payment then?” I griped.
At the sudden contemplation in his light eyes and the bourgeoning smirk on those tempting lips, I instantly regretted my question.
Oh, boy, this wouldn’t turn out well for me. At all.
“You look like a deer in headlights.” Laughter lightened his eyes. The wretch was enjoying my predicament. “Here’s the deal…” His gaze skimmed over my face. “Two things. One, you show me around this festival, not for an hour,” he warned, “but for both days I’m here—
“Both?” I gaped, too aware of his hands sliding down my arms to manacle my wrists, probably to prevent me from hightailing it out of there.
“Yes, both. Max is leaving early on Sunday, Ila has work or something, so I’m seeing you back Monday morning.”
“But-butyouhave work!”
“I’ll be a little late. And the other thing is, once back in the city, you have dinner with me. Day and time, I will let you know.”
I know I should feel relief that he didn’t simply drag me off and fuck me senseless—even if my treacherous body yearned for it—ugh! Wait, was he no longer interested in a ONS with me?
I shot him a flat glare and tugged at my hands. His grip tightened. “What are you up to, Jack? You made it known you wanted to get into my pants since BlackRock, and now, suddenly, you want me to show you around the festival and then a dinner date later in the week like I’m your girlfriend?” I narrowed my eyes in warning. “I’m not interested in a relationship or dating.”
“Who said anything about those?” His brow quirked, and his eyes gleamed in mocking amusement, his thumbs stroking my skin. “I don’t date. You want a fucking that will send you halfway across the universe? I’m quite happy to oblige, but only when you’re healed—because I don’t want anything ruining your ultimate pleasure.”
At his promise, my stomach heaved, my blood heating. And being this close to him wasn’t helping. “Quite impressed with your prowess, aren’t you?” I muttered.
Silently, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You remind me of a kitten, all tiny claws out when you feel trapped. Yes, I plan to get into your pants as you so succinctly put it, but only when you ask nicely. Then I’m going to make you beg, and when you do, I will spread these lips”—he lightly brushed his fingers between my thighs—“and slowly lick you from top to bottom, once…twice, before I suck on that delectable part of you. Once I have your aching clit in my mouth, I’ll take my time lapping, maybe nibbling on it, until I finally taste your surrender on my tongue.”
My jaw dropped. My body suddenly wired tight with desire, wanting his hands, his mouth on me—God! I wanted to kill him for making me so damn horny.
He laughed. Genuinely laughed, not those cynical or amused ones to annoy me. He looked mind-numbingly handsome, and my foolish heart gave a painful bump against my hurt ribs.
“I finally have you at a loss for words. Who knew a little dirty talk could do that? I can’t wait, Ray-bug. However,”—his playful, if somewhat heated expression, morphed to a serious one—“since I’ve never been to this type of festival before, I’m looking forward to it.”
Desperately trying not to think about what his mouth would feel like on me, I glanced away from his sinful lips and became aware of how close together we stood. I didn’t think even air could pass between us. And he wasn’t even holding me any longer. Whenever I argued with Jack, I had a bad habit of forgetting my surroundings. If my family saw us like this, man, I didn’t want questions flying at me when I had no answers.
I stepped away, putting much needed distance between us. But my conscience nagged me. No matter Jack’s tormenting, he had come the moment I’d called him when Oscar the Horrible had turned up, and probably saved us all from a dangerous situation. Darn stupid conscience.
“Fine. I agree to your terms.”
“And there we have you dating me.”
“Blackmail doesn’t count,” I shot back. “And here I thought you didn’t date.”
He shook his head, and that smile reappeared, the one that lit him from within. “I don’t. You’re the exception. You left your meds behind.”
“What?” My brow creased at the sudden change in conversation. Jack liked doing that, pulling the rug out from under me. “I brought them with me.”
“No.” He shrugged those lovely, muscled shoulders. “I had a prescription. An antibiotic cream for the wound.” He nodded to my chest. “I got it on the way here.”
I stared at him in shock. “That’s why you came.”
He rubbed his mouth as if hiding his smile. “And miss the chance of tormenting you? Bug, you’ll ruin my rep, trying to find a caring side. I’m a heartless tomcat, remember?”
A little stunned and trying to process why he would do this, my gaze drifted to his knuckles and the red bruises there. “You’re hurt! What happened?”
