“If you get the chance to flee this island without us, you will and—”
“Who said I would leave this island without you?” he interrupted.
The infuriating woman rolled her eyes at him.
“Isay it. Any sane person would leave here the first chance they got. If I had the chance to escape this island with Dylan, I would take it.”
“Then I must be a better person than you as I have no intention of leaving either of you behind.”
Jack hadn’t been lying to Dylan, but he hadn’t realized how true the words were until he said them. He would not leave here without her or her son.
“Oh, come off it, Jack,” Charlie said in exasperation. “I wouldn’t blame you for leaving us behind if you get the chance to go, but you willnotfill my son’s head with empty promises. He’s already dealt with enough disappointments in his short life without you heaping more onto him.”
Did she really think so little of him that she believed he would do such a thing? But then, they’d only known each other for a matter of hours, and with her reaction to his promise, he suspected she hadn’t led a life that fostered much trust in others.
What happened to make her more cynical than him?
He was determined to find out the answer as he reached out to stroke the strands of hair that had fallen free of their knot. He’d hoped to calm her; instead, her eyes narrowed, and she looked about to knee him in the nuts.
“You may not believe me, and that’s fine because Iamgoing to prove you wrong. I willnotleave this island without you and Dylan.”
Charlie backed up when Jack stepped closer to her. She cursed herself when her heel connected with the wall; she’d left herself nowhere else to go. When Jack rested his hand on the wall beside her and leaned closer, her breath caught.
She’d vowed not to let him kiss her again, but with his lips so close, she couldn’t quite recall why. Then his mouth was on hers. As she strove to remember why this was such a terrible idea, her brain shut down and her body took over.
She rested her hands on his chest to shove him away, but instead of pushing him away, her fingers curled into his shirt as his tongue teased her lips. Why was her mouth opening, and why was she meeting each thrust of his tongue? Were those her fingers sliding beneath his shirt to trace the lean muscles of his stomach?
Dear God, must he have such amazing abs?The last of her resistance melted away as she melded her body against his. Her fingers hooked into the waistband of his jeans, and she dragged him closer.
Jack rested his other hand against the wall next to Charlie’s head and leaned into her. Her tongue entangled with his as he tasted her. When she drew him to her, he lowered his hands to her waist as she ground against his growing erection.
He gritted his teeth against coming when she rubbed herself more demandingly against him. Lifting her, Jack held her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pressed her against the wall as he lowered his hand to clasp her breast through her shirt. Smaller than his hand, it fit perfectly against his palm as he ran her nipple between his fingers.
This was entirely out of control, but Charlie found herself yearning for that loss of control. In Jack’s arms, she wasn’t under the control of her parents, or a terrified, pregnant teenage girl, or trapped on this island and facing death daily. In his arms, she was alive in ways she’d never been before.
Her fingers threaded through his hair as his hand continued to knead her breast before he turned his attention to the other one. Tingles of pleasure raced up and down her spine. Unable to stop herself, she continued to rub against him until she was practically screwing him. And if there had been no clothes between them, she would have taken him inside her and rode him until they were both too tired to move.
Her fingers slid down his shirt. These clothes had to come off…
“Mom? Mom, are you down here?” Dylan called.
Charlie reacted as if she were hit by lightning. She broke the kiss, pushed Jack away from her, and leapt off him in one swift move. Straightening her clothes and hair, she got her hormones and body under control before replying to Dylan. She didn’t trust herself to speak yet, but Dylan’s footsteps crunched on the dirt as he came toward them.
“Yes, I’m here,” she called out in a voice that sounded high pitched and strange to her ears.
“I found a blanket and shirt for Jack,” Dylan said as he emerged from the shadows.
With his human eyes, he couldn’t see them, but Charlie saw the lines marring her son’s forehead as he searched for them. “Great,” she said with false cheeriness as she hurried forward to meet him. Arriving at his side, she rested her hand on his shoulder and took the blanket and black shirt from him. “Thank you.”
“Is everything okay?” Dylan asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Let me give this stuff to Jack, and then we’ll do some history quizzes.”
“Aww, Mom,” Dylan groaned and dug his toe into the dirt. “School doesn’t matter here.”
“It will once we’re off this island.” She saw the doubt in Dylan’s eyes, but he didn’t complain again. “I’ll be right back.”
She ruffled his hair before turning away and heading back to where she left Jack. “Here,” she said, handing the blanket and shirt to him.
