“Why would you think she had stopped breathing?” He rubbed circular motions on her back, trying to calm her.
“Because that’s what babies do.” Her shaking hand reached for the locket around her
neck. He had seen her fiddle with it many times and realized she did so when uncomfortable or stressed.
Jack grabbed her cold hands and rubbed them to try to get some warmth back into her. Her body still trembled, and sadness was etched on her chalk-white face. There had to be something big going on. “Lauren, you can talk to me.”
Her eyes held his as if they were her lifeline. Hurt shot through his chest for the unspoken pain spilling from them.
On a whisper that was barely audible, she said, “I had a baby girl.”
Jack’s stomach dropped to the floor. He knew whatever she was about to say wasn’t going to be good.
“She was born with the cord…” Her voice cracked, and he held her hands tighter. “They couldn’t save her. I’d never seen anything so beautiful and so perfect, but she wouldn’t breathe.
She looked like she’d fallen asleep in my arms.”
“Arrh, fuck. Come here, honey.” Pulling her up onto her unsteady feet, he sat on the chair, pulled her down onto his lap, and cradled her like a toddler.
She took a deep, shuddery breath, which vibrated against his chest, then told him about her affair with Graham Stone and his rejection after she fell pregnant. And how she found out he was married after seeing his picture in a magazine with his beautiful wife and their brand-new baby.
Needing to offer comfort, his arms tightened around her. He couldn’t imagine the pain she must have gone through. “I’m so sorry, honey.” Brushing her hair back from her pale face, he looked into her eyes. The black, spikey lashes surrounding them made the gold flecks shine bright. He brushed a tear from her cheek. “If I had known, I never would’ve let Leah leave
Emma with you.”
“I over-reacted—”
He placed a light, feathery kiss on her lips, stopping her from saying any more.
“Sshh, no honey, I’m sorry,” he whispered as his lips connected again with hers.
Jack hadn’t planned on kissing her, though he’d been thinking about it ever since the night before. Not wanting to take advantage of her in such a fragile and vulnerable state, he tried to hold back. But as she sat curled up on his lap, looking so sad, he wanted to take the grief from her eyes so he kissed her.
Any second now he was going to stop.
But when Lauren moaned low in her throat and clutched her fists in his shirt, he couldn’t have stopped if he tried. Sliding his tongue into her mouth, Jack deepened the kiss. The sweet taste of her was like the richest honey.
The hold she had on his shirt loosened, then she clung to his shoulders as she pressed her body against his chest. A surge of lust slammed into him like a one-hundred kilo fullback going in for a tackle. And he needed to feel more of her. Lifting her, he twisted her around so she straddled him. The evidence of his lust pressed against her pert butt, which fit snug on his lap.
She inhaled sharply in response, and he knew she was just as affected.
Lauren rocked enthusiastically against him. Jack sucked in a sharp hiss and placed his hands on her hips to keep her still. He’d never been this turned on in his life, and if she continued to rock, he’d be ending things in his pants.
Cupping her face in his hands, he met her hot gaze. Her golden eyes burned bright. Her cheeks were flushed red, and her pink mouth was swollen from his kisses. Pride at putting the just-been-kissed-real-good expression on her face made his chest expand.
The need to see more of her was so strong. His hands shook as he removed them from her face to slide the thin straps of her dress down her arms. As he trailed a finger along the tops of her breasts, she shivered, and her chest rose and fell rapidly at his touch. To help control his own racing heart, he took a deep, shuddery breath. God, he wanted her so bad.
With nimble fingers he flicked the clasp at the front of her bra and released her breasts. White, firm perfection with rosy tips fit perfectly in his hands. Lowering his head, he placed a kiss on a raised peak.
A sigh of pure pleasure left Lauren’s mouth. Her head fell back and she arched her spine, pressing herself closer to his mouth. “Oh God… Jack…”
Taking that as his cue, he lingered over her breasts. Damn, they were so beautiful. He could sit there all day paying tribute to them, but the hunger coiled in his gut grew stronger and he wanted even more.
Jack slid his palms up her legs and bunched her dress around her waist. The soft, sighing sounds she made drove him wild. He slid a finger under the elastic of her undies and found her warm center. Jerking at the touch, she cried out. Loving how sensitive she was, he urged her to rock against his hand while he feasted on her breasts. Jack worked another finger in, and she rocked faster, her breath coming out in little gasps.
“Oh God, Jack… I’m going to…”
“Let go, honey.” His own body quivered with the need for release.
