“We are going sailing.” He says cryptically.
I watch in horror as the shore, the trees, and the house get farther and farther away. “What are you doing?” I can hear the hysteria creeping into my voice. “Take me back, right now.”
He doesn’t reply. Instead he comes towards me, looking more menacing with every step, and for a moment I consider jumping overboard and swimming for the shore. But as if he knows what’s on my mind, he is at my side in a matter of moments.
“Don’t even think about it,” He says tightly, his hands around my arms making it impossible for me to move.
“I’m not interested in acting out your abduction fantasy.” I snap, injecting as much contempt as I can into my voice.
He laughs softly but doesn’t release me. I don’t try to struggle, of what use would that be? He’s much stronger than I am by any measure. His hands relax around my arms, but he doesn’t let go of me. His palms feel as if they’re burning my skin, fanning the flames of the desire that’s always too close to the surface.
“Let me go, Jackson.” I say firmly.
“No.” He whispers.
I can feel myself start to tremble. “I can’t do this.” I whisper, close to tears. I don’t want to be near him. It hurts and yet makes me hopeful at the same time. I can’t deal with it. “Take me back.”
“No.” he says again, this time, the hint of tenderness in his voice makes my knees weak.
I look up at him, my eyes questioning, his arms relax at my side. I know he can feel that I’m shaking and I wish desperately that there was a way to disguise my reaction to him.
“I can’t take you back.” He says softly.
“Why not?” There’s a pleading note in my voice, but I don’t care. I’m desperate. I’m down to the last remnants of my self-control, and being so close to him, alone on his boat, I know it’s only a matter of time before it totally deserts me.
“I can’t take you back sweetheart,” he whispers, “because I need this.” His voice is so seductive, so soft, so full of temptation, and easily capable of destroying all my resolve. His lips graze my neck, and I can’t think anymore, “Because I need you,” He continues.
“Please don’t do this.” I plead, I can feel the sting of tears in my eyes, and I don’t want to break down in front of him. “Please don’t”
“You want this, Olivia?” he urges, his voice almost fervent. “Why do you want to keep denying what you really want?”
Because I love you too much, I want to say. Because I don’t want you to make love to me and get me out of your system. Because I know I’ll need much more. Because I know I’ll never forget you. “Because I don’t want you,” I say instead.
“No matter what you do,” He says, his teeth nipping at my lower lip, “don’t lie to me.”
He lips cover mine, warm and seductive. He’s so tender that my heart squeezes tightly and I can feel tears staining my cheeks. I start to shake violently, trembling as I’m swamped by such a torrent of emotions that I can’t control my body any longer. I buckle against him, and he pulls me to his chest, enfolding me in his arms.
There is none of the anger or contempt I’ve come to expect from him. Instead, he’s gentle, making shushing sounds in my ear, and reminding me with his tenderness, of a long ago Jackson, the one I fell in love with. I breathe in the scent of him as I lay my head on his chest, relaxing against his warm strength. I’ve dreamed of this, I realize, I’ve wanted this so much.
My tears are staining his shirt. He feels the wetness and lifts my face so he can kiss the tears off my cheeks. “Stop crying.” He says tenderly.
My voice catches in my throat as my eyes search his. I can’t reconcile this man to the man who has openly shown himself to despise me in the past few days. When he leans down to take my lips, I don’t protest. I surrender myself to the hot caress of his lips as they claim mine in a searing kiss.
This time, I don’t bother to pretend that this isn’t what I want. I kiss him back, hungrily, because I’ve wanted to do this for years.
He groans and pulls me closer, until my body is molded to his, and I can feel the evidence of his desire for me through his clothes and mine. It makes me want more. It makes me feverish with pent up need.
He lifts me up, easily, as if I weigh nothing, and carries me into the cool interior of the boat, and into the large stateroom. I don’t have time to see what it looks like. The decor, the finish, none of it matters. All I can feel is Jackson’s lips on mine, his arms around me, his delicious weight on me as he lowers me onto the wide soft bed.
His hands are like fire on my skin. How could I have done without this for so long? I think feverishly as I pull at the hem of his shirt, anxious to get it over his head and off him.
He laughs softly at my eagerness and helps me pull the offending material over his head, exposing his beautiful chest to me. I want to touch him, to run my hands over that expanse of hard male muscle, but he stops me, going for my t-shirt and pulling it over my head. My bra and shorts follow, leaving me naked except for my panties.
“You’re more beautiful than in my memories,” he murmurs, looking from my breasts to my face. Impatiently, I reach for his chest, feeling the hard muscle clench under my fingers. Everything about him is better than in my memories, and I can’t get enough.
He sighs and lowers his head to take one of my nipples in his mouth, and I lose my senses. My back arches and I moan with pleasure as sensations take over me. I thread my fingers through his hair, and they tighten involuntarily as he licks my nipple, his tongue swirling round the swollen tip. The clenching between my thighs is almost unbearable, and I spread my legs, hungry for him to be deep inside me even as he transfers his attentions to my other nipple, driving me crazy with his lips and tongue.
As if he knows exactly what I need, he moves one hand down through the waist band of my panties and flattens his fingers over the moist center of my arousal, spreading my juices as he caresses me in slow circular motions. I moan helplessly and press against his fingers, enslaved to the pleasure of his ministrations both at my breast and at my core, and in just a few moments, I can’t take it anymore. My brain explodes as my body tightens and almost vaults off the bed.