sexual encounter he’d leave behind in the morning and forget by the next day.
Jack wasn’t stupid and knew there was an important subliminal message in his feelings regarding this affair, but he chose not to heed it. Affair being the operative term, a brief interlude where they could both indulge their sensual natures.
He shifted positions so he moved back in front of her again.
“Thank you.” Emotion flickered in her gaze.
He flashed her a charming, light grin. “You’re welcome.” He cupped her chin in his hand and brushed his thumb over her silken skin. “The whole point was to give you pleasure.”
She laughed. “You know I meant thank you for the bathing suit, not thank you for the…” A red-hot blush stained her cheeks and she shook her head. “Never mind that. But the whole point was to entice you.”
“And you did it very well. In a very unique way.”
She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Every woman in the office wants to entice you. I’m not a Terminator groupie. But you challenged me and I just wanted…” Her voice trailed off, and he got the distinct impression she figured, why bother explaining.
But he desired an explanation. Badly. He knew women were drawn to him, but he never took the attention seriously. He figured they liked a challenge and a partner-challenge made him even more of a catch in their eyes. He tended to ignore both the gossip and the interest. But Mallory was different and he never wanted her to feel grouped with a bunch of women whose notice he neither encouraged nor wanted.
He bent closer. So close he could brush his lips over hers, and without thought, he did. She leaned into him, softening her mouth against his and he accepted her encouragement, drawing her into a moist kiss, more meaningful and less urgent than before. Then he pulled back. “You wanted to what?” he asked softly.
Her lashes fluttered upward. “To show you what it’s like to be an optimist, like we discussed the other day on the beach. To give you something to dream about when our time together is over.” Wide eyes stared up at him, drawing him in with her honesty and sweetness.
“You wanted me to dream about you.”
She inclined her head in a slight nod. “The same way I’ve dreamed about you,” she admitted.
He was flattered, but realized he didn’t like the end of their relationship being discussed aloud. Especially coming from her luscious, well-kissed lips. Even if she was right and an end was inevitable.
He leaned back, his chin resting on his knees as he studied her flushed face. “I’ll dream about you, Mallory. In ways I’ve never dreamed about anyone else.”
She met and held his gaze. Warmth and bonding bounced between them before she shook her head and broke the spell. She smiled. “Why don’t you hand over the oil and let me give you more for the memory books?” Her lips turned upward into a wicked grin. “You’re not the only one who can satisfy.”
CHAPTER TEN
JACK’S BODY HARDENED at the thought of Mallory’s soft hands on his straining erection. “And I know you were satisfied.”
“Typical man.” She laughed. “Come on. Let me have the oil. We can’t have you taking that body in the sun without adequate coverage.”
Coverage. He liked that thought. Jack passed the bottle toward her. “Careful, it’s slippery.”
“Oh, I think I can handle it.” Her fingers deliberately touched his before wrapping around the top of the bottle neck, in a provocative grip meant to show him she knew exactly how to handle a slippery appendage.
Then she crooked a finger his way.
He swallowed a groan. “You sure you want to continue this on the bed?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sleeping here, just fulfilling fantasies. Quit stalling, Jack.” She leaned back against the pillows and spread her legs wide, patting the space in between.
Though her skirt covered everything, his imagination and those memories she mentioned were vivid. As he slid into the welcoming vee of her legs, he recalled her warm moist heat around his hand and her soft sighs of satisfaction.
“Relax.” Her slick hands gripped his shoulders. “I’m just going to protect you from those harsh rays you talked about.”
But who would protect him from her potent allure?
He shut his eyes and let her work. Her coating of his back and shoulders went fine. He enjoyed her gentle ministrations and had just begun to relax as she requested…when her fingers slipped around his abdomen and lingered, palms splayed against his ribs and her fingers inches from his nipples.
His breath caught in his throat.
“What happened to relaxing?” Her soft voice blew in his ear, strengthening his arousal.
“You’re joking right? You want me to relax when a beautiful woman’s got me wrapped in her arms?”
Her hands stilled and her arms tightened around his chest. “You think I’m beautiful?”
The hesitancy in her voice touched him in a place precariously close to his heart. “How could you not know?”
She laughed and he sensed if he turned, he’d see more emotion than he could handle. He already knew he was drawn to her, but if he saw the vulnerability in her eyes and the sensitivity in her gaze, he’d be in deeper waters than he could comfortably tread.
“For one thing, you admitted it in the restaurant when you said you wouldn’t have expected to fall for me at first glance.”
He cringed. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I didn’t take it as an insult. You reacted to me exactly how I want people to react. I’m Mallory, the office ice queen. I get up in the morning and pull my hair into a bun. I splash cold water on my face, put on some moisturizer and I head out the door. In conservative suits and sensible shoes.”
“And I now know why. What I don’t know is why continue? You’re a smart, intelligent woman. Why play the part when you don’t need to prove yourself to anyone? And don’t tell me because that’s the real you, or start playing games about which Mallory is real, okay? Considering what we just did, you can answer that one question.”
He felt rather than saw her shift uneasily. “I have my reasons.”
“Not good enough.”
She started to push away, to withdraw.
“Don’t go.”
She paused, then relaxed behind him. He leaned back, letting skin touch skin. He wanted to feel her and he knew maintaining a physical connection was his only chance of getting an honest answer.
When she remained silent, he dove in with his best guess. “Because after years of dressing the part, you don’t know the real you either?”
He felt her slight nod. “Maybe.”
Her hair fell forward, brushing his shoulders. The sensation, soft and feathery light, caused him to shake with renewed desire. But he sensed her need for reassurance and maybe something more.
“There’s a part of me that loves what I do. Don’t think my life has been such a sacrifice. I’m not ready to throw a pity party so don’t you go getting maudlin on me either.”
He laughed. “There’s many things I feel for you, sweetheart. Pity isn’t one of them.”
She scooted forward until her breasts pushed insistently against his back.
“Play fair,” he warned her. “Your parents set you on this course so what’s your mother’s role in all this?” He reached back and squeezed her wrists, the only silent reassurance he could give.
“She loves my father. His disappointment was her disappointment. Do we have to talk about this when there’s so many other things we could do instead?” Her fingernails raked along his back in an overtly provocative move.
“You’re talking to someone who’s made
