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"Am I too heavy?" An intimate question.
"No. " His voice was raw.
"Jackson?" She halted her eager exploration. "I'm hurting you. I'll go. "
"Don't!" This was torture, but of a kind no hot-blooded man would resist. "Stay, piccola . "
To his relief, she settled against him again, her hands continuing to stroke and squeeze. Her teeth scraped at the bunched muscles of his upper arm and the sexy warmth of her generous breasts pressed against his back. "You're so strong. " Warm breath whispered over his ann. "So wonderfully sexy. I want to just. . . " With a groan, she laid an open-mouthed kiss on his upper back, before suckling the spot. Her tongue soothed even as it stroked the inferno burning up his body from the inside out.
He wondered if a man could die of unadulterated sexual pleasure. Then she was scattering teasing, nibbling kisses across his shoulders and he decided he didn't care. Her small hands were everywhere, tracing firm muscle and hot skin, shaping and learning. And caressing.
He'd never been petted like this. Bonnie had preferred heat and speed, not interested in this kind of erotic love play. Before her, the women he'd attracted had wanted hard, rough sex - what his strong, muscular body represented to them. He'd thought he hadn't minded but now found that he'd minded very much. He liked the wayTaylorwas exploring him, as if she was delighted with him, as if she'd been saving up all her fantasies just for him.
Wiggling down his body, she grazed her teeth over the taut skin of his lower back. Everything was taut, Jacksonthought, as she skipped over his buttocks and rested near his knees. Her fingernails grazed the backs of his thighs.
"Dio!"He jerked up so hard that he almost threw her to the floor.
"Jackson?" Those fingers had frozen on his thighs. "Did I do something wrong?"
He took a deep breath. "Only when you stopped. "
A second later, she was running those damnably gentle hands up the backs of his legs. "I love the way you feel against my skin - so rough, so different from me. Your body heats me up from the inside out.
Sometimes . . . I just . . . I just want to rub myself up against you. Naked. "
That halting confession shattered what was left of his mind. For the first time in his life, JacksonSantorini became a totally sensate being, focused only on the feel of the woman who held him in her sweet hands, who found his body delicious and seemed to want to spend hours at her pleasure.
Chapter 7
Taylorwoke up feeling so fine. She grinned when she remembered why. PoorJackson. Wonderful, lovely, beautifulJackson. He'd let her touch him as much as she wanted, let her squeeze and caress and bite and taste. And he hadn't moved throughout it. He'd been on the floor when she'd left. Her delectable husband might still be there.
A masculine knock on her door put an end to that silly illusion. Remnants of fear infiltrated her heart.
Would he expect what any man would, after his wife had pretty much treated him as her property the night before?
"Come in. " She sat up, sheets pulled up to her chin.
He was dressed in blue jeans and a white T-shirt, his hair damp, as if he'd just showered. His T-shirt was loose, but did nothing to hide the definition of the upper arms she'd lavished such attention on, only hours before. She finally found the courage to meet his gaze, fearing she'd see the red haze of desire. All that met her was a coolness she'd rarely seen when he spoke to her.
"We need to discuss some things. "
"Okay. " It was a shock to find that she hated her husband's expression. She'd rather see dangerous passion than this nothingness. "Are you angry with me?"
He shook his head in a sharp negative. "Come down when you're ready. "
"Tell me what's wrong. And don't pretend it's nothing. " She glared at him.
"Taylor. "
"I told you, don'tTaylorme. Tell me why you're brooding!" Frustrated, she punched the pillow by her side.
He blew out a breath between clenched teeth and then stalked to the bed, dark eyes glittering. Leaning over her, he put his hands flat on either side of her hips. "I am not angry," he repeated. "I am also not a saint. You're dressed like an invitation and you spent last night with your pretty little hands all over me. I didn't mind. Feel free to do it again any time you please. But," he paused for breath, "I can't be in this bedroom and talk with you as if we're just friends, so let me deal with it. Don't push. "
Mouth dry at the quietly powerful confession, she said, "I won't apologize for last night. "
"I didn't ask you to. " A tiny spark of humor appeared in his eyes. "I'm not an idiot. "
Memories of tactile pleasure had her heart racing. "Can I really do it again?"
He groaned and went to push off the bed. She wrapped her arms around hisneck, caught in the tantalizing grip of a sensual world she'd never imagined could exist for her. Without warning, his entire face went taut.
"Let go,Taylor. My control is so close to the edge that you don't want to continue. "
She released him, convinced by the dark passion she saw prowling behind the civilized mirage of his eyes.
When she came downstairs,Jacksonwas sitting at the table on the verandah, waiting for her. Breakfast had been delivered while she was upstairs.
Taking a seat, she asked, "What are those?" when he lifted a document from the pile at his elbow.
"Legal papers. " He raised his head and those dark eyes wouldn't let her glance away. "I want to adopt Nick. "
She put down the melon wedge she'd chosen. "Why?"
"I'm certain thatHegerty will back off on his custody application. But, if we manage to do this, it'll be almost impossible for him to come after Nick later on. "
"Is that the only reason you want to adopt Nick?"
"Is it not enough?" Nothing in his tone gave her a hint of his emotions.
She shook her head. "It will mean something to Nick. He's never really had a father and I don't think he could bear the hurt if you adopted him and then forgot him. " As a child, she'd experienced that brutal truth over and over.
"You'd share him that much with me?" The quickly masked hope inJackson's eyes was unexpected.
Then she remembered his desire for a baby. Maybe, in spite of her recent courage, she might never give him a child who was his flesh and blood, but she could give him this.
"Of course," she said, softly. "He needs you but it'll only work if you can go the distance, even if we part.
If you adopt him, you'll have to be his father. Forever . "
"Yes. " It was an answer so strong that she didn't need to hear any more. Nick's heart was safe with Jackson. Right now, she didn't want to think about her own.
"Can I authorize the adoption?"
He nodded. "To a point. You're a legal guardian. "
She picked up the melon wedge. "Mrs. Willis suggested that Mom make me a testamentary guardian in her will. "
"Under the law, it's likely that we can dispense withHegerty's consent since he abandoned Nick. But, we have to consider the possibility that it might be needed in case the court refuses to make a finding of neglect. "
Her head jerked up. "He won't give consent. "
Jackson's smile was without humor. "Somehow, I think I can talk him around if it comes to that. "
She believed him. No one could stand inJackson's way once he was set on a course. While she ate, he made a quick call that set the new train of legal proceedings in motion. Afterward, he sat opposite her, not eating, just looking out to the blue, blue sea with eyes that seemed to be lost in memories. She couldn't bear his withdrawal. Standing, she walked around behind him and bent down to hug his neck.
He looked up, one hand on her arm. "Hey. " Surprise was evident in his Italian-dark eyes.
" Don't. " It was wrenched out of her.
"Don't?"
"Don't go away from me," she ordered. "Please,Jackson. " A softer plea.
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Her mother had shut her out. Neither her biological father nor her stepfather had ever truly acknowledged her existence. Nick saw her, but today she realized it wasn't enough. She needed this beautiful man to see her, too.
Jacksontugged at her hands until she came around to stand in front of him. He pulled her into his lap.
"I'm right here, cara . " His attention was focused wholly on her.
Touched by his unexpected tenderness, her smile came from the heart. "Where did you go?"
"It is not something to speak of this bright day. "
She touched his jaw in a firm gesture. "Yes, it is. "
A hint of amusement softened his stern expression. "Bossy little madam. "
" Your bossy little madam," she said boldly, testing her wings, seeing how far her very dominant husband would let her go, learning how much she would have to fight to ensure he didn't become a despot.
His smile widened. Leaning over, he pressed a hard kiss to her lips. "Yes. Mine . Don't ever forget it. "
She was startled by her enjoyment of the fleeting pressure. "Don't you get ideas about beingpossessive. "
"Too late. " The look in his eyes was dark fire, slumbering heat. And suddenly, she remembered the feel of his skin against her mouth. The hands she'd put on his shoulders clenched as desire flooded her bloodstream.
His eyes took in her flushed cheeks. "You look at me like you want me. "
"I do," she acknowledged. "Will you kiss me again?" Her fingers stroked the vulnerable skin of his nape.
The look he gave her was pure male heat. "My body is for your pleasure, mia moglie . "
Fire rippled through her as he tipped her head down with a gentle grip on her chin and tasted her - slow and thorough, as if he had all the time in the world. He played with the seam of her lips and bit down on the lower one, suckling it into his mouth but never entering hers.