She actually didn’t. It was reserved for pool parties with her friends or sunbathing on her balcony. “Why, Jackson?” Sauntering over to him, she ran a finger down the center of his chest and looked up through her eyelashes. “Would it make you jealous if other men saw me wearing it?”
“Try murderous,” he said through clenched teeth. “You’re damn near naked.”
She gave him a wicked grin and filed that information away for future reference. “Well, if seeing me in this barely anything bikini is actually torturing you…” She brought her hands up to the strings hanging at her hips, ready to release the bows. “I should probably just get rid of it.”
…
Jackson grabbed her wrists, holding them captive. “Don’t even think about it, V. It’s rare I see anyone up here, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. And no one but me gets to look at what’s mine.”
Shit. Way to give her your back, Maris. He hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud. Putting any kind of claim on Vanessa would spook her. He might as well have just pushed her away with his hands. Today was supposed to be his day to show her how he felt about her—that he wanted more than just the three days he’d agreed to. But if he couldn’t keep his inner Neanderthal locked down, he wouldn’t have much of a chance.
She canted her head slightly and studied him. He could almost see her wheels spinning, but which way took her remained to be seen. At last she smiled and said, “Since you put it that way…”
Rising up on tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his. Just when he planned to take it to the next level and to hell with setting anything up, she pulled back, gave him a brilliant smile, and walked away with a little extra swing in her hips. When she reached the edge of the water, she tossed him a look over her shoulder just before diving into the clear, cool water.
Why hadn’t she closed down or reminded him he only had claim on her for another few hours?Was it possible she felt something more for him than just someone to fool around with on vacation? She broke the surface several yards away, laughing and treading water.
“Now this is heaven,” she said, turning around to study the surrounding area, then diving back under.
“Pretty damn close,” he said to himself. The only thing that would clinch it in his eyes was if Vanessa wanted to be with him. For good. He’d never felt a fraction for any woman like he did for her. They completed each other with a perfect balance of give and take.
She needed control in her daily life. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and didn’t stop until she got it. It was damn refreshing to be with someone who preferred to make the plans instead of waiting to be told an agenda. She also thrived on being the center of attention, and he was more than happy to sit back and watch her command a crowd.
Jackson had tried shedding his natural tendencies to take charge of things when he moved to the islands. After playing parent to his sister for five years, he longed for a life where someone else took the lead for a change. Except every time he tried the relationship thing, the women looked to him for everything from positions in the bedroom to what they should have for lunch. The former he didn’t mind. The latter drove him fucking crazy.
Jilli had once told Jax that on a subconscious level, he purposely chose more submissive women, despite wanting the opposite. That way he never had to worry about a long-term commitment because deep down he knew they weren’t compatible. At the time, he’d called “bullshit” on her female relationship psychobabble. But now he realized just how right she was.
The truth of the matter was, he had been afraid of finding someone he could get serious about. He’d grown rather fond of not having responsibility for anyone other than himself. And regardless of how strong either person was, when it came to relationships, they were a shared responsibility for the other person. As much as he’d loved his sister, for the years he’d taken care of her, he’d felt trapped. He never let her know that, of course. But with the sudden deaths of their parents, finding out he’d been adopted, and then putting his life on hold for half a decade to raise Lucie… Well, it’d been hard not to feel a little overwhelmed.
So yeah. Once he settled in Oahu, the last thing he’d wanted to do was chain himself to another human being, no matter the reason. He’d been perfectly content with his three-month average for keeping the occasional girlfriend and the friends-with-benefits situations he’d enjoyed while they lasted.
Which was why it was a total fluke that he and Vanessa were together in any sort of intimate capacity. Hell, under normal circumstances, even though his dominant demeanor might not have chased her off, her rules would’ve had her running in the opposite direction for sure.
But here they were. Like two halves of a puzzle that filled in the other’s empty spaces, making them whole for the first time. Jax knew in his soul there would never be another woman who completed him so perfectly.
And now that he’d found her, there stood a damn good chance he’d lose her. And he’d have no one to blame but himself.
It wouldn’t matter that things between them had worked out. That they’d had an amazing five days so far and, if his suspicions were right, that they both wanted more time with each other. She’d made her rules to protect herself from ending up with someone who could hurt her in any way like her parents did, and that included someone who lied. Vanessa wouldn’t see only the lies he told that first time. She’d see every minute they spent together as a deception. Everything he’d said to her. Everything he’d done to her. Everything he’d made her feel.
Jax knew he had one shot at this. He needed to show her just how much she meant to him—show her how much he meant to her—and hope like hell it would be enough.
It only took him a few minutes to spread out the blanket and check that all the snacks he’d brought with them hadn’t been jostled open and were still safe in their containers. He planned on cooking her dinner later at his place, but until then, he’d brought fun finger foods to keep their energy up. Because one thing was for certain: he planned on burning through a whole lot of their energy.
Jax shucked everything but his shorts in record time. To say he was anxious to play in his favorite swimming hole with Vanessa was a gross understatement. Turning around, he found her relaxing on a large, flat boulder on the other side of the natural pool. Propped up on her elbows, one leg bent, head hanging back, and a cascade of dark red hair spilling onto the rock below like the waterfall not far away. She looked like a water nymph, sunning herself and tempting men with the strongest resolves to fall under her spell. And he was no exception.
But just as he was about to get in, she said something that had him stopping with one foot hovering over the rippling water.
Without opening her eyes or breaking from her cover-shoot pose, she yelled to him to be heard over the splashes of the waterfall. “You’re taking forever over there. I didn’t realize you had to actually make the blanket before setting it out.”
Oh, really. Her smack talking put a big-ass grin on his face and brought out his playful side.
“Be right in!”
Jogging around the edge of the pool to the path he knew well enough to navigate blind, he climbed up the rock formation to the top of the falls. Once he stood firmly on the large rock that jutted above the flow of the fast-moving water, he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out for the attention of the bathing beauty some thirty feet below.
When she caught sight of him, she scrambled to her feet and yelled something that sounded an awful lot like a dig on his intelligence.
Pretending he hadn’t jumped from this very spot hundreds of times before was probably cruel, but the mischievous teen inside him couldn’t resist a little prank. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be fine! It doesn’t look too bad!”
Without another word he leapt far away from the rock wall’s edge and reveled in the sensation of free falling alongside the rushing water. Feet first, he plunged into the cool depths, feeling instantly revitalized as he sank to the bottom
and then pushed up to break the surface.
“Are you out of your mind? You could’ve slipped and cracked your skull open.”
He looked over to see a livid water nymph kneeling and gripping the edge of her rock, glaring at him for all she was worth.
“What’s the matter, Red?” he asked as he swam over to her. “Afraid you’d lose me over a little cliff jump?”
“Of course not. I was worried about finding my way back down the mountain by myself after you bled out like an idiot.”
Damn, he loved that smart mouth of hers. Laughing, he yanked her into the water with him. She squealed in surprise and tried wresting herself from his hold, but he refused to yield. Soon she was laughing with him, and they spent a good half hour splashing and dunking each other in a back and forth game of cat and mouse.
Breathing heavily from their play, they hoisted themselves onto the rock platform she’d been sunning on earlier. Their legs dangled in the water as they leaned back on their hands. She exhaled heavily and stared out at the scenery before them. “This place is magical, Jackson.” She turned to look at him. “Thank you for bringing me. For sharing this part of your life with me.”
Her words had his gut clenching and his heart swelling. He wanted to share so much more with her if she’d let him. And he planned on telling her. But not now. Now he just wanted to lose himself in her smell, her taste, her body. Her.
Leaning over, he kissed her, slow and gentle, savoring the eager response she gave him. He wondered if she had any idea how easily she unraveled him.
He pulled back. “Ever stand under a waterfall?” She shook her head. “Come on.”
Jax guided her over to the right of the main falls where water still fell down the rock wall, but without the amount and force it had in the center. It also had a decent ledge to stand on, being closer to the shoreline. Holding her hand to keep her steady, he helped her until she had secure footing.
A wide smile broke over her face as she lifted her arms in the air to cut through the thin curtain of water spilling behind her. Jax was spellbound, watching her tip her head back and laugh with the sheer joy of experiencing one of Mother Nature’s wonders.
Growing up in a landlocked state, he’d never known he had such an affinity for water until he moved to the islands. The first time he ever saw the Pacific, it called to him like the moon to a lone wolf. And ever since, water had become as much a part of him as his fighting. Which was why sex with an element of water—whether in a shower, hot tub, rain, or waterfall—was such a huge turn-on for him.
And why his cock was thick and straining against the confines of his board shorts.
Jax stepped in to her, crowding her against the rocks that had been smoothed by hundreds of years of streaming water. Her smile died with the firm grip of his hands on either side of her neck. Her breaths turned shallow, her pulse jackhammered under his touch, and her pupils nearly swallowed the green of her eyes.
He brushed a thumb over her lower lip, the way the plump flesh gave way to his touch so goddamn erotic. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?” His voice sounded harsh and broken, like he’d lost it the day before and it was only now starting to come back. “Every time I look at you, I fucking lose my mind.”
“Good.” She raked her nails down his abs, leaving trails of heated desire in their wake. Then she nipped the pad of his thumb. “That makes two of us, then.”
Needing her kiss like he needed to breathe, Jax descended and laid claim to her mouth. He moved his lips over hers, pushing her onto the rock until the water cascaded around her body, a fluid outline of the soft curves that tempted his baser self. Her arms hooked under his, her hands gripped the backs of his shoulders, and she pulled him in so not even air could pass between them.
Shifting the lower half of his body, he positioned one of his legs between hers, grabbed her ass in both hands, and hauled her onto his thigh. Without further instruction, she rolled her hips to slowly grind her sex over his solid muscle. His tongue danced with hers to the music of the rushing falls surrounding them. She tasted of mint, coffee…and her.
No one tasted like her. No one felt like her. No one touched him—physically or emotionally—like her.
“Make love to me, Jackson.”
Fuck, yes. Wait… Gathering every shred of willpower he had, he said, “Not here.”
She retaliated with a, “Yes, here,” and bit his bottom lip before her tongue swept in and scattered his resolve to the four winds.
The woman was dangerous. She had the power to make him lose control, something he’d never experienced before with anyone else. He could easily lose himself in her emerald eyes, from the scent of her skin or the power of her kiss. And he wasn’t sure he’d care if he never found his way back.
Jax shifted his weight and felt his foot slip a little on one of the rocks, reminding him of exactly why he’d said no to begin with. He wrenched his mouth from hers, but before he could reiterate his earlier statement and tack on the safety explanation, one of her hands snaked down to run the length of his stiff cock before lightly squeezing his balls.
He took a sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth and let it out on a groan as he pushed himself into her palm. She looked up at him with an impish smile, clearly proud of herself for eliciting such a reaction from him.
“You think it’s funny when you get me to lose my shit, don’t you?” he asked. She nodded, a glimmer of mischief in eyes framed by wet, spiky lashes. Her lips, swollen and red from his kisses, held the barest hint of a smirk, as though she knew enjoying the moment too much would get her into worse trouble than she already was. Smart woman.
Willful woman.
“Let’s see how funny you think it is when the roles are reversed, princess.”
…
Vanessa became weightless as he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up to find him staring down at her.
She could almost see the flurry of thoughts in his mind; he looked that intense. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t begin to guess what they were. Did they have to do with what just happened? Or something about her? Were they good or bad? Shit, when did she become so neurotic?
“Everything okay?” she asked.
He blinked, then gave her the smile that made her insides melt. “Better than okay. You hungry?”
“Famished.”
“Good. I brought some things I think you’ll like.”
He carried her over the rocks as easily as if they’d been flat, dry, and she weighed little more than a feather. Such grace in a man so large not only defied basic physics but spat in its face. It also turned her on something fierce.
Once they reached their blankets, Jax set her down and started to rummage around in the small cooler. The sun bounced off his tan skin and the dark images in his tattoo. The waves almost looked as though they rippled from the way his bicep moved with the simplest of motions. She loved his arms. So strong and sure, Vanessa couldn’t remember ever feeling so safe and protected as when Jackson wrapped his arms around her.
Lowering herself to the blanket next to him, she said, “I’m suddenly hungry for something other than food.”
His mouth quirked up in the corner as he turned to look at her. “That’s the dessert menu you’re talking about, babe. That typically comes after the main course.”
She bit her lip for a second and then remembered that one of her coworkers told her that she has special days with her kids where they have dessert for dinner and then watch movies. “But it’s a special day, right? So on special days we should be able to have dessert first.”
“I don’t know,” he hedged. “That sounds an awful lot liking breaking the rules.”
Her jaw dropped a second before he started to laugh. She retaliated by smacking him on the arm and pushing him away when he tackled her for a makeup kiss. She lasted all of two seconds before releasing a fit of giggles from her chest and giving in to the magic of his mouth
.
A minute later he set them both to rights again and said they could indeed skip to dessert. So she was confused when he went back to the cooler instead of building on the amazing lip-lock they had going on.
He held up a bottle and two plastic flutes. “Thirsty?”
“Ooh, champagne. Absolutely.”
Holding it over the grass, he freed the cork and waited for the initial foam to stop running from the bottle. He poured both of them half a glass and handed her one, then set the bottle on the lid of the cooler and turned back to her holding a small white box. When their eyes locked, all humor had been replaced by an intense seriousness. Something she hadn’t seen much of from Jackson.
His natural settings were Charm and Flirt. She had a feeling most people rarely saw his serious side. He covered it up with the jokes and playful personality he portrayed so well. But he’d shown her what lay beneath in their talks about their pasts. And he was showing her now…but for what reason this time?
“Champagne and a gift?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Someone’s stepping up his game.”
“I’m not playing games with you, Vanessa. It’s important to me that you know that.”
For a long time she studied him, hoping his underlying meaning would appear in his caramel eyes or in the stern set of his stubbled jaw. She didn’t find it, but what she did find was sincerity. Something honest, something pure, letting her know she wasn’t just another conquest. Another notch on his headboard.
“I believe you,” she answered softly.
A palpable relief settled over him. “Open it.”
She removed the lid and pulled out a beautiful silver necklace. A two-piece pendant hung from the bottom. At the top, a square aquamarine sea glass bead dangled from its corner, and beneath that was a pewter—
“Starfish.”
She smiled up at him through watery eyes. “Sea star.”
He flashed her that brilliant white smile that hinted at his dimples. “Whatever. Here, let me help you put it on.”
A few seconds later it was fastened and the cool metal of the sea star warmed where it rested in the center of her chest. “I love it, Jackson. Thank you so much.”