walk through the flaxes if need be.
They were in luck. The beach could wait for another night. Two vans were lined up so they snaffled one and ten long, tension-filled minutes later Jess was unlocking her front door.
She didn’t bother with lights. ‘There’s enough light from the full moon to see what we need to see. The rest we can do by touch.’ Her laughter was soft and warm, touching him in a way none of the sophisticated women he’d bedded had. Was this shy Jessica? Or fun Jessica?
‘Where are the glasses?’ he asked as he popped the cork on the champagne.
‘Come with me.’ She reached for his hand. Being tugged through the small house by this gorgeous woman with only moonlight to see by was a breathtaking experience, heightening his senses—and his growing need for her.
Jess’s slim outline with those just-right curves outlined by her gown hardened him further. Her backside shaped the fabric to perfection, her hips flared the almost skin-tight skirt subtly. ‘How are you going to get out of that dress?’
They’d reached the kitchen, where she removed two champagne glasses from a cupboard and handed them to him. Her mouth curved into a delicious, cat-like smile. ‘That’s your job.’
Give me strength. He wouldn’t last the distance. ‘Right.’
Just then she turned, pressed up against him, her thighs pushing against his, her lush breasts squashed against the hard wall of his chest. Her hands slid around his neck and pulled his head down so her mouth covered his. His pulse went from normal to a thousand in a flash. Wrapping his free arm around her, he hauled her close, so close her lower belly covered his reaction to her, smothered it, warmed it.
‘Gawd, Jess. Keep this up and we’ll be over before we’ve started.’
Her mouth pulled back barely enough for her to reply, ‘And your problem is?’
‘Why did we stop to get glasses?’ His lips claimed hers again. She tasted sweet, exciting, sexy. She tasted of what he so badly needed right now. Of freedom and oblivion. Of recovery.
Somehow she began stepping backwards, taking him with her, not breaking their kiss at all, not removing those breasts from his chest. Back, back, until they made it into another room. Thank goodness there was a bed. A big bed. His knees were turning to something akin to badly set jelly as desire soared through him. He was about to explode and that was only under the ministrations of her mouth on his. He lifted his head. ‘Turn around so I can free you.’
She spun so quickly she almost lost her balance. ‘Oops. I need to slow down.’
‘Really?’ Jackson reached for her zip. Idiot. He still held the champagne bottle and glasses in one hand. Oh, so carefully he placed them on the bedside table. He had completely lost where he was. All he knew was that Jess stood before him and that he wanted her like he’d never wanted a woman before. He was desperate for her. But first he needed her naked. He concentrated on pulling the zip down with fingers that refused to stop trembling. Desire vibrated through him, everywhere, not just his fingers, like this was totally new to him.
It was hard to understand. He hadn’t been living in a monastery. Far from it. There’d been a steady stream of women through his bedroom most of his adult life. Yet now he was losing control like the teenager he’d been last time he’d lived in this place, wanting desperately to bury himself inside Jessica Baxter.
‘Jackson. What’s going on back there?’
‘The zip’s caught.’ Idiot. Couldn’t even undo a simple zip. ‘Hang on.’
She giggled. ‘Hang on? Whatever you want.’ Her hand slid behind her and found him. Her fingers slid up and down his covered erection, while the other hand worked his fly, which she obviously had no difficulty with. His trousers were suddenly around his ankles. ‘I’m trying to get a hold.’
‘Jess, I’ll never get you out of this dress if you keep doing that.’ And I’ll come before I get my boxers down as far as my knees.
Instantly she stilled, her body tense, but he could feel her heat, knew her pulse was working overtime by the way her breasts rose and fell rapidly. She sucked her stomach in so tight it must’ve hurt. ‘Well?’
‘Thank you,’ he muttered, as he tugged downwards. ‘At last.’ He slid his hands inside the soft fabric, his fingers sliding over her hot skin, across her back to her waist, round to her stomach and up to cup those luscious breasts. Free breasts. ‘You haven’t got a bra on.’
‘Would’ve ruined the look.’ She wriggled her butt against him. Sucked in her breath. ‘Jackson, your thumbs are sending me over the edge to some place I’ve never been.’
Music to his ears. ‘That’s nothing to the storm your hand’s stirring up.’ His erection felt large, hard, throbbing and ready to explode.
She leant forward, teasing him with her rear end as she shrugged her upper body out of the dress and let it fall to her feet. Then she stepped out of the puddle of orange fabric and turned to face him. Insecurity and sass warred on her face, vied for supremacy. ‘We haven’t kissed. Not once.’
Jackson wasn’t sure he’d make it through a kiss. But that uncertainty blinked out at him from her dark eyes and he hauled on the brakes, pulled his hands from where they’d fallen to her waist, and encircled her with his arms. He so wanted to get this right for her. For him. Hell, he knew it would be great for him, but if Jessica wanted a kiss then she’d get one she’d never forget. When his mouth covered hers he couldn’t believe he hadn’t done this earlier. She tasted of champagne and the promise of hot sex. She also tasted of honest-to-goodness, trustworthy woman with a lot to offer and something to take.
When she pushed her tongue into his mouth to tangle with his he thought he’d died and gone to heaven. His jelly knees melted and they tipped onto the bed, neither breaking their hold on the other. As they rolled and sprawled he continued to devour her mouth. Until now he’d thought kissing highly overrated, but this moment had rewritten his ideas. Kissing Jess went so far off the scale he might never come back to earth.
Then her hand found him again. Forget kissing. His lungs seemed to fold in on themselves as all the air hissed over his teeth. Forget everything. Absolutely everything.
Pulling her mouth away, Jess said, ‘You mentioned always being prepared for anything. I guess that means you’ve got a condom or two in your pocket.’
He froze. Swore under his breath. No. He’d been going to his sister’s wedding, had not expected to be bedding a hot bridesmaid.
Hot, shaky laughter filled the room. ‘You owe me, buster. Top drawer by the bed. They’re probably out of date but better than nothing.’
Within moments she had him covered and her hand was back on him, heat rolling through every cell of his body.
He had to touch her. But suddenly he was on his back and Jess was straddling him. Before he’d caught up with her she was sliding over him, beginning to ride him. His hands gripped her thighs, his thumbs slipped over her wet heat to find her core. She instantly bucked and for a moment she lost the rhythm.
But not for long. Her recovery was swift. This woman had to be something else. He kept the pressure on as he rubbed across her wetness.
Above him Jessica let out a long groan
