An Irresistible Bachelor (An Unforgettable Lady #2)(64)

“I know.”

She narrowed her eyes.

Of course he would, she thought. He wasn’t stupid.

Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “And I know where you’re headed with all this, so let me just say, I don’t care where you’re from. Not in the slightest.”

Callie studied his face closely and then looked down at the watch. “I’m not going to change, you realize. No matter what you buy me, I’m never going to be a socialite who’s into dresses and shoes and parties. First of all, I hate shopping.”

“So don’t shop.”

“And I have ridiculously wide feet so those Sex and the City–type shoes would never fit me anyway.”

“Which means you’re stable on an incline. A tremendous virtue,” he said with a straight face.

She rolled her eyes. “And I hate big crowds. To be honest, I’m on the benevolent side of antisocial. I don’t mind people, but I’d prefer not to have a lot of them around.”

“So there’ll be no going to Times Square to see the ball drop? Oh, the disappointment.”

The expression of horror on his face had her laughing. “I can’t believe you don’t care.”

“Well, I’m a little shook up there’s no New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Dick Clark in our future, but there’s always TV.”

Jack was smiling as he reached out and pulled her against him. He dropped a kiss on her mouth.

“I like you just as you come.” He nodded down at her wrist. “If you really hate the watch, I’ll take it back, provided you promise to eat lunch every day. But it is a gift from me to you and I hope you’ll at least try it out.”

She put her arms around his shoulders. “Fine, I’ll give it a go. And thank you.”

Jack nuzzled the sensitive skin of her neck. “God, you smell good. What is that perfume?”

“Eau de isopropanol.”

He pulled back. “What the hell is that?”

“The solvent I’m using to remove the oxidized soft resin varnish from your painting.”

“Oh, right. I thought I recognized it.” He took her earlobe gently between his teeth. “Now, how about we say hello again?”

In a flash, they were on the couch. With impatient hands, clothes were thrown on the floor, shoes kicked off. As he settled between her legs, he hesitated, his eyes heated but worried.

“Are you sure you . . . Is this going to be okay?” he asked.

His awkward concern made her smile.

“There’s only one way to find out,” she murmured, moving her hips against his.

He slid inside of her, slowly, carefully—in spite of the passion she could feel in his body. She shuddered with pleasure. He was heavy on top of her and she liked the feel of his weight. When he began to move, she held on and carried the rhythm in her own hips until she heard him call her name in a hoarse cry. As his arms contracted around her, she let herself go over the edge with him.

Later, when her breath was no longer coming out in pants and her heart wasn’t racing so much, she opened her eyes. Jack had shifted and his body was stretched out next to hers, taking up the lion’s share of the couch. His face was relaxed with contentment, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

“How do you feel? Okay?” he asked, his voice full of gravel.

“A lot more than okay.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m tougher than I look.”

He dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose. “And you don’t look like a wimp either.”

Her stomach let out a growl.

“You ready to eat?” When she nodded, he sat up and handed her the sweater she’d been wearing. “I thought we’d go to this diner in town that’s all the rage right now.”

Hell, she didn’t care if they went to McDonald’s and ate with plastic sporks.

Cradling her sweater against her chest, she was content to lie back and watch him move. As he picked up his shirt and pulled it on, the wide expanse of his back flexed and she noted the marks she’d left on his skin the night before.

“What are you looking at?” he asked in a low drawl.

“I seem to have done some aesthetic damage to your back.”

Jack reached over and pulled her to her feet, drawing her against him. “And you can work on the front of me later on tonight.”

His lips came down for a quick kiss that soon hardened with passion.

“Maybe we should put off dinner for a little while,” he growled. His hands slid over her hips and she felt him, hard and ready, as his body curved around her. “God, I’m insatiable when it comes to you.”

And what a wonderful word that was, Callie thought, dropping her sweater as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pushed her over against the closet doors and lifted her up, suspending her from the floor with his arms. When she wrapped her legs around his hips, he thrust inside of her again and their bodies took over. The surging movement was frantic and she cried out as waves of energy coursed through her.

When the quaking was over, she uncurled her legs and felt her feet touch ground.

“My God,” Jack muttered, putting his palms against the doors and leaning into them. His breath was coming out roughly.

Moving a hand to her hair, he smoothed the thick weight back from her face and kissed her on the forehead. His arms, which had held her up with such strength, were gentle as they cradled her.