The Sapphire Affair (Jewel #1)(60)

She fixed him with a challenging stare. “Anything?”

He nodded. “Anything.”

“Truth or dare?” she asked, the moonlight framing her stunning, sun-kissed face, the ocean breeze sweeping through her hair, the smell of saltwater wrapping around them.

“Truth,” he said easily, reaching for his beer bottle and taking a drink as gentle waves lolled past them.

She arched an eyebrow and raised her chin. Her tough-girl stance, and it made her even sexier. Damn, she was hot when she was feisty. “Tell me the truth for real. Did you know who I was the night you met me?”

He scoffed. “I knew you were the hottest woman I’d seen in ages,” he said, somehow unable to resist slipping around her question to give her a compliment.

She stared at him. “That’s not the whole truth.”

“Fine. I knew you were a pain in the ass.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“I knew you were going to drive me crazy.”

“You drive me crazy, too,” she countered, parking her hands on her hips.

“Sounds like we’re just about even, then.”

“No. We’re not. Because you still haven’t answered the question. Did you know who I was?”

“No,” he said, setting his beer on the railing. He stepped closer to her and grasped her bare arms. Her skin was soft and warm. “I’ve told you a million times. No. No. And more no. And I could ask you the same damn thing, too. I could ask if you knew who I was. But I’m not asking. Because it doesn’t matter right now. It doesn’t matter anymore.” He let go of her arms and gestured from him to her. “This? This isn’t about who knew what when. It’s about the fact that I can’t get you out of my head.” He tapped his skull. “It’s about the fact that I’m not supposed to get involved on a job. It’s about the fact that even if I weren’t about to break that rule in spectacular fashion, I should absolutely not break it with you, of all people.”

She pressed her teeth into her lower lip, and the tiniest sliver of a smile appeared on her gorgeous face. Oh hell, he was going to have a field day kissing that smile away all night long, and feeling her melt in his arms when he stripped her down to nothing. Because he was done pretending. Done holding back. Done doing anything but giving in to this electric chemistry that had the two of them in its clutches. Staying away from her was too damn hard.

“But you’re going to? In spectacular fashion?” she asked, her tone soft and inviting now.

“No more questions, Steph. Your turn is up. It’s mine now. So, what’ll it be? Truth or dare?”

She licked her lips and raised an eyebrow. “Dare.”

Smart woman. She was smarter than he was. Or maybe she just wanted the same thing—a dare to match the truth.

“I dare you to kiss me right now,” he said with a grin, knowing she wasn’t going to back down, because this woman backed down from absolutely nothing.

She inched closer.

He raised a hand in a stop sign. “I need to give you fair warning. This time, I’m not going to stop at just kissing you. I’m not going to stop at the backseat of the car. I’m not going to stop until I am buried deep inside you, and you’re coming undone screaming my name.”

Her eyes glinted. “You’d better not stop.”

He was about to break a cardinal rule. He could blame it on days of island sunshine. Hell, he could claim the last few weeks of gray skies before he came here were at fault. Even chocolate could be the cause.

But as he roped his fingers in her hair and pressed his lips to hers, there was no blaming anything but the good old-fashioned fact that he was a man who wanted a woman.





CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR


Up the stairs. Down the hall. At the door to her room.

His lips were on her neck, making her shiver. His hands were in her hair, turning her on wildly. He couldn’t stop touching her, and she wanted his hands everywhere. Loved how he was relentless in his quest to be as close to her as possible. Her whole body vibrated with desire.

As she reached into her purse for the card key, Jake scorched a trail of kisses along the back of her neck that made her knees go weak. She grasped the doorframe so she wouldn’t stumble.

“You keep doing that right now, I may not even be able to get the door open,” she said, her voice like a feather, her hand slipping as she tried to slide the key through the lock.

“Let me help,” he said, taking the key and sliding it through.

“Showing off your lock-picking skills?”

“No. Showing off how much I want to get inside this room and have you,” he said, his tone rough and commanding. He pushed open the door.

The card fell somewhere on the floor. Who knew? Who cared? She was alone in her room with him. The air-conditioning whirred faintly, and the moon glowed through the glass door of the balcony. He backed her up against the wall.

“Can’t wait,” he said, as if she needed an excuse for why they couldn’t even make it to the bed.

He planted a searing kiss on her mouth that sent the temperature in her even higher. He broke the kiss and traveled down her body, along her neck, past her breasts and her belly. He was close. So close to where she wanted him, and she ached. Simply ached.

“Beautiful,” he murmured as he kneeled on the floor, pushed up her skirt, and reached for the waistband of her pink cotton panties. Her breath turned erratic as a pulse beat between her legs. In one quick move he pulled her panties to her ankles. She barely stepped out of them before he had molded his hands to the inside of her thighs and kissed her there.