The Billionaire's Temporary Bride (Scandal, Inc #3)(67)
Jack had noticed too, running his hands over her skin, kissing the back of her neck. He seemed entranced by her, and she enjoyed the power she had over him. With no one else around, she knew that the way he looked at her was real. And he couldn't keep his eyes or his hands off of her. She loved feeling wanted and sexy. She felt like some deep, repressed part of her had broken free and was running loose, acting upon every want and desire.
Of course there were times in the morning or at night, as the sun started to dip down below the horizon and the whole sea blazed with the oranges and pinks of dusk, that she wondered how long this could last. After all, the trip was only a week, only a brief moment in her relationship or partnership with Jack, and soon they'd be back in frosty DC, shuffling from meeting to meeting, pretending to be doting husband and wife, putting on polite smiles for the cameras and reporters.
But as soon as those thoughts cropped up, Charlotte pushed them away. If her time away from those worries was so short, why spend any of it thinking about what would happen after the trip? She knew why. She knew that she wanted some part of these feelings to stick as they went through the routines of daily life. But it was easy to forget about all of that as she held Jack's hand and walked down the narrow paths that led to secret eddies and grottoes carved out beneath the cliffs. It was easy to forget about all of it as they walked into the dense jungle of the island and breathed in the clean air. It was easy as she lay in bed, her head propped up against Jack's chest, listening to his heart beat out its slow song.
Before Charlotte knew it, the week had passed, and she was stepping out of the warm, protected water of the island's beach for one last time, taking Jack's hand and following him up the softly lit path back up to the house. He had tanned deeply over the past week, while she had simply burned and gotten more freckled.
During dinner that night, when she caught Jack looking at her, he admitted that he liked her freckles and the slight sunburn she had since they had gotten to the island. She laughed it off. His tan made his eyes look that much bluer. It made his smile brighter. Or at least that's what she had assumed. For the first time in their relationship, his smile seemed to glow whenever she looked at him.
"You know this week is the first time I've seen you look completely happy," she said.
"I think it's because it's the first time I've been truly alone with you, truly able to let my guard down."
Charlotte reached over and locked her fingers between his. "I like that," she said. Dinner was almost over, and she knew that soon they'd have to head back up to the house. "Let's stay here a little longer," she suggested. "It's too beautiful to leave." The moon had come up over the ocean, and its silver reflection swirled and bent in the water. When they reached the grove, the moon was barely visible through the canopy, but it was still there.
Is this what the week will become? Charlotte wondered, a hint, a memory?
Eventually, they had to get up and head back to the house. Charlotte grasped Jack's hand tighter as he led her back to their room. In some ways, the week felt like it had lasted longer than the rest of their relationship combined. Life without the distractions of meetings and calls and interviews felt so much richer, and the warm, tropical light had a way of stretching out every day so that it felt like a lifetime. Soon they'd have to go back to reality, but not tonight, not as long as they were together in that bed as man and wife.
Charlotte listened to the gentle breeze rise up somewhere in the dense green foliage that stretched to the far side of the island. The newlyweds stood there in the center of the room for a moment, listening to the breeze. Neither of them said a word, but Charlotte leaned her head against Jack's shoulder. She wanted to cry. She wasn't ready for this to be over. She wasn't ready to go back to the way things had been.
Jack wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the temple. His soft lips felt so wonderful against her delicate skin. As he slowly kissed her, a dizzy delight rose up inside her core. Charlotte turned, pressing her lips against his. They had kissed so many times over the past week. They had shared passionate, scorching kisses, quick kisses, tender kisses, but nothing like this. This was a prayer, soft and sweet and full of ache. Even as she moved her tongue against his and felt the flames of desire roar up inside her, she felt the tenderness in Jack's every motion. He slid his hands over her shoulders with a tender deference.
She needed him. She wanted to stay in his arms forever. She didn't want this moment to be just a moment, a pleasant memory, she wanted it to be the start of something more. Charlotte slipped her fingers between the buttons in Jack's shirt and slowly undid them one by one. She kissed his chest. Jack picked her up off of the ground and carried her to the bed, sliding his hands under her back as he laid her down. He kissed her again, and stared deep into her eyes. She could see in his face and feel in his every touch that Jack must have felt the same finality to this perfect escape from the real world. He kissed her neck and her desire flared up even stronger than before, and she needed him.
As moonlight streamed through the open windows and the cool breeze swept over their bodies, they undressed each other and made love. There was no other word for it. Neither of them spoke. As Charlotte took Jack inside her, the rest of the world went blank, and she felt only her own hurried breaths and the thrill of his skin against hers. She kissed him on his lips and his neck and his chest, and she cried out as the pleasure grew stronger and stronger, building toward climax with each motion of his hips against hers until finally, she couldn't hold on any longer, and climax rang through her body. She didn't realize until after that Jack had finished too. He struggled to catch his breath. She could taste the salt on his upper lip as they kissed.