chapter Three
Jack woke as dawn was breaking and the first pink rays of the sun appeared over the horizon. He stood and stretched his long body, his gaze going to Lara. She lay inside her sleeping bag but with her arms thrown above her head in a gesture of abandonment. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders in a pale golden cloud.
He moved closer and crouching beside her, studied the beauty of her face. She looked serene, her mouth pursed emphasizing the perfect shape of her lips. Her cheeks were flushed and as he watched, her eyelids flickered showing she was in a dream phase of her sleep. He glanced down and could see the swell of her breasts beneath the top she was wearing. God, she is so beautiful.
Resisting the temptation to smooth his fingers along her velvet cheek, he stood and made his way toward the house. As he filled the kettle and placed it on the sturdy stove, he mulled over his mystery guest. And she was mysterious, he decided, laying a couple of places at the table for breakfast. She was well bred with every inch of her screaming class from her elegant clothes to her pure voice with its fascinating accent.
He grinned as he shoveled spoonfuls of coffee into two mugs. She was used to getting her own way, and he would bet it was a brave person who said no to her. He could tell she had to practice unusual control in trying to put him in his place and she didn’t like it. No, she didn’t like it one bit. He was tempted to have a wild fling with her and put to rest this sexual tension that crackled between them brewing like a tropical storm. But, he could also sense her resistance. She was worried about something, or somebody, and he doubted she would tell him about it.
“You should have woken me.” A soft voice reproached him and he turned to see her, silhouetted against the sun’s rays, standing at the open door. She looked ethereal in a white flared beach skirt and matching top, her slender legs and body outlined through the thin material. On her feet she wore his chunky black socks, which should have looked incongruous and yet on her were as sexy as hell.
He grabbed the coffee mug as it was about to fall from his fingers. Jeez. He was acting like a lovesick teenager but she knocked him out. He wanted her.
“You were too sound asleep for me to dare to disturb you,” he joked, turning to take the kettle from the stove to give him time to recover his equilibrium.
“Can I help?”
“Yep. Get a can opener and open these peaches, will you?”
“Are you going to work on Jezebel after breakfast?”
He nodded. “But you needn’t come. I’ll have to strip the engine down and see what the problem is. You can stay here and relax.” He poured two coffees and placed them on the table. “And don’t go swimming on your own,” he warned with a frown.
“I need a shower.” Lara wiped two dusty fruit bowls with the tea towel and then served the peaches, pouring some of the sweet juice over the top of them.
He sat at the table, his chair scraping on the wooden floor. “I’ll be out of the way soon so you can have your shower in peace without bothering to hide your blushes.”
She laughed as she sat next to him and lifted a spoonful of peach nectar to her mouth, running her tongue over her lips as she swallowed. He watched as her tongue caught and held a tiny droplet of juice. His heart slammed in his chest like a thousand drums beating out a tune. Was she teasing him? He didn’t think so. There was too much of an air of innocence about her, although she appeared a lot more relaxed this morning. Perhaps she’d got the message that he wouldn’t harm her.
Finishing his fruit, he stood and pushing back his chair, took a great gulp of scalding coffee. “I’d better get started,” he said gruffly. “It could take me a while.”
“Perhaps you should try and fix the radio first then we could send for a rescue boat.” Her green eyes were wide and beguiling as she looked up at him.
“That’s what I intend to do,” he snapped. “But I’m no electrician and if I get it going, it will be a bloody miracle.”
“Won’t your wife and family be worried about you?”
He hesitated, placing his half-drunk mug of coffee on the table. “I don’t have a family. I’m divorced.”
“Oh.”
“The locals are used to me disappearing for days on end—after all I am a fisherman. But there could be concerns over you, which is why we need to get you to civilization.”
“I told my mother I would contact her in a couple of days so she won’t be worried.”
“Are your cuts healing?” He glanced at her small feet.
“I’ll bathe them later. They’ll be fine.” She lowered her eyes and swift color rose in her cheeks. He wondered if she was thinking of the zinging, unbearable tension between them when he had smoothed ointment into her skin. She had trembled beneath his touch and for all her haughtiness, he sensed a vulnerability and shyness about her.
He cleared his throat. “Right. I’ll get going. I’ll be back at lunchtime so perhaps you can have a look through the larder and rustle up something. If it’s not too much effort.”
“I think I can manage to open another can of something. What if I want you? Shall I swim out to the boat?”
Jack studied her apprehensive expression and stopped himself reaching for her. Does she bring out this protective instinct in every man? Or just idiots like me?
He lifted a large ship’s bell from the dresser and gave it to her. “If you are worried about anything, go to the edge of the beach and ring that. But I’m sure you’ll manage for a few hours. After all, isn’t this what you’re here for—peace and quiet?”
~ * ~
Lara watched him go, striding down the beach twirling a towel in his hand. She missed him already. Ridiculous. She rubbed her hand across the tarnished surface of the bell she still clutched against her. Setting it down, she began to open the various cupboards and drawers in the kitchen peering inside each one and then moved to the living room area, finishing in the bedrooms.
“Okay, Mr. Smarty Fisherman,” she said aloud. “I know you think I’m a helpless and hopeless female. Let’s see if I can surprise you.”
Three hours later she sat in the armchair by the fireplace, looked around and gave a nod of satisfaction. Jack’s home, his pride and joy, glistened and sparkled in the mid-day sun as if it had been touched by a magic wand.
She had found a good supply of cleaning materials, including disinfectants and polish and even a bottle of bleach, and had set to work on the tiny house scrubbing, cleaning and polishing every surface. She had washed the windows and aired the linen stored in a large cupboard in the passage and even swept and washed the wooden porch.
Her gaze roamed across the living and dining areas and came to rest on the vase of native flowers she had picked from behind the house. The finishing touch, she decided. Let him make fun of her now with his cynical throwaway lines about her being a snob and too stuck up to get her hands dirty.
She glanced at the filth on her hands then at her grimy and stained top and skirt and grinned. He couldn’t say she hadn’t got “down and dirty.” She thought for a moment of her two best friends, Jade and Kate, and the apartment they had shared in Adelaide until very recently.
Neither of her friends had been keen on housework and preferred to be out and about and involved in their university activities. But, she had loved taking care of their stylish home and had reveled in the housework, even though her parents had offered to provide her with servants. Jade and Kate swore it was only because she had been spoiled and had everything done for her in the royal households that she found pleasure in the basic daily chores of keeping their apartment tidy and clean.
She had been inclined to agree with them even though she had made some ignorant and terrible mistakes. The girls had yet to forgive her for turning their clothes a shocking pink in a washing machine venture which had gone drastically wrong.
Checking her watch, she saw it was already twelve thirty. Jack must be starving—she knew she was. She washed her hands in the sink and grimaced again at the state of her clothes. She would need to change before calling him for lunch. Opening the larder door, she studied the array of cans. Yes, he had been right when he’d said there was a good supply. She settled on a large can of beef stroganoff accompanied by green beans and baby carrots.
After she had poured the ingredients into saucepans and set them in place on the shining stove, she arranged two places at the dining room table, together with a jug of water and tumblers. She moved the vase of flowers into the center of the table and stood back to admire her handiwork.
“Magnificent. I’m very impressed.” Jack’s deep voice made her jump and she turned to find him leaning against the doorjamb, his arms folded across his chest as he surveyed the scene before him.
She looked at her grubby clothes and wished she’d had time to change. “I only flicked a duster around as you suggested,” she said with a mischievous smile.
He strolled in and stood in front of her. A grin stretched across his face as he touched a streak of dirt on her cheek with a long finger. “Thanks, Lara. You’ve done a great job, even if you did manage to get yourself in a mess in the process.”
Her heart began its now familiar erratic thumping at his touch and the look in his eyes. “You’re not exactly Mr. Perfect,” she blurted, more to hide her embarrassment than anything.
Laughing, he looked at his own oil-streaked and dirty clothes. “Touché. But, I’ve got good news. Although I didn’t fix the radio, I have managed to start Jezebel. We can pack up and leave for Seagull Island right after lunch.”
“Oh.” She found it impossible to say more. She knew there had been every chance he would fix the boat but now he had confirmed it, she couldn’t comprehend her disappointment. Her time with him was over.
“I don’t want to go.”
“What?”
“I want to stay for a couple more days.”
“Why?”
“I like it here.” She made unnecessary adjustments to the cutlery on the table as she tried to gather her thoughts. She was getting into deeper trouble by the moment but seemed powerless to stop herself. “Besides, it would be a shame to leave now I’ve spent all of this time cleaning everything,” she finished lamely.
His expression grew serious, and she lowered her eyes rather than face more explanations. However, he tilted her chin so she had to look at him. “I don’t think it would be very smart to stay here any longer.”
“Why not?”
“Honestly? Because I can’t trust myself with you, that’s why.” He sounded regretful as he continued, “You must recognize the sparks flying between us. I want to make love to you, and unless I’m very much mistaken, you want this too.”
The blood in her veins pulsed and surged as she gazed into his warm, blue eyes so full of desire. He had at last spoken about this extraordinary sexual tension that had been there from when they had met. Both of them aware of it but not willing to acknowledge it. Until now.
Swallowing hard, she found her voice. “You’re not mistaken, Jack. I do want you to make love to me.”
He brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. “Thank you for being honest. But, as much as I would like to, I can’t.”
Stepping back, she stared at him. Didn’t he realize how important this was to her? That she was offering herself to him? That she had never been with a man but now she wanted this man. She needed only this man.
“I don’t understand. Do you have a girlfriend on the main land?” Please, please say no. She clenched her fists, her body tense as she waited for his reply.
“No. It’s simpler than that. I have no protection with me. Unless you’re on the pill, I couldn’t risk having sex with you and making you pregnant.”
Her face burned at his outspokenness. She held her breath at the image of his lean body on hers as he entered her, loving her, making her complete, with his baby.
“Are you on the pill by any chance?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s that. I’m sorry but condoms aren’t items I stock in my larder.”
She rubbed a hand over her eyes not quite believing this conversation. He made jokes and she made a fool of herself. “It’s okay. But, perhaps we could stay tonight, Jack?” she added, with a tilt of her mouth.
“I guess we can if you want to.” He moved to lift the lid on one of the saucepans and peered at the contents. “At least we’ve cleared the air and know where we stand.”
“Yes. And I can leave here knowing that Jack, the fisherman, wanted to make love to me. If things had been different, I mean?”
He turned and studied the beautiful girl fidgeting with the place mats. She looked forlorn, as if hoping for reassurance from him.
“I’ve never wanted a woman more in my whole life,” he breathed and watched as her face lit up and she stepped toward him.
He held up his hand to stop her. “I think a quick swim before lunch would be a good idea, don’t you? I have an overpowering need to cool off.”
Changing into his swimming trunks in the spare bedroom, he noted with pleasure the freshly made-up bed, the clean floors and polished furniture. He paused as he looked out of the window onto the overgrown garden at the side of the house. He’d had to say it, he thought. He had to bring their feelings into the open and discuss them. It had developed into an impossible state of affairs, which had been exacerbated over the few hours they had spent together. He was amazed this could happen but it had, through the looks, the caresses and the unspoken words full of unfulfilled promises.
She had shocked him. First, asking to stay on the island and then her declaration that she wanted him to make love to her. He could sense this was not normal behavior for her and she had stepped from her comfort zone by making such bold statements.
Picking up a towel, he gave a wry smile. He would never have believed he could get caught in such a predicament where he was desperate to make love to this glorious creature but couldn’t take the risk. It wasn’t just a physical problem but rather a question of where would it lead? Precisely nowhere, he decided. They would part after satisfying this primal sexual urge and never see each other again. That wasn’t his style. He wanted more than a casual fling with her. It was a crazy situation.
She had covered her bikini with a wrap, whether to protect her skin from the hot sun, or from his eyes, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was the sensual, sexual tension still hung in the air between them. Damn it.
“Come on.” He walked ahead to the beach leaving her to follow. He headed for the sheltered cove with the curving sandy bottom, which he knew was safe for bathing.
As they reached the water’s edge, she tossed her towel and wrap to one side almost in an act of defiance, and running into the water, dived beneath the surface. He followed more slowly, his gaze on the spot where she had disappeared. She emerged in front of him wiping the stream of water from her face and hair.
“What is it?” She tried to decipher the strange expression in his face. “Isn’t it safe here?”
He reached for her, pulling her against him and covering her mouth with his. She responded with reckless abandonment as she wound her arms around his neck.
He drew away at last and she stared into his eyes seeking to know his thoughts and what lay behind the passion of his kiss. His hands continued to caress her waist and hips as he supported her weight.
“I’m sorry, Lara. I didn’t mean for this to happen. It appears it isn’t safe here.”
“It’s all right. It was only a kiss,” she replied before turning and diving beneath the water once more. She surfaced and began to swim as if chased by a thousand devils, her body throbbing with need. How could she have reacted this way? She knew little about men and was reserved in their company mostly due to her royal training, but also because of her own shy nature. Jade and Kate would tease her because she was so shy, her manner often mistaken for being standoffish and proud until she was pushed too far and then a red-hot temper would surface. Jade was the “in your face” noisy one of the trio while Kate was studious and rarely had her head out of her books.
She watched as Jack swam strongly away. Floating on her back, she shut her eyes against the glare of the sun as wayward thoughts crowded her mind. He’s probably regretting the kiss right now. He had no idea I would respond that way. Neither did I. He seemed as shocked as I was when we lost control. I’m sure he’s not some sort of playboy intent on seducing me, but I don’t really know anything about him, do I?
She moved her arms and legs through the water slowly propelling herself toward the shore. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said he wanted her. She saw it in his eyes, in the depth of that kiss and in his hands touching her. Was she in love with this rugged fisherman or was it the island weaving a strange magic spell over them? She knew she was foolish to stay another night, but she couldn’t bear to say goodbye yet. Not to the island. Not to Jack.
At the house, she dried herself and changed into a fresh top and slacks. Her long hair was sticky and unmanageable from the salt water and she made a mental note to wash it with the shampoo she had brought with her.
They sat opposite each other eating their lunch in silence. She was awkward and unsure of what to say while he looked cool and controlled in his clean blue shirt and shorts.
“I want to go over to the boat this afternoon and tidy up a few things,” he said at last, taking a swallow of water. “Then I’ll catch another couple of fish for our dinner.”
His smile was warm and she responded. “There’s a bottle of white wine in the fridge. We could celebrate.”
“Celebrate what? My lack of control?”
Her eyes widened at his blunt statement. “We’ll celebrate meeting and being on this lovely island…and parting.” Her voice quivered and to cover her confusion, she stood abruptly gathering the empty plates.
He also stood. “You’re quite right. We should make our dinner a happy occasion,” he said. She was relieved to hear the tone of his voice had lost its sarcastic edge.
“I’ll even make a white wine sauce to go with the fish,” he added.
She stacked the plates on to the sink top. “You must have missed your vocation. You should have been a chef, not a fisherman.” She turned to face him and was still at the look of desire in his face.
“If I was a chef I wouldn’t have met you,” he said softly, his blue eyes caressing.
This time she didn’t lower her eyes, but returned his look. “In that case, I’m glad you’re a fisherman.”
~ * ~
It was four hours later and he still hadn’t returned from Jezebel or his fishing expedition. She had cleared up after the lunch and neatened the tiny, lopsided cottage once again. She had washed some of her clothes and repacked her suitcase ready to leave the next morning.
Finally, she had shampooed and conditioned her hair in the strange, antiquated shower near the house. The water from the large container above her head had been pleasantly warmed by the long, hot day in the sun but she’d used it sparingly aware the rainwater in the tank could be getting low.
At last Jack returned holding two fish aloft as he entered the front door. “Here we are,” he said cheerfully, as she placed the book she had been reading to one side.
“You’re not expecting me to…to gut them, are you?”
She was so aghast that he burst out laughing. “Seeing that you are all clean and pretty, I’ll let you off that particular chore,” he responded, slapping the fish onto the sink. “I’ll prepare them, then I’ll go and have a shower. Can’t have you being the sweet smelling one while I reek of fish.”
He was being remarkably affable, Lara thought. She was sure he had many other things he would rather be doing than stuck here. She decided to follow his positive lead. After all, it had been an adventure and they would never see each other again after tomorrow. What was the point of dwelling on things and being miserable? This time next week she would be home in the palace and a secretary would be going through her appointment diary to arrange engagements for at least the next year. Lara blinked away the tears that welled in her eyes. She had been prepared to return and take up her royal duties after her few days on Seagull Island but now meeting Jack, she could see the careless freedom he took for granted. How she wished life could be different for her. And if she let her romantic ideas really take hold that she could stay here with him. Perhaps he would learn to love her. Love her and care for her.
“I’ve opened a can of chicken soup. We could have it as a starter,” she said, watching as he prepared the fish.
“Good idea.” Jack glanced up. “Cuts healed?” he asked, as he continued to fillet the fish.
“I think so.”
“I’ll have a look at them later. You don’t want to risk an infection.”
She nodded and busied herself heating the soup. She brought the wine from the fridge and endeavored to open the bottle with a rusty opener she’d found in the cutlery drawer.
He washed and dried his hands and then rescued the wine from her. “May be easier if I do this,” he said casually as he removed the cork with a gentle popping sound and poured the wine into the two waiting glasses. He handed one of the glasses to her and chinked his own against it.
“Here’s a toast to the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. May she find the happiness she seeks.”
Lara was stunned into silence as she sipped the cold, fruity Riesling. His eyes caressed her, making love to her, and she was tempted to throw herself into his arms and to hell with the consequences. Fortunately, the temptation was removed as he set his glass down and retrieving his towel and bag of toiletries, headed for the shower.
She waited nervously for his return and when he strolled through the door a short time later, she clutched at the back of a chair as her eyes drank him in. He was naked except for the towel draped around his lean hips. His tall, magnificently proportioned body glistened with moisture and his dark hair gleamed in a shaft of sunlight from the window.
But it was his face that captured her attention, her eyes riveted on his clean-shaven chiseled jaw and firm chin with a small cleft adding character to his handsome face.
“You look so different,” she breathed.
“I’m normally clean-shaven. Seeing we’re returning to civilization tomorrow, I thought I better shave off my beard.”
“But, you’re a fisherman.”
He grinned. “Not all fishermen have beards,” he remarked, and moved past her to his bedroom. She caught the scent of soap and shampoo and took a shaky, controlling breath. Suddenly, even standing there half-naked, he had acquired a polished veneer and her vulnerability to him intensified.
~ * ~
“You never finished telling me from whom you were escaping.”
They were seated on the patio after dinner in two old rocking chairs watching the sun sink low in the sky. Earlier, with much hilarity, Jack had made a grand performance of preparing his wine sauce to go with the fish, which she had declared the best she’d ever tasted. She had stacked the dishes while he had made the coffee. He sat opposite her now gently rocking in his chair and it seemed, determined to have a heart-to-heart discussion.
She watched a stray coffee grain swirl around in her cup as she measured her reply and how much she would say. She would explain just a little, she decided.
“It was a friend.”
“Male?”
“Yes. I left because I wanted some time alone.”
“Why? Are you in a relationship? Is he annoying you?” The questions came thick and fast and although Jack’s tone was casual, she sensed he was more than just a little inquisitive.
“No. He was a friend only.” She smiled as she thought of her burly detective and what he would make of this conversation. “As I explained, I had attended the race meeting, which was the last…last thing I’d planned to do before returning home to my parents in Europe.” She hesitated as she almost blurted out that she had been on an official engagement to present the cup to the winning racehorse owner. She was surprised Jack didn’t know about her visit. The small town of Port Margaret had buzzed with the news that a real princess was the special guest at their annual race day.
“While I was in Port Margaret, I booked the rental home on Seagull Island so I could get a few days to myself. I’ve just finished my studies at university and wanted some time out.”
Jack frowned, his eyes narrowing as he watched the sun disappear behind the horizon. Something didn’t make sense. It sounded odd that this lovely girl should want to be alone. Real Greta Garbo stuff. “What did you study,” he asked.
“Fine arts.”
“Hmm. Handy subject.”
She laughed. “Don’t be cynical, Jack. It will be very useful.”
“Yeah, if you’re going to work in a museum.”
“I also majored in political science,” she added.
“In that case I guess you could get a job in a museum run by the government.”
She laughed again and he watched the pure line of her profile as she leaned her head back against the chair. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to smooth his fingers over her white skin and place his lips to the tiny hollow at the base of her throat. He wanted to lift her against him, her body on his.
“Why did you have so much luggage?” Inane question, he thought but he had to take control of his lustful imagination.
“I will return directly to Europe from Port Margaret after changing planes in Adelaide. I’ve shared an apartment with my two best friends while we were studying. Now we’ve gone our separate ways.”
A fleeting sadness reflected in her eyes and Jack wondered if one of her friends had been the man she’d been running from. A shaft of jealousy gave him a hefty punch in the stomach.
She leaned forward and lifted a foot to examine the sole. One of the cuts hadn’t healed and looked red and sore.
“Problem?”
“It throbs a little. It will be okay.”
Jack stood. “Stay there. I’ll get the first aid tin.” He returned with the tin, plus a bowl of water and towel. “Rest your foot on my thigh,” he demanded and she obediently lifted her leg to rest on his. He cleaned the wound and placed a Band-aid across the small cut.
“Your skin is very tender from walking around without shoes. You should have taken more care.” He examined the fine bones of her foot. “I’ll massage them for you.”
He squeezed a sweet smelling cream from the first aid tin into his hands and rubbed her foot with long strokes.
“So, you’ve heard about me. What about your life story?”
“Nothing much to tell,” he replied, concentrating on his task. “I was born along the coast in a small village. My father and my grandfather before him were fishermen. It’s my life.”
“You appear to be well educated.”
He raised an eyebrow at this remark but one look at her embarrassed expression, he decided to ignore it. “I went to school, if that’s what you mean,” he replied and motioned for her to balance her other foot on his leg.
“Was your wife local?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
He shrugged. “We were very young. She was a city girl and it was always going to be tough. Fortunately, we didn’t have any kids.”
He slowed the massage of her foot as he thought fleetingly of his wife and what might have been? Between them they had made such a mess of their marriage. They had tried hard to make a go of it but it was doomed from the start. Too young, too selfish.
Lara tried to pull her foot away but he tightened his hand around her ankle, caressing the delicate bone.
“Of course, there are other ways of making love,” he remarked, his tone casual.
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“We could touch and hold each other, like I’m holding you now. It doesn’t require the actual act of sex to make love.” The electricity crackling between them. Christ, I want her.
“I’m not experienced at lovemaking,” she whispered. “I know that may sound strange in this day and age but it’s the way it is and here I am, a real live virgin. I bet you never expected that.” She shrugged and gave a nervous laugh.
Jack was silent as he contemplated her statement. He already knew she was shy and strangely vulnerable, much different than the proud, arrogant young woman he had first encountered. But inexperienced? Give me a break. A beautiful woman like her who would attract male attention at every turn? He was surprised and yeah, he had to admit delighted.
“I can teach you. Trust in me.” He tensed waiting for her reply. Lara touched his face, smoothing his cheekbone and jaw with gentle fingers. He turned his head and pressed a kiss into the palm of her hand. Still he waited.
“I would like you to teach me, Jack,” she said at last and he heard the tremor in her voice. She was offering herself to him and at that moment, he would readily have given his life for her.
“Let’s go inside.”
She lay on the bed in the room she had been using. He was intensely aware she had placed her trust in him, a stranger. He wasn’t about to let her down.
The daylight had faded and Jack switched on the bedside light creating a soft glow over their features. Sitting next to her, he leaned down and kissed her. Her lips were warm and sweet on his as he lingered, savoring her taste. He pulled her top over her head revealing her lacy bra and placed tiny kisses along her slender neck to the curve of her breast.
“Jack, I’m nervous,” she said as he undid her bra and released her breasts to his view.
“Don’t be.” He traced a fingertip across her lips. “Concentrate on how I make you feel.”
With his tongue he caressed her pink nipples and then slid one hand across her taut stomach to the swell of her hip, touching and soothing. He explored her hardening nipples and suckled first one and then the other breast, causing her body to arch. She moaned and moved her body beneath him.
Slowly he removed her slacks and panties. Her body glistened like ivory in the soft light. “You are beautiful,” he breathed, unable to take his gaze from her.
“Please, take off your shirt.” She fumbled with the buttons.
He obliged and pulled her against his chest, skin-on-skin, as he continued to awaken the flames within her, kissing his way across her ribs and flat stomach. He moved to her feet and legs, caressing every part of her until she whimpered with cries of pleasure. She reached for the belt of his shorts and he helped push them aside. In awe, she touched his erect shaft, her hands trembling as she explored him.
“Will you make love to me?” she pleaded.
He shook his head. “Not that way, sweetheart. But, like this.” He touched the very core of her womanhood with gentle fingers, massaging the sensitive nub until she gasped. Then he placed his mouth where his fingers had readied her, tasting the love that flowed from her. With his tongue and lips he continued to stroke her sex, his heart pounding as she trembled and cried out as she climaxed violently beneath him. He held her tightly as the tremors continued to shake her and then she was still.
She pressed a kiss against his chest. “I’ve never done that before,” she murmured.
“And believe or not, you’re still a virgin.”
“Yes.”
“It’s as well we made love as we did,” he said, kissing her mouth.
“Don’t you think it weird? I’m twenty-four years old, Jack. Nearly all my friends are in sexual relationships.”
“No. I don’t think it weird. But, you would have regretted losing your virginity to me, a stranger who you will never see again. It’s a good job I didn’t have any condoms here because I swear, I would have taken you.”
She blushed at his directness. “What about you? You gave me pleasure but…”
“I’m fine,” he broke in, lying through his teeth. Christ! She had no idea how much he’d wanted her. “I can’t ask for anything more than having you come apart in my arms as you did.”
“Will you sleep with me tonight? Will you hold me and touch me?”
He laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. “I must be an absolute glutton for punishment but yes, okay.” He cupped her breasts with his hands as he spoke. “I might need to take a few cold showers,” he added as his mouth closed over one pert nipple.
Lara woke at sometime in the night. She wasn’t sure what time it was but she remembered she hadn’t written in her journal. She lay in the darkness for a few minutes relishing the feel of Jack’s arms around her. Carefully wriggling free, she searched for and found her journal in her case and took it into the living room so she didn’t wake him.
She switched on a lamp and settled in the armchair by the empty fireplace and wrote.
Dear Diary,
So much has happened I don’t know where to begin. I disliked—no, hated Jack—but now I love him. Yes, love him. He’s so kind and tender and tonight he made love to me. Not once, but many times. He aroused a passion in me I never knew I had and he gave to me, only me, not caring about his own pleasure.
Whatever happens in the future, I shall never, never stop loving him. I know I am just another woman he met and he will soon forget, but to me he is the man with whom I would want to spend the rest of my life, if I could.
I have to find away to come back to him, somehow.
She hesitated in her writing as she heard the floor creak. Hastily hiding the diary beneath the armchair cushion, she looked up with an air of innocence as Jack walked out of the bedroom. He had put on his shorts but even so, her eyes were on stalks as she stared in admiration at his physique.
“What are you doing out here? Come back to bed,” he said, holding his arms out to her.
She went to him, adoring his welcoming kisses. “Oh Jack, I never want this night to end,” she murmured into his neck as he lifted her in his arms.
~ * ~
Jack woke early to the sound of a helicopter. Puzzled, he climbed from the bed leaving Lara still sleeping soundly.
Peering out of the window, he was even more astonished to hear the sound of high-powered motor boats. He pulled on his shorts and tee shirt and was about to go outside to investigate when the cottage door burst open and he faced what appeared to be a small army of SWAT police officers carrying guns all aimed at him.
“What the hell is going on?” He had hardly got the words out when a man in a suit pushed his way through the officers.
“Place your hands behind you,” he shouted, and as Jack obeyed, he roughly snapped handcuffs on him.
Jack turned to face the man. “There’s been a misunderstanding…”
“There’s no mistake. Jack Lucas, you are under arrest for the kidnapping of Her Highness, Princess Lara of Challoner.