His fingers dug into my waist as I was pulled even closer to him. The water lurched forward and splashed, and I suddenly found myself flush against every part of him. My legs instinctively tightened around him as his lips met mine.
Every movement and every single touch felt deliberate and full of purpose. Nothing was hurried or clumsy. This wasn’t another rushed late-night encounter that I had grown accustomed to over the years. This was a man showing me exactly what it felt like to be worshipped.
When his lips touched mine, I felt passion and tenderness along with deep longing unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
I wanted this man and not just for one night. The longer I spent wrapped up in Jackson’s arms, the less intimidating the idea of finding someone permanent became.
Our kiss deepened, my mouth opening for him, and our tongues moved together like long-lost lovers. I felt him grow harder beneath me, heightening my desire. I moved, grinding my body against him, as my lips tasted his.
“Liv,” he groaned.
“Please, don’t stop.”
My pleading words pushed him further, and his hands dipped under the edge of my bathing suit bottom to grip my bare ass. His skin against mine felt exhilarating. My heart raced inside my chest, beating and skipping in a staccato rhythm that seemed to match the butterfly sensation blossoming in my belly.
I wanted him with every ounce of my being, every fiber of my soul.
That thought was dashed as Victor’s cruel face rushed to the forefront of my mind for one brief moment, shattering my Zen-like state.
Why?
Why would the memory of Victor come back now when I felt safe and secure in Jackson’s arms?
Wanting to leave him and everything that went with him in the past, my movements became rushed, panicked almost, as our kiss intensified.
“Liv,” he whispered, pulling back slightly.
I watched his chest heave, knowing mine was doing the same, as I tried to catch my breath.
“Sweet Liv,” he said, smoothing his fingers down my cheek. “You have no idea how badly I want you in this moment, how badly I’ve wanted you since I first met you, but I can’t allow myself to do it like this.”
I frowned, suddenly averting my eyes from his gaze. Warmth touched my chin as he tugged my focus upward once again.
“Please, let me explain before you retreat.”
I nodded, giving him the signal to go ahead.
“I know you probably think I’m going to feed you a line about how I think you aren’t ready, how you couldn’t possibly be mentally capable to move on after a traumatic event like that.”
“Isn’t that what you think?” I asked.
“No,” he answered. “You might not be the greatest when it comes to psychoanalyzing your own feelings or hang-ups, but I know you well enough to know there is probably more going on here than you’re willing to admit to. I can’t allow our first time to simply be an eraser for all things Victor.”
I opened my mouth to argue with Jackson.
“I know that wasn’t your intention, but if we did sleep together tonight, it would always be this reminder of him and what he did. When we come together for the first time, it will be just the two of us—no one else up here”—he lifted his hand and tapped at my temple—“and no threat of an interrupting child,” he said with a small grin.
I must admit, while I had been dry-humping Jackson, I’d completely forgotten about Noah being upstairs.
“And no terrible memories to erase. Give yourself some time to heal. You don’t need to rush with me. I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.”
I shook my head in astonishment. “You must be the first man in history to say no to sex after a make-out session like that.”
“I never said I didn’t want to. It damn near killed me to pull away from you, but I had to. When that day does come and we don’t stop, I want it to feel like there is only you and me and no one else left on the planet.”
“Like Adam and Eve?” I quipped, a mischievous grin spreading across my face.
He laughed, obviously grateful for the break. We’d been serious for far too long.
“They were the first two people on earth. I said, the last. It would be more like a bad sci-fi film…but with really amazing sex.”
“So, a sci-fi porn?”
We both broke into hysterics.
“I’ll rock your sci-fi world.” He grinned.
“I can’t wait for that. I’ll go home and raid my secret stash of Star Trek costumes I saved for instances just like this.”
“Awesome. It’s a date.”
Jackson
“I’m fairly certain I could lie here for the rest of my life,” Liv said, stretching out languidly on the towel she’d laid across the boat bench. Her eyes were closed as she basked in a barely there bikini under the warm glow of the hot summer sun. It was a beautiful sight.
I’d suggested going boating early Sunday morning, and everyone had answered with an enthusiastic yes.
When staying at a multimillion-dollar lake house with a boat that would make most people weep in envy, how could we not take that baby out for a spin?