Dangerous Surrender (8 page)

"Why can't you knock?” I demanded.

He held up a large steaming basin and set it on the bathroom floor. "Because I got this, and I intend to use it.”

Without shutting the door, he slipped his pants down his slender hips, revealing the brown curls and glorious length of his cock. My heart quickened as his muscular thighs and sculpted calves stepped free of the material. The side of his taut ass was visible as he nudged the basin across the floor.

Fuck me. He looked like some kind of god.

Without a word he took a washcloth and dipped it in the hot water, rubbing it with a fresh bar of soap. His eyes met mine, a hungry desire shining from them.

I backed into the cold tile wall, and my breath caught in my throat.

"Trying to run away, love?" he asked and moved towards me.

"No, but I prefer to bathe by myself!" I said and squared my shoulders although my skin flushed.
In the light he could see every bulge, ripple and dimple I tried to hide. Wonderful.

Jack leaned into me, trapping me between his powerful arms. Taking the washcloth, he gently rubbed it across my dirt-smeared cheek. "Well, I'm going to bathe you this time, Mattie."

"But –"

His lips cut me off, their searing heat silencing me. Moaning into the kiss, butterflies fluttered in my stomach as my pussy wept for his touch.

No. I needed to resist this
. Fisting my hands at my sides, I leaned into the chilly tile for support instead of grabbing onto him.

Pulling back, he smiled. "It’s not up for discussion, love."

He dipped the cloth again and brought it to my face, scrubbing it over my shoulders, arms and chest. The warm water soothed my aching muscles as his gentle caresses enticed my body with need. I squeezed my eyes shut – looking at him wouldn’t help matters – it would only make me want him more.

Calloused fingers danced across my breasts, the heat of the cloth almost unbearable against my feverish flesh. Taking a deep breath, I tried to bury the moan begging to escape my throat. Each stroke existed somewhere between gentle and rough – the slight scratch of the cloth, his scolding fingers and shivers of passion that danced across my skin at his every touch.

Tentatively, I opened my eyes. Jack knelt on the tile before me, the washcloth gripped loosely in his hands as he scrubbed my stomach with delicate grace. I didn’t want to see the look of disgust in his eyes, but I couldn’t turn away from his bent head – the way his newly dark hair tickled the edge of his golden neck.

After a dip into the hot basin, he slipped the cloth over my skin until my body was rich with soap suds, glistening and clean.

“Turn around, love,” he breathed, and I obeyed.

Work rough hands smoothed over my back. His calloused fingers pressing into my tense muscles with perfect accuracy. I rested my palms and forehead against the cool tile wall, willing myself to relax and drink in the moment.

Jack’s bathing you, Tilda. This is a once in a lifetime experience!

But my fears and self-esteem, or lack there of, wouldn’t let me.

And he’s looking at you – judging you -- just like Steven did.

Then he took my shoulders and turned me around, placing the washcloth in my hand. “I’ll let you finish up,” he said with a delectable smirk.

My cheeks were so flushed he probably didn’t notice my blush. “Are you going to watch?”

“Do you want me to, Mattie?”

“You – you drive me crazy, Jack! Can’t you take the slightest hint?” I grumbled and threw the cloth at his face. It landed with a satisfying splat, the soapy material slipping over his skin.

Gapping, I put my hand to my mouth.
Why didn’t he catch the damn thing?

For a moment it was so quiet the sound of buzzing fluorescent lights and the creak of insects in the jungle filled the air. Jack broke the silence with a rich rumble of laughter. His chest shook with it, and he pulled the cloth from his face and rubbed if over his own body.

“If you insist. I guess I’ll have to stay.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!”

“Well, maybe I pick up hints you don’t realize you’re dropping,” he said.

What should I say to
that
? Picking up the soap, I finished bathing and turned on the shower. At least the cold water cleared my desire filled mind, chilled my lust hot body – if just for a moment.

“What hints?” I finally asked and grabbed my towel.

Jack caught my hand before I wrapped it around my dripping body. “This,” he groaned, and ran a finger over the slick heat of my sex.

I bit my bottom lip, but the gasp escaped my mouth regardless. How’d he do that to me with one caress?

“You give into me every time, Mattie. Your body comes alive with the slightest touch no matter what you say. Even your lips love me – why does the rest of you resist?”

“It’s not a good idea, Jack. You’re a – you know – and I’m still getting over Steven so --” Whatever I was going to say died in my throat.

Jack’s sharp blue eyes bored into me. His soap slick flesh, mere inches from mine, radiated passion so scorching it burned.

How could I stand up to him when he looked at me like that?

“This has nothing to do with my job or your ex-fiancé and you know it, Mattie. No matter what I do, you pull away from me. Always. Why?”

“Shouldn’t you rinse off?” I whispered.

Something flashed across his face in that moment. Hurt? Annoyance? I couldn’t tell.

His eyes narrowed and he pushed me against the wall, knocking the breath from my lungs. “Don’t change the subject. Tell me why you push me away. Tell me you don’t want me.”

Sizzling lips brushed mine, his thick forefinger dancing across my clit with velvet smooth motions. The walls of my pussy ached for his entrance, my breasts heaving into his solid chest. The fat head of his engorged cock pressed into my lower stomach, and I balled my hands into fists to keep from touching it.

I gasped into his mouth. His name rose unbidden to my lips. “Jack. I – I --”

I can’t say it!
I thought and squeezed my eyes shut.

Suddenly, his finger slid off my sex and his lips kissed mine with the tenderness butterfly wings, and he stepped back.

“Dry off and get in bed, love.”

Staring at him, I fought for something to say – something to make the moment right, but nothing came. Tears threatened the corners of my eyes as I bundled up my towel and hurried out of the room.

First Steven now this. No wonder you can’t keep a man, Tilda!

Not only that, but I didn’t have a damn thing to wear to bed. After drying off, I draped the towel over the chair and climbed under the covers. The hot night air hung about the room, similar to my mood, but I wasn’t about to push back the thin cotton sheet. It was all I had to protect me from Jack’s judgment.

Why did
I
push
him
away? Jerk! Why did
he
insist on fucking around with my heart? He was smart, athletic, a goddamn spy! Why would Jack want me – Fattie Mattie?

He wouldn’t. Whatever game he played was probably an effort to make me feel better. Make me believe other men would desire me after Steven left so suddenly. Maybe that was true, but Jack wasn’t one of them.

I’d almost drifted off to sleep when he came out of the bathroom, turned out the dim light and climbed into the bed next to me. His fingers brushed the hair from my cheek, and I squeezed my eyes shut in an effort to avoid another confrontation.

“I’m sorry I pushed you, love,” he said and buried his lips in my neck. The rough edge of his cheek scratched my jaw and shoulder as he pulled my naked body flush with his.

“Jack what are you doing?” I moaned and tried to suck in my stomach as best I could.

That’s not going to work, Tilda!
I told myself, but I couldn’t help the urge.

“I’m holding you,” he whispered as his hands brushed over my full breasts.

I opened my mouth to argue, but a gasp escaped my lips instead. He was playing offense on my body. His fingers pinched delicately at my hardened nipples as the thick length of his bulge dug into my backside.

“You don’t have to,” I breathed as he suckled on my neck. Every swirl of his tongue awoke my senses, filled my veins with heady desire.

“Shut the hell up, Mattie. I
want
to. Why can’t you accept that?” he growled and grabbed my sex with a gruff hand.

His forceful touch spread my thighs, an eager finger dipping between my lips and fondling the velvet folds of my clit with a determination I’d never experienced. Then the blunt head of his cock slipped into me from behind, sliding between my legs and nudging at my pussy.

“Jack,” I groaned and gripped onto the sheets, balling the material in my fists.

He entered me with a swift thrust – his heat throbbing inside my tight walls. The scratchy warmth of his balls pressed into my ass as I pooled in his arms, helpless against the passion that consumed me when we touched.

“Ah, I love how you feel, Mattie. I love every inch of you.”

Why couldn’t I believe him?

A strong hand turned my head, and his mouth nipped at mine. Our lips smoldering together as he shoved his length, balls deep, into me. His other hand circled my swollen clit, again and again, as I writhed in his powerful grasp.

My chest heaved with each breath. A gasp escaped my throat at every urgent entrance. The tumescent shaft slammed into me – arousal rising across my flesh like static electricity. It surged through the air, gathered on our skin and radiated around the room in a chorus of moans.

His tongue probed my mouth, and mine flicked out to meet it. My hips swiveled in time with his. His ironclad cock thundered into my sex; filling me to the brim with everything I ever wanted.
Almost
everything.

He doesn’t love you, Tilda. He never could.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the negative thoughts and leaned back into the thick muscles of his chest. Jack’s heart pounded against my back, mirroring the hammering of my own. His free hand groped my body, caressing my needy breasts and settling on my waist.

Faster and faster his finger stroked my mound, urging me closer to the luscious destination. Lips trailed over my shoulders, scorching my skin, and I bit my tongue to keep from saying his name.

God I wanted to say his name!

Then he gripped me tighter as we rode the wave into our mutual pleasure. The orgasm slammed into us at almost the exact same moment. Jack’s seed, slick and warm, burst inside my gripping pussy. I twitched and groaned, my walls grasping at the turgid length as it spilt its load.

The electric surge of lust sparked and sizzled – every nerve in my body exploded with dangerous passion.

He buried his rough cheek into my neck, the heavy panting of his breath sizzling across my sweat slick skin. “Oh, Mattie. You’re wonderful, love. So wonderful.”

Trembling with satisfaction, I fought to catch my breath and process what happened for the second time in just a few days. Jack consumed me with his lusty advances again. And I gave in – again.

Dammit! My heart wasn’t prepared for this. For him.

The air settled around us, thick and reeking of sex. Droplets of sweat clung to our flesh. We’d need another shower in the morning, but I had bigger things to worry about at the moment.
Australian
things.

Slowly, he pulled his cock free. His heat dripped out over my thighs, dripping on the sheets, and he wrapped his arms around my waist anyway. Peppered my shoulders with kisses before he pressed his lips into the back of my damp head.

“Tell me you want me, love. Can you do that?” he asked, his voice gruff.

Bang. Bang. Bang. The pounding of my heart shook me to the core.

“Why?” I asked in a tiny voice.

“Because I want to hear it. Look at what we’ve been through, Mattie? Yet you react exactly like you did the first time on the plane. You melt in my arms. Your body sings every time I touch it. I can
feel
your need – your desire. I know you feel it too.”

Chewing my bottom lip, I shook my head. I couldn't tell him how I felt without revealing everything. How I lusted after him for years! My stupid, schoolgirls crush on a man way out of my league. Whatever this was to him – it wasn’t the same for me. His pride might be on the line, but whatever was left of my heart would crumble when he broke it off.

And I
knew
he would. Steven had.

Fingers dug into my flesh. “Is this about your ex, Mattie? Do you still love him?”

Did I still love Steven? When I thought of him, it hurt because of how stupid I’d been. How naïve and trusting. How much work I put into our wedding just to have him leave me for another woman. But the heartbreak damaged my ego more than anything else.

It strained my self-confidence.
If Steven didn’t want me, who would?

But I didn’t explain that to Jack. He wasn’t Fattie Mattie. He couldn’t understand.

“It’s about him, right?”

Pressing my lips together, I held in any words I wanted to say. It was better this way. He’d think it was about Steven and leave me alone. That way things would go back to the way they were before. He wouldn’t be saddled with me.

Suddenly, Jack loosened his hold. His fingers trailed off my skin and he turned his back to mine.

“Good night,” he grumbled.

This is for the best, Tilda
. I told myself, but the tears slipped onto the pillow and I could do nothing to stop them.

7

Jack found a boat traveling to Chiang Mai the next morning. He hardly looked at me as he took my hand and helped me on board. At least it was a large motorboat and not a little wooden rowboat like we used before.

Clinging to my bag, I sat inside the tiny cabin and pulled my legs to my chest. It would all be over soon, barring any interference from the men chasing us. I'd get to the consulate and take a plane back to America. Back to New York and my safe, boring life. Alone.