She looked up and met his eyes and the message he read there… If he hadn’t been transfixed to the spot, he swore he’d have stumbled. Then she reached out, her fingertips tracing his calves ever so gently, drawing circles on the backs of his knees, over his thighs…
Then, by God… Her face, her lips, a murmur away from his aching erection. He could feel her breath, a sweet torture on his burning flesh. His legs quivered. He fisted his hands in her hair as much for support as to stop her. Because if she touched him there, now, he’d explode… And as tempting as that was, it just wouldn’t be fair.
‘Sophie…’ His hands still in her hair, he dragged her up against him until they were eye to eye. ‘Later,’ was all he said as he tumbled her back onto the quilt.
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘I NEVER want to move again.’ Sophie was tucked against Jared’s shoulder in the main bedroom now, watching the play of light from the pool’s reflection on the ceiling.
‘Not even for ice cream?’
‘Nope. I’m perfectly satisfied just as I am. You bought ice cream?’
‘Yup.’
‘Hmm.’ They’d made love outside under the Southern Cross, then inside on top of the white silk quilt cover. They’d taken a shower and he’d seduced her again under the warm fragrant spray. She was well and truly satisfied. She didn’t want to think about tomorrow, or next week. Or next month.
‘But, oh, ye of great stamina,’ she murmured, making an effort to lift one finger, slide its nail over a hard pectoral muscle and feel him shiver. ‘If you’re so inclined, I wouldn’t object to you feeding me ice cream.’
‘Not in the bedroom. You have to eat it in the kitchen—’
‘Pfft. You sound just like—’ A father. ‘A big brother. A big, bossy brother.’ Then because an image of him playing the daddy role threw her thoughts into disarray, she said, ‘Do you treat all your girlfriends like they’re kids?’
‘I was going to say you have to eat it in the kitchen naked. Blackberry ripple? Your dream fantasy? Okay,’ he continued when she pressed her lips together and didn’t respond. He rolled onto his side and studied her curiously. ‘All my girlfriends?’
Sophie felt her skin heat and wished the words unsaid. ‘Pam said you attend staff functions with a different girl every time, so I just assumed…’
Still watching her, he raised his brows as if it had never occurred to him that his trusted PA liked to gossip. ‘Pam’s got it wrong.’
Who did Sophie believe? Could she ever trust a man’s word again? ‘So you don’t attend functions with a different girl each time?’
‘Yes. No. Probably. Hell, I don’t remember. It’s not important enough.’ He blew out an impatient breath and rolled onto his back once more. ‘I’m no Casanova, Sophie, if that’s what you think. I haven’t got the time for it.’
She regretted her words. Even as a lover, she had no rights where he was concerned. Their relationship was temporary. She’d be gone soon and he’d be a memory.
‘You’ve never had someone special? Someone you might have dated more than once?’
His answer was a while coming. ‘Bianca. But she was a long time ago.’
‘Tell me about her.’
‘Why? She’s in the past.’
‘I told you about Glen. Were you in love with her?’
‘In love?’ Flicking her a glance, he said the words as if they were in a foreign language. ‘We were too different,’ he said at last.
Sophie wanted to know what had made him decide Bianca wasn’t right for him. What was Jared’s ideal woman and what kind of partner would he want on a permanent basis? ‘Why were you attracted to her? How were you different? What made you change your mind?’
He looked at her again, eyes glittering in the dimness, and she was glad of the shadows. ‘So many questions, Sophie?’
‘I’m just curious.’ She shrugged beneath his scrutiny as if it didn’t matter. As if she didn’t care. ‘I like to understand people, that’s all. No big deal.’
‘Just curious, eh?’
She heard that familiar pumped male ego in his lazy tone. He scratched his chest with his free hand and she wanted to hit him.
She watched his profile as he stuck his arm beneath his head and looked up at the ceiling. ‘We were the same in lots of ways. We both loved the outdoors and enjoyed the same activities. But when it came right down to it, she didn’t want a kid interrupting the life she’d already mapped out for the two of us. And I couldn’t live with that.’