But Katherine was different. Because he wanted her more than he had wanted any woman. She challenged him, excited him, pushed and provoked him. She already knew more about him than any woman he had ever slept with. The compassion in her eyes when she had revealed what she knew about his past had horrified him. And made him want to prove he wasn’t that wild, angry kid.
No one looked at him with pity in their eyes. Not any more. He was the master of his own destiny now. And he intended to be the master of hers too.
The thought of how fixated on her he’d become should have made him extremely uneasy. But, as he watched her gaze flare with the same need and the same desperation, and felt her body soften, the fire in his gut became too intense to think about anything but getting her naked and ending this craving to finish what they’d started a month ago.
‘Upstairs,’ she said. ‘First door on the right.’
He swore with relief, then grasped her hand in his and dragged her up the narrow staircase. He had to duck his head under an exposed beam to enter the low-ceilinged room. A flash of lightning illuminated a cosy, unashamedly feminine space. A brass-framed bed had been crammed into the small area and was covered with a home-made quilt and scattered with colourful cushions, the headboard draped with fairy lights. He flicked the light switch but nothing happened.
‘The generator’s out,’ she said over the roar of thunder.
He marched to the window and drew the curtain, gilding the room in a watery light, but it was enough to see her more clearly, and that was all he cared about.
Untying the robe she’d given him, he dropped it on the floor, his skin burning from the sensory overload.
Her gaze darkened as it roamed over him, her breath shuddering out as it snagged on the tattoo he’d had done several lifetimes ago. He’d debated having it removed. The faded artwork had meant something to him once but seemed crude now, and vulgar on the man he had strived to become. But her avid gaze gave him pause.
How could he feel both exposed yet flattered by the desire darkening her eyes? He didn’t need her acceptance or her approval.
Returning to her, he lifted the heavy fall of hair off her nape and cradled her head to tug her mouth back to his. Her hands flattened against his abs as he kissed and caressed the stubborn line of her jaw. ‘You’re wearing way too many clothes. Yet again,’ he murmured.
Katie gave a throaty chuckle. ‘I know,’ she managed.
‘Then let’s remedy the situation.’ Jack grasped the hem of her T-shirt and yanked it over her head.
It was his turn to feel light-headed as he took in the sight of her magnificent breasts cupped in red lace. Dark nipples poked at the sheer fabric, swollen and erect.
He rubbed his thumb across one rigid tip, gratified when she gasped and the nipple drew into a tight peak. He slid the bra straps off her shoulders, then unhooked the lacy contraption to release the abundant weight into his palms.
He lifted them to capture the engorged nipple with his lips. Tracing the puckered areola with his tongue, he choked down a rough chuckle when her fingernails dug into his shoulders. She clung to him as he worked one stiff peak then the other, kissing, nipping, tugging, her body bowing back like a high-tension wire. She panted, her uninhibited response even more exquisite than the feel of her flesh swelling and elongating against his tongue.
Keeping his mouth on her breasts, he released the buttons on her jeans with clumsy fingers and edged the denim off her hips enough to press the heel of his palm into the heat of her panties.
He groaned as his fingers slid under the gusset and found her clitoris, the slick nub already drenched with desire. He felt her contract around his invading fingers as his thumb caressed the bundle of nerves with ruthless efficiency. His own pain and need dimmed in the drive to make her shatter. Just for him.
She clamped down hard on his probing fingers, crying out as the wave hit with stunning force. He held her there, ruthlessly stroking until she slumped against him, limp and exhausted.
The scent of her arousal permeated the room, making his erection buck against his shorts.
I want to be inside her.
The fierce urgency joined the visceral ache. He stripped off the rest of her clothing in record time, then scooped her into his arms and laid her on the bed.
She stared at him, her gaze unfocussed, her breathing ragged, her red hair dark against the light quilt and her skin flushed with afterglow.
She was a banquet he wanted to feast upon for hours. But as he kicked off his boxers, and the painful erection sprang free, he knew the feasting would have to wait, because right now he had to feed the hunger clawing at what was left of his self-control like a ravening wolf.
He slid his arms under her knees to lift her legs high and wide and position the aching erection at her entrance.
‘Hold on to me,’ he grunted. Katie’s hands clasped his shoulders as he thrust deep in one powerful surge.
Her sex massaged his length. So tight. And for one brutal moment he thought he would lose it. But, using every last ounce of his control, he held on enough to establish a rhythm that would drive them both towards oblivion. Together this time.
She opened for him, her body accepting all of his. His grunts matched her soft pants as she met his thrusts. The tide rose, barrelling towards him, and the pleasure and pain combined into a furious storm no less powerful or elemental than the one still raging outside.
Her body clamped down at last, triggering his own vicious orgasm. Shattering in its intensity, the climax gripped him as he soared into the abyss. But, as he crashed to earth, two thoughts slammed into him at once as he collapsed on top of her.
I didn’t use a condom.
I want her again already.