Nuclear Heat (Firework Girls #4) (15 page)

“Thanks,” I say, but I don’t look at him. “You, too.”

He kind of chuckles. I want to ask him what’s so fucking funny, but I have a feeling I know so I don’t say anything.

I take a deep breath. Okay, I need to try to get it together. Like Ashley said, he’s still my best friend. The fact that my hand is actually
tingling
from holding his, well... that’s okay, I guess. It’s probably good, or something.

Right?

I take another deep breath.

After about four more steps of walking hand in hand, Jack lifts our hands slightly so he can hip-bump me.

“Hey!” I say, grinning at him. Still holding his hand, I bump him back. “Brat.”

He lets go of my hand long enough to zing my side. Still grinning, I swat at his hand with both of mine. “Cut it out.”

He laughs and takes my hand again. This time, it’s nice. He squeezes me and I squeeze him back. “We’re going around this way,” he says, pointing.

He leads us past the main entrance—I glance through the open doors to see there is, in fact, a little store in there—and around to the side of the building. The restaurant’s patio comes into view. There’s a couple dozen wrought-iron tables on a herringbone, brick patio, which is shaded by a wooden lattice thick with flowering vines. The whole area has a sweeping view of the olive grove. There are diners dressed kind of nice, like we are, but also some in jeans and capris, so the atmosphere is charming while being casual.

“Smells good,” I say, eyeing someone’s table as we go by. The table’s occupants are sharing their appetizers: a caprese salad with a beautiful drizzle of olive oil, and some crostini with olive tapenade. Chloe would love this.

“Want to eat here?” he asks.

“Did you have something else planned?”

“No, I thought this would be fun. The food’s supposed to be really good.”

“Okay,” I say, thinking it’s a great idea. There’s not even any candles on the tables. I’m warming up to this date more and more all the time.

In fact, things get easier as we go along. After walking right through the employee entrance to find the owner, I’m spared wondering if Jack’s going to introduce me as his friend or girlfriend, when Sean extends his hand to me and gives me a friendly, “You must be Sam.” He’s a surprisingly young guy, around our age, and pretty fun to talk with. We’re given a tour of the facility, including areas they don’t typically open for their public tours. We get to see the big vats while Sean explains how they make all their different oils. I almost forget we’re even on a date. By the time we’ve thanked Sean and are on our own in the store sampling every flavor of olive oil they have—my favorite is the roasted garlic—we’re joking and goofing around.

Surprisingly, the store has way more than just their oils for sale. In addition to getting a few bottles of different kinds of oil, we end up getting a jar of stuffed olives, a loaf of fresh sourdough bread, and some macadamia nut turtles they make on site. We haul it all out to Jack’s truck so we don’t have to fool with it at the restaurant.

“I’m worried that chocolate will melt though,” Jack says, as we load in our bags.

“You’re full of crap,” I say, because I know what he really wants. I open the package and hold it out so he can take one of the turtles.

He grins and takes one and so do I. We bite in at the same time, and at the same time we close our eyes and make yummy noises.

“Oh my god,” I say. This thing is heaven. Why did we only get four?

Jack nods, but he’s too busy eating to talk.

We finish our first ones and go for the remaining two. “We need to get more of these before we leave,” I say.

“Hm-hmm,” Jack agrees, licking his fingers.

Yes, watching him lick those fingers makes my heart skip a beat. So does the look he’s starting to give me. Oh, yeah, I definitely remember we’re on a date now. Before I know what’s happened, he’s cupped my face in his hands and is planting a firm kiss on my lips. He smells of Jack and chocolate. Yet again, I’m hanging onto his sides to keep from falling over.

He pulls away with a sultry grin, but I want more. I tug him back to me so we can do it again. This time, we sink into it. Our mouths open to each other and I get the faint taste of chocolate. He wraps one arm around my waist, and I bring a hand to his firm jaw, then up to the back of his neck. As I run my fingers into his soft hair, he squeezes me tighter.
Holy hell.

He brings it to an end just in time, because apparently there’s just so much Jack I can handle without getting overwhelmed. We walk back towards the building, fingers laced together, and my legs just the tiniest bit unsteady. But I’m trying to hang on.

I peek up at Jack. Larger than life Jack. He winks at me and says, “Best. Chocolate. Ever.”

Jack holds back on any public displays of affection during dinner, and I’m grateful. This is all still too new and nerve-wracking for me to want to be in everyone’s face about it. We enjoy an amazing dinner, pick up a fresh stash of turtles, and head to his truck not having done more than hold hands.

He lets me in on the passenger side and when he shuts the door, something inside me lets out a big breath. My eyes are locked on Jack though. My heart is picking up its pace as I watch that man walk around to the driver’s side. Right before he opens the door, I impulsively scoot to the middle. He gets in and grins at me, looking pleasantly surprised. He puts his arm around me. “Well, hey there, Shorty.”

But I don’t say anything back. All of a sudden, I’m a girl on a mission. I put my hand on his face and give him an eager kiss.

I need him. I need him right now.

And I kiss him like it. In a matter of seconds, he’s kissing me the same way. His other hand comes to my face and his arm pulls me in closer. Our tongues dive in and circle each other, tasting and going deep and needing more and more. Hanging on to him and not breaking our kiss, I come up on my knees and lean over him. Our holds on each other tighten. We come up for air, panting, and he kisses and sucks on my jaw, my neck, my collarbone. I need to wrap my legs around him. I need to feel him coming inside me.

I suddenly regret starting this here, in the parking lot, when this is as far as we can go. We pull back slightly, locking eyes. He looks ready to devour me.
Not if I devour you first, buddy.

“Let’s go to your place,” I whisper hotly. It’s closer than mine, but also, for some reason I like the idea of being in Jack’s bed.

Still giving me that hungry look, he puts the keys in the ignition and starts up the engine. I fall down onto the seat and buckle up, my eyes on him too.

The drive back feels even longer than the drive in, but not for the same reason. I wedge right up next to him, my shoes kicked off and my bare feet tucked up on the seat to my side. My hand is running along his firm chest, his arms, his thighs, his stiff bulge. My chin is resting on his shoulder and I’m looking up at his profile, occasionally kissing his shoulder, neck, cheek, but mostly keeping my eyes on him. Jack is a wonder to me, and I can’t stop taking him in.

He has one hand on the wheel and one arm around me. He’s rubbing my back, sides, hips, arms. My skin tingles when he brings his fingertips to the back of my neck and caresses the base of my hair. I tingle even more when he slides his hand under my arm to come around and squeeze my breast. Eventually, he advances down to my ass and is soon reaching from behind so he can stroke my throbbing mound. I can’t for the life of me remember why I’m wearing pants instead of a skirt.

Once we’re back in town, we get caught at a few red lights. Jack takes those opportunities to remove his hand from the wheel and come at me properly. The only thing keeping me from climbing right into his lap is the damned seatbelt. Each time, it takes someone honking behind us to realize the light’s turned green.

When we pull up to his condo, we have our seatbelts undone before the truck even comes to a stop. As he climbs out, he grabs my hand and I grab my shoes. He leads me up the walk barefooted. He’s so eager he’s half a stride in front of me, but he’s got a firm grip on my hand and I’m hustling along too. I’m not going anywhere. He stops to unlock the door and I bump up against him, hanging onto his hand and watching impatiently as he fumbles with the lock. The door swings open at last and he pulls me inside the darkened room, kicking the door shut and backing me up. I drop my shoes and throw my arms around his neck. He lifts me up, hooks my legs around his waist, and presses me hard against the door. His rock hard bulge hits me right between the legs.

“God, yes,” I say, clinging to his back. He presses his hard dick against me. Then pulls back slightly and does it again. I gasp and tilt my head back against the door. Given this opening, he sucks on the tender skin at the base of my neck. I shudder everywhere, letting out a low moan. “I want you,” I say, gasping again as he pulls back and thrusts his cock against me. “Jack, please.” Enough fucking around. I need him in me for real.

He pulls back enough to set me on my feet. We take to removing our clothes, but are doing it in between groping and hungry kisses. At last my bra goes flying and my panties are the last item of clothing remaining. Leaving my panties on, Jack turns his attention to my breasts. He squeezes, licks, sucks, and pulls. I’m rubbing my hands down his bare back, angling my hips and legs toward him, asking for more. Finally, Jack starts to slide off my panties, dropping to one knee. He tosses the panties aside, but stays down and holds me firmly against the door by the hips. I watch him dive into me, and feel him tease my lips open with his tongue. I grab onto his strong forearms for support when his wet tongue slides over my clit.

I lock my knees to keep from falling and throw my head back. I’m still bowled over by everything Jack, still tumbling downstream, but this time I’m not even trying to find anything to hang onto. I’m gasping and panting and gripping the hair on the back of his head as he eats me into sweet oblivion.

There’s no holding back the sounds I want to make this time. He strums my clit hard and I cry out, not able to contain it.

“There she is,” Jack says, before swirling the wet flat of his tongue over my clit. A long, high cry escapes me as he sets my pussy and my entire body on fire. “Mmmmmm,” he rumbles, his mouth fully on me and the vibrations from his voice trembling through me.

“Damn, Jack,” I gasp. My knees are starting to give way as my body starts that delicious climb to climax. “Oh god.”

He lifts one leg so my thigh is resting on his shoulder. I let him support my weight and start to curl forward, bracing myself on his arm and shoulder.

He hardens his tongue and starts flicking rapidly over my clit. “Yes,” I gasp. “Yes, yes.” Then I’m past talking as I climb high and hard. My other knee starts to give but Jack’s giving me enough support. I’m shuddering and gasping, clutching him hard, as the hot pleasure in my cunt blooms outward. It sweeps over my chest and face, spiking higher and higher in the center where Jack’s working me. The pleasure peaks high and I cry out, my head arched back against the door. It peaks even higher, and I gasp and cry out again. Jack pushes me higher and higher until the pleasure tears through me and I’m gripped in an orgasm so powerful I can only roll my head and pant frantically.

The waves crash over me, causing my body to tremble. Now Jack knows exactly what it sounds like when I’m released and not holding back. Based on the noises he’s making, I’m thinking he likes it, which increases my pleasure that much more.

When I start to release and my body weakens, Jack comes up and catches me in his arms. We’re on the move now, Jack carrying me with my legs wrapped around him. This again. I love it when he carries me like this. Caressing him, I kiss his shoulder and neck. As we go through his condo, we enter an area I’ve rarely been in: his bedroom. I tuck my head around so I can take it all in: the heavy, dark-wood headboard. The thick, black comforter. The satin pillowcases.

It’s always been Jack’s little man cave, but everything about being here with him feels like coming into a safe shelter.

He sets me on the bed and goes quickly to his nightstand. I watch him watching me as he deftly puts on a condom. Again, I have to resist the urge to tell him not to. I want him raw.

“The things I’m going to do to you,” he says in a low, sexy voice I feel all the way to my core.

“Yes, please.”

As he climbs onto the bed to join me, Tsunami Jack makes a reappearance. His presence is almost more than I can handle. He rolls me onto my side, bends my legs, and kneels right next to my ass with his knees spread wide, entering me from behind. He’d lifted my top knee slightly so he could slide into me easier, but now that he’s in, he presses my knee back down so my legs are pinned together. The pressure of his massive shaft sliding in and out of me ignites a new fire deep inside me.