The Pawn (Shattered Series Book 1) (13 page)

        He shrugged. “By identifying a man’s weaknesses, you can measure his strengths easily. It’s always the unsaid or unspoken that speaks the absolute truth.” As he turned towards her fully, a dangerous gleam shone in his green eyes. “Like now, I can read you. The truth is that
you
need to loosen up a bit and relax. Since you’re obviously on a break, I think that it’s the perfect time for a workout.”

        The stereo switched songs.

        A slow, hypnotic, and sensual beat played.

        And it hit the right tempo…

      
To touch or kiss a lover
---  

       
Make love-
--

       
With every perfect note, wouldn’t a skillful lover know when to thrust deep---

        She struggled to keep her mental bearings.

      “Me…box?” she asked, making a breathless sound. But, at his serious expression, she saw that he wasn’t. “You have to be kidding me.”

        “Actually, I’m not.”

        She lost her last breath as he stepped closer.

        And would even a
breath
fit between, she thought, dazed, especially since their bodies nearly touched? If it did, she failed to breathe it in.

        “What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly, focusing on a single bead of sweat on his chest. Even the crystalline drop of moisture bowed to his daring mastery.

        “Relax, my little Jane Doe. I’m just removing your little weapon of choice before we begin,” he teased, tracing along the edges of her face, and it was feather light. Still, the thrilling sensation chased her senses from head to toe. “Besides that, ebbing away your tension beforehand is a must. That’s the first rule of any workout.”

        His warm fingers brushed against her earlobe as he removed the pencil from behind it. Every sensitive pinpoint in the delicate flesh was stimulated by the innocent touch.
Or was it a lethal touch instead?
    

        Perhaps he sensed her inner struggle---

        Understood her deep need to understand and not be afraid of her own forbidden want and desire---

       
Was his mission to cripple her sensual resolve so openly, yet subtly?

       Somewhere, within her scattered thoughts, she heard the pencil clatter against the floor.

        The heat spread through her.

        Again, she fought to breathe.

        His words were husky and low. “Take your shoes off.”

        Closer than close---

       
That’s how close he was to her
.

        So much so that his masculine scent was overpowering her, making her envision the naughtiest thoughts, she mulled, flushing red, and still didn’t look at him directly.

        Her word was barely audible “What?”

        “Like I said, you need to relax,” Jarrod muttered, already going down on one knee. “And I’m the man to help you do just that.”

        Was this how all the princesses felt about their daring princes, she mulled, staring down at his bent head as he grabbed her right foot. Eager, elated, and scared all at once?

        With a careful slowness, he pulled the ½ inch heel off, and as his warm hand closed around her foot, she feared that she’d collapse.

        Dazed, she embraced the forbidden pleasure.

        The feel of his touch against her bare skin…

        It was too much to bear.

        But, too potent to turn away from, she realized, entranced.

        “Never understood a woman’s penchant for high-heels. I’m certain that walking around on them all day has to make your feet hurt,” Jarrod said, massaging her heel, and stared up at her all the while. Now, a dangerous glint shone in his green depths, one that she couldn’t even begin to identify. “But, then again, I have to admit that they actually add an appeal that can be deadly to a man’s senses. No doubt, they also lend a sexiness that can’t be explained. Depending on circumstances, it can only heighten the allure further.”

        Breathless, at a loss for words, she stared back.

        “Relax,” he whispered, sliding his hand upward, and then began massaging her calf. As he caressed the delicate skin, oh so softly, she shivered. “You’re so fucking tense that I’m afraid that you’ll break.”

       A lover’s caress…

        One so sinful and intimate that it’d shatter any resolve.

        As she inhaled a shaky breath, she shuddered.

        His eyes flickered with interest.

        “I know better than anyone how working long hours can make you uptight and tense,” he rasped, caressing the back of her leg in a slow circular motion. “Is that better?” 

        “Y-yes,” she nodded in a daze.

        “I think that I’ve found a tight spot…I’m going to hit it hard,” he murmured, and his sexy grin was deadlier than any weapon. Then, taking three fingers, he massaged the back of her calf with well-timed strokes, leaving no doubt that she was in the hands of an expert lover. “Release that tension right in my hands. How does that feel?”

        “G-good,” she stammered, blushing under his intense stare.

        The music drummed harder.

        Pulsated against the brick walls with a seemingly impending madness…

        Her flesh was on fire.

        She couldn’t see past the haze.

        If there were any such thing as fiery danger, he wielded it in his hands.

        Under his touch, her muscles turned fluid, and the forbidden sensations running through her now were too pleasurable to identify, she mulled, trembling as he grasped her other foot.

        “Your skin…it’s flushed and warm,” he murmured huskily, pausing midway a deep stroke and settled his green eyes on her again. A hint of a devilish smile played at his lips as he resumed his deep massage. “Is the air working upstairs?”

       
Oh, there was definitely a reason why she was heated---

        “W-what?” she stammered instead, grasping the front of the skirt with a shaky hand, and struggled against her rising desperate need. Still, the deep moan threatened to break free from its restraints. If he continued, she doubted that she could hold it in much longer.     

        In fact, wasn’t she about to be a wanton woman by inching the skirt even more, pleading with him to drive her pleasure even higher?

        The intrusive thought made her more breathless.

        As he stroked the delicate flesh alongside her shin, she shivered, and his eyes darkened as she did. There was no denying his reaction to her. The blatant truth played on his handsome face though he fought to mask it. “I asked if the air conditioning off.”

        “No,” she whispered, grateful that he’d looked down again. For if he hadn’t, wouldn’t he’d have noticed her desperation? “Why?”

        “You’re hot as hell…” he breathed, massaging her calf, looking at her again with the same dangerous glint in his eyes. “….I mean, your skin feels like fire. I hope that you’re not coming down with a fever.”

        Fever?

       
No…

        Hot as hell?

        Most definitely yes…

        Probably wet, too, she mulled, distracted.

        That is if the moisture between her thighs now was an indication---

        Again, she fought to think straight.
        “I hardly doubt it’s a fever. But, earlier, I did open the windows in the study for a little while,” she managed to say, biting her lip, and again forced back the ragged moan. Now, he’d reached the area behind her knees. By gads, not even she realized that it was such an erogenous zone of pleasure. “The study did become quite muggy, and it hasn’t cooled off fully.”

        To her dismay, his hands fell away as he stood, and like a helpless fool, she stood there in shambles. Still half dazed, she watched as he stooped down to retrieve the boxing gloves.

        “Guess that I should’ve warned you about this island heat. It can make one’s thoughts and actions quite delirious. Come on, time to get started,” he continued before grabbing her hand. As he tugged the gloves onto her small hands, he winked. “By the time I’m through with you, you’ll be beating my ass.”

        Unable to resist the tease, she gave a breathless smile.

        His green gaze darkened further.

        Again, he was impossible to read.

        “What are we going to work on first?” she asked, breaking the spell first. “Hopefully, it’s not what you were doing earlier.”

        “Of course not…it takes years to perfect shadowboxing. So, your first lesson is this,” he murmured, laying his hands on her shoulders, and turned her towards the punching bag. “Learning how to land a solid punch. But, first, I want you to show me what you’ve got.”

        She nodded. “Alright.”

        Giving a low grunt, she landed a punch.

        The punching bag didn’t budge under her feeble attempt.

        “Forgive me for saying this,” he teased, giving a deep chuckle. “But, you hit just like a girl. That little weak punch you gave probably wouldn’t harm a fly. Come on, I know that you got more than that.”

        Again, she couldn’t suppress her girly giggles.

        He stepped behind her.

        A shiver skated down her spine.

        Her laughter died instantly.

        He grasped her waist with both hands, pulling her against him.

        Heavens
, she breathed fast, feeling every male inch of him through the fabric of her clothing. Against her hips, she felt the rise of his bulge and she struggled against the dark need that urged her to move against it. His deep masculine scent---a combination of cologne, musk, and sweat---it obliterated every coherent thought that she had remaining.

        Still, she fought for her sanity.

        “What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly, leaning into him, too weakened against her own needs to protest.

        “Guiding you…teaching you how to drive hard,” he said at her ear, drawing her even closer, and even his words seemed a bit fractured. “I want you to follow my directions, okay?”

        At loss for words again, out of breath, she nodded.

        Again, his sexy timbre sent a shiver along her spine. “Spread your legs apart.”

        “What?” she whispered, fighting to breathe normally.

        “Not too wide,” Jarrod said thickly. “But, just enough for you to feel the tension. Decide on a focal point and drive your punches hard. Think about how deep you want your drive to go.”

        Staring blindingly at the punching bag, she did as he bade. But, her thoughts, they flowed elsewhere.

So consumed they were with the feel of him behind her…

        The hands that grasped her waist, they held her steady---

        If he touched her,
really touched her
, would the throb between her thighs pulsate even more---

        This time, her hit landed hard on the bag, and she dispelled a fast breath.

        “There, it is,” he murmured, leaning closer to her. “You’ve found the zone…the one that’ll make you go harder.”

        Her mind was weightless.

        Too caught up in the forbidden game that they were playing with each other.

        For wasn’t she gauging his response, too?

        Behind her, his hard form was rigid and his breathing ragged.

        Like her, he was barely in control.

        She gave another furious punch.

        Within minutes, she was completely out of breath.

        But, not from exertion.

        Instead, her wanton thoughts were running amok.

        “I think that’s enough,” he rasped, stepping away from her abruptly, and turned. He sauntered towards the boxing ring and stopped alongside a small table that she hadn’t noticed earlier. “We’ll have to take a rain check for now. I just remembered that there was something else that I need to take care of.”

        “O-okay,” she stammered, blushing furiously, already pulling the gloves off. “I just remembered something that I need to take care of, too.”

        “You’re welcome to come down here anytime,” he said, closing the table’s drawer, and faced her. But, his smile was small and tight. “That is, if you’re ever in the mood to work out.”

        Her smile was equally strained. “I just may…I found that I rather enjoyed boxing.”

       
Enjoyed him
, most likely, the inner voice whispered in her head. And you know it’s so!

        “Like I said…you’re welcome here anytime,” Jarrod shrugged, turning away from her again. “I’m going to straighten things up a bit here first before I head back up. Don’t wait on me. And take as long as you need to take care of what it is that you’re going to take care of. We’ll finish up on some paperwork later this evening. That’ll give you more time to relax and enjoy the day.”