Walk on the Wild Side (12 page)

‘In what way?' She tried to keep her breathing regular.

‘Oh, you know, a bit crazy.'

‘You have to be crazy to do what you do.'

‘Yeah, the snowboarding table is always at the back of the room.'

‘So if you make too much noise it's not so far to throw you out?'

‘Not me.' He laughed. ‘Them.'

She bit her lip—she wasn't a party queen. And she couldn't even have a drink to help her relax. This was just madness.

The place was full already, of course. Pre-dinner drinks were almost over, which was perfect timing because they could just slip into the crowd rather than make any kind of grand entrance.

‘That's them over there.' Jack waved to a guy across the room and took her hand to draw her with him. There were a bunch of them, all in suits but some with personalising features—big hair and beanies seemed to be the order of the day.

Jack got waylaid three quarters of the way across the room by some other big, tall, fit person but she glanced over and saw the snowboarders were watching them, and now walking nearer to meet up with them. She half turned to Jack to listen to him greeting the guy who she now recognised as a rugby star. But the low conversation easily came to her ears as the beanie brigade neared.

‘Check out the woman Jack's with.'

‘Sick.'

‘Yeah.'

Kelsi stiffened. They thought she was sick? OK, so she had pale skin, so what? That didn't mean she was at death's door or anything. She shouldn't have left her arms bare. She shouldn't even be here.

‘You OK?' Jack asked quietly, turning to her after a big laugh with the rugby dude.

‘Sure.' She made herself smile.

‘Come and meet the guys.'

Reluctantly, she stepped up as he introduced her. Tahu, Drew and Max—who all stood smiling and silent and staring at Jack as if he was better than Father Christmas.

‘Max is the current boardercross champ,' Jack said with his wicked grin.

‘Boardercross?' Kelsi asked

‘You get four guys going straight down an obstacle course as fast as possible. First to the bottom wins. Take no prisoners,' Jack explained. ‘Tahu and Drew specialise in superpipe.' He looked over at Drew. ‘How was Silverton?'

‘Sick.' Drew answered Jack direct with an almost shy smile. ‘Tori pulled another McTwist and then nailed her first 720.'

‘Wow.' Jack's brows lifted. ‘She's been after that for ages. Is she here?'

‘Should be soon.'

Kelsi tugged on Jack's sleeve. ‘You're going to have to translate again for me.'

‘McTwist, 720, 1080, all tricks—jumps and turns you make on the half pipe.' Jack twirled his finger in the air.

‘And they're “sick”?' Kelsi really needed that one clarified.

‘Awesome, fantastic, rad.' Thesaurus Jack offered some synonyms.

So ‘sick' was a compliment in snowboard speak?

Kelsi flushed, felt her smile go natural.

Jack put his hand on her back. ‘The slang is a little OTT.'

‘You don't snowboard?' Drew asked, amazed.

Kelsi shook her head, unable to speak because Jack's hand had slid a little higher up her back and now his thumb was stroking over that small spot of bared skin.

‘You have to go,' Tahu said. ‘Do it once and you're hooked.'

Rather like riding Jack himself. Oh, she so had to get a grip on herself.

‘Jack'll show you,' Tahu added.

‘Yeah,' Drew agreed, utterly serious. ‘He's the master of big air.'

Jack led her away with a slightly pained expression. ‘He meant
hot
air,' Kelsi teased, wriggling away from Jack's marauding thumb.

His arm went right around her waist and he pulled her close. ‘Very funny,' he muttered in her ear.

He took her to talk to the fans there to meet him. But as they all came together again to sit down for dinner it struck her that the other snowboarders were just as much fans of Jack's as the people who'd paid to be there. They all watched him, they all hung on his every word. Beside her he rested his elbow on the back of her chair, leaning close as he listened and answered the zillion questions that came from both fans and fellow athletes. Quietly humble and polite in the face of all the adoration.

His attention to her was all politeness, too—he was just being nice, friendly, ensuring she was having a good time. Which she was. He was the perfect PR charmer—who she was so hopelessly attracted to.

Just as the formal part of the evening came to an end, a woman appeared—welcomed with cries from Tahu and Max about how typical it was for her to be so late. She was medium height with long blonde hair, blue eyes and smooth, clear, freckle-free skin. Kelsi gazed at her in awe.

‘This is Tori—New Zealand's future slopestyle queen.' Jack introduced the girl who was smiling so brightly at him.

This girl wouldn't just be the queen of snow, she'd be the queen of the world. Just as Jack was the king. It wasn't midnight but the dream was over already—Kelsi was the pumpkin in the presence of the real princess. Tori was everything Kelsi wasn't. And not just in looks—she was sociable, talented and successful in a field others were actually interested in. She had it all.

Kelsi looked around the room and saw all the other fit, fit bodies—male and female. Good genes and talent and determination oozed from all these absolute champions. And the fun she'd felt only moments before tumbled away.

She was so out of place.

 

‘Dance with me.' Jack couldn't wait a second longer to get Kelsi in his arms. To wangle it so he could feel some more of her soft, smooth skin again.

She obliged, but she wasn't focused on him. She was too busy star-spotting and determinedly
not
looking at him.

‘There are a lot of really gorgeous women snowboarders, aren't there?' she commented. ‘Like Tori. They're all so beautiful and nice and amazingly talented.'

‘You're more beautiful,' he said simply.

He watched the colour flow in her cheeks and her lips tighten. She didn't believe him. She was really that insecure? He'd seen the way she'd fidgeted with her dress when she'd seen the short-skirt numbers of the netballers. He thought her outfit was far more flattering in the less-skin-is-more kind of way. Although right now he wanted more skin for sure. But she wasn't comfortable in it, was she—just being in her own skin?

Suddenly he saw what the problem was. The completely obvious obstacle that had made her try to put up all the stop signs the minute he'd walked back into her life.

She didn't think she was hot.

He swore under his breath and had to consciously relax his hold on her. Didn't she realise he was the envy of every guy here tonight? That they all wanted to tuck her into their pocket and carry her off somewhere private to do wicked things with her?

He watched her eyes flicker again as another six-foot netball Amazon strutted past. Everything crystallised.

She'd accused him of wanting ‘anything that moved' because she didn't think she was pretty enough to attract him. She thought that he'd only hit on her that day because she was there—the nearest body to scratch the itch he had at the time.

Good grief.

Insulting to him, yes. But even more insulting to herself.

Fury rose—who hadn't told her how beautiful she was? How incredibly sexy? More than that, how attractive she was
underneath
the skin—how interesting, fun, sweet, talented,
strong
. Yeah, she was unbelievably strong and determined and bright and articulate… He could go on and on and on because she really did bewitch him. And he couldn't believe she didn't believe it.

She was an amazing woman, who should never have lost her confidence in herself like this. He hated whoever it was who hurt her so badly. He wanted to know who and why and how. He wanted to slam out the insecurity.

Desperate desire hurtled through his body, testosterone
snapping every muscle to tight tension. And with it came the single-minded determination he was famous for.

He'd prove it to her. He'd prove her gorgeousness. Tonight. Over and over and over again.

‘W
E SHOULD
go home, Kelsi.' Jack coughed to clear the rasp from his voice.

‘It's still early.' She turned, surprise flashing in her eyes.

He could gaze into those eyes for hours. Why did she cover them up all the time? He was going to find out. He wanted to know everything.

‘My knee's feeling it a bit.' Well, not his knee exactly.

‘Oh, you should have said sooner.'

The taxi didn't drive fast enough for him. He secured the alarm as quick as he could, then followed her up the stairs. Waited while she unlocked the door to her little flat, standing close enough to see her pulse breakdancing—which didn't help his ‘knee'.

But she wouldn't look at him. ‘Um, did you want something?'

‘Yeah.' He pushed her door open and walked inside. He slid off his jacket and pulled his tie free. The top button of his shirt was already undone. ‘I'd really like to kiss you.'

She was standing by the wall, still near the door. Now she pressed her lips together, her eyes avoiding his.

‘I haven't slept with anyone since you,' he said bluntly. ‘I don't want to sleep with anyone but you.' He really wasn't
that pleased about it but it was the absolute truth. ‘I want you and only you, OK? And not because you're the nearest breathing woman. I want you because I think you're beautiful.'

She said nothing.

‘You don't believe me, do you?'

She still didn't answer. Her hands curled into fists, her whole body locking into a hopeless, defensive pose.

Jack breathed in hard and pleaded with his body to slow down. Jumping on her this very second probably wasn't the best idea—even though it was the one both his brain and body really wanted to fixate on. But Kelsi needed more than that—she needed some serious convincing. That meant words as well as actions. And those actions had to be gentle—remember? He rubbed his hands over his face and summoned some control. And some courage.

‘You want to know what I see when I look at you?' Did she want to know what he thought?

She flashed a look at him. Lightning quick before she went back to studying the floor. But she was listening. She was utterly immobile as she listened.

He swallowed. Hoped his voice was going to hold out for him. ‘First up, overall impression is this really feminine woman. I see your collarbones—delicate fine bones covered by this smooth skin that slopes to those breasts that jut out just the right amount. Then there's this narrow ribcage that goes to that even narrower waist, and then you have those curving hips.' He paused to take another deep breath. Talking this way was just killing his body—winding him tighter than he'd ever been. But he had to make her understand first, then he could
do
. ‘You're petite and perfectly formed. You have these tiny ankles that I can fit my hand around. I remember doing that in the water when I pulled your leg higher round my waist. Your skin is so smooth, so
soft…' He badly wanted to touch that softness now. ‘And then there's your face. The first thing I saw that day and I thought it was the most stunning face I'd ever seen. These
angles
.' He tried to make her understand. ‘You've got these cheekbones, and your wide eyes were filled with tears, and you have the perfect tilt to your nose.' He sighed. ‘Then there's your mouth. Big, soft lips that first trembled and then kissed me so sweet. And your crazy curls that defy any attempts at control. I like that about your hair. It's a lot like you as a whole…' He smiled at her, beginning to really enjoy the confession—the acceleration of his heart and the pumping of his blood. ‘…and you as a whole just makes me think sex. I see your smile, I see the way you lift your chin and I want in.' He began to lose the battle of control over his body, his voice going totally rough. ‘And I'm so tired of this Eiffel Tower erection I've been sporting for months.'

‘You really haven't…?' She finally spoke. But she couldn't finish her sentence.

‘I really haven't,' he said flatly. ‘Feels like a hell of a long time.' He walked to where she leant against the wall, her hands twisted together in front of her waist. And he saw the colour suffusing her face. The way she was shyly watching him—almost believing him. He'd damn well make sure she believed him by the end of this night.

‘And I see your smile, Kelsi.' His voice did crack then. ‘I see the twinkle in your eyes even though you do your best to hide it. I hear your laugh, your teasing words, the fun that bubbles out when I least expect it. The passion and playfulness like you had that day on the beach—I ache for it. Wait for it. Want it.' Oh, how he wanted it.

‘So now you know what I see,' he said softly. ‘You want to know what I want to
do?
'

Kelsi swallowed. Couldn't move as Jack rested his hand
on the wall beside her head and leaned closer to whisper even more softly.

‘Shall I tell you what I'm
going
to do?'

Pleasure rippled, contracting every muscle in her body. She closed her eyes. It was words, just words. And she'd seen tonight just how charming Jack could be. How social. How smooth.

‘I play it in my mind all the time. What I'll do first when I finally touch you again.'

Oh. Her eyes prickled and she screwed them tighter shut. She was not going to cry—even though she really felt like it.

‘I think a kiss—mouth-on-mouth. I ache to lick along your lips, to feel the softness on the inside. But I don't want it to get out of control too soon so I'll pull back. There's too much else to worship.'

Worship? He wanted to worship her? Her breathing slipped. He was right in front of her now. She could feel his heat. She opened her eyes but couldn't look right up at his face. His other hand was on the wall, too—so she was almost within his hold. His body centimetres from hers—and the tension was radiating from him as powerfully as heat radiated from the sun.

‘I want to tangle my fingers in your curls and pull your head back so I can kiss down your neck to your collarbones.'

Instinctively her neck arched just a fraction. She could feel it, she could almost feel the touch—she badly wanted to.

‘I'll undress you. Slide the straps from your shoulders. Can't wait to watch the material fall to the ground so I can see you again.'

Her lips parted as she struggled to keep breathing regularly, desperate for oxygen.

‘And you know what, Kelsi? I like freckles. I want to join all the dots with my tongue.'

Goose bumps burst as she shivered—would he warm those, too? Her nipples pressed harder against her dress. She wished it were off. She wished she could blink their clothes away and she could be in his arms and believing it all.

‘I'll skim my fingers over your skin—lightly, so I can feel the silkiness. But part of me wants to grab at the same time. Clutch you closer to grind hard and quick. Somehow I have to keep it slow.'

His voice was low, rough,
honest
. Obliterating every last little brick of her defence. She closed her eyes again—to listen all the better, to feel it.

‘So I'll kiss you all over, too. Suck on the sweet bits you like to keep hidden.'

Those bits tensed, merely the thought teasing them—making the rest of her yearn for the reality.

‘But I want inside so bad. Hot, tight honey.'

She was burning up now—her body clenching on just his promise.

‘Even more I want to see you, hear you, feel you convulsing under me. Around me.' Almost sounding angry now, he whispered hot and fast, the words tearing free from him. ‘I want you to scream and cry and laugh. I want to thrust so deep inside you break apart. I want it to be me who makes you like that. Me who frees you.
Me.
Only me.'

Blood pulsed. Thundering in her lips. In her sex.

His mouth was right beside her ear as he roughly demanded, ‘Do you understand now how much I want you?'

‘Jack…' She couldn't stop trembling.

‘Do you understand I'm going to do it all right now?'

Her eyes shot open as she jerked involuntarily. Looked into his huge, dark eyes, blazing with the desire he'd so devastatingly detailed.

‘Please.' Her voice broke, and she pressed her fingers hard into her palms. She needed the release so badly. She needed him so badly.

She longed to believe him. To feel him. To know for sure.

‘Jack.'

His gaze burned into her eyes for a second—an age—longer. And then he looked at her mouth. Her thirsty, desperate mouth.

She drank him in—the hint of sweat on him, seeing the way he, too, was struggling to control his every breath. His every move.

It was so slow. So deliberate. The lean that brought his face close to hers once more.

‘Kelsi…'

As he breathed her name their mouths finally met. She moaned, her body curled, muscles crunching as a mini-orgasm stunned her.

With a groan he swiftly moved to support her, his hands strong and firm in their hold.

‘Oh,' she nearly cried as she fell against him. ‘I feel really hot, Jack.'

He licked her lips as he'd promised. ‘I know you do.'

She licked, too, twirling her tongue round his. It had been too long. Was too slow now.

His hand swept through her hair, tilting her face so he could kiss every inch—down her jaw, her throat, to her collarbones. He groaned again and involuntarily pushed forward, bumping harder against her. Oh, how she wanted to feel him all the way inside her.

‘Slow,' he ground out.

‘No.' She kissed him—a long, long kiss where she offered and gave but most of all took. Took everything he offered—everything he had.

He wrenched his mouth from hers, their hot, quick breaths gusted between them in the split second before he shoved her straps down, the dress ripping as he yanked it from her body.

His hands on her breasts made her cry out, her fingers curled into useless claws as the sensations momentarily paralysed her.

He went tense, too. ‘You OK?'

‘Yes,' she panted.

He bent, moving his mouth over her. Her nipples were hard enough to cut glass and the sensations of his hot, wet tongue sent her insane. She had to get him naked. Her naked. Now.

But her fingers still failed. Trembling, panting, she half pleaded with him. Felt relief as she felt him hook her knickers. As he slid them down he knelt before her.

Kelsi had no choice but to lean back against the wall, her vision tunnelling as she looked down and watched her ultimate lover press his open, adoring mouth to her.

‘Jack.'

He glanced up and caught the look on her face.

‘Kelsi.' He reached for her waist and took her to the floor.

She curled around him, clinging, unwilling to release him even to let him take off his clothes. She loved the kisses too much. The deep, delicious hungry kisses that made her feel as if he'd been aching to hold her like this for ever. The way he moved so ardently over her. As their mouths clung, his hands moved, undoing, trying to ease fabric aside. But still it wasn't enough. He growled and pulled away so he could strip completely.

She watched, impatient, fascinated, desperate.

At last he rolled back, pulling her beneath him and bracing above her. Taking too long. Taking way too long.

His blue eyes devoured her, brilliant, intense, stunning. Honest—so honest in revealing his desire. In that timeless moment before his body claimed hers she was suspended in a bubble of other-world excitement, of disbelief as she saw he'd meant every passionate word.

‘OK?' he asked.

‘Oh, yes.'

She burst apart the moment he pushed into her. Her whole body a mass of quivering muscles that clamped on him, that released for the merest of seconds before clamping tighter again. It was like being totally submerged in a sea of heat and light and colours too brilliant to absorb. Eyes screwed shut, she cried out as she clung to him, unsure she was going to live through the intensity.

‘It's not finished yet,' he grated harshly, holding her close as she violently shook beneath him. ‘I won't let it be. Not yet.'

Kelsi breathed carefully, her shudders easing as the sensations slamming inside her ebbed. And then he thrust deep—controlled, slow, his face rigid with the strain as he worked to bring her out again. But now Kelsi was all smooth and fluid and sure. Utterly replete, she arched up to him, sinuously rocking, not letting him keep the control he seemed so bent on. Refuelled by his flinching response, she forced a faster pace, faster still until his muscles bunched even more. She laughed delightedly as his eyes flashed pure fire and his face puckered under the strain of a pleasure that was almost pain. He breathed in sharply.

‘Jack,' she said as she was submerged in the delight again.

Suddenly all the energy inside him poured out in a frantic, furious ride. He pumped so hard all she could do was wind her arms and legs around him and cling tight—swept back into the stormy oblivion that was strong enough to stop her heart altogether.

All power. All grace. All consuming. He was all there was—all she could see, hear, feel.

Her everything.