Page 14 of Promise of a New Beginning
Her eyes were at half-mast as a grin formed on her lips. “It was a good hurt,” she whispered.
He kissed her hard and fast, his mind playing tricks on him. He wanted her. He needed her. But this wasSavannah. Smart, sexy, sensual Savannah Braden, the woman who challenged everything he believed about himself. He didn’t want to screw it up. A groan came from deep in his chest. It had been so long since he’d been intimate with a woman, he may not last the first time they made love. Truth mattered to Jack, and wasn’t it better if he were honest now than disappointing her later? He didn’t care if she thought it made him less of a man as he said, “Savannah, I haven’t been with a woman for two years. I don’t even know how long I’ll last.”
She held him as he tried to pull away.
“It’s okay,” she said.
The need in her eyes rivaled his. “If I don’t, I’ll make it up to you.” He kissed her tenderly and whispered, “Promise.”
As their bodies came together. Savannah curled her fingers around his shoulders with a loud gasp.
“I’ll stop,” he said quickly.
“Please don’t,” she said with a heated stare.
The forest noises fell away, replaced with the sounds of their breaths coming fast and hard, and eventually, easing to a single sated rhythm. Jack was consumed with new sensations, feelings he hadn’t experience in forever. It was a miracle that he felt anything other than anger or guilt—and this was so vastly opposite, sobeautiful, he was overcome with emotions as his heart opened to her.
Chapter Nine
SAVANNAH WAITED FOR embarrassment to find her as she pulled her sweatshirt over her head. She shot a glance at him, leaning naked against the boulder, his eyes trained on the ground, and she wanted so much more of him. Everything about him was complex. He was a striking combination of hard masculinity and, Savannah was sure, a big, loving heart buried deep inside. A man without a heart wouldn’t look like he did after doing what they’d just done. A man without a heart would be gloating.
She leaned against the boulder beside him. “Are you okay?”
He nodded, and when he looked up at her, his expression pained.
Savannah’s heart stopped. “What’s wrong?”Oh no. You regret it.
“Nothing and everything all at the same time,” he said softly.
“I’m not sure what that means.”
“Savannah.” He reached his arm around her and pulled her close. “I haven’t been with a woman since my wife died, and before her, well, there weren’t many. But never—ever—have I been so rough, and I just want to be sure I didn’t hurt you.”
And there it was. His soft heart. “Jack, you didn’t hurt me. I’ve never felt this close to anyone before. I really don’t know why I went so wild, either, but”—she shrugged—“I couldn’t get enough of you. No matter how much you touched me, it wasn’t enough. It’s still not enough,” she admitted.
He nodded. “It scares the heck out of me.”
She didn’t know how to react to that.Me too?That would be a lie. It didn’t scare her. In fact, she wanted to do more. She moved in front of him and stood between his legs.
“You didn’t promise to marry me. We shared our bodies. We shared emotions. Why does it scare you?” She saw the answer in his eyes as he furrowed his brow and swallowed hard again.Guilt.
He shook his head, and his dark eyes glistened with tears. “It’s late, and it’s hard to explain. Let’s get towels and go wash up. We can talk some other time.”
The way he shut her down stung, and as they finished dressing, Savannah wondered if she’d made a mistake. He came to her side and looked at her with such pain in his eyes she regretted feeling so put off. Complex didn’t even start to explain Jack.
“Savannah, I’m not good at any of this,” Jack admitted. “Right now I want to reach up and touch your cheek. I want to brush your hair from your shoulder and feel you in my arms, but I’ve just touched you in every private place imaginable, and I don’t know you well enough to put my dirty hands on you again. We don’t even have a proper shower where I can help bathe my memory away from your body.”
Her heart melted at the thought that he’d even think to do that. Where did the gruff, angry man go? “So we did things a little backward. We can get to know each other now.”
She reached for his hands and he pulled them away. “I need to wash up.”
“I didn’t peg you as a neat freak,” she teased. She pressed her body against his, drawn in by his thoughtfulness. “Let’s go wash up. I have no expectations. To be honest, I’m still reeling at you talking to me instead of growling.”
“I can’t make any promises about how I’ll be ten minutes from now or tomorrow. I definitely don’t trust my own emotions right now, but I don’t regret being with you.”
“THIS IS ONE thing that my concrete city doesn’t have enough of,” Savannah said as she dipped beneath the cold water. Her teeth chattered and goose bumps covered her arms and legs.
“You’re freezing.” He wrapped his arms around her.
