Page 41 of Promise of a New Beginning
“Go fast.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
SAVANNAH HAD NEVER been so nervous in her life. She pressed her palms against the window and stared into the darkness, watching the street below. There were so many butterflies in her stomach she was afraid they’d fly out of her mouth if she tried to speak. She’d showered and changed her clothes five times, finally deciding on a pair of designer jeans and a black, sleeveless V-neck blouse.
The roar of a motorcycle engine crawled down the street below, sending a thrill right through her. She watched as the driver maneuvered the bike into a parking spot, and she scanned the street for another open space for Jack. The driver’s powerful arms clutched the handlebar, and as he turned to look behind him, Savannah caught a clear view of his broad, muscular back, and her eyes dropped to the familiar sexy vee of his waist.Jack.She gasped a breath.A motorcycle? That’s so hot.His powerful thighs clenched the bike. The same powerful legs that had held her up in the stream and rubbed against her thighs at the boulder. She watched him climb from the bike and remove the helmet, then shake his thick hair free. She turned away from the window, her body humming with anticipation.
A few minutes later, Savannah opened the door. Jack’s broad shoulders filled the doorframe. His legs were planted hip distance apart, straining against his Levi’s. In one hand, he held his black helmet, and the other arced out from his side, the veins in his biceps ripe from the ride over. On the mountain, there was nothing to give perspective to Jack’s size. Now, with his head nearly hitting the doorframe, he seemed much taller. A smile lifted the edge of his lips as he took a step forward, and his free hand engulfed the curve of her hip.
“Hi,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her.
One word from his smooth, rich voice was all it took to steal her breath and any chance she had at making small talk. The rough stubble of his cheek brushed against her face, and the combination of his soft kiss and the rough scratch sent her heart racing.
He closed the door behind him, and Savannah took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, trying to regain her composure. He smelled clean and earthy, a smell she’d come to think of as simplyJack.
“How was your ride over?” Savannah said, to stop herself from saying,Kiss me again. Please kiss me again.
“Too long.” Jack didn’t smile. He didn’t move toward her or even look for a place to set his helmet.
He locked his eyes on her, and it was Savannah who took a step forward, placed one hand on the waist of his pants, and curled her fingers around his leather belt. She placed her other hand on his shoulder and stood on her tiptoes, but still the distance between them was too great. Jack met her halfway, settling his lips over hers. His lips were tender, his breath minty. Every swipe of his tongue was sensuous, erotic. He pulled back long enough to set his helmet on an end table, then pulled her to him once again in a long, delicious kiss. Savannah’s knees weakened and, as if he’d felt the shift in her energy, Jack pressed her to him with one large hand on the center of her back, while the other found the back of her neck as he had the first time they’d kissed. Being enveloped by his strength while he loved her mouth was so sumptuous that a needy moan slipped from her lungs into his. He drew back, and Savannah gasped—not for air, but for him to return to her.
“I’m sorry. I can’t seem to stop kissing you.” He lowered his mouth to her neck, grazing her with his teeth before stroking the tender spot with his tongue, hard and continuous.
Savannah arched her neck back, and he dug his hands beneath her hair and cupped the back of her head, then brought his lips to hers again.
“Savannah.” Her name was one long, hot breath.
No man had ever taken control of her body with nothing more than a kiss before. She could barely think, much less find the words to respond. Instead, she took his hand and led him down the narrow hallway to her bedroom. She took a step into the room, and he stopped on the other side of the threshold. She reached up and touched the cheek she’d been thinking about all afternoon and felt the tension beneath her palm.
“Jack?” she whispered.
His eyes caught hers with an ardent stare, but Savannah felt something else coming from him like a wave—nervousness, fear, sadness? She couldn’t be sure.
“Your bedroom.” He looked down at her and swallowed. “Savannah, I’m not sure I can go in there. I don’t trust myself.”
“Jack, I think we’re past that. I know it’s been a long time since you’ve been with a woman, but when a woman asks you into her bedroom, you don’t need to trust yourself.”
“That’s not what I mean.” He pulled her close and brushed her hair from her shoulder. “I haven’t even slept in a real bedroom for ages, much less been with a woman in one. I’m not sure if any weird stuff will go through my head. Savannah, I’m sorry. I know that this must sound strange coming from a man, but I’m just on the brink of dealing with everything, and I want to be close to you more than I want to breathe, but I don’t want to risk my past sneaking in.”
She wondered, briefly, if Linda’s ghost would always be between them. Then guilt swooped in, trailed by Danica’s advice.If Jack turns out not to be ready—and there’s a good chance that he’s not—then what have you lost?She knew the risks. Jack was still bathing her with his dark eyes. The worry and want in his eyes coalesced, drawing Savannah closer. She realized that she wanted any amount of time she could have with him. An hour, a day, a week. Self-preservation stopped her from thinking any further into the future.
“I probably shouldn’t have come, but I couldn’t imagine another second without seeing you,” he said.
“Don’t be silly.” She led him back to the living room. “I have a glorious sleep sofa that has never been opened. It’ll be new for you and me. We can make our own memories.” There was no way she was going to wait another day to be next to him again, and from the way his eyes followed her as she crossed the floor and turned off the lights, then lit candles on the dining room table and on the windowsill, she could tell that he didn’t want to wait either. Jack pulled out the couch, and Savannah dressed it with the decadent satin sheets Josh had given her the previous Christmas. At the time, she’d thought they were a ridiculously lavish purchase that she’d never use. Now she couldn’t wait to feel the silky softness against her skin when she was beneath Jack’s hard body.
MOONLIGHT STREAMED THROUGH the window and danced off of the flame, casting a romantic flicker of shadows across the luxurious sheets. Jack had never wanted any woman the way he wanted Savannah, and as he watched her come to his side, then felt her delicate fingers slip beneath his shirt and across his abs, he thought he might lose it from just her touch. He had to taste her again, had to feel those sweet lips on his, and he lowered his mouth to hers. He’d almost forgotten how good it felt to kiss a woman, and as he learned the contours of Savannah’s mouth, it was as if no other woman had ever existed. His eyes blinked open at the thought, and he drew back. Savannah’s lips were ripe from their kiss; her eyes filled with desire.
This is right. So very right.
Savannah reached for his belt buckle, and he grabbed her hand. “Not yet. I don’t want to rush. I want to savor every second with you.”
Her eyes widened, then narrowed as a smile lifted her lips. He ran his hands along her silky shoulders. “You feel so good.”
He kissed the rosy blush on her cheek, then trailed kisses down her jaw to the spot just below her ear. He nibbled her earlobe, and she breathed heavier, held him tighter. When his lips found the gentle curve at the base of her neck, she arched her head back again. He freaking loved when she did that. She pressed against him, and he fought the urge to rip off her clothes and take her right there and then. But his interest in Savannah ran deeper than sex, and he planned on showing her just how much deeper.
He slipped his finger beneath the straps of her blouse and slid them down her arms to the crook of her elbow, exposing her beautiful breasts. He lifted her chin and kissed away the new flush that had risen.
“You’re beautiful, babe. Let me cherish you.” The huskiness of his own voice surprised him, and he buried the surprise in another kiss. He could kiss her all night and never tire of it.
