Page 15 of Promise of a New Beginning
“No, just my outside is. My inside is warmer and happier than it has been in a very long time.”
“You really are incredibly beautiful,” Jack whispered. He’d been dying to touch her face after they’d been close, and now, as he reached up and cupped her cheek, he had to close his eyes. She fit perfectly against his palm, and when she leaned into his hand, he shivered with the memory of what they’d done in the forest.
“Thank you,” Savannah said. She touched the back of his hand and pressed it to her cheek. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
He took the washcloth from Savannah’s hand and washed her back in slow, gentle stokes as he learned each dip and curve of her body.
“Jack, are you different from who you thought you were?” Savannah asked.
“That’s a strange question,” he said, but he knew just what she meant.
“I know.” She gathered her hair and moved it to her other shoulder so he could wash beneath it. “Out here I’m nothing like who I am back home. I’m so strong at home. I can do anything, and I never ask for help. But out here I’m, I don’t know. Weak or something.”
He turned her so she was facing him. “You’re anything but weak. I see a strong woman who’s also feminine, and the combination is…frustrating.”
Savannah frowned. “Honesty is good, but after what we just did, maybe you could sugarcoat it a little.”
He moved in closer and lifted her chin to look at him. “That was sugarcoated.”
He smiled down at her, then touched his lips to hers, and despite the cold air that enveloped them, every swipe of her tongue heightened his desire. She pressed her body into him, and he wrapped her in his arms—like it was the only place she could possibly belong—and he had no idea how he’d gone without her for the last two years. When she wrapped her hands around his neck and lifted herself up, it was only natural for him to help her legs find their way around his waist. Savannah deepened the kiss, making sexy little noises that sent his urges soaring again.
Savannah held tight to his shoulders as they surrendered to their passion beneath the shadows of the moon.
IT WAS NEARLY three in the morning when they finally arrived back at the campsite, and as he kissed her good night, Jack wondered how he would get through the next few hours without her. And in the next breath, he wondered how Savannah could find her way into his heart in such a short period of time. He’d always counted himself lucky for having met and married Linda, who he’d thought completed him in every way he could imagine. Now, with Savannah, he realized that there was so much more of him that he never knew needed completing. Could a man get this lucky twice in his life? Jack closed his eyes, waiting for the anger that had eaten away at him for years to come rushing back, but for the first time since he’d lost Linda, he was able to fall asleep without first enduring hours of misery.
Chapter Ten
SAVANNAH AWOKE WITH the sun, and though she’d slept only a couple of hours, she felt refreshed and ready to tackle the day—and Jack Remington. Boy, had he thrown her for a loop. She’d expected hot sex, but she couldn’t have anticipated the dirty things she’d wanted to do with him, and by the time they’d returned to the campsite, he’d become tender toward her. The more tender he became, the more her body reacted to him.
As she dressed, she tried to calm her nerves about seeing him again, and before getting out of her tent, she took a few minutes to gather her courage and strength, wondering how he would act toward her. They’d agreed not to hide their feelings but not to flaunt them, either. Savannah knew she might have trouble with that. She was a Braden, after all, and all Bradens tended to err on the side of overly affectionate with those they cared for.Cared for.Savannah realized that even though she hardly knew Jack, her heart had already embraced him.
“I’ll get her!” Aiden’s voice carried through the thin tent walls. A few rapid footfalls later, Aiden poked his blond head into her tent. His wide eyes were full of mischief. “Hi, Savannah. We’re learning to build a shelter. Arealshelter. Are you almost ready? Jack says we can’t go till you’re ready.”
Savannah touched his nose. “I’m as ready as I’m going to be, but is everyone else up this early?”
“Yup.”
“Then I better get my butt in gear.” Last night came rushing back and she felt her cheeks flush.
Aiden ran away from her tent, yelling, “She’s getting her butt gear on!”
Savannah buried her face in her hands. She crawled out of her tent under the amused scrutiny of four sets of adult eyes. Jack’s eyes were locked on the ground.
“I said get my butt in gear, silly boy,” she said with a laugh.
Elizabeth sidled up to her. “What were you up to last night?”
She looked around to see if anyone else had heard her. “What do you mean?”
“Relax. No one else knows. I had to pee, and when I was in the woods, I heard something. At first I thought it was Josie and Pratt, but then I clearly heard the nameJack, and it wasn’t spoken, if you know what I mean.” She poked Savannah in the ribs and arched a brow. “I see you took my advice.”
“Oh my gosh. Do you think anyone else heard us?” Savannah’s eyes darted from Lou to Josie and finally to Pratt, none of whom were paying her any extra attention. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“I just told you no one else knows. Sheesh, your head is still in the clouds isn’t it? There’s nothing better than that new-relationship-after-sex euphoria.” Elizabeth sighed with a dreamy look in her eyes. She nodded toward Jack. “He seems more relaxed today, too. He’s not nearly as cranky.”
“I don’t know if I’d call it a relationship.” Savannah watched Jack as he filled a backpack with supplies. Hewasmoving with less rigidity, and his mouth was no longer pinched. He glanced up, and Savannah noticed his furrowed brows—and how strikingly handsome he really was—only this time it wasn’t his features she was assessing. As she drank in his angular nose, high cheekbones, and strong chin, it was his words that she heard.I see a strong woman who’s also feminine, and the combination is…frustrating.His honesty was his most attractive trait, and a refreshing change for Savannah, who lived in a world of misrepresentation and deceit. Jack caught her gaze, and she held her breath. When he smiled, the deep worry lines that had traveled across his forehead disappeared, and Savannah let out the breath she’d been holding.
She made a conscious effort to keep a little distance between herself and Jack. She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable, and she didn’t need to look like a moon-eyed girl in front of the others. She knew that everyone would see right through any efforts she made to hide the way her stomach fluttered and her pulse skipped when she looked at him.
