Page 99 of A Real Good Bad Thing

“See? This is my point. I’m being followed. People are stealing from me. My stepdad’s manager makes odd comments. I just want to do my job. But there’s still this one big, fat issue for me,” she said, stopping to take a beat and meeting my gaze. “What if Eli is telling me the truth?”

I didn’t trust the guy, but he didn’t raise me, so I carefully asked, “Do you believe him?”

She frowned. “I don’t know what to believe. It’s not even about the jewels anymore, Jake. Or who they should or shouldn’t belong to,” she said, dragging a hand through her hair. “I don’t know what to believe about him.”

I didn’t know how to reassure her or if I even could. I didn’t have to grapple with the same issues she did. Eli had helped raise her, he’d lived with her, he’d taken her to kiss stingrays. That bond wasn’t easily dismissed, despite his sins and omissions on other fronts.

But to me, Eli was simply the target. I didn’t have to divorce my emotions; there were none.

I ran my hands down her legs, reaching for her foot. Her eyes drifted closed, and she moaned softly as I pressed my thumbs against the ball of her foot. A contented sigh fell from her lips as I massaged her heels, her arch, her toes, all the way to her little pinkie. I wiggled it, and she laughed, a sweet sound, like bells.

I rubbed my way up, digging my fingers into the strong muscles of her legs. Her legs had hooked me that first night. I still loved them of course, but that instant attraction had shifted into the kind of something where I wanted her to be happy, where I wanted to bring that sparkle back to her eyes.

I reached her thighs, and she let one knee fall to the side.

Oh, hell. I wasn’t strong enough. I didn’t possess enough restraint to rub her legs in a hammock in public. I wanted her too much.

“Let me take you to our room and make you feel better,” I offered.

A soft, sensual smile was her yes.

Inside the room, I lifted her dress over her shoulders, then slid off her panties. She took off my clothes, with neither one of us saying anything. Only sighs. Only murmurs. Only touches. Words weren’t needed. I wanted to comfort her with touch.

After walking backward to the bed, I pulled her on top of me, cupped her cheeks, and brushed her hair from her face. I stopped to look at her, to memorize her. Her lips parted, and there it was. That hazy, sexy, vulnerable look that I adored. It was a look of longing that matched my own.

She whispered my name, then said, “Take me. I want you to take me.”

“All I want is to have you,” I said, desperate for her, but even in my desperation I heard the promise in my own words, and felt it too, as I reached for a condom on the nightstand, covered my length, then pulled her on top of me. Lust and desire stormed in me as she lowered herself, then rolled her hips.

It felt so damn good. This closeness. This connection. This moment with her. All the moments with her.“This,”she murmured. “This is my favorite part.”

I knew what she meant. She didn’t mean the position or this particular second. She meant the two of us and all we’d shared.

“You,” she added. “You’re my favorite part.”

I grabbed her waist, held her gaze as she rode me. “I swear you’re mine too.”

Her throaty, sexy moan made me crave her even more. I wanted to do this again and again, over and over, every goddamn night. The heat spread, turning to wildfire. I was dangerously close, and her shuddery sighs told me she was too.

I grasped her hips and flipped her to her back. “Need to have you. Need to take you hard now,” I rasped out, parting her legs wider, hooking them up on my shoulders. Then I drove into her. She threw her head back, her long neck exposed, her hair spread across the pillow. “Don’t wait,” she moaned. “Don’t wait this time. Just come with me.”

So much for my promise to give her three before I took one. I couldn’t hold back if I tried. In seconds, she was trembling in bliss as shudders racked through me.

Shaking with lust and surging emotions, I collapsed on her, folding her in my arms, not wanting to let go. I breathed in the coconut scent of her hair and sighed in pleasure as she snuggled up against me, taking everything I had to give.

I was so tempted to ask what would happen when the trip was over. Neither one of us had voiced it. We hadn’t acknowledged that we didn’t live that far from each other. Maybe now was the time to do that. A relationship was a scary beast, but maybe we could find a way to try.

“Ruby,” I said tentatively.

“Yes?” Her voice sounded hopeful.

I felt all that hope too. “We don’t live that far apart,” I said, broaching the topic at last—whether we could be more than an island tryst.

“I know,” she said, softly, sounding happy, like she’d wanted me to say this too. “I like that we’re close.”

“Same here,” I said.

She sighed contentedly. I kissed her neck. She’d had a helluva day, so I wasn’t going to press for more or for plans. This was enough for now.

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