Taking It All Off

So here she was, twenty-six and alone. She’d never done anything her father didn’t approve of. For a long time, that had worked for her. She’d made a life for herself, but maybe that wasn’t enough anymore.

And now here was Jake, offering opinions she hadn’t asked for and imposing all his rough edges on her nice smooth life. Her father disliked Jake, but Jake didn’t care. Where others quaked at Gordon McCormick’s rages, Jake stood up to him.

She sank onto the edge of the sofa, hands in her lap. There were times when she would have given almost anything for that kind of courage. Not just the backbone to go against her father, but the guts not to feel guilty about it afterwards.

Maybe this weekend was her chance to learn a few things from Jake. A shiver chased down her spine at the thought and she hugged her arms across her stomach, as if trying to hold in the excitement kindling within her.

But the thought had taken root in her and wouldn’t let go. No one she knew was on this island. Her father wasn’t here this weekend. But Jake was, so why not take advantage of that? Why not indulge in her own fantasies, romantic and otherwise?

Jake said she needed to be her own woman. So why not ask him to help her discover exactly what kind of woman she really was?

JAKE WAS SITTING at the bar when Glynna walked in. He looked up and saw her standing in the doorway and it was as if the temperature in the room rose ten degrees. He tried to look away, to ignore her, but she drew his gaze, like a riptide pulling him under.

Still, he managed to turn his back to her as she drew near. He contemplated signaling the bartender for another beer just as she put her hand on his shoulder, freezing him. “Come walk with me,” she said, the soft murmur of her voice cutting through the bar chatter.

The last thing he needed right now was to go walking off into the darkness with her. He swivelled to face her. “Let’s stay here,” he said. “I’ll buy you a drink.”

She glanced around the crowded bar, at the laughing couples with their sunburned faces and umbrella drinks. “No. I need to ask you something. In private.”

He shook his head. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Why not?

He shoved the glass aside, then let his gaze linger on her too long. She was wearing a little strapless dress made of some silky, clingy material, the hot pink-orange of a sunset. She crossed her arms, as if shielding herself from his gaze. “Why not?” she asked again.

“Because I’ve had a little too much to drink and you look way too good in that dress and I’m liable to do something that will get me slapped.”

Her laughter startled him. She reached out and took his hand. “Come on. Let’s walk.”

He didn’t resist, letting her lead him out of the bar, past the lighted swimming pool to the shadowy beach. At the edge of the sand, she slipped off her shoes and, picking up her sandals, took his hand and tugged him toward the edge of the water.

He slowed his pace to match hers, and studied her out of the corner of his eye. Moonlight—or the beers he’d had—softened her features, making her look younger, more vulnerable. “So what did you want to talk about?” he asked.

She wrapped her hand more securely around his, but avoided looking at him, focusing instead on the ocean. “You might not know this, but I’ve always admired you.”

A single barking laugh escaped him. “You have a hell of a way of showing it.”

She glanced at him. “I guess I deserve that. But it’s true. I’m envious of the way you insist on doing things your way, no matter what other people say. You aren’t afraid of my father. There aren’t many men he can’t intimidate.”

“You’re right. I didn’t know you felt that way.” He stopped, and pulled her around to face him. “Why are you telling me now?”

She raised her chin and looked him in the eye. He recognized both determination and fear in her gaze. The fear surprised him. Why would a woman who had everything be afraid of anything? “I want to ask a favor of you this weekend.”

“What is that?”

She wet her lips, a provocative, sensuous gesture he felt all the way to his groin. “I want you to pretend that I’m not the Glynna McCormick you think you know. That I’m not Gordon’s daughter.”

He raised his hand and traced the soft line of her jaw. “Then who are you?”

She cradled her head against his hand. “I’m just a woman. A woman who’s tired of doing what everyone expects of me. I want to spend this weekend doing what I want, getting reacquainted with part of myself I’ve put second for too long.”

He stilled, holding his breath. “And what do you want?”

“This.” She stood on tiptoe, and put her arms around his neck, pulling him to her. Her lips were soft against his, the kiss tentative at first, then more assured.

He resisted for the briefest moment, stunned, before instinct and desire took over and he gathered her closer. He shaped her body to his as he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth to taste her fully. She made a breathy, mewling sound that ripped away the last shred of his reserve. He forgot everything but how much he wanted her. Here. Now.

He cupped her bottom, pressing her close against him, savoring her heat against his growing erection. She hooked one leg around him, her gauzy skirt falling back to reveal the pale beauty of her inner thigh. He slid his hand up that silky expanse of flesh, toward the burning center where he wanted to bury himself.

She nipped at the corner of his mouth. “Let’s go back to the cottage,” she whispered.

The cottage. Like a cold wave splashing over them, the words reminded him of where they were. Why they were here. Who she was.

He pulled away from her, so suddenly that she almost fell. “This is insane,” he said.

“Yes, it’s insane.” She stared at him, out of breath. Flushed. Gorgeous. “That’s the whole point. I…I want us to spend this weekend doing all the things we can never do back home. Exploring those fantasies I’m supposed to be writing about.”

He took another step back, as if physical distance could break the spell she’d cast over him. “You mean you want us to have sex.”

She flushed more, but nodded. “Yes.”

“Why? Beyond the obvious reasons that we turn each other on?”

“I think…” She wet her lips again, almost sending him over the edge. “I think a weekend like this, totally indulging myself, will help me understand what it is I really want to do. I know this sounds crazy to someone like you, who’s always done exactly what you felt like, but I’ve been trying to make myself into the person I think I should be for so long I’m not sure I know anymore who I really am.”

“And you think a weekend screwing me will do it?” He was deliberately crude, hoping to shock them both back to their senses.

She flinched, but didn’t back down. “It’s the most radical thing I can think of, so yes.” She smiled. “And I think we’d both enjoy it, very much.”

Hell yes, he’d enjoy it. And it might even be fun to see the straitlaced ice princess thaw a little. “What happens when we get home?”

She held her hands up, fingers spread wide. “No strings. We go our own ways and no one knows this ever happened.”

A weekend of great sex with a gorgeous woman, no strings? “I’d be crazy to say no.”

“Then why don’t we get started?” She smiled and reached for his hand.

He took it and pulled her toward the path to the cottages, eager now. “It’s only fair to warn you.” He grinned at her. “I don’t intend to stop until the boat pulls up Sunday evening.”

4

BACK AT THE COTTAGE, Glynna busied herself lighting candles. The bravado that had led her to make her wild proposition was fading fast, now that she was alone with Jake in this intimate space.

The rustle of fabric against skin disturbed her thoughts. She whirled to see Jake pulling off his shirt. “Wh—what are you doing?” she stammered.

He unfastened the snap of his pants. “I don’t know about you, but I prefer to do these things naked.”

She clutched the matchbook so tightly it bent in two. “Yes, but…don’t you think we ought to talk first?”

“I thought we already talked.” He shoved his pants to the floor and stepped out of them. Now he was dressed only in tight black briefs that left little to the imagination. “Or are you having second thoughts?”

“No. Of course not.” She sat on the edge of the bed, her legs too wobbly to support her anymore. She glanced at him again. The candlelight burnished his broad shoulders and muscular thighs with gold, and glinted on the dusting of hair across his chest. His nipples were two small brown pebbles against his paler skin, his navel a perfect indentation in his flat stomach. He walked toward her, moving easily, comfortable in his skin, confident in his sexuality.

He stopped in front of her, the thick ridge of his erection almost at eye level, impossible to ignore. She swallowed, her face burning.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She raised her head and looked into his eyes, hoping he wouldn’t laugh at her. “I…I’ve never done anything like this before.”

The lines around his mouth tightened. “You’ve never had sex?”

She squeezed her hands into fists. “No. I mean yes, I’ve had sex. But not…not planned, like this. With someone I don’t know very well.” She looked toward the double doors leading to the veranda. Was it too late to run away, back to her lonely, safe apartment? But if she did that, things would never be different for her, would they? Her real self would still be trapped somewhere between the roles she played of obedient daughter and conscientious employee.

She raised her eyes to look at Jake again. He watched her, saying nothing, his face calm. Patient. But another emotion flickered in his eyes. Encouragement? For her?

She took a deep breath and went on. “You’ve had a lot of experience and I…I haven’t.”

“Are you afraid we won’t please each other?” He knelt before her, and put his hands on her thighs. The silk of her dress rustled beneath his fingers as he caressed her through the cloth. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Just relax. Do whatever feels good.”

He pushed the skirt up a few inches and bent to kiss her knee. “We’ll go slow at first. Get used to each other.”

His breath was hot, burning its way up her leg as he trailed kisses up the inside of her thigh from her knee to the lacy edge of her underwear. She felt as if she was melting from within, the tension coiling inside of her as his mouth drew closer and closer to the juncture of her thighs.

Her eyes fluttered shut as his mouth closed over the thin silk of her panties. Need built within her, fierce and demanding. It had been so long….

“Do you like the way this makes you feel?” he asked, his mouth still pressed against the silk.

Her reply was more moan than speech, and she felt his lips curve into a smile.

“There’s so much more to enjoy,” he murmured. He pushed the dress up farther and kissed her stomach, his tongue tickling her navel before climbing the ladder of her ribs to her breasts. He ringed each mound with kisses, painting concentric circles with his tongue, drawing closer and closer to her taut, sensitive nipples.

“Nice.” Still kneeling before her, he stripped off her dress and settled his hands on her hips, drawing her closer, until she was straddling his torso, legs spread wide to embrace him, the wet silk of her panties the only barrier between them.

He flicked his tongue across her nipple, and she arched against him, gasping at the waves of desire that washed over her each time he touched her. He suckled first one breast, and then the other, until she was trembling with need, her throbbing sex straining against his pounding heart.

When he raised his head, she cried out and clung to him, but he gently pushed her away. “I’m not going to leave you,” he said. “But now it’s your turn to get better acquainted with me.”

He stood and stripped off his briefs. She stared at his erection, mesmerized by its frank eroticism. No one would call the male member beautiful, yet she couldn’t stop staring at it, the tension within her responding to each swaying movement as he walked toward her again.

“Move over so I can lie down beside you.”

She did so, hesitating only a moment before slipping out of her panties. She stretched out on the bed and turned to face him, wanting to wrap herself around him and demand he enter her, but holding back.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.

His sleepy, seductive smile made her heart race. “Touch me,” he said. “Wherever you want to touch me.”

Hesitant, she put a hand on his shoulder. His skin was warm, the muscles firm beneath her palm. She trailed her fingers down his chest, her nails dragging at the golden hairs, coming to rest on one pebbled nipple.

She bent and kissed it, tongue flicking, lips devouring. He sucked in his breath, and squeezed her shoulder, silently urging her to keep going.

She transferred her attention to his other nipple. He smelled of musk and sweat and warm skin, and tasted slightly salty. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been so close to anyone, and reveled in the contact.

He shifted, wrapping one leg around her and pulling her closer. The tip of his erection pressed against her, demanding entrance. She started to raise her leg to allow him access, then thought better of it and reached down to take him in her hand. He was hot and heavy and holding him like this made her want him all the more. He tried to kiss her, but she turned her head away. “We need a condom,” she whispered.

Without a word, he slid off the bed and went into the bathroom. She rolled over onto her back and closed her eyes, savoring the tension in every nerve. The breeze from the ceiling fan caressed her, puckering her nipples, cooling her sex.

She heard foil tearing and opened her eyes to watch Jake sheath himself with the condom. Then he lay beside her. She started to move into his arms, but he held her off. “Maybe we should talk some more,” he said, his eyes teasing her.

Laughing, she pushed him down onto his back and straddled him, then wrapped her hand around his shaft and squeezed. The glazed look that came into his eyes thrilled her. “Do you really want to talk?”

He grunted and caressed her hips. “Your body’s been talking to mine all day and I like what it’s been saying.”

She rose up on her knees and guided him into her, sighing as he filled her. She tightened around him and began to move, slowly at first, wanting to savor every delicious sensation radiating through her.

But need soon overtook her, and her movements became more urgent. He reached up to caress her breast, then slid his hand down to her clit. As he fondled and stroked, raw wanting overtook all caution. Bracing her hands on his chest, she rocked over him, each thrust hard and deep, withdrawing almost completely before driving down again.

Her climax was sudden and fierce, exploding within her and reverberating in waves. He followed with a low groan, thrusting up to meet her, shuddering with his release.

She collapsed against him, burying her head in the hollow of his shoulder, holding him tightly as she waited for the waves of sensation to gentle and still.

His hand on her back was heavy and reassuring. She smiled and snuggled closer. To think she had ever disliked him.

Still holding her, he rolled them over until they were on their sides, facing each other. She smiled at him. “That was pretty spectacular.”

He smoothed his hand along the dip of her waist. “I think you may have a talent for this.”

“I’m betting there’s still a few things you can teach me.”

“Something tells me you’ll be a good pupil.” He switched onto his back, away from her. She started to follow him, but resisted. It wouldn’t do to get too close. After all, they were only together for the weekend. She shouldn’t forget that.

The knowledge made her cold. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“I haven’t had dinner. I thought I’d grab something to eat.”

“We could order room service.” He reached over and stroked her hip. “Ever eat dinner off your lover’s body?”

The image the words evoked sent heat curling through her. She shook her head. “I’m going out.” She needed to get away from him for a while. To remind herself that this was only an experiment. Temporary. If she stayed with him right now it would be too easy to lose herself in him again. To pretend the feelings he’d kindled in her were real. The sort that lasted forever.

She went into the bathroom and washed off then dressed in shorts and a sleeveless blouse. No underwear, because she didn’t want to go back into the bedroom and feel Jake’s eyes on her as she searched. Going without felt sexy and decadent, but then, this was a night for that.

When she glanced in the mirror she was startled by the image that confronted of her. Her hair was mussed, her lips slightly swollen, her cheeks flushed. She looked like a woman who was well and truly satisfied. If she had seen herself on the streets, she would have thought she was a woman in love.

But of course, that wasn’t the case at all. In lust, maybe, but there was a big difference.

She combed her hair and splashed water on her face, then took a deep breath and opened the door to the bedroom.

The bed was empty. Surprised, she looked around for Jake. The chair where he’d left his clothes was empty, and so was the rest of the cottage. Jake was gone.

JAKE JOGGED ALONG the beach, bare feet pounding against the sand in time to his furiously beating heart. He clenched his hands into fists and ran harder, head down, fighting anger and frustration. What had Glynna meant, walking out on him like that? Had she gotten what she wanted, and that was that? He knew men who acted like that, but a woman?

Could a woman really turn her feelings on and off like that? What had happened between them had been powerful. The kind of sex people fantasize about but rarely experience.

He slowed down, muscles protesting as his feet dragged in the sand. More likely, Glynna was scared. That was it. He doubted Ms. Glynna McCormick had screamed like that in bed with a man more than a few times in her life. If ever. Tonight he’d stripped her bare, both physically and emotionally. A woman like her was bound to be shook up after that.

He stood and looked out at the dark bay. Breakers thundered against the jetty to his left and the distant throb of music from the karaoke club drifted on the night breeze. Hell, he was shook up himself. When she’d taken him in her hand and turned her head away from his kiss, he’d felt something twist inside him, and he’d come dangerously close to pleading with her not to turn away. He’d been relieved to get up to go find a condom, buying time for him to get a hold of himself.

That was it, then. Glynna wasn’t dissatisfied with him. She was afraid. And wasn’t the whole idea of this weekend to help her get over that fear of her own ideas and emotions? She might have a natural talent for sex, but she needed Jake for the rest. He’d have to find a way to push her past her fear. And he’d be the one to benefit. At least this weekend.

He turned back up the beach, headed toward the grill, the only restaurant open at this late hour. She wasn’t going to run away from him so easily. The night was young and the weekend short. They had a lot to do. There was one pretty incredible woman inside Glynna, and he couldn’t wait to help discover her.

GLYNNA SAT at the grill, idly swirling a French fry through a pool of ketchup, wondering how she could go from feeling fantastic one moment and more alone and uncertain than ever the next.

Was Jake angry with her for leaving him so quickly after their lovemaking? Was that why he’d left? Was she wrong to have pulled away from him?

What did it matter what he thought? Why was she worrying about doing what he wanted her to do when the whole point of this weekend was supposed to be for her to discover what she wanted—really wanted.

Back there in the cottage, what she’d craved was to stay with him. She wanted to feel his arms around her, holding her close and then, after a while, to make love again. They’d go slowly this time, savoring each touch and response. She wanted to know that for that brief span of time at least, she could be anything, do anything, and no one would object.

Instead, she’d given in to guilt and fear and run away. Despite the incredible experience in Jake’s arms, nothing had really changed inside her.

“Is the food really that bad?”

She jumped as Jake reached around her and snagged a French fry from her plate. He chewed, a thoughtful look on his face. “Not bad. But cold.” He slid onto the stool beside her.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

“I went running on the beach.” He glanced at her. “I needed to get away and think.”

“Yeah.” She could understand that. “Me, too.” She pushed her plate away and took a sip from her glass of diet soda. “What did you decide?”

He swivelled to face her. “I’ve pretty much made it my policy to say what I think about things. Some people don’t like it, but they don’t have to worry about me lying to them, either.”

She eyed him warily. What was he getting at? “It’s one of the things I admire about you. So?”

He put his elbow on the counter and leaned toward her. “So you have to shoot straight with me, too. Why did you run out on me just now?”

Her stomach knotted. Talking about her feelings was not something she was good at. In fact, she avoided it whenever possible. “You know, I said I wanted to have sex with you. Not bare my soul.”

“You said you wanted to find out what kind of woman you really are.” He took her hand and laid it in his, palm up, as if he was about to tell her fortune. “Lesson number one—a lot of sex takes place inside a person’s head. And I want to know what’s going on in yours. Why did you run out?”

She tried to pull her hand away, but his fingers encircled her wrist, trapping her. His gaze on her was steady. Relentless. She was going to have to answer his question. She took a deep breath. “I think I was a little overwhelmed by what happened. It wasn’t what I expected.”

He raised one eyebrow. “I hope that means it was better than you expected.”

She nodded, one quick jerk of her head. “Oh, yeah. Better. And…different.”

With his forefinger, he traced her lifeline, coming to rest at her pulse. “It was pretty intense.” His eyes met hers again. “I can’t say that’s happened to me very often.”

“It’s never happened to me before. I…I don’t know what it means.”

“It could be that it’s been a while for both of us, and that intensified the experience. Or it could mean that we’re particularly well-matched, physically.” He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Who would have guessed it?”

She flushed. “We aren’t that much alike, are we?”

“But maybe more than you give yourself credit for.”

His words startled her into smiling. “You can’t be serious. We’re nothing alike.”

He shrugged. “Think about it. We’re both driven. Ambitious. We don’t have patience with incompetence.”

She studied his long hair, faded T-shirt and baggy shorts. He was sexy in a just-rolled-out-of-bed way, but he was completely unlike any man she’d ever dated. She couldn’t imagine them being truly compatible. “We live completely different kinds of lives,” she said.

“I’m not likely to forget that.” His gaze took in her silk shirt and designer shorts. “But this weekend, none of that matters, does it?” He released her hand. “This weekend is about doing what feels good. About taking that intensity and running with it.” He stroked her cheek with one finger. “About learning to loosen up and let go.”

She nodded. “Yes.” At least for this weekend she had to stop listening to what her head told her to do, and pay more attention to her heart. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. “So what now?”