Second Chance Proposal: A Man Without Mercy / Bring It On / Rancher to the Rescue

‘I hope you like being on top,’ Jack said once protection was completed. ‘I don’t usually like to hand over control, but I don’t dare touch you at the moment. You’ve driven me to the brink. So help me out here. I’m feeling decidedly fragile.’

Vivienne gnawed at her bottom lip. What to say? If she confessed she didn’t care for that position, he would think she was lying. Vivienne swallowed, telling herself firmly that she could do this. It wasn’t rocket science. And she had done it before. Briefly. A couple of times. Just climb up onto the bed. Now throw one leg over him. Don’t think about what he can see. Just kneel up over him. Yes, that’s the way. Now take him in your right hand. Heavens, he was big. What if he doesn’t fit in you?

But he did—deliciously so—sliding into her with shocking ease, Vivienne holding her breath as she lowered herself slowly down till she was sitting on him, his swollen sex filling her in a way she’d never felt filled before. She closed her eyes so that she could savour the blissful sensation, breathing out whilst rocking back and forth at the same time.

His groan startled her, her eyes flying open. He was lying there looking tortured, his breathing ragged, his hands curled into white-knuckled fists by his side.

‘Stop moving like that, for pity’s sake,’ he ground out.

Vivienne was shocked at how much she liked his being close to losing control.

‘But I want to move,’ she purred, and did so, rising and falling upon him with a slow, sensual rhythm.

He didn’t groan this time. He swore, then reached for her, grabbing her shoulders and throwing her roughly round and under him. Now she couldn’t move, his hands and his weight pinning her to the bed.

‘I should have known you wouldn’t do as you were told for too long,’ he growled. ‘You’re too strong willed.’ He smiled a devilishly sexy smile.

Vivienne couldn’t believe it when her own lips curved upwards in a saucy smile of her own. ‘Maybe I prefer it this way.’

‘Mmm. Now that I don’t believe. Women of your obvious experience never prefer the missionary position.’

Vivienne tried not to laugh. But it was rather funny, given the limited range of her sexual experience.

‘Do you always talk this much when having sex?’ she asked him.

‘Only when I need to get my act together. I’ve never been fond of ending a good thing too soon. It would be especially disappointing on this occasion, when I might be relegated to one time only.’

‘Oh, I don’t think that’s very likely, Jack,’ she said, green eyes glittering up at his. ‘I can’t imagine not wanting at least seconds from a man of your rather...obvious attractions.’ Lord, but was it really her saying that? Talk about wicked!

‘Well, that’s good to know, Vivienne. But, just in case you change your mind afterwards, we’re going to do this the way I prefer.’

Vivienne gasped when he abruptly withdrew, her mind spinning when he turned her over, wrapping one of his huge arms around her waist as he scooped her up on all fours.

Dear heaven, she thought dazedly.

As personally inexperienced as Vivienne was in the many sexual positions possible, she wasn’t ignorant. She knew exactly what Jack was going to do. She could feel him right behind her but she couldn’t see him, her wide eyes seeing nothing but the wallpapered wall above the bed. There was no question of resisting him, not once he re-entered her, and certainly not once he took hold of her breasts and started moving inside her. Immediately, any rational thinking shut down, her desire-laden brain making all her decisions for her, demanding that she move with him, her hips rocking back and forth in a frantic rhythm, her body searching for release from the almost torturous tension building up inside her.

Vivienne had never understood the concept of pain being closely linked with pleasure. But she understood now, even more so when Jack started squeezing her already burning nipples. Just when Vivienne thought she could not bear the sensations any longer, Jack removed his hands and pressed her upper body down onto the bed, the position emphasising her raised hips and bottom, her face flaming with a heady combination of embarrassment and excitement. When he stopped moving, she moaned in frustration, her buttocks clenching tightly together as he caressed them with long, slow, circular strokes of his very big hands.

‘Do you like this?’ he said thickly as his hands caressed her sensitive flesh. She tried to feel shocked but all she felt was a dark, delicious pleasure.

‘Yes,’ she choked out.

‘Another time, then,’ he said, and took hold of her hips once more. This time he thrust faster and deeper, Vivienne struggling to stay silent the way she usually did during sex. She tried muffling her moans in a nearby pillow, but in the end she could not contain the animal sounds which escaped her lips. Her moans became groans, her fingers scrunching up great handfuls of duvet as her whole body spun out of control.

She came with a rush, her release as fast as a balloon bursting. One moment she was suspended in a type of erotic agony, the next all that dreadful tension was gone, replaced by great waves of pleasure washing through her, pulling her one way then another, like the tide. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. Jack didn’t bother with such niceties, roaring out his satisfaction as he held her tight and shuddered into her for an incredibly long time.

By the time he finally finished, Vivienne’s own incredible orgasm had just faded away, her limbs succumbing to a languor which would have seen her flopping face down on the bed if Jack hadn’t been holding her up.

Slowly, and with surprising gentleness, he withdrew then lowered her onto the bed where she closed her eyes and sighed the type of sigh she’d never sighed before. It contained nothing but total sexual satisfaction.

‘Don’t go away now,’ he murmured, and dropped a kiss in the small of her back.

She would have laughed if she’d had the energy.

Vivienne vaguely heard the sound of a toilet flushing and water running. Was he having a shower? she wondered.

It was her last thought before sleep claimed her.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JACK DIDN’T REALISE Vivienne was sound asleep until he came back from the bathroom. She didn’t reply to his telling her he was going to go down the road to buy some supplies, and was there anything particular she would like to eat.

Poor darling, he thought as he looked down at her luscious but unconscious form. She was obviously exhausted, not just from the sex but from everything else she’d endured lately. Best let her sleep, at least for a while.

Very quietly Jack put on his clothes and left the room, making his way to the nearby kitchen, where he rifled through the various cupboards and drawers till he found paper and a pen. Writing Vivienne an explanatory note, he returned to the bedroom where he propped the note against her pile of clothes, careful not to look at her lest he be overcome with desire for her once more. Time enough for those seconds she’d mentioned after they’d both had some lunch.

Not that he had any intention of stopping at mere seconds. Or of letting Vivienne say no to becoming his lover on a more regular basis. Anyone could see what Vivienne needed at this point in her life. Besides, being kept busy with work, she needed a man who would make mad, passionate love to her as often as possible; who would make her see that her life wasn’t over just because she’d been dumped by some fortune-hunting bastard.

Jack believed he was that man.

He’d even offer his friendship, if she wanted it.

Jack frowned at this last thought, recalling how Vivienne had said earlier that she’d never liked him all that much. He wondered why that was. Still, that had been before she’d got to know him. And he wasn’t just referring to their getting to know each other in the biblical sense. They’d actually talked to each other more in the last two days than in all the years Vivienne had worked for him. He’d certainly confided more to her than he had to any other woman. He’d even told her about his mother’s lover! Jack liked it that Vivienne hadn’t been judgemental about anything, especially his decision not to marry and have children, saying he had the right to live his life as he saw fit.

She was like him, in a way, practical and pragmatic, with a sensible head on her shoulders. Except when it came to that Daryl creep. Of course, dear old Daryl had obviously been clever, saying and doing all the right things to get Vivienne hooked. No doubt he’d thought he was on to a good wicket, until a better one had come along. Or so he’d mistakenly imagined. The fool had no idea what he was getting into, marrying Courtney Ellison. Still, they were a well-matched pair, both totally without morals or consciences. Vivienne didn’t realise how lucky she was, not to have married a man like that.

Jack was about to leave the room when there was a sound from the bed. For a split second, he thought Vivienne had woken up. But she hadn’t. She’d just rolled over and curled herself up in the foetal position, moving her peach-like bottom into a highly provocative curve. Jack suppressed a groan, then very carefully lifted up the end of the duvet and placed it over her. Unfortunately, it only went as far as her waist, leaving her upper half on show.

As he stared down at her, Jack’s mind went back to that moment when he’d taken her on all fours, her lush breasts cradled in his hands. He recalled how she’d moaned when he’d squeezed her nipples; how she’d rocked back and forth on her knees, slapping her buttocks against his hip; how she’d cried out when she finally came. Jack couldn’t remember being with a woman who’d come as hard as she had. It had felt incredible, being inside her at that moment.

‘Better not think about that right now,’ he muttered to himself and hurried downstairs, locking the front doors behind him before climbing into his car and driving off. Time enough for such thoughts after he’d had lunch; his stomach was telling him it was eating time. Jack remembered passing a small shopping centre on the way here where they were sure to have everything he would need for the rest of day.

* * *

Vivienne woke to the sound of silence, plus the realisation that at some stage Jack had covered her with the bottom half of the duvet. Sitting up, she glanced around the empty room, looking and listening for evidence of where he might have gone to. There were no sounds coming from anywhere nearby, other than some distant chirping of birds. Surely Jack wouldn’t have left her alone in the house? Alone and naked.

A shiver ran down her spine.

It was then that she saw the note. Swinging her feet over the side of the bed, Vivienne reached down to pick it up, sighing with relief as she read his message. Not that she seriously imagined Jack would run out on her. Why would he, when he no doubt thought he’d now solved two problems with one Vivienne? His need for an interior designer, plus his need for a sexual partner. After the act she’d just put on for him in bed, he would naturally conclude she would agree to whatever he wanted.

But it hadn’t been an act, had it? Vivienne accepted with a degree of confusion. She’d been genuinely swept away with desire and passion for the man. She’d enjoyed everything they’d done together, thrilling to her new, uninhibited self. As for that mind-blowing orgasm... A girl would have to be insane not to want more of those.

Why was it, Vivienne puzzled, that she’d never experienced anything like that with Daryl? After all, she’d been madly in love with the man. But not once had she been carried away in bed the way she had been with Jack. Not once had she come with Daryl inside her. Surely it couldn’t just be a question of size? She didn’t believe that. After all, she’d been panting for Jack before he’d taken off his clothes. She’d been panting for him back in the restaurant yesterday, for pity’s sake!

It was all very perplexing.

The sound of a car roaring up the steep driveway sent Vivienne into a momentary panic. As wildly uninhibited as she’d been during sex with Jack, no way did she want him walking in on her still in the nude.

Scooping up her clothes, she raced over to the door which she presumed led into a bathroom. And, yes, it was a bathroom...in a fashion.

‘Oh, lordie, lordie, lordie!’ she exclaimed, laughing.

Vivienne did know that, in theory, pink and black bathrooms had been all the rage at some stage last century but she’d never actually seen one. Talk about hideous! Shaking her head in wry amusement, she closed the door behind her. After using the black toilet and washing her hands in the pink vanity basin, she quickly dressed. She was finger-combing her hair in the large but chipped wall mirror when there was a sharp rapping on the bathroom door.

‘You in there, Vivienne?’ Jack called out.

‘Er...yes; I’m getting dressed,’ she said, feeling suddenly awkward with him, not to mention embarrassed. It seemed the old Vivienne was rearing her uptight head once again.

‘I’ve bought us some food,’ Jack said as he opened the door and walked straight in.

‘Don’t you believe in knocking?’ she said sharply.

He looked taken aback. ‘I thought I did.’

‘Well, yes, but you should still wait till I invite you to enter.’

‘Mmm. Your mood seems to have deteriorated since I left. I dare say you’re mad at me for not staying to give you those seconds you wanted. Sorry, beautiful, but aside from the condom issue I’m afraid men of my size need constant refuelling.’

Vivienne wished he hadn’t mentioned his size. Or her rather brazen statement about having seconds. The wanton hussy who’d said those things suddenly seemed to have disappeared, which bothered her. Because she liked that hussy. She liked her a lot. All Vivienne could hope was that once Jack started making love to her again—which he would, sooner or later—she’d turn back into that exciting new Vivienne again.

Not that she’d entirely reverted to the old Vivienne, the one who’d been taken in by the likes of Daryl. That seriously pathetic creature was gone for good!

‘So, what do you think of the bathroom?’ Jack went on.

‘What? Oh yes, the bathroom. It’s seriously awful.’

Jack chuckled. ‘Wait till you see the others. The worst is all brown with a yucky olive-green spa bath in the corner.’

‘Good Lord.’

‘The kitchens are slightly better, as long as you like pine. Speaking of kitchens, that’s where I left the food. I’m afraid it’s just hamburgers, fries and Coke—but I figured, who doesn’t like hamburgers, fries and Coke?’

Once again, he didn’t wait for her to reply, just took her hand and led her from the bathroom, out through the bedroom and down a short hallway into a large country-style kitchen where, yes, pine was the order of the day. There were pine cupboards as well as pine benchtops, and three pine stools lined up at the pine breakfast bar. Not that it mattered. Vivienne felt pretty sure that Jack would want the whole interior of this house stripped bare and totally redone.

‘Have a seat,’ Jack said, pulling out a pine stool for her before picking up one of the others and carrying it round to the other side.

When she frowned at his action, he smiled over at her. ‘Have to keep my distance till I’ve eaten,’ he said. ‘I can’t think about sex and eat at the same time, and every time I get close to you, beautiful, I think about sex.’

Vivienne could not help feeling flattered by his remark, though his calling her beautiful all the time was beginning to grate. ‘I find that hard to believe,’ she said somewhat tartly.

His smile widened. ‘Come now, Vivienne, you don’t fool me for a minute with that act of yours. Now, eat up and stop pretending you don’t want to get back to bed as quickly as I do.’

Vivienne opened her mouth to say something more, then closed it again. Because Jack was right. There was no point in denying it. No point in saying anything at all! So she reached for the food and started eating.

Neither of them spoke as they each consumed their hamburger, which was more delicious than any hamburger Vivienne had ever eaten—king-sized and truly mouthwatering, with the kind of ingredients you only got at a small café. The fries weren’t half bad, either—golden and crispy with just the right amount of salt. As for the Coke... Vivienne sighed with pleasure as she washed the meal down with her favourite drink. The only fault she could find was that Jack hadn’t bought Diet Coke, opting instead for the full-strength variety.

‘Do you realise how much sugar is contained in this one small bottle?’ Vivienne said after downing all of it.

‘Not enough to send a rocket to the moon,’ Jack replied. ‘But enough to spark lift-off in yours truly,’ he added with the wickedest smile, his blue eyes glittering with sexual intent at the same time.

Vivienne struggled to act cool under an immediate quickening of her heart. Although she wasn’t about to play hard to get—it was a little late for that—she didn’t want to appear too easy. Or too eager.

‘I thought you’d give me the grand tour of the house first,’ she said, casually picking up one of the paper serviettes which came with the meal and dabbing at the corners of her mouth.

‘Then you thought wrong,’ he said.

Vivienne glowered at him. This was why she’d never liked working for Jack. He was far too bossy. It was always his way or the highway. She used to have to put up with it when she was an employee of Classic Design. But she didn’t have to put up with it now.

‘Don’t I have any say in the matter?’ she asked with a toss of her head.

He looked taken aback for a second. But then he smiled. ‘Of course you do. Far be it from me to force you to do anything you didn’t want to do. I have too much respect for you for that. So which would you rather do, Vivienne? Look around this house for a dreary hour or so, or go have some more fantastic fun in bed?’

Vivienne sighed. ‘You are a clever, conniving devil, do you know that?’

He grinned. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’

‘Then you’d be wrong!’

‘You mean you’re opting for the grand tour?’

She shook her head at him. ‘You know I’m not. But that doesn’t mean I’ll always do whatever you want.’

‘Are you sure about that?’

She wasn’t. But no way was she going to admit it. ‘The trouble with you, Jack Stone, is you are way too used to getting your own way.’

‘I have to confess I like being the boss, especially in the bedroom.’

‘I gathered that already.’

‘And I gathered you liked it that way.’

Vivienne rolled her eyes. He really was terribly arrogant. And super-confident when it came to sex. She wondered if that was due to his impressive equipment, or wealth of experience. Whatever the reason, Vivienne had no intention of letting him run this show entirely.

‘As a modern woman living in the twenty-first century,’ she said coolly, ‘I expect that any sexual relationship we have will be conducted as equals.’

‘Fair enough,’ he said.

‘There will be rules involved,’ Vivienne stated firmly.

His eyebrows arched. ‘What kind of rules?’

Vivienne had absolutely no idea. It was time to improvise. And quickly. ‘Firstly, you will always use a condom.’ No way was she going to tell him she was on the pill.

‘You won’t have any argument with me on that score,’ Jack said. ‘That’s why I went out and bought a dozen.’

‘A dozen!’ she exclaimed, stunned at the thought he might use so many during one short afternoon.

Jack shrugged. ‘Better to be safe than sorry. Besides, what we don’t use today will keep till tomorrow.’

Vivienne blinked. ‘What do you mean, tomorrow? Surely you have work to do tomorrow? I know you, Jack. You’re a workaholic.’

‘True. But there’s always after work. I thought I’d take you out somewhere swanky in the city for dinner, then back to my place for afters,’ he added somewhat salaciously.

‘You really are incorrigible,’ Vivienne scolded, despite secretly looking forward to being his afters tomorrow night. ‘Rule number two is that you ask me, Jack, not just tell me.’

‘Oh. Right. Okay, would you like to go out to dinner tomorrow night?’

‘Maybe. I’ll give you my answer later.’

‘Nope. That won’t do, Vivienne. I have some rules of my own—the main one being, if and when I ask you something, I get a straight answer. Because I’m a straight kind of guy. I won’t play word games. So is it a yes or a no?’

Vivienne rather liked it that he wouldn’t let her muck him around. At the same time, she wasn’t about to say yes every time. ‘It’s a yes to dinner. You’ll have to ask me again tomorrow night about afters. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about more sex so soon after today.’ And what a load of crock that was!

He looked hard at her, and then he smiled. ‘Fair enough. Any more rules?’

‘I...I...can’t think of any more right now. But I reserve the right to add to the list if something important occurs to me.’

‘Same here,’ Jack said as he reached into the plastic bag which lay next to him and retrieved the box of condoms he’d told her about. ‘Okay, now that I know your rules and we’ve finished eating, I’ll ask you again. Very politely. Do you want a grand tour of the house first, or more sex?’

Vivienne swallowed. She knew what she wanted to say but simply could not bring herself to say it.

Jack rose from the stool, ripping the cellophane off the box of condoms as he walked around to her. ‘Of course, there is a third alternative,’ he said, his eyes holding hers. ‘We could combine the two.’

Vivienne just stared up at him, her tongue no longer working.

He reached out to run a tantalising finger around her slightly parted lips. Vivienne gasped when he sent that finger into her mouth, her head spinning, as suddenly she was that new Vivienne again, with all her wild, wanton boldness. Her lips closed around his finger, her green eyes glittering as she began a slow, sensual sucking.

‘I take it that’s a yes,’ he said thickly.

CHAPTER TWELVE

‘WHAT DO YOU think you’re doing?’ Vivienne said sharply when Jack picked up her camera and pointed it in her direction. Vivienne was lying back on one of the desk chairs, dressed in nothing but her white blouse, looking sinfully sexy with only one button done up.

‘I’m taking a photograph of my beautiful new girlfriend?’ he said.

‘But I’m half-naked,’ she protested, sitting up and pushing her hair back from her face. ‘And...and my hair is messy.’

He laughed. ‘Don’t be silly. You look gorgeous.’

‘I’m serious, Jack. I don’t want you taking any photos of me like this. And I’m not your new girlfriend. Not really. We’re lovers, that’s all.’

Jack tried not to scowl. He should have been pleased that Vivienne wanted to restrict their relationship to a strictly sexual one. It was exactly what he’d thought he wanted. But after spending the whole day with her, he realised he wanted more from her than that.

‘I wouldn’t have asked you out to dinner tomorrow night if I wanted us to just be lovers,’ he insisted. ‘I like being with you, Vivienne. And talking to you. And not just about work-related matters. I want to spend time with you out of bed as well as in it. I would have thought that was obvious by now.’ They hadn’t spent the entire afternoon having sex. Between times they’d discussed the refurbishment of the house, whilst Vivienne had retrieved her camera from the car and taken photos of everything.

‘I like spending time with you too,’ she said. ‘But—’

‘So what’s the problem?’ he broke in, and put the camera down. ‘Too soon after Daryl, is that it?’

Vivienne stared up at him. To be brutally honest she hadn’t given Daryl a thought all afternoon. But now that Jack had brought him up, Vivienne wondered again if Daryl’s dumping her so cruelly was the reason behind her amazing change of character. Maybe her turning into Vivienne the Vamp was really just a revenge thing. Or a rebound thing. Or something equally self-destructive.