One Day in Apple Grove(46)

“Good,” he said. “I like him too.”

“About the other night,” Jack said, watching Cait’s face so he could gauge what she was thinking. “Waiting to kiss you again has been hell on Earth. Waiting to take the next step…making love to you has been keeping me up nights…and taking a lot of cold showers.”

His lips hovered a breath above hers while he waited for her to make the next move. His ploy worked when she huffed out a breath, slid her hands around his neck, and pulled him in for a kiss that was just short of carnal.

Lips, teeth, and tongue tangled as the flames of desire burned inside of him, making him desperate to taste the skin at the base of her throat. He thought they were on the same page, but before he let his imagination run away with him, he needed to know that they both wanted the same thing—to spend the next few hours sharing what was inside their hearts without need for words…a press of lips here and slide of skin there. He was breathing hard when he pulled away and held her at arm’s length.

“Was that your answer?”

She smiled and tilted her head to one side. “Do you need me to tell you again?” she asked as she leaned toward him.

He shook his head. “You pack a punch, Mulcahy.” Taking hold of her hand, he said, “Let’s continue our conversation on the couch.”

Her eyes slid from where they stood just inside the kitchen doorway to the low-backed sofa that stretched out along one wall in the living room. “OK.”

This time, she was the one doing the tugging. Pulling him so he fell with her to the cushions. Jamie jumped on top of Jack’s back and began to tug on his jeans. “Down, boy,” he said, gently pushing the dog off the couch.

Jamie hung his head, but Jack’s attention was snagged elsewhere when Caitlin sat up and tugged her T-shirt up and over her head. “God, you’re beautiful.” He reached for her. Pulling her close, he let his mouth feast on her sumptuous skin. “You taste like heaven.”

“Your turn,” she said, tugging on the hem of his shirt. He didn’t hesitate; he let her help him pull it off. “Why are you hiding the fact that you’re totally ripped from the ladies in town?”

He laughed until he felt her hands gliding up his pecs and over his shoulders, strong but tender, in a fluid movement over and over that hypnotized him. “I love the way your hands feel on me.”

Knowing he needed more time to show Cait how he felt about her, he put his hand over hers. “My turn.”

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t speak, choosing to communicate with a nod, moan, and the undulation of her body.

Hands splayed at the small of her back, he pulled her toward him. She gripped the back of his shoulders for balance.

“I love the way your eyes go cloudy right before I kiss you.” He bent his head and brushed his mouth across hers. “You skin is so soft, except for the hands you use to work hard for a living.” When she would have jerked them off of him, he covered her hands with his and shook his head. “The strength in them turns me on.” Her gaze met his and from the softening in hers, he could tell she understood. “I’m going to touch you, Cait. Will you let me?”

Her sigh of contentment echoed through the living room. Jamie started to whine, but Jack didn’t pay any attention; his every thought, every movement, was concentrated on the woman vibrating beneath his touch.

His fingertips brushed along the length of her shoulders, taking the straps of her bra with them as he swept his hands down to her wrists and then back. When she moaned, he swept them from her hips to beneath her ribs and then back again, before unhooking her bra and letting it fall to the floor.

He repeated the movement again, touching her shoulders, sweeping them down to her wrists, up from her hips to her ribs…and each time he brushed closer to his goal, her delicate breasts. He wanted to feel their weight in his hands as he teased them into readiness for his lips and tongue.

She moaned out his name. “Don’t make me beg—touch me!”

He filled his hands with her soft flesh, caressing and molding her breasts until her breathing became ragged, her eyes closed, and she tilted her head back. Awed by her trust, desperate not to scare her off with the need clawing inside him, he pulled her close and held her to his heart. When her breathing quieted and he was in control once again, he pressed his lips beneath her ear and then followed an invisible line along her collar-bone; when he reached the hollow of her throat, he let his tongue linger.

Her soft moan of pleasure was music to his ears as she leaned back, offering herself to him.

Humbled, Jack vowed to take no more than she gave and to give all he could.