“I guess so, in a general sense. But that’s not really why I’m doing it. I like pushing my boundaries to see what I’m capable of. It’s hard to explain, because it’s not only that. I know I can do anything I set my mind to, but I want to experience more of life. And it’s not that I blame my parents for how they raised me, or even that I feel like I missed out. I adore them and I had a great childhood, even though it probably doesn’t look that way since I turned away their trust fund and—”
“Wait,” he said, eyes wide with a tease. “You have a trust fund? Hell, baby. That changes everything. Let’s get married!”
“Like you need money.”
“Money is the last thing I need.”
He stared at her so long she began to wonder if he was implying something else. Just when she was convinced he was going to say he needed her, he said, “I could live completely off the grid and I’d be happier than if I lived in a castle. My whole family’s like that. Well, maybe not Duke. He likes creature comforts. But look at the house Trish and Boone bought in West Virginia. It’s small, run-down, and in a town as big as my thumb. They make enough money to buy the state, but Trish isn’t pretentious. She’s as tough as nails, and if she had to, she could live off the land, too.” He shook his head and laughed softly. “She’s as stubborn as you are. When we were kids she always tried to beat us in everything we did. It’s one of the things I respect most about her.”
Hearing Jake talk about how tough Trish was struck another appealing chord. She loved that he placed value on intelligence and drive, regardless of whether a woman or a man possessed those traits, so unlike what she’d grown up with.
“That’s what I’m talking about. I want to do more. I want to beat myself, I guess. I don’t want to look back when I’m seventy and wonder why I never went camping. You were encouraged to push yourself in everything you did. I never had that. Even going to college was a battle of wills. My father wanted me to go to one of the most prestigious schools, or study overseas. All I wanted was to be a normal kid and go to a school that didn’t cater to only the wealthiest families. And I’m sure you’re thinking I’m just trying to validate my own self-worth, or rebelling against overprotective parents, or some other psych crap, and maybe I am. Who knows?”
“You don’t know me at all, sexy girl. I was thinking about how admirable it is.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed that, but I’m sure lots of other people see it that way. All I know is that I enjoy pushing myself, and if that means leaving safety behind, then that’s what it means. I’ve proven I can make it on my own. But now that I’ve done that, I want to do more. It still feels like something is…I don’t know. Missing?”
She paused, uncomfortable with how she sounded. “Saying this out loud makes me sound rebellious or foolish, and probably spoiled rotten, because how can something be missing when I was born into a family that wants for nothing? I can’t explain it. My mom is perfectly happy living a jet-setting life, in Paris one day and who knows where the next, letting my father make all the decisions for the two of them. But I’m wired differently. I need more. I get restless if my mind isn’t stimulated.”
He raised his brows.
“You have such a dirty mind.” And I love it.
“I told you we’re perfect for each other.”
He leaned down for another kiss, and when their mouths met, he was in complete control. With the ocean breeze at her back and Jake’s hard frame pressing against her from chest to thighs, fire sparked beneath her skin, and she let him take, and take, and take. The fact that she craved his dominance wasn’t lost on her. Neither was the realization that she was in no hurry to reclaim the upper hand.
“I get you, sexy girl,” he said in a sensual tone. “You’re smart and capable and you don’t want to be told what to do or when to do it. But…”
He kissed her neck and then gazed deeply into her eyes. The emotions staring back made it hard to breathe, and she could see that he was drowning in them. But…?
As he lowered his lips to hers again, she put her palm against his chest, holding the next delicious kiss at bay. She couldn’t get swept away just yet. Not with whatever he was going to say left unsaid.
“Wait, Jake. Now that Gabby and Duke are trying to start a family and Gabby’s cutting back on her practice, this is my chance to set out and experience more of the world on my terms. You’re not going to hold me back.”
JAKE WASN’T BIG on keeping his thoughts to himself, but in Addy he’d found not only a woman he wanted, but also someone he related to on every level. She was a strong-minded, intelligent, risk-taking beauty with a penchant for pushing her boundaries—in and out of the bedroom. But he knew what happened when someone tried to forbid him to do something. He not only defied them, but he went above and beyond, proving just how wrong they were. He had no doubt Addy’s reaction would be pretty close to his own, and he wasn’t willing to risk their last night together to prove a point. There was more than one way to scale a mountain.
Tamping down the protector in him was akin to taming a bear, but his feelings for Addy were more powerful than his need for her to yield to his demands.
“I’m not trying to hold you back,” he promised, although he sure as hell wanted to talk some sense into her about going on her trip. When he gazed into Addy’s determined eyes, he knew he’d do whatever it took to be with her, including waiting until morning to talk about her trip. His brothers would call this “relationship compromise.” He may not know much about relationships, but he didn’t think that mattered. He only needed to know what Addy needed. And right now she didn’t need to be pushed. She needed to be loved and cherished and shown that how he felt had nothing to do with controlling her decisions and everything to do with keeping her safe.
“I want tonight,” he said softly, drawing a long, sensual sigh from her. “And tomorrow.” His mouth brushed over hers. “I want you in my bed, Addy. I want to wake up with you in my arms tomorrow.”
She trapped her lower lip between her beautiful white teeth, looking so different from the bold woman he was used to, he wanted to protect her from the cause of her vulnerable reaction. But there was no protecting her from what was meant to be. Every time they were close it became harder for her to erect those walls she wore like armor, just as it did for him.
Lowering his face beside her ear, he said, “Want me to take you right here on the sand? Or do you want me to strip you bare in the safety of my bedroom, blindfold those pretty little eyes, and make you feel more than you’ve ever felt in your entire life?”
Her lip sprang free, and all that vulnerability went up in flames. She went up on her toes and he met her halfway in a feverish kiss. They stumbled up the beach, kissing as they hurried across the dirt road toward the path that led to the resort, stopping only for more kissing and groping. By the time they reached his room they were both breathless. He pushed the door open and swept her inside, kicking the door closed behind them.
“Lock it,” she said as he tore her dress over her head and tossed it to the floor.
Done.
He turned back, stilling at the sight of her wearing nothing but a black lace bra and matching panties. “You are an incredible sight.” And she was all his. He tugged his shirt off, holding on to it as he stripped out of the rest of his clothes.
She eyed his shirt. “Security blanket?”
“Baby, I made a promise, and I never back down on my promises.” He lifted her into his arms, reveling in her smallness. Her legs wound around his waist, and her mouth met his as he carried her into the bedroom.
He flung the blanket back and laid her down in the center of the bed, coming down over her. “I’ve dreamed of seeing you in my bed for so long I could give you a play-by-play of what I’m going to do to you.” Her eyes widened just a hair, immediately narrowing again in pure seduction. “But that would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it?”
She licked her lips, the pulse in the base of her neck throbbing frantically.
Holding his shirt by a scrap, he dragged it over her chest. “Say hello to your blindfold, sexy girl.”
Her lips curved up. “My new best friend.”
As he covered her beautiful eyes with his shirt and tied it in place, he told himself it didn’t matter that she seemed too comfortable with being blindfolded. He lowered her head gently to the mattress and touched her cheek, wrestling to keep his jealousy in check.
She covered his hand with hers. “Jake?”
Her voice was unexpectedly shaky. “You okay, sexy girl?”
Her fingers curled around his hand, and she nibbled on her lower lip again. “I didn’t expect to miss seeing your face.”
He let out a sigh of relief and kissed her softly. “Want me to take it off?”
She shook her head. “No. I just wanted you to know. I didn’t expect to feel so much for you.”
“Neither did I,” he said honestly, noticing how much easier it was for her to reveal her true feelings when she couldn’t see him. That made him want to earn her trust even more.