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A moment later, the door flew open, and Jack pulled her inside past the old standing sink beside the door, folding her in his arms. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re all wet. I’m so sorry! I should never have asked you to do this.”

She stepped back, bumping into the edge of the cabinet and hutch with all the dishes, and folded her arms across her chest. “You didn’t ask me. I asked you.”

Maybe she was being too forward when she pushed to see him like this again, but she needed to hold him in her arms, especially after the anxiety of his landing Wednesday evening.

And good heavens, was she enjoying the sight of him at that moment! He’d taken off his shirt and stood before her in his sleeveless, button-down union suit and khaki pants. His feet were bare. She could hardly wait to take the rest of his clothes off and explore those expanses of lean muscle that his union suit did little to hide.

“I know. I shouldn’t have given in so easily, but I’m dying to see you too.” He grasped her arms and looked her up and down, his smoldering gaze driving away the chill of the spring rain. “Let’s get this damp housecoat off you, and I’ll warm you up.” Tugging at the tie around her waist, he pulled it loose and pushed the garment off her shoulders, letting it puddle on the tile floor.

She stood exposed in his kitchen with nothing but the thin cotton of her nightgown to cover her. Was it just her, or were the pots and pans hanging on a rail above the stove standing in judgment?

Jack sucked in his breath, and his gaze turned scorching. “Lord have mercy,” he murmured as he reached out to trace a finger along her neckline.

A shiver ran through her, though whether it was from cold or the sensation of his touch, she couldn’t say.

Dropping his hand, he said, “Sorry,” and wrapped her in his arms around her and kissed her hair, his warmth seeping into her and driving away the chill. “I should get you upstairs and under some blankets so that you can warm up properly.”

Upstairs. In Jack’s bed. The reality of what she was doing pressed in on her, making her still. But she wanted this, needed it. And if she was this far in, it seemed silly to turn back now. It was time to be brave. Tipping up her chin, she met his gaze. “I’d like that.”

Loosening his arms, he straightened. “Are you sure? For a moment, it looked like you were having doubts. I’m dying to be with you again, but I don’t want to do anything that you’re uncertain about.”

“I’m sure.” She reached up and pulled him into a slow, languorous kiss that drove off the last of the chill and then some. “I want to know that I’m yours and you’re mine.”

“Sweetheart, that would be true even if you’d stayed home tonight and gone to bed like I half expected you would,” he said into the crook of her neck, the vibration of his words against her skin sending ripples of pure desire to her core. He kissed and nipped at her ear, making her knees weak. “I don’t ever want you to feel like you have to do this for my sake.”

Feeling bold, she let her hands dip to his buttocks and pulled his already hard length against the place where she ached the most. “I’m not doing this for you. I want it.”

He sucked in a breath and backed her up against the sturdy butcher-block table in the center of the kitchen, lifting her up so that she could perch on it and wrap her legs around him as he kissed her with a ferocity she’d never experienced.

It drove her wild, made her dig her nails into his back like a feral cat, driven by pure instinct and animal need.

“Take me upstairs,” she murmured between punishing kisses, as he ran his hands up her thighs beneath her nightgown. “Please, Jack, I need you.”

Pulling her off the table, he lifted her with her bare legs wrapped around his hips. His hands gripped her bare bottom. In a moment of daring, she’d decided to forego knickers, so there was no barrier to his questing fingers, so close to where she wanted them that she thought she might expire on the spot if he didn’t hurry up and touch her.

He lowered her slowly, letting her slide against his arousal until her feet touched the cool tiles. With one hand still beneath her nightgown, he brushed against her curls and slid a finger between her folds. Finally!

“Mmm. So wet for me.” After circling his finger with agonizing slowness around the nub of flesh she so desperately wanted him to touch, he pulled his hand away and sucked his finger clean. “Christ, you taste good.”

Her eyebrows shot up. There was something so unabashedly carnal about the look on his face that her momentary surprise turned to burning need before she could register what was happening.

With a smile that was pure sin, he chuckled. “Let’s go upstairs, shall we?”

He stepped back and took her hand, leading her out of the kitchen, down the hall past the parlor, and up the stairs. She expected him to lead her into his childhood room, but he took her to the large bedroom at the front that used to be his parents’. She’d never been in there before, only catching the occasional glimpse. When they were kids, it was always off limits.

He must have redecorated when his parents moved. New, modern, off-white wallpaper with thin navy lines forming diamonds matched navy curtains with off-white diamonds. The brass bedframe looked new too, as did the quilt in shades of blue covering the bed. Jack’s chess board sat on a chair in the corner, and his aviator cap dangled off the top, making her smile.

She wanted to pause for a moment and take it all in. After all, how many times had she fantasized about being alone with Jack in his room? But he swept her off her feet and carried her to the bed, laying her down. As he pulled back the covers for her, she shimmied beneath them. He followed swiftly, climbing on top of her and resting between her legs.

“Now, let’s see about warming you up.” He kissed his way down her neck as he pushed up her nightgown. “I think it’s time we took this off, don’t you?”

Sitting up slightly, she let him slide it over her head, leaving her naked. A rush of exhilaration poured through her. This was happening. At long last, he was going to make her his.

But he didn’t take off his own clothes. Instead, he kissed his way down her chest, lavishing attention on her breasts, licking and nipping until she was ready to crawl out of her skin. “When are you going to put your peter in my honeypot?”

She was ready—so very ready. Even though good girls waited for marriage, she didn’t think she had the patience to wait a moment longer. She wanted him inside her immediately.

He stilled and raised his head to meet her gaze, eyes wide.