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Flashbacks to other times together flitted through her brain for a moment, but she closed her eyes to shut them out, now wanting to spoil this chance to be with him just for the pleasure of it. She’d fallen hard for him once, and that was more than enough, thank you very much. This time, she’d take all the sensual bliss, all the sizzle, without the heartache.
“Open,” he whispered, the words warm against her skin as he brushed a kiss over her temple.
She took a deep breath and edged one thigh higher as the hard, thick length of him slid over her core.
“Your eyes,” he clarified, kissing the closed lids. “Open them. Look at me.”
As she met his gaze, he edged inside her in perfect synchronization so that by the time she’d dragged her lids all the way open, he was seated deep inside her. He cupped her hip in one hand and cradled her jaw in the other, tipping her face to his. Her heart beat wildly, erratically, and she knew it wasn’t because of how good he felt inside her.
It was because opening her eyes felt like opening her heart, if only for a moment.
Slamming her lids shut again, she closed out everything but the feeling. That much she could have. That much she would take.
Jack let go of her cheek to bracket her shoulders, his fists on either side of her on the mattress as he found a rhythm that pleased them both. Too soon, the pleasure built all over again, rolling through her like a tidal wave, pulling her under as the release pulsed along her feminine muscles. Dimly, she felt him find his own satisfaction and she wished that she’d contributed more to help take him to that place.
Still, his shout of satisfaction reverberated through her, reassuring her that he’d been right there with her in those final moments.
At last, sated and boneless, she stirred up just enough energy to tug him down onto the bed beside her. His scent was as familiar as the feeling of being wrapped in his arms. She rubbed her cheek along his chest, savoring the warmth of his skin and the silky bristle of dark hair at the center of his pecs. For a few more days, she would soak up all she could of him. Or at least, all she could without allowing her heart to get tangled up in the mix.
Jack Murphy had never wanted all she’d been ready to give him. So now, she would only dole out this one small piece – the sexual side of her that he’d coaxed to life for the first time with his own two hands. Was it any wonder she fit so well with him when he’d been the man to take her virginity?
This time, she’d simply enjoy what he had to offer. And when the day came to say goodbye in Maine, she would be the one to do the walking.
ChapterFive
Jack had been in the military long enough to know a battle line when he saw one. And Alicia had drawn hers clearly for him the night before when she’d closed her eyes and shut him out, broadcasting her intent to keep him at arm’s length even when he was buried deep inside her.
While he wasn’t surprised, per se, he’d been… rattled. Okay, maybe a little stung. For four years, he’d remembered her the way she’d been when he’d left for officer candidate school in Newport. Back then, Alicia had been crazy about him, wearing her heart on her sleeve as she’d pulled him into her world. There was a coolness about her now that he imagined came from more maturity, at least in part. But he mourned the loss of that effusive, affectionate woman she’d been.
He watched her out of the corner of his eye the next afternoon as she sat on the forward deck, soaking in the late summer sun while she worked on more notes for the bed and breakfast she planned to buy. That damn inn of hers. This morning, she’d shown him half a dozen photos and diagrams of the place. She had layouts of the existing structure with overlays of the additions and changes she wanted to make in five years and ten years.
What could he say when he’d been floored by her meticulous planning? Obviously, the place in Bar Harbor was about more than escaping him and Chatham. She truly had big plans for this project. But it was tough to share the enthusiasm when he thought she should open an inn back home where she had family to watch over her. Where he could be sure she didn’t run into any trouble.
“Do you think we’ve reached the coast of Maine yet?” she asked him suddenly.
She shaded her eyes with one hand to study the green hills and beaches on the shore. Her hair bobbed in a loose knot at the back of her head, a few stray pieces escaping because of the constant breeze.
“No. We got a late start this morning, remember?” He checked the horizon for oncoming boats and set the self-steering mechanism so he could join her on the forward deck.
They’d showered together upon waking, an activity that had further depleted the condom resources and caused them to linger in bed for over an hour afterward. While Alicia had been as sweetly responsive physically as she had been the night before, she also held something back from him. If he didn’t know her so well, he probably wouldn’t have recognized it.
“I remember.” She grinned at him over the sketchpad. “Are you fishing for compliments on another stellar performance?”
Dropping into a seat cushion beside her, he tugged the paper from her hands and set it aside, weighing it down with a heavy picture book about Bar Harbor so her work didn’t blow away.
“Hardly. But if your recall is faulty, I’m more than happy to refresh your memory.” He figured his odds of bringing her back home to Massachusetts with him increased each time he undressed her.
They hadn’t discussed what the night before meant and he wasn’t eager to press her for a commitment. Yet.
For now, he would concentrate on taking down her barriers whenever he wasn’t takingher. He trailed a finger down her arm, her skin sun-warmed through the gauzy white blouse she wore over a turquoise colored tank top. Her denim cut-offs were so short the pockets peeked out from the frayed edges, displaying lean, tanned legs tucked underneath her on the seat.
“Your generosity knows no bounds.” Unfurling her legs, she stretched out in the sun. “But since we’re falling behind, I wonder if we should move out deeper into the ocean. We could make better time.”
He let go of her shirt, sensing a battle of wills brewing.
“Safer for us if we hug the coast.” Why take chances with her? “It’s a big, unwieldy boat for one person. We might as well take it easy and arrive in one piece.”
She frowned. “You weren’t concerned about the size of the boat that first night when I woke up in the middle of the Atlantic.”
