Page 21 of Something Real with the Sea Monster (Kraken Cove #3)

TWENTY ONE

Tegan

It’s so good with Jack. It’s like he reads me in a way none of my other lovers have ever done. Or maybe it’s just because he actually listens. There’s no ego. No bullshit thinking that he knows what feels good for me. He asks, I tell him, and he gives me what I ask for. It’s that simple.

That simple and that perfect that it’s irresistible.

Can you blame me for giving in to it?

Jack’s hand cups my cheek possessively, and any resistance I had to the kiss is long forgotten in about a single heartbeat. And my heart is racing fast, thinking of all the delicious, perfect ways he’s made me come so far. Of the things he can do to my body.

His tentacles slide up my legs and one slips between us to toy with my clit over the bikini bottoms I have on.

I moan as he gets the pressure just right, rocking my hips and taking more from him than I should, selfishly giving in to sensation and pleasure.

“Tell me you feel it too,” he whispers as his lips skate over my neck.

I tip my head back, pulling him into me, threading my fingers through his hair. His cock is thick and rock hard between us, and I grind a little harder. “Oh, I feel it.”

He lifts his head, and I want to yank his hair and pull him back again, but what he says stops me. “No, I mean us. The chemistry. The connection.”

Of course I feel it. I’m surprised the whole of Kraken Cove can’t see it sizzling between us, but I’m not going to say it. Something in the intensity of his look tells me that would be a bad idea right now. “Jack—”

“You have to. How could you not?”

I want to float in his arms and let him do whatever he wants with my body. I want to stay here all evening and all night just letting him touch me. Touching him.

I want to give him everything he wants, but I can’t, can I?

My heart has already survived being trampled several times. I’ll survive this too. But his? He’s been waiting for his mate, and I’m not her. I can’t be her.

I’m so, so jealous of whoever it is. This guy is a keeper. He’s literally begging to be kept.

He’s strong and caring and intuitive and he actually listens.

I’m hot in the warm water, writhing on his lap, desperate for more, but also for air. For the space to breathe and catch up with my feelings. Or his.

I pull away panting, sliding up onto the edge of the tub and tucking my legs up into my chest. “What are we doing?”

“Whatever you want and nothing more,” says Jack quietly. “You know you only have to ask me. For anything. For everything.”

My throat feels raw. My eyes sting. My mascara is probably running. “I don’t know if I can do this.” Suddenly it all feels too real. I stand and stagger to the balustrade, bracing on the wooden railing and trying to catch my breath.

A gentle hand on my back makes me sigh.

“Do you want to stop?”

“No,” I say miserably. “That’s the problem. I never want to stop with you.”

“Then don’t.” He strokes up and down my back. Soothing, calming my ragged breath until the heat that returns is the heat between my thighs. “You don’t have to question it. You don’t have to worry about anything at all. I’ve got you.”

He keeps touching me. Slow, undemanding touches that loosen me and draw me to him.

I want that to be true. I need it so badly. I need someone who can make the spiraling thoughts stop when they rush out of control like they do in moments like this. Who will embrace me when I close my eyes and jump rather than linger in worry and indecision.

Jack’s hand slides toward my ass. “Can I touch you here?”

“Yes.”

He cups and massages my butt, fingers caressing the seam of my bikini bottoms but never sliding under. That’s all he does for a long time, just touches me. He rubs my back, teases tension out of my neck, then slides warm hands over my hips and upper thighs, to the crease of my ass.

I moan.

His fingers pause at the edge of my bathing suit. “Can I touch you here as well?”

I can’t resist. I don’t want to. Instead I shut my eyes and fall into him with another whispered yes .

His fingers delve beneath my swimsuit, pushing though folds already slick from his kisses, from his presence, from the way he touches and holds me.

I spread my legs and arch my back and offer no protest. I should.

I should stop him. I should ask the questions I need answers to: what happens when you find your fated mate?

What happens when I have to go back to Sydney?

I don’t though. Because that’s always been who I am.

Instead I push back onto his fingers as he thrusts them inside me. I reach behind and wrap my hand around his thick erection, squeezing and pumping as much as I can.

“I want you to fuck me.”

Jack’s exhale is shaky. “Do you have a condom?”

“In my bag.”

He gets it and returns quickly. The heat from his skin has barely cooled by the time he’s back. I hear the tear of the packet and then his hard cock is nudging at my entrance.

I gasp. Reaching forward, I clutch the railing and look back at him.

The look of concentration on his face as he slides into me would be adorable, but it feels so intense that I totally get it. He looks up at me as he buries himself, and there’s this moment which passes between us. Something so heavy it presses against my chest. Palpable like I could touch it.

Then he starts to move.

Jack withdraws slowly at first, then faster. Soon his hips are slapping against my ass as he plunges inside me. Neither of us wants slow now. It doesn’t need to be discussed. We both just know. There’s no more holding back.

I brace myself as his thrusts intensify. He’s grunting, gripping my ass, riding me with desperation. The other people at the Inlet Views can probably hear. Hell, anyone walking past on the street could hear. If any of the guests go out to the barbeque area or the pool, they’ll see.

I don’t care.

I want this—no, I need this.

He doesn’t stop anymore to ask me what I need. Jack slides a tentacle between us to apply suction over my clit, and my knuckles go white on the balustrade. That’s it. That’s all it takes.

My legs go weak as my orgasm hits, but he’s right there holding me up. He plunges deep inside me and holds there as I shudder around him.

As my own pleasure fades, I feel the last of his spasms inside me and feel his hot breath on my shoulder. He grunts, hands covering mine as he plunges deep. “Tegan!”

There’s a long moment of silence as the frantic pace comes to a stop and our breathing slows.

“What if that was a really bad idea?” I ask no one in particular.

Jack picks me up and carries me back to the spa. “Did it feel like a bad idea to you?”

He settles me on his lap, and I sink into his chest while he pets my hair. “Yes. Only bad ideas feel so fucking good. Trust me, I know from experience.”

He laughs. “You’re too sweet to be a bad idea. I refuse to believe it.”

“I think you have me confused with somebody else. Are you sure this is smart? What about your fated mate?”

He kisses the top of my head. “You let me worry about that.”

“This will end,” I push. “Probably badly.”

“Or maybe it won’t.”

“Jack, I have to go back to Sydney eventually. You know that.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I—” I pause, mouth still open, but I don’t have a good answer for that. Only a half-baked plan and the certain knowledge that I’m not a small town girl. “—just do,” I finish lamely.

He doesn’t say anything more, just holds me until he’s ready to go again.

After that, I don’t have a chance to worry about where this goes or what we’re doing for a good long time. And after that, my mind is too warm and fuzzy from all the cuddles and the orgasms, and I fall asleep in his arms not even thinking about what I’ll say to Mia in the morning.