Naturally Naughty - Leslie Kelly [41]
Tucking the towel around her body, sarong-style, she reached for the other one and used it to dry her hair.
“I can think of a better use for an ice pack,” she muttered. If she truly wanted to feel better, she should put the damn thing between her legs to try to cool herself off where she was really aching.
But cold, hard ice wasn’t what she wanted between her legs. She wanted hot, hard man. One big, hot, hard man.
“No way, Kate. It’s a Hugh Jackman fantasy and a vibrating fingertip for you tonight,” she muttered as she bent to wrap the towel around her hair.
“Vibrating fingertip?”
Still bent at the waist, she winced, hoping those weren’t Jack’s sexy bare feet she spied right outside the partly open doorway. Praying that hadn’t been his voice and he hadn’t heard her comment about needing to get herself off with an actor fantasy and a vibrator.
She squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, the feet were still there. And she was still bent in front of him like some kowtowing servant. He’d heard.
Kate knew she had three choices—ignore him, pretend he’d misunderstood or be bold and shameless about the whole thing. Knowing what Cassie would do—what any self-respecting Tremaine woman should do—she took a deep breath. Brazen it out.
“Yeah, a vibrating fingertip,” she said, standing and twisting the towel so it would stay on her hair. Her upraised arm caused the towel wrapped around her body to loosen. As it began to slip, she caught it at the tip of her breasts, and tucked it back together. Then she risked a glance at Jack. His chest was moving rapidly, as if he had to struggle to breathe.
She had a feeling it wasn’t the lingering steam in the bathroom making him gasp.
Thank heaven.
“It’s actually a clever little vibrator that slips over your finger and feels…mmm…so good.” She licked her lips. “I have it right here in my purse, and can take care of myself anytime I want,” she added, not knowing how she could be stupid enough to step even closer to the fire in which he could consume her. But step she did. Then even closer. “Would you like me to show it to you?” She lowered her voice. “I remember you’re the kind of man who appreciates visual images.”
Jack’s jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. “Sit down.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he said, his voice low and thick. “Sit down, Kate.”
He stepped closer. Not waiting for her to obey, he instead pushed her with the tip of his index finger until she backed up against the bathroom counter. Sliding up to sit on it, she held her breath, wondering what he would do next, wondering what she’d begun…and if she dared to finish it.
Had she gone too far? Her intention had been to taunt, to arouse, then to walk away leaving him to imagine her touching herself in another room in the house. Somehow, though, things had changed. He’d taken control of the situation.
She didn’t pause to evaluate why she didn’t care.
He reached for her thighs, tugging her closer to the edge of the counter. Then he gently eased her knees apart.
She shuddered. “Jack, I…”
“You don’t have to take care of yourself.”
Her eyes widened and her heart pounded with the primal rhythms of a tribal drum in her chest.
“I’m going to take care of you this time,” he whispered.
She held her breath as he reached for her towel, tugging it open at the bottom, exposing one thigh all the way up to her hip. The other flap of the towel remained over her lap, caught almost coyly between her thighs. He made no effort to tug it free, instead trailing his fingers on her flesh in a slow, gentle caress.
Kate closed her eyes, waiting for a voice to scream in her head, telling her to stop, to not be taken in by him again. Great sex and a whole bunch of earth-shaking orgasms won’t cancel out the hurt of his disinterest later.
Who the hell was she kidding? Right now, at this very moment, great sex and a whole bunch of orgasms would be worth just about anything, including a kidney or her firstborn child.
It was only when she