“No. In fact, I think you’ve been more apt to call me a pain in the ass. Take off your sneakers.”
“What was I thinking?” She toed off her sneakers and kicked them aside. “I should have at least called you a smart pain in the ass.”
“Yes, you should have.” He yanked her zipper then jerked down her jeans and panties with one hard tug. He felt like he’d explode if he didn’t touch her. Now. He helped her step out of her jeans, then dropped to his knees in front of her, leaned in, and ran his tongue along the seam of her sex.
She gasped and spread her legs wider, then sifted her fingers through his hair, moaning his name as he pleasured her with his mouth and tongue and fingers. The musk of her arousal filled his head along with the subtle fragrance of…
“Cookies,” he murmured against her thigh. “You taste like cookies. Everywhere.”
“My body wash,” she said, between panting breaths. “It’s called Vanilla Sugar Cookie.”
Damn. No wonder she smelled, tasted so good. What chance did a mere mortal male have against a woman who bathed in something called Vanilla Sugar Cookie? As it was, he’d never be able to eat another cookie and not think of her. Which was bad, because he really liked cookies.
He slipped two fingers inside her, thrusting in unison with his flicking tongue. He felt her body tighten, then with a long, low groan she pulsed around his fingers. As soon as her tremors subsided he slipped his fingers from her body and reached for the condom in his back pocket. She’d already gotten his zipper halfway down and he quickly took care of the rest, then shoved his jeans and boxer briefs down past his hips. He tore open the condom, sheathed himself, and sat back on his heels.
He reached for her, but she was already straddling him. She lowered herself onto him, and took him in with a slow, deep engulfment that dragged a ragged groan from his throat. Needing more of her, he shoved up her sweater, growling his approval when she jerked the garment over her head and tossed it aside. He unhooked her bra and filled his hands with her warm, soft, cookie-scented flesh, then leaned forward to draw her tight nipple into his mouth.
Gripping his shoulders, she rode him, slowly at first, then quickening her pace. Jack gritted his teeth against the intense pleasure, holding off coming by sheer will. When he felt the first pulses of her orgasm, he gripped her hips and thrust upward. His climax roared through him and for an endless moment he throbbed inside her. When his shudders tapered off, he gathered her close. She nestled against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Reeeeeealy glad you brought that condom,” she said in a sleepy-sounding voice.
He brushed his lips against her disheveled hair. “Me, too. I didn’t need a map and a compass to see where two hours alone in the woods with you might lead.”
She lifted her head and smiled into his eyes. Such beautiful eyes. Such a gorgeous smile. Something inside him seemed to shift, like his chest had just fallen into quicksand. “Once again, the credits have exceeded the debits. I owe you one orgasm.”
He smiled back at her. “Fine. Good. Whatever you say.”
She laughed, and he wondered how he’d ever thought her anything other than lovely. “A very useful saying. But now that I’ve had my wicked way with you, I think we should find those flags.”
“What for? The purpose of this outing was for us to bond.” He leaned forward and circled her nipple with his tongue. “Mission accomplished.”
“True. But I’m determined to find those flags then the way out of here. There’s that twenty bucks I want to win from you so I can buy my lipstick.”
“Your lips don’t need lipstick, but okay. I’ll play.”
She shot him a wicked grin. “And may the best woman win.”
Nine
To Maddie, who couldn’t wait for the evening so she and Jack could continue their one-night stand-part two-the rest of the day seemed to drag on forever. She attended all the team building exercises as an observer, but twice joined in when they needed an extra person to even out the numbers. Through it all, she had to force herself to concentrate on the tasks at hand because her mind was filled to overflowing with thoughts of Jack.
Jack cheerfully paid his twenty-dollar debt after she led them out of the woods and to the van that transported them back to the Casa di Lago. He claimed it was all her fault he got lost, that he couldn’t focus on anything other than her, a claim that made her want to drag him right back into the woods and have her wicked way with him. Again.
Throughout the day, with each new exercise, she saw how Jack and his staff interacted with each other, strategized, planned, handled problem solving, communicated, reacted to stressful situations, supported-and sometimes didn’t support-each other. Things started off slow, and she sensed some initial reluctance on the part of several staff members, but as the day wore on, everyone, with the exception of a senior accounting manager named Peter Quinn, got into the spirit of the games to some degree, some more than others. The team building brought out the competitive nature of some, the sense of humor of others, the stubbornness of a few, and the thinking-outside-the-box abilities of yet others.
She jotted down her observations, trying her best not to allow her gaze to stray to Jack, but more often than not, that’s precisely where she found herself looking. Even when she wasn’t watching him, she was painfully aware of him. He had an easygoing, charismatic manner about him that she could see inspired respect in his staff. She’d noted as much during the previous month, but now that she was viewing him through different eyes, his leadership abilities, confidence, and commitment to his staff were crystal clear. He accomplished his tasks in the time allotted and made fair, intelligent decisions. It was easy to see he was an excellent boss, and she mentally scolded herself for allowing her preconceived notions about him to color her opinion of him so unfavorably. She normally didn’t jump to conclusions about people as she had with Jack, and she wondered why she had in his case.
Because you were attracted to him from moment one and didn’t want to be, her sly inner voice informed her. So you thought the worst of him to talk yourself out it.
Okay, that little voice was really annoying.
But totally right.
She had found him attractive. Too attractive. And hadn’t wanted to. A problem that wasn’t going to get any better, because she now not only found him attractive, she really liked him. A lot. Too much, she feared. He was not only an incredible lover, he made her laugh. And could converse on any subject. Heck, he was even willing to talk about chick flicks and shoes. No doubt due to his close relationship with his sister, but still-chick flicks and shoes!
Just then Jack looked up from the puzzle he and his four team-mates were trying to solve. Their gazes locked and for several seconds the air around Maddie felt too thick to breathe. Something seemed to pass between them, something warm and intimate that sped up her pulse and made everything inside her turn to the consistency of warm honey. She knew in that moment that if she weren’t careful, she stood in danger of falling into the emotional abyss she feared yawned before her: of caring for him, much more than she’d ever intended to.
By the time the afternoon break rolled around, Maddie could already see some new friendships forming. She purposely avoided Jack during the break, afraid that if they sat together everyone in the room would guess what was going on between them. Instead she ate her lunch at a table with Bob and Kathy Whitaker, who ran the team building program, and spent the time asking them questions, taking notes on their responses to add to her report that Gavin expected Monday morning.