Page 80 of Playing With Matches
And then I bolt.
I hear the mic clatter to the floor behind me as Jackson follows. But I keep going. I run past the swimming pools full of starlight and the fountains full of wishes. I run till I reach the beach, and then I keep running till I get to the water’s edge and wade right in.
The whole time I’m running, I know without looking that he’s there, too. Right behind me. I know he could easily overtake me. But he doesn’t. He just follows me, hanging back, saying nothing, keeping his distance, until I get to the water. Only then does he come to my side, wading in beside me, pushing past the moonlit waves.
When we’re both waist-deep, Jackson silently takes my hand.
“Stop,” he says, preventing me from pulling away.
“I can’t,” I shake my head.
“Then at least let me come in with you,” he says, pulling me toward him. I am about to lose my footing, but he lifts me before I can fall and holds me close, bobbing against him in the waves. His lips brush against mine, and I taste salt, the ocean, the tip of his tongue, and the tang of my own overwhelming desire.
“You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?” he says. “You saw it. Tell me the truth?”
“I knew I wanted you,” I admit. “But I didn’t think you –,” I break off searching for the words. “I thought you just wanted to have sex with me to prove a point.”
“The point being?”
“That you were right about relationships. That it’s all ones and zeros. Sex and friendship and occasionally sex with friends.”
Jackson runs his hands under my clothes and puts his thumbs on the tips of my breasts.
“Isla, I swear to God, when I put my hands on your body, I can feel it in my soul. If you told me right now that you were making the clouds move and the stars twinkle, I would believe you.”
He rests his lips in the hollow of my throat and presses a quick kiss before continuing. “I want to give you an epic hickey. I want to claim you, and I want you to claim me. ”
“I’m scared,” I admit.
“Shall I sing to you some more?”
“Absolutely. All day, every day. No more speaking. From now on, you only sing.”
“If I sing again, will you come back to the room with me?” Jackson hums.
“Quickly,” I agree fervently. “Before I burn up.”
* * *
We tumbleinto bed nearly naked, clothing shed and strewn in a trail behind us.
The tangled sheets, salty skin – I’ve seen this.
“I didn’t think I was going to be able to wait,” I breathe against his ribs as I make my way down the length of his torso, touching and exploring him with my tongue.
He moans.
I tug at his damp boxers. “Have you ever made love in the ocean before?”
“No, I’ve never had sex in the ocean,” Jackson admits.
“Me either,” I say, feeling an excited surge of victory as my hand brushes the apparent evidence of his arousal. I straddle him. His skin is hot, pulsing against me.
“But I already feel like I’m out to sea when I’m with you,” Jackson says. “Like I might drown if I’m not careful. You’re rocking my world, Isla Fairfax.” Jackson holds my hips still, pulling off his shorts and flinging them to the ground. His erection strains against my lacey undergarments.
With one hand he pushes the crotch of my panties aside. He slips a long finger deep inside me. Now it’s my turn to moan.
“I need to be inside of you, and I need thatnow,” he says, his voice low and tearing. And with one swift movement, he pulls the lace aside and spears me, thrusting so hard and deep that the pleasure feels like stars in the sky are rushing to meet me.
