Page 22 of Bursting With Love
Chapter Nine
SAVANNAH WAITED FOR embarrassment to find her as she pulled her sweatshirt over her head and settled it over her body. Her nipples were still overly sensitive. She shivered as the warm cotton touched them. She never thought she’d let a man touch her in the place she’d just let Jack, much less want him to. She shot a glance at him, leaning naked against the boulder, his eyes trained on the ground, and she wanted so much more of him. Everything about him was complex. He was a striking combination of hard masculinity and, Savannah was sure, a big, loving heart buried deep inside. A man without a heart wouldn’t look like he did after doing what they’d just done. A man without a heart would be gloating.
She leaned against the boulder beside him. “Are you okay?”
He nodded, and when he looked up at her, his eyes were damp.
Savannah’s heart stopped. “What’s wrong?” Oh God. He regrets it.
“Nothing and everything all at the same time,” he said softly.
“I’m not sure what that means.”
“Savannah.” He reached his arm around her and pulled her close. “I haven’t been with a woman since my wife died, and before her, well, there weren’t many. But never—ever—have I done what we just did, and I just want to be sure I didn’t hurt you. You know...” He ran his hand over her rear.
And there it was. His soft heart. “Jack, you didn’t hurt me. I’ve never felt this close to anyone before, and I’ve never let anyone touch me there. I really don’t know why I wanted to tonight, but”—she shrugged—“I couldn’t get enough of you. No matter how much you touched me, it wasn’t enough. It’s still not enough,” she admitted.
He nodded. “It scares the shit out of me.”
She didn’t know how to react to that. Me too? That would be a lie. It didn’t scare her. In fact, she wanted to do more. She moved in front of him and stood between his legs.
“You didn’t promise to marry me. We shared our bodies. We shared emotions. Why does it scare you?” She saw the answer in his eyes as he furrowed his brow and swallowed hard again. Guilt.
He shook his head, and his dark eyes glistened with tears. “It’s late, and it’s hard to explain. Let’s get towels and go wash up. We can talk some other time.”
The way he shut her down stung, and as they finished dressing, Savannah wondered if she’d made a mistake. He came to her side and looked at her with such pain in his eyes she regretted feeling so put off. Complex didn’t even start to explain Jack.
“Savannah, I’m not good at any of this,” Jack admitted. “Right now I want to reach up and touch your cheek. I want to brush your hair from your shoulder and feel you in my arms, but I’ve just touched you in every private place imaginable, and I don’t know you well enough to put my dirty hands on you again. We don’t even have a proper shower where I can help bathe my memory away from your body.”
Her heart melted at the thought that he’d even think to do that. Where did the gruff, angry man go? “So we did things a little backward. We can get to know each other now.”
She reached for his hands and he pulled them away. “I need to wash up.”
“I didn’t peg you as a neat freak,” she teased. She pressed her body against his, drawn in by his thoughtfulness. “Let’s go wash up. I have no expectations. To be honest, I’m still reeling at you talking to me instead of growling.”
“I can’t make any promises about how I’ll be ten minutes from now or tomorrow. I definitely don’t trust my own emotions right now, but I don’t regret being with you.”
Chapter Ten
“THIS IS ONE thing that my concrete city doesn’t have enough of,” Savannah said as she dipped beneath the cold water. Her teeth chattered and goose bumps covered her arms and legs.
“You’re freezing.” He wrapped his arms around her.
“No, just my outside is. My inside is warmer and happier than it has been in a very long time.”
“You really are incredibly beautiful,” Jack whispered. He’d been dying to touch her face after they’d been close, and now, as he reached up and cupped her cheek, he had to close his eyes. She fit perfectly against his palm, and when she leaned into his hand, he shivered with the memory of what they’d done in the forest.
“Thank you,” Savannah said. She touched the back of his hand and pressed it to her cheek. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
He took the washcloth from Savannah’s hand and washed her back in slow, gentle stokes as he learned each dip and curve of her body.
