Surviving Seduction (28 page)

She glared and turned, making for the fire again. Al of a sudden, his hands stopped her and he wrapped an arm across her chest and another around her waist.

“Let go,” she grunted, trying to pry him off.

“Easy, easy, easy,” he murmured in her ear, pul ing her against him. “I’m not going to do anything.”

“You
are
doing something,” she argued, tugging at his arms.

“It’s alright,” he assured her softly. “It’s alright.”

Selena closed her eyes and stopped fighting, but her breaths came deep and heavy as the feel of him holding her began to overwhelm her senses. After a moment, he settled into the caress more comfortably, rocking her gently and rubbing the side of her waist just a little.

She opened her eyes and watched the flames grow, licking the defeated quail’s pale pink skin.

She thought of Dan and felt a hole in her chest. The time they had spent together was brief, but so deep. Could she ever trust Jack like she trusted Dan? Her gut response offered no reassurance. The fact remained that Dan needed a partner who could match him, and one who could help him achieve his vision of the future, not one who would slow him down. She knew he loved her, and she loved him too, but she believed that the events of their past had happened for a reason. If that was true, wasn’t it also true that her experiences with Jack were happening for a reason?

She remembered when he came out of the darkness to cut through the ropes that bound her to that tree, how he’d carried her to the saddle, and how grateful she was to feel him against her as he took her away from those wicked men.

It felt good to be held like this. It felt good to be held by him.

He nuzzled her hair gently and she let out a long breath, tipping her head to the side.

“You can’t even begin to know how much I want you,”

he murmured in her ear, squeezing her more tightly. The way he’d said it, it seemed like he was incredulous about it himself.

Now wasn’t the time for more reckless decisions. She couldn’t see clearly through the thick fog of her emotions.

“Sorry,” she told him stubbornly.

He went stil and then nipped her neck playful y, letting go at the same time.

“Hey!” she barked, reaching back to swat him.

He dodged it smilingly and set out in the direction of the horses.

When he was far enough away, she shook out her hands and ran them through her hair. Her body had been convinced that Jack’s embrace was a good thing, and her feelings of enjoyment had been automatic. She’d let him get away with far too much. Then and there, she drew a line in her mind. There was going to be no more intimate contact between them until her head was clear.

She twisted her hair into a bun and leaned over the fire to turn the quail, feeling annoyed to be a woman.

Jack returned with the horses, which were now tied together in a train, and secured the lead animal to a low branch at the edge of the grass.

Selena sat in front of the fire and he settled down beside her, just within arm’s reach.

“What was that thing you used to bring this bird down?”

he asked.

“It’s a sling; my favorite weapon,” she said, watching the mesmerizing flames and enjoying their warmth.

“Can’t believe you pegged it from that far away.

Especial y with that,” he admitted.

“I’ve been using it forever. I’d better be good with it by now.”

“How’d you get ahold of it?”

“I made it.”

“And where’d you learn al your technique with leather?

Doesn’t it have to sit in something for a few years?”

“My dad was an anthropologist and specialized in Native American tools and crafting. It’s actual y hides that I work with, and it’s pretty complicated; a lot of soaking, stretching and smoking. I have to use a solution with bone marrow and another one with fat.”

“Did you say smoking?” Jack asked with surprise.

“When you were living out there on your own?”

“Yeah but I only did it in real y deep, twisted canyons at night. Not a lot of people that way anyhow. They don’t trust the dry weather.”

“So you were probably in Arizona or New Mexico,” he pondered.

“I guess,” she smiled a little. “I never real y knew quite where I was.”

They didn’t say anything for a while, and watched the quail cook.

When it was done, Jack took the crispy brown bird off the fire and left it on its stick to cool. The scent was mouth-watering, and Selena’s stomach growled impatiently. She pul ed out the panels of scrap hide she used to eat off of and set one before him. “Here’s your plate. Damn. Those bastards took my favorite knife.” She almost lost her appetite thinking about it and forced the memory from her thoughts.

“You can use mine, or maybe they’ve got another one in the saddlebags,” he suggested, getting ready to stand.

“No it’s okay, I have another one.”

She pul ed a simple blade from her pack, and he produced an intricate pocketknife.

Jack set about slicing the legs off first, flinching from the heat a few times.

They tore into the hot flesh eagerly and Jack let out a satisfied grunt.

“Good to be alive,” he murmured grateful y.

Selena silently agreed. “Let’s hope we stay that way a while longer,” she added.

“We wil if I have anything to say about it,” he said as he chewed. “What you need to worry about is learning how to enjoy it.”

“I am enjoying it very much right now,” she said around a mouthful of food.

“Flatterer,” he smirked.

Selena rol ed her eyes. “I was talking about the quail.”

“I know, but you’re enjoying me too.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

“Prove it.”

He gulped down a bite of food and shook his head.

“I’m gonna let you off the hook on that one. But I wil prove it.

You can’t look at me for three seconds without smiling.”

“That’s just because you’re smiling at
me
,” she argued as she ate.

“Care to make a friendly wager on that?”

“No!” she retorted in a huff. “Not when I know what kind of cheater you are.”

“What about another kiss?”

“No!”

“
Just
a kiss, I promise.”

“Nope. I shouldn’t have done it the first time.”

“Okay, how about no stakes at al . You just try looking at my face for five seconds without smiling when I’m not smiling.”

“What happened to three seconds?”

“Wel this time you’l be trying to stop yourself.”

Selena felt her mouth curling up already.

“No.”

“See? You know you wil . There’s your proof,” he sighed, looking satisfied as he finished his half of the meal.

Selena took a deep breath and thought about her kidnappers. “Okay, let’s do it,” she blurted, scooting to face him directly.

“Alright,” he said with a half-smile, turning to face her too. “I’l keep count.”

His smile fel and his eyes narrowed as he fixed her with a serious and seductive stare. “Go,” he said, drumming a finger on his knee for every second.

Selena found she was completely incapable of thinking about her captors while she looked at his face.

Furthermore, an unsmiling Jack was far more nerve-wracking than a smiling one, especial y with an expression that no longer moderated but amplified a sense of his stirring lust in such a penetrating way.

She made it to three seconds before she had to purse her lips to slow her failure, but by the fourth second, she found herself overwhelmed by bubbly nervousness and dropped her head in her hands in defeat.

Jack didn’t say a thing, and when she glanced up at him over her hands, his smile hadn’t returned. He stil held her in a keen gaze that seemed to infiltrate her thoughts.

Feeling naked, Selena snatched her pack, pul ed out her blanket, and wrapped it around herself before lying back on the hard ground to look at the open sky above.

“Don’t beat yourself up for being attracted to me, Selena,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with it. And there’s nothing wrong with thinking about what could be. Like the things we could do if you chose to make the most of your life.”

Selena ignored him.

He lay down to look at the sky with her, placing his hat on his middle. “You only live once. That’s al I’m saying.

Might as wel know what you like, aside from me, of course.” He began to speak slowly, as if narrating his thoughts. “What else does Selena like? That’s what I’d figure out first if I had you. Do you enjoy being dominated, or being dominating –”

“What does that mean?” she interrupted.

“You know. Do you want a guy to control you and overpower you, or do you want to control and overpower a guy? I don’t think either of those is real y your cup of tea, though.”

“Can we talk about something else?” she asked, feeling uncomfortable.

“It’s not about domination with you,” he went on. “It’s not about being rescued either. No, I think it’s about equality. You’d want to express yourself as much as your partner. You’d want to meet fire with fire, or tenderness with tenderness,” he whispered.

“Jack!”

“That’s it, but you don’t know it yet. You’ve never had that experience.”

“Oh my God,” Selena squirmed, covering her mouth with her hands. She could see him rol over to face her out of the corner of her eye. He propped his head up on his fist and watched her.

“No one can punish me for this. It’s not like talking is il egal.”

“For you, it should be.”

“I know how I’d do it,” he informed her after a pause.

“Don’t pretend you don’t want to know.”

Selena had learned by this point that her curiosity was just about indomitable, but she was not going to give in to it wil ingly. “I would prefer if you kept it to yourself,” she insisted curtly.

“I would move in close, real slow and steady so you had time to adjust. I’d hold you softly, facing you this time.

You’d try to push me away but I’d be too gentle for you to keep it up without feeling guilty. Then I’d soothe you, rubbing your back and pul ing you in little by little. I’d comfort you and make it easier for you to final y give in to your feelings.”

By now, Selena was staring at the sky with wide eyes, but couldn’t see a damn thing other than the image he was painting in her mind.

“I’d stroke your gorgeous hair for a while and you’d barely notice while I pul ed it away from your neck. I’d start kissing it very slow and soft, tilting your head to the side just a little.”

Selena closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, trying to breathe normal y.

“I’d nuzzle your cheek and bring my lips close, and then I’d wait a while and kiss you lightly, like a feather. You wouldn’t kiss me back – yet. I’d have to kiss you a couple more times, a little harder. You’d final y kiss me back real careful y. I’d just hold stil , not pushing you. You’d be kissing me, and you’d like it, just like today. I’d give you some time to get comfortable with that. Then I’d slide my hand up your back, under your shirt. You wouldn’t mind much because it’s only your back, but you’d be surprised at how good it feels.

It’d seem intimate, but safe too. Then I’d run my hands down to squeeze your waist while we kissed each other.

You’d hold onto my shoulders lightly, stil unsure, and then I’d make a bold move. I’d pul your hips against mine to show you how I want you. That’s something you’d like, and it would distract you from your hesitation.”

“God, this is ridiculous,” she whispered. “Where’s a harmonica when you need one?”

He plunged ahead. “I’d have to fol ow up with something real to prove how desirable you are, so I’d wrap one arm around your shoulders and pul you in while I one arm around your shoulders and pul you in while I worked the other one up under your shirt. You’d start breathing faster because you’d know what’s coming. When my hand was just under your breast, you’d get skittish, so I’d cradle your shoulders and kiss you so tenderly, you’d have to trust me. Then, while my tongue teased yours, I’d slide my hand up al the way and wrap it around your breast.

Your chest would heave, and you’d go stiff for a second, but I wouldn’t keep going. I’d just hold it, my hand warm against your skin, and get back to kissing you. That way, it wouldn’t be about your breasts, it would be about kissing you on a more intimate level than you ever imagined was possible.”

“Oh my God!” Selena shouted, sitting bolt upright and breathing hard. “Shut up Jack! Stop! Stop!”

“But you were getting warm,” he protested softly.

She knew he meant both in reality and the fantasy, and he was right.

“You’d feel secure with my hand there, and you’d start to hope I’d move it to explore the feeling of your –”

“Ear rape!” she protested, clamping her hands over them. “I’m not listening to this!”

After a few seconds of silence, she removed her hands and glanced at him.

He was looking back at her with a sly, knowing expression. “That last part did a number on you,” he observed, lying on his back again with a sigh. “Too bad. I was just getting to the things you’d like.”

The fol owing morning broke cold and clear. The dampness was particularly uncomfortable, so Selena stayed put until the sun’s rays could dry the fabric of her clothes. Jack did the same, and looked strangely serious when she snuck a tentative glance at him.

By the time they’d gotten themselves up and moving, his mirthless mien hadn’t changed. The difference was so strange, she felt apprehensive about asking him what was wrong.

When they tacked up the horses and started on their way, she found herself glancing at him often to try to understand what had happened. The only time she’d seen him remotely this sober was when he’d sung that sad, slow song, but even then his smile had returned quickly. She found her thoughts fluttering back to the intimate narration he’d given her the night before. The picture he’d painted had gotten to her, just as he said. The most alarming part was that he might very wel be right about her preference for balance when it came to romantic intimacy. Did he know more about her than she knew about herself? She didn’t want to pry into his thoughts when he was acting so strange.

They rode through the afternoon, munching on what food they had as they went along in near complete silence.