What To Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection Part Two (11 page)

“That depends.” His arms hugged me tighter and he kissed the top of my head. “On how many more days you are here for.”

I lifted my head and propped myself up on my elbow, smiling. “You are staying until I leave?”

“Yes.”

I threw myself at him, planting baby kisses all over his face. He laughed and the warm deep sound washed away my reluctance to show him how relieved I was that he was staying.

“So how many more days am I staying?” he asked, and I could hear his smile in his voice.

“Two.”

“Two it is then.”

The next morning I woke and found Jack already awake, watching me. He smiled at me.

“How long have you been awake?”

He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed the palm of my hand. “Not long.”

“Shower?” he asked as I stretched to unwind my body from around his.

“Caffeine,” I responded on a whine.

“Addict?” He caught my earlobe between my teeth.

“Yes,” I responded breathlessly from his one touch. “You?”

“Nope. No coffee, tea or soda,” he stated, matter of fact. My head snapped back to him as if he had just admitted that he was a vampire and drank the blood of his victims. Who doesn’t drink caffeine of some type in the morning?

“How do you wake up in the morning then?” I was almost in a cold sweat at the thought of having to start a day without at least two cups of coffee.

“I go to the gym.” Ugh, one of those.

“In the morning?” I asked in an incredulous tone.

“Yes, as soon as I wake up. I either go to the gym or for a run before I start my day. I take it that isn’t something that you approve of?” He was amused at my response.

“Nothing comes before caffeine in my world.” I overly emphasized the word
nothing
, to add drama.

He grabbed my ass and pulled me to him, pressing his erection into me. “Nothing, huh?” A devilish smile, he smacked my ass hard. “Go get in the shower. I’ll order you some coffee and breakfast. Then I’ll show you what comes before caffeine when you’re with me.”

I rubbed my bare ass and rose in protest, making a point of prancing my naked body slowly to the bathroom. Then I turned and stuck out my tongue at him. I heard the smile in his voice as he ordered room service.

A
fter a long, thoroughly satisfying shower and some much needed caffeine and breakfast, we headed out for the day. Jack wouldn’t tell me where we were headed, only that he was going to show me a few of his favorite places in Hawaii. I honestly didn’t care where we were going. Jack had my fingers laced through his as he drove, the wind was in my hair, and I had spent the last twenty-four hours having the best sex of my life. I was a happy girl.

I looked over at Jack driving and he smiled at me, all perfect and beautiful and emanating raw manhood. I smiled back at him and he squeezed my hand. My thoughts ran away from me and I found myself thinking about how good he must look in a business suit with his hair slicked back. He really could model if he wanted to. I could see him with one hand in the pocket of his Christian Dior tuxedo, helping a woman with long legs out of a car in a magazine advertisement.

We pulled onto a gravel road and down a dirt path that led to very tall metal gates. A guard approached and began to ask for some id, until he recognized Jack. “Shit, Cole, I didn’t know you were coming. How you been, son?”

“Good, Stephan. How is the family?” The two shook hands like old friends, although Stephan was old enough to be Jack’s father. “Syd, this is Stephan. He’s been with us longer than I’ve been around.” Jack laughed and I smiled and said hello to the man.

“They’re doing great. Does Caleb know you’re coming, or do you want me to call ahead and tell him to get things ready for you?”

“He knows I’m coming, but thanks, Stephan. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Be careful up there, Cole.”

The gates opened and Jack started down the dirt road. I could see a large building in the distance. “The way he called you Cole, it sounded like your first name. I thought Cole was your last name?”

Jack smiled. “Question number ten, babe. It’s my middle name. I’m a junior and some of my father’s longtime business associates started calling me Cole to avoid confusion when I was a kid. It stuck, so to the old timers I’m Cole.”

“Is your father here?” After what he’d told me about his father, I didn’t think we would be spending the afternoon visiting him.

Jack laughed. “No, he’s not here. If he were, I wouldn’t be on the island. I told you my family owns a lot of different businesses. This is one of them. I come here when I visit, and borrow some of their inventory.”

I was confused at what inventory he was planning on borrowing, but quickly became distracted by the low flying helicopter almost directly above our head. The sudden loud noise scared me and I jumped in my seat.

Jack looked amused. “It’s a helicopter launch area babe, I didn’t mean for it to scare you.”

We pulled up to a building and Jack got out and jogged around to open my door. There was something incredibly sexy about a man so demanding in the bedroom but such a gentlemen outside of it. He grabbed my hand as a man was walking over to greet us.

Jack shook hands with the man and I smiled. I couldn’t hear what they were saying because of the sound coming from the helicopter that was just landing. I watched in awe as the big machine gently settled on the ground. Jack leaned in close to me and yelled, “Are you ready?” over the sound of the nearby helicopter. I shook my head, unsure if I was ready for what was really to come next. Jack grabbed my hand and led me to the helicopter, helping me in the passenger side and handing me a set of earphones, motioning for me to put them on.

Then he disappeared and I was shocked when he got in behind the pilot’s seat. He put on his headphones and I watched his mouth move and heard his voice in my headphones. “You doing okay babe?”

I nodded, utterly confused. “Are you going to drive this thing?”

Jack laughed. “Yes, I’m a licensed pilot. I’ve been flying these since I was sixteen. You are safe with me.” He reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing reassurance into my body.

I gave him a halfhearted attempt at a smile and he reached up and grabbed my face. “Stop worrying, I won’t let anything happen to you, beautiful.” Then he gave me a long slow kiss. I wasn’t sure if he did it to help me relax or not, but it seemed to have worked. Jack buckled us both in and gave me one last nod before we started to go up.

It was an odd feeling to go straight up in the air. Obviously, I had flown before, but never in a helicopter. Planes go up on an angle, which is a very different feeling. We lifted off the ground and I had the strange sensation that someone was dangling us from a rope above. I was excited and terrified at the same time. My nerves didn’t let me speak until our altitude leveled out and we were starting to travel forward at a steady pace.

“You okay, babe?” Jack’s voice was full of concern as he looked over at me.

One of the reasons I wasn’t a good liar was because my emotions showed on my face. I smiled. “I’m getting there. At least I don’t feel like I am going to pass out anymore.”

He reached across and grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Try to relax and look around. This is the best way to see the island.”

Tentatively, I turned my head and peeked out the window. The view was breathtaking. Turquoise water, bejeweled with vivid coral reefs contrasted against billowing white sand beaches. With how clear the water was, it looked like I could see the ocean floor. Jack pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed the top of my hand. I smiled and felt myself starting to relax a little. He pointed to the right, out my window, at a patch of green in the distance. “We’re heading that way, over the rainforest.” I nodded my head and smiled, a sincere smile this time.

The green forest in the distance quickly came into view and Jack circled the breathtaking coastline. As we rounded the massive forest of trees, a clearing came into vision of the most amazing tall waterfalls I had ever seen. I gasped in excitement, the picturesque scenery helping me to be rid of the last of my nerves. “That’s Sacred Falls. It was the first place I flew on my own when I got my license.” We flew a little further and Jack warned me that he was going to bring the helicopter down a little to show me something.

We flew lower for a few minutes and then Jack took my hand and squeezed it. “Here we go, babe.” Then he raised us up dramatically along the side of huge cliffs so that it felt like we were scaling them. I couldn’t help but scream in delight. It was terrifying but exciting; my adrenalin was pumping.

A little while later Jack landed us on a large open green field with no one in sight. He powered the helicopter down and came around to help me down. I jumped up and hugged him as soon as my feet reached the ground. “That was so incredible!”

Jack smiled, a sexy half smile that reached his enticing eyes, and looked pleased. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and we walked for a while. We reached a secluded beach and took off our shoes to let the warm, crystal clear water wash over our feet as we walked. “So, you’re out of questions, and I still have half of mine left.”

I kicked a little water at his leg. “I guess you do.”

He shook his head, but smiled. The man was utterly delicious. “Do you like pornography?”

He asked the question in the same tone as if he had just asked me to pass the salt. I tried not to blush, but I felt my face heat. I was glad we were walking so I wouldn’t be subjected to his intense scrutiny as I squirmed and heated at his question. “Question number six. I guess that depends on what you are talking about. The magazines that are wrapped in plastic in the newsstands, videos of explicit sex acts, or a couple going at it on the street right in front of me?”

Jack raised an eyebrow, surprised at my response. “All of them.”

His question was odd, but then, everything about the man was unpredictable. In the short time that I had known him I had learned that as soon as I thought I understood him, I was quickly proven wrong.

“Well, I don’t mind the magazines, although I also don’t see their allure. Let me correct my answer, I don’t mind the magazine, as long as it isn’t left in a bathroom. One of Michael’s friends always had those types of magazines in the bathroom and it freaked me out when I went in there, wondering what he touched when he was done with the magazine.”

I looked to Jack to gauge his response to my answer and he looked amused, so I continued. “As to movies, I’ve watched a few and I don’t think they’re my thing either. But perhaps I didn’t watch the right ones. I guess I always felt insecure watching them, since I didn’t have much experience. I also didn’t get how the women could be okay with making a sex video for money.” I took a breath and tried to remember what the last part of his question was.

“And finally, as to watching sex in the street, I’ve never had the pleasure, so I can’t tell you how I felt about it.” When my answer was out, I realized it really wasn’t a difficult thing to answer; it was just new to me to discuss the subject openly with anyone. Michael and I never spoke about sex, which might have been why it was so dull compared to with Jack.

“So what made you ask the question?”

Jack stopped and pulled me to his chest, wrapping his arms around my waist. He gave me a chaste kiss on the mouth and looked down at me “I’m the one asking the questions; you’re all out, stranger. Come on, let’s head back. I want to get us back in the air as the sun goes down.”

“You know, Jack, Cole … whatever your last name is, some women might think you were a romantic with sunset helicopter rides and long walks on the beach.” I teased.

“If sharing what I enjoy with you is romantic, then I guess maybe I am. But it would only be you that would think it, because I’ve never shared anything more than my bed with other women.”

My heart swelled a little bit. It was a good thing that we only had another day and a half, or I might have fallen head over heels for the dominating, controlling, sexy as all hell, romantic man.