through him. “I’m so close.”
“I know, princess. Me too.” He pumped into her again, the slick heat of where their bodies met urging him even closer to the edge. Daniel squeezed his arms around her waist, eliminating the space between them. He felt closer to her, right now, than he’d ever felt with anybody else. There was no question. Her chin found the hollow of his neck, her breath coming out in spastic bursts at his ear as he drilled into her again.
The tension clawed at him, sending prickles through his shoulders as he attempted to stave off the orgasm. But he should have known better by now—with Jackie, there was no hope for pacing himself. She drove him wild. And now, buried to the hilt inside of her again, he realized he didn’t just want more of her. He needed more.
A little moan escaped her as he drilled into her again. “I’m close,” he whispered.
Her throat bobbed, and she rocked hard against him, so that when he filled her again, her pussy was contracted around him in tight waves. She groaned, digging fingernails into his back, and her own climax prompted his. He caught her lips in a kiss as he fired off his rounds, fireworks bursting behind his eyelids.
She didn’t move for a while, and he didn’t want her to. They both held on tightly while they watched each other, chests heaving.
Nobody uttered a word. Nobody needed to.
Because her fiery green gaze told him everything he needed to know.
She could feel how big and intense this was, this thing between them.
And all he knew was that they should keep moving forward. Even if it went against the status quo…for Jackie, he was willing to try something new.
10
Jackie couldn’t stop humming the next day. All through the vineyard tour; and later, as she sat by the side of the villa’s pool the next afternoon; even all the way up to the rehearsal dinner. She hummed because she was still riding the high of not one, not two, but eventually five separate orgasms from Daniel.
But behind the high lurked the fragility. Her legs felt like they were made of glass as she drifted through her day. And her heart? Split wide open. Part of her was terrified about what came next. Because what they’d shared last night had been too deep. Too real. Too intense. And it all mattered way too much to her. It would kill her if this took a downward turn or simply fizzled into nothingness.
Even though she had no idea what could—or should—come next, she just knew that they’d propelled themselves into a new level. Sure, they had the bet over their heads—but that didn’t mean that what they’d shared wasn’t meaningful. That it couldn’t, possibly, maybe, advance.
She flip-flopped between feeling crazy for even considering a next step with Daniel, to feeling crazy for not considering what might come next. And maybe the worst part was that Daniel had been working all day, so she didn’t even have his firm body at her side, or a private smile to reassure her.
Every bit of her sparkled and vibrated with anticipation at the thought of seeing him again. Wanting more of him. Wanting to see how this might progress. Equally hopeful and yet somehow too scared to hope. It was a constant war—one that left her vulnerable and quivering on the inside.
At least they had a few flirty texts to get her though the day. The rehearsal dinner started at six, but Jackie was ready by five. When Daniel still hadn’t come back to the room, she suspected he was delayed—again. But it didn’t bother her. She already felt like Daniel’s friends were becoming her own. She had no fear of gliding into the rehearsal dinner by herself this time.
He finally texted at five thirty: “Blake and I got caught in traffic coming back from a meeting in Santa Rosa! Be there ASAP. Sorry, princess.”
That little addition at the end left her with a perma-grin. If he wasn’t feeling the same, he wouldn’t do little things like that—it seemed so obvious.
Her phone vibrated again, but this time, it was a call. One of her besties, Geri.
Jackie was already smiling when she picked up the phone. “Hey, girl! What’s up?”
“Jackie! I just wanted to check on you. Did you ever figure out a place to stay? My boyfriend’s brother is finally gone, so you’re welcome to come crash here if you need to.”
Jackie snorted. Not only had she found