Shoving the stray thought aside, Jack blinked, trying to rid tired eyes of the grit of exhaustion. Last night, he hadn’t slept even a handful of hours. Tonight was no different. Having these nocturnal visions haunting his sleep and Morgan under his roof wasn’t helping him catch up on his beauty rest.
And judging from the erection throbbing inside his boxers like an insistent toothache, along with vestiges of the dream, he wasn’t likely to get much more sleep tonight.
Rising with a stretch, Jack sighed and donned his jeans with a grimace. Immediately, his thoughts turned to Morgan.
Why couldn’t he leave her alone? He’d tackled a big part of his revenge and emailed Brandon Ross the proof that he’d been as deep inside his enemy’s woman as a man could get. Now, his revenge would be complete as soon as Morgan left the disloyal ass**le she planned to marry.
But what if she didn’t? Lots of women wanted to be married to one of the esteemed Senator Ross’s sons. Money. Power. Connections. Good looks. Brandon had all that, but he’d never have a political career of his own. Jack had made damn sure of that.
Still, that didn’t solve his problem. If Morgan and Brandon didn’t part ways, revenge would be incomplete. That had to be why he didn’t feel more victorious now.
Jack paced, spearing hands tense with frustration through his hair too short to be ruffled by such a mauling.
Maybe he was looking at this all wrong. After viewing the little video he’d sent, sooner or later, jealousy would start eating Brandon’s gut. No question about it. When a man had a woman like Morgan, he wanted to keep her safe and whole and so sated that the idea of sex with another man never crossed her mind. Once Brandon had time to gnaw on the visual evidence that Morgan had strayed—and with his enemy—the idiot’s pride would demand he let her go.
Frowning, Jack realized a tactical error in that plan. Brandon dumping Morgan could cause her pain. The thought of her anguish made him want to flay himself with a whip of selfcensure.
Not only would Brandon leaving Morgan hurt her, it wouldn’t satisfy the writhing mass of hate he had in his gut for Brandon. In order for Jack to get closure, Morgan must realize that she deserved someone who understood her, a man who could give her what her mind and body craved. She had to acknowledge that Brandon couldn’t satisfy her. And Jack figured it was his job to prove that very fact to her.
How could he tempt her to leave Brandon?
Pacing across the room, toward the cottage’s lone bedroom, Jack pushed open the door.
Holy shit. Morgan had pushed off her covers, baring herself to the night. He wished she was bare to him. While that wasn’t actually the case, it was close. She wore next to nothing, only the golden-lace camisole and thong. Moonlight spilling into the room bathed the sweet blush-pink ni**les and fiery fringe of her pu**y in a soft silver light. It called attention to things he loved about her body and made him want to howl at the moon, absolutely.
Coaxing his way into that bed, into her body again, was as necessary as drawing his next breath. It was the eye for an eye the vindictive part of him craved.
But his desire hardly stopped there. And he feared it was about more than revenge.
His c**k gave a greedy leap at the thought of having Morgan again, in any way that would bring them both to screaming pleasure… The want was a blast of heat drilling straight through his erection and his brain. Damned odd, really. He didn’t fixate like this. A willing woman was cause for a good mood and good times, always.
This was…more.
His body went wild at the thought of teaching Morgan about her sexuality, about the desires that haunted her to sweating resistance and whimpering wails of pleasure. He ached to show her how to take anything he dished out, give the burn back to him, and share in the mind-blowing mental and physical satisfaction.
The likelihood of that happening… Jack shook his head. She wasn’t going to surrender easily or without a fight, and he wasn’t out to break her. Just show her how much satisfaction she’d find in submission.
Stalking into the bedroom, Jack lit a few candles throughout the room, then dropped himself into the chair in the corner and stared, absently adjusting the unyielding length of his c**k in his jeans.
How did he tempt her to take a walk on the wild side with him so he could prove to her she could be just as free and submissive as she yearned and still be okay with herself—all while convincing her to leave Brandon so he could achieve the vengeance he’d plotted for nearly three f**king years? How did he get her to give him that part of herself she’d held back from him before, the part he was sure she’d never given any man?
A mischievous smile lifted his lips as an idea occurred to him. Simple, direct, effective. Eager to put it in motion, he jogged back to his locked enclave and retrieved two pairs of heavy velvet ropes.
Let the games begin…
CHAPTER SEVEN
Morgan woke slowly, drifting on the haze of an erotic dream where she lay on the grass naked to the moonlight, arms tossed above her head in abandon as tender pulls at her ni**les created a pool of sweet pleasure between her legs. She writhed. Silvery moonbeams worshipped her, caressing the underside of her arms, her belly, the tops of her thighs with a feathery touch. She moaned.
Leaves fell from the trees above in a light summery breeze, drifting down to glide over bare br**sts, sensitive ni**les. Again and again the leaves dropped from their trees and found their way to her body, the gentle abrasion of their texture on her skin slowly awakening her sensual need.
One leaf had a sharp edge as it drifted across her body. A slight sting in the hard peak of her breast surprised her. She tried to dodge the leaf, but it was gone, replaced by a glide of heat, then a sudden well of desire between her legs. Another sharp leaf pinched at the other nipple. Another swelling of desire bloomed inside her. She arched to the gentle pain and was again rewarded with a fresh flood of heat and moisture.
The ache between her thighs became a throb, a drumbeat inside her body calling for release. Morgan moaned, shifted.
Beneath her, the grass seemed oddly smooth. She tried to sit up but was unable to move. Another leaf drifted over her left breast, smooth, silky, gently rousing. It was quickly followed by a sharp leaf that curled around her nipple and bit.
Pain faded an instant later, replaced by a merciless need in the tight tips of her br**sts. She arched, seeking more, as another leaf drifted down her abdomen and brushed over the top of her mound.