Fire and Ice (an extended epilogue) (4 page)

“
Pathetic,” Derek scoffed. “You’re
sitting here mooning over her, while she’s enjoying the company of
other men.”

Jack felt like he’d been sucker punched. “What
do you mean?”

“
She was at Rooster bar tonight
with Manning, Edmunds and some new guy. Looked like she was having
fun and not missing you at all.”

Damn Derek, he knew how to push
his buttons
.

“
What time was this?”

“
I left Rooster at 11:00 p.m., I
think they just got there.”

“
Are you up for more drinks at the
bar?”

“
Hell no. I’ve got a rep to
protect,” Derek said. “Everyone saw me leave with the brunettes,
they might think I’ve crashed and burned.”

Jack was already disappearing into the bedroom
to throw on some clothes.

“
Get over it. You’re my wingman
tonight,” Jack called out from the bedroom. He knew he wasn’t
playing fair. But damned if he wasn’t claiming his woman back and
he needed someone to have his back just in case Maia’s colleagues
decided to go all protective over her. Manning was a big guy, Jack
could probably take him on, but Edmunds was a wily one and the
third guy, who he suspected was Connelly, he had no
idea.

He heard Derek groan. “Fuck you,
McCord.”

*****

Maia
saw him the minute he entered the bar. Jack was hard to ignore.
Every woman in the immediate vicinity had their eyes trained on the
two gorgeous men making their way across the room. Jack was dressed
casually in well-worn jeans and a faded tee; his tousled hair
hinted that he might have just crawled out of bed. His face was
unshaven, and two days worth of stubble only enhanced the chiseled
contours of his strong jaw.

Sentiments of possessiveness suddenly consumed
her. She was used to short term hook ups and never claimed any man
as her own. But at this moment, she had a primal urge to walk up to
Jack, press her body against his, and feel his hardness. Maia’s
pulse quickened.

Derek was with Jack, which made the ripple of
feminine sighs double in intensity as they approached their table.
Derek was every bit as attractive as Jack, but whereas Jack had a
standoffish aura, Derek had the easy charm women found extremely
appealing. Which was a shame because for all his charm, no man
avoided commitment as much as Derek.

“
Lockwood’s back,” Manning broke
into Maia’s thoughts. “Didn’t he just leave with those
twins.”

“
He’s back for more? Or did those
twins abandon him?” Edmunds laughed.

“
Looks like Lockwood ratted you
out, Maia,” Manning said. “Your fiancé doesn’t seem pleased we’re
around you.”

“
Maia isn’t leaving with anyone
unless she wants to.” Braden put in his two cents.

The new recruit was sweet, Maia thought. But
he had no idea how intimidating Jack could be.

“
Sweetheart,” Jack said when he
reached their table. Maia ignored him and took a sip of her drink.
He leaned in and whispered, “Still not talking to me?”

Maia glared at him, but her fiancé only
grinned. So he’s not taking her gripe with him seriously? Did he
think he could get away with what he did without any
consequences?

A waiter came by to take their drink orders.
Jack pulled Maia off the bar stool and took her seat and lifted her
up on his lap. Her short skirt rode up her legs. His left arm
curled around her waist firmly while his right hand clasped her
thigh. Maia would have protested, but she sensed a raw energy
emanating from Jack that was definitely possessive. He was also
shooting off sparks of warning to her male colleagues, silently
intimidating them. Maia leaned in and twisted her neck to see what
her man was up to. Jack and Braden were having a silent but hostile
conversation. Jeez. She should just drag Jack home and get everyone
out of the line of fire.

“
Traitor,” Maia told Derek. “What
happened to your women?”

“
Sent them away,” Derek
admitted.

“
Can’t get it up, Lockwood?”
Edmunds teased.

“
That would be the day,” Derek
shot back. “According to some experts, I just need to find my one
true love if I want fantastic sex.”

Derek said it loudly enough that some women
glanced his way. He smiled at them, and the women giggled. Manning
and Edmunds snickered. Maia rolled her eyes.

“
That my friend—” Manning informed
Connelly. “—is the master at work.”

Their drinks arrived. Two fingers of scotch,
neat.

Jack raised his glass to the group. “Great ops
yesterday, guys. Saw the entire thing.”

“
Maia is fucking nuts,” Manning
muttered into his drink.

Maia stiffened. Jack watched the
ops?
When? Where?

“
Yes, sweetheart, you were fucking
hot,” Jack mumbled into her ears, his scotch-moistened lips sending
tingles straight between her legs. “I’m getting a hard on just
thinking about it.”

“
Damn, Jack,” Derek said. “Get a
room.”

Her man started getting an erection and Maia
couldn’t help grounding herself into his lap. She could feel the
rumble of a groan behind her. Good. Served him right for playing
this game. But he retaliated. His hand slipped further up her leg
and insinuated itself between her thighs.

Her hand gripped the stem of her martini
glass.

Maia concentrated on the conversation going
around her, hoping no one would notice how her man was slowly
driving her insane. The men were still ribbing Derek about the two
brunettes.

“
I told Derek he should abstain
for a while,” Jack joined in the conversation as his fingers pushed
the crotch of her panties aside, parting her slick folds, and
spreading her juices up and down her cleft.

Maia squirmed and took another sip of her
drink. “That’s true, Derek. You might be having too much sex. Maybe
your penis has been desensitized.”

Jack pinched her clit and she gasped,
startled.

Derek narrowed his eyes at Jack before looking
at Maia. “I assure you sweetie, I have every nerve ending alive and
well.”

“
If you say so,” Maia said. Her
voice strangled. Jack had now slipped a finger inside her, sliding
in and out while his thumb worked her swollen nub. He added another
finger and increased the tempo. Oh god, he was going to make her
come in a bar and she felt powerless to stop him. Feeling him so
hard and ready beneath her, she was so—turned—on.

Edmunds was saying something, but all her
attention was focused on Jack whispering in her ear, “Wanna leave
this place?”

Not trusting herself to speak, Maia nodded
helplessly.

Jack tossed back his drink and eased Maia off
his lap. Fortunately for her man, his tee was untucked and covered
the bulge beneath his jeans.

“
Where are you guys going?”
Manning demanded.

“
We’re leaving,” Jack declared
with a smirk as he threw a couple of bills on the table.

Derek glared at Jack. “You drag me out here
and now you’re abandoning your wingman?”

“
Catch a cab or ask one of the
guys to take you home,” Jack said.

“
Thanks,” Derek grumbled before
grinning at Maia. “You are so screwed.”

Everyone, except Braden, laughed.

Maia felt her cheeks flush and was thankful
when Jack dragged her away.

*****

Maia’s
three-inch heels were having trouble keeping up with Jack’s long
strides. Jack had not said a word since they left the bar and
simply held her hand tightly as he pulled her along on the
sidewalk. He turned onto an upscale boutique hotel.

She dug in her heels and pulled on her
arm.

“
Jack,” she hissed. “What are you
doing?”

He yanked her into his chest. “Takes five
minutes to get to the car, fifteen minutes to get out of Georgetown
and twenty minutes to get home. I’m not waiting to put my cock
inside you, Maia.” Jack’s eyes glittered with determination and
heated intensity that caused her sex to spasm. When she just gaped
at him, he growled, “Good, we’re on the same page.”

He resumed dragging her up the hotel steps and
through the lobby. They stopped at posh check-in
counter.

“
Do you have a Deluxe suite
available?”

“
Let me check,” the receptionist
said slowly. The suite was probably five thousand dollars a night
and from the receptionist’s scrutiny of their attire, she didn’t
think they could afford it.

“
We have one available, um, how
many nights, sir?”

“
Two,” Jack said shortly as he
handed over his American Express ‘black’ card.

Soon they were in the elevator. No luggage. No
overnight bag. Just the two of them, like a typical one night
stand.

“
Jack we can’t hole up in a hotel
for two days with no clothes and—”

“
Maia, for what I have in mind,
clothes are useless.” He was staring straight ahead, not looking at
her.

“
We can’t fuck our way out of our
issues, Jack.”

“
Can’t we?” Jack asked softly. “I
thought we were doing just fine.”

“
Jack—”

“
Don’t,” Jack cut her off. “Not
another fucking word, Maia.”

What is up his
ass
? Maia could feel the tension rolling
off him, and she couldn’t put a finger on his mood. Was he the one
pissed? She was the wronged party as far as she was
concerned.

When the elevator doors slid open, Maia
tingled with anticipation. Her instincts were telling her to run
because she had finally deciphered the vibes coming off of Jack.
Predatory. He was hunting, and she was his prey.

Jack gripped her upper arm and guided her down
to the end of the hallway where double doors opened to a luxurious
suite. Without another word, he pushed her inside, and slammed the
door shut.

“
Strip,” Jack ordered as he pulled
off his shirt. “Leave your shoes on.”

Maia just stood there, a part of her still
defiant.

“
Maia, in under sixty seconds, I
intend to bury myself deep inside you, and I want you naked,” Jack
grit through his teeth, nostrils flaring. “Every second you delay
increases the intensity of how hard I fuck you. You can take some
hard fucking, babe, but I don’t want to hurt you, and I’m slowly
losing control. So—Please—Strip.”

Maia felt excitement thrumming through her
veins as she shoved off the straps of her dress, and let it fall.
She stood before Jack in her panties and high heels.

“
Are your panties soaking?” Jack
whispered thickly.

She nodded.

He stalked toward her and pulled her to him,
his lips crashing down on hers, his hand diving under her lace
panties, and cupping her molten core. Jack groaned into her mouth
and backed her against the round dining table.

Without further warning, he turned her around
and bent her over, ripped her panties off and drove into her. Maia
gasped at the sudden intrusion. She was primed and wet for him, but
his size stretch her uncomfortably. She hadn’t fully recovered when
he withdrew slowly and rammed inside her again, her breasts rubbing
against the table.

“
Oh god, Jack—”

“
Fuck you fast and hard, Maia,” he
growled behind her. The third time he pulled out, the pacing
increased. He pumped into her hard, grunting with the effort of
each thrust. New sensations overwhelmed her body as she gripped the
edge of the table, her breasts flattened on the hard surface, his
cock moving inside her as his hips pounded her ass.

The throbbing inside her spiraled like a
vortex until Maia was caught in the whirlwind of her orgasm and she
screamed. It was consuming, the pleasure so intense she thought
couldn’t take it.

“
No...stop...Jack...I can’t—” Maia
cried.

“
Yes you can. You will—”, thrust,
“—take all of me,” Jack snarled as he rotated his hips to increase
the pressure against her core. Maia felt another wave crash into
her.

“
Oh, god...oh..god, stop!” Maia
sobbed as pulses wracked her body endlessly. He was driving her
mindless.

“
Fuck...fuck...” Jack groaned
above her as she clamped down greedily on his rigid shaft. He
withdrew one final time before thrusting into her balls deep; his
cum filling her channel with warm gushing liquid. She felt him
shake, the tremors vibrating through his body as he absorbed his
climax. Afterwards, Jack nuzzled the damp skin of her shoulder. He
gently pulled her away from the table, swung her up in his arms and
walked into the bedroom to lay her down on the bed. Maia stretched
languidly as she always did after sex with Jack. He returned
shortly with a warm wet towel and started cleaning her
up.

“
Babe?”

“
Hmm?”

“
Sorry I was too rough,” Jack said
huskily as he gently cleaned the semen from between her legs. “I
was too turned on at the bar, it took all my self control not to
fuck you in the back alley. My mind simply short-circuited with the
need to be inside you.”