His confession hung in the air between them.

She made him happy. Jack, who could have any woman he desired, thought she was important, capable of bringing him joy. Even though she was the black sheep of the Wilde family, she got to be with him.

"I—"

Solana took his mouth, not wanting to give him a chance to take his words back. They needed to be true. The confession was real. Because Jack never lied to her.

Their tongues danced, and fire raced down her throat, burning her insides. Once again, desire drove out resistance and she swung her leg over his lap. Heat seeped through the thin material separating her from him. Her fingers messed his perfectly styled hair as she controlled the kiss, asking for more of him.

He gave, and she took. It wasn't enough.

Unable to get sufficient contact, she flattened herself against him, shoehorning every curve she had into his hard lines. Jack assisted, circling her waist, and shifting her up his lap. His firm bulge nudged against her and lava swelled in her center.

He groaned and matched every grind. It wasn't enough.

Feverish hands glided down her torso, found the edge of the robe and dove under. The inferno of his skin against hers would have made her gasp if she'd had any air to spare. He squeezed her thighs, then her bottom, and he groaned, the sound reverberating against her chest.

He possessed and caressed her. It wasn't enough.

Jack tore away from her lips, swore under his breath, and panted against her cheek. She refused to be separated from him and took his mouth again, demanding attention. He didn't hesitate, applying equal pressure, before taking over the kiss. She fought back, competing for control.

His thumb dug into her chin, and he yanked her lips from hers, holding her away from him. "Just let me kiss you." The ferocity of his command brought her out of her lust induced haze. Jack nudged her nose and placed a feather-light kiss on the corner of her mouth. "Let me adore you."

Solana's throat constricted. She wanted to be adored. By him. The ache in her chest battled with the electricity thrumming in every nerve in her body. If she kept sex physical, fast and furious, there wouldn't be time for feeling.

"Please."

The single word whispered in her ear meant more than the hundreds of times Cassius had shouted he loved her for everyone to hear. Jack hadn't uttered the word to the world. It wasn't a branding "She's mine, stay away." It was a plea meant for her and her alone. In the privacy of his home, feet away from the one place Jack could be Jack.

His utterance cracked open the rusty lock on her guarded heart, like he had the only key.

Because he did.

Somehow, someway, Jack understood her. Like she understood him.

She melted in his embrace, not quite relinquishing control, but not demanding it either. "Then adore me." Dark black pools obliterated the icy blue of Jack's eyes as he stared at her. They dragged down to her lips and then met her gaze again. "Adore me, Jack."

His grasp lessened, and he leaned in. She jerked her head back. His inky pupils clouded, his face falling and turning away. Knots of regret cinched in her chest and she gently traced his jaw. "Only if you let me adore you."

Underneath her, Jack's chest shuttered. She brushed his cheek with her lips and found his ear. "Please." He sucked in air and his hand landed on her sternum, causing the diamonds still around her neck to imprint on her skin.

From the corner of his eye, he studied her, and she nodded, drawing him to face her. The mask of hurt replaced by one she might call awe had she ever seen the look on Jack. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his lips parted. "Solana... don't..."

"I won't... ever." She didn't know what he wanted to say, but she was certain it would be about hurting him in some way. From the bottom of her heart, she knew she couldn't do anything to further damage this man who'd had so much pain inflicted upon him already. "Now I believe you were about to adore me?"

Jack blinked like he was waking from a deep sleep. The corner of his mouth hitched north. One by one, the twists under her ribcage undid, allowing her to breathe again. A glint in his eye, the smile broke across his face. "Ok, Sweetheart."

His velvety kiss swallowed her laughter, and her heart jumped back into overdrive. Hands around her waist, he flipped her over and his body sandwiched her with the couch. The leather was cold on her bare legs. Instead of vying for control, she gave in to her desires and his requests, letting the feel of Jack over her consume her.

He broke away from her mouth, hot lips caressing her cheek, her chin, her neck. "I've needed to kiss you like this since the last time I saw you in that dress."

A heavy knee landed between her legs, and she squirmed underneath him, trying to find relief for the inferno burning in her core. "Don't take so long next time."

She searched for the top of his pants, but he shoved her hand away. Silk skimmed along her chest as Jack ripped away the belt of the robe, exposing her breast.

"You make me want to live here." His mouth sucked on her nipple and her body bucked at the sensation, tendrils of pleasure rippling to her center. The buttons of his shirt scrapped against her stomach as he glided down her body and Solana suppressed a cry at the removal of his expertly placed knee. Until firm fingers replaced it, dipping into her underwear. "And here."

"Not fair." Her voice sounded miles away.

"What's not fair, Sweetheart?" The name she'd once hated now mumbled around her alert nipple, caused her already speeding heart-rate to gallop. She almost forgot her complaint, but the buttons nipped at her skin again.

"You..." A rotation of his finger sent blasts of delight through her. "have... to many..." another circle and she forgot how to speak English. "ropa."

His finger paused, and his lips left her chest. "Sorry?"

Oxygen returned to her brain, and she took the reprieve to tear at his shirt. "Clothes. Too many clothes on."

What she could only describe as a devilish grin overtook Jack's face. He unbuttoned his shirt as she tugged it free of his pants, her fingers brushing hard abs. "Hello my old friends."

Jack froze. Solana ran her palms across his stomach. "I could live here." With a tug at the zipper of his pants, she slipped her fingers inside, stroking his long, hard erection. "And here. Sweetheart."

Electric blue flashed in his eyes, and Solana's throat constricted. His fingers wrapped around her wrist. "Keep that up and my adoration will be all over your chest."

Ever so slowly, she dragged her nail up his stiffness, her body vibrating as she watched Jack's eyes close, his chest rising and falling. She retracted her fingers and caught his hand. "Condom."

His eyes flew open and in a split-second Solana was airborne, scooped up in his arms. Her yelp echoed through his sparsely furnished penthouse. The robe he'd lent her lay crumpled on the couch, diminishing from view the further across the room they went. Lights flickered on as he jogged down the hall, her bouncing against his shoulder.

More lights illuminated her view of the floor as they crossed a threshold. Powerful muscles flexed as he shifted her off his shoulder, his hands gliding over her as she skated down his torso. Her feet sank into a plush mattress and, for once, Solana was eye to eye with Jack. The world looked different up here. Before she could run her fingers through his still too perfect hair, he dipped away.

She took in her surroundings. Another blank room, bed, side table, generic art on the wall, all in hushed greys. A pinch of dismay knocked on her heart with the realization he'd brought her to the spare bedroom.

One hand secure on her waist, Jack threw open a drawer and pulled out a black box. "Condoms."

Fire raced along her legs at his plural use of the word. It didn't matter what room they had sex in, as long as he was with her.

He offered her the box. "Hold these."

"I think they're better suited for you."

Jack repositioned her over his shoulder once more and smacked her butt. "Smart ass."

They were on the move again. More tile flooring, further down the hall, across another threshold. Butterflies circled in her chest at the familiar cream carpet and coco-coloured walls. 

Jack's bedroom. 

Hey folks. D. L. here. I swear to you I started writing this chapter with the goal of a steamy, fast paced, romp for Jack and Solana. Maybe I can't write sexy scenes. They seem to always dissolve into emotional...well whatever this is.

Guess I still have a lot to learn. 

It's a long weekend here in Canada. Woo hoo! What are you up to this weekend? 

Now I've posted this chapter, I'm hopping into my car and heading north to my cottage.