Back in His Bed: Boardroom Rivals, Bedroom Fireworks! / Unfinished Business with the Duke / How to Win the Dating War

Jack’s fingers were magic, slowly building the pressure until her hands were fisted in the sheets and her breath became labored. She moaned his name as she started to shatter, and she vaguely heard him encouraging her on with hot words in her ear.

She reached for him then, pulling his head down to hers for a blazing kiss as she came apart. Jack’s tongue moved over hers like a wicked promise as he pulled her under him and kneed her thighs apart. The last tremor of her orgasm still vibrated through her as he slid slowly into her, causing the pleasure to continue instead of abate.

She held Jack’s intense blue stare as he moved with agonizing slowness, setting a leisurely pace she knew would drive her insane. She bucked and writhed, trying to meet his thrusts, but Jack gripped her hips and kept her steady. Sensation built until she couldn’t take it anymore, and she grabbed the headboard as she arched against him and practically screamed his name. Only then did Jack speed up, slamming into her as she clung to him and climaxed again. Vaguely she felt Jack stiffen against her, and heard him shout her name in response.

How long she lay there, waiting for her breathing to even out and her brain to restart, she didn’t know. Jack had moved to her side at some point, leaving one heavy thigh draped over hers, and his breath was evening out as well.

Brenna cracked one eye, looked at the clock and groaned. People would be wondering where she was soon if she didn’t get moving. And she certainly didn’t need Di pounding on her door while Jack was still naked in her bed. She flipped back the sheet and tried to sit up, but Jack’s hand on her arm and his leg over hers held her in place.

His eyes were still closed, but he smiled lazily. “Where are you going?”

“To work.”

“It’s Saturday. Wouldn’t you rather stay here? With me?” Jack trailed a hand over her suggestively. Promisingly.

“It’s tempting.” Her body was primed for a long, lazy morning in bed, but she wiggled out of his grasp before she could give in. “But not all of us are lucky enough to be hotel tycoons. Some of us must go labor in the fields.”

One eye opened slightly. “You did that already, remember?”

“And now I must go check the fruits of my labor. Or actually the juice of the fruits.” She found her robe on the back of the bathroom door and pulled it on. “Don’t you have to go back to the city? Get some work done?”

Jack rolled to his side and propped on his elbow. “I don’t have to. One of the many perks of being a tycoon, you know, is having people on staff.” He crooked a finger at her. “Come here.”

Oh, he was tempting. His hair stood up in adorable spikes—either from her hands or sleep. Wrapped in a sheet to his waist, with a dark shadow of stubble across his jaw, this Jack was one she remembered, and the lure to crawl back into bed was strong.

“Tanks,” she muttered.

Jack’s eyebrows went up. “You’re welcome. I think.”

She shook her head at him and went to splash cold water on her face. And her libido. “I said ‘tanks’—as in fermentation. I need to go check the temperatures and the sugar levels. I won’t be gone long. Maybe a couple of hours.”

“Have Ted do it.”

“And what excuse would I give him for adding another task to his to-do list today?” Jeans. Bra. Panties. T-shirt. She pulled clothes out of drawers, tossing them onto the bed as she talked.

“You’re the boss. You don’t have to give reasons.”

“Maybe that works at Garrett Properties, but we’re a smaller operation here.” She bent at the waist to flip her hair over her head as she tackled the mass of tangles. Sex on the floor, sex in the pool, sex in the bed, going to sleep with wet hair—the knots had knots in them.

“I admire your dedication, but seriously, Bren, you have employees for a reason. You don’t have to do it all.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“I’m not the one rushing off to work this morning.”

From her upside down position, she could see Jack sitting cross-legged on her bed, the sheet tented over his knees. She tugged the comb through one last tangle and stood up straight again, the blood-rush from her head making her wobble a bit as she did so. Jack crooked a finger at her and gave her a look that made her knees wobble for real. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to crawl back under the covers and lose herself in him again.

What was she thinking? Less than twelve hours after becoming the majority owner of a winery—not to mention the fact she was the vintner as well—and she was already considering shirking her responsibilities because Jack had a magnetism that was near impossible to resist. And what would happen when Jack went back to the city? She’d be left with nothing but a batch of ruined wine.

Jack was temporary. He wasn’t for her—she’d learned that the hard way. The sharp stab of regret she felt at that thought only confirmed what she’d admitted yesterday. Jack did still have a piece of her heart. And she was setting herself up for another massive heartbreak.

She must have stood there too long, arguing with herself, because Jack tossed back the covers and crossed the room quickly to catch her hand. He gave a small tug, but she resisted. His eyebrows went up in question.

“What are you doing, Jack?”

That grin of his would be her undoing one day. “Isn’t it obvious? Bringing you back to bed.”

The fact he was gloriously naked wasn’t helping either. But she couldn’t let either his grin or his body distract her. “No. I mean what are we doing? You and me. Here. Like this.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Do we have to analyze it?”

“Yeah, I think we do.” She stepped back and sat on her vanity stool. “I have to admit, my head is still spinning.”

“Then why ruin that feeling?”

“Because…Because…” She couldn’t find the right words. “All things considered, I think we should quit while we’re ahead.”

“Meaning?”

Meaning this is a dangerous game I don’t want to play. Because I’ll lose. “Meaning, I’m glad we’ve managed to call a ceasefire of sorts, and that we’re not sniping at each other anymore. It will make things much easier in the future and last night was great…” She was rambling now, not making a lot of sense, and she knew it. The look Jack was giving her wasn’t helping any.

She was making a mess of this, and in another minute or two she’d end up making a fool of herself. She grabbed her clothes and put them on quickly. “Look, um, I really need to get to the winery.”

“Brenna…” Jack started.

She backed toward the door, hating the feeling of retreat. Lord, I’m such a wuss. But she desperately needed some distance to make sense of this situation and figure out what she was going to say to him. Without babbling next time. “We’ll talk later, okay? There’s, um, plenty of food and stuff in the fridge. Just make yourself at home. Bye.”

Jack called her name as she bolted, the exasperation in his voice very clear even from a distance.

But retreat—no matter how cowardly or graceless—really was the best option right now. Otherwise she was going to make a big fool of herself over him.

Again.

Jack was tempted to go after Brenna, but the scaredrabbit look in her eyes kept him standing still. No need to back her into a corner right now.

He’d been awake less than an hour and his day was already turning surreal. Brenna certainly had a way of spinning his world off its axis. He’d forgotten what it was like, but oddly enough he didn’t feel half as frustrated as he figured he should. Instead, dealing with Brenna seemed to have blown the cobwebs out of his brain, energizing him.

Her retreat this morning—whatever had triggered it—had left his body still burning for her. But now that he wasn’t thinking only with his libido, he realized Bren might have a point. The events of the past few days had his head spinning, too, and maybe he should decide what, exactly, his next plan would be.

Amante Verano wouldn’t be his problem much longer, but what about Bren?

He really hadn’t been awake long enough for his brain to be working properly. He needed coffee. And a shower and a shave.

Then he’d spend some time in Max’s office, as he’d originally planned.

That would give Bren time to calm down and give him time to decide what he was going to do about her.

She was going to ruin this entire batch of wine, and it would be all Jack’s fault. Brenna checked her numbers again, willing them to make sense. It would be nice if something made sense today.