Pure Indulgence

Chapter 9

Jack hefted his golf bag over his shoulder as he and Rich made their way over to the driving range to hit a bucket of practice balls. Jack desperately needed the release of smacking balls into oblivion to relieve the tension that had taken up residence in him since last night.

He exhaled a weary, confused sigh. His mind felt weighed down with emotions and fears he'd never experienced before-fears that Kayla wouldn't return the love he was beginning to harbor for her. Fears that he'd lose her because she wasn't ready to trust in him, or herself.

He was also worried that he wouldn't be able to give Kayla what she needed. He'd been alone and on his own for so long now, his previous relationships all deliberately shallow, that he found caring for another person was a scary prospect. It involved a range of feelings he was constantly sorting through, trying to figure out. He could give Kayla his love, his support in everything she did, but would that be enough to sway her, and ultimately keep her?

"Okay, Jack, how long is it going to take for you to finally tell me what's on your mind?" Rich's voice held traces of amusement, but his question was as straightforward and candid as the man himself.

They reached the driving range, and Jack slanted his best friend a brief glance. "What makes you think I have anything on my mind?"

Rich laughed and shook his head incredulously as they each grabbed a club, their bucket of golf balls, and stepped up to the practice area. "I've known you way too long, buddy, and I know how to read you in a way few people do. First of all, you've been brooding all day long, and you've started this bizarre habit of inviting me to the driving range when you've got something major on your mind."

Jack grunted in reply as he set a ball on a tee, certain that wasn't true at all.

Rich made a few practice swings before stepping up to his own ball. "Do you realize that all your important decisions over the past few years have been made out here on the range?"

Jack frowned. Did he really do that? "Yeah, like what decisions?"

"The first time was when you decided to give up your cheap two-bedroom apartment for a real house and mortgage. This is where you agonized over that decision," he pointed out wryly. "With me here, of course, listening to all the pros and cons of why you were finally ready to take that next step in your life."

Jack rolled his arms, trying to ease the taut muscles along his neck and shoulders before he lined up his shot. "One time doesn't make a habit."

"You're right. A habit does constitute more than once." Rich took a swing, and they both watched his ball fly one hundred and forty yards out, straight to the flag stick he'd been aiming at.

Rich turned to Jack with a cocky smile. "This is also the very place you decided to trade in your ten-year-old Dodge truck for your new Escalade. That was a huge, gut-wrenching decision for you."

He'd had that truck since high school and had seen no reason to replace it any sooner. "I'm a practical kind of guy," he said, feeling a bit defensive. "I don't like to spend money frivolously."

"Hell, I know that." Rich set another ball on his tee, but waited for Jack to take his first swing. "And I'm not criticizing your choice of thought process, just making you aware of the fact that this place seems to be where you do it best. In fact, the very last time we were here is when you made the decision to open a second restaurant."

All true, and Jack was amazed that he'd never seen the correlation himself. He swung and hit the ball, taking a huge divot out of the grass before sending the ball soaring to the right in the worst slice anyone had ever seen.

"Ahh, man," Rich said on a wince. "That shot sucked."

"Thank you for pointing that out to me."

"This is serious, isn't it?" Rich asked, much more concerned this time. "Usually your concentration is right on even while you're hashing out one of your decisions. Something's really got you shook up."

"I'm fine." And just to prove it, he took another shot and ended up topping the ball. He cursed beneath his breath.

"Come on, Jack. Just spill it," Rich said, putting his eight iron back in his bag in favor of a driver. "You'll feel a helluva lot better once you get whatever it is off your chest, and then we can go have a beer up at the clubhouse and toast to your newest acquisition."

This time was different. This was one time he couldn't just save up and purchase what he wanted. No, he had to earn it. And that was what made everything so uncertain, because the decision was out of his control.

Or was it?

The question nagged at Jack, and he transferred his gaze from the two-hundred-yard flag stick out on the range, to Rich. "It's Kayla Thomas."

Rich placed a ball on the tee. "I thought you said you were happy with the new dessert menu."

"I am."

Rich's brown eyes lit up. "Ahhh."

The one word held a wealth of understanding, and his friend just waited patiently for him to unload. "I'm falling in love with her." Jack scrubbed a hand over his jaw and finally admitted the truth out loud. "Hell, I'm already there."

"Congratulations," Rich said with a big grin. "You certainly have my blessing. I like her. A lot. And quite honestly, other than your crappy mood today, I can't remember the last time I've seen you so happy."

But Jack had a huge problem. He might be more content that he could ever remember being, but his biggest obstacle in getting what he wanted-a future with Kayla-was Kayla herself. And he had no idea how to get around her insecurities and emotional barriers.

"So, have you told her how you feel?" Rich asked while taking a few practice swings.

"No. Not yet."

Rich glanced his way with a frown. "Why not?"

"Because I'm afraid of scaring her away." He went on to explain a bit about Kayla's past to Rich, of how skittish she seemed to be of him and their developing relationship. And that he'd decided to take a step back and wait for her to come around on her own.

Rich took all that into consideration for a moment, then said, "In my opinion, you're taking the wrong approach with her."

Jack was willing to listen and learn, especially since Rich had more experience in the relationship department than he did-at least more experience with serious relationships that involved real emotion. While Jack had spent years keeping women at arm's length, Rich had been looking for that one special woman to spend his life with-but had yet to find her.

"I'm listening," Jack prompted.

"She's obviously not like all the other women you've dated," Rich said, and sent a golf ball soaring through the air in a clean, straight-line shot. "She's not demanding or assertive or overbearing."

"Not at all," Jack agreed. And those were some of the things that he loved about her. She wasn't at all smothering. She was gentle, sweet, and caring, and he was one-hundred-percent comfortable with her.

"So don't you think that since she doesn't possess any of those aggressive traits that she's going to read your signals all wrong? You're only making it easier for her to let you back off, because she thinks that's what you want." Rich selected a different club from his bag and briefly met Jack's gaze. "With you putting distance between the two of you, it's just going to reinforce her belief that you don't want someone like her."

His stomach cramped at the realization that Kayla might construe his actions in such a negative light. "I've never thought of it that way before."

"That's why I'm doing the talking, and you're doing the listening. And I'm not done yet." Rich lined up another shot. "For quite a while now, you've been dating women who were all wrong for you, whom you had no trouble keeping at arm's length. These women have been throwing themselves at you for so long that I'm thinking you've forgotten how to come on strong your-self, to make your intentions known. Now that you've found the right woman, you don't know how to open; yourself up to her."

Jack was blown away by Rich's insight, and realized, in some ways, his friend knew him better than he understood himself. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right." The teasing note to Rich's voice tempered his arrogant comment. "The way I see things, you need to reassure her, Jack, so there's no second-guessing where you're coming from. Let her know how you feel, right up front. Get it out in the open and you can both deal with it in a straightforward, honest way."

How could he have been so stupid? So blind? Everything Rich said made sense, and eased that worry he'd felt about not being able to give Kayla what she needed in her life. He'd just required a bit of friendly advice from Rich to give him a sense of purpose with Kayla again.

"When are you seeing her again?" Rich asked.

"Tomorrow night." Setting a ball on his tee, Jack lined up his club, and eyed the one-hundred-and-sixty-yard flag stick, feeling calmer and more focused than he had in the past eighteen hours. "I'm going to an art show with her."

"Then there's your chance, buddy. After your date, tell her how you feel."

Jack was going to do exactly that, because he wasn't about to give Kayla the opportunity to shut him out. He had to put his own emotions on his sleeve if he expected her to do the same, and he was willing to take that first life-changing step with her. For her.

Jack swung his club, made perfect contact with the golf ball, and sent it sailing beyond the one-hundred-and-sixty-yard flag stick as if it had wings of its own.

Rich whistled long and low at Jack's powerful shot. "Looks like you're back in the game, buddy."

Jack flashed him a confident grin. "You better believe I am."

Kayla had never worn anything so daring and blatantly sexy, but she couldn't deny that she loved the sensual, confident way her new dress-a vivid purple, off-the-shoulder design-made her feel. With Jillian's guidance, she'd also bought a pair of two-inch heels that didn't make her stumble when she walked. That extra boost of height made her legs look longer, and more slender.

She'd worn her hair up, donned lacy lingerie and smoke-hued stockings, and dabbed perfume in all the right places. Tonight, she needed all the self-assurance she could muster to seduce Jack, because she had no idea what tomorrow would hold.

She'd tried her best to prepare herself for the end of their physical relationship. Other than deliveries of the desserts, which Kayla didn't do herself, they had no reason to see one another on a steady basis. After this evening, she'd be left to pick up the pieces of her shredded emotions.

But at least she'd have great memories to fall back on. They'd shared not just sex, which had been great, but an emotional bond that had helped her begin to gain some insight to herself, her past, and maybe even her future. And she intended to start that future by not having any regrets with Jack after this evening.

She had no time to contemplate further, because he arrived at her house to pick her up for the art show. He looked gorgeous in a black suit with a white shirt and gray patterned tie. Appearing surprisingly relaxed, he gave her a lazy smile of appreciation when he saw her.

She wasn't quite sure what to expect after their emotional conversation two nights ago, but one thing she knew for certain-she was ready for tonight. And she was ready for Jack.

Just as Jack parked the car in the Seaside Gallery parking lot and shut down the engine, and before he had a chance to exit the vehicle, Kayla opened up her purse and withdrew a small gold foil box.

"I brought a surprise for you," she said, and knew by the dark heat in his eyes that he had a good idea what she held in her hands.

He rested his arm across the seat behind her and fingered a tendril of blond hair skimming the side of her neck. The contact made her shiver. "Dare I ask what's in that box you're holding?"

Just that quick, just that easily, her nipples puckered tight with need. Her candies were so unnecessary for her body to get primed and ready for him. No aphrodisiac would ever come close to duplicating the intense hunger that rippled through her at his knowing touch. Her desire for him was real, an all-encompassing combination of physical and emotional need.

Though she'd never be certain if the candies induced Jack's desire, she wasn't taking any chances with his libido tonight. It had been almost a week since they'd made love, and she ached for him in a way that transcended mere sex.

She wanted him desperately, needed him in a way she couldn't understand or explain. But she knew it had something to do with the emotions crowding her chest that told her she'd fallen much deeper than she'd intended and had given this man a piece of her heart in the process.

No one else had ever had the ability to make her nerve endings hum with such pleasure. No one had ever cared the way Jack did. But she'd seen his choice in women. And despite his protestations, she knew that was the kind of woman he wanted. After all, here she was, someone who looked nothing like his usual dates, and he hadn't tried to touch her in a week. So, if she had to return to her life before Jack, then she damn well was going to take advantage of everything tonight had to offer.

"I brought along a few Caramel Caresses, since you haven't tried them yet," she said, and moved the chocolates closer to him, hoping the sight of the candies' sensual shape would entice him.

He groaned, low and rough and sexy as hell. "You can't keep feeding me your candies," he said playfully, and trailed a finger along her bare shoulder. "You know what they do to me."

"Yeah, I do," she admitted out loud. That was the whole point of him eating them, she thought wryly.

Plucking a Caramel Caress from the box, she lifted it to his mouth and rolled the peaked tip against his bottom lip. "Open up and say ahhh," she teased.

He rolled his eyes, but did as she asked, and Kayla slid the chocolate into his mouth. Finally. He chewed, taking in the flavor and texture, and his brows rose in surprise.

"I was expecting just a caramel filling, but there's something else…" His voice trailed off as he attempted to figure out what the added taste was.

"It's a layer of creamy praline," she told him, and urged him to take another. "Do you like it?"

"Like everything else you've made, it's fantastic." He picked up a second piece of candy and bit it in half, then used his tongue to lick out the creamy, gooey center in a very provocative way.

Oh, God. Her insides quivered and she squirmed in her seat. She knew if they didn't get out of the car now she'd end up attacking him right then and there in the parking lot, the art event forgotten.

She ate one of the candies herself, put the lid back on the box, and set it on the center console for later. She'd given Jack more than enough of the aphrodisiac to spur a liberal amount of lust. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the right opportunity to present itself, so they could enjoy its effects.

They entered the Seaside Gallery and were greeted by Audrey. With her was Louis, the new artist whose paintings were being showcased for the special event. The place was filled with guests milling about, taking in the artwork on the walls, discussing the diverse sculptures on glass-topped tables, and viewing the featured artist's seascapes and marine life paintings. Kayla wasn't an art person, but was fascinated by the vibrant colors of the ocean and sunsets depicted on canvas. Jack seemed to be also.

She checked on the dessert table to make sure that everything looked as it should, and smiled as she overheard compliments from the guests on the petits fours and fondue sauces. She was thrilled when the employee serving the confections mentioned that the desserts had been supplied by Pure Indulgence.

"Champagne?" a young man asked as he held out a tray of drinks toward her and Jack.

"Umm, yes, please." Kayla took a flute of the bubbly liquid for herself, and passed one to Jack, too.

As they sipped their champagne, they strolled from room to room, discussing the artwork among themselves and with other guests. Jack remained by her side with his hand on the small of her spine, his touch possessive and arousing, as was the heat simmering in his eyes whenever their gazes met.

Every so often his palm would stroke lower, skimming provocatively over her bottom before returning to her back again. His illicit caresses made her breasts swell and her nipples peak, and intensified the desire pulsing between her thighs. She ached to touch him more intimately, too, to make him feel just as restless as she was, but they were surrounded by people and she was forced to behave herself. The necessity to practice restraint only served to elevate the hunger and need coiling tighter and tighter within her.

She finished off her champagne and set it on a passing tray just as they came across a sweeping staircase leading to a second level of the gallery. The entrance was roped off by a velvet cord, but that didn't stop Kayla from wanting to follow through on a mischievous idea that popped into her mind.

"Let's go see what's upstairs," she suggested in a whisper, excited by the prospect of being alone with Jack.

She expected a token protest from Jack, but he surprised her by agreeing, and like two naughty kids, they unlatched the velvet cord and quickly and silently made their way up to the second level.

It was quiet upstairs, and blessedly vacant. Hand in hand, they walked through the various rooms, taking in artwork that was more exotic and titillating than what was displayed below. Abstracts of nudes adorned the walls, along with real-life sketches and paintings that ranged from subtly sensual to more blatantly erotic.

"Take a look at these," Jack said in a low, astonished tone of voice.

He tugged her into a small room that was dimly lit, with marbled columns displaying a collection of bronze sculptures of nude couples in various sexual positions-from the standard missionary pose, to a man taking a woman from behind, to a woman sitting on top of a man. Fascinated and feeling like a voyeur in the midst of an orgy, Kayla stepped closer to a different pair of sculptures and was shocked to discover that each one depicted a couple being pleasured orally.

The first one portrayed a woman on her knees in front of a man, taking his shaft into her mouth while he twined his fingers through her long hair. His head was thrown back in the throes of ecstasy, his muscled body taut and straining, his face reflecting a passion so strong Kayla felt it to the very core of her being.

And then there was another of a woman lying on her back, her naked body arched and her hands caressing her own breasts as the man between her spread legs pleasured her with his tongue.

Jack came up behind her, rested his hands on her bare shoulders, and skimmed his lips close to her ear.

"That's exactly what I want to do to you."

His soft, seductive voice curled through her belly and sent shivers skittering across her skin. There was no denying the dampness gathering between her thighs at the thought of him pleasuring her so intimately, so erotically. Her sex felt heavy and swollen, her entire body strung tight with an urgent, demanding need she could no longer suppress.

She turned around and searched his dark, masculine features, taking in the desire that was for her alone. The fire she saw in his eyes made her weak in the knees and eager to experience anything and everything he was willing to offer tonight-even something as forbidden as an illicit tryst among erotic sculptures.

"Yes," she murmured. Curling her hand around his neck, she brought his mouth down to hers for a kiss that was deep and hot and wild.

With a low growl that reverberated in his chest, he pressed her up against the nearest wall and aligned his body to hers. His hands slipped down her sides, past her bottom and thighs, his touch urgent and wondrously aggressive, spurring her to a greater level of anticipation.

Grasping the hem of her dress, he shoved it up to her waist, exposing her lower body to the cool air in the room. She barely had time to catch her breath before he hooked his fingers behind one knee and lifted her leg up to his hip so that he could press his groin to hers. She felt every single hard inch of him.

She whimpered against his lips and shamelessly rubbed the hottest, neediest part of her against his thick shaft. Just as she'd shed all of her inhibitions, she wanted the flimsy barrier of her panties gone, too.

Jack seemed to know exactly what she needed, what she desperately craved. He sank to the carpeted floor in front of her and rasped, "Hold your dress up for me."

Caught up in the moment, she did as he asked. She gripped the silky fabric in tight fists, her thighs quivering as he dragged her underwear down and off, shoved them into his coat pocket, then smoothed his palms upward. He eased her legs further apart so he could touch her slick flesh with his long, warm fingers and could look his fill of her, which he did without an ounce of concern for her own modesty.

Kayla's heart slammed in her chest, and she couldn't move, couldn't seem to breathe as she waited for the decadent pleasure he'd promised her. Everywhere she looked she was surrounded by carnal images, and in her mind those sculptures became her and Jack, entwined in hedonistic positions, doing deliciously wicked things to one another…

"God, you're so, so beautiful," he said in an ardent whisper that touched her heart in unexpected ways, despite the sexual intensity of the moment.

She loved his tenderly spoken words, loved the way he made her feel beautiful and sexy when she was with him. He stroked along her cleft in a slow, maddening rhythm, and her hips moved helplessly against the glide of his fingers, his touch teasing instead of fulfilling the way she needed them to. "Jack… please."

He rubbed his cheek against her thigh, his lips warm and damp on her skin. "Shhh… I'll give you what you need, sweetheart."

His thumbs skimmed her swollen lips, opening her to him so that he could kiss her, deeply and intimately. His hot breath, the suctioning swirl of his tongue, all combined to make her come in a blinding, gut-wrenching rush of sensation completely beyond anything she'd ever experienced before. A low, sobbing cry escaped her throat, and her trembling legs threatened to give out on her.

He stood up, pinning her against the wall with the strength of his hard, aroused body. His lips claimed hers in a slow, lazy kiss that gave her time to come down from the exquisite high of her climax.

He drew back minutes later, when she could finally think and breath normally again, and gently touched her face. "You're amazing, you know that?"

She smiled drowsily, physically sated for the moment.

"I think you get all the credit for what just happened here, but I'd like to think that I can do amazing things to you, too." She smoothed her hand down his chest and cupped his erection in her palm.

He groaned like a dying man and grasped her wrist to stop her purposeful strokes. "Not here," he said huskily. "I want to take this somewhere private. Let's say goodbye to the host and get the hell out of here."

Kayla wasn't about to argue.