Listening to the story of Caitlin's tragic childhood was painful for Jack. Though he had known her less than a day, he felt responsible for her safekeeping. It didn't seem to matter that, at the time these tragedies had occurred, he hadn't even known that Caitlin existed. What mattered was that he wanted to protect her from ever experiencing any kind of pain.
When Caitlin said that she could never tell Shanna about her past, Jack was perplexed. "I don't understand. I thought you were closer to Shanna than anyone else. Why can't you share this with her? I'm sure she would understand; she's your friend."
Caitlin's smile was so sad that he felt like his heart was breaking for her pain. "No, Jack, she wouldn't," she answered. "You see, Billy is not the only family member I gained by Anne and Stanley's marriage."
"He's not?" he frowned.
Shaking her head, she responded, "No. You see...Shanna is Billy's older sister."
His jaw dropped. Shanna was Billy's sister? Shanna was Caitlin's stepsister? Baffled, he could only stare at her.
Caitlin sighed, and began to explain. "Shanna had just left home for college when Billy began...visiting me. It was almost like...her presence had kept Billy on his best behavior. When she left...the dark side of Billy began to emerge. Even though Shanna and I became very close, I couldn't tell her what her brother was doing to me. It would devastate her, and she would want me to tell Anne and Stanley. I couldn't go through with that, I couldn't destroy my family, as miserable as we were. And Shanna would have felt so guilty for not being able to do anything about it, for not being around."
Jack shook his head, his expression full of sorrow. "Baby, I can never even begin to understand what you've been through. It must have been horrible, and I'm so sorry that you had to go through it alone."
She forced a smile, snuggling up closer to him. "It was a long time ago. I've made my peace with it, and it made me a stronger person. I know I would never let myself endure anything like that again, and now I'm focused on making my future better than my past ever was."
He was thoughtful. "I admire that a lot about you, Caitlin. You're so mature for your age that I don't even think about our age difference."
She nodded. "I think that's why I feel so comfortable with you, Jack. I think that's why I'm able to open up with you when I've never been able to with a boy before. You're so different from boys my age; I could hardly believe how attracted I was to you right from the start." Flushing a bit, she added, "I was beginning to think that I would never desire sex the way other girls do, and certainly not the way Shanna does. You've brought out a side in me that I didn't even know was there."
He questioned, "What do you mean, certainly not the way Shanna does?"
She laughed in spite of herself. "That, my friend, is a story for another night. One with much more wine, much less crying, and much more laughter." She dropped a sly wink. "And, if you're lucky, some visual aids."
His curiosity was piqued, but his thoughts returned to her past. He couldn't help but marvel at her courage, her strength. 'How many women could go through what she did, and become so strong, so successful?' He had a great deal of respect for her, even more so after hearing this story. In the back of his head, he wondered how much longer he could wait before telling her that he loved her. 'Yeah, that's right,' he thought ruefully. 'Jack the Womanizer has finally been bitten by the big L. And for a woman half his age!' He desperately hoped that she felt the same way, but he didn't want to scare her by revealing his feelings too quickly. 'I'll let her take the lead on how quickly things develop,' he decided.
Jack stroked her hair as he was lost in his own thoughts, his touch gentle and tender. She tilted her head up to him and brushed her lips over his. He returned her kiss, and it became a slow, sweet embrace. When her arms slipped around him and her fingers tangled themselves in his hair, he allowed some passion to enter their kiss. Her response was eager as she opened her mouth to him, brushing her tongue against his in a way that sent sparks throughout his body.
With caution, he ran his hands up her bare arms, stroking her soft skin. She shivered slightly, her hands moving from his hair down his back. He moved on top of her, pushing her curls away from her face so that he could stare into her bright green eyes.
"You are so beautiful, Caitlin," he whispered.
She smiled up at him, blushing. "You're not so bad yourself, Jack," she whispered back.
He kissed her neck, nibbling below her earlobe lightly. "This neck is beautiful," he murmured. She giggled.
He ran his tongue to her collarbone and dropped a kiss there. "This chest is beautiful," he added. Her laugh turned low and sexy.
He took the top of the sheet in his teeth and yanked it roughly down to her waist, brushing his lips over her left nipple. "This breast is beautiful," he muttered.
She stopped laughing as her breath caught in her throat.
He moved over to her right breast, brushing his lips over it and then flicking the nipple with his tongue. "This one is, too," he whispered.
"Jack," she whimpered pleadingly.
Raising his eyes to her, he took her nipple in his mouth, teasing her by sucking on it slowly. "Do you like that?" he asked.
