Chapter One
Jack kissed each pulse point before he returned her hands to her lap. "I'll be right back," and he walked away.
She was nervous. What had she just agreed to? Had she made a mistake in listening to her inner voice and trusting him? Ali didn't think so. This was not only the man who had featured in many of her dreams but he was a part of her past that she might actually be able to hold close for at least a few weeks without him being harmed.
Ali felt it would be so easy to care for, no be honest, easy to love the man, and that was scary. Not the loving part but the loving and having to walk away could be the one thing life has thrown at her that could completely break her spirit.
Looking into the flames before she gave herself the usual don't feel sorry for yourself you are alive to chat. It would have worked but Jack coming up and placing a blindfold over her eyes interrupted the talk.
"What are you doing? Jack?"
"Shhh. Remember, trust me."
She felt his hands resting on her shoulders and then they moved, gently massaging her neck and shoulders.
"Did you know that you have been my rock for all these years?"
"No, no I didn't know you even remembered who I was."
"Not remember? You sell yourself short Ali, you are unforgettable."
Not sure how to answer that she stayed silent and sunk further into the motion of his hands. She was so relaxed and having decided to hand the reins of this evening over to Jack she felt freed of any pressure. A single thought marred her peace and felt the need to place it out there for him before they went any further.
"Jack? I am not very good at this sort of thing. I ummm, well, I have had...shoot!"
"You have not had many lovers, is that what you are trying to say?"
"Yes, yes that is what I am saying."
"Kitten, what matters most is what happens between the two of us, not any others. Just tell me if I do anything that you don't want...although I want you to know this up-front, I will not only see your legs but I will touch them and love them."
"No!"
"Yes. I will not allow you to hide anything from me, especially in that bed. This is not a one off night of fucking Ali, this is the start of our relationship together, an adult relationship." He was holding her firmly by her shoulders as she smoothed her hands firmly along her thighs, as if she would be able to hide them forever beneath the fabric of her skirt.
"I know what damage was done all those years ago. I have seen your legs through your many surgeries as a child."
She gasped, that was when she started dreaming of the white tiger.
"This shouldn't surprise you. You know I was a member of the team set to protect your family, and you were mine. Does everything from that time need to be blocked in order for "Alison" to rest in peace?"
"No." Whispered softly because although they were difficult times that followed the murder of her parents she did remember this man, he was her teenage knight in shining armour and eventually he left her.
"You screamed, whenever you saw me you screamed so horribly. Eventually your doctors demanded I not allow you to see me when there, that after you screamed you were inconsolable and would be administered a light sedative to ease you into sleep. I admit even that had not stopped me from ensuring you were not in any danger, I will never stop seeing to your safety."
Jack continued easing her shoulder and neck muscles as he spoke softly to her of their shared painful past.
"Do you know why I see you in the mirror in my house? Why I dream of you and in those dreams you look like you do now and not as I knew you before?"
"Later. I have waited so long for you to come to me...I will wait no longer." He moved her hair over one shoulder and shifted the collar of her blouse to the side, leaned down and dropped a kiss where her neck and shoulder met.
Gently lavishing his kisses on her sweet soft neck in the dark Ali wallowed in the pleasure his kisses freely offered. She could feel his steady breath exhaling against her skin; as he moved up to her ear dropping gentle kisses along the way she felt the heat of his breath. When he twirled his tongue around the edge of her ear she inhaled deeply only for it to escape on a moan as he nibbled the soft lobe.
"Are you ready Kitten?" He asked quietly.
"Yes," was the only answer she felt able to give.
Working his way back down her neck she felt the gooseflesh rising on her arm, so immersed in his gentle seduction the heat of the fire on her bare breasts surprised her enough to bring her hands up to cover them.
"No hiding Ali." Jack had untied the side bow so smoothly she hadn't noticed it happening. Now he spoke gently to her while tugging the neckline of her blouse down, waiting for her to release her breasts. Taking a deep breath she dropped them back behind her so he could take the sleeves off. Only Jack had other ideas and left the blouse caught on her wrists, still behind her back.
"Jack?" Blindfolded and trapped in her blouse Ali felt vulnerable and exposed.
She felt him move and, just shy of frantic, turned to try and find him before she felt him kneeling before her. He settled himself between her legs and reached around her waist, resting his hands first on her waist then after a squeeze flat on the bench behind her. Jack reached up and stopped just before his lips touched hers.
His bare chest settled against her breasts, the erotic sensation slightly parting her lips.
"Beautiful," he breathed against her lips before dropping a soft kiss on their moist surface. "Do you know what I see when I look at your uncovered breasts, thrust out as if in offering? Let me tell you what is before me now."
He shifted away from her tempting lips and sat back on his heels, moving his hands to stroke her knee to thigh through the fabric of her skirt.
Ali didn't know that he had taken off his dress shirt until she felt his bare skin against hers. She was not aware that both his shoes and sock were gone leaving him except for his trousers. As he spoke he reached under the hem of her skirt and took off her shoes before gently massaging her feet.
