One of These Days (Prairie Town Book 4)

by T. E. Ridener

  “N-no, I’m not sick,” she insisted, face catching fire. “I’m just...it’s been a long day, I guess? I’m a little tired.”

  No, I’m not!

  Why was she saying such stupid things? She was far from tired. In fact, she hadn’t felt so much energy in a long time. It was his fault, too, and he didn’t even know it.

  He was like a natural cup of coffee or something, capable of perking her up.

  At least that’s what her body had decided without discussing it with her first. Her nipples protruded through the fabric of her shirt as his hands continued moving up and down her arms. As sweet as his attempt was, all he was truly doing was turning her on.

  How the hell did that make any sense, and since when did arm rubbing become arousing?

  “I think you’re cold and need to go inside,” he said matter-of-factly. “Come on, Aggie. Don’t argue with me.”

  With that, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her inside. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it; he was putting her to bed because he was convinced she was sick.

  Gods, how humiliating!

  “Jeb, I’m really okay,” she said, halting in the doorway of her room. “You don’t have to play doctor or anything.”

  “Who said I’m playing?” He asked, moving to her bed and attempting to fix the blankets. “Aggie, if you’re feeling unwell then I want to take care of you. I may not be the best at it, but I’ll give it a damn good run. Now get your ass in this bed so I can go make you some tea.”

  “Tea?” Her jaw nearly hit the floor.

  “You heard me correctly, little lady.” Patting the mattress, he glanced up at her with a lopsided grin. “Get. In. The. Bed.”

  Placing her hands on her hips, she arched a brow. “And if I say no?”

  “Well,”—he sighed dramatically—“I can’t make you get in bed, but I am a lot bigger than you.”

  “And?” Duh. She knew he was bigger than her—she liked that he was bigger. Every blessed inch of him was her favorite thing. But if he wanted to play doctor...

  “And I’ll do what I have to.” Standing from the bed, he made his way back to her, his eyes filled with determination. Towering over her, his hands found their way to her sides and slowly began trailing downwards. “Whatever I have to do, Miss Stubborn.”

  Doing her very best to ignore the thrilled shivers racing through her body, she rolled her eyes and laughed at him. “Miss Stubborn? Have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met in my life.”

  “That is not true. My dad is way more stubborn than I could ever hope to be.” Faster than a strike of lightning, he scooped her up from the floor and cradled her against his chest, smirking. “Now, I’m putting you to bed. Rest is the only way to beat whatever’s trying to bring you down.”

  Oh, sweet Gods. May he never let me go.

  Tangling one arm around his neck, she locked gazes with him and felt her cheeks begin to burn once more.

  As much as she enjoyed the thought of being pampered by this delicious specimen, she knew it was wrong to allow this silly charade to go on for much longer. She wasn’t sick—that had been his assumption.

  The truth had to be told sometime. Why not begin with this?

  “Jeb, I don’t feel sick.”

  “Well, maybe you don’t right now, but who’s to say you won’t later tonight?” He asked, carrying her to the bed and gently placing her upon it. Grabbing the blankets, he began tugging them over her body, but she stopped him. “Dang it, Aggie. Don’t be—”

  “I’m not sick,” she repeated, sighing in defeat. Sitting up, she shoved the blankets away and stared up at him, her innards twisting anxiously. “I wasn’t sick on the porch either. I was...”

  “Was?” He prompted when her voice trailed off.

  “I was...turned on.” Her voice became quieter as she dropped her gaze to the bed and ran her fingers through her hair. Gods, did she sound like an idiot? It was embarrassing enough having been caught slobbering over him like that, but to allow him to believe she was ill? And the way he’d tried to take care of her...

  I am so not worthy of him.

  “Huh.”

  That was the only thing he said before falling silent.

  He probably really does hate me now. I’ve put him through so much since Lydia left. Poor guy probably has whiplash!

  Chancing a glance in his direction, she half expected to see disappointment on his handsome face. But to her surprise, he was grinning.

  “You were turned on, huh?” That grin turned into a smile—a rather proud one at that.

  “Don’t do that.”

  “Don’t do what?”

  “That,”—she frowned—“This is embarrassing enough already, Jeb. Now you’ve got that shit-eating grin of yours and I want to hide beneath my blankets forever.”

  And she tried to. Honest to goodness she made a dive for the blankets, but he stopped her. The rumble of his deep chuckle vibrated straight into her chest as he pinned her to the bed, eyes sparkling.

  “Ags, stop it,” he said, gently gripping her wrists and lifting them above her head. “I won’t let you hide under the blankets.”

  “Well, it’s better than being humiliated over my stupid body’s dumb feelings.”

  “Your body is not stupid,” he replied, wiggling his lower body until he was comfortably positioned between her legs. “And your feelings are not dumb.”

  She was more than aware of his midsection touching hers, and it was all she could do to keep her hips from lifting. It was tempting, certainly, but she needed to behave—they needed to behave.

  “Okay, so maybe they’re not.” She sighed. “But you have to admit it’s pretty stupid to act like a fucking teenager, every time I see you.”

  “Is that how it is?” His eyes roamed over her face as he laughed. “You act like a teenager around me?”

  “Jeb, don’t tease me about it; this is really serious. I’m trying to be serious.” Squirming beneath him, she gasped in surprise when he kissed her so suddenly. There wasn’t any warning at all—just like when she’d gotten home from the grocery store.

  Surprise kisses were the best kisses.

  Her eyes immediately slid closed as he coaxed her mouth open with gentleness, and then his tongue found hers.

  She really hadn’t been lying when she said he made her feel like a teenager. Many books she’d read had described this feeling before; butterflies in the stomach, heated skin, and heart palpitations. No one had ever made her experience these things before, and she never wanted anyone else to be the reason for them.

  Only him.

  Her fingers found the back of his neck and slowly slid into his hair, tugging gently as he licked at the roof of her mouth, which caused her to giggle. He chuckled softly and pulled away, gazing at her with heat in his eyes.

  “You make me feel like a teenager, too, Aggie.”

  “I do?”

  “Yeah. But thankfully I’m much older now and I don’t have, erm, accidents in my jeans. I have to tell ya, that was the ultimate definition of embarrassing. You can’t control stuff like that.”

  She tried to imagine Jeb as a teenager. She’d seen plenty of pictures of him at the McIntosh house, but never had she really given it much thought.

  I hope his adolescence was better than mine.

  But she refused to be sad at the moment. He was being so wonderfully perfect and his mouth was doing lovely things to her neck. Why on earth would anyone allow sadness to cloud a moment like this?

  Kissing down the side of her neck, he stopped at her collarbone and sighed. “I wish I’d known you back then,” he confessed, caressing her side with the backs of his knuckles. “I would have asked you to prom.”

  Oh, my heart.

  A part of her didn’t want to tell him about her teenage years, in which no prom ever happened. But the other part of her was ready to start telling the truth, or at least give it her best shot. So, she sucked in a deep
breath and licked her lips before smiling.

  “What was your prom like?”

  “My prom?” His eyebrows lifted, as if he hadn’t expected her to ask a question like that. But then he grinned and rolled off her, pulling her against his chest. She rested her ear where his heart beat strongly, and found it to be an amazing place—a place she wanted to revisit in the future.

  “Mhm. What was the theme?”

  “Aw, shoot. I don’t really remember.” His fingers trailed down her spine and sank beneath the bottom of her shirt, circling the flesh they found. “I think it had something to do with the stars.”

  “The stars?” Lifting her head to peer at him, she giggled. “Like, it had to do with astronomy, or celebrities?”

  “Hell, I don’t remember if I’m honest about it. I got shit drunk with some friends from school and we sat in the corner all night laughing at everybody else.”

  “You didn’t take a date?”

  “Nah.” Shifting slightly, he wrapped his arm around her waist and his smile broadened. “The girls at school wanted to go with the guys with big money, Aggie. If you couldn’t afford to take them in a limo, they weren’t interested.”

  The thought of girls acting that way really got under her skin. She couldn’t help but feel angry with the lot of them, whoever they were, for making him feel not good enough.

  “I would have gone with you,” she whispered, smiling somewhat bashfully. “No limo required.”

  “Yeah?” His eyes lit up at that statement, and it made her happy. That’s all she wanted, after all—to make him happy.

  “Absolutely. I would have gone with you in your truck, too.”

  “But you would have wanted a dance, huh?” He asked. Rolling them over so that he was on top of her again, he kept his weight off her with his hands and she took delight in watching the muscles in his arms bulge.

  “All the dances.” Pushing herself up on her elbows, she kissed his mouth and giggled as his beard tickled her chin. “So many dances. It would have been ridiculous.”

  “I probably would have brought you home early,” he murmured against her lips. “Dancing ain’t my thing, sweetheart.”

  “I would have made it your thing,” she replied breathlessly, nipping at his bottom lip as her hand found its way beneath his shirt. Her fingers trailed over the soft hairs on his stomach and it felt like someone had lit a match inside her. “I can be very convincing, you know.”

  “Is that so?” Voice husky and breathing shallow, he raised one of his knees until it touched between her legs. “I suppose you would have taken advantage of me in the parking lot then, too.”

  “Oh, most definitely.” Her laughter was a little forced, but it wasn’t his fault. Even though many men had taken advantage of her in the past, she didn’t have any doubts that she wouldn’t have climbed into the backseat of teenaged Jebson’s car.

  They both fell silent as the mood changed. Her hand eventually made its way into the front of his jeans and his knee had worked up a steady rhythm between her thighs. Their kisses became hungry and desperate as he pushed her closer and closer to the edge.

  With his damn knee, of all things.

  Her heart was beating out of control as his mouth moved away from her lips and found the pulse point beneath her jaw. He licked and suckled, nipped and teased, as she undulated her hips. She was so close...so fucking close already.

  “Come for me, baby,” he whispered against her throat. “I want you to come.”

  Heavens help her, she tried to reply, but it was impossible. He really had no idea the power he held over her as she gripped his length and struggled to please him in return. But it was difficult when her brain tried to shut down on her.

  “J-Jeb...”

  “Don’t worry about me, Aggie,” he said, sliding his tongue over the outer shell of her earlobe. “Just come for me, beautiful.”

  Whimpering softly, she released her grip on his cock and opted to grab the bed sheets instead. How was it possible for him to get her off like this? When had his knee gotten so talented?

  “Oh, fuck,” she gasped, eyes snapping open to meet his hungry gaze. “That...oh...”

  “That’s it, baby.” He pushed her shirt up and leaned in to tease one of her hardened nipples with his teeth.

  It proved to be her undoing.

  Crying out as her orgasm hit her, she clamped her legs around his and dug her heels into the backs of his thighs. Her entire body convulsed as little sparks of pleasure overrode her senses, her soul all but leaving her body.

  That was it.

  She was a goner.

  Waiting for her to return to earth, he sucked each nipple in turn, nipping occasionally as his hand slid up and down her stomach. His touch was so wonderful, so familiar, and she never wanted to lose that.

  She really never wanted to lose him.

  “You are so beautiful, Agatha Reed.”

  Hearing him say that, after hearing so many say it before him, stirred something deep within.

  Hope.

  “You’re not so bad yourself, Jebson Ray,” she replied, placing a hand against his chest. “Now get off of me and let me return the favor.”

  Chapter 13

  Jeb

  As the sun leaked through the opened window and a gentle breeze followed close behind, he finally stirred from sleep.

  It was one of the best sleeps he’d ever had, and never had he awoken to a more beautiful sight.

  Aggie was still sleeping peacefully beside him, half her face hidden from his view by strands of platinum blonde hair. He couldn’t resist reaching out to push it away, smiling to himself.

  They had made some progress the night before, finally. After giving one another mind-blowing orgasms, she didn’t run away.

  In fact, she’d cuddled up to him and wrapped her arms around him as if she’d never let him go.

  And he didn’t want her to.

  So, because of his fear of waking her, he stayed right where he was and listened to her steady breathing, allowing the memories from the night before to play through his mind.

  “Jeb, I want to tell you something.”

  “I’m all ears, beautiful.”

  She was hesitant at first, as if she were trying to find the right words to say. He was patient, of course, and waited until she was ready to speak again. They’d known each other for a few years now, and he knew that pushing her to say or do anything was a bad idea. So he simply waited.

  “I never went to prom,” she’d finally said. “I didn’t even graduate high school. My life as a teenager...was complicated.”

  “Complicated? How so?”

  “Well, a lot of stuff happened with my mom and I...I ran away from home.” She’d bowed her head in shame, and while she probably expected his reaction to be something else, all he wanted to do was hold her.

  He didn’t resent her or anything for having not graduated. Stuff happened. But he was curious as to why she’d never gotten her diploma. What happened with her mom?

  “My mom always cared more about her boyfriends than me,” she continued after a beat of silence. “And when she did notice me, it was only because she thought I was a freak. She always said there was something wrong with me.”

  “Why? Because of Agnes?”

  She’d nodded in response before burying her face against his chest, sighing.

  “That’s stupid. I don’t think I like your mother very much.”

  “I don’t like her very much, either. But that’s only part of the story, Jeb. There’s so much I want to tell you, but I’m afraid.”

  “You don’t ever have to be afraid with me,” he’d promised, kissing her forehead. “You can talk to me about anything; you can tell me anything. I’ll never judge you.”

  “I know—I do. I just...it’s hard to reveal that part of myself. I’ve never even told Lydia.”

  And that was when he became intimidated as fuck. There was something that Lydia didn’t know? And she wanted to tell him instead
?

  It should have been a moment of victory for him, a stroke to his ego even, but instead he felt his stomach twist into anxious knots as he waited for her to continue.

  “The first time I met Gran was a little different from the story I’m sure you’ve heard before.”

  “You mean the one where you were holding a salon sign upside down on the sidewalk?”

  “That’s the one,” she’d replied, laughing softly. “I’m sure it’s easy to imagine me making such a goofy mistake, but that’s just not how it happened.”

  “Will...you tell me how it happened, then?”

  Lifting her head to gaze at him again, it was hard to miss the tears in her eyes. “Yes,” she’d whispered. “I will. But remember: you promised never to judge me.”

  “And I won’t break that promise, Aggie. I, um, well, I promise. Again.”

  He wasn’t really sure what he’d expected her to say when she began that particular story, but it definitely wasn’t even a possibility in his mind when she finally made it to the end.

  She had been living on the streets when Gran found her, and like the hero she tended to be, his grandmother took her in without hesitation.

  He was grateful for that.

  Even if Aggie couldn’t see it, she was worth saving.

  She was worth loving.

  His arm tightened around her waist as the sunlight slowly crept across the room. Normally it would have bothered him, but not at the moment. Besides, he was far too entranced with the sleeping beauty in his arms. Who could possibly be bothered by the sun when something much brighter was present?

  “I’m not proud of the person I was back then, Jeb. She’s not me anymore, but I can’t change the fact she once existed.”

  Nobody could change the past. Hell, he’d done many things he wasn’t proud of, too, but he couldn’t let those things affect who he was now, and he hoped she understood her past was water under the bridge.

  But he couldn’t help worry that she was drowning in that water now.