Destined for Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens, Book 2) Contemporary Romance

by Melissa Foster

  “Did you want to talk? I guess I can stay for a few minutes.”

  Rex saw the guy pop his head around his cab, then disappear again. He was torn between finding out what the hell that guy was up to and trying to salvage things with Jade.

  “Look, you’re obviously sidetracked. Why don’t we catch up another time?” Jade slammed the door and started her car.

  “Jade!” he said, but she was already pulling out of her parking space. She sped off, and the sedan that had been next to Rex’s truck backed up and looked as though it was going to follow Jade. Rex’s pulse soared, and he took off running toward the sedan, legs pumping, biceps pulsing. Jade. Just as he reached the rear bumper, the man he’d seen peering around the bed of his truck stepped from the car.

  “Hi,” the gray-haired man said. “I’m looking for the Carroll house? I’ve circled the area twice, but I can’t see the addresses on the mailboxes. It’s so darn dark.”

  Lost? He’d completely misconstrued the man’s intent—and there was no denying what he felt. The urge to protect Jade was ten times what he felt for any member of his family. He had to find her.

  “Pull out of the driveway and make a left. Third house down on the right.” He spoke quickly, pulling his keys from his pocket and heading toward his truck with one thing on his mind: finding Jade. He pulled onto the road behind the old man, who was driving way too slowly. Two minutes later, the old man pulled into a driveway and Rex put the pedal to the floor in search of Jade’s car. She couldn’t have gone far.

  He sped toward Jade’s house. Knowing he’d overreacted about the guy by his truck pissed him off even more. He’d had a chance to talk to her and he’d blown it again. He was at her house a few minutes later, and her car wasn’t there. He continued down the road, cursing at the situation. Life was a hell of a lot easier when he wasn’t driven by his heart, but that option no longer existed.

  He pulled onto a dirt road to turn around and caught sight of Jade’s car parked between two large trees. What the hell? When he pulled in, his headlights shone on the trees beside her car, illuminating carvings covering most of the trunk. Rex smiled as he realized where he was. He parked his truck and headed down the dirt path.

  He hadn’t been to Rights Creek since he was a kid. He’d always preferred the ravine to the creek, although he knew plenty of kids who hung out there when they were teenagers. Guided by the moonlight filtering through the trees, he followed the narrow path to the wide creek. He heard a splash before he saw movement in the water.

  Beneath the iridescent moonlight, Jade swam lazily through the water. She glided with strong, fluid strokes, and when she reached the middle, she dove headfirst like an elegant swan beneath the surface. Her naked body slithered quickly behind, her bare bottom arcing up in the air before plunging deep with one last kick of her legs until she had disappeared completely. Rex was mesmerized as she breached the surface again. Her breasts bobbed over and under the water as she wiped the water from her face.

  He couldn’t be caught again watching her like a psycho, and yet he couldn’t turn away as she swam to the water’s edge and pulled herself from the water. She’d taken her hair out of its tether and now it stuck to her creamy skin. Rex did the only thing he could do. He moved toward her like a thief in the night.

  “Jade, it’s me, Rex,” he called softly, so as not to startle her.

  She gasped, reached for her clothes, and quickly put them on.

  “I didn’t come to spy on you. I promise. I thought this guy was going to follow you out of the Gesalts’ and...Oh hell, Jade…” How the hell can I explain this? “I guess I did follow you, but I didn’t know you were skinny-dipping.”

  She sat down on a fallen tree with her back to him.

  “May I join you?” Please God, cut me some slack here.

  “It’s a free world.”

  Not really. Not where you and I are concerned. He sat beside her, and suddenly he wasn’t sure what had felt so urgent. He couldn’t put two coherent thoughts together. Her nipples peaked the thin fabric, and without her hair tumbling in waves, there were no distractions from her electric-blue eyes.

  Chapter Eighteen

  JADE SHIVERED AS he approached, both from the coolness of being wet and the excitement of being with Rex. He was so cute when he was embarrassed. She hadn’t encountered him in this tentative mood before, and she found it titillating. The fallen tree on which they sat had deteriorated in several places, leaving only a small area that was viable enough to sit on. He sat so close to her that she grew warm almost instantly.

  “So you followed a guy you thought was going to follow me?” She smiled at the thought. If he hadn’t actually followed someone, it was a romantic story, and if he had, it was a possessive and romantic gesture. Either way, she couldn’t ignore the meaning behind his actions; her attraction was reciprocated, at least on some level.

  “There was a guy, but he wasn’t following you,” he said with a smile.

  “Mm-hmm,” she teased.

  “A gray sedan. He was lost.”

  “I saw that car. When I was on my way there, it was behind me. I had a feeling it was following me, but then it didn’t pull into their driveway when I did.”

  “He was just lost.” He turned to face her. “Jade,” he said softly. “I want to talk to you. I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t got much experience with meaningful relationships.”

  “Meaningful relationships?” Is he saying what I think he’s saying?

  “Okay, relationships with women. Period.” He sighed.

  He reached to find the right words, which she found endearing. She bit her lower lip and listened. It would be so easy to put words into his mouth and then silence them with a succulent kiss, but that could wait. More than wanting that kiss, she wanted to hear what was so important that he’d followed her down a dark road at night, risking anyone finding them—kids who might talk about them in town, or a neighbor who might have seen him follow her. She knew the chances of either were remote, but surely he must have thought of them, too.

  “I…you…I said friends because I thought that was what you wanted, and being your friend was better than being someone who never spoke to you at all. I want to get to know you—all of you. I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t play games, and I’m not interested in chasing women or any of that.”

  Her pulse was racing, making it hard to concentrate on what she wanted to say. “I thought you wanted to be friends. With everything that’s wrong between our parents, I thought that was what you needed.”

  He looked down, and Jade’s heart skipped a beat. That is what he needs. She saw regret in his eyes when he lifted his face to hers.

  “I don’t have anything figured out right now as far as they’re concerned, but I knew when I saw you in the barn that you are the person I never knew I was looking for. You ignite something in me that has never been touched by anyone else. Not even close.”

  “It’s called anger.” Listening to his honest confession stimulated something deep within her, and she reached for his hand. “I want the same confusing thing you do. I think maybe I always have.”

  He took her face in his hands and brought her lips to his in a sweet, gentle kiss. It wasn’t enough. Jade pressed her mouth harder, probing his tongue with hers. Her entire body rippled with goose bumps as his whiskers scratched against her upper lip and his right hand cupped the back of her neck, greedily kissing, stealing her breath as his and then pulling away sharply, leaving her breathless.

  “I want to know you, Jade. Not just in the physical way. I want to get to know you. I want to date you. I want to know what makes you happy and what makes you sad. I want to know all the stories from when you were a little girl, and I want to know the dreams that keep you up at night. I want to learn about you in all the ways that matter.”

  Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

  “I’ve never wanted any of that before, with anyone.”

  He searched her eyes, and she w
ondered if he could see that she’d waited her whole life to be cherished, and she could hardly believe that the man who wanted to know her was the man she’d spent so many years dreaming about. And also the man whose family her father abhorred. She covered her mouth with her fingertips, thinking of her father. She had to get rid of those thoughts. Now. There was no way that she was going to even try to resist what she felt for Rex. She felt his strength weaken with his confession and saw vulnerability in his dark eyes, sparking a desire in her to help him regain his strength and calm his nerves, like she did for her horses. She slid her fingers beneath his hair and drew him to her, capturing his lips with hers. She probed and licked and kissed until any lingering thoughts were gone and all that existed were the two of them, their breathing, in tune with each other.

  She climbed onto his lap and wrapped both arms around him, feeling his hard shaft beneath her. She kissed him harder, pressing her body against his. When she finally came up for air, the smile on his lips reached all the way to his eyes.

  Her lips tingled from the pressure, and she licked them lightly, enjoying the sensation of the pain and the healing wetness at once.

  “You kill me when you do that,” he said in a ragged voice. He ran his index finger along her lips, and she took that finger into her mouth and swirled her tongue around it, closing her eyes and moving in slow, pulsing beats. He groaned, then gasped in a sharp breath.

  “You’re making it hard for me to stay on track here. I’m only human.”

  She drew his finger from her mouth and put her lips beside his ear. “Then don’t stay on track,” she whispered. She had never wanted a man the way she wanted him, or felt as right about being with someone regardless of how wrong her father might think it was. She trusted her heart, and as much as she longed to hear his intimate confessions, they could wait. She wanted to claim the moment as theirs, claim him as hers, and give herself over to him. Everything else could wait.

  She slid from his lap and untied the right strap of her dress. The fabric fell softly across her breast. She drew him to his feet. His hands trembled as much as hers as she laced her fingers into his. The only sounds were their warm breaths, the beating of their hearts, and the sweet movement of the water. Jade put her hands on his chest, like she’d done with Flame so many times before. She felt like she’d spent her life calming horses in preparation for this one night. Rex Braden was her stallion. She rested her forehead between her hands and closed her eyes. The smell of the wet earth, mixing with Rex’s unique leathery, woody scent, brought a smile to her lips. The sound of water bubbling over rocks at the ends of the creek soothed their private world. She slowed her breathing to match his pace and willed her heart to beat to the same rhythm.

  He placed his hands on the small of her back. The light pressure sped up her pulse. She opened her eyes and looked into his.

  “Let me do this,” she said.

  He lowered his lips to hers, a feather across her needy mouth, as she pulled free and reached for the button on his jeans. She put her thumbs in the sides of his jeans and drew them down, lowering her body as she pushed them to his ankles. She’d forgotten about his damned boots, and he laughed as he knelt down, nearly toppling over as he lifted his feet and she removed his boots, freeing him from his jeans.

  He reached for her, and Jade stepped away, shaking her head.

  “Let me,” she repeated. Jade had never been ashamed of her sexuality. It empowered her, and as much as she loved letting a man steer their sexual interludes, with Rex she wanted to—had to—do what she felt he needed most. Her touch.

  JADE STOOD BEFORE him with one shoulder bare, looking like a pixie in the moonlight. She untied the strap on her other shoulder and her dress dropped to the ground. His body awoke with eagerness at the sight of Jade naked before him. He reached for her, and she tethered him again with her words.

  “Let me.”

  He was a man, through and through. Testosterone ran through him thick and ready. He drank in the essence of her—shoulder to hip, the curve of her belly just above her dark curls. The temptation to touch her was too strong. He reached out again, needing to feel those exquisite curves.

  She stood on her tiptoes and whispered, “Let me,” again.

  She ran her fingers down his sides lightly at first. Then she clamped her hands around his hips, applying pressure with her palms. Her hands were small against his body as she traced the lines of his abs across his stomach and back up to his chest. He closed his eyes, feeling the pressure of his boxer briefs trapping him beneath the soft fabric.

  Jade’s fingers pressed against the hair on his chest, creating a rough sensation against his skin. She moved in closer, her breath on his skin, and she kissed as she touched. Rex’s nerves tightened, while his muscles relaxed. The strange dichotomy of sensations had him craving more of her.

  He reached for her again, and she pushed his hands down to his sides. He’d never allowed a woman such control, and now he knew why. No one else would know just how to touch him the way Jade was. Her caress was slow and thoughtful. He could feel love coming through her fingertips in soft pulses.

  Her nipples brushed softly against his chest. Her hands twisted lightly against his skin, her fingers pointing down as she walked them toward his boxers, applying gentle pressure with her palms.

  “Jade,” he whispered.

  She kissed the space between his ribs where Hope nuzzled him so often, and her hands slid beneath the waist of his briefs, rubbing, caressing the tender area beneath his erection.

  “Touch me,” he said.

  “Shh,” she whispered.

  His body trembled beneath her teasing. She slid his briefs to the ground and ran her hands first down his left leg, with pulsing grips along his muscles until she reached his foot, which she lifted gently, freeing him from the thin veil of cotton. He was on the verge of coming apart and she hadn’t laid one finger on his most sensitive areas. He clenched his teeth, restraining the surge of heat that fought for release as she slid her body against his and moved behind him, reversing the sensation as she worked her way back up his legs.

  Rex opened his eyes, and the sight of her hands, now reaching around him from behind and grasping his hips with a firm, possessive grip, pulsing the tension from the muscles, tamed the primitive need to take her, replacing it with a hypnotic hunger for more—more touch, more teasing, more Jade.

  She massaged his back, his sides, trailed kisses up his spine and slid her hands beneath his arms, massaging his pecs as he might her breasts. It was shocking and almost indescribable the way it emasculated, then instantly aroused him. Her touch transitioned from firm to tender with each breath, and by the time she returned to his front, he thought he might come with a graze against her skin.

  She pressed her body against his and he had to have her. He took her in his arms and kissed her with the promise of more. He could smell her arousal as she gyrated against him, anchoring him in a thrumming heat.

  She pushed away with a shake of her head and a wiggle of her finger. “Let me,” she whispered.

  He groaned again as she grabbed his obliques and pressed—hard—with her palms, then lowered her head and licked along the center of his stomach.

  “Jade, please. Let me,” he begged, grasping her shoulders.

  She ignored his plea and pushed his hands from her skin as she licked along the crease between his thighs and the tender skin beneath his erection. At the same time, she cupped his balls, moving her fingers just gently enough to send him up, up, up toward the crest of an orgasm. Just when he thought he couldn’t restrain himself any longer, she slid her finger along the length of his shaft, then lowered her mouth around him. He moaned into the night at the moist heat that enveloped him as she drew her lips up and down the length of him, until the tip hit the back of her throat. Then she drew him out, and the shock of the air against the wet from her tongue sent a shiver rushing through him.

  She took a step back, dragged her eyes along his body, lingerin
g on the place her mouth had just been, and licked her lips.

  He reached for his jeans.

  “I’m not done,” she said.

  “Jade, I can’t take it.”

  “Then why are you reaching for your clothes?”

  “Condom,” he said with urgency.

  SHE FROWNED. HIS hand stopped midair. She wanted to feel him. All of him, not a latex sheath. She was on the pill, and sure, she knew all about sexually transmitted diseases, but didn’t everyone get tested these days?

  “Are you worried about who you’ve been with?” she asked honestly, cringing inside while she waited for the answer.

  “No, but…”

  She moved closer, touched her fingertips to his stomach.

  “I’ve never had sex without a condom. Not once in my life. Not even as a teenager. I was always too afraid of getting someone pregnant,” he admitted.

  “You’re thirty-something and never felt the wetness of a woman wrapped around you, pulsing against you?”

  He groaned. “Not once.”

  Between his trembling and his intoxicated voice, she felt his potent need.

  “I’m on the pill,” she said, and took his nipple in her mouth, licking lightly in circles, feeling it pebble beneath her tongue.

  “What about you?” he asked.

  It hadn’t even dawned on her that he’d ask.

  “Two guys without condoms. Ten and eleven years ago. I’ve been tested multiple times since then.” She held on to his waist, feeling him throb against her, and waited while he processed his need.

  “You’re on the pill and there’ve been only two men?”

  “Boys in college, and yes. The pill was to protect my future. Condoms were for my health.”

  She kissed the tiny scar beneath his chin. She hadn’t expected this much discussion, and she was about to reach for his pants and grab the condom when he looked into her eyes and asked, “Why me? Why now? I need to know.”

  “Because it’s you. It’s always been you.”