by HELEN HARDT
“So what do you think?” she asked.
I had no idea what she had asked me. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Jade, you have not been listening to a word I’ve said.”
I sighed. “I’m sorry. My mind has just been other places, I guess. What did you need?”
“I said, ‘what do you think about asparagus spears and twice-baked potatoes with our steaks tonight?’”
“Sure, that sounds great.”
“I thought I’d grill the asparagus outside along with the steaks. Have you ever had grilled asparagus? It’s to die for.”
I smiled and shook my head. “Nope. At least not that I know of.”
“Well, you’re going to love it. What do you think we should make for dessert?”
Why was she asking me? My idea of dessert was opening a carton of Ben & Jerry’s. Which sounded pretty darn good at the moment. “I don’t know. Something chocolate?”
“Yes! Perfect. I’ll make my famous French silk pie. I just hope we have all the ingredients in the pantry since the grocery stores aren’t open today. I don’t want to drive all the way to the city for graham cracker crumbs.” Marj rose and walked across the vast kitchen to the walk-in pantry. “Sugar, check. Unsweetened chocolate, check. Crumbs, check.” She came out of the pantry and walked to the fridge. “Butter, check. Eggs, check. No heavy cream. That’s okay, I can substitute this half-and-half. It will be great. And we have plenty of asparagus and ten pounds of potatoes in the pantry.” She opened the freezer and pulled out a couple packs of meat wrapped in white butcher’s paper. “And rib eyes. Jade, tonight you will eat the best steak of your life.”
I laughed. “I’ve had Steel beef before, remember? When I visited during college? And that’s exactly what you said to me then.”
She laughed. “Well, it’s still true. I’m so excited to cook.”
“You’ve been home for a while. How come you haven’t cooked?”
“Well, I love Felicia’s cooking so much. To tell you the truth, I don’t really know. I should do more cooking.”
“Have you reconsidered enrolling in culinary school?”
Marj tilted her head. “That’s my dream. But I’m expected to stay here and help with the ranch. I mean, it is one quarter mine.”
I nodded. I understood. Why should she walk away from this empire she lived on? I sure as heck wouldn’t. Here I was, saddled with loans from college and law school, and currently living off Marjorie and her daddy’s money.
I hoped I could find a job as an attorney. Until recently, I’d been planning to join the legal team at Colin’s father’s Denver satellite office. Those plans had blown up on my nonexistent wedding day.
But this wasn’t about me. It was about Marjorie.
“If that’s really your dream, why not talk to your brothers about it? Surely they’d understand.”
“Yeah, I should. It’s just easier staying here. I don’t have to worry about anything.”
Easy. Yeah, Marj did have it easy. I bit back a surge of envy. I certainly didn’t begrudge her the good fortune, but man, my life would have been a lot easier if I’d had a little money. My dad did the best he could, and I never got a penny from my mother. Her much-younger second husband had seen to that.
I finished my coffee and stood. “I’m going to shower. What time do you need me in here to start our cooking extravaganza?”
“I’d say probably around five. No, make that four. The potatoes need to bake and then bake again. Plus we’ll need to start the dessert so it can chill.”
I nodded, put my coffee cup in the sink, and walked back to my room.
And on my bed sat Talon Steel.
Chapter Eighteen
Talon
“Uh…hi,” Jade said.
“My brothers don’t want me to leave,” I said.
She shook her head. “Hi to you too. What are you doing here?”
“Are you still leaving?”
She walked to her chest of drawers, opened the top one, and pulled out a pair of underwear. I tried not to imagine the plain white cotton panties clinging to her shapely ass. What was it about plain white panties on women? God, so hot.
“No, not yet, anyway.”
“What changed your mind?” I dared to hope I had played a part in her decision.
“Nothing in particular. I mean, I took the Colorado bar, so I’ll be living somewhere in the state anyway. And I promised Marj I would try to make it work here in Snow Creek.”
Of course. For Marjorie. Not for me. Which was fine anyway, because I couldn’t love her. I couldn’t give her what she deserved. But her not being here… I’d be ripped in two.
I stared at her—at those blue-gray eyes that seemed to cut through my many tiers, at those red lips still swollen from her earlier kisses, at the lush golden-brown hair hanging in wavy layers around her creamy shoulders, at her perfectly shaped face, at her amazing and beautiful large breasts, at those brown-pink nipples poking through that damned white cotton tank. The woman could be wearing a lacy negligee from Victoria’s Secret and she couldn’t look any sexier than she did in a white tank and plaid boxers.
I wanted her again. My cock grew inside my jeans, and my balls tightened. How was this happening to me? I still hardly knew the woman. Was this simple physical chemistry? If it was only chemistry…why were my emotions involved?
Emotion… I had turned off myriad emotions long ago just so I could get through the craziness that was my life. Now feeling was creeping back into me, and as much as I wanted to stop it, I was powerless against it.
If Jade left, maybe I could get back to normal.
But if Jade left…she’d take a piece of me with her.
I had to get her out of my system once and for all. I could fuck her again. That would sate my physical hunger, but not for long, given the state of my cock at the moment. I had just had her an hour ago, and now I wanted her again. Truth of it was, I had wanted her as soon as we were done.
She fidgeted with the white panties she held, looking at the floor. “I need to shower, so if you’ll excuse me…”
Shower. I could take her into the shower with me. But no. I would have her again on her bed.
“Look at me,” I said.
She still looked down.
I rose and walked toward her. I lifted her chin and forced her to meet my gaze. “I said, ‘look at me.’”
Her eyes burned darker, into an almost midnight gray-blue. I waited for her to speak, but she did not. My cock strained against the confines of my jeans. I ached to grab her, bend my legs, and grind my cock into her pelvis while we were still fully clothed.
Instead, I lowered my head and kissed her lips. She opened for me, and we kissed softly for a few seconds, but then the kiss became more fervent. God, to kiss her was heaven. Her soft sweet tongue, her firm full lips, the tiny nibbles from her teeth… Yes, it was heaven kissing her. And heaven was a place I hadn’t known until Jade.
I brushed my hands over her shoulders, down her arms, and then up, cupping her firm full breasts. I thumbed her hard nipples through the flimsy cotton material. She groaned. I took them both between thumb and forefinger and pinched once, twice, three times…
She moaned into my mouth, the sound a tremor against the back of my throat. God, how I loved her nipples—so beautiful and so responsive. I pinched them again and again, her moans feeding my own desire. When I finally broke the kiss to take a breath, I leaned down and bit a nipple right through the fabric.
“Oh, God, Talon, yes. I love it when you pinch my nipples.”
I continued sucking and nibbling her nipples through the cotton while I brushed the boxers over her hips and onto the floor. I touched her wet pussy with my fingers. Slick and ready for me…so hot.
“Yes, just like that,” she said. “So good.”
I let go of her nipple with a soft pop and turned her around so her beautiful ass was facing me. I squeezed the firm cheeks and then knelt and slid my tongue through the crease. She si
ghed. Her pussy was red and swollen, dripping with her sweet nectar. I buried my face in it, rubbing my cheeks, chin, and lips in her juices, sucking her clean. She tasted so good, like citrus and sex. I had to have her. Again.
I stood and removed my jeans quickly. My cock stood at attention, as hard as ever. I ached to be inside her. I sat down on the bed and motioned her toward me. “Come sit on my cock, baby. Take off your shirt first and sit on my cock. I’m going to play with your nipples while you fuck me.”
She needed no further urging. When she sank her moist pussy onto me, I nearly shattered. So good, that suction, that sweet grip. Bracing her knees on either side of my hips, she rose slowly and plunged back down. A man of my word, I cupped both breasts, fingering one nipple and biting the other.
“Yes, Talon. Bite me. Bite that nipple. God, I’m going to come so hard.”
“Yeah, blue eyes, come for me. I want that sweet little pussy to come all over my cock.” I clamped my lips over her hard nipple again.
She rose and sank, rose and sank, and then imploded all over me. Her convulsions clenched me as she rode into her climax.
“Oh, Talon,” she cried. “I’m coming, baby. Coming. So, so good.”
I was ready to spew into her, but I wanted her to have another orgasm. Plus I wanted to taste that sweet little cunt.
I pulled her off of me and laid her down on the bed. I spread her legs and shoved my face between them, eating her. I sucked on her clit and stuffed two fingers inside her. Soon she was clenching around me again.
My God, I loved making her come. Her responses drove me insane. I had never been so concerned about a lover’s pleasure before. I liked for them to come, but if they didn’t, I didn’t worry about it too much. But with Jade—every orgasm that shattered through her shattered through me as well.
Our pleasure was joined somehow.
One more climax with my fingers curled inside her, and I could take it no longer. I climbed atop her and thrust into her. Sweet, sweet home. She gripped me like no other, and as I pushed into her, bit into her neck as I fucked her, she moaned under my touch.
Two, three, four more thrusts, and I was coming all over again. Squirting into her, coming home.
I rolled over onto my back and closed my eyes, breathing hard.
A few minutes later, I opened my eyes. She was on her side, her head resting in her hand, her gorgeous hair falling over those creamy shoulders, staring at me. I waited for her to speak, but she didn’t. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
She looked at me expectantly.
“I’m glad you’re not leaving,” I whispered.
She smiled. “Not for the time being anyway, as I said.”
I nodded and closed my eyes again.
“Talon?”
I recognized the tone of her voice. She wanted to “talk” about this. I didn’t know what to say to her.
“Talon?” she said again.
Now or never. “What?”
“What exactly is this thing between us?”
I could more easily explain the meaning of life and the existence of God. “It’s…sex.”
She punched me in the arm, but at least it was a friendly punch…or so I thought.
“Clearly it’s sex. But the first time you took me to your bed, you said it would be the only time. That hasn’t ended up being the case. So what is going on with us?”
“What do you want to be going on with us?” All the potential answers to that question scared the hell out of me, but it was easier to ask it than actually answer hers.
“Well…I haven’t felt like I could tell Marj what’s going on between us. Do you think it would be okay if I…told her?”
Not exactly what I had been expecting. Most women would want to talk about commitments, emotion, and all that other garbage. All Jade wanted to know was if she could tell her best friend. Something in me saddened a bit.
“Do you want to tell her?” Score two for me. Another question instead of answering hers.
“Honestly, I don’t know. Normally I would. She and I don’t have secrets. But something about this situation seems…very private to me. Why do you think that is?”
“Why do you think that is?”
“Oh, no, you don’t. Don’t think I haven’t caught on. You’re answering everything I ask with another question. I’ve been to law school. I know that tactic. I want an answer. What is this? And why do I feel like I can’t talk about it?”
Her cheeks were red, her body still flushed from her orgasms. Private? I didn’t know why it seemed private. I had no answer for her, and right now…I was longing for her again.
“I want your pussy again,” I said.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’ve never been more serious.” I moved downward and spread her legs. “You’re so beautiful down here. Especially after you’ve come. So red and swollen and juicy. I could eat you up.”
“You’ve done that several times— Oh!”
I slithered my tongue over her wet folds. Delicious, perfect. I pushed her thighs forward, tongued her tight little asshole, and then sucked her entire labia into my mouth and pulled.
“God! God, that’s good.”
Between her legs, I met her blue-gray gaze. Her nipples were hard and puckered. “Touch your nipples for me, baby,” I said. “Pinch those hard little nipples for me.”
She brought her hands to her breasts and cupped them, fingering them lightly.
“That’s hot, baby. Now pinch them. Pinch those hard little nipples while I suck your cunt.”
She pinched them, and my cock hardened into granite. Damn, she was so hot. I lapped at her pussy, sucking, tugging, and then looked up again. “How does that feel, baby? How does it feel when you pinch your nipples like that?”
She moaned, writhing, grinding into my face. “Talon, I’m going to come again.”
A thrill bubbled into me. “Yeah, baby, come for me. Come all over my face. Let me suck all that sweet cream out of your pussy.”
She shattered, bathing me with her sweet essence. My cock throbbed, yearning for her hot sheath. While she was still coming, I inched forward and thrust into her. I fucked her. Fucked her harder. I got on my knees, lifted her hips, and plowed into her.
Thrust. Thrust. Thrust. Thrust. My balls tight. Thrust. Thrust. Thrust. Tiny convulsions started at the base. Thrust. Thrust. Thrust. My brain exploded, my skin tingled all over, my cock throbbed as I released into her juicy heat.
The most explosive climax I could remember…and still I came and came and came…until finally I pulled out and collapsed in a heap next to her.
Calm peacefulness surrounded me as the afterglow whisked me to a different plane. I lay there, sated. Her presence next to me filled me with a tranquil headiness that was foreign to me. I floated downward, melting into the soft comforter.
God, dare I think it?
I felt…good.
But a few minutes later…
“What exactly is this thing between us?”
Chapter Nineteen
Jade
He didn’t answer me. Not that I expected he would. I got up to take my shower. I figured he’d let me this time. He’d had three or four orgasms already today. He wouldn’t be after me for another.
I turned to look at him, his eyes still closed, his arm over his forehead as usual. One of his knees was bent and strewn over his other leg. Naked glory—he was indeed the epitome of masculine beauty.
I walked to the door to make sure it was locked, and I went to take a shower.
Twenty minutes later, when I walked out of the bathroom to dress, Talon was gone.
“I can’t believe this.” Marj brought in the steaks from the grill and set the platter down harshly on the patio dining table. “I told him six sharp.”
Jonah and Ryan were relaxing in the hot tub with a beer. I was sipping a glass of Ryan’s Rhône blend in a redwood Adirondack chair. My heart lurched. Worry for Talon consumed me. Had he fainted somewhe
re?
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Sis,” Ryan said jovially.
Always jovial, that one. Ryan always had a smile. I’d miss working with him when my bar results came in.
“Is it a crime to want to have dinner with my family?” Marj shook her head. “My whole family? I’ve been cooking for two hours!”
Jonah got out of the hot tub, his trunks dripping, and wrapped a towel around his waist. “It smells great. Don’t feel bad, Marj. You know how Talon is.” He sighed. “I just wish he were here. He was just in the ER yesterday, for God’s sake.”
So Jonah was worried too.
“He ruined my special dinner,” Marj said, her dark eyes somber.
I gulped down the last of my wine. I hated to see my best friend upset. Yes, I was concerned, but I wouldn’t let Marj down. I rose. “Come on.” I put my arm around Marj’s shoulder. “Joe and Ryan are here. I’m here. And everything smells great. Plus, I worked really hard sprinkling salt and pepper on that asparagus.”
That got a slight smile out of Marj.
“Listen to Jade, Sis,” Ryan said. “I could eat a horse. Let’s pour some more of that Rhône and have some chow.”
Dinner was delicious. At least I assumed it was. It all tasted like cardboard to me. Worry for Talon pounded in my gut. Alongside the worry churned anger. How could he do this to Marj? She had lightened up a bit after a couple glasses of wine, but she was clearly hurt that he had stood her up. I put on my happy face and talked with Marj and her brothers, but an underlying current of malaise was thick around us.
Where was he?
I helped Marj clear the table and then offered to serve the dessert. I went into the kitchen to fetch the French silk pie from the refrigerator, when the doorbell rang. Marj and the guys were outside and hadn’t heard it. I walked out of the kitchen through the hall to the doorway. Who would be calling on a Sunday evening?
I opened the door. A cop stood on the front porch.
“Yes?” I said.
The cop cleared his throat. “I’m Officer Steve Dugan, ma’am. Is Mr. Steel at home?”