And that quickly put a damper on the lingering sizzle between him and Hope. As much as he wanted to take her up on her offer—it was definitely an offer, he could see it in the brilliant blue-green of her eyes—tonight wasn’t going to work for him. The first time he took her, he had every intention of giving her his undivided attention. He needed a hell of a lot longer than a couple of hours.
So the sex would have to wait.
Refusing to let that knowledge bring him down, Jared finished his burger, and when the plates were taken away, he turned to Hope.
“Dance with me,” he said softly.
“Is that a request or a command?” she countered, peering at him sideways.
“Whichever you prefer,” he told her truthfully. “I’m rather adept at both.”
Hope laughed, as he’d intended. Then, to his shock, she actually got down from the barstool, took his hand, and led him to the center of the dance floor. Well, technically, it was nothing more than a ten-by-ten area that had been left empty for this purpose.
“For the record,” she told him, “I’m the one who got you out here. Not the other way around.”
Jared laughed. He knew she was referring to their earlier bet. And in a way, she was right.
Jared pulled her against him, thankful for the slow song coming from the speakers. Their boots moved smoothly on the dusty floor, their legs bumping occasionally as they two-stepped.
“You know we’re never gonna get this reunion planned if you keep doing this,” she said, peering up at him.
He loved how small she was, how easily he could hold her to him. “Doing what?”
“Dancing, flirting, telling me we’re gonna have sex.”
Jared leaned in closer to her ear under the guise of holding her tighter. “Well, darlin’, we’re never gonna get anything done if you keep saying that word. When those three letters roll off your tongue, I want nothing more than to strip you naked and feel your soft skin beneath my lips.”
Hope’s sharp inhale told him he’d hit his target. She pulled back and stared up at him. The heat glimmering in her eyes said she liked what she heard.
“We’re really gonna do this?” she questioned breathlessly.
Jared stopped moving and lifted his hand to the side of her face. He brushed his thumb over her cheek while he stared into her beautiful eyes. “You tell me, Hope.” Damn, he was as breathless as she was. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this.”
He wasn’t sure what exactly he was feeling, though. Lust? Abso-fucking-lutely. Hell, his dick was rock hard and ready. He wouldn’t have a problem pulling her into the bathroom and sinking deep inside this woman right now. To hell with getting to know her.
“I’m not looking for a relationship,” she said.
“Good. Me, either.” It was the truth.
“And when the reunion is over, this has to be over, too.”
Jared nodded. He could agree to that.
Her gaze slid to his mouth, and Jared knew she wanted him to kiss her. And he wanted that more than he wanted air, but not here. With the way he was overheating, one kiss was going to lead to some rather inappropriate groping, and he did not need an audience for that.
HOPE THOUGHT FOR a second that Jared was going to kiss her on the dance floor. In fact, she was prepared for him to do just that. So when he pulled away and made a beeline for the bar, tugging her along behind him, she was a little shocked. Even a little disappointed. Her head was still spinning when Jared pulled her out to the parking lot after dumping several twenties on the bar to pay their bill.
Okay then.
She could feel the electricity that arced between them as he made his way over to his truck and directly to the passenger-side door. Maybe he was too much of a gentleman to make the first move. No, that couldn’t be it. Sure, he was a gentleman; that wasn’t being refuted. However, he had a devilish side, and if she had to guess, it overpowered the gentleman when need be.
Rather than open her door, though, Jared once again shocked her by pinning her up against the door and crowding her. He was so close she had to look up to see his face. What she saw in his eyes made her body burst into flame. But still, he didn’t kiss her.
“Jared…” She was on the verge of begging.
“This scares me a little,” he whispered.
Hope offered a questioning look. She had no idea what he was talking about.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been this hot for a woman before. You make my dick so fucking hard.”
Wow. And that made her body burn hotter.
They were players, Hope. Every last one of them.
Those were Cheyenne’s famous last words. She’d been talking about the Walkers.
Until they set their sights on someone. And heaven help me, it’s so worth it. They’re relentless when they want something. Just ask Zoey or V or Kennedy or Jessie or Kylie.
Hope heard the conversation so clearly in her head.
And God, you can only hope that one of them doesn’t set his sights on you. You won’t survive it.
She forced herself to search Jared’s eyes, trying to read his mind, his intentions.
“I can’t even tell you all the things going through my head right now.”
Hope smiled. “Dirty things?”
“God, yes.” More heat flared in his smoky-blue eyes.
Cheyenne was probably right. She wasn’t going to survive this, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from wanting him. Desperately.
Rather than respond, Hope flattened her palms on his chest and slid them up to his neck. He was a full foot taller than her, which made looking up at him almost uncomfortable.
“Fuck.”
And then it wasn’t uncomfortable, because Jared lifted her up, forcing her legs to wrap around his waist seconds before his lips came down on hers.
Heaven almighty. And there she was, crushed between his huge body and his truck, clinging to this man as though her life depended on it. The kiss stole her breath. It should’ve been a full-on thrashing of tongue and teeth, but no… Jared Walker had the self-control of a damn saint. He didn’t try to devour her in one bite. His lips brushed hers, his tongue sliding softly into her mouth, hesitantly twining with hers. A rough groan rumbled in his chest, and Hope knew she was never in a million years going to survive the intensity of what this was between them.
It was the kind of magnetic, unstoppable attraction that you read about in romance novels. So hot, so powerful it made you do crazy shit. Like make out with a practical stranger in a damn parking lot, in a very small town, where, tomorrow, word would’ve spread far and wide. Yep, Hope figured by sundown tomorrow, half the ranch would’ve heard that she and Jared were getting frisky on what wasn’t even supposed to be a date.
However, the more he kissed her, the less she cared.
Hope wrapped her arms around his neck and shifted her head slightly to deepen the kiss. And then, much to her total horror, she practically tried to climb his body. She ground herself against him until he was pressing her up against the truck door, the hard ridge of his erection providing delicious friction right where she needed it most.
“Jared.” She couldn’t stop the whimper that escaped her. When his mouth trailed down to her neck, Hope held on tighter as her body threatened to detonate from the erotic dry humping that was taking place right here in the parking lot of Marla’s Bar.
“Fuck … I would give my fucking right arm to be inside you right now,” he groaned.
Yep. That did it.
Without warning, an orgasm the likes of which she’d never experienced ripped through her, causing her to cry out. Thankfully, she pressed her face into his neck in time to muffle the sound, but no doubt he knew what had just happened.
“Holy fuck, woman. That was… Holy fuck.”
Yeah, holy fuck was right.
She didn’t have too much time to be embarrassed, because Jared’s mouth was on hers once again, and somehow, he brought her back down slowly.
“You okay?” Jared’s voice was edged with what she could only assume was restrained passion.
“Probably better than okay,” she told him, sliding down his body and to the ground. “I’ve … uh … never done that before.”
Jared leaned in, one hand planted on the truck door, the other tilting her chin up. She stared into those mesmerizing eyes and held her breath.
“I don’t have any problem with being your first.” There was a hint of cockiness to his tone, but Hope had expected as much.
Unable to look away, she simply stared at him for what felt like forever. He didn’t say anything, either; they just stood there, their eyes locked together. And it was in that moment that Hope knew the next few weeks were going to be by far some of the hottest she’d ever experienced.
More importantly, she was okay with that. Looking forward to it, actually.
Who would’ve thought?
Chapter Ten
JARED WOKE BEFORE the sun was up. After taking Hope back to the ranch, walking her up to the front door, giving her a relatively chaste kiss good night, he had managed to get back to Coyote Ridge in time to pick Derrick up before the boy fell asleep. Not because Zoey hadn’t tried.
“That kid’s got some serious willpower, Jared,” Zoey informed him when he stepped into the house. “I told him he should close his eyes and his daddy would be there to pick him up and take him home…” She stepped toward the living room and pointed.
Derrick’s eyes left the TV, shifting toward Jared. Seconds later, he had launched himself into Jared’s arms.
The little boy grinned at Zoey. “See, I towd you I couwd stay awake.”
Zoey patted his back and kissed his head. “And you definitely did. You were right.” She smiled up at Jared. “Teach me to make a bet with the kid.”
Thankfully, once they got home, Derrick had been wiped out and went to bed without complaint—something he did frequently since he refused to take a nap. At that point, Jared had forced himself to go to his room and close his eyes.
He wasn’t sure how that had worked out. At the moment, he felt as though he hadn’t slept a wink. He couldn’t stop thinking about Hope—or dreaming if he had managed to fall asleep—about the way she’d come apart in his arms.
“Damn,” he said on a whispered breath.
Rather than get up and get his day started, he opted to lie there in the dark, once again reliving that kiss from last night. Of course, his dick was reliving it, too, and he had no choice but to take care of business. Sliding his hand into his boxers, Jared fisted his cock as that kiss played in his mind. The way Hope had wrapped her legs around him, grinding her pussy against his aching hard-on. It’d taken every ounce of willpower he had not to come in his fucking jeans. She’d been so damn hot, taking what she needed from him.
He stroked himself faster as he thought about all the things he wanted to do to Hope when he finally got her alone. He could practically picture her riding his cock while she stared down at him…
“Fuck…” Jared closed his eyes as he came in a rush. It took him by surprise, actually.
Although he’d been with a handful of women since his ex-wife, he’d never been able to come like that. Not even with Sable. It was as though he was going through the motions, sating the urge, but never quite getting the relief he needed. And though his hand wasn’t what he wanted at the moment, the memories of Hope from last night did it for him.
He only hoped he had a little more restraint when it came to the real thing. Otherwise, this was going to be one embarrassing affair.
Two hours later, after Jared dropped Derrick off at the day care, he headed to the office. As usual, he was the only one there. After taking care of a couple of phone calls and clearing his inbox, he pulled out the packet Hope had given him the other day. The brochure for the ranch. He’d seen that there was a checklist included, and he was interested in what the next step was. He’d already determined the location and the date, so that was a start.
According to the checklist, he needed to gather the information for the guests. Luckily, Lorrie already had all of that information. It wasn’t the least bit surprising, either. She was probably the most organized person he knew.
He turned to his computer and located the email he’d received from Lorrie yesterday. He clicked on the attachment and found a spreadsheet with every damn thing he could possibly ever want to know about the Walker family. Names, birthdates, ages, addresses, phone numbers, anniversary dates… Shit. This was going to take some effort based on the sheer number of people, but Aunt Lorrie really had done the hard work. He at least knew how to contact everyone.
Because he wanted an excuse to talk to Hope, Jared decided to call her up and ask a couple of questions. Rather than call the ranch office, he called her cell phone.
“Hope Lambert,” she answered in that sexy voice of hers.
“Hey.”
“Jared.” She didn’t sound the least bit surprised to hear from him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Got a couple of questions for ya,” he told her simply.
“Yeah? Well, if they involve what color panties I’m wearing, you’ll have to call me later.”
Damn. He swallowed hard. “Uh … well, I’ll definitely be calling later about that, but right now, I had a question about the reunion.”
She chuckled, sounding somewhat embarrassed. “Of course you do.”
“So, now that I’m absolutely not thinking about what color your panties are…” Red? Black? White? Oh, damn. He took a deep breath. “I’m trying to organize this list of family members. Any suggestions on how to handle this many people?”
Her voice sounded muffled when she said, “Yeah, hold on. I’ll be right there.” It was clearer when she added, “Sorry about that, Jared. I had to find somewhere more private.”
So she’d teased him about her panties while she’d been with someone?
“My suggestion,” she continued seamlessly, “is that you assign one person for each family. For example, maybe have the oldest child from each of your dad’s siblings get the information you need. You can delegate some of the duties to them. Especially since you’re trying to get this accomplished in such a short amount of time.”
“Great idea.” He was still thinking about her panties.
“You have to get the invitations out first. Letting the family know about the get-together is the most prudent. Once you get a head count, you can work on everything else. The rest, since you’re having it here, will consist of minor things.”
“Such as?” Jared simply wanted to listen to her talk. He had the checklist and got the gist of it from skimming, but hearing Hope’s voice did something for him.
“Such as any dietary requirements. Any awards or trophies if you plan on having various games during the reunion. Getting the necessary releases signed for things here at the ranch such as horseback riding and zip-lining. That sort of thing.”
“Looks like I’ve got a lot to do.”
“It won’t be easy,” Hope stated.
“But you’ll be there to help me, right?”
“I’ll definitely be here,” she said. “You’re welcome to drop by anytime you want.”
“Tonight?”
Hope chuckled. “Except tonight. I’m actually in the process of moving.”
“Moving? Don’t you live on the ranch?”
“I do. Last week my cabin flooded. Septic tank issue. Ruined almost everything. I’ve been staying in the main house for a few days.” Her voice lowered slightly. “Not a lot of privacy going on there.”
Jared could imagine.
“There’s another cabin available, but I can’t get completely moved in until Friday
.”
“Was that an invitation?” he teased.
“For Friday…?” She paused briefly and Jared found himself holding his breath. “Yes.”
Damn. He hadn’t expected her to be so matter-of-fact.
“That is, if you want to come by.”
Jared realized she’d taken his silence to mean he wasn’t sure.
“I definitely do,” he told her. Now he had to work on finding a babysitter for Derrick.
“Okay then.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “Well, I better get back to work. Feel free to call me if you have any more questions. And check out that packet I gave you. It’s got a lot of information in it.”
“I’ve got it right here,” he told her. “I simply wanted to hear your voice.”
This time it was Hope’s turn to be silent.
And once again, Jared was holding his breath.
“I’ll … uh…” Hope chuckled. “I’ll see you on Friday.”
Jared grinned, exhaling roughly. “I’ll bring dinner.”
“Sounds like a…”
Come on, say it. Say it.
When she didn’t, Jared urged her. “A what, Hope?”
“I was gonna say date.”
“That works for me,” he told her, feeling as though he’d managed to get his foot in the door with this woman. “See you on Friday.”
Jared hung up, then stared at the wall. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.
While he contemplated how he’d managed to get in over his head with the angelic cowgirl, he pulled up his email. He scrolled through, checking to see if he’d received anything on the one bid he was waiting to hear back on.
Unfortunately, that email wasn’t there, but another one was.
From Sable, with the subject line of: If you care anything about Derrick…
Jared (Coyote Ridge) (Volume 2) Page 9