Jesse

by C. H. Admirand

  She set it aside and lifted a pair of sassy tap pants, slit up to the waist band, so that if she turned quickly, her hip and thigh would be totally exposed… but she didn’t have anyone who would see her, did she?

  The sharp memory of being pulled against Jesse’s muscled frame and surrendering to his lips assaulted her senses. Pinpricks of awareness started out low in her belly and shot to her fingertips. With his busy life out at the ranch and her taking care of Lacy, when would they find the time to be together? Unbearably sad, she set the silky clothes in a heap on the table and wandered to the back door. Looking out, she could see all the way to the corral and watched her daughter leaning out of Ronnie’s arms tentatively reach out to stroke Champ’s muzzle. Lacy’s laughter was worth its weight in gold.

  She wished she could guarantee her daughter would always be this happy.

  She looked over her shoulder at the booty from Ronnie’s shop. A swathe of black lace beckoned her back to the table. Pulling it free, she wondered what it was about the dark lace that called to her. A long ago memory surfaced, of her great-grandmother telling her that if a woman wanted to have a baby the first thing she needed was a black lace nightgown.

  Letting the material drift through her fingers, she finally laughed. Unable to resist, she swept the gown off the table and held it against her. “Maybe I could wear it just to please myself.”

  One more look out the back door reassured her that Lacy would be occupied for a little while longer. Knowing the men wouldn’t be home for a while yet, she stepped into the laundry room, stripped out of her T-shirt and denim skirt, and lifted her arms above her head. The swirl of lace settled against her like a glove.

  “Oh!” She twirled and watched it flare out around her and then cling. She ran a hand down her side, amazed at the fit of the gown as it hugged her curves, accentuating them. “Maybe I should treat myself.”

  Wondering how the satin tap pants and bra would fit, she dashed out to the kitchen and grabbed the turquoise satin pants and matching bra. Slipping out of the gown and stepping into the pants had her feeling younger, sassy. She did a little hip shake movement that had the material flaring out and flashing her toned quads. Chasing after an almost four-year-old had its advantages. “Look out, world, trouble’s coming!”

  Delighted with the feeling of freedom sprinting through her, she took her time mimicking the sound of the brush hitting the cymbals on a drum set as she sauntered out to the kitchen. “Che, de, che che, de, che che, de de de.”

  She had one more nightgown to try on. The feel of the slinky material as it flared out again and then settled against her hip and the top of her thigh had her wishing Jesse was hers to tempt. She had a feeling he would appreciate what she had to offer. But it had been so long, would she even remember how?

  The low whistle of appreciation had her heart stopping in her breast. “You pack a lethal punch, Dani darlin’.”

  Her sharp intake of breath as she prepared to scream got caught in her throat as the shock of being caught nearly naked mingled with the realization that the man she’d been dreaming about was standing right in front of her.

  She couldn’t find her voice, so she slid her hand to her throat to reassure herself all of the working parts were still intact. Finally, she finally rasped, “You weren’t supposed to be here yet.”

  His eyes lit with desire—dark, dangerous, and just this side of desperate. “Thank God we finished early, or I would have missed the fashion show.”

  That’s when she noticed he held the periwinkle gown on the tip of his finger. “Were you gonna put this on next?”

  Her voice failed her for the second time. His look told her so much more than words. His reaction to her fueled her own. The overwhelming need to be held against him, to touch the tip of her tongue to the hollow of his throat and savor his flavor, had her by the throat. “I… uh… yes.”

  He closed the distance between them, clutching the gown to his heart. “I’d be happy to wait and give you an honest opinion. But I already know you’re gonna look amazing.”

  The note of sincerity in his deep voice poured over her like syrup on a stack of hotcakes. She shivered.

  His eyes widened. He noticed.

  “Jesse, I—”

  “Would love to put this on for you.”

  His certainty that she would added to the charm of his crooked smile and hit her hard and deep, but it was the dimple winking at her that was her undoing. Before she could think, she was reaching for the gown and back in the laundry room changing into it.

  ***

  When she walked back into the kitchen, his eyes swept from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, and he reached for her. “You are so beautiful, Danielle,” he rasped, moving to stand beside her. “When I walked in and saw you standing there—my head went light and my knees went weak.”

  Fighting the emotions bubbling up inside of her, she struggled not to be moved by his words. “This is hard for me,” she confessed. “You’re the first man to tempt me in a really long time,” she whispered. “I can’t seem to help myself when you look at me like that.”

  His eyes glazed over and deepened to dark chocolate. “Darlin’, you knocked me flat the first time I saw you. I don’t mean to push you, but seeing you standing here, all peaches and cream with your tawny blonde hair tumbling free, gets to me. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to stand here and keep my hands off you, when I want so badly to slide them across your shoulders and around to your back, so I can draw you closer to me? I want to feel your curves against me to see if we fit as good together front to front.”

  His eyes darkened with unquenched desire. “I already know how perfectly we fit back to front.” The deep rumbling of his voice untied invisible knots that had bound her since the moment she realized her husband wasn’t ever coming back.

  Could she take a chance? Yes.

  Was it the smart thing to do? Hell no!

  Did she care?

  Tamping down her inner conscience, taking a chance to feel alive again, not knowing how long it would last, she met his gaze and took a step toward him. “It’s been a long time… I don’t know where to start.”

  “I can help with that.” He yanked on her arm and she tumbled against him.

  ***

  Her mouth rounded in a perfect little O that he just had to trace with the tip of his tongue.

  The shocked sound she made stroked his ego, so he slid his arms lower, bringing her hips flat against him. Need for this woman nearly swallowed him whole. “Kiss me back, Dani.”

  He would later swear he heard the sound of something snapping as her hands stole around his neck and she lifted her lips to his. Sweet but savory, tender yet firm, her mouth destroyed him as her tentative exploration flared into a full-bodied, mind-blowing, hellacious kiss.

  He didn’t remember backing her into the counter or lifting her up, but he reveled in the feel of his hands on the silky fabric and then—oh God—the supple length of her thighs. She tensed, but he soothed. She opened her mouth to speak, and he took full advantage and tangled her tongue with his.

  Her moans of pleasure fueled his need to touch, to taste, to take… but he didn’t want to scare her off, so he dug deep for control. Instead of gobbling her whole, he brushed the tips of his fingers from her knee to her curvy little backside, and he just had to dig his fingers in to hang on, because once he had her in his hands, his mind blanked of all but one thought—Danielle naked in his bed… He strained against his zipper. Need to be inside of her was tearing a hole in his gut.

  The woman in his arms was incandescent, burning with a purity of spirit that added fuel to the sensual fire they’d lit. He had to have more… he had to have it all. “Danielle, come upstairs with me.”

  She tilted her head back and smiled up at him—all the answer he needed. He swept her into his arms and strode through the kitchen toward the stairs. Now! was all he could think.

  He took the stairs two at a time and strode down the h
allway. His door was partially open; he put his shoulder to it with enough force to have it swing open and then bang shut behind him.

  If he didn’t slow down, he wouldn’t last five minutes. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. When he opened them, she was watching him, her eyes no longer soft blue but a deep sapphire. He recognized the passion simmering in the depths of her gaze.

  “I’ve been wanting to get my hands on you for days. I can’t wait.”

  Her lips lifted in a half smile. “Then don’t.” She whispered kisses along his jaw and worked her way to the tendon in his neck. He sucked in a breath and knelt on the bed and placed her in the middle before his legs gave out.

  He slipped the straps off her shoulders and pressed his lips where the silky strands had been. She shifted beneath him, softening beneath his touch. When her hips lifted toward him, he stared down at her, mesmerized by her beauty.

  She grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled him on top of her. “In a hurry?” he rumbled.

  “How long do you think we have?” she rasped, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt.

  He eased back and yanked on his shirt; buttons pinged against the walls as the worn fabric gave. She worked his belt free and had him in her hands before the remnants of his shirt drifted to the floor.

  “God, Danielle.” Her hands were magic. The air sucked out of his lungs as her fingers wrapped tight around him.

  “I want you,” she rasped, helping him shimmy out of his jeans, but they got stuck on his boots. “I can’t wait,” she whimpered, kissing his chest and licking a path from his breastbone to his navel.

  “Drawer,” he ground out, shifting so he could pull his boots off. When she stared at him, he grit his teeth and said, “Condom.”

  The dazed expression in her eyes changed to determination as she opened the drawer and pulled out a foil packet. Before he could take it from her, she had it open and was slipping it over him from tip to base. The erotic slide of cool latex over his engorged flesh nearly pushed him over the edge, but he pulled back, refusing to come before she did.

  ***

  Danielle didn’t think; she simply shifted on the bed, grabbed him by his amazingly taut backside, and lifted her hips. He balked, and for a moment, she thought he’d changed his mind until he rasped, “I’ll take the lead now, Dani darlin’.”

  She wanted to tell him that it didn’t matter, but his lips found hers and his kiss had every last thought evaporating.

  His hands swept the gown up and over her head a heartbeat before his mouth latched onto her left breast and he destroyed her with lips and tongue. Aroused to the point of pain, she grabbed his hair and tried to make him stop, but he only paused long enough to grin up at her and latch onto her other breast.

  Her eyes rolled back in her head as her orgasm ripped through her.

  “Dani?”

  She somehow found the strength to open her eyes; when she did, he was smiling down at her.

  “Hang on, darlin’,” he warned, a heartbeat before gripping her hips and filling her to the hilt.

  Her breath snagged in her chest as he drew back and thrust home again. But this time she was ready for him, meeting him thrust for thrust. Her hands stroked his back, his shoulders, his amazing backside, all the while whispering words of encouragement.

  ***

  His head was going to explode. He drove into Danielle with a mindless determination to drive her up and over the edge. Desperate to hear her sweet cry of release as he wrung yet another orgasm from her delectable body, he braced one hand beside her head and slid the other beneath her sweet little backside. He lifted her up off the bed and drove home.

  He felt her muscles tighten around him as she came undone in his arms. Reveling in the madness that still held him by the throat, he followed her up and over the edge into oblivion.

  ***

  “Can we do that again?”

  Jesse propped himself up on his elbow, stared down at the rapt expression on Danielle’s face, and stifled a chuckle. “Well now, darlin’,” he drawled. “I think we’ll have to fit some time into our busy schedules, because there is no way in hell I’m gonna wait another few days to make love to you.”

  She closed her eyes and sighed. He pressed his lips to the middle of her forehead. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but wasn’t sure he could put what was in his heart into words. One thing he could do was to let her know she mattered.

  “Danielle,” he rasped. “I want more… not just this,” he said, brushing the tips of his fingers along the line of her collarbone, following the path with his lips. “But you, being here at the Circle G.”

  She cupped his cheek in her hand and lifted her lips to his. “It’s not just me—”

  “I know,” he interrupted. “I want Lacy here too. I don’t know how to work it out just yet so your uncle doesn’t come after me with a shotgun, but there’s no going back now that I’ve tasted paradise.”

  Her cheeks flushed a lovely pink. Enchanted, he hugged her close and knew he’d have to let her go now, so that she and Lacy could come back. “We’d better get dressed before someone comes looking for us.”

  ***

  “What’ll everyone think?” she said as she slipped the periwinkle gown over her head. Smoothing it into place, she scooted off the bed and started to wring her hands.

  “What happened to the woman who wanted to know if we could make love again?” He pulled her into his arms and waited for her to answer him.

  She laid her head against his broad chest and sighed. She could get used to having someone strong and solid to lean on… making love with Jesse was definitely going to be a plus. But how would they explain things to her daughter?

  “I’m still here, just confused. I don’t know how I’ll explain things to Lacy if we were to get involved.”

  “Darlin’,” he drawled, “I’d say we are beyond involved. Committed’s the word I’d use.”

  He was frowning down at her and she really loved that about him. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. Definitely a plus. “What will your brothers say?”

  “To you and in front of Lacy?” He shrugged. “Nothing. We weren’t raised in a barn, despite the fact that we spent a good part of our childhood in one. Did you and your ex talk to Lacy about your sex life?”

  Shocked to the core, she gasped. “Of course not.”

  “Then why would you have to explain ours to her?”

  A tingle of awareness shot from her core to her heart. “Ours?”

  Yanking her close, he grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake. “Are you listening?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Good, because I’m only saying this once more. We aren’t done here, Dani; we’re just beginning. You got that?” he demanded, setting her free.

  “Yes, sir,” she giggled watching him bend over to grab his jeans off the floor.

  “You think this is funny?” he asked as he pulled them on and bent back down to find his boots.

  “Uh, no,” she said softly, as love for this man filled her heart to bursting and overflowed.

  “This is going to work,” he said as he stood up.

  She threw her arms around him and sighed. “Work is a four-letter word you know.”

  “Come on,” he said, pulling her along behind him. “Let’s go find your clothes. I’m not sure I want my brothers seeing what I’m seeing right now.”

  “Jealous?” she asked, reveling in the possibility of having someone care enough to be jealous.

  His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. “I don’t share,” he grumbled.

  Her head felt light as she told him, “I don’t either.”

  He took her hand and led her downstairs. Fortunately, no one was around when they collected her clothes and Jesse helped her out of the silky nightgown and into her clothes.

  She was wrapped around him when the back door opened and a deep voice called out, “Thought you had somewhere to be, little brother.”

  “Dam
n,” Jesse said, easing out of her hold and taking her hands in his. “Can you stay over?” Her heart tumbled in her breast at the unasked question shimmering in his dark and yummy gaze. She wanted to say yes, but it wasn’t just her to consider.

  “Maybe next time. Lacy has to get used to seeing us together… besides, I’ll have to explain things to my uncle too.”

  He rested his forehead against hers. “Stay for dinner at least.”

  “All right.”

  Chapter 13

  “Emily said Ronnie’s cooking burgers on the grill!”

  Lacy’s smile had her smiling. “Your favorite.”

  “Uh-huh, and know what?” she asked tugging on Danielle’s skirt until she bent down to Lacy’s level.

  “What?”

  “Cowboy Jesse’s gonna eat dinner with us before he gots to go.” Lacy looked up at Jesse and nodded. “He gave his word to go somewheres tonight, so he can’t stay long.”

  “I did,” he rumbled, coming to stand next to Lacy and Danielle. “But I’ll be back really late, so your momma said you had to go home.”

  “But we can come back, right, Mommy?”

  Danielle smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Cowgirls follow the Code,” Lacy said, grabbing a hold of Danielle’s hand and then Jesse’s.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Jesse’s deep voice did funny things to Danielle’s insides. “Cowboys and cowgirls should always do their best to uphold the Code.”

  Danielle let her gaze slide up the long, strong length of his jean-clad legs to his worn cotton shirt—a replacement for the one he’d ripped in his hurry to make love to her. Her sigh was long and low. She’d have to talk to her uncle soon; she didn’t think she could stand to be away from the man who’d turned her world upside down in one afternoon.

  She lifted her gaze to meet his and the power of his passion hit her hard and had her struggling to remember to breathe. His eyes darkened to molten chocolate and he swept his Stetson from his head, holding on to the brim with both hands.

  “I’d like it if you’d come visit me again tomorrow.”

  “But I don’t want to leave,” Lacy told him.