His thumb found her clit and worked it in slow circles as he kept his fingers fucking in and out of her slippery channel. “Two can play that game, baby,” he growled against her lips as she screamed into his mouth. Thrusting his dick into her hand, he watched her face tighten. “Find it, baby,” he demanded in a raw voice edged with hunger as her fingers tightened against his shaft convulsively, squeezing him in an exquisite vice.
Her climax burst through her with a force that was almost painful, every muscle in her body drawing into a tightly coiled spring before releasing, launching her into a bliss filled hurricane that battered every single defense she had. “Jacob!” she screamed as she heard his own long, low grunt of fulfillment, his cock spurting thick jets of creamy essence over their hands.
She struggled to breathe, panting and gasping as she felt her body float back to Earth. Smiling as she felt his whiskered jaw slide over her heaving breasts, she hummed contentedly as he dropped a slow kiss against the throbbing pulse in her neck and pulled his fingers from her still pulsing pussy.
“You’re gorgeous when you burn bright, Harmony. Fuckin’ beautiful,” he rumbled against her cheek, groaning as he collapsed by her side, careful to keep his weight from crushing her. “You nearly killed me, darlin’,” he chuckled, fitting the front of his body to her back, cradling her against him.
“I don’t think I can move.” She arched her back against the warm wall of his chest. Sated and lethargic, she smiled as he cuddled her to him, his hands moving up and down her side from her breast to her hip then back again.
“Let me catch my breath and I’ll clean us both up,” Jacob mumbled into the back of Harmony’s head as his hand drifted over her hip. “For now, I just wanna hold you and enjoy the afterburn.”
“Afterburn,” Harmony echoed on a sigh. “I like that. It fits, but I need to go home, Jake.” She lifted her head from the pillow and squinted at the dials of his alarm clock on the nightstand. “It’s already after midnight. Honor will be standin’ on her head, worryin’ about me.”
Jake gathered some of her loose hair and tugged gently until she turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Your sister is fine. I’m sure she knows that you’re an adult who would have called if you needed her,”
“But Heaven….”
“You’ve got my word that I’ll have you home before the sun comes up and Heaven knows you’ve been gone, but don’t ask me to let you go just yet. I’ve waited too long to have you just like this.”
“Like this?” she questioned, lifting an eyebrow at him.
“Naked, satisfied, and still wet with my cum on your skin,” he answered plainly, not bothering to mince words.
Harmony’s jaw dropped as she yanked one of the pillows from behind her head to smack him with it. “Jacob!”
Catching her missile mid-air, he laughed and tightened the arm around her waist, pulling her flush to him. “Warned you I was a blunt bastard.”
“You can be blunt without being nasty,” she chastised smartly.
“What kind of fun would that be?” he chuckled, liking this side of her – the side that wasn’t afraid to take him on and argue with him
Rolling her eyes, she shook her head at him. “I still need to go,” she maintained, rolling to face him in the bed.
“In a while,” he countered, tenderly brushing her hair behind her ear as he met her eyes. “You know,” he said after a moment of stillness, “This is our beginning, darlin’. I won’t back off. Getting dressed and leaving isn’t gonna change the fact that you gave me something tonight that I’ll always treasure. I loved having your body, but your trust… that’s the real prize here. I’m a smart enough man to realize that you don’t give that out easily.”
Unable to hold his gaze, Harmony looked away from him. “Trust has to be earned. Based on that tattoo you have, it’s not something you’re real free with either,” she pointed out as she traced her fingers over his tattoo that said ‘Trust No One’. She lifted her eyes back to his. “What’s the story with this?”
Jacob’s hand dropped involuntarily to the ink he carried on his side. “Got that as a reminder a long time ago. Never found a woman that I thought I could trust. Hell, never found much of anybody that I thought I could trust. Until now.”
Harmony’s gaze flew back to his. “Well, I guess we’re both gonna be learning some new things, huh?”
“I guess we are,” he agreed softly, trailing a finger down the line of her jaw. “A word to the wise, though, darlin’, cause I can see behind those pretty eyes that you’re still fightin’ a war over believin’ in me. I don’t expect you to change overnight, and I know I gotta lot of work to put in before you can believe that I’m not just feedin’ you some line to get between your thighs, but you don’t hide from me, Harmony. And you sure as hell don’t run from this. You run from me, I’ll chase you. I chase you, I’ll catch you.”
“And if you catch me?” she asked, staring at him.
“You’ll wish you’d never bothered running in the first place,” he informed her quietly, tightening the fingers he had cupped to her face. “You’re mine now, Harmony. I never give up what’s mine. No matter what. You always remember that, darlin’, and we’re gonna do just fine,” he promised before he leaned forward and sealed his vow with a long, tender kiss to her quivering lips.
Chapter Seventeen
One Month Later
She didn't run.
For that one thing, Jacob Stone had to give Harmony credit.
She hadn’t run from him.
But she wasn't always entirely sure that she shouldn’t have her sneakers at the ready to lead him out for a quick jog around the relationship block. Especially since he couldn’t manage to quit laughing at her. If looks could kill, he’d be burning in a fiery hell.
“Heaven Leigh? Seriously, babe?” he choked, wiping tears of mirth from the corner of his eye. “You gotta admit it’s a little funny. Heaven Leigh,” he repeated. “Heavenly. How have I not heard your middle name by now, munchkin?” he asked, tugging the little girl’s pigtail playfully.
“I told her when that baby was born that Heaven Leigh would sound like a stripper name,” Harmony heard her Aunt Orla say to no one in particular. “But did she listen to me? No. She did not,” the elderly woman clucked, shaking her white head from side to side.
“Shut. Up. You are not helping this situation, Jacob. You either, Aunt Orla,” Harmony growled out the corner of her mouth as she stared down at her feisty four-year-old.
“Ahhhh, you tolded Mistah Jake to shut up, Momma! That not nice. Jesus hears you,” Heaven chastised her mother as she swayed from side to side in a pink taffeta dress outside the brick church where they’d just attended Sunday services together. “What’s a stripper?” she asked with the innocence only a child could muster.
“Ask your Uncle Abel,” Patience replied with a hate-filled look in Abel Turner’s direction. “He’s had enough experience with ‘em.”
Ignoring her child’s curious question, Harmony took a deep breath and focused on the matter at hand. It wouldn’t do for the other parishioners to watch her use her child’s head as a basketball in the middle of the Paradise Baptist Church’s parking lot, she reminded herself sternly. Honor would frown on drawing attention to them. A quick glance at her youngest sister confirmed that she, however, was amused by her current parenting dilemma. “What possessed you, Heaven Leigh?” Harmony asked, steadfastly ignoring Jake when he laughed again at her child’s full name. “Why in the world would you change dresses with Harper Ann in the bathroom? I sent you to go potty, not for a runway change,” she groaned, staring at the pink concoction that her daughter had walked out of the church wearing five minutes ago. “And where is Harper?” she asked, looking around for the little girl that attended Sunday School class with her daughter. “I need to apologize to her mother.”
“They already gone, Momma,” Heaven replied, playing with the folds of her ‘new’ dress.
“Great. Just great,�
� Harmony muttered, running a hand down her face as she stared at her precocious daughter. “Why, baby? What made you change dresses?”
“Dis dress is pink, Momma,” Heaven explained, twirling in a circle before stopping in front of Harmony and Jake. “Pink is my signature color!”
Jake’s laughter drowned out Harmony’s moan as she turned to level her assembled sisters with a glare that could have eaten the paint off the walls. “Which one of you?” she asked the women.
“Which one, what?” Faith asked, blinking innocently from the safety of her husband, Cain’s, arms.
Propping her hands on the hips of her navy pencil skirt, Harmony narrowed her gaze. “Which one of you watched Steel Magnolias again with my daughter? I know I was clear when I put it on the banned movie list after she managed to convince Abel to light firecrackers last month just so she could see if the neighbor’s dog’s hair fell out!”
“That’s simply an awful, terrible, wretched accusation to make, Harmony,” Honor chided, her lips twitching as she tried not to giggle.
“Thank you so much, Claree,” she grumbled sarcastically. Claree had always been Honor’s favorite character in that stupid movie; she shouldn’t be surprised that the woman was quoting her now. Sighing, Harmony recognized her sisters were hopeless, and she was the only sane person left on the planet. Blocking out her laughing family, she turned back to address the problem with her daughter. Kneeling in front of her little girl, she met her baby’s eyes. “As soon as we get home, you’re taking that dress off, young lady. It doesn’t belong to you; I don’t care if it is your signature color. Then, we are calling Harper’s mama and you are going to apologize.”
“Yes, Momma,” Heaven agreed with a long-suffering sigh of her own before turning toward her Aunt Patience. “You was right, Auntie Patience. Momma is such a M’Lynn.”
Shocked, Harmony turned toward her guilty sister and gaped. “You, too, Patience?”
Shrugging, Patience smiled. “The kid begged me. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a sad face.”
“As evidenced by the dates you’ve had on your arm lately,” Abel Turner muttered under his breath as he joined the group.
Turning to glare at Abel, Patience’s eyes flashed. “Eat shit and die, Abel,” she bit out sharply.
“We’re at church, Patience! Watch your mouth,” Honor hissed, shooting her sister a blistering look of condemnation.
“We’re in the parking lot; it doesn’t count,” Cain assured Honor gently, patting her shoulder.
“Ohhhh! Dat sounds just like Miss Ouiser!” Heaven giggled, bouncing up and down as she pointed toward Patience.
“Yep,” Abel said eagerly, “And half of Paradise County would love to take a shot at….”
“Abel, do not finish that thought!” Honor ordered as she snagged Patience’s arm when her sister started toward the grinning man with blood in her angry eyes.
Holding up one hand, Zeke chuckled. “As entertaining as this familial dispute is, we should all get movin’ before I end up needing to arrest somebody for disturbing the peace” Glancing toward the man standing behind Harmony, he asked, “We still meeting up at your new place, Jacob?”
Nodding, Jake bent to hoist Heaven into his arms. “If you guys can spare the time, I’d appreciate it. I’ll throw some burgers on the grill and the ladies can visit while we work. That carpet won’t put itself down despite my hope that it would,” he admitted with a grin.
“I’m in,” Cain agreed easily, tightening his arm around his wife and brushing a kiss against her cheek.
“Happy to help,” Zeke agreed, his voice low as he offered Jake a slight nod while keeping one eye on Honor.
“Will there be beer?” Abel asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Jacob chuckled as he nodded. “I think I can spare a longneck or two.”
“Then I’m there,” Abel agreed with an affable grin, ignoring Patience’s unhappy groan as his father, Seth Turner, slapped the back of his head.
“You don’t need spirits on the Lord’s day,” Cain and Abel’s elderly father grumbled.
“If the Lord expects me to hang with Satan’s sister over there,” Abel returned, gesturing at Patience, “I’m gonna need a beer, Dad.”
“Forty five minutes give everybody enough time to change and get to the house?” Jake asked, cutting off whatever scathing retort Patience would have made as he shifted Heaven on his hip and tickled her belly.
A chorus of confirmations echoed through the parking lot. The McKinnon clan was nothing if not a cooperative bunch.
“I get to pway on my new swingset!” Heaven yelled, swinging her legs happily as Jake started toward his truck.
Harmony sighed as she watched her new boyfriend carry her daughter toward his vehicle. Despite her objections, one of the first improvements Jake had made to his property was a huge wooden swingset for his backyard. She’d cringed at the amount of money he’d spent on it, considering she had no idea where their relationship was headed, but he’d merely shot her a dirty look and done what he wanted. He was happy, and so was Heaven, so she supposed her worries were pointless. Thanks to the unseasonably warm winter they were experiencing, she and Heaven had spent many evenings with her playing outside while Jake worked on the interior of his house.
“I’ll drop you off, Harmony, and then me and the Princess will hit up the grocery store,” Jake called over his shoulder as he opened the door of his truck with one hand while he held a wriggling Heaven cradled against him with the other.
“No!” Harmony and Honor exclaimed almost simultaneously as Jake’s head disappeared into the truck to deposit Heaven in the carseat he’d purchased for her. She and her sister exchanged equally alarmed looks as Jake slowly withdrew from the vehicle and turned to face them.
Propping his hands on his hips, he faced the pair of women. “What’s the problem with me taking Heaven to the grocery store? I’ve done it before without incident. The kid and I get along great,” he informed them, mildly defensive that they seemed to suddenly question his ability to handle a four-year-old child.
“Oh, we know just how well you get along with Heaven, Jake,” Harmony smirked, shaking her head. “You buy her anything she wants.”
“I do not,” Jake retorted, shooting her a frown.
“We sent you to the store for milk last week, Jacob,” Honor reminded him in a kind voice. “Do you remember that little errand you ran for Harmony and me?”
“Of course, I remember,” Jake mumbled as a dark flush began to spread across his cheeks. “It was just a couple days ago.”
“Uh huh,” Harmony hummed. “And how much did that milk cost you, Jake?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows expectantly as she stared at the now uncomfortable looking man.
“What’s she talking about?” Patience asked, looking from an amused Harmony to where Jacob shifted guiltily beside the truck.
“Well, when Jake and Heaven went to the store for a gallon of milk, they both managed to get distracted by the sheer amount of choices our local Piggly Wiggly had to offer. They came home with seven boxes of the most sugary cereal on the market, four different kinds of cookies, three gallons of ice cream, two cases of Coca cola, and enough potato chips to feed the entire congregation of this church for the next month. He spent over a hundred dollars on junk food, and Honor and I still haven’t managed to find cabinet space for everything,” Harmony explained to her sister.
“You neglected to mention that they also forgot to get our milk on their supermarket adventure,” Honor interjected, shooting a sweet smile toward Jake.
“Okay, you’ve both made your point. Me and the peanut will wait in the truck while you go into the store,” Jake growled, glaring at Harmony. “Will that make you happy?”
“Enormously, but I’ve got a better idea.” Harmony replied, trying not to laugh in his irritated face. He really was cute when he was trying to intimidate her with his growly face. It never worked on her. She might not have learned much about Jacob Stone in
the last month, but one of the few things she had managed to figure out was that where she and Heaven were concerned, Jake would never actually be mean to them. In truth, either of them only had to mention something in passing, and suddenly, it appeared. Whether it was a comment Heaven made about a new movie she wanted to see or Harmony happening to mention that her car needed an oil change, Jake listened… and then he made it happen. She’d learned quickly to be very careful about what she said around him. “I’ll just ride with Honor and Zeke, and we’ll go to the store. You can go ahead and get your grill fired up and we’ll meet you at your house.”
“Fine,” Jake muttered with a sigh.
Stepping forward to address her child, Harmony grinned at her daughter. “Okay, you’re going with Jake to his house and I’ll meet you there. You’re clothes are in your bag,” she said, pointing at Heaven’s Care Bear backpack. “You change out of that dress and into your play clothes as soon as you get there, understand? Mind your manners until I get there, you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Heaven chirped, nodding her little head avidly.
“Good girl.” Harmony winked at her daughter before Jake closed the door. Looking up at him, she brushed a cheek against his jaw. “We won’t be long,” she murmured. “You sure you’re okay with her?”
She laughed when Jake just gave her a look. And honestly, it was a stupid question. Heaven and Jake had grown as thick as thieves during the past month. More often than not, their dates had included Heaven. Not all of them, but enough that she knew Jake didn’t mind spending time with her daughter.
“Hey, you’re forgetting something,” Jake said, catching her wrist when she would have turned to walk toward Zeke’s SUV while his other hand went to his wallet.
Harmony nearly growled aloud when he pressed money into her hand. “Jake, I’ll pay for…” she began to argue. This was becoming an old argument between them. The man refused to allow her to pay for anything when they were together. It didn’t matter if they were out to eat or going to a movie. He demanded to pay her way, and Heaven’s, too, if her daughter was with them.
Hard as Stone (Passion in Paradise: The Men of the McKinnnon Sisters) Page 15