by Vivian Arend
Mike snorted. “Son, the entire county has known for years you had it bad for Jaxi. I don’t know if it’s because you’re our firstborn or what, but you have a bad habit of trying to do what you think will please everyone else. You can’t do that without missing out on what’s going to please the people that are the most important to you.”
He sat and thought that through for a minute. It was true. Small issues still poked him. “You don’t think she’s too young for me?”
“Pfftt. How much older am I than your mama?”
Blake frowned and couldn’t come up with an instant answer. “I’m not sure, sir.”
Mike nodded. “Right, because it doesn’t matter one bit if there’s a difference between us. Is the age thing what’s been holding you back all this time? I wished I’d known. I didn’t understand how you could be so stubborn to let her loose for so long. Heck, even your little brothers thought about—”
“I know what they were thinking and that’s finished. Jaxi and I are…” Blake hesitated again, this time because he wasn’t sure what to say. They were lovers, heck, they’d talked about babies.
But he didn’t know where they were, right now.
Mike raised a brow. “You’re what? Don’t tell me you need a little more time to figure this one out. After all the girl’s done the past few years to get ready to be the best rancher’s wife possible?”
This conversation was too full of missing information for Blake. He felt as if he was the one with the head injury. “You want to explain?”
Mike pointed at Jaxi. “She took me for coffee the summer after her high school graduation and showed me a couple flyers from the local colleges. Asked me to mark the classes that would teach a woman to be a real help around a ranch. Someone able to pitch in, make sure things got done, and done right.
“She and Travis had just broken up, and I wondered if she was trying to get back on his good side or something, but when I suggested that, she laughed in my face. Well, politely—you know how she is. She said she’d been with Travis for one reason, and since they were through she was going to concentrate on something more important.
“Every semester she brought me another one of them flyers, and sometimes she’d mark a few classes to see what I thought—and some of them were plenty interesting. She’s spent three years working and training for the position of rancher’s wife. Hate to see all that training go to waste. Or get picked up by someone else smart enough to see what a treasure they’ve got waiting for them.”
Blake kissed Jaxi’s temple, and she cuddled in, sighing lightly. It seemed he was a bit more stupid than he’d dreamed. He needed to think this through a little more before committing to anything, but being with Jaxi felt awfully right.
Curiosity tickled for a minute, and he looked into his dad’s happy face.
“So, what kind of classes were ‘interesting’? I don’t think those were the cooking or horse-care kind.”
Mike shook his head. “Oh, no, you need to ask her. I was sworn to secrecy. You’ve got yourself a damn good woman, son, and I hope you don’t do anything to mess it up.”
Blake sat back more comfortably, the beating of Jaxi’s heart solid against him as he and his dad discussed work plans for the next couple of weeks at the ranch.
The sound of a throat clearing jerked Matt to a stop. Discovering it was Daniel who sat in the dark of the living room was a whole lot better than being caught sneaking into the house at three a.m. by his ma or dad. No matter that he was twenty-eight, some things never changed.
“What you doing still up?” Matt whispered out of habit, since the rolling thunder of their dad’s snoring wasn’t shaking the rafters.
Daniel nodded toward the chair across from him, and Matt took a seat. “Waiting for you. Blake phoned about thirty minutes ago to confirm everything’s okay. Ma and Dad had an accident.”
“Shit. Bad?” Matt leaned forward. “Why didn’t you call me earlier?”
“Didn’t want to worry you until we heard more details, but they’re fine. Blake says they’re banged up and under observation for the night. The emergency crew thought the situation was worse at first than it turned out, so they got taken to Red Deer. Blake’s driving back with Jaxi tonight—”
“Jaxi? She went along to check on Mom?”
Daniel smiled. “Sounds like more than that went down, but just so you know, we’ll be starting work in the morning without Dad, and Blake if he’s not up to the early rising.”
Matt leaned back and stared out the picture window, the lights of the outbuildings faint in the darkness. “You still think about Sierra?”
His brother’s light chuckle surprised him. “Well, that’s a change in topic. You know what? I’ve been far too busy to worry about old girlfriends. Sometimes I wonder if she regrets calling us off, but then again…”
Matt waited. “What?”
“It’s one of those things. She had stuff that was all-important to her, and I never knew. It’s not like we didn’t talk. We discussed all kinds of things. And yet out of the blue it was so important that any kids we had be hers? It made me wonder how much I really knew her. How honest we’d been up until then, or if we’d only been acting.”
If this had been ten years ago, they both would have been razzing each other for talking like this. Matt’s urge to tease vanished as doubt rocked him. “Just used to being with each other?”
Daniel rose to his feet and stretched. “Well, I’m not talking about something like you and Helen. Sierra and I only went out for a year, but yeah—I thought we’d covered all the bases. Truth was, she wanted something I couldn’t give her, and I’m not talking about kids.”
“That blows, by the way.” Matt couldn’t imagine. He didn’t want kids anytime soon, but to know you didn’t have the shot, not even down the road?
His brother shrugged. “It is what it is. I can’t change the situation, so I have to deal. I’ll spend my time on stuff I can affect. Hey—speaking of which. Ever since Dad loaned out the Peter’s place from under us, I’ve been wondering. You planning on moving in with Helen anytime in the next while? We promised the house only up until Christmas, but I’ve been thinking that it would suck for a single mom to have to move her kids at that time of year. Dad could let her stay until the spring, but I didn’t know how you felt about crashing in the basement that long.”
Another hellish situation. “Daniel…I’ve asked Helen to move in with me a dozen times. Fuck, I’ve asked her if she wants to get married. She keeps putting me off, and while every time there’s a logical reason, I just don’t know what the hell is going on.”
“She’s still turning you down? Yeah. I can’t help you there either. It’s not like I have the best record with females. It’s our younger brothers who still have the ladies falling all over them, and neither Travis nor the twins are looking to settle down anytime soon.”
“Jaxi’s got Blake on the run. Damn, that’s funny to watch.”
Daniel grinned. “He’s skittish, but I think he’ll figure it out eventually. They can work it out. She’s got enough oomph to get him to realize what they both need.”
Matt kept his mouth shut. Blake and Jaxi’s issues were nothing like his and Helen’s.
Daniel nudged him. “So what you think about staying here? You okay until the spring if that’s what it takes?”
He nodded. That was a simple answer. “Hopefully I can convince Helen to move ahead sometime soon. But yeah, I’m okay with it. It’s not like our folks are the type to stick their noses in where they don’t belong. And if they’re recovering from another accident, having us around while the twins are gone—I don’t mind giving to the family. Ma and Dad have always been there for us.”
Daniel thumped him on the shoulder and they headed downstairs.
Matt’s mind spun with different scenarios. Moving in with Helen, taking on extra chores, watching Jaxi and Blake dance around each other. His family had always been a whirlwind of activity, but at the core—they wer
e a family. He’d be there for them, just like he could always trust them to be for him.
He dropped onto his bed. Helen’s hold out against getting hitched, first and foremost, was her family. Her parents’ bad split, the way she felt her sister got treated better than her, even before the divorce. He’d always thought she was being unreasonable to put off his proposals. That she should just accept the past and move on.
Maybe the weight of what she’d been through was more than she could easily put aside.
He knew his family could weather the tough times because they always had before—she too expected that the same thing that had happened before would happen again.
Betrayal. Hurt.
Matt lay back on his pillow to consider this new revelation. Still seemed to him that moving forward meant leaving the bad parts of the past behind, but if she hadn’t made it to that point? Who was he to judge her for it?
Even this far-fetched idea of hers to try a ménage. She hadn’t gone around him, hadn’t simply cheated on him. It might be unconventional, but in her own way she’d shown she cared about him. Her request wasn’t what he wanted, but he needed to accept it for what it was—a sign of respect.
It was far too late now, but come morning he would give her a call. Let her know he loved her, without using the word love, then do his damnedest to help her get over the past and head into the future with him.
Chapter Thirteen
Jaxi slipped a final peach half into the jar, topped it up with syrup and sealed the lid. Placing the jar with the others in the large pot on the stove, she closed the cover with a hum of satisfaction. She still had a couple of hours until supper, and after this last canner was done, she was caught up on her work.
She gave a little hop to sit on the counter, eating a ripe peach while she waited for the water to reach a boil before she could set the timer for the last batch. Juice dribbled down her fingers and chin, and she was slowly licking it off when she spotted Blake standing in the doorframe of the kitchen.
Watching her with hungry eyes.
Heat welled inside.
“You want a peach?” She held out a ripe fruit and beamed at him as he padded closer. He took the peach from her fingers, placed it carefully on the countertop and lifted her hand to his mouth, licking along the edges and between her knuckles. He opened her legs, pressing her thighs to the side as he slipped against her body.
“Just the sweet juice.”
He lapped along her chin, short little strokes like butterfly flutters over her skin. Jaxi closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation. It had been a long day with little sleep last night, between the loving and the worry of the trip to Red Deer.
Mike and Marion were stuck in the hospital for at least another couple of days. Blake had brought Jaxi home and set out the work schedule for the boys based on Mike’s suggestions and their usual routine.
The last time she’d seen him that morning was when he’d kissed her goodbye after breakfast. A sweet, lingering kiss that had made her toes curl. Having the resistance between the two of them over, and finally being together, made satisfaction settle deep in her soul. They hadn’t had a chance to finish their conversation—the one where she confessed she loved him and he hadn’t said much back. It didn’t seem the thing to poke him with while they’d hurried out the door to Red Deer, all worried about his folks. And she’d slept the entire trip home.
But somehow, from the way he’d been acting, she didn’t think she needed to be too concerned.
“You didn’t stop for dinner. Want me to warm something?”
Blake licked her neck and her collarbone. He unbuttoned her shirt. His fingers smoothed over her skin as he pushed the fabric aside to reveal her bra.
“I see what I’m looking for and it’s plenty hot already.” He slid the shirt off her shoulders to the countertop. “I like your bra, Slick, very lacy and pretty pink, but it’s a little too nice for what I have in mind.”
While he kissed, he brushed his fingers around her back, and the cool air of the kitchen flowed over her as he undid her bra. As if fascinated, he tugged off one shoulder strap at a time to let the cups fall away from her breasts.
“Blake?”
“I had something real interesting planned yesterday when we got interrupted.” Blake lugged a tall stool from the corner of the room and returned to his spot in front of her. His head lined up with her breasts, and he hummed with satisfaction.
“We’ve had that stool since I was little. Ma used it to let us get a better reach on things, and it works as good now as ever. Maybe even better since the treats are sweeter.”
He cupped a breast in each hand and lowered his head to cover the exposed surface of one with his hot mouth. Jaxi braced her arms behind her on the counter as an electric shock pulsed all the way to her womb. He alternated sides, lapping and sucking. She shut her eyes and enjoyed his intimate touch.
“Keep your eyes closed.”
Blake slid away, and somewhere nearby a drawer opened and closed. She debated peeking when drops of liquid touched her skin, rolling down the swell of her breast. Moisture trailed to the tip of her nipple and clung there, cool in the moving air blowing in the window.
She opened her eyes to see he had the peach in slices. He’d crushed one piece between his fingers, letting the juice land on her body.
“Close your eyes,” he warned.
Jaxi laughed before squeezing them shut. And waited.
Moist heat flicked as he lapped at the juice. Blake followed every sticky sweet line with his tongue, licked her skin clean, covered her with kisses. His fingers rolled her nipples, pinching and teasing. Ripples of desire spread through her body; her panties grew damp. The sound of something bumping and rattling slowly filtered though her sexual haze. The canner was ready, the water boiling.
“I’ve got to set the timer.”
“How long you need?” he asked around a mouthful of breast.
“Thirty minutes.”
He drew back with a satisfied suck. She looked down to see him stare at her with admiration, his hands still supporting her.
“Blake?”
“I’ll tell you when thirty minutes are up.” He stood, knocking the stool behind him to the floor. He plucked her off the counter and carried her to the dining room, laying her on the solid wood table. He opened the button on her shorts and tugged until they slipped off, leaving her clad only with the matching panties to the bra he’d discarded in the kitchen.
“Blake Coleman, I hope you’ve got your brothers working on something that’s going to keep them far away from the house. Ohhh!”
He’d slid her down the table to where he usually sat, her panties suddenly dangling from his fingers.
“Nobody’s going to show up here for a while. I want to see you, Jaxi. All of you. I want to sit at my place at the table and remember touching and sucking your pretty pussy. Everyone will wonder why I can’t stop smiling.” He shifted her slightly to get a better view.
“Open yourself for me.”
Jaxi flushed. She already sat naked on the table where she’d shared Christmas dinners and birthday cakes with the Coleman family. She let her legs fall open and used one hand to slide her curls apart.
He leaned forward and licked, and her leg twitched so hard it slipped off the table. He smiled at her.
And did it again.
Sensations wrapped around Jaxi to meld into one enormous collage of emotion and touch. The pot bubbled on the stove, the canning jars rattling as they processed in the high heat. The windows were open, and a light breeze blew though the house, ruffling the curtains before coiling over her heated skin. Blake licked and sucked, slipped a finger inside her sheath and pulled her cream up and over her skin before rasping hard with his tongue. Time stood still as he loved her with his mouth, his fingers, his patient touch. She shook as her release came, waves of pleasure he drew out by licking again and again.
Then he stood, dropped his jeans, and slid in.
His cock
was hot and hard, stretching her, as he forced his way into her body a little more with each stroke. She was attempting to meet him, trying to match with his timing, when he touched his fingers to her clit and rubbed.
Bursts of pleasure, sharp and fast, broke over her. He held her by one hip and leaned into the table, pressure mounting, his movements growing desperate, frantic even. He thrust hard enough the table rocked. He drove deeper still and shouted. His semen, hot and wet, bathed her inside as she shuddered around him again, her passage squeezing him tight.
Blake dropped his hands, one on either side of her body, and breathed hard, still buried in her body. His eyes caught hers, the grey storm clouds swirling. She gasped for air, her breasts jiggling with each breath she took. A trickle of moisture escaped from where they connected, and she tensed.
He’d done it again. They’d done it again. No protection.
He gave her cheek a gentle caress before he pulled out and tucked himself back into his jeans. Without a word he slipped her panties back on, helped with her shorts before carrying her back to the kitchen and assisting with her bra and shirt. Every time she tried to speak, he stroked a finger over her lips or brushed her to silence with a kiss.
Once she was fully clothed, he lifted the canning pot from the stove to the hot pads and helped her remove the steaming jars to the sideboard to cool with the rest of her labours.
He took her in his arms and kissed her senseless one final time before grabbing another peach from the countertop and strolling to the door.
“Supper at six thirty?”
Jaxi blinked in surprise, then nodded dumbly.
He took a big bite of the peach, then wiped the juice from his chin with the back of his hand as his eyes twinkled at her. “Peaches. My favourite.”
He winked and scooted out the door, leaving Jaxi a little dizzy in his wake.
Chapter Fourteen
Blake jingled the contents of his pocket as he waited by the bay window in the sitting room. Jaxi had the table all ready for supper, the smell of chili and cornbread filling the air with spicy tones. The woman could cook all right.