by Vivian Arend
She didn’t hurt anymore. The pressure kicked up a notch. It made her want even more to explode with his cock inside to see how much different that would feel.
She straightened and found Joel had his eyes squeezed shut, his entire face crinkled as if he were in pain. “Joel?”
He dragged in a breath through his nose before opening his eyes. “How you doing?”
“I want to move.”
Relief shuddered over his face. “Thank God.”
Vicki appreciated him even more in that moment for taking her so gently. She stared into his eyes as, cautiously but with more vigour, she moved over him. He caught her by the hips when she was halfway up, adding his help. Lifting a little higher than she’d intended, bringing her down with a little more force.
The increased motion made her breasts swing, their bodies close enough her erect nipples brushed his chest. That need to burst free was there in her core, waiting, and she squeezed her inner muscles as an experiment.
“Fucking hell.” Joel grimaced again. “God, I’m dying here. Don’t send me over without you.”
They were both panting, breath rushing out in gasps. She took a clue from his earlier actions and lowered her hand so she could play with her clit. Ran her fingers along the seam where they joined to grab moisture, savouring being able to touch him.
When she broke this time it was different. With her body pulsing around the rock-solid length of his shaft, the pleasure was so much more focused and intense. He worked in and out steadily, the incredible stroking on her constricting sex making her shake as repetitive rollers bore down on her.
“Oh, yes.” Joel pulled her hard into his lap, thrusting upward as he rolled his pelvis and buried himself as deep as possible. Vicki stilled, trying to feel his release, to experience that as well.
His abdomen tightened, as did his grip on her body, one arm pressing her close. Slightly sweaty, both breathing hard. Full and yet empty…she’d lost all her stress in the past however long they’d been fooling around.
Joel kept her there, motionless for a couple of minutes as they came back down. He stroked her hair, caressed her body, but it was all the more intimate things that meant the world to her.
He didn’t jump up and run off. He didn’t start making small talk. Their breathing slowly got in synch, and he rubbed his cheek against her head. The quiet touches were what turned this from a fabulous experience into something she’d always remember.
She pulled back before he did.
Joel winked. “If that smile is any indication, I didn’t blow it too badly for your first time.”
Contentment poured over her. “Score. One hundred percent.”
He cupped her face and kissed her one last time. Like a blessing, and a thank-you. Something for what they’d done and confirmation he couldn’t wait to do it all over again.
Or maybe she was putting her own thoughts into his actions.
He leaned their heads together. “I don’t want to get out of bed, but I have to.”
Vicki collapsed lazily onto the mattress as he rose to his feet and dealt with the condom. “There are towels in the bathroom cabinet if you want a shower.”
“I’m not going to be gone that long, darling, so quit hogging the covers.”
He vanished into the bathroom for a minute, sink water running. Vicki found the energy to adjust the bedding and pull back the quilt. Half the pillows usually got shoved to the floor at night, so she rolled over to rearrange them.
The sight of blood made her swear. She’d forgotten. So much for simply rolling over and falling asleep.
Of course Joel returned at the exact instant she had a fist full of bloody quilt.
“I was coming to get you.” He glanced at what she held, his smile fading but not to discomfiture, more to understanding. She was all ready to get embarrassed and shit, but he took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Grabbed the quilt with his free hand and led her to the bathroom.
“Crawl in the tub,” he ordered. “Shower or bath, whatever you want.”
He caught her under the chin and took her mouth again, catching her with her lips open in protest. She decided to simply enjoy the moment, whatever the hell he was up to.
Joel stepped back, his gaze dropping over her body. The self-satisfaction on his face made her happy. “I have no objections to washing you up if you’d like, but you tell me what you’d prefer. I’m not going asshole on you or do anything to make you uncomfortable.”
Vicki glanced at the blood on her thighs. Jeez, how sexy was that? No, this one she wanted to be in charge of. She caught hold of the curtain, winking at him. “I totally want to fool around in a shower sometime, but right now? I won’t be long.”
He nodded, and she pulled the curtain across, flipped on the water and ducked from the first cold spray. By the time it warmed to tepid, she was impatient to get back for some cuddling. She hurriedly washed her legs, going carefully over the tender folds of her sex.
She hopped out and dried off, ignored the mirror and simply grabbed an elastic for her hair.
Strolling from the bathroom butt-naked took guts, but she figured what the hell, he’d already seen it all. Seen it, and enjoyed it.
Joel was smoothing the quilt on her bed, his taut ass flexing as he reached to the corner and tucked the material in.
Vicki could have stood there all night admiring the view.
“You ready to sleep?” He asked the question as he pivoted, and this time it was her turn to glance away from what she shouldn’t have been staring at. Joel grinned. “Or at least, are you ready to crawl back into bed for a while?”
She eyed the quilt. “You get the…blood out okay?”
He did a Vanna White hand gesture over the surface. “You see anything? Don’t worry. I have five brothers, remember? On any given day growing up we had to hide the evidence of us fighting from our ma, and knowing how to get out blood stains was vital.”
She could see that. She could also see everything else about him, as he seemed comfortable being naked in front of her. Vicki stepped closer and pressed a hand to his chest.
“I never really got to touch you,” Vicki protested. “Although I loved what I did get to touch very much.”
Joel pulled the quilt back. “More touching is on the agenda, but we’ve got time. Come on, get in.”
Vicki peeked down at her naked self. “Should I pull on anything?”
Joel’s eyes widened. “Not for my sake. I think you’re wearing exactly what you should to go to sleep.”
She crawled on the bed and shuffled toward the wall. “You sleep in the buff all the time?”
“Saves on laundry.” Joel joined her, somehow fitting his bulk next to her. “What are you doing way over there?”
“Yeah, right, this bed wasn’t made—oh, for a person your size.”
He’d caught her around the waist and pulled her tight to his body, tucking them together like two spoons. She wiggled but couldn’t go far, not with the weight of his arm over her torso and the slight angle of his hips. He had her well and truly pinned in place, his breath caressing past her cheek.
She wanted to ask him all sorts of things, questions and ideas for other activities they could do sexually and otherwise.
But somehow the warmth of him wrapped so close shoved all her plans to a future agenda. “I had fun tonight, Joel.”
And she had. Incredible fun. It wasn’t until she was teetering over into sleep she remembered the entire evening hadn’t been wonderful.
Amazing what good sex could erase. What a caring touch could move into the less-important list. And like he’d instructed her earlier in the evening, she didn’t try to analyze it, just accepted it.
Vicki gave in to sleep, satisfied that the day had finished with far more highs than lows.
Chapter Sixteen
Vicki’s breathing slowed as she drifted into sleep. Joel, on the other hand, was wired.
Physical satisfaction had calmed him for a moment, but
now there was too much time to think through all the things he should have done differently. Like being far more careful as he took her virginity.
The other day when they’d fooled around he’d suspected she’d told him the truth, but he hadn’t been hundred percent sure. Not until tonight. Not only the response of her body, but her face—part of him felt like a shit for taking her innocence.
Another part wanted to stand up and cheer because she’d said what she’d wanted, and he’d listened. That didn’t seem to have happened very often in her life.
They had over five months to spend together, and at the end of it, he was sure they would be successful in changing some people’s minds about Vicki’s reputation. For those who refused to budge from their thinking, well, with her leaving town she could still feel successful.
Only how was he going to keep her safe until she left?
The light from the street lamps sent a dim glow into the small apartment, and he adjusted position until her face was visible. The shadows made it difficult to see if the blue mark on her cheek was a bruise or bad lighting. He’d be making a few inquiries regarding who the hell had been involved in attacking her. Maybe she didn’t want to press charges, but knowing why it happened was one step in making sure it never happened again.
And she was never going to be unchaperoned in public around him.
The ass across the way was more difficult to deal with. Joel couldn’t see anything that could be done. Getting her to move into his trailer was out. Jesse would never go for it even if it would defeat the purpose of setting a new path. No one would believe Vicki wasn’t sleeping with them both.
She rolled, and the bed creaked forebodingly. Joel held his breath until she settled, one palm pressed to his chest. A happy sigh escaped her, and Joel gave up. For tonight there were no solutions, just the warmth and comfort of being there with her.
Tomorrow they’d deal with some of the chaos.
Or at least that was the plan. Unfortunately, morning arrived at about three a.m. He opened his eyes, not sure what had woken him.
It sounded again, metal on metal creaking ominously, and the bed quivered.
Shit.
He scooped Vicki up and attempted to roll to safety, but it was too late. They crashed downward, her body hitting into his with enough force a gasp escaped.
Vicki called out, sleep slowly shaking from her eyes as she blinked hard. “What…?”
The mattress lay at an awkward angle under him, Vicki cradled on top. “I think we broke your bed.”
She planted her hands on his chest and pushed, and the final legs gave way, jolting them to the floor.
“Oh…” Vicki changed to a kneeling position, slipping to the side, “…fuck.”
Joel sat up, now fully awake. He rolled off the mattress to examine the mess.
The legs had simply folded. Instead of a bed, she now had a mattress layered on top of a pile of twisted metal. “Umm, sorry.”
Vicki tugged the blankets around her shoulder as a snort of laughter escaped her. “Don’t worry about it.”
Their eyes met and they grinned.
She patted the mattress. “I’m glad that didn’t happen earlier while we were in the middle of fooling around.”
“Me too.” He rejoined her, the warmth of her naked skin waking up other parts of his body as well.
Only she yawned and rested her head on his chest, so he ignored his hard-on and held her as she fell back asleep.
Joel peeled himself away in the morning, somehow getting out of bed without taking her all over again.
She reached a hand over the empty spot left behind. “Joel?”
He squatted. Knelt on the floor, really, to reach her. “I’ve got chores. You come out to the ranch later for your lessons, okay?”
He pressed his lips to her temple, so sleep warm and soft— Damn, leaving her was tough. Now he understood better why Blake was a grumpy ass some mornings.
He dragged on his things from the night before, eyeing his watch on the drive to the ranch. He had enough time to grab a coffee and change so he didn’t get his good clothes wrecked.
He slipped into the trailer and pulled to a stop. Jesse rotated from where he was holding up the kitchen counter, coffee pot bubbling away beside him.
His twin looked him over. “Walk of shame, eh?”
“Like you haven’t come home wearing the same clothes before.” Joel breathed in deep, the scent of caffeine nudging the back of his brain. “You make enough coffee for two?”
“Of course.” Jesse cleared his throat. “Everything okay last night? You took off like a shotgun blast.”
Joel grabbed the cream and sugar while he waited for the coffee to be ready. “Had a bit of trouble, but it worked out okay.”
“Really.”
They waited in silence, and it was the weirdest thing. Jesse didn’t look too happy. Joel scrambled for a reason. “You pissed because I spent the night with her?”
Jesse shook his head. “I told you what I thought, you told me. It’s none of my business, right? Only…”
Dead silence again.
Awkward, and confusing. This wasn’t how it was around Jesse, ever. They were both upfront and honest.
This tension between them was stupid. Joel chose to ignore it, looking instead for a few other answers. “Last night did you hear anyone talking about Vicki?”
Jesse snorted. “Um, yeah.”
Asshole. “I don’t mean the usual, I mean anything out of the norm.” Maybe Vicki wouldn’t appreciate him sharing this, but he had to know. “Someone hit her.”
Jesse tensed. “Hit her? Like how?”
“Across the face. Some woman called her a whore. That’s why I left so fast. She was pretty shaken up.”
“Fuck.” Jesse stared out the window. “Yeah, some of the guys were talking about the Hansols. Sarah got caught in Mike Lanhott’s bed.”
“And someone must have mistakenly pointed out Vicki as Sarah.” Joel had been right. How the hell could he help Vicki when idiots like that decided to cause trouble? “Whoever it was needs a butt-kicking.”
Jesse seemed to jerk himself to attention. He fiddled around as he filled two travel mugs and handed one over. “I asked you before if you knew what you’re doing. I’ll ask again. This seems like a crazy situation. You really want to get in the middle of it?”
“Damn it, Jesse, enough. I’m in the middle, there’s no changing that.”
Jesse literally backed off, pacing to the far side of the room. “Fine. Don’t bite my head off more than you’ve been doing. It was just a—”
“What the hell does that mean?” Joel put his cup down and glared at his brother. “When did I bite your head off?”
“Lately? Every time I ask your plans. Or when I suggest we go do something.”
“Bullshit.”
“Not bullshit.” Jesse grabbed his coat. “I’m starting chores. I’ll meet you there.”
The door slammed behind him as he left.
Joel thought through the past days as he got changed then headed over to the ranch. It was no use, though. He had no idea what the fuck Jesse was moaning about.
It was a couple hours later before he tracked him down, both of them working opposite sides of the chore list until finally meeting. Jesse’s odd behavior aside, Joel was frustrated by the menial jobs today. Chores were far more boring when done alone, and he missed having someone to help pass the time. Not that they ever talked much, only there was a rhythm in two people doing familiar tasks.
He found Jesse in the feed room, loading sacks. “Way to hold a conversation there, bro. Walking out gets us to the bottom of things fast.”
Jesse shrugged. “You didn’t really want to talk. You want to drive to the back to check the breeding stock or deal the sheep?”
“Why don’t we do them together?”
“Nope. Don’t feel like wasting my entire morning with you.”
What the hell? “You’ve got a mighty big chip on your sh
oulder, jerk.”
Jesse dropped the bag he’d just tied, standing and glaring Joel’s direction. “You want to lay off. Trust me on this one, bro.”
“Tell me what’s wrong, asshole.”
“You’re too busy.” Jesse slammed out the door. Again.
What the fuck was his problem? Joel grabbed the sacks from the floor and surged after his twin. He tossed the load in the truck box, twisting to give the conversation another go. Jesse, however, was damn near pouting as he stared into space.
Good grief. “You seriously want to do chores alone?”
Jesse shrugged. “Been doing them that way a lot lately.”
Joel thought hard to put that comment into perspective. Nope. He couldn’t figure it out. He opened his mouth to find out more when Vicki’s motorbike sounded in the distance.
Jesse made a big deal out of rolling his eyes. “Guess your girlfriend is coming to steal you away.”
“Grow the hell up, Jesse, and stop being an ass.”
“When you stop, I’ll stop. How’s that for a deal?” Jesse slammed the door of his truck and gunned the engine, heading out way faster than he should. Joel held his breath as Vicki pulled to stop just in time as Jesse shot off the gravel onto the highway ahead of her, cutting her off.
Fucking asshole. Joel grabbed his phone, but Jesse refused to pick up, his phone going to voice mail.
“You try something stupid like that again and I’ll beat your head in. What the fuck were you thinking?” Joel jabbed the end call button and shoved his phone into his pocket as Vicki pulled to his side.
She caught the heavy bike and set the kickstand, swinging her leg over and jerking her helmet off. “What is his problem? Goddammit, he could have killed me.”
A total body shiver took her, and Joel wrapped his arms around her. “I gave him hell. So sorry that happened.”
“Not your fault.”
But it seemed like it. Guilt smacked him upside the head. Jesse was in a mood, and it felt as if it was his responsibility to get his brother out of it. Just like in the old days.