by Joanne Rock
She trailed off, shoulders sagging.
“He just wants to be near you,” Clint offered, stroking his jaw as he stared out into the field.
Jesse and Kyra followed his gaze only to find Sam’s Pride quietly munching grass and swatting flies with his tail. Almost as if he hadn’t just pitched the fit of a lifetime.
Kyra made a strangled sound that probably only reflected a tiny fraction of her exasperation. She looked deceptively fragile and alone as she wrapped her arms about her own shoulders and stared back at the animal that had let her down today.
How long had she been handling all her problems on her own?
Clueless how to comfort her given that she only wanted to buy independence from him anyway, Jesse itched to touch her but kept his hands to himself.
Clint whistled for the horse and Sam’s Pride trotted over like an eager puppy. “I think he’s just really protective of Kyra.” He patted the animal’s neck and spoke to Jesse when Kyra didn’t seem ready to talk yet. “Does he have any reason to have a special attachment to her?”
“He shouldn’t, but he does. He saved her once after another horse threw her down by the river.” God knows no one else had noticed her missing. Jesse had been on the road with his baseball team. Her father was too depressed to check on his daughter.
“But I’ve raised and trained hundreds of horses,” Kyra argued, finally giving Sam’s Pride a begrudging pat on the nose. “I don’t understand why this one would grow so attached to me.”
Clint shrugged. “I’m not sure, either, but I think he considers himself your self-appointed guardian.”
Jesse couldn’t help but think he didn’t have so much in common with Sam’s Pride after all. Instead of running from the noose the way Jesse had all these years, Sam’s Pride kept running straight for it. The crazy animal wanted to be near Kyra and he wanted to take care of her.
Great. Even a horse was a more loyal friend than Jesse.
Not that Kyra didn’t mean a lot to him. She always had. He’d just been so busy running in the other direction that maybe he’d never really seen it before.
He’d spent almost two weeks trying to deny the obvious. Just because he hadn’t been “in and out” with Kyra didn’t make what they’d done together any less intimate. And damned if he wasn’t about to explode with the need to see her unravel all over again. And again.
A better man might have turned away. He wasn’t a better man. Jesse already knew that about himself. And so did Kyra, yet she seemed to want him anyway.
He was through fighting what they both wanted.
As his gaze fell upon Kyra again, Jesse absorbed every nuance of the only woman he’d ever wanted to be with day after day. The only woman who’d kept his interest even after he’d seen her naked.
She laughed and jumped back as Sam’s Pride nudged her bare shoulder with his nose. A twinge of longing curled through Jesse, a hunger so strong he didn’t know how he’d keep himself from devouring her right then and there.
Slipping a hand around her arm, he drew her away from the horse and the Alabama cowboy who had gotten to spend more than his share of time with Kyra this week.
The ends of her long blond hair slid invitingly against his hand. Her skin felt smooth and cool beneath Jesse’s touch. Vaguely he wondered how long it would take to spike her body temperature by a few degrees.
He promised himself he would find out.
Tonight.
She glanced up at him, blue eyes wide. Perhaps she was startled that he would initiate physical contact between them after how much he’d fought this. He swore he could feel the rush of adrenaline through her veins underneath the pads of his fingers.
Or was that only his own?
As they neared the side of the stables, he leaned closer, narrowing their world to just one another.
“Was it my imagination or didn’t we decide that once your customer left we were going to explore this thing between us much more thoroughly?”
9
KYRA STARED into Jesse’s magnetic brown eyes and knew she would get sucked in all over again. They’d left Clint far behind in the training yard, along with any other potential prying eyes. That left little distractions for her to take her mind off what she really wanted.
She’d half managed to convince herself she was insane to pursue any sort of physical relationship with him. He’d broken hearts too numerous to count, after all. And he’d been able to walk away from her for nearly two weeks after a night that had practically set her on fire inside and out. Obviously, the man was well versed in separating himself from the erotic draw of sensual experience.
Kyra, on the other hand, was not.
She’d been thinking and fantasizing about Jesse’s hands on her body nonstop for days on end. As much as she wanted one more night with him—one real night where they saw their attraction through to its natural...climax—she had grown a tad more leery about the potential risks to her heart and their friendship.
“Did we say that?” she asked finally, wondering if he felt the nervous pump of her heart right through her skin. “I got the impression that you weren’t ready to explore things quite as...thoroughly as I’d wanted to.”
“Maybe I changed my mind.” His wide shoulders shielded her from any view of the exercise ring, Clint or her traitorous horse.
She had no choice but to focus solely on him.
And the words that signaled a provocative new twist to their friendship.
“Meaning you’re ready to finish what we started?” An electric jolt of sexual energy fired right through her. Still, she wanted to make absolutely certain they were discussing the same thing.
She needed to sleep with him and get over her crush on him. Dispel the myth, the local legend that was Jesse Chandler.
Even as she thought as much, a little twinge of worry wondered what would happen to them afterward, but Kyra shoved it firmly aside.
He stared down at her with that dark, suggestive gaze of his. “Meaning it’s taken me this long to realize we already did finish what we started, and I’m kidding myself to pretend otherwise.”
“I don’t follow.”
He looked around the grounds for a moment, and then led her inside the stables through a back door. He didn’t stop there. Guiding her through a maze of the training facility’s back corridors, Jesse brought them through a side door into his old office in the converted old barn that housed the Crooked Branch’s lobby and business offices.
She hadn’t been in here in ages—partly because all their files were electronic and she could access any of his paperwork via computer, but also because being around his things was such a guilty pleasure.
High-gloss hardwood floors gave the office warmth and an aged appeal all the high-tech computer equipment couldn’t negate. Because Jesse’s office was at the back of the building ensconced in one of the two turrets of the old-fashioned structure, the walls were rounded with only a few high windows. He’d added a skylight over his desk to flood the room with natural illumination.
Now, he led her past his hammock installed between two ceiling support beams and gestured toward the curved sectional sofa that lined part of the wall. He’d bought it along with a television wall unit so he could keep tabs on the Devil Rays score while he worked. His Work Hard, Play Hard ethic would no doubt raise a few eyebrows in the corporate world, but Jesse was one of the most fiercely productive people Kyra knew.
When he wanted to be.
Sinking into the bright blue sectional, Kyra watched him pace the hardwood floor.
He scrubbed a hand through his dark hair. “It’s taken me this long to realize it, but I’m not as virtuous in all this as I thought.”
She blinked. Twice.
He stopped pacing. “I figured I was being so damn noble by not committing the final act that night we spent together. But the more I thought about it—and believe me, I’ve thought about it a lot—I realized that we’ve already committed the acts that really matter.” He droppe
d down to sit on a sanded crate that served as a coffee table directly in front of her. “I mean, it’s sort of splitting hairs to say nothing happened between us just because we didn’t...finish. When it comes down to it, something big did happen between us and there’s no sense running from that fact.”
Nodding slowly, Kyra absorbed what he said but couldn’t possibly fathom where he might be going with it. “So you figure now you’re off the hook with me because you’ve already crossed the sexual line?”
“No. I figure now that I’ve crossed the sexual line, I’m an ass if I don’t go for broke before you wise up and boot me out of your bed.”
“Oh.”
“The question is, are you still game?” He crowded her. Stole the air.
The ramifications washed over her with enticing sensual possibility. She became acutely aware of Jesse’s knees brushing hers, two layers of denim between them not even coming close to stifling the sparks they generated.
“That depends.” Her practical nature demanded they hammer this out right now, despite the rising temperature in the room. She refused to worry and wonder for another week about where things stood between them. “Let’s say for a moment that I am game. I wouldn’t want to be treated like a best friend once we hit the sheets.”
“Who said anything about sheets? I was thinking of much more imaginative scenarios.”
Her breath caught. Refused to come back for a long, pulse-pounding moment. “A figure of speech. Regardless of where we conduct our liaison, I just want to be certain there’s no attack of conscience midstream.”
He crossed his heart with the tip of one finger. “Luckily, I left my conscience back at my apartment. I’m morally free to have my wicked way with you.”
Gulp. She was having a devil of a time staying on track here. “Which brings me to another point.”
“I have to say, Kyra, I’ve never been with any woman who ironed out the details quite so thoroughly as you.”
“If we are going to indulge one another in this way, I want the full tutorial in wickedness.”
A smile hitched at his sinfully beautiful mouth. “You’re not asking what I think you’re asking.”
Damn straight I am.
“You’ve got all the experience in this arena, Jesse. Teach me a few things from that seductive arsenal of yours.” This way, when he left her—and he would leave her—she would at least have a little more confidence about physical relationships.
Not that she could currently envision using provocative wiles on any man except Jesse, but she refused to dwell on that fact. She had to believe that a night with Jesse would shatter his mystique just a little—at least enough so that she could look at other men and maybe find someone more suitable, someone more practical down the road.
“How could I unleash you on an unsuspecting male population then? Wildly beautiful and an expert in titillation? I think that would be giving you too much of an advantage.”
“Wildly beautiful?” Kyra suspected Jesse had earned his bad-boy reputation with sweet-talking lines like that one. “We both know you’re exaggerating. Wildly. I think a little more provocative advantage would be a good thing for me.”
Jesse studied her. Frowned. “This is against my better judgment.”
She folded her arms, growing more confident with every moment he sat across from her that he wouldn’t—couldn’t—walk away from this. The attraction between them was like the force field between magnets just barely out of reach from one another. She had all she could do to stay in her seat and not give in to that pull. “It’ll be a deal-breaker.”
“You drive a hard bargain, woman.”
“I’m thinking it’s easier to deal with you in a businesslike fashion than as a pirate hussy.”
He pointed a finger at her. “Don’t you dare knock the pirate hussy. I’m going to have a lifelong fascination with leather corsets thanks to you.”
“So do we have a deal or not?” she pressed, more than ready to put the business part of the night behind them so she could cash in on all that Jesse magnetism.
“Deal. But I have a condition of my own.”
She had a good idea what sort of conditions he might come up with. “Forget it. I already sent the corset to a leather cleaner.”
He leaned closer to plant his arms on either side of her against the couch, effectively cranking up her pulse with every inch he closed between them. “I mean it. If I’m going to be in an instructor position, I want you to agree to be a dutiful student.”
She caught a hint of his scent—motorcycle exhaust, leather and male. His knees edged more firmly between hers. Licking her lips, she met his gaze. “Trust me, I’m pretty eager to learn.”
“That means you’ll do whatever I say?”
She couldn’t wait. “Within reason.”
“This could be a deal-breaker.” He tossed her own words back at her, but she sensed he was bluffing when he slid one of his hands into the back of her hair to tease sensual touches down the curve of her neck.
Shivers of anticipation coursed through her. “So keep your requests reasonable and we won’t have any problems.”
He stroked his way over her shoulder and right down into the vee of her tank top. The palm of his hand skimmed the curve of her breast and practically made her flesh sing.
“Tonight’s not going to have a damn thing to do with reason.” He nudged the edge of his hand into her shirt until he reached the barely-there red bra she’d bought to go with her new top. “Or practicality.” Plunging deeper, he smoothed the pad of his finger over her nipple. “It’s going to be all about sensation.”
Sensation poured over her in time with his words as he teased the pebbled flesh between his thumb and forefinger.
The man certainly knew how to get his point across.
“Yesss.” The word hissed out on a sigh of pure pleasure.
And just like that, she found herself agreeing to anything—everything—Jesse had in store for her.
* * *
“EXCELLENT.” Jesse bent to kiss a path between Kyra’s breasts, mesmerized by the accelerated rise and fall of her chest. “I think we can safely say that lesson one is Jesse knows best.”
Her back arched as he drew on her flesh, her hips wriggled with a delightfully restless twitch.
Most tellingly, she didn’t argue.
“Ready for lesson two?” He released her long enough to murmur over her skin.
“Hopefully it’s less talk, more kissing.”
His hand strayed over her hip and toward the snap of her jeans. “Actually, it’s less denim, more skirts. Preferably without panties. There’s a good reason why men find dresses sexy, you know.”
“Duly noted.” She flicked open the snap herself to help him. “I can appreciate practicality.”
He dragged her zipper down a few notches to discover a swath of shimmery red silk beneath the stiff fabric of her jeans. His practical business partner was full of surprises. “Although when the panties look like this, I can definitely see the appeal.”
He smoothed his hand over her abdomen, teased the edge of the silk with one finger. Her skin felt so creamy perfect to his touch it was difficult to tell where the silk left off and her skin began.
Her breathing hitched as the heel of his hand nudged farther south.
“I’m ready for more,” she whispered against his ear. “More lessons. More touches.”
“Keep in mind lesson one.”
She pried an eyelid open to stare at him with a mixture of confusion and pure lust.
“Jesse knows best,” he reminded her, leveraging his position of power to the fullest.
Instead of conceding his superior sexual wisdom, however, Kyra merely reached for his belt buckle.
“Hey!” He nearly choked on the word as her fumbling struggle brushed a straining erection. God, she was going to be the death of him. “What are you doing?”
The look she gave him was pure menace. “Fighting fire with fire.”
; Heat flashed through him. No other woman had ever given him so much hell in bed. Or out of it for that matter. Still, he couldn’t help but admire her for not letting him get away with anything.
And truth be told, her touch felt like heaven as she slipped questing fingers beneath the denim to curve around him.
With an effort, he stopped her. Tugging those adventurous hands away, he stretched her arms up over her head as he dragged their bodies down to lie on the couch. “The most important lesson of all is patience.”
She squirmed against him. “Not my forte. Especially not when I feel so...edgy.”
Jesse was right there with her in the edgy department. If her hips brushed over his one more time he’d be lurching over the edge pathetically premature, in fact. He needed to take charge here if he wanted a fighting chance of maintaining his status as Kyra Stafford’s private sex tutor.
“I can take the edge off,” Jesse assured her, already sliding off the couch to help her find a release or two of her own before allowing himself the full pleasure her body had to offer him.
She grabbed his hand as he reached for jeans. “No, wait. You need to show me how to take the edge off for you. The lessons are to teach me, remember?”
Jesse felt his eyes bulge from his head like a damn cartoon character.
And that wasn’t the only thing bulging.
“No.” The protest croaked out a mouth gone dust-dry.
“Yes.” Kyra sat upon her knees, already sizing up the situation. “And don’t look so worried. I’m sure I can do this.”
His blood pounded through his head so damn loud he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. “Are you telling me you’ve never done this...I mean, that...before?”
He’d suspected that Kyra didn’t have a huge amount of sexual experience. She’d never indicated any of the guys she dated were superserious. But then again, she’d definitely had her fair share of dates. Obviously, none of those guys had been all that adventurous in the bedroom.
“Unless you want me to ask a bunch of nosy questions about your sexual past, I don’t think it’s very polite to quiz me about mine.” She whipped his leather belt from the loops, doubled it up and then slapped the sides together with a snap. “Now, get comfortable and tell me what I should be doing to drive you wild.”