To Protect His Own

by Talty, Jen

  “I know,” she whispered.

  “I wish things could be different.” He wished he could bring himself to consider living in the cabin. It had always been his favorite place on the farm next to riding the trails with Boots.

  “Me, too,” she said. “Just hold me tonight.” She wouldn’t beg or plead with him to stay. That would be no different than him asking her to leave. At least now they had a clear understanding of each other. It would be hard to let go of him again, even though she knew he’d always be in her life…their baby’s life…moments like this would fade into the past once whoever had poisoned Ethan had been captured.

  “I can do that.”

  She rolled, tucking her back against his chest, his strong protective arms around her middle. She had thought she felt butterfly movement once or twice during the day, but now she was sure something twitched inside her. “Did you feel that?”

  “Feel what?”

  She pressed his hand hard against her lower abdomen. “I think I just felt the baby move.”

  “Really.” He jumped to his knees putting both hands on her. “I felt Stacey’s baby move. I saw it move. Very wild.”

  “I’m mildly jealous you had your hands on another woman’s stomach.”

  “Well, if it makes you feel any better, her husband was sitting right next to her.”

  “Can’t say that helps.” She continued to feel fluttering and moved his hand from place to place, looking up at him as he concentrated solely on her, but neither of them felt anything on the outside. “Our baby is moving. I wish you could feel it.”

  “I’ll feel him or her soon enough.” He bent over and pressed his lips on her skin just at the top of her panties. “Do you have a preference for a boy or a girl?”

  “Just healthy. You?”

  “If we had a girl, and she looked like you, I’d be afraid of all the assholes like me.”

  “You’re not that big of an asshole,” she said. “You’re stubborn and pigheaded and that gets in the way of your good heart shining through.”

  “You’re sweet.” He rested his head on her belly, sliding sideways on the bed.

  Looking down at him, her fingers entangled in his unruly hair, him staring up at her, eyes locked on each other, it made her hope…dream…long for something more. “Can I ask a favor?”

  “Sure.”

  “Can you take some time off work when the baby comes? Just a couple of days. Help me get settled.”

  “I’ve still got a couple weeks of vacation time, so I can take whatever time off you need.”

  “I appreciated it.”

  “If you won’t move into the main house, can I at least get my friend’s husband who owns a construction company build you an addition? Nothing fancy. A room for the baby, maybe make this room bigger. You’re going to need the space.”

  “I can’t let you pay for that.”

  “My father will pay for it,” he said, holding up his hand. “You know he’d want to and this is his land. His house. No way in hell he’ll have it any other way.”

  “You can’t speak for Ethan.”

  “I’ve already discussed it with him.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” she said, dropping her hands to her side. Controlling Jake was almost as bad as stubborn, childish Jake. “If we’re going to co-parent successfully, without fighting, then you can’t just go and do something like that.”

  “I didn’t.” He took her hand, placing it back on his head. He’d always loved a good scalp massage. “He brought it up to me. Twice. I told him I’d talk to you, but that this was your decision.”

  “Seriously?” The corners of her mouth slanted upward. “If I said no to both construction and who pays for it, you’d drop it?”

  He nodded. “See, I can change,” he said. “But, please. Let me contact Sutton & Tanner Construction. Stacey’s husband is an excellent architect and he and her father are the best at construction. Then just let my dad pay for it.”

  “On one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  It was difficult to think straight when he behaved like an attentive boyfriend. “The decisions are all mine. I’m the one who has to live here.”

  “And here I thought the condition would be I had to make love to you.” Before she could comment, he scooted up the bed and thrust his tongue between her lips, his knee between her legs. His hand inched up under her shirt, just under the swell of her breast.

  She pushed against his shoulders with the intention of breaking the powerful, passion-filled kiss off, only she laced her fingers behind his neck. Her tongue swirled against his with wild force.

  It was he who pulled back. “We should stop,” he whispered in her ear.

  “We should.” Deep down, she knew being with him again was only going to make it harder when he walked away. “Am I a horrible, selfish person if I said I just wanted to use you one more night?”

  “No.”

  She reached down, pushing his leg off hers, slipping her hand under his boxers, tickling his thighs, grazing him as he groaned softly in her ear. “This is the last time.” Her fingers wrapped around him, moving slowly up and down, changing the pressure.

  His chest raised up and down in short breaths, while one hand clutched her thigh, fingers digging into her muscle. “Does that mean I have to sleep on the sofa bed after tonight?”

  “Probably.” Pulling the sheets back, she rose to her knees, helping him out of his boxers and taking off her shirt. She stared at him a long moment, before taking him in her hands again. He hissed as she glided a gentle finger across the tip. “You understand why we can’t keep doing this, right?”

  “Yeah. You don’t ever want me to feel pleasure again.” His response was husky and shallow.

  She smiled. He’d always made her feel empowered, even the first time they had sex, she had felt as if she were the most important person in the room. That she deserved whatever it was that she wanted. Desired. And what she’d wanted most was to make him feel things he would only feel with her. She wanted to make sure that whoever he was with in the future, they would pale in comparison. She didn’t like how badly she wanted him to be ruined for another woman, but as she lowered her head and flicked her tongue up and down the length of him, she was going to make sure he’d think of her whenever he even thought about touching another woman.

  “Christ.”

  He gathered up her hair and she enjoyed how his eyelids drooped, then opened wide depending on what her mouth and hands were doing to him. She took in all of him, her hand cupping him tightly. His fingers dug into her ass as he let out a deep guttural grown that told her he would always remember how things were between them.

  “God, Kenzie,” he whispered, pulling her hair tightly, practically yanking her mouth off him. “You make me crazy.” Swiftly, he rolled her to her back, ripping her panties off. “If this is going to be the last time. You’re going to scream my name.”

  “No I’m not,” she said.

  “You always do.” He spread her legs and knelt between them, his hands gripping her knees. For a few agonizing moments, he did nothing.

  Her swollen nub ached like it never had before. Wetness slowly dripped from her body. Her nipples were painfully tight. Needing to feel something, she reached for herself, but he batted her hand away.

  “No.” His voice was gruff and throaty. “Watch me.”

  “Okay.” She raised up on her elbows. “I’m watching.”

  “Good.” Gently, he fanned his thumb across her moist center. She wiggled. Her body begged for more, but he just smiled. Slowly, he slipped in a single finger. “Interesting.”

  “What?” Her word came out as more of a breathy pant.

  “Hotter and wetter than ever before and I didn’t have to do much.” He dipped his head, his tongue gliding across her like the sun beat down on the water, his thick fingers stroking in an agonizing slow pace.

  She squeezed her insides around his fingers. She was rewarded with a sli
ght groan and another finger. His tongue moving faster.

  “Oh, God, yes…please.”

  “Please what?”

  “I want you inside me.”

  “Not yet,” he whispered. His hot breath making her hard nub painful. Never before had the need for her own release been so powerful. He pressed his lips against her, sucking her into his mouth.

  “Yes…please…like that…”

  He sucked harder. His fingers, at least three now, gliding in and out in a rhythmic motion. She rocked her hips to match his strokes.

  “Oh, my…”

  “Say my name.”

  “Jake,” she said.

  The groan that vibrated from his mouth sent her body into uncontrolled quivers. Her stomach muscles clenched tight and she jerked over and over again. She couldn’t stop. Even when he’d stopped touching her, only resting his hand on her belly, her orgasm still ripped through her.

  “Will you get inside me now?”

  He smiled as he lowered himself on her, sliding himself carefully into her in one slow stroke. “Oh…” Mini volcanos erupted throughout her body.

  He fanned her face, kissing her lips, then her cheeks, neck, finally landing at her earlobe as he raised his hips up and down. His slow stokes driving her mad. Her body demanding more and more.

  She grabbed his ass, wrapping her legs around him, grinding her hips.

  “Slow,” he whispered. His warm lips brushed her cheek. The way his eyes searched her face only heightened all the nerve endings in her body. She grabbed his face, drawing his mouth to hers. Her tongue pushed passed his lips, swirling wildly, showing him how desperately she needed him.

  He pulled back, tenderly kissing her nose before thrusting into her, causing her to arch her back, digging her heels into the mattress, bracing herself as a violent tremor rattled not only her body, but the entire bed. The aftershocks continued as he whispered and moaned in her ear, until he collapsed, his own release spilling into her with a powerful surge, igniting one more quick shiver.

  It took some time before they both could catch their breath. He rolled off her, pulling her body with him, cradling her head on his shoulder. “Told you that you’d scream my name.”

  “I didn’t scream.”

  “Close enough,” he said. “This just might be the last time I ever have sex. Not sure anything could compare that. You’ve ruined me.”

  “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  “It’s the truth, but it’s not just the sex. It’s you,” he whispered. “Go to sleep.”

  She held him tightly, wanting to say something, but what was there to say?

  Chapter 7

  THE LAST THING KENZIE WANTED on a Monday morning was a private meeting with Charlie Masters, but she’d been putting him off since Ethan had come back from the hospital, and he wasn’t going to wait another day.

  She sat behind Ethan’s massive cherry oak desk and fired up her laptop, waiting for Charlie. The computer screen asked for her password. She stared at the cursor, blinking, her mind totally unfocused.

  “Thanks for meeting.”

  She jumped at the sound of Charlie’s voice. “Thanks for coming to me. It’s been a long couple of days.

  “Not a problem. It’s good for me to get out of the office,” Charlie said as he waltzed into the room with a bit more arrogance than he commanded. It was no secret that he’d always wanted his son, Trevor, to have a more active role on the farm, but Charlie didn’t understand that his son wasn’t farm material.

  Charlie wore an expensive suit, something she never understood. He might not work on the farm, so to speak, but the main offices, where all the support staff worked, was on the farm’s property and most wore jeans, unless meeting with someone.

  “Ethan looks good, but that nurse of his kicks people out so quickly,” Charlie said.

  “He’s feeling better, but gets weak quickly.” She motioned to the other side of the room. “Have a seat.” A dark leather sofa and two matching wing back chairs were arranged on the right side of Ethan’s desk. She’d put out some coffee and biscuits. “I know you have questions.” She situated herself on the sofa, while Charlie sat in one of the chairs.

  “Questions and concerns,” Charlie said, opening his briefcase, pulling out a laptop and some folders. “I’d like to start with how uncomfortable everyone is with this private investigator hanging around.”

  Nothing like jumping right into the thick of things. “Someone poisoned Ethan. Jake feels it’s best to have an outsider look at things.”

  “Having Jake back brings up its own set of problems. With Ethan being so sick, people are wondering if Jake is stepping up to CEO and frankly they don’t trust that. Jake is now an outsider and we think it might be prudent to have me as acting—”

  “Ethan is still CEO and owner of this farm.”

  “I’m talking temporary,” Charlie said.

  “Ethan wants things as they are, each of us focusing on what we are good at.”

  Charlie shook his head. “I’m concerned about his ability to make decisions after being poisoned and you have him sealed off from the world.”

  “No, I don’t. He just needs some time to heal.”

  “You should know that people are speculating about you making a run for CEO.” Charlie’s tone wasn’t accusatory, but the words were.

  “That’s not true.”

  “You’ve have never hidden your ambition. I respect that. Others don’t.”

  “Perhaps we should send out a memo to all the employees,” she said. “Reassuring them that as soon as Ethan is better, he’ll be back in the saddle.

  “I think we need to clear up more than that,” Charlie said. “And we need to talk about Jake. A lot of people are asking if he’s here to be with you, since he seems to be staying at the cabin. Or something else.”

  “Jake came back to help with his father, but we do need to address this,” she said. Ethan had opted to keep his cancer a private, at least for now. She hated his secrets, but this one she understood, especially since he had been poisoned. They were vulnerable right now, and letting the world know he could be dying would make matters worse. She’d wanted to keep her pregnancy to herself for a while, but even Jake thought it would be best to let everyone know. “Jake and I are having a baby.”

  “Oh.” Charlie blinked. “So you and Jake are back together?”

  She didn’t want to lie about her lack of relationship with Jake, but he felt it was best if everyone thought they were a couple again. Luke had agreed that. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while,” she said. “We don’t want to make some big announcement, but no point in denying it either.”

  “I guess congratulations are in order,” Charlie said. “I hate to point out the obvious, but all the more reason we need an acting CEO. Jake walked away, people feel threatened by his return.”

  “Jake’s not going to have a role on the farm,” she said. “And for the time being, I’m acting on behalf of Ethan and the farm.”

  “No offense, but you don’t have the experience.”

  “You saw Ethan today, so you know it’s what he wants and I hope you’ll work with me, not against me.”

  Charlie nodded. “That brings me to some farm problems we need to discuss.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “The horses Quintin bought,” Charlie said. “One’s sick.” He handed her a file.

  “Why am I just hearing about this?” She thumbed through the document, indicating the issues with the horse. Things that should have been caught long before the horse was ever put on the market. “Why didn’t Quintin call me?”

  “He didn’t want to bother you with what was going on with Ethan,” Charlie said. “But now the other horse is sick and Kicker says there are three more Thoroughbreds in our stable that have come down with the same illness.”

  “This says the illness has yet to be determined.”

  “The vet is stumped. Running a bunch
of tests, but we had to take the horses back.”

  “Of course,” she said. “I want to meet with the vet and talk to Quintin about how things progressed.”

  “Maybe you should be taking it easy. When my wife was pregnant with—”

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Being pregnant doesn’t make me incapable.”

  “I didn’t mean to imply it did,” Charlie said. He’d always been somewhat of a chauvinist, or maybe old-fashioned, which was probably why he fought against her being Operations Manager. “I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen and things here have been stressful to say the least.”

  “I appreciate that,” she said. “Did anyone offer him a different horse? We’ve got five that will be ready on—”

  “He took his business to Thatcher,” Charlie said.

  “That was quick.” A little too quick and she wondered how much, or little, had been done to retain Quintin’s business. He’d been a pain in the ass. But a loyal pain in the ass and this would be the first time that she knew of that he’d bought from someone else.

  “We wanted to talk with Ethan about—”

  She interrupted Charlie, “I’ll handle it.”

  “Nothing personal, but this meeting was also a heads up that I think Ethan needs to know about some things that are going on around here.”

  “I understand,” she said. “But I’ll handle talking with Ethan. He needs to focus on getting better. Was there anything else?”

  “That was it,” Charlie said.

  “Then if you will excuse me, I have work to do.”

  “You working in Ethan’s office only adds fuel to the gossip train.” Charlie stood, collecting his things.

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” She held the door open for them. “Make sure you send me everything you have on this incident. I’ll be in touch.”

  She didn't realize she was shaking until she closed the door. The feeling that someone had done something to their horses cut deep in her gut. She immediately texted Jake with the information, copying Luke. Then made an appointment to speak with the vet. She also put in a call to Quintin.