by Codi Gary
“What loud speaker message?”
“Finn drove through town, saying how the whole town was invited to check it out.”
“Who is Finn?”
“He’s the guy over there talking to Red.”
Jessie looked over at Red slapping a sandy-blond-haired guy on the back, and butterflies started going crazy in her stomach. Finn didn’t know her from Adam, but if Red called in a favor for her…
“Excuse me,” she said, weaving her way through the crowd until she was standing next to Red.
“Hey, can I borrow you for a second?”
“Sure, what’s—whoa!” She dragged him through the crowd to the storage room and pulled him inside, shutting the door firmly.
“Did you call your police friend Finn to drive through town and announce the opening?”
“Yeah, but only because it was my fault people weren’t showing up. I wasn’t exactly shy about voicing my concerns with the changes you were making—”
She threw her arms around him, squeezing him around the neck until he dipped his head down so she could kiss him. “Thank you,” she whispered against his lips.
“You’re welcome, but—”
She interrupted him again, arching on her toes to bring her mouth closer to his, slipping her tongue into his mouth to play with his. It had been so long since anyone had done something for her because they were just being nice or trying to make something up to her, she couldn’t even remember the last time.
His hands gripped her ass and lifted her against him, turning so she was pressed into the shelves. She locked her ankles against his back, her legs around his hips, and when he took over, she let him. Her insides throbbed with need, and she wanted to rip open his jeans and let him take her.
Loud laughter outside the door brought her out of her lust-filled haze, and she pulled away. “I really, really want to do this, but I should probably get back out there.”
“Does this mean I get a rain check?”
“Definitely.”
* * *
Red was wiping down the last table as Jessie said good night to the staff. It was just after two, and Red knew one thing for sure: the people there tonight had embraced Jessie as one of their own. She’d made the rounds, introduced herself to everyone, and as a result, he’d been scolded several times for bad-mouthing such a “kind soul.”
As she locked the door, she turned around to face him, a tired smile on her face. “That was amazing.”
He grinned as he threw the towel behind the bar. “You are amazing.”
“I may have been told that once or twice before.” She walked toward him with a definite sway to her hips. Red’s pulse sped up as she drew closer until there was barely an inch between them.
He reached up, cradling the line of her jaw, and asked, “So I was thinking, about that rain check…”
“Yeah?” she whispered, her fingers finding the buttons of his shirt and slipping each one slowly out of its hole.
He took a deep breath, and her coconut scent mixed with her slow removal of his shirt made his cock stir. “You smell delicious.”
She spread his shirt completely open and raised those green eyes up to his. His gaze dropped to her pink, parted lips as she rose up on her tiptoes, bringing her mouth close enough to kiss…
He could feel the warmth of her breath as she asked, “You were saying about that rain check?”
He knew she was teasing him, wanting him to lose control, and with a grin, he slid his hand from her jaw into her silky tresses. “I was thinking I’m ready to collect.”
He felt her soft sigh seconds before his mouth settled over hers, his other hand molding her hip, pressing her against him as he swept her mouth with slow strokes. He could feel her urgency, her need to speed things along, but as much as he wanted her, he wanted to make it good. To have her coming back for more.
Untangling his hand from her hair, he cupped her ass with both hands and lifted her against him. Without having to be told, she wrapped her legs around him, and he couldn’t wait to strip off her jeans and feel the satin of her thighs cradling him.
He walked her back toward the pool table and set her down gently, his hands grabbing the bottom of her cotton top. Without preamble, he pulled it over her head and tossed it aside, his gaze devouring her breasts as they spilled over the lacy black cups of her bra. Her eyes locked on his as he smoothed his hands over them, squeezing until her lashes fluttered, her light moan urging him on. He released her long enough to slip his hands behind her back and unhook the clasp of her bra, his mouth dipping to blaze a trail of kisses from her earlobe to her collarbone. After sliding the bra straps down her arms, he dropped it to the ground and leaned her back against his arm so he could watch her as he stroked her nipples until they were hard peaks.
“The first time you opened that door and I saw you, I thought how beautiful you were.” He pinched her nipple lightly and whispered, “And then I caught a glimpse of your tattoo and wondered what else you might be hiding.”
He picked up her arm, where the vines intertwined up her wrist and forearm, kissing his way along the ink. “This is what I saw that day, and it has haunted my dreams.”
“You said I was rude and had a sassy mouth.”
He smiled against her skin and nipped her at the crook of her arm. “That’s true, but that mouth has grown on me.”
She laughed softly, and he wrapped his hands around her waist, lifting her. “Come up on your knees.”
“Just what every girl wants to hear.” Still she obeyed him.
He shrugged out of his shirt and ignored the painful pressure in his jeans as his cock stretched against the denim. “Believe me, you’re going to enjoy yourself.”
Before she could open her mouth to talk back, he pulled her forward and lifted her right breast as he dipped his mouth to taste her. He circled the tight nipple with his tongue, sucking it until her hands were squeezing the back of his neck, pressing him into her. He pulled away to give her left breast the same attention, his right hand slipping into the front of her jeans, working at the button and zipper until they were open. He pressed his hand down below her panties until his index finger touched her wet folds.
She wiggled against him, and he released her breasts, taking in her flushed cheeks and heavy breathing. All his good intentions to take things slow went out the window as she sat back on the pool table, kicking off her shoes. “If you don’t get those jeans off and strap on a condom, I am going to kill you.”
Chuckling, he unbuckled his belt and countered, “That seems a mite counterproductive, wouldn’t you say, darlin’?”
Her answer was to jerk her pants down around her thighs, and he paused to watch her struggle on the table, her breasts jiggling with every movement.
Grabbing a condom from his pocket, he put it in his mouth and kicked off his boots. Making quick work of the rest of his clothing, he wasn’t surprised that she was naked and reaching for him before he was ready.
“Come here.”
He stepped into her as she came up on her knees, wrapped her arms around him, and threw him off balance. Before he knew what was happening, she was pushing him back on the pool table and straddling his lap. The heat of her core was so close, it made his cock jerk, and he wanted to run the length of his head up her slit. He slid his hand out, looking for the condom, and came up with nothing. Where did that fucker go?
“I got it.” She ripped the package with her teeth and pulling the round latex out. Slowly, she rolled it over him, and as her hand squeezed and stroked him, he could feel the pressure building inside.
Scooting back, he pulled her with him, wrapping his arm around her like a vise. Circling his other hand at the base of his erection, he positioned himself at her entrance.
When he had her right where he wanted her, he grabbed her hips with both hands and pulled her down, watching her eyes close and her head tip back. Her hips rocked against him as she slid onto him, seating him fully, and with one arm around her bo
dy and the other in her hair, he pushed up.
“Ride me, darlin’,” he said.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and swirled her hips. “Are you gonna ask me nicely?”
He pulled her hair lightly and placed his mouth right next to her ear. “No.”
Her answer was to slide her hand down and pinch him hard on his ass cheek.
“Ouch, woman that hur—ouch, damn it, Jessie—”
She bit the lobe of his ear lightly and whispered, “You can call me darlin’, but if you call me woman ever again—”
He took her hips and moved her over him quickly, turning her threat into a gasp. Dipping his head to take her breast into his mouth, he moved her hips with his hands, dragging her clit back and forth across the base of his shaft, pressing her down on him over and over again while he continued to surge up. He knew she was getting close by the squeeze of her muscles and the sound of her cries. But when she finally let go, it was a beautiful sight to see. She trembled in his arms and fell forward, her cheek resting on his shoulder.
He didn’t give her a chance to relax, though, and he lifted her off him slowly, only to bring her back down hard and fast. Each motion brought him closer and closer, and when he started to lose his rhythm, he came with his mouth buried in her neck, gulping air like he couldn’t get enough, and felt her feathery light kisses along his shoulder.
“You aren’t finished, are you?” she asked teasingly.
Chuckling, he pulled back so he could kiss her, running his hand along her cheek. “No, but I’m thinking we should adjourn to someplace that has a bed.”
“Adjourn, huh?” she asked. “Well, then, where are we going? Your place or mine?”
Chapter Thirteen
Red went home to shower and change before church, but couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He’d left Jessie sleeping and paid Patty at the Inn to take up a tray of breakfast at around ten. Patty had given him a sly look, but he’d ignored her. It was nobody’s business what was going on with Jessie and him.
When he pulled into the parking lot of the church fifteen minutes later, his mother was standing outside, looking fit to be tied.
“Worried I wasn’t coming?” he asked jovially.
“I was wondering, but no, it’s your sister who is missing.”
“Tabby?”
“MJ.”
Red’s eyebrows shot up. Tabby he could imagine skipping church after a wild night, but MJ?
“Well, I’ll go on in, then.”
Red stopped when his mother said, “Now hold on…”
So close.
“Where’s that little gal you’ve been hanging out with? Jessie?”
Red cleared his throat. “Something tells me Jessie isn’t the churchgoing kind of girl.”
He watched his mother’s lips thin. “Hmm.”
“I’ll see you in there.”
He walked into the church and took his normal seat next to Rand. With his mother outside, Tabby sat on his other side.
“So, did you hear about MJ?” Tabby asked, her eyes bright.
“Hear what? Mom just said she wasn’t here.”
“Yeah, well, I know who she went home with last night.”
“Who?”
“No way am I telling you. You’ll crack in ten seconds.”
Red scowled until the preacher came into the room and his mother finally came inside, looking none too pleased.
“Today, I want to talk to you about what your long-term plans are.”
Red grimaced and wished MJ would get there so their mother would take her attention off him.
“Let us pray.” And everyone bowed their head.
* * *
Escape turned out to be futile, especially when his mother said she’d ride home with him.
“I still can’t believe your sister missed church. It just isn’t like her,” his mother griped.
Red smirked, wanting to say something about MJ taking a walk of shame this morning according to Tabby, but he couldn’t do that to her. MJ was always pretty straitlaced—well, at least out of the four of his sisters—so she was allowed to cut loose and have some fun.
“People can miss church, Mom. She’s a grown woman, and if she wants to sleep in on a Sunday, she should be allowed.”
“But she didn’t come home last night,” she said, sounding worried. “What if she’s dead in a ditch somewhere?”
“Or she’s sleeping off a headache at a friend’s house. Just give her a few hours before you go all ‘crazy mama’ and start tearing the town apart.”
“You children act like I’m some unreasonable ogre. I just worry about y’all.”
A few beats went by, and just as he was about to tell her they appreciated her worry and fretting. “Red, you need to start building a house. You are almost thirty years old, and you were the one who wanted land instead of buying a house in town. And no woman wants to get serious with someone who doesn’t want to move out of his bachelor pad.”
And just like that, all his exasperation was back. “My mobile is comfortable.”
“I’m sure it is for you, but you have to think of what a woman sees. She sees a man who isn’t willing to commit.”
“Well, good thing I’m not dating anyone, so that’s not an issue.”
“Come on, Albert. I can tell you like this girl. Don’t you want her to take you seriously?”
Red didn’t like her tone, like he was seven and she was telling him to wash behind his ears. “I’m an adult, and when I am serious about a girl, I’ll tell you.”
“Fine, I was just trying to give you some motherly advice. Whether you take it or not is up to you.”
Red dropped his mother at home, stewing over what she’d said. He had bought and paid for his land. He had hauled the trailer over from the next county. He bought his car outright. He had signed contracts for his books and even agreed to several due dates for his books. See, he committed to things. She was crazy.
Still, as he walked into his trailer, he pulled out the blueprints he’d ordered for the home he’d wanted to eventually build. He had a nice down payment for a construction loan if he wanted…
To his surprise, he wanted to pick up his phone and ask Jessie what she thought of his future house. Which was crazy, because they’d only known each other two weeks. It was too soon to start planning a future, wasn’t it?
Regardless, he found himself pulling out his phone. He dialed her number, and it rang twice before she answered.
“Hey, handsome,” she said softly in his ear.
“Hey, there. I was seeing if you had plans for dinner?”
She was quiet for half a beat. “Actually, I was just going to go to the bar and do a few things, maybe grab some of the leftovers Ray left in the freezer for me.”
Red tried not to let the worm of jealousy take hold. He didn’t like that Ray had seemed to endear himself to Jessie, and not just because he left her food, but because he checked up on her. That was Red’s job.
“Okay, well, I was just thinking, I’d like to take you out on an official date.”
“An official date, huh? What does one do on official dates?”
“Anything the lady wants,” he said, adding quickly, “barring getting arrested.”
“What day?”
“Wednesday?”
“Any activity?”
“Anything you want, except for getting me arrested.”
“Hmm, I’ll have to think about it. In the meantime, maybe you’d wanna come over after dinner with your parents?”
He swallowed hard. “Oh, yeah? What are we gonna do?”
“Have lots of hot sex.”
“I’m in.”
* * *
“Seriously, you wanted to go cow tipping?”
Wednesday had come rather swiftly, especially since they’d been grabbing every spare moment together. When they weren’t making out in the storage room of her bar, they were in her hotel room. Not that Red was complaining, but this…well, for a
first date, this wasn’t what he imagined.
Jessie laughed softly as she climbed the fence to Rand’s cow pasture. “What? I’ve never done it before.”
“That’s because it’s an old wives’ tale! You can’t really tip a cow.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“Well, maybe, but this isn’t a good idea. If Rand’s foreman catches us out here, he might shoot first and ask questions later.”
“Stop being such a sissy.”
“I told you getting arrested was off the table for tonight.”
She ignored his muttering as she stepped quietly, her breath fogging in the cold. Jessie told herself that the occasional squish beneath her feet was just mud, and not a cow pie. She walked up alongside the cow, and it was so big, her outstretched hands were placed about three feet apart. It was too dark to see their feet, but she could imagine one well place hoof could crush her foot or bust a few ribs. She had been around cows at the state fair in California, but this was different. These cows weren’t behind fences. Well, they were, but now she was right there with them.
Before she lost her nerve, she placed two hands on the side of the cow and pushed.
And jumped a foot in the air when the cow let out an alarmed bellow and instead of falling over, took off running.
And then all the cows were running.
She heard Red’s alarmed shout just before he wrapped his arms around her and carried her out of the way. They huddled by the fence as the cows took off toward the house. Jessie’s heart was beating a river dance in her chest.
“That is the last time you pick a date-night activity,” Red muttered.
Laughing breathlessly, she slipped her arms around his waist and grinned. “Are you kidding? That was awesome!”
“It wouldn’t have been awesome if I hadn’t jumped in there and pulled you to safety. You would have hoof prints on your back.”
“But I don’t, thanks to you.”
She was up on her tiptoes, trying to kiss him, when a gunshot rang out.
“Shit.” Before she could ask, he threw her over his shoulder and headed toward the low fence they’d just come over. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”