Resting his forehead against hers, he struggled to catch his breath. They both did. Their chemistry was undeniable, and while their hearts might still have a little distance to go before they were sure of each other, their bodies were already convinced.
“You okay, Tidbit. I didn’t push you too hard too fast, did I?” he asked, his voice thick and husky with desire.
Orla shook her head, shyly looking into his eyes. “No. Am I awful for wishing we could go a little further?”
Jethro chuckled ruefully. “No, baby. But any further and I’ll have your pretty dress around your waist and my dick buried in your heat.”
Shuddering in his arms, Orla bit her lip, and Jethro could see the excitement burning in her fiery gaze. “Heavens, Jethro,” she sighed, winding her arms around his neck.
“I don’t know if I can hold out, Orla,” Jethro groaned, leaning forward to seize her lips for a short, fierce open-mouthed kiss. “I feel like I’m gonna explode.”
“Me, too,” she admitted shakily. “Is it always like this?”
Jethro shook his head in denial. “Never, Orla. It’s never been like this for me before. Won’t lie. I’m no virgin, but my body has never cried out for a woman the way mine is beggin’ for yours right now. No woman’s ever had that power over me.”
Breathing deeply, Orla shifted in his lap. “Maybe we could…”
Jethro interrupted her by putting a finger to her mouth. “Don’t make an offer you’re not ready to make, darlin’. That would be the cruelest kind of torment.”
“But I want you, too,” she confided meekly. “So bad, Jethro. My body…. It’s like it’s burning up from the inside out.”
Stroking his fingers over her cheek, he nodded. “I know, Baby Girl. Believe me. I know. But I think right now you should hop out of my lap and go take a nice long, hot bath.”
“But, the dishes…”
Jethro grinned. “Mother McKinnon demands each of her boys pull dish duty twice a week. She says it keeps us humble. Tonight will be my night. While I’m doing that, you go take that bath and relax a little. If you still feel the same way when you come out, you leave your bedroom door open and I’ll come visit you tonight. If you decide you’d rather wait to explore any more new things, just close your door and I’ll see you in the morning. Whatever you decide is fine, Orla. I won’t pressure you.” And he wouldn’t. But he’d pray. And he’d hope like hell that door was standing wide open when he climbed the stairs to the bedrooms tonight.
Orla cupped Jethro’s cheeks with her hands and stared into his light blue eyes. “For all your grumpin’ and grousin’, you really are a noble, honorable man, Jethro McKinnon.”
“Mmm hmm. I try to be, but the limits of my endurance are being sorely tested,” he declared, gently depositing her breasts back into her slip and pulling the edges of her dress back together. “You see, even saints can slip, darlin’, and if you don’t hop off my lap, you’re gonna find out just how fast that can happen,” he warned her with twinkling eyes as he reached around to playfully smack her bottom with the palm of his hand. Surprised when her eyes lit up and her shapely ass wiggled against his hand, Jethro laughed. “Well, aren’t you full of surprises, Miss Pearson! I think somebody liked feeling my hand popping her ass,” he noted, grinning wider when she tried to sneakily lift her butt a bit higher. Smacking her again, a little harder this time, he watched her eyes dilate with passion. “Yes, ma’am, you are a joyous little surprise,” he whispered, leaning forward to press his lips to hers.
Shivering, Orla blushed and kissed him back. “Jethro!” she squealed when his palm landed a third time.
“Go, Baby Girl, before I corrupt you right here on this table,” Jethro warned again, his voice serious this time.
Hopping up quickly, Orla smiled at him before disappearing down the hallway toward the stairs.
Hungry, but hopeful, Jethro leaned back in his chair and grinned. He might eventually starve to death in this relationship, but something told him that he definitely wouldn’t die horny.
Chapter Eight
Orla
To sin or not to sin… that was the question Orla contemplated forty-five minutes later as she watched the last of her bath water slide down the drain like sands through an hourglass.
Time was ticking away and she didn’t have long to make her decision. Rising from the tub, water droplets rolled down her naked body as she reached for the soft white towel she’d placed on the rack. Wrapping it around her body, she stepped out of the tub onto the padded blue mat on the floor. Drying herself quickly, she performed her nightly rituals by rote. She dried, powdered, and lotioned without any thought. No, instead her mind was occupied with the sexy man that was to be her husband in less than forty-eight hours.
He wanted her. He really, truly wanted her. The misfit. The orphan. The little girl looking for a home.
He wanted her for his own.
And for the first time since her parents died, she felt like she belonged to someone again.
Staring into the mirror above the sink, she ran a brush through her long hair, wincing when she snagged a tangle. Usually, she braided it before bed so that she’d have a little bit of wave in the morning, but tonight, not knowing if she’d leave her bedroom door closed or open, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with it. On one hand, she loved the way Jethro’s fingers felt when he buried his hands in her hair, pulling it gently when he wrapped it around his fists. She felt womanly and feminine. Powerful and important. On the other hand, good girls were tidy. They braided their hair and wore demure nightdresses. They certainly didn’t contemplate going to bed naked and waiting for the man of their dreams to find them. Good girls did the right thing. The proper thing.
“The boring thing,” she muttered out loud as she reached for her flowered nightgown. Looking at it with a critical eye, she knew it was the most feminine nightgown she owned, and still, it was the kind of gown a girl wore. Not a woman debating being seduced by the most handsome man she’d ever seen.
Sighing, she quickly pulled the thin material over her head. There wasn’t really any use wishing for things she didn’t have, and besides, Jethro didn’t seem to mind what she wore. He was obviously much more interested in stripping her out of it. Now dressed and ready for bed, she paused with one hand on the bathroom doorknob.
What in the world was she going to do?
Should she throw caution to the wind and embrace her inner harlot? Or, continue to be the decent, upstanding girl the good nuns at the Sister of Mercy had praised her for being. Lord! Being good had never been so hard to do before now!
Opening the door, she stuck her head out and looked up and down the empty hallway before creeping out of the bathroom. Hurrying toward the door to her bedroom, she reached for the door handle and pushed the door open. Her bags were just where she’d left them, but sometime while she’d been in the bath, Jethro had come into her room and turned down the bed and put a chocolate drop on her pillow. She wasn’t sure how he knew she had a weakness for candy, but she wasted no time crossing the bedroom and popping the tasty treat into her lips. Chewing thoughtfully, she peered at the still open door.
Did she dare leave it open? She already knew that Jethro was a man of his word. If he saw the bedroom door standing open, he’d take it as an extended invitation, and he’d waste no time coming to her. Her modesty urged her to rush over and close it. Her parents had raised an obedient child, and the nuns had reinforced their lessons when she’d gone to the orphanage. Good girls simply didn’t invite men into their bedrooms until there was a wedding band in place. It simply wasn’t done! It was way too risky.
Although, hadn’t this entire relationship so far been a risk? Of course, it had! A big one!! She’d left everything she knew behind to travel several hundred miles to marry what was essentially a stranger! A handsome, sexy older stranger that made her mouth water, her heart race, and her secret places ache with need.
Nodding to herself, Orla smiled, her decision made.<
br />
~~***~~
Fifteen minutes later, Orla laid in bed underneath the heavy covers and listened as she heard Jethro’s boots hitting the stairs as he made the final climb of the night. Biting her lip, she held her breath as his footsteps neared – every one carrying him closer to her bedroom. With only the lamp beside her bed burning, the room was cast in shadows as she waited. Eyes wide, she stared ahead, barely breathing.
“Well, Tidbit, I gotta say… I’m thrilled you left the door open,” Jethro’s deep masculine voice praised as he leaned against her open doorway, his flannel shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbow and his collar open. “You look pretty as a picture lyin’ there waitin’ on me. I’ll be a man that goes to bed happy every night if I get to come upstairs and find you in my bed.”
Orla felt her cheeks heat the longer he looked at her. “I couldn’t help it; I wanted to see you again tonight. The idea of falling asleep without you just felt… wrong.”
“That’s just another sign from above that fate got things right with us, Orla,” Jethro acknowledged softly as he used his shoulder to push away from the door jamb and stroll towards her bed. Bending down when he reached her side, he brushed his lips against hers. “Stay right here, just like this, okay? I’m gonna go use the bathroom and strip down to my boxers. You okay with seein’ me in my skivvies?”
Her heart thumping with excitement, Orla nodded, hoping her face didn’t look too eager. But then again, what red-blooded woman wouldn’t be thrilled to get a look at a sexy man in nothing but his underwear? “Yes, Jethro. Soon we’ll be man and wife. I’m sure I’ll be seein’ you in even less than that.”
“Honey, you keep lookin’ at me with those big, hungry eyes, and you’ll see it all right now,” Jethro promised, laughing when Orla pulled the covers over her head. “I’ll be back in a minute, Baby Girl. Don’t go gettin’ any more nervous while I’m gone,” he ordered before retracing his steps to the door and disappearing into the hallway.
No sooner than he left, he was back. Only this time when he strode toward the bed, she could only stare. His muscular bare chest looked like it had been cut with marble, and his legs… good gravy! His lean legs were like twin pillars of sinewy strength supporting his body. Lifting a hand to stroke his sculpted chest as he crawled under the covers with her, she couldn’t believe this man was actually hers.
“You’re usin’ those eyes on me again, Orla, and I can’t even think about lovin’ on you until I can feel my toes again,” Jethro growled, shivering as he got under the covers with her, pulling them tightly. “Damn, it’s sure turned cold out there. It’s gotta be below twenty degrees outside, and I’m bettin’ we have snow by morning. That’s gonna make carrying the tobacco in for sale one big pain in the ass.”
Momentarily forgetting about his sexy, mostly naked body, Orla jerked upright in bed. “Snow?” she yelped enthusiastically. “You mean it? Really? Snow??”
Jethro stared at her for a moment before chuckling. Her eyes were dancing with pure excitement, and she was almost bouncing on the bed. “Yes, darlin’. Really. I’m gonna take another wild shot in the dark and guess that you’ve never seen snow before?”
“The winter I turned seventeen, we had a few flurries in Georgia, but that was it.”
Jethro grinned. “Well, Tidbit, I promise you. You’ll see snow here. In fact, if my old bones are anything to go by, I’d say you’ll see plenty of it in a few hours’ time.”
Contented with his answer, Orla laid back down, facing Jethro. “Why do you call me that?” she asked with a small smile. “Tidbit. Why that?”
“Because the moment I put eyes on you, I knew you were the sweetest little tidbit I could ever hope to have. You were sitting there, so petite and delicate and beautiful. The name just fit you,” he shared, throwing one arm above his head to adjust the pillow beneath his head.
“Well, you did a good job of hiding those feelings,” Orla teased, poking him in the chiseled six-pack she’d been unsurprised to see on him.
Cupping a hand around her neck, Jethro pulled her toward him until her lips hovered above his. “How long you gonna hold that over my head?”
“How long do you plan for us to be married?” she retorted easily.
“Ahhhh,” Jethro sighed, still grinning. “That’s how it is, huh?”
“That is exactly how it is, Jethro,” Orla returned pertly, dropping a kiss to the tip of his nose, feeling empowered at that simple action. Watching him move his hand to cup her cheek as she shifted to settle her body over his, she shivered as his larger frame cushioned hers. Groaning as her torso nestled his hardening dick, Orla moaned softly.
“Damn, you feel good against me, Orla,” he murmured in a low rumble as one of his strong arms wrapped around her waist and his hips lifted from the bed to rub against hers. “I can scarce believe I’ve got you in my arms right now.”
Honestly, she could hardly believe it, either. Being in his arms felt like a dream. Heck, a fantasy, really. But his warm embrace reminded her that every second of this experience was real in ways she’d never forget. “I like being in your arms.”
“I hope so since these are the only arms you’ll have holding you like this for the rest of your life. I don’t know if you noticed outside earlier, but I’m kinda a possessive bastard. Make no mistake, Orla, this lush little body… all these gorgeous curves… all that wonderful passion you carry within you… that’s all mine now. You’re mine now,” he declared heavily, his arms contracting around her.
“Yes,” Orla whispered a kind of happy reverence. “I belong to you now, Jethro. Only you,” she promised, nuzzling her nose against the side of his corded neck, inhaling deeply and pulling his masculine scent into her lungs.
“Say it again, Tidbit,” Jethro ordered gruffly, burying a hand in her silky copper hair. “Let me hear you say it again.”
Pulling her head up, she stared into his glittering eyes. “I’m yours, Jethro. I belong with you.”
“You sure as hell do,” Jethro growled, tugging her head back down to his and claiming her mouth with his, his scorchingly hot kiss feeling like a stamp of possession as he twined his tongue with hers. Tearing his mouth from hers a long minute later, his eyes locked with hers. “Tell me I can peel away this nightie you’ve got on and love you tonight, Orla,” he demanded, his voice roughened by desire.
Uncertain, Orla’s mouth went dry. “I want to, but…”
“I won’t take you fully, Tidbit. Not until we’re married in the eyes of the law, but I already know you’re mine. And I believe God knows it, too. Nothing we do tonight will be wrong, sugar. It might be hot and dirty, but it won’t be wrong. It will never be wrong between us in bed, Orla.”
Orla nodded before she could change her mind. “I don’t think it feels wrong either,” she whispered to him, dropping a kiss to the middle of his hard chest. In fact, this pull they had toward each other felt like the most right thing in her world. Especially when she was stretched out like a lazy cat in his arms. She gasped as he suddenly moved, rolling her to her back and sitting up to kneel beside her hip.
“Lift your arms, Baby Girl,” Jethro directed, waiting until Orla lifted her arms without question to grasp the hem of her nightgown and lift it over her head.
Breathing a little faster as she realized this incredibly handsome man was getting his first long look at her almost naked body, she fought the urge to clasp her hands to her breasts and cover herself. True, he’d already seen them when she’d been in his lap, but then, he wasn’t looking so much as consuming her. Now, she felt his eyes moving slowly over her. Looking. Assessing. Judging.
And she was terrified she’d disappoint him.
Running a finger down the center of her face, she opened her eyes to find Jethro’s eyes soft as he looked down at her face.
“I’m not sure what you were thinking just now, but I didn’t like that pinched look on your face or the way you screwed your eyes shut. Talk to me, darlin’.”
“I guess I was a l
ittle nervous you wouldn’t like what you saw now that you’ve got an uncompromised view,” she shared truthfully.
“Oh, Orla,” he breathed, lifting a hand to palm one warm breast in his hand. “You should know I love what I see. Your body is pure sin.”
Tilting her head, she narrowed her eyes. “Is that a compliment?”
Jethro stroked his beard with his free hand, unable to pull his gaze from where it focused on the smooth globes of her breasts. “Oh, hell yeah, it is.” Finally, looking up, he smiled wickedly at her, his white teeth gleaming like the big, bad wolf. “Now, I’m gonna lean forward and suck on these tasty little nipples of yours and I want you to touch me, too. Can you do that, Orla?”
Gulping, Orla nodded, fervently willing to stroke his flesh the way he had hers. “W-where do you want me to touch you?”
His grin turned positively lecherous as he took her hand in his and guided it down his body to the hardness between his legs. “I want you to learn the feel of me, baby. Explore me the way I’m gonna explore you,” he urged.
Staring down at where the tip of his penis peeked out of the top of his light blue boxers, Orla’s jaw dropped. “Jethro,” she squeaked when she’d recovered her tongue, “That thing looks huge!”
“Never had any complaints,” he replied proudly, settling her hand over his still mostly covered length. “C’mon, Tidbit,” he crooned. “I swear, my dick ain’t gonna hurt you none.”
“That’s a bald-faced lie,” she accused, jerking her eyes back up to his and her hand away from the one-eyed snake staring up at her from his bloomers. Deliberately ignoring his raised eyebrows, she shook her head. “I heard a couple of the older girls at the orphanage talkin’ once. One of them let her boyfriend take liberties and I heard her say he was so big, he nearly split her in two! And as sure as I’m sittin’ here, I’d be willing to bet everything I have that your tallywacker would put his to shame!! You’ll never get that thing inside me. Not without hurting me, at any rate.”
Wed by Wednesday (Passion in Paradise #4.5) Page 9