by C. A. Harms
He shoved through the door of my bedroom and dropped me onto my mattress. I huffed on impact and tried to roll toward the side.
“Oh no you don’t.” He grabbed my ankles and pulled me back, then crawled up the bed and straddled my waist, holding me in place. He then gripped my wrists and brought them together above my head, where he held them in one of his hands. Lowering his determined face to mine, he narrowed his eyes. “Your stubborn ass is gonna stop fighting me. You will lie here and listen to what I have to say.”
My eyebrows shot up because I didn’t give up easily. “You think so?”
“I know so, because, sweetheart, you don’t have a choice.”
“You are such a—”
His mouth covered mine in a hard, powerful kiss as he pressed himself against me. My own body betrayed me as I thrust my breasts up against his chest. God, why did he have to feel so damn good?
“I love you.” His husky, deep voice ran through me like a wave of heat. “It’s you, babe.” He trailed his nose along my jaw toward my ear. “I only want you. I won’t let you run from me. I won’t let you find an excuse to push me away.”
My throat and chest tightened. I knew I was hanging onto the edge and so close to being a blubbering mess.
“You’ve got me—completely. Anything I had before you was just a pastime. No one has ever crawled inside my mind the way you have.” He leaned up on his elbow, releasing the hold he had on my wrists. “I only see you, sweetheart.”
My heart melted, and in that moment I no longer remembered exactly why I was so mad at him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jackson
My heart felt like it might beat right out of my chest. I had just confessed my love, and all Bailey was doing was staring up at me with a lost look on her face.
“Say something,” I whispered as I scanned her face, looking for any sign of what she may be feeling.
“You love me?” she asked, and relief flooded me.
“Yeah,” I replied.
She wrapped her hands around the back of my neck and pulled my face down to meet hers. Our lips meshed together perfectly. I settled between her thighs and continued to kiss her, devouring her sweet mouth. I could feel myself growing hard as Bailey sucked on the tip of my tongue. I tried not to focus on the fact she had not yet returned my declaration of love. It didn’t change what I had told her, though. I was without a doubt “whipped to no end, melt at the feet of your woman” in love.
“I hate that she gets to spend the days with you,” Bailey said between kisses.
“I took care of that,” I assured her, grinning against her lips. Because the alternative might have gotten another fight out of my feisty, blonde spitfire.
“How exactly did you take care of it?
“I just told Phoebe that if she wanted me to continue to train Cherry, she needed to leave me be. She, of course, argued that she had to be around me because I didn’t have anyone to assist me, and I assured her I did.”
Bailey stared up at me with a curious expression.
“I told her my girl was back in town, and she was all the assistance I needed.”
Bailey’s eyes grew wide as my words sunk in. “Me?” she squeaked.
“Well, you’re my girl, so I would say yeah, you.”
She laughed, as if what I had just said was some big joke.
“Baby, I ain’t kidding. You’ve been recruited.”
“I, um,” she stuttered. “What do you mean?”
“You are now my new assistant.” I held back the chuckle that threatened to escape. She looked like a fish out of water, and it was almost too cute to handle.
“But I work at Heavenly Temptations,” she said, as if that was explanation enough.
I bent down and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Darlin’, you, me, and everyone else in town knows you and flour don’t mix.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Let’s face it, babe, you can’t bake for shit.”
She tried to appear angry, but the look didn’t last. She began laughing, and the moment she bit her lower lip, I placed my thumb on her chin and pulled her lip free of her teeth.
“I like the idea of having you with me more,” I said.
“I’ll probably mess things up,” she confessed. “A lot,” she whispered.
“Don’t care.” I lowered my head and placed my lips against hers. And just like that, the tension of the last hour faded away.
“I’ve missed you,” I whispered against her lips as I ground my pelvis against hers. She moaned in acceptance. “I think you should ditch the girls, and we should go back to my place.” I was working her over slowly, using the power of lust to convince her to do whatever I suggested.
“I feel bad leaving when Alena just got here.” Her words came out breathy.
“Then we’ll have everyone over for dinner later. But right now, I just wanna get you back to my place and in my bed. I think spending an afternoon naked sounds pretty damn good right about now.”
***
I slid my palm over her hip before gliding it up along the trail of her spine. She hiked her ass up in the air as she panted against the pillow she’d buried her face into. I knew I was torturing her, but having her bent over in front of me was one of the sexiest things I’d ever seen. I eased into her, only to pull back out slowly before repeating the movement.
“Oh my God, please,” she groaned as she pushed herself back against me again. I paused and allowed her to ride out the orgasm that ripped through her. Her body tensed around me, squeezing my cock tight.
“Yeah, there you go,” I encouraged her as her legs weakened and she took me over and over.
Bailey wasn’t shy; she was a greedy, “take all and give me more” kind of girl, and I loved every single minute I spent with her.
“Roll over, baby,” I told her as I pulled out. She groaned in protest but did as I asked. I took a few seconds to look her over appreciatively before I licked my lower lip, positioned myself between her legs, and slid back inside of her. I longed to see her eyes glaze over with lust, to watch her pleasure. I lowered my head and sucked one of her nipples into my mouth, and she arched upward, offering herself to me. I sped up my movements, and our bodies fell into the perfect rhythm.
I had never in my life experienced such a connection with anyone. It wasn’t just the fact that Bailey drove my body insane and that I craved the intimacy we shared; it was so much more. She made me feel so raw, so completely exposed. That should have terrified me, but it didn’t. It only made me want more.
“I love you, sweetheart,” I whispered as I picked up my movements and felt her body give in to pleasure. “You’re my girl. All I need and all I’ll ever want.”
“Yes,” she moaned as we let go and came together.
I rested my forehead against hers, taking the time to calm my racing heart. Slowly, I began relaxing against her, and when I opened my eyes, she was staring up at me.
“Hey, beautiful,” I whispered.
“I love you too,” she replied, and chills raced over my body. I never knew hearing those words in return would feel so amazing, but it did. Yeah, I already knew how she felt, but hearing her admit it was one of the best fucking feelings I’d ever experienced.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Bailey
“What I find funny is that you actually thought you would be able to hide from him.” Amber laughed, and I rolled my eyes as I continued to cut up the onions for the potato salad. “We’re talking about Jackson,” she continued. “He is the most impatient person I have ever met. He would never sit back and wait for you to calm down.”
“Well, from the looks of it, I would say he pounded the anger right out of her.” Alena laughed when Amber’s eyes widened. “What?”
“You are so crude,” I said, trying to hold back my own laugher, because that was exactly what Jackson had done.
The front door opened, and Olivia walked in, followed by Tammy.
“You girls better hurry up with the
salads,” Tammy said. “My boys have already attacked the dessert table and have moved on to the meat. By the time you gather all this up and take it out, the salads may be all that’s left.”
Olivia nodded proudly. When Jackson and I decided to have everyone over for dinner, Oliva hijacked her grandma’s kitchen, and the two of them made all sorts of sweet goodness. Of course Amber couldn’t resist bringing her own treats, so dessert was something we were sure to have enough of.
“Okay, then we better get this out there.” I gathered up the bowl of potato salad and the container of coleslaw and walked toward the front door.
“The avoidance tactic. Not obvious at all, Bay,” Alena announced from behind me. I didn’t turn around because I knew my red cheeks would surely give it all away. The last thing I wanted to do was continue any conversation regarding my sex life with Jackson in the presence of his mother—or Liv.
As I walked outside, I found all three men hovering near the table of food, a beer in one hand and a plate in the other. As I approached, they all looked up with guilt written all over their faces.
“Seriously, you three are pigs,” I said and pushed my way between Noah and Jackson to place the salads on the table.
Jackson leaned in and nipped at my ear, and I pulled back from him. “Stop it, you animal.” I tried to appear offended, but the truth was, his sexy playfulness mixed with his scent was turning me on, and this was not the time or place for that.
“You like my animalistic ways,” he cooed as he wrapped an arm around my waist. He kissed my neck and licked along the side of it, sending chills over my skin. A soft moan escaped my lips before I could stop it, and Noah’s chuckle brought me out of my haze.
“Damn,” he said.
Olivia shoved at Jackson’s shoulder and smiled. “Move back, you big lug. She needs to focus here, and apparently she can’t do that with you in the way.”
Jackson winked at me before leaning in and kissing Liv on the cheek. “Okay, but only ’cause you’re my favorite niece.” He stepped back and allowed me more room to work.
“Wait.” Olivia looked at him in confusion. “I’m your only niece.”
“I know. Clearly, I need more options.”
“Smartass,” she shot back at him. He shrugged and pointed to his left.
When Olivia and I turned to look, Ryan was standing there with his arms crossed, giving Olivia a stern glare
“What?” she asked.
“Watch your mouth.”
“But Uncle Dill Weed over there started it,” she offered in explanation. When that got her nothing but the same glare, she turned back to Jackson and snarled, narrowing her eyes.
He chuckled, and she stuck her tongue out at him before a small smile stretched across her lips.
***
Tammy and Olivia had left, and all that remained were the six of us. Alena was flirting with Noah, and I saw a little spark light up his eyes every time she smiled at him. Amber was trying to dissuade Ryan from going back to the dessert table for what must have been at least a third helping at this point. Jackson had his arms wrapped around my waist as he held me on his lap. I had tried on more than one occasion to move to the chair at his side, but he refused to allow it. He really was a caveman.
“So now that Alena is here, we have an extra person to help get this wedding planning on the move,” I said.
Ryan’s face lit up, and Amber’s eyes connected with mine.
“We only have a little over a month. There’s not a lot left to do, but there is enough that a little help would make a big difference,” Ryan said. “Jackson, Noah, and I have the ranch handled. We’ll set up the reception part inside the barn and extending out toward the lake, and we have the trellis being brought in the week before. You girls need to set up all the flowers and things like that.”
Amber sat on the edge of Ryan’s chair, and he pulled her into his lap and kissed her softly. The scene heated up, and I felt like I was intruding, so I wiggled in Jackson’s lap and pulled free.
“Where are you going?” he asked, refusing to let go of my hand.
“I’m just going to get something sweet.”
“But, baby, I’ve got your sweet right here.”
When he said things like that, my heart raced. Jackson was this big ol’ intimidating man, yet when he gave me sweet, it melted my heart. I leaned over and placed my lips against his, then pulled back to whisper so only he could hear me. “Save that sweet for later on, handsome.”
He bit at my lip and smirked, which only caused heat to boil in my stomach. I walked toward the dessert table, shaking away the images in my mind. As I looked at the tray of sweets Amber brought, I was shocked to find some untouched items.
I looked back at Ryan just as he and Amber came up for air. “Well, spank me cross-eyed, Ryan actually saved some brownies for the rest of us.”
Of course Jackson took my comment and ran with it. He sat up taller in his chair, looking excited. “Did I hear something about spanking?”
“Dial it down there, Cowboy. There’ll be no spanking going on today,” I said as I spun back around to grab a brownie from the tray.
“We’ll see about that,” he announced, and I looked back just in time to catch him wagging his eyebrows suggestively before tipping his beer back. As he lowered the bottle, he cocked his head to the side and hollered, “Hey, Noah, I may need to borrow those handcuffs.”
Once again, my mouth ran off before I could stop it. “Oh, you don’t need his. I have my own.”
“Bailey.” Jackson’s eyes grew wide, and I suddenly felt like I was on display. Each and every one of them looked back at me with widened eyes—well, except Alena; she owned a matching pair of cuffs, after all.
I shoved the brownie in my mouth to avoid explaining why or how I obtained them. But when my gaze connected with Jackson’s, his eyes were gleaming with excitement.
“You ready to head inside, Bay? Or do we need to head into town first to pick up these so-called handcuffs?”
If my face wasn’t already gleaming with embarrassment, it sure was now.
Chapter Thirty
Jackson
I crawled out of bed and stalked off toward the bathroom, where I flipped on the shower to allow the water to heat up. When I entered the bedroom, I froze in the doorway when I found Bailey sprawled out across the bed.
The sheet had slipped and settled just below her bare breasts. Her arms were stretched out above her head, and her puckered lips indicated she was still in a deep sleep.
I walked toward the bed and gently began gathering the sheet, exposing even more of her beauty as I slid it down her body. My cock stirred as I crawled between her legs. The moment I parted them and glided my tongue along her thigh, she whimpered and placed her hand on my head. I took this as my invitation and nestled between her thighs, kissing along her chest and neck on the way up her body.
“Good morning,” she cooed, and my gaze shifted upward and connected with the blueness of her still-sleep-filled eyes.
“Mornin’,” I offered in response before I placed a kiss against her clit. She whimpered, and I ran my tongue over her before sucking her between my lips.
She rested her hands on top of my head and slipped them into my hair, gripping gently. When she began to rock her hips with the rhythm of my tongue, I inserted a finger inside her and curled it just enough to create the friction I knew she needed. In no time at all, she was grinding her center against my face, and I almost worried she might start pulling out my hair the way she was going. When she screamed my name and her back arched, I smiled against her clit. As soon as I was sure she had reached the point of completion, I crawled up her body and gripped my hard cock. Wasting no time at all, I slipped inside of her and began thrusting deep. Our moans and the sounds of our bodies slapping together filled the room as we raced toward the finish line.
***
I left the house after Bailey and I finally got out of the shower. If I didn’t get away from her then, I knew I
would only find myself in bed with her legs securely fastened around my waist again. Even though that thought was a damn good one, I had shit to do. I was so engrossed in strapping the weight onto Cherry’s back that I didn’t noticed anyone walk up behind me until someone poked me.
“So I’m here. What exactly is it you need me to do?”
When I spun around to face Bailey, I couldn’t help but laugh. She stood before me in a tank top, cutoff jean shorts, and a pair of bright blue flip-flops. She looked cute as hell, but nothing about her attire screamed horse training.
“Why the hell are you laughing at me?” she asked as she looked down at herself.
“Sweetheart, flip-flops?” I asked.
“What’s wrong with flip-flops?”
I walked toward her and placed my hands on her hips. Pulling her body flush against mine, I slipped my hands onto her ass, and she yelped when I squeezed.
“You look sexy as fuck, baby, but this outfit won’t work when helping on the ranch.” She tried to argue, but I covered her mouth with mine and swallowed her whimper. My body instantly reacted to her, and I was just about to drag her off to the nearest room with a lock when the sound of a clearing throat made me go stiff, and not in a good, fun way.
“Is this the kind of training Cherry is gonna get now?” Phoebe’s voice was like a cold bucket of water.
Bailey tried to free herself from my hold, but I only held her tighter. The only movement I made was to release my grip on her ass.
“What are you doing here? I thought I told you your presence was no longer needed,” I said, trying my best to keep my temper in check.