"It doesn't seem normal," she confessed in a small voice. "We just . . ." Her voice trailed off and she made a face. "I'm still upset with you."
"There's no reason to be upset, Emma. You misread what I was doing. I can understand, after our earlier conversation, why you thought that, but never think it again. You're mine, and I would never want you for my own if I didn't respect you."
He pulled a small box from his jeans. "This is for you. I had it made for you and if you put it on your finger, Emma, there's no taking it back."
He opened the box. The ring was unusual; brilliant golden diamonds shone up at her. They looked like a cat's eye, the way they were shaped.
She sucked in her breath and put both hands behind her back to keep from reaching for it. "Jake." She shook her head. "If I do this, you know you'll be worse. You control everything, you can't help yourself, and that's a serious red flag for me."
"I know I'm different, Emma," Jake said, his voice low. It held that same hypnotic note she found so sexy. He leaned toward her, cupping her chin in his hand and bringing her face around to look at him. "Is it so bad having me be in control?"
The question was so soft, so low, his voice moving through her body like a thick, molten lava. She felt her body's reaction and it frightened her--frightened her that she wanted to say no when she knew better.
"Have these last two years really been so difficult? Anytime you've come to me with a problem or a complaint, haven't I acted on it immediately?"
"What about the gate, Jake? I couldn't leave tonight. What about that?" She hated that she had a pleading note in her voice. She knew him. She knew he couldn't be any different, that control was a huge issue to him. Even if he promised her, how could he be anything but what he was?
"I should have explained to you, but I didn't want to scare you, Emma. That was wrong of me, but you've never wanted to leave the ranch before. When you did, you always told me well in advance and I could arrange for protection both for you and the children. I have enemies and they would hurt you and they'd take our children."
"What enemies? Are you certain you're just not being paranoid? You don't trust anyone at all, Jake."
"With good reason. No, I'm not paranoid. I wish I were. I've had to step up security over these last few months because evidence has come to my attention that someone plans to strike at me through you and the children."
She frowned. "Why would they try to use me to get to you?"
He sighed, his thumb rubbing across her lips as if to erase her frown. "You're the only person who would have to ask me that question. Aside from the children, Emma, who else do I care about? Everyone sees it but you."
"Jake." She looked at the ring. He just held it out there as if it were his heart. He looked so lonely. But . . .
"I need you far more than someone like Greg Patterson or even Andrew needs you. Look at me, Emma. I need you. I've never said that to another human being. It won't be easy. I have a high sex drive and I won't leave you alone. I'm protective and dominating--okay, controlling--and I don't have social skills. I can't promise you I won't be hell to live with, but I can promise you I'll do everything in my power to make you happy."
He took the ring out off the velvet and slipped the box back into his pocket. "Marry me. Spend your life with me. I'll spend my life making you happy."
He was putting the ring on her finger. She could feel the weight of it. He had been the one to take off Andrew's ring when she lay in bed and her hands were swelling and she was afraid they'd have to cut it off. He'd been careful and he'd wrapped it up and put it in her top drawer. He was just as gentle when he slipped his ring on her finger.
"Jake, are you certain this is what you want?" She reached up to his face and pressed her fingers against his warm skin. It was cold outside, but, as always, he was hot. It was as if his core temperature was so much hotter than anybody else's.
Jake's wrapped his hand in the red silk of her hair and pulled her head back to bring his mouth down on hers. Savage triumph whipped through him. He'd done it. He'd finally done it. Emma was his. He pressed his tongue into her mouth, sliding over hers, dragging the sweet taste of her into his own mouth. His hands found her top and dragged it from her body, uncaring that the material ripped. He unsnapped her bra and tossed it away. "Your jeans. Get rid of your jeans." He was already dispensing with his clothes.
Emma looked around carefully. "We're out in the open, Jake. There aren't any trees. What if one of the men . . ."
He kicked his clothes aside and dragged hers from her hips. "I'd know if someone came near." His voice went harsh and guttural as he lifted her up by her arms and deposited her on the hood of the Jeep, pushing her legs over his shoulder and dipping his head to the hot, wet core of her. She tasted even sweeter than he remembered. She was addictive.
She moaned and pushed against his mouth, seeking more, her body melting for him. Even with her as responsive as she was, he felt the small shiver that ran through her body and noticed the gooseflesh on her skin.
"I'd spend all night here with you, honey, but you're cold and I need to get you home. I've never taken you in a bed before."
He lifted her again, positioning her over his thickened shaft. "Hold on, honey," he managed to growl and he dropped her hard right down on him. The large mushroom head drove through her tight folds as she encased him, and he threw back his head as pleasure streaked through him like fire. She was so tight. So hot. He felt as if she were strangling him, gripping with a silken fist whose center was a fiery inferno. He felt like he'd come home.
"Ride me. Arch your back and move, Emma. Yes, just like that. Slow and easy until you get the rhythm. You were made for this. We fit. I swear, baby, I feel like we've done this a million times and yet every time is the first."
Emma moved over Jake, choosing a leisurely rhythm, but when he caught her hips to urge her faster and harder, she shook her head and framed his face with her hands.
"Look at me, Jake," she said softly.
Jake's fingers bit into her hips, determined to take control. Her long waterfall of hair cloaked them, the breeze shifting the thick waves around their bodies like a living, silken cape. He could feel the soft strands sliding over his bare skin, adding to the erotic feel, heightening his pleasure, but the physical pleasure paled in comparison to the emotional, and he couldn't have that. He couldn't face that. He didn't want to know the truth about what she was doing to him. He couldn't give what she was taking from him. He had to distract her--had to distract himself so he was lost in the fire of their bodies, so their joining was the greatest sex and had nothing to do with making love.
Emma shook her head. "No, Jake. Look at me." Her voice was soft. Persuasive. Insistent.
The muscles of his stomach bunched into hard knots. He didn't dare look at her, because if he did, right at that moment, when he was buried deep inside her and his world was magical and pleasure ripped through him, he knew he wouldn't be able to hide the truth from either one of them. She would see. He would have to face it.
"Jake." She whispered his name and her voice slid over his skin like warm honey. This time there was a catch in her voice. A question.
He felt that soft little sound deep inside his chest, wrapping around his heart and squeezing like a vise. There was no resisting. There was no stopping the truth from pouring out of him. It rose up like a tidal wave. He raised his gaze slowly to hers. He saw her swift intake of breath. Felt her body relax into his, felt the giving of herself pouring into him, body and soul.
Tears burned behind his eyelids. Love. So this was what it felt like. Not just emotional, but physical too. Everything wrapped together until it was all in one bundle, one tight package, one woman. Until that one woman was everything. He stared into her eyes as eternity ticked by, letting her see, knowing that for the first time in his life he was truly vulnerable to another human being. She could destroy him, and now she knew that she could. He swallowed hard and buried his face in her neck.
Emm
a wrapped her arms tightly around Jake, holding him close, protectively, knowing how fragile he was. She had everything she needed to stay strong, to guide them through. Jake would be difficult and he'd fight hard to keep any control from her, but he'd given her everything in that one moment.
Where Andrew had been sweet and kind and reverent with her body, Jake was just the opposite. And he was right--he needed her more than a man like Andrew did. Jake's life was a storm of intensity. He used sex to control her, yet now, after she'd seen true reverence in his eyes, she knew the truth. He worshiped her. He looked at her with his heart in his eyes, as if she were the very air he breathed, the ground he walked on.
"You're safe with me," she whispered, and threw her head back as she felt the tightening of her inner muscles, felt pleasure streaking through her body like fire and heard roaring in her ears. She held him to her, giving him everything, letting him know in the only way he could understand--by her absolute surrender--that she was fully committed to him.
Jake dragged in his breath, fighting the waves of intense emotion that seemed to shake him every time he was near Emma. He couldn't ignore the truth anymore, or at least he couldn't hide it from himself. In trying to force her to love him, he had become tangled in his own web. She was wrapped around his heart, his soul, even his mind. She was so entangled inside of him, there was no way to get her out. He would have to find a way to live with it. Emma. She made him so vulnerable, he was terrified. Terrified she could destroy him. Terrified of losing her. Terrified of what she made him feel.
Shaken, he allowed her feet to drop to the ground, although he held her, feeling the tremors running through her, knowing she was still unsteady. The wind shifted. One moment he was surrounded by the scent of his woman, of their combined lovemaking, potent, heady, an aphrodisiac in itself, and the next he was smelling--rival. Enemy. Trouble.
Jake stiffened, lifted his head and took a long, slow look around, his arm holding her to him, his nose raised to sniff the air to get a better scent.
"What is it?" Emma turned in his arms to try to look around him, but his hands were hard on her shoulder, preventing her from getting out from under the shelter of his arms.
"Get your clothes and get into the Jeep. Close the door. You can dress inside."
There wasn't much left of her clothes, but Emma gathered them up and slid into the Jeep. Jake turned in a slow circle, still scenting the wind. If Emma hadn't been with him, he would have shifted to his leopard form, but he couldn't take the chance. He pulled on his jeans and drew the radio from where it was hooked to his belt.
"Drake, get Joshua. I'm sending my coordinates to you. I'm smelling a stray."
The radio crackled, then came to life. "Is it Conner? He went running tonight."
Jake tried for the elusive scent again. "I don't know. Maybe. I'm not that familiar with him. I'm with Emma. I'll get her back to the house and you and Joshua check things out. If there's trouble, let me know."
When Jake slid behind the wheel of the Jeep, Emma cleared her throat. "What was wrong?"
He knew she'd seen him radioing Drake. "I have horses running free on the range about five miles to the north of here, just a small experiment I'm conducting, but I thought I caught the glimpse of a mountain lion."
Her eyelashes fluttered and her hand came up to her throat. He remembered the story of the tracks around her parents' car. "Nothing to worry about, honey. Drake and Joshua will track it down if we have anything bothering the herd."
13
"MOMMY."
Emma snuggled deeper against the warm, hard body lying so tight around her. He smelled of sex and spice, and she opened her eyes to see a golden gaze laughing down at her.
Jake leaned in to her to kiss her upturned mouth, his chest sliding over her naked breasts beneath the covers. "I think we've just been caught," he confided in a whisper, and turned his head to look at the intruders.
Emma followed his gaze to the open door of her bedroom. Kyle stood at the foot of the bed, his eyes, so like his father's, wide with shock, his smile big. Andraya stood in the doorway, her hand in Susan's, both looking surprised. Susan was biting her lip and trying not to blush.
"Good morning," Emma greeted, keeping her voice even, casual. She refused to acknowledge that Jake was curled around her, totally naked, his shaft, hot and thick, and already hard, pressed tightly against her buttocks.
"Mommy," Kyle said again. "Daddy's in your bed."
Emma took a deep breath, willing her color not to change. It didn't help when Jake brought his hands slowly up her rib cage to cup her breasts beneath the covers, his thumbs teasing her nipples with velvet-soft strokes.
"Mommies and daddies usually sleep in the same bed together, Kyle," Jake said matter-of-factly. "Come here and kiss Mommy good morning." Wickedly he brushed kisses in the hollow of Emma's throat. "That's what I like to do. It starts off my day the right way."
He found himself smiling, realizing it was true. When he managed to get time in with Emma before he went to work, he felt better all day. Right now he wanted nothing more than to roll her over and bury his aching cock into the haven of her body, but somehow her soft laughter as she greeted the children, and her trust in him to keep the blankets up as she wrapped her arms around them, kissing upturned faces, was nearly as fulfilling.
He had to swallow a sudden lump in his throat as first Andraya and then Kyle climbed onto the bed and wrapped their arms around his neck and covered his face in kisses. He wanted to kiss them, but couldn't do it with Susan looking on, so he just held them tight, nuzzling their soft little necks and blowing raspberries while they squealed.
"What are your plans today?" He looked at Emma.
"We're taking Susan riding and showing her our favorite places, aren't we?" Emma asked the children. Kyle nodded solemnly and Andraya looked important as she climbed off the bed and took Susan's hand again. "As long as everything is all right?" She was asking about the cat he'd supposedly glimpsed.
"Drake and Joshua said they didn't even find tracks. It must have been my imagination." His leopard had been so close last night. "Everything's fine."
"Good. We'll go riding after breakfast then. We'll meet you downstairs, Susan," Emma said, fighting to control her blush.
Susan hadn't spoken a word, but there was no doubt that she saw the marks down Emma's throat, disappearing beneath the blankets. The girl inclined her head and, drawing both children out of the room, closed the door.
Emma covered her face with her hands. "I'm never going to be able to explain this. I went out on a date with one man and woke up with you in my bed."
He rolled on top of her, his knee pushing her legs apart.
"The door isn't locked, they could come back in," Emma protested, but it was too late, his hand had already gone between her legs to her find her warm welcome.
Jake plunged into her, pushing her knees up so he could bury himself deep. He closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her tight sheath surrounding him. Swallowing her gasp, Jake held very still, waiting for her body to adjust to his size. She was all fiery heat, an amazing silken fist, gripping him tightly. He kissed her over and over, long, drugging kisses, watching her eyes go slumberous and sexy. Hot need licked at his cock like hungry fire.
"Make certain you remember to lock it tonight because I'll be waking you up properly tomorrow morning." He licked the side of her mouth. "I crave the taste of you. All that sweet honey going to waste this morning when I could be feasting."
He loved the blush that stole up her skin, and his body began a slow, leisurely rhythm inside her. It was the first time in his life he luxuriated in the feel of a woman's body. He had never woken up in bed with a woman, and Emma was soft and warm and oh so tempting. He hadn't realized the pleasure of the simple act of going from sleep to awareness with a woman snuggled against his body. He had lain there beside her, curled around her, his skin wrapped around hers, his arms holding her and his face buried in her glorious hair.
The dep
th of his feeling for her terrified him, yet he couldn't bring himself to give her up. He was taking her for himself. His one weakness. His one failure. His one absolute vulnerability. No one on earth had power over him--until Emma. He had made certain of that. He had the money and the brains to destroy anyone coming at him, but somehow his experiment with Emma had turned out all wrong. She was supposed to love and adore him, crave him day and night. He would attend all her needs and take care of her, but he had never considered that he would become emotionally involved with her. He didn't even know how it had happened. He hadn't even thought himself capable.
He felt her hands in his hair, the tug of her fingers on his scalp. He loved her little breathy moans and the way her body rose to meet his. She was giving, receptive, as if she craved him, wanted to please him. And no one had ever done that for him either. He was leopard and he smelled lies. He knew deception. There was none in Emma. Only her sweet, giving body wrapped around his, open to him, willing for him to use her however he chose. A gift without a price--only there was. And she didn't realize how much she was asking, how much he was willing to pay and how difficult it was for him.
He caught her ankle and pushed her knee up farther toward her chest, adjusting his angle, listening for the little hitch in her voice, the one that told him he was sending sweet agony surging through her body. Each time he moved in her, he felt as if he were in another dimension, another plane of existence. Although he didn't want to examine the feeling too deeply, he felt almost spiritual as he thrust deeper, wanting her crying out, wanting her pleasure above all else.
Jake knew he was losing himself in her body, but right at that moment, nothing mattered but the earth-shattering pleasure roaring through him, her soft moan of complete surrender, the sound of her shattered cry as she whispered his name, her purr of satisfaction and the intensity of his emotion welling up, pouring over him like a tidal wave every bit as strong as the soul-searing pleasure. He was amazed that he could no longer separate the two.
Love. He had detested that word, used for everything, meaning nothing. It had become a trivial word. And it meant nothing at all. Nothing. But lying there with his heart pounding, surrounded by her silken body and her heat, he knew there was more than sex. Far more than sex. He could no longer imagine his life without her in it. It terrified him to think that she might learn the way he felt inside.
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