Because he had his hands full of Amethyst, he couldn’t control the blankets. They slid to the floor of the sleigh. He didn’t care. The friction she was creating between them was generating enough heat that he wouldn’t be surprised if the snow surrounding them melted away.
“I’m coming. I’m coming, Jake.” She gasped for breath.
“I know.” He felt her tremors and abandoned himself to the needs pounding through his body. “Amethyst... Amethyst.” His spasms blended with hers. Oh, yes, he remembered this, too, the incredible feeling of sharing a climax with her. Something magical happened in that moment, something he’d never had with another woman. For a short space of time, they became one.
At least he thought they did. He’d never asked her about it because they’d agreed on the parameters. They’d enjoy a fun sexual relationship whenever it was convenient. Magic didn’t figure into it. A meeting of souls didn’t figure into it, either. She’d probably laugh if he started talking that kind of nonsense.
Eventually they both caught their breath and could focus well enough to look at each other. They both smiled.
“So good,” he murmured.
Her gaze was soft. “Better than I remember.”
“And that’s saying something.” He sighed. “Normally I’d kiss you right now,” he said. “But there’s nothing normal about this situation.”
“No, but it was fun.”
“And satisfying.”
“Very.” She moved away from him with considerate delicacy. “Over to you. The next part is your department.”
“I thought of that. All I need is my jeans, if you’d be willing to find them on the floor.”
“Sure.” She reached down and picked them up. “Better get dressed quick and wrap up in a blanket before the heat wears off.”
“Yes, do that.” He located the bandanna in his back pocket and used it to take care of the condom. “I don’t want you getting chilled on Christmas Eve.”
“And thanks to you I won’t be frustrated.” She wiggled into her jeans. “I wondered if I’d spend the evening in a constant state of arousal. But I should be okay.”
“I’m not sure I will be. This might have only whetted my appetite for you.”
She paused to gaze at him. “Are you saying we’ll be worse off than we were before?”
“That might not be possible.” He put on his jeans. “I was a desperate man.”
“In a sleigh with a desperate woman.”
“Who announced we couldn’t have sex!”
She laughed. “Obviously, I wasn’t thinking creatively. In my experience a great round of sex leaves the participants looking pretty ragged.”
He finished putting on his boots and glanced over at her. “For the record, you look fantastic.”
“Yes, but can you tell I’ve had sex?”
“I can, but I have inside intel.”
“Pretend you didn’t. Do you think you’d know?”
“Your cheeks are very pink.”
“It’s cold outside.”
“And your eyes sparkle.”
“It’s Christmas Eve. My eyes always sparkle on Christmas Eve. I love this time of year.”
“Me, too.” He arranged the blankets over them, put on his gloves and repositioned his hat, which had stayed on through the entire incident. “I’m loving it more every minute.”
“So what if I hadn’t followed you into the hardware store? Would you have called or texted?”
Taking hold of the reins, he executed a maneuver that wasn’t particularly elegant but got them headed back to the ranch. “Honestly, no. On the drive into town I’d made up my mind not to contact you. Then I turned around and there you were.”
“Then let’s make a bargain. If either of us is going to be in the other person’s area, we’ll send a text even if we’re worried about interrupting something. If so, the one being contacted can always say it’s a bad time.”
“You’re right. But we need complete honesty. If you’ve lost interest or found someone else, I want to know that. I don’t want to hear that it’s a bad time if it’ll never be a good time again.”
Reaching under the blanket, she squeezed his thigh. “I can’t imagine losing interest.”
“I can’t, either, especially when you put your hands on me.”
“That bothers you?”
“You have no idea. But I only brought one condom.”
She sighed. “Which is fine because they’ll be expecting us back. But after the party’s over, are you coming to my place?”
“I’d like that.”
“You’re invited. Maybe then we can finally have noisy sex.”
That made him laugh. “You’ve been craving more noise?”
“Sort of. In the hotel room we had to be considerate of the people in the adjoining rooms. Out here we couldn’t be yelling because sound carries and someone might call the sheriff.”
“That can happen when you’re making out in the boonies.” He could think of one embarrassing incident when he’d been attending community college and had brought a woman out here. She’d been vocal and he’d almost been arrested.
“Yes, I know.”
“Mmm.” He didn’t want to think of her having sex in the woods with someone else. Yet he’d had sex in the woods with someone else. They were both adults with a history, so what was his problem?
“That was an interesting sound.”
“Was it?”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was the sound a man makes when he’s jealous.”
He had to chew on that for a moment. “Being jealous of someone you’re not seeing anymore would be dumb, but I...” Gazing at her, he felt a tug at his heart that had nothing to do with excellent sex and everything to do with stronger, deeper emotions he wasn’t prepared to discuss.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t ask for what he needed to see if she’d go along with it. “Last summer we agreed that we’d meet up when we could, no obligations, which left us free to date—or, more accurately, have sex with...someone else in the meantime.”
“True.”
“Turns out I’m not happy with that idea. I actually hate it. But I didn’t realize that until now.” He took a deep breath. “So I propose a new arrangement. If it doesn’t suit you, I need to know.”
She nodded, although she seemed wary. “Fair enough.”
“My plan is to see each other more often and agree not to have sex with anyone else unless we’re ready to end the relationship, loose though it may be.”
“Then we’d make definite plans to be together?”
“Would that bother you?”
“If you’re asking if the prospect of more time with you and more regular sex would bother me, the answer is no. If you’re asking if a more formal arrangement bothers me, the answer is yes. I realize I’m contradicting myself.”
He completely understood her reluctance. “I’m not working up to marriage, Amethyst. I know your plans don’t lead in that direction. But going six months without holding you in my arms is too damned long.”
“I’ve missed you, too.” She smiled. “FYI, I have a gig in Jackson Hole for New Year’s.”
“You do? That’s great! Why didn’t you let me know when you booked it?”
“I didn’t want to interfere if you’d found someone special you wanted to take out for New Year’s Eve.”
“I have and she’s you. I’ll be there for that show and afterward we’ll celebrate.”
“But no strings.”
“Absolutely no strings except one. No getting naked with someone else for now.”
“I don’t want to, anyway.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “Good.” Spending more time with her would strengthen those fee
lings that he couldn’t talk about. Logically only a fool would want to be with someone who would ultimately leave, but when it came to Amethyst, logic went out the window.
6
AMETHYST HELPED JAKE carry the blankets into the tack room and while he unhitched Navarre she folded and stacked them on an empty shelf. Her body still hummed from her amazing orgasms and she looked forward to many more in the future.
Although Jake would have to leave after Christmas, she’d see him again on New Year’s. Getting together on Valentine’s Day seemed like a fine idea and she’d be sure to suggest it. Life had suddenly become a lot more interesting.
Being with Jake had always seemed right, even at seventeen. But if she’d been granted her wish and he’d been her first, life could have turned out very differently for both of them. At that age she hadn’t been sure a professional career was for her. A college music professor she’d idolized had told her she had the talent to make it, but if she’d been madly in love with Jake at the time, she might not have listened.
The barn door opened, letting in a blast of cold air. “I’ll give him a quick rubdown in his stall,” Jake called out as he came into the barn leading Navarre.
“Go on down there. Let me get the door.” She hurried past him and pulled it closed.
“Thanks. Could you please grab the grooming caddy? It’s that plastic thing with all brushes and currycombs in it.”
“Will do.” She wasn’t an expert on horses, but she recognized what he was talking about and took it down from a shelf. She’d always liked the earthy smell of barns and the sounds of horses moving around in their stalls. She and Sapphire had done some riding as kids but they hadn’t kept it up as adults.
Jake had left Navarre’s stall door open so she walked right in. As the horse munched on a flake of hay, Jake stroked his glossy brown neck and murmured to him.
“I hope you’re telling him how much we appreciate him pulling the sleigh,” Amethyst said.
“I am.” Jake glanced up and smiled. “Navarre was my favorite when I lived here.”
“He’s been around that long?”
“Sure has. He and Isabeau were about eight when I came to the ranch, so they must be twenty-five or six by now.”
“Wow, should we have hitched him to the sleigh at his age?”
“Absolutely. Some horses live to be forty. He’s still in his prime.”
“Now that you mention it, he doesn’t look old at all. I love that he and Isabeau are named after the characters in Ladyhawke. Do you know who came up with that?”
“I’m pretty sure Mom and Dad named them. They’re both romantics at heart.”
“That’s not hard to believe.” She held up the tote. “Where do you want the caddy?”
“You can put it down right there. I’ll come get what I need.” He placed his hand on Navarre’s rump as he walked around him and came toward her.
She loved Jake’s hands—so strong and yet so tender. Having exclusive access to him and his talented hands in her hotel room last summer had been a dream come true. He’d had a knack for caressing a woman when he was seventeen, which had been one of many reasons she’d wanted him to be her first lover. Since then he’d turned his natural talent into an art form.
When she looked up at him, she had a feeling his thoughts weren’t far from hers. The brim of his hat shadowed his eyes, but that didn’t diminish the force of his gaze.
He shoved his hands into his coat pockets and swallowed. “It’s taking all the self-control I have not to haul you into my arms and kiss you. Which would be stupid after what we just went through.”
She mirrored him and tucked her hands into her pockets, too. “Maybe I should wait in the tack room until you’re finished.”
His attention drifted to her mouth and his breathing quickened. “Don’t you have lipstick stashed somewhere?”
“In my purse, which I left in the house. Bad move.”
“Very bad move. But don’t go away.” His voice roughened. “I’d rather have you here.”
“Okay.”
“This won’t take long.” He stepped back and reached into the tote for a cloth. “I just want to give him a little rubdown. He deserves it.”
“That’s for sure.” As she imagined him doing the same to her, the atmosphere in the barn became too warm for comfort. She tucked her knit cap in her coat pocket and unwound the matching scarf from around her neck.
She shouldn’t watch while Jake rubbed the supple cloth over Navarre’s coat. It would only remind her of the time he’d gently used a washcloth on her body while they’d stood together in the shower during their memorable night together. Thinking of that, she unbuttoned her coat and took a deep breath.
He moved the cloth over the horse with the same circular motion he’d used when he’d massaged her slick skin. He’d teased her until she’d been wild for him. Then he’d lifted her out of the tub and onto a thick bath mat.
She hadn’t quite fit but it hadn’t mattered. Slippery as seals, they’d made love on the bathroom floor. They’d laughed like children until they’d been caught in the grip of passion. She’d never come as hard for any man as she did for Jake. Every time.
“What are you thinking about?”
Startled, she opened her eyes. She hadn’t realized she’d closed them.
Jake’s hands rested on the horse’s back as if he’d paused in midmotion when he’d glanced over at her. “Never mind,” he said softly. “I have a pretty good idea.”
Desire tightened her core. “I—”
“The last time I saw that expression, you were standing in the shower.” He wadded up the cloth. “I’m done here.” Giving Navarre a final pat, he walked over and dropped the cloth in the caddy. His voice was low as he stood looking at her, his hands shoved firmly in his pockets. “How you tempt me, Amethyst Ferguson.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“I know. You don’t even have to try.” He took a shaky breath. “Would you please put that stuff in the tack room? I’ll meet you up there.”
“Sure.” She grabbed the caddy and walked out of the stall on rubbery legs.
Considering the level of heat they generated, she wondered if they’d be able to lock it down long enough to enjoy the Christmas Eve celebration. He needed to be there but she didn’t, so maybe she could feign a headache and go home. Then he could drive to her place once he could get away.
She put the caddy back where she’d found it and took several calming breaths. Much as she’d love to experience Christmas Eve at the ranch house, driving home would be a safer option. She just had to retrieve her purse or ask Jake to bring it to her.
Water started running at the opposite end of the barn, which probably meant Jake was washing his hands prior to going in to the party. No doubt he looked forward to celebrating with his family. She’d been looking forward to it, too, especially because watching him in that setting warmed her heart. She wondered if he’d be disappointed or relieved if she backed out.
The sound of his boots on the wooden barn floor made her heart beat faster. If he affected her that way simply by walking toward her when she couldn’t even see his handsome self, how could she expect to behave normally during the party? Instead of satisfying her hunger, the brief episode in the sleigh had whetted her appetite for more.
She stepped out of the tack room. Like her, he’d unbuttoned his coat and he looked determined, like a man on a mission. “Before we leave, we need to discuss something.”
“Sure.” He stopped a couple of feet away. “Shoot.”
That’s when she noticed he had a wet bandanna in one hand. Apparently he’d rinsed it out and disposed of the condom. She was glad men had to think of such things and she didn’t. “Jake, I have a problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I
can’t look at you without fantasizing that we’re having sex.”
He smiled. “I don’t consider that a problem.”
“It is when we’re hanging out with your family! So I think maybe I should pretend to have a headache and go home. Then you can come to my house when—”
“Whoa, whoa. You want to skip the party?”
“No, I’d love to go, but I’m worried that my thoughts will be written all over my face like they were a while ago.”
“You know what? I doubt anyone but me would be able to tell what you were thinking. Don’t worry about it.”
“They might, and I do worry about it. At least I’ve figured out why I’m so obsessed. That’s some comfort.”
His smile widened. “I can’t help it if I’m sexy as hell.”
“That’s not it.”
“It’s not? Now that’s disappointing.”
“Well, it sort of is the problem, but the bigger issue is that in August we went straight from having drinks to having an entire night of sex. We didn’t interact with anyone.”
His eyes darkened and he stepped closer. “Yeah, it was pretty damn hot having all that uninterrupted time to get reacquainted.”
“But don’t you see? That’s what plays in my head when I look at you. I don’t know how to be with you in a crowd of people. I just want you alone and naked!” She was alone with him right now but she didn’t have any hope that he’d get naked. That didn’t mean she wasn’t thinking about it.
“Always alone?” His eyebrows lifted. “That could be tricky.”
She considered that. “Unrealistic, huh?”
“I guess it could be arranged, but it limits what we can do together.” He reached over and fingered a strand of her hair. “I have a different theory.”
“What?” Even though he was only touching her hair, she shivered. He also had a telltale gleam in his eyes that she remembered very well.
“We had one amazing night of sex and then didn’t see each other for five months. No wonder we’re both obsessed with being naked again. We wouldn’t be so desperate if we hadn’t let so much time go by.”
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