by Joni Hahn
She sighed. She really had to get some rest. The tears were coming way too easy now.
Jaydan had come for his family – and Sarah Jane. She’d seen them talking on the dance floor, her touch on Jaydan’s chest familiar, her beauty one Hope would be hard pressed to match.
When a country ballad started, the woman in question rushed up to Jaydan and pulled him onto the dance floor. He lingered a second to finish speaking with a group of men, eliciting a laugh. Setting down his beer on a table, he allowed her to drag him out on the floor. He held her in his arms, his steps sure as he shuffled her around the floor.
Hope clutched her stomach. She needed to just go to bed. The last few days had been an emotional rollercoaster. With a little rest, her feelings would all settle down.
“Dance with me, Hope?” Austin stood beside her chair wearing a cocky smile, his hand extended.
She laughed. “I’ve never two-stepped in my life.”
Helping her up, he nodded toward the floor. “I’ll teach you. Come on.”
Following him out on the floor, Hope decided she really liked the outrageous flirt. She’d watched him make the rounds with all of the women, never favoring one.
Keep them all wanting for more.
Twirling her around, Hope laughed when he pulled her into his arms.
“I thought you couldn’t dance.” He smiled at her, his eyes heavy with unabashed appreciation.
She rested her hand on his shoulder. “I never said that. I said I’ve never two-stepped.”
He pulled her closer against him. “Maybe I can give you some private lessons while you’re here.”
Laughing aloud, Hope shook her head. “You’re a smooth one, aren’t you?”
Austin’s smile vanished, his serious gaze so contradictory to the smile she’d seen him wear since she arrived. His eyes searched hers with intensity, swirling and dark.
“If my brother isn’t smart enough to know a good thing when she loves him, maybe I’m just what she needs to get past him.”
Hope felt like he’d flicked her on the forehead, springing her awake. She blinked her eyes. “You… think I’m in love with Jaydan?”
He chuckled, his tone patient. “Sweetheart, it’s written all over your face. You haven’t been able to take your eyes off him.”
Slumping her shoulders, Hope let the idea slip past the brick wall she’d erected around her heart. She did love Jaydan. That’s why it hurt so much to be away from him.
God above, she was an idiot.
Slowing his movements, Austin trailed a feather-light finger down her cheek, his lips following with the briefest of kisses.
Hope’s gasp caught in her chest before she was yanked from his arms.
“I hope you enjoyed that, little brother, because that’s the last time you’re touching her.” Jaydan whirled her into his arms.
An instant feeling of homecoming washed over her.
“Jaydan, what are you doing?” She stopped herself when she meant to pop him on the chest.
He glared at Austin behind her, his eyes narrow and dark. “You crossed a line, little brother.”
Austin glared right back. “Someone had to…”
Gunner appeared beside them, the voice of reason. “What’s going on?”
“Not a thing.” Jaydan pulled Hope onto the dance floor, away from them.
As they swayed to the slow song, he held his body stiff, his eyes straight ahead. She stood where she wanted to be, in Jaydan’s arms. Yet, she felt more alone than when she sat at the table with Penny.
A sob caught in her throat as she tried to hold it in. It would never be easy with them.
“Are you crying?” He held her away from him, his turbulent gaze searching hers beneath the dark hat.
Shaking her bowed head, she leaned her forehead against his chest. Wrapping her arms around him, she fisted her hands into the back of his vest. “I can’t do this, Jaydan.”
He pulled her tight against him and kissed the top of her head. Wrapping her in a bear hug, he squeezed her once before burying his face against her hair, his familiar scent enveloping her in sadness and joy. His hat hid their faces from view, their breath mingling hot and heavy against her skin.
The touch of his lips against her temple was soft and all too brief. She turned to him, her mouth just out of reach of his, desperate, seeking his taste.
A sob escaped.
“Ssh, baby,” his lips brushed hers. “You’re killing me.”
His mouth found hers, warm, moist and unhurried. His heart pounded against her ear, his familiar taste blending with beer to sate the thirst that threatened to choke her.
In that moment, love erupted behind her eyelids in a light of brilliant color. She loved Jaydan Rose with complete and unequivocal adoration. She loved him for who he was, his foul temper, his merciless teasing, his selfless bravery and daily sacrifice.
Austin’s voice sounded beside them. “Sometimes, you’ve got to just knock someone upside the head, you know?”
His words carried in the now silent hall, his voice ripe with sarcasm. She felt Jaydan smile against her lips before breaking their kiss completely. Raising his head, he kept her close as he kissed her forehead. “Let’s go, baby.”
Lifting her into his arms, he carried her from the hall, her face buried against his neck. Whistles and catcalls followed them out the barn doors and into the cool night. The light breeze flittered along her skin, raising gooseflesh on her arms. She snuggled closer against him.
Walking straight to the house, he stopped to hang his hat on a hook by the front door. “Where’s your bag?”
She pointed down the hall. “In the bathroom.” Releasing his neck, she said, “You can let me down.”
Carrying her down the hall, he stopped in the bathroom doorway and picked up her bag. “Is it all in here?”
Nodding, she pulled closer as he made his way down the hall. Entering one of the bedrooms, he kicked the door shut behind him.
The clothes he’d worn on the island lay discarded on the floor, his bag nearby. Photo albums sat at the end of the double bed, a box beside them. Otherwise, the room could’ve been any other room in the house with its heavy oak furnishings and quilted comforter on the bed.
Lowering her to the floor, he clutched her face in both hands and kissed her with gentle, clever strokes of his tongue. Lavish and slow, his kisses serenaded her without words, his warmth a blanket of refuge in the turbulence of her heart.
Pulling away, she hung her head. If she didn’t get out everything on the table, she’d go mad.
“I was perfectly fine, Jaydan, living my life, trying to make a place for myself in the world.” She lifted her gaze to his. “And then you showed up and messed up everything.”
Taking her hand, he caressed her palm with his thumb. “Baby-“
“No.” She tugged away her hand. “I’m going to get this out.” Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly. “I don’t want to do this if -”
He pressed his lips against her temple before feathering them down her throat with maddening tenderness.
“…if it’s not me you want.” The words came out in a breathless rush.
His lips came back to hover over hers. “Hope, it’s always been you.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs, wanting to take flight. The tears returned to flow down her cheeks, a silent exodus of heartache and frustration.
“I don’t want you to be sorry again, Jaydan.”
Leaning his forehead against hers, he said, “God baby, I was never sorry.”
He kissed her again, sweet, soft, his tongue delving with languishing ease. With a mere kiss, he dissolved her into a puddle of raw need, reduced her to a mindless slave of acquiescence.
Taking her hands, he laid them against the placket of his vest and covered them with one of his own. She undid the top button, then the next, releasing a button with each new kiss they shared.
Shrugging out of it, he tossed it behind him. Tugging the tie
from around his neck, he threw it over his shoulder. His eyes swirled, dark and determined, his fingers opening the top button of his shirt.
Moving them out of the way, she took over, kissing the exposed skin of his chest with each button released. Reaching the waistband of his pants, she pulled his shirt free. Her palms smoothed over his chest, eliciting his shudder, as she curved them over his shoulders. The cuffs caught on his armbands.
With a soft smile, he unbuttoned a shirt cuff. She caressed his wrist where the armband fused to his flesh. “Last night… did it hurt you?”
He worked the other cuff, his solemn eyes boring into hers. “Nothing hurts like watching another man touch you.”
Her stomach clenched in a painful knot. She understood that so well, had felt the same way watching Sarah Jane in his arms.
“I would’ve preferred you.”
“You’re going to have me.” His cocky grin made her smile as his pants dropped to the floor, leaving him gloriously nude.
If God had ever created the perfect man, he stood before her now, his need for her evident. His hard, angled muscles drew her touch with yearning wonder, her fingers gliding over his smooth skin with devotion. Her hands traveled over his chest and down his sides, exploring every dip and bulge. He stood stock still, his heavy-lidded eyes watching her with barely restrained hunger.
Smoothing her hands over his rounded backside, she massaged him a moment. His breath hitched, his body’s response proving his enhancement worked on every muscle he possessed.
Working her way around his narrow waist, she reached for him.
He caught her wrist. “I’ve barely survived this much.” Kissing her palm, he let their joined hands drop to his side. “This time, we’re taking it slow.”
Jaydan knew if he screwed this up, he’d lose her for good. They’d been through too much, had said too many things.
Ugly things.
If he didn’t show her she’d become the center of his universe, she’d find someone who would. That would freaking kill him.
He knew Austin had kissed her to give him a good kick in the ass. He also knew his little brother wasn’t a fool. If he screwed up with Hope, Austin would be all over it like manure on the bottom of his boots.
He’d decided to let her go. Had told himself he didn’t need a sun in the middle of his universe. He could live in darkness, away from her. He’d done it since they met.
However, after having her, tasting her - hell, just holding her - to think another man would have that made him crazy. He’d never considered himself a jealous person.
Until Austin made him realize he loved her.
He’d rather fight with her any day of the week than spend another day away from her like today. She brought light to his world, the impossible and the unimaginable. She brought challenges beyond anything he’d ever wanted to tackle before.
A moment’s peace would never be had again.
Pulling her to the bed, he shoved aside the albums and box, and sat down. She stood between his legs, one eyebrow cocked.
“I thought cowboys knew how to treat a lady. You sit down and I stand?”
“You’re getting the best side of this deal. Trust me.” Whipping her shirt over her head, he stared at the full breasts swelling from her push-up bra. “Um, on second thought…”
She sputtered with laughter. “Treating a lady… remember?” Hooking her arms around his neck, she brought her satin-covered breasts to within inches of his mouth. “Focus, Rose.”
“Believe me, I’m focused.”
She chuckled as he kissed the crown of each breast. God, it was good to hear her laugh. They hadn’t done nearly enough of it.
Dipping his tongue into her cleavage, her breath caught and all laughter ceased.
“Yes, Jaydan.”
With slow, light movements, he lowered one strap over her shoulder, his fingers trailing down her toned bicep. The cup of her bra fell just shy of exposing her completely. Teasing her with his tongue, he played along the satin edge, never crossing over, never giving her what she wanted. Her breath came in shallow puffs, her eyes closed below knitted brows.
Tugging the other strap with the same, delicate care, he watched gooseflesh rise behind his feather-light trace. Shrugging her shoulder, she lowered the strap further. Her perfect breast came into view, pink, lush and beautiful.
Taking her in his mouth, his greed showed itself, his hands clutching her sides, holding her in place. She held him there, her moans emboldening him, pleading with him.
Revealing the other breast, he pleasured her, his body hardening more with each moan, knowing his plans for slow lovemaking would never happen if he didn’t slow down. Flicking the hooks at her back, he pulled away her bra and tossed it to the floor. She stood in front of him, bare-breasted, her skin swollen and red from his mouth. Her platinum hair trailed down her shoulder in a mussed tail, her jeans low on her rounded hips.
He’d never seen anything hotter.
Spanning her waist, his hands skimmed up her back, her skin soft and supple in his palms. A shiver ran down her spine, her lips parting.
“Kiss me...” she whispered.
Slanting his mouth over hers, he dipped inside with deliberate ease, his hands lowering her jeans to the floor. With a squeeze to her buns, her panties followed, leaving her magnificently nude… and his for the taking.
Her words were breathless. “I thought you’d never get there.”
Smiling, he took his fill of her. “Patience, baby.”
Planting her mouth on his, she gave him a wet, explicit kiss, making no bones about what she wanted from him. Now.
“I don’t do patience, Rose.” Her dark eyes spun with burning hunger.
He knew that, but provoked her anyway. “You do, tonight.”
His fingers played along her inner thigh, her legs spreading wide for him. He teased her, drawing close to her essence, but never quite touching.
“Jaydan…” With a growl of frustration, she climbed on his lap, settling down on his legs with a slow, slick slide along his length.
His system shot into full gear, energy surging through him with hot, intense need. She settled there, her heat searing him, her breath heavy and cool against his mouth.
“Two can play this game, Rose.”
Cursing under his breath, he lifted her, their breath still mingling close. He lowered her just shy of what she craved, holding her there, giving her the briefest of tastes before raising her again.
Hands fisted on his shoulders, she glared down at him. “Dammit, Jaydan…”
He trailed his tongue over one breast, before nipping at it. Immersing her again, he gave her a little more, before picking her up.
She cursed like a D.I.R.E agent.
“Are you ready to give?” He wouldn’t let her know how close he was to losing it.
“I’ve been trying to give, dammit…”
He smiled at her frustrated tone. “I want your surrender, Hope.”
A sheen of perspiration dotted her skin. “No…”
She crushed her mouth to his, taking there what he wouldn’t give her otherwise. It was the hottest damned kiss he’d ever had, one that pushed him to limits he hadn’t neared before.
Breaking it, she braced her arms against his shoulders and pushed away, depriving him of her breasts. Catching her bottom lip in her teeth, she gave him one of her signature, self-assured grins.
He said, “You’re not staying there.”
Her voice rang of breathless arrogance. “Give me what I want.”
Jaydan grinned. He couldn’t believe he was playing this game when he’d never been harder in his freaking life.
It had always been a battle of wills with them. Here, now, they played on an even field, with the same goal, the same needs.
Each other.
Watching her face, he lowered her again, further still. Her heat cupped him now, the tables turning. With a loud moan, she leaned back her head against her shoulders.
“Jaydan, please. No more.”
Gritting his teeth, he lowered her onto him with excruciating slowness, until she took him to full hilt.
Their groans echoed in the stifling room.
Clinging tight, she moved on top of him, giving them both what they’d fought so hard to deny, yet needed to endure. He’d intended it to be a sweet surrender, yet their passion had been pushed too far, had taken too long to quench.
“Jaydan.” Her muffled cry washed over him, her body climaxing around him, taking with it his very soul.
He’d found his weakness, his fatal flaw. She held him now as he shuttered, her smile against his throat its own aphrodisiac. There was no feat too great, no distance too remote. For this, for her, he’d do anything, go anywhere.
Without her, it meant nothing.
Chapter 13
“Is that you?”
Jaydan sat against the headboard, an old photo album in his covered lap. They’d just made love for the third time after discovering Jaydan’s enhancement made for a much quicker recovery than other men.
She’d never wrangle in his arrogance now.
Snuggled against his side, she was content to lie naked and relive memories with him. The room smelled of sex and sweat, with remnants of Jaydan’s cologne on his discarded clothes. She could still taste him on her tongue, hear the reception going loud and strong outside.
He chuckled. “Yeah, that’s me. I was a scrawny kid, wasn’t I?”
Smiling up at him, she said, “You look like your father.”
Jaydan sobered, his finger resting on the photo of the two of them together. He held his first rodeo trophy for calf roping. He could be no more than eight.
Spiked with sadness, his voice lowered to just above a whisper. “I was so damned happy that day. Not because I won but because Dad was so proud of me.” He swallowed hard. “He called everyone he knew – I think he would’ve taken out a billboard if we’d had them around here.” His chuckle sounded flat.
Hope squeezed him before kissing him on the cheek.