“A freak rain storm trapped them in the mountains and it was too late by the time they found them. Believe it or not, they basically starved to death.” Chloe said, actually saying the words for the first time.
This time Jack couldn’t stay in his chair, he was around the table in seconds pulling Chloe to her feet and circling her with his arms before he even thought about it. He knew that the story had to be more complicated than that, but knew that Chloe had said as much as she was capable of when he felt her trembling. A small sob escaped her lips, but then she managed to get herself under control, her breathing slowing back to normal.
Chloe knew that the last place she should be was in Jack’s arms, but it felt so good to be held that she didn’t fight it. When she finally managed to get her voice back she said, “I’m sorry, I don’t usually lose it like that.” And tried to pull out of his arms.
Instead of letting her go, he held her firmly with one arm and brought his thumb up to stroke her cheek, “It sounds like you need a willing ear, if you ever want to talk about what happened I’m here to listen.” Then he bent his head down and brushed his lips softly across her, before pulling her up against him again.
Since dinner was clearly over, then cleaned up in silence, both a bit shocked by the intimacy they’d just shared. Until now, they’d both been so preoccupied by the physical attraction that it had come as a surprise to both of them. Chloe had seen a tenderness in Jack that melted another little piece of her heart, it was becoming more and more clear to her that there was more to Jack Montgomery than he let the world see. She suddenly wanted very badly to know why he was hiding the real man from the world and if it involved a woman.
When the kitchen was sparkling, they looked at each other not sure where to go from there. Jack was still reeling from the rush of protective instincts that had washed over him when Chloe got upset, he wasn’t sorry that he’d comforted her, he was sorry that he’d kissed her. Not because he hadn’t wanted to, but because it had only made him want more. It was becoming more and more impossible to resist her, especially when she trusted him enough to open up to him. The last thing he needed was to get involved with another woman, he’d been there and done that, the end wasn’t worth the beginning.
Deciding that the best choice would be to go home, he said, “I guess I better go home. Thanks for sharing the lasagna with me.”
“I’ll walk you out.” Chloe said, not wanting Jack to leave but knowing that it was for the best. What she really wanted was another kiss, but she knew where that would lead and she was done with men for a long time.
When they got onto the porch they both stopped, the moon was full and the sky was full of stars. “Oh, it’s beautiful.” Chloe said, leaning back against one of the porch supports to raise her eyes to the sky.
Jack looked at the sky and then over at Chloe not sure which one was more breath taking, with her head tipped back and her mouth slightly open she looked ready to be kissed. Without even thinking, operating on pure primal instinct, he pulled her into his arms and brought his mouth down on hers muffling her cry of surprise. Chloe was stiff in his arms for only a second before her body took over and shut her mind down, the feeling of Jack’s tongue in her mouth sending wave after wave of pleasure through her, making her knees weak and forcing her to wrap her arms around him for support.
When Jack felt Chloe’s luscious body pressed up against his, he was just as lost as she was, the only thing he wanted was to hear her moan the way she had at dinner. Deepening the kiss, he ravaged her mouth, each thrust of his tongue more demanding as his hands roamed over her body. Chloe had long ago stopped thinking about how wrong this was and given in to the demands of her body, the moan escaping her lips proof of that.
She’d never been kissed the way Jack was kissing her now, both tender and demanding, with the promise of much more to come, so when his hands began edging her skirt up her thighs she didn’t protest. Her body throbbing with both pleasure and desire, she let him slide his hand between her legs until his hand cupped her throbbing mons. Unable to breathe when the rush of pleasure exploded deep inside her, she threw her head back, panting with need.
Jack backed Chloe up against the support, his hand never moving, then slid her panties to the side, his mouth nibbling on her neck. Chloe was holding onto Jack, her hands gripping his shoulders, waves of pleasure rippling through her, the throbbing deep inside her growing until she thought she would burst. When Jack’s finger found her clit, it only took seconds before she climaxed in his arms, her moans of pleasure almost undoing him right then.
Jack pulled her into his arms and held her tight, afraid that he’d gone too far, but not the least bit sorry. Tomorrow he’d deal with the repercussions of what had just happened, for tonight he’d just enjoy the fact that he’d brought this very passionate woman pleasure. But that passion only lasted as long as it took Chloe to come back to her senses and realize what she’d just let Jack do.
With a gasp she pulled away from him and backed up several steps. She wanted to just run back into the cabin and shut the door, but she couldn’t leave things that way. Raising her chin, she said, “That shouldn’t have happened.” Then went back in the cabin and shut the door firmly.
Chapter 8
Chloe avoided Jack for the next few days, her only defense against the feelings that she was quickly developing for him. If it had only been the physical feelings she could have dealt with them, but over the last few weeks she’d discovered that deep down Jack was nothing like the man he wanted the world to believe he was. In fact, she was almost positive that underneath the grim and gruff exterior there was an extremely kind and caring man, just watching him with his son was proof enough of what the real man was like, which made it even that much harder to ignore him.
Of course she couldn’t completely ignore him, not only did the sheep need extra attention but they still lived next door to one another. When their paths did cross Chloe was careful to keep her distance and their encounters as short as possible, but she still walked away from him with her heart pounding in her chest and sweaty palms. Most infuriating of all was the fact that Jack never seemed as affected by her presence as she did his, if anything it seemed like he didn’t even remember what had happened on her porch that night.
Jack was perfectly happy to let Chloe avoid him knowing that he’d let things go too far that night on her porch, he still wasn’t sorry that it had happened, but he couldn’t let anything like it happen again. The pull he felt toward her had become deeper than just the physical, she’d let him past her barriers that night during dinner and in doing so had created a bond, however fragile, between them. But if he was honest with himself, that bond had been forming slowly for weeks before that, he just hadn’t realized it had been happening.
Just thinking about Chloe made him feel good; she was this amazing combination of toughness and kindness, most likely the reason that the animals seemed to respond to her so well. And now that he knew where some of her toughness had come from, it was hard not to admire her for all she’d accomplished in such a short period of time. But it wasn’t that easy to let go of the promise he’d made himself more than a year ago to never get involved with another woman, even after all this time the pain of betrayal was still fresh.
There was also the fact that she was almost ten years younger than he was, and he couldn’t forget about Josh, his first priority. There were few 25 year old women who would want the instant family that came with becoming involved with him, and he wasn’t sure how to avoid that when Josh was with him almost all the time. If he looked at the situation rationally, it made absolutely no sense to get involved with Chloe. The problem was he couldn’t seem to think rationally when he was around her. Not only did she ignite his desire like no other woman ever had, she intrigued him, made him want to understand what made her who she was.
When Chloe and Jack did see each other, they carefully kept their conversation to the sheep, neither of them ready or willing to go any farthe
r down the path they’d been on that night on the porch. But each was acutely aware that in only a few days the sheep would have been in the higher pasture for two weeks and they had agreed that Chloe should examine them to see how they were coping with the higher altitude – it was the biggest concern they had about moving the sheep to California.
Chloe was excited about the trip her first chance to see more of her new home, she’d already been to just about every part of the park that was developed, but she hadn’t been up into the mountains that towered over the canyon. She was nervous at the prospect of spending the night with Jack, but they wouldn’t be alone, several of the drovers would be traveling with them, their rotation due to begin when they reached the pasture.
The morning of the trip dawned bright and sunny which was a relief to Chloe who had begun to get tired of all the rain they’d been having. Although it was good for the canyon and the state in general, she was ready for the rainy season to be over. When she joined Jack and the drovers at his ranch, it took only a few minutes for them to be on the way, no one wanting to waste a minute of the day since it would be two days hard ride to get to where the sheep were.
Once on the trail, the drovers rode ahead clearly more comfortable with their own company which Chloe could understand since she’d already spent enough time with them to see that they were a rough and rowdy group prone to tell jokes that made her blush. It had become a bit of a challenge to them to see who could make her blush the deepest, so she was perfectly happy to have them in the lead far away from her. Jack was quiet as they rode up the trail, clearly distracted by something, so they rode in silence for several hours.
When they stopped for lunch everyone ate quickly, eager to be on the trail again so they could reach the location they’d chosen for their overnight stay. Chloe was pleased that the ride wasn’t difficult, just long, giving her the chance to really enjoy the mountains which were so much different than the mountains she was used to. All the recent rain had left the mountains green and full of life. Everywhere she looked there were new plants she’d never seen and the wildlife was prolific.
After they’d remounted their horses and were back on the trail, Jack maneuvered himself so that he was riding next to Chloe, the trail finally wide enough to let him do so. At first Chloe felt uncomfortable but the beauty of the terrain finally loosened her tongue.
“It feels nice to be out of the city. It’s beautiful here.” She said, taking another deep breath of the fresh mountain air.
“It’s so different than Australia, but I think I could learn to love it here.” Jack agreed, then asked, “Is it like this in South Dakota?”
“No, not exactly, we have mountains but they’re not as spectacular as these mountains.” Chloe explained, then added, “South Dakota has a rainy season early in the spring and of course we have snow in the winter, but here there’s more moisture all the time.”
“Do you miss it?” Jack asked, wondering how long Chloe might stay in California.
“Sometimes, but the life I knew there is gone. I always thought I would go back, but that’s just not in the cards, as much as I love South Dakota, there’s just nothing there for me now.”
“Tell me about the ranch, I’d love to know about your life there.” Jack asked.
Chloe hated to talk about her life in South Dakota, and all that had been taken from her once again. “It wasn’t that much different from how we live here, I mean there were small towns and ranches scattered all over with a big city or two. The ranch was one of the largest in the state which is why we were able to raise sheep, of course I’m sure it was nothing like what you left behind in Australia.”
“Why do you say that?” Jack asked, surprised to see that his question made Chloe blush.
“Oh, well….I uhhh…might have googled you.” She said quietly.
Jack laughed, thinking it was cute that she was embarrassed to have done exactly what anyone else would have done, what he himself had done. “And what did you discover when you put in my name?”
Chloe took a long time answering, then said, “Well, let’s see, your ranch is by far one of the largest in the country and thanks to some wise investments your family has amassed a large fortune. Billions of dollars if Google is to be believed.”
“Well, I guess that’s not far from the mark.” Jack said, hoping that she hadn’t found anything about his ex-wife and their difficult marriage. He hadn’t thought that she would but you never knew what might be on the internet.
“It may be none of my business but it looks like you left a thriving ranch to come to America.” Chloe said, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“It’s a long story, but mostly it’s because sheep are no longer as profitable as they used to be, cattle and wheat have taken over. My family started out raising sheep generations ago and I didn’t want to see that tradition die.” Jack said hoping that Chloe wouldn’t ask about Josh’s mother.
Chloe looked at him for long seconds, clearly considering his words, she knew that there was more to the story, but he clearly wasn’t going to tell her more so she’d have to be satisfied with that answer for now. Turning her attention back to the tail, they rode on in silence for a long time, the silence strangely comfortable considering the fact that they both felt the attraction simmering between them. When they finally stopped for the night to make camp, Chloe suddenly found herself nervous which was silly. She’d spent plenty of time on the trail with men and had never felt that way before.
But Jack was different, she couldn’t stop thinking about that night on her porch and knew that Jack was thinking about it as well. Several times she’d caught him looking at her as if he was trying to decide something, but he’d quickly look away when she looked at him clearly not wanting her to know that he was watching her. Relieved that she had her own tent to sleep in, she quickly set it up, a small part of her wishing they were sharing a tent but deep down knowing what would happen if they did.
When they finally turned in for the night, she crawled into her little tent but couldn’t sleep having Jack so close. When she did finally go to sleep her dreams were filled with Jack, some of the dreams so vivid they felt real. Climbing out of the tent the next morning, the first thing she saw was Jack and all her dreams came flooding back with a wave of desire so strong she had to take a deep breath to control it.
Jack looked at her when she did wondering what was wrong. “Did you sleep okay?” He asked, when he saw the dark circles under her eyes.
“I slept fine.” She lied. “How about you?”
Jack too had spent a restless night thinking about Chloe but he wasn’t about to admit that to her so he put a smile on his face and said, “Best sleep I’ve had in long time.”
After they had breakfast, they broke camp and got back on the trail. The sheep were still a good day’s ride from where they’d stopped and everyone was eager to get to them. Jack took his place next to her again when they got back on the trail, and Chloe wasn’t sure if she was happy about that or not. The attraction between them was only getting stronger, going from the purely physical to something deeper, a development she wasn’t quite comfortable with.
She was more than relieved when they finally reached the upper pasture and the sheep, the strain of being alone with Jack relieved by the presence of the other men and the dogs. Although she wanted to examine the sheep right away, it was getting dark and she knew it would be best to wait for the morning. When she went to bed that night, she was exhausted but still unable to sleep, Jack still the most prevalent thing on her mind. But when she got up the next morning and saw the sheep, she was immediately concerned, they didn’t look as good as she’d hoped they would.
One by one she examined the sheep alarmed to find that some of them looked like they’d lost a considerable amount of weight. Jack had been following her around the entire morning making it hard to concentrate, but she knew how much the sheep meant to him so she allowed him to invade her space as she worked, something she ne
ver let anyone do.
Jack knew that Chloe wasn’t pleased by what she’d found when she examined the sheep but waited patiently while she examined them. But when she’d finished with the last one, he immediately began questioning her.
“How do they look? Are they doing okay? Do you think they’ll be able to survive up here?” He rattled off all the questions he’d been holding in all morning.
Chloe took her time answering him, considering her words carefully. “Most of them look just fine, they’re adjusting well to the altitude but those three have me worried.” She said, pointing to a trio of sheep that had bunched themselves up in the far corner of the pasture.
“What should we do?” He asked, concerned.
“I’m sorry to say it but I think we should take them back down the mountain until I know for sure what’s wrong. It could simply be the altitude or something more, but treating them up here would be a nightmare if it’s something more than just needing to adjust to their new home.” Chloe explained, sorry to have to give Jack bad news.
Jack looked over at the sheep and took a deep breath, “Well if that’s what we need to do, then we’ll do it. These sheep are the best in the herd and I don’t want to risk them.”
Chloe was surprised that Jack didn’t question her decision since that had been his first reaction to all her decisions in the past. “You’re not going to fight me on this?” She asked.
“No, I trust your judgement. I’m sorry it took me so long to get there, but if you say they need to come off the mountain then that’s what we’ll do.” Jack said, leaving her standing there with her mouth hanging open.
They were back on the trail before lunch, the sheep clearly not as healthy as when they climbed the mountain and had to be pushed on the trail, but Chloe wanted them back at the ranch where she’d have access to all her medical supplies. Her biggest fear was that the sheep would come down with pneumonia, an all too common problem with sheep that could take out an entire herd if left untreated. Once they got the sheep safely in the barn, they seemed to perk up much to Chloe’s relief, so she left their care to Jack and headed home.
Be My Everything (Brothers From Money Book 11) Page 8