Harm's Hunger

by Patrice Michelle

  When his frown deepened, she smiled to lighten the sudden tension between them. “Since your memory is on the fritz, let’s keep you talking and alert.”

  His lips curved into a dangerous smile as he tugged on the sheet she had clutched around her. “I can think of something to keep my mind and body occupied.”

  “I’m serious, Harm.” Jena tried to smack his hand away. “You could have a concussion.”

  He gripped the sheet and used his hold to pull her close. Deep brown eyes searched her face. “I apparently have some lost time to make up for.”

  “Harm—”

  His warm mouth captured hers, drowning out any objections and scattering her intentions to keep her distance. It wasn’t fair that he was such a good kisser. His warm lips drew her in, totally obliterating the outside world.

  She melted into him, opening her mouth for a deeper kiss. His tongue caressed hers, mated with her while he pushed her back against the bed and peeled the sheet away. Cupping her breast, he pinched her nipple between his fingers, making her arch against him and moan into his mouth.

  “All mine,” he rasped against her lips. As his hard thigh pushed between her legs, he kissed his way down her jaw and neck before capturing her nipple into his hot, moist mouth.

  “Harm,” she sighed, pressing closer. “Please tell me you have a condom in your jeans.”

  His low laugh rumbled against her chest. “Two, as a matter of fact, but I want to save them for later.” His tongue created a searing path down her stomach as his fingers slipped between her legs, where he found her wet slit and immediately plunged two fingers inside.

  She called his name again as his aggressive invasion put her on the edge of an orgasm.

  Harm slowed his pace, saying, “Not yet,” as he kissed his way down her navel, pausing to lick the crease where her leg joined her body. She never thought of that spot as an erogenous zone, but he just proved that part of her body was very sensitive indeed. His hot mouth had her body primed for his dining pleasure so fast, Jena’s head spun.

  He settled between her legs and laved a hot path from the back of her knee up to her inner thigh, touching her intimate swollen skin, then he traced the same path on the other leg. She bucked as he got closer to her wet entrance, but he pressed her hips back down on the bed. “I want you wetter.”

  “I can’t get much wetter,” she panted.

  His dark eyes met hers. “Yes, you can. I want you dripping, Jena. I want more of you to taste, more to enjoy.”

  His demanding nature and carnal intent set an ache coursing through her body, and Jena let her head fall back, giving in. “Touch me, Harm.” And he did.

  He slid his finger across all her sensitive places, not leaving a single tingling inch untouched. When he pressed on a particularly responsive spot, she arched her back and ground her teeth to keep from begging. Holy Jamolie. She’d never felt anything like that before. Lust surged, hot and heavy, curling through her system. A sinful look crossed his features as he applied more pressure. Jena gripped the sheets and was shocked to hear herself begging, “Taste me.”

  With a grunt of satisfaction, he dipped his head, then swiped his tongue across her throbbing entrance until he found the responsive bud.

  When she almost bucked him off of her, he gave a low laugh and pressed her hips back down on the bed once more. “You’re the damnedest filly. Sit still so I can love on you.”

  “I can’t,” she gasped as he slid a finger in her aching channel and pressed on her hot spot deep inside. Lifting her hips once more, she begged, “Now! It’s too much, Harm, I can’t wait.”

  He tilted her hips and devoured her as if he couldn’t get enough. Jena didn’t think she could get any hotter, but the man took her twenty degrees higher. Every stroke of his tongue, every rough rasp had her teetering on the edge of her orgasm.

  “You taste so damned amazing. The perfect combination of sweet and musky,” he groaned against her. “I swear I might lose it just from the taste of you,” he growled right before he delved his tongue deep inside her.

  “Don’t you dare,” she hissed as her hips lifted to meet his tongue’s thrusts.

  Harm pressed on her nub with his thumb, rubbing the aching bit of skin in small circles, then rasped, “Show me how much you like it, Jena. I want more.”

  “Harm!” she screamed as her climax exploded, sending vibration after vibration crashing within her. Harm pressed closer, lapping every last drop as if she was the finest dessert and he was determined to lick the bowl clean.

  When she began to slow her movements, he leaned over, grabbed his jeans and pulled, sending the chair over on its side as the soggy pants clung to the furniture. Digging out a condom, he swiftly slipped it on, then braced himself above her as he settled between her legs.

  Jena sucked in her breath when his hard fullness began to slide inside her. He pushed further, groaning as she contracted around him.

  “You’re so tight.” Harm’s voice sounded gravelly and raw. “Relax, sweetheart, accept me.”

  She breathed out slowly, focusing on relaxing and not the stretching of highly sensitized skin.

  “Jena, honey, I can’t…I have to...”

  She lifted her hips and accepted his powerful thrust as he sank deep inside her, filling her up, taking possession. Jena couldn’t help the gasp of fulfillment that escaped.

  He stopped. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, don’t stop,” she sighed, canting her hips.

  He bucked at her words, groaning as she intentionally clenched her muscles around him.

  She put her hands on his shoulders and met his intense gaze. “Don’t hold back.”

  Harm began to move within her, his breathing choppy and hard as he withdrew and drove home again and again.

  “More,” she urged, digging her fingers in his shoulders. And he obliged until the entire couch rocked with their movements. She gyrated her hips, moving her hands to cup his firm buttocks and pull him closer. “Harder.”

  “Demanding woman,” he gritted out as he folded her legs. Pressing her thighs to her sides, he surged into her once, twice more.

  He was the perfect length, his hardness creating wonderful friction within her. She screamed his name as her orgasm hit, flooding through her, rolling into another one as he continued his unrelenting pace until their bodies were spent.

  Cupping her face, he kissed her hard, then eased back and looked at her as if he couldn’t quite believe she was real. “You’re not going back to Maryland.”

  Before she could reply, he rolled onto his back and pulled her with him, settling her against his chest.

  Jena didn’t respond to his assumption she’d consent to be his wife. For pity’s sake the man wasn’t in his right mind, yet she couldn’t resist letting her own mind wander down that interesting path as she ran her hand over the glistening hair on his chest, wet from their exertions.

  Laying her chin on his chest, she met his languid, melting gaze. “Tell me why you’ve shied away from marriage until now.”

  Harm stiffened under her, then glanced away. She wasn’t about to let him avoid the truth. Not now. “If you’re asking me to marry you, don’t you think I deserve to know?”

  Turning his gaze back to her, he combed his fingers through her damp hair, searching her face. “I thought my parents had a good marriage. They stayed busy with our ranch. Dad raised the cattle and went to the market; Mom did the bills and ran the household. I didn’t realize how unhappy they were until I was in my late teens.”

  She thought about her own parents’ rare arguments when she was little. How she’d love it if her father were still alive—he’d only been gone a year now—so her parents could get into another row over something silly. She knew her mother wished the same. “No marriage is perfect.”

  “What about when they both don’t want it?”

  Jena raised her eyebrows, to which his lips thinned in a grim look. “I was at the lake raising hell with a bunch of friends from school,
when I overheard some kids talking about my parents’ land. That’s when I found out my dad married my mom for the farmland. And my mom only married him to inherit the land her father felt should be left to a man—he didn’t have any sons. It was the only way she felt she’d ever get out from under her dad’s controlling thumb.”

  What a sad story. Jena’s heart squeezed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  Closing his eyes, Harm rubbed his thumb and forefinger across the back of his eyelids with a heavy sigh. “I’ve seen firsthand what staying in a loveless marriage can do to two people.” His eyes snapped open, his gaze full of conviction. “I didn’t know if I’d ever find someone I’d be willing to spend the rest of my life with, but as much as I hate to see my parents unhappy, I respect their commitment to their vows, ’til death do they part. When I marry, it’s for life.”

  “Ah, now I see,” she said, moving to lay her head on his chest.

  He grasped her chin. “Uh-uh. Your turn. Why did you come to Texas when I asked you to?”

  Jena hesitated. Any answer she gave would be part truth, part wishful thinking, part pure fantasy. Not only was she in some major lust with this amazing man, but she also really liked him. She’d always trusted her instincts on first impressions, and because of his connection with Sally, she knew more about him. Yeah, he was sexy and adventurous, but his character—that fundamental core that made him the man he projected to the world—sucked her in. He was fair in his business dealings, a great neighbor to Sally, believed deeply in his convictions—a gentleman from his head to his heart. He deserved an honest answer.

  “I felt a connection with you on a deeper level.” She sighed, flipping her hand. “I tried to deny it, but no other guy has caught my attention the way you have. No one’s been worth all this effort.” You have no idea how truthful the “effort” part is. “I know that sounds silly.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Harm shook his head. “I’d lost faith I’d ever meet someone who felt just as connected to me. As far as I’m concerned, the attraction, the respect, the loyalty and trust…it all has to be strong, and it sure as hell has to be equal.” Squinting, he rubbed his forehead. “How did we meet?”

  Trust? Respect? She definitely respected him, but would he believe her intentions were pure—that she hoped to show him it was okay to let someone in—when she’d made up their entire relationship? Swallowing the guilty lump in her throat, she was thinking again about how she wished they’d met under different circumstances when her gaze landed on the welt that had formed on his forehead. “You’ll have a nasty bruise tomorrow. I’m pretty sure you have a mild concussion.”

  He snorted. “You sound like a doctor. Is that how we met? Did you stitch me up or something?”

  Was he in constant need of stitches being a rancher? He only had one tiny scar on his chin that she’d seen. Apparently, he wasn’t giving up on this memory-lane trip, but he’d at least given her an idea as to how they’d met. “Close. Well, kind of. I’m a nurse. That’s how we met. I was here for a medical convention and a mutual friend introduced us.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Which friend?”

  Rack your brain, Jena. Think, think, think. What names do you remember Sally mentioning? Joe? No. Jake? No. Jack. Yeah. Good ‘ole Jack.

  “Jack.”

  His brows drew together. “My foreman?”

  Jena nodded. “He and my dad knew each other. My dad told me to stop by and visit him while I was here for the conference last fall.”

  “And that’s how we met?” he concluded, brow furrowed.

  “Yep, and the rest, as they say, is history.”

  Harm shook his head as if Jack was the last name he expected her to say. Pulling her closer, he kissed the tip of her nose. “Remind me to give Jack a raise.”

  Laughing, she laid her cheek on his skin, soaking it all in: the warmth of the fire, the steady rise and fall of his chest, the relaxed thump-thump of his heart, the masculine smell that was all Harm. All the sensations lulled her. She grew up believing in fairytales, and this…this was heaven. If only it wasn’t a fantasy of her own making.

  Chapter Four

  Jena waited until Harm’s breathing leveled off in sleep before she eased off of him. She’d give him an hour, then wake him to make sure his head was okay. After testing her ankle, she walked over to the window. The storm still raged outside, but with the fire blazing behind her, the house was cozy and warm.

  Since her dad’s job moved them around a lot, she’d lived all over the country. When she moved out on her own, she’d traveled around Europe a bit, just to show her parents how it felt to have their daughter flitting all over the globe. But there was something special about Boone, Texas. The picturesque green valleys and crystal clear streams that filtered off of the main river of Sweetwater beckoned her, yet it was more than just the scenery. That inexplicable pull was the very reason she’d wanted to see her aunt’s place once more before she made her decision. As soon as she stepped into the house, the happy memories she had there came flooding back. Aunt Sally’s home might be tiny, but it represented the promise of a place to stay and settle. She’d always felt like it might be possible here, but in the past, she’d written it off as childhood romanticizing. Not any more.

  No matter what happened between Harm and her, she’d made up her mind. Harm could buy Ty’s portion of the land and part of hers. She didn’t need tons of acreage. That should be a fair arrangement for all concerned.

  “What are you thinking about so deeply, darlin’?” Harm slid his arms around her waist, gathering her back against his hard chest. The deep timbre of his voice surrounded her, resonating all the way down her spine. Jena closed her eyes at the feel of his strong arms and his masculine scent invading her senses. “I thought you were asleep,” she murmured.

  He kissed her temple. “I was until I reached over and you weren’t there.”

  He settled her into his tall frame, melding them together. The unmistakable hardness pressing against her bare bottom made hot moisture gather between her legs. The man had the most amazing effect on her. She couldn’t seem to get enough of him.

  “What are you looking for in a husband?”

  Surprised by Harm’s serious question, Jena crossed her arms over his, then snuggled even deeper into his warmth. Between her father, brother, and her cousins, the Tanner brothers, she’d been surrounded by domineering men all her life. As much as she loved all of them, she could empathize with Harm’s mother wanting to break free from a father whose only form of parenting was total control.

  Jena had to pick up and move at least eight times at her father’s career’s whim. Then, the only reason they’d stayed in Maryland was because that was where Ty had been accepted to college, and her father had wanted to stay close to him. Not once was she asked how she felt about settling in Maryland. “I want my husband to let me make my own decisions. I want him to respect my need to do so, even if he disagrees with my choices.”

  Harm placed a feather-light kiss on her neck. “What if there are times when your husband does know best?”

  Jena stiffened and Harm tightened his hold, not letting her pull away as she intended. “He’ll learn real fast, I make up my own mind.”

  “What if he’s just as stubborn as you?” He slid his hand up her waist and cupped her breast, twirling the nipple with a leisurely roll of his fingers.

  Jena sucked in her breath, amazed by the achy desire his touch roused. “Then we’ll have problems,” she exhaled, sounding breathless as she tried to keep a firm hold of rational thoughts.

  Harm slid a hand down her abdomen, spearing his fingers through the bit of hair between her legs. Drawing his finger along her over-sensitized flesh in a slow, lingering rub, his voice lowered, “What if he’s willing to compromise?”

  Jena arched against his hand. Her breathing turned shallow as she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. Thinking became very difficult when he circled his finger around her aroused bud. “Co…compro
mise?”

  “Pick a number. One.” He slid a finger inside her and she moaned. “No, two.” He added another finger, creating pressure with the sensuous glide of his fingers, wet from her own arousal, rubbing in and out of her body. “Ah, I think three is the lucky number.” When a third finger joined the other two, he cupped her mound, then used his hold to draw her back, locking her body against his. “Three times a year, your husband gets carte blanche on a unilateral decision that concerns you. He may or may not exercise his rights, depending on whether the situation warrants it. What do you say?”

  When she didn’t answer right away, his thumb made a small circle around the responsive bit of skin, never quite hitting it. Just enough to rev her up. Jena whimpered and rocked her hips, wanting to move, needing the release her body sought. “Only if I get three for him as well.”

  Harm’s chuckle rumbled against her back. “Quite the negotiator, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” she said, barely able to think while wanting him to touch her, “and right now I’m ordering you to give me what I want.”

  “No, sweetheart, I’m going to give you what you need.” He kissed the delicate skin behind her ear. “Me,” he said in a husky tone as he stopped circling his thumb and honed in on the sensitive, aching skin, applying steady pressure. At the same time, his other hand clasped the plump flesh of her breast in a possessive hold.

  “Harm…” She gulped. “That feels so good,” she panted, rocking into his hand when he began to slide his fingers in and out of her body once more.

  While plucking out a seductive, rhythmic tune against her taut frame, Harm didn’t forget about the rest of her erogenous zones. He twirled her nipple, teasing the hard bud with just the right pinching-pressure. The combination of his actions sent Jena over the edge. Her body trembled through the force of her orgasm. She cried out as pure pleasure spiraled from her breasts to her stomach, to her thighs and beyond.

  Once her heart rate slowed, she turned, only to have it speed right back up. She stared in fascination as she watched Harm suck her essence off each finger, one-by-one, rumbling his approval. Pure desire, in its most primal form, slammed into her stomach as she watched him savor her.