Sapphire.
“Lift your arms,” he rasped out, but before he could grab the bottom of her sweater, she beat him to it by ripping the top over her head and tossing it on the floor.
That worked for him.
Zeroing in on her breasts, barely covered by the sexiest damn blue lace bra he’d ever seen, he stared without moving anything except his throat muscles as he swallowed the mouthwatering her curves created.
But when her fingers went to the waistband of her jeans, he snapped out of his stupor and grasped her wrist. “Let me.” Then he walked her backward, and when she sank onto the bed, he proceeded to remove her boots and socks before he unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans. A scrap of blue lace peeked out. He sucked in a breath.
“Do you like?” she asked. “I bought the set just for you.”
He pulled off the jeans to get a good look at her, and the arousal pressing into his zipper jumped.
Hell yeah. “I love,” he replied, dipping down to kiss a path up her thighs straight to the sapphire lace on her hips. “Thank you.” It was a hell of a surprise. Too bad they had to go. Hooking his fingers in her panties, he slowly tugged them down, taking in the sweet sight of Jen nearly naked on the bed. “You’re so damn beautiful.”
“Brock…”
His name left her lips in a throaty whisper of need. He loved that. Loved hearing her say his name. Loved hearing the need he induced. Jennifer Dalton was a rarity. A blessing, and he allowed himself to bask in her presence while he had the chance.
“Brock?” She frowned up at him, confusion overruling her desire. “Everything okay?”
Snapping out of it, he smiled. “Couldn’t be better.” And to prove it, he grasped her ankles and tugged her to the end of the bed, heat skittering down his spine at having her open and ready.
His mouth watered, but he shouldn’t have hesitated because she scooted off the bed.
“You’re still dressed,” she said, shaking a finger at him, wearing nothing but a lacy bra. “Not fair.” The sneaky woman had his shirt out of his pants and half unbuttoned before he could blink. “It’s my birthday, and I want you naked.”
Smiling, he obliged, quickly removing his clothes so he could get back to worshiping her soft, supple curves. He reached for her, his heart rocking hard against his ribs at the wicked smile claiming her lips.
“Mmm…happy birthday to me,” she said, sliding a hand down his chest and abs, his muscles quivering under her touch, erection pulsing as her fingers closed around him and tugged. “Do I get to blow out the candle?” She chuckled as she made to drop to her knees.
Ah, hell… “No. Not this time.” He pulled her hand away and held her upright. “We have the whole weekend. There are several things I still need to do to the birthday girl,” he said, dipping down to kiss her shoulder, swirling his tongue over her skin, then biting as he tugged her pretty bra strap down her arm.
“Okay,” she muttered, voice breathy as she tipped her head back in an open invitation he immediately answered. Licking at the curve where shoulder and neck met, he put his hands to good use, one caressing her sweet ass while the other cupped her breast, brushing a thumb over the lace-covered nipple.
“Brock.” She inhaled and grasped his hips.
He took that to mean it was pleasurable, so he did it again, teasing her peak while he continued to nip and lick his way to the soft spot behind her ear. There, he lingered, biting, licking, blowing a breath over her wet skin. His erection throbbed as she crushed closer, pressing into him with her hot body. He shifted his attention to the other side, tugging her bra strap down as he kissed her shoulder and brushed his thumb over her neglected nipple.
“Please. I need…” Her voice trailed off, but he knew what she needed.
Unhooking her bra, he stepped away from her to let it fall, then palmed her breasts and her nipples pebbled against his hands. “Yes,” she said on a rough exhale, leaning into his touch.
He smiled, knowing she was going to enjoy what came next. Bending down, he took one peak into his mouth, grazing it with his teeth before gently biting down.
Moaning, she arched into him, seeking more. He had more. Much more. Sucking her gorgeous tip into his mouth, he slid a hand down her belly to the heat between her legs. She nearly buckled. “Easy,” he said against her breast, then straightened and twisted her around until her back hit his chest.
He met her heated gaze in the mirror beside the bed. God, she took his breath. Eyes hooded, dilated, and dark, a rosy flush staining her skin, chest rising and falling, nipples tight and peaked. He nearly came at the sight of her. “Look at you. Watch.”
She nodded, so he shoved his knee between her legs, spreading them open for the hand he slid around. Her body trembled before he even reached her wetness, and his erection pulsed, sandwiched between her beautiful cheeks. “I’ve got you,” he said against the back of her neck, running his other hand over her quivering belly and up to cup the swell of her breast. God, she was soft, and wet, so damn wet. His finger slicked right inside and she moaned the sexiest damn moan he’d ever heard.
Then she was rocking against his hand, panting as he upped the pace. He lifted his mouth from her neck, attention riveted to her gaze, glazed with pleasure, yet still watching his hands worship her curves. He added another finger, brushed a thumb over her center, and she came for him, hard and fast. The sweet look of rapture flushing her face would forever be imprinted on his brain.
He let her down slowly, and she was still shuddering when she twisted around to face him.
“That was incredible,” she said, her nipples brushing his chest as she clung to him. “I can’t feel my legs.”
Her sweat slicked curves tortured his resolve to go slow. He wanted in her. Now. He clenched his jaw and counted to ten. They had the whole weekend.
“Can I ride you?”
Shit.
“On that chair?”
They almost had a mess. Sucking in a breath, he blew it out and had to swallow twice to answer. “Okay, since it is your birthday.” He was the luckiest damn man in the world.
She smiled and reached up to kiss him. Which wasn’t such a good idea considering he was barely holding on. He crushed her close anyway, loving the feel of her heated skin against his as he backed up to the chair. She broke the kiss, smile still present as she pushed him down.
“You sit. I’ll get the condom.”
He watched her bend down to fish the wallet out of his jeans. The naked swell of her ass and plump breasts jiggling had him so hard he nearly busted apart. He was so damn in tune to her sweetness he could feel her from clear across the room.
“Got it,” she said, smile still gracing the lips he loved to kiss as she rushed to hand him his wallet. The fact she wouldn’t dig inside for the foil packet only added to her appeal, which had already reached maximum overload weeks ago.
He withdrew the condom, and she tried to help him roll it on, but only succeeded in nearly making him come. “Killin’ me…” he muttered, setting her hands aside to finish covering his erection.
“Okay?” She hovered in front of the chair, naked, beautiful.
His.
Where the hell had that thought came from? He had no idea, but it was the truth. He wanted her to be his, and in his mind, she was, always would be. But he’d take that thought to his grave. She had a bright future that did not include a debt-laden ranch hand.
She nudged his knee with her leg. “You ready for me, cowboy?”
Never. She was too sweet. Too special.
Unable to answer, he simply held out a hand to help her climb on the oversized chair, room on either side of him for her knees. She gripped his shoulders and settled over him, eyes still glossy and face flushed, legs spread. Killing him. He looked his fill. She was sweet. So damn sweet.
Correction. He was the luckiest damn bastard alive.
“I need you in me, Brock. Please,” she said against his lips before kissing him with a need that rivaled his own.
> Tongues tangling, bodies heating, he slid his hands down her soft skin to the swell of her hips. He was going to please her. Please them both. He broke the kiss, then lifted her slightly, and she immediately positioned his tip at her opening.
“Please,” she said again, gaze dark and wild with the same need clawing under his skin.
He tightened his grip on her hips and thrust up into her. She cried out his name, and for a single beat, they stilled at the absolute pleasure of him inside her.
Then she began to move, and the utter bliss on her face stole what little breath remained in his lungs. He slid his hands up her trembling body, brushing over the sides of her breasts, making her moan. She was so damn beautiful it almost hurt too much to watch her ride him, nipples beaded, breasts bouncing, wickedly-sexy grin on her face, gaze glazed again with need.
He had to taste. Wrapping a hand around her neck, he pulled her in for a kiss. Chest to chest, face to face, they were as connected and close as two people could get. The thought of her doing this with someone else made him nuts, but he couldn’t…wouldn’t hold her back. He also wouldn’t think about it now. Right now was about him and her, and what she wanted.
By the way she rocked against him, she wanted release, the same release he needed. The one tightening his whole body. Breaking the kiss, he ran a hand down her back to cup her gorgeous cheeks. “You feel so damn good, Jen. So damn good.”
With barely any air between them, he held her dilated gaze, felt the brush of her nipples and heat of her skin as she increased her rocking. Gripping her hip with one hand, he slid the other low to stroke his thumb over her wet center.
Sweet mercy, she exploded with his name on her lips in a long, drawn out, sexy-as-hell moan the drove him right over the edge, pulsing inside her as she clamped around him tight.
When her body slackened, she fell forward and he gathered her close, gulping air into his lungs. Every damn time. Every time with her proved he wasn’t as in control of his body, his feelings, his heart, as he wanted. Needed. Each time was more intimate. More intense.
He pressed a kiss to her temple and closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her satiated body slackened against him. He could stay this way forever, and the very fact that thought shot so easily through his mind showed he had no control left.
Which wasn’t good, but at least he could take solace in the fact his heart belonged to a selfless, beautiful, kind woman.
He wished to God they could’ve had a future together, but was infinitely grateful they now had a past, and he sure as hell was going to make the most of the present.
“You thinking again, cowboy?” Her breath warmed his skin. “Is it about me?”
“Of course,” he answered near her ear, running his hands up and down her back. “Just thinking about what I want to do to you next.”
She lifted her head, gaze hopeful and heated. The movement ricocheted through his groin, and he twitched.
A sinful smile curved her full lips. “Already?”
Chapter Seven
Double pink lines.
Jen stared at the pregnancy test in her hand. Positive. Her legs shook as she sank onto her bed at the apartment.
She was pregnant.
How had that happened? Okay, she knew how it happened, but Brock had always used protection.
“Everything will be all right,” Sonny said, settling next to her on the bed, slipping an arm around her shoulder.
Jen nodded, but she was a little numb. She’d been late before, especially during Kade’s deployments. The stress always wrecked havoc with her cycle, so when her period hadn’t arrived, she didn’t think anything of it. But when another month had gone by, she became concerned and mentioned it to Sonny that morning. Her roommate had run out and bought the kit and asked her to try it.
At first, she’d laughed, then began to wonder. All the signs had been there. She’d just never noticed. Each symptom could be explained away because of the hours she kept—fatigue, lack of appetite, her paleness. Never in a million years had she expected them to mean she was pregnant.
“How far along do you think you are?” Sonny squeezed her shoulder.
“I-I don’t know.” She rose to her feet, set the test on the dresser next to her purse, then rummaged inside the designer bag for her date book. Flipping through the pages, she was still somewhat in a fog when she found the last mark.
Jesus, had it been that long?
Late August. That meant that first night with Brock…
Swallowing, she glanced at her roommate still sitting on the bed and did some quick calculations in her head. “About eleven weeks.”
Sonny nodded, then used her fingers to count. “That means you’ll be due late May. After graduation.”
Graduation.
Her heart dropped to her knees. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She leaned against the dresser for support. “What if the baby comes early? What if I don’t graduate?”
All sorts of scenarios started running in her head. All of them bad.
“Hey.” Her friend rushed to her side, then steered her back to the bed and made her sit down. “Don’t think that way. Everything will work out.”
She shrugged as tears slid down her face. “I don’t know.”
Her friend grabbed her hand and squeezed. “You already told me you love Brock.”
“I do.”
“Then isn’t this a good thing?”
She shook her head. “He’s leaving next week.”
“Then you need to tell him. Maybe he’ll stay.”
“No,” she said. “I don’t want him to stay because of the baby. I want him to stay because he loves me too.”
Sonny squeezed her hand again and nodded. “Well, he hasn’t left yet.”
True. Jen nodded.
Maybe he wouldn’t leave. Or maybe he’d leave, but make plans to still see her. She’d be more than all right with that arrangement. Hadn’t he made a similar proposition a few weeks back? He just needed to tell her he loved her, then she’d tell him about the baby.
But, if he left, and she didn’t hear from him even after his Amarillo job, then she was going to have to find him through his grandmother and tell him he was going to be a father.
Add to the stress of his finances.
Increase his burden.
God, she hoped it didn’t come to that. She set a hand on her stomach and hoped the emotions and feelings she saw in his eyes and felt in his touch the past few weeks meant maybe, just maybe, he’d stick.
A knock sounded on the door, and before either she or Sonny moved, it opened and her brother walked in, looking way too pale for her liking.
“Kevin?” He had no reason to be at her apartment unless something was wrong. She jumped to her feet, her heart automatically nose-diving as she rushed forward to touch his arm. “What is it?”
“Lenny had a heart attack.”
“What?”
His arms came around her and pulled her in tight. “Right in front of Kade. He performed CPR until the paramedics arrived.”
“Oh my God.” She shook from head to toe and had to fight off a wave of nausea. “Is he okay?”
Please let him be okay. She couldn’t lose another one.
“We don’t know,” Kevin replied. “Kade is sitting in the ER waiting room with Sherry. Brock is taking care of the ranch, and I came to get you, assuming you’d wanted to head to the hospital.” He drew back to stare at her.
“Yes, absolutely.”
He nodded. “I thought so. We didn’t want you driving back on your own.”
She pulled out of his arms and turned to Sonny. “I’ve got to go.”
“Of course.” Her roommate reached out to squeeze her arm. “Text me when you know anything.”
“I will,” she promised, and walked to the dresser, functioning on auto-pilot.
She wondered if things could get any worse as she grabbed her purse, then proceeded to answer her own question when she knocked the pregnancy test on the floor.
Her heart stopped for several beats when Kevin bent down to pick it up. For a moment, she thought he hadn’t realized what it was, until he stilled.
Shoot.
He glanced from the test to her to Sonny, then blinked. “Which one of you is pregnant?”
For a brief moment, Jen considered pointing to her friend. She didn’t want anyone else to know until she told Brock. But, this was not her friend’s problem.
“I am,” she told her brother, and watched a haunted expression cross his face.
“Does Brock know?”
She shook her head. “I only just found out.”
Two hands clamped around her upper arms and held tight. “You have to tell him, Jen. He has a right to know.”
“I know. I will. I promise,” she assured, wondering where the heck Kevin’s assertiveness was coming from all of a sudden. “I’ll tell him, but in my own time. You need to promise me you won’t tell him, or anyone else.”
He stared at her a moment, jaw working, indecision ruling his gaze.
Now she was grabbing his upper arms and squeezing. “Kevin, promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
“But he’s supposed to leave next week.”
“I know, and I don’t want him staying because of the baby. I want him to stay because of me, okay? He can’t know just yet. Okay?” she repeated. “Kevin?”
“All right,” he reluctantly agreed. “But if you don’t tell him by Christmas, I will.”
She nodded.
“Okay,” he said, glancing at his watch as he headed for the door. “We’d better get going. Kade’s been at the hospital for two hours now.”
After a quick hug from her friend, Jen left the apartment with Kevin, feeling like her whole world was crashing in.
Thanksgiving arrived and Brock was sitting at the table at Shadow Rock Ranch, surrounded by family and friends, and grateful for a good many things. He glanced at the woman on his left. The Daltons had insisted he bring his grandmother to share the holiday. She was dressed in her Sunday best, wearing a constant smile that warmed his heart. His gaze traveled across the table to Lenny and Sherry. A miraculous sight in his book. They were all thankful the man had pulled through, even though it was forcing retirement on the lifelong cowboy.
Harland County Christmas (Harland County Series) Page 7