by Sable Hunter
Jacob was on pins and needles. As much as he wanted to hear her say that she loved him, he didn’t want her to love him just because he might be the father of her baby. He remembered that she had expressed that same fear – and he had dismissed her feelings as irrelevant. Now, he knew better.
Jessie stopped pacing and hugged herself tightly – she always did this when she felt lonely or overwhelmed. Basically, she hugged herself because she wasn’t used to anyone else being there to do it for her. Until Jacob. Taking a deep breath, she faced him – but she forced herself to look over his head, she couldn’t look him in the eye. “I love you,” she repeated. “But I had no right to just blurt it out like that.”
He got up off the bed. She heard him putting on his pants, the belt buckle clanked against the snaps on his blue jeans. Was he leaving? Had she scared him off completely? Then, she heard him walking across the floor toward her. Every cell of her body was in the flight mode, her feet could scarcely stay still. Before he reached her, she turned away and let the rest of her feelings tumble out. “I give it to you as a gift, with no strings attached and no expectations for it to be returned.” There. She said it.
It was quiet in the room.
Jessie froze.
Where was he?
Why wasn’t he saying anything?
“Jessie?” She steeled her spine. He was right behind her. “Turn around, baby.” Slowly, she turned. God. He was on his knees at her feet. “Jessie, sweetheart. I love you. I adore you. I worship the ground that you walk on.” He grasped both of her hands in his and he kissed each palm. “And like you, I don’t want to be loved just for our baby’s sake. I want to be loved for me.”
Wrapping her arms around him, Jessie lavished him with love and kisses. “You are loved. For you. I love our child. I want our child. But, you – you are more important to me than anything.” She punctuated each word with a kiss.
Laughing, Jacob finally got her settled down enough to kiss her properly. “You have made me so happy, baby. Will you marry me, Jess? I know we haven’t known each other but a few days – but I know all I need to know to recognize that you’re the love of my life. My heart recognized you from the moment I saw you in the barn – my bare-naked angel.”
“How can you say that, Jacob?” She knelt with him. He held her hands, weaving their fingers together. “You do realize that compared to you, I’m a nobody. I worked as a maid, Jacob. I cleaned offices and bathrooms for a living.”
Softly, he placed his lips to hers. “Hush, sweetness. You’re perfect. There’s one job that you do – and you do it very well. In fact you’re the only person in the world that’s qualified to do it.”
Jessie kissed his cheek. He was the sweetest man in the entire world. And he was hers? “What job is that, Jacob?”
“You make me happy,” he whispered to her. “You’re the only person in the world that can make me perfectly, outrageously happy.” Cuddling her up to him, he reminded her. “I asked you a question? Are you going to marry me, Jess? Will you be my wife?”
Jessie placed her cheek over his heart, listening to its strong resounding beat. His heart belonged to her. It was a miracle. “Yes,” she answered him. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Chapter Nine
Jessie and Jacob celebrated their engagement with a champagne and lobster dinner at the elegant restaurant inside the Driskill Hotel. There had been no ring, but Jacob fully intended to rectify that situation as soon as possible. When he had planned their date, he had not expected to get the opportunity to confess his love so quickly. He had thought that it would take time for Jessie to love him – time that he was willing to give her. But – miracle of miracles, she loved him now.
They had spent the night in the beautiful Heritage suite, making love twice more. After that, Jacob had taken her walking around the beautiful University of Texas campus, where all five of the elder McCoys had graduated. Next, they had walked down Sixth Street and around the Capitol Building. Jessie had never taken time to enjoy any of the beautiful places and things that had surrounded her in Austin. But, with Jacob, everything was different – new and exciting. He even bought her lunch at The Salt Lick, an Austin BBQ restaurant that Jessie had seen featured on her favorite cooking channel, but had never gotten the chance to try.
Every time Jacob had been able to bring a smile to Jessie’s face, he had felt like he was ten feet tall. She was so appreciative and unassuming; it was a joy to do even the little things for her. Jacob couldn’t help but compare her sweet attitude with the other women he had dated who expected and demanded nothing but the best. Jessie was happy just being with him. It was late afternoon when they had left Austin and returned to Tebow. It had been an idyllic time. But, they were totally unprepared for what they found when they arrived.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Jacob asked Aron. “We could have headed back earlier.”
“Hell!” Aron was at his wit’s end. “I don’t know what you could have done. I’ve got every man that we have on full alert. We’re taking shifts riding the perimeter – but it’s damn hard trying to police a hundred thousand acres. It would take a damn army!”
“How many cattle have we lost?” They sat on the front verandah. Aron was tired, sweaty and disgusted. Libby had brought them each a glass of iced tea, but it was going to take more than a cold beverage to cool Aron’s temper.
“At last count – nine, five of those were registered. That’s tens of thousands of dollars lost for God knows what reason.”
“Put me on a shift,” Jacob urged, ready to do what he could.
“All right. You can have first light,” Aron drained his tea glass and set it on the banister. “The pitiful thing is that we don’t have a clue who is doing this, or why. I had to call Roscoe and get him to assign another PI to help us with this mess.”
“Good” Jacob racked his brain trying to think of anybody that would hate them enough to do this. They sat in silence for a few moments, till Jacob shared part of his good news with Aron. “Jessie and I have come to an understanding.”
From the satisfied smile on Jacob’s face, Aron had to know. “Must have been some understanding,” Aron leaned forward on his knees, his hands clasped in front of him. Despite the problems that had arisen, he had a look of complete peace on his face.
“She agreed to marry me, Aron. Jessie loves me.”
For a long minute, Aron didn’t say anything. He understood completely how a little woman could worm their way into your heart and life before you turned around. The only reason he wasn’t married to Libby right now was because she was determined to get married on The Sweetest Day, which the calendar said was October the sixteenth. When Libby had fallen ill a few weeks back, Aron had been horrified to learn that she had lived with leukemia for nearly a decade. All the time that she had been on the ranch, she had been in remission. In Libby’s mind, she had been living on borrowed time, determined to experience all that life had to offer during the remaining months that she had left to live. During that time, she and Aron had fallen in love – so when he had found her collapsed on the floor, it had nearly scared him to death. On the way to the hospital, he had told her that she was going to be fine. And not only was she going to be fine, they were going to be married two months from that date. Jacob had been driving, and he had told Libby that the date was October the 16th, the Sweetest Day. Now, she felt that there was magic in the day and refused to be married at any other time.
“Do you love her?” Aron thought he knew the answer to that question, but it was his job to ask.
“More than you can possibly imagine,” Jacob spoke with a reverent tone, as if the idea of loving and marrying Jessie was sacred.
Aron started to complain that they hadn’t known each other long enough, but he had no room to talk. He and Libby had only had a few weeks together, when he found himself completely besotted with Libby. “You have my support,” Aron trusted Jacob’s judgment. He almost brought up a prenup, but he had no intention of askin
g or allowing Libby to sign one, so bringing it up would have been hypocritical. He’d let Zane play the bad guy, that’s why they paid him the big bucks.
“I haven’t seen Joseph, where is he?” Jacob felt like he had been gone a week instead of just over a day.
“He’s with Isaac, they’re in Austin checking on getting Joseph a custom pick-up truck that he can use with his wheelchair.”
“Excellent,” Jacob was thrilled that Joseph seemed to be getting a handle on his rehabilitation and his search for recovery. “Did he get in touch with that woman that Kane recommended? She was from New Orleans, wasn’t she?”
“Her name is Acadia Renaud and she’ll arrive tomorrow.” Both men felt conflicted over Ms. Renaud’s arrival. There was so much going on that it was hard for them to give their full attention to any one thing.
“How do you feel about that?” Jacob asked his big brother.
“Let’s see; how do I feel about a female who practices magic moving into our house?” Aron had the good grace to laugh at himself. “Women have enough of an advantage over us poor males without throwing witchcraft in the mix.” Crossing one long leg over the other at the ankle, Aron tilted his hat down over his eyes like he was going to nap. “Bottom line, if she can help Joseph, I don’t care if she dances naked in the front yard swinging a dead cat over her head.”
“As long as that dead cat ain’t Timmy, we’ll be all right.” Jacob asserted as he picked Timmy up and scratched him behind the ears.
Jacob had an idea. And once he got it in his head, there was no letting go. He did a little research on the internet and then he made a few calls. Now, all he had to do was wait. Jessie was going to be so surprised. He was going to prepare a nursery for their baby.
Since he had to get up and get out on the range at first light, Jacob decided to hit the hay early. With a whispered request, he convinced Jessie to join him. He didn’t think that he could get to sleep without taking his ease between her sweet thighs. “If you’ll come to bed with me, you can scratch something off your list.”
When she looked at him with a wicked gleam in her eyes, he knew he was in trouble.
Jessie went to Libby and asked to borrow some scarves or rope. Libby knew exactly what Jessie was up to, as Jessie knew that she would. Since Jacob had asked her to marry him, her confidence level was at an all-time high.
“I have everything you’ll need.“ She got a sack and filled it with scarves, handcuffs, the key to the cuffs, and something that Libby couldn’t identify. She wasn’t up on all the erotic accessories that were available these days. “Let me give you a little advice,” Libby leaned in conspiratorially with Jessie. “If Jacob is anything like Aron, he’ll get off on this certain little toy. This is a brand new one that’s still in the box. And now, I’ll explain to you how to use it.” Jessie couldn’t wait to hear what Libby had up her sleeve.
Avery Rose had cried herself to sleep for the last time. She had a choice; she could either give up on Isaac McCoy or transform herself into a woman that he could be attracted to. Since she was head over heels in love with him, she felt that changing her looks and personality would be easier than giving up on her dream.
So, she made a phone call. Avery Rose needed help. After two rings, there was an answer: “Operator, may I help you?”
Avery took a deep breath and plunged in. “Yes ma’am, I’m looking for a number in Nevada for the Shady Lady Ranch.” There was a pause and then the grandmotherly sounding operator had to put her two cents in. “Honey, you have a sweet little voice. I can tell that you’re a nice girl. Do you realize that you are enquiring about the number for a house of ill repute?”
Avery cleared her throat, stuck her chest out and stood up for herself. “Yes, ma’am, I am. I need that number, if you don’t mind. I’m tired of always being the good girl.”
Jacob backed Jessie into the room, hungry for her kiss. His hands were busy tugging at those luscious nipples, while his dick was flexing in his pants, eager to be let loose to play. “Okay, babe. What’s it going to be? Do you want me to go down on you, or can I rut between these pretty tits?” Jacob was ready for anything as long as it involved getting naked with Jessie.
“Actually…” Jessie whispered in a sultry voice. “I need you to undress and get on the bed for me. Jacob didn’t have to be told twice. In record time, he was naked and lying on the bed with his peter sticking up like the flag a war hero might have planted in conquered ground. “Oh, you look yummy, baby,” she praised him. “I go all soft and achy inside just looking at your joy-boy.”
“My what?” Jacob busted out laughing. “I think I might take exception to that description.”
“You shouldn’t,” as she talked she was busy, and she didn’t think he was even noticing what she was doing. “Your boy-parts bring me great joy, therefore – he’s my joy-boy.” She had picked up each hand and kissed it, then proceeded to attach a handcuff to it and fasten it to the bed rail. She had just clicked the second one shut, when Jacob finally realized what was happening. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing, little girl?”
Jacob was going for a gruff voice, but he failed miserably. He was too damn excited. His Jessie was getting adventurous. “I will get out of these cuffs at some point, Jessie-love. And when I do there will be repercussions,” he promised.
Jessie shivered with delight. “Oh, I hope so.” While he was fussing, she fastened a scarf around each ankle and attached it to the foot board. She was no fool; a man as big and strong as Jacob couldn’t be confined with such flimsy bonds. But she was strongly counting on the fact that he was anxious to see what erotic game she had decided to play. Jessie didn’t intend to disappoint him.
Showing off, Jacob flexed his arms and legs, pretending that he was about to break out of the restraints. Actually, he had no intention of going anywhere, but balls deep inside of his pussycat.
Jessie looked at Jacob like she was starving and he was a feast laid out to satisfy her every hunger. “You’re all mine, did you know that?” She began to talk to him, as she began to torture him. In a few minutes she had Jacob groaning.
He didn’t know how much of it he could take. Jessie began at one hand and she kissed down his arm until she came to his chest. Then, she licked and nipped to her heart’s content – paying special attention to his nipple which she took in her mouth and sucked like penny candy. Next, she started at one foot and nibbled her way up his thigh. Then, she nearly shocked the shit out of him when she took one of his balls in her mouth and rolled it between her lips. Lord. Have. Mercy! He groaned, “Baby, you’re gonna be in so much trouble.” When she giggled with one of his nuts in her mouth, he almost lost it. She licked his dick like an old fashioned bullet pop. But the piece de-resistance was what came next.
Jessie had something hidden behind her back. She hoped that she didn’t come off looking foolish. So far, Jacob seemed to be enjoying her attention, but this next thing was totally out of her imagined repertoire. Straddling Jacob at waist level, she was right between the rock and the hard place. The hard place, his beautiful chest was in front of her – and the rock, his delectable dick was tapping at her back door.
“Lean over, doll-face, let me have a taste of your delicious nipples.” Jacob’s mouth was actually watering; he was beside himself with lust for this gorgeous woman.
This wasn’t part of her plan – but… what the heck – she was flexible. Putting a palm on either side of his head, she let her breasts dangle down in his face. Without a hand, he had to swirl his tongue around until he latched onto one. She played with him a minute, coming closer and backing off – until she felt his lips close over her nipple and he began to suck, voraciously. Jessie almost lost her concentration. “Oh baby, your lips and tongue are pure magic,” she moaned.
Reluctantly, she pulled back; ready to continue with her agenda. He had her all revved up, her clit was tingling and her breasts were throbbing, but what she was about to do would take the cake. Setting the stage, she began to ma
ssage her own breasts.
Dayum! Jacob was licking his chops. Jessie picked her gorgeous titties up and began to massage, caress and rub them. And looking at her face, it was making her feel really good. “I sure would like to help you out with that, baby.”
“I think I got it, love,” she teased as she pulled at her nipples and ground her passion-slicked labia against his abs. She watched his face as he watched her hands at her breasts. When he began to lick his lips, she knew she had his full and complete attention. Retrieving her toy, she brought it around and turned it on.
Jacob was shocked. His sweet baby Jess had a vibrator. “Jesus, Jess. What are you gonna do with thing?” With a smile, she began to show him.
“I’m going to blow your mind, love,” Scooting back she went to work. Turning on her little pocket-rocket wand, she began to rub it on his penis and balls.
The high-speed pulses felt like a million tiny fingers and tongues all working on his business at once. It felt incredible! “I don’t know how much of this I can take. Jess!” he bucked his hips up to meet the teasing touches as she rubbed the magic wand up and down his dick and around his furry testicles.
Jessie decided to up the ante as she added her tongue and lips to the mix. After a few moments of oral play, she had him begging for more. “Suck me, sweetheart. Let me feel that hot little mouth.” Jessie was generous, she took him into her mouth and sucked while she ran the vibrator around the base of his shaft and over his balls. When she felt him tighten, she went to Step Two.
Moving up his body, she spread her legs apart so he had an up and personal look at the wet, excited flower of her sex. “Holy Mother of God,” Jacob breathed as he realized that she was about to pleasure herself with the vibrator.