But mostly he loved what he’d glimpsed on the inside.
He kissed her slowly, savoring her taste and the way that she kissed. She sighed against his lips and he almost took her then. Almost thrust inside of her.
Instead, he drew away and looked down at her, wondering what made her so special… What made him want her in so many ways.
Jessie looked up at Zane, her heart and her belly fluttering. This was a man she would do anything for. A man she could…love.
When he lowered his head, he brushed his lips along her cheek to her ear and she shivered as he nipped her earlobe. He trailed his mouth along her jaw to her chin then moved his mouth to hers and gave her another soft kiss.
He released her hands as he kissed a path down her neck to the hollow of her throat. He moved his palms along her arms, skimming his fingertips over them as his lips and tongue found her breasts again. She arched her back, wanting more of his warm mouth on her breasts and the way his tongue teased her nipples.
Too soon it seemed, he left her breasts, but then he began to lick her skin in small circles as he moved down her flat belly to her bellybutton. He dipped his tongue inside, sending sensation shooting straight between her thighs as if the two places were connected.
She caught her breath as he raised his head and eased down then blew his warm breath on the curls of her mound. She felt herself grow wetter the closer he got to her clit. Instead of licking her like she thought he would, he licked the soft skin between her thigh and the lips of her sex.
With a moan she slipped her fingers into his hair, wanting to guide him back to where she wanted his mouth to be. But he slipped further down, his lips making a trail down the inside of her thigh to the back of her knee. He kissed her knee then skimmed his fingers up and down her thighs in a touch so light it made her shiver.
His hands felt rough and callused against the insides of her thighs as he pressed them farther apart and moved his big shoulders between them. She looked down and realized her entire body was tense with waiting for him.
He lowered his head and swiped his tongue over her clit. She cried out, the incredible sensations nearly sending her over the edge before he had even started.
His stubble rubbed against her soft skin, heightening the sensations. He licked her clit, the tight bud almost too sensitive to take the attention he was giving it.
He slid a finger into her channel then slipped in another and started moving his fingers in and out as he licked her.
She grasped the bedspread in her fists, her fingers aching from how tight she was clenching them.
He started pounding his fingers in and out of her, his knuckles hitting her soft folds and adding to the intensity of the experience.
Her mind seemed to spin and she could feel herself spinning out of control. “I’m going to come.” She squirmed. “If you don’t stop I’m not going to be able to hold back.”
He answered her by pressing his face tighter against her pussy and licking her even harder.
She cried out as she came hard. Her entire body jerked and then shuddered from the power of the orgasm.
In the back of her mind she wondered if anyone could possibly hear her, as loud as she’d cried, but then, at that moment, she really didn’t care.
All she cared about was the explosion of feeling throughout her body from the prickling of her scalp all the way down to her toes and the wash of heat that carried the sensations through her body. Perspiration broke out on her skin as her core throbbed and throbbed.
Zane moved up between her thighs. She was barely aware of the sound of a package being opened before she felt his cock pressing against her core. He braced his hands to either side of her head and looked down at her.
His expression was intense, all of his attention focused on her and her pleasure. He lowered his head and kissed her hard and she tasted herself on his tongue. His kiss was demanding, as if insisting she belonged to him.
She felt like she’d been waiting for this forever. For this moment with Zane… It was as if throughout her adult life, the men she’d been with had merely been experience to prepare her for this man. To be ready for him. To become a part of him.
“Are you ready?” He looked at her intently. “I’m going to make you mine. Do you understand? Mine.”
“Yes,” she said, right before he thrust his cock inside her.
Her cry was even louder this time as he took her. His strokes were long and powerful, filled with a possessive stamp that he was putting on her.
He drove in and out, thrusting into her so hard she didn’t know how much more she could take before she climaxed again.
Deeper he seemed to go and deeper yet. She wrapped her thighs around his hips, her ankles crossed behind his ass and dug her fingernails into his back.
And then heat flowed through her body and she gave a third cry as she came. This time it went on and on because he was drawing out the orgasm with his strokes.
Her gaze met his as her lips parted on a moan. She felt his sweat mingling with hers and caught his masculine scent.
“Jessie,” he said right before he gave a loud groan and shuddered as he continued to pump his hips, until he came to a stop. He pressed his groin tight to hers and she felt the throb of his cock inside her as he kept his eyes focused on her. She couldn’t move her gaze from his.
It was as if they had become a part of each other and neither of them wanted to break the connection they shared.
And then his body relaxed and he lowered his head, his breathing harsh and unsteady. He eased off of her and brought her along with him so that they were facing each other.
He pressed his forehead against hers. “You’re mine, Jessica Porter, and don’t you forget it.”
She smiled. “If you say so.”
“I say so,” he murmured and kissed her again.
Chapter 9
Jessie fought back a yawn as she drove into Sonoita. She hadn’t had a whole lot of sleep. When she thought of why, she smiled. She felt almost giddy after her night with Zane.
She could picture and almost feel every touch, every taste, every sensation. From the power in his muscular body to the way he’d looked at her with those incredible blue eyes…it had been incredible.
He’d woken her up in the middle of the night and had taken her again. Every moment with him was amazing.
But it was more than the sex. It was the way he looked at her, the way he told her how beautiful she was and how he’d never felt this way with anyone before her.
It could have been a line, but with Zane… She knew that he’d meant every word he’d said.
The drive to Sonoita was beautiful and she couldn’t get enough of this unique country. She needed a few things in town since she hadn’t planned on staying at the ranch. She’d also noticed that the fridge and the pantry were short on a couple of items that she figured she’d grab, too.
Funny, but her reasons for wanting to be out of town, away from Tucson, had changed. She hadn’t even thought of Carl and she found that it didn’t hurt to think about him.
When she reached the general store, she parked and headed inside to get what she needed. She pushed her basket through the store, went around the electronics aisle, and almost ran her shopping cart into another person’s.
She looked up from her shopping list and her skin crawled when she saw the person she’d nearly run into.
Phoebe.
The blonde woman glared, her eyes glittering with hate. “You bitch,” Phoebe spat. “You ruined everything.”
“What—?” Jessie started.
“You will regret crossing me.” Phoebe reminded Jessie of a cat with her back arched and hissing. A crazed look was in her eyes. “You will regret it. I will make sure you pay.”
She turned her cart around and walked away from Jessie. The woman looked over her shoulder once with hate-filled eyes then she continued around the corner of an aisle and was gone.
Jessie shuddered at the thought of the look in P
hoebe’s eyes. I’m not worried, Jessie thought as she stared in the direction that Phoebe had gone.
Putting aside Phoebe and her threats, Jessie finished her shopping and headed back to the Bar C.
• • •
After she’d taken everything she’d purchased into the ranch house and put it all away, she grabbed her camera and went out to the barn. She hadn’t photographed anything inside it yet and she was sure she would get some great shots.
She swept her gaze over the buildings and corrals as she walked, hoping to see Zane. He’d gotten up long before her this morning and was gone when she made it out of bed and fixed herself breakfast.
He was nowhere in sight so she walked through the barn doors. Immediately she caught scents of dust, hay, cattle, and horses. They weren’t unpleasant scents. She’d photographed sheep and cattle during the county fair in the arenas and in the holding pens, so she was familiar with the smells.
On the barn walls hung antique shears, a small shovel, horseshoes, a yoke, groomers, a scythe, a pick, and other things that she didn’t recognize. It made her wonder if all of the tools and items had been used at the ranch sometime during its long history.
She photographed everything, enjoying the coolness of the barn, the soft whicker of horses, and occasional sounds made by the animals in the stalls. She didn’t want to spook any of the animals, so she’d wait to photograph them when Zane was around.
A loud thump sounded over her head and she looked up. Overhead was a hayloft. Was someone up there?
With a mental shrug, she continued deeper into the barn. It was an extensive barn that stretched a good distance. When she reached the end, there was a set of closed doors along On one side was a place for tack, supplies, barrels of grain, a sink and a small shower. On the opposite side was a workshop.
After she took some photos, she headed back toward the front of the barn. Zane had never left her mind even as she’d busied herself with her job.
Now that he’d broken it off with Phoebe, she really didn’t need to show him the pictures of Phoebe and the other man. Although it might make him even more sure of his decision when he saw just how close he’d come to that bullet that he’d managed to dodge.
She shook her head. No, it might hurt him and that wasn’t something she wanted to see. There was no point.
As she was passing from beneath the loft, Zane walked through the barn doors. The next thing she knew he was rushing toward her and then her breath whooshed from her lungs as she hit the ground hard with Zane on top of her. Her camera dug into her chest and she felt pain slam into her from him having landed on it, pinning it between them.
At the same time she heard a loud sound that didn’t quite register.
“Shit.” He said the curse word with emphasis.
She looked up and saw his face away from her as he held her to the barn’s hay-strewn dirt floor.
“What—?” she started.
He cut his gaze to her. “Are you all right?”
“I can’t breathe,” she said and he eased off of her.
“Sorry, honey.” He helped her to a sitting position, his expression grim.
She grimaced and held her hand to her chest. She was going to be sore and she didn’t know what kind of damage her camera might have sustained. “Why did you just flatten me?”
He looked away from her and she followed his gaze. Where she’d been standing, just moments before, was a large bale of hay.
Chills rolled over her. “I could have been killed.”
“Yes.” He brushed dust and straw from her hair, all the while searching her with his gaze to see if she was hurt in any way. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” She brought her hand to her camera but didn’t look at it. Right now it didn’t matter if it was damaged. She could have died. “Thanks to you.”
“Are you all right, ma’am?” A young man’s face appeared over the edge of the loft. He looked horrified.
“What in the hell happened, Chad?” Zane all but growled the words.
“I’m sorry, boss.” Chad’s throat worked as he swallowed. “That bale was too close to the edge and I was about to grab it to pull it back.”
Zane studied Chad for a moment. “Get back to work and you’d better be a hell of a lot more careful.”
“Yes, sir.” Chad’s face was still bright red. “Sorry, ma’am,” he said before he disappeared back into the recesses of the loft.
“He’s young but he’s always been competent.” Zane glanced at the hay bale. “It’s not like him to leave anything in a position where someone could get injured.” He looked at her again. “Let’s head back to the house.”
“Your camera,” he said as they walked together. “It’s damaged.”
“I always carry a backup.” She pushed her hair out of her face. “Better the camera getting squashed.” She looked at him. “What about you? Are you all right?”
“Fine.” They reached the porch and he opened the door. She imagined he was probably sore, too, as hard as that camera must have dug into his chest as they went down.
When they were in the cool house, he maneuvered her into the kitchen. “I’ll get the water,” he said.
As he went to the fridge and poured two glasses, she raised her camera and looked at it. It didn’t look too bad, considering. It might need attention, though. She’d be better off using her other camera and taking this one into the shop when she got back to Tucson.
When Zane returned with a glass of water, he watched Jessie as she swallowed and took a long drink.
She set the glass down and met his gaze. “Thank you.”
“That scared the hell out of me…” He searched her gaze as he tried to sort out how much the accident had affected him and why. “I—damn.” He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
“Are you up for lunch?” she asked. He had the feeling she was trying to get their minds on something else. “I’ll put something together.”
“I can do it.” He released her hand and gestured to the kitchen table. “You sit.”
“Okay,” she said, “I’ll get my laptop out and look at some of these shots. The memory card is inside the camera and wouldn’t have been damaged.”
He took out the leftover spaghetti and meatballs that she’d fixed last night and began to warm it up. He put a large plate of the spaghetti in the microwave then came up behind her and rubbed her shoulders while looking at her pictures as she went through them.
“I love these,” he said. “They belong in a magazine.”
“Why thank you.” She smiled up at him. “It helps when you have such amazing subject matter.”
“There’s Phoebe’s place.” He pointed to the screen. “That’s a great shot.”
Jessie suddenly shut the laptop.
“What are you doing?” he asked, wondering at the odd look on her face as well as her actions. “I want to see the rest of them.”
“That’s ok,” Jessie said. “Why don’t we eat?”
“It’s not ready yet,” he said. “Let’s look.”
Jessie bit the inside of her lip.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She looked concerned. “I wasn’t going to show you these but I guess you have the right to know.”
He frowned, wondering what it was that made Jessie so hesitant. “Show me.”
She opened the laptop and the screen came back up with the photograph of Phoebe’s place. He was quiet as she went through the pictures until she came to one with Phoebe kissing another man.
Zane went rigid as he studied the picture.
“This was taken the day I arrived.” Jessie glanced over her shoulder at Zane. “Before you broke it off with her.”
“Is there more?” His throat was tight as he asked the question.
She nodded and brought up each picture on the screen that she had of Phoebe and the man. “It doesn’t look innocent.”
“It sure as hell doesn’t,” Zane said, then was
surprised that he no longer cared.
“Who is that man?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Zane said, “and I don’t really give a damn.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be.” He stared at the screen. “Just emphasizes what I already knew… Phoebe was a mistake. I am done thinking about her.”
He brought his gaze to hers and he saw something in her eyes that concerned him. “There’s something else. Tell me what it is.”
Jessie cleared her throat. “I saw Phoebe at the general store in Sonoita this morning.”
He narrowed his gaze.
“She said it’s my fault you broke it off with her,” Jessie said. “And she threatened me. She said she was going to make me pay.”
Anger burned through Zane. “What else did she say?”
“That was it. She left after she threatened me.”
“I suppose you could say that Phoebe really showed her true colors. What she said to you was out of line and obnoxious.” He forced his anger back down. “Don’t worry about her empty threats. She may be an angry woman but she’s harmless.”
“That’s what I thought.” Jessie attempted a smile. “Let’s talk about something a little more interesting.”
When they finished eating and put the dishes into the dishwasher, he took her by the shoulders and kissed her.
Her lips were soft and warm and she tasted of iced tea. He breathed in her scent. It filled him, traveling through his system like some kind of aphrodisiac.
She slid her arms around his neck and returned his kiss. Her kiss was sweet and heady and it made him want her even more.
He drew away and studied her gaze before giving her another hard kiss and then he released her. He picked up his hat and gave her one last look before turning and heading out of the kitchen and to the front door.
As he walked away, Zane thought about how badly it had shaken him that Jessie had been so close to getting hurt in the barn. It had shaken him right down to his boots.
Chapter 10
Fully dressed, Zane eased onto the bed so that he was lying alongside Jessie. Muted sunlight teased the red in her messy hair and he brushed it out of her face. She looked beautiful in his bed.
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