by Cat Johnson
The delay killed him, but he couldn’t jump right off the tractor and sprint to the house, much as he wanted to. He had to put the machines away and take the time to at least hose his face and arms off.
Haying was a dirty job. He pulled off his shirt and bent over to grab the hose they’d used to rinse off Bella. The sun had warmed the standing water in the black rubber hose until it was almost too hot on his skin. He made quick work of rinsing off the dust and sweat, then turned off the water. Using his shirt, he dried his face and torso.
Bare-chested, he headed for his truck to change into the fresh T-shirt he had inside. He’d parked by the kitchen door when he’d arrived. Wishful thinking on his part that he’d be ending the night in her house and leaving past dark, so he’d want the truck close. The notion, and the desire to get inside, quickened his step.
He glanced at the house as he walked by and saw Janie standing in the kitchen doorway, watching him walk, her eyes pinned to his bare skin. She was checking him out without his shirt. Damn. That had him heating to the boiling point. So much so he nearly said to hell with it, forgot about putting on the shirt, and headed directly for her. But he needed to play it cool with this woman. Building a relationship with her would be more like a marathon than a sprint.
He slowed his last few steps to the truck. Opening the door, he tossed the dirty shirt inside and reached in for the fresh one folded on the passenger seat. He made sure he moved from behind the door so she’d have a good view as he stretched and then pulled the T-shirt over his head.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw she hadn’t budged an inch. She was still standing in the shadow of the doorway, watching, probably thinking he couldn’t see her or how her eyes were pinned to him. He saw her, all right. And oh, yeah, her stare totally made all the hours of manual labor that kept him in shape worthwhile.
Impatient to get inside, he swapped the old straw hat he’d worn to work in the field for his good one, slammed the truck door, and turned toward the kitchen.
When he saw Janie wasn’t standing there any longer, a smile tickled his lips. She’d probably ducked back inside because she didn’t want him to see she’d been watching.
Too late. He’d seen and he was so turned on, any thought of food had totally fled his mind as another, more pressing hunger took over.
He pushed through the door and directly across the room to where Janie was concentrating overly hard on the vegetables on the cutting board. It was the stance he’d become used to seeing her in, but he’d never get used to the way his heart pounded the nearer he got to her.
At the sound of the door closing, she’d turned. She put the knife in her hand down as he strode toward her. Smart move, since he had no intention of slowing down, even if the blade was frighteningly long.
“Done for the day?” The casual question didn’t match her heated expression.
“I am. Done, washed up, fresh T-shirt . . . but you know that already.” He grinned as her cheeks turned pink. He reached out and reeled her in to him. “Come here and kiss me.”
“Okay.”
“You let me kiss you, but you won’t let me take you out on a date.” He shook his head. “Maybe I’m going about this the wrong way. Maybe I need to convince you that you can’t live without me.”
She raised her brows. “How are you going to do that?”
“I’ll show you.” He pressed closer as his hands roamed down her body. “But it might take all night. That okay with you?”
“I’ve got nowhere else to be.”
He groaned at that response and leaned low to close the small distance between them. “Good.”
The kiss he’d started out controlling soon took control of him, fueled by the feel of her hands on his hips holding him close, the knowledge she’d been watching him strip outside, her tongue battling with his.... It all combined to take hold of him, and he gave in.
At the pace they were going, there was only one way this night could end. He pulled back just far enough to say, “You have to tell me if you want me to stop, because if you don’t, I’m not going to.”
Her eyes were heavily lidded as she shook her head. “I don’t want you to stop.”
The breath he dragged in after hearing her answer made his chest feel even tighter than it had before. His hands cradling her face, he leaned in, intent on taking her mouth again when she said, “Do you want to go upstairs?”
That stopped his motion. Heart pounding, he went still, holding on to the last vestige of his control as best he could. His answer was a definite hell yes, but Janie was not just any woman. She was a widow, and even without his asking her, there was no doubt in his mind she hadn’t been with another man since losing her husband.
As much as he wanted her, he needed to make certain she was ready. “You sure?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
The last of his restraint broke and he hauled her against him, lifting her feet off the ground. With an adorable squeal, she wrapped her arms and legs around him as he turned toward the doorway leading to the staircase.
“Tyler, what are you doing?”
“Taking you up to the bedroom.”
“You can’t carry me up the stairs.”
“Watch me.”
Janie had all the curves a woman should, but she was a head shorter than he and he was used to throwing bales of hay and lifting sacks of feed all day at the ranch. Carrying one woman up a flight of stairs would barely present a challenge, and he was certainly motivated to get the job done.
She looked honestly concerned as he moved to the staircase and planted one boot on the first step. “Tyler—”
“You hush up, woman. I’m not going to drop you.”
“I’m more worried we’ll both fall down the stairs and break our necks.”
“That’s not happening, either.” He could tell her the calf he’d picked up in the tie-down competition he’d won had weighed over two hundred pounds, but even in his frenzied state to get her to the bedroom, he realized no woman would appreciate being compared to a cow.
The best course of action was to show her he could easily carry her. He took the flight of stairs fast with her wrapped around him. The effort had left him breathless by the time he reached the top, but that was nothing. Just the thought of being with Janie took his breath away.
In the upstairs hallway, the sight of her flushed cheeks and soft lips got to him. He braced her against the wall and kissed her, hard and thorough, claiming her mouth as his. She unwrapped her legs from around him, and he set her feet down on the ground. That freed his hands so he could run them over her bottom before he hauled her hips tight against his.
This close, there was no doubt in his mind that she’d feel his arousal. He wanted her to know what she did to him. To know how much he needed her. The pressure of her body pressed to his only made the situation more urgent.
“Bedroom?”
“First door.” Her answer sounded as breathless and as needy as his question.
Taking Janie’s hand in his as she led the way to her bedroom, he was shaking like a virgin. It was ridiculous because that couldn’t be further from the truth. He’d been with more women in more places than he could remember, and Janie had been a married woman. It was far from the first time for either of them, but this would be his first time with her. For once, that mattered to him. It felt different and he knew why. It was because he felt different about her.
Inside the bedroom, Tyler closed the door and turned toward her. He was aware of the room— how it felt like her. Unlike the formal living room or the sparse guest bedroom downstairs, her touch was obvious in this room. Books stacked on the nightstand made him envision her in her nightclothes, snuggling against the masses of pillows on the bed and reading until she fell asleep. Cut daisies in a vase on the dresser had him imagining her picking them out in the field where he’d noticed the flowers growing along the fence line.
The room only got a quick glance before he focused solely on Janie. While s
till holding her with one hand, he palmed the crown of his hat with the other. After lifting the hat off his head, he set it on the dresser next to the flowers.
That was the last thing he was completely conscious of doing before the jumble of movement that ended with him and Janie, lips locked, falling onto the mattress. Lying next to her, he laced his fingers through hers and moved from her mouth to kissing her fingers. They smelled clean, like fresh vegetables.
“You smell like . . . green peppers.” He spoke as he kissed up her arm to her face before he moved to her ear, where he nipped at her lobe.
“I was cutting them. I’m making”—she drew in a stuttering breath in the middle of her explanation as he dragged his tongue down her neck—“fajitas.”
He lifted his head. “I’m invited, right?”
“Yes.” Her answer was spoken on a sigh.
“Good.” He loved fajitas, but he loved the way a tremor ran through Janie when he kissed her neck even more.
Tyler pulled the skin of her throat into his mouth and she moaned. The sound shot a bolt of pleasure straight through him. It was enough to make him suck harder. He came to his senses and stopped himself before he marked her neck.
That he had any sense or rational thought left at a time like this was astounding. It wasn’t due to a lack of desire on his part. More an instinct to protect Janie as strong as his urge to possess her. The desire to have her, all of her, was strong. He raised the bottom of her T-shirt and exposed her stomach. Leaning low, he kissed the bare skin he’d uncovered. The soft curve of her belly rose and fell beneath his lips with each of her breaths.
They both had too many clothes on. He wanted more of her, not to mention he was still wearing the boots he’d worked in all day. They shouldn’t be on top of Janie’s clean bed, but Tyler wouldn’t mind one bit if his boots spent many nights underneath while he was in it with her.
The thought twisted still tighter the need that had settled low in his gut. It was as if a fire had been ignited within him and it could only be put out by having her.
He pushed her shirt all the way up and tugged it over her head, exposing her bra. He liked the soft, feminine look of the white lace. It made a sexy-as-hell contrast with the faded denim jeans she still wore. He moved his hands down to the button at her waist.
The whole process of his undressing her seemed to be moving far too slowly given his current lack of patience, but at the same time, he didn’t want to rush even one step of it. He wanted to commit every second to memory so he could relive it over and over, every hour they were apart.
He was overdressed himself. As tempting as he found unwrapping the gift that was Janie, he had to get out of his own clothes. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he yanked off first one boot, then the other, dropping them to the floor.
As an afterthought, he glanced down at the carpet, hoping he hadn’t dragged in mud. He hadn’t exactly taken the time to wipe his boots before he’d busted into the kitchen and attacked Janie. He’d clean up whatever mess he made, later. Now he had far more important things to do.
Tyler stood and yanked his T-shirt over his head, dropping it to the floor. Reaching for his buckle, he made quick work of his belt and the fly on his jeans. He wasted no time shoving them down his legs.
In nothing but his underwear, he straightened and found Janie’s eyes on him. Her gaze roamed over him from head to toe and all the important parts in between. She realized he was watching her watch him and yanked her focus up to his face.
Pure male pride filled him and had him on the bed in seconds, kneeling next to Janie to divest her of the last of her clothes.
She wanted him. He knew that. He felt it, both last night and now. Hell, she’d invited him up to her bedroom while the sun was still up, and it wasn’t because she needed him to kill a spider or something. It was because she wanted this as much as he did. Because she couldn’t wait any longer either.
In spite of all that evidence, and knowing down to his very soul she wanted him, he still feared she’d change her mind. At any second she could ask him to stop. Could tell him she wasn’t ready for this. If she asked, he’d stop. Put his pants back on, go downstairs, and maybe start cutting the other field, like he should be doing. But damn, how he hoped she wouldn’t.
He trailed one finger down between her breasts before he leaned over and followed the path with his lips. When he pulled back and glanced up, he saw the color rise in her cheeks. It made him smile. “You okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just . . . it’s daytime.”
“So?”
“I’ve never—” She swallowed. “Um, done this in the daytime.”
He tried not to let his surprise show. If he was married to this woman, he was sure they’d be at it day and night. But as unexpected as her revelation was, he was happy with it. He liked that he was the first to get her to loosen up enough to let go, even while the sun was bright.
“Get used to it.” He moved up her body, bringing his hand to her face as he pressed a kiss to her lips.
Coming inside from the heat of the workday to have the A/C blow cool air across their heated skin as the sunlight filtered through the curtains, sending shadows across her body—it couldn’t be any more perfect.
He’d thought it didn’t get any better than this until she ran her hands over his back and he felt her palms, warm and soft on his bare skin as she pulled him on top of her. Then he realized it could get a whole lot better.
Chapter Twenty-Two
He was hard as a rock, and she wasn’t just talking about that one part of him that she felt pressing against her thigh. He was cut. Ripped. Whatever those bodybuilders called it when a man’s body was all muscle and no fat, that was what Tyler was.
She finally understood the term washboard abs. It was impossible not to after running her hands up Tyler’s torso and feeling them for herself. And his arms, and his legs, and God, the perfection that was his back—he was all solid muscle. Hard as granite. She’d never had her hands on any man like him, much less had him undressed and in her bed.
And the tattoos—they were another thing she had no experience with, but damn, they were hot. Until today when he’d taken off his shirt, she’d never known what art was hidden beneath. Both of his shoulders, his back, and even one thigh sported designs she could happily study for hours.
It was hard to get a close look with him lying on top of her, not that she was complaining. She could catch up on her tour of Tyler’s tattoos later. Right now, she was having trouble concentrating on anything except what she was feeling. What he was making her feel.
The combined heat of his mouth and his hands was enough to quiet the nagging voice in her head. The one that kept telling her she was crazy to do this. It had been so damn long since a man had touched her, and it felt so good.
While his big, rough hands traveled over the bare skin of her hips, he trailed his mouth across her chest. The difference of rough and soft was enticing. Tyler moved his hands around her back and Janie felt her bra release.
Her eyes widened. “How did you do that?” She hadn’t even felt him touch the clasp.
“Talent.” He smiled and peeled the lace down. He drew her nipple between his lips and scraped his teeth over the sensitive flesh.
His groan vibrated through her breast, and a shudder ran through her. Thinking was nearly impossible. All she could do was feel. That was a good thing. She’d done entirely too much thinking lately.
Tyler slid his hand downward, and she drew in a shaky breath. He snaked his fingers beneath the waistband of her underwear, and then lower. Janie stilled, waiting for what she knew was to come. She might keep focusing on his age, or lack of it, but Tyler was all man, and he knew his way around her body. He connected with a spot that had her hips rising off the bed. It had been so long since she’d been touched like this, she felt as if she’d shatter from the sensations rocketing through her.
The heat of Tyler’s breath against her ear as his weight pressed her into the mattre
ss, combined with the touch of his hands, drove her insane. Her breath began to come faster. He groaned above her.
“Yes, Janie.” His words, spoken softly against her hair while his hand continued to work her, were enough to push her over the edge.
The orgasm broke through her and, God help her, she couldn’t control her cries as they filled the small room. She didn’t recognize the sound of her own voice. It seemed too loud, too wild. It wasn’t until he’d eased his touch that she could think again, and they were only beginning. There was a lot left to explore.
The thought had her feeling needy all over again. She reached between them and ran her hand over his thick, hard length. Every part of this man was impressive. She should be embarrassed to think it, but this part in particular was exceptionally so.
With eyes that seemed unfocused, he watched her touch him through the cotton of his briefs. Then he reached down and there were no more briefs between them. He pulled them off and, leaning over the edge of the bed, he dropped them to the floor. He reached down for his jeans, and then he was back and holding a strip of condoms. She stared at what was in his hand as he separated a single packet from the strip and ripped into it.
He rolled the latex over himself and moved to crawl over her. He glanced up, saw her watching him, and stilled in midmotion. “You okay?”
Rather than slowing as she came down from her orgasm, her heart rate sped at the realization of what was to come next. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Good.” His relief at her answer was clear as he rolled to settle between her legs and ran his palms up each of her thighs.
Lifting her hips, Tyler was inside her with one sure thrust.
Janie’s eyes closed as she pressed her head back against the pillow. She forced her lids open again so she could see him over her. Since she was actually going through with this craziness, she didn’t want to miss one moment of it.
A frown formed a deep crease between his brows and his eyes were squeezed tightly closed in concentration. Then he opened those eyes and she was drawn into the depths of his deep blue gaze.