“A month is a very long time.” She tossed her head and leaned back. Two could play this game. He must have a perfect view of their joining. He didn’t stop her from sliding along his hips, playing with his penis. “I can’t remember when I last went an entire month without a cock.”
She dropped her hand to her belly ring and then lower. Jared’s gaze was fixed on her pussy and his cock. She nudged her clit with her fingers and giggled when he flinched. He freed her hips from his grasp. Had he given up? “Is my clit erect enough for you?”
Jared nodded and tugged at his mustache. “So you’re not going to make that commitment.”
She watched him swallow hard as she inched up his length and lowered just as slowly. “I don’t want to make promises I might not be able to keep.”
“But you’ll try?”
She rose and fell, driving his cock deeper into her vagina. She raised her hands above her head and twisted around. She settled quickly and squinted at him. “But I refuse to feel like a failure if I can’t do without.”
“Hey,” Kitty squealed. One moment she’d been sitting riding him, and the next she was on her back with Jared glaring down at her.
He drove into her, pushing her up the mattress.
She saw his dark expression and grinned. “You’re going to fuck me real good, aren’t you?”
His only response was a growl and a shake of the head. Then he reared back and slammed into her harder, with his mouth only inches from hers.
She clawed his back. “More,” she mouthed.
She spread her knees as wide as she could and he pummeled her with long, smooth strokes. His palms pressed the mattress next to her head. His hard biceps loomed before her. He had her gulping for more air and space. He wasn’t giving her enough of either.
She pounded his back with her fists and bucked beneath him. His eyes glazed, but he still raged on. She was no longer convinced he was even in his body. His mouth opened and closed quickly. And then his strokes became short and rapid-fire.
She sank her fingernails into his back and pummeled his ass with her heels.
“Good God,” he bellowed, arching away from her without slowing his pace.
“That’s right,” she squealed. “Fill me. Don’t let me forget you.”
And then Jared began jerking. His spasms gave her pause. He’d lost control. She watched him with awe as he pumped and pumped until at last he collapsed against her breasts. Still his rump rose and fell sporadically.
Kitty hugged him close, smoothed out his hair and rubbed his tight straining back muscles. She blinked away tears. She must’ve come several times in the last few minutes, but she couldn’t remember for sure. She’d been so focused on Jared she’d lost track of her own responses.
Oh my. He hadn’t tried to love her with his gentleness. He probably hadn’t had much control over what he was doing when he went primitive on her. He snored softly and she smiled. Could a man declare his love for a woman in that way?
She didn’t know about that, but it did make him more loveable. She should probably wake him up and make sure he hadn’t misunderstood what they’d shared.
But she didn’t have the strength or the will to do that. Not now. Later, maybe.
Kitty yawned and stretched and then snuggled as close as she could with Jared. His weight didn’t bother her at all.
Two weeks later, Kitty felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. She missed him. Dammit.
She still wasn’t back to her normal self. He’d called once. They’d both been incredibly tentative.
She’d wanted to whip out a vibrator and regale him with phone sex, but she hadn’t. He must be waiting for her to call. She’d started to punch his numbers but something stopped her. And now she’d waited too long. Or had she?
And why did she even want to keep him in her life at all? She shook her head at her own stupidity. She’d never met a man who so completely turned her on, was willing to play all her games and who stimulated her even outside the bedroom. Jared had a mind to go along with a superb body and a ribald sense of humor.
Damn. She wasn’t ready to walk away from him. There were too many possibilities yet for them to explore.
Kitty held her breath and looked at the ticket on the counter. She’d use it at least to visit her daughter and husband in Seattle. There was still time to decide whether she’d use the leg she’d reserved from Seattle to San Diego.
What would Jared say if she called him from the San Diego airport? Even she didn’t have the nerve to arrive on his doorstep without some warning. He might need an hour or two to get rid of the girls he was currently entertaining. After all, he’d given her that same courtesy when he’d arrived unannounced in Chicago.
So why did she think he’d been entertaining hordes of women since his return to the ranch? She hadn’t had the energy or the interest to take on another man since he’d left.
- o -
“Jared, I don’t like to pry,” Serena said, standing between him and his office doorway.
“No, but you will.” Jared sighed, recognizing the mixture of concern, seductiveness, and curiosity. She’d dressed for seduction. Often she’d come to the office in jeans and a discreet top, appropriate for the informality of his office and for being the mother of a five year old.
This morning she’d dressed with a different sort of mission on her mind. Her nipples puckered against a thin pink top. A beige mini hardly covered much of her thighs, and she’d worn open-toed high heel sandals she knew screamed sex for him.
She closed the distance between them and laced her fingers around his neck, crushing her bosom against his chest. She kissed him full on the mouth.
Serena leaned away from him when he didn’t return the kiss. “I’ve never seen you in such doldrums. You haven’t come to visit me since you returned from Chicago.”
“I see you most every day,” he said, ignoring her jibe.
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it,” she huffed, pulling his hand up under her skirt until his palm covered her damp, bare pussy. “We’ve missed you.”
He gasped when her hand dipped between them to fondle his rapidly growing cock. “I can’t,” he said, jerking away from her.
She stood before him with her balled fists on her hips. “You mean you won’t.” She exhaled slowly and Jared relaxed a little when he saw a smile work its way across her lips. “At least I know you’re not brain dead. You still have strong vital signs.” Serena stepped back and leaned against the front of her desk. “So what are you going to do about her?”
“Who?”
“Don’t try to be coy with me. We’ve known each other too long for that. Kitty Paige—the woman who sent you the gifts. The woman who seems intent on claiming your cock for herself.”
Jared shook his head. He shrugged. He sighed. Serena was right—they’d known each other for too long and been through too much for him to hide. “I called her once. She hasn’t called me.”
“Oh,” Serena giggled. “That explains everything. It’s the old male-female stare down.”
Jared shrugged, seeing no need to volunteer information.
“So maybe you ought to fly back to Chicago and throw her over your shoulder and haul her ass back here.”
Jared couldn’t help but laugh at that image. “Kitty’s not the sort of woman who’d allow a guy to cart her off like that. If there’s going to be any carting off, she’ll likely as not do the carting.”
Serena’s mouth turned up in a smile. “Sounds like my kind of woman.” She folded her hands at her waist. “So what are you going to do about her?”
“I don’t know. She’s a hard one to figure. She may be too high maintenance for me.”
“But you’ll call her again.”
“I might.”
“She sounds pretty important to you.”
He gave his petulant assistant a half smile. “She may be. Sometimes I think she’s more important to me than she wants to be.”
“Umm. So
when are you going to bring her to the ranch for Seth and me to meet her—you do intend for us to meet her?”
He nodded. “If I can keep her from running away from me, you’ll have an opportunity to meet her.”
“Good,” Serena said, softly moving around to sit at her desk. “I know you don’t need our approval, but it would be nice to meet your lady before she becomes too territorial.”
“We’ll see,” Jared said squaring his shoulders. “I doubt Kitty is very territorial.”
Serena flashed him an eyebrow. “She’s a woman, isn’t she?”
He nodded.
“It takes a very strong woman—or a very strong man, for that matter—not to get hung up on territoriality. Now if you’d stop bothering me, I’ve got lots of work to do.”
Bemused, Jared shut his office door behind him and glanced around his office. Serena was right. He should bring Kitty to the ranch, and soon.
He might be motivated to move mountains for her, but some things wouldn’t change—even for her. When Serena had given birth to Savannah, the three of them—Serena, Seth and he—had agreed to raise the girl as their own. They could’ve done a DNA test to determine who the father was, but none of them wanted to do that. Given all of his travels and his age it had made good sense for Serena and Seth to marry. Seth could provide their family with more stability. The girl would never want for anything material, and the three of them had agreed she wouldn’t want for anything emotional either.
Jared looked at the recent photo of the three of them on the wall. His lungs filled with pride. Yes, he’d climb Mount Everest for Kitty, but he wouldn’t give his family up—not even for her.
CHAPTER TEN
“You’re going where?”
Kitty stared at her daughter, who was quickly soaking up spilled coffee with a napkin.
Susan’s cheeks were turning fire engine red. She glanced around her Seattle kitchen like she wanted to escape a ghost.
“I said,” Kitty reiterated calmly, “I’m flying down to San Diego from here to see Jared Jacobs. You remember him?” She narrowed her eyes at her flustered daughter. Surely, Jared hadn’t lied to her about not fucking Susan.
Susan scowled but remained silent.
“You’d better tell me,” Kitty coaxed. “You’ve never been good at keeping secrets from me. I’m aware you know Jared through Brad. Just how well do you know him?”
Susan bit her lower lip. “Are you and Jared…lovers?”
“You’re dodging the question,” Kitty said impatiently. “Depends on how you define the word lovers, I imagine. Yes, we’ve fucked a few times.” She examined her fingernails before eyeing her daughter. “How about you?”
“No, no, not that,” Susan blurted out. “He rejected me.”
“What?”
Susan shrank back in her chair.
Kitty smacked her lips. “You better tell me about it.”
“Why did you have to get hooked up with Jared Jacobs?” Susan shifted uncomfortably. “Okay. It happened before Brad and I were engaged. Jared was visiting Jackson when Jackson received a call about a job interview in Denver. He was only going to be gone one night, so Brad and I invited Jared over for dinner. Brad had to run some work over to a professor’s house.”
Kitty watched Susan pause. “And…”
“I don’t know why I did it.” Susan’s brows narrowed as if she were remembering. “It was his mustache, I think.” Her eyes widened. “Don’t you think his mustache is like Clark Gable’s?”
“I’ve noted the resemblance,” Kitty replied dryly. “So Jared’s mustache seduced you.”
“Something like that. Perhaps I’d had too much brandy.”
“What about Brad?”
“Oh, I knew he wouldn’t be rushing back. We didn’t have a committed relationship at that point.”
“So I’ve heard,” Kitty muttered.
“Brad had been encouraging me to try out an older man.”
“And Jared seemed like a prime candidate to both of you.”
“Something like that. Destiny had dropped him in our lap, and I’d always thought of him as quite virile, even given his age.”
Kitty held in a cough.
“And I knew he’d seen me as a woman before.” Susan squared her shoulders. “I’d paraded before him previously in my negligee and bikini, when he and Jackson had visited. He never said anything, but he didn’t have to. His arousal spoke louder than words.”
“So you thought you had him where you wanted him when Jackson and Brad were both out.”
“Not quite.” Susan smirked. “He sat on the living room couch and I flashed him.”
“You exposed a boob?”
Susan shook her head. “I lifted my skirt and shimmied toward him. I wasn’t wearing panties.”
“No, I suppose they’d only get in the way of your plans.”
Susan’s eyebrows drooped into a frown. “He didn’t react. He watched me bring myself off. After I cleaned my sticky fingers on his shirt, he stood. I thought he’d lay me on the floor, but he merely brushed by me, opened the door and left. He never said a word. I was so mortified.”
“I’m sure Brad must’ve been surprised when he got back.”
“Most definitely. He tried all night to make me feel better, but nothing he did could get that chuckling mustache out of my mind. The bastard. And now he’s fucking my mother.”
“More age appropriate, I suppose.” Kitty eyed her daughter carefully. “You’d better get used to that. And if you ever make another play for Jared, I’ll scratch your eyes out myself.”
“Pull your claws back in, Mom. I’m happily married. And even if I wasn’t, Jared Jacobs would be the last man I’d ever try to seduce again.”
“Well, that’s something.”
“And now that I’m getting over the shock,” Susan sighed heavily, “I can be pleased for you. Where do you think this is going?”
Now it was Kitty’s turn to feel uncomfortable. “Does it have to go anywhere?”
“You must be more interested than usual to visit him at his ranch. I’ve only been there once. It’s beautiful, nestled in the foothills. Oh,” Susan’s eyes widened, “you haven’t met Serena?”
Kitty’s arms chilled. “Who’s Serena?”
Susan shook her head. “She and her husband work for Jared. I think Seth manages the ranch. And they have a delightful little girl. I don’t remember her name.”
“Oh.” Kitty let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
“Isn’t it ironic,” Susan said, sticking her tongue out, “you were worried I might’ve fucked Jared, and you fucked Jackson.”
Kitty started. “You know that!”
“Of course. I knew that before you walked me down the aisle at our wedding.” She smirked. “It’s not every girl who’s given away by a mother who fucked the best man the night before!”
Kitty groaned. “Yeah, well, that was not one of my finer choices.”
“I’m sure,” Susan said, rising to fill their coffee cups. “I certainly hope the father is better in bed than the son.”
“I’m not going there,” Kitty said, recalling vividly that Jackson had said he’d fucked Susan. “I’m not one who kisses and tells. So you’re going to be okay with me flying to San Diego?”
“Does it matter?”
Kitty saw the twinkle in Susan’s eyes and grinned. “Not really, but it would be nice to know you’re not hating me for it.”
“I’m not, Mom. I’d never hate you. And if you and Jared can make something that’s lasting, that’d be wonderful. It’s past time for you to find someone who tolerates you enough to actually set up house with you.”
“That’s not what I’m after,” Kitty sputtered, spilling her own coffee.
Susan handed her several napkins. “Sometimes we don’t know what we’re after until it finds us.”
Kitty stopped soaking up the spilled coffee to glare at Susan. “And when did you become a voice of wisdom?”
“Right. I didn’t know I raised such a bullshit artist.”
“It’s okay,” Susan said, gripping her hand. “Thanks for everything, Mom. And I do want you to have fun. When you see Jared, give him our best wishes. With you on his doorstep, he’ll need them.”
Kitty dug in her purse for her cell phone. Instead she pulled out a brush and ran it through her curls, then freshened her lipstick. She sat in the San Diego airport kicking herself for not having called before she left Seattle. Jared could be halfway around the world, for all she knew.
Or he could be buried under several female bodies.
Letting out a deep sigh, she hit the number on the cell phone. She’d come this far—she wasn’t about to turn back now.
“Well, hello.” Jared’s deep voice calmed her aching nerves. He probably had caller I.D.
“Hi,” she said, as lightly as she could.
“I was wondering if you’d ever call.”
“Well, I am.” She hesitated. “I’m at the airport.”
“O’Hare?”
She could hear his frown through the cell. She shook her head. “Nope. San Diego International.”
“San Diego,” he gasped. “You’re here. Son of a bitch.”
“Is that a good son of a bitch, or an I wish you’d stayed in Chicago son of a bitch?”
“I’m elated. Thrilled. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”
“Terminal One, but I can get a hotel if this isn’t convenient for you.”
“Nonsense. Damn, this is the best news since…since I left Chicago. I’ll be there within the hour. How will I find you? Are you wearing yellow?”
“Of course. Just for you. I’m wearing a replica of that yellow shirtwaist dress we so thoroughly destroyed.”
His chuckle tingled in her ear. “That’s fantastic. Are you wearing anything under it?”
The Best Man Page 13