Claiming the Enemy: Dustin: Porter Brothers Trilogy, #3

by Jamie Begley

  “Thanks, Dustin.”

  “I got that for me.”

  “Sorry.” Taking a forkful, Sutton gave an exaggerated sigh just to piss him off. “Pregnant women get priority where food is concerned. It’s delicious, Jessie.”

  “I have one question.” Greer wiped his hands on his jeans. “How come I didn’t know you could cook like this? I would have put you on my list.”

  “What list?” Jessie asked.

  “You don’t want to know,” Holly replied, glaring at her husband.

  “Nothin’ to be jealous of. I would have still chosen you, but a man wants to know all his options.”

  “I have a couple of options for you. You can sleep on the couch tonight or on Dustin’s bed. Take your choice.”

  Greer quickly changed tactics. “Her food wasn’t that good.” He winked at Jessie, letting her know he really didn’t mean what he was saying. “Yours is better.”

  “Greer, I can see you winking at Jessie.” Exasperated, Holly shook her head at Jessie, who was starting to think he might be hurting Holly’s feelings. “Don’t worry. I knew Greer was a food whore when I married him. I told him I didn’t mind him bragging about another woman’s cooking as long as he kept his hands off the cooks. I appreciate a good meal at King’s every now and then,” she joked.

  Deep grooves appeared on Greer’s forehead. “What does that mean?”

  “Just what I said. I enjoy eating at King’s restaurant.”

  “Does that mean you like the food there or you just want to go see King?”

  “Both.”

  “I hope you enjoyed the meal we had last weekend, ’cause we won’t be going again.”

  “If I’m not jealous over Jessie’s food, why should you be jealous? Unlike you, King is a perfect gentleman, and he’s married.”

  “Doesn’t matter. We ain’t going.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t care if he’s married to the Queen of Sheba. She ain’t you.”

  “Awe. That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  Dustin made a gagging noise that earned him a pinch under the table from Jessie.

  Greer’s chest swelled up the size of the rooster in the hen house. “Does that mean I get to sleep in my bed tonight?”

  “It means I’ll think about it.”

  A crackling sound came over the loud speaker as the band that Greer had hired from the VFW set up their instruments.

  “If I dance with you, will you?”

  “Don’t press your luck.”

  25

  Jessie swung Logan in the air as they danced to “Thank God, I’m a Country Boy.” Exuberantly, she twirled Logan around, laughing when she had to duck under when he twirled her back.

  It was a magical night that she didn’t want to ever end. Everyone was standing around, talking or watching the dancing. The Porters had strung up fairy lights from their new barn to their house, where everyone was standing. Porch light illuminated the rest of the front yard, and even the back had been lit, so that the occupants could see anyone approaching.

  When the song ended, BoDean took his turn dancing with her to “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places.” Seeing that Logan wanted to dance again, she caught his hand, dancing with the two boys. Jessie couldn’t remember a night when she’d had so much fun.

  As she danced, she saw Dustin sitting on the end of the porch, watching her. Every now and then, she would send him a happy smile, seeing a mysterious look cross his face when she did. He was wearing an old cowboy hat that kept his features shadowed. She could feel him watching her despite his inscrutable expression as he would intermittently talk to Tate, who was sitting next to him on the porch.

  Tate’s expression was easy to read. His arm was around Sutton, who was sitting on his other side. The married couple didn’t try to hide how much they loved each other and were looking forward to their child. They had been asked all night if they were having a boy or a girl. Their decision to do it the old-fashioned way and not find out the sex of their child was driving everyone nuts.

  The song switched, and Jessie danced another one with the boys before Dustin interrupted, telling the boys that Holly was getting jealous and was waiting for her turn.

  Jessie cracked up when Virgil started singing “Funny Face.”

  “Virgil needs to stick to his security job at the jewelry store and quit volunteering to play at the VFW and parties.”

  Her body molded against his when he pulled her close to sway together as Virgil sang the sad song.

  “Why? I love this song. It’s cute. Maybe you would appreciate it more if your face hadn’t been beaten to hell and back.”

  “He wouldn’t be singing it if it hadn’t been.”

  “You lost your mind to say that in front of my brothers.” Jessie arched her neck back so she could stare up at him. “Why’d you do it?”

  “You know why. I didn’t like the way you were staring at Rider. The next time you stare at him like that, I’ll save myself an ass-whooping and lock you in your bedroom.”

  “You never cared when I looked at another man before.”

  “I cared. I just didn’t show it.”

  Dreamily, she laid her head on his shoulder. “Why’d you show it today?”

  He moved his hand underneath her long hair, tilting her head back. “I’m done hiding how I feel about you.”

  “How do you feel?”

  Before he could answer, the song ended.

  “Play “I Never Promised You A Rose Garden,”” Greer shouted from the porch, jumping down when Holly swatted at him.

  Jessie couldn’t help laughing at Greer’s antics.

  “Do they act like that all the time?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Holly really loves him, doesn’t she?”

  “You have to love Greer to put up with him.”

  “You didn’t think about moving out when they got married?”

  “I thought about it, even started moving the dirt in the backyard to lay a foundation to build a small house, but I changed my mind.”

  “Why?”

  “I got busy with work, and Holly doesn’t like to be separated from Logan. Figured I would get around to it when they had another kid. By then, Logan will be older.”

  When Virgil started playing a livelier song, Dustin took her hand and twirled her in a practiced move that had her gasping. He was a much better dancer than she expected.

  Looking away, her eyes met Rachel’s as she danced with Cash.

  “Where’s Ema?” she asked when Dustin spun her around again to face him.

  “She’s at home with Mag. Rachel thought it would be too cool out for them at night. Jo and Rider are keeping an eye on them until Rachel and Cash get home.” Dustin regarded her closely after mentioning Rider’s name.

  Jessie wasn’t ashamed to admit she got a little thrill over him being jealous. A man had never been jealous over her. It was a heady feeling she had never expected to feel.

  After three songs, she was ready to take a break, but Dustin talked her into another two before she finally told him that she needed to get a drink.

  Expecting him to follow her, she walked to the ice chest and had turned around to ask what he wanted to drink when she saw him dancing with Holly. Her heady emotions took a nose dive as she watched the two dancing.

  Greer was at the buffet table, not paying any attention. It was only her who was having trouble watching the easy familiarity between them. If Holt and Asher hadn’t left an hour ago, she would have left rather than watch them.

  She looked around at the few remaining guests to see who she could ask to walk her home. Most were still dancing or, like Greer, were trying to finish off what was left of the food.

  Finding a spot at the picnic table, she watched as Dustin danced with Holly until she grew tired. When he then asked a long-legged blonde she recognized as Virgil’s daughter, she’d had enough.

  Putting her jacket on, she went to the other picnic
table, where Greer and Holly were now sitting. “It’s time I headed home. Thanks for inviting me. I had a great time.” Well, she had until Dustin had decided to dance with a woman who could keep up with him.

  Greer looked up from his plate, then frowned as he looked to where Dustin was still dancing. “You ain’t going alone. I’ll walk you.”

  Jessie gave him a smile as if her heart weren’t breaking in two. “There’s no need. I texted Bubba. He already left my house. I better hurry. I don’t want to keep him waiting. Thanks again.”

  Jessie took off before they could say anything else. She avoided looking where everyone was dancing, walking beside the house until she was able to turn the corner and walk toward the woods.

  Taking out her flashlight, she turned it on as she entered the dark shadows.

  This is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done, Jessie berated herself as dried leaves crunched under her feet.

  “Why in the fuck didn’t you tell me that you were ready to leave?”

  Jessie gave a startled scream at Dustin’s voice behind her.

  She angrily hit his shoulder, yelling, “You big jerk! You know better than to come up behind me!”

  “You scared the hell out of me, too! Why didn’t you just tell me you wanted to leave?”

  “I don’t know,” she snapped. “Maybe because you were busy making kissy face with Anna!” Whacking him again with the flashlight, she huffily walked off, not caring if he followed her or not. Well, she did, but she would be damned if she was going to tell him that.

  “I wasn’t making kissy face with her,” he denied.

  “You could have fooled me.” She walked faster, wanting to leave him behind.

  “You’re being rid—”

  Dustin stopped in his tracks when she swung around, using the end of the flashlight to poke him in the chest.

  “Don’t you dare tell me I’m being ridiculous!”

  Dustin raked a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I was just having a good time. I got carried away. I just … I don’t know what I was thinking. I thought you would come back over when you wanted to dance again. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

  Her hurt didn’t go away, but at least the sharp jab of jealously was easing until she didn’t feel the need to brain him with her flashlight.

  Placing his arm over her shoulders, he started walking alongside her. “Where’s Bubba? Greer said he was supposed to meet you.”

  “I might have lied about that,” she admitted.

  “Why in the hell would you have lied about something so important?”

  “I was jealous, okay!”

  “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I’m a jackass.” He said it as if he was expecting her to say something.

  She looked at him questioningly when he stopped walking.

  “You could apologize for making googly eyes at Rider.”

  Jessie frowned at him. “Why would I do that?”

  His voice rose in incredulity. “Because you were making googly eyes at him!”

  She stared back at him just as incredulously. “If you were a woman, you would have done the same thing.”

  “No, I wouldn’t have. If I were a woman, I would have standards,” he argued.

  Her eyes widened at his arrogance. “That’s funny as hell coming from you. Have you seen yourself around Willa?” Jessie twisted her expression into one she had seen on Dustin’s face too many times. “Willa, is that a new dress you’re wearing?” she mimicked. “Willa”—Jessie crinkled her nose—“is that a new perfume you’re wearing? Wait.” She rolled her eyes heavenward. “This is my favorite. Willa, what did you make special for me today?” Jessie stuck a finger in her mouth, pretending to gag. “Yeah, if you were a woman, you would do so … much better, you big jerk.”

  “Hey, give me that flashlight.”

  Jessie jerked the flashlight away before he could snatch it from her.

  “Na-na-na-boo-boo-wha. You can’t have it.” She darted around a tree when he tried to grab it again.

  “Woman, I’m going to paddle that ass when I catch you.”

  “You’ll have to catch me first,” she taunted, running just out of his reach around another tree. “Na-na-na-boo-boo-wha! You big baby!” Laughing uproariously, she poked her tongue out at him before grabbing a low branch and quickly releasing it, smiling in satisfaction when she heard the whomp of it hitting him.

  “Na-na-na—whoof!”

  She had turned her head around to see how close he was when she had misjudged the size of the broken limb. Jessie found the air knocked out of her, the flashlight flying upward. She was spitting out a leaf when Dustin caught it in the palm of his hand.

  “Na-na-na-boo-boo!” he crowed, arrogantly standing over her.

  “Dustin … I think I sprained my ankle.”

  Dustin immediately dropped to her side. “Let me see.”

  Jessie struck when he turned the flashlight toward her foot. Grabbing a handful of leaves, she threw them at him, crunching several to shove under his jacket.

  Laughing hysterically when he blew a leaf out of his nose, she fell back, grabbing more leaves to throw at him.

  Dustin grabbed her hands as he pinned her to the ground. “You’re a nut.”

  Blowing a tendril of hair out of her mouth, she reached out, using her fingers to rake the leaves out of his hair. “Truce?”

  Dustin eyed her with misgiving. “I don’t trust you.”

  Jessie widened her eyes in pretend innocence. “Now, that just hurts my feelings.”

  “Yeah, right, I ain’t buying that either. Fool me once …,” he quoted.

  Jessie quit pretending, baring her soul to him. “I never could fool you. You’ve always known I loved you. You had no reason to be jealous of Rider.”

  “Jess …,” he groaned, burying his mouth in her neck.

  “I love the way you look in that hat. You’re the only man in Kentucky who wears a cowboy hat. I love that you’re a good father to Logan. I love how you treat your family … I pretty much love everything about you, except when I see you with another woman, even Holly. Then I hate you. Then I really, really hate you.”

  She stared up at the stars as he moved his mouth from her neck to whisper in her ear, “Don’t hate me. It rips me apart when you tell me you hate me.”

  “I can’t help it. You bring out the best and the worst in me.”

  “Love does that sometimes.” Dustin nipped her earlobe before sliding his lips to her cheek, then to her mouth, pressing his down firmly. He traced his tongue along the contours of her lips before raising his a hairsbreadth away. “It makes it so damn good.”

  Lowering his mouth again, he parted her lips, delving his tongue inside to demand a response from her. The last time he had kissed her, he explored every centimeter of her mouth. Tonight, he wasn’t exploring; he was set on conquering.

  Jessie wound her arms around his neck, opening her mouth wider to give him what he wanted. She would always give Dustin whatever he wanted.

  He made her feel weak when she was in his arms, but at the same time, protected.

  Igniting a melting need that had her thighs parting so his could slide between them, molding them together, didn’t raise her guard. She was with Dustin. She was willing to give him anything he wanted if he would just be willing to reach out and take her.

  Raising her hips, Jessie could feel his hardness behind the stiff material of his jeans. She unwound her arms from his neck and went down to stroke his back when she felt him rise, getting to his feet in one movement and taking her by the arms, lifting her to her feet.

  Standing numbly, she felt Dustin brush the leaves from her dress. When he was finished, he gave her a quick kiss before putting an arm over her shoulders as he lowered the flashlight so they could see.

  “Why’d you stop?” she asked through trembling lips.

  “Because it’s not the right time or place. Logan is expecting me back to put him to bed, and Holly and Greer are waiting for me to
help with the cleanup.”

  “You’re lying. Would you have stopped if it had been another woman?”

  “No.”

  Jessie tore herself away from him. “Go home. I can make it the rest of the way by myself.”

  “I wouldn’t have stopped … because they wouldn’t have been you, Jessie.”

  She froze at hearing an emotion in his voice that she had never heard before when he was talking to her.

  “I don’t want our first time together in rotting leaves, and I sure as hell don’t want our first time together within hearing distance of Asher, who’s behind that big oak tree. I want to make it special when you tell me you’re ready.”

  “I don’t need special—”

  “It’s not only for you that I want to make it special. I want to make it special for both of us.” Dustin moved a step closer, cupping her cheek with hard fingers. “You remember the night you got so angry at me that you told me I didn’t save firsts for you?”

  “Yes.”

  “You got my first smile. You were the first girl I fell in love with. The first one who broke my heart.”

  “How’d I break your heart?” Becoming flustered at his admission and the way he was staring at her, Jessie nervously rubbed the leather cord under her fingertips, making sure not to pull the full length out from inside her dress.

  “Let me finish. I’ve given you your say several times. It’s my turn.” His jaw firmed, changing his appearance.

  Deep down, Jessie had always seen Dustin as the young boy she had fallen in love with. The Dustin in front of her ripped the veil off her eyes, showing her the man he had become.

  “You were the woman I compared other women to. Not one of them measured up to you then or now. Even Sam was second best, and yes, I married her and would have been happy if she hadn’t listened to her father, but she still wouldn’t have been you. I let stubbornness and my pride get in the way of what I wanted more than anything in the world. I didn’t realize you felt the same about me as I do about you until you yelled it at me in your front yard.

  “Do I regret my relationship with Sam? I’ve already told you, no. I love Logan, so I guess things went the way they were supposed to go, and we’re in the same spot. Arguing about other women is the furthest thing from my mind. And I would appreciate it if you would stop saying I didn’t save anything for you, because I did. I saved the most important part of me just for you. I saved my heart for you, Jessie. I saved it just for you.”