by Alison Bliss
He didn’t seem obsessed with trying to make me scream like a porn star, but I couldn’t say the urge hadn’t been there to do so. If I didn’t come again soon, I’d surely end up with brain damage.
“Come for me,” he demanded, shoving himself deeper into me. “Now, Emily. I want to feel it.”
He intended to get what he wanted, even if it meant coercing it out of me like a modern day pirate. Jake had charted the route to my satisfaction, but on his map, X didn’t mark the spot. G did. And he was obviously a “leave no stone unturned” kind of guy.
Shattering what strength I had left, my inner muscles contracted around him, milking him to orgasm. His body became rigid and he threw his head back, groaning loudly, enduring the sweet torture of his own gratification until finally collapsing next to me on the bed.
A half hour later, our heart rates returned to normal, but neither of us spoke. It wasn’t a rewarding experience, but more of a head-to-toe euphoric buzz.
Jake tucked me possessively into his chest and held me with gentle hands, like a fragile baby bird that’d fallen from its nest. I drifted in and out of consciousness, but became aware of him as his finger doodled across my collarbone.
“Should I consider your closed eyes as a ‘do not disturb’ sign?” he asked.
I cracked one eye open and smiled with contentment. “I’m already disturbed…in more ways than one. What the hell was that?”
“What’s wrong?” he said, grinning devilishly. “You didn’t like?”
“Oh, no. I liked it a lot,” I said. “But why do I suddenly have the urge to bless you with holy water?”
“Never had a woman complain before.”
“Not a complaint, more of an observation.” I hesitated to ask, but felt the need to. “Do you have any, uh…complaints?”
“Emily, I’m a man. We’re not hard to please. I was just thrilled you were naked.” He ran his hand lazily between my breasts. “Still am, in fact. Mother Nature’s wardrobe,” he said, leaning in for a quick kiss.
When he got out of bed, I watched the muscles tighten in his bare ass as he stalked across the room and opened the closet. A minute later, a blanket dropped over me. “You look cold,” Jake said.
“Thanks.” Damn nipples.
Jake continued leaning over me. “I can do you one better if you want to take a shower with me. I promise it’ll be hot,” he said with a wink.
“I would, but I think you crippled me for life. I lost all my basic motor functions. I’ll probably never walk again.”
Jake flashed a proud grin and stroked his finger across my eyelid. “Poor baby. Sleep then. I wouldn’t want you to have any permanent damage.”
Thinking of only my heart, two words came to mind. Too late.
…
Serenely, I drifted in and out of consciousness, but stirred when Jake crawled back into bed, his hair damp and his warm body smelling of soap. When I picked up my head, he glanced over at me.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“Is that an offer?”
“If we’re talking about food, then yes. Earlier, I went over to get you something to eat. Floss had already made us some chicken salad sandwiches. She left them upstairs in the fridge with a note. I brought them back with me and put them in ours.”
“A note? What’d it say?”
He did his best Floss impression. “Jake, I’m riding into town with Hank. I didn’t want to disturb you while you were boning Emily.”
I gigged him in the ribs with my elbow and laughed. “She did not say that!”
Jake laughed. “Well, close enough. I deciphered the hidden meaning behind what she wrote.”
“Which was…?”
“Enjoy. Though I think she was referring to the sandwiches. Stay here. I’ll get them.”
Jake got out of bed naked and walked into the kitchen. As I glanced toward the bedroom window, I realized the room had darkened a little. The late afternoon sun had already descended behind the trees.
“I hope you wore clothes when you went over there,” I yelled from the bedroom.
“I threw on a pair of shorts,” Jake called out, rustling around the kitchen. When he came into the bedroom, he carried a plate in one hand and a glass of tea in the other. “I’ve got something for you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “It better taste like chicken.”
“Doesn’t everything?”
I sat up, keeping the blanket tucked under my armpits to keep it from falling, exposing my nakedness. “You don’t want me to answer that.”
“Now you’re just being crude,” he said, scowling as he placed the plate in my lap. Two sandwiches cut into small triangles adorned the plate, along with a dill pickle.
I smiled at him. “I was talking about your pickled opossum and rattlesnake cheese. You know, all the wacky stuff you country people eat.”
Jake laughed heartily. “All you’re doing is giving me ideas. Rattlesnake cheese sounds pretty good.”
I bit into a sandwich. “I’m too hungry right now to be grossed out.”
“I should probably apologize for not letting you eat before attacking you.”
“But you won’t, right?”
He laughed. “Not a chance in hell. Be more careful about what you ask for.”
I swallowed another bite. “You know we’re going to have to talk about it.”
“Eat first,” Jake said, squeezing into the bed next to me. “We’ll talk about it later. We have time.”
I would’ve argued, but after going twenty-four hours without eating, food received precedence over curiosity. I inhaled the sandwich, then started on the pickle. When I finished, I set the plate aside and caught him staring at me.
“You did that on purpose. Absolutely no one eats a pickle like that, especially when they’re in bed naked.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, grinning slyly. “Thought you liked torture.”
“Only when I’m doing the torturing,” he grumbled. He watched me as I slid out of bed, walking carefully on my sensitive feet toward the bathroom. “Where you going?”
“I need to get ready for dinner.”
“Dinner? You just ate,” he noted. “You can’t possibly eat again so soon.”
I shrugged. “Didn’t stop you earlier.”
…
By the time I got out of the bathroom, Jake had disappeared. I wondered where he went until I heard a truck door shut. Hank and Floss were back. Wrapped in a towel, I sat on the edge of the bed and applied antibiotic cream to my swollen feet. Seconds later, Jake came back inside.
“Floss is going to start dinner, but it’ll probably be a while before it’s ready,” he said, sitting beside me on the bed. “Want any help? While we’re waiting for dinner, I could give you a little petting.”
“You mean pampering?”
“Petting sounds like more fun, but yeah, that, too.” He lifted my feet into his lap, reminding me of how he did the same thing to me the first night we arrived. I watched him doctor my battered feet and wrap them with gauze, just as Floss had.
Then he grabbed me around the waist, nuzzling his face into my damp hair. Jake’s hands rubbed over my shoulders, kneading them hard, as if trying to work out the knots. It wasn’t long before his gently massaging fingers moved from my arms to my chest, then from my chest to my hips.
“Special Agent Ward, I do believe we’ve tapped into one of your hidden talents,” I said rolling my neck as he continued kneading his fingers into my shoulder blades.
“Mental medicine,” Jake said, lowering his voice to a whisper, brushing my shoulder with his lips.
“Mmm-hmm,” I murmured in agreement, concentrating more on the motion of his fingers as they etched into my skin.
Just when I thought our mental state would turn physical, someone knocked on the door. “Dinner’s ready!”
Jake sighed and hollered back, “Thanks, Floss.”
“Dinner? Already?” I said, looking at him. “That was fast. What’d she make…a bowl of ce
real?”
He shrugged. “She must’ve decided it was leftover night or something. Better hurry and get dressed or we won’t be making it to dinner,” Jake said, eyeing the towel that had crept halfway down my breasts.
…
After a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, Jake offered to put some boxes into the attic for Floss. I came straight to the room, undressed completely, and slid into bed. A few minutes later, he joined me, stripping off his clothes before settling under the covers in the moonlit room.
He ran his hand the length of my body, as if to assure himself I was as naked as he was, then snuggled into me, resting his arm across my stomach.
“Seeing if I had another man under there?” I teased.
“With you, you never know.”
Offended, I sat upright. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Calm down,” he said, pulling me back down. “I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I meant you always do things to purposely upset me.”
I let some of the tension out of my body, still trying to figure out if I wanted to be mad about his remark. Since I probably deserved it, I let it go. “Defense mechanism,” I explained.
“What’s the point?”
I sighed heavily. “To push people away, I guess. That way I don’t build an attachment to someone who doesn’t plan on sticking around.”
“So if you abandon ship first, and the other person follows suit, you don’t feel like you got left behind?”
“Something like that,” I admitted.
“Has anybody ever tried to jump overboard to rescue you instead?”
I hesitated, not liking the direction the conversation had taken. “Let’s just say I’m a strong swimmer.”
“So you’ve dated cowards? That’s strange. I wouldn’t have pictured that type of guy for you.”
“Truthfully, I haven’t dated much at all. Two long-term relationships, but neither lasted for a year or was that serious,” I said. “You know how some women say they stopped compromising in the boyfriend department? Well, I actually stopped shopping there altogether. It saves me from the disappointment.”
“Sounds lonely.”
I shrugged. “I’ve been alone since I was fourteen. Guess I’m used to it.”
Jake rubbed his hand over my arm, comforting me. “You’re not alone here, Emily. You know that, right? We all care about what happens to you. Hell, Bobbie Jo—”
“You’ve kidding me, right? Unbelievable! We’re lying naked in bed together, and you want to talk about your ex-girlfriend?” Disgusted, I pushed him away and rolled out of the bed. “Bobbie Jo can’t stay away from you, though she thinks you’re dating me and you want to—”
“She knows we weren’t dating, Emily. I told her in the barn.”
“God, Jake! First Cowboy, now Bobbie Jo? For an FBI agent, you suck at keeping secrets.” I picked my shirt off the floor and tried to figure out if it was inside out.
Jake sighed. “Where are you going?”
“Outside.” I waved my shirt around in frustration. “I don’t want to be in the same room with you right now.”
“You’re not going out there by yourself. Get back in bed.” I ignored him and started to pull my shirt over my head, but he leaned up and snatched it from my hands. “Emily, come on.”
“Screw you.”
Jake leaped from the bed and pulled me against him roughly. “Ever hear the saying, “Make love, not war?” Why don’t we try it? I guarantee you’ll like it.”
“Not a chance.” As tempting as it was, the mention of Bobbie Jo’s name had completely obliterated my sex drive, making me cranky and unreasonable.
He struggled with his temper, trying to keep his anger in check, but the fumes between us were inflammable. One tiny spark could easily cause an explosion. So what better to do than to strike the match and throw it in his face.
“If Bobbie Jo has such an impact on you, then why don’t you pass your offer along to her? I’m sure she’ll be more than willing to accept.”
The shouting match turned into a scuffle ending with my body jolted onto the bed. Jake’s heavy body insulated mine, pressing me into the mattress, holding me firmly in place.
Fuming mad, I fought like a wildcat to get up, but he was stronger and pinned my arms above my head. When I tried to kick him, he shoved his way between my thighs. When I tried to bite him, he laughed.
“So we’re back to that now, are we?” he asked, grinning. “Maybe I should nibble on you, see how you like it.” Jake lifted his eyebrow as if he considered the idea, then something hard throbbed against my thigh.
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned, narrowing my eyes.
He chuckled again. “Not my fault I can’t fight fair with a naked woman. You dangled the carrot. I just reached for it,” he said with a lustful gaze. “I know this sounds strange, but I’m really turned on right now.”
Jake’s erection grew stronger between my legs, making my stomach flutter with excitement. “Then that makes two of us,” I admitted breathlessly.
We both snickered at the idiocy of the situation.
“Look, I’m sorry. I don’t want to argue. I know she’s not your favorite person, and I can even understand why you’d be jealous. I wouldn’t like it if you were friendly with an ex-boyfriend, either. But I’m telling you…there’s nothing between her and me. Not anymore.”
I sighed in surrender. “I don’t want to talk about her. Can we just forget about her for now? We were on the right track before you took the detour and derailed us.”
Jake smirked. “Then I guess it’s up to me to get us back on track,” he said with determination.
Methodically, he shifted a little to the left and buried himself inside me, making me gasp at the full brunt of him. My mind softened at the infusion of our bodies and the ingenuity of his effective pinning technique.
The weight of his body on mine was unbearable. Yet, I couldn’t get him close enough. The sexual tension was magnetic, but we faced off in a mind-blowing, breath-defying battle to see who’d move first. Too bad for him I don’t fight fair.
As my inner muscles clasped him, he let out a soft groan, but didn’t move. I squeezed and relaxed again, applying more pressure and allowing my contractions to tempt him into knee-buckling bliss.
Jake swallowed hard in my ear. “I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have…” I clenched my pelvic floor again, and his head shot up. “My God, I won’t last much longer if you keep doing that.”
“Then let go of my wrists and we’ll try it a different way.” He released me, and I pushed him over, rolling with him, as he landed on his back with me straddling his hips.
His eyes glossed over as he blew out a breath. “That’s not going to be any better for me. The angle is…oh, sweet Jesus.” His eyes rolled up into the back of his head.
“Did you think I was going to lie there and let you have your way with me again? How about I take the reins this time? You just sit back and…”
“Oh God,” he murmured. “Keep doing that.”
Slowly, I ricocheted my hips off his in a rhythmic, circular pattern. But it wasn’t long before he was grunting and digging his fingers into the flesh of my hips. I changed tempo and wiggled wildly on top of him, whispering dirty suggestions that forced him to hold himself painfully back. The agony must’ve been too much. He gripped my ass and rocked both of us to an orgasm, his chasing mine with seconds to spare.
He was still hard inside me when I collapsed onto him, feeling his dark chest hair rasp across my sensitive nipples. Jake pulled my neck toward him, latching his mouth to mine and sucking on the tip of my tongue. We lay together, our bodies slickened with sweat, as our breathing slowed. Within minutes, he had me on my back, thrusting hard into me as he went for a bonus orgasm.
If our previous encounter had been red-hot, then this one was white-hot. Unable to get enough, his hands became rougher, gripping me with bruising force as he drove himself inward.
I mo
aned loudly, practically screaming out in pleasure, as Jake came closer. “Emily,” he whispered. “I want to hear you say it.”
It? What the hell did he want me to say?
When I didn’t respond, he continued. “Say those three little words.”
Oh God! “Jake, I can’t…”
He stroked my nipples with his mouth as he plunged himself into my depths, wanting to take more than I was willing to give. His jaw tightened, and his eyes pierced into me with a strength that frightened me. “Tell me, damn it,” he demanded, lifting my hips higher and pounding into me harder than before. “You feel it. I know you do.”
Jake was right. I did love him, very much so. I just didn’t want to be the first to say it. We both knew I’d never say it on my own, but he would force it out of me, if necessary. I could barely speak, much less think. His hands claimed my body, his mind branded my heart.
“I…I love you,” I choked out.
Tears swam in my eyes over the mental release, as much as the physical one. My body clamped onto his, refusing to let go, and Jake shoved into me for the last time, groaning at his own completion. Once he regained his composure, he smiled at me and brushed his lips across mine.
As I lay quietly under him, I realized something. Awareness can be a funny thing. Jake was now completely aware of my feelings for him, and I was fully aware he hadn’t returned the sentiment. But I was still one up on him in awareness and waited for his reaction.
“Shit,” he muttered.
There.
Now, we were both aware we hadn’t used a condom.
Chapter Nineteen
The morning sun was high in the sky when Jake’s warmth slid out from under the covers. I propped my head on my elbow as he picked up his jeans from the floor.
“Can we talk, Jake?”
He pulled his jeans up over his hips. “I’m sorry about last night. It shouldn’t have happened.”
I told him I loved him, and he…oh God! Of course, he regrets it. I’m such an idiot.
He must’ve noticed a flash of hurt in my eyes because he sat beside me on the bed and took my hands in his. “I’m talking about the condom mishap, not the other stuff.”
