Lots of them. So many she completely forgot she was dancing, an activity she rarely took part in.
While she’d not been oblivious to the fact that many interested gazes followed them—and a lot of jealous ones, too—no one seemed to notice that she had no idea what she was doing on a dance floor.
Ben’s body moved easily next to hers, his hard muscular form seeming to burn right through the thin fabric of her dress even though they were barely touching. She’d hardly noticed that he’d danced them to a less-occupied part of the yard, behind a huge flowering bush that took over one entire side of his parent’s large deck.
“We might have a problem,” he said, looking down at her, his expression very serious.
“What?” She looked around, alarmed, her hand moving to her thigh reflexively, until she remembered she had put the gun in her bag, which Lisa had insisted on putting away upstairs in the house with hers. Joanna hadn’t liked it, but she could hardly argue.
“I can’t seem to stop touching you,” he said, sliding his hands to her back. “This dress is driving me crazy,” he admitted in a voice so thick with desire it was unmistakable.
“That could be a problem, yes,” she agreed with a smile.
Ben’s hands framed her face and he bent to kiss her when the sound of laughing nearby broke them out of the spell and she saw two kids, probably around ten, spying on them from behind a tree. The pair laughed again as they ducked out of sight.
“I think we’ve been made,” Joanna said dryly, but she was secretly relieved for the interruption. She didn’t trust herself with Ben, and certainly didn’t need to be seen making out with him in public. In the middle of his parents’ yard, no less.
“I think you’re right,” he said, laughing.
He scrutinized the young spies, and with speed that made her jump, took off after them with a whoop. More peals of laughter filled the air as the interlopers ran away, Ben in pursuit. He quickly caught up with them, assisted by a couple of his cowboy friends, and the kids were screaming in helpless hysterics as the men carried them to the jumping tent and swung them one-two-three into the padded room.
Joanna grinned and settled back against the rail fence to watch as kids raced by, all wanting to be the next one caught and tossed.
Ben would be great with kids, that was clear. She wondered if he wanted his own.
“Sheesh,” she said to herself, straightening up and not liking how easily that thought had drifted into her brain, nor the warm fuzzy feeling that had come with it.
Having ticked past thirty the year before, she still had time for all of that. The guys she worked with had families, regular lives, but then again, being a parent didn’t put them out of the field for almost a year.
She’d spent almost a decade proving herself, building her career, her reputation. She had no illusions about how quickly it would all go down the drain if she let herself get distracted by her biological clock. Even if she never had a child of her own, she could adopt some day if she wanted to—she knew the system was full of kids who needed homes.
There was no rush even to think about it, she told herself, watching Ben throw another squealing kid into the funhouse.
She redirected her thoughts, though it took considerable discipline.
It was the effect of the day. And the man. Being here, amid all of these other families, the kids, the relaxed atmosphere, it was hard not to think about life outside the Marshal Service. Having spent a few weeks with her newly married brother and Lacey—who were also thinking about a family—didn’t help matters any.
She’d always thought she was fine on her own, and had no desire for anything more than to do her job well, but now, there was Ben.…
He made his way back to her and stood a few feet away, still grinning, and holding his hand out to her.
“The afternoon games are starting. I could use a partner,” he said, eyeing her from head to toe. “Up for the three-legged race?” he asked.
She welcomed the shift in the mood between them, the lighter spirit. Stepping forward, she took his hand and smiled. “Games, huh? So whose butts are we going to kick?”
He laughed, planting a quick kiss on her cheek.
“That’s the spirit.”
Her second thoughts followed her as they crossed the yard back to a large field where people were gathering, obviously getting ready for some events. His touch, his large hand around hers, thrilled her far more than it should, but she didn’t back away. His touch made her want him more than it should. Everything with Ben was more than it should be.
Before she could think too much about it, he was tying a rope to her right ankle and she looked down as he slid his other hand down the back of her opposite thigh, igniting sparks everywhere. She held her breath, relieved she had decided to stow her holstered gun here.
“Ready for me to tie you up?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Chuckling out loud, she nodded, abandoning her doubts in the face of his silly sexiness.
“Let’s go for it.” Even as she said the words, she wondered if she was talking about the race or something else. Her worries were soon lost in the frantic race, and Joanna did something she hadn’t done in a very long time.
She had fun.
8
THEY COMPETED IN SEVERAL rounds of a three-legged-race championship—in which Ben and Joanna came in second only because he’d tripped while trying to catch a peek down her dress. Then there was a round of Capture the Flag and a water-balloon fight the kids started when they ambushed the adults. Now, Ben sat nursing a beer and cooling down. He was particularly enjoying the view as Joanna stretched out beside him on the soft grass.
She had a smudge of dirt on her cheek and grass stains on her pretty dress. She didn’t seem to care, which didn’t surprise him at all. She had a fiercely competitive spirit, balanced by a fun-loving nature that had her pushing hard to win and dissolving in laughter when they didn’t.
She might be new to shooting guns, but was dead aim with a water balloon, as his soaked clothing proved. He’d gotten his own shots in, as had the kids. All in all, it was fun—and exhausting.
They’d come to sit in the sun to dry off, but the shade had taken over as afternoon shadows started to stretch long over the yard. He didn’t want to move from the spot, enjoying just being here with Joanna.
He looked down, taking in the long, tan length of her legs, sandals long abandoned, feet crossed at the ankles. The peach-colored paint on her toes intrigued him, as she didn’t seem to do those kinds of girly things too often.
He hoped it was for his benefit.
Her dress still covered her adequately, but had ridden up on her thighs a little, garnering his interest.
Slim hips and a small waist narrowed up to her top where the dress gapped slightly, providing him the peek he had been after earlier. He liked her shape, and the smooth, womanly strength she exuded, the easy way she moved.
He particularly liked the way she wrapped herself around him, took him whole, made him feel as though he could sink into her until the entire world went away.
Taking in her face, her eyes closed, lips parted, he reached out, drawing his finger along the side of her cheek.
Her eyes opened, meeting his. They weren’t alone, others were milling around, seeking out some dinner before an evening of dancing started, but they were alone enough.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she said back.
“Did I wake you up?”
“Was I snoring?” she asked, not seeming at all embarrassed by the possibility.
“Nope.”
“Then no, not sleeping,” she said with a smile, looking up at him peacefully.
“You do saw some wood, though, I’ll hand you that,” he said, teasing.
She laughed. “Yeah, I know. My brother taped me once to convince me it was true.”
He laughed. It was nice that she had some good memories of growing up.
“This place is perfect,” she sai
d, pushing up to her elbows, staring at the main house. “Growing up here with your family, your parents…it’s like a fairy tale.”
“Well, maybe not like that. Ranches are hard work, and we went through some tough times, financially and otherwise, but yeah, it was nice growing up here.”
“And only you? No brothers or sisters?”
“Mom and Dad tried, but Mom had some condition that made it hard for her to carry to term after me, so they settled for what they got,” he said with a sideways smile. “And we had Charlie. He pretty much lived here, too, since his family was such a mess. He was more like a brother, really, than a friend.”
“That’s nice that you all would take him in like that,” she said, rolling over and propping on her elbows, very aware, he knew, from the gleam in her eyes of the peek she was allowing him now.
Ben found it suddenly very difficult to track the conversation and couldn’t care less about talking about his childhood.
“Come here, I want to show you something.”
“Sounds promising,” she said, and stood, following him down behind the barns and through some brush, the sounds of the party fading behind them. Under the late afternoon sky that was quickly fading to sunset, a few stars were winking. When he stopped, they were standing in front of a small pond surrounded by rocks.
“The springs that feeds up into this land. One of the reasons my grandfather settled here is that the water runs under several acres of the ranch,” he said, reaching behind her to pull the zipper of her dress down.
She simply stood before him as he gently lowered the dress from her shoulders and laid it over a tree branch close by. It took him seconds to get out of his own clothes, and she stripped off her underwear as well, understanding.
Without saying a word, he held his hand out to her, and she took it, both of them running into the water.
Joanna gasped and let out a squeal as her fingers dug into his shoulders.
“This is freezing!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
“Just for the first minute or so until you get used to it. Here, I can help you warm up,” he said, bringing her naked form close to his.
It had been hours since he’d kissed her, and he couldn’t wait another minute, finding her mouth as her arms and legs went around him. His hands slid down to hold her backside as he kept them steady in the water.
“What if someone comes over here?” she asked, nibbling at his throat.
“They won’t. Most people don’t even know it’s here,” he said confidently.
“Well, how nice for us.”
“Yeah, I thought so,” he agreed. Leaning down under the cool surface of the water he sucked a hard nipple into his mouth, drawing on her until she was crying out and he had to come up for air.
“Oh, that’s so nice, with the water,” she said breathlessly.
“I’m a SEAL,” he responded with a grin. “Water is where I’m best.”
He shifted them slightly, and slipped inside her, the contrast between the heat of her body and the cold water making him groan aloud as well.
They stopped talking as their bodies fused, his hands grinding her against him in a rhythm that soon brought both of them to the edge.
“Joanna, hold your breath.”
“Why? I don’t think—”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got you. Relax and take three deep breaths with me, exhaling completely, and on the third one, exhale completely but hold it, okay? If you can’t hold it once we’re under, just let go of me and we’ll come right back to the surface. It’s just inches away. Do you trust me?”
A pause, and his heart slammed as his body pushed him forward for completion, but he waited.
“Okay,” she said on a hushed breath. “But shouldn’t I inhale to hold my breath?”
“Exhaling is the trick, believe me.”
“To what?”
“You’ll see,” he promised.
“Okay.”
“One,” he said, sucking in a deep breath and releasing it with her, at the same time filling her and withdrawing.
“Two,” he said against her cheek, doing the same, and feeling her start to tighten around him.
“Three.” They both exhaled deeply as he took them under water, holding her to him and pumping into her fast and hard until he felt her spasm against him, her fingers digging in as his own mind-bending orgasm exploded from his body.
Breaking the surface, they both gasped for air and sought each other again. She grabbed on to him tightly, still shaking.
“Are you okay?” he asked, worried that maybe his plan had not gone as he’d hoped. He thought she had enjoyed it, but—
“Okay? Who needs air?” she said, her voice trembling as she wound herself around him. “And I don’t want to stop,” she said, biting his shoulder.
He wouldn’t have thought it possible after the climax he’d just had, but she made him hard again within seconds and took him inside one more time.
After another mind-bending release under the water, Ben’s legs were shaking, too, as they made it to the edge of the spring where he collapsed with her beside him. They caught their breath on the sand, where the lingering warmth and a breeze dried the water from their skin in minutes.
“So where did you learn that little trick?” she asked, rolling over, one arm splayed over his chest.
“You’ve heard of autoerotic asphyxiation?”
She nodded. “Dangerous stuff. People die.”
“Yeah, and it’s doubly stupid because they’re missing the point anyway. It’s not inhaling and holding your breath that makes it stronger, more intense, it’s the exhale. You need to take the deep breaths in and out, and exhaling pushes the thoracic diaphragm lower, increasing contractions. Being in the water isn’t necessary, but I had a feeling it would be nice, all of our senses deprived except for focusing on the pleasure,” he explained.
“You learn that in the SEALs?”
He laughed. “I can’t divulge the source of my intel,” he said, though the truth was that he had learned the breathing trick from a yoga instructor he’d dated for a while.
“We should probably get dressed and back to the party before anyone misses us,” he said, kissing her before he stood up.
“Okay. Thanks for inviting me today, and for showing me this place,” she said, sounding almost wistful, as if she were a little sad.
“I wanted you here with me,” he said, pulling on his shirt and watching her dress under the moonlight, his heart stuttering in his chest. “This isn’t just sex for me, Joanna. You should know that.”
It was true, and he figured he might as well say it now.
She pushed her fingers through her hair, quiet for a moment in a way that made his heart sink.
“I know. Me, too,” she said, almost too quietly for him to hear her, but he did.
He couldn’t blame her for being apprehensive. It had only been a few days, and it was so intense he was out of his depth. But something told him that she was different from any other woman he’d ever known.
“We have time. No pressure, okay?” he said, tugging her into an embrace.
She didn’t say anything, but nodded against his chest. He could feel the tension that had returned to her frame, and hugged her closer. Whatever doubts she had, he was intent on erasing them and making this work.
Whatever was between them, he knew it was something special, and he wasn’t about to let it go.
TWO HOURS LATER, BEN THREW THE last dishrag down the laundry chute that went from the kitchen to the basement and leaned back against the counter in exhaustion.
His mother, Rachel, smiled at him, tired but happy as she pushed up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
“Thanks for the help with the clean-up, Ben. And Joanna, too. She didn’t have to do that.”
Through the large kitchen window Ben heard Joanna’s laugh filter in from the backyard where she had been helping his dad clean up. Lisa had left with Charlie, and Jo had just pitched in. Of course she ha
d, he thought with a smile.
“This one’s different,” his mother said, watching him with a sly look.
“Yes, she is.” He wanted to play it cool, but he couldn’t seem to wipe the stupid smile from his face.
“Your father had that same look on his face when he used to look at me—and I’d say she feels the same way, if I’m any judge.”
“We’re taking it one day at a time.”
“Smart. But I like her, too, at least what I know of her.”
“It was a great party,” he said, changing the subject as he heard his father’s booming voice approaching the house, the back door opening.
“One of our best,” his father agreed as he walked in.
“Always did have ears like a hawk,” Ben answered, grinning at his father, who deposited a box of unused paper plates, cups and other items on the counter, followed by Joanna, who hefted a similar box.
Ben stepped forward. “Hey, let me take that,” he said, reaching to take the box from Joanna, who made a raspberry-like noise and carried the large carton to the counter herself.
“I have it. Relax,” she said.
Ben didn’t miss the amused, knowing look his parents shared, but he chose to ignore it.
“She’s no slouch, this one,” Hank, his father, said, grinning at Joanna with clear admiration.
If Ben weren’t sure that his father was two-hundred-percent in love with and devoted to his mother, he’d think Hank had a crush.
“I enjoyed lending a hand,” Joanna said, clearly a fan of the senior Callahan as well. “It was a wonderful day. I haven’t been to a party like that in well…ever.”
“Hank can never do anything small,” Rachel said, her eyes twinkling at her husband.
Ben watched Joanna watching them, and then she looked away. He saw it in her eyes, the distance. Her upbringing had been a lot different than his, with her mom taking off, her dad gone, and her brother not caring much. Standing here in the kitchen of the house he’d grown up in, with both of his parents, he wished he could somehow erase any of the past pain she’d suffered.
Straight to the Heart Page 11
