Rich Rancher's Redemption

by Maureen Child

  “What?”

  “My panties,” she said. “They’re black.”

  He groaned and lifted her legs to hook them around his waist. Then he filled his hands with her bottom, squeezing, kneading until she whimpered as need whipped from a nagging ache to an overwhelming demand. Shifting his grip on her, he reached down to stroke the core of her and even through the silky fabric of her panties, Jillian shook with reaction. Spirals of pleasure and expectation coiled inside her, and she moved into his touch.

  He dipped his head to the base of her throat, then lifted her higher against the door so he could taste the valley between her breasts.

  “Jesse...” Breathless, she gasped for air and couldn’t find any. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears and then he snapped the elastic band on her panties and she groaned.

  He tossed the panties to the floor, then murmured, “Sorry about those.”

  “Don’t care, don’t care.” Her head moved back and forth against the door. She hooked her legs tighter around him and arched into him, wanting, needing.

  His thumb stroked that aching, throbbing core. She was wet for him and so hot she felt the fire inside spreading, threatening to incinerate them both. He pushed one finger, then two inside her, and Jillian cried out his name as she instantly splintered. Her body trembled with the waves of pleasure shaking through her and before they had ended, he withdrew his hand and worked at the button and zipper of his slacks.

  Sighing, smiling, she looked into his eyes and said, “That was—”

  “Just the beginning,” Jesse promised and he pushed his hard length into hers with one sure stroke. Jillian moaned and took him in. He filled her so completely, so thoroughly, she couldn’t have said where she ended and he began. And she didn’t care. As long as he stayed inside her. Always. Higher, deeper, claimed her as no one else ever had.

  She felt the cold of the door behind her back, but it meant nothing compared to the heat within. He was so big. So hard. His body locked into hers as if made to fit, and she wanted more. Her legs locked around his middle and her hips rocked furiously, keeping up with the rhythm he set.

  “Take it all and let go,” he whispered, fixing his gaze to hers.

  She looked into his eyes, saw her own reflection there and was shocked by the naked desire etched into her face. Jillian had never known such wild desire. Such overpowering emotions and sensations crashing together inside her. Her body hummed, her blood rushed and as the tight tingle of expectation at her core expanded, she leaped into the fire.

  Clutching his shoulders tightly, she called out his name and rode him hard as a climax bigger than anything she’d ever imagined roared through her. And still, he pounded himself into her, taking, giving, taking again until she couldn’t think, couldn’t speak, could hardly breathe and she didn’t care.

  His hands gripped her hips and she felt the impression of every one of his fingers against her skin. He held tight, looked into her eyes, then exploded into her body with a hoarse cry of release that shattered her every bit as much as her orgasm had.

  They clung together like survivors of a shipwreck. Jillian was still pinned to the door behind her and Jesse was still deep inside her. Where she would keep him, if she could. Breath staggered in and out of her lungs and she held him as he buried his face in the curve of her neck and fought for his own breath.

  “Couldn’t wait another minute,” he said tightly. “Took you against a damn door.”

  “And I loved every second of it,” she assured him.

  He lifted his head, looked into her eyes and said, “Yeah, me, too. But like I said, I wasn’t thinking. And now it’s time to pay. Didn’t use a condom.”

  Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. Jillian’s fuzzy brain fought to focus on the situation, but it was so far out of her scope, it wasn’t easy. She hadn’t given a single thought to protection and that had never happened to her before. Even the night she’d gotten pregnant with Mac, she’d insisted the Will impostor use a condom. It was Fate’s little joke that she’d gotten pregnant anyway. But tonight—“Oh, God.”

  “That pretty much covers it.” He pulled her into his arms, peeling her away from the door and disentangling their bodies.

  Jillian didn’t know which devastated her more—the knowledge that she’d been so completely reckless...or the loss of his body inside hers.

  On her feet again, she pushed her hand through her hair and thought about where she was in her cycle, frantically figuring out if she was fertile or not. Finally, she said, “I think it’ll be okay. I mean, I should be safe.”

  He scrubbed one hand across his face, then looked her directly in the eye. “If you’re not, I expect you to tell me.”

  “Absolutely.” She wouldn’t keep something like that from him. “And you should know, I’m healthy.”

  “So’m I,” he said quickly. “So one worry off the table.”

  Her knees were a little wobbly, so she walked across the room to her bed and sat down. The bedsprings squealed and she laughed. “I can’t believe—” she shook her head and looked up at him.

  “Yeah, that’s something I’ve never done before. I wouldn’t take chances, Jillian.”

  “I know that,” she said, looking up at him.

  “I can only say I lost control.” Then he added wryly, “I’m not sorry.”

  “Me, either,” she admitted as a fresh, pulsing need erupted inside her.

  “Good.” He reached for his wallet and pulled out two condoms. Showing them to her, he said, “Because I’m not done with you yet.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad to hear that.”

  He peeled out of his clothes while she slipped out of her dress and in seconds they were naked, rolling across the mattress to the accompanying shrieks from the bedsprings.

  “Should’ve gotten you a better bed,” he murmured as he lowered his head to her breast. He took her nipple into his mouth and lips, teeth and tongue working that hard, pink bud until she twisted beneath him.

  “If it gets too noisy, we can move to the floor,” she insisted, reaching down to close her hand around the hard length of him. She ran her fingertips up and down his shaft, scraping gently with her nails until he lifted his head and groaned.

  “You keep touching me like that I’ll go wherever the hell you want me to.”

  Jillian grinned. “Don’t plan to stop.”

  She slid her foot up and down one of his legs. She loved the strength of him. The hard solid body, the husky whispers, the gentle touch. In fact, everything about Jesse reached something inside her she hadn’t known existed. Jillian didn’t want to think about what that meant. Didn’t want to think at all right now. She wanted to lose herself in what was happening to her body. Revel in what he made her feel.

  “You’re thinking,” he ground out, then ordered, “stop it.”

  She laughed, and he rolled onto his back, dragging her on top of him. Her hair fell down on either side of his face like a blond curtain, closing the two of them off from the rest of the world.

  He looked up at her and said, “You take my breath away.”

  Jillian’s heart leaped as she looked into his eyes and saw the fire for her burning brightly. She kissed him slowly, lingering over the taste of him and beneath her, she felt his heartbeat jolt into a gallop. Lifting her head, she met his gaze again and whispered, “You make me feel...”

  Reaching down, he stroked her center and made her gasp as fresh sensation rushed through her. “Jesse...”

  “Can’t get enough of you,” he admitted. “Not sure I like admitting that.”

  She smiled in spite of the words because it was so Jesse. She reached over to the small bedside table, grabbed one of the condoms and tore the foil packet open.

  Jesse’s gaze flashed, and she smiled. Going up on her knees, she straddled him, then curled her fingers around the hard length of him
. She smoothed the latex on with a slow, deliberate motion designed to torture them both.

  “You’re killing me,” he said, hands on her thighs, gripping tightly.

  “I’m just getting started,” she said and lowered herself onto him. Her head fell back and her spine bowed as she took him deep inside. Reaching up, his hands covered her breasts, his fingers tweaking and pulling at her hardened nipples. Her moans mingled with his as she moved on him, setting a rhythm that pushed them both into a race for completion.

  He dropped his hands to her hips and rocked beneath her, pushing even higher into her depths. Jillian groaned with every slick slide of his body into hers. His hands tightened on her hips and he used his own strength to help her move, to keep up the sharp, fast pace leaving them both breathless.

  Jillian met his gaze and never looked away as she began to move on him more quickly. She saw need burning in his eyes, felt it in the grip of his hands. That amazing chorus of sensations opened up inside her again and Jillian raced to meet it. To jump into that chasm filled with fire and light and explosions of pure pleasure.

  Bedsprings shrieked and breathing sighed into the room as they moved as one, each of them striving to reach the conclusion they knew was coming. And when it did, Jillian shouted in surprise at the force of the climax slamming into her. She rocked wildly, drawing it out, making it last as long as possible and while her body was still trembling with release, Jesse leaped with her. The two of them tumbled into the abyss, holding tightly to each other to cushion their fall.

  * * *

  Jesse looked at the woman lying beside him on the loud, uncomfortable bed and knew he was in trouble. He’d thought that being with her would ease the need that had been clawing at him for weeks. Instead, all he could think about was having her again.

  Before Jillian, the women in his life were like ghosts, appearing and disappearing from his world without leaving so much as a ripple in their wake. Jillian, though, had been causing nothing but ripples since the moment they met.

  “Okay,” she murmured, “now it’s my turn to say I can hear you thinking.”

  His mouth twitched as he rolled to his side and propped himself up on one elbow to look down at her. God, she was beautiful. “All right, yes. I’m thinking.”

  She reached up and cupped his cheek in her palm. “You don’t have to.”

  “Don’t have to what?”

  “Give me the speech.” Her mouth curved and her beautiful eyes warmed.

  There was a single light burning in the apartment and that soft, golden glow lay across her naked body like early-morning sunlight. “What speech is that?”

  Smiling, she brushed her hair back from her forehead, then draped one arm across her belly. “You know the one. It starts off with That was great, babe. But you know, I’m not the commitment kind of guy.” She paused, then added, “And it always ends with I’ll call you.”

  Not much he could say to that since he’d given different versions of that speech too many times to count. This was the first time he didn’t want to say any of it. And the one time it was most important to do exactly that.

  “Jillian...”

  “Relax, Jesse,” she said, giving him another smile. “I don’t need any promises from you. We both went into this knowing that it wasn’t forever. I’m not going to beg you to stay.”

  Why the hell not?

  And why did it irritate him that she was being so damn reasonable and understanding?

  She laughed and shook her head. “You’re insulted.”

  “What? No.” He scowled. “Okay, maybe a little.”

  “We’re business partners, right?” Jillian rolled out of bed, walked naked to the closet. He admired the view of that truly excellent butt and was disappointed when she reached into the closet, pulled out a short, pale blue robe and slipped into it.

  She tied the belt at her waist, whipped her hair back over her shoulder and shrugged. “It’s better for the business if we just forget all about tonight.”

  “Forget about it.” He repeated it because he could hardly believe she was saying it. Jesse was pretty sure that tonight’s festivities were burned into his brain. He’d have as much chance of forgetting what happened here as he would holding his breath for the next fifty years.

  “Well, yeah.” She walked to the bed, sat down on the edge and leaned in to kiss him. “This was great. I mean, really great. But I’m not expecting you to throw yourself at my feet pledging eternal love.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yes, it is.” She tipped her head to one side and looked at him quizzically. “Do most women spend the night with you then start building wedding dreams?”

  “No, but they’re not usually in such a hurry to brush me off, either.” And he didn’t much care for the feeling of being discarded. He had a momentary regret for the women he’d dismissed so easily and a touch more respect for the one woman who had taught him what the others had felt.

  Jillian gave him an understanding smile and one more soft, brief kiss. “It’s better this way, Jesse. No promises made, so none broken. We’ll be partners—for now,” she reminded him and he didn’t much care for having his own words tossed back at him.

  “And then?”

  She stood up. “Then, we’ll be friends.”

  He gritted his teeth and said, “I don’t normally want to bend my friends over a table and—”

  She inhaled sharply and interrupted him. “That’s not helping.”

  “Not trying to help.”

  “Why not?” she asked. “Isn’t this just what you wanted? If I hadn’t said it first, wouldn’t you have given me the speech?”

  “A man can’t have this conversation naked,” he muttered and swung out of the bed to snatch up his pants. Tugging them on, he zipped and buttoned them before talking to her again. “Once I give that speech, I’m not ‘friends’ with the woman I’ve given it to.”

  “First time for everything,” she said.

  “I don’t want to be your friend, Jillian.”

  She threw her arms up and shook her head. “Then what do you want?”

  He looked into those grayish-green eyes and realized that what he wanted was her. Sex hadn’t eased that desire, it had only inflamed it. So no, he wouldn’t be her friend. He wouldn’t be her lover, either. Or any other damn thing. Once their partnership was over, they’d have nothing between them.

  And he didn’t like how empty that made him feel.

  “You. Damn it, I want you.”

  “Then don’t go yet,” she said, untying her robe.

  He didn’t.

  Nine

  Jesse dressed to leave a couple of hours later and he thought he’d never done anything more difficult than walking away from this woman when she lay there naked and warm, a soft smile on her face. And that was the main reason he had to go.

  He’d told himself that sex with Jillian would clear his head, get her out of his system. Sadly, the reality was that she was deeper inside him now than she had been before.

  “I’ve got to get back to the ranch,” he said. “Gotta be up at dawn to get a couple of the horses ready to be sent home.”

  She nodded, held the sheet to her breasts and sat up. Pushing that mass of blond hair back from her face, she murmured, “You don’t owe me an explanation, Jesse. You don’t owe me anything.”

  He scrubbed one hand across his face. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “I know that. You won’t.”

  Yes, he would, Jesse told himself. Because sooner or later, Jillian would start expecting more from him. She would start looking at what was between them as a relationship. Strong and smart, she was still female, and every woman he’d ever known eventually started looking for promises. And he couldn’t do that.

  Because when he made a promise, he kept it. So he was careful with what he
said. He couldn’t give Jillian and little Mac what he already owed to his sister’s son and the memory of the father that little boy had lost.

  With that thought firmly at the front of his mind, he picked up his hat and jammed it onto his head. “Guess I’ll see you.”

  “Yes, you will. Tomorrow,” she said. Then she laughed. “Don’t look so panicked, Jesse. I’m not going to the ranch to hunt you down. Just to pick up Mac.”

  Idiot. “Right. I’ll see you then.” He walked to the door, opened it and looked back at her. “Lock this after me.”

  She was smiling as he left and Jesse told himself to make sure he was nowhere near the ranch when she arrived to pick up her little girl.

  * * *

  Two days later, Lucy and Jillian were outside the empty shop that would soon be filled with the scent of baking pies. She should be looking at the shop with Jesse, Jillian thought. He was her partner, after all. But she hadn’t spoken to him since the night they’d been together.

  If he was avoiding her, then he was doing an excellent job of it.

  “I’m so glad Jesse helped you get this started,” Lucy said as Jillian opened the door with the key provided by the real estate agent. “A little surprised, but glad.”

  “Surprised why?” Jillian asked, looking over her shoulder at her friend.

  Shrugging, Lucy continued. “He’s more of a stand-back-and-observe kind of guy. This is the first time I remember him doing anything like this.”

  Jillian thought about that for a moment and told herself it didn’t signify anything. He was being kind, that was all. When she paid back his investment, the shop would be all hers and that would probably be the end of her time with Jesse.

  Of course, since she hadn’t heard from him in two days, maybe her time with him had already ended. There was no way to know and that was making her a little nuts even though she knew it shouldn’t.

  Jillian thought about that night with Jesse and everything she’d said to him. And how much it had cost to squeeze the words out past the knot in her throat. She’d told him it would be better if they both simply forgot that night, while her mind had been screaming at her that she would never forget. What she’d found in his arms was something she’d never thought to have. Knowing it wasn’t hers to keep had torn at her even as she pretended to be untouched by it all.