“She trusts me,” Cody muttered.
“Maybe with her body.”
Cody bristled over the snide tone in Jace’s voice. Oh, Jace wanted a whipping, and Cody itched to give it to him. “With other things too.”
“Do I have to remind you of the gun?”
“No,” Cody snapped. God, he’d already heard enough on that subject. “But if it’s my mess, then I should be the one to go in there and explain to her—”
“What? Explain what?”
Hell if Cody knew. “Whatever it is she needs explained to make her feel better. God, you’re annoying.”
“And you’re dumb as dirt. You don’t even know what is wrong. How can you expect to know what to say?”
“You don’t know what’s wrong either!”
For several tense moments the two brothers glared at each other before Jace finally blinked.
“Why won’t you let me do this?”
Cody wasn’t about to let his brother guilt him into anything. “Because she’s my girlfriend. I’ve known her the longest. If she’s going to trust anybody to soothe her, it’s gonna be me.”
With the final word on the subject, Cody strutted toward the bathroom door. His hand had no more than touched the cool metal knob when Jace’s response brought the brakes to his forward progression.
“If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave.”
Damnit! Cody hit his head on the door. Could this night get any worse?
“Just give me the keys to your truck. As close as Amanda and you are, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind giving you a lift back to the ranch, especially if it means getting rid of an annoyance like me.”
“Oh, just stop.” Cody turned to Jace. “You’re a man. Guilting is beneath you.”
“And you are acting like a selfish jackass.”
“I just want to comfort Amanda. I do know her better than you.”
“And I’m just asking for the chance to get to know her, too.”
“Fine.” Cody let go of the doorknob and stepped back. “I give up. Go for it.”
Cody didn’t admit defeat to Jace, but to his own insecurities, his own fear of his jealousies. Cody had never felt like this before. What the hell was wrong with him?
Chapter 23
Amanda hated crying. She saw it as a visible sign of weakness. She was not weak. Never that. She’d survived some of the most horrible events life could throw at a person. Hell, she’d been the cause of them.
Experiences like those had hardened her, toughened her, made her strong enough to handle anything, including being used by a man…two men.
Well, the joke is on them. She didn’t care about Cody Reese or either of his stupid brothers. They were just big, dumb cowboys made to be ridden and forgotten. Damnit! Why did that make her cry even harder?
Amanda could hide her tears from the world under the showerhead, but not from herself. Pretending the hot rivulets of water streaking down her cheeks came from something other than her own eyes did not make it so. Those little tracks made a fool out of her, because they showed how much she cared about Cody and Jace.
She shouldn’t. It was the dumbest thing she’d ever done, but knowing and feeling were two separate things. Absorbed in her misery, she didn’t hear the bathroom door open or the shower curtain being pulled back. When a set of strong arms wrapped around her, Amanda reacted out of panic.
Spinning in blind reflex, she lashed out at the intruder and caught Jace with a sharp punch to the chest. Bastard didn’t even wince. His lack of reaction coupled with the audacity Jace showed by interrupting her pity fest snapped Amanda’s control, and she hit him again. And again. She couldn’t seem to stop herself as she pounded his chest with blow after blow. She didn’t even try. Only the weakening of her arms as exhaustion crept up them wound down her fury, leaving nothing but desperation and pain in its wake.
Without the strength left to fight him off, Amanda found herself wrapped in Jace’s embrace. His warmth, his hardness, there was comfort to be found there, but not for her. Why couldn’t this be real? Amanda deserved to have a man who cherished her. Even if she didn’t rank high enough to have the right to a rich man or a handsome one, she still had the right to be loved.
“Feel better?” Jace asked.
“No.
“I’m sorry.”
Amanda didn’t want to talk. She wasn’t ready, so she intentionally misunderstood his apology. “You could have at least pretended I hurt you.”
“Who says you didn’t?”
Amanda sniffed, not interested in being placated. “You’re not even sore, are you?”
“My chest?” At her nod, he answered. “I’m sorry, baby girl, but no.”
“Figures,” Amanda muttered.
“Not all pain is physical.”
“I don’t want—”
“It hurts me a great deal to see you so upset.”
“Spare me.” Technically neither Jace nor Cody had lied to her, yet.
“I’m telling you the truth. Knowing I am the cause of your distress bothers me more than anything has in years.”
“Just shut up!”
Amanda tried to shove away from him, but he held on tight. All her struggle did was remind her they were both naked. His chest hairs tickled the sensitive tips of her breasts, making them pucker and bloom with interest. That wasn’t the only part of her body blossoming, and it made her even angrier.
She didn’t want to want him. His words, so close to the dream, so near to what a true lover would say, cut deep. They tempted her to let go of what she knew reality to be and allowed him to sweep her into a fantasy that had only one end. Total devastation.
“Let me go!” She needed distance.
“Not going to happen.”
“Why? You already got what you wanted. Why don’t you just put your pants on and go home? Leave me with what little dignity I can manage to scrape off the floor.”
“Leave you? Like this? I couldn’t.”
The more Jace pretended to care, the worse she felt, but the anger seemed to be crumbling beneath the pain. Amanda became all the more desperate to chase him away before she broke down completely.
“Oh, but you could fuck me against the side of your brother’s pickup. You could hold me into position so Cody could have second honors.”
“Mmm.” Jace’s arms tightened around her, and to her horror she felt something beginning to grow a wedge between their bodies. “That was hot, wasn’t it?”
“It was humiliating,” Amanda muttered.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because…” Amanda fumbled, trying to find the words to express her anger and not expose her fears. They escaped her. Anything she said would reveal too much of her heart.
“Because you think if a man cared about you, he’d be too jealous to see you with another man.” Jace said what she wouldn’t let herself.
Begrudgingly, she admitted what she didn’t want to. “It’s human nature.”
“You would prefer if Cody and I fought over you?”
“What?” Amanda hadn’t even thought in those terms.
“If we destroyed our relationship to have the right to be the one with you? Would that make you feel better?”
It annoyed Amanda the way Jace tried to use such calm reason to turn the tables on her. “I didn’t say that.”
“But you would be happier if we fought over you than simply shared you, right?” Jace shrugged. “Then you would know you were worth fighting over.”
Amanda licked her lips, narrowing her gaze on him. She didn’t trust Jace right then. He was trying to distract her, to make her reason away her feelings. He wouldn’t trick her into answering his loaded question.
After a moment, Jace got her answer and gave her his. “I do care about you, enough to share you.”
“A moment ago you were doing it for the great nobility of not killing your brother and now you’re doing it for my benefit?” Amanda sneered. “What a bunch of crap.”
&nbs
p; “It isn’t,” Jace snapped. “If I didn’t care, I would’ve put on my pants and left. Think about that.”
Amanda was not about to be swayed by that argument. “Unless you cared about the sex more.”
“You don’t believe me.”
“Never trust a man whose erection is poking you in your stomach, I always say. I guess I was wrong. You aren’t done with me yet.”
“No, I’m not, and I ain’t never gonna be.”
Amanda swallowed back the fear his hard words sank into her. They hit her stomach and made the poor thing roll, leaving her voice shaking as she tried to save herself. “I wish you’d leave now.”
“Yeah.” Jace shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.”
* * * *
Jace couldn’t let Amanda go. If he did, she might never allow him to return. He needed to know she would welcome him back into her life, into her body. He couldn’t explain why or how Amanda had come to be so important to him. She just was.
Maybe it was because her skin was so soft. Jace let his hands glide over her back, rubbing away the stress and tension he felt building there. So soft, he nuzzled his chin into the curve of her neck and breathed deep. Sweet smelling, but better tasting. He bit down on the delicate piece of flesh, enjoying the victory of her small moan and the way Amanda arched her head to the side to offer more of her neck to his feasting.
He couldn’t resist the invitation. Jace didn’t think he ever would. There was something addictive about Amanda. The way she responded, rubbing against him, such subtle, small movements, made Jace grind back. The velvety lushness of her slightly rounded stomach teased, almost tickled, the sensitive skin stretching tighter over his hardening cock, reminding his finicky flesh what heaven awaited at the end of this adventure.
True ecstasy, Jace had never experienced it before tonight. Many women could make him come and come hard, but only Amanda could make him come apart. She mesmerized him and entranced him in such a short time. From God’s lips, he’d never been this attracted to a woman. Not even Sharon.
The thought struck him hard, and instead of pursuing the end of where his nibbling would lead them, Jace found himself just breathing deeply and pulling Amanda even closer into his embrace. There was something special developing here, something he wanted to savor. He wanted more than just a wild night of fucking.
He wanted to clean every inch of Amanda’s body, slowly, enjoying the discovery of every place she liked to be touched, where she was ticklish and where just the right press of fingers would make her moan. Then he’d take the knowledge and Amanda back into the bedroom, lay her out on the bed, and give her a massage that left her weak and vulnerable in his arms. He’d make slow, tender love to her, show her everything he was feeling but couldn’t express.
Cody. Damnit! His brother waited out there, and slow was not in his vocabulary. Even if it were, Jace would have resented his intrusion. Cody had his alone time with Amanda. He had three weeks of it. Jace wanted his. He’d get it. Not tonight, but tomorrow at the latest. If it came to winning the point with his fists, then so be it.
“Jace?”
“Mmm.” Jace sighed, loving the soft, hesitant sound to her voice.
“How many women have you…done this with?”
“What?” Oh, shit. Quicksand straight ahead.
“How many women have you…um…shared?”
There was no good answer to Amanda’s question. Jace should have never stopped seducing her. He should have overwhelmed her with passion when he had the chance. Then he wouldn’t be about to hang himself with his own balls.
“Jace?”
“Does it really matter?”
“I’ll take that to mean a lot.”
He could feel her withdrawing from the moment and cursed the insatiability of a woman’s curiosity. He had to do something. Something good and fast.
“Listen, Amanda.” Jace cupped her face, forcing her big eyes to meet his. The sadness he found there bothered him more than anything. “Sharing is what we do, what we’ve always done. I know you’re looking at it and think it’s just some kind of kink, but Knox, Cody, and I, we were born to one mother and three fathers.”
“How many? Do you even know the number?” Stubborn as ever, Amanda’s glare could not hide the vulnerability beneath.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?” Amanda groused.
“How special you are.” That got him a snort and he could’ve sworn her eyes rolled. “You are to me.”
“Please.” Amanda rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t stand me just a week ago. You called me a brat and stormed out of the room.”
“Well,” Jace shrugged, “you were being a brat, and it was either storm out of the room or molest you right there in front of my brothers. I didn’t think you were ready for that, or was I wrong?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that.” Amanda’s eyes lifted to his. “What if I’m never ready?”
“Shh, baby.” Jace couldn’t help himself but to try and kiss the worry pouting her lips. “Don’t worry about it. Tonight you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“But, Jace…” Her eyes closed as he whispered light, butterfly kisses across her cheek and over her brow.
“I don’t want you to think about anything else right now, but me. Call me a selfish bastard, but the whole world and its concerns wait outside the bathroom door.” Jace slid his hands down her arms, marveling at how sexy her elbows were, all pointy. “In here it’s just us and I’m focused only on you. On how good you feel in my arms.”
Letting his fingers trail off to her waist, Jace rubbed his thumbs over the sides of her stomach. Delightful shudders rolled in his wake, telling Jace he pleased Amanda with just his touch.
“Your skin is as smooth as the finest silks, as soft as the plushest velvets. I love the way you feel beneath my hands.” Tucking his chin into his chest, he watched the rapid rise and fall of her breasts. Her pink nipples scraped over his chest with the motion, calling his fingers to their peaks.
“You love having my hands on you, too,” Jace whispered, cupping her breasts and feeling her shudder against his palms. “You tremble beneath my touch, rubbing into me, seeking more. Do you know what that does to me?”
Teasing her nipples with the lightest of touches, Amanda responded with a soul-deep sensuality, straining his control. She moaned slightly, arching into his touch, openly offering him more of her body, but Jace held back.
“I want to bathe you, Amanda. I want to let my hands glide all over you, trace every curve, memorize every line. Will you give this to me, baby?”
Chapter 24
How could Amanda say no when his words wrapped around her heart with such warmth they melted all reason? Jace intoxicated her with the things he said, with the way he touched her—like she was some fragile piece of artwork he could easily damage with his rough, oversized hands.
It wasn’t in Amanda’s willpower to resist when he moved her so her back faced him. True to his words, Jace lathered up his hands and used them as her washcloth. Slowly, he worked his way down her shoulders and over her back. Using the palms of his hands to press in with deep, circular motions, he massaged her with every stroke. It took only seconds for her muscles to start going soft, making her slouch into his strength.
Jace shifted, pressing her forward to rest against the tiled wall. Free of her weight, he stepped back, placing a kiss on her shoulder. The simple gesture turned into a seductive lure as his lips traced after his hands. The rough glide of his stubbled cheek down the curve of her spine set off a frenzy of little electric shocks. They chased after his mouth, making pleasure bubble down her spine to pool where his kiss rested.
Two weeks ago it would have mortified her to let a man rest his cheek against the small of her back, to feel his lips brushing over the top of her buttocks as his hands rubbed the two globes between his hands. It did bring a flush to her cheeks when Jace slid one hand down into the crease, di
viding her ass to trace the line straight to the clenched opening hidden in the folds.
“Has Cody taken you here?”
“Yes.” She could hear the tremble in her own voice, the power of the suggestion she could feel coming.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes.”
Heated memories melted away any reserves of nervousness, awakening an ache Jace fed with his touch. Dipping his hand lower, he followed the curve of her body to cup the swollen folds of her cunt. The tension returned to her muscles. They shivered with it as her tender folds wept for a deeper, more intimate touch.
“Do you know how much I enjoyed fucking into this pussy? So tight, so wet, you keep heaven buried between these thighs. It’s a paradise unlike any I’ve ever invaded before. I could live the rest of my life here, melded as one with you, and die the happiest man in the world. But I can’t deny I want to take you here.”
Jace’s hand slid back up along the crease until his fingertips rested against the entrance to her back opening. Slowly he pushed one finger inward, then two, groaning slightly as her muscles clamped down, trying to restrict him from forging deeper.
“Will you let me have this? Have you like this?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, Amanda. I promise I’ll make it good for you, make you feel better than anybody ever has.”
She couldn’t focus enough on the details to understand Jace’s vow included his brother. Even if Amanda had caught the implication, she would never have suspected it meant anything more than a passionate promise made in the heat of the moment.
A moment that dragged out into one long, sensual flow as his hands resumed their gentle, erotic cleaning. Jace worked his way down over her legs, melting muscles and turning bones to rubber. When he lifted one leg so he could clean it with deep, warm strokes of his hands, she arched her hips off the wall, silently begging for more.
Then he put his mouth on her, suckling kisses along her instep, tiny nips at her toes and then…
Kansas Heat Page 21
