by Celya Bowers
He playfully bit her lips. “Wow, yourself. Where’s your bedroom?”
She looked at him, dazed. “What?”
“Unless you want to make love on the couch, I’m going to need a bed,” he said.
“Upstairs. Last door on the right.”
Kyle nodded, then picked her up like she weighed ten pounds and headed upstairs. He deposited her on the bed and sat next to her. “Jemma, I know it’s been a long time for me. I can’t promise how long I’ll last.”
Jemma loved his honesty. What man would have admitted such a thing? “For me, too.” She rose and stood in front of him.
He unbuttoned her slacks and pushed them down her legs. She kicked her shoes off in the process. She now stood in front of him in a dark blue bra and panty set. “You are a beautiful woman, Jemma.” He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around pulling her closer until she rested on his erection. As if he noticed her nervousness, he planted kisses along her neckline, her throat, and started nibbling his way to her breast. Jemma thought she was going out of her mind.
She felt her bra give way to Kyle. It slipped from her body and he was nibbling on her breasts. She’d never been like this with Jared. What was it about this man? She ran her fingers through her hair and drew him closer to her.
Kyle rolled her over on the bed, so that she was now on her back. She should have been self-conscious about being near nude with a man she’d only known a few weeks, but she felt like a goddess.
Kyle stood and hurriedly got out of his boots, jeans, and boxers. Yep, this man was definitely built to scale. He rejoined her on the bed, crawling beside her. Without a word he pulled her panties down her legs. “You’re such a beautiful woman.” He leaned down and kissed her rounded belly, then he moved between her legs. He stretched out on top of her moving against her slowly.
Jemma moved against him, teasing him, begging him. He eased inside her body, he didn’t move. She gasped at the invasion, but some became accustomed to him being inside her. She felt her body stretch to accommodate his large size. He pushed a little further inside, then he pulled back. He leaned forward until he hit home. Jemma brought him down for a kiss. Kyle placed his hands on either side of her head as his body moved in and out of hers. Jemma tried to focus on the ceiling, but between Kyle’s sure fire strokes and that golden tongue, orgasm was very close.
She slammed her eyes shut against the sensations barreling through her body. It felt so good, it was hard to deny the passion. She heard Kyle mutter a curse against her lips. “Damn.” He increased his tempo as he moved in and out of her body, he added pressure to the kiss. Jemma didn’t think she could survive one more delicious stroke.
He climaxed quickly, panting like a marathon runner. “Sorry, baby. I tried to hold out, but your body wouldn’t let me.”
Jemma rubbed his sweaty back. “I understand.” She was so darn close.
“Oh, we’re not done.” He started moving inside her body. “I knew it would be fast, but at least I recovered quickly.”
Jemma continued caressing his body. “Good to know.” She kissed him on the lips. He was still planted inside her and yes, she felt him coming back to life.
He rolled her over so that he was on his back and Jemma was straddling his legs. He planted his hands on her waist and moved her back and forth, easing her into a rhythm. Jemma couldn’t get close enough to him. She stretched out on top of him.
She orgasmed immediately, almost taking her breath away. She had to sit up to catch her breath. Kyle sat up too, rubbing her back comforting her until her racing heart calmed down. “That’s it baby,” he cooed, dropping gently kisses on her face.
Jemma, embarrassed of the whole incident, buried her head in his chest. “I’m sorry, Kyle,” she sniffed.
“I told you that you never have to apologize to me for being human.” He gently laid her down on the bed, then snuggled up beside her. His front to her back, with his strong arms around her. He pulled the bed covers over them. “Man! That was some kind of lunch.” He nibbled on her ear. “I really did mean to take you to lunch.” His rubbed his body against hers.
Jemma laughed. She used to hate making love in broad daylight. “It was the hat.” She placed her hands on top of her, feeling absolutely comfortable in the skin she was in.
“What about my hat?”
“I’d never seen you in the whole cowboy get-up. I mean when we came for lessons, you never had on the hat.” She hoped he didn’t take the complement the wrong way.
He eased her on her back and hovered over her. “So if I had my hat on when we first met…..” He let the sentence fade into the air. “That’s good to know.”
THIRTEEN
Jemma snuggled closer to Kyle. She still couldn’t believe she’d made love with this man. Twice. Now they were lying in bed, doing absolutely nothing. Something that neither was used to doing.
She should have felt self-conscious, but she didn’t. She stared at the ceiling as Kyle’s very experienced hands roamed her body. “Kyle, what did you come into Mansfield for?” He nibbled on her ear.
“Huh?”
She giggled and turned over to face him. “You said you had errands to run. Have you already completed them or do you need to go do them?”
“Uh, I already finished them.”
Somehow he wasn’t telling her the complete truth. “What were your errands? Why not send a ranch hand to do them?”
Blue eyes stared at her. “Actually, the only errand I had to do today was to see you. I never dreamed we’d get this far this fast. I just wanted to be in your company. Waiting to Thursday was just too long.”
“At least you’re honest about it,” she said. She leaned toward him and kissed him. “Thank you for making me feel special.” She kissed him quickly and slid out of bed. She scooped up her robe from the floor and hastily slipped it on. “I’m going to take a shower.”
He stared at her. “Why?”
“Because I’ve been sweating for the last hour. I’d rather not pick up my young daughter smelling like sex on a platter.”
He shook his head. “She’s not going to know what sex smells like. What time do you pick her up?”
Jemma glanced at the clock. “In about two hours.” She continued walking to the bathroom. “There’s another bathroom down the hall, if you want to take a shower before I get out,” she called to him. She wasn’t ready to share a shower. That was too much intimacy too fast.
“Okay,” he called.
She closed the bathroom door and leaned against it, listening for activity. She heard him stomp down the hall. Slowly, she opened the door and noticed that his clothes were now missing from the floor.
“Thank God.”
Kyle found the guest bathroom and quickly took a shower. As the hot water pelted him in the face, he thought about the afternoon with Jemma. Yes, it was more than he had expected, but now what? They skipped several levels in the dating game. Could they go backward? Should they go backward?
He dried off and looked at his expression in the mirror. He didn’t recognize himself. The man looking back at him had the swagger of a man who just had the best sex he ever had in his life. His smiled grew wider by the second.
He dressed in his clothes and left the bathroom. As he returned to Jemma’s bedroom, she was still in the shower. He decided to make the bed. He searched for the linens and found them quickly.
What was she doing in there? Kyle shook his head and went downstairs. Once there, he checked his phone. There were several calls from a strange number, but they hadn’t left a message. There were two calls from Ava. They were time stamped early this morning. How had he missed them? He dialed the ranch.
“Cross-Cut Ranch. This is Tiffany.”
“Hi, Tiffany. Is Mom still in the office?”
“Yes, Kyle. She’s still here. Mr. Martin called for you. He said please call him ASAP.”
“Thanks, Tiffany. Can I talk to Mom?”
“Yes, she’s with a customer, but sh
e’s almost done.”
“Great, I’ll wait,” he told the young girl.
He didn’t have to wait long. His mother was on the line in an instant. “When are you coming back to the ranch?”
He didn’t like the sound of his mother’s voice. Nothing shook this woman. “A couple of hours, why?”
“Ava showed up a little after you left. Tried to claim she’d left something in your house when she dropped by last night.”
“You didn’t let her in there, did you?” Why was that woman so interested in getting into his house? He’d brought virtually nothing with him when he returned from Austin.
“Me? Let that evil woman in your house? No, I told her she would have to take that up with you.”
“Did she leave?”
“Not at first. Your father persuaded her to leave and Bruno made sure she left the property.”
Kyle shook his head. He only left for a few hours and all hell had broken loose. He was going to have to talk to Ava and find out what she was up to. “Okay, I’ll fix it. Tell Dad thanks.”
“How was your lunch date?”
“It was fine, Mom.” Boy was that the understatement of the year.
“Don’t rush her into sex. Remember, she lost a husband, and her child only recently started back talking. She under a lot of emotional stress.”
“I know, Mom. I’ll call you when I’m on my way back home.” He ended the call.
He dialed Ava’s number and listen to the phone ring and ring. Finally, it went to voicemail. “Ava, this is Kyle. Call me.”
“Anything wrong?” Jemma asked, walking into the living room. She was dressed in a t-shirt advertising Blooming Hill Private School, blue jeans and tennis shoes. She sat on the couch near him.
She wasn’t sitting under him, but close enough to touch. Which he did. He placed a hand on her thigh. “No, just ex-wife issues. She showed up at the ranch after I left. I wish I knew what her game is.”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
“I tried. I left a message.” He stared at Jemma. “We still have time before you have to pick up Kassie. How about that lunch?” He wasn’t really hungry he wasn’t ready to leave her company just yet.
“Lunch sounds fine.” She rose. “I’ll just get my purse.”
“Okay.” He rose as well. He spotted his hat on the chair in the corner of the room. Chuckling, he remembered how much she admired it. She headed upstairs and was back in an instant. They walked outside hand in hand. “Where’s your car?” She asked as she locked the front door.
“I came in one of the ranch’s trucks.” He pointed to white Ford F-150. He led her to the truck and opened the passenger door. “I promise it doesn’t smell like a horse.” He was glad he’d chosen one of the newer vehicles. Bruno and the boys had did him proud and cleaned the four-door truck.
She slid onto the passenger seat and smiled. “You’re right, it smells nice. Almost like it was just cleaned or something.”
He closed her door and went to the driver’s side. He took off his hat and tossed it in the backseat. “I didn’t want to temp you with the hat.” He adjusted his seat belt.
“Too late, but I’m hungry. So food is overruling at the moment.”
“Good to know you have some priorities.” He started the truck and headed out of her neighborhood.
It was well after four when Kyle returned to the ranch. Yes, he was exhausted, but he was still a rancher. He parked the truck by the office and went inside. He knew that his mother had already left for the day and that the teenagers working. The last thing he needed was his mother prying into his life at the moment.
As he entered the office, his well thought out plan for an early day went straight out the window. His mother sat behind the desk, as well as the two teenagers.
“Well, so nice to see you today,” his mother said. “I’m guessing your meeting went well.”
Kyle couldn’t keep that silly grin off his face. “Yes, it did.” He walked passed the counter and headed toward his office. “Any problems?”
His mother shook her head. “No, were you able to contact Ava?”
“No, I called her twice, but got voicemail each time.” He walked inside his office and took a seat. His mother soon joined him. “I’m glad to see you smile again,” she said as she sat down.
“Mom, do you mind me dating Jemma?” He rose and closed the door. “I mean, initially, I thought I just needed some companionship, but it’s feeling like more.”
“You mean?”
“Whoa Mom! I just meant I like being with her, not a trip down the aisle. I know you have pretty strong convictions.”
His mother had that ‘O No You didn’t’ look on her face. “Are you asking if I have a problem with Jemma being black?” She waited a heartbeat. “No, I do not. Ava was blonde-haired, blue eyed, I have a problem with her. Jemma is a strong woman and loves her daughter. Can you handle that?”
“Of course, I can. Oh, I met Jemma’s parents on Saturday,” he said casually.
“And?”
“Very nice people. Janna, her sister, and Krista did their residency at the same hospital. Her father is from England.”
His mother looked puzzled. “So, he’s from across the pond, big deal.”
Kyle decided to leave it at that. He wanted his mother to be surprised when and if she met the man. Where was he getting all these thoughts? “Her parents are retired university professors.”
“So are you going to still train Kassie?”
“Yes,” he said. “She’s showing a lot of promise in a short time. She even did a few jumps last week with ease. I think she’d be great for the Junior Show.”
“As protective as Jemma is, I can’t see her letting Kassie perform. That’s a lot of stress and might send her back to not-talking,” her mother said.
It would be a tricky sale to Jemma. “Yes, there’s that possibility. I’ll give it a few more weeks and see how she’s doing before I present the idea to Jemma.”
“It’s nice seeing you smile,” his mother said. “Have you talk to that horse guy? He keeps calling.”
Kyle leaned back in his seat. “I’ll call him tomorrow. I’ve done some checking and his price is good, I’ll to talk with Aubrey about their health checkups when the horses get here.”
“Where are they coming from?”
“Outside of Houston.”
“Oh, my. So long for those babies to be caged up to get here.”
He should have known this woman would already consider them babies. Her babies. “I’m still working on the logistics of getting them here. Houston is four hours by car. If I use trailers, it will take six hours at least.”
“More like eight hours, if you stop every two hours to let them rest.”
“Mom, it’s not a dog. It’s not like I’ll be able to let twelve horses run free along the interstate. Quicker is better. Aubrey is going along so it’ll be fine.”
“If you say so,” she said, rising from the chair. “That’s what your father says too. I guess I’m just an animal lover.” She walked toward the door. “Dinner will ready by seven.” She left the room with a wave.
“Okay, Mom.” There went his dream of a nice easy day. He dialed Gus Martin to finalize the deal for the horses. He listened to the phone ring. He was about to hang up when he heard a voice. “Kyle?”
“Yeah, Gus. Sorry I missed your call. I was out most of the day.”
“What’s her name? You never leave that place unless it’s very necessary.”
Kyle laughed. “Man, whatever! I had some errands to run.”
“You have four ranch hands, your dad, and I don’t know how many other people that work for you and you couldn’t get any one of those people to run an errand for you,” Gus prodded. “I’m not crazy. I’ve known you for three years and never have you been out of the office.”
“Okay, you got me,” Kyle admitted.
“Well, well, I didn’t think you thought of anything but the horses and that ranch.”
“Yeah, actually, it’s a little complicated. I’m training her daughter,” Kyle said quietly. “She’s a widow.”
“Oh wow. Tread softly, my friend. Widows are tricky. Especially if they were really in love, it’ll be months before you hit pay dirt, if you get my meaning.”
Kyle chuckled. If Gus only knew, he mused. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“Are we ready to deal?”
“Definitely. I want to pick them up this Saturday.”
“Cool,” Gus said. “Why don’t you come down Friday? We can hang out before you have to head back.”
“Sounds good,” Kyle said. “I’ll have to finalize a few things first. Actually, my vet and two of the ranch hands will come down as well. What’s the nearest hotel?” He would have to make travel arrangements for everyone.
“You guys can bunk with me. I have plenty of room at the ranch. Is Aubrey coming too? Man, I can’t believe she’s married to one of your trainers.”
“She’s been married to him for twenty years. Chutney is sixteen,” Kyle said. “It’ll be four of us. You sure your wife is cool with that?”
“All good.”
“See you Friday evening.” Kyle ended the call. He sat in his office enjoying the quiet. After he yawned for the third time, he decided to go home early and finally take a nap.
“Twice!” Janna shouted into the phone.
Jemma winced at the noise. She sat on her bed, looking over the day’s mail while Kassie was in her room, watching TV. She called this their ‘cool down’ time before dinner. “Yes, twice. I don’t know what happened to my brain. He walked in with that Stetson on and I just lost it.”
“It’s that rugged cowboy look,” Janna reasoned.
Jemma smiled at the memories of the afternoon. “He even made the bed.”
