Daring the Pilot (Men of Marietta Book 3)

by Jeannie Moon

  They mated. Bound by biology, emotion… all of it. It was crazy. But nothing had settled his soul more than being with her. Corny as it sounded, nothing had ever been this right.

  Sitting up at the edge of the bed, he scrubbed his hands over his face. He was a man going down for the third time, and he wasn’t looking for anyone to save him. Granted, he had no idea where she stood, if they had any chance, or even if she wanted anything long term. This was new for him. His whole life had always been at loose ends, but now, he wanted roots.

  Pulling on a pair of work out pants, Jonah went looking for the blonde who was supposed to be in his bed.

  He had planned on sleeping more, but now he might have to make love to her again.

  The bedroom was right off the big living room, and that’s where he found her, sitting in the corner of the big leather sofa by the front window, gazing outside.

  She’d wrapped herself in a woven throw his mother had gotten in her travels through the southwest. The light from outside was faint, but it was enough that she almost didn’t look real. Her hair was a riot of curls and waves that tumbled over her shoulder and down her back. Her creamy skin looked almost translucent. She was magic, and he had no idea what he’d done to deserve her.

  Or how he was going to keep her.

  “You alright?” He rested his shoulder in the doorframe, giving her some space.

  She nodded. “I was just thinking.”

  “Uh oh. About what?”

  She looked outside again and shrugged. “Nothing… or everything. I do that sometimes. It’s strange. I’ll focus on something small like how the wind sounds, and then I find myself going deeper. Before you know it, I’m pondering big questions. My brain is funny that way.”

  She moved out of the corner, making room for him. It was done without a second thought on her part. The signal was subtle, but he’d take it.

  There was just enough room for him to settle behind her and Keely leaned back into his chest. Of course, the guy in him wanted to know what she had on under the blanket that was wrapped around her, and when he saw a flash of bare shoulder, he knew. Nothing.

  This wasn’t the time to let his baser instincts get the better of him. It was so much more than sex with her, and he had to make sure she knew that. Tucking her securely against his shoulder, he let the feeling of her silky hair on his skin calm him.

  Jonah found himself surrounded by her scent, so he tried to settle into it.

  What bullshit. He was hard as a rock and his dick twitched in response to her every move.

  And Keely was fully aware as she wriggled her soft, sweet ass against him.

  “Should we go back to bed?” she asked, her voice low and steady.

  “We don’t have to.” Jonah tugged the blanket down and dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder. Keely’s head rolled to the side, exposing her swan-like neck.

  Jonah’s lips blazed a path, thinking only about how much he wanted to be inside her.

  “Stand up for a second.” Jonah pulled her up and he dropped his pants, revealing himself to her hungry eyes. He was sure the view was different from the darkened bedroom, and now she was taking in every inch.

  “Your body…” She reached out and put her hands on his chest. “It’s magnificent. It’s like a sculpture.”

  He had no warning when she reached down and stroked him from balls to tip, or when she kissed the center of his chest, and started moving down.

  “Keely,” he moaned, holding her back before she ended up on her knees. Jonah unwrapped her from the blanket, exposing her to the chill in the room. Immediately her nipples hardened; Jonah drew one, then the other into his mouth. Her body responded with a shudder.

  Taking the blanket, he draped it over the sofa and sat down. It took her a second, but she could see what he wanted. But then she turned and went to the bedroom.

  Before he could follow, she was back with a condom in her hand.

  Earlier she’d said she was lucky. It was obvious, he was too.

  Jonah was about to pull her in and seat her on his erection. It would let her control the pace, to learn what she liked, and it would be damn fun for him being able to watch her.

  But instead she kneeled in front of him, and pushed his legs apart.

  “Honey, what are you doing?”

  “I’m curious. I want to learn about you.”

  “I’m not following.”

  “What makes you tick, respond? What drives you crazy?”

  “You drive me crazy.”

  “I get that, but sexually.” She was clear, firm. “I want to know how to touch you. You knew exactly what to do.”

  He was about to say he’d had a lot more practice, but he didn’t. He kind of understood where she was coming from, but it just seemed too soon.

  Leaning forward, Keely kissed the head of his shaft, and he saw lightning flashes. The next time, she added her tongue. Her lips teased the tip, and the flashes turned to a storm.

  She was trying things, experimenting, and learning as she did. When Keely drew the head of his dick into her warm, wet mouth, he thought he was going to lose it.

  “Aw, fuck. Keely. Goddamn.” He was watching her tease him, and he was almost as turned on by the sight of her on her knees as what she was doing.

  “How am I doing?” she asked.

  “Jesus. A-plus.”

  “Hmmm.” She smiled against his belly. “I’m an excellent student.”

  “Yeah. You are.” God bless smart women, he thought. “But you don’t have to…”

  What was he saying?

  “Jonah?”

  “Yeah?” She was licking the tip. Swirling her tongue around, he could feel the pressure build. This was going to end him.

  “Shut up and let me figure this out.”

  There was no use in fighting it, so he dropped his head back on the sofa and let her have her fun.

  It was a matter of seconds before she took as much of him as she could in her mouth. The combination of suction, moisture and her tongue—Jonah cried out.

  “Oh, my God. Jesus.”

  Rising from the floor, satisfied she could have him at her mercy, Keely straddled him, a sultry grin on her face, and grabbed the condom from the side table. Yeah, no doubt, this was going to be an amazing way to go.

  With his heart hammering in his chest, he took the condom and rolled it on. “I was going to…” she objected.

  “Whatever.” She wanted to learn? He was going to teach her.

  Grabbing the smooth globes of her ass, he lifted her hips and slowly lowered her onto his engorged cock. She bit her lip and closed her eyes as he filled her. There was no sign that she was uncomfortable. Her short breaths and the delirious look on her face told him she was anything but.

  Once she was fully seated, he thrust up and a gasp escaped. “Now, you set the pace. Move, baby.”

  There was only a second’s hesitation, then she started to rock. Her knees provided leverage, and she slid her body up and down, creating friction and heat as she rode him. Keely did exactly what he wanted, she set the pace. She decided how much, how hard, how fast. Watching her discover this power was one of the sexiest things Jonah had ever witnessed.

  Once she established a steady rhythm, her arms wrapped around his neck and she held on while he savaged her breasts. He licked and sucked the perfect pink tips and drove her to distraction. Her movements started to pick up as he slipped his hand between them and teased her clit, making her whimper and moan. He drove into her, giving her all he could, and she accepted him. Riding him until the wave struck.

  “Oh God. Oh, my… Jonah. God, Jonah.”

  She was panting, holding on; he could feel her contract around him and he lost it, coming with her in an eruption of fire and heat.

  Keely collapsed in his arms, shuddering, little sounds escaping her.

  “I’m going to lift you off me. Don’t do anything, let me, okay?”

  Too spent to reply, she nodded, and he lifted her off him… o
nly to see something that was going to kill the afterglow.

  “Keel?”

  “Mmm?”

  “Are you on any birth control?”

  Sobering, she lifted her head. “No, why?”

  “The condom broke.” Gently placing her feet on the floor, Jonah rose and headed to the bathroom.

  “Fuck,” he whispered. Light flooded the bathroom when he flipped the switch and Jonah looked down to clean himself up. Glancing at his reflection in the mirror, he swore again under his breath.

  “It’s going to be fine. Calm down.” That’s when he remembered he’d left Keely, with that bombshell, standing naked in his living room. “You’re such a fucking tool, Clark.”

  Returning, he found she’d gone to the bedroom and was laying her clothes on the bed. He’d blown it.

  “I’m sorry I was so abrupt.”

  “It’s fine. I just need to clean up. Okay? Then you can take me home.”

  “Oh, no. You’re not running away.”

  “I’m sorry, I just… I’ve never had the need to be on the pill. For anything.”

  “I get it, I’m not blaming you. I was surprised by it, and we have to talk about this.”

  “What? You want to know if I could get pregnant? If I think about the timing, it’s possible.”

  That was a kick in the nuts. “It is?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” How was he supposed to respond? The last thing he wanted to do was upset her or make her think he wouldn’t be there for her if a baby came into the picture. “We’ll deal with that… if the time comes.”

  “But what about you? I mean, you’ve been around and…”

  Okay, so the baby wasn’t her biggest worry. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he looked her right in the eyes. “I’m clean. Tested after I came home. There’s been no one else.”

  “No one else?”

  “Nope.”

  “For a whole year? That’s what you said, right? You’ve been home for a year.”

  “Pretty much. Yeah.”

  Not sure if she believed him, Jonah decided he’d said enough for now. She was rubbing her arms, so he went to his dresser and grabbed a long sleeve T-shirt. When she pulled it over her head, it dropped right to her knees. Two Keelys could have fit in that shirt. “Why don’t you use the bathroom? I’ll be right here.”

  There was no argument, but he could see she was worried. Hell, he was worried. It wasn’t that he hated the idea of becoming a father. He always thought he would have kids, but Jonah didn’t think that would be right now, or that it would be because of a busted condom.

  And Keely… she had plans. He had no idea if she even wanted a kid.

  He had no idea about a lot of things.

  The look on her face when she emerged was a combination of confusion and fear. He hated it. Grabbing her hands, he brought her back to bed.

  “No, no…”

  “Let’s get a little more sleep.” They both needed to get some perspective. Sleep always helped.

  “Maybe I should go home. I mean before everyone is up and…”

  He pointed to the clock. “It’s five in the morning. Everyone is up.”

  Marietta was a town that rose early. It was a habit that held over from the days of the copper mines, when there were more cattle and horses than people in these parts. If Jonah had to predict, he’d bet more than half the town was up by five.

  “You’re probably right. My father will be around. Maybe we should wait until after my parents head out to work.”

  “I don’t have to be in until noon, so if that’s what you want, sure.” Throwing the covers back, he pulled her into the bed. “We can definitely sleep more.”

  At first, he sensed her hesitation, but once she settled against him, her body relaxed and before long, he heard the gentle sounds of sleep.

  *

  “Jonah!” Thump, thump. “Jonah!” Voices. Outside. Keely woke with a start. Sun was streaming into Jonah’s bedroom, and the quiet of the morning was broken by the frantic pounding. It was a woman’s voice.

  “What the…” Coming out of a sound sleep, Jonah bounded from the bed and had his jeans on before Keely could sit up.

  “Jonah!” Now the voice was inside the cabin.

  “I’ll be right back.” He dashed out of the room. She heard him say, “Mom, what is it?”

  The exchange was quick, but there was trouble at the barn. Something with one of the horses and a groom, and they needed Jonah’s help.

  He was back in the bedroom, dressing like the house was on fire. “I have to—”

  She cut him off with a kiss. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine. Go.”

  He kissed her again before taking off. The last thing she heard was the front door close. When Keely looked out the window, she could see him running past the paddocks and up toward the barn. “Okay. So now I wait.”

  Coffee was definitely in order, considering how little she’d slept. Grinning to herself, Keely stopped in the laundry area. If his shirt was good enough for her to wear, he wouldn’t mind if she borrowed a pair of socks to keep her feet warm.

  Looking in the nearby bathroom mirror, she fluffed her hair, not that anything was going to help, and ran her fingers over her still puffy lips.

  He’d been so wonderful. Keely would never forget how everything was about her. She was damn sure that no one would ever measure up to him. Ever.

  For the moment, she was going to enjoy the ache between her thighs. The gentle reminder that he’d been there was enough to make Keely want him all over again.

  Yeah, she had to stop.

  Heading toward the kitchen, Keely froze when she spotted an attractive fifty-something woman fluffing the throw pillows in the living room.

  Jonah’s mother.

  Picking up the foil condom wrapper, his mother tilted her head and examined it. “Well, someone got lucky.”

  “Oh, sweet Jesus.” When his mom spun around, Keely realized the words had come out of her mouth.

  “Uh… good morning. Keely. Oh, my goodness.”

  “Morning, Miz Clark. How are you?”

  “I’m fine, dear. What are you…” His mother stopped mid question when she remembered the condom wrapper in her hand. “How… are you?”

  “I’m fine, thank you.” Motioning to the kitchen, she felt like she’d landed in the worst sitcom of all time. Talk about awkward. “I was going to make some coffee.”

  His mother took a few steps in her direction. Tentative, not sure what to do. Which was good, because Keely didn’t know either. Other women she knew had trysts, hook ups, and all kinds of sexual adventures. Never once had she heard about them running into their partners’ mother. While wearing one of his shirts.

  It was just her luck.

  “I think coffee is a good idea.” His mother walked toward the kitchen at an energetic clip. “Let me make it, and you can go get dressed.”

  “Right. Get dressed. Okay.” Turning, she shot into the bedroom.

  With her clothes on the chair in easy reach, she grabbed her purse, which had her cell phone. “Please have service. Have service.”

  Turning it on, thankfully she had service. She also had thirty-four text messages. Lucy had sent the most. Then her mother. Then Kathleen. The response to her mother was simple enough. I’m fine… be home soon.

  Lucy was still shooting out questions as Keely looked at the thread. A blanket response was the only thing that was going to work. It was amazing. He was amazing. But his mother is in the kitchen. Jonah is at the barn helping his dad, and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.

  Lucy sent back a winky face emoticon.

  Then the reaction came. Holy shit. His mother?

  Yes. Now I have to get dressed. She’s making coffee. Kill me.

  Hahahahahaha

  That was the last text she got from Lucy. The bitch.

  She dressed, putting Jonah’s shirt in the laundry bin in the bathroom, but she kept his socks. She liked the socks.


  Suddenly there was a commotion in the living room. The door closed and there were voices. Not Jonah and his mother. No. It sounded like Dan. And probably his father.

  What Keely didn’t expect was to see a furry black streak dart around the bedroom and then jump on the bed. A small black dog, a puppy, rolled over and wagged its tail.

  “Ohhh. Look at you.” Keely was a sucker for animals. Dogs especially.

  Jonah entered behind the pooch. “I’m so sorry about this,” he said, apparently referring to his mother. “I had no idea she’d stayed behind.”

  “It was a surprise. For both of us.”

  “Yeah. She handed me this.” He held out the condom wrapper. “She called me a slob.”

  Keely couldn’t help but giggle. “Who is this little…” she lifted the dog’s leg, “…little boy?”

  “He’s what happened at the barn. Well, sort of. He belongs to one of our hands and he ran away from the guy.”

  It was easy to figure out what happened. “Got into the stall area, did you? Scared all the horses?” She went nose to nose with the wiggly bundle.

  “Yeah, he was barking up a storm. Boondoggle, our dark bay stallion, got really spooked. The big baby.”

  “Why is the dog with you?”

  Jonah sat on the bed and ran his hand over the puppy’s side. “He ran away because he was afraid. Apparently, he gets hit pretty frequently. So, the hand no longer works for us, and we liberated the puppy.”

  “He’s so cute. What’s his name?”

  “He answers to Zero.” The pup immediately sat and let out a little yap. The tail was still wagging.

  “Zero, huh?”

  “Yep. Looks like I have a dog.”

  “He’s adorable. I bet you’ll be great friends.”

  Bending toward her, he dropped a kiss on her lips. Soft, sweet. “You’ll have to come visit often.”

  Her heart just about soared out of her chest. “I can do that.”

  “Coffee’s ready,” his mother called.

  Jonah squeezed his eyes shut. “I can’t believe this happened.” He was annoyed, and embarrassed, and Keely could only imagine how the conversation with his mother was going to go when she wasn’t around.

  “Someday it will be funny.” She had to believe that, otherwise she might cry.