He found Jenna in his study, curled up on his sofa, her hair cascading thick and wild around her face and shoulders, her robe falling open, the curve of her breasts visible above the plunging V-neckline of her satin nightgown. Taking in the creaminess of her skin, remembering how soft and silky it felt to the touch and what a warm, giving lover she was, Jake’s whole body tightened. He grimaced, doing his best to contain his erection. He had promised her he would be a perfect gentleman if she spent the night. It was a promise he intended to honor. “You okay?” he asked casually.
“Yes.” As she continued to study him, taking in his loose cotton pajama pants and bare chest, a pleat appeared between her brows. “What are you doing up?”
Too late, Jake wished he’d thought to grab a robe. A T-shirt. Anything to put more clothes between them, and lessen the possibility of them making love again. Ignoring the lightning bolt of desire arrowing straight to his groin, Jake crossed the room to her side. “Just checking on you,” he told her casually. Smiling, he sat down beside her on the sofa, and looked down at the half-finished sketch in her lap. It was some sort of dress, but beyond that, he couldn’t tell much. “What’s all this?”
Jenna turned toward him, excitement in her clear blue eyes. “Oh, Jake, I know what I want to concentrate on with my clothing line.”
Jake grinned, unable to take his gaze from her face. She was one beautiful woman, even at this time of night, with her hair tumbling loose and unbrushed to her shoulders, her face scrubbed bare of makeup. “So what’s it going to be?” he asked. “Evening gowns or wedding dresses?”
“Neither.” Jenna scooted closer, her bent knee nudging his thigh in her eagerness to share her creative notion with him. Quickly, she returned to the front of her sketchbook and began flipping through it, showing him the rough designs. “I want to do a complete line of dresses for little girls Alex’s age. I want to create frontier-style party dresses with a definite Southwestern flair, frilly Southern-belle dresses, casual school dresses and dresses that are so right-now and city-chic. I want to challenge Esprit and Gunne Sax and Guess for the little girl’s market. I want them to have a dress for every mood. Every occasion. And I want to help out their moms, too. Every garment—even the dressiest—will be machine-washable.”
Impressed, Jake studied Jenna’s designs. No doubt about it, she was very, very talented. Even he—who knew very little about women’s or children’s clothing—could tell that from her off-the-cuff designs. “Sounds good. That’ll be a big help to a lot of parents trying to find something for their daughters to wear that is also easy and inexpensive to care for. But what about wedding gowns and evening dresses?” he wondered out loud. “That’s where you’ve made your name.” And Jake was unwilling to take any of Jenna’s hard-won success from her with any new opportunity he gave her.
Jenna frowned. “I want to keep doing those, but on an individual, custom-made basis. I don’t want to mass-produce any of those designs. This way, I can have the best of both worlds.”
With Jenna leaning over his shoulder, Jake continued flipping through the pages of her sketchbook. “You did all this in the past hour?” he asked, completely amazed.
Jenna nodded. “When I get an idea for a series of related dresses, it usually comes in the middle of the night. It usually all happens pretty quickly. Probably because my subconscious has been working on the problem for days.” Jenna paused and narrowed her eyes at him. She propped a fist on her hip in mock indignation. “How did you know how long I’ve been down here?”
Jake shrugged and tried not to notice the way her nipples were suddenly beading against the satin fabric of her gown. Whether because she was cold or as aware of him as he was of her, he couldn’t tell. With difficulty he returned his gaze to her face and answered her question. “I heard you go downstairs. I didn’t hear you come back up. After a while, I began to wonder if you were okay or had run out on me.”
Laughter curved the edges of her soft, bare lips. “Now, you know I’d never run off and leave Buster in the middle of the night,” Jenna teased. “So why aren’t you snoozing away, Mr. Remington?”
“The truth?” Jake said playfully before he could stop himself, tightening his hand on her own.
“Nothing but,” Jenna shot back with a wry look that seemed to imply she could handle anything he could dish out. And more.
Deciding he and Jenna had played games long enough, Jake looked deep into her eyes and confided, “I can’t stop thinking of you.”
AS THE IMPACT of Jake’s words sank in, Jenna found her heart was pounding. She had that funny, fluttery feeling in her tummy, the feeling she’d had every time Jake had kissed her. Trembling, Jenna extricated their hands and pushed herself to her feet. Jake had barely stated his intention, and already her mind was filled with fantasies of Jake making love to her right here in his study, on the sofa, in the chair…. “Now, Jake—” she warned, flushing, as she edged away from him.
Jake followed her around the back of the sofa, lazily matching her pace for pace. When she stopped, so did he.
To her relief—keeping some distance between them—Jake stopped, legs braced apart, arms folded in front of him, and regarded her with serious gray eyes. “I’ve got to be honest with you, Jenna. I don’t like having to hobble myself when it comes to romancing you.”
Her emotions in turmoil, Jenna studied Jake silently for several moments, liking the way the soft light in the study highlighted the masculine planes of his face, and brought out the inky darkness of his hair. Finally, she swallowed hard, asked, “Is that what you think you’re doing?”
Jake nodded and kept his eyes on hers. “In not pursuing you full-out, yeah, I do.”
Jenna inhaled deeply, but retained her composure. “I thought you weren’t going to pursue me any more tonight.”
Jake pointed to the clock and grinned, the morning beard on his face making him look all the more dark, dangerous and alluring. “Actually, it’s past midnight. Hence, it’s morning. A new day. New opportunities—”
“—to be shot down,” Jenna interrupted.
Jake tried but couldn’t quite suppress a grin as he added, “Or welcomed with open arms.”
Jenna took a couple of steps back. Safely out of reach, she pushed aside the tide of sensual longing she felt whenever he was near. “What on this earth could ever give you the idea that would happen?”
Jake inclined his head, taking her in from head to toe, before slowly…slowly returning his gaze to her face. “Oh, I don’t know,” he drawled with exaggerated seriousness. “Maybe the fact you can’t sleep any more than I can. Then again, maybe it’s the way you’ve been looking at me all evening long. Like you want nothing more than for me to take you in my arms and kiss you again.”
Jenna flushed with anticipation. “You’re dreaming.”
Jake merely grinned. “Am I, Jenna?” He took her in his arms. “Then prove it to me.” Giving her no chance to argue further, he ducked his head and gave her a slow, gentle kiss that turned her world upside down. Her response was immediate and just as filled with emotion and desire. Unable to resist his insistence, her arms moved from the defensive position against his chest, to wind around his neck. She felt his arousal pressing against her and she trembled from head to toe.
“Oh, Jake—”
His lips moved to the sensitive place just behind her ear. He rained kisses down her neck, across her collarbone, to the uppermost swell of her breasts. “I know we’ve had rough days, and we may have even rougher days ahead, but I want to make you mine, Jenna, not just temporarily, but the way I should’ve made you mine years ago,” Jake whispered as he kissed his way back up to her mouth.
Reason disappeared; feelings took over.
He threaded his hands through her hair and tipped her face up to his. “I want you to love me, Jenna,” he whispered hoarsely, kissing her as if the chance would never come again, “the way I love you, with all my heart and soul.”
“Oh, Jake,” Jenna whispered aga
in as the scent of his cologne filled her senses, and everything around her blurred except the hot, hard pressure of his mouth.
“Just love me, Jenna,” Jake coaxed as he backed her up against the wall, putting his arms on either side of her, his body against hers. Holding her tightly, he showered her with hot, passionate kisses that had her heart swelling and her body quaking with unmet need. “Love me the way we were meant to love each other,” he whispered.
Longing swept through her in undulating waves. Her robe, gown and panties were off in seconds. So were his pajama pants.
Naked, he held her against the wall. His mouth covered hers, demanding and receiving a response she hadn’t realized she could give as she pressed against him, savoring his warmth and his strength, even as she stroked the powerful muscles of his back, shoulders and waist. Her breasts crushed against the powerful muscles of his chest, she was throbbing all over, inside and out. She wanted to yield to him and the need that drove them both. And she wanted him to surrender to her, too.
Her hand curling around his biceps, she guided him around so his back was against the wall. “My turn to be in charge,” she teased, dropping to her knees. Jake groaned as her hands learned every male inch of him, then moved to the smooth, velvety hardness, and the depth of his need, a need she could ease.
Hand on her shoulder, he brought her to her feet. He kissed her again, until their hearts thundered together and she, too, trembled with the need to hold back her own release. He moved between her legs, nudging her thighs wide. He lifted her against him and surged inside. With an exultant sigh, she closed around the hot, hard length of him. And this time, as he loved her, they were pledging not just the moment, not just the sating of their desires, but their futures, too.
JAKE AND JENNA had barely stopped shuddering when Jake swept Jenna into his arms, carried her upstairs and dropped her into the mussed covers on his bed.
“I’m still not sleepy,” Jenna protested.
“Funny,” Jake drawled as he climbed in beside her, switched on the light and stretched out beside her. “Neither am I.”
Jenna rolled toward him, a combination of anticipation and excitement in her blue eyes. Her fingers slid through the silky mat of hair on his chest. “But we—”
“Already made love once,” Jake read her mind. “I know. But that was fast—”
“And good,” Jenna sighed contentedly, as amazed as Jake at how hot and fast she’d reached fulfillment.
“You’re right,” Jake agreed lazily. “It was good. Damn good. Still, there are times to go fast. And times to go slow.” He bent his head and kissed her again, until there was no question about what he wanted or what was coming next. Only passion so hot it sizzled. He swept her mouth with his tongue, circling, dipping deep in a rhythm of penetration and retreat. When she was trembling with excitement, stretching sinuously beneath him, he drew back, determined to make this time last. “Guess which one this is?” he asked wryly.
Jenna eyed him, a mixture of desire and laughter in her eyes. “We just finished five minutes ago!”
Jake acknowledged that was so with a lift of his head. “The advantage of going slow,” he allowed wickedly as he ran his thumb across her lower lip, “is that it takes you a long time to get where you’re going.” He was pleased to be the one introducing her to the many pleasures of sex.
Jenna, already helplessly aroused from just their kiss, regarded him with hesitation. “Jake, I don’t think I can go…that slow.”
His gaze traveled sensually over the flushed pink curves of her breasts and taut, rosy nipples. “Worried about me catching up?” Jake teased, as Jenna shifted restlessly beside him “Well, don’t be.”
“Can’t help it.” Jenna’s flush deepened. Shyly, she dipped her head. “I don’t want to…”
“Outdo me?” Jake guessed, his humorous grin widening.
Jenna nodded with relief. She let out a gusty sigh. “Exactly.”
“Well, don’t worry about it,” Jake winked playfully, aware he was already feeling a renewed rush of heat and blood to his groin. “This is one area where I don’t mind lagging behind. One area where it pays to be the fairer sex.”
“Jake—”
“Feels good, does it?”
Jenna moaned as Jake’s lips and tongue blazed an erotic path across her breasts, paying tender attention to each nipple, laving the peak with his tongue, blowing it dry with his breath. “Too good,” she moaned as he angled his body across hers and his lips returned to hers.
“How about this?” Jake probed the soft lining of her mouth with his tongue, kissing her until she sighed, soft and ragged.
“Also…exceptional.” Jenna’s voice sounded strangled.
He made his way down to her parted thighs, caressing her dewy softness, moving up, in. “And this?”
She practically soared off the bed. “You’re too…kind.”
“Told you I’d be a perfect gentleman,” Jake whispered as Jenna shook uncontrollably again.
“I thought that was yesterday,” she whispered as he stroked her, over and over again, until she was coming like lightning in his hands.
“It applies today,” Jake said.
“Gentlemen…don’t…do…this,” she said, as Jake’s lips and tongue replaced his hand.
“This gentleman does,” he replied, continuing until she clasped the muscles of his shoulders and dug her fingers in, the pleasure gripping her, sending her spiraling over the edge. Satisfaction poured through Jake as Jenna climaxed wildly, wantonly in his arms. His own body now humming with pent-up desire, Jake held Jenna and kissed her. A wave of tenderness rushed through him as he realized how lucky they were to have come together again, this time for keeps. Jake brushed the hair from Jenna’s cheek as he studied the flushed color in her cheeks. “What are you thinking?” he asked softly.
“In a word?” Jenna’s whole body softened contentedly as she searched his eyes—and his heart. “That you’re going to spoil me.”
Jake grinned, happier than he could ever remember being. “Don’t mind if I do,” he drawled. He reached for her again. Only, to his surprise, to be pushed gently but firmly away.
“Hold on there a moment, cowboy,” Jenna said as she sat up and sent him a wickedly playful glance. “This isn’t a oneway street we’re on.” Blue eyes twinkling, she said, “If I have my way—and I will—more than one of us is going to get spoiled tonight.”
Curious as to what she was going to do, Jake lay back while Jenna knelt between his spread legs. She put a hand on the insides of his thighs, caressed them with exquisite pressure, covering all the erogenous zones except one. Jake groaned, her aptitude for loving him no surprise. Not being able to keep up with her was no longer the problem. In fact, if she continued her sensual teasing, their problem was going to be exactly the opposite. Gruffly, Jake caught her hands, only to have Jenna replace them with her lips. “This wasn’t part of the deal here,” he groaned, as his body turned to fire under the delicate ministrations of her mouth.
Jenna wrested her hands from his light, detaining grip. Mischief on her face, she rose to her knees and moved her fingertips over his flat male nipples and the indentation of his navel, her hot skin brushing his with maddening intensity. “It is now.”
Jake throbbed as she knelt again and kissed him all the way to his ankles. “Jenna—” What she was doing was sensual and outrageous. And far too compelling to stop. He wanted to be touched now, the way he knew she would eventually touch him. Seemingly in no hurry despite the throbbing in his groin, Jenna lazily kissed her way back up his thighs, rubbing the tips of her breasts against the hard muscles. Her hot breath and the silk of her hair floated across his skin. He sucked in a ragged breath as she cupped him reverently between her palms.
“Jenna,” he groaned. Much more of this love-play and he was going to explode.
Jenna touched him, ever so lightly, ever so carefully with the tip of her tongue, then to his frustration, drew away. “Let me get where I want to be,
Jake.”
Jake shuddered as her hands replaced her lips, arousing him with slow, patient strokes. “You’re certainly getting where I’d like you to be.”
Jenna looked up at him with such love and intensity he caught his breath. “Glad to hear it,” she said softly.
“Jenna—?” Jake didn’t think he had ever experienced a more tender, thorough loving in his life.
“Hmm?” Once again, Jenna found him with her lips and tongue.
“Where’d you…learn all these things?” Jake gasped as she tried a particularly unexpected—and stunningly erotic and effective—move.
“You aren’t the only one who can read—and dream,” Jenna murmured, obviously delighting in the fact he was giving her free rein to do absolutely anything she pleased. “Just so happens I haven’t had anyone to try any of it out on until now.” She paused, sat up and looked into his eyes, her delight in her sensual explorations obvious. She wrinkled her nose at him playfully. “How am I doing?”
Figuring he’d been patient way long enough, Jake grabbed her by the waist and shifted her so she was astride him. The strain of holding back beaded his entire body with perspiration. “Too good, as a matter of fact.”
“No such thing as too good when it comes to the bedroom,” Jenna declared, as she settled onto his lap and eased down, slowly and surely, taking him inside her.
“You’re right,” Jake agreed as Jenna closed around him, hot and tight. And then got even tighter. “What you are doing is just right. But so,” he said as he thrust even deeper, sparing nothing when it came to making her his, “is this.”
Jenna took off like a rocket. “I’m ahead of you—again,” she groaned.
“I’ll catch up,” Jake promised.
And he did, merging their climaxes as irrevocably as they were beginning to merge their lives. Afterward, Jake held her close. Bliss consumed them, rendering them warm, cozy and totally unmoving. “Now what are you thinking?” he whispered in her ear.
The Bride Said, Finally! (The Lockharts of Texas) Page 17
