Gold Fire

by Starr Ambrose

  “The bar?” she asked, eager for any solution and stuck on that first fevered thought.

  He rubbed against her, the warm skin of his chest against her breasts raising her temperature more than the kisses he placed along her jaw. “No good. Not unless you’re into lying on sticky beer.”

  Not really. She had a hard time thinking while he dropped tender kisses along her shoulders. “Those pool tables in the back room looked pretty sturdy.”

  He raised his head, pausing to give her a horrified look. “Since we’re getting along so well, I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

  “Oh.” She bit back a smile. “Sorry. I don’t know pool table sex etiquette.”

  “Now you do. Keep thinking.”

  But his head dipped back to her breasts and thinking became impossible. She moaned at the pull of his mouth on sensitive flesh. Raw heat streaked downward, and she buried her fingers in his hair and held on. When that still wasn’t enough, she reached for the button on his jeans.

  He moved her hands aside. “Slow down. We’ll get there.”

  “I’m already there. You need to catch up.”

  “Trust me, I don’t.”

  She squirmed at the need taking hold inside her, but let him set the pace. He was doing a good job.

  His hands had found the zipper at the back of her skirt and pulled. The skirt fell to the floor, followed by her half-slip. His questing mouth moved lower.

  She drew in a shaky breath and grabbed the back of the bar stool next to her for support. Seconds later she reached for the stool on her other side, too. Leaning against something would have been better, but the bar was basically a ledge poking uncomfortably against her shoulder blades. She could find a wall, but it was hard to see once her vision blurred and her eyes closed. Hard to do anything but hang on once his fingers slipped inside her. She wouldn’t ask him to move, not even if the place caught on fire again. All she could do was ride the waves of pressure as they built and built, until finally she gasped, “Jase!” and the world dissolved into a fall of glittery stars.

  She opened her eyes to his lazy smile. “You okay?” he asked as he nibbled at her ear.

  “Mmm.” She took a few deep breaths and waited for strength to return to her legs before moving. The climax had left her only partially replete and more desperate than ever for what she really wanted—to feel him inside her. To feel him rock into her hard and fast while she watched his eyes glaze over with need. To fill that need the way he filled her.

  This time she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

  She reached for his waistband, unfastening his jeans. He didn’t try to stop her, and it took only seconds to unzip, then shove his jeans and underwear down far enough to free his erection. She gripped and stroked.

  “Jesus, Zoe,” he groaned. “I hope you thought of a place to do this, or we’re going down to the floor right now.” Without waiting for an answer, he pulled his boots off, then stripped out of the jeans.

  She pulled a chair off the closest table. “Sit,” she ordered. He did, holding on to her as she straddled his legs and sat on his thighs. She grinned in anticipation. “I always wanted to try this.”

  “Wait.” He nodded at the floor. “Back pocket of my jeans.”

  Condom. Jeez, good thing one of them had some brain cells left. She retrieved it quickly, getting back in place as he opened it, thinking it was nice he’d had one handy. Thinking, too, that anyone who kept a condom that handy had reason to think he’d need one. Since he’d had no idea she’d show up in his parking lot, she couldn’t help feeling a pang of jealousy.

  She had no right to feel it. “Lucky you had it,” she said, smiling to make herself believe it.

  “I keep them behind the bar. Stuck it in my pocket when I got the beers.”

  She shouldn’t feel that rush of relief, either, and covered it by raising her eyebrows. “You stock condoms at the bar?”

  “I hand out two or three a week. Sometimes you can see where a spontaneous hookup is headed.” He watched her scoot closer, heat blazing in his eyes. “But sometimes they come as a surprise.”

  “You weren’t surprised,” she murmured in his ear as she settled over him, holding still while something inside her soared. “You knew I’d end up here.”

  He kissed her deeply, then gently pulled strands of hair away from her face, tucking them behind her shoulder. “I knew I wanted you here,” he said, his throaty rumble telling her how much he still wanted. “I wanted to see you bend a few of your rules, see how well we worked together.”

  “I didn’t bend them. I broke them to pieces.”

  “Am I that bad?” he asked, smiling.

  “No.” She wasn’t sure what he was, but he was a lot more complex than she’d given him credit for. She sighed. “I think I was that wrong.” Closing her eyes, she rocked against him, enjoying the part she finally got right.

  She wanted to love the position, to abandon herself to the pleasure, but movement was awkward. He held her waist while she hooked her feet behind the chair but the inability to take him fully and still move was maddening.

  She paused, about to suggest they resort to the floor, when he growled with frustration, gripped her tightly, and stood. She clung to his neck with a startled “Eep” as he elbowed chairs aside left and right. They crashed to the floor on each side of her and he laid her back on the cleared tabletop, still joined with her. His eyes flashed with intensity as he gave a satisfied thrust.

  Oh, God, yes! Astonishment mixed with a thrilling jolt of lust. That was what she’d waited for.

  He watched her, gripping her hips and pushing into her again. Jaw set with determination. Arm muscles tight. Holding back, she knew, until he took her over the edge one more time.

  Her insides went liquid with need. She arched her head back, lost in the rhythm as it pulsed through her, primitive and strong. Abandoning herself to the pleasure, she wrapped him with her legs as he stroked into her. She would have feared the loss of control with another man, but gave it eagerly to Jase, knowing she could trust him. Knowing he would give as well as take. She let him take her higher and higher until the ecstasy spasmed through her again, hard waves that grabbed him, too. She heard a hissed breath as he went rigid, then finally collapsed on top of her.

  She circled him loosely with her arms, feeling the cool sweat on his back, enjoying the weight of him as her breathing returned to normal.

  The numbing haze faded from her brain, bringing her back to reality—lying naked on a saloon table beneath Jase Garrett.

  She smiled. No regrets. Not for rejecting Matt, and not for having sex with Jase. Her world had flipped radically in the past couple of days, the guidelines she’d set for herself shattered to pieces. She’d rejected a man with every quality she’d ever wanted, and had sex with a man who had none of them. Amazingly, it felt right.

  She had a lot to think about.

  Later.

  • • •

  Jase propped himself on his forearms, enjoying the sight of Zoe flushed and satisfied beneath him. Knowing exactly how it felt. He’d possibly just had the best sex of his life, and he wasn’t ready for it to be over. He’d tried to make it last longer, but seeing prim, proper Zoe turn into a wanton seductress right in front of him had seriously frayed his willpower.

  He’d been ready to take her since she showed up in the parking lot wearing that prim and proper Alpine Sky suit that didn’t fool him for a second; beneath that suit was a repressed woman waiting to shake off years of self-imposed restrictions. He was more than willing to offer his services.

  Which he’d apparently done well, judging by the dazed look in those lovely golden-brown eyes. He was inordinately pleased to have put it there, and strangely possessive about not wanting another man to have a chance to do the same.

  He brushed away a few strands of hair that clung to the dampness on her forehead and smiled as the dreamy glaze left her eyes. “Did I ever tell you how much that stuffy business suit turns me on
?”

  “I think you just did, although I was hoping it was what was under the suit.”

  “That part was even hotter.” He kissed her, a long, slow finish to their lovemaking, before he stood and helped her to her feet. She looked a little wobbly, and he put his arms around her. It seemed like a good excuse to press her naked body against his one more time, and she didn’t object, holding him close and laying her cheek against him as she tucked her head just below his chin. It felt so right he just stood there, drinking in the closeness.

  “I should go home now.”

  Funny, that was usually his line. Hearing it from her sent an unpleasant jolt through him. He pulled his head back and looked at her. “So you can draw up a new life plan?”

  She gave him a sour smile. “Looks like I have to.”

  “Don’t.”

  “Well, I can’t operate without one, and I really don’t think it’s your call.”

  “I mean, don’t go home. Come to my house.” Her face went blank and her mouth opened in surprise. He understood—he was almost as surprised as she was when it popped out of his mouth, but he knew immediately that he wanted it. Badly.

  Since surprise wasn’t outright rejection, he tried harder, giving her what worked best, sensible reasons. He wasn’t above playing dirty.

  “You have to give it a fair shot, Zoe. Have you really worked me out of your system so fast? Because all you’ve done for me is show me something I hope I can have again. It’s not like you to leave a job unfinished.”

  Gambling on her feeling the same way wasn’t too risky, not after the look he’d seen on her face and the response he’d felt in her body. But he backed it up with emotion anyway. “I can’t promise one more time will be enough for me, because I’m not just hot for your body. I like you. I like your stubborn dedication to your job, and the way you won’t take no for an answer. You’re smart, and you’re persistent. It’s a sexy combination.” It was easy to look sincere when he meant every word.

  Her steady look was hard to read. “You said I was irritating.”

  He grinned. “You are. Doesn’t change the rest.” Running a hand under her hair, he caressed the back of her head, watching her eyes close as he tugged gently, then sifted it through his fingers. “What do you say?” he murmured, sneaking in a kiss. “It’s one night. You can draw up your new life plans later, and add amendments and corollaries to your heart’s content. The ones that exclude worthless bums like me.”

  She was thinking, which was better than saying no.

  Despite what she thought, when he did something, he did a thorough job, which meant he couldn’t hit her with logic and emotion without throwing in the physical aspect. With a suggestive smile and lift of his eyebrow, he ran two fingers down her cheek, down her neck, down her fair, freckled skin to her bare breast. She looked down, as he’d hoped she would, following his fingers as he traced a path over her breast, beneath it, across the nipple. Her eyes closed. He played there lightly, teasing, holding back a smile as goose bumps ran down her arms. Leaning close, he whispered, “I’m not done with you, Zoe. Come home with me. Stay the night.”

  She sighed, a long breath of resignation, and he knew he had her before she opened her eyes. “You’re right. I don’t think we’re done. And I really do want to forget about you.”

  “Thatta girl.”

  • • •

  Zoe followed him in her car, wondering the whole time if she’d lost her mind. Saloon sex was one thing. Spending the night at Jase Garrett’s house, even when that night was already closer to dawn, was another entirely. It was deliberate and no longer private, not with her car sitting in his driveway for anyone to see. Definitely not in line with her responsible, conservative image. It was more like something she would have done ten years ago.

  Except back then she would have done it for the shock value. Now she didn’t want anyone to know. Not the nosy residents of B-Pass, who were apparently eager to see a Larkin girl go bad, and not her sisters, who knew her cautious dating life didn’t include men like Jase Garrett. She preferred to keep this to herself, at least until she understood it.

  Thankfully, his house was secluded. Maybe no one would notice the red Escort parked beside his truck. Then Maggie and Sophie wouldn’t get the chance to ask what she was thinking when she dropped Matt Flemming in favor of a hot fling with his polar opposite.

  She didn’t have an answer. She hadn’t been thinking. She’d been acting on instinct, something she hadn’t trusted herself to do in her entire adult life. And because it had been so right, she’d followed her instincts again, trailing him along the dark roads to his house.

  She wasn’t done with him any more than he was done with her. And she didn’t understand him. Jase was more than he appeared to be. More motivated to get what he wanted in life, and more caring about people outside his own little world.

  She’d misread him. What else had she missed?

  For starters, his financial situation. The house she walked through wasn’t the home of a lazy saloon owner with no other discernible income. Trees and darkness had hidden part of the house when she’d been there before, and with her rage in full bloom, the living room hadn’t registered. It did now, from the huge stone fireplace to the expensive furniture. So did the large, tiled kitchen she passed, and the study that looked like it functioned as his main living space. The dining room and two bedrooms were bare. He’d put a lot of money into building the house, but stopped halfway through furnishing it. Out of money? Or out of interest?

  At least the spacious master bedroom was furnished, including a chair on the adjoining deck. Even in the dark she knew it would have a spectacular view of Tappit’s Peak. Views were what people paid for in Barringer’s Pass, and they didn’t come cheap.

  They’d obviously miscalculated. Matt had dismissed Jase’s claim of having “enough” money by saying that his endorsement deals would have been yanked. If they had, he obviously had another source of income. The Rusty Wire didn’t pay for homes like this. Just one clue that she didn’t know Jase nearly as well as she’d thought.

  “You’re staring.” Jase came up behind her, laying his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts.”

  “No, it’s just that it’s all so lovely.”

  “It is?” He looked around the room, obviously worried. “I wasn’t going for lovely.”

  “Don’t worry, your manhood is intact. I just meant you have a beautiful home.”

  “It’s just a house.” He massaged the muscles beneath his hands with surprising skill. She relaxed into it, rolling her head. He lowered his head, kissed her ear. “Tell me more about my manhood.”

  She laughed, doubting he needed reassurance. It felt good to have a relaxed relationship with him, teasing and bantering without the pressure to persuade and close the deal.

  “I love it when you laugh.” His soft comment got her attention better than any teasing remark he could have made. He loved something about her. She was surprised by how good it made her feel. “It sounds like the real you. You never laugh when you’re working.”

  God, was that true? For a second, she blinked in concern, then realized why he was wrong. “That’s because you only see me at my most annoying times, when I’m trying to convince my bullheaded neighbor to sell his saloon.”

  “True.” He smiled. “Do you laugh a lot at the Alpine Sky? Maybe I should visit you there again.”

  She sobered quickly at the thought of working with David and Matt, her daily problems with spoiled movie stars, and worries over the aggressive expansion plans. “No, I guess I don’t. But it’s not that kind of job.”

  “You mean it’s not fun.”

  She frowned. “Most jobs aren’t.”

  “Some are. Mine is.”

  She started to say that was because he didn’t really work, he socialized. But she’d seen how people responded to him; he was a one-man public relations department, working the room, keeping people happy. Doing what an o
wner should.

  He was a people person who obviously loved his job, while under her efficient, competent facade she didn’t love hers. And he’d zeroed in on it.

  Thinking about work was spoiling her good mood. She turned to face him as he dropped his hands down to circle her waist, keeping her close. “I didn’t come here to talk about work.”

  “Direct, as usual.” He kissed her, unbuttoning her blouse as he did. “Not a problem. We can save the getting-to-know-you for later.”

  She responded to his kiss hungrily, rubbing against the erection that was already straining the front of his jeans. “You already know me,” she murmured into his ear. Far too well. If he was going to be so damn perceptive, she’d give him something else to concentrate on.

  Luckily, when he did something, he gave it his full attention. It wasn’t possible to complain about a man who could bring her to the brink of ecstasy time and again without allowing her that final release, but lying in his bed she decided it was entirely possible to go mad from it. The only consolation was that he was as tortured as she was.

  He hovered above her, placing delicate kisses on her eyes, forehead, and cheeks, and she couldn’t care less. Her attention was centered on the wonderful yearning that pulsed between her legs, and the teasing erection that brushed all the right places without giving either of them satisfaction. She clutched the firm muscles of his ass to hold him in place while she thrust upward, but he moved enough to miss the target and give them both a searing, hot jolt of pleasure as he slid over her.

  He hissed in a breath, then smiled. “Vixen.” He kissed her nose.

  “Beast.” He rocked slightly, sending another delicious shock wave rushing through her. She laughed, a combination of delight and exasperation. “Jase, I’m suffering here.”

  “So am I. You drive me crazy.” He nipped at her lower lip. “Some of us don’t get two orgasms every time. I want to make this last.”

  “I sympathize with your deficiencies, truly.” She grinned at his evil look. “But I assure you the second is needed just as desperately as the first.”