Instinctively, Jules allowed his tongue to slip from between his lips long enough to moisten his mouth and tempt the little vixen who apparently enjoyed hearing a few suggestive statements. “You don’t go out in shorts like those and bend over now, ya hear?”
“Why? Are you afraid I might show my ass?”
“I already told you what I thought. It’s not your bottom I’m worried about.” Jules was just about to take the provocative conversation a step further when the door opened again. Serena knelt next to the cab of the truck, breathing hard and acting as if she were darn close to losing her lunch.
“You okay?” Jenna asked, patting Serena’s back.
“No.” She grabbed her side. “How long have you been here?”
“Not nearly long enough.” Jules laughed and started the truck. “Get in, Serena. Let’s go pick up a pizza and head on back. We have company coming tonight.”
“We do?” Serena asked excitedly. “Is it a party?”
Jules gripped the steering wheel and thought about the get-together. He sure didn’t want his niece or Jenna meeting his guests. “Yeah, but you’re gonna watch movies and go to bed, right?”
“Oh yeah,” Serena agreed. “You know it.” She rolled her eyes and slapped Jenna on the leg.
Jenna jerked and her leg rubbed against his. He felt an electric shock all the way to his groin when her bare leg touched his denim-clad thigh.
“I’m invited, right, Jules?” Jenna asked, poking him in the ribs with her elbow.
“No. Young ladies don’t attend our parties. Too much sinning and foolishness at our shindigs, stuff neither one of you know anything about.”
“Ah now, Jules,” Jenna purred. “Let us go. Please?”
“You’re talking to the wrong uncle.”
“I’m not your niece, remember?”
God yeah, he remembered. He was thankful, too, because he’d already seen his future.
He possessed the strangest and strongest feelings whenever they were together. She stirred too many emotions inside him, and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind. The little gal seated next to him would one day hold a very special place in his life.
He believed in love at first sight, and he was almost certain Jenna was destined to become his wife. There wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it, except maybe accept his fate and prepare for the journey of a lifetime.
* * * *
Jules set aside his earlier nonsense and sorted out his feelings. He’d taken the girls to pick up carryout and then left them in the den with a large pizza smothered in extra cheese and sausage.
Then, he hid behind a bathroom door, yanked down his pants like he used to do when he was in high school, and jacked the hell off.
Yep, he felt like a young man with his first erection. He had nowhere to point, sink, twiddle, or bury the damn thing.
The whole time his dick was in hand, he imagined those voluptuous breasts, the kind of mounds a woman was gifted with, not the silicone bullshit most of his one-night stands flaunted. Jenna was soft and natural, ready for some good loving.
He pulled at his hard length and tried to visualize them making love. It didn’t take long for the tip of his dick to open up with his spill. He had to bite down on his hand to keep from screaming her name.
Even after he came, using her pretty little images for inspiration, he was still long and hard. His fantasies weren’t helping. They didn’t tide him over. He longed for the woman behind his daydreams.
After he’d showered and changed, he met up with Brogan in the barn. Brogan looked like he’d recently enjoyed a fresh fuck. He was as chipper as a man with his fingers still locked in a willing woman’s pussy.
“What’s up with you?” Jules asked.
“You’ve amused me in ways I never thought possible.”
“Glad to give you a few chuckles. Now, how’s that?”
“Jenna is driving you crazy.”
“No,” he stated flatly. “Jenna is not making me anything but hard.”
“Yeah, and she isn’t doing anything about it, and that, little brother, is making you act like a madman. You watch her like a stalker and blush whenever she enters a room.”
“I do not.” Jules grabbed a keg and dragged the heavy container to the barn entrance. “Who brought the beer?”
“Pete dropped it off before he went home to change.”
“Ah, so it’s his turn to buy this week?”
“I reckon,” Brogan replied. “What are the girls doing tonight?”
“I hope they’re enjoying their pizza and watching something like Home Alone, you know, a good young adult movie. I don’t want them to come up with any crazy notions and sneak out here later.”
“Home Alone might give them a few. Remember, Jenna is with Serena, for crying out loud.”
“She’s not as immature as Serena.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Brogan complained. “You’ve managed more time with her than I have.”
“Drives you crazy, too, doesn’t it?”
“It’s driving one of us to something, but it ain’t me, little brother.”
Jules narrowed his gaze and studied the first two trucks approaching the barn. “Great.”
Brogan turned around. “Ha! I bet you’ll keep those girls up at the house now, won’t you?”
“Who the hell invited Mark Doyle?”
“Pete and Melissa. He’s with Tommy, so you don’t have any worries.”
Tommy was the older Doyle brother and yes, he had reason for concern. He gritted his teeth and headed for the far end of the barn.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t feel like a party. I’ll watch the girls tonight.”
Brogan cleared his throat. “What you need to do is fuck some unsuspecting female who doesn’t mind a good thrashing regardless of the reasons behind a meaningless screw. A lot of pretty ladies are coming out tonight.”
“There’s always a new one coming out to party, but there isn’t a gal within five hundred miles of here who looks like Jenna. You can manage without me, can’t you?”
A racket at the opposite end of the barn guaranteed the party had arrived. Brogan turned around and Jules looked up in time to see Marcy with the Doyle brothers. She’d brought a friend.
Grief. Marcy and company was the last thing Jules needed.
“Marcy,” the guys chanted together. “Who’s your friend?” Brogan added, already intrigued enough to start his pursuit. He nodded toward the Doyles, and the quick gesture must’ve been the only greeting he planned on offering.
“Ah, Brogan, she’s for Jules, honey.”
Jules swallowed hard. Marcy looked sexy as all hell as always, and the little gal with her, well, she was downright hot.
Brogan nudged him. “How about that. Marcy brought you a little treat.”
Truth be told, he was tempted to take time out of his day and indulge in a little snacking, but Marcy and her friend just didn’t have what it took to fully whet his appetite. At least, not tonight.
“I’ll be right back,” Jules grumbled without further acknowledging Marcy or her playmate.
He heard the whispers behind his back as he left. Sure, there was something wrong with him. Brogan could tell their guests the reasons behind his demeanor, too, for all he cared. He needed to sort things out, and by damn, he knew where to go in order to decipher through them.
Marching to the lower field, he paused at a covered shed long enough to retrieve a saddle and bridle. Hurriedly, he tossed the gear over his back and headed deeper into a hollow, the place his old mare typically hid when the sun went down. “Come here, Dolly,” he called out, whistling. “Come on, girl. Let’s go for a ride.”
The dappled gray horse turned her long neck toward him and neighed. Then, she trotted over to greet him. Dolly was loyal, unlike his brother, apparently.
Asking Marcy to bring a companion to their festivities during his weakest hour wasn’t a good move. Marcy’s stunt, even if Brogan extended the invitation and enc
ouraged her to bring along a friend, infuriated him.
Petting his horse, he dropped the saddle at Dolly’s hooves and stuck the bit in her mouth. After the bridle was in place, he tossed the saddle on her back and tightened the old girth.
He needed to be alone and planned to ride like hell. He mounted old Dolly and took off for the hills.
* * * *
“Damn it!” Jenna screamed out as she rolled around on the ground with her knee bent and her hands cupping her ankle. “I’m so fucking stupid!”
What was she thinking? Where had she planned on running to? She didn’t know anything about the Evans property and taking off for a nighttime jog made about as much sense as—she stopped her moaning and listened—yeah, it made as much sense as riding into pitch darkness.
“Is someone out here?” Jules shouted. “Hello?”
“It’s me,” she replied, groaning. Great, just terrific. Not only did she look positively stupid hunched down on the ground with her shins bleeding and her ankle swelling by the second, but to add insult to injury, Jules had to find her.
“Where are you? I can’t see you.”
She peered over the tall weeds and, thanks to the moonlight, saw the large form moving closer. “I’m here,” she said, waving her arm. “I took off for a run and didn’t pay attention to where I was going. I stepped in a hole and turned my foot. I think I sprained my ankle.”
A few seconds later, Jules towered over her. She looked up and found a very amused cowboy. “If you wanted my attention, you didn’t have to get it this way, you know. You could’ve done a little better for yourself if you’d just made your move in the truck earlier. You might have saved yourself an ACE bandage and an ice pack, too.”
“You think you’re funny. Don’t ’cha?”
“I try, darlin’. How bad are you hurt?”
She swallowed. “Bad enough to know I can’t walk or run out of here, but it isn’t broken. Just sprained.”
He slid out of his saddle and knelt next to her. “Let me see you.” He pulled a cigarette lighter from his pocket and shone the light on her ankle and then her knees. “When you fall, you like bruises and scrapes, something to remember the incident by, huh?”
“Oh yes. I typically go for broken bones, too.”
“Do ya now?”
“Absolutely,” she replied, wincing when he tried to move her foot in a clockwise fashion. “Lucky for me, I could quickly pull myself together on the chance you might ride out here and save me.”
“Save you?”
“From myself, of course,” she said, drawing her knees against her chest.
Jules flicked the lighter again. This time, he held the flame close to her face. “Do you need someone to save you, Jenna?”
He studied her closely. He wore a serious expression as he searched her eyes. She wanted to tell him yes. She longed to let him know how desperately she needed someone, anyone—him—to protect her. Her motto was quickly slipping out of reach.
The days of taunting the opposite sex were slowly coming to an end. She found it increasingly difficult to tease Jules when all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms.
“I’m glad you came along,” she admitted, placing her palms against the ground and shoving her weight forward in an attempt to stand.
Jules placed his hand on her shoulder. “Wait there a second. Let me check you out.”
“I’m fine. The only thing hurt here is my ego. I’m really not a klutz. I use good judgment most of the time. This was the exception. I took off in the middle of the night acting like a jealous woman.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his eyes dancing with knowledge.
“It’s true,” she admitted. “Serena fell asleep on the couch. She ate most of the pizza and she typically sleeps all night when she…”
“I don’t want to talk about my niece,” Jules interrupted her. “Tell me about this woman and her jealousy.”
“You mean me?”
“Who else would I be talking about, Jenna?” he asked. “You’re more of a woman than any woman I’ve ever met before.”
“You won’t think so now.”
“Why not? Because you’re jealous?”
Her heart pounded faster and faster. She really didn’t know how to come on to a man without teasing like crazy and then running away. She always fled. She never found a man worthy of an outright pursuit. Until now.
“I heard you in the barn with Brogan. Some woman named Marcy brought you another woman for a treat.”
Jules sat down beside her. “You hear a lot of things you shouldn’t.”
“I’m like Serena. I get around.”
“Oh you do?”
“Not like that,” she said, feeling her face heat.
“Were you really jealous?” he asked, cupping her neck and forcing her to look him in the eyes.
“Terribly.”
“Good,” he said, chuckling. “Now, can I tell you why I didn’t take Marcy up on her offer?”
She swallowed hard. Was she ready for this? She reluctantly nodded. “Tell me.”
Jules framed her face. He brushed his lips against hers in a featherlike kiss that wasn’t intrusive, but was oh so sweet. “I’m interested in someone else.”
“I see,” she whispered, shivering. “Well, that explains things then.”
“Good,” he said, tilting his head from side to side as he watched her.
They were in a large, open field, and if she didn’t lure him away from there, they would do something she’d later regret. She didn’t want to have sex in the middle of a cattle field. She wanted Jules to carry her off to a large bed and make love to her. First times and field romps didn’t tempt her in the least.
Jules pushed his fingers through her hair. He looked at her like he might take her right there. He must’ve been waiting for her to lead him astray.
“Can I kiss you? I mean, really kiss you?” he asked.
The next breath she took was so tortured, so ragged, so completely wasted, because she gasped and then she blurted out a mind-boggling, “No.”
Chapter Four
“I want her out of here,” Jules told Brogan without blinking an eye.
Serena watched the show unfold while trying to pretend she wasn’t listening.
“Why the sudden urgency?” Brogan asked, taunting his brother.
“I don’t need a reason. I just want her gone. We’re not providing room and board for unruly women. Serena can stay. She’s family. I love her. Jenna is a different story.”
“Uh-huh, I imagine so,” Brogan said. He turned to Serena and mouthed, “Unruly? Really?”
She shrugged. “He’s mad because he asked Jenna if he could kiss her and she said, ‘no.’ What’s wrong, Uncle Jules, haven’t you ever heard the word before? I can spell it for you if you like, even define it, if you need a quote from the dictionary. She didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, by the way.”
“So Jenna declined the kissing offer, did she?” Brogan asked, slapping Jules on the back while concentrating on Serena, probably awaiting more details.
She’d give them. She loved the floor, and her uncles expected her to take center stage anyway. “Yup, I think that’s about the way it went down. Isn’t it, Jules?”
“No, young lady, it is not,” Jules growled.
“Where is Jenna, by the way?” Brogan asked.
Serena stretched out on the couch and threw her legs over the back of the leather sofa. She retrieved a small fingernail file from her front pocket and started filing. “She sprained her ankle, you know—oh wait, you probably didn’t hear since you were otherwise engaged last night, but Jules knew—anyhow, she’s in your Jacuzzi with the jets on her ankle.”
Her uncles didn’t contribute anything further to the conversation. After a moment of silence, Serena glanced up and said, “And she’s bathing alone. Got it?”
Jules threw his arm in the air. “See? They’re in on this whole thing together. They think it’s a ga
me of some sort. Jenna can’t go back to Heath and Fiona’s right now, and that’s fine, but by damn she can go stay with Melissa and Pete.”
Brogan stretched. “I have a better idea.”
Serena wrapped her arms under her legs and shifted upright. “What?”
“I can’t wait to hear this,” Jules muttered.
“We’ll send her to stay with Marcy. She’d love to have the company.”
Jules clenched his teeth, squinted his eyes, and stormed out.
“He likes her,” Brogan said.
“Yeah, I’d say his days of being a bachelor are coming to a rapid end, what do you think?”
“You’re right,” Brogan agreed, laughing. “I’ve never seen him act this way before.”
“Well then, let’s go celebrate. I need some nail polish. Will you take me to the drugstore?”
“Sure, sweetie.” Brogan said, grabbing his keys. “I think Jules needs a favor.”
“They both need several.” Serena grabbed her purse. Jenna owed her big-time for this. And Jules might as well thank her on the way out.
* * * *
Jenna pressed the side of her foot against the jetting water. Her ankle was blue and significantly swollen. She pushed her leg right next to the dynamic hot force and leaned back, trying to relax.
She must’ve been crazy. Maybe when she’d taken a jogger’s tumble, she’d knocked loose a few screws in her head. She couldn’t believe she’d said no when Jules asked to kiss her.
A breathless smooch was all she’d thought about since their alone time by the pool then when he asked to kiss her, like a gentleman might, she told him no! How could she have been so stupid!
She wouldn’t blame him if he never spoke to her again. After she’d first denied him, he’d backed away with clenched fists and stared at her blankly. She hadn’t known what to make of the situation.
When he’d squatted next to her again, she’d thought he might take the kiss anyway. Instead, he swept her into his arms and placed her in the saddle. Then, he led her back to the house, like a knight escorting a princess to safety.
She recalled the important aspects. They’d traded heated glances. A word rarely exchanged between them. Maybe Jules wasn’t much of a talker after someone put him in his place, but he sure knew how to make a woman feel like she’d missed the grand prize, the ultimate finale.
Blaine, Destiny - Domination Plantation [Southern Plantation 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 5
