Claimed!

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  From the meadow, the trail entered a stand of pine and aspen with a little oak mixed in. Josie wondered if Jack had planned this ride so that they’d be in a secluded area. The dappled sunlight and trill of birds would make a nice backdrop for two naked people pumping away on a blanket.

  Wow, had she actually thought that? She needed to get off that train immediately. Much more of that kind of fantasy and she’d be suggesting the activity to Jack.

  He’d made it clear he wouldn’t try to seduce her, so for her to suggest getting naked would be wrong on so many levels. She’d come off as both needy and pathetic.

  “You’re looking comfy up there,” Jack said. “I think you’re ready for a trot.”

  “Isn’t that the bouncy thing?”

  “Not if you sit back nice and easy and move with the horse. Kick your heels into Destiny’s flanks and he’ll trot for you.”

  Reasoning that a new challenge would get her mind off sex, she dug her heels into the horse’s ribs. The result was less than optimal. Instead of rolling along with Destiny’s ambling walk, Josie was suddenly sitting on top of a jackhammer.

  She grabbed the saddle horn as her teeth clicked together and her fanny slapped repeatedly against the smooth leather beneath her. Spanking fantasies weren’t part of her repertoire, and she wasn’t amused. “I don’t like this, Jack!”

  He sounded completely unmoved by her plight. “Sit back in the saddle and let yourself feel the rhythm of the horse.”

  She tried, but she still bounced all over creation. “This…rhythm…doesn’t…work…for me.”

  “Then bypass the trot and go straight into a canter.”

  “How?”

  “Kick him again.”

  “Is there…a gearshift…in his…ribs?”

  Jack laughed, which she thought was extremely impolite, so she kicked Destiny with a little more force than she’d intended. She felt the great muscles gather beneath her, and then she was flying through the forest at a speed that turned the landscape into a glorious blur.

  Although she lost her hat, she somehow kept her feet in the stirrups, and she pressed down on them. Now she could match her rhythm to the horse’s plunging gait, and she leaned forward, clutching the saddle horn with both hands, too excited to be scared. So this was riding!

  The wind buffeted her ears, making her deaf to all sounds but her own rapid breathing. In her peripheral vision she saw a flash of black and white through the trees, and then Jack was in front of her, blocking her way as he slowed his horse, which forced Destiny to slow.

  Finally, Jack pulled his horse to a halt, vaulted off, and dropped the reins to the ground. Walking quickly back to Destiny, he hauled Josie from the saddle so abruptly that he knocked his hat to the ground. “Are you okay? God, Josie, I didn’t mean for you to make him run! You must have been terrified!”

  Laughing, she shook her head. “I loved it.” Reaching up, she ran her fingers through his tousled hair. “You’d better pick up your hat. I know how you feel about that Stetson of yours.”

  “Forget the hat.”

  “Forget it? Are you crazy?”

  “No doubt. Josie, forgive me.”

  “For that wild ride? It was fun!”

  “Not for the wild ride. For this.” And he kissed her.

  6

  TWENTY MINUTES into the riding lesson, and Jack had already broken his vow to keep his hands off Josie. But when Destiny ran off with her, he panicked, frantic at the thought that she could get hurt. But she hadn’t been hurt, and he was so damned grateful that he just needed…her mouth…good Lord, her mouth… He feasted with the hunger of a man who’d denied himself far too long.

  If she’d pulled back or resisted in any way, he might have found the strength to stop this nonsense. Instead she opened that glorious mouth of hers and cupped the back of his head in both hands to hold him fast.

  Josie. So warm, so incredibly soft and yielding in his arms. He didn’t deserve this melting acceptance, but he couldn’t stop himself from taking it. They’d perfected this dance through hours of practice, and he slid back into the familiar wonder of kissing Josie as if he’d done it yesterday.

  But he hadn’t kissed her yesterday. For ten long, bleak months he’d been without this incredible experience. During the time they’d been together he’d developed some self-control so that he could hold her and kiss her without needing to rip her clothes off immediately. In ten months of celibacy, that self-control had disappeared.

  Instantly he was on fire, his heart pounding and his cock hard. He moaned and pulled her in tight, wanting her with a fierceness that threatened to overwhelm every decent intention he possessed.

  Josie was no help at all. Molding herself so his straining erection fit into the vee of her thighs, she whimpered against his mouth. That familiar sound reminded him of all the special sounds she made when he drove her crazy. He wanted to hear her pant, and moan, and beg, and cry out his name when he gave her an orgasm, and yell when he gave her another, and…

  Something, or someone, bumped him from behind. His first thought was that Josie’s brother had arrived and was ready to beat the tar out of him. Reluctantly he ended the kiss and glanced over his shoulder.

  Destiny nudged him again, harder this time.

  Jack didn’t know whether to laugh or swear.

  “Jack?”

  He gazed down into gray eyes that had gone all soft and dreamy. She would let him make love to her right now if he asked. After all those months together, he knew her moods. But he’d made a vow not to let sex be a part of this project.

  “Destiny’s a bit spoiled from his years of being around kids,” he said. “He doesn’t like to be ignored, so he’s reminding me that he’s here.”

  Josie searched Jack’s expression a moment before easing away from him. “Considering your plan of non-involvement, that’s probably a good thing, huh?”

  “Yeah.” He blew out a breath and tried to get his bearings. All he really knew was that his arms felt very empty without her in them.

  Well, served him right for screwing things up so quickly. “I’m not going to make excuses. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “And I shouldn’t have let you.” Mischief danced in her eyes. “Want to do it again?”

  He groaned. “Don’t tempt me.”

  “Hey, you started it.” She shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and stuck out her chest, which made her look adorably defiant and sexy as hell. “I was just out here taking a riding lesson when you decided to play tonsil hockey. Can I help it if you put ideas in my head?”

  “You’re right.” Glancing around, he found his hat in the dirt, picked it up, and dusted it off. “It was completely my fault.”

  “Damn straight.” Her tone softened. “I wonder if we’re attempting the impossible, Jack. How are we supposed to act like casual friends after being lovers?”

  “I don’t know.” Destiny bumped him again. He turned and swatted the horse on the nose with his hat. “Behave.”

  Destiny stretched out his neck and nuzzled Jack’s hip pocket, obviously looking for a treat.

  “Hey, stop!” Jack stepped aside and took the horse by the bridle. “No treats. You have some bad habits, son.”

  Josie smiled. “We’re not so different from that horse, you know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We have the bad habit of expecting sex when we’re together.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” He tapped his hat against his thigh. “We’re thinking human beings, not trained animals. We can exercise restraint.”

  “Oh, really?” Her eyebrows arched.

  “Just because I kissed you doesn’t mean I have to keep doing it.”

  “Then I guess you’re stronger than I am, because now that you’ve kissed me, all I can think about is having sex with you.”

  Heat rolled through him in waves. “I wish you hadn’t said that.”

  “You might as well know the truth. It’s not like I’ll
be able to hide it from you. We understand each other too well.” She pointed a finger at him. “And don’t think I can’t read you just as easily. Right this minute you’re wishing you could back me up against the nearest flat surface and do me, but you’re too stubborn to admit it.”

  He should get a medal for self-control, because the more she talked, the more he wanted exactly that. Good thing he no longer carried an emergency condom like he used to do when they were together. That helped. Still, he could imagine a few things they could do that wouldn’t require a condom.

  He clutched Destiny’s bridle to keep from reaching for her. “Even if that’s true, and I’m not saying it is, I said I wouldn’t have sex with you, and I intend to keep my word.”

  Josie rolled her eyes. “Very noble of you. If that’s how you feel, then let’s forget the riding lessons, because I don’t want to put myself through this.”

  “Through what?”

  “Hello? Sexual frustration! I don’t care to watch your sexy buns warming the seat of your saddle if the bakery is permanently closed, okay? Let’s just give up on this whole program. We’ll muddle through the wedding as best we can under the circumstances.”

  Giving up wasn’t something Jack looked favorably on, and in this case, everybody and his brother—and hers—would know about it. “Giving up isn’t an option.”

  “I’m sorry, but you don’t have control over whether we give up. May I remind you that I do.”

  “But, Josie—”

  “Don’t but, Josie me! Maybe if you hadn’t kissed me, I’d have an easier time of it, but the fact remains that you did kiss me, and now I’m primed and ready to rumba. However, if I stay away from you for the next week or so, I’ll get over it.”

  If he lived to be a hundred and fifty, Jack would never understand women. He let go of Destiny’s bridle and gestured with his hat. “Now let me get this straight. The other night, you thought I was some kind of horn dog to show up at your place on the spur of the moment. You made it clear you were finished with me and my sex-crazed behavior. Now you’re perfectly willing to get horizontal. What’s changed?”

  She blew out a breath. “I’ve already told you, but apparently it didn’t make an impression. You kissed me.”

  “And you can’t just forget about that?”

  “No, I can’t.” She folded her arms. “Can you?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m willing to try for the good of all concerned. We need to demonstrate we can get along, and the riding lessons are supposed to—”

  “Have you considered that there’s another option?”

  “Like what?”

  “First of all, we continue with the riding lessons and expand them to two hours. You can tell everyone I’m a slow learner.” Her gray eyes sparkled.

  He knew that look, and it usually meant he needed to be cautious. “You’re not a slow learner. You have natural athletic ability, and it won’t take much instruction for you to be a decent rider.”

  “Good to hear. Because, unbeknownst to everyone else, we’ll be using all our spare time for sex.”

  IF ONLY SHE HAD a camera. His expression was absolutely priceless. Jack had always been proud of his ability to keep his reactions to himself, and consequently she liked making a game of trying to shock him into revealing his true feelings.

  She’d succeeded this morning. His dark eyes widened in obvious disbelief, but that disbelief soon gave way to excitement. No doubt his quick mind was already imagining the possibilities.

  Yet he hesitated. “That isn’t the way everything was supposed to go.” He sounded both hopeful and confused. “I promised you—hell, I promised myself that we wouldn’t have sex.”

  There it was again, a hint of vulnerability, as if he cared what she’d think if he broke that promise. It touched her more than a little. Maybe these past ten months had worked some changes in him, after all.

  “I know,” she said softly. “I’m the one suggesting we change the plan, not you.”

  He looked down at the hat in his hand and brushed a leaf from the crown. Then he glanced up. “You’re planning to keep this a secret from your brother?”

  She didn’t feel great about that, but telling Alex would only cause more problems. “I don’t see any reason for him to know. I don’t think anyone has to know, actually. That way we won’t get any unsolicited advice on whether this is a wise move or not.”

  “It probably isn’t.” Yet he hung his hat on Destiny’s saddle horn and moved toward her.

  “Probably not.” She held his gaze, knowing he intended to kiss her again and knowing that she needed that more than she needed air.

  “So would you call this a stopgap measure?” He advanced another step.

  “Exactly.” Her heart beat faster the nearer he came. “It’s a temporary fix to get us through the wedding, so we don’t have a bunch of messy sexual tension going on. After that…” She wasn’t sure what came after that.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t worry about what comes after that.” He stood barely a foot away, his heat calling out to her. “Maybe we should take it one day at a time.”

  “Good idea.” The intensity of his gaze made her quiver. “Our goal…” She swallowed. “Our goal is to make it through the wedding. Then we’ll see.”

  “And in the meantime we’ll fit in as much sex as we can?”

  “That was my thought.”

  Slowly and deliberately, he pulled her into his arms. “I like the way you think.”

  But when his mouth came down on hers, she wasn’t thinking at all, just feeling. For six months, kissing Jack had been among her favorite activities, and she’d missed it terribly. She loved the way Jack kissed, loved being held in those strong arms, and especially loved the melting sensation as he drove her slowly insane.

  When she kissed Jack, she forgot everything but this—the wanting and the promise of pleasure. Her body hummed with delight as he cupped her bottom and pulled her close. Mmm, yes. She wanted what was under that soft denim, and she wanted it now.

  He lifted his lips a fraction from hers, and his warm breath carried the scent of the mint toothpaste he liked. “It can’t be now.”

  She wiggled against him to demonstrate that they were both prepped for this encounter. “That’s not what the rest of you says.”

  He nibbled at her mouth. “The rest of me has nothing to wear for the occasion.”

  She couldn’t hold back a sigh of disappointment. “But I thought you always carried—”

  “Not since we broke up.”

  “Now I feel special.”

  “You always have been, Josie.”

  Her heart squeezed. She’d needed to hear that.

  He ran his tongue over her lower lip. “I could do something nice for you, though.”

  “Nuh-uh.” She reached between them and caressed the length of him through his jeans. “I want the whole enchilada, so to speak.”

  He nuzzled behind her ear. “Then you’ll have to wait.”

  She groaned. “Maybe…maybe you could unbutton my blouse.”

  “I could do that.” With practiced ease he unfastened the snaps and slipped his hand inside to cup her lace-covered breast. He stroked her through the fabric. “Feels like the cream-colored one.”

  She arched into his palm as she reveled in having his hands on her again. “Wrong. You’ve never seen this one. It’s pink.”

  “Then I have to look.” Drawing back, he opened her shirt. “Very nice.” He fingered the front clasp and looked into her eyes. “Still holding out for the whole enchilada?”

  “Maybe you could undo my bra.”

  His mouth curved in a slow smile as he flipped the catch.

  “Don’t look so superior, Jack Chance, like you’re all that and a bag of chips.”

  He shook his head as he moved the bra aside and lifted her breasts in both hands. “I’m not, but you are.” He brushed his thumbs lazily over her nipples and watched them tighten. “I’ve missed touching you, Josie.”


  She closed her eyes as sensations shot from her nipples to her womb. “I haven’t missed you at all.”

  “Liar.”

  “But as long as you’re here, maybe you could…”

  “I was hoping you’d ask.” Leaning down, he circled her nipple with his tongue.

  “That’s very…pleasant.”

  He raised his head. “Pleasant’s not good enough.” Wrapping her in his strong arms, he lifted her up and took her nipple more firmly into his mouth.

  How she loved those he-man tactics. Only a man with a physical job like his would have the strength to lift and hold her while he enjoyed the bounty of her breasts. After Jack, she was completely ruined for wimps. She wrapped her legs around his hips and abandoned herself to the joy of his mouth and tongue.

  But gripping her legs tight around him made her aware of the hot ache in the part of her pressed up against his belt buckle. She’d wanted the whole enchilada, and that would have been wonderful if Jack still carried an emergency condom. But knowing he’d only done that when he was with her really did make her feel special. She couldn’t fault him for not having one now. He’d meant well.

  But the longer he played with her breasts, the more tension built inside her, causing her to want his attentions to be a little more specific. She might have to settle for less than she’d originally hoped for. “Jack…”

  “Hmm?” He paused in the middle of his most excellent caress.

  “Maybe…you could undo my belt and unzip my jeans.”

  His low, triumphant chuckle should have irritated her, but she was too far gone. As he eased her back onto her feet and unfastened her belt, she held on to his shoulders and whimpered. “Hurry.”

  “I will. Just don’t go ahead without me.”

  She might, she realized. The moment he shoved his hand inside her panties, a spasm hit. “Oh, Jack.”

  “I’ve got you.” With his other hand splayed against the small of her back, he pushed deep with two fingers and pressed his thumb against her clit.

  A few quick strokes with those talented fingers and she came, crying out in relief and gratitude.

  “Look at me, Josie.” He rotated his thumb over her flash point.