She grasped his buttocks to pull him close and spread her legs to accommodate him more fully. Jesse returned the pressure as she gently rubbed herself against him.
Abruptly Jesse freed himself from her grasp and began stripping her. She was equally urgent in her efforts to undress him until moments later they stared at each other in the filtered sunlight.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he said reverently.
Honey felt herself flushing with pleasure at the compliment. She knew he wasn’t merely mouthing the words. His delight was mirrored in his eyes.
“I’m glad I please you.”
The gentle touch of his mouth on hers was like a paean to a goddess. He honored her. He revered her. He desired her. His lips and mouth and tongue adored her. The kisses that began at her mouth continued downward to her throat, found their way to her breasts, then to her belly and beyond.
Honey stiffened and reached out a hand to grip his shoulder. She hadn’t expected this. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted it.
Jesse raised his eyes to hers. “I want to taste all of you,” he said.
In all the years they had been married, Cale had never loved her this way. It was the most intimate of kisses. And it required complete trust. Jesse was aware of that, and he awaited her consent. Honey was wired as tight as a bowstring, anxious to please him, afraid she wouldn’t, afraid of the unknown. Of that forbidden pleasure.
She had always wondered what it would feel like, always wondered whether it truly brought the immeasurable ecstasy that made it something to be whispered about. All she had to do was trust Jesse enough to allow him to love her as he so clearly wanted to do.
She opened her mouth to agree, but no sound came out. She swallowed hard and slowly nodded her head.
Jesse’s quick grin surprised her. “You won’t be sorry,” he said. Just as quickly the grin disappeared. “You only have to say the word and I’ll stop. This is supposed to please us both. All right?”
Honey nodded again.
She was surprised when he rose and kissed her on the mouth again. He took his time kissing his way back down her body, but she knew where he was heading. By the time he got there she was more aroused than she could ever remember being.
For Jesse had not relied on his mouth alone to make that journey. His callused hands had smoothed across her flesh, finding her breasts and teasing them, taunting her by rolling her nipples between fingers and thumb. He had caressed ribs and hipbones and the length of her back from her nape to the dimples at the curve of her spine. She was sure she would find impressions of his fingers on her buttocks where he had lazily learned the shape of them.
Finally he lifted her in his hands while his tongue teased her. She gasped as her body tautened. She grabbed handfuls of the wool blanket to keep from touching him, lest he think she wanted him to stop. For she didn’t. Oh, no, she did not!
Honey felt the ripples building, felt her inner flesh clenching, felt the muscles in her thighs tighten until she could not move. And still he kissed her. Loved her. Teased her with his mouth and tongue.
She moaned and writhed in pleasure. Her body arched toward him and at last her hands reached for him, clutching at his shoulders as though he could save her from the cataclysmic—wondrous, astounding, remarkable—things her body threatened to do.
Honey did not want to let go of what little control she had left. There was no hiding the strong muscular contractions as she began climaxing beneath him. Excited, animal sounds came from her throat as she convulsed with pleasure.
Jesse met her eyes and watched the agony of ecstasy that she could not hide from him.
When it was over, she turned her face away from him. Her throat was swollen with emotion and tears stung her eyes.
“Honey?”
She heard the anxiety in his voice and tried to reassure him. But no sound would pass over the lump in her throat. She reached out and grasped his hand.
He lay down beside her and brushed a sweat-dampened lock of hair from her brow. “Are you all right?”
She nodded jerkily.
“You’re not acting all right,” he said.
She hid her face in his throat and clutched him around the waist.
He continued smoothing her hair and rubbing her back gently. She couldn’t see his face, but she could feel from the tension in his body that he was troubled. She wanted to reassure him that she was all right, but she was simply so overwhelmed by what had happened that words did not seem sufficient to explain how she felt.
Eventually her breathing calmed and her throat relaxed. “It was so…”
Jesse put a finger under her chin and forced her eyes up to meet his. “So what?”
“Beautiful,” she whispered.
He hugged her hard then and rocked her back and forth. “I’m glad,” he said. “I’m so glad. I was afraid—”
“It was wonderful,” she said. Then, shyly, “I only hope you’re going to give me the pleasure of returning the favor.”
He grinned. “Someday soon,” he promised. “Right now, there’s something more I want from you.”
“What’s that?”
“This.”
He nudged her knees apart and sheathed himself easily in her still half-aroused body.
When he kissed her again, Honey found the taste of herself still on his lips. She gave back to him that which he had given her. She was far beyond rational thought by that time, only wanting to join herself with him in any way she could.
Honey touched Jesse’s body everywhere she could reach as he sought to bring her to a second pinnacle of pleasure. She wasn’t really conscious of how she caressed him, but moved her hands in response to the way he arched his sinewy body beneath her, the way he moved toward her touch or away from it. By sheer luck she found a spot—the crease where belly met thigh—that made him shudder with pleasure.
Jesse did not allow her time to tarry. He lifted her legs up over his thighs and took them both on a journey of delight. After she had fallen off the world yet again, he poured his seed into her, his head arched back in ecstasy, every muscle taut with unspeakable pleasure.
Afterward, they both slept. It was nearly dark by the time Honey wakened. Jesse’s head rested on his hand and he was staring down at her as though memorizing her features.
“It’s late,” she said.
“We’d better get dressed,” he agreed.
Neither of them moved.
“After tonight, I’ll be finished with my work here,” Jesse said at last.
Honey closed her eyes to hide the myriad emotions vying for dominance. “When will you be leaving?”
“Honey, I…”
She opened her eyes. “I’ll miss you,” she admitted. She reached up to touch his mouth with a fingertip. Was she responsible for the sensuous look of his swollen lower lip?
He took her hand in his and kissed each finger. “I love you, Honey. Will you marry me?”
Honey was so shocked her mouth fell open.
He nudged at her chin with a bent finger. “Catch a lot of flies that way,” he teased in a husky voice.
But Honey saw how his hand trembled when he took it away. It was clear that despite his levity he cared a great deal about how she answered. She was so tempted to say yes! But it wasn’t fair to marry Jesse without expressing the reservations she harbored.
“Are you willing to quit the Rangers?” she asked.
“Are you making that a condition of your acceptance?” he answered in a sharp voice.
Honey took a deep breath and said, “Yes, I think I am.”
He was on his feet an instant later, pulling on his pants. “That’s totally unreasonable, Honey, and you know it!” he ranted.
She was suddenly embarrassed to be naked when he was dressed. She grabbed at her shirt and stuck her arms into the sleeves. Honey searched for her panties and found them across the stall. She turned her back on Jesse to step into them and was conscious of the silence as she did. Over her shoulder she discovered him ogling
her bottom.
She yanked her panties on and dragged her jeans over her legs. “I don’t see what’s so unreasonable about wanting a husband who’ll be around to help run this ranch!”
“I’d be around!” he insisted.
“In between assignments,” she retorted. “You forget, I’ve already been married to one Texas Ranger. You’re as bad as Cale.”
“Don’t tar me with the same brush.”
“How are you different?” she demanded. “You can’t deny you take the same foolish, dangerous chances with your life that he did. And look what happened to him! I couldn’t bear it if—”
Honey cut herself off and went searching for her socks.
Jesse grabbed her by the arms and forced her to face him. “I know you love me,” he began.
“That isn’t the point,” Honey interrupted.
“Then you do love me?”
He stood there waiting for an answer. Honey grimaced and admitted, “I love you but—”
Jesse cut her off with a hard kiss. “Then all the rest is small stuff. We can work it out.”
“You’re not listening to me,” Honey said, her voice rising as she felt control of the situation slipping away. “I won’t marry you, Jesse. Not unless you’re willing to give up the Rangers.”
His mouth thinned in anger. “You’re asking the impossible.”
“Why is it impossible? There are other challenges in life besides hunting down outlaws.”
“Like what?”
“Like raising kids. Like making a success of this ramshackle ranch. Like growing a garden. Like spending the afternoon making sweet, sweet love to your wife.”
He captured her in his arms and nuzzled her throat. “The last part of that certainly sounds promising.”
Honey remained stiff in his embrace, fighting the tears that threatened. “Listen to me,” she pleaded. “I’m fighting for our life together.”
His head jerked up and he glared down at her. “So am I,” he insisted. “You’re asking me to give up what I am.”
Honey shook her head sadly. “No, Jesse. It’s just a job. You can quit.”
“And if I won’t?”
She pushed at his shoulders, forcing him to release her. “Then I guess this is goodbye.”
His lips flattened. “You don’t mean that.”
Her chin lifted and her shoulders squared. “Goodbye, Jesse.”
She turned and marched barefoot from the barn, leaving Jesse to stare at her stiff back. “Damned fool woman,” he muttered. “Can’t expect me to give up everything for her. She’s crazy if she thinks I will. No woman is worth that kind of sacrifice.”
It was a sober and contemplative man who left the barn. The best thing to do was put the situation with Honey out of his mind and concentrate on his rendezvous with the rustlers. It wouldn’t do to let himself get distracted. Honey was right about one thing. A Texas Ranger led a dangerous life. He had to pay attention to what he was doing tonight or he might end up getting himself killed. He snorted in disgust. He would hate like hell to prove Honey right about the dangers of his job.
NINE
Because of all she had been through with Jesse, Honey hadn’t given Jack a thought for the past twenty-four hours. In fact, she had spent most of that time in a euphoric haze. Memories of Jesse’s lovemaking had preoccupied her in the morning, and their interlude in the barn, his proposal and their subsequent quarrel had kept her agitated until well after dark. It wasn’t until nearly nine o’clock Saturday evening that she realized how late Jack was in returning home and began making inquiries.
Honey was aghast when she discovered Jack had not spent the night with a friend—or even made plans to do so. He hadn’t gone tubing on the Frio, either! Jack had never lied to her before. She couldn’t imagine where he could have gone last night, unless…
The worst conclusion to be drawn from the facts came first: Jack had run away from home. Honey suddenly remembered how hard Jack had hugged her last night before he left the house, how intently he had looked into her eyes. She hadn’t paid much attention to the hug except to be pleased by it because Jack so seldom indulged in such sentimentality these days. Now his hug took on ominous significance. Jack had been saying goodbye!
Honey’s heart began thudding heavily. Her palms tingled. She felt light-headed. Her knees went weak and she had to sit down before she fell down.
Things had been rough for the past year since Cale’s death, but surely not bad enough for her son to want to escape the situation. Jesse’s appearance had injected a note of tension in the household, but Jack seemed to have made his peace with Jesse the day they worked together on the corral.
But maybe Jack had only been pretending things were all right. Maybe he had resented the hired hand much more than he had let on. Maybe having his mother courted by two men at the same time was more strain than he could handle. But he didn’t have to run away!
To Honey’s chagrin, the first person she thought of to help her hunt for Jack was Jesse Whitelaw. But shortly after their argument in the barn, Jesse had gotten into his pickup and driven away. Honey didn’t know where. And she didn’t care.
Honey snickered in disgust. Who was she trying to kid? She cared. She already missed Jesse and he hadn’t even left the Flying Diamond. At least, she didn’t think he was gone for good. His things were still in the small room off the kitchen. She knew because she had checked.
Honey shuddered to think that the man she loved had been in any way responsible for her son running away from home. What an awful mess her life had become!
Well, she would just have to straighten it out. Jack had to learn he couldn’t run from his problems, that he had to confront them head-on and resolve them. And Jesse, well, he could stand to learn a lesson or two about not running from problems himself. She was just the woman to instruct them both!
Deciding she could use reinforcements, Honey picked up the phone and called Dallas Masterson. Angel answered.
“Is Dallas there?” Honey asked.
“I’m afraid he’s gone for the evening. Some Ranger business,” Angel said.
Honey had completely forgotten about General and the trap Jesse was supposedly laying for the rustlers. Was that where he was tonight? Was his life in danger even now?
“Honey, are you okay?” Angel asked, concerned by the long silence.
Honey sank back into a kitchen chair. “I don’t think so.”
“What’s wrong? Can I help?”
“Jack’s missing,” Honey said. “And I don’t have the first clue where to look for him.”
“I’ll be right over,” Angel said.
“What about the baby?”
“I’ll bring him. He’ll be fine riding in the car while we look for Jack. Don’t go anywhere till I get there. I won’t be long.”
“I’ll use the time to call some more of Jack’s friends. Maybe they’ll have some idea where he is,” Honey said.
Angel was as good as her word, and a short while later she drove into the yard. Honey came running out and jumped into the passenger’s side of the car.
“Do you have any suggestions where we can start looking?” Angel asked.
“No,” Honey said. She bit down on her lower lip to still its tremor. “We might as well start on the Flying Diamond. Maybe he—” Honey stopped herself from saying had an accident; it was a possibility she didn’t want to consider. It was almost better believing he had run away.
They searched the Flying Diamond in vain. Jack was nowhere to be found. Honey was getting frantic. It was nearly midnight. Where was her son?
“I don’t know where to look from here, except to check whether he might have gone to see Adam at the Lazy S,” Honey said at last.
“Dallas told me to stay away from the Lazy S tonight. There’s something going on at that corral where your boys practiced roping earlier this spring.”
“As I recall, there’s a pen for livestock,” Honey said, thinking aloud. “So that’s where Jesse hi
d General!”
“What are you talking about?” Angel asked.
“Last night Jesse stole General.”
“What!”
“It’s a long story. Anyway, he said he’d put him somewhere safe. I’m betting he meant the pen at that roundup corral on the southern border of the Lazy S. If Dallas told you to stay away from there tonight—”
“—because of Ranger business—”
“—then chances are that’s where they both are right now.” Honey hissed in a breath of air. “Jack couldn’t have suspected…he wouldn’t have gone…Jack just couldn’t…”
“Jack couldn’t what?” Angel asked.
Honey had a terrible feeling of foreboding. “We have to get to that corral,” she said. “Hurry!”
“Dallas specifically said to stay away from there,” Angel protested.
“Jack’s there!” Honey said.
“How do you know?”
“Call it a mother’s instinct if you like, but he’s there, all right, and he’s in trouble! Let’s go!”
* * *
Jack hadn’t liked lying to his mother, but sometimes there were things a man had to do. Protecting his mother was one of those things. So he had told her he was spending the night with a friend and asked if it was all right to spend the following day tubing on the Frio River. In reality, he planned to spend the entire time spying on Jesse Whitelaw.
Jack had grudgingly given Jesse the benefit of the doubt after their talk in the barn. By the end of a day spent working with the hired hand, he had felt a secret admiration for the cowboy. Then he had overheard Jesse on the phone after dinner, making plans to rent a stock trailer.
At first Jack supposed his mother had sold some cattle. When Jesse mentioned something about “restraints for the bull,” Jack got suspicious. There was only one bull on the Flying Diamond, and General wasn’t for sale. Jack felt sick.
He had secretly been dreaming about what it would be like if Jesse Whitelaw became his stepfather. He had imagined lots of days like the one they had spent together working to repair the corral. Jesse had treated him as an equal. He had respected him as a person. Working with Jesse hadn’t been a chore, it had been fun.
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