by Linda Mooney
“Whatcha gonna do if they’re there?” the man asked cautiously. Already he was regretting having told the guy, but—hell—Hannah was his woman. His common-law wife. How Carl would handle the situation wasn’t his problem.
To his relief, Jamison didn’t seem too upset. “I just want to make sure she left of her own free will, and the guy didn’t force her or anything. Know what I mean?”
“Like kidnap?”
“Yeah. Like kidnap.” Finishing his beer, Carl dropped his bottle on the bar and slid off the stool. “Let her tell me face-to-face that it’s over between us, and I’ll leave. Plain and simple. It’s the least she can do after pulling such a stunt. She owes me that much.” Giving the man a weak grin, Carl added, “Thanks, Manuel. I owe you one.”
Rosas gave him a little salute with his beer and watched as Jamison left the bar. It was clear by the way the man walked that Carl was nowhere near drunk. In fact, it looked like Carl was walking with a purpose now.
Giving a little belch, Rosas got off of his barstool and headed for the back where the pool tables were located, hoping to catch some action. Carl Jamison never crossed his mind again.
Chapter 10
Healing
He could smell something cooking before he got out of the truck. His stomach fluttered as he detected eggplant and tomato sauce. Eggplant Parmesan. Damn. How did she know it was one of my favorites?
When he entered the lodge, the odors hit him like walking into a wall. A silly grin crossed his face as Jeb stood in the doorway to watch her work.
It only took Hannah a moment to realize he was behind her. She glanced up from the salad she had been tearing to give him a wide smile. “How did it go today?” she asked brightly, unaware of the effect she was having on him. She had on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that almost covered her bottom. Her long legs were bare, as were her feet. Her sunflower-yellow hair was pulled up into a ponytail. And despite the dark bruises and swelling that marred her face, she looked happier and more beautiful than he had ever seen her.
“Great! Mallon phoned Bennetson to check on my references. I was hired on the spot.”
A grin turned up the uninjured corner of her mouth. “I figured that was what happened.”
“Oh?”
It was taking everything in him not to walk over and pull her against him, and feel the softness of her body along his. She had never been far from his thoughts as he had gone through the workday, learning a new craft, new rules, new responsibilities.
She turned to place the bowl of salad on the tiny table. “Yeah. If you hadn’t gotten the job, you would have come and told me. Then gone off to look somewhere else.”
“Am I that predictable?” He chuckled.
When she shook her head, her hair swayed behind her in a way he enjoyed watching. “I know practically nothing about you, Jeb Morr, except that you’re considerate of others. Now, go wash up. Dinner’s ready.” She sighed as she glanced over the meal. “It isn’t much. I did the best I could with what you picked up yesterday and…” Her voice trailed off as she gave him a wary look. “And with what Mrs. Newburg loaned me.”
Jeb froze. “Mrs. Newburg? She saw you?”
Hannah’s hand went up to touch her purplish jaw. “I figured it was the best thing to do. I’m sorry, Jeb. Don’t get mad at me. But if we’re going to stay here a week, chances are she or someone else is going to see me. I figured that if I took the bull by the horns and confronted her, it would save us a lot of explanations in the future.” Again she gave him a cautious, almost fearful look, wondering how he would take the news.
Immediately he understood why she seemed ready to bolt for the door. As she had said earlier, she knew practically nothing about him. And the only relationships she had ever been in had been abusive.
Pulling his lips into a smile, Jeb held out his arms to let her know he was not angry. To his relief, she walked straight into his embrace and hugged him. “Tell me what happened,” he murmured into her hair.
She moved against him as she cuddled. The scent of tangy lemonade momentarily overrode the mouth-watering smell of dinner. “I wanted to have dinner ready for you when you got home. I called the mill to see when you would get off work. Then I debated on what to fix. I saw the eggplant you’d bought, but I needed cheese and tomato sauce.” She shrugged lightly. “I didn’t think it would be wise to walk to the market. That’s when I went to the office.”
“How did you know Mrs. Newburg was there?” He didn’t remember telling her.
“I watched you register us. I could see you through the rear window.” Hannah shifted slightly, lifting her arms from where they had gone around his waist. Her hands slid up his back with slow, almost deliberate motions, as if she was seeing what he felt like.
It was then Jeb realized he was holding her for the first time. Unlike the other time when he had carried her to the truck as she fought pain, she was now lengthwise against him.
She was curved in places that notched her almost perfectly along his chest and abdomen. Curves he wanted to touch and explore. It was agony to keep his hands flat against her back and not let them roam. Because he knew that once he started to touch her, he would not be able to stop until he had melted into her body and taken her with his manpipe rapidly growing stiff against her belly.
Hannah moved again, and the feel of her warmth suddenly blanketing his engorged member as she held him tighter squeezed a soft moan from his chest. She lifted her face to look at him. Her eyes were innocent. Questioning. Expecting.
He was not aware of lowering his face until he brought his mouth down over hers.
The fire that raced through his blood frightened him. He had never kissed a woman before, but he had seen it done on their television. Ruinos didn’t kiss, yet he had always wanted to try it. To experience it.
Her lips caressed his, filling him with brighter heat. Instinctively he returned the movement, then sucked gently on their softness. She shivered in his arms, sending more sweet, lemony waves into the room.
Her scent was in every molecule of air he drew into his lungs. He breathed her in, tasting her warmth and her essence in the roof of his mouth as though she were an intoxicating drink. A tongue tentatively probed between his teeth. Opening his mouth, he let her explore that part of him that had never before felt a woman’s touch. There were tiny aftertastes in her saliva from when she had been nibbling as she fixed the salad. Her breath was a garden of deliciousness. Tongue met tongue, danced briefly, then touched. Stroked. Jeb was unaware he had pressed her closer against him until she moaned into his mouth, a sound nearly identical to the one he had made.
He felt her slowly pulling away, but it was with reluctance. If they didn’t stop, there would be no dinner. Instead, it would be the two of them dining on each other throughout the night.
“Jeb.” Her voice was deep and guttural. Her breathing was labored. “Thank God you’re not gay.”
“On the contrary. I’m very happy right now,” he argued as his hands slid down to her hips before releasing her. Opening his eyes, he noticed the expression on her face. Without warning, Hannah broke out laughing. “What? What did I do that was so funny?”
The giggles wouldn’t stop. “No. You didn’t … oh, Jeb. You…” She started laughing again, but this time she gave him another quick hug before completely releasing him and turning back to the tiny range.
“What?” he persisted. Whatever he had done, it had obviously tickled her. In a way, that was a good sign. Still, it would be nice to know what he had done, in case he needed to do it again sometime in the future.
They had spent the weekend in quiet companionship, either watching television or going for long walks in the forest where others wouldn’t see Hannah’s bruises and come to the wrong conclusion. Often they had held hands, and every time Jeb had felt a rush of absolute perfection flood his senses. Hannah was the one. He knew it as truth with every atom of his being.
Then, at night, he had made certain she took the med
icine with the sleeping agent in it. After that, it was just a matter of waiting for her to fall asleep before he shed his outer layer. Yes, he could have tried to keep his human disguise, but in the past when he had, he had awakened to find himself back in his true form. It was a possibility he could not risk as long as Hannah was unaware of what he was. So he trusted the chemicals in her system to help keep his secret safe.
Shaking her head as she took the casserole dish out of the oven, Hannah gave him another warm look. “Let’s eat before it gets cold,” she suggested with a smile.
Jeb rolled his eyes, an affectation he knew meant exasperation, and took his seat.
The first time Hannah had cooked for them, he had been both surprised and grateful. By not eating out as much, he would be able to stretch their current monies until his first paycheck. He really didn’t want to hit any of his bank deposits unless he was forced to. In the meantime, she tried to make the bungalow as cozy and homelike as possible.
“Now … tell me all about your new job,” she demanded playfully.
Briefly Jeb told her what he did. It was all manual labor, but he preferred it that way. What he didn’t mention was his Ruinos strength allowed him to lift and haul objects that many times would have required a mechanical loader. Although he would sometimes resort to pulling on a particularly stubborn tree trunk with his bare hands, he did so only when he was certain others would not be able to see him. Needless to say, it was the end results that made an impression with his new boss.
“Mr. Mallon told me if I stayed on until the end of the year, he would see that I got a bonus, plus an increase in pay.”
The scent of vanilla came to him. He looked up from his plate to see Hannah staring down at her own half-eaten meal. “Hannah? What’s wrong?”
A single minute stretched into eternity. Jeb remained patient, knowing she would tell him why her need swirled around her like a pungent cloud. When she swallowed, it was almost a dry, brittle sound. “You’re thinking of staying?” she finally whispered.
“I might. I don’t know yet. Depends.”
“Depends? On what?” She raised her eyes at him. “On me?”
The door was opening. At any moment Jeb would have no choice but to walk through it and confront her with the truth.
He wasn’t ready for it. Not yet. Certainly not now. He wanted a few more days to bathe in her lemonade scent when she knew he was nearby. He wanted to come back to the cabin, which had become the closest thing to a home in more than eleven years, to find her there.
He wanted to come back to find Hannah waiting for him with a smile in her eyes and tenderness shining from her face. To find her lying in bed, asleep but aware of when he joined her because she would instinctively cuddle against him. Or to find her in the kitchen fussing over whatever she was cooking.
It wasn’t the right time to tell her about himself, but he could tell her the other truths.
“Jeb?”
“Yeah, Hannah. It depends on you.”
She lifted her quivering chin. Despite her disfiguration, the sight of her drawing her courage about her like it was a solid entity sent a rush of protectiveness through him. She was trying to find the words and the strength to be honest with him. The thought made him smile. It was time for him to take her fears away. All of them. Finally.
“This is a good place to live, Hannah. I can already tell I will be happy here. But will you be happy here as well?” He cocked his head at her and gave her time to absorb what he was asking her.
Her jaw dropped as she began to understand what he was saying. “You want me to stay with you?”
Her scent had gone from vanilla to the freshness of clean, spring rain. Jeb took in a lungful, tasting it. Wanting more of it.
“Yeah. I do.”
“Why?”
This time his eyes widened. Why? That was a question he hadn’t expected. Or maybe he had and didn’t want to admit it. Again he tried one of those inconclusive shrugs, hoping it would conceal his growing nervousness. “I already told you. I can’t bear the thought of someone hurting you again.”
The air sparked with a slight acidic scent. Hannah was becoming angry, and he had no idea why.
“You want me to live with you out of pity?”
Pity? “For heaven’s sake, no,” he replied sharply. Maybe too sharply. “I want you to stay with me because I care about you. Because I’m hoping there can be a future for us. Together. Because I want tomorrow to be as wonderful as yesterday was. And today.”
The sharp scent left as quickly as it had appeared. As a tear appeared on her lower lash and fell onto her cheek, the smell he had been seeking reached outward as if to hold him. That tangy, lemony scent of her love.
“Jeb? Do you…” She tried to take a deep breath, but she was on the verge of crying.
“Do I what?”
“How … do you feel about me?”
Closing his eyes, he clenched his hands into fists. This time was meant to be. Still, it was so damn hard after years of running and hiding. And being so hopelessly alone.
“Are you wanting to know if I love you?” he whispered, opening his eyes to see her reaction. “Yeah, Hannah. I do. If what I feel is love, then I love you, Hannah. I’m tired of running. I’m tired of facing each day by myself. I have no right to ask you to stay. I have no right to expect you to share the kind of life I live but I can no longer imagine a day without you. I need your smile. I need to hear your voice. I need to have you with me.”
He had no recollection of her getting up out of her chair and walking over to him. There was no memory of her kneeling beside him and putting her arms around his waist so she could press the undamaged side of her face against his chest. He could only remember the moment when her irresistible lemonade smell was everywhere in the room, coating his skin with her acceptance. His arms pulled her tighter into his embrace.
“I love you, too, Jeb,” she whispered back. “You don’t know how hard I’ve been praying you would let me stay with you.”
“Then stay.” He buried his face in her hair where the lemonade smell mixed with the vanilla of her need. Edging around them was the unmistakable richness of her sexual hunger, growing stronger with every passing second. “Hannah.”
“What?”
“At this moment, I am very gay.”
A shriek of laughter surprised him. Jeb jumped at the sound as Hannah goosed him playfully in the ribs.
“Jeb Morr! I am definitely going to have to teach you about American slang!”
“What? What did I say wrong?”
“Nothing,” she giggled, staring up at him.
“Then—”
“Hush,” she ordered sternly, pressing a finger to his lips. “Don’t say anything more. Don’t ruin this moment. Just … kiss me again. And this time, show me you mean it.”
Chapter 11
Secret
After supper, Jeb helped her with the dishes. Once everything was cleaned and dried, they sat up in bed to watch television for an hour or so. Now that she knew how he felt about her, Hannah was content to cuddle next to his long frame, resting her head on that perfect spot between his shoulder and neck, and lay there with her eyes closed. Reveling in his warmth and hard body. Listening to the steady beat of his heart. Breathing in his piney scent that surrounded him like it was some sort of cologne or soap he used—which it wasn’t. He preferred the unscented brands in his shaving cream and such, and that was fine with her. It allowed his own wonderful body musk to come to the fore.
Yet as comfortable and comforting curled up next to him was, she couldn’t stop the growing heat slowly devouring her. A heat from sexual hunger and raw need. Too many times she was forced to curl her fingers into tight fists to keep her hands from roaming over his body. Especially over his flat stomach and the bulge in the front of his jeans he couldn’t disguise.
What she couldn’t figure out was why he didn’t take her to bed and make love to her. The man claimed to love her. Love her enough to wan
t her to stay with him and make a home together here in Tumbril Harbor.
Her thoughts went off in a different direction. Maybe he was one of those old-fashioned guys who believed in marriage before sex. But Jeb hadn’t mentioned marriage. And neither had Carl, and he had given her almost the same line when he had wanted her to go back to Laughlin with him … and see how that ended up?
Yeah, but you were already suspicious of Carl and his temper. If Jeb had a temper, she had yet to see it. If he got angry, it was slow burning. Goodness knew, if she had confessed to Carl that she had gone out of the bungalow to use the phone and to see Mrs. Newburg, he would have smacked her around for disobeying him. Jeb hadn’t. In fact, he had seemed more concerned and fearful than angry.
He shifted slightly, crossing one ankle over the other. She felt a pressure on the crown of her head when he kissed her. Hannah closed her eyes, smiling. He kissed like he was afraid of hurting her. That was okay … for now. She could imagine what his mouth would do to her once she was well again.
She wanted him to take her, and claim her, and prove his feelings for her in the most primal way possible. With strength and force, but with utmost tenderness.
Sliding her eyes to look up at his face, he grew aware of her stare and glanced down at her. He grinned. “What?” he asked.
“Nothing. I’m just enjoying holding you.”
He gave a little grunt before turning his attention back to the program, but his arm pressed against her a little more firmly. His hand never strayed from her waist, although every now and then his fingers would lightly stroke her above the waistband of her shorts. When he did, she nearly melted. God, what she wouldn’t give to have him dip those long, broad fingers between her legs where she was steadily growing wetter and hotter with each passing minute.
She noticed he preferred the documentaries on the PBS channels, and the science and exploratory shows more than dramas and silly sitcoms Carl had watched. That was fine with her. She was learning to enjoy finding out that penguins incubated their eggs on top of their feet, and other stuff like that.
