by Jo Goodman
"I wouldn't know," she said tartly. "I wasn't looking."
Noah's taut belly rippled with laughter. "And you called me a liar? Methinks you deserve a dunking for that."
"You wouldn't!" She retreated a few more steps, holding the egg aloft, prepared to throw it. "You promised you wouldn't pitch me in the river!"
"I've changed my mind." He advanced on her, ducking as the egg whistled past his head.
Jessa realized she was enjoying his play, more than that, she was unafraid of his threats. "Change it back, Noah!" she warned, digging into the basket again. This time she pulled out a drumstick. She felt so ridiculous holding it that she threw it at him immediately. He sidestepped it easily and lunged at her just as her fingers curled around an apple. "Put me down!" she cried as she was heaved over his shoulder. Jessa dropped the basket and the apple. Laughing, she flailed at his back. "Noah! You're carrying this too far! You're carrying me too far! Stop! Where are you taking me? Noah! You wouldn't! Don't you dare drop me in the water! There are things in there!"
"Things, madam?" he asked, choking on his laughter. He continued to walk into the river until the water reached the level of his knees. "What sort of things?"
"Fish and snakes and turtles and, oh, there's something now! It wants your ankle!"
Since it was very doubtful that Jessa could see through the water to his ankles, Noah ignored her. He lifted her off his shoulder and cradled her in front of him, one arm under her knees, the other across her back. Jessa's arms circled his neck, hanging on tightly. Her eyes were squeezed shut.
When he didn't do anything she risked a peep at him. "Are you going to drop me?" she asked.
"I'm still thinking on it."
"I see. When will you make a decision?"
Noah's arms relaxed a little, lowering Jessa a few inches closer to the water. Her arms gripped him more closely and her eyes shut again. "Don't hurry me. This requires some consideration."
"Consider that you made a promise."
"I also promised not to seduce you, but I'm afraid it's very much on my mind." Really, he thought, she shouldn't look so deliriously kissable.
Jessa felt her heart swelling. Against all reason she wanted this man. She wanted him now, in the bright heat of day, on the blanket in the grass, nothing covering them but sunshine. "Oh, that," she said airily. "I won't hold you to it. Only don't pitch me in the river."
Noah stiffened, hardly believing that he had heard her correctly. "Jessa?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you mean it?"
In answer, Jessa raised herself in his arms and touched her lips to the rough stubble of his chin. The day's growth of beard tickled her mouth. "I mean it," she said against his skin. "Even if you weren't dangling me over the water, I'd mean it."
Noah turned his face toward her and brushed her mouth with his. Her lips parted and his tongue quickly accepted her invitation. He kissed her deeply and hard, unable to get enough of her sweet honeyed mouth. Jessa's fingers tangled in his wet hair and held him close, returning the kiss with eagerness and abandon.
Noah was never certain how he found the strength to carry her back out of the water. His legs felt as wobbly as a foal's. She must have sensed it, because her eyes expressed a certain amount of relief when he set her down. "That look in your eyes is not very complimentary," he said, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him full on the mouth, pressing her body against him. When Jessa broke the kiss, her eyes were dark with the strength of her arousal. "On the other hand," he said softly, "that look is very complimentary. "
"It is?"
"Yes."
"Show me."
Noah was glad to demonstrate what her siren's smile did to him. Cupping her face in his hands, Noah held her still while he teased her with kisses that whispered across her skin. Her response was everything he could have hoped for. She tried to get closer, whimpering softly as her fingers closed over the taut muscles of his upper arms. His hands dropped away slowly, his thumbs caressing the slender line of her neck, pausing at the pulse at the base of her throat. Her fingers slid along his arms and came to rest on his wrists. She nudged his hands downward until they hovered over her breasts. The material of her bodice was damp from being held against Noah's water-slick chest. The outline of her nipples was evident.
"Touch me," she said. "Please."
Noah's palms curved over her breasts and he felt Jessa's breath catch. She pressed into him, easing her arms around his waist. Her mouth spread kisses along the line of his collarbone, branding him with the hot hard outline of her mouth. Noah's hands slipped from her breasts as he drew her against him. His fingers tangled in her hair, brushing it to one side as he fumbled with the laces at the back of her gown. He yanked at them impatiently and thought he heard her giggle.
"Are you laughing?" he asked.
"A little." She drew away. "Here, let me help." Her hands went behind her back and she tugged at the laces. "Oh, Noah! I think you've made a knot!"
Jessa looked so desperately unhappy that Noah found himself laughing. He turned her around. "Lift your hair out of the way. That's better." He kissed the exposed back of her neck.
"Noah! Pay attention to what you're doing."
"I am. Stop dancing or I'm just going to say damn to these laces and throw up your skirts."
At that moment Jessa wouldn't have cared. Perhaps it was because of the laughter they had shared, the cheerful play and teasing. Or perhaps it was because of the quiet moments they had shared earlier as they untangled so many misunderstandings. Jessa believed for the first time that he desired her, truly desired her, and she returned that feeling with an intensity that she refused to question now.
"There!" Noah nibbled on the curve of her neck as he pulled the laces free and eased the sleeves of her gown over her shoulders. The wide straps of her shift followed and when he turned her around again she was naked to the waist. There was sunshine in her hair and on the pale slope of her breasts. The backs of Noah's fingers traced the length of her collarbone. His touch was reverent. "You can't possibly know how beautiful you are to me," he said. "You can't possibly know how much I want you." He looked down at himself, at the hard arousal he couldn't deny or hide. His quick smile was rueful. "Then again..."
Jessa's smile was more self-conscious as she tore her eyes away from the evidence of Noah's desire. She slipped her gown and undergarments over her hips then sat down on the blanket and removed her stockings. Drawing her knees modestly toward her chest, she glanced up at him. "I'd rather that you were down here."
Noah dropped to his knees beside her. Touching her shoulders, he gently pushed her back until she unfolded beneath him, her arms circling his back. "Better?" he asked, his mouth hovering above hers.
"Mm-hmm." Involuntarily her hips rotated against him as she stretched, curving one leg along the length of his. "You're dripping water everywhere." Her fingers tripped along his spine and pushed at the edge of his wet drawers. When they wouldn't budge she found the knot he had tied in the drawstring and tugged at it—which only made it tighter. "Oh, dear," she murmured. "I think we have a slight problem."
Noah sat up and wrestled with the knot It wouldn't give. He rolled his eyes. "Of all the damn... what are you doing? Jessa! Put that knife back in the basket! I'm serious, Jessa! Don't come near me with that thing!"
"Be still."
"At least let me do it."
"Don't you trust me?"
"That's not a fair question right now." Noah sucked in his breath as Jessa ignored him and brought the tip of the knife against the drawstring. "For the sake of any future children, Jessa, turn that blade upward—not down!"
She giggled. "Oh, of course. I see what you mean."
"Witch," he said softly. "Stop laughing or you'll—"
"All done," she interrupted. She tossed the knife in the direction of the basket and out of Noah's reach. Her eyes dropped to Noah's thighs. "It seems as though you've cooled a bit."
"A knife pointed at my vi
tals will do that to me," he said dryly. Noah slipped out of his drawers, squeezed the water out of them, and threw them on the grass to dry. "You'll just have to do something about it."
"I fully intend to." Drawing on his hands, Jessa pulled him with her as she laid down again. Her mouth met his hungrily, proving that her ardor hadn't cooled a whit. The kiss was really a dozen kisses, some teasing, some deep. Her tongue whispered across his upper lip, touched the ridges of his teeth. She loved him with her mouth, inviting him one moment, making demands in the next.
Noah's responses echoed her own. When he broke the kiss, his mouth trailed over her face, touching her closed eyes, the soft pulse at the temples, the pink tip of her nose. When her throat arched the tip of his tongue made a damp line across her skin. His hands cupped her breasts and his thumbs made gentle passes across her nipples.
Jessa bit back a moan as her breasts swelled in his hands and her nipples hardened under his touch.
"Don't hold it in," Noah whispered against her skin. "This is something to share." His mouth trailed lower, circling one breast in a slow spiral until his lips closed over the rose-colored nipple. He felt Jessa's fingers stiffen on his shoulders. After a moment they relaxed and she cupped the back of his head, holding him to her breast as her body arched and stretched beneath him. When Noah lifted his mouth he saw the pinkish abrasions his beard had made on the pale skin of her breast. "Oh, God, I'm sorry." He rubbed his chin. "I never shav—"
Jessa's fingers pressed at the back of his neck and urged him toward her other breast. "It only hurts when you stop," she whispered.
Noah required no more encouragement than that. He suckled her breast, drawing the tip into his mouth, laving it with his tongue. His hand slipped between their bodies and he caressed the smooth plane of her stomach and the inward curve of her waist.
Jessa released a startled gasp as his lips began to follow the path of his hand. He pressed a kiss to the hollow between her breasts, his mouth warm and faintly damp over her heart. His kisses went lower and her flesh tingled as it was warmed by his touch, then by the sun. She felt his mouth on her inner thigh, circling, taunting her with kisses that were not quite as intimate as they could be. Of their own accord, her legs parted. Noah cupped her buttocks and lifted her slightly, raising her to his mouth.
Sweet sensation flooded Jessa. Her hands fell to her sides and clutched the blanket beneath her. The strained, staccato whimpers that rose in her throat were hardly recognizable as her own voice. Pleasure coiled around her, drawing her limbs tight The sun was bright behind her closed eyes and her lids swirled with hot colors. Fiery orange. Brilliant crimson. The frissons of excitement were as liquid as those colors, like flames, darting and dancing. Heat flickered along her spine and beads of perspiration glistened in the curve of her elbows and on her face and neck.
A soft cry exploded from her lips as pleasure shot through her and the colors merged and light was blinding white. Her breathing was shallow, and her heart seemed to thud erratically as if it could no longer keep pace with the quickening of her excitement. Jessa felt a shadow cross her face and she welcomed the coolness, the protection. Then Noah's mouth descended on hers and his kisses were light, soothing, and tender.
Jessa raised her knees, inviting his entry as her hands caressed his shoulders and back. When he didn't move to position himself between her thighs she opened her eyes and blinked up at him. The aura of sunlight behind him cast his face in a faint shadow. The centers of his eyes were wide, dark and probing. Lines of self-imposed denial marked the corners of his mouth. The effort to maintain control showed on the taut planes of his face.
"That was for you, Jessa," he said, brushing her lips with his own. His voice was thick and husky. "I don't always want to take from you."
She shook her head, a faint frown creasing her brow. "I thought you said we would share?"
"Is that what you want? Are you certain?"
Her smile was sweet. "Dear, foolish man," she said, sighing. Pushing against his shoulders, Jessa rolled Noah onto his back and straddled him. She leaned forward, allowing her breasts to brush his chest before the pale curtain of her hair fell on either side of his face. "Your gallantry is misplaced in this instance," she said. "Are you going to deny us both?"
Mutely, Noah shook his head. His hands curved under her buttocks. He lifted her and with Jessa's help, guided her onto him. She kissed him, easing her tongue back and forth in his mouth, foreshadowing the movements of her hips. His groan was muffled against her lips. He closed his eyes as she raised herself and began to move.
Noah's fingers skittered along her thighs, stroking her, matching her rhythm. His hands lifted to her breasts, fondling them. He saw her clearly in his mind's eye. He could imagine the way her teeth played with her lower lip as she sucked in her pleasure. He could see the dark liquid centers of her eyes widening until her eyes were more black than gray. When she moved, the silky ends of her hair caressed his skin. The sensation made his skin ripple. He thrust into her and she into him. He held her buttocks again and urged a faster rhythm. A harder one. She surrounded him with warmth, with soft velvet heat.
Jessa never took her eyes from Noah's face. The planes of his skin were even tighter now. His lips were drawn back in a hard thin line as he denied release in order to increase his pleasure and her own. Jessa knew almost the same moment as Noah that he could not hold back any longer. His fingers tightened in her flesh and his throat arched. She heard her name carried on a puff of air. Every muscle in his body seemed bunched with tension.
Jessa felt his shudder as it passed through him and into her. He was part of her. His pleasure was hers. What they shared between them now was different from everything that had come before. The first time she had been frightened. Later she had felt used. Yesterday morning she had cried because she thought he was trying to trick her, prove that he could make her respond against her will. Today was the beginning of something so special that Jessa hugged the feeling to her heart to keep it safe.
Noah rolled them on their sides so they faced one another. "Jessa?" His forefinger traced the outline of her beautifully shaped mouth.
"Hmm?" Her lips caught his finger.
"I don't want you to panic...."
Whatever was he talking about? She was too drowsy and content to panic. "Panic?"
"Mm-hmm. Panic. Do you hear that sound?"
To humor him, she listened. Behind them there was the gentle rustling of leaves. A bird cried out. Another answered. Farther away, in the direction of the river, she could hear something snapping and flapping as the fickle breeze faded and swelled by turns. Her eyes widened. She sat up, hugging her knees to her chest, and stared openmouthed as a two-masted schooner raced down the river. The distance between herself and the ship was not so great that she couldn't see most of the crew had gathered at the rail. She hoped their eyes fell out of their heads and their ship ran aground. Grabbing Noah's shirt, she yanked it on and ran for the relative privacy of the woods.
"You weren't supposed to panic!" Noah called after her, jamming his legs into his trousers. The catcalls from the passing ship were explicit and ribald. Noah couldn't find it within him to be embarrassed. The situation was too diverting. He waved to the ship then hurried after Jessa. He suspected she would be less than amused.
Noah found her crouched behind a thick knotty oak. Her head was bowed, her shoulders shaking. He bent down and touched her knee lightly. "Please don't cry, Jessa. I'm sorry it happened. I should have been more circumspect."
"You didn't have to make a bow to them," she said with some asperity. "As if you had been performing."
"I didn't bow," he defended himself. "I waved." He listened to her choke back the sound that rose in her throat. "Are you crying or laughing?" he asked, suddenly suspicious.
Jessa looked up at him. Her attempt to pull a frown failed as laughter bubbled to her lips. She swiped at the tears glinting in her eyes. "I know I should be mortified... b-but it was so ridiculous. Please tell
me you didn't recognize any of the men on that ship!"
"Nary a one." He knew the schooner belonged to the Flemings farther upriver, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
"You're certain?" she asked, eyeing him steadily.
Noah crossed his heart, his expression earnest. "I swear it."
Jessa stood, brushing off his shirt. "I'm not stepping out of these woods until I'm fully clothed, Noah McClellan. You'll have to bring everything here." Noah straightened, but other than lifting a piece of dry bark from her hair, he didn't move.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, feeling herself go still beneath his searching eyes.
"Like what?"
"Like that. All peculiar and funny. Do I have a smut on my nose?" Self-consciously she brushed at her face with the sleeve of his shirt.
"I love you, Jessa."
"Because if I have a smut it's your—." She blinked owlishly. "What?"
"I love you."
She sagged against the tree behind her. "You do?"
"Mm-hmm." He braced his hands against the tree trunk on either side of her head. He ducked and stole a kiss from her parted lips. "Don't say anything," he cautioned quietly. "I don't expect anything in return. I just thought you should know what I felt." He pushed away from the tree and without another word he went to get their things.
* * *
The ride back to the landing was completed largely in silence. Occasionally Noah would point out something he thought would interest Jessa. She listened politely, asked questions, but it was clearly an effort on her part to make conversation. Mostly Noah left her alone to the privacy of her thoughts.
Gideon was playing with Rae's youngest daughter on the veranda. Charity was watching the babies while she instructed Courtney on stitching a sampler. Courtney laid down her sewing when Garland crawled off the blanket and headed toward the steps. She picked up the infant as her grandmother grabbed Gideon to keep him from following.
"It looks as if you have your hands full," Noah said, rounding the corner of the house. He jumped up on the veranda and whisked Gideon from his mother's arms. The boy gurgled happily. "Fat as a dumpling. That's what you are." He glanced at Charity. "Do you want to say something, Mother? You look fit to have an attack of apoplexy."
