by Becky McGraw
"Hold on right there, asshole!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, surprised at the empowering feel of the curse word on her still tingling lips. Stomping toward the porch, where he stood with his back to her, Leigh Ann cut her anger loose. "If I had wanted to put out a fire with Trace Rooks, I would have. You started this fire by kissing me at that restaurant. Now, it's about damned time you took care of your business!"
"I'm just tired of this whole circus," he said flatly, his shoulders slumping a little, which sent a jolt of guilt through her. This man had been through a lot, she could understand why he had treated her the way he had since they met, even if that didn't excuse it. It was time for Wes Jepson to fish or cut bait, as her Grandma Nell said. He couldn't use how his ex-wife had hurt him as an excuse to hide from life and love forever. She wasn't going to let him. "Then be the ringmaster of your life and do something about it," she challenged.
"Like you're doing?" he asked sarcastically.
"Exactly like I'm doing. Make love to me, Wes." Leigh Ann challenged. Her cards were on the table, she couldn't be any more blunt about what she wanted from him. It was up to him now whether he would pick them up and play.
One thing was for certain, this was the last attempt she would make. Leigh Ann was a new woman, and if he rejected her again, she was done. She wouldn't beg this man, or any other man, to make love to her, to love her.
CHAPTER TEN
Wes's eyes darkened, but instead of taking her in his arms, he offered yet another excuse. "You work for me, Leigh Ann--"
"I don't work for you, I quit, remember?" she corrected him stepping closer so he had to look her in the eyes when he rejected her.
"I'm not letting you leave, I need you here," he told her finally meeting her eyes.
"And I need you to make love to me, Wes," she answered softly, taking a step forward to put a hand in the center of his chest. His heart beat rapidly under her palm, and he swallowed then closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath.
When he opened his eyes they were filled with heat, hunger and need. "I surrender," he groaned reaching around her to open the front door. "But remember who started this." His hand closed over hers firmly and he dragged her into the house, then slammed the door, before shoving her up against it as his mouth slammed down over hers.
The wildness in his kiss this time excited her, enflamed her and her hands tangled in the hair at his nape as his hot mouth devoured hers, and his hands dug into her ass. Wes wasn't tightly controlled anymore, it was like some barrier had ripped and he was just feeling now. Touching, tasting, savoring, and it was the most erotic thing Leigh Ann had ever experienced in her life. Unbridled passion, she'd heard the term before, but didn't believe it existed until now. Until Wes Jepson let down his defenses to love her.
"I need you, Wes," she whispered when he pulled his mouth away to kiss her neck. Shock shot through her when he closed his mouth over her pulse there and sucked hard, she felt the tug at her core and moaned. He stepped back from her and his eyes were dilated, his nostrils flared as he stared into her eyes.
"Are you sure this is what you want, Leigh Ann?" he asked, evidently giving her a chance to change her mind. Leigh Ann didn't want that chance, but she couldn't find her voice, her heart was in her throat blocking her airway, so she just nodded.
Holding her eyes, his hands went to the front of her tank top, and he yanked it downward, along with her bra. Leigh Ann gasped, as she felt the cool air conditioned air on her breasts. Her hands flew up to cover herself, but he pulled them away.
His eyes burned her skin and her nipples hardened. "More beautiful than I imagined," he said as he bent and cupped her breasts. "So, damned beautiful," he whispered then placed a reverent kiss at the top of each mound. His hot breath scalded her as he circled her nipple with his tongue. "You taste like honey, just like you smell," he grated as he moved to circle her other nipple.
Flames licked at her core, and Leigh Ann moaned. Wes nipped her with his teeth right before his mouth closed over her and he sucked hard. Leigh Ann mewled shoving her hands in his hair to pull him closer. She arched her back wanting more, needing it.
She felt his hands at the waistband of her skirt, then heard ripping, before the button skated across the tile floor, and the material tickled her legs as it slid to pool at her feet. Standing there in her thong and cowboy boots, Leigh Ann wondered if Wes was really going to make love to her right here in the foyer. Shouldn't he take her upstairs?
"Wes, I, uh...shouldn't we, uh..." she stuttered and finished her incoherent sentence with a chin nod toward the stairs when he looked up at her.
"Hell no, I can't wait that long. You have been driving me out of my mind. I want you right here, right now. The teasing is over, Leigh Ann. You asked for this," he told her gruffly then put his thumbs in the elastic at her hips and ripped her panties off too.
Excitement shot through her, but embarrassment too, and she tried to cover herself again, but he blocked her hands.
"I told you not to cover yourself," he reprimanded shortly his hands going up to her breasts again. "I want to see what I'm going to all this trouble to have."
Something was wrong here, Leigh Ann thought, his words weren't right, he almost sounded angry, but his mouth closed over her breast again and Leigh Ann could only whimper as moisture flooded her body. His left hand massaged her other breast, he pinched her nipple, and Leigh Ann's legs shook.
"Wes, can we please lay down, I...oh," she said as his fingers moved downward to dip inside of her. Leigh Ann mewled and moved her hips against his hand. Wes sucked her nipple as he added another finger inside to stretch her, and Leigh Ann moaned as she slid down the door to the floor.
Wes stood then unzipped his jeans, and shoved them down past his hips. Leigh Ann's eyes latched onto his erection as it sprang free and she swallowed hard. Wes Jepson was not a small man, and she was a little afraid, but totally enthralled too.
"Eyes are up here, sweetheart," he said gruffly and her eyes flew up to his. "Now, get up," he ordered, reaching a hand out to her.
"I've never, ah..." she started, but took his hand, and he jerked her up to stand then pinned her against the door again.
"Well, you're about to, ah..." he growled before his mouth covered hers. Wes kissed her deeply, lifted her higher then gripped her legs behind her knees to spread them apart. She felt him at her opening only a moment, before his hips shot forward and he shoved inside of her in one swift stroke. Wes growled, his face contorted as he gritted his teeth, his body trembled and his breath came in erratic gasps.
Leigh Ann whimpered and felt like she might be split in two, but he felt so damned good at the same time. Pleasure shot through her and she rested her forehead on his shoulder, trying to regain her own breath.
She felt Wes's muscles strain as he held her against the door, his fingers digging into the back of her thighs, but he didn't move. He dropped his head to the door beside her shoulder and she heard his ragged breathing near her ear. She knew she would probably have bruises on her legs tomorrow where his fingers dug into her skin.
"Goddamn...I forgot to get a condom," he muttered, but didn't leave her.
"I'm on the pill," she offered quickly. Leigh Ann didn't want him to leave her, he felt incredible inside of her, even though something was missing here between them. "I haven't had sex in three years, Wes," Leigh Ann added with frustration when he still didn't move. And then only one time. With the wrong man. But she didn't tell him that. "And I've been to the doctor since then."
"Three years?" he asked incredulously and pushed back to look at her, but held her firmly.
"Yeah..." she said and felt her face burn.
Wes cursed then balanced her against him, before carrying her toward the living room where he laid her down on the sofa. "I'm sorry," he said gruffly, then sat down beside her and took a shuddering breath.
"Sorry?" Leigh Ann screeched and sat up. "What are you sorry about?"
"For attacking you, for hurting you
and for being an asshole. I didn't know, and I lost my cool." Wes had lost more than his cool. He'd lost his mind, and he was rough with her. Wes had never been rough with a woman in his life, until Leigh Ann Baker had pushed him past his limit. "I think you should move out," he said. "This isn't working."
What it was doing was scaring the hell out of him. The way she made him feel scared the hell out of him. Around this woman his emotions were always boiling right under the surface, as was his sexual frustration. The careful control he'd had since Laura left evaporated. Wes couldn't have that kind of upheaval in his life.
"Move out?" Leigh Ann repeated loudly. "You were just making love to me by the door, Wesley Jepson. What happened?" He glanced into her hurt blue eyes and flinched.
"I was having rough sex with you by the door, Leigh Ann. That wasn't making love," Wes corrected then went to stand. Leigh Ann grabbed his arm though and stood up to push him back on the sofa.
She straddled his hips and pushed his shoulders down on the cushions. Her face was flushed, her lips swollen and a hickey was quickly forming on the white skin of her neck. Guilt shot through him, and Wes struggled to get up, but she pushed him back down again.
"No, you stay right there!" she ordered, then put her hand on his chest. "You didn't hurt me, silly man. I liked it! Couldn't you tell by the way I was moaning? Are you deaf as well as blind?"
"Leigh Ann, let me up," he growled, but she didn't move. Her wetness was flush to his cock and Wes groaned when she moved up to get better position to hold him there.
"Or do you just like to tease women, because you can? You don't do what you did to me then stop like that," she hissed. "You are going to finish what you started, and both of us are going to enjoy it. You got that?"
Tease? Had she actually just called him a tease? That was definitely the pot calling the kettle black here. It was the funniest thing he'd heard in a long time and the corner of his lip twitched. "I am not a tease, I just don't want to hurt you. I'm sorry."
Her shoulders stiffened and her fingers curled into her palms where they rested on his chest. Wes could tell she was worked up in more ways than one. Her frustration was practically a tangible thing. And damn if even her sassy anger and attempt at dominance turn him on.
"And quit saying you're sorry! Or you will be shortly," she threatened, and Wes got even more turned on seeing the sassy anger in her eyes, as she hovered over him. Leigh Ann boldly leaned down and put her mouth over his. Wes stopped thinking after that and his humor was banked and replaced with raw desire, when she nipped his lower lip.
"Now, you are going to take me upstairs and show me what all the hoopla is about with sex. I have limited experience and I think you know what you're doing. Or you should know." Her hips emphasized her words, and fire shot through him. She slid the lower part of her body over him, coating him in her wetness and Wes moaned.
Good, god could a woman be any hotter than her? If he ever met that woman, Wes thought he would probably spontaneously combust right on the spot. Trying to roll over to take control, he rolled off of the sofa instead, landing on his back between the sofa and coffee table.
Leigh Ann leaned over the edge of the sofa and smiled down at him. "You're one smooth operator, aren't you?" she said with a giggle that tweaked his heart. Hearing her laugh was probably his second favorite thing about her. The first was her mouth, that fascinating full mouth that he had fantasies of having on his body for weeks.
"I'm a little rusty. It's been a while for me too," he admitted and felt his face heat.
"We're a pair, you know that?" Leigh Ann said and climbed down from the sofa to lay on top of him. Wes's arms went around her and he hugged her to his chest. Her body fit perfectly to his, and the feel of her warm smooth skin flush to his, her full breasts pressed against him had to be the best thing Wes had ever felt in his life. He sighed and kissed her hair, then hugged her again.
Damn, what was he doing here? He was setting himself up for heartbreak, he knew that, but he couldn't help himself. He was just a man, and Leigh Ann Baker was an incredibly beautiful woman, who had let him know in no uncertain terms she wanted him. If she were to be believed, Leigh Ann hadn't had sex with a man in three years, but she wanted him. It just didn't make sense.
He should be thankful, but fear was what he was feeling. Just because he wanted her, didn't mean he trusted her, or could trust her. Laura had taken every ounce of trust he had when she left him. Why him?
Like he'd seen at the restaurant men wanted Leigh Ann Baker. That biker would have jumped at the chance to have her. They didn't try and push her away. If she had given them any indication she was interested, they would have been on her like white on rice. And Wes would have been on them. Just like he had done when he was married.
What man in his right mind would turn her down? What man could? Certainly not a weak man like him. "Let's go upstairs, baby," he said, his voice dark and gravelly.
Leigh Ann crawled down his body then stood to extend her hand to him. To him, that hand looked like the apple that Eve had offered to Adam in the garden, but like Adam he grabbed it without hesitation and stood. Wes pulled her into his arms and leaned down to close his lips over hers. Her mewl incited him to deepen the kiss, and pull her against him.
Wes stepped back then bent to swoop her up into his arms. She squeaked when he bounced her to balance, and put her arms around his neck. Staring into her mesmerizing eyes, he kissed her again gently. "Why me?"
"Why you what?" she said and the cloud of passion in her eyes parted.
"Why do you want me? I've done nothing but push you away, insult you. I'm not smooth, or even all that good looking. Why me?"
Leigh Ann snorted then put her hand to the side of his face. Her eyes were serious, and she wasn't smiling now. In that soft southern drawl that drove him wild, she whispered, "Because you're real, and you make me feel real. You're the only man I've wanted in three years. Make love to me, Wes."
Wes didn't know exactly what she meant by those words, but he was tired of talking. It was time for more action, he thought, as he carried her toward the stairs. He would have made it up the stairs if she hadn't kissed his shoulder, then licked his neck, before pushing up in his arms to nip his ear lobe. With a growl, Wes sat down on the third tread with her on his lap. Those damned lips of hers were going to be his death. He couldn't get enough of them, he thought, as he closed his mouth over hers and she moaned.
Leigh Ann shifted in his lap, then she sat down with her knees on either side of his thighs. Her bottom shifted, and her heat pressed against him. Her hips moved and her wet folds glided over his cock and the feeling was so incredible, Wes almost came right then. His fingers dug into her hips to stop her motion.
"Slow down, baby," he begged and threw his head back to drag in a breath.
"I don't want slow, Wes...I want to feel you inside of me again. I need you," she whispered, leaning in to rub her breasts to his chest, as she kissed his neck again. Her hard nipples scraped his chest and Wes groaned. The stairs were not the place to make love to her. He needed the bed. Loving this woman was going to take space the stairs didn't offer. Before the night was done, he would know every inch of her beautiful body.
Wes pushed her away, sat her beside him, then quickly stood and took her hand. Without hesitation, he started up the stairs, pulling her behind him. "We need the bed," he told her gruffly, when she protested. They reached the landing and Wes tugged her hand to lead her to the bedroom. Opening the door, he led her inside, then kicked it shut.
Turning toward the bed, Wes tugged her arm, but she yanked back, and he lost his balance. In a tangle of arms and legs, they fell to the floor, and Leigh Ann landed on top of him. Her eyes were liquid blue pools as she said, her voice quavering, "I can't wait anymore."
The woman was evidently determined they weren't going to make it to the bed, he decided when Leigh Ann held his eyes and slid down his body until his cock was at her opening. Without hesitation, she raised up and shifted her
hips then, groaned as she sank down on him taking him inside her warmth. Wes sucked in a surprised breath and his hands went to her hips to steady her.
Leigh Ann sighed, then her beautiful mouth spread into a sexy smile that sent blood pounding through him. She sat up straighter, her gorgeous breasts firm and proud, her nipples tight and extended. Wes was buried to the hilt inside of her and her inner muscles pulsed around him.
"You feel so good," she said breathily, easing up before sliding back down on him slowly. Pleasure shot through him and Wes's heart felt like it would pound out of his chest. "I want you so much," she said lifting her hips again.
Wes dug his fingers into her hips to stop her downward motion. "We have all night, baby," he told her, then eased her down on him again, because he didn't want her to move away. After weeks of imagining this sensation, the tight fist of her body around him, he wanted to enjoy the reality, because his imagination had been off. Way off.
Earlier when he had been inside of her, he couldn't enjoy it, because he had been angry at her. Now, that he was calmer, felt better about the situation, he could. But he needed to make sure she enjoyed herself too. Seeing the pleasure on her beautiful face, the wonder, made him wonder if she was serious about not having experience at sex.
It was unfathomable, considering her beauty and how many men must hit on her daily. His hands moved to her shoulders, and Wes rolled over so he was on top of her, pinning her to the carpet. Leigh Ann protested, but he put a finger to her lips to shush her.
"We have all night," he reminded her again looking down into her heated eyes, he was reminding himself too. Because if he didn't get out of her right now, he was going to lose it. The wet slide out of her body made him groan. She whimpered and the sound made him want to slide right back in, but he didn't. All night. Trey was at his mother's for the night, and Wes was going to use every minute of his time alone with Leigh Ann to show her what the hoopla was about sex. Tomorrow morning, she would know.
