“Now why does that sound familiar?” Her amusement died a fast death when he pushed two fingers inside her once more, then ground his erection against his hand, adding more pressure. Panting, she gyrated her hips as he rubbed his thumb against her swollen flesh.
“Live the fantasy, sweetheart,” he murmured as his fingers found her trigger spot deep within, applying just the right amount of pressure.
Jena buried her fingers deep into his shoulders at his husky words. Sensations curled within her, clawing, begging to be released. As if he knew just what she needed, he shoved his entire body against her, his thick chest and his lean hips holding her up while he rocked against her, winding her body into a tight coil of raging need.
“Yes, oh God.” She tightened her legs around him, countering his rhythmic movements. She’d just opened her mouth to scream, when he kissed her deeply, taking her breath away as he carried her through a thoroughly satisfying orgasm.
Once her spasms finally stopped, he lowered her feet to the floor and put his forehead on hers. Their breathing sawed in and out for what seemed like an eternity before he lifted his warm brown gaze to hers with a wry look.
“We’re doing this a little backwards, but…nice to meet you…”
“Jena.”
“Jena,” he repeated and smiled. “Harm.”
She smiled and reached down to slide her fingers along his jeans. “Now, about your—”
The phone on the wall started to ring, reminding her that this man had her so caught up, she’d forgotten they were in an elevator, possibly angering many hotel guests.
Harm looked over at the phone. “Rotten timing.”
She couldn’t help but grin. “At least for one of us.”
“Rub it in why don’t you?” He grumbled as he adjusted his pants, then retrieved his hat from the floor before pushing the button back in.
“I still have a problem.” She tried to hold her bikini top closed while also holding the towel over her bare bottom, but wasn’t being very successful. “There are several families on my floor.”
He rubbed the scruff on his jaw, eyeing her. “Hmmm, I see what you mean.”
The elevator stopped and sure enough, a family stood outside the elevator. Harm quickly pulled her against his side, grabbing her butt, towel and all.
“Afternoon, folks,” he said in a friendly voice, then walked off the elevator with her as if it were perfectly normal for him to have a tight hold on her rear.
“Um, that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” she said, trying to pretend her face wasn’t on fire from embarrassment.
“What?” He looked down at her. “You wanted me to shadow you or something?” He shook his head and squeezed her rear as he whispered in her ear. “Uh-uh, darlin’. This is a lot more fun. Your sweet ass was made to be grabbed and often.”
Chapter Two
As Jena opened her hotel room door, the room phone rang. Who would be calling her? No one knew she was here yet. Clutching her bathing suit top together, she walked over to the nightstand and picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Why the hell haven’t you answered your cell? And why didn’t you tell me you were coming a day early? I was worried something happened to you.”
“My battery is dead and there’s a reason I didn’t tell you. I came to sight-see.” She cast a smile toward the cowboy who’d shut the door behind him, towel in hand.
“It may have taken us six months to finally come to Texas, but I want to get this over with. You’ve kept Mr. Steele waiting long enough. Get down to my room. I’m in 614.”
“Now?” She sighed, looking regretfully at Mr. Knock-your-socks-off-with-more-to-come.
“Now.”
“All right. You don’t have to be so snappy. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Replacing the receiver, she felt warm hands settle on her shoulders. Harm gently squeezed and massaged her bare skin. God, he had a magic touch.
“Problem?”
She turned to face him. “No, just some business I need to take care of.”
He sighed, disappointment evident. “Yeah, me too. I’m expecting a phone call.” He ran a finger along her jaw, a sexy smile canting the corners of his mouth. “How long will you be here?”
His light touch sent goose bumps scattering across her skin. “I don’t know yet. I may leave as early as tomorrow.”
“If this has to be goodbye, I understand.” Harm cupped her face in his big hands and brushed her lips with his. When he slid his hand through her hair to cup the back of her head and pull her against him, Jena opened her mouth, accepting his intimate kiss and wanting more.
“I know you have to go.” Lifting his head, his regretful gaze, heated and intense, dropped to her breasts and then her belly, sliding down to her toes. “The rest of my day won’t be near as adventurous,” he said as he took a step back and touched his hat, then turned to leave.
How many men would just walk away? Had she stumbled across a true gentleman? Jena stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Dropping her hand to cover the hard outline in his pants, she said in her sexiest voice, “I wouldn’t want you to leave empty-handed, Harm.”
Harm stopped dead in his tracks. His body felt like he’d ridden bareback for a week, yet he’d forced himself to walk away from her, lust still raging. Thank God he wouldn’t have to.
She pressed her cheek against his back and slid her hand up and down his package. “I do have a few minutes that I could put to some very good use.”
As Harm gave a low laugh and threw his hat in a chair by the table, Jena slipped out of her ruined bikini top, then unbuttoned his shirt. When his shirt was completely open, she moved to unbuckle his belt and the top button on his jeans. She didn’t bother with the rest, just pulled the fabric and the buttons gave way.
Heat curled in his belly, tightening his balls against his body. Her aggressive nature turned him on. Damn, he couldn’t remember wanting a woman this much. Not only were her lips kissable as hell, but they were full and firm—just the right kind for other activities. If she went down on him even half as well as she kissed, he’d be in heaven.
Jena pulled back the gaudy green and yellow floral bedspread, then pushed him onto the bed and made fast work of removing the rest of his clothes. When she settled next to him and lightly stroked his erection, his hips moved involuntarily, bucking against her hand. Her skin was so soft and all he could think about was touching her, hearing her sigh and burying himself as deep as he could into her sweet body. Before she could touch him again Harm yanked her across his chest, kissing her long and hard. She tasted like honey and lemons, reminding him again of the lake…and thirst-quenching sweet tea. He wanted to know what the rest of her tasted like. Too damn bad they didn’t have all afternoon to discover each other.
Jena pushed away from him, tsking, “As much as I would like to continue kissing your sexy mouth, I have more pressing matters,” she tightened her hold on him, “to take care of.”
Harm chuckled and let her have free rein. When her mouth closed over him, he closed his eyes and groaned, rocking his hips, pressing his length further into her hot, wet mouth.
Her tongue slid around the sensitive tip as she sucked and slid her hand down to his balls, playing with him. When she moved and took one of his balls in her mouth, covering it, tasting it with her tongue while she stroked his full length, he almost lost it, but she looked up, tightened her hold and said, “Not yet, Harm.”
As she took him fully in her mouth once more, he slid his hand over her bare bottom, squeezed, then ran his fingers up her spine and back. He cupped the back of her head, changing the pace of her movements, showing her just how he wanted it.
And, fuckin’-A, did she deliver. Jena opened her throat, taking his hardness as far into her mouth as she could, gripping him at the base and pumping him, priming him. Sweet Mary. “Jena,” he warned, but she just took more of him further down her throat. Holy shit, he wanted to let go. He had to use his
hold on her hair to pull her off of him as his body rocked with one of the best damn climaxes he’d had in a very long time.
Jena didn’t stop moving her hand along his cock until he was completely spent, but she turned angry eyes his way when he was done. “Why did you pull me off you?”
What? Most women would be glad. Harm leaned on his elbow and met her gaze as she got up and threw him the towel. She was obviously pissed.
“Jena, I’m a complete stranger. You don’t know anything about my sexual history.”
“Is there something you want to tell me?” she shot back.
He shook his head. “I’m clean, but I thought it best to not take chances since you didn’t know that at the time.”
As he got dressed, she appeared to be weighing what he said. “Thanks for considering me, I suppose.” She sounded disgruntled.
Shaking his head, he chuckled as he pulled her into his arms. “This is the damnedest conversation. We certainly don’t seem to do things the conventional way, do we?”
She wrapped her arms around his waist, laughing. “That does appear to be the case.”
Harm kissed the tip of her nose. “I know you have to go, but will you have dinner with me later?”
“Yes,” she said, turning her gorgeous eyes his way as she tightened her hold on him.
Harm didn’t want to release her. He had to make himself walk away, but he paused for the briefest of seconds when he reached the door and realized he didn’t know her last name. Now would be a hell of a time to ask. He set his jaw. Her last name could be Timbuktu for all he cared. He loved the fact she was uninhibited with him, but had a decent side that cared about propriety. The look on her face when she realized families would see her half-naked was priceless. He wanted to know her passions in life, which social issues pushed her buttons and if puppies and kids were her downfall. Beyond the fact she jacked him up, he’d enjoyed their banter and her quick wit; he had a feeling they’d get along well. As soon as his business was taken care of, he’d take her to dinner and do his best to convince her to stay longer.
* * *
“Mr. Steele is on his way,” Ty called out absently as Jena closed the door.
Her gaze slid to the other person in the room. “Hi, Colt. What are you doing here?” Jena asked her cousin. He sat in a chair against the wall, his cowboy hat resting on his knee.
Colt unfolded his tall frame from the chair, put his hat on his head, then pulled her into a bear hug. “It appears your brother sent me on a wild goose chase for you earlier.” He set her back from him and looked her over. “Look at you. You’re all grown up and no longer the tagalong little girl.” His dark brows drew together as a stern expression crossed his handsome face. “But I see you never outgrew your fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants ways, Jena Lee.”
Jena sighed. Only the Tanner brothers still called her that. Colt and his two younger brothers, Cade and Mace had teased her mercilessly during the couple of summers she’d spent on her great aunt’s Double D ranch. The Tanners’ own ranch, The Lonestar, was only a few miles down the road.
“I see you’re still ever-the-responsible-one, Colt,” Jena teased back.
Colt grinned and touched the rim of his hat, his blue eyes crinkling in the corners. “We all have to be good at something.”
Ty cleared his throat and settled in a chair at the desk. Once he flipped though the paperwork, he rubbed his square jaw, his vivid green eyes meeting his cousin’s across the room. “Thanks for waiting while we settle this, Colt.” He looked back down at the papers. “Why Sally insisted we not use an attorney, but handle this transaction ourselves is beyond me.”
Colt settled back in his chair, chuckling. “I think she and her brother were definitely of like minds. The Lonestar’s a perfect example.”
Ty glanced up from looking at the deed. “Yeah, I couldn’t believe it when I heard Uncle James didn’t leave his half of the ranch to you. What do you think Marie will do with her half?”
Jena noticed the tightening of Colt’s mouth before he shrugged, then laughed outright. “Uncle James certainly threw me for a loop. But I’ve got it all under control. I’m going to buy the land from his wife.”
“How do you know she’d sell it to you?” Jena piped in.
Colt grinned. “Marie’s retired. She’s at a point where she wants to enjoy life, not feel hemmed in by the responsibilities of running a rodeo ranch.”
His gaze traveled between Jena and Ty. “Steele is a good man. I see him often at horse auctions. I’m happy Sally’s land is going to him. He deserves it.”
Smoothing the short skirt of her yellow linen sundress, Jena settled on the corner of the desk to pick up the deed to the property and house. “As for why Aunt Sally asked us to take care of this in person, I think she wanted us to come back to visit Texas, considering we haven’t been here since we were kids.”
Her brother snorted while he rolled up the sleeves of his blue cotton dress shirt. “I can do without the heat. I’ll take Maryland weather any day.”
Jena ran her finger along the desk’s smooth surface. “I don’t know. I think Texas has a certain appeal.”
Ty jerked his gaze to hers. “What do you mean—”
A knock cut him off. Ty stood and walked over to the door. Opening it, he extended his hand. “Thanks for your patience, Mr. Steele.”
The man walked into the room at the same time Jena looked up. Her stomach instantly bottomed out. Mr. Steele turned out to be her fantasy cowboy. Heat suffused her face and neck as she watched him shake Colt’s hand and discuss his latest horse purchase. When he finally met her gaze, his never wavered or showed surprise, though she knew he had to be as shocked as she was. He damned-well better be!
“I’m sorry about the delay.” Ty cut his eyes back to her. “But my sister is a bit of a free spirit at times.”
Harm raised a thick eyebrow and a small smile tilted the corners on his sensual mouth. “You don’t say?”
Jena collected her wits and extended her hand, a secret smile playing on her lips. “Yes, I like to take opportunities as they arise. Jena Hudson. Nice to meet you.”
He grasped her hand in a firm grip and met her gaze head on. The blatant look in his eyes told her he approved of her not-so-wet look. “Harmon Steele, Miss Hudson. Pleasure’s all mine.”
Harm’s warm hand and the double meaning in his eyes made heat pool between her legs. Jena hoped her brother and cousin didn’t notice the flush she knew stained her cheeks. She withdrew her hand from his and took the seat at the desk, needing to put distance between herself and Mr. Too-sexy-for-his-own-good.
“Okay, let’s get down to business,” Ty said, picking up the paperwork. “Jena, I’ve already signed my half of Sally’s ranch and holdings over to Mr. Steele. We just need your signature.”
Harm pulled a check out of his pocket and set it on the desk.
“I’m not signing the deed over,” Jena said.
“What!” All three men said in unison, staring at her with incredulous expressions.
She nodded and sat back in the chair, folding her arms. “I haven’t had a chance to visit Sally’s place yet. I want to before I make my decision.”
“Do you always make it a habit of getting what you want, Miss Hudson?” Harm’s Texan accent only accentuated the steely edge in his voice.
The look in his eyes told her he wasn’t happy. She stood and put her hands on the desk, leaning forward. “No, but I want the decision to be mine, not because people,” she looked pointedly at all of the men, “made the decision for me.”
Harm crossed his arms over his hard chest and stared at her, a muscle popping in his jaw.
Ty coughed. “Um, is there something I’m missing here?”
Jena straightened and smoothed a hand over her hair. “No. I just want to see the ranch, but after the forty-five minute trip from the airport yesterday, my rental car died. I haven’t been in my room long enough to see if they’d called me back yet. Can I use your rental?”
>
“I don’t have one. Colt picked me up and we’re meeting Mace and Cade for drinks in an hour.” Her brother glanced at his watch, then pressed his lips together in a thin line. Oh, boy. He was pissed too. Served him right for assuming she’d just sign the ranch away without asking her. Darn autocratic men. All her life men have been making decisions for her. First her dad until his death, then Ty took over with this whole property thing and now Harm expecting her to sign, no questions asked. It’s about time they saw this girl has a mind of her own.
As she and her brother stared each other down, Harm’s calm voice cut through their battle of wills. “I’ll take you to Sally’s place.”
Jena met his gaze. “I’ll rent a car.”
“Storm’s brewing.” Harm jerked his head toward the window. “If you’re going to head out there, you’ll want to beat it.”
Jena followed his line of sight. The sky had turned black and menacing, threatening rain. She debated his offer. She really wanted to see Sally’s ranch again. It had been twenty years. And the storm was getting closer by the minute.
Her brother sighed. “Go on, Jena, let Mr. Steele—”
“Harm.”
“…Harm take you to Sally’s ranch, get this out of your system, and get back here to sign the papers.”
“Fine.” Jena grabbed her purse and eyed all three men. “But I’m not promising anything.”
Harm turned on his heel and walked out. She followed, almost running to keep up with him. How had her best fantasy personified turn into her enemy so quickly?
As the elevator descended to the garage, she chanced a glance his way. He stared straight ahead, not once looking at her. That didn’t sit well with Jena at all. Thirty minutes ago the man had had his hand down her swimsuit. Not to mention the fact he’d given her the best damn orgasm she’d ever had. And that was with his hand. She could only imagine how the rest of him would feel against her.
She clamped her legs to stop the ache that had started at her wayward thoughts. It looked like they wouldn’t be continuing where they left off earlier, but she’d be damned it she’d let him give her the cold shoulder either.
Harm's Hunger Page 2
