Rather than look a gift horse in the mouth, Jake tipped his hat at the O’Brien brothers. “Thanks for the tip.”
“Hey. Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.” Sean stood by a gate, holding it open for Jake to ride through. “And, believe me, we’d do a lot of things as long as the lady was willing.”
Gabe strode up beside Sean and backhanded him in the belly. “Damn, Sean. We don’t want him to think she’s easy,” he muttered beneath his breath, but not low enough Jake couldn’t catch every word.
Again, he had that feeling he was being bamboozled. The brothers seemed eager to speed him on his way to their sister.
As Jake rode through the gate, he turned back to see Tanner, Gabe and Sean high-fiving.
What the hell was going on? The need to hurry while he had the chance of getting Molly alone drove further thoughts of her brothers out of Jake’s head. He headed west across the pasture of new hay, shin-high and lush green.
The gelding, eager to be out in the open, broke into a gallop, its hooves gobbling up the distance. As mentioned, a hill rose up before Jake.
At the top, he gazed into a fertile green valley with a line of trees snaking down the middle.
Locating the bend in the line of foliage, he nudged the horse and rode down to a copse of brush and trees, anxious to kick off his plan to make Molly fall in love with him. Jake hadn’t even entered the wooded area when he spied her horse, trailing his reins and munching on grass.
A stab of concern ripped through him. He slid out of his saddle and hurried toward her gelding. The horse raised its head, curious but not too interested in his approach, dipping his head back to rip up more grass with his teeth.
Speaking soothing words to the animal, Jake gave the horse a cursory check. No injuries, no scrapes or wounds. Which didn’t mean anything. It could have been startled by a snake and thrown Molly.
His heart pounding, Jake dropped his own gelding’s reins and pushed through the brush, emerging onto a flat, table-like rock. The boulder overlooked a broad pool of water, speckled with the sunlight glimmering through the canopy.
At first he didn’t see Molly, which sent him to the edge of the rocky overhang, staring into the clear water, afraid of what he might find.
Instead of a corpse floating on the surface, he found a water nymph, skimming the surface, facing the sky, her eyes closed and her mouth curved in a smile, completely, incredibly, gloriously…naked.
Jake’s groin tightened, and he stood for a moment staring down at the beauty, drinking in the lush curves of her body, the perky tilt of her breasts and the tight little budded nipples pointing skyward. Holy hell. His breath caught. The soft tuft of hair at the apex of her thighs had Jake’s cock rock hard in an instant. He couldn’t get out of his clothes fast enough.
He toed off his boots, jerked his company polo shirt over his head and shucked his jeans in record time. Soon, he stood naked, the gentle Texas breeze skimming across his skin and making him even more aroused.
Still, Molly floated, her eyes closed, her smile intact.
Jake almost hated to pull her out of the peaceful place she was in. A man driven by impulse, he couldn’t just stand by and not touch the angel drifting in the water. He had to be near her.
What if she didn’t want him in the pool with her? He’d kissed her a couple of times, touched her breasts and would have gone all the way at Lookout Point, if her brother hadn’t shown up when he did. Jake thought they’d hit it off pretty well. Work had prevented him from pursuing her on a regular basis for the past month. Now that he had the time and the incentive to win her heart before his brother, he had to take the risk of surprising her.
He glanced around for the O’Brien men. Had they known their sister liked to skinny dip in the creek? Would they be waiting in the bushes with their shotguns loaded full of buckshot?
Jake covered his ass with his hands and squinted, checking the shadows. No movement other than the two horses happily chomping at the fresh grass.
Eyeing the water, Jake considered jumping in, but made the determination he’d be better off easing in and not startling the woman.
Padding to the edge of the boulder, he dropped down to the creek bank. As soon as his feet hit the cool mud, they slipped out from under him. He teetered on the edge of the water, knowing if he fell backward, he might hit his head on the boulder. Throwing his weight forward, he belly flopped into the water, landing near enough to douse Molly full in the face.
He went under, sucking a snoot full of water up his nose. Jake surfaced, coughing and cursing. By the time he was in control of his breathing again, he stared across at Molly, her arms crossed over her chest, her brows hiked.
“Some entrance.” Her voice dripped sarcasm like her hair dripping a steady stream of water.
He grinned, coughed again and shrugged. “It was hot out. Would you believe I didn’t see you?”
She shook her head, her lips twisting. “Not a chance. The question is, how long were you standing there before you fell in?”
He should have been ashamed of himself for spying on her…but he wasn’t. “Not long,” he fibbed. Long enough to see every delectable inch of her gorgeous body, but not nearly long enough to satisfy him for good.
Her eyes narrowed. “Uh huh. So you decided since you were here, and I was naked, you’d just join me without asking?”
Jake grinned. “I thought it might be easier to beg for forgiveness than for permission.”
She nodded. “You’re right. I would have told you to bug off.”
“But since I’m here, and in the water, you don’t have the heart to tell me to leave. Right?” He inched toward her.
Molly held up a hand. “I have brothers. You don’t have anything different than what they have. But get one thing clear.” She pointed a finger at his chest, close enough she could have touched him. “Hands off.”
He held up his hand as if swearing on a bible. “I swear I won’t touch you…” with a waggle of his brows, he added, “unless you want me to.”
“Good. I’d tell you that I’d sic my brothers on you, but I don’t need them to do my dirty work. I have a few of my own moves.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jake’s gaze drifted to the swell of her breasts rising above the water. He didn’t have the heart, or the inclination to tell her that he could see her nipples beneath the surface. They were entirely too tempting, and he wished he hadn’t made that promise to remain hands off unless she wanted him to touch her.
Jake sighed.
Molly’s brows dipped. “Why the sigh?”
“I was thinking I’d have to convince you that you want me to touch me. Then I calculated how much time that should take. As far as I was concerned, it was minutes, hours, maybe even days, wasted.” He waggled his eyebrows. “We could just cut to the chase.”
Molly’s laughter filled the little grotto of overhanging trees like music on the wind. “Oh, sweetie, you’ll have to work a lot harder than that.” She pushed away from him, swimming toward the far edge of the swimming hole.
“Darlin’, if I’m one thing, it’s persistent. And I’m definitely up for the challenge.” Oh he was up all right. And her saucy attitude only made him that much more determined to have her in his arms. He loved a sassy woman with spirit and drive.
Jake backed toward the shore, rising out of the water until he stood only waist-deep in a little patch of sunshine.
Molly stopped on the opposite side of the little pool, faced him and treaded water. “Are you going to swim?”
“I could use a little sun.” He almost laughed at his lie. Jake spent a great deal of time in the sun, working on the ranch. The tan was natural and his toned muscles came from hard work, not a membership to a gym.
Molly’s gaze swept over his chest and lower. Her eyes flared and the color in her cheeks brightened.
Jake flexed his muscles and grinned. “Like what you see?”
She shrugged, but she didn’t look away.
Molly’s hungry g
lance made Jake that much hotter, and more determined to push every last one of her erotic buttons. “I always say, if you know what you want, go for it.”
“I don’t want you,” she said, her voice less convincing.
Jake swam after her, ducked beneath the surface and came up in front of her, only inches from her chest. “Are you sure?”
“Hey.” She back-paddled, her eyes wide. “I said you couldn’t touch me.”
He held up his hands to show her where they were. “Not touching.”
“I don’t mind sharing the swimming hole, but you’re crowding me.”
“I promised not to touch you, unless you wanted me to.” He rose out of the water, rivulets running down his chest. Where they were was only about waist deep for Jake. His cock bobbed near the surface, hard, thick and jutting toward her.
Her gaze followed the trickles of water streaming down his chest and lower, angling toward the juncture of his thighs and the rod just beneath the surface.
Jake could tell the moment she saw it. Her cheeks reddened and her eyes flared. Molly’s tongue swept across her lips. “Are you always so…so…” she dragged her gaze up to his eyes, “…aroused?”
“Only around you, babe.” He reached for her and caught himself before he put his hands on her arms. “Has anyone told you that you have a beautiful body?”
She crossed her arms over her chest again. “You shouldn’t have been looking.”
“You can’t blame a guy for appreciating the natural beauty all around him. And darlin’ you have a natural beauty all around you.”
Her cheeks bloomed and her eyelids drifted closed for a moment. “Nice lines. Do you use them on all of your girlfriends?”
“I don’t have a girlfriend. Yet.” His gaze remained locked with hers. “But I’m working on it.” He smiled, hoping to win her with the Maddox charm.
Molly’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me something.”
Jake spread his arms wide. “Anything.”
“Why the sudden interest? We went out several times. I thought we’d made a connection, and then I didn’t hear from you for the past two weeks. Why now?”
He tipped his head. “Fair question. My brother and I own a flying service. We go when our clients ask us to go. Word of mouth has spread and our business has had more work than we’ve ever had. We’ve flown days, nights and weekends for the past month.”
“All work and no play…”
He puffed out his chest. “Exactly.”
Her lips thinned. “I’m not interested in playing.” She poked his chest with her slim finger. “I’ve seen you go out with every woman in the county. You’re a player.”
Jake raised his hands. “I’m a reformed player. Since we started dating, I haven’t been out with another female.”
Molly shook her head. “You just told me you haven’t had time to date.”
“I do now. And I want to date you.” He inched closer, still not touching her, but barely.
Her eyes widened, and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Tell me the kisses we shared on our last date didn’t mean anything.” Jake held out a hand, praying she’d take it. He lowered his tone, making his voice more intimate. “Tell me you didn’t want to go all the way at Lookout Point the last time we were together, and I’ll walk away.”
Her gaze shifted from his eyes to the hand and up to his mouth, the color in her cheeks deepening. “What does that prove?” she asked, her voice softening, her tongue sweeping out to moisten her lips. Molly dropped the arm covering her breasts and swirled the water, as if she wanted to touch him but didn’t trust herself.
Jake’s pulse quickened. “It proves there’s something there. I felt it.” He took a chance, scooped his hand beneath hers and lifted it out of the water. “You felt it, didn’t you?”
She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded. “Yeah, but how do I know you aren’t playing me?”
Jake carried her hand to his lips. “Give me a chance. I’ll show you.”
Her brows dipped, but she didn’t pull her hand free. “I don’t trust you.”
“I can accept that. I have to prove to you I can be trustworthy.” He stepped closer, his cock nudging her belly.
Molly’s eyes widened. “We shouldn’t…” She sighed. “I shouldn’t…”
“But you’re gonna…” He bent close enough he could kiss her, but far enough to make her come to him if she wanted it.
“Damn.” She leaned up and brushed her lips across his. “I swore I wouldn’t get tangled up with you.”
He chuckled. “Didn’t your mamma tell you it’s not nice to swear?”
“Oh, shut up and kiss me.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him against her body.
Inside, Jake rejoiced. Making love to Molly would be the start of his campaign to win her heart.
Chapter Three
Holy hell. What was she doing? Molly’s body was on fire as she slid skin-to-skin against Jake.
He ran his hand down her back, cupped her ass and lifted her. Buoyed by the water, she floated up to him, her legs naturally wrapping around his waist.
“This is so much more than a kiss,” she whispered into his mouth, her brain telling her to stop. Her body ignored the hell out of her brain’s repeated message—Warning! This is a huge mistake!
“Tell me to stop, and I will.” Jake’s voice slid over her like hot syrup on pancakes. “Although I don’t know how I’ll let go, when my body’s telling me full steam ahead.”
Though her brain was fuzzy with lust, Molly forced out the word, “Stop.” She lifted her head, breathing ragged, pulse pounding, her control on the verge of crumbling.
Jake dragged in a breath and let it out, his body tense. “Change your mind?”
“Only if you tell me you don’t have protection.” She drew in a deep breath, her eyes closing, telling herself she’d done the right thing. “Please tell me you brought some?”
A grin slipped across his face. “I did. In my wallet. Hold on.” Jake carried her across the pool to the rocky ledge where he’d watched her swimming. He stopped at the boulder and stood in water up to his hips.
Molly grabbed for the pile of clothing and dragged it toward her, desperate to find what they needed and get on with making love to the sexy, naughty cowboy.
She upended the blue jeans and Jake’s leather wallet fell out, bounced off the rock and into the water.
“Damn!” Molly dove after it, forcing Jake to release her. It was just like her to be so clumsy. Not a sexy move at all, though it didn’t diminish an ounce of the desire raging through her.
She surfaced, holding the wallet with a triumphant smile. “Got it.”
Jake chuckled. “I didn’t think you were that eager.”
“I couldn’t just jump your bones without it. A girl has to be a little hard to get.” She fished in the wet billfold, snatched out the foil packet and tore into it with her teeth, tossing the wallet onto the boulder in a patch of sunshine.
“You do realize I don’t want to date you just to get into your pants?”
Molly snorted. “Look, I’m going into this with really low expectations. I can’t deny I want sex with you, but I’m not asking you to commit or anything.”
His brow wrinkled. “What if I want the commitment?”
Molly’s hand paused on its way to his jutting staff. “I’m not sure I want to commit to you or anyone.” With a condom in one hand, his staff in the other, her thoughts shifted to another man. Jake’s brother. Hell. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about another man.
Jake gripped her arms and held her steady. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe we should forget about sex for now.”
“What?” She stared at him, her mouth falling open. “Are you kidding me? I’m on fire, and you’re getting cold feet?”
“Not cold feet. But making love to you means a lot to me.”
“And it doesn’t to me?” Molly’s pussy clenched. “What if we aren�
��t compatible in that respect?”
His brows lifted. “Not compatible? What do you mean?”
“What if we don’t do it for each other?”
His hands still on her arms, Jake pulled her close enough for his cock to poke her in the belly. “Babe, you do it for me. I have no doubt about it.”
Molly had come this far, committing to sex if not happily ever after. Surely that was enough. She wrapped her hands around his dick. “Tell you what. Let’s test that theory and decide where we want to go from there.” She rolled the condom over his hardness and fondled his balls. “Unless you want to forget all about it…”
Jake’s head dropped back and he groaned. “I’m trying to be serious. I want more than just a poke in the pond.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Molly crooned. “Serious isn’t your thing. Just poke me and let’s see if we fit.” With her hands braced on his shoulders, she lifted her legs, locked them around his waist and eased down until the tip of his shaft nudged her entrance. “Ready to find out?”
“Past ready,” he said, his voice strained. “But we’re not through talking.”
“We are for now.” Molly lowered herself over him, taking his full length inside her.
Jake was thick, hard and long, and he filled Molly so completely. Her head tipped back, and she moaned softly. “Oh, yes.”
His hands slipped down to capture her ass, and he whispered against her ear, “I take it we fit.”
“We do, and so deliciously.” She tightened her thighs, rising up.
Jake slid out of her almost all the way, paused, and thrust back into her, holding her bottom, to bury deeper the second time.
“Yes!” she cried. “Harder, darlin’! Faster!”
With his hands clamped around her butt cheeks, Jake slammed into her, splashing water up between them with the force of his thrusts.
Molly rode him, blood rampaging through her veins, her body tensing.
The faster he rocked in and out of her, the tighter her core grew and the more tense his muscles bunched beneath her fingertips.
One last thrust sent her spiraling over the edge. Tingling sensations, centering at her pussy, spread outward like lightning.
Every Which Way Page 13
