by Kaliana Cole
“Hey, darlin’.” Nate’s voice sounded as rich as the darkest chocolate and twice as fattening. “How are you going with it? Need a hand?”
“Nope, all finished, thanks. You should have called ten minutes ago.” Jade managed to put a casualness she was not feeling into her reply.
“So was I, darlin’, but that doesn’t mean I’m not up for round two.”
“Sorry, already done that as well.”
“Want me to come over and help you with thirds then?” Jade nearly laughed at his hopeful tone.
“Not tonight. I need to get some sleep.”
“Okay, darlin’, you win for now. You get your beauty sleep while I go and take a cold shower or two. I’ll come over on the weekend and see if I can be a little more persuading. ’Night, darlin’.”
Jade groaned as she put the phone back on the table. That man’s voice ought to be illegal. Already, her traitorous body was singing for more.
Yeah, he wouldn’t be the only one in a cold shower.
Chapter 7
Three days later, Jade was just dragging her sore and sorry ass back into the house when the phone in her pocket started to ring. Looking at the caller ID in a hope to avoid problems of the Kelly variety, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the veterinarian’s number.
“Hey, Elly, how are you?” Her voice was genuinely cheerful at the prospect of talking to someone who wanted nothing but money from her.
“Sorry, darlin’, it’s Nate. I need a favor.”
Immediately suspicious, Jade couldn’t keep it out of her tone when she spoke.
“Exactly what is this favor, Nate?”
“It’s Matt. He just called me looking for a lift. The bus he was supposed to change on to down in Cheyenne had already left, and there won’t be another one until tomorrow. He hitched a ride as far as Sheridan. I’m helping Elly over at the Richards place and won’t be able to go for a couple of hours. I can’t get hold of Brett at all. Could you duck over and pick him up?”
Jade chewed her lip in deliberation. Sheridan was only a forty-minute drive away. Matty waiting hours for one of his brothers just didn’t seem fair when she could be cleaned up and there in less than an hour. “Okay. I will go and get him. Where do I pick him up from?”
Nate gave her directions, predictably to a bar.
“No problem, I will just grab a quick shower and head over there.”
“Mmm, wish I could help you with that.” The deep purr of Nate’s voice slid down Jade’s spine with a shiver. “Wear something nice for the boy. There’s not much chance for hanky-panky over where he’s been, and I know for a fact he hasn’t stopped for any on the way home. He always had a thing for your boobs, and now that you actually have some…”
“Bye, Nate.” Jade overrode him emphatically before hanging up. One day the man might learn when to keep his mouth shut.
Fifteen minutes later, though, she had a definite grin on her face as she sorted through her limited wardrobe for something just a little bit provocative to tease Matty with. She settled for a black bra with lace trim under a cool cotton white men’s dress shirt, which she tied at the waist, a pair of well-worn but well-fitted jeans and scuffed cowboy boots. A suede leather jacket topped it off.
Glancing in the mirror, she undid another button on the shirt to better frame her cleavage before heading out the door with a bounce in her step. Matty had always had a bit of a crush on her when they were younger, and it had always done good things for her self-esteem to tease him just a little bit. God knew she could do with the boost right now.
Not knowing how much in the way of luggage Matty would have, she got the old Ford pickup out of the garage instead of her car, which Gypsy took as a sign they were going for a drive to check on the horses. With a resigned sigh, Jade secured the old hound in the back where she could happily shoot the breeze before heading off toward Sheridan with more than a little anticipation in her heart.
Forty minutes and three changes of radio stations later, she pulled up half a block down from the bar where Matty was waiting for her. Promising Gypsy she would only be a while, she made sure her water bowl was full and headed toward the crowded bar, where “thank god it’s Friday” was in full swing.
The contrast between the cool dusk of spring and the warm, centrally heated comfort of the noisy bar was welcome. The thinness of her shirt beneath the open jacket was little barrier between the incessant wind and her pebbled skin.
A typical workers’ bar, it was neither well lit nor extremely clean, but still, a relaxing and comfortable feeling permeated the establishment. Looking around trying to locate Matty without drawing the attention of any dim-witted, alcohol-fuelled, would-be Lotharios was a lot easier than it would be in a few hours when the alcohol consumption was higher.
Matthew had been six-four when she had last seen him at eighteen and over two hundred and twenty pounds, with a thinning layer of puppy fat that had always made him seem like a big teddy bear created with the sole purpose of bringing comfort of those around him.
A peaceful, loving nature and a contagious grin a mile wide had made him everybody’s friend, unless you happened to be on the other side of the fifty yard line. Even then you could guarantee he would still be grinning while he crushed you into the dust and gave you a hand back up afterward.
A quick survey of the room showed he was not in the main bar. Seeing multiple doors leading off into a rabbit warren of smaller areas, Jade did the logical female thing and asked the barmaid where she could find a six foot plus, man-mountain with a big smile.
After the young barmaid got over her wet-panty moment of recognition, she directed Jade through the door on the left to the pool room, where Jade had to deal with her own wet panty moment. Because leaning over the nearest pool table, lining up the black, was the best ass she had ever laid eyes on. It was tight as you like, big enough to get two full handfuls of, and had enough flesh to sink your teeth into.
Jade had never liked scrawny asses on men, but the whole package there in front of her was not scrawny in any way. Big, wide shoulders stretched the white T-shirt that molded individual muscles as he lined up the shot, making his hard, tapered waist look a mile long as it tucked into low-riding jeans that cupped the glory of that ass. Long, muscular thighs bulged against the denim before it flared out over boots.
Dragging her eyes back up the length of the sight before her, she realized her brain had not processed any sound since she walked into the room. Just how long had she been standing there gawking?
The crack of the cue striking the white snapped her out of her drool fest. The man in front of her straightened up, and up, and up. He was at least six-six she decided as her jaw dropped, vaguely noticing that the black ball sunk into the far pocket with crisp precision.
When she discerned his adversary was watching her with amusement, Jade resolutely picked up her jaw, resisted the urge to wipe her chin, and glanced around the crowded room for Matt. She spotted a pile of bags near an occupied table on the far side and headed in that direction, clenching her hands for control as she passed that magnificent ass and not allowing her eyes to stray from her own feet.
She got three steps before her phone rang. Muttering a curse but glad for the distraction, she pulled it out of her jacket pocket. “Hello.”
“Turn around.”
Freezing, Jade turned slowly around. Gorgeous Ass was hunched back over the pool table, Mr. Amusement was still grinning at her from the other side, no one else was in sight.
Her eyes flickered to the mirrored wall signs promoting long defunct beer brands. Holy shit! Gorgeous Ass had a phone tucked to his ear and a smile from ear to ear.
Chapter 8
Holding her gaze, Matt put the phone in his pocket, the grin never wavering. Jade had only absently lowered the phone from her ear when he turned and swooped, plucking her up from the ground and swinging her around by her waist like a child, his grin threatening to split his face in two.
After letting ou
t that highly embarrassing “Eeep!” that only girls do, Jade could only smile back as he stopped spinning and just looked at her with good will shining from every pore of his body. Slightly disconcerted with her feet dangling two feet off the ground as if she weighed nothing, she placed her hands on the thick muscle of his shoulders.
“Hell, Matty! What have they been feeding you? You have grown into a friggin’ giant!”
He gathered her close, positioning his thick forearms under her ass to hold her securely. He burrowed his head into the base of Jade’s neck as he squeezed her tight. “Yeah, but I’m your giant.”
He nuzzled closer, the regrowth of beard on his chin rasping against the upper slopes of her breasts. “Mmm, you smell so good.”
Jade felt she deserved a medal for not wrapping her legs around his waist and grinding herself against him when his voice rumbled through her like thunder. The vibration played along every nerve ending, firing them into a sensory frenzy.
This was not the Matty she used to tease. With this mouth-watering body and his natural charisma, this Matty could have any woman in the world at his beck and call. The lucky one who managed to snare him would be beating them away with a stick. He would have some young pretty thing on his arm in two seconds flat once they found out the soldier was back.
That thought sobering her slightly, she pushed back in his arms so she could see his face, but while he let her move back, he wouldn’t lift his head. He let it fall forward so his forehead rested on Jade’s upper chest. It did not take a genius to figure out where he was looking.
Managing to suppress a laugh at the predictability of men, Jade slipped her hand under his chin and tilted his chin up until his face was looking at her. It took a bit longer for his eyes to follow.
“But that’s the best sight I have seen in forever,” he complained, his tone reminiscent of a two-year-old minus his favorite toy. The shit-eating grin kind of spoiled the effect, though.
“Want to put me down now?” Jade asked with a wry grin, aware they had the attention of the whole room.
“Nope. You feel too good.” His tone completely unrepentant, Matt held her tighter, leaning back to press her soft curves closer.
“Everyone’s looking, Matt.”
“Let ’em look. You still feel too good to put down.”
“Matt! You’re embarrassing me!”
“Why? Because I have got hold of you, or ’cause you’re enjoying it?”
“Both,” Jade admitted with a squeak.
With a grin he carried her to one of the low, wide seats in the corner and sat her cross-wise across his lap. Jade was beginning to feel like a rag doll as Matty just put her where he wanted with his amazing strength.
“There, no one is looking at you now, and I can still hold you.”
Jade swiveled around a little so she could see him and still be comfortable. “Do you think I am going to run away if you let me go?” she asked with amusement.
Looking into his gray eyes, she saw a flicker of pain before he answered. “No, but indulge me, please, Jade. I have not touched a woman in nearly a year, and it has been twice as long since I just got to hold one, let alone one who means the world to me. Can you do that? Just sit there and let me hold you?”
Jade gave him a solemn nod, leaning back into his supporting arm and resting her free hand against the solidness of his chest where his heart beat strongly under her palm. She couldn’t help but test the resilience of his muscles with her fingertips, kneading in like a cat testing its bed.
“I can’t believe how big and solid you have ended up. How tall are you now?”
His voice vibrated against her palm. “Six-seven.”
“Jesus, no wonder I was getting altitude sickness when you lifted me up! And there’s no puppy fat left now. You shouldn’t feel cuddly, but you still feel comfortable.”
Jade laid her head in against his shoulder. “I can’t believe you went into the forces. You don’t know how many bad dreams I had about you behind a firearm of any description.” Matt had always been totally useless with a rifle.
Matty didn’t try to restrain his laugh as he gave her a gentle slap where his hand lay on her thigh. “Real funny, Jade. I had laser surgery on one of my eyes when I enlisted. Turns out I should have worn glasses the whole time.”
“You would have looked cute in glasses,” she admitted.
“It would have given Brett something else to tease me about,” he clarified.
“And that would have given me another reason to belt him one.”
“Like you needed any more reasons for that. How you two didn’t kill each other I have no idea. Brett has a permanent lump on the corner of his chin where you used to hit it.”
He picked up her hand where it lay on his chest, his big hands making her strong work-worn hands look small and feminine. “And your knuckles are still scarred.” He ran his thumb over the faint lines marring the tanned skin of her hands.
“If he hadn’t kept sticking it out, I wouldn’t have kept hitting it. It was just too easy a target when he stuck it out.”
“Yeah, well, enough about Brett. I’ve got a beautiful woman on my lap, the prettiest pair of breasts I have ever had waved under my nose right here in front of me, and I’m as far from the Middle East as it is possible to get. My life is perfect.”
He looked down at Jade with a satisfied smile. “It is so fucking good to be home, Jade. You have no idea how good.” Matt squeezed her closer.
Jade let him hold her, grinning indulgently when he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off her cleavage. “You know, you can still look at them on the way home. Someone else is waiting for you outside, and I don’t think she is going to like being kept waiting like this. If you can manage to let me go long enough to get out to the truck, you can hold me all the way home if you don’t make me run off the road.”
“Can I drive?” His schoolboy enthusiasm had her biting back a laugh.
“Got a license?”
“Yeah, I just haven’t had a chance to use it very often. All the different vehicles I have been in for the last twelve years come with a driver. Brett sure as hell won’t let me drive his baby when I come home, and Nate’s always got to have his on hand for work, so until I buy one, I don’t get to drive.”
His eyes lit up with hopeful excitement, Jade found it hard to believe that a soldier who has been to more countries than most airlines would be so excited at the simple pleasure of driving a car.
“What did you bring?”
“Just the old farm truck. I didn’t know how many bags you would have”
“Mmm, bench seat and column shift,” he crooned. “Oh, baby, are you in some trouble on the way home!”
He shifted Jade to stand between his spread thighs, resting his big hands lightly on her hips. “I’m not the only one who’s grown into themselves.” He gave her an appreciative squeeze.
“You leave my fat alone thank you, Matthew Kelly!” Jade pulled away indignantly.
Hurt dug deep with the little voice inside her head telling her that this man in front of her was way too much for the likes of her. Matt pulled her back to him, enfolding her in a bear hug.
“Oh, honey, don’t take it like that. You’re a grown woman now with real curves, real nice curves,” he amended with a deliberate ogle of her exposed cleavage. “Now you have got some nice soft spots for a man to rest his head against. No one wants a bag of bones to come home to, Jade. We all want something to hold on to.”
He patted her on the ass as he released her. “Come on, I’ll grab my bag, and we’ll get going. I’m kind of intrigued by who you have got waiting for me outside, and I just can’t get the possibilities of that bench seat out of my mind.” Matt gave her a diabolical waggle of his eyebrows as he said the last.
Jade watched with wry amusement as the all-but-panting barmaid retrieved a carry bag from behind the bar and handed it to the giant with the roguish grin.
“You might want to tone the charm down a bit, big guy,
or she is going to have to change her panties,” Jade muttered teasingly.
Matt gave the barmaid a wink before wrapping a hand around Jade to escort her out side. “I don’t think she is wearing any,” he whispered conspiratorially.
Jade couldn’t help but slap his hard stomach in retaliation. “And you would know this because?”
“Because the government, in all its wisdom, invested a lot of time and effort in teaching me to be observant. I like to practice this skill whenever I can.”
His gray eyes sparkled with mirth as he looked down at the woman beside him. “It would be a crime to waste those taxpayer dollars you know.”
“You’re incorrigible!” Shaking her head in mock exasperation, Jade led him up the dimly lit sidewalk to the battered old truck where Gypsy was having paroxysms of glee at the approach of her master. She stood back and watched the reunion, feeling her love for this big man, with an even bigger heart, grow anew.
He had only been a boy when she left. Now, at thirty he had grown into the promise he had shown when she had last seen him twelve years ago and then some. Whatever he had been through as a soldier had left its mark in both the shadows that haunted his eyes and the hardness of his body.
His face, too, was all planes and angles now. The strong jaw, high cheekbones, and slight cleft of Matt’s chin were enhanced by the two-day growth he sported. Jade restrained a shiver when she recalled the rasp of it against her exposed chest earlier.
Don’t molest the boy! she reminded herself. The only problem was that he wasn’t a boy any longer. Definitely all man, she clarified as he leaned farther over the tub tray to ruffle Gypsy’s neck, giving her a perfect view once again of that gorgeous ass.
“Are you checking out my ass, Jade Douglas?”
So absorbed had she been in the view, she hadn’t noticed Matt look back over his shoulder. With her head cocked to the side for a better view, she couldn’t really deny the charge, so green eyes flashing, she decided to brazen it out.
