But oh he felt so good in her hand, she couldn’t resist sliding up and down his shaft, measuring him, feeling him lift his hips and surge against her.
“You gonna put that condom on, woman, or are we gonna play?”
As she lifted her hand around the top of his cock, she slid her thumb over the crest, swirling it through the pearly liquid that escaped there. “I’d like to suck your cock until you come in my mouth.” She rolled the condom over him. “But that’ll have to wait until later, because I want this inside me.”
He grabbed her hips and dragged her up, tangling his fingers in her hair to draw her face toward his. “You’re a vicious tease, Jolene.”
She laughed. “You have no idea.”
He pulled her head down to his and kissed her, and her pulse jumped at the contact of his mouth on hers. Damn, he had nice lips—soft—the only soft part on him. He kissed her with that hard intent, his tongue plunging inside to lick at hers. She slid her pussy along his belly, igniting sparks of arousal that flamed ever higher when she reached between them to fold her fingers around his cock and felt it jerk in her hands. He groaned against her lips.
Jolene lifted upright and positioned his cock at the entrance to her pussy. “All this kissing is nice, Walker, but if you don’t fuck me right now I’m going to explode just rubbing myself against you.”
He dug his fingers into her hips. “Is that a bad thing? I want to watch you come.”
She slid down his cock, trembling as he entered her, hot and thick and stretching her as she fit herself onto him. “You will.”
When she was fully seated on him, she began to move forward, then back, using his body to hold on to, to lift herself only to ease back down. Shocks of pleasure sizzled through her from the inside out as she rode him, enhanced by the wicked storm of desire reflected in his eyes.
“Lean forward, darlin’.”
She did, and he reached up and slid his thumbs across her nipples. She gasped as the sensation shot straight to her clit. She sat fully on him, grinding against him to capture more of that sinful pleasure.
“Harder,” she said, continuing to rock against him as he rolled each nipple between his fingers, increasing the pleasure. She repaid him by squeezing his cock inside her.
“Damn,” he whispered, pulling her down to kiss her again.
Jolene was drowning in sensation. His mouth, his hands, moving over her back to grab her hips and lift her up and down his cock. He dragged her against his pelvis, rolling his hips to give her the greatest pleasure.
She felt him everywhere, from his tongue to his hands to the way he eased up into her slow and easy, then pumped fast and hard until she was squirming, coming, crying out against his lips, digging her nails into his chest as she rose up and rode him like her life depended on it.
He gripped her, holding her down on him as he groaned and thrust into her. Pulsing with climax, Jolene rode the wave of her orgasm while he shuddered underneath her.
This was what she’d been waiting for. And it had been so worth the wait. Walker was everything she had imagined he would be, her match in every way. He loved sex as much as she did, and he went for it with a gusto that equaled her own.
Spent, she fell on top of him, laid her head on his shoulder, listening to his rapid breaths and feeling his heart pound against her.
Walker stroked her back, just holding her, seeming in no hurry to jump up and get away from her.
She hadn’t expect this tenderness, the way he wrapped his arms around her, kissed the top of her head and seemed so content to just . . . be with her. It was so incongruous with the man who’d spent all this time running like hell in the opposite direction.
She was glad he’d stopped running, because she wanted nothing more than to be with him. Maybe she’d convinced him that enjoying each other was worth it.
She lifted her head and smiled down at him. “That wasn’t too painful, was it?”
His look was wary. Maybe she hadn’t convinced him after all. “It didn’t hurt.”
She laughed and pushed off him, then grabbed her clothes. “They’re damp, but they’ll do.” She started to get dressed, deciding that she was just going to ignore the often grumpy Walker Morgan.
After all, she’d convinced him once that sex was a good idea. She could convince him again.
But after tethering the squalling calf and starting the long trek toward home, Jolene bristled at Walker’s dead silence.
They’d just made love. To her, it had been pretty damn monumental.
Walker looked unhappy, uncomfortable, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t because his boxers were wet and twisted.
Halfway home she’d had enough of the grimacing and silent treatment.
“What crawled up your ass, Walker?” she asked as they rode side by side. She had to raise her voice to be heard over the nonstop wailing of the calf.
He turned his head to face her. “Nothing’s up my ass.”
“You look like you just lost your best friend. Having sex with me that awful?”
His jaw clamped shut and he didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Finally, “I just don’t think that was a good idea.”
Irritation made her eyebrow twitch. She gripped the reins tighter. “It felt like a really good idea when we were doing it. And I didn’t hear you complaining.”
“You’re my boss. I work for you. It’s not a good idea to mix business with pleasure.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. That’s a load of crap and you know it.”
“Maybe to you, it is. To me, it isn’t. There’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed, and we crossed it.”
She pulled the reins and halted her horse. “Do you really think I’m going to give you any special favors just because we had sex?”
He had been ahead of her, but he turned his horse around and came back to face her. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
She leaned against the saddle horn and tipped her hat back on her head. “Then explain what you are talking about.”
“It’s . . . complicated.”
“I’m not a dumbass. I think I can reason it out. Toss me a few crumbs, Walker.”
“It’s nothing. Forget it.” He turned his horse around and started moving again, staying far enough ahead of her that she couldn’t hitch Paradise into a gallop without forcing the poor tethered calf into running to keep up.
Asshole. He’d turned a nice time between them into something unpleasant.
Why did sex have to be so complicated?
walker rode far enough ahead of jolene that she wouldn’t be able to catch up, but not too far ahead. He still had sight of her, and still heard the calf, though he paid no attention to the noise. His thoughts centered on Jolene.
What kind of a sissy-assed weakling was he, anyway? He had no willpower. He should have said no. Sure, she’d been naked and all, but he was a grown man. He’d seen plenty of naked women before. Didn’t mean he had to go jump on every one he saw. He was hardly a horny teenager who had to fuck a woman just because she offered it up. Not that he was God’s gift to women, but he got his share of offers from eligible women in town. He could have turned Jolene down.
Instead, he’d let her climb on and he’d enjoyed one hell of a ride. And even worse, he’d held her after. Like he . . . cared.
Shit.
It wasn’t going to happen again. He liked this job, had fought hard to get it when no one else would hire him after what had happened at the last ranch. The last thing he needed was another scandal.
He was so dumb. And even dumber was that even now his body still craved her. He’d only scratched the surface of his desire for Jolene. There hadn’t been enough time, it hadn’t been the right place. There was so much more he wanted to do with her.
Too bad. What he wanted and what he was going to get were worlds apart.
five
one week. one whole friggin’ week, and walker had done his best to avoid her.
Jolene paced the
kitchen. It was well before dawn, and she’d already had four cups of coffee. She was as agitated as an unbroken horse and ready to do some damage.
“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor stomping your boots like that.”
Valerie yawned and padded into the kitchen on bare feet, still in her pajamas. Her hair was a mess—great sex, no doubt—and she had pink cheeks.
Jolene was profoundly jealous. Valerie was sleeping with someone. Jolene was sleeping alone, through no fault of her own.
Valerie grabbed a cup of coffee, pulled up a chair, yawned loudly and stared at Jolene through half-opened eyelids.
“Do you have to look so damn content?”
Valerie cocked her head to the side. “What’s got you in a lather this early?”
“Walker.”
“Ah. And what’s he done this time? Or not done?”
Jolene leaned against the kitchen counter and palmed the hot mug of coffee. “I don’t understand men.”
Valerie lifted her mug in salute. “Welcome to the club, honey. They’re as mysterious to us as, I’m sure, we are to them.”
Jolene’s only response was to grumble and take a long swallow of coffee.
“So what’s the specific problem?” Valerie asked.
“We had sex.”
Valerie laughed. “That doesn’t sound like a problem.”
“He’s avoided me for a week.”
“Yeah, that is a problem. I’m sorry, honey.”
“Oh, it’s not that he dumped me. He liked it. I liked it. He wants to do it again. I know he does.”
Valerie sipped her coffee and studied Jolene, then shook her head and smiled. “You are nothing if not humble, little sister.”
“That’s not what I mean. I know he didn’t dump me because he didn’t feel anything or the sex was lousy. I know he isn’t seeing anyone else. I mean I was there. I know what went down. It was good for both of us. We connected. So I just don’t get what his problem is.”
“Men are notorious noncommunicators.”
Jolene sighed. “Tell me about it.”
“But you don’t strike me as someone who backs down, Jo. If you want him, and you say you’re pretty sure he wants you, then go after him.”
“Normally, I would. But honest, Valerie, I’m getting tired of the chase. I’ve already done it. I’ve been doing it. I think it’s time he came to me.”
Valerie shrugged. “Up to you. But don’t be surprised if he doesn’t. There’s something holding him back.”
“I know.” Jolene studied her coffee, looking for answers in the black brew and knowing she wouldn’t find them there. “I wish he’d open up and tell me what it is, but he’s pretty tight-lipped about it.”
“Then you’re either going to have to wait for him, or go after him.”
“I went after him the first time.” Jolene lifted the pot and watched the steaming brew slide into her cup. “The ball’s in his court now.”
walker was beyond stupid. this was a huge mistake. He was going to get fired, just like last time. Only last time he hadn’t deserved it.
This time, he would.
But he couldn’t help himself. Jolene was like a drug in his system and he was addicted.
He’d ignored her for over a week now, made sure he volunteered to work on whatever Mason was working on. Since Mason was the foreman, he and Jolene generally split up and didn’t work together. Which meant if Walker worked with Mason, he’d be far away from Jolene. And Walker figured lack of proximity would help.
It didn’t.
He also figured she’d chase after him like she usually did.
She hadn’t.
It had been more than a week, and he’d barely seen her.
That bothered him. It actually pissed him off that she hadn’t come after him when he’d done everything he could to ignore her, to create distance between them. What kind of an asshole did that make him?
A huge one.
And now he stood at the back porch door to the main house at one in the morning, knowing that back door was unlocked, knowing the place was dark, knowing Jolene was in there.
And knowing he was going to sneak into her room.
He was a hundred kinds of crazy for doing this, but he turned the knob and he stepped into the mudroom, quiet as could be as he tiptoed past the kitchen and into the hall. He looked up the stairs.
Last chance to change his mind, to come to his senses and realize this was a really bad idea.
Instead, he held on to the banister and headed upstairs, just waiting for the steps to creak.
They didn’t. He got to the top of the stairs, turned left and headed toward the door to Jolene’s room.
He turned the knob, quiet as he could, inched open the door, slid inside and closed it behind him.
And heard the unmistakable click of a round being slid into the chamber of a revolver. Hard metal pressed against his side.
Shit.
“You are so damn lucky I’m a light sleeper and I see well in the dark, Walker Morgan. And that I don’t shoot without knowing who or what I’m shooting at.”
Jolene pulled the gun away from his back and set it on the nightstand. Leave it to her to be armed in her bedroom. She turned on the bedside lamp and sat on the edge of her bed, her long legs peeking out of a white T-shirt that sported some kind of pink cartoon bear on it.
Annie Oakley in a teddy bear shirt. Didn’t that just figure? As usual, Jolene was unpredictable. All sweet and innocent looking in her kiddie T-shirt, all soft desirable woman underneath, and a hard-ass with a gun to boot.
No wonder he wanted her so much he was willing to risk his job.
“What the hell are you doing sneaking into my room in the middle of the night?”
Relaxing now that he wasn’t going to be shot, he leaned against the wall. “If I need to explain it to you, then maybe I should leave.”
She pushed onto her bed and leaned against the pillows, stretching out her legs. “You think you can ignore me for a week, then come up to my room and fuck me just like that?”
“I was ignoring you, I admit that. I didn’t think you and I getting together was such a good idea.” He shoved off the wall and headed toward the bed, stopping when he reached the side of the mattress where Jolene’s long legs were so temptingly displayed. He sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed his hands over those legs. They felt like silk under his calloused fingers. He watched her eyes go dark, her nipples peaking hard under her thin T-shirt.
“And now you’ve changed your mind.”
“No, I still don’t think it’s a good idea.” He pulled off his hat and let it sail across the room and onto a nearby chair, then leaned over her, placing his palms on either side of her hips. “But I just don’t think I care all that much anymore.”
“Really. And why’s that?”
“Because I want you. And I’m tired of denying myself what I want.”
His face was inches from hers. God, she was beautiful, her hair a cascade of blond waterfall over her shoulders, her eyes so many different colors he could get lost in them. And her mouth—he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. Last time he’d been in a hurry, had taken and demanded instead of explored. All he’d thought about since then was all the things he’d missed.
She sighed against his mouth, and he smiled against her lips. She tasted like cookies and milk, and he swept his tongue along her bottom lip to capture more of her flavor before sliding it inside to lick against her tongue.
Jolene moaned and scooted over, and Walker climbed onto the bed, then pulled her onto his lap, his hand sliding over the bare skin of her butt as he did. She didn’t have anything on under that T-shirt, a fact that made his dick go rock-hard in a fraction of a second. He pulled her tight against his chest and slid his hand up the back of her shirt, scoping out those sweet mounds of her ass, so firm and yet her skin was so soft. He felt bad that his hands were so rough, and yet everywhere he touched her she moaned, so she must like his hands.<
br />
And he liked the feel of her skin, like gliding his fingers across butter.
He deepened the kiss and held Jolene as he moved on the bed, then laid her in the center of the mattress. He climbed over her, lifting up her shirt and bending down to press a kiss to her belly, ignoring her sex for now even though the scent of her filled the room. He wanted to bury his face in her pussy and lick her until she screamed.
She tangled her fingers in his hair, raised her hips against his chest, and his cock pressed hard and insistent against his jeans.
His cock was going to have to wait. This was playtime.
He took her T-shirt off. Bare, she made his breath hitch. He’d seen enough of her that first time to know she was beautiful and built. But now he could look his fill with her underneath him, could take his time to smooth his hand over the soft column of her throat, the valley between her breasts, admire the pretty pink nipples that seemed to pucker and harden to tight points just from him looking at them.
He bent down and laved his tongue over one. Jolene arched her back and dug her fingers in his hair, pulling at him as he took the nipple in his mouth and sucked, hard, while he used his hand to roll over the other nipple, to tease and torment it.
“Oh. Oh, God, Walker, I really like that.”
Her voice was a yielding whisper, nothing like the hard barking orders she gave out on the trail. He enjoyed her soft like this, her body squirming under his mouth and hands as he moved down her rib cage, teasing her belly button by diving into it with his tongue. Her hands followed his trek south by staying in his hair, holding onto him like he was a lifeline and she was drowning.
He wanted her drowning. He wanted her coming. He wanted to taste her.
He slid off the bed and kneeled on the floor, and dragged Jolene to the edge of the mattress, her pussy dangling right at the edge, sweet and wet.
“You have a pretty pussy, darlin’,” he said, gliding his thumb over the moist puffy lips, then sliding one finger inside. Her walls gripped around his finger as he pulled partway out, then tucked back in again, fucking her slow and easy. “You’re wet. Have you been thinkin’ about me?”