Molly could scarcely think, let alone formulate a coherent response. “I, um—I don’t—with Rodney, I never …” Her voice trailed away as he flicked his tongue in a widening circle around her belly button. “Jake?”
He raised his head to stare at her, his eyes suddenly sharp and relentlessly intent. “With Rodney, you never what?” he asked softly.
Molly searched her muddled brain, trying to recall what she’d been about to say. He moved up, bringing his face closer to hers, his gaze filled with question.
“I never liked any of it,” she found the presence of mind to say.
“It won’t be that way with me,” he whispered.
Molly knew it wouldn’t. The beauty of what had happened so far assured her of that.
He bent to settle his mouth over hers again. After kissing her until she felt dizzy, he lifted his head to trail his lips over her cheek, then down the bridge of her nose. Then he kissed his way down her throat, lingering at the V of her collarbone. “If I do anything you don’t like, you just tell me, all right?”
Molly couldn’t imagine not liking anything. “All right,” she managed to say.
He grazed his lips down her sternum. When he reached her belly again, Molly made fists on the bedspread and stared blindly at the knotty pine ceiling. She’d read about this kind of thing in romances and guessed his intention, but she’d never experienced it herself.
Jake circled lower to the nest of butterscotch curls at the apex of her thighs. She quivered and gulped, her insides clenching. He traced a teasing trail over her pelvis with his lips and tongue. When her stomach convulsed, he chuckled, the hot waft of his breath and the vibration of his chest against her thigh making her moan.
He circled out to her hip and took a lazy journey south, the hot skin of his chest grazing hers as he moved down. He kissed her toes. He made her ankles tingle. He trailed the tip of his tongue up her shins, tantalizing her with the titillating strokes until she felt sure she would go mad. By the time he moved higher, Molly thought she would die when he delved his tongue between her knees and licked his way up her inner thigh.
“Are you okay with this?” he asked huskily.
Molly couldn’t have answered if her life had depended on it. He reached his target and dipped past her curls with the tip of his tongue, sending electrical shocks coursing through her whole body. What little breath remained in her lungs came rushing out. The ceiling did a slow revolution. He tickled her there again.
“Sweetheart, answer me. Is this all right with you?”
Molly’s throat strained. She arched up, trembling so badly she felt the mattress shiver. “Yes,” she managed to say breathlessly.
He thrust his tongue in, laving her with shocking heat. “Are you sure?” he murmured against her. “If it’s too much, too fast, I’ll understand.”
The movement of his lips made bright spots dance before her eyes. Her only fear was that he might stop. “I’m—sure.”
He closed his mouth over her then. Molly bucked and sobbed. It was the most incredible sensation. Far better than anything she’d ever read about in books. It was—she arched up. He teased her so gently that she held her breath until her temples pounded. She sobbed again and made fists in his hair, trying to press him closer. Still he tormented her with light strokes, making her insides twist and knot, making the urgency build.
When she thought she would die with the wanting, he shocked her by drawing hard on her with his mouth. Molly felt as if every nerve in her body had converged to that one spot. He dragged the rough of his tongue across her in rhythmic passes, pressing harder, taking complete possession, and sending her body into helpless spasms. When release finally caught her in its throes, Molly shrieked—shrill bleats of sound emitted with every convulsive expulsion of breath. He stayed with her until her throbbing flesh could stand no more, and then he brought her down with gentle strokes, soothing the pulsating nerve endings that he had just teased so mercilessly.
Afterward Molly felt as if she’d melted into a puddle. She couldn’t move, couldn’t think or focus clearly. She heard boots thump on the floor, followed by the plop of denim and pocket change rolling across the hardwood floor. Jake moved over her in a dark blur. He gently kissed her. Then he curled his hands over her hips and lifted her to him. Molly didn’t think she could bear to feel anything more, didn’t think the finale could possibly compare to what he’d just given her.
But she was wrong.
When the hard, hot heat of him pushed into her, she felt as if starbursts were going off low in her belly. He pressed forward gently at first, testing his way as if she were made of fragile silk. When he was buried to the hilt, he eased back and then carefully moved forward again.
“You okay?” he asked in a strangely tight voice.
Molly curled her hands over his rippling shoulders. “Oh, yes.“
He picked up the tempo then, increasing the force of his thrusts. Pleasure bursts exploded inside her. She cried out and started to move with him, locking her legs around him to better gauge his strokes. Up, up. She felt as if he were lifting her toward a fiery crest. Her heart slugged against her ribs. Her breath came in sharp gasps. Black spots danced before her eyes. He increased the power of his thrusts, sliding her over the mattress with each impact until all that kept them joined was the clutch of her legs.
Heaven. Just when she felt his body snap taut, Molly reached her second climax. Through a dizzying blur, she focused on his dark face, loving him as she’d never loved anyone. Jake. She felt a rush of electrical heat spill into her. His hardness went into spasms deep within her. And then there was only spiraling delirium as they went over the edge together.
Chapter Twenty-two
Jake held his world in his arms. Molly cuddled against him like a delectably shaped body pillow, so soft that he was sorely tempted to have her again, even though he knew she was still exhausted from last time. Completely without inhibition in slumber as she never was awake, she pressed so close that one full breast rested on his chest. Her relaxed tummy, which she’d tried to suck in earlier, pressed into the hollow above his hip, and one plump thigh angled across his as though to anchor him in place.
He smiled into the darkness that had descended over the bedroom. As if he was going anywhere? Not a chance. God, she was precious. If he ever saw her eating nothing but salad for lunch again, he’d turn her over his knee. He liked her round. There wasn’t a place on her he could touch without going rock hard. He wanted to squeeze and kiss and fondle every soft inch of her, and doubted he would ever tire of the experience.
He toyed with her hair, loving the way the short tendrils curled over his fingers. He pressed close to inhale the scent of shampoo and feminine essence that were exclusively her own. Damn. Letting her hair slip from his hand, he ran his palm over her fanny. His fingertips searched out the dimples, and he grinned.
He couldn’t help but marvel over how fantastic she felt. Everything in his life was hard. He got up of a morning and endured the harsh elements. He bucked hay. He wrestled bulls. He pitted his strength against recalcitrant horses. It was so incredibly arousing to feel satiny softness for a change. He cupped a hand over her shoulder and felt for bones. They were in there, but he had to search to find them, and that suited him just fine.
Molly moaned in her sleep. Uh-oh. He kissed her forehead and whispered, “It’s all right, Molly mine.”
“Mmm,” she murmured and snuggled closer. Her body went limp again.
Jake ran his hand down her arm, testing for muscle. He found only a cute little dimple above her elbow. He made a mental note to trace it with his tongue the next time he made love to her. He touched the small knob of her elbow. Next he explored her wrist and hand. Under all the softness, there wasn’t a whole lot to her.
Journeying south, he ran his hand over her bent leg. On the inside of her thigh, he found squishy little lumps under her skin that he guessed were cellulite. Warm, squishy little lumps. His dick went hard and stood at attent
ion.
He sighed. Determined not to wake her, he closed his eyes and moved his hand to his chest. Only instead of chest, he found breast. He was lost. He wanted her again, and if he meant to get any sleep at all, he had to have her. He cupped his hand over the silky fullness of her. The instant he grazed her nipple with his thumb, her flesh went hard. Pushing her upward, he dipped his chin to flick her with his tongue. Her body flinched. She sighed in her sleep. He pushed her a little higher to take her into his mouth.
That sensitive rivet of flesh swelled and thrust eagerly against his tongue. He grazed it with his teeth, then suckled, teasing the crest to a throbbing rigidity. Molly moaned. Her slender fingers tightened over his ribs. He saw her lashes flutter. He nipped her lightly and felt her muscles jerk.
“Jake?” She fluttered her lashes again. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing. Just go back to sleep, sweetheart.” Like he would let her? Ah, but she was so sweet like this, all relaxed and unguarded. He pushed her onto her back, following her over to keep her nipple caught between his teeth. He dragged his tongue over the tip. Once, twice. Her eyes came wide open. He lifted his head to grin at her. “Hi.”
She sighed and arched her back. Her slender hands threaded into his hair. “Oh, my.”
“I want you again. Do you mind?”
Her only answer was a dreamy sigh. Jake took that as a positive response and made love to her, this time paying special attention to all the dimples he’d missed during the first round.
Happiness. Molly realized now that she’d never really experienced it before. Being in love, being loved … it was such an incredible joy, and it was made all the more special by Jake’s penchant for laughter. With him, Molly quickly learned that lovemaking would always be something to be enjoyed, not only during the act itself but before and after. He joked, he teased, he played with her. Sometimes he had Molly laughing so hard that when he finally kissed her the passion she felt came as a shock.
There was only one cloud on their horizon. Rodney. It worried Molly that her ex-husband had not returned with a court order as he’d threatened. She knew him. When he thought he had the upper hand, he moved in with merciless intent.
Why hadn’t he come back? Molly knew he could easily have gotten his court order. He had no way of knowing she and Jake were married. Something wasn’t right. Jake was worried about it, too, Molly knew. She often saw shadows in his eyes and knew he was pondering the situation.
On the third evening after their marriage, Jake invited her to take one of their frequent walks along the creek. Hand in hand, they strolled in silence for a long while. Then he finally said, “I feel like there’s a bomb hanging over us by a slender thread and any little thing may bring it crashing down.”
Molly squeezed his hand, knowing exactly what he meant. Not even in her most blissful moments with Jake could she forget that there would be unpleasantness to face. The possible outcome terrified her. She could never return to a clinic now—and stay sane. Jake had shown her what magic was like, and now anything less would equate to unbearable misery. She didn’t think she could live without him.
“He wants something,” Jake said softly. “If he once killed over it, Molly, it stands to reason he won’t give up. He’ll be back.”
“I know.”
His hand tightened over hers. “I hate waiting like a sitting duck. It’s not in my nature.” He sighed wearily. “I keep circling back to those papers he wanted you to sign. I think that’s why he drugged you—why he had you locked away. He hoped to break you down, to reduce you to such a helpless mess, you’d do whatever he said, even if it meant signing papers you couldn’t review first.”
Molly’s stomach clenched when she recalled how very close she’d come to being beaten. There had been times during her illness when she’d been so terrified, she would have done anything, anything, to escape the nightmare her life had become.
“If he’s got your power of attorney, that makes no sense,” Jake pointed out. “He should be able to sign in your stead, so why does he need your signature on something?”
Molly had been thinking about that as well. “Maybe the documents aren’t covered by my power of attorney. Something he can’t sign for me.”
“What, though? A good attorney would draw up an allinclusive power of attorney that would cover your business affairs in all fifty states.”
Molly’s heart caught as a horrible thought occurred to her. “Maybe it involves something outside the states.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “Damn it, I hate playing these guessing games.”
Molly did as well. “I need to go through the firm records,” she whispered.
She felt his body go still. He cast her a worried look. “How?”
“I could return to Portland, breach building security, and get on one of the network computers.”
“No way! That’d be dangerous.”
“Waiting for him to make a move is dangerous, too,” she argued. “I know him, Jake. He’s scheming and planning. If we wait for him to make his move, we may find ourselves in more trouble than we can worm out of.”
“Forget it. You’re not going.”
A week ago, his authoritarian manner would have struck terror into Molly’s heart. Now she looked into his eyes and saw only the fear he felt for her. Control wasn’t the issue with Jake. Keeping her safe was his only concern.
“You could come with me.”
He gazed off at nothing, his jaw muscle rippling as he clenched his teeth. “I guess I could, at that. At least then I’d know if something happened. You wouldn’t have to face the son of a bitch alone.”
Molly took both his hands in hers. “I’d feel a lot better if you were there, that’s for sure.”
His gaze locked on hers. “Deal. We’ll go together.”
Molly’s heart started to gallop as she considered all that they’d have to do, most of it illegal. “We need to make plans.”
He startled her half to death by releasing her hand, bending his legs, and locking an arm around her knees. Just that quickly, Molly found herself upended over his shoulder, her head dangling. She grabbed his belt to lever herself up. “What on earth? Jake, have you lost your mind?”
“Hell, no. I had a reason for bringing you out here, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let Rodney Wells screw it up. This is your one evening of the week off, and I’m going to enjoy every second of it.”
He set off through the woods with Molly draped over his shoulder. She shrieked and playfully pummeled his back. He retaliated by smacking her upturned rump.
“Ouch!” she cried, even though it didn’t hurt.
He cupped a hand over her butt and gave it a squeeze. “Damn, that was fun. I’m kinky and didn’t even know it.”
She giggled. “Forget it.”
He jostled her to get a better hold and veered right. “Ah, come on. Let a guy have some fun.”
“Have fun with someone else’s fanny.”
“I can’t. Only yours will do.” He suddenly braked and crouched to settle her feet on the ground. When she’d gained her balance, he grinned and patted the ponderosa pine beside them. “Remember this tree?”
Molly threw a startled look at the tree in question. “Is this the one?”
He patted the bark again. “Trust me, this is it. I’d know this tree anywhere. I’ve seen it in my dreams a hundred times.”
Molly giggled. “Forget it. I’d get slivers in my already abused posterior.”
His eyes began to twinkle, and he reached into his pocket to flash his pocketknife. “I brought my sliver picker. Afterwards, I’ll lay you over my knees and—” His eyes filled with an ominous glint. “Holy hell. That’d never work. I’d forget what I was about and make love to you again.”
He slipped an arm around her waist. Dipping his head, he nibbled on her ear.
“No!” she cried halfheartedly. “Not against a tree, Jake.”
“Please?” He nibbled some more. “I have to do this just once and
get it out of my system. Otherwise it’ll never leave me alone.” He tightened his arm suddenly. The next instant, Molly found herself pinned against the tree trunk. “Wrap your legs around my hips.”
She did as he told her. Her blood began to slog through her veins when she saw the heat in his eyes. Pressing in with his lower body to support her weight, he reached to touch her hair. The love she saw in his expression made her feel gloriously beautiful—so beautiful that she felt not a twinge of embarrassment when he started to unfasten her blouse. His gaze moved lightly over her face like lambent tongues of flame.
“Did you bring a rope?” she couldn’t resist asking.
Surprise flickered across his dark countenance, and then he barked with laughter. “The love scene in the romance, right?” Before she could reply, he was kissing her—deeply, passionately, his tongue claiming hers in a rhythmic parry and thrust that made her think of the way he possessed her body. Molly gave herself up to the sensations. Oh, how she loved him. The feelings that coursed through her were indescribable—delicious, sweet, her yearning for him so sharp she thought she’d never feel sated.
She was wrong, of course. Jake never left her on the edge. He drew her over into the abyss with him, taking all she had to give, giving all she could take. When the moment came, he jerked off his shirt to wedge it between her bottom and the bark, protecting her even in the throes of passion.
He then proceeded to make one of her wildest fantasies come true. He flattened her against the tree, thrust himself into her eager body, and took her with a forceful urgency that made her heart soar.
One short month ago, Molly had never envisioned herself as a criminal sort. Then she’d stolen a sixty-five thousand dollar racehorse, and her moral character had deteriorated from there. Now she found herself breaking and entering. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of her life. All during the drive up from Crystal Falls, she’d dreaded this moment.
Her hands shook violently as she groped in her purse for her firm keys, one of the few things Rodney had forgotten to strip from her possession. Jake stood beside her in the shadows, one side of his face illuminated by the parking lot lights. In honor of their foray to the city, he’d doffed his Stetson and wore a white shirt and sport coat over his Wrangler jeans. He still looked every inch a cowboy. Molly figured he probably would even in an expensive three-piece suit, but she wouldn’t have changed him for the world. He looked so big and sturdy and wonderfully dependable. Having him there made her feel less terrified.