Anticipation (5 page)

But that wasn’t what she was thinking. He was leaving her. Despite the destruction she’d witnessed tonight, she wasn’t worried the person or persons would come back. They’d done their damage. Or maybe the complete sense of calm that seemed to steal over her was because Jonas was so confident he’d catch the guilty party.

All she knew was…damn it…he was leaving!

Before she could utter a word, Jonas waved over one of his officers. “Jeff, I want you to stay here and watch the house tonight.”

“Will do.” The short, stocky deputy touched his hat and acknowledged Deidre with a respectful nod.

Jonas clapped the inspector on the shoulder. “Let’s go, Edward. You can give me a ride. We’ve got some work ahead of us.”

“Thanks for the water.” Edward handed her the cup then led Jonas over to his truck.

“What about Admiral?” Deidre called after Jonas.

“I’ve phoned my foreman, Harrison. He’ll stop by and pick him up in the next half hour.”

While disappointment rushed through her at the realization Jonas wouldn’t be returning tonight, she worked hard to keep her expression neutral. Damn it, how had she quickly become so desperate to spend as much time as she could with the man?

“Hey.” Jonas’ tired voice spoke next to her ear at the same time he pulled her back against his hard chest.

Deidre awoke with a surprised gasp, her heart pounding. But the sensation of Jonas’ hard, naked chest sliding against her back while he climbed into bed with her turned her gasp into a sigh of contentment. She gave a sleepy smile and snuggled closer to his warm frame.

After staying outside until the last fireman and police officer left, she cleaned the entire house, took a shower and crawled into bed. She’d lain there for a few hours before sheer exhaustion had finally caused her eyes to close. Glancing at the clock, she blinked at the time—three a.m.—and murmured, “I was so wired I finally fell asleep thirty minutes ago.”

When Jonas let out a heavy sigh, she glanced at him over her shoulder. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

He kissed her shoulder, but she could tell he was thinking about something. “My brother informed me today he’d made his decision to put our ranch and the property on the market.”

“What?” Deidre rolled onto her back. “But that property has been in your family for decades. You told me your parents worked so hard to leave a legacy for you and your brother.”

Jonas shrugged. “Noah’s getting married. He wants to build a house in town.”

At the frustration in Jonas’ eyes, she felt as if a weight was pushing on her chest. This had to be part of the underlying tension she’d noticed in Jonas the past couple of days. “Then buy him out.”

He ran a finger down the side of her face and gave a half smile. “I offered, but my brother wants top dollar and I can’t afford that.”

The idea that everything Jonas’ parents and Jonas had worked for would be all for nothing made her stomach knot. It wasn’t right. And their idyllic spot in the woods, the place they’d connected, would belong to someone else. It felt so very wrong. She placed her hand on his cheek as tears filled her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

He smiled and brushed away a tear that rolled down her temple. “No worries. Life happens.”

She noticed his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, but Jonas quickly kissed the palm of her hand and changed the subject. “I do have some good news.”

“Do you have a lead about tonight’s fire?

“Some. We should know more in the morning when the stores open.” Regret laced his voice as his hand moved to her belly and he rolled her back to her side, pulling her body flush with his from shoulder to hip. “I know I promised to keep you up all night long, but this wasn’t how I envisioned it.”

She laughed softly, enjoying the low register of his voice vibrating against her back. He smelled like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and fresh soap. Man, she could get used to this. Better nip this wishful thinking in the bud, woman, she berated herself.

“Mmmm, I see Jeff isn’t really doing his job if you can sneak into my house and climb into bed with me undetected.”

“Good thing he’s on my payroll.” He chuckled as he placed a tender kiss against her neck. “I sent him home once I got back. Truth is, darlin’, I didn’t want you staying by yourself, even if Jeff was sitting outside all night.”

The man just made her want to crawl all over him. Was it his sexy Texan accent or his protective nature that grabbed her deep in the gut? Both, and the man underneath, she admitted to herself.

“Is that the only reason?” she said in a sultry tone. She distinctly remembered brushing against a very impressive erection a second ago. Deidre pushed closer and smiled when he growled in her ear, rubbing his cock against her buttocks.

“Don’t tempt me,” he warned.

“But that’s exactly what I’m doing.” She pressed harder, arching her body against him.

His warm hands gripped her hips and held her still. “Baby, God knows, I want your ever-lovin’ sweet body, but I purposely didn’t bring condoms so I wouldn’t be tempted to follow my baser instincts. After a night like tonight, you need your sleep.”

Both frustrated and appreciative of his thoughtfulness, Deidre said with a half laugh, “But what did you think I’d want once I got this sexy cowboy lawman in my bed?”

Before she could utter another word, he flipped her over on her back and caged her in with his hands on either side of her head. Leaning on one elbow, he let a seductive laugh escape his lips as he slid his hand down her thin T-shirt and back up the outside of her thigh. “I just said for you not to tempt me. I didn’t say I wasn’t going to pleasure you. I’ve thought of little else ever since I had a cock-teasingly brief taste of your sexy body in the kitchen.”

Deidre’s heart beat at a rabbit’s pace. In his new position, Jonas’ shoulders blocked the hall light, leaving his face in shadows. She wished she could see his expression. Her sex began to pulse and her breasts swelled at the thought of him finally tasting her, teasing her, sucking on her clit. “Well then, cowboy, I would never think to stop a man from his deepest desire.” Her hand covered his and she directed his fingers to the bottom of her T-shirt.

Her heart thumped harder as he slowly pulled off her T-shirt then tossed the cotton material on the floor, his gaze never leaving hers.

When Jonas began to massage her calves, she shook her head at the devilish look on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

The rasp of desire in his voice made goose bumps form on her skin. She glanced down at his briefs, turned on even more by the sight of his erection jutting against the fitted cotton fabric. “As sexy as I find you in your underwear, I don’t want you wearing anything at all.”

Tension filled his expression and his nostrils flared. “I’m a man with base impulses. If my cock comes anywhere near your sweet, warm body, I’m going to fill it with mine. It’s as primal and fundamental as that.”

Jonas’ frank comment made her breath catch in her throat. She wanted him that out-of-control.

“Take them off.” She gave him a siren’s smile as she lay back and bent her knees. Putting her feet flat on the bed, she spread her thighs wide. “I think you can hold back.”

His gaze locked on her sex as he slipped out of his underwear and tossed them on the floor. When his eyes met hers, his gaze darkened and his expression took on a provocative look. “Are you challenging me?”

The sight of his cock, long and thick, surrounded by dark hair, made her walls clench in excitement. She arched her back so her breasts rose toward him. “You bet your sexy ass I’m challenging you.”

Before the words had died from her lips, Jonas’ heavy body fell on hers, pressing her to the bed. His hands fisted in her hair and his lips hovered over hers as he laid his erection along her sex. Rubbing the outside ridge of his cock against her wet labia, he said in a husky voice, “It feels like you’re on fire, you’re so damned hot and slick.”

Deidre’s pulse thrummed in her ears. She desperately wanted him inside her. Closing the small distance between their mouths, she grabbed his lower lip between her teeth and then applied suction with her lips before allowing gravity to pull her back down to the bed. “That’s exactly what I am…on fire. I know your nature. You’re always prepared. It’s what makes you a good sheriff. Tell me you left your condoms in the car.”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “Well, a man can be hopeful.”

She raised her eyebrow. “Only if they’re within reaching distance, cowboy. Just how fast can you mov—”

Jonas was gone, grabbing up his jeans before she could finish.

Deidre chuckled, her body tingling with anticipation.

She was glad she rolled over to her side to wait for him, because doing so allowed her the sexiest view she’d ever witnessed when he returned—Jonas standing in her doorway, slowly unbuttoning his jeans, an intense look on his face.

She held out her hand and gave him a knowing smile. “Want me to put it on?”

Her question made his cock throb. Jonas quickly stepped out of his jeans and handed her the condom.

She opened the package and sat up on her knees. Her gaze locked with his as her fingers touched the tip of his cock.

As pleasurable sensations slammed through him with each downward brush of her fingers, Jonas had to touch her. He slid his fingers through her hair, enjoying the soft silk. “So beautiful,” he murmured.

She finished and wrapped her hand around his erection, pulling him onto the bed.

The tugging sensation and her sultry comment made his hips move of their own accord. Their skin touched and he felt like a bull ready to break out of a rodeo chute. Jonas bit back the need to ram his cock deep into her wet heat. God knew, he wanted to with a vengeance. He closed his eyes tight for a second, holding himself over her, trying to regain control. But when Deidre lifted her legs and wrapped them around his hips, bringing her entrance even closer to the tip of his cock, he let loose a growl of sexual frustration.

Capturing her mouth in a hard, demanding kiss, he thrust his tongue deep, intending for his kiss to be aggressive and dominant. Instead of kissing him back, Deidre began to suck on his tongue in seductive, dragging pulls, turning the tables on his dominance. He was the one caught. His sexual urges immediately focused on the sensation in his mouth and the fact there seemed to be a direct tie straight to his cock.

His balls tightened with each tug and pull, and he found himself thinking how good it would feel to have her lips around his erection…just like this…aggressive, never-ending suction. When she ran her tongue around his in one long sweeping lick, a jolt of heated lust swept to his groin like a wildfire spreading in his veins.

Having his cock against her skin but not sliding inside her became a painful, ball-busting, agonizing experience.

Gritting his teeth in order to hold back, Jonas moved his kiss down her jaw and then nibbled at her collarbone before sliding his lips to her breast.

As he circled his tongue around her taut, pink nipple, her moans of approval encouraged him more. Instead of taking the bud into his mouth, he moved to the other breast and treated it to the same attention.

“Jonas, suck them,” she begged. She arched her back and her fingernails scraped his shoulders. He fucking loved it…loved being the man to bring out this raw, uninhibited honesty. He wanted to be the man to fulfill her every sexual fantasy…and to delve into new ones together.

He captured her nipple and nipped hard at the bud before sucking the tip deep inside his mouth. Deidre’s hips rocked underneath him, a pleased moan rushing past her lips. Jonas flexed his stomach muscles and pressed the hard surface against her slick heat, giving her the friction she sought while relishing each new sound she made. Her hips undulated under him, and the faster pace told him exactly what she wanted.

He slid farther down her body, his hands worshiping her curves and soft skin.

When he placed a gentle kiss on the tuft of blonde hair on her mound, her body stopped moving even though her breathing still continued in soft, sexy gusts.

Jonas glanced up and saw she’d elevated onto her elbows. Her blonde hair was a tangled mess framing her rosy cheeks and swollen lips. Her green-eyed gaze, full of desire, collided with his as he lowered his mouth to her mound and kissed the bit of blonde hair once more.

“How can such a tender kiss make me want to scream?” she said.

The awe in her voice made him kiss her again, but this time slightly lower. The rich, sweet smell of her sex was driving him fucking nuts. “Because you know how very close I am,” he replied as he slid his thumbs up her sex and pressed on the outside of her pink skin. His gaze stayed locked with hers while he ran his tongue along her folds.

When her head fell back onto the bed and her legs dropped to the bed, her body’s full surrender told him she wanted more. Loving every second of her pleasure, he plunged his tongue inside her core, laving at her enticing flavor. She was a seductive combination of musky sweetness he couldn’t describe if he had to. All he knew was her taste made him hard as granite and ache like a virgin teenager.

Sliding his tongue up her entrance, Jonas flicked her clit in teasing circles. “Jonas,” she panted as she rocked her hips and ground her sex against his mouth. He mouthed the bit of firm flesh, pressing his lips against it before biting at it gently with his teeth.

Deidre’s body jerked and her breathing changed to frantic gasps. “God, Jonas. I can’t,” she said sitting up slightly to tug on his head and then his shoulders.

“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

She continued to pull at him. “I want you inside me. Now!”

He moved to his elbows above her, setting his cock against her entrance. “Are you sure?” he teased, thrusting his hips slightly.

Pulling him down on top of her, she spoke next to his ear, “I was sure the moment you said, ‘In another life’.”

Jonas froze at her statement. After all these years, she remembered his last words to her. What did that say about her? It says she’s one helluva woman, you jackass, and if you keep her waiting any longer she may just tell you she’d rather wait for you in another life.

He lifted himself slightly and captured her gaze as he pressed the head of his cock against her entrance. He didn’t say a word while he slowly slid inside her, just held her beautiful green gaze. As he seated his erection fully inside her slick, wet, he’d-died-and-gone-to-heaven folds, a sighing whimper crossed her parted lips.

Jonas couldn’t resist as he withdrew and sank his cock deep inside her. He nipped at her lower lip then bit it again in a teasing kiss.

Deidre was surprised by this sexy, playful side she didn’t expect to see from Jonas. Her easy-going cowboy with the teasing smile had returned. Her heart soaring, she wrapped her arms tight around his shoulders and kissed him hard as she began to rock her hips in a slow, tantalizing rhythm, a sexy counter to his thrusts that sank deep every time he penetrated her.

Jonas’ tongue parried with hers in a dominant thrust and pull, moving to the same building momentum of his hips rocking with hers. He was big and heavy, spreading her legs deliciously wide as he moved inside her.

Breathing deep, Deidre started to push him over on his side, but she apparently pushed too far. She let out a yelp of surprise when he went flying down to the floor, taking her with him in the process.