Bones Of Contention: The McKinnon Legends - The American Men Book 3 (16 page)

He was right on that count, she conceded. Workers in and out would never allow her to concentrate. “Alright, give me a chance to gather up a few things. May I bring Killer?”

He agreed. If it got her here, he would have agreed to a whole kennel of dogs. He asked her to bring riding clothes. He wanted to take her out on the ranch for a tour.

Lilly left food in the freezer before leaving, knowing that even though he was a great cook expertly knowing his way around the kitchen, he would not have the time. It was a good thing. Almost as soon as Jamie arrived, he was gone. One passionate kiss and he was out the door. To protect and to serve; he had a job to do and so did she as she settled in to finish her grades.

“Killer, you have got to love technology,” she said out loud as she hit the send button, e-mailing the remaining grades into the registrar’s office. It was another semester for the books as the old regulator clock above the mantel struck eleven.

It was after midnight when Josh came home for a short visit from his long night of patrol. Short of seeing his baby girl for the first time in the nursery window years ago, what greeted him was the most beautiful site he had ever seen--Jamie and Killer curled up on his couch. Both were sound asleep.

Jamie woke slowly. Killer whined sitting on the foot of the bed shifting his weight back and forth from one foot to the other. It was obvious what he needed.

“Okay, Boy. I’ll take you out.” She rolled over looking at the clock. It was just after six. Slipping on her robe and heading for the kitchen door, she let him out the back door, watching as he scampered off into the pre-morning darkness.

Josh was home. His patrol car was parked beside her SUV.

Standing against the door jamb as Killer took care of business, Jamie gave into the urge to inhale the jacket hanging on the hook. It was Josh’s. She remembered the heady smell from the night before as she curled her face into his neck as he lifted her into his arms and took her off to her bed. He lay beside her briefly, still fully armed and in uniform, before she drifted back off to sleep.

“Morning beautiful,” he spoke softly behind her.

Startling her, he apologized. “I should have warned you,” he said snaking his arms around her, pulling her back tightly against his chest. “Is the mutt out?” he asked giving her a squeeze just below her breasts. Moving her hair to the side he kissed her neck, lightly marking the tender flesh behind her ear.

She nodded subconsciously and turned into him. Draping her arms around his neck, she was thinking if she had any sense whatsoever, she would take two large steps backward. This man was trouble. He smelled wonderfully clean having just come out of the shower, hair toweled-dry.

She was not a morning person and her brain never functioned before eight o'clock in the morning, which explained why she was finding herself draped over this handsome lawman when she should have known better than to allow him this much open territory. She was giving him a mixed signal which was never a good thing.

“I’d keep him on a leash, Doc. I have a pack of coyotes hanging out near the ranch lately. They would like nothing better than to make a snack of the mangy little mutt.” Josh was thinking he wanted to make her into a snack, guessing his resolve to remain as neutral as possible where she was concerned and to let her set the pace of this relationship was slipping.

Josh’s whistling brought Killer running back into the house where he made a bee line for his warm pillow still laying scant few feet from the fire. Josh had stoked that same fire back to life before coming into the kitchen.

Closing the back door against the morning chill, he did what he had wanted to do since the moment he walked into the kitchen, and as he captured her mouth, Jamie’s mind was warning her not to venture where angels feared to tread.

Jamie watched in fascination as eggs, fresh vegetables, and cheese became a beautiful omelet. They worked companionably, side by side, in his very functional kitchen. He admitted that it was cook breakfast to keep his hands busy or he would not be held responsible for taking her back upstairs.

She laughed accusing him of being a very naughty boy. Not even bothering to deny the accusations, he conceded she really had no clue just how naughty he could be.

That unabashed confession made her laugh, because ironically she had her suspicions, and as she expertly sidestepped the blatant suggestion of her joining him for a nice dessert up in the master bedroom, she voiced there was nothing subtle about him this morning.

Finally, understanding how this weekend was going to play out, she forced his sheepish confession of his leaving out certain details about this weekend.

No kid, no housekeeper, and no bodyguard.

Even on their dates there was a guard present. When he was with her, he claimed she was too much of a distraction. More was the truth he wanted to focus on her, not her protection. They were alone for the first time. It was a sudden realization that excited her sending a small shot of adrenaline through her veins with the anticipation of the unknown.

“Would you have come if you had known Jesse and Lilly were gone for the weekend? Probably not?” He did not let her answer. It was his way of justifying his sin of omission knowing she would have said no.

“Hum, probably not, no.” She shook her head. She briefly hesitated in her answer, Josh noted, telling him more than her words. It pleased him. She was losing ground where he was concerned. That was a good sign.

What was more the truth was she, too, was not totally convinced she would have said no, surmising it was probably a good thing she had not known in advance. At least this way the weekend could unfold more naturally without any preconceived expectations on either of their parts.

“Are you sorry you came,” he asked not giving her time to answer before kissing her again, his hands around her waist stopping just short of her breast. He was killing her. His game of seduction was either masterfully planned or totally innocent. Either way she was losing.

He turned her loose only to keep the eggs from burning. “Think carefully, Doc, before answering.” He looked much like the cat that ate the canary.

He knew her answer as he gave her a knowing smile. Damn his hide, she thought smiling back at him. He could be so easy to live with and even easier to love.

She playfully thumped his shoulder noting he was solid under that plane white t-shirt. “It is before seven in the morning, too early to think, Josh. I’ve not even had a full cup of coffee, so you are not playing fair. And if that weren’t sufficient to keep my brain from engaging, a weapon like that kiss of yours is. It is lethal. No girl could possibly think straight once you unleash it.” If he had not looked triumphant before, he did now, she thought. “However, before you go and get too cocky, I have some weapons of my own, so just beware and consider yourself warned, Lawman.”

“Care to test them out? I’ve heard it told I’m ten foot tall and bullet proof,” he challenged wiggling his eyebrows and giving her a look hot enough to melt an ice cap.

“Eggs are the only things I’m interested in checking out. Now, flip that omelet before it burns,” she said while shoving the spatula back into his hand. Turning him back to the stove, she playfully swatted his ass admitting inwardly the statement about the eggs was not entirely true. There were several things of Josh’s she wanted to check out. His library was just one, and that was about third down on the list of priorities.

Secretly, he was relieved. He was not in a big hurry this morning, simply enjoying her on an intimate level separate from a sexual one. Since he had all weekend, he did not feel rushed to consummate his relationship with this beautiful, fair-haired pixy with supernatural powers. Before he met her, he could never have envisioned himself with someone like her.

Now, he could not envision himself without her.

He wanted to leisurely explore and get to know the many facets of this woman. So, he was prepared to take his time and do this one right because if his hunch was correct she could be The One.

However, food was his first priority for the moment, but only after a fresh cup of coffee which he hoped would be enough to keep him coherent for another couple of hours. Besides, the last thing he really wanted was to make love to Jamie for the first time fresh off a full night of patrol. Never at his best after working nights, he doubted his performance would even be noteworthy, much less stellar. He was dead on his feet and wanted to be able to give her one hundred percent, and he would, if given the right opportunity.

He thought about his plan as he finished the eggs. His goal to win her over was a simple three-tiered approach.

First, he was going to spoil her.

Second, he would satisfy her both emotionally and physically, thereby ruining her for any other man except him.

The last would be more difficult. He had to earn her trust, not as a bodyguard or self defense coach. That he had already accomplished. He had to earn her trust as a man who wanted to love her and spend his life with her, and he was afraid that would never happen unless he managed to get her to let her guard down. Getting through those walls was something he had not managed to do with much success, if any.

He was not sure he had ever met a woman as guarded as Jamie. That fact alone pulled at his interest. It was as if she was hiding something, but he could not imagine what that something could be. She seemed so open in all other aspects.

He had no doubts he could satisfy her. He was confident in his physical prowess, but knowing a solid relationship was built on more than just great sex, he was relieved to discover they had a great time together outside of the physical realm. Finding easy camaraderie and lots of common interests, their relationship was much smoother lately, much to his relief. Great sex would just come naturally between them, he felt sure.

Spoiling her was another matter. Unlike most of his other McKinnon relations, he was not wealthy. The dust bowl of the twenties and the depression of the thirties along with his grandfather’s prolonged illness had taken much of the family fortune.

Jacqueline had cleaned him out the rest of the way both emotionally and financially before she left him. However, he remained undaunted. Financially he was holding his own, managing to amass a tidy nest egg, but he was gaining it the hard way. He never gave a thought to his lesser financial standing in the clan, and before Jamie came in to his life, it had never concerned him that he was not rolling in dough. Making
Forbes
top ten listing of eligible, wealthy bachelors was never high on his list of priorities. He made a decent living off his investments. His salary from the county provided him and Jesse a comfortable lifestyle. Jesse’s trust would pay for her larger items such as a car and college. They did most anything they wanted to do within reason.

However, as much as he might wish to, he was not in any position to give Jamie the world. The other McKinnon men could and had for their wives.

He guessed that was what a man in love desires for his lady and he did love Jamie, growing more deeply with each passing day. He wanted to give Jamie the world and her heart’s desires, yet he knew there were ways to spoil her that were relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things. Those would cost him time and effort both of which he was happy to expend on her behalf.

He was shaky on the third prong of the attack, at a total loss, truthfully. Much to his surprise it was Chase, his wild and womanizing cousin, who gave him the best advice in her regard. Chase told him just to be himself. The trust would come or it wouldn’t.

Maybe Chase was right?

However, being himself had earned him several severe tongue-lashings and a seriously cold shoulder on more than one occasion. All were well deserved, too. There was no point in his trying to rationalize, shift blame, or deny it. McKinnon men were famous for acting like royal jackasses in the early stages of a meaningful relationship where their women were concerned. He had seen it in Cullen, Gage, Mason, Robert, and now himself. However, once McKinnon men reconcile their feelings and admit their hearts are goners, they settle in for the long haul making great husbands and fathers.

He would, too.

He had never liked the playboy lifestyle, which Chase engaged wholeheartedly. He was meant to be buried bone deep in domestic bliss. He always did love the fact there was someone to come home to each night, and since his divorce he had missed that feeling.

He was quickly coming to terms with his heart’s choice. Jamie was a good fit for him. He just had to have the opportunity to make her see what it could be like. It would be a good life together.

She had feelings where he was concerned, he knew that much. He did not have a clue how deeply she felt for him. If her response to him this morning was any indication, he stood more than just a fighting chance. Getting her to admit those feelings was probably going to be another story entirely. However, he was in no hurry on this one. He wanted to do it right.

He also knew, as much as it chapped his ass, she was seeing Trey who, unlike him, could afford to give her the finer things of life. It was Barbara, ever the levelheaded one, who pointed out that Jamie was not the type of woman who required costly toys or bling and for him let the bank account competition with Trey go.

Barbara also wisely convinced him she should always be the third wheel for those dates with Trey, never him, which was probably for the best. It made him crazy when he knew she was out with the guy even if it was casual dating. It was still competition, and his inner male animal was revolting knowing another male was encroaching into his desired territory. It did not matter Jamie was clueless to this fact.

It was fortunate Trey had kept his hands to himself. Other than a few chaste pecks on her cheek, the dates were amiable. Most conversations were centered on advice in renovations to her house to keep it in the Frank Lloyd Wright motif. Barbara said she was sick of seeing carpet swatches, paint pallets, and fabric samples. The dates were innocent at least where Jamie was concerned.