Imperfect Justice (29 page)

She knew Jared wasn’t upset. In fact, he had a gigantic grin on his face and his hand was tracing circles on her back. As usual their bodies were perfectly in tune.

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting,” she replied boldly, running her hands up his arms and onto his shoulders. “What do you think? The lake will be here all weekend.”

“I think we can have both.” Jared waggled his eyebrows and walked down to the banks of the lake before taking the blanket from under his arm and shaking it out. He spread the blanket on the ground and held out his hand. “Your bed awaits, my princess.”

Shyness made her look around as if they might be watched. “I’m not sure about this.”

Jared settled on the quilt and beckoned to her. “I promise we are the only people for miles. The Monroe family owns all this property around here. Now what do you say? I’d love to make love to you at here in the sunshine.”

“Isn’t it a little chilly?” she asked but she was already moving forward to join him on the blanket. The ground was soft and springy and her arousal was beginning to hum at the mere idea of lovemaking…al fresco.

“I’ll keep you warm,” he assured her with a wicked smile.

“What about bugs?”

“They’ll have to find somewhere else to have sex. This blanket is just for us.” Jared grinned and tugged her into his arms so they were lying side by side. “Unless you were talking about the birds and the bees.”

Her fingers went to the buttons on his shirt, plucking them open one by one. “My mother never had the birds and bees talk with me and I didn’t have any friends that I could ask questions. I had to learn it by reading her
Cosmopolitan
magazines that she kept around the house.”

Jared threw back his head and laughed. “My brothers and I used to sneak into my dad’s office and read his
Penthouse
. We were probably in our mid-twenties before we realized the chances of having sex with a hot pizza delivery girl were slim and none.”

The shirt slid off his tanned chest and she went to work on his belt buckle. “Common sense didn’t tell you that? Never once has it occurred to me to have sex with anyone that delivered anything.”

“A guy’s gotta have hope. We were three horny teenage boys. With an emphasis on horny.”

His jeans slid down his legs and he kicked them off along with his boots before reaching under her cotton sweater. His hard cock slapped against his belly and she reached out and ran her fingernails lightly up the sides, the skin like velvet over pure iron. He groaned in response and captured her lips for a long, drugging kiss. He tasted of the coffee he’d drank in the truck as they’d driven here, and although it wasn’t a flavor she normally favored she couldn’t get enough of it from Jared’s lips. When he lifted his head he nibbled his way down her neck and shoulder.

“I don’t think much has changed,” Misty giggled as his fingers tickled her ribs. He tugged the sweater over her head and casually tossed it away. His fingers went to work on her jeans and before she knew it they were lying naked in the sun, his body partially covering hers. He had promised to keep her warm.

“When you’re around I can’t help it,” he breathed against the skin of her throat. He kissed a trail down to one breast, fuller and more sensitive now than they were that first time together and gently laved at the nipple. Electricity rocketed to her pussy and clit and she shivered under his masterful touch. He ran his tongue down into the valley between her breasts before lapping at the other nipple until it was hard and erect.

Closing her eyes, she let her other senses come wonderfully alive. The fresh smell of the grass. The squawking of birds as they flew overhead. The feel of the sun and breeze on her bare skin. Making love outdoors made her feel decadent and free. Perhaps next time they could make love under a full moon and a sky full of stars.

“Jared,” she whispered as arousal tightened in her belly. “Need you now.”

“Soon.” He licked her nipple and then blew on the wet tip, sending arrows of pleasure to her curled toes. Kissing and nibbling his way down her belly, he pushed her legs apart and traced patterns on her inner thigh with his tongue. The flesh was sticky with her honey and she moved restlessly as he teased her with his mouth, never quite giving her what she needed to go over.

His large hand pressed against her stomach, warm and reassuring as his lips nuzzled her belly button. He did this more and more these days, hoping to feel the baby move. It was still too soon but she couldn’t wait for that day either.

His tongue was drawing lazy circles on her lower abdomen right above her clit. His mere touch fired off a round of sparks that made her entire body shudder and quake. She couldn’t take his teasing any longer. She needed him now, fucking her deep and hard.

Reaching down she wrapped her fingers around his impressive cock. Stroking up and down she dragged a groan from his lips, his breath ragged and labored.

“You are a torturous witch,” he chuckled under his breath. “Just for that I’m going to lie back here and relax while you do all the work.”

Taking her with him, Jared rolled over onto his back. Distinctly uncomfortable, she braced her hands on his hips as she straddled his thighs. Always during their lovemaking he had taken the lead and been in charge. Now he was reclining back, a smile on his face as he waited for her to do…something.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted, hiding her face behind her long hair.

“Honey, I’m going to love everything you do. Just do what comes natural. It’ll be okay.”

Still unsure, she ran her palms up and down his torso, delighting in the feel of his skin, so different from her own. Hovering over him she lowered herself down onto his cock slowly, inch by inch, until she was seated in to the hilt. She hissed at the pleasure that bloomed inside as she experimentally swiveled her hips. Once. Twice. Three times.

“Holy hell,” Jared muttered, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. His fists twisted the fabric of the quilt as she moved and swayed. Finding a sweet spot she bounced up and down, riding him fast and hard. Pleasure flowed through her, joyous in its intensity.

The coil of arousal in her belly tightened and then finally exploded as their bodies moved in synchronicity. Slamming herself down on him one more time, she screamed his name as she tumbled over the cliff. Her nails dug into his biceps as she gave her body over to her orgasm. Colored lights sparkled behind her lids even as Jared reached his own pinnacle.

When it was over, she lay on top of him exhausted and wrung out. The warm sun on her back and the smell of newly awakened grass mingled with the heavy musk of their lovemaking. Jared played with her hair, running his fingers through the long strands while the birds chirped.

“I hope you never cut your hair,” he said after a long while. He’d wrapped them in the blanket so she wouldn’t feel the chill, cuddling her close to his warm body. “It’s so goddamn beautiful and it feels like silk.”

“I don’t remember the last time I got my hair cut. I like it long except for washing it. That’s kind of a hassle so I only do it every other day.”

“I promise to help,” he vowed, his lips near her ear. “I know it’s none of my business what you do to your own hair.”

“Lots of women cut it after they have a baby,” Misty conceded. “We’ll see what happens.”

Immediately his hand covered the slight swell of her belly. It wouldn’t be long and she’d need new clothes again. Maternity clothes this time.

“I should probably get you inside,” he said, pulling away reluctantly. “You and Junior need your rest and maybe a snack.”

Misty giggled as he unwrapped them from the blanket and began to find their clothes piece by piece. “What are you going to do if Junior is a girl?”

Jared grinned and tossed her panties and bra toward her. “Spoil her. Just like I intend to spoil her mama.”

It sounded like a first class plan.

Chapter Twenty-Four

T
he next morning Misty was making the bed while Jared fixed breakfast. They’d had a wonderful first day and night of their mini-vacation and she was feeling the need to tell Jared how she felt – that she loved him. Surely he couldn’t look at her and make love to her the way he did if he didn’t love her? She didn’t know much about love and sex but every time she was with Jared it felt so right and perfect. He had to feel it too.

Tucking in the sheet, her hand came across something stuck under the mattress and she tugged it free. She frowned as she stared at what looked like a leather belt attached to the headboard at one end and a loop that fastened with velcro at the other. Crawling to the middle of the bed, she dug under the mattress and found another one just like it.

She stared at it for a long time and then almost smacked herself in the head with her hand when it finally dawned on her. These were for bondage. She’d read about it but of course had never experienced it herself. A cursory inspection of the bed revealed two more leather tethers, one at each corner of the foot of the bed. She also tried looking in the closet and dresser drawers, finding nothing. But strangely the bedside table drawer was locked tight. What did Jared have hidden in there? Men didn’t lock up their underwear and socks.

Sitting on the bed, she inspected the leather straps closely. Jared had never mentioned wanting to tie her up or do anything all that kinky. Of course she’d been so inexperienced when they first went to bed together that it probably wasn’t the moment to drag out the sex toys. She wasn’t against the idea, but Jared was absolutely the only man in the universe she’d even contemplate this with. She wouldn’t trust anyone else to tie her to a bed. Ever.

The idea did have its appeal. Helpless with Jared. All his attention focused on her. No decisions to make. Nothing to worry about.

Yep. The more she thought about it the better it sounded.

Her fingers ran over the butter soft leather. Wanting to experiment with Jared didn’t make her a whore. It didn’t make her easy or anything like her mother. It made her a woman in love that wanted to explore her sexuality with a man she trusted. That was all. There was nothing to be ashamed about. Millions of women probably did things like this all the time.

“Misty,” Jared called from the kitchen. “Did you fall back asleep? Breakfast is ready.”

“Coming,” she yelled back, furiously tucking the leather straps back under the mattress and smoothing down the comforter. She’d never asked a man if he wanted to tie her up before so she wasn’t quite sure how to bring this up to Jared.

The direct approach was usually the best but she still blushed at everything. Hopefully that habit would eventually cease, but as of now she was constantly hiding behind her hair and staring at her toes.

“Everything smells delicious.” She reached for a plate but Jared shook his head and pulled out her chair. Sitting down, she spread her napkin in her lap while he set a full plate of food in front of her. The last few days had been wonderful with nary a moment of nausea morning, noon, or night. Her energy had also returned along with a healthy sexual appetite. Jared didn’t seem to mind though and appeared to be thrilled that she was so enthusiastic about their physical relationship.

“Thank you. I made scrambled eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and toast.” Jared handed her a fork. “The hashbrowns have cheese in them.”

Misty bit into a piece of bacon and hummed her appreciation. Everything was better with bacon. Jared didn’t even give her a hard time about it as long as she didn’t eat it every morning. In fact he was piling it a mile-high on his own plate.

“This is fantastic. You’re quite a chef.” Misty sipped her orange juice. “What do you want to do today?”

“Whatever you’d like to do. We could go for an easy hike after breakfast and then maybe have a quiet afternoon. The temperature is supposed to drop later in the day so we could build a fire and watch a movie. I don’t have any chick flicks but I probably have a few that you might like.”

“A hike sounds good. I’ve got my energy back.” Misty quickly polished off the bacon and eggs and started in on the hashbrowns. “We’ve got that pot roast I can make for dinner.”

“It sounds perfect.” Jared yawned and stretched his arms over his head. “Damn, I needed this vacation. With everything going on with the Hicks case, Dad, and Royce it feels good to just relax and watch the world go by for a change.”