Conflicted (Everlasting Love)(45)

“I thought that was obvious.” Her voice was breathier, more teasing than it had been. She twisted her wrist in his hand, a small feminine gesture that accomplished her immediate release.

She reached for the hem of her shirt, raised it to expose her flat stomach. She saw his eyes darken even more, an answering response roaring to life in him before he could stop it.

“I thought you were angry.”

“You’re alive and unharmed when I was imagining the worst. I’m grateful.” She spoke no less than the truth, though anger and hurt were still running a close second to the desire thrumming through her. She wanted to touch him, taste him, reassure herself on a purely primitive level that he was all right.

“Jake called me.” He admitted it grudgingly. “One of his horses was sick and the doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. He wanted me to…” He stopped as she tugged her top over her head, revealing the hot-pink demi-bra she’d bought last weekend in the hopes of generating just such a response.

He trailed hot fingers over her full breasts where they spilled over the top of the cups. “You’re so beautiful.”

“So are you.” She arched against him, giving him better access, and he took it with a groan. His lips skimmed down her neck, over her collarbone, pausing at the hollow of her throat. She moaned as his tongue darted out, licking slowly, softly, turning her knees to mush beneath her. “Jesse—”

“Desiree,” he murmured, his eyes dark and wicked even as he allowed his hands to cup her breasts, his thumbs to stroke the nipples barely covered by the lace of the demi-bra. He lowered his head and feasted, his tongue flicking over the hard nubs of her nipples again and again until she cried out, her knees actually giving way beneath her.

He caught her, swept her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. “I’m sorry.” He breathed the words against her hair as he lowered himself on top of her. “I was stupid, an ass.”

He felt so good above her—so hard and hot—that she couldn’t stop herself from moving against him, her legs widening as she sought a deeper connection. “It’s okay,” she heard herself gasp as she pulled his head down to hers. “The horse—

“Didn’t need me as much as you did. I should have been here.” His lips brushed hers, once, twice, before skimming down to her breasts. His tongue followed the line where the top of her breasts met the bra in a teasing, tasting, tickling exploration.

She laughed huskily, her fingers going to the waistband of his jeans, dipping inside to stroke him, reveling at how quickly he had become hard. He groaned and thrust against her questing fingers, even as his hands reached down to still them. “I need a shower,” he murmured. “I’ve been in the stables all day.”

“I like the way you smell,” she answered truthfully, slowly unzipping his pants.

He sprang free and she reached for him, running her lips and tongue along him in leisurely strokes. She loved how he quivered with each touch of her mouth, loved the power she had over this strong, tough man. She took her time, played with him, stroked him with her hands and lips and tongue until she felt his muscles tremble.

His hands tangled in her hair and he groaned before he could stop himself. “Desi…” His voice was low and pleading, his hands urgent, and she knew she had pushed him to the limit. With a murmur of pure pleasure, she took him in her mouth and let her tongue swirl over and around him.

All too soon Jesse was pulling away, ignoring her protests.

“Jesse—”

“Shh,” he murmured, slowly pulling off her jeans and hot pink panties. “I need to be inside you.

“But—”

“Relax,” he said as he flipped her onto her stomach. And then his fingers were everywhere, kneading the kinks from her lower back, from the top of her thighs, skimming closer and closer to the heart of her.

She squirmed restlessly, arching into him. “Jesse, please!” she wailed, too far gone to be patient.

“Now?” he asked, pulling her to her knees and stroking a finger along her silken folds.

“Yes, now,” she whimpered, pressing her back to his front. “Please, now!”

He positioned her, and with a groan sank home. She pushed against him, meeting each of his thrusts, more wild and needy than she could ever remember being. Tension built in her, coiling higher and higher until she was sobbing Jesse’s name. He circled her hips with his right arm, pulling her more fully against him as his thumb found and stroked the knot of her desire.

She exploded, her body convulsing as wave after wave of pleasure slammed through her. She felt him stiffen against her, felt the pulses of his release move through her, intensifying her pleasure, making it last and last until she collapsed, all but comatose, onto the bed.

Consciousness returned slowly and Desiree became aware of Jesse’s heart beating heavily beside her as his hands tangled in her hair. She turned her head and found herself staring into his worried, midnight-dark eyes. She wanted to soothe him, to stroke a hand down his cheek and tell him that it was okay. That she understood. But she couldn’t, because it wasn’t and she didn’t.

She cleared her throat, found her voice. “Why didn’t you call?” she asked before she even knew she was going to ask. “I would have understood.”

“I didn’t know what to say.”