Rules of Protection(83)

“Come for me,” he demanded, shoving himself deeper into me. “Now, Emily. I want to feel it.”

He intended to get what he wanted, even if it meant coercing it out of me like a modern day pirate. Jake had charted the route to my satisfaction, but on his map, X didn’t mark the spot. G did. And he was obviously a “leave no stone unturned” kind of guy.

Shattering what strength I had left, my inner muscles contracted around him, milking him to orgasm. His body became rigid and he threw his head back, groaning loudly, enduring the sweet torture of his own gratification until finally collapsing next to me on the bed.

A half hour later, our heart rates returned to normal, but neither of us spoke. It wasn’t a rewarding experience, but more of a head-to-toe euphoric buzz.

Jake tucked me possessively into his chest and held me with gentle hands, like a fragile baby bird that’d fallen from its nest. I drifted in and out of consciousness, but became aware of him as his finger doodled across my collarbone.

“Should I consider your closed eyes as a ‘do not disturb’ sign?” he asked.

I cracked one eye open and smiled with contentment. “I’m already disturbed…in more ways than one. What the hell was that?”

“What’s wrong?” he said, grinning devilishly. “You didn’t like?”

“Oh, no. I liked it a lot,” I said. “But why do I suddenly have the urge to bless you with holy water?”

“Never had a woman complain before.”

“Not a complaint, more of an observation.” I hesitated to ask, but felt the need to. “Do you have any, uh…complaints?”

“Emily, I’m a man. We’re not hard to please. I was just thrilled you were naked.” He ran his hand lazily between my breasts. “Still am, in fact. Mother Nature’s wardrobe,” he said, leaning in for a quick kiss.

When he got out of bed, I watched the muscles tighten in his bare ass as he stalked across the room and opened the closet. A minute later, a blanket dropped over me. “You look cold,” Jake said.

“Thanks.” Damn nipples.

Jake continued leaning over me. “I can do you one better if you want to take a shower with me. I promise it’ll be hot,” he said with a wink.

“I would, but I think you crippled me for life. I lost all my basic motor functions. I’ll probably never walk again.”

Jake flashed a proud grin and stroked his finger across my eyelid. “Poor baby. Sleep then. I wouldn’t want you to have any permanent damage.”

Thinking of only my heart, two words came to mind. Too late.

…

Serenely, I drifted in and out of consciousness, but stirred when Jake crawled back into bed, his hair damp and his warm body smelling of soap. When I picked up my head, he glanced over at me.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Is that an offer?”

“If we’re talking about food, then yes. Earlier, I went over to get you something to eat. Floss had already made us some chicken salad sandwiches. She left them upstairs in the fridge with a note. I brought them back with me and put them in ours.”

“A note? What’d it say?”

He did his best Floss impression. “Jake, I’m riding into town with Hank. I didn’t want to disturb you while you were boning Emily.”

I gigged him in the ribs with my elbow and laughed. “She did not say that!”

Jake laughed. “Well, close enough. I deciphered the hidden meaning behind what she wrote.”

“Which was…?”

“Enjoy. Though I think she was referring to the sandwiches. Stay here. I’ll get them.”

Jake got out of bed naked and walked into the kitchen. As I glanced toward the bedroom window, I realized the room had darkened a little. The late afternoon sun had already descended behind the trees.

“I hope you wore clothes when you went over there,” I yelled from the bedroom.

“I threw on a pair of shorts,” Jake called out, rustling around the kitchen. When he came into the bedroom, he carried a plate in one hand and a glass of tea in the other. “I’ve got something for you.”

I raised my eyebrows. “It better taste like chicken.”

“Doesn’t everything?”

I sat up, keeping the blanket tucked under my armpits to keep it from falling, exposing my nakedness. “You don’t want me to answer that.”

“Now you’re just being crude,” he said, scowling as he placed the plate in my lap. Two sandwiches cut into small triangles adorned the plate, along with a dill pickle.

I smiled at him. “I was talking about your pickled opossum and rattlesnake cheese. You know, all the wacky stuff you country people eat.”

Jake laughed heartily. “All you’re doing is giving me ideas. Rattlesnake cheese sounds pretty good.”

I bit into a sandwich. “I’m too hungry right now to be grossed out.”

“I should probably apologize for not letting you eat before attacking you.”

“But you won’t, right?”

He laughed. “Not a chance in hell. Be more careful about what you ask for.”

I swallowed another bite. “You know we’re going to have to talk about it.”

“Eat first,” Jake said, squeezing into the bed next to me. “We’ll talk about it later. We have time.”