Rhyannon Byrd - Waiting For It (3 page)

The streets were thankfully empty at this early hour, but soon everyone would be coming into town and she knew they’d draw a crowd. No one around here had ever expected to see Jake Farrell yelling at her about being—er, uh, ridden by Mitch.

No, wait. She was the one who’d supposedly done the riding.

Yeah, right.

Since she couldn’t look away because of his hold on her, she closed her eyes instead, trying to regain at least a modicum of control. “Jake, what are we doing? This is crazy. I have to go, and I’m sure you have to get to whatever brought you back to town.”

What had brought him back? Man, she really wanted to know.

Jake released his hold on her face, only to move his big hands to her shoulders, curling around the delicate slopes. His fingers slipped beneath the edges of her sleeveless shirt, smoothing over satiny skin that felt softer than silk. “I’ll follow you home, then. We’ll finish this there. My Uncle Mark told me you live in the oldTupeloplace now.”

Taylornibbled on her full lower lip, looking adorably befuddled. The knot in his shaft doubled, thinking of the moment when she’d close those soft lips around the head of his cock and nibble on him instead. Aw, hell, he was gonna come in his pants if he didn’t get inside her soon. And knowing it wasn’t going to happen any time soon made him want to cry like a friggin’ baby.

“Jake, you don’t have to follow me home. I’ll be fine. You can go on and do your thing. You don’t

have to worry about me.”

He couldn’t stop the wicked grin spreading across his face. “The only thing I’m worried about,Taylor, is how long you’re going to make me wait before crawling into bed with me.”

Heat was blazing from her face now, her expression so cute and wonderfully confused.

“Jake, what are you talking about?” Her hand lifted to her forehead, rubbing as if she had a sudden  headache pounding there. “God, I’m not awake enough for this. What are you doing here? Did you  come back just to drive me crazy? Is this some kind of game? A joke?”

His hands trailed down her sides to settle at her waist, and he loved the way he could bracket her slim curves with his big hands. Everything about this woman, all the things she’d always hated about herself, turned him on to the point of pain. It was just one of those primitive, testosterone things. Her slight curves and delicate features just made him want to go all caveman on her.

For years he’d fantasized about being the man to rip away her pristine façade, stripping away all those cool layers of self-control until she was writhing like a maddened animal beneath him. An insatiable little creature that demanded he make her cream and scream and fuck her till she couldn’t even remember her name.

Whenever he’d thought of how sex should be, he’d always thought ofTaylor. Hell, probably a minute hadn’t gone by in the past ten years that he hadn’t thought about wanting her. And God help her, he had a decade of raunchy, lust-filled fantasies saved up to spend inside of her.

When he’d first left town, he’d been young and angry and confused, and for a long time he’d been stupid enough to think he’d be able to screw this woman out of his system. But it’d never worked. He knew without bragging that he could make a woman very, very happy in bed, but every woman he’d ever known came up short when compared to Taylor Moore. There was a part of him, something deep inside that had always been locked away, saving itself for her, and no amount of mindless fucking had

been able to release it.

It just wasn’t ever going to be enough until it was Taylor beneath him, screaming his name, raking her slender nails down his back while he broke her open, pounding her through the mattress or wall or wherever the hell else she’d let him fuck her. How many times had he fantasized about spreading her legs and plowing into her, watching the entire thing, seeing his thick cock stretch her open, feeling her pussy suck him in?

It’d be a penetration that went deeper than her body, straight into her soul.

He wanted to be able to take her right now. Just carry her over to his truck, toss her up in the back seat, and make love to her till they were both too dead to move. And that was just for starters. Like he’d said, he had a lot of time to make up for, and the rest of his life to do it.

But she was still too skittish. He fought the urge to drag his hands down the slope of her spine until they rested on that perfect little heart-shaped ass he’d always loved, knowing she’d probably pass out on him. Her pupils were dilated and she wasn’t breathing quite right, and he couldn’t help but feel like an arrogant prick for loving the way she reacted to him so easily. He’d barely even touched her and already she looked as if she’d convulse with pleasure.

Taylorlicked her lips and tasted Jake there. A strange wave of peace buffeted her body. It was so odd.  She’d never been kissed by Jake Farrell before, and yet, he tasted so wonderfully familiar. Warm and sweet and delicious, as if he’d been made just for her.

“Why are you here?” she whispered, trapped within his glittering green gaze. There were promises  there she didn’t dare trust herself to believe. She couldn’t do it, not if she didn’t want to be left  shattered when he walked back out of her life. But she was helpless to look away. “What do you want  from me, Jake?”

To hell with it. A man could only take so much, and a desperate man even less. She squealed the instant his hands grabbed hold of her backside, pulling her up against the searing heat of his body.  Perfect, he thought. They were going to be so fucking good together.

“I came back for this,” he growled, kneading the firm, resilient muscles beneath his palms while  grinding his cock against her mound. The feel of her was incredible. Soft and sleek and beautiful. And  his. One hundred percent, irrevocably, undeniably his. “I came back for you, Taylor.”

“You’re crazy,” she groaned.

“No, sweetheart, I’m determined.”

Chapter 3

Jake followed her to the old Victorian on the edge of town, replaying every word of their exchange through his mind. What was she thinking? He knew he needed to be careful—knew she didn’t come

anywhere close to trusting him yet. It was just so hard when he got near her, both literally and  figuratively. This thing between them was stronger than ever, stronger than even he’d expected. But at  least he’d been expecting it.Taylormust feel like she’d just been blindsided.

He pulled in behind her in the long driveway, taking in all the telling details of her home at once. It was picture perfect, like something from a fairy tale—dark green with salmon pink shutters, a lush garden and an explosion of vibrant flowers from one end of the house to the other. They spilled from huge wooden tubs, hung from moss-lined baskets, scenting the morning air with their heady perfume.  He loved it. If the house weren’t here in Westin, he’d move here to live with her in a heartbeat.

But there was no way in hell he was going to stay here, not with the likes of Mitch and Wanda and the rest of his gang clouding their happiness.Taylordeserved a new beginning, and he was willing to move heaven and earth to give it to her. Hell, he could relocate his business to wherever she wanted, and when they got there, he’d build her a perfect replica of this place, right down to the Victorian eaves and cobblestone walkway.

With his body thrumming with anticipation and his cock all but crying to get at her, Jake climbed out of his F350.Taylorshot him a shy smile as she opened the front door, and he followed her through the dim, lemon-scented rooms back to the kitchen. She motioned for him to take a chair at the table, but stayed standing herself, putting the entire distance of the world between them.

She shifted uncomfortably, folding and unfolding her arms around her slim waist as if she wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Maybe she was itching to grab him as badly as he wanted to grab hold of her and toss her up on the gleaming pinewood table. God, he could only hope so. Then he’d rip her jeans off, shove his face in her sweet little cunt, and eat her for breakfast. He’d give her whatever she wanted, however she wanted it, for as long as she could take it. Then it was going to be his turn. And he planned to take a long, hard, sweaty time.

“Do you, um, want some coffee?” she finally asked, interrupting his ill-timed fantasy. Her eyes  focused on his chin, his chest, anywhere but his telling green stare. Now that they were completely  alone, she wasn’t quite able to meet the lust-driven fire smoldering there. “Or some breakfast?”

Hell yeah, he thought with a hungry groan. I’d like to open your soaked pussy with my thumbs and taste you from your clit to your slit, licking my way as deep into you as I can.

Whoa. What was it with him and this sudden oral fixation? Hell, he liked going down on a woman as well as the next guy—but he’d never felt this burning, gut-clawing ache for the taste of a woman’s cunt in his entire life, like he’d go nuts without it. He felt himself actually tremble, barely managing to mumble, “Yeah, some coffee would be great.”

“Okay, great,” she repeated too brightly, obviously relieved to have something to do.

It was easy to see he was making her nervous as hell. Not that he blamed her. He’d meant to be subtle, to ease into this, but one look at her and he was tumbling hard and fast, unable to put on the friggin’ brakes. He should’ve known that after all this time he wouldn’t be able to play it cool around her. It was all he could do to keep his ass in his chair and not drop to his knees on the hardwood boards, begging like a fool.

But he’d do it if he had to. No one who’d ever known him would’ve ever believed it. He knew he had a badass, ruthless reputation, not to mention a notoriously wicked one with women. But he’d do whatever it took to make Taylor Moore his own.

Beg.

Plead.

Anything.

She moved about the airy kitchen with the smooth grace that had dazzled him as a boy and seduced him as a man. She was just so perfectly delicate and precise; it made a guy ache to watch her go all flushed and ripe, begging for him to shove his cock into her and ride her as hard as he dared. He watched the elegant lines of her body in profile as she leaned up to pull down two thick, terracotta colored mugs, and her shirt rose just high enough to give him a brief glimpse of the pale skin between its hem and her jeans.

Well, hell. His cock was on the verge of bursting open and he hadn’t even seen anything more than a smooth inch of skin yet.

But it wasTaylor’s naked flesh he was seeing, and that right there made all the difference. “This was a mistake,” he groaned into the heavy silence. “We can’t do this here.”

She gave him an uneasy look. “Do what?”

“Talk,” he grumbled, watching the way the early morning rays of sunlight glinted through the  windows, setting the red highlights in her long dark hair on fire. “All I keep thinking about is how  we’re alone and how much I want to be inside of you. But you’re not ready yet. We need to get all this  shit out in the open first, before we make love.”

She wasn’t ready? Make love?

Man, she really needed more sleep if she was going to be able to keep up with his lightening-speed pace. Why had she stayed up half the night painting? She should’ve been saving her strength! Was it not even thirty minutes since Jake had walked up behind her in Mason’s and started turning her entire world upside down?

She took a deep breath and turned to face him, clutching the counter behind her for support. Jake’s eyes moved over her from the top of her head down to her toes, making her tingle everywhere in between. Geez, this man was potent. Her skin was feeling tight, as if it were suddenly too small for her body, while her blood seemed to have trouble keeping up with the furious pounding of her heart.

“Taylor,” he rasped, staring straight at the delicate slopes of her breasts, “you are so fucking beautiful.

You blow my mind.”

A startled, shocked burst of laughter escaped her. “You must be blind, Jake. I’m, uh, just me.”

“Yeah, I know.” He nodded his head in agreement. “Just you. The sexiest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Do you know you haven’t changed at all?”

His eyes moved over every inch of her, then did a slow, detailed exploration of her face and the soft tendrils of hair that framed it. “You look just the same. I know it sounds trite as hell, but it’s like you’ve been waiting for me all this time.”

I have, she thought with desperation, wishing she had the nerve to just come right out and say it. But he was like a big, dangerous animal, and she knew better than to get too close. Still, she wasn’t sure it was him she didn’t trust—or her.

Yeah, right. Please. She knew she trusted Jake. She was the one with the control problem here, at least around him.

He stood up, but made no move to leave.Taylorkept her eyes on his, afraid of what she might do if she got caught staring at the huge bulge of his crotch again. She had horrified visions of herself begging him to take it out and let her play.

Jake shoved his hands flat in his back pockets, blew out a tense breath, and nodded to the painting hanging over her right shoulder. “When did you do that one?”

Her eyes dropped despite her good intentions and she gulped. Oh, man. Did he even realize what he was doing to her? She struggled to drag her gaze away from the sinful sight of his jeans stretched tight across his groin, the beautiful bulge indecently accentuated by his casual pose, and tried to focus on the painting instead. It was one of her favorites; a depiction of a Faerie Lord kneeling by a lily covered pool, his back to the viewer, while Wood Nymphs lured him into the crystal water. For one horrified moment she thought Jake might’ve recognized the image was actually his own, but the face was thankfully turned away.