Wild: Wildfire (15 page)

Yes, that was what she needed.

No, she needed more.

Dee gasped as Jake captured her nipple in his mouth, lapping at it and then sucking it hard. He squeezed and kneaded her backside with his large hands, and started working his way down her belly with his lips.

Jake knelt in the leaves at her feet and pressed against the insides of her thighs with his fingers. “Spread your legs.”

She widened her stance around his knees and then moaned as he slid a finger through the curls, and then between the folds of her pussy. She was so wet for him. She needed his mouth on her clit now.

He pressed his face into her curls and then slid his tongue against her nub.

“
Jake
,” Dee cried out, her hands straining against her bonds. She wanted to feel the silkiness of his hair as he devoured her, but it was so erotic being tied up by her desperado.

His tongue was warm and incredible as he lightly flicked it over her clit. He lifted his head and looked up at her. “Say, make me come again,
Señor
.”

“Please, God, yes.” She could hardly talk, her breath was coming so hard and fast. “Make me come,
Señor
.”

Jake grinned and slid two fingers into her slick core. He bent his head and assaulted her pussy with his tongue, licking and sucking and lapping her clit as he thrust his fingers inside.

Dee felt as though her body was flying into a thousand pieces as she screamed and shuddered with her climax. Rainwater fell from the tree onto her hair as the tree shook with the strength of her orgasm.

After the last wave had subsided, Jake eased to his feet and kissed her long and hard. She tasted herself, mixed with his own unique flavor.

“Are you through ravishing me?” She asked when he lifted his head.

“Not on your life.” Jake went behind the tree and untied the belt, freeing her hands. “Bring my hat,
Señorita
. I’m going to have my way with you some more.”

Tingles skittered through Dee as she scooped up Jake’s cowboy hat and handed it to him. “Your hat,
Señor
.”

Jake pulled a condom from inside the hat rim then put on his Stetson, and she shivered with lust at the sight of him. So muscular, with his broad shoulders, narrow hips and powerful thighs.

“Come with me,
Señorita
.” Taking Dee’s hand, Jake led her to a high, flat boulder beside the stream that was still wet from the rain. After he arranged the blanket on its surface, he sat on the boulder and brought her between his knees. “I want you to ride me hard.”

She nodded, mesmerized by his stormy gray eyes. “
Sí, Señor
.”

“But first,” he paused as he gave her a sinful grin, “suck my cock.”

Dee smiled and knelt on the blanket. Holding him in one hand, she put her mouth over the head of his cock. Jake groaned as she slowly eased her mouth down and over him, flicking her tongue over him until he grabbed her head and forced her to stop.

Dee slid her mouth off him then looked at him from beneath her lashes. “Was that to your liking,
Señor
?”

“God, yes.” Jake grinned and pulled her back up, then sheathed his cock. “Now straddle me.”

With Jake’s help, Dee climbed onto his lap and rubbed her pussy against his cock, aching to feel more of him. The blanket was cool beneath her knees and shins, but Jake’s skin was hot.

She wiggled her hips and reached for his erection that was pressed against her belly. “I need you inside me.”

Jake lifted his hat and put it on Dee’s head, then put his hands on her hips. “Not yet. Your nipples are in the perfect spot for me to ravish.”

He nuzzled and licked and sucked her breasts until she couldn’t take it another moment, and begged him to enter her. “Now, Jake. Now!”

“Ride me hard. Real hard.” He lifted her hips. Her scream of pleasure echoed through the small canyon as he thrust himself inside.

Dee grasped Jake’s shoulders, digging her nails into his muscles and taking him deep. Not caring how hard the boulder was beneath the blanket, she bucked her hips at a frenzied pace, using the boulder as leverage to lift up and then go down again. Jake clenched her hips as she rode him.

Arching her back, Dee felt her hair slide against her naked shoulders, Jake’s warm mouth on her breasts, his hands on her hips, and a cool breeze across her skin.

Her climax was so massive that she screamed louder than she ever had before. Jake shouted as he came, and Dee felt him pulsating deep within her.

She collapsed against him, and they held onto each other, their sweat mingling, their breathing heavy, their hearts pounding as one.

When Dee lifted her head, Jake’s eyes met hers. “You’re my kind of desperado,” she murmured.

He laughed and pulled her close for a gentle kiss.

Sated by their lovemaking, Dee allowed herself to enjoy the comfort of Jake’s embrace. His earthy presence surrounded her. Filled her.

The stream gurgled nearby and birds chattered in the trees. Goosebumps erupted over her body as a cool breeze brushed her bare skin.

Jake leaned back and traced one finger from her heart pendant to a hardened nipple. “Cold?”

“Not with you to warm me,” Dee murmured in a teasing tone. The look in his eyes was too serious, and she was afraid he was going to say something she didn’t want to hear.

Grasping a lock of her hair, he wrapped it around his hand. He took a deep breath, an uncertain look on his handsome face. “I need to know that you’re ready to let me back into your heart.”

God. He’d said it.

Dee shut her eyes to block him out.

Why couldn’t he just have left it at sex and nothing more than that?

Then it hit her, and her stomach dropped.

She’d never stopped to consider Jake’s feelings. All she’d been thinking about was herself.

“I—I’ve been so selfish,” she whispered as she opened her eyes and met his stare. “I shouldn’t have pushed you into…into a sexual relationship.”

“What are you saying?” His voice was rough and the scar along his cheek grew whiter as his jaw tightened.

She wanted to look away from his steely gaze, but found she couldn’t. “I don’t have it in me to go through it again…someone I care about leaving me.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He released his hold on her hair and rubbed his thumb along her jaw. “I’m staying right here.”

Dee shook her head. “We can be friends, Jake. That’s it. Just friends.”

Chapter Thirteen

After leaving Dee’s, Jake had gone into his storage locker, dug out his weight training equipment and hauled everything back to his apartment. He set it all up smack in the middle of the living room, and then proceeded to lift weights until his muscles screamed.

They were still screaming a couple of hours later. He was going to pay for that workout. The whole time he’d pumped iron, he’d worked over in his mind Dee’s insistence that they could only be friends.

Well, she could think that, but he was going to make sure they’d be more than friends and lovers. And sooner rather than later.

Jake splashed cold water over his face and neck, washing away some of the sweat, then grabbed a towel from the rack. Water streamed down his neck and onto his bare chest as he dried himself.

His thoughts turned to the rustling problem, and his concern for Dee. After seeing that intruder on her property, he didn’t like the idea of her remaining on the ranch alone. It was a good two hundred yards from the bunkhouse to the ranch house, and if she screamed the ranch hands probably wouldn’t even hear her.

As far as Jake was concerned, Dee wasn’t going to be alone much longer.

He tossed the towel onto the pile of dirty clothes in his bathroom and headed to the kitchen. For dinner he fixed himself a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich with a glass of cold milk to chase it down. The mood he was in, the sandwich tasted about as good as construction paper and rubber cement must taste.

While he ate, Jake couldn’t help thinking about his incredible weekend with Dee.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that she would go down on him in a restaurant, that they’d have sex outside in his truck cab, or that she would fulfill his dining room table fantasies by making herself come while he watched. Or that he would tie her to a tree and fuck her mindless.

Okay, in his wildest dreams he
had
imagined that kind of wild sex with Dee.

And he was harder than hell thinking about it.

Great sex aside, one thing had come through loud and clear this weekend—he was over his head in love with Dee. In truth, he knew he had never stopped loving her.

But this time he wasn’t going to walk away. He wouldn’t let anything chase him off—including Dee herself.

* * * * *

The day after she’d told Jake there couldn’t be anything more than sex between them, Dee headed out to the barn. Almost mechanically, she brushed down and fed her horses Shadow and Whisper, and her sister Trace’s old mare, Dancer.

When she finished, Dee stopped to check on the devil-eyed calf. Propping her arms on top of the stall door, she smiled at Imp, the little brat that had been such a challenge. But thanks to Jake, the calf was reasonably tame now.

A sad smile touched her lips as her thoughts turned to Jake, remembering that day he’d barreled into her barn wielding his gun, ready to defend her honor against Imp. Jeez, was that less than a month ago? It seemed so much longer. Like he’d never left all those years ago.

Imp butted his head against the stall door, jarring Dee from her thoughts.

“Okay, son of Satan, I’ll get your treat.” She went to the big drum and scooped out a tin of the grain that smelled of oats and molasses, and poured it in the calf’s trough.

“See you later, big guy,” she murmured, stroking him on the nose as he ate. He really was the perfect calf. Each line, each curve—he’d make one hell of a stud some day.

Is that why someone loosened his latch?
Dee backed away, surveying the stall.
Because he’ll make fantastic breeding stock? Well, the hell with that. This little bastard is mine!

With a sigh, Dee left the cool recesses of the barn and walked to the house, stuffing her work gloves in her jacket pocket. Overnight the weather had changed. The cool October day smelled of rain, and she wondered if they might be getting a fall storm.

She paused at the bottom of the porch steps to look off toward the mountain. What the hell was going on? It was like the mountain was opening up and swallowing her cattle whole.

Dee jogged up the steps and headed through the front door of the house. Her boots tapped against the tile as she strode to the kitchen, shedding her jacket as she went. Thoughts of her life and the paths she’d taken flashed through her mind.

And then it struck her.

Two paths. Two choices.

If she chose the first path, the path she was already on, she would remain alone.

If she gambled and chose the second, the future was less certain—but she might have a chance at happiness.

With the man she loved.

Oh, God.

Dee sank down in a chair at the kitchen table and buried her face in her hands.

She was in love with Jake. In truth, she knew she’d never stopped loving him, no matter how much she’d tried to deny it.

And Jake
had
changed. Over the past few weeks he’d been there for her every time she needed him. Especially when she didn’t
think
she needed him, he’d been around anyway.

He’d promised to stay. This time he wasn’t going to leave her.

The shrill ring of the telephone jolted her out of her thoughts.

Jake.

She snatched the cordless off the bedside table and punched the
on
button. Her voice was breathless as she answered. “Hello?”

“Hey, Dean. It’s Catie.”

The wave of disappointment that flooded Dee threw her off balance. She forced a bright note into her tone. “Hi, Catie.”

“Are we still on for this evening?”

Dee frowned, trying to remember what she was supposed to be doing. “For what?”

“We’re scheduled to bring over Shadow Warrior to service Whisper and Dancer, remember?”

Dee clapped her palm to her forehead. “Of course.”

A man spoke to Catie, but Dee couldn’t hear what he’d said.

Catie laughed. “Steve seems to think there was something in the deal about enchiladas for dinner, too.”

“Enchiladas will be ready at five.” Dee smiled. “Bring your appetites.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll have Steve with me, so there won’t be any leftovers.”

After Dee said goodbye to Catie, she dialed Jake’s number before she lost her nerve. She’d invite him over to have dinner
with them, and then she’d get him alone and tell him.

I love you.

Her hands trembled and her heart fluttered as the phone rang. And rang.

Jake’s answering machine didn’t even pick up. Disappointment ebbed through her as she hung up and went to get dinner ready for the Wilds. She’d just have to try to get a hold of Jake later.

* * * * *

“Well?” Catie picked up the salad bowl in one hand and two bottles of dressing in the other as she helped Dee set the table. “Is Jake still a good fuck?”

Heat rushed to Dee’s cheeks as she pulled the oven door open to retrieve the enchiladas, but it wasn’t the heat from the oven warming her face. She grabbed a pair of potholders, withdrew the pan and set it on the counter, closing the oven door with her hip.

Dee met her friend’s expectant gaze and laughed. “Oh, my God, is he ever.”

“You
go
, girl.” Catie’s short blonde hair bounced as she grinned and carried the salad and dressing into the dining room.

Dee opened the fridge and searched for the hot sauce, sour cream and guacamole. When she had gathered the items, she grabbed the bag of blue corn chips off the counter and took everything to the dining table.

The slamming of the front door and male voice alerted Dee to the approach of Jess and Catie’s brother, Steve.

“I invited Lawless to join us if you don’t mind,” Steve said as they entered the dining room.

Catie gave Jess a sexy grin. “
I
sure don’t mind.”

“Plenty to go around.” Dee gestured toward the table. “You three go ahead and sit down and I’ll grab the enchiladas.”

Dee dodged into the kitchen, then returned with the casserole dish and placed it at the center of the table. The spicy scent filled the dining room as she spooned generous helpings of enchiladas onto everyone’s plate and added servings of crisp salad along with it.

When her friends were taken care of, Dee took her seat and they dug into the meal. Laughter and chatter went on through dinner, Catie openly flirting with Jess. By the glint in his wicked blue eyes, the foreman seemed to enjoy Catie’s attraction, although he made no move to pursue it.

Dee only wished that Jake could have been there to enjoy the dinner with her friends. She could barely focus on the conversation around her. All she wanted was to be with Jake.

“These enchiladas are terrific,” Jess said as he took a second helping.

“Thanks.” Dee spooned a pool of salsa onto her plate and added a few corn chips next to it. “Mexican food is my favorite thing to make and eat.”

“Not me.” Catie reached for the sour cream. “I like it, but my fave is anything Italian.”

Cool liquid slid down Dee’s throat as she took a sip of iced tea. She set the glass down and turned to Steve. “Did you lose any cattle when your fence was cut?”

Steve nodded. “A few, but nothing like you or Kev Grand.” He looked at Jess. “Heard Deputy Forrester stopped by. Any word from him? Are they close to catching these damn rustlers?”

“He came by yesterday, while Dee was off with Reynolds.” Jess shook his head. “Either Forrester doesn’t know anything about what’s going on, or he’s not saying. The man’s real hard to read.”

“So what’s next?” Catie asked, her dark brown eyes focused on Jess.

A hard look came over Jess’s handsome features. “Clues are adding up. We’ll catch the bastards.”

“How’s everything with you?” Dee asked Steve as she dunked a chip into the salsa on her plate.

He shrugged and took a drink of iced tea. “About as good as always.” Steve set his glass down and picked up his fork. “The other day I ran into Jake Reynolds. Looks like he’s been offered a big promotion for the work he’s done. I’ve heard around town that he’s one of the best agents that Customs has.”

A warm rush of pleasure went through Dee as she heard about Jake’s success.

Steve stuck his fork into his enchiladas. “Too bad he has to transfer to California to accept the promotion, though.”

Dee’s smile froze and she felt blood draining through her body to her toes. “Oh,” she managed to say before lowering her gaze and dropping the tortilla chip onto her plate.

Her head buzzed and she was painfully aware of Catie’s silence.

The truth struck Dee like a storm. She’d told Jake she didn’t want anything past sex. And now, Jake was leaving.

Again.

And she had done the unthinkable. She had fallen in love with him.

Again.

Her devastation was complete. Dee had never felt so furious and so miserable at the same time—except for the last time Jake left her.

“Honey, are you okay?” Catie’s voice seemed distant, like she was talking from some other planet.

The room went deadly quiet as Dee struggled to control her emotions. To keep her face from revealing how badly she’d been crushed.

“I’m fine.” She glanced up from her plate and forced her smile to unfreeze. The men looked uncomfortable and started eating their enchiladas again, the only sounds the scrape of forks against plates.

A deep male voice shattered the silence, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Dee snapped her head up. A thrill shot through her when she saw Jake towering over her. But his jaw was clenched, his eyes stormy gray.

Words froze in her throat and she couldn’t move.

He’d come to tell her goodbye.

But hell if she was going to let him.

Jake gave the Wilds’ and Jess each a quick nod. “If you’ll excuse us, Dee and I need to talk.” And then he moved so fast that Dee didn’t have time to react. She yelped as he grabbed her around the waist, and then her world spun as he flung her over his shoulder.

“Jake!” Blood rushed to her head as she struggled against his hold. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What I should have done ten years ago.” He wrapped his arms tighter around Dee’s thighs and backside, trying to control the struggling woman over his shoulder.

He looked at Dee’s amused friends. “You all finish up here,” Jake said. “Dee won’t be back for a good long while.”

Catie smiled and gave him the thumbs up. “We’ll be fine.”

“Well, what’re you waiting for?” Jess said, waving toward the front door, and Catie laughed.

Jake grinned and turned on his heel and marched out the door.

Dee pounded on his back as he closed the door behind them. “You’re going to regret this.”

“Then I guess I’d better not let you go.” Jake jogged down the steps to his truck, intentionally letting his hands slide under her skirt now that they didn’t have an audience.

God, this desperado stuff turned him on.

“Don’t do that,” she said, but her demand came out in a low moan.

He chuckled. “I seem to remember this being your fantasy.”

“That’ll teach me to tell you my secrets.” If he wasn’t mistaken, Dee was laughing. “Now put me down.”

When he stopped in front of the passenger door of his truck, he shifted so that Dee’s legs parted. He slid his fingers between her thighs, felt her damp panties and grinned. She was just as turned on as he was.

“
Don’t
.” Dee’s voice wavered. “Stop.”

“Don’t stop?” he teased.

“You know what I mean.”

“I know what you’re saying, but your body is telling me something else altogether, sweetheart.”

“You’re impossible!”

Jake opened the truck door, slid her off his shoulder and plopped her onto the front seat. “We’re going to have ourselves a little talk.”

“You better believe it.” Folding her arms, Dee glared at Jake, but he saw passion burning in her eyes. He almost groaned out loud at the sight of her denim skirt hiked up her thighs and her silky red panties peeking beneath it.

After he shut the door, he went around to the driver’s side and climbed in. He stuffed the keys in the ignition, started the truck and backed out of the driveway.

Dee turned and faced him, her head tilted. “So, where are you taking me?”

Jake guided his vehicle down the dirt road, waiting a moment before answering her question. “I’d intended to take you out to a restaurant, but looks like we’re going to need someplace a little more private.”

Because he wasn’t going to be able to wait much longer before he had to fuck her.

Like now. At the side of the road. In broad daylight. In his truck cab.

“Really?” She scooted next to him and slid her hand along his thigh. “That’s good, because I’ve got a—” Her hand caressed his cock. “—bone to pick with you.”

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to keep his eyes on the road as she continued to stroke his cock through his jeans. “Ah, Dee. You’d better ease up.”

A low laugh spilled from her lips, but she refused to stop. When Jake had parked the truck in front of his apartment, he dragged her out of the truck with him. He couldn’t unlock the door to the apartment fast enough to get her alone.

“What’s this?” She eyed the weight training equipment that filled the living room. “You turned your home into a gymnasium?”

He let the door slam shut behind him. “Something like that.”

Jake gripped Dee by the shoulders and spun her around. Her eyes widened and her lips parted, but before she had a chance to say a word, he crushed his mouth to hers, hard and demanding. She returned his kiss just as frantically.

He grabbed her hips and pressed her firmly against his cock. They ravished each other’s mouths, an incredibly wild kiss. He shoved her blouse and bra up and over her breasts, and she moaned as he covered them with his palms.

“I need you,” he groaned, tweaking and plucking her nipples.

“Oh, God.” Dee’s hands shook as she undid his belt, then the top button of his pants. She yanked down the zipper and then his briefs, and gave a triumphant cry when his enormous cock spilled into her palms.

He released her breasts to grab her skirt and pull it up around her waist. He pushed down the bikini underwear, and in a quick movement she stepped out of them.

Jake spun her and pressed her against the wall. “Clamp your legs around my waist and hold on.”

“Hurry,” she moaned as she complied, crossing her ankles behind him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Jake slid on protection and then Dee cried out as he plunged his cock into her slick core. Again and again he thrust into her as she clung to him, their mouths mating even as their bodies were.

He was so close, so close to going over the edge. He wanted to take her with him, but he didn’t know if he could hold off much longer.

In the next instant, Dee went rigid in his arms, vibrating with her orgasm, taking Jake over the summit along with her. While his climax shuddered through him, he slumped against Dee, her arms around his neck, his chest against hers. For a moment neither said a word, and he felt their hearts pounding in rhythm to their heavy breathing. Her orange blossom scent, and the smells of their passion filled his senses.

Keeping Dee pressed tight against him, he carried her down the hall.

“Wow. Do you ever know how to show a girl a good time.” She clung to his neck and leaned back to give him a satisfied smile. “You can be my desperado any day.”

Jake felt his cock hardening again. God, he couldn’t get enough of this woman. When he reached the small bedroom, he all but tossed her on the full-sized bed.

Eyes wide, Dee propped herself on her elbows, her skirt hiked up around her waist, her blouse and bra above her breasts, and her sandals still on. Her auburn hair was in a wild tangle around her face, her lips swollen and cheeks flushed.

And she was wearing the heart pendant he’d given her.

His chest constricted and his throat closed off. He wasn’t about to let her go this time. He couldn’t.

Dee tried to catch her breath as she stared up at Jake. She was incredibly turned on. Again.

For countless seconds he stood over her, as though assessing what step to take next. His black hair was mussed, his face unshaven, his masculine body large and imposing, his gray eyes dark and stormy.

Slowly he removed his shirt and tossed it onto the nightstand. He shed the rest of his clothing, his eyes fixed on her, until he was completely naked. His cock jutted out and she longed to touch it, to touch all of him.

Her heart pounded in her throat as Jake knelt and took her sandals off her feet. Carefully he undressed her, until all she was only wearing was the peridot heart, and then he eased her to the center of the bed and lay down beside her.

It seemed like an eternity passed as he stroked her hair from her face, his touch gentle. Warm and caring and…loving.

He leaned over her, their eyes locked, and then he kissed her. His lips moved over hers, so tender and sweet that tears came to her eyes.

Jake pulled away and studied her. “What’s wrong?” he asked softly, cupping her jaw and brushing a tear away with his thumb. His fingers felt calloused and warm against her skin.

“My cowboy prince.” Dee caressed the scar along his cheek, his stubble like sandpaper to her palm. “You’re not leaving me behind.”

He stilled. “What?”

“Steve Wilds told me about the promotion.” She moved both arms around his neck. “I’m sorry, baby, but you’re not getting rid of me that easy. If you’re going to California, you’re going to have company. Permanently.”

The tension easing from his face and body was visible. “It’s a good thing. If I had to carry you over my shoulder to the altar, I would do it.”

Dee smiled. “You weren’t planning on leaving?”

“Ah, sweetheart.” His eyes told her the depth of his feelings. “I realized that ten years ago I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. I could never leave you again.”

Warmth crept through Dee, her body tingling from head to toe. “Damn straight.”

Jake laughed and rolled over to grab his shirt off the nightstand. He stuck his hand in the breast pocket, and brought it back out, something clenched in his fist. He let the shirt slide to the floor as his gaze met hers and said, “Close your eyes, Cinderella.”

Tremors ran through Dee as she lowered her eyelids. Jake took her left hand and slid a metal band onto her finger. “You can look now.”

Her hand trembled as she opened her eyes and saw the diamond ring, the marquis stone glittering in the light. And on each side of the diamond, a peridot was set in the gold band.