Strictly Business Page 8

  Chapter 13

  By the following week, they’d gotten their permits approved and had broken ground on the new house on Thursday morning. Jake had even come with a camera to take pictures to send to his parents. He seemed to get along well enough with Mike, which helped Jess with her avoidance policy. Jess let Mike deal with Jake and got any info she needed second hand. It’d made for a slower process, but much more peaceful. As long as she ate in her room, she could successfully avoid Jake about ninety percent of the time.

  The following Saturday afternoon, they let everyone off a little early, and Jess and Mike headed in to take showers and get ready for Evanston. They had booked a suite at a five star hotel, Hotel Terra, with an amazing restaurant and day spa right on the premises. They also had a lounge for dancing. Jess was really excited about it. It wasn’t often that she used her name or connections, but she had to admit it was handy when she needed it. As soon as she’d mentioned the name Wythe, the concierge had offered her anything she wanted. And right now, she could use a little pampering. And a break from Jake.

  She hadn’t even seen him in a couple days, or at least not in close enough proximity to speak to him. But just knowing he was nearby made her edgy. She didn’t really want to tell him she was leaving, although she wasn’t sure why not. It’s not like she needed his permission. She was only trying to be courteous. She didn’t want anyone to think she’d gone missing or anything. She headed toward his office, hoping she might find him there. The door was open, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  She turned and headed out to the stable area. Maybe she could find someone else to speak with, like maybe Marsha, and avoid seeing him altogether. No one was in the arena area, so she headed to the barn. When she walked in she saw everyone huddled around one of the stalls. She rushed over, wondering what was going on. Jake and Ben were in with one of the horses, a pregnant mare, rubbing her sides as she danced and huffed, obviously in pain.

  “Is she going to deliver soon?” Jess asked Marsha. Why did everyone look so worried?

  “Jess, dear! Yes, she’s ready, but the foal is breech. If she delivers like this, it could kill both of them. Jake and Ben are pushing, trying to change the position.”

  “I thought horses could deliver breech? One of ours did when I was a kid. I know it’s harder on the mare, but it can be done right?” She hadn’t been allowed to watch the birth, of course, but she’d heard about it.

  “Well, yeah, but the rump tried to come out first. Jake stood her up and pushed it back in. Now they’re tryin’ to shift it a little, get the feet out first.”

  “Aaahh.” That explained the bloody substance all over Jake and Ben. She stood there watching, mildly entranced. She didn’t even realize how much time had passed until Mike finally wandered into the barn looking for her.

  “Hey babe, whatcha doin’ out here?” Mike wandered over, looking into the stall. “Aaahh, we’re about to have a new baby horse around here. So, are you about ready to go?” He stepped back, and looked at her. “Uh, guess not. You haven’t showered yet?”

  “No, why? What time is it?” She grabbed his wrist, checked his watch, “No way! I’ve been out here that long?” She looked around and found that almost everyone else had gone in. It was just Jake and Ben in the stall and she was the only one still watching. When had they all left? She hadn’t even heard them walk away. It was already seven p.m.

  “Even if we left now, we wouldn’t get to Evanston until after eight. Oh, I’m so sorry. Mike, can we just go in the morning, for the massage? Or, maybe we can go next weekend.”

  “Not a problem, we’ll go next weekend. Do you want to get dressed and we can go into town here, go dancing at that little bar you mentioned?”

  She looked back into the stall, watching the horse for a moment before she glanced back at Mike.

  “Never mind.” He smiled. “You want to stay here and watch this. I get it.”

  “I’m sorry. I know we had plans. I just, I don’t know, I want to see this. You should go see if you can catch the rest of the guys. I’m sure they’re heading into town.”

  “Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He kissed her forehead and headed out of the barn.

  Jess turned back, seeing the horse heaving, her sides obviously contracting. At this point Jake and Ben were both just staying back, seeing what happened. Ben actually snuck by the mare, heading to the gate where Jess stood.

  “I think I’ll go tell Mike that I can take him into town. She’s got this from here on out.”

  “Oh, you’re leaving? Will she be okay? What about the baby?”

  Ben nodded his head. “We got the legs moved. Still breech, so she may need a little tug, but Jake told me he’d stay. She’ll be okay. Mostly, they do it themselves, unless there’s a problem. You have a good night now. If you’ve never seen this, it’s worth watchin’.” He headed outside, picking up the pace and yelling out for Mike as he rounded the corner.

  All of a sudden she realized that she was alone with Jake. Maybe she should just go back in the house. Then she heard the mare groan again and she turned back to watch. She really wanted to see this and she wasn’t going to let him chase her away. She would just stand here quietly. Maybe he would just ignore her.

  After a few minutes of silence, Jake finally spoke. “You can come in, if you want to.”

  She wanted to, she really did. “Are you sure it’s okay?”

  “Yeah, just walk around her to her back, you can come sit over here by me. You’ll have a better view. A messy view, but better.”

  She snuck in as quietly as she could, so as not to disturb the mare. When she got over to Jake she asked, “What’s her name?”

  * * * * *

  He glanced over at her. She was filthy, had obviously been on the construction site today. Her hair was still up but starting to fall loose. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, as far as he could see.

  She was stunning. He found his body reacting simply to having her near. “Belladonna. Princess Belladonna, actually.”

  “She’s beautiful. An Appaloosa?”

  He’d forgotten that she knew something about horses. “Yeah, we mated her with Satan. He’s a Colorado Ranger Horse. But he has Appaloosa in his background. We thought we might get some strong, pretty babies.” She seemed nervous. He wondered if it was because of the mare or him.

  “Aahh, yeah. They should be pretty. And fast too. Satan is wicked fast.”

  They were both talking just above a whisper, trying not to upset the mare, but still be close enough to help when it was time.

  “I’m sorry your plans got cancelled.” She looked over at him, seeming surprised that he knew. He shrugged. “I heard you talking to Mike.”

  “Oh, no big deal. I’ll call the hotel and cancel.”

  “Hotel?” She’d been going to a hotel with that guy?

  “Yeah, we were doing dinner and dancing in Evanston. Then a spa day and massage tomorrow. I was actually coming out here to tell someone we were leaving. So you guys didn’t think we ran off or something.”

  He felt his hands clenching into fists at his side. They were going to spend the night together. She’s going to spend the night with that idiot? He wanted nothing more than to scream at her. Or grab her and kiss her. Some piece of him was silently screaming, “Mine! He can’t have her, she’s mine!” Through the haze of anger, it did register that she didn’t seem all that upset about it. Was she interested in Mike? She had to be, right? She was going away with him for the weekend. All of a sudden he heard Cody’s voice in his head. “I never touched her.” Was he wrong about her again?

  “So, you’re…dating…Mike?” His voice was deeper than he would have liked, but it was mostly calm. He also remembered Cody telling him to try being nice to her. He was trying.

  “No, we’re not dating.” She looked at Jake. “We’ve been friends since college. Mike, Cindy and me. I just wanted to, um, get away this weekend. Take a break from the ranch. Mike was going with me.”

  �
�But last weekend I saw you sleeping on him on the couch. You guys seem pretty… comfortable together.” He looked at her, watching her response.

  “Well, yeah.” She shrugged a shoulder. “He gets me. I’ve known him for over ten years. I can just be myself with him.” She looked up at Jake, the unspoken comment, unlike you hung in the air.

  “I see.” Jake was silent for a few minutes, glancing over at Belladonna.

  After a few more minutes, Jake finally found his voice again. “I think I owe you another apology. Several of them actually.”

  She looked shocked, mouth open, eyes wide. He smiled wryly. “It was brought to my attention that I haven’t been particularly nice to you.”

  “It’s okay, I haven’t been 'particularly nice' to you either, just forget…”

  “No, it’s not okay. You’ve fought back, but I think I probably started us off wrong on day one. Then proceeded to make things worse from there. Could we maybe try again?”

  Chapter 14

  She didn’t know what to say. She was baffled. But, she would really like more nights like this. Nice conversation, no yelling, no fighting, no snide remarks. “Yeah, sure. Let’s start over. I think I’d really like that.” She wondered if that meant the kiss was erased too.

  All at once Jake jumped up. The rear legs were out. She watched him grab the legs and pull. He waited a beat while the mare pushed and then she saw him pull again. After hours of waiting, it seemed like just minutes and there was a new foal laying there.

  They waited a while, watching silently while the mare recovered and the baby rolled and neighed. She saw Jake look underneath as the horse started to get to its feet.

  “It’s a colt!” His eyes were shining, excitement making his face radiant.

  She found herself grinning foolishly. His energy was contagious. He waited to make sure the mare got back to her feet and then they snuck out, giving mom and baby time to bond. He headed over to the sink to wash up. He looked over at her, still smiling. “You uh, you have some goo on your shirt,” he said, pointing.

  Jess pulled off her loose shirt and checked her white T-shirt for spots. It was clean. She looked up just in time to see Jake peeling his shirt off. Holy cow! She was sure she was staring, but she couldn’t stop herself. He was huge... all solid muscle. His chest and arms were tight and defined. And he had more than a six pack of abs. How was that possible? His jeans were old, faded and soft, and hung, barely on his hips, looking like they could fall off at any moment. And based on his tan, he’d been working without his shirt lately. Oh my God.

  He turned to face her, a fresh T-shirt in his hands and froze. She didn't really notice the movements, they simply registered somewhere in the back of her mind. The cognizant part of her brain just kept staring, unable to take her eyes off his amazing body. A body that she never would have expected. As her eyes trailed a little lower, she noticed that the bulge in his jeans, impressive enough already, seemed to be growing. As her mind finally registered the cause, she jumped, her eyes flying upward to meet his.

  He smirked at her a little and asked, “So, do you like what you see?”

  Her breathing stopped, only to return on a stutter. Blood rushed into her cheeks as she frantically searched for a response.

  “Because I do. I really do.”

  He slowly walked toward her, giving her every chance to turn and run. And run she should. She just needed to make her feet listen to her brain. She knew he was going to kiss her. She knew she should stop him. She also knew she wouldn’t. She wanted, no, needed to kiss him. She had to feel that body pressed against hers.

  He tilted his head to the side, his voice growling as he said, “Take your hair down.”

  Without thought, no conscious decision, she reached up and quickly pulled out the pins holding her hair in its roll. When the last pin fell in the dirt, she shook her head letting her hair fall loose, cascading over her shoulders and down to her waist. She heard him suck in a breath.

  And then he was there, right in front of her, running his hands through her hair. “It’s beautiful, you’re beautiful.” He put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him so they were touching.

  She inhaled deeply, feeling her aching nipples brush against his warm chest. She ran her hands up his arms, settling them on that chest, strong and taut to the touch.

  Then he asked, “What else are you hiding? I knew about the body and now the hair.” He ran his hands through it, leaning in to kiss her forehead, her cheek. “Is that it, or is there more?”

  Jess froze. Should she show him? Most people found her eyes kind of weird. How would he react? Did she want to find out? She wanted to kiss him. Kiss him and so much more.

  I should show him.

  She took his hand, stepped backward and turned to go to the house, pulling him behind her. “Come with me.”

  * * * * *

  He followed her, his heart in his throat. His shaft aching with need, with anticipation. She walked across the yard, headed into the house and stopped in front of…the bathroom?

  She turned to face him, her expression showing her nerves. “Don’t freak out, okay? It’s a little weird.”

  She stepped over to the sink and Jake was really confused. He wasn’t sure what to expect. Was the hair a wig? Were the boobs fake? Did she have a crazy scar? What was she doing? He saw her poke her finger in her eye. First the right, then the left. And then she turned back toward him.

  “Okay, so you wear contacts, big deal. I have reading glasses that I use on the compu…”

  She looked up at him with the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen. They were ice blue, or gray…no, they were silver. “You wear colored contacts.” She nodded. “Why?”

  This shocked expression came across her face. “You don’t think they’re weird?”

  He stepped back, took both her hands and held them out to her sides, and he looked. Stared, really. Took in every inch of her, the hair, the eyes…the body. “They’re not weird. They’re perfect. You’re perfect.”

  He tugged her arms, pulling her against him. Finally, his lips were on hers.

  He spun around pressing her against the wall, bringing her tight little body more firmly against his own. He was so hard he hurt, his erection pressing against the zipper of his jeans almost painfully. She slid her tongue against his lips, fully joining in the kiss and damn near bringing him to his knees in the process.

  He ran his hands over her ass, loving the firm roundness, then back up past her waist, digging his fingers into her hair. He couldn’t get her close enough. She pulled her mouth away from his and moved to press hot wet kisses across his chest. She was twisting her hips against him, making him groan as he struggled for control. He ran his hands under her shirt, sliding it up as he went. When he saw the soft pink lace bra he groaned again.

  “You’re amazing,” he growled out. He bent down running his tongue around her ear and down her neck. She whimpered, grinding her hips against him and nipping at his chest. His shaft pulsed, throbbing, aching to be inside her. He was lost in a haze of arousal.

  He reached around, unhooked her bra and pushed it up, exposing her breasts. “Oh, God, your nipples are so tight.” He reached down, gripping her ass and lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing them groin to groin. He gritted his teeth, pressing her tighter against the wall as he bent his head down, licking her nipple, sliding around, teasing her. Finally he took the tight little tip into his mouth, sucking gently.

  She whimpered, twisting her hips against him, arching her back. As her body arched away from the wall, she pushed her breasts up even further. He took the hint and suckled as deeply as he could, nibbling a bit when she whimpered a second time. She twisted her hips again, grinding against his shaft, dragging another groan from his lips. “Jess, God …so sexy. So responsive, so soft. You need to stop grinding like that.”

  His words said stop, but he couldn’t prevent his body from thrusting against her. He couldn’t believe he was this cl
ose to spilling his seed. She made him crazy. He pressed his mouth against hers as she started twisting her hips faster.

  He could feel the muscles in her stomach and thighs working as she squeezed and twisted against him. He knew she was close to an orgasm, could feel the tension in her body. He desperately wanted to see her eyes flash with her release, that soft sated look settling in its wake. He felt her hands sliding around to his shoulders, one making a fist in his hair. When she moaned into his mouth as she writhed against him again, he thrust forward to meet her.

  Then he heard the front door slam.

  It was like ice water poured on them both. He set her down quickly, leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose, then turned and strode off to his bedroom and a cold shower. He hoped that would be enough to calm his raging erection, but he somehow doubted it.

  Jake tried the cold shower, and it was icy. It didn’t work. He could still feel her rubbing against his shaft, smell her hair, her skin. Feel her little points pressing against his chest. She had been wild, unrestrained. He couldn’t help but wonder if she would bite when she came. He knew she’d been wet, and he still ached to touch her, to feel her hot and wet around him. His imagination was still running wild when he found release in his own hand, wishing it had been in her.

  * * * * *

  Jess ran across the hall, slamming the door behind her. She stripped off her clothes, turned on the water and looked at herself while she waited for the water to heat. Her eyes were glittering, her breath still coming shorter than normal. Her nipples were still tight, pointing off swollen breasts, announcing her desire. Between her legs she felt achy, empty and very, very wet. She wondered just how far she would have let things go if they hadn’t been interrupted. She had a feeling it would have been too far. It had already been too far. She knew she should be grateful to whoever came home. Probably Mike. But with her body still throbbing, it was a little tough to find gratitude.

  She stepped into the shower. The water felt amazing, warm and tingly where it hit her flesh. The spray against her already overheated body increased the throbbing in her sex. She found herself running her hands down her abdomen, sliding her finger between her folds until she found the nub. Maybe tonight she would be able to find release. She’d never been able to reach an orgasm. She had tried, even watching late night Cinemax. But she’d never been able to let go enough for release. After a while she’d quit trying. It almost made things worse. Tonight, in the arms of a man she barely knew, had been the closest she'd ever come to an orgasm.