Uninhibited in Apple Trail, Arkansas - Volume 2 (23 page)

She shifted and reached far enough she came out of his hands. The loss of her body and heat left his fingers cold and curling. He wanted her back. Wanted her slower, but he gave in to her. She sat back across him and dropped his wallet on his chest.

A foil packet was right inside and the moment he pulled it out, she stole it from his fingers. He didn’t wait, let her have it and started on the buttons down the front of her red pajama shirt. The round buttons slipped out easy. Her top parted and she rolled the condom down his length. He didn’t have time to do anything. Explore anywhere. She pushed off his chest and stood at his side.

Hair tumbled around her face. Her shirt parted just enough to show the curves of her breasts but nothing more. She dropped her pants and panties, stood there bare before him. He reached for her inner thigh to discover the smooth skin. Before he could make contact, she shuddered and was back across his lap. Without warning, she sank down over him and he bit back a curse of her tight opening gripping him.

There was no time to take it in. No time to feel her for even a moment. She planted her hands on his shoulders and rocked against him. She tipped forward. Her breasts near to his face and he leaned up, pulling her nipple in his mouth and sucked.

It was out of his hands and he let her have it. She rode him hard. Her hips landed against his. Insides gripped him tight. He thrust up, meeting her quick pace. She cried out, her head falling back and thighs squeezed against his legs. Her firm grip wrapped his cock in an unrelenting hold. He thrust his hips up, release overcame him, but she wasn’t finished. Hair fell around his face. The ends swept across his chest. He grabbed her hips and guided her, bringing her hard against him and seating himself deep. Sweat streaked down his temple. He bit down, trying to hold off as she rocked.

Gasps quickened her breath. Nails curled into his shoulders. Her lower back arched and she squeezed him impossibly hard and cried out, whipping her head back. With her body flushed and lost in the moment, there was no more holding on. The rush threaded through his veins. Fevered heat clamped around him and he came in the wake of her orgasm. She gasped for air and landed on his chest. Her fingers wadded his shirt into a fist. Her chest filled, pressing against his.

He wrapped his arms around her, under her shirt while trying to catch his breath. She was warmed, damp with sweat. The thick, sweet scent of woman mixed with that of sex in the air. Where her muscles had just been flexed and firm, she was now soft. Her bare bottom comfortable in his hands. Her face was against the crook of his neck, he turned and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She yawned and stretched. He settled against the couch, ready to lay there for the rest of the night, or at least a few minutes. The RV was warm, but a blanket folded on the floor was just next to the couch. In case she was cold, he reached around and grabbed at it, but she sat up.

He stopped and watched as she slid off him with a small smile. “I’m off to bed.”

He blinked. “Right now?”

She pulled on her panties and folded her pants in half and draped them across her arm. “I’m exhausted. See you in the morning.”

She turned and walked down the hall and closed herself in her room. He dropped his head back on the arm of the couch and sighed.

Chapter Nine

Sex just had this way of relaxing everything. That’s what she’d been needing. A quick release like she was used to taking. Henry put his arm over her shoulders and led her down the wide trail the loggers had made. Tucked against his side, she again reminded herself it had just been sex and nothing else. The tension was gone. He’d gotten what he needed. She’d gotten what she needed. See? Just sex.

His fingers stroked along her side and she sighed. It was only supposed to be a kiss, but when he started kissing her, she hadn’t been able to stop. Again, she’d been overwhelmed by his touch, his caress. The way he looked at her, held her. It
was
supposed to have just been sex. He’d changed all that, as much as she’s tried not letting him. All she’d known to do was just get up and end it and go sleep by herself, keeping it as just sex.

“You’re starting to smoke.”

She blinked and looked up at him. “What?”

He tapped his temple with a grin. “You’re thinking hard again. What do you do around here, Jessie?”

Thank God, a distraction from her thoughts. “I work at the feed store, helping load for customers and such. Manage the stock.”

“What else?”

Again, she blinked and stared up at him. “I take care of my property.”

“By doing what?”

“By…taking care of things.” She gaped at him for a moment and then looked ahead. “The garden, for example.”

“What else?”

What else? Hell that wasn’t enough? “I keep an eye on things. Make sure nothing is stolen.”

“Ever had problems?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“You keep records of all your equipment, then?”

“Well, no. It would be obvious if something went missing. There would be a hole in the tall grass.”

He smiled and with his arm across her shoulders, he pulled her tight to his side again. “Ah, I see.”

“I also maintain the house,” she added, but she wasn’t sure why. She always had things to do. Things to keep her going. She could always come up with something needing to be done.

And with his money, she now had an entire list…if she just knew where to start on that list. There was so much, she wasn’t sure what needed to be done first. Other than the heater. She was pretty sure she should have windows and such fixed first, but she’d promised the heater last night. This afternoon she’d pull out the phone book and find someone.

“It’s a big house,” he said. “I imagine it takes a while to keep it clean and dusted.”

She frowned. Yes she dusted, but she did more. “I’ve patched the roof before.”

“That explains things.” A smile turned up his lips.

She laughed. It came easy. In fact, she laughed a lot with him and they all came easy. She wanted more of it and wasn’t sure what to do about that yet. “I don’t want to hear it. I know it doesn’t look good, but it holds.”

“Darlin’,” he chuckled. “You’ve got what looks like strips of pool lining ducted taped down.”

“It ‘ought to. That’s exactly what it is. Someone in town was getting rid of their above-ground pool. It’s thick, sturdy material.”

“I can’t believe the duct tape hasn’t pulled off.”

A smiled touched her face. “It’s also glued down with about four different kinds of glue, including kid school glue.”

“Jesus.” He kissed the top of her head.

She smiled, remembering that long ago spring day. Of her and Tiffany with ropes tied around their waist and anchored to a bed just inside one of the windows in case they fell. “Tiffany was mostly being funny with the kiddie glue.”

“That can’t be safe.”

She shrugged. “It holds.” Like all the other patches and tweaks and such that she’d done to the house. It all, by some huge miracle, managed to hold. There was a lot of prayer and crossed fingers holding that house together.

“Anything else?”

“Anything else what?” She looked up at him, being pulled out of memories of creative hard work that managed to pay off.

“That you do. Besides maintaining your parents’ property and work.”

Was that not enough? She had a hell of a workload in just those things. “That takes up most of my time.”

That damn eyebrow again.

She fumbled for more, but came up short. “I enjoy watching after the house and grounds. Is there something wrong with that?”

His hand squeezed on her shoulder. “Sorry.”

And he said with honesty, like he truly hadn’t meant to pry.
Sorry
. Such a small word, usually hard to say, this time hard to hear. She groaned. “No, you’re fine. I’m just sensitive about this place. It’s all I have left.”

“And a bunch more waiting for you.”

That drew her up short and she started to argue the point but decided not to. That would take more explaining that she cared to give. If she had more waiting for her, then it likely would have showed up on her doorstep by now. But she didn’t need more anyway. Life was good. This was comfortable. Predictable.

“What do you think?” He pointed to the small cleared area.

What used to be vibrant growing plants were wiped clean. Brush was pushed back and taken away. Ruts tore through the ground from trucks and skidders cutting the trees. There wasn’t a lot missing, just a small hole. About what his picture had shown would be removed, was gone.

Still the same place, but it looked so different. Even though it was cut and what was left was nothing but a few twigs dying off, so much life was waiting to happen. Fresh earth scented the air. Change was coming and it was as if the grounds and trees knew it.

Or maybe it was just her seeing something exciting and she wanted to look closer, find some purpose or reasoning. Or perhaps, the past few nights of restless sleep, being close to Henry, but not as close as she’d like was getting to her.

Yeah. That was probably it. Lack of a sleep. Sleep that didn’t look to be improving anytime soon as Henry’s hand left hers and he walked closer to the big tree that would shade the small cottage.

His hand dragged along the bark, and she shook, imaging those fingers gliding across her belly.

He turned in a circle just ten or so feet away from the tree and opened his arms up wide. “This is where the kitchen will be. Grandpa used to say his mother made homemade biscuits on a counter that faced a window. She would work the dough while he pumped for water.”

A memory sprang to mind of the same thing. Only Jessie hadn’t been gathering water. She’d been standing in a chair, watching the counter and waiting with the floured biscuit cutter to do her “job” in making breakfast. She blinked off a tear and watched as Henry moved over a few steps.

“Dining room table here.” He moved again. “Living room with a fireplace here. Grandpa learned to build fires early. To this day he can have a fire going and ready to roast over before I can barely get a spark.”

More memories stirred. Things she hadn’t thought of in a long while. Cookouts and barbeques with Tiffany and her parents. They’d run and play, roast as many marshmallows as they could stand to eat. The smoke from the red coals filled her mind, of the plum changing with the wind, laughter, roasted hot dogs with sweet ketchup. That’s how Jessie liked them, just like her daddy.

Henry was suddenly standing in front of her, his thumbs swiped under her eyes. “What’s the matter?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Just listening to you talk reminded me of a few things. Happy tears, that’s all.”

“That’s good. That you look back and remember the good times.”

She nodded, also knowing she remembered the bad, but she wouldn’t think of them. Remembered the loneliness, how she’d so easily fallen into Quinn’s arms. How he’d barely spoken a few words and she had reached for him, desiring some form of warmth and companionship. A moment to simply dream things were different.

Was that what she wanted again? To fall into Henry’s arms to forget a few moments of reality? Well of course she would. She could admit it, life sucked. She was lonely. There were babies and marriages popping up all around her right and left. She just had her house and land to love and while it was hers, it didn’t offer much companionship back. Couldn’t wrap her in strong arms or hold her in the dark of the night.

The real question here was, were a few moments of forgetting reality going to be worth life slamming back around her?

Henry was still there, standing over her. “Sure you’re okay?”

She stared up at him. In his clear, worried eyes. Leaned into his hand resting against her cheek as his thumb stroked. “What happens if we have sex?” She swallowed. “Again.”

He blinked and straightened. “I…well, we’ll both have a good time again.”

She laughed. “No. After. What happens after?”

He shrugged. “Is this because I didn’t cuddle last night? You didn’t give me much time. I really didn’t think you wanted to.”

She laughed, falling for him more.
More?
When had she started falling for him to begin with? Maybe a little when he’d told Quinn to shut up and get in the car. And then more again as he talked about his grandpa and his plans. “I don’t mean then. I mean later. An hour later. Or the next morning. Next day? What then?”

His hands slid over her shoulders, to her back and pulled him into her. “If I had my way, we’d do it again, but I don’t think that’s the answer you’re looking for.”

She set her face against his strong chest, breathed in his fresh scent, just felt the thump of his heart against her cheek. “I guess, I don’t know. What happens after you finish your grandpa’s cabin, you get him settled…and then what?”

“I work in Ruston, so I’ll have to go back there, but I’ll be here nearly every weekend.”

“Every weekend?” She doubted that. He surely had a life.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? My grandpa would be here. I finally have the chance to give him all he wants and I want to see him enjoy it.”

“Well, it’s two hours away.”

“It’s nothing in comparison to seeing him. I’ll leave on Friday afternoons, go back on Sundays or Monday mornings. Sometimes I may stay longer. I have an office in Ruston, but a lot of my work I can do remotely.”

“I’m just trying to figure out where we go from here. I don’t do this sort of thing.”

“This sort of thing being?”

“Long term. Future stuff. Everything I need has been in the moment and I don’t know what you want. Or expect.”

He pulled her against his side and kissed the top of her head. “Grandpa says the best things life just come to you. Don’t go looking. Wait and they’ll land in your lap.”

She blinked. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He laughed. “I think we’re supposed to just wait and see. No planning or looking ahead.”

She frowned. “I don’t like that plan very much.”