It was hard for her to believe that she was the source of someone’s hopes and dreams. Clement had been happy with her. He’d never let a day pass that he hadn’t let her know just what she meant to him. She’d considered herself the luckiest woman alive.Clement was . . . larger than life. Handsome. Wealthy. Extremely loving and generous. Always affectionate. He wasn’t a man who worried about what others thought. If they were together in public, he touched her frequently. Just little shows of affection. He held her hand, put an arm around her or he kissed her, giving others no doubt of his feelings for her.Any woman would have wanted someone like him, and he’d wanted her. Just her. She wasn’t in his league. Didn’t come from his world, though he’d argue that his current circumstances weren’t ones he was born into. His upbringing hadn’t been good. He’d fought for every dollar he earned, the lifestyle he’d claimed. For himself and for Sophia.His devotion to his family, to both Sandra and
She arched upward, wanting, needing more, desperate for release. Her skin itched, like it was alive. Edgy. Bordering on pain.His impassioned statement spoke to the very heart of her. Soothed every fear. He made her feel cherished and . . . loved. And she hadn’t felt loved and adored in so very long.Even though he’d said that this time was about him, he slid his fingers between them, finding and stroking her clit. She went wet around him, her entire body tightening, clenching with agonizing need.“Get there,” he commanded. “Come for me, Sandra. Now.”To her utter surprise, her body obeyed him. She was helpless to do anything but obey him. She hadn’t thought she was there yet. Almost but not quite. But the moment the forceful command was given, she began coming. Wave after wave washed over her, spreading throughout her body until she felt nothing but the sweetest of pleasures.He spurted deep inside her, filling her with his liquid heat. For several moments, the only sound that could
He remained there a moment longer before finally pushing upward. Then he withdrew, her body still clutching greedily at him as he pulled free.He pressed a kiss to the small of her back and then got up from the bed. She didn’t have time to turn over before he gathered her in his arms and picked her up, carrying her toward the bathroom.He turned the shower on and after testing the temperature, he pulled her inside with him where he proceeded to wash every inch of her body. It was torment. He paid extra special attention to the still-quivering flesh between her legs. He had her worked up and well on her way to another orgasm by the time he washed and rinsed her hair.“On your knees,” he said gruffly.She obeyed instantly, lowering herself to the wet floor of the shower. The warm spray cascaded over both of them. His cock was painfully erect, huge and stiff.“Get me off, Sandra,” he commanded. “But I want you to get yourself off too. Touch yourself. But don’t come until I do. If you do,
He hugged her to him and she hugged back, savoring the closeness, the intimacy that was still new and shiny.“You won’t lose me, Sandra. Believe that.”“Okay,” she whispered.Even as she agreed, she whispered a prayer that things would work out and that nothing ever happened to him. She couldn’t survive it again. Once had nearly destroyed her. If something ever happened to Derrick, she wouldn’t survive this time.She reclined onto the sofa, taking the glass of wine he offered her. She sipped, her stomach churning with nervousness. It was silly to be so anxious to meet James, her husband’s replacement, but she was. She’d likely never come into contact with him after this meeting since she had nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of Derrick’s business. Sophia would be more affected by James coming on board since she would have to work for him.She knew Sophia wouldn’t take it well. She hoped that by meeting James and offering him her acceptance, it would smooth over whatever obj
Derrick was silent for a long moment and then he heaved out his breath, his shoulders drooping slightly. He turned away from her, directing his gaze toward the fireplace. His hold loosened on her and she shifted away, just so she could better see him.“That was part of it,” he admitted. “I was jealous as hell. The first time I met you. Do you remember? Clement brought you to the company Christmas party and there you were. So beautiful it made my teeth ache. You were adorably shy, reserved. And you clung to Clement’s side the entire night. I couldn’t look at you without resenting the fact that he’d found you first.”Her eyes widened in surprise. “I had no idea.”“No. It shames me that I treated you so curtly in the beginning. I actually hoped that things wouldn’t work out between you and Clement because I wanted you for myself. I had planned to swoop in and claim you the minute things ended between you and him. But it became very clear that he had no intention of letting you go. I damn
“Story of my life,” Derrick murmured. “I was too late the first time. Fate gave me another chance and I don’t intend to fuck it up.”Sympathy shone in James’s eyes. “So you had a thing for her when she was married. And to your best friend. That had to suck.”“You could say that.”A thoughtful look crossed James’s face. “I’m fairly new to the area as you know. When we first met, it was through business trips to Houston. But now that I’m here, I haven’t really had time to scope it out. Any clubs here? You know anything about the places in this area?”“Yeah. There’s one good one. Very exclusive. It’s called The House. Owned and managed by Damon Roche. Wealthy son of a bitch and he caters to an upscale clientele. He’s backed off in recent months. He’s married and has a daughter who occupies most of his time, but he still keeps a hand in the operations. I can give you his contact information and put in a word for you. He does an extensive background check on prospective members, but it’s a
“Son of a bitch,” James swore. “No wonder she’s so wary around men. Can’t say I blame her. I’ll be careful with her. I don’t want her to fear me. It sickens me that any woman would have reason to fear men as she does.”“In that we agree,” Derrick said. “Clement couldn’t give Sandra what she needed. Dominance. And she loved him too much to ask it of him. But he knew. And now that she’s taken that step and wants what I can give her, I’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy again.”“I wish you luck,” James said sincerely. “She’s a good woman. You’re a lucky son of a bitch.”“I know,” Derrick said quietly.They both fell silent when Sandra reentered the room carrying the silver tray with the hors d’oeuvres she’d prepared earlier.She was a dream in the kitchen. When she and Clement had entertained in their home she’d always prepared all the food despite Clement telling her he’d have it catered. She’d always laughed and told him there was no need and that she enjoyed cooking. Derrick lo
“Monday morning,” Derrick said. “When she comes into work.”Sandra frowned but held silent.“What is it, honey? You obviously want to say something,” Derrick gently encouraged.“It’s not for me to decide,” she began.“Say what you want to say,” he directed.She drew in a breath. “I just thought that perhaps something like this should be said outside of work. It’ll be a shock. And we’re friends. I mean, you’re more than just her employer. I think you owe it to her to tell her some place more intimate.”“What did you have in mind?” Derrick asked slowly.She glanced nervously up at him and he wanted to pull her into his arms and reassure her. She had nothing to fear from him. No disapproval. There was nothing she could do that would earn his censure.“You could invite her here,” Sandra said. “We could tell her together. It may be easier than at work. It would also give her time to come to terms before she has to go to work. Time to deal with it so she has it together by the time she has
“Honestly? Because I’d forgotten about it. So many other things happened over the years. It came back to me when you said you were helping out with Luke’s kid. So no, you’re not a doormat, Jessie. No matter what Luke led you to believe.”She killed her beer. “Luke and I were headed for a divorce anyway.”“I know.”“I loved him. I’da done anything, let him get away with anything, been anyone he wanted me to be, just to keep him.”“I know that too, sweetie.”She held her fingers to her eyes to stem the tears. “God, Mom. I’ve had time to think, a lot, too much time probably, but one of the hardest parts of losing Luke was figuring out I’d lost myself too. I let him define me. And when he wasn’t around to tell me who to be, I didn’t know who the hell I was.”Silence fell and Jessie welcomed it.Her mother cleared her throat. “And what about Brandt McKay? Are you letting him define you?”Jessie shook her head. “Which might seem at odds with agreeing to help him take care of Landon. I’m not
“If I was there I’d be kissin’ your neck, leaving love bruises from that spot below your ear to your collarbone. I’d feel those cunt muscles pulling my fingers in deeper with every stroke as I moved my thumb faster over your clit. Then I’d whisper, ‘My sweet, sexy Jessie, come for me now’ and you’d explode.”“God, Brandt,” was all she got out before the spasms hit. She gasped as her clit pulsed beneath her thumb. Her fingers were wedged deep in her pussy, squeezed by the contractions so strong they robbed her of breath. The orgasm didn’t last long, but it was intense enough she dropped the phone.When she heard, “Jessie?” coming from far away, she turned, expecting to feel Brandt’s warm body, because she always zoned out after she climaxed. She heard, “Jessie!” again and opened her eyes. Brandt wasn’t there. She was in a single bed with her hand between her legs and her cell phone on the mattress next to her head.“Hello? Jess? Did you hang up?”She grabbed the phone and pushed hersel
“Stay like this.” He slid her hands to the edge of the countertop, slipping his knee between her legs in a signal to widen her stance. “Perfect.”“Brandt—”“Trust me, Jess?”It took about ten seconds, but she nodded.“Good. Close your eyes. Relax.”She let her eyes drift shut, but she was in no way relaxed. His body shifted as he reached for something on the counter. Then his wonderfully rough hand glided down her bare stomach, stopping to cover her mound. His fingers stroked her cleft, teasing her folds until she felt herself growing wet, heavy with need.His fingers vanished. Before she could protest, a cool, round object connected with her clit and she gasped, “What is that?”“No fair peeking. Keep your eyes closed.” Brandt steadily dragged it up and down her slit in a smooth glide that followed the contour of her sex from top to bottom. He whispered, “Does it feel good?”“Yes.”His lips feathered hot, moist kisses across her neck. He circled her clit, never too hard, or too soft,
She pointed on the page to a cow hiding in the bushes. “Remember what a cow says? Mmmoooo.” She drew out the word until it was about ten seconds long.Landon giggled.“Now Landon—” she poked his chest when she said his name, “—say mmmoooo.”“Mmmoooo.”Jessie clapped again. “Good job! You are gonna know all your barnyard noises in no time flat.”Usually Landon lost interest before they reached the end of a book, but tonight he stuck it out, although he was pretty squirmy at the end. When she closed the cover, Landon launched himself off the couch and ran straight to Brandt.How long had he been lurking in the shadows? And why was she thinking it was a damn crying shame that he’d gotten dressed?“Up!” Landon demanded.But Brandt wasn’t looking at Landon. He was looking at her with the softest expression. He broke eye contact when Landon bumped into his leg with another demanding, “Up!” and lifted the boy. “So I missed story time? Bummer.”Landon said, “Mmmoooo.”Brandt grinned. “That’ll
“Just Spanish rice, nothing fancy.”He looked around the living room. “Landon asleep?”“Yeah. I know it’s probably crazy to put him down this late, but he was really crabby.”“Sorry I wasn’t here to help. I ended up stopping at Ben’s place on the way home and we had a couple of beers.”Jessie smiled, appreciating he’d told her his whereabouts. “No need to explain, but I’m glad you did.”Brandt crossed into the kitchen, lowering his mouth to hers for a blistering kiss. He tasted of beer and need.This sweet, hot man could wind her up in no time flat. She returned his kiss with equal fervor, loving his deep groan as she pressed her body to his and twined her arms around his neck. She felt him harden against her belly. Then Brandt clamped his hands on her butt, hoisting her up so her legs circled his hips.He walked to the bedroom, breaking the liplock as he set her on the bed. “Damn, woman, kissing you almost makes me forget I have a splitting headache.”His face was pale. And his eyes
Brandt laughed. Ben always got straight to the point, which was probably why he’d shown up here.He took a long pull off his beer. “To be honest, I ain’t exactly sure why I’m here. I just got done talkin’ to Samantha, Landon’s mom, and she left me with a feeling I can’t shake.”“Like what?”“Like…maybe she’s gotten used to bein’ away from Landon and would like to continue that when they let her out of jail.”Ben whistled. “No shit?”“That’s the thing. Samantha didn’t come right out and say it, I don’t even know if she was hinting around or if I somehow misread it. And it ain’t like I can talk to anybody in my family about it.”“What about Jessie?”“Her stipulation was no information on Samantha for the duration of this temporary situation. So if it turns out to be a longer temporary situation than four months, and if Samantha decides she’d rather let us raise Landon…” He sighed. “Us, meaning me raising Landon with some help from Dalton, Tell and my mom.” When Ben lifted a questioning
“Sounds like I have abandonment issues, huh? My ‘real’ dad bailed on me. Billy bailed on me. But with Luke…he mentally checked out of our relationship before he physically left. So I’ll argue it was different with him. He abandoned me before he died.”“Not every man is like that.”“All of them in my experience have been. So that’s all I know.”Another line of logic Brandt couldn’t dispute.“Jess—”Jessie held up her hand. “Please. No more. I have a splitting headache and the glare off the snow is making it worse. I need to close my eyes for a bit.”Brandt didn’t look too happy, but he said, “All right.”And she must’ve been more drained than she’d thought because she slept all the way to Brandt’s house.*****Brandt waited in the visitation room of the women’s correctional facility in Lusk, wondering if he looked calmer than he felt. It seemed a bad sign, Samantha requesting this meeting, especially when she’d indicated that she didn’t want him to bring Landon.The door opened and Sam
“Billy.”He gave her an awkward hug. “Glad you could make it.” He glanced over at Brandt. “Luke. Good to see you.”Both she and Brandt froze.Billy wasn’t aware he’d made a misstep.“Luke died about two years ago, remember? This is Luke’s brother, Brandt McKay. Brandt, this is Billy Reynolds.”They shook hands.“Sorry about that,” Billy said. “Sometimes I think I’ve landed on my head too many times and my memory is goin’.”Or you don’t give a shit about what’s going on in my life.Acting like a ten-year-old much, Jessie?Brandt placed his palm in the small of her back. “Got time to have a Coke or something before you ride, Billy?”“Sure.” They walked to the concession area in silence.Well, besides Billy stopping every fifteen feet to chat with someone he knew. Not once in those dozen or so times did Billy bother to introduce Jessie to his friends. So by the time they actually sat down, Jessie was wound so tight that one more snip to her tightly held control and she’d unravel.Brandt’
Evidently Brandt had no response for that.“So you goin’ to Gillette?”“Yes. How freakin’ pathetic is that?”“Not pathetic. Just hopeful things might change between you and your father, and darlin’, that’s a feeling I’ve been familiar with my whole life.” Brandt kissed the top of her head. “I can’t fault you for that hope, but I’m worried how it’ll affect you if this trip ends up bein’ another dose of the same old, same old.So, if you’re goin’, I’m goin’ with you.”Jessie cranked her head around to look at him. “Really? You’d give up your one free weekend day to drive to Gillette and sit in an arena that smells like the barn?”“I’m not givin’ up anything. I’ll be with you. That’s all that matters to me.” Brandt kissed her again, soundly.Any mention of his feelings for her made her wary, but Brandt did it every chance he had. That’s just the way he was.Hands roamed, breathing became hot and heavy as the kiss heated. But she didn’t break the connection, Brandt did. He muttered, “We’d