Faded Cotton (Erotic Romance) (26 page)

“You need a swim, all right. I can jump in
with my shorts. Grab a suit and I’ll meet you by the deck.” Jess
leaned on the stall front.

“Nah, I can swim in my undies. Let’s go!” She
took off at a trot to get the four-wheeler, Jess right on her
heels.

__________________________

Laurel’s hand covered her mouth, but she
didn’t cry. The dark circles under her eyes told the story. She
shook her head yes, and motioned for the pen.

I’m so sorry. I’ll behave. I love you
too.

Jake took a deep breath and drew her into a
tight embrace, then pulled her back to search her eyes, and they
continued their silent conversation. His expression asked her to
tell him again, and she nodded back to him. He could see the fear
and uncertainty in her eyes.

He kissed her. Soft at first and then deep,
fiery, drawing in her lip to nip it. Then he moved to run a line of
kisses down her jaw and neck. She reeled as he heated her, sucking
in a sharp breath. Pulling away, she wrote one more thing.

Soon.

He kissed her again, a sweet peck on the
lips, grinned at her and pulled her up to him, tight, reaching down
her backside to grab her butt and pull her hard against him. It
took her by surprise. The rush was hard to deny.

She could feel him harden against her, and
she grinned mischievously at him. She giggled and pushed him away.
Laurel knew if she didn’t get him to stop, they would wind up on
the bathroom floor or master bedroom closet floor just like when
they were kids—wherever. She didn’t want that, not just then. She
wanted time to get to know him again, to make sure they could make
it work. She couldn’t handle another broken heart.

He smiled at her, grabbed a lighter out of a
drawer, burned the note in the sink, and washed away the ashes.

Siddy Creek had a few good swimming holes.
One of the farm’s best was not too far from the house, but far
enough for privacy. It was just deep enough, not muddy, with sandy,
grassy banks and big river maples in just the right places.

Jess hadn’t minded when Shannon had suggested
a swim to get away from the tensions at the house. Shannon had
always been a good listener, and he could trust her with the
biggest of secrets. He needed to get a few things off his chest
anyway.

“Why do you keep staring at her, Jess?”
Shannon struggled to make her question sound inquisitive instead of
accusatory. She’d prepared for this moment repeatedly in her mind.
She didn’t want to lose what felt like her last chance to make him
see her, and she sure the hell didn’t want him hooking up with
anyone else. It was time to face her worst fear: that he wouldn’t
want her.

“She’s freakin’ gorgeous. I like her, and it
pisses me off that Adam won’t back off. Does he have something I
don’t have?” Jess was staring intently from their position at the
creek, to the other side of the field, where Adam and Jen were
riding back towards the barn.

He hoped his comments would make Shannon
jealous. Confiding in Shannon was normally easy. He had talked to
her like one of the guys for years. They’d been tight since they
were little, so he knew his words wouldn’t shock her, but might
make her think.

“No, baby.” She had said under her breath.
Adam may have been her brother, but she knew Jess was just as
special and more. How could she tell him? How could she make him
see she was in love with him and always had been? “Hey, last one in
is a rotten egg!”

Jess kept watching the pair riding while he
stripped off his shirt and shoes. Shannon had been giving him that
challenge since they were old enough to swim on their own. As hot
as it was, he sure wasn’t going to miss out on a swim with his best
friend. He turned and dove into the cool creek water. When he
surfaced, he was within feet of Shannon already in the water, at
least partially.

“Shit! Shannon, what the hell?” He really
wasn’t used to his best friend giving him a rise. Well, it had
happened more than once. Well, maybe a lot, but he knew that it was
going nowhere.

“Don’t you like what you see?” Shannon stood,
the water lapping at her upper thighs. She was baring more than her
body, her heart was on the line, too, and she knew it. She was
shaking so badly that the water moved in circles around her. Her
fingertips played nervously with the surface ripples.

Jess stared. How was it that his best
friend’s body was so perfect, but unavailable. She had been a
source of frustration to him for a long time. Long, wavy
sandy-blonde hair, sparkling green eyes, breasts rounded and full
and bouncy, a little dip to her waist above full hips, shapely
thighs and a—closely trimmed pathway to where he had dreams about
being.
Not fair
,
just not fair
.

“Jesus, Shannon, you’re buck naked. Put your
clothes back on. You’re being a tease, damn it. No fair.”

“You don’t like me? I’m not beautiful or sexy
like Jen? What? Tell me!”

Better
,
and wasted
. He was
covering his eyes and backing into the water to try to escape his
erection being discovered. “Sure, but damn it, you play for the
other team. Your body is incredible Shannon, but—shit—.”

“What?!” She yelled at him. Shannon’s mouth
dropped open. She couldn’t believe her ears.

“You think because I hate skirts, love guns,
and play softball that I’m a lesbian?!” He slowly uncovered his
eyes, drinking her in. Jess was looking at her hard now. He could
see the hurt on her face.

“You think I’m a ...?” She trailed off in
disbelief. She asked the question softly as she walked farther into
the water stopping just in front of him. How could he have not seen
the truth?

“You’re not?” He asked her, eyebrows raised,
incredulous expression. She shook her head in response.

Jess’s mind was doing flips, and he was
getting harder. He couldn’t help but stare.

“So why no boyfriends?” How had he gotten his
signals mixed up?

Shannon was done waiting for him to notice
her. It was high time to take a chance, so she knew one way or the
other, if she had any kind of future with her best friend. This was
the guy she’d been in love with since middle school.

“Because,” she moved close to him and stared
into his crystal eyes, “because every time a guy got interested,
you’d chase them off.”

The want in her eyes made him smile.

“Because every time a guy would ask me out, I
would compare him to you.”

Shannon closed the space between them and
gently slipped her arms around his neck, brushing her hardened
nipples against his chest.

“Because every time I went out with someone,
I felt like I was cheating on you.” She leaned into him, bent her
head to kiss his chest, tasting, inhaling his scent. Then she
tipped her head up to find his jaw and then his cheek.

“Because I was waiting for you.”

He sucked in a breath, feeling her naked body
pressed against his. Jess was in shock that he’d missed the truth,
that she’d never told him how she felt, that the girl he’d dreamed
of for years was kissing him. He bent his head to meet hers,
“Really?”

She reached behind his head and gently drew
him down to her and kissed him. Once. Soft and slow.

“Really.”

He twined his arms around her to draw her
close, kissing her the way he’d always dreamed of, hard, then soft.
She moaned softly into his mouth, and he felt her melting into him.
Damn.
She felt so good, better than his dreams. Amazing.
Soft, incredibly soft, every inch of her melting into his hands. He
could feel her shiver, “Cold?” She shook her head, and he drew her
tight against him, kissing her again.

Jess felt Shannon’s hands slip below the
water. As she stroked his hard length over his jean shorts, his
eyes slid closed, feeling her touch, he groaned. When he opened,
them, she was unbuttoning and unzipping him. He stopped her hands,
holding her wrists gently, “Are you sure? I don’t have a
c-----.”

She looked at him intently and nodded,
pushing his hands away to continue. “I’ve got it covered, and if I
can’t trust you, I can’t trust anyone. I know you’re not a saint,
baby, but you’re clean, right?”

“I’m good.” Of that he was confident.

He was still amazed. Taking her by the hand,
he pulled her to the bank. He slipped off his wet shorts and
underwear. She watched as his hard length sprang free. She smiled.
Yes, he was worth it.

Jess glided backward into the water to look
at her. He’d accidentally seen her before, naked, but never had the
chance to see her the way he was now. Now he was studying her
beautiful body—every beautiful tender inch, her blonde tresses
falling softly over her shoulders, over her—he shuddered in
want.

A powerful force drew him to her, and now, he
didn’t have to hold back. He closed the space between them to
explore her with his hands. He ran a fingertip down her neck to the
valley between her breasts. He hesitated for a minute to take them
in, so perfect, tender nipples stretching to him, taut, the skin
around them pulled in hard rivulets, still remaining soft to his
touch. Watching her react made him draw in a sharp breath. He
continued his trail down her ribs to her belly button, circling it,
dipping lower with each circle, watching her quiver, toying with
her as she watched his hand.

Shannon gasped when he cupped her soft mound,
squeezing, stroking her. She was already trembling before, now he
had her going weak in the knees. Just when she thought she would
explode, he slid his hands up to draw her closer and dipped his
head to savor her breasts. Kissing, licking, with his every move,
he pushed her higher, her desire heavy, pooling between her legs in
a fiery heat.

She reached to stroke him, feeling him twitch
in her hand. She cupped and fondled all his manhood; he groaned in
pleasure. Taking his flared head between her fingers, she rubbed
over the sensitive tip making him slick with his own moisture. She
watched his breathing change, deeper, sharper, his eyes closing,
and the ripple of the muscles in his hardened chest. He was
exquisite.

Jess stopped to lead her to the bank,
throwing his shirt beneath her. He guided her to a soft spot on the
bank and lowered himself to her. Landing beside her, he bent to
kiss her, taking her lips in his, then parting them to search her
soft mouth.

“You taste so good.”

She smiled, and he shivered at the look on
her face—pure lust, for him, only him. She closed her eyes and
arched to him as he bent to her chest.

Taking first one nipple and then the other
into his mouth, he showed his appreciation for each soft breast.
His straining length grazed her thigh, teasing her further. He
kissed a trail up her neck to capture her mouth as he slipped a
finger slowly into her heat, eliciting a long moan of pleasure. She
was wet,
really wet
and it was
him
that had made her
this way.

Shannon arched to him, gasping as he moved in
and out of her slowly, finding every spot that elicited an
oh
or
ah
. The heat that had flooded her at his first
touch was now licking her with climbing flames.

He nestled himself between her thighs,
reaching down to stroke her hardened clit, tapping her wet opening
with his erection. She cried out at his touch, which threatened to
send her over the edge. Her entire body consumed with want, she
reached around him dug her fingers into his buttocks, and pulled
him to her. He lost all control. He entered her slick, waiting
passage, pushing hard, burying himself in her completely.

Shannon’s eyes flew open as she yelped in
pain; she dug her fingers into his back, holding him in place,
urging him to stop for a moment. She stared into crystal blue eyes
that sparkled and shimmered with passion for her. She took a deep
breath; the temporary pain subsided, turning into agonizing
pleasure. She urged him on into a slow rhythm.

“Did I hurt you?” He hesitated. He knew the
last thing he’d want to do would be to ever hurt Shannon.

“Only for a second.” She smiled up at
him.

His eyes grew wide, realizing what had just
happened. “Shannon?”

She ran her fingers through his hair and
pulled his head back to her.

“Shhhh...please, please don’t stop.” Her eyes
draped shut and she smiled in the bliss of their connection.
“You’re so worth it. Please, baby, don’t ever stop.”

Settling into a steady rhythm, he stroked her
slowly, grazing her center of pleasure with his hard length,
nudging her ever closer to the edge of ultimate ecstasy. A pure
white flood of heated passion invaded her consciousness, electric
and all-consuming, she gave to it. Trusting him, she let everything
else fall away and gave herself over to desire. She let the flood
of heat become an electric orchestra that exploded its crescendo
from her core, outward. Waves of pure ecstasy flooded her body,
rising, peaking, and crashing. She cried out in pleasure, digging
her nails into his back.

Jess smiled at her, his eyes falling shut as
he concentrated on how tight she was, how wet, how amazingly
perfect for him. He continued slowly, feeling her, wave on wave. He
slowed to let her enjoy it fully.

Fluttering, her eyes opened, a single tear
fell from each. God she was beautiful, her faced flushed, her eyes
reflecting every light ray in facets of emerald green. The look in
her eyes exploded him. Once, in, hard and slow out, almost his full
length, twice, then he crashed into her hard—he stared into her
eyes until his own closed. That look on her face—she loved him.
What he had only dreamed he’d ever see and feel was right there
under him, with him, surrounding him, holding him. He was enveloped
by her, only her, with an intensity that rocked him. He exploded in
his own orgasm. Stroking and shooting his heat into her, he roared
in sheer pleasure.
Shannon.