Red Rock Rises; Sexy Romantic Suspense; Book 1: The Red Rock Series (The Red Rock Seies) (33 page)

“Wow! Uh, Dameon, I… I’m impressed. And a little overwhelmed. I… don’t… know what you want me to do with it.”

His eyes gleamed, an ironic smile quirked his lips. “How about you let
me
decide that, tiger?”

He crawled up beside her and began kissing and fondling her breasts. Jesse put her arms around him, eager to press her naked body against his. She drank in Dameon’s deep rich smell, an enticing combination of subtle cologne and strong man. The warmth of his bare skin against hers inflamed her desire. With a start Jesse felt the moisture surge between her legs. She marveled that her throbbing clit was responding simply to the sight of him. It was preparing her for his erect staff that was pressing up against her stomach. Dameon’s erotic ministrations to her aching breasts sent sensations cascading over her so powerful that for a brief moment Jesse almost forgot about his cock between her legs. Until she felt him poised at her entrance. Instinctively she pulled back.

Dameon whispered, “It’s okay, tiger. We’re gonna go slow. I know you haven’t had anyone there for a while.”

She shook her head and gulped. “You’re wrong. I’ve never had anyone like
that
there
ever
!”

His laugher died in his throat. Dameon’s need to be deep inside of her was overwhelming. He was grateful to feel her respond, to hear her lusty moans. Sucking on her breasts at the same time that he stroked and plucked her clit, he was rewarded with a gush of cream from her excited body. Knowing that he couldn’t hold off any longer, he began to ease inside of her. He pulled back, shocked at how tight she was.

“Holy Christ, Jesse, you are tight. God, honey, I don’t want to hurt you.”

She dug her fingernails into his shoulders pulling him close. “No, Dameon, no. Please, I want you. Please don’t stop.”

With a hard groan, he acknowledged he couldn’t have stopped even if he’d wanted to. He rose up on his knees and grabbed a pillow from the head of the bed. Shoving it under her hips, he draped Jesse’s legs over his shoulders and pulled her hips up against his strong thighs. He began thrusting inside of her, slowly, carefully at first, then faster. With each thrust he went higher up inside of her tight channel. Her sexy juices paved the way as did her passionate entreaties. When he felt her orgasm rising, beginning to crest, he groaned and drove in deep, fully seating himself.

Her excitement matched his. In and out, harder and deeper, Dameon became one with her. Her gasping breaths turned to frantic pants. Her moans, to passionate wails. When Jesse screamed, a tidal wave of tremors shaking her, his balls pulled up tight against his groin. The rush of sensation was so forceful, so powerful Dameon swore his eyes rolled back in his head. With a loud roar that he couldn’t believe came from him, he exploded in the most intense climax of his life.

Chapter 36

Jesse rolled over in the big unfamiliar bed. With a jerk, she roused out of her sound sleep. For a moment she didn’t know where she was. She stared at the beautiful room, then closed her eyes as a flood of memory swamped her. She dove under the covers and buried her face in the pillow. The smell of sex and Dameon’s masculine scent awakened nerves that should have been too exhausted to respond. She snuggled under the fragrant sheet and reveled. Dear god, it was true. It wasn’t a dream. She was here in Dameon’s bed and they truly had spent the most wonderful night of her life together. She lay in a contented tangle reliving the vivid images. She felt her cheeks flush thinking of some of the things they’d done. Remembering others sent a rush of moisture between her legs.

She glanced at the clock, shocked to see that it was nearly noon. She never slept past six a.m. But then she’d never spent ten hours in the arms of the sexiest man alive, making passionate love until the dawn broke. For the first time she saw the note in his distinctive handwriting.

“Forgive me, tiger. I had to go into the station. A bit of a crisis. I’ll be back as close to noon as possible. Rest, sweet woman. I have plans for you. You’ll need your strength. D.”

Jesse jumped out of bed. She started into the opulent bathroom drawn by the supersized shower but pulled back, shy. She didn’t want to invade Dameon’s private space. She grinned at the silliness of that thought. After last night privacy would not be their issue. She glanced in the wall-length mirror and almost didn’t recognize the woman staring back at her. Her hair was a disheveled cloud of flames hanging over her shoulders. Her breasts looked swollen. Given the red marks on them they had a right to be. She saw the discoloration on her neck and blushed at a similar streak on her upper thigh. The sight brought back the memory of his skillful tongue and incredible mouth sucking and tasting her. Jesse could only imagine what the inside of her looked like.

Most startling was her face. Accustomed to seeing lines of stress around her eyes and mouth, it was a though an erotic angel had waved her magic wand and smoothed away the cares. With a start, she realized she looked like she had in the picture she had sent to Dameon over the phone. Only now her eyes were wide open, a sea of dancing green. The look of rapture was more intense if possible.

Wrapping a sheet around her naked body she ran through the empty corridor and found her room. She’d decided that Dameon’s shower was too big for her alone. She’d wait to share it with him. For the moment the shower in her room was perfect. The water beating on her sensitive skin was exhilarating. Was it only twelve hours ago that she had stood in this shower, devastated that she’d driven Dameon away forever? But that was before she’d had the courage to confront him. God, what if she hadn’t?

She was pulling her slender calf-length skirt over her curvy hips when she heard his voice calling her. Before she could answer he was in the doorway. She literally lost her breath at the sight of him. He loomed in the entrance, his powerful body filling the space. Her groin clenched and she knew with a certainty that her panties were wet. She stifled a moan and allowed herself to drink in the sexy sight. His tight jeans hugged his slim hips. He was wearing a casual black t-shirt that rippled over his chest and arms. His black cowboy boots added a couple inches to his already impressive height. Only the shield clipped on his belt and the bulge at his ankle declared that this brown-skinned sexual god was also a cop.

His blue eyes darkened at the sight of her. She felt a rush of relief seeing his excitement flare; she’d have been lying if she’d said the thought that Dameon might’ve regretted their amorous night hadn’t tugged at her insecure brain. His actions chased away any doubts.

In seconds he’d crossed the room and pulled her up against him. Dameon held her so tightly she could barely breathe. His voice was husky with emotion.

“Damn, tiger. I had a horrible thought when I saw my empty bed. What if the best night of my life was a dream? But it wasn’t, was it?”

Jesse clung to him, squeezing back at the tears that burned her eyelids. Her voice choked with emotion.

“No, no, Dameon, it wasn’t. But… I missed you.”

“I know honey, I hated to leave but… well, I’ll tell you about it later.”

He held her away from him, and gave an appreciative grunt.

“You know how much I love this skirt, don’t you? It’s so much like you are, Jesse. At first glance it looks demure, but is just tight enough to reveal those curvy hips and gorgeous legs. It begs me to slip my hands underneath like this….”

Her moan echoed his groan when he slid her hands up her bare legs and pulled her hips up against him.

His teasing grin belied his gruff rebuke.

“And of course, the sexiest woman in the world would have to wear the mossy green sweater that matches her eyes and showcases her extraordinary breasts.”

He laughed out loud when his hand brushed against the Sig in her back holster.

“Good move, tiger. You never know when some oversexed Chief of Police is going to arrest you for indecent exposure.”

He nuzzled against her hair, breathing in an audible gasp.

“I’m glad you’re dressed, baby. If you were in bed I don’t know how I could keep from climbing in beside you. The only reason that I can resist is that I am going to make love to you all night and every night until Trey and Zoey get back. You understand that, don’t you?”

Jesse closed her eyes at the provocative thought and clung to him. She needn’t have worried. He was holding her just as tightly. It was good to know that she wasn’t the only one trying to convince herself that this erotically charged dream was real.

He nuzzled her ear. “Honey, I know it’s after noon but you haven’t had your latte yet.”

Jesse laughed. “I can’t believe it. That’s
exactly
what I was going to say. My body is craving it. I need my morning fix even if it is afternoon.”

“Let’s do something different. First, we have to get out of this house. I can’t be this close to a bed, or a chair or, hell even my desk, without taking you. How about we walk over to the coffee shop? Besides I want to show you my neighborhood. We can walk to the plaza like normal people.”

“Are we normal?”

“Hell no! But then, neither is anyone else. We all have our secrets, Jesse.” He grinned down at her. “Ours are just more R-rated than most.”

The historic town plaza was bustling with tourists and natives. All along the way people called out to Dameon. Everyone seemed to know him. “Hi, Chief!” “Morning, Wolf.” “How’s it hanging, Chief?" To her amazement Dameon had a personal response for each of the people who waved at him. At every stop, he introduced her to the interested observers, never letting go of her arm. Jesse leaned into him, not caring if she seemed needy. Dammit. She was!

Dameon led her through the coffee shop, out to a table against the patio wall. While perusing the menu, she looked up to see the young server gazing at Dameon with a rapt expression. Jesse snorted under her breath. How could the sweet young thing be anything but gaga? Dameon was lounging back in his chair, his long legs out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. His casual pose couldn’t hide his powerful thighs straining his trousers. His t-shirt emphasized his muscled physique and the discreet patch of hair at the top was downright sexy. Jesse flattered herself that every woman in the place was looking at her with envy. She understood. With his tousled hair, sexy beard shadow and those astonishing summer sky eyes, Dameon turned the heads of everyone they passed.

Jesse realized she would have to get used to this public attention. It wouldn’t be easy. She was a private person, guarded, uneasy in a group. In contrast Dameon thrived on the people around him. She reminded herself that she too had friends. The men on her squad claimed that she was the most loyal friend a guy could have, that they could always count on her when they needed her. The women at the next table were casting surreptitious glances their way, clearly wondering who the woman was with the handsome Police Chief. Jesse sighed. With Dameon’s help, maybe she could learn this social skill, too. It wouldn’t be easy. But then, loving this extraordinary man would be worth it.

Jesse jerked out of her reverie to see Dameon smiling at her. “Earth to Jesse. I’m hoping that frown signifies that your latte isn’t warm enough—not that you’re annoyed that every guy in the place is ogling you.”

Jesse started. He couldn’t be serious. But peeking from behind her steaming mug, she saw that a number of the men around them were casting interested glances their way. Hmm, maybe being the center of attention wouldn’t be all bad. As long as Dameon was beside her, making it clear that she was off limits, that is. She eased back in her chair preparing to enjoy the beautiful day and her hot, fragrant latte. The loving but intense expression on Dameon’s face startled her. When he sat up straight in his chair and slid it closer to Jesse’s, her anxiety flared.

Dameon gazed at the beautiful woman beside him. He still couldn’t believe that they were sitting in a coffee shop on a sunny afternoon like any other day, as though they hadn’t spent the most momentous night of their lives together. His prick perked up at the memory but he ordered it to stand down. He and Jesse needed to have a serious conversation. He had to make her understand how close they had come to torpedoing their relationship. The thought was devastating. Something on his face must have betrayed his concern because her eyes widened with fear. Seeing the alarm cloud her lovely face, he reached for her hand to reassure her.

“Jesse, honey, don’t look like that. You make me want to scoop you up in my arms. I might even lay you out on the table and have at you, just to see the looks on all of these interested patrons’ faces. Hell, we have a track record to uphold and you’ve already proven that tabletops don’t turn you off. I’m sure the management would appreciate the sideshow.”

Gratified to see the tension on her expression lighten somewhat he squeezed her hand.

“Jesse, I brought you here for that reason among others. I knew if we stayed in the house, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of you. And honey we need to talk.”

He waved the server away and positioned his chair with his back to the café.

“Thank you for the things you said last night. That was hard. It took courage. I didn’t make it easy for you. I’m glad—very glad—that you did. If you hadn’t I’m not sure that I could have reached out to you. God knows I wanted to. These last weeks have been a living hell.”

When she started to interject, he held up his hand.

“No, honey, please let me talk. I need you to understand why I came close to giving up on you. I spent five challenging years of my life convinced I could ‘save’ my former wife. I thought I could make her less vicious, less hateful, more faithful. When I finally declared that I couldn’t, I divorced her. I promised myself I would never do that again—with anyone. I would never think that I could change someone. Make them better or stronger.”

Jesse frowned and began gnawing on her bottom lip. Dameon hid a smile. He thought that assertion might rub this fiercely independent woman the wrong way. He hastened to salve over the unintended insult.

“Uh uh, tiger. Don’t misunderstand. I don’t want you better or stronger. I want you the way you are. The way you were last night. Courageous. In my face and, goddammit, in my arms. No, tiger, I left because I didn’t think I could convince you to trust me. That you wouldn’t let me love you the way I wanted to.