Soul Deep (16 page)

He tied off the reins, reached down beneath
the seat of the sleigh, and pulled out a thermos. “Hot
chocolate?”

“You think of everything, don’t you?” She’d
known it was there—along with a loaded AR-15.

“I try.” He opened the thermos, poured
steaming chocolate into the little stainless steel cup, and handed
it to her. “It’s still pretty hot.”

Janet took a sip, then another. “Mmm. I love
chocolate.”

Jack grinned. “I never met a female of the
human variety who didn’t.”

They stayed a while longer, sharing the hot
chocolate and talking about Colorado’s mountains, about the ranch,
about their families.

Janet could get used to this. She could get
used to being drenched in the natural beauty of the Cimarron. She
could get used to spending time with this rough man who was always
surprising her with his humor, his sensuality, his thoughtfulness.
She could get used to waking up beside him in the morning, sharing
the day with him, and lying beside him at night.

“What day is it?”

“Thursday,” he answered.

On Saturday—Sunday at the latest—she’d have
to head back to Denver to face the real world. She needed to get
ready to start her new job on Monday. Of course, that didn’t mean
she couldn’t come back.

“I’d like to come here again,” she said.

“I’m happy to hear that.” Jack took her
gloved hand in his. “I want to share this with you, Janet. So, fair
warning—I’m going to work hard to convince you that the Cimarron is
now your home.”

Janet wasn’t sure she needed much more
convincing.

# # #

“Do you know what we’re going to do now?”
Jack sat with his back against the edge of the tub, lazily fondling
one of Janet’s breasts, empty wine glasses sitting among the
candles in the corner, the water growing cool.

“Get out of the tub?”

It had been late afternoon by the time they’d
gotten back to the house. They’d rubbed down Buckwheat together and
settled him in his stall. Then Jack had seen to Chinook before
making dinner.

He chuckled. “We’re going to have dessert—or
I should have said
I’m
going to have dessert.”

“What about me?”

“You
are
dessert.”

Laughing, she turned in his arms. “What?”

Jack had been waiting for this moment. “I
told you I wanted to taste you, and I wasn’t kidding.”

He let the water start draining from the tub,
stood, and helped Janet to her feet. Then he climbed out of the tub
and, ignoring her shriek of surprise, scooped her, slippery and
wet, into his arms. “God, I love staring at your naked body. I’ll
take it up as a new hobby if you’ll let me.”

She laughed. “We might be able to work
something out.”

He positioned her on the edge of the bed,
pillows beneath her hips, her legs resting over his shoulders. “Now
I can see all of you, touch all of you, taste all of you.”

He inhaled her sweet, musky fragrance,
arousal shearing through him. It had been an eternity since he’d
savored the scent of a woman.

“You don’t have to do this.” Her green eyes
held uncertainty.

Did she feel self-conscious being open to him
like this?

He would put an end to that right now.

“I
want
to do this.” He teased her
inner thighs with his fingertips, kissed and licked that delicate
skin, hoping to help her relax. “I wish you could see how beautiful
you are to me.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

He answered with a long, slow stroke of his
tongue, tasting her from her vagina to her clitoris. Sure enough,
that ended the discussion. She gasped, her thighs tensing, her
fingers sliding into his hair.

He let himself explore her, drawing her inner
lips into his mouth, stroking her clitoris with his tongue, teasing
the entrance to her vagina. He went slowly, testing her,
discovering what pleased her most, learning to read her sexual
responses. Then he drew her clit into his mouth and sucked.

“Oh!” She gasped, her hips bucking off the
bed, her fingers clenched tightly in his hair, her clit swelling as
he sucked it, tugged on it with his lips, flicked it with his
tongue.

God, she tasted good—wild and musky and
sweet. He could have gone down on her forever. It didn’t matter to
him that his knees had begun to protest or that his dick was hard
as granite or that his balls were on the brink of exploding. He
wanted to give her every bit of pleasure she could take.

Remembering how sensitive her breasts were,
he reached with one hand to palm her nipples, felt her petal-soft
areolas pucker beneath his touch.

Her breathing was ragged now, her soft moans
blatantly sexual, her fingers digging almost painfully into his
hair.

He slid a finger inside her, then two,
stroking her where she was most sensitive, her vagina slick and hot
and tight. He felt those inner muscles tighten and knew she was
close to the edge. He sucked a little harder, kept his rhythm
steady. Her cries grew more frantic, every muscle in her body now
tense.

Her breath caught and held, her body going
stiff as the first tremors of climax washed through her. She
exhaled in a shuddering cry, coming against his mouth, her body
shaking. He stayed with her, kept his rhythm steady, the moisture
of her orgasm drenching his fingers, lips, and tongue.

God, he loved her.

He hadn’t been looking for her. He hadn’t
planned this. He hadn’t imagined that he’d ever love another woman
again. But he did.

Breathless, she scooted back onto the bed,
reached for him. “Fuck me.”

If he’d spoken that way to Theresa, even
during sex, she’d have threatened to wash his mouth out with soap.
Jack had been surprised when Janet had used these same words this
morning. Now, her words sent a jagged bolt of lust blazing through
him.

“Yes, ma’am.” Hard to the point of aching,
Jack rose, stretched out on the bed, drew her beneath him, and
settled himself between her thighs, taking time to tuck a pillow
beneath her left knee.

She took his hands in hers, stretched her
arms over her head, then released his fingers, leaving him holding
her wrists. And he got it.

She wanted him to pin her arms above her
head.

So his Janet liked a little domination.

Well, wasn’t that just perfect?

Jack had always had to curb that urge in
himself for Theresa’s sake. Now, he let himself go, tightening his
grip on her wrists, pinning her hard against her pillow, letting
her feel his strength.

She gave a little sigh of satisfaction,
wiggling beneath him, her nipples puckering, her legs spreading
wider.

He entered her with a single, slow thrust,
stopping when she winced, then sliding deeper when he felt her
muscles relax. She was slippery wet from her orgasm and as tight as
a fist, and he found himself fighting to hold on. But he wanted to
give her time, wanted her to enjoy this, too.

He willed himself to focus on her, on the
physical act of making love to her, holding himself still inside
her and grinding his pubic bone against hers. Her beautiful eyes
were closed now, her lips parted, her body arching beneath his as
the pleasure began to build for her once more. This time when she
came, he went with her, the two of them soaring into oblivion
together, lost in each other and the hot rush of orgasm.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Janet brushed Chipeta down, the docile mare
watching her with a soft, dark eye. Jack was tied up on the phone
in his office speaking with his attorney and bank, trying to
arrange to put money in Kip’s jail account, so she’d decided to
make herself useful and had come out to the stables on her own to
exercise the mares. One by one, she’d taken them out of their
stalls, walked them to the riding barn, and let them run.

Baby Doe, Isabella Bird, and the feisty
yearling Clara Brown had seized their moment of freedom, loping and
galloping around the barn, then walking over to her when they’d had
their fill. Molly Brown and Chipeta had been a little on the lazy
side. They’d needed some urging with the wave of a lunge whip.

Not only had Janet enjoyed spending time with
the horses, but she’d been pleased that she’d managed to exercise
the five mares by herself. She was excited for Jack to find out
what she’d done. He would understand what it meant to her.

God, it was going to be hard to leave the
Cimarron. She knew she could come back on the weekends and find a
warm welcome anytime. Jack had made that abundantly clear. But the
idea of heading back to the hustle of Denver so that she could sit
in meetings and occupy a desk now held absolutely no appeal to her.
Still, she couldn’t walk away from her career. She’d fought so hard
to get where she was.

You’re not where you were—not now, not
anymore.

Last week, that realization would have left
her feeling desolate. But now...

I’ve been thinking life just might have a
few surprises left for me.

Life apparently held some surprises for her,
too.

If someone had told her nine months ago that
she’d have the best sex of her life with Jack West, she’d have
thought they were insane, but it was true. He was an incredible
lover, attentive and unselfish. She had no doubt that the two of
them were sexually compatible in the long run. He read her cues the
way he read the motions of a horse he was riding. She’d never
experienced that kind of thoughtfulness from a man before, that
depth of connection.

Was he in love with her? Did he hope to marry
her one day?

He’d hinted that he might, but he hadn’t come
right out and said so. She didn’t want to read too much into his
words. But it didn’t hurt to dream a little. When she’d been
watching the mares lope and stomp around the riding barn, she’d
spent more than a few minutes fantasizing about what it would be
like to be Jack’s wife, to share meals with him, to go to bed with
him every night, to make the Cimarron her home.

She’d liked the way it made her feel. But
after twenty years, could she just turn in her badge, collect her
pension, and walk away?

“Are you really an FBI agent?”

Janet nearly jumped out of her skin. “Luke! I
didn’t hear you come in.”

The young man blushed, shrugged. “Sorry.”

“Yes, I am.” She was—for the moment, anyway.
“Are you really a cowboy?”

He grinned, adjusted the hat on his head. “I
guess I am.”

“How’s your arm?”

He reached over, rubbed it. “It’s healing.
Still hurts some, though.”

“I’ll bet.”

“Did the boss send you out here to tend the
mares, because I told him I can handle it with Mr. Nate away, even
with my arm.”

“No, he didn’t. He’s busy, so I thought I’d
make myself useful.”

“And it’s about damned time.” Jack came
around the corner, walked over to her, kissed her on the cheek. “I
can’t have you eating me out of house and home and doing nothing
all day.”

“I’ve exercised Chipeta, Baby Doe, Isabella
Bird, and Molly and Clara Brown, and I did it by myself.”

Jack’s handsome face split in a broad grin,
his gaze warm. “Did you now?”

“How did it go on your end?”

“I transferred a hundred dollars into Kip’s
commissary account via his attorney. It’s not much, but it will
make life a little more bearable. He’s going to be behind bars for
a very long time.”

She smiled. “I admire your compassion.”

“You’re giving him money after what he did to
me and Chinook?” Luke asked.

Janet had forgotten he was standing
there.

“Have you ever been in jail, son? It’s not an
easy time. I’m doing for him what I hope someone would do for me in
his shoes. I’d do it for you, too.”

Luke looked at his feet.

“I’m glad you’re here. I just got a call from
Detective Sergeant Taylor. He said he has more questions for you
and asked if he could come by this afternoon. He’ll be at the house
by one, so meet us there. In the meantime, check in with Chuck. I’m
sending a group of men to shovel out Ms. Killeen’s vehicle and tow
it here. If you’re up to it, I’m sure they could use your
help.”

“Yes, boss.” Luke turned and walked away.

“He doesn’t seem happy.”

“He doesn’t like doing anything that doesn’t
involve the horses. I told him when I hired him that he needed to
be willing to do whatever job needed doing, but he seems to have
forgotten that part.”

“He’s very young.” Janet finished brushing
down Chipeta, unhooked her cross ties, and led her toward her
stall.

“Hell, they all seem young to me.”

“Oh, stop! You’ve got more going on than any
man in his twenties.”

“Is that right?” He waited while she led
Chipeta into her stall, then closed the stall door when the mare
was safely inside. “What do you say that you and I go inside? I’d
like to spend the next hour or so taking full advantage of the fact
that I’m a man and you’re a woman.”

Janet looked into his eyes, felt that hitch
in her chest again.

Oh, God!

She
was
in love with him.

# # #

Jack was in the middle of a conversation with
Taylor when a knock came at his office door. “Come in.”

It wasn’t Luke who appeared, but Janet.

Jack motioned her toward a seat on the black
leather sofa beside him. “Ms. Killeen has twenty years’ experience
with the FBI. Do you mind if she joins us?”

“I don’t mind at all. I’d appreciate your
perspective, SA Killeen.” Det. Sgt. Taylor sat across from Jack
wearing khaki uniform trousers and a dark brown fleece pullover
with a star-shaped patch that read “Forest County Sheriff’s Office”
in place of a badge.