The Promise of Jenny Jones (32 page)

Dined. Well la-de-da.A length of satin, some ribbon and lace, and wasn't she the grand lady? It would be wise to keep in mind that she had skinned buffalos, had washed other people's dirty laundry,had driven a team of foul-smelling jacks. No apricot-colored satin was going to change who she was.

"Come with me," Ty said, taking her gloved hand.

At the staircase landing. Jenny turned to descend, but he laughed softly and tugged her toward the stairs leading up. A question leaped into her eyes, and he smiled, and said, "You'll see."

When he stopped to fit a key into the door of a room on the top floor, Jenny burst out laughing. "You dog," she said, pressing her gloved fingers beneath eyes damp with laughter. "For this I needed an expensive new gown? And a corset?"

But the room Ty led her into was not just another hotel room. Having never seen a suite before, Jenny gasped, and her gloved hands flew to her lips.

It was as if they had stepped into a small, opulent house. Through a doorway, she glimpsed an elegant four-poster, but they stood in a beautifully furnished living room.

Smiling, Ty took her arm and led her toward a circular stairway. "We're dining al fresco . Do you know what that means?"

"I don't have a fricking idea what that means," she whispered, too awed to be irritated as she usually was when he used words she didn't comprehend.

"It means in the fresh air, outside."

The staircase circled up to a rooftop courtyard so lush and lovely it took Jenny's breath away. What seemed like hundreds of potted plants created a tropical riot of shade and color, winding up trellises, trailing along the stonerailings. Moving to the railing, Jenny peered down at the distant street to remind herself that she couldn't be standing in a real garden.

Then she gazed out at a stunning view of the city bathed in sunset tones of russet and gold. Beyond the city stretched the desert rangelands, and in the distance she identified the dusky silhouette of the Sierras. Jenny had never been high enough to view such a panorama and the beauty of it stopped the breath in her throat. Floating above the city on a blossom-laden cloud, she decided if nothing else occurred tonight, this was already an unforgettable evening.

It wasn't until she turned to breathlessly thank Ty for showing her the city from above that she noticed a linen-clad table, lit by candles and set with colorful Mexican crockery and gleaming silver.

"I … you … this is just…"

Ty laughed, carefully observing her openmouthed wonder. Pleased that she was stammering, he nodded to someone behind the trellis, and the soft strumming of guitars filled her ears. Kicking back her train, Jenny spun in a swirl of satin and spotted three Mexican musicians positioned at a discreet distance from their table. They tipped wide-brimmed sombreros to her, bowed,then continued playing.

"Ty!" She wet her lips, feeling overwhelmed. "This is … astonishing. Wonderful." Wringing her hands together, she gazed up at him. "When did you… It's just so…" Words failed her.

Smiling, he offered his arm and she accepted it self-consciously, letting him lead her to the table and extend her chair. Caressing fingers brushed her bare shoulders when he removed her shawl and placed it on a bench with his hat, and she shivered lightly at his touch.

The moment he sat across from her, a waiter appeared out of the foliage and served wine in cut-crystal glasses that trapped the candlelight inside a dozen small surfaces.

"To you," Ty said softly, touching his glass to hers.

"This is … I've never … I feel like I've been poleaxed," Jenny whispered, glancing over her shoulder to see if the musicians could observe them through the roses climbing over the trellis. The waiter also appeared to have vanished, although she suspected he hadn't really.

"Do you like it?"

"Oh my heavens, yes. It's like…" But she couldn't draw a comparison because nothing remotely like this courtyard or this evening had formed any part of her experience or imaginings. "Oh Ty," she breathed, staring at him. "Thank you. I will remember this evening all the rest of my days." A tiny frown marred the smoothness of her brow. "When I saw you opening the door to another hotel room, I thought…"

He moved his chair closer to hers, then reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. The heat of his mouth penetrated her glove, and she was thankful that she was seated. No man had even kissed her hand before, and she would have laughed herself sick if one had tried. But she wasn't laughing now.

"Jenny, there are two paths this evening can take. It's your choice. We can enjoy a pleasant meal, some conversation, and then return to Graciela and our room on the second floor. Or, we can enjoy a pleasant meal, some conversation, and then explore the bedroom in the suite below…"

Her hand trembled in his and she swallowed hard, thinking of the wild kisses they had exchanged this week while Graciela slept. "I think you know what I want to do," she whispered. She didn't seem able to speak in a normal volume.

"I don't want any misunderstanding, Jenny. That wouldn't be fair to either of us," he said, gazing at her lips. "I think we both know how things stand, but a review wouldn't hurt."

She drank her wine, watching him intently over the rim of the glass. "You promised that I wouldn't catch a child."

"You won't." Lifting his hand, he stroked his knuckles along her jawline. "I'm very fond of you, but we've sworn that neither of us is the marrying kind. Whatever happens tonight, there is no commitment on either of our parts either fancied or implied. Are we agreed on this point?"

"You son of a bitch," she murmured, closing her eyes and arching her throat to his fingertips. "How many times have you snookered some poor female with this speech?"

"I'm thinking of you. I don't want to mislead you. Tonight is an interlude between two people who enjoy each other, that's all it is. Or am I wrong? Have I misunderstood your position?" he murmured, his voice husky with desire.

She caught his hand before his fingers reached her cleavage, raised it to her lips and lightly nipped his forefinger between her teeth, tasting salt and soap. Thesound of his groan pleased her enough that she could clear her thoughts a little and focus on the business at hand.

Lifting her glass, she tossed back the wine then jumped slightly as the waiter appeared out of thin air to refill their glasses. After he vanished, she leaned forward, deliberately displaying her bosom to test his reaction. "Can the musicians or the waiter hear what we're saying?"

Ty stared at her breasts, and she smiled at the perspiration that appeared on his brow. "No."

"All right,cowboy ," she said briskly. "I'm here to satisfy a powerful hankering that has driven me half fricking insane, especially during the last few days. The only promise I'm looking for is that I don't catch a baby, that's all. Consummating this hankering isn't going to place your freedom or independence at risk. All I want from you is tonight." She waited until his gaze lifted from her breasts to her eyes. "Once this journey ends, you andme are going to part company, no strings attached. Satisfied?"

Without warning, the jolting reality of her future blotted the sweetness of the guitars and the perfume of the flowers.

They were going to say good-bye. She stared at him, the defiance fading from her eyes. In about two weeks, they would suddenly turn awkward with each other and struggle to find words to say adiós and farewell. He would step out of her life as suddenly as he had jumped into it, leaving her a different person trying to fit into her old existence.

It occurred to her that all she would ever have of him had to fit within the next two weeks.

"I'm glad we understand each other," he murmured, gazing deeply into her eyes and toying with her fingers.

Jenny wet her lips. "Just don't go planting any seeds, hear me? I don't want a kid to ruin my life."

His laugh was soft and confident. "You are so lovely tonight. You look just as I imagined you would. Magnificent."

"Well," she said, feeling the tension grow hot on her skin, "now that everything's settled, let's go downstairs and do it." Taking her napkin out of her lap, she started to rise, stopping only when she noticed his grin. "What?" she asked,frowning.

"Oh Jenny, there's never been another like you. Sit down." As she slowly sank back to her chair, he took her hand, peeled off her glove, and covered her palm with kisses. "We're going to make love, I promise you. And I promise that you're going to enjoy it." The intent smoldering look he gave her stopped the breath in her chest. "But first, we're going to eat our dinner. Then we're going to linger over coffee and cigars in the candlelight. I promised myself a long time ago that nothing would happen until you begged." The sudden hard look narrowing his gaze sapped the strength from her bones, and she couldn't breathe. "That's going to happen," he promised softly, dropping a hungry gaze to her lips, to her breasts.

Yeah, Jenny thought, shaking inside, it would happen. Probably long before they reached the coffee and cigars. Since the evening was apparently designed to torture them both, she drew a hitching breath and decided she might as well get into the spirit of things, now that she understood.

"Signal the waiter to hurry up and serve the food," she whispered. Then, feeling foolish at first, but with growing confidence as she keenly studied his reaction, she drew her fan from her throat to the top of her breasts before she dropped the leaf open. Tormenting him was such a pleasure that she continued the game throughout the meal.

Over dinner they spoke of their childhoods, of books they had read, places they had gone. They talked about music, which neither of them really understood, and about ranching, which they did know—and neither of them could recall a word of the conversation a minute after it passed.

Fingers caressed crystal stems, teasing mouths kissed silver forks. Knees brushed beneath the table linen, fingertips grazed above. Food appeared,then vanished, and they could not have said whether they ate or if the waiter whisked away plates as fully laden as those he had served.

By the time fragrant cups of coffee materialized before them, they were feverish and shaking with need, burning for each other. Jenny vibrated inside, resonating to each teasing touch, each penetrating glance. The scent of him, the look of him, every small gesture he made plucked an inner string directly connected to a hot damp center.

"I'm begging, Ty," she whispered hoarsely, squeezing her trembling eyelids shut. "I'm begging you to take me before I die of wanting you."

"Say it again," he demanded, his voice harsh with desire.

"Please. Please, please, please ."

These were the words he had waited to hear. Standing so abruptly that his chair crashed behind him, he pulled her to her feet,then tossed her over his shoulder. With one hand stroking her bottom, he carried her down the staircase, ignoring her helpless laughter, and set her on her feet next to the four-poster. When she saw the fiery heat blazing in his eyes, saw the hard, intent line of his mouth, the laughter died on her lips and a tremor swept from her scalp to her toes. Swaying, she placed a hand on his chest to steady her balance, letting the heat of him flow into her palm and rush to her pounding heart.

"Oh my God," she whispered, gasping. "I'm shaking so badly that I—"

"Don't move," hecommanded, his voice thick with urgency. "Let me undress you."

She swallowed hard and struggled to breathe. "Are you … are you going to lick me all over like you said?"

Deft fingers opened her gown while his lips set fire to her throat. "All over your body," he promised huskily. His head dropped to her breast, and she felt his tongue explore her cleavage.

Jenny dropped to the edge of the bed as if she'd been gut shot. Lava bubbled in her belly, and she felt certain that she was strangling. Dazed, she stared up at him, dimly aware that candles burned around the bed, not cognizant enough to wonder who had lit them or when.

"I'll lick you all over, too," she promised, deciding fair was fair. The thought of such strange doings made her light-headed, or maybe her swirling head was a result of the teasing nips and feverish kisses that spread over her shoulders as he pushed down her tiny cap sleeves.

Jenny decided she'd had enough teasing, tormenting, and fiery torture to last a lifetime. All week long they had touched and caressed and stroked and inflamed. She could not stand another minute of it. Squirming away from him, she wiggled out of the apricot-colored satin and flung it away from her. "Hurry up, hurry up," she panted, jerking and yanking at her undergarments.

When she looked up again, cussing and frustrated because the corset hooks would not yield to boneless fingers, Ty was naked. "Oh my Lord." A long, moist gasp broke from her throat, and her fingers flew to her cheeks.

Never in her life had she expected to admire a naked man. But he was so beautiful. Utterly splendid. So lean and hard and wiry-muscled, so pale beneath the dark feathery hair narrowing from chest to rampant need. "Oh Ty." She spoke his name mindlessly, like a sigh, like a plea. "Ty."

Ringing her arms around his neck, she locked her mouth to his in a long, hot, ardent kiss that made her mind sing and her body quiver. His hands roughly circled her waist like a brand, claiming her, possessing her, and she nearly sobbed with the relief of knowing that tonight, this time, she would not have to return to her own bed without truly knowing him. This time they would not have to be quiet or circumspect in movement.

And they weren't. They toppled onto the bed, wound tightly together from lips to thighs, rolling and thrashing, unmindful of squeaking bed ropes or their own gasps and groans. Ty's fingers were more nimble than hers, and he had her corset opened in a moment, flung aside the next. And then, oh Lord, and then his lips were on her breasts, sucking, licking, driving her mad with waves of sensation that crashed one over another like stormy tides, drowning her in hot pleasure.

There could be no waiting, not when their bodies trembled at fever pitch. They came together in panting, gasping, titanic need and urgency, and Jenny cried out his name when he entered her and she rocked up to meet his first deep thrust.