Page 59 of Cowboy's Last Stand
“I have more upper body strength than you.”
Her gaze moved from his face to his biceps.“You’ve already put in a full day.”
He shrugged and eyed the second half of her sandwich.She passed it over.“We have to return the sander in the morning or pay double.”
“I should payyoudouble.”
“You already are,” he said, lifting the sandwich.
Her mouth pursed with annoyance as she nibbled at a vanilla cookie.She didn’t like his tendency to overexert himself or his attempts to avoid payment.She had good instincts.Women always did.They knew that men didn’t help for no reason, and nothing in this world was free.He didn’t want her money, but he wanted her.He wanted every comfort she could give.He wanted to sink into her and forget everything else.
“I have to get Marcus in a few minutes,” she said.
“Do me a favor before you go.”
“What?”
“I need to check the shower repair.Stand in there while I turn on the water.If it leaks, shout at me.”
She set aside the plates and took a sip of soda.“OK.”
He jogged down the steps and around the side of the house to the main water valve.After he cranked the valve, he waited for a shout.He didn’t hear anything, so he walked toward the staircase.The sound of spraying water and female yelling greeted him.Cursing, he returned to the water valve to shut it off.
When he went back upstairs, he found her in the shower stall, soaked to the skin.She looked as mad as a wet cat.
“It doesn’t just leak,” she said through clenched teeth.“Itsprays.”
Jason couldn’t help it; he chuckled.“I didn’t think you’d stand inside the stall.”
“You told me to stand in here!”
“I meant the bathroom.”He held a hand to his stomach, still laughing.“Sorry.I’ll get your sweatshirt.”
He glanced around the empty apartment but couldn’t find it.He only had his T-shirt.He tugged it over his head, intending to hand it to her.She emerged from the bathroom just as he was about to enter.They didn’t collide, but it was close.Her eyes settled on his bare chest.His landed on her wet shirt.It was one of those record-scratch moments.Time stopped.
He’d been able to see the faint outline of her panties earlier.This was different.This was better.Her pale pink T-shirt clung to her breasts like wet tissue.Her bra appeared thin and insubstantial.Both layers of clothing were soaked to transparency, revealing teardrop-shaped breasts and pouty brown nipples.
She accepted the shirt from his outstretched hand, but she didn’t put it on.He was grateful for that because he didn’t want her to cover up.He swallowed hard, dragging his gaze to her face.Her cheeks were flushed, her lips slightly parted.His brain, though sluggish, registered the signs of arousal.She wanted him.
This stunning woman with a lush mouth and perfect breasts wantedhim.She seemed to find his body as attractive as he found hers.His bare chest wasn’t anything special, though he was in good shape.He wasn’t bulging with muscle.Even so, she stared at him in dazed appreciation, as if he was some kind of masculine ideal, and…
Damn.It was sexy.
He couldn’t resist breaking her rule more forcibly than before.He backed her into the bathroom, crushing his mouth over hers.She made a surprised sound, like a feminine squeak, as she melted against him.The coolness of her wet shirt met his bare chest with an almost audible sizzle.His blood thickened with desire.He skipped the preliminaries and plundered her with his tongue.She smelled like vanilla frosting and tasted even sweeter.He wanted to eat her up right there and then.
She wound her arms around his neck as his hands found her luscious bottom.He squeezed the soft flesh, reveling in the feel of her.His erection swelled to a painful fullness.She moaned as if in approval of his reaction.She was so sleek and supple, so responsive.She kissed him with an open mouth and seeking tongue.
He lifted her onto the edge of the sink and fitted himself between her thighs.Her sharp intake of breath was all the encouragement he needed.She was eager for this too.She was panting for it.He was stiff and hot, his pulse throbbing.
Her hands twisted in his hair as he angled his head for better access to her mouth.They kissed again and again.He imagined stripping her bare and feasting on her pretty flesh.He wanted to taste her slender throat, her taut nipples, her sultry sex.In that order, and then back up again.She was having similar thoughts, judging by the way she wrapped her legs around his hips and rocked forward.He thrust back crudely.His tongue mimicked the motion his body wanted to do.He was losing control, and he didn’t care.The only thing he cared about was finishing what they’d started.
The way she was arching against him drove him crazy.Her hands left his hair and began a frantic exploration of the muscles in his chest.He pressed closer, grinding against her, still gripping her bottom, and her back bumped into the sink faucet.She made a little sound of discomfort, and he realized he was acting like an animal.If he didn’t slow down, he was going to take her right here on the sink.
He broke the kiss, breathing heavily against her neck.He wanted to continue, but not at such a “frenetic pace,” to borrow her phrase.The sound of his rasping breaths, along with the dripping shower faucet, echoed in the quiet space.She went still in his arms as if second-guessing her own actions.Her limbs, once clinging to him, fell away.He couldn’t ignore her signals to stop, even while his body screamed to proceed.He disentangled himself from her and turned his back.His fists clenched at his sides, and his heart hammered a wild rhythm.
“Sorry,” she said.“I got carried away.”
Jason closed his eyes, trying to summon calm.His erection could drive nails.
