Page 29 of Our Sweet Destiny
Chapter Eighteen
JADE SHIVERED AS he approached, both from the coolness of being wet and the excitement of being with Rex. He was so cute when he was embarrassed. She hadn’t encountered him in this tentative mood before, and she found it titillating. The fallen tree on which they sat had deteriorated in several places, leaving only a small area that was viable enough to sit on. He sat so close to her that she grew warm almost instantly.
“So you followed a guy you thought was going to follow me?” She smiled at the thought. If he hadn’t actually followed someone, it was a romantic story, and if he had, it was a possessiveandromantic gesture. Either way, she couldn’t ignore the meaning behind his actions; her attraction was reciprocated, at least on some level.
“There was a guy, but he wasn’t following you,” he said with a smile.
“Mm-hmm,” she teased.
“A gray sedan. He was lost.”
“I saw that car. When I was on my way there, it was behind me. I had a feeling it was following me, but then it didn’t pull into their driveway when I did.”
“He was just lost.” He turned to face her. “Jade,” he said softly. “I want to talk to you. I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t got much experience with meaningful relationships.”
“Meaningful relationships?”Is he saying what I think he’s saying?
“Okay, relationships with women. Period.” He sighed.
He reached to find the right words, which she found endearing. She bit her lower lip and listened. It would be so easy to put words into his mouth and then silence them with a succulent kiss, but that could wait. More than wanting that kiss, she wanted to hear what was so important that he’d followed her down a dark road at night, risking anyone finding them—kids who might talk about them in town, or a neighbor who might have seen him follow her. She knew the chances of either were remote, but surely he must have thought of them, too.
“I…you…I saidfriendsbecause I thought that was what you wanted, and being your friend was better than being someone who never spoke to you at all. I want to get to know you—all of you. I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t play games, and I’m not interested in chasing women or any of that.”
Her pulse was racing, making it hard to concentrate on what she wanted to say. “I thoughtyouwanted to be friends. With everything that’s wrong between our parents, I thought that was what you needed.”
He looked down, and Jade’s heart skipped a beat.That is what he needs.She saw regret in his eyes when he lifted his face to hers.
“I don’t have anything figured out right now as far as they’re concerned, but I knew when I saw you in the barn that you are the person I never knew I was looking for. You ignite something in me that has never been touched by anyone else. Not even close.”
“It’s called anger.” Listening to his honest confession stimulated something deep within her, and she reached for his hand. “I want the same confusing thing you do. I think maybe I always have.”
He took her face in his hands and brought her lips to his in a sweet, gentle kiss. It wasn’t enough. Jade pressed her mouth harder, probing his tongue with hers. Her entire body rippled with goose bumps as his whiskers scratched against her upper lip and his right hand cupped the back of her neck, greedily kissing, stealing her breath as his and then pulling away sharply, leaving her breathless.
“I want to know you, Jade. Not just in the physical way. I want to get to know you. I want to date you. I want to know what makes you happy and what makes you sad. I want to know all the stories from when you were a little girl, and I want to know the dreams that keep you up at night. I want to learn about you in all the ways that matter.”
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
“I’ve never wanted any of that before, with anyone.”
He searched her eyes, and she wondered if he could see that she’d waited her whole life to be cherished, and she could hardly believe that the man who wanted to know her was the man she’d spent so many years dreaming about. And also the man whose family her father abhorred. She covered her mouth with her fingertips, thinking of her father. She had to get rid of those thoughts. Now. There was no way that she was going to even try to resist what she felt for Rex. She felt his strength weaken with his confession and saw vulnerability in his dark eyes, sparking a desire in her to help him regain his strength and calm his nerves, like she did for her horses. She slid her fingers beneath his hair and drew him to her, capturing his lips with hers. She probed and licked and kissed until any lingering thoughts were gone and all that existed were the two of them, their breathing, in tune with each other.
She climbed onto his lap and wrapped both arms around him. She kissed him harder, pressing her body against his. When she finally came up for air, the smile on his lips reached all the way to his eyes.
Her lips tingled from the pressure, and she licked them lightly, enjoying the sensation of the pain and the healing wetness at once.
“You kill me when you do that,” he said in a ragged voice. He ran his index finger along her lips, and she took that finger into her mouth and swirled her tongue around it, closing her eyes. He groaned, then gasped in a sharp breath.
“You’re making it hard for me to stay on track here. I’m only human.”
She drew his finger from her mouth and put her lips beside his ear. “Then don’t stay on track,” she whispered. She had never wanted a man the way she wanted him, or felt as right about being with someone regardless of how wrong her father might think it was. She trusted her heart, and as much as she longed to hear his intimate confessions, they could wait. She wanted to claim the moment as theirs, claim him as hers, and give herself over to him. Everything else could wait.
She slid from his lap and untied the right strap of her dress. The fabric fell softly across her breast. She drew him to his feet. His hands trembled as much as hers as she laced their fingers together. The only sounds were their warm breaths, the beating of their hearts, and the sweet movement of the water. Jade put her hands on his chest, like she’d done with Flame so many times before. She felt like she’d spent her life calming horses in preparation for this one night. Rex Braden was her stallion. She rested her forehead between her hands and closed her eyes. The smell of the wet earth, mixing with Rex’s unique leathery, woody scent, brought a smile to her lips. The sound of water bubbling over rocks at the ends of the creek soothed their private world. She slowed her breathing to match his pace and willed her heart to beat to the same rhythm.
He placed his hands on the small of her back. The light pressure sped up her pulse. She opened her eyes and looked into his.
“Let me do this,” she said.
He lowered his lips to hers, a feather across her needy mouth, as she pulled free and reached for the button on his jeans. She put her thumbs in the sides of his jeans and drew them down, lowering her body as she pushed them to his ankles. She’d forgotten about his darn boots, and he laughed as he knelt down, nearly toppling over as he lifted his feet and she removed his boots, freeing him from his jeans.
