Tempted by the Texan

“I think all of them were reluctant to tell us what they’d done to get themselves sent to the Last Chance Ranch,” Jessie added. “I’ve never seen Nate more reluctant and nervous than he was the day he told me about the trouble he got into when he was younger.”

“I don’t know about the others, but T.J. didn’t think I’d be able to look past what he’d done years ago and accept him for who he is now,” Heather said, setting the dessert cups of ice cream on a silver tray. “Silly man.”

“It’s a matter of trust,” Summer advised. “The guys had to get used to the idea of trusting us with their greatest source of shame.”

“And that isn’t easy for any man,” Taylor said, nodding.

“I know Jaron is a good man,” Mariah insisted. “I don’t care what happened when he was a boy.”

“But he does, and he doesn’t want you to be disappointed in him,” Heather said, picking up the tray to carry it into the dining room.

“Give him time, Mariah,” Bria said, giving her a hug. “When Jaron is ready, he’ll take that leap of faith and tell you everything that he’s trying so hard to hide because he doesn’t think you’ll understand.”

As she and the other women walked back into the dining room, Mariah hoped they were right. Whatever secrets haunted Jaron were keeping him rooted in a very painful past, and she wanted to do whatever she could to help him move forward and leave it all behind.

Unfortunately, her fears that he might never be able to open up with her increased with each passing day. He had made progress and told her about his mother. But she had a feeling his father was the key to the worst part of his past. And until he told her what secrets he was trying to keep hidden, all she could do was love him and wait.

* * *

“You almost caused me to have a heart attack when you put your hand on my thigh during supper tonight,” Jaron said when they walked into the master suite and he turned on the light.

Turning, Mariah put her arms around his neck and kissed his chin. “You looked so yummy, I couldn’t help myself,” she said, smiling up at the most handsome man she’d ever known.

He laughed. “Yummy, huh?”

She nodded as she pressed her lips on the pulse at the base of his throat. “All I could think about was how sexy you are and how much I wanted to kiss you and feel you touch me.”

“As soon as I get these clothes off you, I intend to do both, darlin’,” he said, reaching for the hem of her shirt. Leaning close, he whispered in her ear, “And I want you touching me.”

“Oh, you can count on it, cowboy,” she said, tugging his long-sleeve Western-cut shirt from the waistband of his jeans.

They each removed the other’s clothes and in no time at all, their clothing lay in a pile at their feet and Jaron was pulling her to him. Mariah shivered at the feel of his firm masculine flesh touching her softer feminine skin.

When he captured her lips with his, she felt as if she would melt from the heat flowing through her veins. By the time he lifted his head, her knees had failed her completely and she was sagging against him. No other man’s kiss had ever affected her that way, and she knew in her heart none ever would.

The heat in his eyes caused her heart to race and her breathing to become shallow when she gazed up at him. “I—I want you now,” she gasped.

He nibbled kisses down to the hollow below her ear. “But I thought you wanted me to touch you, darlin’.”

Finding it hard to make her vocal cords work, she shook her head. “Please...if you don’t...make love to me now...I think I’m going to...burn to a cinder.”

“I want you just as much, Mariah,” he said, sounding completely winded. He surprised her when he lifted her to him and in one smooth motion entered her.

Her breath caught as she wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders and her legs around his narrow hips. Resting her forehead on his shoulder, she sighed contentedly. “You feel so good...inside me.”

“I intended to go...slow,” he said, sounding as if he was clenching his jaw. “But I want you too damned much.”

“We can go slow when we make love a little later,” she said, relishing the fullness of having his body so deeply embedded in hers. “Right now, I need you to love me, Jaron.”

Without another word, he carried her over to the side of the bed and sat down with her on his lap. She loved that they faced each other and would both be free to caress and kiss while their bodies moved as one.