She swallowed, disliking herself in that moment—disliking her weakness around him. But, he was right, damn him. Hannah was asleep, Zach was at school, and if they couldn’t keep their damn hands off each other, they needed to admit as much and be adult about it—and keep it away from the children.
His hand over her mouth held an iron determination that turned her legs to jelly. She managed a jerky nod of assent, and then her eyes slipped closed. Her physical response was strong, her nipples tightened as her blood began pumping. The man was too much to resist, she didn’t want to resist him, so she didn’t.
She simply relaxed in his hold and let his masculine appeal swallow her up whole.
He released her for a moment and her eyes flew open. With rapid-fire movements, he pulled a single condom from his jeans pocket and dropped it to his desk. He unbuttoned his jeans but left them loose around his hips—no briefs in sight—just a wicked, wicked path that probably could have been called a bunny trail at one time, but with his age and maturity, the hair that covered him was more than a trail, it was dark temptation that made her want to do nothing more than sink her fingers into the thick coating that covered his muscles.
Just the visual was blowing her mind, a wet trickle of heat sliding between her thighs.
His hands came back to her; he began stripping the clothes from her body with a precision and dexterity that came from nothing but experience—but she closed her mind down on that uneasy thought and focused on what he could make her feel. Which was brain numbing excitement, an excitement that held her in place as she stood still and let him toss the remainder of her clothing aside.
She was glad the room was dark. After childbirth, her body was no longer as perfect as it had once been, although she’d never had a body anywhere near perfect to begin with. But thankfully, he didn’t take time to notice, he picked her up under her arms and twisted her, dropping her into his chair, the chair that sat behind his desk.
Spinning it, he fell to his knees and pushed her thighs apart. Her heart began racing as she realized his intent. She wanted it, yes, but already, the quick coupling that he had in mind was screwing with her emotions. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that nothing more could come of this. This was a temporary situation, both her job here and the affair she suddenly seemed to be embroiled in. She didn’t want anything more permanent, she didn’t, and she couldn’t really blame him for not wanting a deeper connection with her either.
But she knew it would hurt her feelings if she allowed herself to think about it, so she ruthlessly cut off her thought process and allowed herself to only feel.
As his fingers bit into her inner thighs just perfectly, she again had the thought that he knew exactly what he was doing. His thumb slid up and landed on her clit, massaging it, rubbing it until she was squirming in the chair. With his hands intimately on her, his head lowered and he caught her nipple between his teeth, tugging and pulling until she couldn’t stand it anymore and let out a shrill, high moan.
The hand on her thigh lifted and covered her mouth as he bit her nipple in warning, just short of pain. He raised his head and stared her down, the tic in his cheek showing prominently. “Be quiet,” he threatened in a low, guttural groan.
She nodded her head, her eyes wide. As he stared into her eyes, he lowered his finger from her clit to the soft center at the very heart of her and slid his long, middle finger inside. A cataclysmic stroke of fire scorched her from the inside out as her eyes closed reflexively.
His fingers dropped from her mouth as he slid down and pressed his head between her legs, his free hand pushing against the inside of her thigh, demanding she hold still and keep her legs apart.
She obeyed, her hands falling to his hair.
His finger began plunging in and out, while he flattened his tongue, stroking repeatedly, deftly, over her clit in a repetitive motion in time with the stroke of his finger.
Her sanity spiraled away immediately, leaving her nothing more than a sexual creature intent on pleasure. She felt it when he changed tactic, holding his finger inside and then beginning a slow, dedicated swirling around her inner feminine walls.
She stiffened and felt the wave—there—but just out of reach.
He rededicated his efforts and as she hung still, the flat of his tongue stayed on her clit as a deep, sexual vibration came from deep inside his chest that played out on her flesh, driving her beyond crazy.
She was almost there—almost—and he seemed to know it as his hand left her thigh, reaching for her nipple once more.
He began to squeeze in time with the force of his tongue and his finger, and the explosion that hit her almost annihilated her—nirvana splintered around her as he took her straight to heaven.
He held that position for a moment, letting her milk her orgasm, but once again, that’s all she got. He released her slowly, even gently, and the few seconds he took to drop his jeans and roll on a condom almost annihilated her.
With the condom intact, he glanced around the room like a mad man before lifting her and twisting her until her bottom was on his desk as her legs dangled off. He pushed between her thighs, and thrust inside with a single, torrential stroke.
The force of his action stalled the breath in her lungs. And when he began stroking, she caught his shoulders under her palms and held on for dear life. He pounded away at her, his intent orgasm. He was a man on a mission for relief and she bit her lip as she sneaked a peek at his face.
His eyes were closed, his teeth were clenched and the muscles in his neck were roped and prominently displayed. He looked absolutely sinister in that moment, and she felt twin feelings of panic as he pounded into her, along with an inglorious moment of elation that he was pounding into her.
His urgency was brutal, his effort very obviously focused on one thing: coming.
And then it was happening, as a great wave of force almost shook the desk—it shook her as he thrust inside and held himself there, pushing, pushing harder until his shoulders shook and the groan that came from his throat was anything but quiet.
And then he lay against her while her heart clenched in spasms as the blood raced through her system.
Her heart slowly steadied as she felt his do the same.
Although she couldn’t deny the sex was stupendous—it had been the same again. It was as if he had a goal every time: an orgasm for her and an orgasm for him.
That should have been all she wanted as well. So why did it make her feel so sad?
****
The next day, Tuesday, was again, exactly as the prior day had been. Zach caught the bus to school and just before lunch, Jeff came inside and found her, as if he knew exactly when Hannah would be asleep.
He said not a word, but grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into his study once again.
There was no question that he rocked her world, but still, that world seemed small and narrow as she felt no warmth, only an all-encompassing sexual heat coming from him.
Was this what she’d set herself up for? A mind-blowing orgasm five days a week, but nothing more from the moody rancher?
She bit her lip and closed her eyes, wondering if she could handle it.
****
On Saturday morning, Janet felt like she needed a break, and realized that it was her ‘day off’. The entire week had been the same, days of satisfying, yet unsatisfying couplings that left her brain scattered but her heart damn near shattered. Truthfully, she didn’t know how much more she could take.
Jeff had absented himself from the house after breakfast, growling like a bear with a thorn in his paw, and she could only guess the reason why. Was he seriously that irritated that his noontime nookie would be suspended for the weekend?
After helping Zach with some math homework, Janet was feeling very unsettled. She knew for certain how Jeff would feel if she ignored his instructions and cleaned Parker’s house again. But she’d never mentioned to Parker that she wouldn’t be coming again and really, why should she giv
e up the job? Why should Jeff get his way about everything? It wasn’t as if they really had a relationship—his way of making love, of having sex, was really nothing more than a clinical coupling.
So, surely she should get to do as she wanted. She reminded herself that it was a free world, she was a free woman and free of real entanglements, so she picked up the phone and after finding Parker’s number she dialed it. He answered on the third ring, and assured her that he very much wanted her to clean again that day.
And Janet not only needed the money, she needed to escape from the McIntyre ranch for a few blissful hours, even if her escape did entail a lot of work.
As it turned out, Parker had left her an additional twenty again that week, and feeling guilty about it, Janet cleaned for an extra hour.
The additional time was going to cost her that evening, so with a plan in her head for a super-fast supper, she stopped at the store and splurged some of her hard-earned money on fish sticks and frozen French fries. Simply for her own sanity, of course. She was wiped and literally didn’t have it in her to do more than throw some food on a cookie sheet and turn on the oven.
****
Jeff stared down at his plate while his son, who was seated opposite as normal, wolfed down the food in front of him as if he were experiencing a rare treat. Janet moved about the kitchen silently as a ghost, while the baby played in her high chair, making a mess of the food on her tray.
He really had no idea why he was so pissed—he just knew he was. He hated the fact that he couldn’t have Janet in his bed at night, even though he admitted to himself that he’d never let himself hold her close for very long—so why did he want her beside him anyway?