"Hmm?"
He caught her hair in his hand, drew her head back. His mouth crushed desperately over hers. "Just once more," he murmured as he lowered her to the blanket.
When he walked back to the farm, his mind was fogged from her. He'd never known a woman who could leave him so dazed, so weak-kneed. He passed the pigsty, where the stock caught the scent of man and grunted hopefully. In the chicken coop, hens clucked and fluttered over their feed. Distracted, Jared nearly tripped over one of the barn cats, who'd come out to stretch in the sun.
Rubbing a hand over his face, he made it to the back door. The smells of breakfast hit him hard, and his stomach realized it was ravenous. He could have eaten the sausages Devin was grilling, and the skillet along with it.
"Coffee." He nearly whimpered the word as he stumbled to the counter.
Devin glanced at him, then over at Shane, who was already gulping down his second cup. A look of pure enjoyment passed between them.
"Your shirt's inside out," Devin said mildly.
Jared scalded his tongue on the coffee, cursed, then collapsed at the kitchen table.
With a grin cracking his face, Shane leaned on the counter near the stove, where Devin was frying up breakfast. "Brother Jared looks a little rough this morning. Looks like he spent the night crawling through the woods."
"I guess I should have sent out that search party." Enjoying himself, Devin cracked eggs into the pan. "It's tough on a man, spending the night in the haunted woods. Alone."
"I feel real bad about it. Let me get you some more coffee, Jare." All solicitude, Shane brought the pot to the table. "Then you can tell us all about it. Don't leave out a thing. We're here for you."
Jared picked up the coffee Shane had just topped off and scalded his tongue again. "I'm in love with a former erotic dancer with a tattoo."
/> With an expert's finesse, Devin flipped eggs. "She was a stripper?"
"Where's the tattoo?" Shane wanted to know. It earned him a halfhearted jab in the gut. "Okay, just give me the general area."
"I'm in love with her," Jared repeated, weighing each word.
"Well, hell, you've been in love before." Shane strolled over to take biscuits out of the oven. "At least you've picked one that's interesting this time."
"Shut up," Devin muttered. He heaped food on a platter and came to the table. Then he sat and studied Jared's face. A long moment later, he leaned back and took a considering breath. "All the way in love?"
Experimentally, Jared rubbed the heel of his hand over his breastbone, which ached from the way his heart was swelling. "Feels like it."
With a shake of his head, Shane dumped biscuits into a bowl. "Man, we're dropping like flies. First Rafe, now you." He brought the biscuits to the table, sat, and propped his head on his hands. "It's getting scary."
"Did you tell her?" Devin asked.
"I've got to work it out."
"Next thing you know, we'll have to put on suits again and get married." Grumbling at the thought, Shane started to fill his plate.
"I didn't say anything about marriage," Jared said quickly. Panic reared up and kicked him in the throat. "I've been there. I didn't say anything about marriage."
"You weren't married, you were contracted." Cheering up, Shane shoveled in a man-size mouthful of eggs. A good solid breakfast always lifted his mood. "You might as well have cuddled up with a spreadsheet."
"What the hell do you know about it?"
Shane washed down the eggs with coffee. "Because I never saw you look then the way you look now, bro."
Devin ate slowly and nodded in agreement. "Is it the kid that bothers you?"
"No, Bryan's great." Frowning, Jared helped himself to what was left on the platter. He liked the boy, liked spending time with him, talking with him. And the truth was that one of the reasons his marriage had been doomed was that he'd wanted children, and his wife hadn't.
No, the boy didn't bother him. It was the man who had helped create him who stuck in his craw. And, he realized, the other men since.
He just couldn't intellectualize them away. And he didn't like himself for it.