Chapter Six
After getting back to the cabin from swimming, Presley showered to wash the chlorine from her hair, then changed into shorts and a T-shirt and decided to take a walk. If she had time, she walked four times a week back home. If it were raining or snowing, she’d head to the mall to walk inside.
Strolling down the road that led from the cabins toward the registration building, she turned to the left to follow the path that passed the barns. She didn’t know where any of the roads, other than the ones leading to the cabins, headed. Walking in a brisk pace, she noticed it started up an incline. As it started a downgrade again, she came around a bend, stopped in her tracks, and stared at the beautiful log home sitting on a rise in front of her. Slowly, she walked toward it. Although surrounded by a log rail fence, the gate was open.
A set of wooden steps led to a porch that reached across the entire front of the home. On the end closest to her, she could see a large stone fireplace. A green tin roof covered the house, and she knew it would sound wonderful when it rained. She was about to continue her walk when she heard a deep familiar voice.
“Are you coming up or just stand there and stare at the house?”
“Jaxon?”
Presley frowned, shaded her eyes, and saw him sitting on the porch with his booted feet propped on the wooden railing that wrapped around the porch.
“Yeah, come on up. I’ll get you a beer.”
“No beer, thanks. Water would be great, though,”
she said as she walked up the drive then climbed the steps. Would she ever understand him? Now he was being nice and inviting her up to his porch when earlier, he’d run as fast as he could when he’d spotted her by the pool.
Jaxon stood, entered the house while she took a seat on the top step. A black and white dog came running from around the house and ran up the steps to her.
“Hi there. You sure are pretty.”
She rubbed his ears.
“That’s Jinks,”
Jaxon said as he came back out on the porch and handed her bottled water after he twisted the cap off for her.
“Thank you. Hello, Jinks.”
She laughed when he sat and put his paw up for her to shake. She glanced up at Jaxon. “Aren’t I the one supposed to say shake? ”
“He’s smart. I’ve had him since he was five weeks old. He’s two years old now. Dev found a dog in the barn having puppies. She had to have been dropped off somewhere then ended up here. A week after she delivered the pups, she died. We all took turns feeding the pups. There were only three of them. Dev, Roark, and I each took one.”
“Roark?”
“One of my cousins. The other is Reid.”
“I’m glad you gave the puppies homes. Jinks looks like a Border Collie.”
“He is. The vet confirmed it. We were quite sure since the mother was. I’d like to find out who dropped her off. She was in bad shape. It looked like she hadn’t eaten in a while. Pups took it out of her too, I imagine. Snowy, Roark’s dog, is white with a black ear. Dev’s dog, Dolly, looks like Jinks.”
“They all sound so beautiful. I don’t understand people. If the owners didn’t want her to have pups, then they should have had her spayed.”
“I agree. Well, Jinks won’t be adding to the population.”
Jinks stood when he heard Jaxon say his name.
“Good for you,”
she said as she rubbed Jinks’s ears. “What else can you do, Jinks?”
Jaxon sat down beside her on the step. “Jinks, sit.”
The dog sat .
“Oh, come on. All dogs learn that.”
“So, you need to be impressed?”
“Yes.”
She laughed.
“Jinks, down.”
He laid down. “Jinks, dead.”
He fell over onto his side.
“More.”
Presley grinned.
Jaxon grinned. “Jinks, sad.”
The dog rolled to his belly, then put his head on his paws and stared up at them. “Jinks, cry.”
He sat up and howled. Presley laughed. “Jinks, tell me no.”
He shook his head. “Jinks, tell me, yes.”
He bobbed his head up and down. “Jinks, embarrassed.” He put his paw over his eyes.
“Oh, my God. I could watch this all day.”
“He does all the basics too, as in stay and heel. He’ll also crawl. Roark can get Snowy to do it all by hand commands. I never had the patience for that.”
“Hand commands?”
“Yeah, he’ll have him do anything just by using his hand. But Roark can’t teach him how to do the embarrassing look. He’s tried, but he looks at him like he’s crazy.”
“What about Devin’s dog?”
“Just as smart. Dev can tell Dolly to go crazy, and she’ll spin in circles. The one thing Jinks will do that the others can’t is fetch a beer from the fridge if I say beer.”
Presley laughed. “I bet it would be fun to get them all together. ”
“They have been, and it’s a lot of fun. So, what are you doing out this way?”
“I decided I wanted to take a walk. I didn’t know you lived here. This is a beautiful place, Jaxon,”
she said as she glanced around.
“Thank you. Want to see the inside?”
“I’d love to if you don’t mind.”
Startled, he would ask, she nodded.
“I asked, didn’t I?”
He stood slowly and put his hand out to her. Placing her hand in his, she let him pull her to her feet then led her inside.
The entrance door was mahogany with a beautiful oval leaded glass window with matching sidelights. Entering the house, she gasped. The foyer had light oak floors. To the left was the living room, with the fireplace she’d seen from outside. Walking toward the doorway, she peered in. A maroon sofa faced the hearth, and a large flat-screen TV sat above the mantle. To the left sat a row of windows with a window seat facing the front of the house. A recliner matching the sofa and a brown wingback chair sat to her right. Another row of windows sat on the back wall. Walking to the mantle when she saw photos, she stopped to look at them and saw Jaxon in a tuxedo with a beautiful petite woman, who had to be Bethany, next to him, in a wedding gown. They both were smiling at the camera. Reaching out, Presley picked up one where the couple faced each other, and Bethany held a pink Tiger Lily up to his cheek.
“She always did that. That was her favorite flower, and she said that was her secret kiss to me,”
Jaxon said from beside her.
Presley placed the picture back on the mantle and blinked tears from her eyes.
“I can see how much you loved each other,”
she whispered as she looked at Jaxon.
“Yes.”
“This room is so gorgeous.”
She glanced around the room. She had to change the subject because looking at those photos made her heart ache. Would he ever love someone that much again?
“Thanks. Come on, I’ll show you the rest.”
He led her back through the foyer and into a dining room on the opposite side and then the kitchen which made her gasp. Black appliances sat nestled between grey marble countertops. She’d noticed the oak floors ran through all the rooms. He then led her back to the foyer and living room then down a hallway.
“This is one of the spare bedrooms,”
he said as he opened a door.
Peeking in, she saw a queen size bed, dresser, chest of drawers, and a door, which she assumed, was a closet. She looked up at him and smiled. She watched his eyes roam over her face and stop on her lips. He cleared his throat and led her down the hall.
“Another spare bedroom,”
he said as he pushed another door open.
Presley nodded as she looked in. It looked, basically, like the other one. Then he led her further down the hall to two more doors.
“How many bedrooms?”
she asked.
“Four total, but I use one for an office. That’s this room.”
He nodded toward the room. The door was open. A large cherry desk sat toward the back of the room with a wall of bookcases filled with books behind it. Large windows let the sunshine in, and a large braided oval rug lay in the center of the room. The desk was neat with just a few papers, along with a computer sitting on it. He took her elbow in his hand and led her across the hall. “This is my bedroom.”
This was the room she wanted to see. Her stomach had been in knots waiting to get to this one. Stepping around him, she entered the room to step onto dark red, plush carpeting. A king size bed sat centered against the far wall. The wall along the door she’d entered through had a row of doors which had to be a closet. The opposite wall was a row of glass, and she could see a swimming pool outside. Turning, she looked at him, and her breath caught when she saw the stone fireplace against the wall. A doorway led to a bathroom beside it, and she could see his Jacuzzi tub inside.
“So that’s why you don’t swim at the other pool. You have your own.”
She smiled.
“It’s only one of the reasons.”
Tilting her head, she stared up at him. “What are the other ones?”
“I’m sure no one wants to see my scar.”
“We all have some type of scar, Jaxon.”
“I hate the stares.”
Walking toward him, she stopped in front of him. “It’s a part of you. I wouldn’t stare.”
Jaxon blew out a laugh. “You wouldn’t stare because you’ve seen a lot of shit.”
“That’s true, but I still think it’s just a part of you.”
“I’m sure there are a lot of women who would be repulsed by it.”
Devin’s words ran through his mind.
“I’m not repulsed by it,”
She said as she touched his black T-shirt.
“You haven’t seen it,”
he murmured.
“Want to show me?”
“Not really.”
Presley nibbled on her bottom lip. She wanted him to know that it didn’t bother her that he had a scar. To her, he was a handsome man. No injury would take that away from him. She ran her fingernails down his chest to his stomach and smiled when he sucked in a breath.
“So, if you don’t want me to see it, does that mean we’d only have sex in the dark?”
she asked softly. Where her courage was coming from, she had no idea, but she wanted him, and she wanted him to know, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t turn her away. Again.
“What did you say?”
he asked as he grasped her arms and pulled her to him.
“Oh, I think you heard me just fine. I know I’ve only been here a week, but you can’t deny this attraction we feel, Jaxon, even though you don’t want to admit to it, and if you do deny it, I’ll call you a liar.”
“I’m not a liar,”
he whispered as he lowered his head and took her lips in a deep kiss.
Presley couldn’t stop the groan that tore from her. Pulling at his T-shirt, she tugged it out of his jeans and lifted it off over his head, tossed it to the floor then ran her nails down his chest, his rippled stomach, to the happy trail she so desperately wanted to follow. Touching the soft hair, she followed it with her finger to the waistband of his jeans. He seemed to stop breathing as she pulled back from him and looked into his eyes as she dipped her finger inside his jeans to touch the head of his hard cock .
“So, tell me, Jaxon. Would we only have sex in the dark?”
“I—"
Placing her hand over his mouth, she stared at him. “If you tell me yes, I will walk right out that door.”
She watched him close his eyes and take a deep breath then he opened them, looked at her, and pulled her hand from over his mouth.
“I know you’re saying it won’t bother you, but—”
“No buts, Jaxon Callahan. I told you it won’t bother me because it’s a part of you, and I want to know you, the man and that includes any flaws you may think you have.”
“I don’t think I have flaws. I know I have them.”
“We all do.”
She stood on her toes and took his bottom lip between her teeth.
“Now, answer my question.”
“You’re awful damn demanding.”
“And you’re awful good at dodging questions. Tell me.”
“I don’t want to see that look on your face.”
He shook his head and stepped back from her.
Presley stepped closer to him. “Jaxon. I want you. All of you. Would we have to have sex in the dark because of your insecurities?”
He stared at her. “Yes. ”
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Presley gave a curt nod and turned away from him to leave the room, her heart breaking as she realized she would never have this man, but after only taking two steps, he spun her around and pulled her back to him. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.
“No,”
he said against her lips.
Presley moaned and opened her mouth to him. His tongue slowly moved into her mouth to tangle with hers as his hands moved down to around her waist to cup her ass. She combed her fingers through his thick, silky hair. He raised his lips from hers and stared into her eyes.
“Don’t stop now, Jaxon.”
She placed her hands on his cheeks to pull him back to her.
“Presley, you have no idea how badly I want to fuck you until you scream…”
“But?”
He shook his head. “No buts, I just don’t want you, of all people, to be turned off by what you see.”
“Listen to me. Even if I wasn’t a nurse, it wouldn’t bother me because it’s you , Jaxon. You are who I want. All of you.”
“If you’re sure?”
“No if about it.”
Jaxon pulled her into his arms and kissed her, then picked her up and carried her to the bed. Placing her in the center of it, he then sat on the edge and pulled his boots off. Presley toed off her sneakers and kicked them off the bed. He glanced over his shoulder at her with a raised eyebrow. She smiled then laughed when he shook his head. Turning, he lay down beside her.
“I do want you. I’ve wanted you since the day I handed you the towels, but especially once I kissed you, but this can’t be any more than sex for me,”
he said as he placed his lips against her neck.
“I get it. Do you know I sat there that day at the creek and watched you take your shirt off and almost fell into the water? You have a fantastic body, Jaxon.”
“You watched me?”
“I happened to look over and see you standing there, and when you reached to pull your shirt over your head, I was praying you’d take it off.”
Jaxon chuckled. “I didn’t see you, but I’m glad I provided some entertainment for you.”
He leaned down to kiss her. His hand moved across her waist to the bottom of her T-shirt, then he rolled it up and lifted it off over her head. She heard him groan when he looked at her demi-cup red lace bra.
“Where is the chain you were wearing?”
He seemed startled, but blew out a breath.
“I just took a shower. I take it off when I do that or go to bed. ”
“Is it your wedding rings?”
“Yes. Bethany had told me a long time ago that the only ring she wanted on her finger when she died was her engagement ring, because it was our…beginning, and she wanted it there at the end.”
Looking up into his face, she saw him staring at her, and she touched his lightly, whiskered cheek.
“Jaxon?”
“I haven’t been with a woman since…”
“I’m sure you haven’t forgotten anything.”
“I find it hard to breathe when I look at you,”
he whispered.
Presley blinked tears away. “You are such an amazing man.”
Smiling at her, he lowered his head to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him to her tight. Jaxon rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him, and moved his hands to her back. They moved up between her shoulder blades and paused. He pulled back to look at her.
“Sit up. What kind of bra do you have on?”
He frowned at her.
Presley laughed, rolled off him, and sat up. “It’s called a racerback bra. Like sports bras are made, but someone decided to make them into lingerie and sexier.”
“No shit.”
His hand moved over the shoulder straps that formed an ‘X’ pattern between her shoulder blades. “Really sexy. I’m glad the hook’s in the front.”
He smiled at her.
Presley laughed then sobered. Putting her fingers on the clasp, she unhooked the bra, letting her breasts spill free. She saw Jaxon swallow hard before he leaned forward, took a nipple into his mouth, and suckled while he rubbed the pad of his thumb over her other one. She raked her fingers through his hair and held him close to her. Pushing her to her back, he moved one hand to the snap of her shorts and opened it then slid the zipper down and inched his hand inside to her panties. His finger moved under the elastic of her panties.
“Jaxon…”
She sucked in a breath as he slid his lips up her chest, neck, and to her lips.
While he kissed her, he pushed her shorts down her legs then kissed his way down to her chest again then to her stomach. When her shorts were at her ankles, he sat up, pushed them off, leaving her in nothing but her panties. He moved up between her legs and hooked his fingers into the sides of her panties and pulled them down while kissing her belly button. He moved his lips down her stomach as he pushed her panties down, then moved to the end of the bed and pulled them off and tossed them across the room. Crawling up between her legs, he kissed the inside of her thighs. When he reached her curls, she held her breath. It left her in a rush when he used the pads of his thumbs to separate her slit and move his tongue against her clitoris. A deep groan tore from her.
“Bend your knees,”
he said against her.
She did as he told her and gasped when he sucked on her and spread her legs wider.
His tongue moved down her slit and back up.
She couldn’t stop the moans coming from her as she tried to catch her breath, but it wasn’t possible.
Sitting up, she grabbed fistfuls of his hair as her orgasm started rushing over her.
She’d never been taken there so quickly, and she screamed his name as her orgasm ripped through her, tearing her into a thousand pieces.
Letting go of his hair, she fell back onto the bed and took deep breaths.
Jaxon moved up over her and reached into the nightstand.
She heard him open a packet then the zipper on his jeans going down.
As she tried to get back down to earth, she heard him shuck his jeans then he was between her legs, and his lips came down on hers, and she could taste her arousal on his lips.
Then he slowly inched into her. Opening her eyes, she stared up into his eyes. When he started to move against her, she took her bottom lip between her teeth and started to close her eyes .
“No. Look at me,”
he demanded. “I want to see you.”
“You feel so good, Jaxon. So damn good,”
she murmured right before he pressed his lips to hers and deepened the kiss when she moaned.
Moving her hips in rhythm with his, she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, making him growl low in his throat.
“I’m not going to last, and I need more, Presley. Harder. Faster.”
“Yes,”
she moaned when he picked up the pace and plunged hard into her. She couldn’t believe she was there again already. Only he could do this for her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled his face to her, needing his kiss.
“Kiss me, please,”
she pleaded.
Jaxon’s lips crashed down on hers just as her orgasm hit her. She whimpered into his mouth just as he groaned into hers. She could feel him throbbing inside her as he came. Sweat trickled between her breasts, and her legs were rubber. Dropping her arms and legs from him as he placed his lips against her collarbone, he kissed her there as she tried to catch her breath, and she felt him roll off her to lay beside her. When she glanced over to him, he had his arm over his eyes. His chest rose and fell as he took deep breaths. Was he regretting it? Probably. Since he’d been avoiding her… this since they’d met.
****
Son of a bitch! Sex had never been that good for him. Ever . Sucking in deep breaths, he couldn’t get over how good it had been with her. Fuck! He wanted her again, and anger poured over him. How could he let this happen? Why had he allowed this to happen? Damn it. He loved Bethany, and no other woman would worm her way into his heart because he was too afraid to let them in. Christ! He was so pissed at letting his damn dick rule his head. Swinging his legs over the bed, he stood then pulled his jeans on and walked into the bathroom to dispose of the condom then he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Entering the kitchen, he yanked the fridge door open and grabbed a bottle of water. Leaning back against the counter, he twisted the cap off and took a long swig.
“You’re regretting it, aren’t you?”
Presley asked from the doorway.
Jaxon emptied the water into the sink then threw the bottle into the recycle bin so hard that it bounced out and landed on the floor, and then he turned to look at her.
“It never should have happened. I told you I didn’t want to get involved with anyone. ”
“You also told me it could only be sex for you. That was only sex,”
she said, waving her hand.
“Don’t be a fucking smartass. I know what I said, but I also know how women get once they’ve been with a man. This will not amount to anything,”
he shouted.
“Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?”
Jaxon clenched his jaw as he strode toward her.
“I think it’s best you leave. This was a mistake,”
he growled. “Go.”
Presley stared at him, and he watched as she blinked tears away. This had definitely been a mistake. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her.
“You’re right. It was a huge mistake,”
she replied. After taking a deep breath, she spun on her heel and walked away from him. He winced when he heard the front door slam.
“Son of a bitch!”
Jaxon took a deep breath then headed for the shower. Maybe he could scrub her scent from his skin. Marching down the hallway, he clenched his fists and flattened his lips, then entered his bedroom, and then the bathroom, shoving the door closed with a loud bang .