Chapter 40
Forty
S cotty knocked against the kitchen door while they were finishing lunch. Jane let him in and asked if he wanted something to eat.
“No. I just came over to tell you that I believe someone fiddled with the regulator. I saw signs of tampering and suspect foul play.”
“Oh, my.” Jane gasped and started hyperventilating. Ethan rubbed her shoulders, and she relaxed.
“What’s next?” he asked.
Scotty rubbed his soot-covered face. “I’ll have some of the guys come by and pack it up. The insurance company might need to inspect it.”
“Thanks, Scotty,” said Ethan, standing up to shake hands with the fire chief before he left.
Jane was gazing into her coffee cup when he returned to his seat. “Jane, we’ll figure out what happened. I have my deputies working full-time on this.”
She nodded. “I know, but it’s too painful to think someone would be so malicious.”
“Well, I didn’t want to say anything before.” He hesitated and looked at Jane. “My brother Sean owns a security company in Burlingham. I’ve asked him to come down and install security cameras around the property.”
“Great idea,” said Bucky. He stood to take his plate to the sink. “Sorry to leave, but I’m exhausted.”
“It’s no problem,” replied Jane as she stood and took the plate from him and put it in the sink. “Have a good rest.” She stood at the sink, staring out the window.
“Jane.” Ethan stood and reached out to hold her. “Having security cameras is a good idea. We have to find out who’s been doing this.”
She let out a deep sigh and leaned back into his embrace. “I know, but I thought living in the country would mean leaving all the crime of the city behind. That I’d find peace of mind.”
Ethan tightened his arms around her, his chin delicately resting atop her head. He inhaled the sweet scent of lavender from her shampoo. “Sweetheart, crime knows no boundaries. You’re not any safer here than you would be in a city. As for peace of mind, the security cameras will help with that.”
“When is he going to install them?”
“In a couple of days.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“What’s wrong?” Ethan frowned. He thought she’d be happy, but now he wasn’t sure.
“Nothing.” She gave a little shrug.
Right. He knew enough about women that when a woman said nothing, it was something.
“Hmm. There’s something wrong. Tell me,” he insisted.
“It’s going to sound silly,” she murmured.
“Sweetheart, nothing you say is silly.” He turned her around, looked into worried green eyes. “What is it?”
Jane bit her lip, hesitating. “I … I’m a little afraid to stay alone here right now.”
Ethan chuckled softly. Then the bewildered expression on her face stopped him short. “If you thought that I was going to let you stay here by yourself, especially guarding an injured man, you’re crazy.”
“Whaaat?” Her eyes widened in surprise.
“I fully intend to stay here until we find the perpetrator and arrest them.”
Jane slumped against his chest as relief flooded through her. “Thank you. I’m usually a brave person, but having someone sneak around trying to scare me is too much.”
Ethan wrapped his arms around her tightly. “I’ve got you,” he said.
She lifted her face toward his and put her arms around his neck and pulled him down. He looked into forest-green eyes as they darkened with desire.
He leaned in to kiss her. Her lips brushed his. A soft kiss. A tender kiss. He could feel the warmth of her skin, and his cock got hard.
Then he kissed her harder. She pushed back. Ethan could feel the beating of her heart against his chest. His tongue parted her lips. She opened for him, and his tongue caressed hers.
He rubbed his hands down her back and couldn’t remember when a kiss felt so good … so right.
“More,” she murmured as she feverishly kissed him.
Ethan’s palms were sweaty, his breathing erratic. Could he? Would she?
He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her so she had to put her legs around his waist. When he broke the connection with their lips, she groaned.
“Tell me you don’t want this,” he said. “Tell me and I’ll stop.”
He said a quick prayer that she wouldn’t say stop, but it was her decision.
She leaned into his neck, nibbled on his earlobe and whispered, “I don’t want you to stop.”
Thank God. Ethan wasn’t sure his hard-on would ever go down if she’d said no. She softly kissed his neck while he carried her upstairs, then he stopped, unsure of which room.
“My room,” she said.
Ethan carried Jane to her room and tenderly placed her on the bed. He stared at the small woman lying there, smiling at him, her eyes shining, her lips swollen from his kisses. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if what they were doing was right.
Oh hell. What was he thinking? Yes, it was right.
Sure, he’d had sex with a couple of women in the past year, but that was all it was—a one and done. He gazed into Jane’s eyes, envisioning a future together.
She was everything he wanted in a woman—brave, sexy, smart, and she understood pain. He was amazed by her courage to keep going while he cowardly avoided getting hurt again.
The sun cast soft shadows through the gauzy curtains. The faint smell of the perfume she spritzed on earlier lingered in the air.
She was ready to continue their relationship, and Jane knew with an honorable man like Ethan that he wasn’t a love ’em and leave ’em type of man. They had the beginning of something special, and it was time to explore that.
“I hope you’re not chickening out on me,” Jane murmured. Ethan looked serious for a minute, and her heart skipped a beat. She hoped his hesitation stemmed from being overwhelmed by her desire for them to be intimate, rather than from having second thoughts.
Her pulse quickened as she waited for his response.
His sudden laugh broke the silence. “Bawk, bawk, bawk,” he teased, playfully nuzzling her neck. “Not on your life. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m calling fake news,” she said with a smirk. “You didn’t like me when I first moved here.”
He pulled back and looked into her eyes, his expression softening. “Maybe not, but you’ve grown on me.”
Jane arched a brow. “Like poison ivy?” Jane smiled. Ethan’s blush was adorable.
Ethan chuckled as he delicately brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. He leaned closer. “I’d say more like a … stubborn weed.”
“Whaat?”
“Yup. A stubborn weed that refuses to go away no matter how hard you try to get rid of it, but in the end, it turns into a beautiful flower.”
Jane giggled. “A stubborn weed?” She shook her head in disbelief. “So, I’m hard to get rid of but somehow essential in the garden?”
“Yup.” Ethan grinned. “I heard someone say once that weeds are like flowers once you get to know them.”
Jane looked into his brown eyes, which were filled with emotion. Well now, the grumpy man had a sense of humor … go figure. She could see glimpses of the person he was before his heart was crushed by Corrine. It felt good to tease and laugh with him.
He lifted his hand and tenderly caressed her cheek, brushing his thumb against her skin. Then he leaned in and kissed her forehead, her nose, before he finally captured her lips in a sweet kiss.
Jane’s hand slipped up to wrap around his neck, pulling him closer. His kisses were tender and promised more than passion. They promised a future together.