Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
When Tully arrived at her house, Jaxon’s truck was already parked in front.
As soon as she pulled under her carport, he was there opening her door and pulling her into his arms. They were both sopping wet, but it didn’t seem to matter as they hungrily kissed, his hands gripping her butt and hers fisting his shirt.
“We should probably go inside,” he spoke against her lips.
“Yes.” She tugged him closer, deepening the kiss and teasing his tongue with hers.
He growled and lifted her off her boots by her butt. She hooked her legs around his waist, surprised, and then enthralled, by the hard length that stretched beneath his fly. She tightened her legs and pressed closer, rubbing against it like a dog in heat.
He drew back on a ragged breath. “Behave. I’m trying my damnedest not to take you right here.”
“I wouldn’t mind.” She nipped his bottom lip.
His mouth quirked on one side. “Why, Tallulah Gentry, you do have a wild streak. And one day, I might just take you up on the offer. But right now I want to get you out of these wet clothes and take my time luvin’ every square inch of .
. .” His hands tightened on her butt. “This phenomenal body I’ve been dreaming about for months. ”
It wasn’t him calling her body phenomenal that caught her attention as much as the luvin’ part.
She knew luvin’ was just a simple country word that didn’t hold the same connotation as the word love, but it still sent her heart to fluttering.
And she realized her feelings for Jaxon were much deeper than just lust. She cared for this man.
He’d wiggled his way into her heart and she knew that wasn’t a good thing when he was leaving.
But for now, she would take whatever Jaxon offered.
Luvin’ or Lovin’.
He carried her to the side door, then set her down so she could unlock it.
Once inside the kitchen, they both toed off their boots and she removed her gun belt before they started kissing again.
After he unbuttoned her shirt and slipped it off, she grabbed the hem of his T-shirt, enjoying the tightening of his abs when her cold hands came in contact with his warm skin.
She drew the wet cotton up and he stopped kissing her long enough to tug the shirt over his head and drop it to the floor while she struggled to get off her wet sports bra.
She had almost gotten it over her head when her wrists were caught in one calloused hand. Before she could question what was going on, she was pushed against the door and Jaxon was covering her breasts in hungry, open-mouthed kisses.
“Where have you been hiding these, Sweet Tully?” Jaxon’s breath fell hot against her nipple before he sucked one into his mouth.
All she could do was moan into the wet spandex as, with the tug of his lips and the delicious brush of tongue, he turned her into nothing but a towering mold of trembling Jell-O.
She was so focused on what his mouth was doing she didn’t pay attention to what the hand that wasn’t holding her wrists was doing until her pants dropped around her ankles.
Jaxon released her wrists, then, with a devilish twinkle in his warm golden eyes, knelt in front of her.
“Nice.” He studied her lacy peach panties and she was glad she’d selected a pretty pair to wear that day.
He hooked two fingers in the waistband and slowly brushed back and forth across her lower stomach before glancing up. “May I?”
She was too turned on to speak. All she could do was nod.
He took his time easing down her panties, his gaze following the lace as he inched it over her hips.
For a second, she worried about how she would compare to the women he’d been with who probably waxed and shaved and groomed their private areas to perfection.
But she stopped worrying when her panties reached her thighs and Jaxon groaned a deep, sexy moan of satisfaction.
“I’ve spent many a night wondering what color this would be,” he whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
“Light blond. Deep brown. I never thought it would be the most beautiful dark, rich honey . . . that just begs a man to taste.” He glanced up, his eyes much darker than they’d been. “Can I taste you, Tallulah?”
Again she nodded.
He eased her panties down her legs, his fingers brushing her skin in a way that made her tremble. Of maybe she was trembling from the thought of what was coming next.
“Lift your foot,” he ordered. She lifted one stocking foot out of her pants and panties, but before she could place it back down on the floor, his hand encircled her ankle and kept it elevated. He stripped off her sock, gave her arch a soft kiss . . . and then hooked her leg over his bare shoulder.
Tully had a lot of fantasies about Jaxon Hennessy. But she’d never had one like this —with her standing naked in her kitchen, fully open to his hungry gaze.
It was scary . . . and at the same time oddly liberating.
For the first time, she couldn’t hide a thing.
And it felt good.
So good.
Especially when Jaxon seemed to like what he saw.
His chest rose and fell with his increased breathing as the evidence of his pleasure strained against the fly of his jeans.
“Damn, Tully,” he breathed.
Then his mouth descended.
At the first touch, the leg she stood on shook and she released a sound that she’d never released before in her life. A sob mixed with a moan mixed with a sharp intake of breath.
“Easy, sweetheart.” His breath fell hot and heavy against the spot he’d just kissed as he placed the skull-tatted arm across her stomach, holding her securely against the door. “I got you.”
She knew he did have her.
She knew that whatever happened, she was safe.
Although safe really wasn’t what she felt when his mouth finally settled on her.
She felt like she’d just stepped into a tornado—consumed by a force she had no control over.
With every skilled brush of his tongue, he took her higher and higher toward some new pinnacle she’d never reached before.
When she finally reached it, it was the most intense, amazing release she’d ever had.
As she rode it out, she couldn’t stop her mouth from mumbling a bunch of jumbled words.
“Oh, Jaxon . . . so good . . . I can’t . . . too much . . . don’t stop.”
When she finally came out of the storm, she realized her other leg had given out entirely and she was being held up by Jaxon’s arm . . . and her two-handed grip on his head.
He didn’t seem to be too upset about having his hair ripped out. His eyes twinkled with arrogance as he gave her one last kiss, unhooked her leg from his shoulder, and rose to his feet. She expected him to say something cocky. Instead, he said something else entirely.
“I hope your cat can’t talk.”
“What?” She glanced around and spotted Dumplin’ sitting on the kitchen counter, staring right at them. “Oh my God. She’s going to be scarred for life.”
Jaxon chuckled. “Or have high expectations of the neighborhood tomcat.”
She swatted him. “It’s not funny.”
“You’re right. Let’s take this to the bedroom so I won’t corrupt Dumplin’ any more than I already have.” Just thinking of Jaxon’s corruption made Tully weak-kneed all over again. As did the sight of him stripping down to a pair of black boxer briefs.
The man could model for romance novels. His thighs and calves were as muscular as the rest of him. But what held her attention the most was the long, thick muscle beneath the soft black cotton.
She didn’t realize she was staring until he chuckled. “We’re about to get to that.” He lifted his jeans and folded them neatly over a kitchen chair before taking his wallet out of his pocket. Then he took her hand and led her through the kitchen. “Which bedroom?”
“Second on the right.”
When they reached her bedroom, he pulled her inside and closed the door before Dumplin’ could follow. “Sorry, Dumplin’, but Mama’s all mine right now.”
It was pathetic how those words made her tummy feel light and airy. She wanted to be his . . . and for longer than one night. But she refused to waste their time together worrying about him leaving. Once she’d stripped off her other sock, she readily went back into his waiting arms.
He kissed her as if that was all he ever wanted to do.
But she had other ideas. She reached for his boxers' waistband and spoke against his lips.
“You got to explore. I want the same chance.”
He drew back, his eyes dark and hooded. “I’m all yours, Officer Gentry.” He tossed his wallet to the bed.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t quite as skilled at getting underwear off as Jaxon.
Especially when the cotton was damp . . .
and there was impressive, protruding object she had to navigate around.
She finally succeeded in getting them off, but once he stood there in all his naked masculine glory, waiting for her to please him like he’d pleased her, nerves set in.
She knew next to nothing about pleasing a man. How could she compete with all the experienced women he’d probably been with? There was no doubt she was going to make a fool of herself.
A touch on her chin brought her out of her thoughts and she lifted her gaze to Jaxon’s concerned eyes.
“If you don’t want to continue, that’s okay, Tull. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”