9. Delilah
DELILAH
I couldn’t believe what I’d started. I had no idea a simple kiss could release the kind of passion that flooded through me as I met Jasper kiss for kiss.
His tongue slid against mine, his hands cupped the back of my head, cradling it as he took the kiss even deeper.
I gripped his biceps with my hands, trying not to lose myself completely.
He pulled away first, nudging his nose against mine. “You okay?”
Words escaped me. Not only was I incapable of forming a cohesive sentence, but I’d lost all ability to speak. My knees knocked together as I looked for somewhere to sit before I lost the use of my legs.
Jasper’s arm went around my back, and he guided me toward the couch.
“I’m fine.” I drew in a deep breath. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t escape his scent. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to.
He held on to me until I’d settled on the cushion of the overstuffed couch. “You sure you’re all right?”
Telling the truth would only make the situation worse, so I lied. “I’m absolutely fine.”
“Can I get you a glass of water? Something to eat?” He stood next to the couch, his fingers kneading the back of his neck.
I needed to process what had just happened . . . the way the world shifted when our lips met . . . the way his kiss made me want to throw away all of my inhibitions and do unspeakable things with the cowboy in front of me.
“Delilah?” The way his voice caressed my name made me want to shrug off his shirt and pull him down onto the couch next to me.
But I couldn’t. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the heated images running through my mind.
Getting involved with Jasper would be a bad idea.
An epically bad idea. My days in Ido were numbered.
Twenty-eight more, to be exact. And then I’d be headed back to Dallas to make my fortune in private labeled cosmetics and fashion accessories.
Things could be worse. Thanks to Stella’s business sense and my good looks, I had something waiting for me on the other side of my pageant career.
A lot of girls I knew couldn’t say the same.
It wasn’t worth risking my future for a temporary fling with Jasper Taylor.
No matter how those hazel eyes might wordlessly beg me to throw caution to the wind.
“I ought to get to bed. Don’t we have something scheduled tomorrow?”
His shoulders rose and fell as he let out a long-drawn-out breath like he was relieved I’d given him an out. I’d been the one to initiate the kiss. He’d probably been trying to figure out a gentle way to let me down.
“I’ll have to check the binder. I think there’s a tour of a local vineyard in the afternoon, but nothing in the morning. It’s Sunday. My family usually goes to church together, but I might beg off from that tomorrow.”
What kind of guest would I be if I didn’t accompany them to church? “I’d love to join you if you go.”
His eyes widened.
“Unless you think it’s not a good idea.” Why was I so off kilter? I hadn’t felt so out of place in Hartwood or East. Of course, I hadn’t been an unwanted house guest in either location. Plus, I’d had Stella to keep me company.
“Why don’t we talk about it in the morning? I think we could both use a decent night’s sleep.”
“Of course.” I wasn’t thinking. How could I think when he was standing so close? Sucking in all the air? “I’d be happy to take the couch.”
“You take the bedroom. I insist.”
He didn’t look like he wanted to be challenged so I nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
He held out a hand and helped me up. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
Besides him lying next to me? I shook my head, outraged at the way my body seemed to crave the connection with his. Reluctantly, I let his hand go. “See you in the morning.”
“Good night.” He stood in the short hallway as I entered his bedroom . . . his bedroom . . . alone.
I pressed the door closed behind me and leaned against it, trying to catch my breath. The man knew how to kiss, that was for sure. My legs still wobbled, and I wasn’t sure when I might be capable of putting one steady foot in front of the other. Maybe never if Jasper Taylor was around.
He’d flipped the switch on a lamp sitting on the nightstand during the short tour. I hadn’t taken a good look at the bedroom though. Now that I was in his space, I soaked it in.
The rough log walls and dark green and navy quilt agreed with him. This was a man’s room. A flat-screen television sat on a dresser across from the bed. The nightstand and lamp were the only other furniture. The absence of a woman’s touch made my heart skip a beat.
I thumped my chest with my fist. It shouldn’t matter that there were no obvious signs that a woman had been there. Whatever heat had passed between Jasper and me had to end with that kiss.
That toe-curling, goose bump–producing, panty-melting kiss.
I flung myself down on the bed and pulled a pillow to my chest. What the heck did the man bathe in? One whiff of his pillow, and my hormones leapt to high alert. It was like he’d covered everything in his bedroom in pheromones.
The clock on his nightstand told me it was way too late to engage in my favorite game of what-if. What if Jasper and I had a fling while I was in town? What if he laid another one of those kisses on me? What if I went out into the living room and curled against him on the couch?
Groaning, I reached for the switch on the lamp and flicked it off. With the room shrouded in darkness, his scent grew even stronger. I inhaled, pretending the shirt I’d wrapped myself in was his embrace instead.
Light filtered in through a crack in the curtain. I woke to something warm and wet slathering my face. I tried to swat it away, but it kept coming back. I cracked my eyelid just in time to catch a slobbery swipe of tongue to my cheek.
“Buster!” Jasper’s voice came through the doorway and the dog stopped, cocked its head, and jumped onto the bed.
“Good morning, Buster.” I pulled the cotton blanket up to my chin, trying to protect myself from the onslaught of doggie love. His entire backside wagged back and forth with his tail. “Are you supposed to be in here?”
He turned a few circles on top of the quilt, then collapsed into a heap against my side. The door creaked open and I glanced over. Jasper peeked through the crack in the doorway.
“Buster, get out of there,” he whispered.
Buster looked at him, lifted his leg, and licked at his privates. I stifled a giggle.
“You awake?” Jasper asked, swinging the door wide.
“Your dog woke me.” I squinted at the clock. Eleven o’clock? Flinging the covers off, I swung my legs over the side of the bed. “Why in the world did you let me sleep so late?”
His gazed raked over my bare legs, reminding me of the events of the night before. My stomach clenched, my core warmed. I pulled the covers against my chest.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to be anywhere until this afternoon. I checked Lacey’s binder.”
That should have made me feel better. But all it did was made me think of obscene ways we could pass the time. I’d hoped a good night’s sleep would cure me of my attraction. But as I swept a finger across my lips, I could still feel the way his lips had pressed on mine the night before.
“If you want to get dressed, we can pick up breakfast on our way over to take care of the cricket situation.” His lips curved up.
“Sure. Just give me a few minutes?” He looked like he’d already showered and shaved. For a split second I let myself remember the way his whiskers had felt against my skin.
“Take as long as you need. Do you want me to get him out of here?” He gestured toward the dog, who’d spread out from his initial tight circle and now sprawled across half of the king-sized bed.
“He’s fine. I didn’t notice it last night, but what happened to his ear?”
Jasper tilted his head as his smile faded. “He’s a rescue. Zina thinks he might have been part of a dog-fighting ring at one point. A lot of the pit bulls she gets at the rescue come from that kind of background.”
“That’s awful. Why do so many dogs seem to come from dog fighting rings around here?”
He ran a hand over Buster’s belly. The dog flopped over on his side and let his tongue loll out of his mouth in pure ecstasy.
“Deputy Phillips has been tracking a mobile dog fighting ring for a couple of years. Every time they think they’re getting close, it moves out of the area and pops up somewhere else. ”
“That’s terrible.” I ran my palm over the dog’s stomach, earning a series of tail whaps.
“He likes you.” Jasper grinned, his smiling warming my soul.
I scratched a little harder and Buster moaned. “He doesn’t know any better.”
“He’s actually a really good judge of character.” Jasper retreated through the open door and back into the hall. “I’m going to run up to the house to see if my dad’s got anything to take care of your crickets. I set a clean towel out for you on the bathroom counter, and coffee’s on.”
“Thank you.” I wasn’t used to anyone catering to me. Usually, I was the one trying to make things easier for Stella, always soothing my mother’s rattled nerves. It was nice to be on the receiving end for a change.
Jasper pulled the door closed behind him.
I stretched my arms over my head as my gaze traveled around the room.
It had been dark last night, but now, with the soft light coming through the curtain, I could get a better look.
I’d been right about there not being any sign of a woman’s presence.
It shouldn’t have made me feel better, but it did.
After that blistering kiss last night, I was going to have a hard time thinking about Jasper Taylor in a strictly platonic fashion.
My pulse kicked up as I remembered how his lips had felt on mine.