Jasper #2
I glanced over just in time to see her foot slip on a rock near the creek. “Careful!”
She went down, her ass landing in a deep patch of mud. Her mouth opened in surprise, but nothing came out.
“Are you okay?” I rushed over and held out a hand.
Delilah rubbed at her backside. “That hurt. I think I’m going to have a bruise on my backside for life from that.”
“You need some ice?” I should have warned her earlier. It could be slick by the water. Now she was injured—again—and this time there was no doubt it was all my fault. “I’m sorry. I should have warned you.”
“Warned me about what? That mud can be slippery?” She reached out so I could help her up. “I’m a grown-ass woman. I ought to know better.”
I pulled her to her feet, and she tried to steady herself by grabbing a fistful of my shirt.
“Oh no. I’m sorry. Now I’ve gone and got you all muddy, too.” She stared at the center of my chest where she’d gripped the fabric, leaving a crinkled, muddy spot.
“I’ll survive. You sure you’re okay?” I held her upper arm, trying to make sure she didn’t slip again. “You’ve got some mud on your cheek.”
She swiped a hand across her nose, running it over her cheek. “Better?”
“You actually made it worse.” I let go of her arm to wipe the mud away. As I did, she took a step forward.
She went down again, grabbing my arm as she did. Before I had a chance to gain my footing, we both landed. Me on my back, her splayed over my chest, her breasts pressing against me.
She gasped like she’d had the wind knocked out of her. “You okay?”
Like a crab, I scuttled backward, trying to get to a position where I could make sure she wasn’t hurt. She rolled over onto her back, her face smeared with mud. A deep laugh rumbled through her chest.
“You should see your face.” She pushed herself to a seated position and wiped a palm across my cheek. “Oh no, I made it worse.”
Seeing her there, her hair matted with mud, one eye bright with humor, her cheeks flushed underneath the dirt, did something to my insides. It was like the image of perfection she presented to the world had melted away, leaving the real Delilah exposed, for my eyes only.
My arm looped around her shoulders, and I lowered my face toward hers. The desire to kiss her consumed me. I fought it, knowing it could make things harder. But the heat inside me turned all of my reservations to ash.
Her smile faded as if she realized my intent. A conversation seemed to flow between us even though neither one of us said a word. I lifted a brow. She gave a slight nod. I touched my lips to hers.
Everything faded away, leaving the two of us in a vacuum that seemed to transcend time and space. I stopped trying to fight it and leaned in.
Delilah
I couldn’t believe the storm of emotions swirling around inside me.
We were covered in mud. My hip ached like I’d fallen flat on my ass on a rock the size of Texas.
My cheek still smarted from my run-in with the goat.
But butterflies danced around us as Jasper claimed my mouth with his, over and over again.
I didn’t want to stop. I couldn’t. It was like I’d shrivel up and die if we broke the connection. My body ached for him, like his kiss could make me whole.
Gasping, I pulled back, just enough to fill my lungs with air. “Wow.”
He touched his forehead to mine, his chest heaving just as hard as my own. “I second that. Wow.”
We stayed like that for a long beat, foreheads pressed together, our breaths slowing in unison.
“I’m sorry, Delilah. I didn’t mean to take advantage.”
I put my palms on his chest and gave a slight push. “Take advantage? Is that what you think you’re doing here?”
He shook his head. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about the other night yet. I don’t know how to explain what I’m feeling.”
“Then don’t.”
His eyes crinkled at the edges and a furrow bisected his brow. “Don’t?”
“No. Don’t try to explain it. Let it be.
Just let yourself feel it.” My palm caressed his cheek.
I didn’t know how to explain my feelings, either.
They’d snuck up on me, slowly taken over, and left me reeling.
I hadn’t planned on falling for Jasper Taylor.
We barely knew each other. But something in me recognized something in him, and I was drawn to the man.
No, drawn wasn’t a strong enough word. Drawn gave the impression I could choose whether or not to give in. But there was no choice happening. Deep in my core, I knew we were meant to be together. The only thing I didn’t have a clue about was how long it was going to last.
He got up then helped me to my feet, leading me away from the muddy bank of the creek. “If your manager could see you now . . .”
I didn’t even try to stop the smile from spreading across my mouth. “She’d die. Literally have a heart attack right here.”
“I’m not done talking about what’s happening with us.
” His jaw set. He had a serious side to him.
That was one of his many attractive attributes.
He wasn’t the kind of man who just wanted to get into my pants.
I knew the type. They looked at me as a conquest. Like nailing a beauty queen was something they could cross off their bucket list and spend the rest of their lives bragging about to their friends.
Sometimes I could spot a man like that from a mile away.
Other times they were more difficult to weed out. But something always gave them away.
Jasper was different. I could tell he was just as apprehensive about our growing connection as I was. He wouldn’t be the type to string me along and fake it just long enough to get me in his bed. He was the real deal. That might be what scared me the most.
“What time do we need to get these butterflies to the wedding site?”
He glanced at his phone, which had surprisingly survived the fall and the mud. “Damn. We’ve only got another hour.”
“Let’s do it.” I picked up the net from where it had fallen on the ground.
“I’ve got to get a picture of you first. Do you mind?”
I laughed. “May as well. As long as you get my good side and can promise me it won’t make its way to social media.”
“You’ve got my word on that.” He held up his phone and snapped a pic of the two of us beaming at the camera. “Do you want to get cleaned up? I can run you back to the house, then come back with some of the guys, and—”
“You think I’m going to melt under all of this dirt?” I gathered my hair in one hand, then pulled an elastic out of my pocket. “In case you haven’t figured it out just yet, I’m tougher than I look.”
His mouth quirked into a lopsided smile. “You look pretty damn tough right now.”
“Ido is definitely putting me through the ringer. But I can handle it.”
“All right then. Let’s catch some butterflies.”
For the next forty-five minutes we did just that. By the time Jasper pulled into the parking lot at the wedding venue, we had hundreds, if not a thousand, colorful butterflies in our possession.
“You want to wait in the truck while I drop these off?” he asked.
I’d tried to clean myself up a bit on the drive over but hadn’t been able to make much progress with the amount of dried mud caked to my face, my neck, and my clothes. At least it covered up a little bit of the bruising that had started to fade on my cheek.
“That might be for the best.” My mother would pitch the epitome of all tizzies if someone snapped a picture of me in all of my bruised, muddy glory.
I waited in the cab of the truck while Jasper carefully carried the butterflies into the warehouse.
A handful of other folks we’d been working with earlier did the same.
It looked like Lacey might be off the hook and the butterfly crisis avoided.
All thanks to the town coming together to save the day.
Jasper returned, a huge grin on his face. “I think they might have more butterflies than they started with.”
“That’s great. You really came through.”
He turned a heated gaze on me. “Not just me. Everyone who could, spent some time pitching in. That’s what we do around here.”
I nodded, happy to be a part of the effort, at least while I was in town.
“Let’s get back and get cleaned up. Lacey invited us both to the wedding on Saturday. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when they release all of those butterflies.”
“Me, too.” I leaned across the seat and pulled him close. “Thanks for taking me with you today.”
“Thanks for going with me.” He pressed a quick kiss to my cheek. “We probably ought to get out of here. I don’t want people to see us together and think I’m trying to sway the vote.”
I immediately retreated to my side of the cab. “You’re right. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that.”
“Hey”—he gave my hand a squeeze—“it’s okay. We just have to be careful. I tried to tell Lacey I didn’t want the host job anymore, but she was so upset about the butterflies, I didn’t have a chance. Now that it’s all taken care of, I’ll give her a call tomorrow.”