21. Delilah
DELILAH
I couldn’t get close enough to Jasper. His warmth, his heat, his scent surrounded me, but still it wasn’t enough. He propped himself up on an elbow as he took the kiss deeper. Heat flooded through me, making my blood feel more like lava racing through my veins.
His hands were everywhere . . . My hair, my hips, my skin. Everywhere he touched, his fingers seemed to sear my skin. And still, I couldn’t get enough.
This man, the way he treated me, the way he cherished me . . . made me hungry for him in a way I hadn’t ached for anyone before. My entire body was on fire.
He nipped at my lips and sucked on my tongue. I tried to pull him tighter against me but there was nowhere else to go. He leaned over me, trying to keep his weight balanced on his arm, preventing himself from crushing me.
My fingers found their way under his shirt. He was hard in the places I was soft, making me realize how perfectly we complemented each other.
I worked his shirt up his abs, over his pecs.
With one fluid motion he reached behind his neck and pulled it off.
For a moment I just let myself stare. The last time I saw his naked chest it had been bathed in moonlight.
But now, under the warm light of the lamp on my bedside table, I feasted my gaze on him.
His body had been chiseled by hard work, not like the guy I’d dated who worked on each individual muscle group with precision at his high-priced gym.
Jasper had earned every square inch of rock-hard muscle with manual labor.
Knowing that made me even hotter for him, if that was even possible.
I was already soaked, ready to take things to the next level and push us past the point of no return.
His lips trailed kisses over my neck. Then he focused on that spot behind my ear he seemed to favor.
The one that drove me wild. If he kept that up, I might come before he even touched me below the waist. Although, thankfully, his fingers seemed to be heading that way.
He breached the waistband of my yoga pants.
I shifted my hips in an attempt to urge him on. Every part of me ached for him.
Finally, his palm rested below my belly button.
A finger slipped beyond the thin elastic of my lacy panties.
I moaned as he slid a finger into my curls, zeroing in on my need.
At the contact, I bucked my hips, writhing against him.
He teased me to the brink of my release, backing off every time I got too close.
Trying to get even, I fumbled with the waistband of his pants. My hand slipped underneath, running over his sculpted ass. He flexed, his muscles moving underneath my hand.
“Do you want me to stop?” he muttered against my ear.
I couldn’t even form words. I was too far gone. So, I violently shook my head from side to side.
He pulled back, shed his sweats, and eased my yoga pants down my legs.
“Come here.” He reached for me, sliding his hands under my shirt.
I hadn’t put a bra on when I changed, so his fingers moved up my ribs, then paused like he’d just realized he had unfettered access. His touch was tentative at first. His thumb grazed one nipple, then the other.
In a move I hadn’t seen coming, he lowered his head, running his tongue between my breasts, then sucking a nipple into a hard point before he blew out a warm breath. My skin pebbled immediately, and he turned his attention to my other breast.
I barely had time to catch my breath before his fingers were back at my entrance. With one hand he coaxed me toward a climax, his touch sending me higher and higher. With his other, he unrolled a condom that had appeared out of nowhere, his hand wrapping around his length.
“Wait.” I barely forced the word out.
He stopped, his gaze searching mine. “Are you okay? Do you want to stop?”
“Absolutely not.” I scooted out from under him and guided him to lie on his back. “I want to be on top.”
He settled on his back, and I lowered myself onto him.
I had to pause as I became accustomed to the way he filled me.
But he couldn’t stay still. His hips moved to a slow, glorious rhythm.
His palms cupped my breasts, his thumbs playing over my nipples.
I lifted my hips up, then slowly lowered them, again and again.
His mouth found mine as the first waves of pleasure hit. I grabbed for the cabinet above the bed, trying to get a little leverage. He clamped one hand on my hip, while the other tangled in my hair. The pace increased. I gripped the cabinet with both hands.
Jasper thrust his hips up, and I held on.
And then I crashed. I seemed to stretch out, suspended in time and space.
Then plummeted, faster and faster into a free fall spin.
A shriek pierced the silence. It was me.
Jasper pulled me down, his own body straining to reach a climax.
I let go of the cabinet and made a move to collapse on his chest.
A horrible cracking noise filled the camper, then the cabinet above our heads separated from the wall. Jasper held me to his chest, rolling out of the way as it landed on the bed, inches from where our heads had been just moments before.
My chest heaved and a sheen of sweat covered my skin. Jasper’s hair stuck out all over and he propped himself up, his gaze searching mine.
“You okay?”
I glanced up where the cabinet had been. “We broke my camper.”
His lips spread into a grin. “No, you broke your camper.”
“How am I going to explain that?” I curled into him, not willing to let our time together be interrupted, not even if the walls were coming down around us.
He ran a finger down the center of my breastbone, causing my skin to pebble, all the way down to my toes. “You could tell them the truth.”
“That I yanked the cabinet off the wall in the throes of passion?”
“Throes of passion, huh? That sounds pretty intense.”
“Was it?”
“What? Intense?”
I nodded.
“It was fantastic.” He rolled off the bed and picked up the cabinet. “We should figure out where to put this. I don’t want anything to get in the way next time.”
“Um, next time?”
“That’s right. You don’t have anything on the schedule tomorrow. I figured we could stay up all night and watch the sunrise together.”
“And what’s your family going to think?”
“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”
Jasper
I didn’t leave Delilah’s trailer until the first streaks of pink bled across the sky.
I wanted to wake up with her in my arms, to be the first thing she saw when she opened up her beautiful green eyes.
But I also wasn’t ready to take our connection public.
If folks found out we were getting together, the contest committee might pull her from the judging.
She couldn’t afford any negative publicity, and Lacey would strangle me if I threatened Ido’s chance at a win.
So, I gathered my things, pulled my sweats up over my hips, and shoved my feet into my sneakers.
Delilah hadn’t moved. Her cheek rested on the pillow we’d shared.
Her hair fell over her face, almost covering her eyes.
I wanted to reach over and brush it back but didn’t dare risk waking her.
With a final kiss to her cheek, I cracked open the door of the camper and tried to quietly make my way down the steps.
Today I needed to put the final details in motion for the Fall Festival.
I’d asked my brothers to block out their calendars and was pleasantly surprised when I showed up at the big house and everyone was ready to go.
My mom wouldn’t let them head out on empty stomachs so as they filled their bellies with scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and homemade sausage links, I divvied up tasks.
“Trent and Mitchell, you work on the site down by the kissing cove. Lucas and Davis, I want the two of you to take on the tunnel of lights.” I checked items on the list I’d made up, making sure I didn’t miss anything.
“What do I get to do?” Abby grabbed the last sausage link before Trent could snag it. She was getting to be pretty fast thanks to battling her brothers.
“You can come with me, Little Bug. We’re going to set up an arbor.” I skimmed my own chicken scratch. “Once we all finish the station we’re at, we’ll meet up and finish the other two. Got it?”
“You really think this is going to work?” My mother returned to the table with a pot of coffee.
“We won’t know unless we try, isn’t that right?” I slipped the last bite of my breakfast into my mouth, then cleared my place from the table. “We’re leaving in five.”
I loaded the dishes in the sink into the dishwasher while I waited for my brothers and Abby to gather their things.
As I scraped plates into the trash can, I wondered if Delilah had woken up yet.
She’d told me her mother would be heading back to Dallas the next day, so she wanted to spend some time with her before she left.
Which was perfect since I didn’t want her to find out about the surprise I’d been planning.
And she’d promised not to leave the town limits so I wouldn’t get into any more hot water with Lacey. We’d made it this far. If I could hang on for another week without any major crises, Ido might have a decent shot at coming in first.
“I’m ready to go.” Abby came into the kitchen, her excitement at being included in the plans obvious by the wide grin on her face.
“Let’s hit it then.” I grabbed my keys and the plans I’d drawn out. I’d spent a few hours over the past week in my dad’s workshop. All I needed to do was put the arbor together and then train those climbing vines I’d picked up from Milkweed Gardens.
It took me a little longer than I’d anticipated to piece together the arbor. Abby was an eager helper but lacked the upper-body strength to carry any of the larger pieces by herself, so I spent just as much time carting the wood over to the site as I did actually putting anything together.
When we’d finished, we both stood back and gazed upon our accomplishment.
“It’s really pretty, Jasper.” Abby walked underneath. “You know what would make this a million times better though?”
My heart dropped into my stomach. “What?”
“A swing.” She ran her hand over the latticed side. “You could hang one right from the middle. Just think how romantic it would be if you kissed Delilah here while you’re sitting next to her on a swing built for two.”
“What are you talking about?” I might have had a little trouble keeping my attraction for Delilah under wraps, but I hadn’t been so careless that I expected my twelve-year-old sister to figure it out.
“I know you like her.” Her smile was more of a smirk.
“And just how do you know that?” I narrowed my eyes.
She giggled. “Because you look at her like you want to kiss her.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Kind of like this.” She smooshed her lips up and made kissy noises.
I laughed as I grabbed her around the waist, swinging her around until the kissy noises turned to shrieks of laughter.
“Put me down.”
I stopped spinning and we both stumbled, dizzy from the game we’d played when she was younger and used to beg me to spin her for what seemed like hours at a time.
Her hand landed on my arm, and she struggled to catch her breath from laughing so hard. “I still think you like her.”
Since when had my baby sister become so astute? My mouth ticked up on one side. “You know what?”
“What?”
“I think you might be right.”
She clapped her hands together while she jumped up and down. “I knew it. Does she like you, too? Are you going to get married?”
“Slow down.” I put my finger to my mouth. “And shush before someone hears you.”
Abby drew her lips into her mouth and clamped down, making her look like she’d lost all her teeth.
“She might like me back a little. But nobody should know. At least until the contest is over, okay?”
Abby nodded, still unable to stand completely still.
“Don’t make me regret telling you. You’ve got to keep this between us.”
Her head bounced up and down.
“You think we need to add a swing, huh?” I let out a sigh as I shook my head. Abby had a point. If we were going to bill the Pucker-Up Path as a main feature of the Fall Festival this year, adding a swing would definitely provide the right touch.
“So, do you like her like her or just like her?” Abby asked, her hands clasped together while she waited for me to respond.
“We’re done discussing my love life.” I couldn’t believe I’d even shared as much as I had. But it wasn’t like I had anyone else to talk to about matters of the heart. Colin and I used to confide in each other. But like everything else, that was ruined when my brother turned his back on everyone.
“Let’s get these vines planted and then I’ll see about adding a swing if I have time before the festival starts. Sound good?”
Abby grinned as she nodded her head.
“You can talk again now. As long as you keep it down.”
“Okay. I’m so excited. Do you think Delilah will wear a dress like the bride from the wedding yesterday when you get married?
Are you going to move into town? Can I pick out the flavor on your cake?
Jojo said she really wants to try to make one with lemon frosting, and I know you like lemons.
Or at least you used to because Mom said one time you used all her lemons to make lemonade, and I . . .”
I tuned her out. I had to if I wanted to get the rest of my to-do list done.
When we’d finished planting the vines and running them through the holes in the lattice arbor, I sent a group text to check on my brothers.
Everyone had finished their stations. Eager to wrap things up and get back to Delilah, I packed up the truck and headed to our meeting point.