Flirting with Texas (Deep in the Heart of Texas) (29 page)

“You perv!” She tried to kick away from him, but Beau only laughed and tightened his arms. She had just clamped her legs around his waist in a scissor hold when she noticed the gasping and splashing behind her. They both turned to see Shirlene floundering around in the center of the deep end with her floppy hat drooping over her face.

“You’re doin’ real good, Shirley Girl,” Billy cheered her on from the side. “See, all you needed was a little push and you’re swimming.”

It didn’t look like swimming to Jenna, especially when Shirlene didn’t seem to be moving. She wasn’t drowning exactly, but she sure wasn’t swimming.

“I-I’m—going—to—kill—you,” she sputtered as she flailed her arms.

Suddenly, Sherman appeared on the diving board. Like a pig on a mission, he sailed into the water right next to Shirlene. But instead of helping, he took her down with him. That set the Cates boys into action. Billy dove in, and Beau released Jenna and swam out. But before they could get there, Shirlene resurfaced like a Las Vegas aquatic show. Her red hair was pulled back from her beautiful face, her bodacious breasts were slick with water, and the sparkle in her bathing suit glittered in the bright overhead sun as she rose from the water astride the orange life-vested pig.

Billy popped up right next to her. After seeing that his wife was safe, he started laughing so hard that it got Jenna to laughing and the kids to shrieking. Shirlene didn’t find it so amusing. Her eyes narrowed, and swimmer or not, she dove at her husband.

“You lowdown snake, Billy Cates! I could’ve drowned.”

“Now, Honey Buns.” Billy caught her fists and pulled her close. “I would never let that happen to my best girl. Didn’t I save you once before from drownin’?”

Before Shirlene could do more than sputter, Brody pointed a finger at Sherman and yelled in his deep voice.

“Hey, look! Sherman’s got him a hat.”

Everyone turned to look at the pig. And sure enough, Sherman had on a hat. Just not Shirlene’s. Instead, two tropical bikini cups curved over his pink ears, the white strings dangling in front of his beady eyes. Jenna recognized the bikini at the same time everyone else did. All eyes turned to her, and she did something she’d never done in her life.

She released a girlie squeal before she dove underwater.

Jenna’s embarrassment lasted long after Shirlene had shooed the kids out of the pool and Billy had tossed her a towel. Probably because Jesse couldn’t stop looking at her breasts, even after her bathing suit top was back on and covered by one of Billy’s t-shirts. And the warning looks she sent him didn’t seem to make one speck of difference to the pubescent kid.

“I got me a motorcycle,” Jesse said around a big bite of hot dog. “It’s a classic Harley. Colt Lomax restored it for me. You know Colt? He’s the best motorcycle designer in the world. If you want, I could take you for a ride on it.”

“Easy, sport.” Beau pulled Jenna’s chair away from the table. “This one’s taken.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Come on, Blondie, let’s go look at the new filly Billy bought.”

Once they were away from the house, Jenna turned on him. “I wasn’t finished eating, you know.”

He grinned. “You’re never finished eating. Which is something I find very sexy.”

“Sexy?”

“Very.” Still retaining her hand, he pulled her inside the stables. Stables that were dark and empty.

“Where are the horses?”

Beau looked around. “They’re probably just lying down.”

She arched a brow at him. “Horses don’t usually lie down, even when they’re sleeping.”

“No kidding.” He tugged her to the end stall. “Then I guess they must be out in the corral. Why don’t we wait for them in here where it’s nice and cool?” He pushed open the stall door before he scooped her up in his arms and carried her inside. The stall smelled of fresh hay. Hay that had been piled high and covered with a patchwork quilt. Either Shirlene and Billy had a secret getaway or Beau had been a busy little camper while Jenna was putting away two hot dogs, a cheeseburger, and a pint of potato salad.

Since he liked food as much as she did, his effort made her a little more receptive to his plan. Or maybe what made her more receptive were his low-riding swim trunks and the bare skin peeping out of his unsnapped shirt. A shirt he stripped off as soon as he set her down on the quilt.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” she said, unable to keep her eyes off the fine array of muscles. “Not when Jesse is probably hot on our heels.”

“Don’t worry about the kids.” He knelt next to her
and pulled the t-shirt over her head. “That’s the one good thing about having brothers. They cover for you.” He tossed the t-shirt into the corner and leaned back on his heels, his gaze greedily running over her. “Damn, you look good in a bathing suit.” He lifted his hand and traced a finger along the edge of one cup, over her collarbone, and around to the back of her neck. With one tug, the top fell away from her breasts.

Her nipples were already tight from her damp suit. But beneath his hot gaze, they beaded even more. His hands lifted and cradled each one in a warm, firm grip.

“So pretty,” he whispered before he dipped his head and captured a nipple. His mouth was much hotter than his hands, his tongue skilled as it teased and caressed.

Beau took his time, giving each breast equal attention. When her nipples were thoroughly wet and so tight it was almost painful, he tugged the bikini tie behind her back and eased her down to the quilt. He kissed his way down her stomach to the edge of her bathing suit bottoms, then slowly pulled the strings on either side.

His breath fell hot against her as he pushed the triangle of material away. She waited in anticipation for his touch. And when it didn’t come, she glanced down. He was looking at her, just looking as if she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Beau was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. His silver hair was messed. His jaw slightly stubbled. And his shoulders smooth and tanned.

His gaze lifted, his eyes locking with hers. But before she could identify the emotion that swirled in the sapphire depths, he lowered his lashes and his hands curved around her hips as he leaned down and kissed her.

The kiss started out light and gentle, but soon became deep and merciless. Beau’s tongue and mouth took her hostage with rhythmic flicks that pulled her toward the crest and sinister sips that eased her back down. When he finally released her from the torture, her orgasm was so intense that she completely forgot where she was.

“Oh, Beau,” she moaned out her orgasm. “Beau!”

“Shh,” he hummed against her. With a gentle kiss, he brought her back to earth.

She opened her eyes to find him smiling down at her.

“I think next time I’m going to have to find a soundproof room,” he said. “You are quite the screamer, Jen.”

She felt too happy to be mad over the remark, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t up for a little revenge. Using one of Dallas’s wrestling moves, she quickly had him on his back. With a wicked smile, she peeled off his swimming trunks.

“We’ll see who’s the screamer.”

It turned out that Beau wasn’t as vocal as Jenna, but if his low moans were any indication, he enjoyed his oral sex as much as she had. Except he stopped her before he reached climax.

“Enough,” he panted.

She moved up his body, kissing his belly button and then the tattoo on his chest. “Don’t tell me you prefer hand jobs.”

“No.” He gave her a kiss that curled her toes before he reached over and pulled a condom out of his shirt pocket. Once he was suited up, he eased her down to the quilt and, with only a slight adjustment, slid deep inside. He
paused for a moment, his eyes serious and intense. “When I finally reach nirvana, I want to be touching as much of your body as I can possibly touch.”

An ache settled in Jenna’s heart, and when Beau started to move, the stretch and pull of each stroke caused the ache to grow until it consumed her entire body. When she climaxed, it wasn’t just physical. It was almost spiritual. Like she had moved into a higher realm. Three words popped into her head. Three words that pushed at the back of her throat like floodwaters against a dam. She was still struggling with them when Beau moved to his side and pulled her into his arms.

“Jenna.” Her name floated from his lips in a way that made her happy and, at the same time, terrified. He swallowed hard, and she realized that he was as choked up as she was. “I’ve been thinking,” he continued in a voice barely above a whisper. “No one can promise forever. All a man can do is take things one day at a time and hope that he can stay on this earth with the people he loves for as long as he can.”

He reached down and tipped up her chin and smiled that wonderful smile that melted her heart. “And you, Blondie, are a person I—”

“Where the hell is he?” a deep voice boomed, causing Beau to drop his hand and sit up. He made a quick grab for Jenna’s t-shirt and tossed it to her before he reached for his swim trunks. Jenna barely got her head through the neck as a feminine voice joined in.

“Watch your mouth, Brant,” the woman scolded. “And I think we should’ve waited for Shirlene and Billy before we invaded their home.”

“I’m not invading their home, Elizabeth,” Brant said.
“Jesse let us in and sent us out here to look for Beau since Billy and Shirlene were busy putting Adeline down for a nap. Besides, I can’t wait to give Beau the good news about his test results.”

Beau froze in the middle of pulling up his trunks.

“News you shouldn’t even have,” Elizabeth said. “Beau’s the patient, not you, Brant.”

There was a masculine snort. “A patient who would’ve had to wait two more days if I hadn’t bullied the damn doctor into giving them to me earlier. This way, he’ll have two more days to enjoy the news that he’s cancer free.” He let out a whoop. “Did you hear that, Beauregard Cates? You’re cancer free!”

Jenna’s swimming suit bottoms slipped from her hands as she tried to comprehend what she had just heard. It didn’t take long for the truth to sink in. Not after her conversation with Shirlene or the way Beau was watching her now—sort of like he was waiting for the bomb to drop. It landed with the impact of Hiroshima. She felt like she did the time she fell off the swing in her parents’ backyard. All the air was forced from her lungs and, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to get it back.

The sound of approaching footsteps snapped her out of her daze, and she scrambled to her feet and quickly pulled on her bikini bottoms just as a black-haired man with eyes as blue as Beau’s peeked in at them.

“There you are, Beauregard.” His gaze swept over to Jenna, and his eyes widened. “I beg your pardon. I didn’t realize Beau was with someone.”

“Jenna Jay?” Ms. Murphy moved up next to the man, a cute little dark-haired boy straddling her hip. “Why, I didn’t know that you and Beau were… friends.”

It took everything Jenna had in her to keep the hurt and betrayal from turning her into a sobbing heap. With her head held high, she walked through the stall door Brant held open.

“Obviously, we’re not.”

B
EAU PULLED
B
ILLY’S MONSTER TRUCK
into the dirt lot of Jenna Jay’s parents’ house and almost plowed into the compact car that hadn’t been there that morning when he and Jenna had left to go to Billy’s. And the car wasn’t the only vehicle that hadn’t been there that morning. There was now a red Cadillac and a couple of brand-new SUVs parked in the lot. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out whom the vehicles belonged to.

It looked as if Jenna’s family was back from Charlotte, which was probably what Beau deserved for not going after Jenna right away. But he’d figured that she needed some time to cool off. And he’d needed some time to digest Brant’s news. He hadn’t been willing to believe it until Brant had popped the disk into Billy’s computer and showed him the results of the scans.

Beau’s cancer was still in remission.

In remission.

He had been so happy that he had danced around Billy’s house, swinging Jesse around and then a giggling Brody. His celebration had been cut short when Billy and
Shirlene had come downstairs after putting baby Adeline to sleep. When Billy had discovered that his brothers had been keeping secrets about Beau’s health, all hell had broken loose. The celebration quickly turned into a brotherly brawl that resulted in ripped shirts and numerous broken vases and lamps. Even Brant had hopped into the fray. The brawl ended when Shirlene brought in the garden hose and thoroughly doused all three Cates boys.

Staring at Jenna’s house, Beau figured he was in for another fight. Jenna hadn’t looked all that happy when she’d left the stables. Of course, his cancer had to be shocking news, and she wouldn’t easily forgive him for not telling her about it sooner. But she would forgive him. She had to.

He opened the door of the truck and hopped down. He tried walking slowly and getting his thoughts collected before he knocked on the door, but he couldn’t seem to harness the energy that flowed through him like an electrical current. He felt like a kid on the first day of summer vacation. Like a parolee on the other side of the steel bars. Like a man who had his entire life spread out before him.

He had tried to convince himself that he’d been living life to the fullest. But it turned out that, regardless of the wonderful things he’d experienced on his many travels, he hadn’t been living at all. Not when death was his constant companion.

Suddenly, he realized that his life started now.

Right here.

With Jenna.

He jogged up the pathway that was lined with lawn ornaments and took the porch steps in one leap. The door was open, and he could hear laughter and conversation
coming through the screen door as he pressed the doorbell. After what seemed like forever, a large beefy man appeared on the other side of the screen, his eyes squinting in the porch light.

“Can I help you?”

Beau took off his hat and flashed a smile. “I’m Beauregard Cates. I was—” He jumped back as the man threw open the door.

“Well, get on in here, son.” The man grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house before giving it a strong shake that almost sent Beau to his knees. “Burl Scroggs.” He gave Beau a jarring thump on the back. “I’m glad to finally meet you. I think we’ve run into each other a time or two at weddin’s and whatnot. But I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced. Although I’ve heard so much about you that I feel like we’re old friends.”