Heart of Fire: a Moonbound World series (Witches of Whitewood Book 1) (12 page)

“I don’t want Lana to ruin this. Brady finds out that I’m not married, that’s bad enough, but he knows that my ex is out on the trail with me, and suddenly it’s worth the cost of replacing me, just for a fresh start.”

She offered a tight smile. “If it helps, I get the feeling from Brady that he might be reconsidering the fraternization rules, as it applies to…” Jamie couldn’t bring herself to say the word
relationships.
Too much honesty.

“Really?” Kyle raised a brow, laughing. “Your brother doesn’t seem like the reconsidering type to me.”

“I think the more accurate idea is that he never meant for the rules to keep me from falling in love with someone.” Jamie’s mouth dropped open as soon as the words were out.
Falling in love? Where the hell had that come from?

Kyle made a succession of wordless faces, like he planned to say something, changed his mind, then tried again, and changed. He still hadn’t spoken by the time Jamie broke the silence.

“Not
love
. But he talked to me about those rules today.” She shook her head. “They’re really more for Paul, to keep him away from sex.”

Kyle grunted out a laugh. “A noble cause.”

To keep Paul away from people like Charity
, was probably exactly what Brady had been thinking. And after days of seeing her friend devolve into more and more pettiness, Jamie was starting to agree. It was strange how much perspective distance could bring.

Kyle pushed at her plate with one long finger. “You need to eat. That’s why I came over here in the first place. You probably haven’t eaten all day.”

Jamie looked down at the food he’d prepared and breathed in. The headache still hung on, and the hunger pangs reminded her he was right. She picked up her fork and loaded it with the mashed potatoes.

Their perfectly creamy texture proved he’d undoubtedly made them from scratch, and there were just enough lumps to remind her of real potatoes. Soft, pillowy perfection in her mouth.
Damn, he’s a good cook
.

Jamie sampled the meat and almost moaned out loud at the supple flesh and savory flavor. Ever since childhood, she’d loved ham and potatoes. Her whole family were beefeaters, which was understandable given they raised cattle, but she wasn’t as enamored with a good Porterhouse as everyone else.

How Kyle had known her culinary weakness, she couldn’t quite measure out. But the way he’d been watching her eat, it was as though he’d prepared the entire meal just for this moment of sensory bliss.

He’d even managed to make the same flavorful, spicy taste of Grandpa’s special gravy, and Jamie slowed down her bites to relish the sense memory.

She closed her eyes and could almost make out her grandpa’s face, watching her like Kyle watched her, sharing in her pleasure, enjoying the fruit of their labor.

She swallowed a mouthful and opened her eyes. “How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That this was my favorite meal?”

A slow smirk uncoiled across his face, revealing one dimple. “I guessed.” He reached across her plate, and her heart froze.

He’s gonna touch me in front of the whole camp
. Granted, there were only two or three people left, but they were
people
.

Instead, he picked up her napkin and swiped at her chin. As he did, his finger trailed across her skin, and she couldn’t breathe.

She wanted him to keep touching her, maybe more than she wanted to keep eating. But the contact was brief, and he retreated back to his side of the table after he’d cleaned her face.

“How could you guess this?” she asked.

Kyle shrugged and looked around the campfire. “Some people just give off food vibes.” He fixed his gaze somewhere behind her. “It doesn’t take long, but I can generally guess what you really want. It’s just a thing I can do.”

“Well, you are a genius.” Jamie forked a bit of potatoes and positioned them on top of the ham, then cut a juicy slice and placed them both in her mouth. She was surprised how perfect this combination was, with the salty pork and the creamy, almost sour potatoes.

Kyle reached for her hand and she found herself not moving away at his touch. It was scary to let him touch her in public like this. But the thrill sailed through her, right to her toes, and she let it take over.

“I’m sorry for not being honest with you about Lana,” he said.

“I know.”

“But I need this job.”

A wash of sadness followed the thrill of his touch. She’d been planning to turn him in to her brother and get Charity back, but that plan was long gone. Still, the vestiges clung to the path of seduction Jamie had led him down. And she’d definitely been doing the leading. He’d let her lead, and it had been beautiful.

I should tell him.

“And I need you, too, Jamie.” His voice was dark and it made her heart wobble.

Don’t
, she wanted to say. But she continued to look down at his strong hand on hers and tried to ignore her conscience.

He will never forgive me.

“Which is probably only a secret to your brother.” His attention darted away, and she followed his gaze. “But Brady could keep me from seeing you. Job or not.”

The last of the couples had just left the campfire and waved at them. Jamie nodded back. “I’ll talk to him.”

“He fired the last chef for sleeping with one of the staff.”

She squeezed his hand. “I’ll talk to him.”

The corner of his mouth turned up, and his eyes finally smiled along with the rest of his face. “You’re going to tell him about last night?”

Jamie couldn’t help the way her skin heated when she remembered last night. His hands on her body, his erection poking out of the river, his mouth on her neck. She wanted to feel all that again. The cold water, his hot skin, all of it. Or just
him.
With tremulous courage, she took his hand. “I’m not going to tell him about last night.”

Kyle snorted. “That’s wise.”

They shared laughter for an intimate moment, and she couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to tell her brother how much she wanted to be naked with Kyle Harris.

It would be the most embarrassing moment of her life.

But she could tell him she wanted to
date
Kyle. That they were attracted to each other. That he wasn’t married, but it was okay. There wouldn’t be any work issues. Maybe skip the part about Lana.

“So what do we do until then?” he asked.

She traced the dimple in his cheek and sighed. “Well, we probably shouldn’t be seen alone in the open like this.” Jamie released his hand. “Or holding hands.”

“And definitely not kissing.”

Without warning, Kyle’s mouth descended on hers, and they shared a hot, toe-curling kiss for a few moments. When he pulled away, she relished the way his breath hitched. It reflected how she felt.

Breathless.
She’d never felt this way before.

“Definitely not kissing,” Jamie agreed, but didn’t move.

With their faces only a few inches apart, all she’d have to do would be lean into him again, and she could be lost in that intoxicating mouth of his one more time.

But Kyle was right. They shouldn’t do this in public.

She inhaled sharply. “We can cool it for a few days, right? Just the next couple of nights on the trail, and we’ll be fine. Then I can talk to Brady and—”

He stopped her words with another kiss, and lingered this time. He teased her lips open with his tongue, and she couldn’t help trying to outdo him.

Jamie leaned back and smiled. “We definitely can’t do that in public, in the daylight.”

“And I suppose we really shouldn’t meet at the rock tonight?”

“Probably not.”

Behind him, another couple laughed somewhere on the trail that led around the kitchen tent. Not long until campfire, and they would all descend on this place again.

“Plus, I think Lana saw us going down there last night.”

“Damn it. She is such a troublemaker.” He rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry about her. We’ll make it a couple of days, and then talk to Brady. Take it slow. Figure it out.”

He reached for her hand. “I’m glad we had this talk.”

Jamie smiled, the warmth of his touch spreading across her skin, up her arm, straight to her heart. “Me, too.”

K
yle hadn’t particularly enjoyed watching
Jamie from the other side of the fire while they chatted about the next day and listened to Ray sing sappy country songs while his friend played guitar. They’d ended with the pair-offs for the next day’s ride, and it’d been hard for him to resist pressing his leg against hers as their names were the only two not called.

When everyone else headed for their tents, he hung back, just in case Jamie would. But she got caught up in conversation with one of the women about their last day, and walked down to the campsite without so much as a glance at him.

Kyle cleaned up the kitchen area and hitched the makeshift doors closed for protection against bears. After checking the latch on the wagon cage was secure, he took one last pass down to the campfire, hoping to find her. Instead, he doused the flames and headed to the river with his satchel.

She also wasn’t there, and as long as he spent washing and dipping in the river, she never showed up. So, Jamie was serious about this staying away from each other thing? Gotta hand it to the woman, she was cautious.

Of course,
he
should be the cautious one. If they got caught, he’d be the one out of a job, no matter what Jamie said.

Kyle dried off, picked a new pair of boxers from his pack, and took the back way to his tent. The camp was silent, except for a few snores. All the lights at individual tents were off, and he found his way back to the secluded area where his and Jamie’s tents were located. He walked around the tree and listened.
Silence.
She was asleep already.

He’d been sporting a semi-hard-on since the river. While masturbation had definitely been a temptation, he was secretly hoping Jamie would find him and fix his problem. He looked down at the front of his boxers and clucked his tongue. “Sorry, buddy. I guess we’re gonna curl up alone tonight,” he whispered.

Kyle trudged back to his tent, unzipped it, and crouched to crawl in. He threw his pack in first, heard an “oof,” and froze. “Who’s there?” he hissed.

“It’s me, dummy.”

He recognized Jamie’s voice, but still couldn’t see her. The giant tree blocked most of the floodlights by the river, and if he hadn’t been shirtless and trying to avoid being seen, he would have been using his flashlight. As it was, the inside of his tent was dark.

Two hands grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. “Zip up the door,” she whispered in his ear.

As he reached for it to obey, Jamie’s cold hands were on his chest.

“You’re naked already?”

He closed the flap. “I’m not sure we’re safe in here together.”

“You’re safe here with me.” Laughter sounded in her voice, and a couple of wet kisses on his abdomen stole his ability to parley with her.

“Damn it, Jamie.” He tried to keep his voice low, but the sudden promise of her mouth in proximity to his cock made him full-granite, and not as conscious as he wanted to be.

Her tongue flitted across the skin just above the band of his boxers.

“Oh, wow,” Kyle breathed.

“I thought I’d surprise you.”

She rolled down his boxers, freeing his erection, and he heard the rip of plastic. Suddenly her hand was on his dick and he was groaning, trying not to come. She pumped him, and rolled a piece of rubber down his length.

“Beautiful woman,” he groaned as she knelt over him. “How do you have a condom with you?”

She trailed her nails along his stomach and he inhaled, sharp. His eyes adjusted a bit to the darker space of his tent, and he could see her, crouched down between his legs, still dressed. After the ride, she’d changed into hot little jean shorts and a green t-shirt with some inane ranch slogan printed on it. He wanted to undress her, very slowly. But for the moment, all he could think about was kissing her. Grabbing her arms, he pulled her up to meet his mouth.

Between kisses, she panted, “Are you surprised?”

“I’m surprised,” he growled. Then, aware he was being too loud, Kyle hushed himself. “I hope we can be quiet enough.”

“Think of it as a challenge,” Jamie whispered.

“Well, you’re going to be naked this time. That’s all I have to say about that.” He flipped her over in a swift move, straddling her. When he peeled her shirt off, he found gorgeous, unfettered breasts with already-diamond-cut nipples already waiting for him. Leaning down, Kyle took one in his mouth, sucking it like candy.

She threaded her fingers into his hair. “Mmmmm. Just like that.”

Without leaving her breast, he unbuttoned her jean shorts and pulled them down. She held his head on her chest, moaning quietly as he worked the nipple around in his mouth.

He released her long enough to pull her shorts and panties all the way off, though he didn’t look at either one.
Mental note. Look at Jamie’s panties in the daylight
. He wanted to know everything about her.

With his mouth so close to her sex, he couldn’t
not
taste her, but Jamie didn’t open her legs to him. He nuzzled the skin just above her pubic hair and looked up, over those delicious breasts, to meet her eyes.

Kyle let his fingers trail back up to her nipple, and she gasped. Just the tiniest movement of her hips, and he could smell the intoxicating scent of her. “Open your legs for me, babe.”

“Why?”

Another tweak of her hard nipple, another shift of her hips, and he wanted her even more. “I need to eat your pussy.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

He pressed his nose into her abdomen again and tried to find her eyes in the dark, but they were closed, and her head turned away from him.

“Haven’t you ever had a man’s tongue inside you, Jamie?”

A shudder coursed through her whole body, and something roared inside him. A woman who’d never been tasted?

Granted, he’d only ever been with Lana, but she’d loved oral sex, and had taught him well, early in their marriage. He longed to give Jamie that same pleasure. There was nothing he wanted more in that moment than to be between her legs. “It’ll be beautiful, I promise.”

“I….Please, Kyle.”

Jamie shook underneath him, and he crawled up her body, concerned he’d crossed a line.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just want to feel you inside me.”

He managed to forget everything else as she turned them onto their side and reached between their bodies, slinging one leg over his hip. She pulled open the flap of his boxers and released his dick. In one quick movement, she’d guided him partway inside her, and he slid home the rest of the way.

Jamie hugged him close and sighed into his ear when he began to fuck her. Kyle had never heard a more beautiful sound in his entire life.

He rolled onto his back and let her ride him. Her breasts bounced and fit nicely into his hands when he reached for them. But the pressure of his fingers on her clit made her whimper.

As her sighs became more pronounced, she collapsed on top of him and bit his shoulder while she came.

He pulled her close and turned over, trying to get her completely on the sleeping bag as he heaved over her. The tightness of her, the scent of her, the pressure of her breasts against his chest. He couldn’t get enough.

It didn’t take him long to be almost coming, and when he told her he was close, Jamie pulled him down on top of her, taking his whole weight, pressing his head into her neck like a vampire.

He groaned his release into the long, graceful expanse of her neck cleavage, praying he’d been quiet enough, and just the thought of the secrecy of what they’d just done made his ecstasy even more intense. When the last of his orgasm subsided, it seemed as though every ounce of energy and strength had been drained from his body, and he couldn’t move.

“Oh, wow,” he grunted into her ear.

Jamie laughed and snuck her arms around his ribcage. “You keep saying that.”

“I blame you.” Kyle rolled them back onto their side and kissed her nose. “Entirely.”

“I’m glad I’m that good.”

“Oh, you are.”

They were silent for a few moments before she leaned back and found his eyes. “I’m sorry about the oral thing. I’ve just never done that.”

“It’s okay.” Now, it was his turn to laugh, remembering the animal lust that rose inside him at her words. “Using sex to avoid sex, that’s just genius.”

He studied her face, and she tensed under his gaze.

“What are you looking for?” she said.

“Just memorizing how you look right now.”

“And how is that?”

“Thoroughly fucked.”

Jamie smiled, almost ruefully. “I am that.”

“You’re not sorry, are you?”

“I just hope no one heard us.” She looked over his shoulder at the tent door, and something flashed in her eyes.

“This was your idea.” Kyle chuckled to himself. “Although, I went looking for you at the river and in your tent, so I wasn’t an unwilling party.”

A slow smile lit her features. “Still, I hope we were quiet enough.”

“We were.” He pressed his lips to hers and nudged her mouth open to his kiss. “I may need stitches we were so quiet.”

She shivered in his arms, and he dug for the edge of the sleeping bag, pulling it over them. Jamie turned over with her back to his chest. “Do you think we can sleep like this for a bit before I have to go back to my tent? I’m cold.”

He flexed his fingers and found a nipple to tease. “Nothing you’re doing right now will allow me to sleep.”

“Maybe I should go.”

Kyle pulled her closer, and her nipple slipped under his hand. She gasped and snuggled down into his grip. Her ass nestled beautifully against his recovering cock, and if she kept wiggling like that, he might be ready to go again. They’d need another condom, though.

“Well, I can’t go with you holding me down like this.”

“Good. Then stay for a bit.”

She moved her hips again, and he groaned, which drew a quiet laugh from Jamie. “I like it when you do that,” she whispered.

“What?”

She shifted against him so his cock nestled between her ass cheeks. The pressure of her against his soon-to-be-hard dick was nothing compared with the fantasies playing in his mind. He moaned again.

“That,” she said, moving her hips again. “I love that sound. Like you can’t get enough of me.”

He took one of her breasts in each hand and squeezed them hard enough that she panted in response. “I can’t get enough of you.”

His cock finally responded to all her machinations, and before long, they had their heads buried in each other’s necks again, gasping in ecstasy and the promise of more to come.

* * *

J
amie waited
until Kyle was asleep before finding her clothes and pulling them on. She grabbed her backpack from her tent and went down to the river. The water was colder than she remembered, and it would feel better to be clean, but mostly, she wished she’d stayed in his tent and the warmth of his arms.

Or that he’d come to the river with her. But they couldn’t risk that again. If Lana had seen them the previous night, then her spot wasn’t as secret as she’d thought it was.

Sex in the tent made about as much sense as fucking down by the river. Granted, his was the most secluded in the camp, and there was a good forty feet of space between his tent and the next closest.

On purpose, of course, so the staff could have a bit of privacy. So, actually, if they were going to try to have quiet sex anywhere, his tent was the best option—the least chance of someone happening upon them. Still, it hadn’t been smart.

Jamie had to tell her brother before someone else told him. She’d never forgive herself if Kyle got fired, even if it meant Charity might be back.

Oh, God. Charity.
She was supposed to text her back before she went to bed.

Jamie dug in her pockets for her phone and couldn’t find it. She searched her backpack.
Nowhere
. She raced back to her tent and tore it apart. Still, nothing.

She tried to re-trace her steps from the last time she’d had it. After dinner, she’d received a text from Charity that she’d ignored, but Jamie didn’t remember using the phone again until she went looking for it.

It must’ve fallen out of her pocket when they’d been dancing by the campfire. No sense trudging all the way up there and risk waking up the clients again. She’d find it in the morning.