Silver Bella (6 page)

“
I don’t care if it hurts
.”

And she didn’t. She was too excited to feel pain.

He pressed a second finger inside with the first and pushed them both deep. It felt tight and the barrier was there, but it broke with very little pressure and she managed a choked laugh at Jake’s huge sigh of relief.

“I told you s—”

He stopped her words with a very insistent mouth and this time when she felt him against her opening, she knew it was going to happen.

His fingers weren’t nearly as thick as he was and despite her slick wetness, he didn’t just slide right in. Jake didn’t seem bothered by that, but rocked against her, gaining centimeter by centimeter in an agonizing torture of pleasure. She locked her legs around his thighs and strained up against him, but all she did was gain maybe one more inch. She could have screamed her frustration.

It wasn’t going to work.

When she said as much, he only laughed. “You can take me, Bella. Trust me.”

Maybe he was used to it taking this much effort to achieve total penetration, but this was her first time and she couldn’t stand the prospect that it might not work. “The problem is that you don’t seem to be able to take me,” she accused.

His chest rumbled with humor against her heated and swollen breasts. “Honey, I’ve never laughed so hard when I was making love to a woman before.”

She hadn’t meant to make him laugh, but she found herself smiling at him anyway and giving him one of those goofy looks women gave the men they cared about. “I’m glad.”

Then neither of them could talk because he pulled her hips toward him with his strong hands. Her body absorbed him and his hard penis completed its penetration, pushing sensitive and swollen tissues to their max.

She felt unbearably stretched, but filled so beautifully that tears spilled over from her eyes.

“Damn it, I knew it would hurt.” He started to pull out but she wouldn’t let him go.

She locked her legs around him with all the strength of her well-toned thigh muscles. “Don’t you dare.
It doesn’t hurt.
”

“You’re crying.”

She nodded. “I can’t help myself. It’s so beautiful. I didn’t know it could be this beautiful.”

A profound expression crossed his features and then he started moving inside her with a purpose and rhythm that soon had her tears drying and her hips thrusting upward to meet every plunge. This time the pleasure built and built and built, but she didn’t go over.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded in a tortured cry.

“Nothing’s wrong, sweetheart.”

“But I’m not coming!” Maybe he didn’t think that mattered. After all, she’d already climaxed once.

“You will.” His voice was filled with promise.

And she believed him.

He reached down between them and spread her wet and swollen lips so that her clitoris got stronger direct stimulation with every powerful thrust of his body.

Fireworks exploded in her head and she screamed her throat raw.

His shout was deafening and his entire body went rigid above hers as they climaxed together with mind-altering pleasure.

Jake came back from the bathroom and couldn’t believe how right it felt to see Bella Jackson lying in his bed like she belonged there. She was curled up on her side, watching him with dark bedroom eyes that still glowed from their mutual pleasure.

He’d gotten rid of the condom, but was hoping he could convince her to share his shower.

She rolled on her back and stretched, her generous curves slipping from beneath the loose sheet over her, and his mouth went dry. Her rosy nipples were soft, but he knew that one brush of his finger and they would grow hard and swell with excitement.

She was that responsive.

“How the hell did you stay a virgin for so long?”

Her head turned and her gaze locked with his. “I explained that.”

“This wasn’t exactly committed sex.” It was the truth, but he didn’t have to be so blunt. He could have kicked himself into next Tuesday when her face paled and she turned her head away.

“I know.”

He crossed the room and sat next to her on the bed, his hand going out to touch the soft skin of her cheek so he could gently tip her head back toward him. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

“Don’t apologize. I knew what I was doing when I agreed to come to your ranch and you’re right. We had sex, but we didn’t make any promises.”

“That wasn’t just sex.” What they had shared in his bed had been life altering and that was more than physical lust. “I was your first man; that carries a promise all on its own.”

“Does it? I didn’t think men saw things that way anymore.” Her tone was light, teasing, but her eyes were dark with vulnerability.

“Maybe I’m a throwback, but the thought of you doing what you just did with me with anyone else makes my gut twist in knots strong enough to hobble a raging bull.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to go out and start propositioning your cowboys.”

“Good. I’d hate to have to fire anybody. My winter crew is made up of men who have been with me for a long time.” He was only half-kidding.

She grabbed his hand and pressed it against her creamy smooth breast, her mouth all pouty and soft. “That does not mean I won’t proposition you, however.”

“You’re bold for a virgin.”

“I’m not a blushing teenager anymore. I know what I want.”

And she wanted him.

He gently molded her breast, abrading her peak with the palm of his hand. Sure enough, as he’d thought earlier, her nipple hardened and her breathing quickened just that fast. “You still blush, but I won’t deny you know what you want.”

“You.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “Me. And I want you.”

They didn’t get into the shower until the sun had started to sink in the horizon and its golden glow turned the off-white curtains on his window a soft orange.

She showed as much aptitude for water games as she had for bed gymnastics and he could barely stand in order to dry off.

A towel draped toga-style around her, she looked in the mirror above his sink and brushed her hair. “You ready to do some Christmas shopping?”

“You’ve got enough energy to walk?” he asked half humorously and half incredulously.

She looked at him over her shoulder. “If I want to indulge in any more intimacy, I need to stretch my muscles. I’m not used to this particular form of exercise.”

He couldn’t resist pulling her into his arms. “Then that means we’re going shopping, I guess.”

She let her head fall back against his shoulder. “We can’t spend all of our time in bed.”

“Sure we can.”

They didn’t, but they came close. The next few days flew by as they made love and his sexy little ex-virgin taught him things he didn’t know about his own body’s responses. They also went Christmas shopping and he liked the way she asked for his opinion on the gifts she bought her family.

He asked her to help him find something for his sister and she took him to the office supply store where they bought a small laser printer that printed an obscene number of pages per minute. It had to be ordered, along with an extra input tray.

Christmas was four days away when they went into town to pick up the printer.

Bella hadn’t said anything, but he knew she planned to spend the holiday with her family. He hated the thought of her leaving and did his best to ignore her imminent departure.

Bella picked up the engraved money clip she’d ordered for Jake while he was busy at the office supply store getting his sister’s printer.

The last week had been the happiest of her life.

They had talked about everything from family to dreams for the future.

They had played.

He’d taken her riding and introduced her to his motley crew of cowboys, men with a wicked sense of humor.

They made love often.

He’d cajoled Eva into teaching her how to make empanadas after dinner one night when she’d said she wanted to learn. She’d worried the housekeeper would think she was easy, coming home with Jake and making love with him all morning and afternoon that first day, but Eva had been nothing but sweet to Bella. She wanted her boss to get married and made no bones about that fact.

Jake didn’t say anything about marriage, or even seeing her again after she left, but Bella could not believe he was ready to dismiss her out of his life after the things they’d shared in and out of bed over the last week.

She thanked the jeweler, turned to go and ran head on into Jake’s big, powerful body.

She bounced backward, her air expelling in a rush.

He grabbed her arms to steady her, but let her go as soon as she showed signs of being stable on her feet.

“Hi.” She smiled up at him, expecting the usual kiss of greeting he gave her when they’d been apart longer than five minutes.

She didn’t get it.

What she got was a frown.

“What’s the matter? Wasn’t the printer in?”

“It’s in the truck.”

“So why the cranky face?”

And he did look cranky. His green eyes were narrowed dangerously and his jaw was set in rocklike lines.

“What the hell does this mean?” He brandished a newspaper in front of her.

She took the paper, looking to see what had him so upset, and felt her stomach fall right into her Prada shoes. It was a scandal rag, the type that had so plagued her after her last breakup. Only this one had a big picture of her and Jake on the front cover. They were kissing and his hand was on her bottom.

She remembered the occasion. They’d been in a mall parking lot and she’d wanted to do more shopping, but he’d wanted to go home. He’d been convincing her.

It had worked.

So well, apparently, neither of them noticed their picture being taken.

The headline read,
Bad Girl Bella Jackson Spends Week on Rich Lover’s Ranch.

She flipped open the tabloid and read the lurid details of her supposed ongoing affair with Jake Barton. The fact that he’d faithfully attended five of her trunk shows was used as proof that there had been something between the two of them well before her week on his ranch.

Lexi was quoted as saying she didn’t think the relationship would last because Bella was too much of a bad girl to settle down, but she was no doubt enjoying her rich lover’s hospitality. The article went on to postulate that her ex-boyfriend, the accountant, had been dining on sour grapes when he wrote his exposé of her supposed frigidity.

People around the small town near Jake’s ranch had been interviewed to add speculation and details to the article. From the pictures inside the tabloid, it was obvious a photographer had followed them pretty much everywhere but to the ranch.

The article ended with the announcement that Lexi’s Creations would be signing bad girl Bella Jackson to represent them as cover model for another year. That announcement was definitely premature. Especially if, as Bella suspected, Lexi had been the one behind the article.

Bella looked up from the weekly, and met the hostile expression in Jake’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

There wasn’t much else she could say. He wasn’t used to this sort of publicity and she hated it. Nevertheless, it was her fault. One way or the other, the article could be linked back to Bella’s career. Her boss had probably offered up the initial story. If Bella hadn’t allowed the whole bad-girl persona to be created to sell her as the cover model for Lexi’s line, she wouldn’t be so newsworthy now.

“Did you tip them off when I invited you to the ranch?”

She shook her head, trying to clear it. He couldn’t have meant what it sounded like, but the question had been pretty straightforward.

“You think I alerted the press that I was going to your ranch?” she asked just to be sure.

“How else would they have found out?”

She crossed her arms over her chest, her small shopping bag dangling from her fingers. “Oh, I don’t know, Jake. Maybe the reporter followed me? Or maybe Lexi tipped them off.” She hated admitting her employer had probably betrayed her like that, but Lexi had agreed to comment in the article and that said something to Bella about the other woman’s motives.

Jake’s hostility immediately transformed to outrage. “She would do something like that to you?” he demanded.

“I don’t know, but I think so, yes. She was worried about how the recent publicity would impact my reputation and therefore the sensual image of the line.”

“How did she know I’d attended five of the shows?”

Bella wasn’t answering any more questions until she knew exactly what his motive was for asking them. “Are you implying I told her in some attempt to drum up publicity?”

“No.” He ran his fingers through his hair, his expression full of frustration. “Look, you’re the one who told me your bad-girl reputation didn’t bother you, but you hated being the butt of jokes because of that idiot ex-boyfriend’s tell-all exclusives.”