The Outback Cattleman's Hired Wife (11 page)

Kirra was glad that he
now trusted her. Could Elise be playing a trick on her? She wondered, but
dismissed it quickly.
      

If Elise somehow knew Jared, wouldn
’
t he have recognised her name and voice on the phone
when she rang?

She breathed in deeply, the smell of hay and that
potent male scent of his teasing her nostrils. Still aroused from her erotic
dream of making love with him in the spa-tub, she traced her lower lip with her
tongue.

‘
You want to make love?
’
One dark eyebrow rose in surprise.

It surprised her how easily he could read her.
‘
Yes,
’
she husked. It
was important, she knew deep down, that she didn’t ever lie to him. Whether he
was a transitional man or a potential life partner, she needed to know if they were
compatible in bed. To wait again for marriage before sex seemed absurd. She was
twenty-seven years old! A mature woman, not the naïve teen like when she
’
d married Zac.

Jared looked into her eyes and probed the depths of
her soul. He believed she was being open and honest with him. She definitely
wasn
’
t at all like those young nannies who approached him
for attention by coming onto him.

Could she love really him?
His heart thumped hard against his ribs. Did he love
her? It had only been two days since she’d arrived. He couldn’t be certain. Was
it love or lust? Or a bit of both?

Compassion for her pumped through his blood. He wanted
to keep her safe and protected, but was that enough to share the ultimate
intimacies with her?

And if he lost his heart to her and she left, would he
recover?

He thought for a moment, his heart pounding in his
ears, but found himself drawn to her, wanting to take another chance at love
with her.

‘
Are you sure?
’
he asked,
his eyes darkening with arousal.

‘
I
’
m sure.
’
She entwined her fingers in his and gave them a
reassuring squeeze.

He reached up and touched her chin with his hand, then
kissed her lightly on her temple.

Feeling comfortable, she turned her face up to his and
swayed towards him. He leant down and kissed her gently on the mouth maybe, two
or three times. Kirra wasn
’
t counting. She
was too caught up in her senses coming to life - the sight of his rugged face,
his intoxicating smell, the touch of his lips on hers. Passion licked along her
veins like a bush fire out of control and his kiss deepened, drugging her mind
senseless.

She found the bottom of his t-shirt and tugged it up
wanting to feel his skin, the rock-hardness of his chest. There was soft hair
and she ran her fingers through it.

Jared groaned against her mouth, then tore away from
her. He swiftly pulled the t-shirt over his head and tossed it away from him.

Her eyes drank in the sight of him, so strong and
virile.

How could he remain celibate for so long unless he
believed that love and sex went together?
She mused, her breasts heavy with desire.

It was that moment Kirra fell in love with him. In
silence, she eased off the bed and slowly removed her clothes in front of him.

His eyes never left hers.
‘
You
’
re beautiful,
’
he said simply and she moved into his embrace.

She shivered with delight at the feel of soft hair on
her breasts. Zac had always waxed his chest so it was a novelty for her.

‘
Are you cold?
’
he asked.

‘
No, not really.
’

He stood with one arm still holding her in close and flicked back the
bedcovers. Then he laid down with her on the sheet and pulled the top sheet
over them.
‘
Better?
’

‘
Yes,
’
she murmured.

He smiled and captured her swollen mouth again with
his.

She brought her hands up to his cheek and he groaned
softly against her mouth. Her heart sung that he liked the way she touched him.
Her lips parted and their tongues touched, then entwined as their kiss deepened
with a mutual, potent need.

His head reared up then and he met her gaze with a
shocked awareness.
‘
Kirra -
’

He lay half on top of her, flattening her breasts
deliciously against his rock-hard chest.

Her vision hazed with desire. She reached up and ran
her fingers through his hair, pulling his head down to join their mouths again
in an urgent, fervent kiss.

‘
Your passion is so strong,
’
he muttered against her lips.

‘
I need you,
’
she
murmured on a breath.

He
bent down capturing her left breast, sucking and licking its nipple until it
budded and darkened to the colour of dusty rose.

Kirra slid her hand down his body to the top of his
jeans and unclipped the stud.

His hand stilled hers.
‘
Not yet, I want to pleasure you first.
’
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

Her stomach quivered in delight as his tender lips
rained kisses upon it, then slowly made his way to the sensitive curls covering
her swollen mound. He tasted her then with his tongue and she bucked
involuntarily, the erotic sensation more than she could ever imagine.

She ran her fingers urgently through his hair as he
thrust and lapped her to fever-pitch, an audible moan announcing that her
orgasm had come.

It was only then that he levered himself off the bed
and removed his jeans and jocks, revealing the full magnificence of his
manhood.

‘
Beautiful,
’
she
murmured, her eyes glazing over, still mesmerised by the extent of his
love-making skills.

He
gave her an appreciative smile and climbed on top of her. She raised her hips
and opened her legs to take him in a perfect fit.

He moved slowly at first, then they rode in unison
until they peaked together.

Shocked that she’d had a second orgasm in some many
minutes, Kirra opened her eyes and watched him rear back, his rugged face
straining with pain, then relaxing with pleasure.

She
’
d never looked at
Zac during the times they
’
d had sex.

Triumphant that she could make a man feel that way and
be pleasured as well brought a smug smile to her swollen lips.

Jared rolled off her onto his back and took her with
him, snuggling her into the crook of his arm. ‘Happy?’

She laughed, surprised and ecstatic.
‘
I
’
ve never felt like
that before. It was amazing.
’

‘
I
’
m glad you liked
it. You were pretty amazing yourself.
’

‘
We
’
re good together,
’
she said, relieved, then kissed him on his
slightly-roughened chin.
‘
Thank you.
’

‘
If you keep rubbing against me like that,
’
he teased,
‘
I
’
ll be ready to go again.
’

She looked horrified and rolled over.

‘
It
’
s not a bad thing,
Kirra,
’
he said, chuckling a little, before he gently
smoothed down her hair and drew her into him.

They spooned together for what seemed like an
eternity, until he muttered,
’
It
’
s time to feed the heifers. Would you like to come
with me?
’

‘
Yes,
’
she said
whole-heartedly, throwing off the sheet and sliding off the bed. Scooping up
her clothes, she disappeared into the
en suite
.

Catching a glimpse of her face in the mirror, she
looked flushed from the superb love-making. She wasn’t used to his tenderness.
Her hands reached up and covered her rosy cheeks, then she hugged herself,
happy for the first time in a long while.

When she came out, it didn
’
t surprise her that Jared and his clothes were gone.
He seemed like her - a practical person - and there was a pressing job to be
done.

Kirra padded down the hallway and instinctively, found
Jared in the laundry. He had pulled on his gumboots and stood there waiting for
her, his face relaxed and lit with a radiant smile.

Feeling
a little awkward, she covered her belly with her arms and lowered her eyes.

He frowned.
‘
You
alright?
’
he asked, with genuine concern.

‘
Never felt better,
’
she said.
Slowly, she looked back at him and gave him a genuine smile.

His face and shoulders relaxed again.
‘
It looks like the rain has stopped,
’
he said,
‘
so you
’
ll only need to put on gumboots.
’

In companionable silence, Kirra sat down and slipped
them on, before he took her by the hand and led her out into the garage.

Within five minutes, they were inside the barn and
Kirra was surrounded by dozens of noisy, hungry heifers.

Jared bent down and filled a bucket of mixed grain. He
gently moved through the heifers to where Kirra stood.

‘
The good shepherd, hmm?
’
Kirra said lightly, laughter bubbling at the back of her throat.

‘
Something like that.
’
He grabbed a handful of grain and soon the heifers were eating out of
it.
‘
Here, take some. They won
’
t bite.
’

Kirra took some grain
and she fed the heifer nearest to her, its tongue tickling her palm. The
adorable young cows jostled for position and she patiently fed all her charges.

‘
Oh my!
’
she exclaimed.
One of the calves sucked on her fingers.
‘
Your tongue
is so course. How you must hurt your mother.
’

Uncomprehending, the calf
’
s big brown eyes looked up at her in all innocence.

‘
How long do they stay in the nursery?
’
she found herself asking out aloud, infatuated by
them.

Jared drew up beside her, still feeding the others.
‘
About six to eight months,’ he informed her. ‘At
around eighteen months, they
’
re large enough to
carry a calf of their own.
’

His hip brushed her elbow and her mind went blank as
fire sizzled up her arm.

She couldn
’
t believe
that she wanted him again so soon. Their attraction was like a powerful
electro-magnet and she stepped away a little to break the connection, lest she
go silently mad with desire.

‘
I
’
ll take you back to the homestead now, since you
’
re on holidays. I need to heal to some foot-rot. It’s
not something offered as a treat on a Farm Stay!
’
He pointed down to the far end of the barn, where a
few cows were corralled.
‘
With the ground so water-logged, even using the preventative treatment
is failing sometimes.
’
    

‘
Is that the tray of liquid they walk through before
they come into the dairy?
’

‘
Yes,
’
he said and
returned the empty feeding bucket to its hook on the side of the barn.

‘
I
’
ll stay and help,
’
she offered.
‘
Two hands
are quicker than one.
’
Besides, it would take her mind off other things like
working out how to get this hunk of a man back into her bed! Or on that nice
bed of hay over there.
What was she thinking?