To Protect the Heart of a Brazen Woman [Brazen Sisters 6] (Siren Publishing Classic) (23 page)

He wanted to lift her higher and take a better look, but his eager dick was now wedged against the crack of her ass and he liked it there. Heedless to the water dripping from both of them, Jake stepped out of the tub and onto the clothes they’d left strewn about the floor. Carefully and a touch too slow, Jake let her slide her legs down from his waist until her feet were on the floor. Even once she was standing he didn’t let go right away. He grabbed a towel off the rack and helped her wrap it around herself, gathering it at her breasts.

Man, he hated to see them go. “You go get ready for bed while I clean up this mess.”

“Okay.” She took another small towel from the rack and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, leaving him wanting more as usual.

Jake wrapped a towel around his waist, tucking one end under the other to keep it closed. He gathered all their clothes and piled them on the counter by the sink. Jake walked into the other room hoping she might want to go for another round, even if it was just a quick one. He heard her light snore before he even reached the bed. One thing he knew for sure, if he tried to wake her there’d be dire consequences. She liked her sleep uninterrupted, and plenty of it.

He knew that right now she needed it, too. So Jake stood there staring down at her. Damn, she was so beautiful he figured he could have stood there all night. Then it hit him, kind of like a two-by-four to the head. It might have been a cowardly way to ask, but he chose to look at it like a surprise. He took the box from his jeans and dropped them to the floor.

Carefully, he lifted her hand, glad she kept snoring. He slid the ring onto her finger and lowered her hand back to the bed. Jake eased onto the bed beside her. He couldn’t hold back the smile as she instinctively curled into him. This is what he’d been missing, and now that he had her there was no way he in hell was giving it up.

Bobbie opened her eyes and blinked a few times before the mostly dark room came into focus. The sun peeked through the slit between the curtains. That surprised her, since it had barely gone down when they’d arrived. Jake had worn them both out not minutes after that, and she must have fallen asleep before he even joined her in the bed. He was there now, pressed against her back.

His deep, steady breaths and the dead weight of his arm and leg draped over her assured her he was still asleep. She would have closed her eyes and just lay there enjoying his embrace if she didn’t have to pee so badly. If she didn’t get up damn quick there’d be an embarrassing mess. Not wanting to wake him, she slowly squirmed and maneuvered until she slid out from his embrace.

Her quick steps were silent on the carpet as she rushed into the bathroom. She eased the door closed before flicking on the light. The harsh light made her squint. She did what she needed to and moved to the sink. She turned the water on and stuck her hands under it. Afraid to look in the mirror since going to bed with wet hair never did anyone any good, Bobbie forced herself to see what she had to deal with. Her hair was a puffy mess to say the least.

She pulled her hands out from under the water and ran her hands through the tangled mess. Her left hand only made it a few inches before it got snagged on a knot. When she tried to pull back, it and a few strands of hair tugged at her scalp.

“What the fuck?” She got it out and just stared at her hand.

Sitting there on the third finger on her left hand was an elegant diamond solitaire.
Holy shit!
It hadn’t been there the night before.
Holy shit!
What was it supposed to mean, exactly?

“Holy shit!” The words finally made it from her befuddled mind to her mouth, but she was pretty sure it came out as, “Leeee,” or something.

Something crashed in the other room, and she whipped the door open. She’d only taken two steps into the room when she ran into Jake. Her hands landed on his bare chest as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her up tight against him. He was as rumpled as she was, but on him it looked damned sexy.

“Are you okay?” His voice was rough with sleep.

“No, well, yes. I guess. Maybe.”

“Bobbie, it’s a little early for me to try and keep track.”

“Well, if you’re confused think how I must be right now.”

“Baby, let’s go back to bed for a while and we can figure out whatever’s wrong when we wake up.” He began backing toward the bed, and since she was locked in his arms she went with him.

“Wait.” She slapped her blinged-out hand on his chest and he stopped and looked down at it.

His lips curved in a smile as she took a step back, putting some space between them. “Okay, I guess we’ll deal with it now.”

“What is this?” Her demand was met with a yawn and then a smile.

He tilted his head and stared at her hand. “I haven’t had coffee yet, so do I get three guesses?”

“Jake.” She hoped her tone told him she was done playing.

“Well, it’s a ring.” He didn’t explain any further.

“What’s it doing on my finger?” She asked, wiggling the digit at him.

“Sparkling.”

“Not funny.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

“You have two minutes to explain, or I’m taking it off.”

“It’s simple, really. That ring is going to ensure that any guy who gets within five feet of you sees that you’re unavailable.”

“Unavailable?”

“Yeah, as in taken, claimed.” He stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and lowered his head until his lips hovered over hers. “Mine.”

“So it’s just for show?” She turned her gaze to the floor, hoping Jake wouldn’t see where her mind was heading.

He tipped her chin back up until her gaze was once again locked on his. “No. It means that I love you and you love me. I want everyone to know it.”

It wasn’t that Bobbie didn’t believe him. She wanted to more than anything, but she was getting mental whiplash from the speed he was changing his mind. When it came to everything but her, Jake seemed to make a decision and stick with it no matter what came his way. She’d watched him for years, wishing that he’d want her with that kind of unwavering determination, but now that it seemed that he might, she wasn’t sure she liked it. She’d expected him to take a much slower approach.

In fact, after thinking about it for a while, she’d started looking forward to enjoying a slow and even relaxed romance between them. Actually, there was no reason they couldn’t still have it. They deserved it, and deep down, Jake needed time to really get comfortable with his decision.

* * * *

“Stop thinking and talk to me.” He urged, only to be given a smile in return.

Not for the first time, she managed to make him nervous. He’d stared down people aiming guns at him without breaking a sweat, but this woman with a simple smile sent little zings of terror through him. In his experience, that curve of her lips seemed innocent, but combined with the sparkle in her eyes and the slight tilt of her head he recognized trouble. It usually meant she was either up to something or concocting some type of a plan.

Jake didn’t need to be a genius to conclude that from the second he opened his eyes he’d lost control of the situation. He knew he had to take the reins and turn the situation in the direction he wanted it to go in damn quick. Keeping her hands in his, he dropped to one knee.

“Roberta Lee Brazen, will you marry me?”

“Yes.” He stood up and leaned in to kiss her, but she put her hands on his chest, stopping him. “But—”

Jake cut her off. “Let me guess. You want a huge wedding. Fine. We’ll invite the whole town.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I—”

“Want a small private affair, just friends and family. I’m good with that, too. Whatever you want.” He began to back them toward the bed.

They fell onto the mattress with Bobbie landing on top of him. He pressed a trail of kisses along her neck, up her chin.

Her fingers splayed on his chest, and her nails dug in as she moaned, “Jake.”

“What?” He smiled, loving the sound of her name on his lips.

“I want a long engagement.”

That brought him up short. “What?”

“I’ll marry you, but…” She took a deep breath. “I want a long engagement.”

“How long?” He asked.

“Five years.”

Jake laughed as he rolled them over. She had to be kidding. He looked down at her, but she wasn’t smiling. “You’re serious?”

“I am.” She nodded, her gaze never leaving his.

“No.” His voice was harsh, but he didn’t care.

“Excuse me?” She sounded surprised.

“I’ve waited long enough. So have you. I’m not waiting another five years. Five weeks, maybe.”

“No. I want time to just enjoy us being a couple.”

“Five months, then.”

“What’s the fascination with the number five?” She shook her head and lifted her hips. “Three years.”

Jake groaned at heat he felt through the cotton barriers of his boxers and her panties. Damned if he didn’t almost agree. “No. Six months.”

“You’re not being fair.” She gasped as he slid his hand under her T-shirt and cupped her breast. “You’re distracting me.”

“I’m sorry.” He ran his thumb back and forth over her nipple and she lifted into his touch. “What were you saying?”

She ran her hands down his sides until she reach the waistband of his boxers and began tugging them down. “Two years.”

“Tomorrow.” She smacked his ass and he laughed. “Okay, nine months.”

“Eighteen months.”

Jake thought about her counteroffer as he struggled to help her get her excuse for panties off. It was a perfectly reasonable amount of time, but stubbornly, he didn’t want to wait. He could just agree and then try to wear her down. With the help of her family and his it wouldn’t be too hard. It also wouldn’t be fair for them to gang up on her, either.

“One year. Not a day more. And if you change your mind then much earlier.” He pushed himself off her and grabbed his wallet from the nightstand.

He opened it and pulled out his last condom. Her arms, legs, and hands were all over him. That soft skin rubbed against his and made it damn hard to focus on getting the condom on. Finally, she took over and rolled it down his shaft. She stroked him a few times and he almost lost it. He grabbed her arms and pushed her back on the bed.

She squirmed under him until he was poised at her entrance. No foreplay this time and he was totally all right with that. He slid into her slick, warm heat and her muscles constricted around his cock like a glove. She didn’t wait for him to set the pace, either. She raised her hips, urging him to go faster and deeper.

Jake got to his knees and grabbed her thighs, lifting her legs, and stuffed a pillow from the top of the bed under her hips. He hooked her knees over his elbows and pulled her to him. In this position Jake had most of the control, but if Bobbie raised and lowered her hips it made things better. He plunged in and pulled out, quickening his pace as she writhed beneath him.

It didn’t take either of them long to reach the breaking point. This time it was Jake who tumbled over the precipice first. She tried to close her thighs like she always did when she was close to coming. Jake pushed them wider and surged deeper. She moaned his name and pushed her head back on the pillows. Jake kept pumping his hips until she stiffened under him, letting out a scream he was sure any neighbors they had would have surely heard.

The feeling that coursed through him had nothing to do with his ego, but the pride he felt at being able to pleasure her so well. It was if his cock was the key to her pussy, and he was the only one who could unlock her passion. Good grief, she was turning him into a sappy lovesick fool, and oddly he liked it.

“Can we go back to sleep?” she asked as he fell to the bed beside her.

“For a little while.” He grabbed the box of tissues off the nightstand and took care of business before tugging her against him.

As Jake lay there and listened to her breathe, dozens of thoughts and few fears ran through his mind. Her sisters may not want her to marry him after what happened with Patrice. That could be one of the reasons she wanted a long engagement, to wear them down. Jake was going to have to talk to them and explain how he felt about Bobbie. They probably already knew, but it couldn’t hurt to say it out loud.

Bobbie lifted her cell phone out of the cup holder. “I’m going to call the lodge and let Sam and Jessie know we’re back on the road.”

“Just make sure you don’t mention our news.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed right above the ring.

“You’re really not going to let me tell anyone?” She’d thought he was kidding when he said it as they left the motel.

“Yup.” He nodded. “Don’t pout. If they’re observant, they’ll notice.”

“It is kind of hard to miss.” She wiggled her finger, and the diamond caught the light, adding to its sparkle.

“What’s hard to miss?” Her sister, Jessie, asked instead of hello.

“The sign for the turnpike,” Bobbie said as they drove past it. “I just wanted to let you know we’re on the road and should be home around six.”