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“I’m not in the learning mood,” she said, bringing her hand up to swat at his head. He blocked the swing with his arm and fought to pin her limbs down.
It was as if the clock had turned back ten years in a matter of seconds. If anyone had asked her if she missed fighting Jesse she would have easily said no, but as she dug her heels in and pushed, flipping him onto his back, shivers of pleasure raced down her spine. Her blood raced through her veins as she clobbered him in the head.
He grunted, his face turning red again before he flipped her back to the ground. He pinned her arms, his hands clamped around her wrists and held to the ground on either side of her head, the full weight of him holding her body still from shoulders to legs.
Alex stared up at him, his breath panted out in harsh bursts of air that washed over her face. He was still grinning and she became aware of him in a way she hadn’t planned to. There wasn’t much of her body he wasn’t touching. His chest was flat against her breasts, his hips nestled between her open thighs. He seemed to notice too if the look on his face was any indication.
His smile vanished, his gaze becoming intense as he stared down at her. The fire she’d seen in his eyes earlier was still there but something else lurked in those green irises. His breathing changed, the weight of him against her falling more heavily. His gaze roamed her face and stopped on her lips.
Her pounding heart felt stuck in her throat. She’d been here before. It was a hot summer day inside the schoolhouse, the two of them crouched behind Laurel’s desk in an attempt to outwit the other kids playing a game of hide and seek.
The look on his face that day was much like it was now except this was no boy nervously inching his way toward her. It was a man, the scruff of a beard covering his chiseled jaw brushing against her chin with every breath.
The evidence of his interest in her was obvious by the hard ridge of flesh she felt pressing between her legs. A small throbbing pulse started beating there hard enough she shifted her hips, his pupils dilating when she did.
The rain still beat down but it did nothing to cool the heat surging through her body. The voice in the back of her head screaming that this was Jesse, the one person she loved to hate, was being drowned out by that incessant throb now making her whole body feel as if it were stretched tight enough to snap.
She swallowed to moisten her suddenly dry throat, licked her lips for much the same reason, and Jesse tilted his head a fraction, his mouth hovering just over her own.
Her body flipped from numb to tingling and back again, dizziness taking over until nothing registered but the feel of him so close, the scent of his skin and the warmth of his lips as they touched hers. The contact sent jolts through her limbs, a loud buzzing filling her head as he dipped his tongue inside.
Hot moisture filled her mouth, the taste of him igniting her nerve endings. Her skin felt itchy and she shifted, rubbing against that hardened flesh between her thighs and ran her tongue along his until he groaned and ground his hips into her harder.
She tried to lift her arms, the need to feel him beneath her hands strong. She jerked against his tight hold until he broke the kiss and looked down at her.
He took several long breaths, then said, “Do you think kissing me will make me forget all the trouble you’re causing?”
She gasped in shock, her mouth opening to reply but he lowered his head again and kissed her, everything she was about to say gone in an instant.
This kiss wasn’t hurried like the others had been. This one was slow, as if he was savoring every second of it. His tongue swept the inside of her mouth in a lazy pattern that caused a soft groan to rumble in her throat. He nibbled her bottom lip then traced the shape of it with the tip of his tongue.
Jesse lingered, the full weight of him pressing her into the ground and Alex sighed, then hated the fact he’d caused that small reaction with nothing more than a kiss.
His tongue dipped into her mouth again for another taste, lingered and caressing her own so long her heart fluttered against her ribs like a caged bird until her breath caught. When he broke the kiss a second time, she blinked up at him.
“Now,” he said, “We’re going to stand up and get back on that horse and head to town. If you cause me any more problems I’ll blister your hide again, is that understood?”
For a short blissful moment, she’d forgotten she was supposed to hate him. That kiss had addled her brain. She blinked again, regained her focus on his face and saw the amused look in his eyes. He was enjoying her reaction. She gritted her teeth. “If you lay a hand on me, I swear—,”
He cut her off by kissing her until she had to break off in order to breathe. She lay stunned when he stood and reached for his fallen hat, the rain beating against her face.
Jesse grabbed her arm and helped her stand but didn’t let go of her. He pulled her closer, one arm around her waist so tight she found it hard to breathe as the heat of his body warmed her rain-soaked skin. “And don’t think that little kiss you gave me will be enough to make me forget you punching me in the head.”
“Me kiss you?” She laughed. “I think that knock to your skull did some damage. I didn’t kiss you, you kissed me.”
He grinned. “I don’t think so, darlin’. You kissed me.” He lowered his head, his breath warming her lips. “And feel free to do it again when the mood strikes. You’ll not hear me complain.” He left her standing there in the rain as he whistled for his horse. She touched her lips. They were still swollen from the kisses they’d exchanged and she’d never admit to another living soul how much she’d enjoyed it.
The horse came to his call and he turned to look at her when he took hold of the reins. “I want you in the saddle. I’ll not have you jumping off a moving horse again.”
She rolled her eyes and crossed to where he stood, stuck her foot in the stirrup and pulled herself up to settle in the saddle. He climbed on behind her, his arm hooking around her waist and he clicked his tongue to get the horse moving.
The rain was still falling and her hat was still in the stagecoach with her bedroll and clothes. She lowered her head to keep the water from her eyes. She wasn’t sure what Jesse would do with her now but one thing was certain, she wasn’t about to go home.
Fourteen
The rain stoppedas they made it back to town. Not that it mattered. Jesse was soaked clean through. The street was thick with mud, the horse slowing to wade through the thickest parts of it. They reached the fork in the road that led to the prairie beyond and to his amazement, the cattle were still there.
He nudged the horse faster, his gaze locked on the chuck wagon. Smoke boiled from a small fire, the wet wood causing a dark gray trail to linger over the camp.
