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His breathing evened out, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm until Alex assumed he’d fallen asleep. She ran her gaze over his features, his strong chin barely visible in the low light.
Shaking her head, she laid down, flipped to her side and put her back to him. She could see the men at the campfire. Someone was on all fours, their cheek pressed to the ground as he looked their way. Was he trying to peek in at them?
The smile on his face said he was. He said something she couldn’t make out, the other men laughing again. Jesse was right. They expected him to be right where he was. “How long do you think they’ll sit there waiting for something to happen?”
He shifted behind her and she stiffened when he slung an arm around her, his fingers brushing the underside of one breast as he reached for the canvas and peeked out.
His chest flattened against her back, her bottom nestled against the curve of his hips and it was as intimate a position she’d ever been in. She tried to ignore her racing pulse as his breath warmed her ear when he said, “Probably until they think something is actually happening.”
“Something like—what, exactly.”
His soft laughter rumbled in his chest and she felt it against her back. “Like you screaming my name in ecstasy.”
It was her turn to laugh. “You’re so full of yourself.” She shoved him until he moved and she was able to lay on her back. He was still propped up on one arm, peeking under the canvas.
He dropped it after a few moments and laid on his side, his head propped up on his hand. “We could just give them what they want. They’ll go away once they think something is actually happening under here.”
Alex’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy?”
He grinned. “I married you, didn’t I?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Out of every girl in the world, I marry the one who hates me the most. I’d say that qualifies me as a bit touched in the head, don’t you?”
He reached for the first button on her shirt, popping it open before reaching for the next. Alex gasped and slapped his hand away. “What are you doing?”
Someone by the fire laughed and yelled, “If she’s asking that, you ain’t doing it right, cowboy!”
The laughter lingered as Jesse smiled down at her. “Giving them what they want.”
“They want me slapping you?”
He chuckled. “No, they want to hear something. Why do you think they’re just sitting there quietly?”
Alex turned her head to look under the canvas. Jesse was right. Any other night they’d be telling bawdy jokes and singing songs so off key, the cows would get restless. She sighed and shook her head. “How long will they stay there?”
“Hard to say.”
Long minutes passed, the crackle and pop of burning firewood the only sound. Jesse shifted, laying his head on his outstretched arm. The shadows under the wagon played across his features and even in the low light, it was hard to deny he was more attractive than she wished he was.
If he would have been anyone else, laying in the dark underneath a wagon with him would have made her nervous but for some reason, being this close to Jesse felt as natural as breathing.
After all the dinners with Hugh, all the stories they’d shared, there was still a part of her that didn’t feel completely comfortable around him. She held back a piece of herself but with Jesse, she didn’t feel the need to.
“What are you thinking?”
She met his gaze and squinted to try and see him better. “I was just wondering why I feel so comfortable with you when I shouldn’t.”
“Maybe because you’ve beaten me up so much over the years.”
She laughed. “Maybe.” She rolled to her side to face him. “But that’s mostly your fault. If you hadn’t picked so many fights with me, I wouldn’t have had to knock sense into you so often.”
“Is that what you called all those punches to my head?”
“What else would you call them?”
He pondered the question then grinned. “Love taps.”
