He wanted Shea inside him.
Pleasure bloomed, thawing the cold within him, and he shifted closer to Shea when the cowboy cupped his ass. Shea was equally hard, and Jake reveled in that long-forgotten sensation of touch. They rocked in tandem until Shea broke free, and Jake, dazed by the desire pumping through him, became confused at the glazed, somewhat fearful expression in Shea’s eyes. He’d never been kissed like that, never imagined kissing could be so…so raw and wild. Primal.
His mouth throbbed, gloriously bruised. “That was amazing.”
Shea dropped his head. “I shouldn’ta done that. I got carried away.”
As if he’d again been plunged into cold water, Jake’s heart jumped, and he struggled to take in a breath. “So you’re sorry you kissed me, is what you’re saying? Because it didn’t feel like that when your tongue was down my throat a second ago.”
“I’m saying I let my emotions get the best of me, and I regret it. I don’t fool around with guests.”
Jake pushed his still-wet hair out of his eyes and squared his shoulders. “It wasn’t a big deal. Don’t make it anything more than what it was.”
Liar.
He’d had years of practice learning to hide his hurt after Brian walked out on him and Stacey. This was nothing compared to losing his husband and the partner he’d had a child with.
“I don’t want you upset.”
Jake hefted his backpack on his shoulder and shoved his feet into the sneakers. “As I already said, it was only a kiss.” Without waiting for an answer, he strode away and left Shea behind.
He had to get through today and tonight, and then tomorrow he’d be back home with his daughter. Shea Montgomery would be nothing but a memory.
Chapter Seven
“You are such a dumbass.”
It was either the eighth or ninth time that day Shea had called himself out for kissing Jake, then apologizing. In the paddock with Rambo after a long, hard ride, Shea let the strokes of the brush and currycomb soothe his anger. The rest of the morning Jake had avoided his eyes and had taken off with his friends to go for a hayride and a picnic lunch with his whole team by the lake.
“You talkin’ to the horse or yourself there, Shea?”
Craig strolled up with an amused glint in his eye. He leaned on the fence railing and watched.
“What? Oh, nothin’. Just thinking out loud.”
“’Bout what? Must be somethin’ important ’cause that scowl on your pretty face is about a mile long.”
“Anyone ever tell you to mind your business?”
“Well, see, that’s where it gets kinda tricky.” Craig pushed off from the fence and joined him on the other side of Rambo. He picked up one of the brushes and started grooming the horse’s coat while continuing his chatter. “What would you think if you happened on somethin’ you know you weren’t meant to see but did? And now you wanna talk about it, but you ain’t sure how to go about it.”
Shea’s eyes narrowed. “What I think is that you sound like you got somethin’ you wanna say to me, so go on and spit it out.” He set the currycomb down and placed his hands on Rambo’s strong neck.
Craig met his eyes over the horse. “I was out ridin’ this mornin’, when I heard someone shoutin’ and hollerin’. By the time I figured out where the voices were coming from, the situation was in hand, but…Shea. You and that guest? Since when do you mix business with pleasure?”
Hot shame rolled through him at the thought of Craig seeing him and Jake kissing. “It was a mistake,” he muttered, casting his gaze at the shining chestnut coat of his horse.
“Mmm. That all you gonna say about it?”
“Ain’t nothin’ more to it. Jake fell outta his rowboat when the swans came after him. I saw him splashin’ around in the water and went in to save him. We got to shore, and we had some words. Things got…out of hand.” He picked up the brush and began to use it on Rambo’s already gleaming flank.
“Outta hand? Is that what they’re callin’ it now? And ain’t he a married man? He was talking about a daughter.”
Bristling at Craig’s accusatory tone, Shea felt his temper flare. “He’s divorced. And it was a mistake. I apologized, and we left it at that. Not gonna happen again.”
“Why not?”
Shea stood openmouthed. “What the hell? Because he’s a guest. I don’t sleep with guests. Never have.”
