A whole throng of women had appeared, whistling and whooping as Jesse emerged not twenty feet away. He was grinning, surrounded by friends and fellow riders. A few of the women approached from both sides. I hesitated as he looked around, his head turning in my direction, but as a wave of nausea hit, I knew I would just kill his buzz. Instead, I walked away, suddenly grateful for the corset, the way it physically held me together as I strode past the practice corral. I knew the three of them had come in Bailey’s truck, having spotted it near the entrance on the way in. The car park would be quiet, everyone now inside.
As I approached the exit, the adrenaline slowing, tears quickly rose. With no one else around and one arm wrapped around myself, I let out a sudden sob. Knowing more were coming, I all but ran for the truck as it came into view, stumbling against it as the first tears fell.
Trying to breathe through it, I let myself sink down, leaning against the huge wheel.Jesse was fine. He was fine. No injuries. He might even have won it.
‘Hestia?’
My head jerked up as with horror, I realized Jesse was running towards me, confusion and pain etched so clearly in his features that for a moment I thought hehadbeen hurt.
‘Are you okay?’ I croaked, forcing myself up to standing again, unable to see anything except him, the rodeo flags and stands and noise behind us nothing more than a blur.
‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ he replied, breathing heavily as he reached me, instantly drawing me into him, half crushing me against his chest. ‘Why are you upset? Where did you go? I saw you leave . . .’
The relief – the shattering realization that he was okay, that he’d run to find me despite this being his big moment, was suddenly more than I could ignore.
‘I was so fucking worried,’ I whispered. ‘I still feel sick. Watching you get thrown around in there . . .’
His expression changed in an instant, one hand moving to my cheek as he gently moved us back against the truck, wedging me firmly between the solid metal and his body.
‘I’m fine, sweetheart. Stop now, you’re killing me,’ he murmured as another tear slid down my cheek. Then, almost to himself, he whispered, ‘I didn’t realize you cared so much?’
I couldn’t answer, could only gaze back into his eyes, reading me as closely as I was him. He knew the answer, I realized. Just as I’d started to.
‘I can’t help it,’ I replied as he leant down, tilting his hat up and out of the way. ‘It’s just how I feel about you.’
All of the moments to date between us, from that first hook-up in the kitchen to what had almost happened in his truck after visiting his mum, flashed before my eyes. The restraint we’d both maintained since then, a string pulled taut with the constant tension, finally snapped.
My hand wound round the back of his head, and I tilted my face up as he met me in the middle. His lips were soft at first, a sensation of relief waking up every nerve in my body. The kiss intensified, building, until we were almost crushing each other with the desperation to feel more, to take in more of one another.
I knew I’d never felt this before, this deep sense of something settling into place. Any sense of fear evaporated, replaced by a need for more. For all of it – all of him.
‘I can’t describe how I feel about you,’ he breathed as we parted for a moment, removing his hat with his free hand, the other woven into my hair. ‘But I do know that if I can’t have you right now, I’m gonna fucking explode.’
He reached into his pocket, and I heard the truck locks click open.
I smiled between breaths.
Before I could reply he moved us over, opening the door to the back of the cab. Picking me up by the waist, he lifted me onto the edge of the seat, waited for me to shift back, then climbed in, closing the door behind him.
Behind the darkness of the window tint, as he pressed the key again to lock the doors, I reached behind me to undo my corset.
He shook his head, moving towards me, settling between my legs.
‘Leave it on,’ he said, leaning down to kiss the tops of my breasts. ‘You look so fucking beautiful like this.’
He made his way slowly up my neck, his tongue following the curves of my flames. Following instinct alone, I reached out for his jeans, flicking the button open and pulling down the zipper.
‘I swear to you,’ he whispered as he reached my mouth, kissing me gently, reverently. ‘Next time will be slower, somewhere with space that I can take my time on you, just you. But right now, I need to fuck you. Can I do that?’
I grabbed his jaw with my hand, deepening our kiss in response, not wanting words to get in the way. Not when I knew he understood me physically, maybe better than I understood myself. He took over on his jeans, pulling himself free before working on my shorts, his expert hands working them down, followed by my underwear, in seconds.
Despite the space restrictions, I lay back and watched as he braced himself over me, lightly brushing his fingers between my legs, holding my gaze and smiling as I squirmed. In seconds his cock followed. He used a hand to guide himself into me, not trying to be gentle this time but hearing my moans for what they were – a plea for more, to thrust harder, go faster.
‘Hestia,’ he groaned as I ground into him over and over, only slowing slightly when I realized this would be over in seconds if we kept the same pace. He watched me, his eyes bright, as unlike before I sought out his mouth, putting every ounce of feeling into a kiss instead.
He slowed to a stop, still inside me, and kissed me right back. It began to change, our lips gradually slowing, a softness developing that I couldn’t prevent from taking over. I wanted to cry all over again, traitorous tears threatening at the corners of my eyes.
As I gazed at him, watching as he gently brushed a thumb under my eye, I realized his expression mirrored my own. Those beautiful storm-cloud eyes were glimmering with the same emotion.
