“Uh huh,” she answered.
Her heart was pounding at an insane pace and even more heat rushed to her cheeks.She prayed he couldn’t see how much of it had nothing to do with the cold.
“That shirt sure does look good on you.”
“Thanks.Maybe we should get on with the grooming.I’ll get the stuff we need.”Because if they didn’t get started, she’d end up kissing the guy.
“Okay, what should I do with her?”
“She’s fine where she is.Hold on a minute.Be right back.”
Mercy, she had to show him how to groom a horse.They would be close together.So close.
Jenna tried to calm her breathing, but it was fast.
Her hands trembled slightly as she gathered the brushes in the tack room.Excitement and fear tangled in her stomach as she returned to Axel and found him stroking the horse’s muzzle.
She forced herself to remain professional outwards as she neared him, trying oh so hard to ignore his unique scent.Trying so hard to ignore the electrical jolt every time his arm brushed hers.
Quickly she began to point out how to groom a wet horse.And yes, the nearness was awkward and intimate, especially because she wasn’t wearing her panties.That knowledge made her hyper-aware of every movement, every shift of the flannel brushing her skin.Thankfully though, his shirt was like a mid-thigh length dress on her and covered her naughty parts nicely.
But to her surprise, he appeared professional and picked up very quickly what she showed him that needed to be done.Half an hour later, they both finished the brushing routine, and she led the dry and happy horse into her stall, where she proceeded to drink water.
Jenna closed the stable door and joined Axel who’d headed to the front of the barn where they both washed their hands at the sink.Standing side by side at the sink felt strangely intimate and felt like slipping into an old rhythm she’d forgotten she missed.
Once Axel was finished, he stepped to the entrance way and gazed out the small diagonal window in the barn door.She noted he stood near the same spot where he’d gone down on her this morning.
Her breath hitched at the memory of that moment as it flashed through her, vivid enough to make her knees weaken.Heat fused through her entire body as she remembered how wonderful he’d made her feel with his ultra-hot mouth buried between her thighs.
“It’s really pissing cats and dogs out there.Do you want to head back to the house in this rain?I can head over and get the raincoats.You wouldn’t have to get wet.I would come back to the house with you and stay in one of the other bedrooms, or on the couch, if you prefer.Or would you prefer to bunk here for the night?Strictly professional of course.”
The offer wasn’t casual.She heard the hesitation, the hope, the fear woven through his voice.
She swallowed, feeling overwhelmingly excited.She wanted Axel to make love to her.She wanted to feel loved.To push away the sadness that had been clutching her heart over the past years.
Her marriage with Tim had been quite rocky and she had never truly felt loved by him, except at the beginning until they’d married.Now that he was gone, she could see that every time she had pulled away from him, threatening to leave him due to his stepping out of their marriage with other women, he had loved bombed her back into his bed.
The last time being he said he was ready for a family.And he knew she wanted a family.She should have left him, but she had stayed and once again fallen for his charms.
A dull ache spread through her chest.She’d spent so long feeling unseen, unloved, and now the contrast was blinding.
And now she was pregnant and Axel was here and how was she going to tell him?The truth hovered between them like a fragile secret she wasn’t ready to break open.
“Jenna?What's wrong?If you're worried I might touch you again, I promise hands off.”
The promise sounded strained, like it cost him something.That only made her want him more.
The bulge against his pants between his thighs promised he wanted her...
Maybe she should...
“I'll stay.But I want you naked.”
The words left her before she could second-guess them.Suddenly she felt bold, reckless, fueled by years of buried longing.
“Excuse me?”he replied so quickly that she didn’t think he’d actually let what she’d said sink in.And then there it was.Shock splashed across his face.
Then arousal as he got her meaning.
