“Why?”
Because I needed to see you. Because I need to know that I’m not crazy and that Sam is right and that you meant what you just told the naked woman in your bed.
She didn’t say any of those things. Instead, she filled the old-fashioned percolator with water from the tap, and then she scooped grounds into the basket and plugged the unit into the wall. Only then did she turn around and answer his question.
“You left without saying good-bye.” She tried to keep the hurt from her voice but wasn’t wholly successful.
“I thought it would be easier that way.”
“Easier for who?”
He didn’t answer.
The percolator made a grinding noise that sounded more like a garbage disposal than a coffeemaker, but the kitchen soon filled with the aroma of brewing coffee, so she figured she’d done something right.
“It was an impulsive decision on my part,” Penny explained. “Well, maybe not that impulsive. I’d been thinking about something Sam said. And I did wait a whole week to see if anything changed, and it didn’t, so I left after dinner, and here I am.”
His brow furrowed. “That’s a nine-hour drive. You drove all night?”
She slipped her hands into her pockets and shrugged. “Ten, because I drank too much iced tea and had to keep stopping, but yeah, pretty much. I told you, I don’t sleep much. Anyway, it was late when I got here. Or early, depending on how you look at it. I planned to sleep in the car, but your door was open, so I let myself in. Don’t you lock your doors around here? You know, any kind of riffraff could just walk in. Obviously.”
His lips quirked. “Obviously.”
He pushed off the frame and moved toward the table. Closer to her. Her heart beat a little faster.
“Well, I guess I fell asleep on the couch. I didn’t hear you come in, but I did hear your friend. She’s kind of heavy-footed.”
The twitch became a grin as he took another step.
“Anyway, I followed her up the stairs and saw her get undressed and climb into bed with you. I figured I’d made a big mistake, and I was going to just leave quietly. Then, I heard what you said. Did you mean it? Or were you just saying that to get that heifer to leave?”
“Heifer?” he said on a laugh. “Penny Hoffmeier, did you just call someone a bad name?”
“I’m sorry. That was mean, but seeing her with you, it just ... it just ...”
“It just what?” he prompted.
“Pushed me over the edge. And that’s the thing, Jaxson. I don’t go over the edge. Ever. But that’s what you do to me. That’s why I’m here. So, did you? Mean what you said?”
“Come here,” Jaxson commanded, his voice deep and low.
She obeyed, closing the final two-foot gap between them.
“Look at me.”
She raised her eyes to meet his. Just that quickly, those tingles erupted in her belly and spread throughout her body.
“Yes,” he said. “I meant it. You did something to me, too.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded. She tilted her head upward and touched her lips to his while wrapping her arms around his neck. He deepened the kiss until she felt it all the way down to her soul.
“So, what are we going to do about this?” Penny whispered when she finally pulled away.
His eyes took on a wicked gleam. “Right now, I’d like to take you upstairs and show you how glad I am to see you.”
Her body lit up from the inside out. “Now, that’s a good plan. But first, we need to change your sheets.”
He chuckled and then turned her body toward the table, so her back was to his chest. She felt his heat soak into her. Felt the hard ridge pressing suggestively into her lower back.
He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down close to her ear. “I don’t think I can wait that long.”
A thrill ran through her, starting in her core and radiating outward to her extremities. Fingers. Toes. Nipples. “So, don’t.”
He kissed behind her ear. Trailed more down the curve of her neck. “Penny Hoffmeier, you are a bad, bad girl.”
“Only around you,” she said breathlessly, only to have her breath stolen completely as his hands found the clasp of her jeans.
“Good answer.”
He wasted no time in undoing her pants and slipping his hand into her panties. He moaned when he found her wet, but after those kisses and the feel of his hardness against her, she didn’t know what else he’d expected.
Moments later, her jeans and panties were around her ankles, and his hand was on her upper back, gently pushing her torso toward the table. A shiver of pleasure went through her as she felt his blunt tip stroking along her entrance.
“Did you bring condoms with you?” he asked.
“Yes, but they’re in my bag out in my car.”
“Fuck.”
“It’s okay. I trust you.”
“Okay?” he whispered softly.
“More than,” she replied.
Penny closed her eyes and savored the feel of him pushing into her, filling and stretching until it was impossible to tell where she left off and he began. His strokes were gentle at first but quickly gained in intensity until the kitchen was filled with the sounds of his hips slapping her backside and her desperate pleas for more.
The moment she cried his name, he cursed and pulled out. She felt pulses of hot warmth on her backside and lower back.
“Now that we’ve taken the edge off, let’s see about getting a shower and changing those sheets.”
* * *
Much later, they lay atop the covers, momentarily sated. A breeze blew in from the open windows, not cool, but it felt good, skimming over their sweaty, naked bodies. She couldn’t have asked for a better reception.
“Tell me about these,” Penny said, tracing the scars along his side with the tip of her finger.
Some were relatively straight and precise, like those from a surgical procedure. Others were irregular and puckered.
“Not much to tell,” he answered quietly. Unlike the first couple of times she’d tried to touch them, he didn’t move her hand away or try to distract her. “I got called out to fix a vehicle. It was booby-trapped. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital, unsure if I’d ever walk again.” His voice was detached. Unemotional. As if he were talking about some random stranger instead of himself.
“Was anyone else hurt?”
“Just me.”
“How long were you in the hospital?”
“Months.”
“And then?”
“Then, a bunch of doctors determined I was no longer fit for active service and sent me home.” His voice took on a bitter edge.
“You didn’t want to come home?”
“I had nothing to come home to,” he told her. “My father was gone, and with him, my reason to return. Everyone else had moved on.”
“And now?”
He was quiet for a long time. “Now, I feel like there’s hope again.”
She crawled up his body and kissed him tenderly on the lips. “Good. Now, tell me about that woman who was in your bed.”
“Ancient history.”
“I like history. Especially ancient history.” If for no other reason than to make sure it wasn’t repeated.