Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

SLATE

J ess's body felt like an unexplored paradise under my hands. While I knew that technically, I had explored her pretty damn thoroughly before, I hadn't known her then.

Now, however, I did.

At least a little bit.

I didn't know why, but it made this feel different.

Leaning into her, I groaned when my dick pressed against the warm softness of her lower belly and I had the urge to pick her up and impale her on me. I only held back because I didn't know how much time we had, but even then, I needed more than this.

Running my palms along her ribs, I felt her up, heating up an already ultra hot make-out session when I felt her tremble under my hands. Shit, I want her so fucking bad.

She tasted vaguely like coffee, her kisses as hard and urgent as my own. I cupped her breasts, feeling the weight of them in my palms. Then I flicked my fingers over her hard nipples and fought the instinct to rip off her bra.

Jess arched her back. Quiet moans spilled out of her. I pinched her nipples and thrust my hips, sending zaps of pleasure through myself and hopefully through her as well. When she started rocking her hips in time with mine, her body tensed. I bit back a growl, wanting more than anything for her to come and deciding that I would get what I wanted.

She was so soft, full, and gorgeous. So sassy and yet so compliant whenever I got her like this. My dick had never been harder or more desperate to get inside someone, my blood like liquid lava in my veins.

I dropped a hand away from her breasts, sliding it down along her curves. My fingers brushed the elastic waistband of her panties, but just as I was about to push my fingertips past it, I heard a sound filter up from downstairs. I froze, pulling away from her and listening intently as I tried to figure out if I'd imagined it.

"What was that?" I asked quietly.

"Shut up," she hissed. "I think my parents may be home."

Sure enough, the first sound was followed by more. Boots hitting the wooden floors.

Talking.

Even Jeanie calling Jess's name. "Jessie? Are you here, honey?"

"We're home, baby," Doug hollered. "Slate?"

"Shit." Jess scrambled to open the shower door, sliding out from between me and the wall and nearly falling in her rush to get out.

Breathing hard, I groaned and swiped my hand across my face. What rotten fucking luck.

Jess left wet footprints on the mat as she grabbed a towel and wrapped herself in it. Then she finally glanced at me over her shoulder. "Play it cool. They can't know."

Her eyes locked on mine intently, staying there until I dropped my chin in a nod. She returned it before she dashed to the door, opening it to peek into the hallway. Then she disappeared, careful to close it behind her.

She'd left me standing under the hot water with a raging hard-on and a racing heart. Damn it.

As I turned into the spray, I considered finishing myself off real quick. It really wouldn't take long, but the knowledge that Doug and Jeanie were right downstairs killed the moment. Slaughtered it.

I sighed, reaching for the knob instead and turning it off. After drying myself and wrapping the towel around my hips, I headed to my bedroom to get dressed, not seeing a trace of Jess along the way.

Once I was safely behind my own locked door, I muttered a string of frustrated curses and took my time, knowing it would be best if Jess had a decent head start getting downstairs. It would be obvious we'd both showered, but as long as there were a few minutes between her appearance and mine, I figured we'd be safe.

Collapsing onto the bed, I lay there for a while, listening to the happy mooing of the cows and breathing in the farm air that no longer had a scent to it. I frowned. What? That's weird. Is it gone, or have I just been here for long enough that I've joined the dark side?

I didn't know, but I shook my head at myself and finally made my way to the dresser, grabbing another pair of new jeans and another tee. Shoving both items on, I towel-dried my hair so it would look like I'd been out of the shower for longer than I had, pausing for a moment to reflect on how fucking outrageous it was, and then I left my bedroom.

God, I wish she had her own place.

With my balls more purple than blue, I grumbled under my breath but took the stairs two at a time. "Hiding from parents in my thirties. What the—Doug," I said when he appeared, walking out of the kitchen with a relieved grin on his lips. "How did it go in town?"

"Good news, son. Jeanie will want to be with us when I tell you. Come on. She's in the kitchen." He inclined his head for me to follow him and I did, striding into the kitchen and blinking back pretend surprise when I saw Jess in there with them.

"Hey. I thought you were back out there doing chores."

Her cheeks were still rosy after our shower, her wet hair thrown into a messy knot on top of her head. She shrugged, but I saw the playful glint in her eyes when they met mine. "After our disastrous milking lesson, I figured I'd better keep an eye on you until my parents got back."

Jeanie chuckled as she glanced at me from where she was making coffee. "I believe you had an eventful morning in the barn."

Surprised that Jess had said anything about it all, I suddenly realized that there was a tub full of milk-soaked clothing upstairs and boots and socks outside that would've busted us completely if she hadn't gotten out ahead of it. I tried for a contrite grin as I went over to help Jeanie with the coffee.

"Yeah, it turns out that the milk comes out a little more forcefully than I expected. I thought it would be more of a trickle, but nope. I'll be better prepared next time."

I looked at Jess as I said the last part and she smirked at me, the acknowledgment of my unspoken challenge flashing in her eyes. "You're on, City Boy. We'll see if we can turn you into a semi-decent farmer yet, but you'd better grow eyes in the back of your head. It's easy to miss things around the barn."

"Consider me warned," I said, then centered my thoughts on something other than the girl in the room with me and turned to her father.

Cocking my hip against the counter, I studied the lines on his face, noticing that they seemed less pronounced now than they had for the last few days. Ever since I'd mentioned how much it was going to cost to continue the process with the oil, his worry had been etched into his features.

While it was far from gone, he definitely seemed lighter this afternoon. "What's up? You mentioned you had something to tell me?"

"We have the funds to go forward with hiring some of your connections," he said, proud as punch. He exchanged a nervous smile with his wife, whose chest had swelled with pride as she nodded.

"We'll have to be careful with the money," she added. "There's enough to get us through the next step, but we'd like to be conservative with the spending."

"Of course," I said, a grin spreading on my lips as true happiness exploded in my chest. If anyone had ever deserved to make some money off the land they'd taken care of so lovingly for so long, it was this family. "That's great news. Some of the people I spoke to agreed to work at a discounted rate, but no one was willing to do it with no pay at all in the hopes that the oil well is a profitable one."

"What about Mira?" Jessie asked.

"Not even Mira could swindle anyone to try," I said. "We'll make sure to lock in the discounted rates before they start working and now that we have the biggest hurdle out of the way, I'll send out details and offers right away."

Jeanie slid an arm around Jess's shoulders, pulling her in close for a sideways hug and holding her until I got back to the kitchen with my laptop. I sat down and opened it immediately, getting to work. Doug dropped into the seat across from mine and Jeanie served our coffee.

Jess took a seat next to me. Her cheeks turned pink when I looked at her. She averted her gaze quickly, putting on an act in front of her parents, but I could practically feel her vibrating with tension next to me.

Or lust.

Or maybe it was tension because of the lust.

I ducked my head behind my screen, hiding a smile, and logged into my emails. Jess picked up her coffee, doing her best to act like nothing in the world was bothering her. "Pepper and Daisy are doing better. Marshmallow might need to stay on the antibiotics a little longer."

Doug grimaced before he inhaled deeply. "Okay, baby. Just keep a close eye. Do we need to give Dillon a call?"

"He's the vet," she explained to me before she shook her head at her dad. "Not yet. I'll let you know if I need him, but I've got it under control for now."

Relief flickered in his eyes. "Good. I'd like to keep our callouts as low as possible for the next few months."

"We always keep them as low as possible," she murmured but gave him a reassuring smile. "She'll be fine, Daddy. Marshmallow is a strong girl and she's on the right meds. I'll get her through it."

While I wondered what was going on with the cow, the vet, and the worrying about both, I sent off a few emails. Eventually, Jess got up and strode to the fridge, bending over to grab a drink.

I checked out her ass. Quickly.

But damn.

Even in ratty shorts, that ass looked good enough to sink my teeth into. Stifling a groan, I turned back to my laptop and tried to focus on work instead of Jess and the way every little move she made turned me on.

What I wouldn't give for another shower like that one, without being interrupted this time around.