Page 76 of Take Me Home

“You scared the shit out of me, Rossetti,” I called as she rode Selena around the yard to slow her down. “I can’t believe you did it.”

“You’d better believe, baby,” she taunted, pulling Selena to a stop in front of me. “You wanna go dry off? I’m going to go put her in the stable down the way.”

I probably should have gotten out of the rain, but I just wanted to be near Darcy. I watched as she got off Selena’s back, walking in front of her to pat the horse’s nose. She turned to me.

“Jake, I do want this. I’m falling for you, too. Hard. But I’m not always going to get it right. I’m going to run and hide sometimes when I shouldn’t. But if you’ll have me, and be patient with me, I’ll try for you. I want this to work because I think you’re pretty amazing,” she said, shaking.

I took her hand in mine. “I know, babe. I wasn’t fair to you earlier. You were in a really stressful situation last night, and I can’t blame you for freaking out. I was frustrated because you don’t see yourself like I see you. But I want you to know that you’re safe with me. You can show me the hard stuff.”

Darcy nodded slowly, chewing her lip as she looked at me. “It’s scary.”

I gave her a wry smile. “I know it’s scary. I’m scared, too. But if you stay and get scared with me, then I think we’re onto something.”

She took a deep breath. “There’s nothing else big, by the way. I wasn’t in a good place to answer that last night. You know the big ones: I’ve been engaged, I had that thing happen in college, I just got laid off, and I’m not equipped with a master plan for the rest of my life.”

I kissed the tip of her nose, rain dripping off my hat onto her riding helmet. “See? Was that so scary?”

She laughed. “Yes, it was. Oh, and I’m afraid I’m not good enough for you.”

I shook my head. “Quit that shit, Bambi. You just gotta believe me on that one. You’re exactly what I want,” I said, tipping her chin up to look at me. “I’m afraid you’re going to make me fall in love with you and then shatter my heart into a million pieces.”

She looked at me seriously. “I’ll do my best not to. I’m afraid I’ll fall for you too hard.”

I held both of her hands in mine. “I’m already falling too hard. But I think we’ve gotta just do it. I’m not going to give you a part of me. I don’t do half-assed. I’ll give you all of me, but I need all of you, too. Are you all in with me? No more running off?” I asked.

Darcy’s smile was wide as she wrapped her arms around my neck, sealing her words with a kiss. “I’m in.”

24

DARCY

My front was covered in mud. I’d been covered in Jake, and Jake was covered in mud. Thus, I was covered in mud. And I mean mud everywhere, even down to my inner thighs. Jake took the liberty of pressing me against the stable wall, desperation and relief conveyed through his kisses. Poor Selena was a bystander to our renewed passion, which inspired a move back through the heavy rain to the house.

We made many stops along the way to make out until I was shivering from actual cold and not just from being turned on. At that point, Jake threw me over his shoulder and ran the rest of the way to the house, eager to move on to our next activity. I think he got some kind of kick out of hauling me around. The agreement between us was clear: we were picking up where we left off the night before when we’d been so rudely interrupted.

We quickly stripped off our rain jackets, muddy boots, and hats on the porch. I’d placed some towels out there when I realized I’d be on a rescue mission and we’d for sure be getting wet. We wrapped the towels around ourselves, then stood facing each other.

Jake dragged my hair over my shoulder and squeezed it out on my towel.

He had a twinkle in his eye. “Ready to get our asses handed to us by love?”

“Ready or not, I think it’s happening,” I replied, as Jake cupped my chin in his hand and pulled me up to him for a kiss. My fingers found the hem of his soaking wet dark grey t-shirt, stripping it off to reveal his muscled torso. I’d had hints at it all summer, but finally being able to seeandtouch him, feeling his radiant warmth, was downright miraculous.

“Oh wow,” I let slip, tracing my fingers over his tiger tattoo. Jake gave a good-natured laugh like he legitimately didn’t know how hot he was. He acted like he was going to kiss me again, then at the last second, he bit my nose playfully and unsnapped my overalls, letting them clatter to the porch floor. Jake dropped to his knees and good lord, the excitement in me was almost like an electric shock. It was a bit of a tease, though.

Jake tugged at the hip of my thong, the same pale blue one that he’d picked out for me when I was sick. “This old thing, huh? I finally get to see it used as intended.”

“I hope it doesn’t disappoint.”

“Quite the opposite.” He picked up his wet shirt, looking up at me. “Can I?” He gestured to the mud on my inner thighs. I did a little squat to give him access to wipe the mess. He dropped kisses in the places that were freshly cleaned. I had to fight to stay upright as my center pulsed with need, wondering if he’d eat me right on the front porch. It felt like it had been a century since anyone went down on me. I didn’t even know if he was the kind of guy who would go down in the first place. I tried to focus.

“Does this mean I’ll smell like you now?” I teased. “Since you’re using your shirt?”

His caramel eyes met mine. “I sure as fuck hope so,” he rumbled against my skin. “When we’re done here, you won’t be able to get me off you.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad,” I said.

When he was satisfied that he’d cleaned the last bits of mud and had wiped his own arms and legs quickly, Jake stood. He ran his hands up my body until he met my shirt, lifting it over my head. There I was, clad only in a pale blue bra and that thong he liked so much. He held me back to look at me, his arousal pressing at his shorts.

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