Page 20 of The Daddy She Needed

“Can you lead him back to the paddock?” Jason called out from the arena where he was still schooling a youngster. “I’m nearly done here.”

She couldn’t help but smile as she nodded in agreement with his request. He was such a natural in the saddle, and it was watching him ride that had first made her fall in love with him. Watching him ride now, she felt a tug in her stomach again at his proud bearing. She imagined his gentle hands caressing her body. The muscles in his powerful arms and shoulders flexed and loosened visibly as he rode, sending sparks of desire straight to her core. He noticed her watching him and winked, his devilish expression spreading heat through her insides. She felt like a love-struck teenager, blinded by lust.

Sort yourself out, girl!she told herself.

“Come on, boy,” she said, tugging on the lead rope just enough to get the big gelding moving. “Time to go back to the paddock, mate.”

Jason had dismounted and was splashing cold water on his face from the tap affixed to the arena fence, the reins of the horse he’d been riding dangling over his forearm, when she returned from putting the gelding away. She paused and watched him for a moment, loving the way the water droplets glistened on his cheeks reflecting in the sunlight. The tips of his hair looked almost blond from this angle, with the sun shining on them, and as he looked upward, his shoulders back, he looked like some kind of Greek god. Far sexier than the Jason she remembered from years ago.

He turned and caught her watching. Grinned. She was pretty sure she blushed, being caught in the act of ogling him, but he didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he beckoned her over. He looked hot, sweaty, and the top of his t-shirt was semi-transparent from the water dripping off his face. He sluiced more water over himself, shucking his hair back, flattening it away from his face. Catherine’s breath caught in the back of her throat and her heart skipped a beat. Her pulse pounded. Could he get any sexier? She longed to reach forward and kiss the drops of water away, trail her lips up the side of his throat, catch her mouth in his. But she didn’t. She stopped in front of him, just shy of an arm’s length away, watching how he was so in tune with the horse who stood beside him, aware of the slightest ear flicker and muscle movement. She wished he would pay such attention to her, knowing her every thought, because he was watching her body language so closely.

Together, they put the young horse away, Jason making everything look so easy. He held the lead rope lightly in one hand, and he reached out for her with his other hand, threading his fingers through hers, pulling her close. He shortened his strides to match hers and steadied the high-stepping young sport horse with a single command. For the first time in a long time, Catherine felt like she belonged.

After releasing the horse and fastening the gate securely, Jason tightened his fingers around hers and he led her in a different direction: toward the hay barn. It was clear what he had in mind, and the closer they got, the faster Catherine’s heart raced. Did she want to do this? She wasn’t sure. It had been so long…

They stopped just inside the barn door. The light was muted in here, blocked out on three sides and above by corrugated iron. The only sounds were their ragged breaths. Her blood pounded in her ears as his hand went around behind her back and slipped up under her shirt, his damp fingers cold against her warm skin. She shivered.

“Ooooh, your fingers are cold!” she squealed, sidestepping away from him, but he didn’t let her move far. His grip tightened around her and he pulled her close again.

“Come back here, little girl,” he growled softly, bending down, leaning in to kiss the side of her neck. His face was still wet, his lips cold. The stubble on his jaw tickled her and she giggled, rearing back. His strong arms held her fast, his lips nibbled at her throat. “Where do you think you’re going?”

The laughter in his tone made her giggle more, wriggling frantically, trying to escape the cold water that dripped from his hair, wetting the collar of his shirt, dripping onto her.

“I’m trying to get away from you! You’re freezing!” she shrieked, laughing, doing her best to escape his wet, cold body, tickling fingers and mouth.

Jason responded by nuzzling her harder. “Nuh-uh, little girl, you’re staying right here with me. I haven’t finished with you yet. In fact, little girl, I’ve barely begun.” His eyes sparkled and danced with both passion and laughter and his hands held her fast. He pulled her close against him and her body responded. Her pelvis ground against him, his erection dug into her lower belly, lighting a fire within her that only he could quench.

“Come,” he whispered, his lips still locked to hers, and he lifted her, his hands under her bum. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms locked around his neck, her mouth found his. She kissed him with an urgency that surprised her, the heat of her lips warming his. He carried her just a few steps, laying her gently down on the hay stacked up behind them.

“Catherine.” His voice sounded strangled. “Damn, I’ve missed you, girl.”

Catherine stiffened. He’d missed her? Really? It was his lack of effort that had made them drift apart in the first place! She was about to voice her objections, to remind him why they’d broken up, when his mouth claimed hers hungrily, sending sparks flying up around them, stealing her breath away.

“Jason,” she murmured, her voice melding against him, muffled completely by his mouth. She could think of nothing else but the kiss, as his tongue meshed with hers, exploring her mouth. His fingers tangled in her hair, his body pressed against hers, trapping her against the hay. She could feel his heart pounding against hers. He wasn’t cold anymore—he was warm. The heat spreading through her insides now spread through him.

She arched her back, thrusting her body into him, as he undid the top buttons of her shirt, sliding it back off her shoulders, exposing the lace edges of her bra. She sucked in a breath sharply as he leaned down, brushing his lips across the very top of the swell of her breasts, making them tingle and ache.

“You’re such a beautiful woman,” he whispered against her breast, his hot breath brushing over her, adding to the sparks that already flew off her skin.

“I’m really not,” she insisted.

He pressed a finger to her lips. “Shush. Don’t argue.”

Holding her in place, he kissed down her chin, down her throat, down her collarbone, then shifted slightly, slid her bra aside and took her nipple in his mouth.

“Mine,” he declared.

“Yours,” she confirmed breathlessly. Jason’s hot mouth on her breast, his tongue licking her nipple, swirling around, took her breath away. She arched her back further, offering herself to him, and he took her. She moaned as his mouth moved down her belly, kissing a trail to her belly button, igniting fire within her that rivalled the line of fire his kisses had left on her skin. His hand moved to her breasts, sliding under her bra, squeezing her achy flesh, cupping her breast in his palm.

“You’re perfect, baby girl.”

His mouth moved to the waistband of her jeans and he blew lightly across her belly, before he fumbled with the zipper. She moved to help him, but he caught her hands and held them both above her head, pressed against the hay.

“No. You keep your hands there,” he ordered sternly. “No moving.”

“But—”

“No.” He cut her off. “Keep still.”

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