Honey Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #2) (11 page)

He slopped through the mud, rain stinging his
nakedness, and circled Annie, going down on his knees in front of her. She was staring
at the ground. He yelled her name above the storm and she slowly looked up. The
heartbreak in her eyes twisted his gut. Rain plastered their hair to their
faces and washed the mud from their bodies. Jackson said above the sound of the
rain, "Nothing happened, Annie. I sent her home."

She looked blankly into his eyes and blinked
against the water dripping from her lashes.

He leaned down and cupped her face in his hands.
"Annie, why do we keep fighting our desire for each other?"

Suddenly, a cry escaped her throat and she threw
her arms around his neck, plastering her lips to his. Jackson moaned and kissed
her with unrestrained emotion. On their knees in the mud, they finally gave in
to years of frustration and suppressed longings. His tongue found hers in a
mating dance and then he strung kisses from her mouth to her eyes, her cheeks,
her nose, her ears, and back to her mouth.

Lightning flashed, closer now, and he stood,
pulling her up with him and reaching under her legs, lifting her into the
shelter of his arms. Still kissing her, he walked as quickly as he could
through the slop to her cottage.

Shoving the front door open, he strode to the
bathroom and turned on the shower. While the water heated, he kissed her
fiercely and removed her clothes. He released the zipper of his own pants and
stepped out of them. Entering the steaming shower he brought Annie with him. Lifting
her legs around his waist, he backed her against the shower stall. She locked
her eyes with his and placed her small hands on either side of his face,
staring into his soul.

"Kiss me, Annie," he begged.

Slowly, she brought her lips to his in a kiss
sweeter than honey. She lifted her mouth a fraction and said, "I love you,
Jackson."

Her words sent him over the edge and he covered
her mouth with his, lost in a desire that drove him beyond reason. She belonged
to him and no one else.

* * *

Jackson pulled Annie close and tucked her
against his chest. He kissed the top of her head. The rain, now a drizzle, streamed
down the bedroom pane. He glanced at the clock: three
A.M.
Annie sighed in her
sleep. He stroked her silky hair and couldn't believe his stupidity in inviting
Pritzy into the house when she'd unexpectedly showed up. His only excuse was
that he'd been so angry after hearing what Alligator had to say about Annie
being the notorious "Hack," that he'd wanted to…what? Find solace in
the arms of a woman? Ha! The only thing he'd accomplished was making himself feel
like a dog. The look on Annie's face had twisted a knife in his heart. He'd
hurt her deeply.

 Rubbing his cheek against her hair, he
considered his next step. Had she stolen fifty thousand from him? If so, why?
Was Alligator just blowing smoke out his ass? What if she
had
stolen the
money? Could he send her to jail? Never! Not in a million years. Should he wake
her and demand the truth. If she was innocent, could she forgive him for even
thinking such a thing?

He felt Annie lift her hand to his chest and
stroke him. He whispered, "Are you awake, sweetheart?

She nodded and then placed her lips where her
hand had been, kissing him repeatedly. He gently grasped her shoulders and
turned her onto her back. Rising above her, he gazed into her shadowed face and
lowered his lips to her sweet ones. Tenderly, he kissed her and said just
before losing himself to passion once again, "Marry me."

* * *

Ann heard the bed squeak when Jackson rolled out
of it. It was just after daylight. She watched him walk naked from the room and
then heard the shower turn on.

Turning over, she stared at sunshine spreading
its cheery light into her bedroom. The storm had passed and blue sky peeked atop
the pines. Reaching for Jackson's pillow, she hugged it to her chest and buried
her face in it. She couldn't help but smile like a Cheshire cat. Jackson was
everything a woman could ever want. He was kind and handsome and loving and
sexy and he had asked her to marry him. Without waiting for her reply, he had
made passionate love to her again. He hadn't said he loved her, but that was
okay. He'd probably just been caught up in the moment. But still, he'd asked
her to marry him, and that was something she'd cherish for the rest of her
life.

She heard the door open and still had her face
buried in his pillow. She felt the bed lower when he sat on it, and then he
caressed her bare shoulder. He said, "Annie, look at me."

She took a deep breath and rolled over. He
laughed, "My Levis are soaked. I'm going to put them on and make a dash
for the house. It's either that or run there butt naked."

"Do you want me to go and bring you some
clothes back?"

"No. You stay in bed and rest." His
eyes turned smoky. "You had a busy night."

Ann blushed and he leaned down to kiss her
forehead. "Honey, if I kiss your lips, I'll climb back in bed with you. I
have a ranch to run and you're way too tempting." He sat back up and
searched her face. Running his finger down her arm, he repeated words that sent
her heart galloping. "Marry me."

Tears pooled in Annie's eyes—could this be her
happily-ever-after?

"Why are you crying? I'm not that awful, am
I?

She shook her head. "Jackson, you don't
have to marry me because we…you know, spent the night together."

"Is that what you think? I'm trying to make
an honest woman of you?" he chuckled.

Annie slid her gaze away from his.

He grazed the back of his fingers down her
cheek. "Look at me, Annie." Holding her gaze, he said, "You have
been a fire in my bones since our first dance five years ago. When I found out
you were looking for work, I was determined you would work for me. You are the sunshine
in my days. I've wanted to touch you so many times, but I didn't want to scare
you away." He glanced out the window. "Last night with Pritzy is just
about the stupidest thing I've ever done. Nothing happened between us. In fact,
I'd already decided to send her home when you walked in. I had been feeling
frustrated about the situation with my money being stolen, and when she showed
up on my doorstep, I…well, like I said, I made a stupid mistake." He
lifted her hand and kissed it and then sighed, "I better put those wet Levis
on and make a run for it."

After he left, Ann fell back to sleep for a
couple of hours and then awoke with new purpose. She loved Jackson, and even
though he hadn't said he loved her, maybe they had a fighting chance. After
spending the night together, she knew he had deep feelings for her. Maybe she
could garner enough courage to go for what she wanted—Jackson. Of course, guilt
over stealing his money kept her hesitant about accepting. Should she confess?
Her gut feeling was yes, but her mind told her no. She would suffer guilt if it
meant keeping Jacob and Julie safe. Also, if she confessed, she would have to
come clean about her ability to hack computers. Even though she'd often wished
she'd never taken that first computer class, her ability had served her well in
resolving her dead husband's shenanigans.

"What! Are you shitin' me? You
married
her? You hogtied yourself to a
thief?"

Despite his frustration with Alligator, Jackson
grinned at hearing his friend use cowboy terminology with a New York accent.

"Yep. I married her so you can just keep
your mouth shut about the missing money. A man can't testify against his wife.
And anyway, we don't know for certain she took the money."

A string of profanities blared over Jackson's
cell phone and he lifted it away from his ear. "Are you finished?" he
finally asked.

"You've got it bad, buddy. It's your
funeral," Alligator ended his tirade.

"Yeah, well, I'm crazy about her—always
have been."

"Crazy about someone doesn't mean you have
to
marry
them. My motto—sleep with them, don't marry them. As a
matter-of-fact, I haven't heard you say you
love
her."

"I don't do love. My dad cured me of that.
He was crazy in love with my mother and turned into a drunk after she left. When
she died, he just withered away and died, too. Nope, I adore Annie, but I'm not
turning into a sap."

"If you ask me, it's too late for that."

"I didn't ask you. So, are you gonna leave
what you know about Annie alone? Let me get to the bottom of what happened in
my own time?"

"I'll think about it."

"Alligator, I swear, if you don't leave
this alone…"

"What? You'll come to New York and stomp me
with your boots?"

"It will end our friendship." Before
his friend could reply, Jackson hung up. Walking from the portico and back into
the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, he navigated the hub of slot machines and
gaming tables to the elevator and rode to the Tower Suite on the twenty-eighth
floor. Sliding his keycard and stepping into the room, he grinned at the sight
of Annie wearing an oversized white terry cloth robe and standing in front of a
huge glass window with incredible views. She turned and her smile melted his
heart. He opened his arms and waited. She ran and launched herself into them.
Nipping her ear, he said, "Good morning, Mrs. Martinez."

* * *

Ann relaxed with Sarah on her back porch. The
twins were down for a nap and the two of them enjoyed a moment of quiet on a
lovely summer day.

Sarah sipped her lemonade and shook her head.
"I think it's awesome that you and Jackson are married."

Ann grinned, "I think it's pretty awesome, myself.
He's a wonderful husband. Sometimes I want to pinch myself to see if I'll wake
up."

Sarah swirled the ice cubes in her glass.
"I have a confession to make."

Ann looked questioningly at her.

"Sage and I have been playing matchmaker
with you and Jackson ever since you moved here."

"What?! I thought you were trying to get
him and Dixie together."

Sarah laughed, "That was just a ploy to
make you jealous. We were afraid, however, that because you're so sweet, you'd
actually try to get them together. Which, I might add, you did when you invited
her to lunch. Sage and I about went crazy trying to rethink our strategy. Don't
get me wrong, Dixie's a great gal, but you're the only one Jackson has eyes for.
The man turns into goo whenever you're around."

"Well, I know he cares about me, but…"
She sighed, "He's never told me he loves me. Maybe I was stupid to marry
him, but I decided to just go for what I want, and I want him. Actually, I think
I have enough love for both of us. We've been very happy."

"Has he told you much about his
childhood?"

"Not too much. He doesn't seem to want to
talk about it."

"From what Sage has told me, his mother ran
off when he was in grade school. This is a small town and gossip travels. I
guess his dad was a fine, upstanding man, but after his wife left, he started drinking
and became the town drunk."

"Oh, goodness, he never shared that."

"Sage said Jackson told him his mother came
around occasionally, and when she did, his father would beg her to come home,
but she'd always refuse, which sent his father into a worse spiral. When
Jackson was a teen, his mom died of cancer and that was the final blow for his
dad. He shut himself away and drank himself to death within a matter of months.
After that, Jackson lived in foster homes."

Ann glanced across the pasture at the distant
hills. "Thank you for telling me. I understand now how difficult it must
be for him to love unconditionally."

Sarah sipped her lemonade again. "Hey, I
haven't told you the latest on Miles. He's settled in the cottage and said he's
getting lots of work done, but he has upcoming deadlines. Because of that, he's
looking for an assistant. He said he needs someone two hours a day to help with
emails and other correspondence and general day-to-day business. Are you
interested?"

Ann gave her friend a surprised look. "As
tempting as it sounds, I have my hands full at the Triple T. Besides that, I
want to spend every minute I can with Jackson." Sipping her lemonade, she
thought about their previous night of passion and blushed profusely.

Sarah smiled knowingly, "I can relate to
that. So, who do you think would be good for the job?"

Ann tapped the side of her glass. When the
answer popped into her head, she said, "Tooty!"

Sarah considered her suggestion. "I think
you're right. Tooty can always use the extra money and she's really smart.
Julie said she got all A's and B's in school. She could leave Harris with me to
play with the boys while she works. It's only two hours a day. That's a great
idea! I think I'll call her today and see if she's interested. She doesn't know
that Miles is really Maxwell Henry and she's an avid reader. I'll bet she's
read all his books." Sarah laughed, "She was the one who secreted my
books to Julie when they were teenagers."