King's Ransom (19 page)

King sat in an
overstuffed arm chair by his bedroom window and watched Jesse sleep. The
sunburn was making her restless, but at least she was getting some rest. King
knew there was none for him. Not while Jesse lay on his bed alone. He ached
with the need to curl around her, hold her against him all through the night,
then make love as the first rays of sunshine came through his windows.

He wanted to
watch the look of pleasure come in her eyes as he gave her all he had to give.
But he didn't move . . . and he watched alone as the first ray of sunshine
appeared, heralding another dry, hot day.

NINE

The hot wind and
sun were merciless. The wind teased like a woman, blowing intermittently
against King's bare brown back just enough to make him pray for the next gust
to hit the rivulets of moisture that ran in a steady stream into the waistband
of his Levis. But the breeze was weak, and the temperature high, and King ended
the injured horse's workout much sooner than normal. He walked him to an empty
stall and turned him over to one of the ranch hands to cool down and groom.

It had been
nearly a week since the incident with the dog pack. The horse was virtually
healed. Although Jesse and the horse seemed to have suffered no lasting effects
from the episode, King still woke up in a cold sweat from the nightmares.

He took off his
Stetson, slapped it sharply against his thigh to knock off the dust, and walked
over to the long, metal horse trough inside the corral. The water that first
gushed from the tap was hot and slightly muddy. King stood, letting it run for
a moment until it cooled and cleared. Then he leaned down and let his mouth
meet the heavy stream of cool well water. He sucked greedily, replacing body
fluids that the extreme heat had sapped. When his thirst was quenched, he
leaned down farther and let the water run full force over his head and down the
back of his neck.

Jesse lay on her
stomach on a loose pile of hay and watched King as he worked. She remained
unnoticed from her vantage point in the open loft window and ignored a
persistent horse fly that kept dive bombing her bare legs. Her sunburn had
turned a nut brown. She was nicely camouflaged in the hay and knew she'd remain
undetected unless she moved or called aloud. She had no intention of doing
either. The view of King from the loft was too splendid to disturb.

Jesse watched the
play of muscles ripple across King's bare shoulders as he worked the horse's
lead. Sweat ran down his neck and onto the powerful muscles of his chest,
making them shine like polished wood. His jeans were dark, splotched by the
patches of perspiration that came through the fabric and molded to his long,
powerful legs with damp affection. His boots were dust-coated, completely
covered by the dry, dusty fog that hovered ankle high on the floor of the
corral.

She knew his
strength of mind, and strength of character, but it was his sheer physical
strength that drew her attention today.

Years and years
of long hours and hard work had honed his body to solid bone and muscle. There
wasn't a soft, weak spot anywhere. The only thing soft about King McCandless
was the spot in his heart reserved for Jesse. She knew it was there, but she
wanted more than compassion and affection from the man below her. She wanted
pure, unadulterated love and passion.

Jesse shivered,
watching as King leaned down to the running water to quench his thirst. She
watched his mouth open to drink greedily from the tap, remembering the last
time she'd felt that mouth on her own lips, and wished she could trade places
with the water. She could quench more than thirst if he'd only let her. The
kiss he'd given her at the pond had not been compassionate, nor had it been
affectionate. It had been, in Jesse's estimation, devastating. But King had
turned off as suddenly as he'd turned on, and Jesse hadn't been able to find
the switch to his emotions again.

She sighed with
frustration, and watched King turn the water off, jam his hat back on his head,
and disappear into the shady depths of the barn. She lay unmoving, trying to
follow his path with her ears instead of her eyes. She listened closely to him
issuing instructions about ranch business and then laughing aloud at something
someone said in return. She couldn't hear what they said, but she could easily
hear the joy and pleasure in his voice. She sighed and wondered if she'd ever
be able to make him laugh like that. It seemed all he did nowadays was frown at
her, or yell when he caught her barefoot.

The horsefly
darted one last time at the bare space between her shirt top and the waistband
of her shorts. It flew away into the sunshine when her hand swatted at it and
came much too close.

King saw the top
of Jesse's head just above the pile of loose hay near the loft window as he
leaned down to get a drink. It startled him, and he wondered, as he quenched
his thirst, how long she'd been watching him . . . and why? He carried on, seemingly
unaware of her presence, and then walked nonchalantly into the barn. He stood
at the foot of the steps leading to the loft and, when he heard no sound or
movement, pulled off his boots, hung his hat on a nail by the steps, and
quickly and quietly climbed into her hideaway.

It was suddenly
too quiet below, and Jesse held her breath, listening . . . listening.

She jumped when
she heard the sound of his voice right behind her, and guiltily rolled over in
the hay. King was standing at her feet with a look on his face that stopped her
heart. She let her gaze run from the still-damp hair, quickly past those
knowing dark eyes, to the droplets of water caught in the hair on his chest.
Her look lingered longer than necessary on the tight, damp Levis that almost
lovingly cupped and molded every interesting bulge and muscle, and finally
stopped her perusal at his sock-clad feet.

"You
cheated," she muttered. "Where are your boots?"

King had intended
to tease, but the thought disappeared with the inclination when Jesse rolled
over on her back and took him apart at the seams with those secretive, big blue
eyes.

Her shirt caught
under her and pulled tightly across her breasts, molding them in an invitation
he found hard to resist. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to block out
the image before him, and knew that resistance wasn't the only thing getting
hard. It was no use. This feeling for Jesse wasn't going to go away.

He knelt down,
straddling her bare, tanned legs, and braced himself above her.

Jesse felt an
energy between them spark to life, and heard his heartbeat stop and then pick
up rhythm with her own. She started to speak, and then forgot what she was
going to say as a tiny drop of moisture clinging to his thick, dark lashes
finally fell, hurtling downward to land at the corner of Jesse's mouth.

King watched,
fascinated, as the droplet paused. Then, as it started to slide down the
delicate curve of her chin, he lowered himself to meet it and caught the
droplet with his mouth.

Jesse felt his
tongue along the edge of her chin. She closed her eyes as his teeth nipped at
the pale, blue vein in her neck that pulsed beneath her tan. Her hands slid up
the length of his arms, feeling the muscles jumping with strain. He held
himself poised above her, and Jesse felt the magic between them begin to
expand.

King was watching
her closely, anxious for a reaction to what he'd done.

"What are
you doing?" Jesse whispered.

King watched the
light flare in her eyes, and felt her heartbeat pounding beneath his chest. It
was moments before he could speak. He wanted more . . . much more . . . than
that tiny taste of Jesse.

"I don't
know, Jesse Rose," he answered huskily. "But I do know this
..."

"What?"
she asked, her eyes widening as she saw his head dipping closer and closer.

"I'm going
to do it again."

The sun and the
heat, the sound of men's voices, and the horses nickering back and forth in the
stalls below disappeared in one blinding flash as King took Jesse in his arms.
There was nothing . . . nothing but the smell, and the taste, and the touch of
Jesse filling him. He shook with a need so powerful, so overwhelming, he
couldn't think. All he could do was take. Take what he'd thought of, what he'd
dreamed of, ever since he'd brought Jesse home.

Her body was soft
beneath him, and it made him ache with bone-jarring need. Her arms slid around
his waist, pulling him closer and closer into a waiting heat.

King groaned,
then reluctantly pulled away. He grabbed her hands and propped himself above
her, holding her hands trapped between their bodies.

Emptiness
overwhelmed her. He'd done it again. He'd let her go. Tears pooled in her eyes
and slipped silently out of the corners as Jesse let desolation overwhelm her.
Now, he was either going to feel sorry for her or make excuses for what had
just occurred. Either way, she didn't want to hear him shut her out.

"Honey,"
he whispered, and bent down, quickly kissing each of her hands held trapped
against his chest. "I still don't know what's happening between us. But if
I don't stop now, I know what will. I don't want
ever
to do anything to
hurt you . . . you know that."

He watched as
Jesse slowly nodded, then pulled her hands away from his grasp. He felt her
fingers trace across his lips, and caught them gently with his teeth before
they ventured farther.

Jesse gasped as
his teeth pressed down just enough to restrain, and felt a quickening in the
pit of her stomach answer the pressure of his teeth.

"King?"
Jesse asked, her voice thick and heavy with emotion.

"What,
baby?"

"If you stop
now, will you promise me something?" she asked, and fixed him with an
uncompromising stare.

"Anything,"
he answered, and pressed a kiss of promise on the tilt of her nose.

"Will you
promise that if we do this again
...
the next time . . . you won't stop?"

"Sweet
Jesus, Jesse Rose," King groaned, and rolled over in the hay, taking Jesse
with him until she was sprawled full length on top of his chest and down his
legs. He wrapped her in a fierce hug, and buried his face in the curve of her
neck.

"Do you know
what you're doing to my will power?" he asked.

"Robbing you
of it, I hope," she answered, and felt the surge of his need beneath her.

A car horn honked
in the distance and King jumped, suddenly remembering the buyer who'd promised
to come by today.

"You take
more than that, girl," he muttered, as he dumped her unceremoniously in
the pile of hay and struggled to his feet. "1 lost my memory and good
sense, too."

He turned as he
started down the steps, and gave Jesse a look that made her hot and cold all
over. "Jesse," he called softly.

She looked up at
the banked fire in his eyes and held her breath.

"About that
promise I made
..."

She waited. The
horn blared again, insistently disturbing the silence between them as King
whispered.

"I never
broke a promise to you yet, Jesse Rose. I'm not about to now. Next time, honey
. . . next time."

King was gone.
Jesse fell back into the hay and lay quietly, staring blindly at a broken spider
web high above her head in the rafters.
He said "next time."
She couldn't stop
the silly smile that appeared on her face anymore than the heart-wrenching
thought that followed.
Now I know he wants me. But will it be
love?
*     
* *

Jesse sat quietly
in the living room, staring blindly at the television. If she pretended to be
absorbed in the program, maybe Maggie would quit casting those anxious looks
her way and King would stop fidgeting.

She'd hardly
touched a bite of her evening meal, pleading loss of appetite due to the heat.
The excuse hadn't washed with King or Maggie, but they'd allowed it to pass
unchallenged.

Jesse was angry
and overwhelmed with a feeling of helplessness unlike any she'd ever known.
Just when it seemed a portion of her life might be coming together, another
piece would begin to unravel.

The principal of
her school in St. Louis had called. It had taken him all of three minutes to
destroy what was left of Jesse's world. He'd related everyone's good wishes for
her safety and health in the same breath he'd told her he'd hired a substitute
teacher for her classes. Just, of course, until her "problem" was
solved. The police had advised him of a possible kidnap attempt at school
should her case not be solved before the semester started. It hadn't taken him
long to realize what he had to do for Miss LeBeau's welfare, as well as the
welfare of the children. Of course, she wasn't being replaced permanently; this
was only until everything was settled.