CHAPTER 6
Laura
I hear the sound of cowboy boots on the wooden steps leading up to the house and the tinging sound of spurs.
Jed must be home.
I look out the window of the kitchen and see his truck just as the timer dings signaling me to take the pot roast out of the stove. I have no idea what’s gotten into me, but I cooked dinner for his arrival. It was really fun. I’m kind of surprised he had all the things here at the house actually.
“Evening,” he says removing his hat.
“Hey, how was your day?”
“Good and better now. You found the things for dinner.”
“I did.”
“And I was planning to make dinner for us all tonight but you beat me to it.” He pauses to take a breath of the air. “And wow, it sure smells good. A lot better than if I would have made it.”
“It doesn’t smell this good when you make it?”
“I wouldn’t know. Never tried before.”
I laugh at his honesty and humor. “What do you usually make for dinner?”
“Well, if twisting a can opener in a circle and pushing start on the microwave counts as making then I usually make beans and wieners.”
“Well, not tonight. You can just put your feet up and enjoy a home cooked meal.”
“I sure do like the sound of that,” he says.
And I sure like the sound of the genuine appreciation in his voice. When I used to make dinner my boyfriends and friends would tear through it and not only forget to say thanks for the hours I spent preparing it, but also “kindly” throw in all the tips for the ways I could improve upon it of course without ever offering to help themselves or make dinner sometimes in return. I cooked because I wanted to please them, not because I wanted pats on the back but still a little appreciation goes a long way.
And when he sticks his fork into the first bite and starts making sounds showing me just how much he likes it, well his big appreciation goes an even longer way.
“This is the best meal I’ve had in a long time. Certainly over a year, maybe three.”
“Three years?”
“Cooking isn’t my specialty, but I can see it sure is yours.”
“It’s not actually. I just know the basics.”
“Well if you consider this the basics then I think I’m having dinner with someone with all the makings of a gourmet chef. And do I ever appreciate it and am I ever thankful how lucky I am to have found you.”
I always imagined my future husband saying something like that… “How lucky I am to have found you.” I never considered a man using that kind of language to praise my cooking skills. I can only imagine how he’d express his appreciation if something did happen between us.
And not in the desperate, weird kind of thank you for getting physical with me kind of way either. More in line with the, I’m so lucky to have such a beautiful woman like you in my life. At least that’s my fantasy at the moment, but it’s one I can not just imagine but truly believe could happen one day.
I look up from my plate and see him leaning back in his chair already. “You’re finished already?” I ask, looking down trying to count my bites. “I’m on my…fifth bite I think.”
“I think that’s the same number it took me too,” he says, winking at me. I smile. “But then again I’m not sure inhaling technically counts as bites.”
“Good grief. Did you even breath while you were making that disappear?”
“That’s my way of offering up my ultimate compliments to the chef.”
“And am I ever flattered,” I say.
A moment happens between us. He doesn’t reply, just turns his head ever so slightly to the side and looks right at me. Looks deep into my eyes and I see a sort of peace overcome him.
I’m the complete opposite. It’s more of a heat that burns even hotter inside me as he takes me in with his deep gaze.
“Can I offer you a second helping?” I ask, trying to break the tension.
“Sure can, but I can get it myself. You deserve to enjoy your meal,” he says, starting to stand.
“No really. I got it.” I jump up from my seat and grab his plate, hurrying back to the kitchen.
I place his plate in the sink and get him a fresh one. I prepare another helping but just before I can finish I feel a presence behind me.
I turn and see him there. He’s close enough to feel his power and dominance, but not so close to spook me.
“Hey,” I say.
He says nothing. He doesn’t need to. He’s just taking me in again with another of those looks of his.
“Hey,” he says finally. He steps in closer and I bend my arm back and put the plate down on the counter. Both his arms come up and grab the counter on either side of me.
I am so hot for him right now and we both know it. I lean back on the counter a bit, but not to get more distance from him. I want to be able to look up at him and take in his face better, and maybe give him an idea to…
…he reads my mind grabbing me by the hips and pulling me up and onto the counter.
He says it best by saying nothing at all. His body is doing all the talking and it’s telling me I’m seconds away from having my body pressed against his and my legs wrapped around him as our two lips meet.
He slides in closer and I prepare for the first kiss.
As crazy as it sounds I wonder just how far this is about to go. My heart is beating out of my chest and if we wind up with our clothes off I’m not sure I’m going to be able to stop him, nor might I want to.
He might be just what I need to feel good about myself again, even though I know this rebound stuff is not a good idea. And I know it’s hard to objectively look at yourself when you’re on the rebound, but I feel like I can. I feel like what I see in him is real, even though it’s happening so fast.
And that’s partially what makes it so real. There’s no need to think. My body and my mind are both pushing me to him. They both want the same things. Things I’ve never felt before…not like this at least. It makes sense. Maybe that’s why I was saving myself. For lack of a better way of putting it my DNA was holding off until it knew I’d met the ultimate alpha male with whom I should mate with. And do I ever feel like mating now.
Even the terms that are flowing through my head are animalistic. Mate? When did I ever think like that? Never. And that’s because I never felt like someone was a magnet pulling me to them without any thinking involved.
His hand comes up to my cheek and I know we’re right on the cusp. I’ve never felt so alive and alert in my life, all my blood rushing to only two places. The first being my mind, the biggest sexual organ of all, as I’m already fantasizing about how this is going to happen. The anticipation has my head spinning.
And the second place is my groin. I feel warm in my stomach and my loins and what I really want isn’t exactly to feel warm down there, but to feel something warm in there.
What has gotten into me?
And what’s about to?
He leans in closer and my eyes close as I start to lean towards him.
It’s like time stands still and then…fireworks! I feel his lips touch mine and it’s like I’m melting everywhere…inside, outside, and onto the floor.
His hand finds my waist and the other hand slides through my hair as his kiss gets deeper and more assertive.
Suddenly I hear tires turn on gravel and a horn beep furiously.
“Jed! Get out here. Fire at old man Johnson’s farm. We’ve got to put it out.”
“Awww shoot!” he says. “He’s like a brother to me.”
“Go!” I say. “Save your friend’s farm and know I’ll be here keeping Mandy Sue safe.”
“If it spreads call the number on the fridge,” he says.
“If it spreads?” Now I’m scared.
“But it won’t. I’m not letting any harm come you girls’ way. You can be sure of that!”
He bolts out the door and seconds later I’m at the window watching the truck peel out as he’s already on the way to go save the day.
“Are you kidding me?” I say to myself.
“I don’t know what’s hotter. The way his lips met mine or how he took off out of here like a real modern day hero.”
I didn’t even know men like this existed anymore. I thought they were just legends so grand they were almost superheroish, at least when Clint Eastwood played them on the silver screen years ago. But this is real. He’s real.
And now we’ve kissed and will be living under the same roof for the next week, or maybe more.
And as crazy as it sounds when I say it to myself I can see it quickly turning into much more.
Much, much more.
I don’t think I’m going to be able to get enough of this man. This real man and his chivalry, charm, and ability to protect what he holds dearest.
But I’m ready to find out.