Mad About The Man (16 page)

"
The name came with him. He was a gift.
"

"
Some gift
.
"

Behind her, Jacques used the motion of his hips to secure their balance—and Snake
'
s gait. And the mo
tion reminded Gaby how hard a man could
be, and how soft a woman was…
and how they could complement each other.

She flushed all the way to her toes.

Snake broke into a gallop along the side of the ridge.
"
This is ridiculous,
"
Gaby shouted, the words jarring from her throat.
"
Who do you think you are? The Red Shadow?
"

He laughed and she felt the vibration.
"
Black Jacques to some, baby.
"
Finding the spot on her neck he seemed to favor, he sang,
"
My Desert is Waiting,
"
in a gravelly baritone just offkey enough to be charming—too charming.

Everyth
ing about him was exciting…
intoxicating. She dared not wriggle again.
"
I don
'
t want to call you anything. These are hills, not sand dunes. Sane men don
'
t sweep women onto their horses and carry them away.
"

"
I promise I won
'
t carry you far,
"
Jacques said.
"
Just far enough to show you a place I
'
m fond of. I
'
m the only one who knows about it. We
'
ll be safe there—and very private.
"

His implication hit home. Gaby clenched her stomach against the instant response he evoked. Damn it, she would not be swept off
her feet… but she was…
and enjoying it too much.

Spurring on Snake, Jacques maneuvered along a path to the top of the ridge.

Gaby felt every skillful jerk and switch in the rhythm of his body, and closed her eyes.

"
Okay,
"
she said, when they set off along the narrow spine of rocky land.
"
You
'
ve had your fun, Jacques. Time to pack up your toys and go home.
"

He laughed again.
"
I
'
m glad you agree.
"

She bit her lip, refusing to smile.
"
I walked into that one. I
'
m not a toy. And I don
'
t play with anyone I don
'
t want to play with.
"

"
Then we don
'
t have a problem. We both know you want to
play
with me.
"

Gaby tried to turn in the saddle. Immediately she knew her mistake. A large, long-fingered hand held her in place using the most obvious anchor—her right breast.

"
Jacques, don
'
t,
"
she said through her teeth.

The smallest move and he found and slipped his thumb under t
he neck of her shirt and over th
e swell of flesh above her bra.
"
I
'
m open to negotiation,
'
'
he said.
"
Where would you rather be alone with me? At La Place in the brand new hot tub I
'
ve just had built? It
'
s open to the sky, Gaby. And it
'
s warm in there— and very, very wet
.
I like wet, don
'
t you?
"
The tip of his thumb grazed the top of her nipple.

She closed her eyes and leaned against
him
.

"
Oh, Gaby, Gaby.
"
Jacques brought his cheek against hers.
"
We aren
'
t going to be able to hold out, sweetheart. You know that?
"

"
You
'
re not being fair.
"

Very gently he rubbed his rough jaw back and forth over the soft skin of her cheek.
"
Sometimes being fair doesn
'
t pay off. This is one of those times. Today I
'
m going to do what
'
s wise. That means what pleases both of us the most.
"

"
Wise? Or self-indulgent?
"

"
Then there
'
s that secret place I mentioned. A stand of madrone that shelters a bed of grass so soft it feels like velvet. Smooth, Gaby—satin on silky skin.
"
His hand was all the way inside the bra, cupping her breast.

"
Jacques
…
"
She couldn
'
t think.

"
Yes, sweetheart? Is that hot tub, or velvet grass?
"

"
I want
… I want…
"

"
Oh, so do I. I
want everything with you.
"
Deftly he hooked Vi
'
s rein over the horn.
"
We
'
re alone out here, Gaby. You, me, the sky—and the wind.
"
With sure fingers, Jacques slipped her shirt buttons from their holes.

"
I ought to go.
"
But she wouldn
'
t.

"
The madrones are closest,
"
Jacques said, and
tugged her shirt from her jeans, down her shoulders and free of her wrists.

The wind he spoke of smote her hot cheeks—and her tingling body.
"
This is madness. I can
'
t be out here half-naked.
"

"
You aren
'
t yet.
"
She felt him work behind her to undo and remove his own shirt.
"
Relax. Play with me, Gaby. Let me be the leader.
"

They made an abrupt turn and started down the other side of the ridge. Snake
'
s hoofs thudded evenly while Vi galloped valiantly behind.

Jacques folded his arms around Gaby, held her against warm, male skin and crisp hair, and tensed, flexible muscle. The horse gathered speed until Gaby
'
s hair began to rip free of the long braid down her back. Layered on Jacques
'
s chest, bare skin to bare skin, the wild mountain scents rushing in, she knew—for the first time since she
'
d first met and loved Michael—the sweetly shocking force of pure arousal.

"
We
'
re crazy,
"
Gaby yelled. Her lungs expanded erratically. The thudding of the horses
'
hoofs thun
dered in her ears.

"
Duck!
"
Jacques did the ducking for both of them, bending over Gaby, bowing to sweep beneath the tangled branches of madrones at the edge of a tree-filled gully.

Gaby laughed and batted at twigs that caught her hair.
"
Stop, you nut. Stop!
"

He rode with the unerring certainty of a man who knew exactly where he was going. Incense cedar, its lacy leaves shivering, nudged ponderosa pines among the madrone.

As quickly as the little forest had enclosed them, a clearing appeared. Jacques hauled on Snake
'
s reins and the horse reared.

Jacques quieted the animal and slid from his back.
"
Come on.
"
His tanned skin gleamed and his teeth showed very white in a triumphant grin.
"
Come to me, Gaby.
"
He tossed their shirts across the saddle and reached up to grasp her waist.

She looked down, unable to ignore her breasts, nude but for a wisp of a red bra more provocative than if she
'
d worn nothing. And she looked into Jacques
'
s upturned face. Sensuality glinted in his midnight eyes, eyes that made a slow passage over her body before his grip tightened and he lifted her from the horse.

Holding her aloft, he brought her middle to his mouth and kissed her tensed skin, dipped his tongue beneath the waist of her jeans and into her navel.
"
No.
"
A spasm shot to her knees.

"
No?
"
Slowly, he lowered her, let her slide down his length, tasted each fresh spot that passed his lips until her toes met soft grass.
"
I don
'
t think you mean no.
"
Looping his hands around her neck, Jacques tipped up her chin with his thumbs.

For what felt a very long time, he studied her face.
"
Tell me you want me?
"

Her stomach fell away.
"
This doesn
'
t feel like me,
"
she told him weakly.
"
I
'
ve been so quiet for so long.
"

He snorted.
"
That
'
s not a description I
'
d have used for you.
"

"
I don
'
t mean
… I mean…
"

"
Ssh.
"
He rested his mouth on her brow.
"
I wasn
'
t thinking. You
'
ve been busy being Mae
'
s mom, haven
'
t you? Is that what you mean?
"

She bit her trembling lip.
"
Uh-huh. All I wanted was to make a new life. A different life from the one I had. L
.
A
.
was never right for me.
"

"
Too fast?
"

"
Too everything.
"
And what was this—this moment that made her feel like an electrically charged being she hardly knew?

Jacques ran his hands down her shoulders and held her arms.
"
Are you saying you haven
'
t…
You were divorced seven years ago, Gaby.
"

"
There hasn
'
t been anyone for me since then,
"
she told him simply. With one tentative finger, she traced his breast bone, and his ribs, first one, then another and another.
"
And Michael was the first. Prosaic, aren
'
t I?
"

"
You don
'
t look prosaic at this moment.
"

She felt him look at her breasts.
"
This can
'
t be right, Jacques.
"

"
Kiss me.
"

"
I don
'
t know much about you.
"

"
Dull. A successful man who inherited his success.
"

"
I don
'
t think I believe that. Not entirely. Didn
'
t you turn your success into more success, maybe?
"

"
Maybe. Let
'
s not talk about candy. It bores me these days. Look at me.
"

Instead, Gaby stared steadfastly at his broad chest.
"
You have the kind of body that could make a liar out of me.
"

He laughed shortly.
"
Explain that?
"

Spreading her fingertips, she feathered across his nipples, smiled at the ripple of tension that passed over him, and stroked his sides all the way to his
waist and inside his jeans to knead his belly with her knuckles.

"
God, Gaby,
"
he gasped.
"
I asked for an explanation.
"

With a quick glance into his eyes, she pressed her breasts to his chest and moved slowly back and forth. The lace couldn
'
t be stimulating him more than it did her. She shuddered and opened her mouth over one flat, male nipple. Carefully, she closed her teeth and flicked the tip of her tongue.

"
Gaby!
"

"
I
'
m explaining,
"
she breathed.
"
Your body is making me want a lot of things I haven
'
t thought about in too long. You
'
re beautiful, Jacques. All man. Sexy as hell. I
'
ll never forget the first time I saw you.
"

"
You
'
ll never know what I thought when I first saw you.
"
He was panting. His hands, crossed over her shoulderblades, opened and closed reflexively.

"
Did you think you
'
d like to make love right there, on the floor, Jacques? Did you want to get inside me even then?
"

"
Don
'
t.
"
Grasping her unraveling pigtail, he pulled her face from him. Strain showed in every line of his face, every visible vein in his neck.
"
Yes. Yes, my quiet lady. I wanted you right then. But not the. way I want you now.
"

Exhilaration flooded Gaby. Laughing, she J wrenched away.
"
Tell me how you want me now.
"

"
Come here.
"
He grabbed for her but she eluded him.
"
You little tease.
"

Whirling, she managed to pull her hair from his fingers.
"
Tease? Me? I
'
m a hick, Jacques. A poor
little country girl. See this country girl run.
"

"
Don
'
t do it, Gaby—don
'
t.
"

She laughed back at him and ran, her feet flying over the shaded, springy turf, her heart beating so hard it caught in her throat.

"
I warned you!
"

Jacques made no sound, but Gaby knew he came after her. Panting, she glanced over her shoulder.
"
No!
"
She sprinted, wove between the trees, dodged.

"
Got you!
"

She came face to face with Jacques around the ridged trunk of an incense cedar—and screamed.
"
You don
'
t have me!
"

Swallowing great gulps of air, she faked and darted in the opposite direction.

This time she heard his breathing. Her yell squeaked to nothing.

"
Oh, yes,
"
Jacques ground out, leaping into her path.
"
Yes, dear lady.
"

And his fingers descended on her shoulder, slid as she twisted yet again, and hooked into the back of her bra.

The scrap of red material gave way in an instant.
"
Ah!
"
She clutched for the bra in vain. Jacques twirled her to face him and she staggered back, her breasts swinging free.

"
Ah,
"
Jacques echoed, running his gaze over her.
"
Ah,
yes.
You like it rough and tumble, huh?
"

Gaby backed away, covering her breasts with her hands.
"
I
'
m sorry,
"
she said, trembling now, un
bearably excited now.
"
I shouldn
'
t have run.
"

"
I
'
m so glad you did.
"
He made a grab and caught her wrist, pulled her hand away.
"
Don
'
t hide from me, Gaby. I won
'
t let you, anyway.
"

Another step backward, and another.
"
We don
'
t know each other. Not really,
"
she said.

He tilted up his face and laughed at the treetops.
"
Very soon you and I are going to know each other as well as any man and woman ever could.
"

"
I don
'
t mean—
"

"
In the biblical sense? I did. I do. You
'
re breathing hard, Gaby. D
'
you know what that does?
"

She shook her head.

"
It makes your wonderful breasts do things that aren
'
t making it any easier to be inside these pants.
"
Outrageously she blushed.

Jacques laughed again.
"
I
'
m never going to get tired of you. Are you going to keep on backing away?
"

"
Yes.
"

"
No you
'
re not.
"

She walked into a tree.

"
See.
"
He spread his legs and trapped her hips, ground his hard, heavy arousal into her pelvis until she shut her eyes and arched her back.
"
It
'
s been too long for you, Gaby. But, hell, am I glad, because you
'
re going to be all the more for me.
"

"
We shouldn
'
t
…
"
No, she would not say what she didn
'
t feel or believe.

"
Shouldn
'
t we?
"
Bending, he slid his tongue across her lips, beneath them, past her teeth and deep into her mouth. Finesse was there but no restraint. He told her with every searching touch that he wanted her, and Gaby responded, yes, with a body wild, as it had never been before.

Jacques sipped and nipped and slanted his mouth over hers, rocking he
r head sharply, drawing her bot
tom lip between his teeth until she clung to him

"
We should definitely do all of this,
"
he told her when he raised her head, in the instant before he bent to her breasts.
"
And I should definitely do this.
"

He supported the soft, aching weight, light
l
y pinched each nipple and took first one, then the other deep into his mouth. He drew firmly, suckled until Gaby filled her hands with his hair and opened her mouth in a silent scream.

"
I want you,
"
he said, rasping the demand.
"
Now.
"

His dark features sent white fire into Gaby
'
s secret, hot places. Reason hovered at the edges of her mind.
"
We can
'
t.
"

"
We
can.
"
He gritted his teeth, kept his eyes on hers.
"
Come to me.
"

She shook her head.
"
We can
'
t, Jacques.
"
Surely he understood.