Training Rain (5 page)

“A few hours. How do you feel?”

“Better. No more cramping.”

“Did you know saving us would nearly kill you?” He was
angry. She heard it in his biting tone.

“I knew it would be difficult to rule that many animals at
one time. After the kind of exertion I’d put out all day, it was nearly too
much. If we hadn’t trained all day, I don’t think my body would have given
out.”

“What about your mind? Because I thought I’d lost you. I
wasn’t sure you’d come back.”

“Thank you for taking care of me. I heal quickly, but I
needed time.”

He moved so that his face was an inch from hers. “You scared
the shit out of me, Rain.”

“I saved our lives.” Her defensive instincts kicked in. He
could be a little more grateful for saving him since it had nearly killed her.

“Don’t do that again. What if I hadn’t been here? What if
you’d been alone in the field?”

She pushed the blankets down so she could use her arms. He’d
wrapped her up as if she were a caterpillar in a cocoon. “If I’d been alone and
some idiot hunters had caused a stampede, I probably would have done exactly
what I did today. Dying from a bison’s hoof crushing my skull doesn’t sound
like much fun to me.”

“And then what, you die of dehydration or exposure because
you don’t have the energy to get yourself back to safety?” He was furious. She
didn’t understand.

“What choice would I have? You’re my teacher, tell me how I
could have avoided what happened today.”

He stood up. He was in only his long underwear. They were
skintight and left very little to the imagination. The thin material clung to
every bulge and muscle. She couldn’t look away though she knew she should.

“We’re getting out of here in the morning. I’m calling
Joshua and telling him to get you another instructor.”

She’d started to feel herself again, but his announcement
took all the energy right back out of her. He was abandoning her. She had
failed, and he was abandoning a sinking ship. Her heart ached. “I’m sorry you
feel that way. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“You don’t understand.”

“I think I do. Thanks for trying. I’m going to take a shower
and then I’m going to bed.” Her legs wobbled only slightly as she pushed off
the couch. Jess reached out to steady her, but she put out a hand to ward him
off.

Finding her balance, she wrapped the blankets tighter around
herself and walked to the bathroom. She heard him call her name, but she
ignored his request for her to return to the living room.

The hot water eased the rest of her aches and pains, but she
knew there was a limited supply, so she showered quickly. Once she was dry, she
brushed out her hair and wrapped herself in the blankets again.

She never looked at the living room as she and Yas stepped
through to the bedroom.

Once she was in bed, the dog jumped up and spread out across
her feet. Tears trickled down her cheeks. Maybe she cried because she let Jess
down or maybe it was just the release of built-up tension from the strain of
the day. It couldn’t last long, she was too tired to weep indefinitely.

* * * * *

The howling wind and Yas sitting up at the end of the bed
brought her awake. There was no light in the bedroom, but the glow of firelight
framed Jess in the doorway.

“Are you okay?” She had no idea why she asked. It was an
instinct, a habit,
check on everyone else before you worry about yourself.

He didn’t move. “I didn’t lie to you.”

Sleep still poked at her brain. “When? What are you talking
about?”

Jess stepped closer. Yas growled. Rain sat up and patted the
dog’s head. The chilly air on her nipples reminded her that she was naked under
the blankets. She clutched at the covers.

“In the field today, when I said you’d make a good agent, it
was the truth.” His voice hummed with intensity.

“You just don’t want to risk your life to train me. I get
it. Don’t worry about it.” She wanted to feel as unaffected by the idea as she
sounded, but her chest tightened with loss. It was insane, but she felt the
loss of a man who didn’t care about her and he was standing in the same room.

“No.” He moved closer to the bed.

“No? No what?”

“That’s not why I’m asking for a reassignment.”

Yas jumped to the floor and lay down in the doorway.

Rain sat carefully, keeping the blanket covering her. “Why
then?”

She might have asked more, but Jess’ body hovered over hers.
He loomed and the air between them crackled with energy. “I can’t be your teacher
because all I can think about is how soft your lips look, how the curve of your
hips would feel under my palm and how perfect it would be to bury my cock deep
inside you.”

“Oh.” Her nipples hardened to pebbles and the sheets felt as
if they were sandpaper on the sensitive tips. Moisture pooled between her legs
with every word he said. The stupid one-word response left a yawning gap in the
awkward conversation.

His lips were barely visible in the dim room, but he was
close enough to feel his warm breath just before his mouth brushed hers. “I
shouldn’t be your instructor because I want you.”

She responded to the kiss, her mouth opened for him and he
tugged on her bottom lip. Warmth spread throughout her body in spite of the
chill in the room. She cursed the layer of heavy blankets between them. Every
naughty thought she’d entertained and then brushed aside during the past few
days bounced happily around in her head once again. He wanted her. The idea
alone was sensual. Jess’ weight pressed her into the mattress.

“It’s too much of a distraction to care about you in this
way. My instinct is to protect you and I can’t separate the woman from the
agent.”

She managed to get her hands free of the blankets and cupped
his face. “Why didn’t you say something sooner? I thought you hated me.”

A sharp, short laugh cracked the air. “I definitely don’t
hate you, Rain. I pushed you harder so you wouldn’t see how much I needed you,
to prove to myself I could overcome my feelings. It nearly got you killed
today. I’m sorry, but it made me realize I have to ask for a reassignment.”

His sweet admission had her body humming with sympathy and
need.

She had gone to bed with damp hair and now the mass was
likely knotted and nesting around her face. He pushed a wayward strand away
from her cheek and kissed the spot where it had been. “I know you’ve had a
rough day and you’re tired. I know I should get us out of here tomorrow and
never see you again. But if you’re interested, I’d like to make love to you. I
want to make you forget the terrors of the day if only for a little while and
give us both a night of pleasure.”

Every word he said pushed her excitement higher. “Yes.”

His mouth devoured hers. He kissed her as if he was a
starving man and she was the first food he’d seen in weeks. His tongue plunged
and plundered hers. He explored her lips and teeth. When he pulled back, she
gasped for air.

He kissed her cheek, jaw and chin. “I want to go slow. I
want to cherish you,
cher
, but I’m so desperate to have you.”

She pushed his shoulders back and he moaned and moved away.

Jess sat down on the edge of her bed and put his head in his
hands. “I’m sorry. I should not have come in here.”

She pushed down the covers and got out of the bed. Her bare
skin prickled with goose flesh as the cold air hit her. She padded over to the dresser
where she’d left a lantern. She lit the electric lamp and a warm golden glow
filled the room. She adjusted the light to bring it up a bit more, then turned
to look at Jess.

His head was still low, but he’d raised his eyes and they
followed her in the light. “You’re naked.”

She didn’t hide from his gaze, rather she reveled in it. All
week she’d wanted him, but thought him indifferent to her. Now she knew he was
behaving under some code of his own. “I don’t want this to be in the dark. I
want to see you and I want you to see me, Jess.”

He sat up straighter and his eyes darkened. “Turn around.”

Her heart raced and she complied with his command. She
hadn’t heard him get up or move, but his fingers traced the tattoo that
stretched across her shoulder blades and down past the middle of her back. His
touch radiated heat along her skin in contrast to the chill in the room.

“I saw a hint of this the other night when I carried you in
here. It took all of my will not to strip you down and get a better look.”

She wanted to tell him she wouldn’t have minded if he had.
She also wanted to tell him to get naked and fuck her before she came just from
him lightly tracing her spine. “I’ve had that for a long time.”

The flat of his palm brushed along the horn of the buffalo.
She closed her eyes, imagining his hand along the red and black lines of a
bird’s wing. The tattoo was made up of many different animals put together
artfully to create the image of a buffalo.

“Is this a regret?”

She turned to face him. Her heart pounded. “I could never
regret that ink. It’s who I am.”

His fingers traced the curve of her breast, down to her
waist and up again. “Who you are? I don’t understand.”

“Maybe someday you will.” She touched his cheek and it
surprised her how much she hoped that was true. She wanted someone to know her,
she always had. It was shockingly clear to her, she wished Jess could be that
person.

He wore jeans and the top of long underwear. She ran her
hand over the silky material of the state-of-the-art thermal. His nipple
pebbled under her touch. He hissed through his teeth.

“I’m freezing,” she said.

His bright smile could have lit the room without the help of
the lantern. “Get back in the bed and if you want, I’ll keep you warm.”

“I want.” She didn’t know if she was shivering from the cold
or the anticipation of Jess’ body next to hers.

Crawling under the covers, she watched in the lamplight as
he stripped his top off and tossed it to the floor. His long johns followed and
in seconds Jess McMean’s taut form hovered above her at the side of the bed.

Lean, sinewy muscle covered his chest and arms, leading her
gaze down to his six-pack abs and further to where his attraction to her became
more obvious. His thick, long cock stood at the ready. Rain’s mouth watered,
but she remained under the covers. He had started this and she couldn’t resist
letting him guide the process, at least for the moment.

She’d never seen him hesitant before. In the field training
he’d been assured and determined. It was nice to see that something made Jess
nervous and even more intriguing to learn that the something was her. He was
actually unsure if she wanted him. Even now, after she’d walked naked across
the room. Her body continued to tremble, but now she was certain that it was
desire and not the cold that brought her limbs to a quivering state.

He didn’t move. She marveled at the fact that in spite of
the frigid air, his cock continued to point in her direction.

“Why are you just standing there?” she asked.

“I’m giving you time to change your mind.”

Her heart sped up and she pushed to her elbows, letting the
blanket and sheet fall and expose her breasts. Her nipples hardened to
sensitive peaks. Her skin prickled and she longed for the warmth of his flesh
against hers. “Why would I change my mind?”

His eyes darkened as he drank in the sight of her. “Maybe I
just can’t believe a woman like you would want anything to do with me.”

The idea that he might walk out of the bedroom and leave her
desires unquenched forced her hand. She threw back the blanket, baring herself
once again to him. He didn’t move.

Rain watched him carefully. “I’m starting to get offended.
Maybe you’re not really interested. What more does a girl need to do to get you
to fuck her?”

An instant later his body was covering hers. The breath
rushed out of her lungs and she could barely draw another. It wasn’t that he
was crushing her. He took up every available space. His body fitted against
hers perfectly and his shaft teased the crease at the top of her thighs. Her
brain could not process enough logical thought to remember how to breathe in.

His glare evoked the fact that he hadn’t liked what she
said, yet the fire in his eyes and the rigid evidence between her legs
contradicted. “I’m not going to fuck you, Rain.”

She could have cried, but she remained outwardly calm. “No?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Oh.” She tried to hide her disappointment, but she heard
the hallow timber of her voice. She was sure he’d heard it too.

“I’m going to make love to you so slowly and thoroughly,
you’ll be begging me for more.”

Her legs quivered and her pussy tightened at the idea. “No
one has ever said that to me before.”

His head cocked to one side. “Which part?”

Her face heated and she cursed inwardly at her own blush.
“Make love. No one has ever told me they wanted to make love to me.”

Jess shifted his weight to one elbow and threaded his
fingers through her hair while forcing her to meet his gaze. “What did they
say?”

Why had she said anything? Why couldn’t she keep her mouth
closed? Her cheeks were flaming with embarrassment. She wiggled her hips
beneath him, hoping to expedite their pleasure and end the uncomfortable
conversation.

He pressed his hips down, pinning hers to the bed. “Tell
me.”

Her heart pounded so hard blood rushed to her ears. “Fuck.
Bang. Have sex. Just never make love.”

His lips pressed lightly to the tip of her nose. “There’s a
time and a place for fucking and banging. I’d like to think we’ll get to them
some other time. Tonight is for lovemaking.”

“What’s the difference?”

His eyes took on a sadness that made her wish she hadn’t
asked the question. “Oh
cher
. It’s criminal that you don’t already know,
but it’s my honor to show you there is a very big difference.”