Mysterious and contradictory, he loved the female mind, but damned if it didn’t throw him for a loop sometimes. Janet, it seemed, was dreaming of an engagement ring and wedding bands, wedding bells, and the long white dress. And where she got that idea, Jethro had no clue.
He wasn’t the marrying kind. The bitterness in his soul still held the power to make him run hard and fast whenever he caught the gleam of forever in a woman’s eyes.
Janet had that gleam when she woke up and caught him packing. She had tried to cover it. To hide it. But the moment he had caught that glimmer he had known the on-again, off-again relationship they had shared was now stone cold. No way. No how.
Shifting back in his seat, he made the turn onto the country road that led to Mac’s farm and let a smile cross his face.
Hell, he needed this vacation. Even more, he needed the time spent with Mac and his wife. The chance to be a part of the relationship Mac had with Keiley was an irresistible lure.
It was the love, Jethro knew that. Keiley loved her husband, and if she accepted a third into their bed, then the passion and emotion that she shared with Mac would extend to that third.
It was a gift Mac’s women had always given him. They loved him, some more than others, but those willing to step into the ménage had extended those softer feelings to Jethro.
How much better would it be on the periphery of true love? Would it still the restlessness building inside him, or would it only make it worse?
Breathing out at the thought, Jethro lifted his cell phone from the seat beside him, flipped it open, and punched in Mac’s number.
“You’re late. ” Mac answered on the third ring.
“I was being lazy today,” Jethro drawled. “I’m about ten minutes from the farm. You watching for me?”
Mac straightened from the tractor he was attempting to repair. Tucking the cell phone between his shoulder and cheek, he wiped his hands on the discarded rag and glanced toward the road.
“Laziness doesn’t become you, Jeth,” he stated. “I’m heading to the house now to clean up. I’ll meet you there. ”
“Looks like a nice little town I drove into. I can see why you like it here. It’s larger than you described. ”
“Yeah, it’s growing fast,” Mac agreed as he stepped over the little picket fence Keiley had around the house yard. “Good people, though. Keiley has your room ready and she’s fixing dinner. I’ll let her know you’re coming and jump in the shower. She’ll let you in. ”
He could be making a mistake, he knew, in bringing Jethro into his home, but Keiley was finally becoming curious about his sexual past.
“I’ll be there soon, then,” Jethro assured. “See you in a bit. ”
Mac disconnected the call as he stepped into the house, inhaling the aroma of baked ham, rolls, and a myriad of other delicacies his wife had been working on. She might be a bit of a computer geek, but when she put her mind to it, she could turn out a meal to make a man’s mouth water.
“Hey, babe. ” He caught her as she stepped out of the washroom, grinning devilishly as he managed to trap her against the wall, careful to keep his greasy hands off her and the pristine white walls.
“You’re dirty, Mac. ” But she still lifted her face for his kiss and softened into his body.
He couldn’t resist deepening the kiss. Parting her lips and allowing his tongue to taste the erotic flavor of her. Heated feminine warmth filled his senses as he felt her arms twine around his neck, her fingers sinking into the strands of hair at his neck.
“You taste like sunlight,” she whispered when he pulled back, her gaze drowsy with passion as he dipped his knees and pressed the engorged length of his cock into the V of her thighs.
“You taste like sex. ” He grinned, kissing her quickly before easing back. “Jethro just called. He’ll be here in a few minutes. I’m going to run upstairs and shower real quick. ”
“At least he has good timing. ” Pushing away from him, she headed to the stove to check the various pots and pans there. “Hurry and shower. ”
He followed, kissing the nape of her neck as she bent her neck back with a laugh and shooed him from the kitchen.
But he had achieved his object. She would have to greet his friend, socialize with him, giving her time to accustom herself to him before he came down.
She would need that time. Her reaction to Jethro would decide any further course toward what he was going to ask from her. It could be a mistake. It could be the biggest mistake of his life. But he was hoping instead that it would ultimately be his greatest pleasure.
5
Jethro Riggs was a bad boy. It was in his blue eyes, in his overly long black hair that he had pulled back into a low ponytail at that nape of his neck, and in the closely cropped beard and mustache he wore.
He winked the second she opened the door. “Keiley, you’re too pretty for Mac. Come on. Run away with me now and I’ll rescue you from him. ”