She stood there, stark white, and he wondered if she would just turn and run.
Cade’s mouth hung open. “Gemma, just because his parents had trouble doesn’t mean he does. He’s the straightest arrow I know.”
“Shut up,” she said in that commanding tone he was sure she’d used in many a court of law. She walked straight up to Jesse. “Am I the good thing? Am I the thing that stopped you from running?”
She got to him. If she was fucking with him, fooling around with his dumbass mechanic heart, he just might lie down and die. But he was brave enough to tell her the truth. He wouldn’t hide from it. He knew how shitty the world was, had seen it with his own eyes. And nothing changed unless a man willed it. He was going to will Gemma Wells into loving him. “Yes. I got nothing to run from, darlin’. I love you.”
He waited for her to bite that bottom lip and explain all the reasons why they couldn’t work out long term. She was way past smart, into the brilliant territory, and he rebuilt carburetors. She had a whole heart and he shared one with his pussy-ass best friend. She was whole, and he never would be if she told him no.
She walked straight into his arms, hugging him tighter than he’d ever been held. “Be sure, Jesse McCann. You be sure.”
He buried his head in her hair, holding her so close. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
She held him, her face buried in his neck. A long moment passed before she turned and reached out. “Cade?”
But he was gone. The door shut behind him. Jesse heard the purr of an engine starting and held Gemma tighter.
He might not have a whole heart, but what he had was hers. He had to pray it would be enough.
Chapter Sixteen
Gemma sighed with pleasure as Jesse thrust inside. She wrapped her legs around him, glorying in the feel of his cock sliding over and over that magnificent spot deep inside her body. She clutched him, needing to know he was close. She couldn’t get enough of this. Years and years she’d viewed sex as something to get through. It was expected when she was someone’s girlfriend.
This wasn’t a task to be completed. This was something she needed like her next breath.
“That’s right, baby. Give it up. I want to feel you come all over my cock.” Jesse lifted up, holding himself on his arms as his hips moved in a rough rhythm. She stared up at him, loving the way he looked. He was gorgeous and masculine, with his hair all askew and that beard coming in across his face. His shoulders bunched into tight muscles. And all that masculine beauty was focused on her.
Everything inside Gemma coiled and waited, spiraling up and up. She wanted to make the moment last. She didn’t want to come down. She wanted to stay right here on the precipice with him.
But he was too good for that. He found her hot spot and his cock worked it, hitting it again and again while his hips swiveled, grinding on her clit. She’d only held out this long because he’d made her come twice before, licking her pussy until she’d screamed out his name.
She let go, her whole body shuddering as pleasure washed over her.
“That’s what I need.” Jesse lost his rhythm and started fucking her like a desperate man.
She loved watching him. His face contorted, and she was sure he was hers in that one moment, only hers.
He stiffened and jerked, giving up his cum before he let himself rest down on her body.
Gemma held him, her hands soothing the muscles of his back. She’d thought Cade was hers, too. But he was gone.
Jesse’s head came up, his eyes dark in the twilight. He’d left the curtains open, allowing the late-afternoon light in, but it was rapidly moving to night. “Baby, he’s going to come back.”
She wasn’t so sure. She’d hated the fact that they were fighting over her. “What happened to his parents?”
Jesse hesitated and then with a reluctant kiss to the tip of her nose, rolled off her. He didn’t go far, just moved to the side and put a possessive hand on her belly. “You know they died, right?”
She knew most of their background, but it was in a clinical way, a series of dates and numbers without the emotion behind it. “Why does he feel responsible?”
“He doesn’t talk about it, darlin’. It’s the one thing he hasn’t really shared with me. I know what I know because I’ve read the articles about the accident and I’ve heard him when he dreams about it. His dad lost control of the family car in the middle of one of the worst storms in his hometown’s history. Violent rains. A couple of tornados touched down. Pure grade A Florida Panhandle weather. The river they lived near flooded and the car went in. Only Cade came out. Search and rescue found him clinging to a floating tree trunk three miles down the river from his parents’ car. He spent the night in that river. When he has dreams about it, he sometimes struggles to breathe.”
Tears filled her eyes. How horrifying it must have been, just a kid fighting to survive when he knew his parents were dead.
“His mom and dad died on impact, blunt force trauma. But his sister went into the river alive. Her seat belt jammed. I’ve always wondered if Cade knew she was alive and couldn’t help her. He carries this guilt around like a backpack. He seems to collect more along the way. He blames himself for you nearly dying.”
Gemma turned over, looking him straight in the eyes. “That was your fault.”
He gave her that look, the one that told her she would be in serious trouble if she didn’t backtrack. She kind of loved that look.
“Fine. It was stupid.” That day seemed like forever ago even though only three days had past. She felt different. Stronger. And a little more willing to cop to her mistakes. “I was pissed, and I walked out. It’s not Cade’s fault. I’m stupidly organized, Jesse. I make lists of the lists I need to make. I have a handbag that contains enough crap to run a third-world country. I knew not to walk out without it. I knew what could happen.”
She just hadn’t thought about it then.
His hand came out, cupping her cheek. “Then why did you do it?”
She wanted to give him a crap answer that wouldn’t reveal too much of herself, but then he would likely growl and send her another of those patented looks. It was easier to just tell him the truth. “There was a little part of me that was thrilled when Pat showed up because I was mad at you and I wanted to show you both that you couldn’t control me.”
“That’s my girl.” He sighed and rubbed their chests together. “I’ll spank you for that later.”
He would, and she would enjoy it. “You really don’t care that I’m a righteous bitch?”
“You aren’t a bitch, Gemma. You have certain aggressive tendencies toward making your point clear.”
“Everyone calls me difficult.” Even her parents had been at a loss with how to handle her, but Jesse seemed to have the magic touch. “My mom and dad took me to a shaman when I was five. He said my aura was hard to read.” Even to the hippie kooks who tolerated everything from ancient aliens to obnoxious tourists, she was difficult.
He smiled that serene smile of his that tended to calm her down even during the worst situations. “Gemma, you are difficult. You’re headstrong and proud and so smart I can’t keep up with your brain half the time, but that’s not a bad thing. The best things in life are hard. Most of the worst stuff that ever happened to me happened because someone took the easy way out. I don’t want easy. I want beauty, and beauty is something you work for. Baby, you’re beautiful. You just don’t know it yet. You don’t know what you could be.”