Chapter 1 Read online

  Her lips were so hot she was amazed that her words didn’t fry as they left her mouth. “Wel , you’d damn well better hurry up because if you aren’t ready in five minutes, I’m leaving without you.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He grinned.

  She stepped back and her foot landed in the middle of the dirty clothing on the floor. She bent down to gather it up to take to the laundry room and touched his bare leg with her cheek. It immediately fired up as hot as her lips.

  “I’m sure Pearl would understand, us being newlyweds and all, if you’d like to make a side trip to the bedroom,” Ace said.

  “That’s a dream, cowboy,” Jasmine said.

  When she stood up with the clothes in her arms, he brushed a quick kiss across her cheek. “Thanks for taking care of mine with yours.”

  “Four minutes. You’d better hurry your ass up.”

  “He’s disappointed. I tell you that for sure. He might not even cooperate when you want him to,” Ace said as he followed her down the hall toward the bedroom.

  “Honeymoon must be over,” she quipped and kept walking.

  He dressed faster than he ever had, finger combed his curls back away from his forehead, and jammed his feet down in boots. He was lacing his belt through the loops on his jeans as he made his way across the yard and to his truck where she was already sitting in the passenger’s seat with the buckle fastened.

  “Ten seconds to spare. I’m on my way,” she said into the cell phone and snapped it shut.

  “Am I forgiven?” he asked.

  “Depends on whether we beat Tess to the hospital.

  She called fifteen minutes ago to check on Pearl who happened to be right in the middle of a contraction so Tess grabbed her bag that’s been packed for a week and is on the way. You can bet your cute little cowboy ass that if she gets stopped she’ll talk the policeman into giving her an escort complete with sirens all the way to the hospital. If you get me there first so I can run interference for Pearl, I might forgive you,” Jasmine said.

  “I figured Rye and Austin would be ahead of us.

  They were on their way to take Rachel to Maddie when the call came. Raylen and Liz were headed for the house to get cleaned up too.” Ace started the truck engine and fiddled with his seat belt.

  She tucked her head down and rolled her eyes up at him. “You, Ace Riley, better hope I’m the first one there.”

  “Or what?” he asked.

  “Pearl keeps two shovels in her barn. I keep two in my pantry. You’ve probably noticed them before. They are right there beside the broom and mop. We are prepared at any time, night or day, to dig a six- foot hole.

  Need I explain further?”

  He stomped the gas pedal all the way to the floor and hoped all the Texas Highway Patrolmen were having donuts and coffee at the local Dairy Queen. He made it from Ringgold to Henriet a in record time, went through the first traffic signal on yellow, and the second one had barely turned green when he slipped through it. When he braked in front of the Henrietta hospital he left skid marks on the pavement.

  “Get out in a hurry. I passed Rye and Austin back there at the second red light. Hurry up and get in there first,” he said.

  Jasmine took time to touch his shoulder. “You are forgiven.”

  Chapter 11

  Only one other truck was parked under the

  awning at the burger joint, but then all the midweek church traffic would have long since come and gone, and most teenagers had an early curfew, especial y in the middle of the week.

  Liz and Raylen waved through the window when they saw Jasmine and Ace nose into the other side of the parking spaces. Liz held up a hot fudge sundae and smiled.

  “So will it be pickles and ice cream?” Ace asked.

  “No, thank you. After that experience, I’ll buy my babies. I knew it hurt like hell, but Pearl cried real tears,” she said.

  “But there was that big grin on her face when she was holding those boys,” Ace said.

  “I don’t know how she did it, Ace. I really don’t. I hurt for her there at the end when she pushed until her face was as red as her hair and she cried.”

  “Then no pickles on top of your ice cream?” She shook her head. “One of those chocolate sundaes like Liz is eating will be fine. And a cup of black coffee.”

  “This late at night? You’ll be awake all night and I’m too tired after all that waiting on Pearl to birth them two boys to even think about a romp in the sheets,” Ace said.

  “No more sex for me. I saw the end result of that fun right there in that delivery room,” Jasmine told him with a soft shiver.

  “Tess was more than a little bit jealous that Pearl wanted you in there to hold her hand,” Ace told her.

  “I know, but Pearl would have raised up out of those stirrups and strangled her mother. It was best that I stayed in there with her and Rye. I stayed up by her head and Rye got to actually watch the babies coming out. I did chance a peek or two at the mirror and that was enough for me. Tess forgot all about anything when he went out with a baby on each arm and she got to be the first one to hold the boys.”

  “Where were you when he brought the babies out?” Ace asked.

  “Holding Pearl’s hand and telling her that they were beautiful, that they had black hair, and I couldn’t tell if they were going to have blue eyes or green ones and that she did a fantastic job. She was squeezing my hand and telling me that it hurt like hell, she wasn’t doing it again, and that I could never endure it, to go buy my kids even if they had ‘Made in China’ stamped on their butts.”

  Ace put in their order and turned around to face Jasmine. “Why couldn’t you endure it?”

  “She says I’m not as tough as her.”

  “Are you?”

  “Oh, yeah. I’m every bit as tough but she just pushed two six- pound boys out of her body. I wasn’t going to argue with her.” Jasmine smiled.

  “John and Jesse. I like the names, but they looked just alike. Think they’d better tattoo their names on their butts before they take them home so Wil don’t get them mixed up?” He steered her toward the table where Liz and Raylen were sitting.

  “You ever get Old Bill and Little Joe mixed up?” she asked.

  “What’s that got to do with anything? But no, I do not. Old Bill is six months older than Little Joe. They had the same parents but they aren’t even littermates.

  They just look alike. I keep tel ing you Old Bil is fat er.”

  “Well, I don’t reckon Wil’s going to get his boys mixed up either. Maybe Jesse will be fatter.” She laughed.

  It had been a long evening and by the time the twins were born the waiting room was packed with friends and family. It was eleven when they left and they were both starving.

  “What are you thinking about?” Ace asked.

  “The look on Pearl’s face when she held those babies.”

  “It was pretty awesome. I was standing in the door-way. We’d followed the nurse down there with them.

  Just looking at Rye and Pearl with those two babies made tears in my eyes,” Ace said.

  Jasmine looked at his face to see if he was joking.

  “You are serious.”

  “I am. Wil is my friend. Has been since before we ever started to school. Me and him and Rye were inseparable. Fatherhood looks good on both of them,” he said.

  “Ace, you’re a romantic at heart,” Jasmine said.

  “Yes, he is,” Liz said. “We’re just getting finished so you two can have the table. We’d stay with you but we’ve got to get up early. How many of those squallin’ bundles do you want?” Liz asked as she slid out of the booth.

  “As many as I can buy,” Jasmine teased.

  “I want a house full. Momma swears she’ll steal one of my kids from me and turn her into a carnie,” Liz said.

  “I wouldn’t put it past her one bit.” Jasmine smiled.

  They had barely gotten out the door when Ace kissed Jasmine on the cheek. “Darlin’, I’m not ju
st a romantic at heart. I’m a romantic all over my body,” he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

  “You are a rogue.”

  The waitress took their order and in minutes was back with their ice cream. “Make up your mind. Am I a rogue or a romantic?”

  “Depends on whether you are sweet or trashy.” She dipped into the hot fudge and ice cream and shoved it in her mouth. When she’d swallowed she said, “We didn’t have supper. I want a hamburger when I finish this.”

  “Your wish is this bridegroom’s command. Just speak the words,” Ace said.

  “Bet you say that to all the women.”

  “Only the ones I marry in Las Vegas. The rest have to order their own damned burgers.” Ace slurped up chocolate malt through the straw. He’d been too excited about the whole waiting for the babies to be born process to realize that he hadn’t eaten, but a burger did sound good.

  “How do you take yours? On the rocks or neat?” he asked.

  “We still talkin’ about burgers?”

  “Yep, on the rocks is mustard and onions. Neat is mayo and no onions.”

  “On the rocks with a large order of onion rings,” she said.

  “Something to drink with that?”

  “No, this coffee will do just fine.”

  He held up a hand and the waitress came right over.

  He put in an order for burgers and onion rings and added a Coke for himself. “Now, tell me again about how you are going to show up Pearl and have triplets the first time out of the chute.”

  Jasmine didn’t know it was possible to choke on ice cream but she did. “Tell me how you want to be buried?

  Face up or butt up?”

  “I’ll have to think about that. Should you ever dig me back up, do I want you to kiss my ass or my sexy lips?

  Hard decision to make, ma’am.”

  “Believe me, if I ever put you in the ground, I will not be digging up your sorry old ass. I’ll leave it there under the rose bush forever.”

  Ace had to swal ow fast to keep from snorting chocolate malt out his nose. He’d never met a woman like Jazzy, who’d give him right back whatever he threw out.

  Lines that had most women swooning made her laugh.

  Come- ons that brought women to their knees caused her to tilt her chin down and give him a look that would fry a weaker man, leaving nothing but belt buckles and boots in the wake.

  Maybe that’s why he’d fallen in love with her.

  Whoa, pard’ner! Pull up them reins. Just becauseI want to take her to bed every time I kiss her doesn’tmean I’m in love with her. Shit! That just means I’mattracted to her. Hell, I’m attracted to women, period.

  I like the smell of them, the taste of them, and even theway they feel all soft and sweet. But love? That’s forRye and Wil. Raylen and Slade can have it too, but notthis cowboy. I just want to make love to her. Long andslow and lots of times. That marriage thing sets my sexdoor to swinging; the one with the M on it is still fastened up tight.

  “What are you thinking about? Your jaw is set and your face looks like it is set in stone. Wishin’ I’d ordered the neat burger so you don’t have to ride home with onion breath?” Jasmine asked.

  Ace always had a comeback. Always! But his mind was completely blank. All he could see was that big red M on the door with four deadbolt locks and a wooden two- by- four length of oak wood nailed across it at an angle.

  “Well?” Jasmine asked.

  “Swallowed a hell of a big air bubble and couldn’t say a word until it decided to go up or down.” He forced a smile.

  “It’s a sympathy burp for the twins,” she teased.

  It’s a lie, but it wasn’t bad when you were staring atthat picture in your head, that aggravating inner voice said. Whatareyouintendingtodoaboutallthis?

  I’d like to seduce her tonight. Once I’ve made love toher, then I’ll know for certain that it was door numberone, the sex door that is thrown wide open, and not number two, the M door, or number three, the father door.

  “Hell, I don’t know,” he said aloud.

  “Don’t know what? We were talking about burping babies,” she said.

  “Brain freeze. My crazy mind is thinking one thing and my ears are hearing you and they are get ing con-fused. I think it’s an acute disease, one of those some-thingmiotis things that I can’t pronounce. It’s not fatal.

  It’ll pass when I get onions in my mouth,” he said.

  Jasmine brushed her teeth and went straight to bed.

  Blake and Dalton were still up when they got home so Ace stayed behind in the kitchen and told them all about the twins. When he made it to the bedroom she was curled up on one side, her breathing steady and shallow and her back to his side of the bed.

  That negative little niggling voice started the argument when he dropped his jeans on the rocking chair on top of hers. If he had sex with Jasmine, it would not change their friendship. It would prove that he could have sex with her without thinking about any kind of permanent relationship. And he wanted her oh so bad.

  He peeled out of his shirt and tossed it on the chair and the battle got hotter. By the time he was down to his boxers, desire had taken over his better sense. He eased into bed and wrapped his naked body around Jasmine’s. He nuzzled his face into her neck and was surprised as hel when she flipped over and snuggled right into his arms.

  “Mmmm,” she mumbled.

  Jasmine was dreaming that Ace was cuddled up with her and his hands were playing her body like a pianist on a finely tuned baby grand piano. She could hear the faint strands of “Last Date” by Floyd Kramer as Ace made big lazy circles on her back with one rough old callused hand and cupped her breast with the other.

  She’d never realized just how well her breast fit into his hand, but as she stood back in the dream and analyzed the situation, it seemed as if she’d grown breasts in her teens especially for him. She wiggled in closer to him and let her fingertips walk across his broad expanse of back.

  “God, that feels good, Jazzy,” he said.

  Her eyes popped wide open at the sound of his voice.

  “I was not dreaming and you are naked,” she said.

  Her breath was already ragged, and molten fire fil ed her lower body. It was turn back quickly or damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead.

  “And so are you except for those cute little boxer shorts which I plan to take off with my teeth,” he whispered hoarsely.

  She damned the torpedoes.

  He dived under the covers, grabbed the waistband of her boxers, and slowly removed them, his hands continuing to play all the way to her ankles, as his teeth pulled the elastic further and further. At the bottom they hung up on her toes so he used his fingers to dis-lodge them.

  Jasmine groaned when he started back up with wet kisses, tasting one inch at a time, stopping to graze several times along the way until she was groaning and arching her back for him.

  “You are one sexy woman, Jazzy,” he whispered when he finally ended the journey at her lips. He nibbled the lower one, teased her teeth apart with his tongue, and made love to her all over again with his mouth.

  Jasmine had been kissed. She’d had sex. But she’d never had kisses so hot that they brought her to the brink of a climax.

  When he moved on top of her, she was more than ready. She tangled her hands in his hair and held on for fear that when she did reach the apex of the climax that she’d fall right off the earth into eternity. The rhythm intensified with each thrust and her moans became louder. She moved her hands to his butt cheeks and dug her fingernails into his flesh. She’d never had sex when it became the center core of everything and she could think of absolutely nothing else.

  “You make me so hot!” The words came out one at a time with pauses between.

  Ace had the reputation for having sex with dozens of women and he’d never done a lot to discourage the rumors. Truth was that he’d had only a handful of relationships and what he experienced with Jasmine was surreal. There wer
e only two people on the face of the earth that evening.

  Ace and Jasmine.

  And Ace didn’t care if it stayed that way forever.

  “Ahhh, Jazzy!” he said in a deep Texas drawl and collapsed on top of her.

  She could not breathe for a full minute and it had nothing to do with Ace’s weight on her body. It took that long for her body, soul, and mind to reconnect after the blazing sex.

  He finally rose up and covered her mouth in a string of passionate kisses that fanned the embers still hot in the ashes of the hottest sex she’d ever known.

  “Ace, we can’t. Another bout like that would kill me graveyard dead,” she rasped.

  “Me too, but I love your lips,” he said.

  “It isn’t like kissing your sister then? I mean, since we are best friends?” she asked.

  “I don’t have a sister but hell, no! Why would you say that? Was it like making love with your brother? Shit!

  Jazzy, is that what you get out of our sex?”

  “Hell, no! I don’t have a brother, but I’m damn sure what we just did wasn’t like that. It’s just that we’ve been friends so long and Liz said that when she kissed Blaze it was like kissing her brother. And the same when Raylen kissed Becca once when they were kids.

  They both had best friends of the opposite sex and when they even kissed it didn’t seem right,” she explained in short gasps.

  Ace kissed her softly on the forehead. “Well, darlin’, we left friendship on the other side of the bedroom door.”

  “Then was it booty sex?” she asked.

  “No! I can’t believe you’d say that. And it wasn’t because we came from the hospital where two of our best friends just had babies either. I can’t tell you what it was, Jazzy. I can just tell you that it was awesome and it felt right. Hell, it felt better than right. Oh, shit!”

  “What?” she asked.

  “I got so involved and so hot that I didn’t even think of protection. This time or the first time either. My mind doesn’t work when I’m in the bedroom with you.” She blanched and then began to count days in her head. “It should be all right this time. I’m regular as clockwork and this is not ovulation time, but…” She left the sentence hanging.