Jolene paced the kitchen. It was well before dawn, and she’d already had four cups of coffee. She was as agitated as an unbroken horse and ready to do some damage.

“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor stomping your boots like that.”

Valerie yawned and padded into the kitchen on bare feet, still in her pajamas. Her hair was a mess—great sex, no doubt—and she had pink cheeks.

Jolene was profoundly jealous. Valerie was sleeping with someone. Jolene was sleeping alone, through no fault of her own.

Valerie grabbed a cup of coffee, pulled up a chair, yawned loudly and stared at Jolene through half-opened eyelids.

“Do you have to look so damn content?”

Valerie cocked her head to the side. “What’s got you in a lather this early?”

“Walker.”

“Ah. And what’s he done this time? Or not done?”

Jolene leaned against the kitchen counter and palmed the hot mug of coffee. “I don’t understand men.”

Valerie lifted her mug in salute. “Welcome to the club, honey. They’re as mysterious to us as, I’m sure, we are to them.”

Jolene’s only response was to grumble and take a long swallow of coffee.

“So what’s the specific problem?” Valerie asked.

“We had sex.”

Valerie laughed. “That doesn’t sound like a problem.”

“He’s avoided me for a week.”

“Yeah, that is a problem. I’m sorry, honey.”

“Oh, it’s not that he dumped me. He liked it. I liked it. He wants to do it again. I know he does.”

Valerie sipped her coffee and studied Jolene, then shook her head and smiled. “You are nothing if not humble, little sister.”

“That’s not what I mean. I know he didn’t dump me because he didn’t feel anything or the sex was lousy. I know he isn’t seeing anyone else. I mean I was there. I know what went down. It was good for both of us. We connected. So I just don’t get what his problem is.”

“Men are notorious noncommunicators.”

Jolene sighed. “Tell me about it.”

“But you don’t strike me as someone who backs down, Jo. If you want him, and you say you’re pretty sure he wants you, then go after him.”

“Normally, I would. But honest, Valerie, I’m getting tired of the chase. I’ve already done it. I’ve been doing it. I think it’s time he came to me.”

Valerie shrugged. “Up to you. But don’t be surprised if he doesn’t. There’s something holding him back.”

“I know.” Jolene studied her coffee, looking for answers in the black brew and knowing she wouldn’t find them there. “I wish he’d open up and tell me what it is, but he’s pretty tight-lipped about it.”

“Then you’re either going to have to wait for him, or go after him.”

“I went after him the first time.” Jolene lifted the pot and watched the steaming brew slide into her cup. “The ball’s in his court now.”

This time, he would.

But he couldn’t help himself. Jolene was like a drug in his system and he was addicted.

He’d ignored her for over a week now, made sure he volunteered to work on whatever Mason was working on. Since Mason was the foreman, he and Jolene generally split up and didn’t work together. Which meant if Walker worked with Mason, he’d be far away from Jolene. And Walker figured lack of proximity would help.

It didn’t.

He also figured she’d chase after him like she usually did.

She hadn’t.

It had been more than a week, and he’d barely seen her.

That bothered him. It actually pissed him off that she hadn’t come after him when he’d done everything he could to ignore her, to create distance between them. What kind of an asshole did that make him?

A huge one.

And now he stood at the back porch door to the main house at one in the morning, knowing that back door was unlocked, knowing the place was dark, knowing Jolene was in there.

And knowing he was going to sneak into her room.

He was a hundred kinds of crazy for doing this, but he turned the knob and he stepped into the mudroom, quiet as could be as he tiptoed past the kitchen and into the hall. He looked up the stairs.

Last chance to change his mind, to come to his senses and realize this was a really bad idea.

Instead, he held on to the banister and headed upstairs, just waiting for the steps to creak.

They didn’t. He got to the top of the stairs, turned left and headed toward the door to Jolene’s room.

He turned the knob, quiet as he could, inched open the door, slid inside and closed it behind him.

And heard the unmistakable click of a round being slid into the chamber of a revolver. Hard metal pressed against his side.

Shit.

“You are so damn lucky I’m a light sleeper and I see well in the dark, Walker Morgan. And that I don’t shoot without knowing who or what I’m shooting at.”

Jolene pulled the gun away from his back and set it on the nightstand. Leave it to her to be armed in her bedroom. She turned on the bedside lamp and sat on the edge of her bed, her long legs peeking out of a white T-shirt that sported some kind of pink cartoon bear on it.

Annie Oakley in a teddy bear shirt. Didn’t that just figure? As usual, Jolene was unpredictable. All sweet and innocent looking in her kiddie T-shirt, all soft desirable woman underneath, and a hard-ass with a gun to boot.

No wonder he wanted her so much he was willing to risk his job.

“What the hell are you doing sneaking into my room in the middle of the night?”

Relaxing now that he wasn’t going to be shot, he leaned against the wall. “If I need to explain it to you, then maybe I should leave.”

She pushed onto her bed and leaned against the pillows, stretching out her legs. “You think you can ignore me for a week, then come up to my room and fuck me just like that?”

“I was ignoring you, I admit that. I didn’t think you and I getting together was such a good idea.” He shoved off the wall and headed toward the bed, stopping when he reached the side of the mattress where Jolene’s long legs were so temptingly displayed. He sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed his hands over those legs. They felt like silk under his calloused fingers. He watched her eyes go dark, her nipples peaking hard under her thin T-shirt.

“And now you’ve changed your mind.”

“No, I still don’t think it’s a good idea.” He pulled off his hat and let it sail across the room and onto a nearby chair, then leaned over her, placing his palms on either side of her hips. “But I just don’t think I care all that much anymore.”

“Really. And why’s that?”

“Because I want you. And I’m tired of denying myself what I want.”

His face was inches from hers. God, she was beautiful, her hair a cascade of blond waterfall over her shoulders, her eyes so many different colors he could get lost in them. And her mouth—he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. Last time he’d been in a hurry, had taken and demanded instead of explored. All he’d thought about since then was all the things he’d missed.

She sighed against his mouth, and he smiled against her lips. She tasted like cookies and milk, and he swept his tongue along her bottom lip to capture more of her flavor before sliding it inside to lick against her tongue.

Jolene moaned and scooted over, and Walker climbed onto the bed, then pulled her onto his lap, his hand sliding over the bare skin of her butt as he did. She didn’t have anything on under that T-shirt, a fact that made his dick go rock-hard in a fraction of a second. He pulled her tight against his chest and slid his hand up the back of her shirt, scoping out those sweet mounds of her ass, so firm and yet her skin was so soft. He felt bad that his hands were so rough, and yet everywhere he touched her she moaned, so she must like his hands.

And he liked the feel of her skin, like gliding his fingers across butter.

He deepened the kiss and held Jolene as he moved on the bed, then laid her in the center of the mattress. He climbed over her, lifting up her shirt and bending down to press a kiss to her belly, ignoring her sex for now even though the scent of her filled the room. He wanted to bury his face in her pussy and lick her until she screamed.

She tangled her fingers in his hair, raised her hips against his chest, and his cock pressed hard and insistent against his jeans.

His cock was going to have to wait. This was playtime.

He took her T-shirt off. Bare, she made his breath hitch. He’d seen enough of her that first time to know she was beautiful and built. But now he could look his fill with her underneath him, could take his time to smooth his hand over the soft column of her throat, the valley between her breasts, admire the pretty pink nipples that seemed to pucker and harden to tight points just from him looking at them.

He bent down and laved his tongue over one. Jolene arched her back and dug her fingers in his hair, pulling at him as he took the nipple in his mouth and sucked, hard, while he used his hand to roll over the other nipple, to tease and torment it.

“Oh. Oh, God, Walker, I really like that.”

Her voice was a yielding whisper, nothing like the hard barking orders she gave out on the trail. He enjoyed her soft like this, her body squirming under his mouth and hands as he moved down her rib cage, teasing her belly button by diving into it with his tongue. Her hands followed his trek south by staying in his hair, holding onto him like he was a lifeline and she was drowning.

He wanted her drowning. He wanted her coming. He wanted to taste her.

He slid off the bed and kneeled on the floor, and dragged Jolene to the edge of the mattress, her pussy dangling right at the edge, sweet and wet.

“You have a pretty pussy, darlin’,” he said, gliding his thumb over the moist puffy lips, then sliding one finger inside. Her walls gripped around his finger as he pulled partway out, then tucked back in again, fucking her slow and easy. “You’re wet. Have you been thinkin’ about me?”

“All I do is think about you, Walker,” she murmured, her eyes closed as her fingers danced in his hair. “I touch myself thinking about you doing this.”

His cock twitched, his balls tightening high and hard. He wanted to plunge inside her, kiss her while he fucked her hard. But not yet. Not when he could feel her hot and wet surrounding his finger, not when he could breathe in the scent of her, not when he could taste her.

He leaned in and swiped his tongue around her clit, and she let out a low moan.

“Yes. Like that,” she said, once again drawing his head down with her hand. “I like that a lot.”

And he liked that she talked to him, that she was right there with him while he lapped at her clit, took the bud in his mouth and sucked it, all the while continuing to slide his finger in and out of her pussy.

“Walker, I’m going to come. Lick me right there, I’m going to come.”

She lifted and he gave her what she wanted. She bucked against him, sliding her sex all over his face as she writhed in orgasm. Oh, man, he liked feeling her and tasting her when she came, liked feeling her body move as spasms gripped his finger over and over again, until she fell back against the bed and panted.

He removed his finger and crawled onto the bed, popping his finger into his mouth to taste her.

Jolene grabbed his head and brought his mouth to hers for a deep kiss that rocked him to the soles of his feet. She licked at his lips, tasting herself, and didn’t that just make his balls tight as stone.

When she let go, her eyes were glassy with spent passion, her skin flushed warm and pink. “Now get your clothes off so I can touch you.”

And not a minute too soon, either. He was as eager as a teenager fumbling with his clothes and about to have his first bout of sex with one hot, experienced woman. He stripped, pulled a couple condoms from his pocket and laid them on the nightstand. Jolene arched a brow, smiled and made room for him as he crawled onto the bed. As soon as he was flat on his back, she rolled over onto him.

“My turn,” she said, pressing her lips to his and kissing him with her sweet lips until his cock was a raging beast ready to slide up into her and fuck her into oblivion. But when he reached for her, she pushed him back.

“Oh no. You are not going to deny me this time. I want your cock in my mouth.”

Heat shot straight to his shaft. “Well I’m sure as hell not going to tell you no, honey. Suck that dick all you want.”

She laughed, moved down his body and positioned herself on her belly. With a wicked gleam in her eye, she focused on his cock. Now, what guy wouldn’t get his balls tied in knots to have a beautiful woman like Jolene lick her lips so close to his dick?

And when she put her hands on him, it was a slice of sweet heaven on earth. Whenever he jacked off, he did it to get a release, and his hands were calloused and rough. Hers, even though she worked hard for a living, too, were softer and smaller, and he could sure as hell tell the difference as she wrapped both around his shaft. And because she was a tough girl and not timid, she put some pressure on him, which he liked, swirling one hand over the other as she moved up and down.

He could lie back, watch her do that for hours, and die a happy man. But when she pushed forward and took the head of his cock between her lips, he gripped the sheets in both hands and tightened his jaw, because son of a bitch she had one hot, wet mouth. She let go of her hold on him, then it was all her mouth doing the work, as she got up on her knees and went down on him full tilt, taking him from top to bottom all the way to the back of her throat.

“Fuck,” he bit out as she took him hard and over and over again, sucking him deep, then releasing him only long enough to slide her pretty pink tongue over the crest and the underside of his shaft. Then she’d slide that tongue all the way down and flick it over his balls until he thought he’d die.

He tangled his fingers in her hair while she wound her tongue around his balls, licking and sucking them just the way he liked it, taking them into her mouth and rolling her tongue over them there, too. By the time she had his cock back in her mouth again, he was out of breath and ready to come.

And she knew it, too, because she smiled at him, held on to his shaft and began to stroke him. He jerked her hair, holding her in position while he pumped between her lips, his balls tightening with the pressure of her mouth around his cock.

“I’m going to come in your mouth, Jolene. Right . . . now.”

He groaned, then flexed his hips up as he jettisoned a stream of hot come into her waiting mouth. She squeezed and stroked every drop from him as he rocked against her, shuddering as the impact of his climax tore through him with blazing heat. And Jolene stayed with him the entire time, taking everything he had to give, continuing to lick and suck every drop.

“Damn,” he managed when he could speak again. He reached for her, pulled her up against him, then rolled them side to side, facing each other so he could see her, kiss her, taste what she’d done to him.

She slipped her hand between them, holding his cock gently to stroke him again while they kissed. He reached for her breasts and slid his thumbs over the buds, feeling them harden, listening to her moan and whimper as he cupped her, then kissed and licked them.

His cock was hard again in record time, no surprise considering the woman he was with. He reached for a condom and put it on, then spread her legs and slid inside, burying himself deep. Jolene wrapped her legs around his back and lifted against him.

There were no words this time, and it seemed so right to kiss her, to slide his hand underneath her to lift her, to need to be closer to her as he fucked her, as he felt the sensations intensify inside. Her pussy gripped him tight and hard, and he wanted her to come again, rolled his hips to grind against her clit, listening to the sounds she made. He knew when she was close, and he’d draw back a little, extending their pleasure until she was clawing his back, growling at him with the need to release.

And when he couldn’t stand it anymore, when perspiration poured down his face, when their bodies were both wet with pleasure and sweat, he thrust and ground against her, watching her eyes widen as she came. And then he came, too, wishing he didn’t have the burden of a condom so he could spill inside her, to fill her with his come and feel her hot and wet surrounding him.

He’d never been this . . . intimate with a woman before. With Jolene, it seemed natural. She gave as good as she got. She was something new and fresh and exciting, as wild and free in the bedroom as she was out on the prairie.

There was a reason he’d sought her out when he shouldn’t have, that he couldn’t stop thinking about her, that he needed to be close to her.

He was falling in love with her, and damned if that wasn’t the worst thing in the world that could happen.