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 c**k 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.”
“And you are just as hell-bent as you always were,” she informed him, stepping back from the door as he stepped inside the foyer of the large farmhouse. “Mac is still showering, but he should be done in a bit.”
“I called him and warned him I was coming to steal you away. See how lacking in consideration he is? He’s not even down here to protect you.”
“Who needs his protection?” She arched her brow mockingly. “I have a black belt in tae kwon do, Jethro. I can almost kick his ass.”
“Eh. A five-year-old could kick his ass.” He set his duffel bag in the hall and stared around the open foyer curiously. “Still can’t believe Mac’s a farmer, Keiley. Tell me he doesn’t pitch hay all day.”
“He doesn’t pitch hay all day. There’s actually a few hours when he’s cleaning out stalls.”
Jethro grimaced. “He’s pitching something else instead, then?”
Keiley chuckled as she closed the door. “Grab your bag. I’ll show you to your room and you can freshen up before dinner. I’m sure Mac won’t take long.”
She hoped he didn’t take long. After the images that had played in her mind all day due to the suspicion that Mac had brought his friend here for reasons other than a friendly visit, she felt strangely vulnerable in Jethro’s presence.