The sun beat down hot on Jo’s shoulders, and the sounds of hammering from the new construction off Main Street, grated on her nerves. The train Jo was waiting on was due in thirty minutes, and she scurried toward the station, wanting to stay out of sight in case Jack came into town that afternoon for supplies. She’d left a letter for the Harringtons explaining she was leaving, but gave no details. She didn’t want any awkward goodbyes when she left. Or worse, to witness the look of relief on Jack’s face.
But it was a small town, and it was inevitable while she walked down Main Street, she’d run into someone she knew. And sure enough, just as she climbed the steps to the station, Will pulled up in his wagon.
"I’m glad I found you.” Will clambered off the wagon. “Jack said you’d be at the station.”
“How did he know I’d be here?” Jo asked, her belly roiling with humiliation and longing at the mention of Jack.
“Isn’t the train to New York City arriving soon?”
A large, red hand wagon sat on the platform, and Jo took hold of the handle and pulled it around the station and out to the platform.
“What are you doing with that?” Will asked, trailing behind Jo. She liked him, he had always been kind to Jo, but a friend of Jack’s was too close to what she’d lost. All she wanted was to be left alone.
“Mrs. Willis asked me to bring it here. There’s a supply train coming just after the train for New York and her handyman Gerald is gonna load it up,” Jo explained in a rush. “If you don’t mind. I have things I have to do before the train arrives.”
Will tipped his hat, but then said, "Look, it's not my place, but I think you should give Jack another chance. I know he can be tough, and he's a fair bit older, but he . . . I can tell he's very fond of you."
Jo was tired of the games. She knew Jack was more than fond of her. He couldn't keep his hands off her. But it wasn't enough, and going back there would be torture.
"Thank you," Jo said instead. "But Jack and I want different things from life. When I'm in love, I want to shout it from the rooftops. But Jack’s too scared to even whisper about it."
"A quiet love can still be love."
Jo smiled. "I know. But he's not ready."
Will shrugged, as if to say he'd done his best to help his friend, but there was nothing more he could do.
"Thank you for trying. You're a good friend."
"They’re gonna miss you. I know Tommy and Ruby will be sad you're gone."
A touch of guilt tugged at her heart. "And I’ll miss seeing them every day.”
He nodded and then walked back through the station. Will’s words did nothing but affirm that Jo had made the right decision. If only someone would explain that to her heart.
The trains were running behind and Jo fanned herself while she waited, but sweat still beaded along her hairline. The last train hummed, preparing to leave so the next could arrive. The whistle blew, indicating it was departing, and Jo paced around the benches, willing the next train to arrive so she could be on her way.
Running into Will yanked her memories to the surface again. Tears pricked her eyes as a flood of moments filled her head; swimming in the pond, the birth of the calf, milking the cows, the picnic, singing during the storm in the barn, and every other moment with Jack.
She thought leaving the Harrisons’ farm would be a sweet relief, and in time she’d move on, but everything that had happened was too fresh. Jo was going to need time to adjust to her new life.
“Afternoon, Miss Taylor.” A heavyset man with a crooked-toothed smile towered over Jo.
“Oh, hello, Gerald.” Jo stood. “I left the wagon at the end of the platform where they unload the supplies.”
He nodded and opened the door. The train lurched forward and gained momentum until it barreled out of the station. Through the open door, the wind kicked up her hair and blew the hat from her head. She chased after it, but it rolled out onto the platform and nearly met its death by train until her foot stomped on it, stopping its travels. She laughed and pinned it back to her head. The smile was still on her lips when she spun around and saw Jack. She froze.
He was at the far end of the platform, watching the departing train. When it was swallowed into the horizon, he moved like molasses to the door. His wide-brimmed hat—the one he wore when she first met him—lay in his hands, his face grim.
A cloud passed over the platform, and the darkness matched his appearance—haggard and drawn. Jo scurried to hide, but there was nowhere to go. She had to pass him to enter the station. She stood stock-still, willing him to pass without notice.
“Jo!” Gerald yelled from the other end of the platform. “The next train’s approaching.”
She wanted to scream at him to shut his mouth, but it was too late. Jack heard. His face stiffened, and she wouldn’t have known there was any emotion there until his chin wobbled and his eyes shimmered over.
Three days had passed since she left his farm, and it had been a welcome reprieve away from his resentment and judgment, but now that he stood before her in the flesh, her resolve melted away and she fought off the urge to run to him.
“You’re not on the train,” Jack said.
“No. I’m not.”
He looked dumbly down the track where the train had disappeared. “But it was the train to Manhattan, wasn’t it?”
“I believe it was,” Jo said, not giving him an inch.
“Why aren’t you on it?” Jack’s fervor hit her like a bolt in the chest.
“Did you want me to be on it?” Jo shot back.
Jack’s face fell. “No. I . . .” He shook his head and his face arranged into anger. “What the hell is going on?”
“I left you, Jack. But I didn’t leave Hillview. Mrs. Willis offered me a job, and I took it.” Coming to the station had been a mistake. Jo should have stayed tucked in the shop or her small room above it. It had been three days since she left, but nothing had changed. Jack still twisted her into a knot of emotions—shame, lust, anger, need—and she wanted to run from him because she couldn’t have him. The last time they were together, he dropped shame on her shoulders like a bomb that wouldn’t stop detonating.
“You said you were leaving town.” Jack’s lips tightened into a thin line.
“I never said that. But I couldn’t stay in that house with you another minute.”
God, his eyes were beautiful. His jaw a perfect line she wanted to nibble until her lips met the silky lope of his ear. And then she’d—Jo turned abruptly. This was exactly why she lived six long miles from Jack Harrington.
“You said you were leaving.” This time Jack’s voice was low, the fight seeping out of him.
Jo stood staunch in her battle stance. “It’s not that hard to understand, Jack. I said I was leaving your farm, and I did. There’s nothing left for me back in Manhattan, so I decided to stay in town and, for once, create my own life without a man controlling me.”
“No man could ever control you.”
“Damn right.” Jo’s hand flew to her mouth, stunned by her own language.
Jack’s head fell into his hands and his shoulders shuddered. For a moment, Jo thought he was crying, but when he lifted his head she could see he was laughing. A full-body howl ripped out of him. “Gad, I missed you.”
They weren’t the three words she was aching to hear, but they were so close she shivered. “You just miss my cooking.”
“Gad, yes, I do!” he hollered. “I think Ruby’s punishing me for letting you go by serving us the sandpaper biscuits again.”
“Ruby should be humming through her day without me there.”
Jack smiled. “Oh, she misses you the most. Although I think that has more to do with the old chores she’s been saddled with again—cooking, cleaning, mending.”
People were gathering on the platform for the next train arriving shortly. Jack took hold of her arm and tugged her around the side of the station where they could be away from prying eyes.
“Why are you here?” Jo suddenly asked.
“Tommy said I had to come after you.” Jack lost the humor and became quiet again.
Jo’s shoulders sagged, her hope deflating. “Oh.”
Jack cocked an eyebrow, as if he already knew the answer to the question he was about to ask. “You never answered me. Why did you leave?”
Jo sucked in a shaky breath. She wanted to purge everything from her to start anew. “Because I loved you.”
After an excruciating silence that probably lasted a few seconds but felt like an hour, Jo dared to steal a glance at him. His chestnut eyes bore into her and stabbed her in the heart. “Loved?”
Her chin dropped and she breathed the next word out, barely a whisper, hoping he wouldn’t hear it but needing the catharsis of the confession. “Love.”
Jack rested two fingers under her jaw and lifted her face. Her chin quivered, and her body shook with nerves after her revelation.
A sly smile played on his lips as his hand crawled around the back of her neck. “I love you too.”
With those words, she broke apart, tears rushing down her cheeks. Jack swiped them away and then placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She wanted to fight him and to push him off, but she would only be fighting her own need. The hate she wished to feel for him and prayed for over the past few nights after he’d left her in the barn disappeared with that kiss.
She pulled back, shaking from the torment of doubt. “I can’t do this again, Jack.”
All misgivings left her when she caught his eyes. They glistened, and she knew he meant those sweet words. Gooseflesh covered her body, and a giddy laughed escaped her lips.
“Jack—”
His mouth covered hers again, silencing her. The kiss was at first gentle and then hungry. They were both gasping for breath when he broke away.
“I love you and I’m never taking it back,” he whispered, his mouth near hers. Jack tilted his head forward, but Jo put a hand on his chest sternly and stopped him.
"Wait one minute, Mr. Harrington.” One side of her mouth hitched up. “We need to discuss the rules."
Jack's eyes shifted into worry and Jo reveled in it.
"What rules?" he asked.
"If I'm going back with you, then I have a few rules you need to obey." Her tongue teased the corner of her mouth. “Or I’ll smack you until your backside’s as red as a wattle.”
Jack smiled, understanding. "And what are your rules, Miss Taylor?"
"There will be no singing and dancing." She leaned in close, so only he could hear. "And definitely no spanking."
Sliding his hands through her hair, he clamped his lips to hers, and she opened her mouth to accept him as he stole her breath and her heart. Her legs faltered, but he held her tight, imprisoning her against him, his loins hot against her thighs.
"I'm not sure I can play by the rules," Jack growled between kisses.
“You can break them.” Jo smiled.
"By God, I plan to." And he plundered her mouth with another kiss.
They kissed until the townspeople rumbled about their inappropriateness, and then Jack swung her over his shoulder and walked to his horse, where they both climbed on, Jo's hands circling his waist as he rode out of town.
"Wait! I can’t leave Gerald. I’m meant to help him with the delivery," she said, her stomach plunging in disappointment. Jack swung off the horse and then returned a few minutes later. “It’s been taken care of.”
"What did you tell him?”
“That Tommy was ill and needed your assistance,” he said, mounting Snow. “I told him not to wait for you. You’d be engaged for the rest of the day.”
Jo pressed her chest into his back and felt his muscles dance under his shirt as they trotted out of town. "What about the children?"
"They're spending the day with Lucy."
"Wait," Jo said. "Stop. Right now."
He pulled back on the reins.
"I need an explanation," Jo said, the panic of being played like an out-of-tune fiddle again pushing her fear to the surface. "I’m afraid you’ll hurt me again." Jo rested her head against the heat of his back. "I don’t trust you, Jack."
"Wasn't coming after you at the station enough?"
"It's a start. But a few days ago in the barn you rejected me. You threw me away and practically accused me of being . . . sullied."
Jack dropped his eyes and whipped around. "I know. But I was crazy with jealousy and afraid you wanted James. And even when it was obvious you didn't, I was still afraid."
"So you left me there dejected. I've never felt so degraded in all my life." A tear slipped out of her eye.
Jack ran his thumb over Jo's cheek. "Forgive me, Jo. I was weak. You must realize how hard this is for me."
"Why the grand gesture now? And how do I know you won't change your mind again?"
"The moment you left I knew I’d been a fool. I haven’t slept. I wanted to chase after you, but I thought you were gone. It was Tommy who had the train schedule and told me the next train to New York wasn’t until today. And so I waited, figuring you’d be on the train.” Jack exhaled a long breath. “The house felt hollow without you. Emptier than after my wife died. Which I know is awful, but it's true." He lifted her chin. "It was emptier because I already lost my first love. I couldn't lose my second one, too."
His forehead pressed against hers and his breath was moist and hot on her cheek. Every night she’d ached for him, her traitorous body giving her away. Her lips fluttered over his, tingling arousal in the apex between her thighs. “I want you,” she sighed.
"Wait." He turned around, snapped the reins, and they bucked forward. "Just wait."
The ride back was unbearable. Her arms hugged his back and her groin rubbed against him. With each mile, the wetness between her legs grew. In a moment of weakness, she moved her hands to the waistband of his trousers and pulled his shirt up, teasing the hair that snaked out of his pants. "Stop or I'll kill us both," he growled.
Jo pushed her hands all the way into his pants and wrapped them around his member, which was satisfyingly hard. Jack faltered with the reins, and Snow stumbled.
"I can't handle two wild beasts. Now get those hands back on my waist."
With a loud sigh, Jo pulled her hands back and kept them safely around his waist for the rest of the torturous journey.
When they arrived at the house, Jack shoved her against the front door and slammed his hard body against her. "You haven't been a very good listener."
Jo smiled. "What are you going to do about it?"
He swept her up and she laughed, buzzing with the anticipation. In his room, he swung her around and laid her across his lap. Tracing the length of her legs, he slowly drew her skirts up and shoved her drawers to the floor until she felt the air tickle her bottom. His hands rubbed over her cheeks in gentle strokes, and the familiar heat spread down between her thighs, making the bundle of nerves at the top of her sex pulse.
He tapped her bottom with his hand, and her hips bounced against his leg, her sex hitting his thigh.
"Oh, God," she whimpered at the shot of pleasure.
He tapped her bottom one more time in a way that was playful compared to the spankings he’d given her before. "If you want me to stop, tell me."
"I want more than a spanking today."
In response, his fingers spread her legs and slid up the silky skin of her inner thighs. When he slid a finger inside her, she gasped as a surge of heat snaked down her spine and filled her sex.
"I want to pleasure you, the way you pleasured me," he whispered, kissing the nape of her neck.
His hand rose above her and she closed her eyes, waiting for a smack, but when it didn't come, she turned her head toward him. "What's the matter?"
"I want to be clear that I'll only continue if a) you want me to and b) you'll marry me."
Jo bit her lip, overcome by the joy that flooded her. "Jack, I want you in every way I can have you."
And then his hand crashed down with a loud smack and she gasped, her sex clenching under his hand. He smacked her three more times and then rested his hand over the raw skin.
"Do you remember when I spanked you after you took those items out?" he asked.
"Yes," Jo said, shuddering from the recent blows.
"I wanted you so bad."
Beneath her belly, she felt the satisfying bulge, accenting his confession. "I know. I felt you. I also felt you when you were teaching me how to milk the cow, but I didn't realize what I was feeling until later."
“I enjoyed that lesson.” The skin of his roughened hands kneaded her inner thighs and danced their way up to her sex. He swiped his thumb over her opening, spreading her wetness, and she shuddered as a shockwave rushed through her, making her momentarily lose all her senses. "I wanted you from the moment I touched you. It scared me how much I wanted you."
"I'm yours."
In response, his fingers plunged into her as his thumb pressed the little bundle of nerves, and she writhed on top of his thighs. There was no pattern, no rhythm to his movements. It switched from gentle, fast, slow, and unbridled. Sparks of arousal shot up her spine and attacked her thighs. A vortex of throbbing heat formed around his fingers as they worked, and she rocked her hips back and forth, the pressure building, the desire pulsing, until a current of ecstasy ripped through her and she cried out, her body spiraling out of control.
His fingers never stopped as she exploded around his hand, and he only relented when her shudders stopped and she collapsed in a satisfied heap atop his thighs. Jack pulled his wet fingers out of her spent sex and Jo slid to the floor in a blissful puddle, resting her head on his knees.
"That was . . . amazing," she said, gasping for air. "Where did you learn to do that?"
He bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I saw it in a book once."
She smacked him on the leg, "You scoundrel. You made me feel like a pervert."
His mouth moved over hers and the light kisses turned deep and eager. She took his hand and placed it inside the neck of her dress, and Jack scooped her breasts out, one by one. They spilled over the top and he bent down and kissed each one. His tongue flicked one of the nipples and she gasped as it ignited the fire between her legs. His mouth covered the taut bud, an electric current shot down to her sex as he suckled. Moisture gathered between her thighs, and she ached to be filled by him.
"Not fair," she said, moving her hands up his trousers until she felt the satisfying outline of his hardness. "It's your turn."
His mouth was still on her nipples, sucking and nipping them, but when she opened his pants and placed her hands over the silky skin of his member, his head tilted back in a loud moan.
In a swift movement, she unbuttoned her dress and pulled it over her head. Jack moved his hands to her chemise and yanked it off until she stood there naked in front of him. Then she knelt down, pulled his trousers off, shoved him onto the bed, and slid her mouth over his hardness, taking it in until his tip hit the back of her throat. She was hungry, and she wanted her desire sated.
His hands fisted the quilt on either side of his thighs as she worked the length of him. He opened up his legs, asking for more and she gave it.
She caressed and explored him with her tongue, licking his shaft as she went. At the tip, she teased him, moving her lips up and over it, sucking it while she gripped his balls. She squeezed them gently, and when he moaned with pleasure, she squeezed tighter, sucking his tip like a straw.
"Oh, God. Wait, wait." Jack pulled her off. "I don’t want to release yet. I want to be inside you.” Jack flipped her on her back and she yelped. “But first, I want you screaming for me to fill you up." Jack pulled her hips to his face and licked her sex. Jo gasped, the shock of his actions taking hold.
He gripped her bottom and pulled her sex to him as his mouth consumed her. His tongue flicked her sex and she curved her body around his head. Kneading her bottom, he pressed her to his mouth and moved his tongue in circles over her little bundle of nerves. Her hips writhed and she cried out, wanting to both squirm out of the unrelenting pleasure he was thrusting upon her and live there forever.
She glanced down at Jack kneeling before her and her pleasure spiked. His member was a stiff rod between his thighs and it glistened from when he'd been in her mouth. His tongue flicked her bud and she screamed out, about to explode. Before she had the chance, he pushed her flat on the bed, spread her legs wide, and pressed the tip to her opening.
“Do it fast,” she said, wanting the pain to be over and the pleasure to begin again.
There was a pinch as he thrust his rock-hard member inside her, and her head snapped back. She yelped, tears pricking her eyes.
“Look at me,” Jack said, his palm resting against her cheek. “I’ve got you.”
She nodded, and he stayed buried inside her, unmoving. Testing, she swayed her hips and Jack groaned into her neck. The weight of his body pressed against the little bundle of nerves outside her sex. With every movement, sparks ignited her arousal and the initial pain slowly evaporated. The fire of her desire burned as his hardness rubbed her from the inside while his body pressed her from the outside, creating an intense mixture of heat and desire circling her sex. The walls of her sex squeezed him and he cried out.
"Oh God!" His hands gripped the bedding under her, his face twisted in pleasure that mimicked pain.
She squeezed again and not only did it make him call out, the pleasure inside her churned as their bodies slid together in a symbiotic motion. Her need for him swirled through every nerve of her body, and she grabbed his thighs thrusting him into the deepest part of her.
They were like animals—growling, clawing, every muscle taut. She quivered under him, and this time when he thrust into her, she gripped him with every little muscle in her sex and they both howled. Jo lost all sanity as the pleasure spiraled to the breaking point, while at the same time the love for Jack exploded into the far reaches of her soul and she was lost in total and utter joy. Jack trembled above her, his body spasming as he cried out in his release. When they both came back to their senses, Jack rolled off her and kissed one of her nipples before pulling her into the crook of his body.
"If that's losing control, I want to lose it all the time," he said, a wicked smile on his lips.
Scooting to his elbow, he gazed at Jo with an intensity that made her nipples grow hard. How could she be ready to go again?
"I meant what I said before. You'll be my wife. Or I'll die without you."
Jo scanned her naked body. "I don't think I have a choice now."
His gaze narrowed. "I'm serious."
"So am I, Jack." Jo kissed him. "I love you. And I plan to make you the happiest and most satisfied man in Oklahoma."
That night, after the kids came home, they sat on the porch together, Tommy playing a soft song he'd finally learned on his recorder and Ruby knitting a small item in blue.
"What are you making, Ruby?" Jo asked.
Her hands circled the yarn around the needle. "A blanket."
"For who?" Jo asked, rocking in the chair next to Jack.
"Your baby."
Jo stopped. "I . . . we . . ." She blushed crimson. "Jack and I aren't even married yet."
"But you will be in a few days, and I suspect we'll have a baby soon after that."
Jack took Jo's hand and smiled at her, more relaxed than she'd ever seen him since she arrived.
"Can I call you Momma now?" Tommy slid the recorder out of his mouth, his large brown eyes wide with hope.
"I'd love it if you did," she said with a smile.
"What about Ruby?" Tommy asked.
"Oh, I think she's a little old to be needing a mother," Jo said, hoping Ruby truly was excited for the news of their engagement. She’d been surprised at first, but then she’d shrugged and walked to her garden. One thing was certain. Jo was no longer a threat to Ruby and James. But she hoped Ruby would one day find a love as deep as Jack’s and hers.
"We'll be more like sisters," Ruby said, and smiled at Jo. "I always wanted a sister."
Jack tugged on Jo's hand and she moved to his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled into the warmth of his arms. She never would have believed she could be so happy on a farm in Oklahoma, but there was no place she'd rather be, and no man she'd rather have holding her.
Moments after she says I do, a secret rips Ruby’s marriage apart. Find out what happens in Ruby’s Passion, book 2 of the Forbidden Romance series. Read Ruby’s story here