The men groaned. They began putting down their weapons and then ambled over toward the food and drink, obviously breathing heavily. Water was guzzled greedily before anyone spoke.
When Jackson plopped down next to Alyssa, he had a sheen of sweat covering his forehead, and his shirt was damp. And just like that, she felt her stomach heat up. When his eyes met hers, his went from happy to excited in less than a second.
“I’ve had a good time. Want to leave?”
She was amazed he could even think about sex after the last few days. It seemed they had sex, then they both worked, then had more sex, and then caught maybe a few hours of sleep. She was exhausted. She’d have doubted that he could perform again so soon, but the look in his eyes and the bulge in his pants made it clear that he’d have no problem at all.
“We just got here, Jackson,” she whispered, hoping no one was paying any attention to them.
“Alyssa! So glad you came.” Camden appeared at her side, and before she knew it, he lifted her up and pulled her into his sweaty embrace.
“Good to see you, Cam,” she said with a grimace. He released her and she tried to wipe away the sweat discreetly.
“Ahh, a bit of moisture won’t hurt you,” Jackson said with a laugh.
Wow! A lot had changed in a short time. The last time Camden had taken her in his arms, Alyssa had worried that Jackson might beat him to a bloody pulp. It seemed that a lot—a really, really lot—of sex calmed the man right down.
“I didn’t think it would,” she replied, hoping she hadn’t offended Cam.
“Yeah, I always get a good workout at these parties,” Cam said as he slung an arm around her shoulders.
“That’s good to know,” she said with a laugh. And they were both right. A bit of sweat would wash right off.
When she glanced toward the chocolate fountain, she noticed a woman dipping a strawberry in chocolate and looking over at their table. Her eyes were all for Cam, and for some reason there was a touch of sadness in them that made Alyssa want to jump up and go to her, to reassure her that everything would be okay.
“Who is that?” she asked, and Cam’s eyes shot in the direction she was looking, but he said nothing, just seemed to tense.
“Ah, that’s the very beautiful Grace Sinclair, my brother’s one true love. She lives in New York now, but is here visiting her family . . . and Camden, of course.”
“Shut up, Jackson,” Cam said, shooting Jackson a look that could kill.
“Just speaking the truth,” Jackson said, making Alyssa suddenly want to be anywhere but with the two brothers, who seemed to be about ready to start a duel.
Before she could pull away and go, Jackson took her from Cam’s arms, lifted her up, and sat her on his lap. He turned her head toward him, gave her a short kiss, and whispered into her ear what his plans were when they got home. She was sure the blush that stole over her cheeks was bright enough to light up the entire darkening barn. She forgot all about the tense moment the brothers had just had.
“Who’s ready for a nice fire?”
Alyssa looked up to find Martin standing at the barn doors, and that’s when she noticed the glow outside.
“Want to go sit by the fire and listen to scary tales?” Jackson asked.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Nope. Spence tells the best ones. He’ll have all the kids screaming in no time at all. Then they’ll rush inside and watch Disney flicks while the grown-ups have a few beers and visit.”
“How many people are here, Jackson?” The crowd seemed to be growing.
“Ah, it seems like kind of a small gang, eh?”
“This is what you consider small?” As the two of them got up and made their way outside, Alyssa was sure that at least a hundred people were milling around.
“Yeah, normally we have half the town here,” Jackson said. “Dad likes to throw a semiannual party for all the employees of the oil plant, and then for all our neighbors and friends as well. As you’ve noticed, Sterling isn’t exactly a bustling town. We have to provide our own entertainment.” He led her to a hay bale and sat down, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in tightly against his side.
“This is pretty great, actually,” she said as the sun dipped below the tree line and they were bathed in a soft glow from the roaring fire.
“I’m finding that anywhere I’m with you is pretty great,” he replied, tipping her head back so he could give her another kiss—this one a little longer than the one she’d received inside the barn.
“All right, Jackson, quit smooching and let me say hello to Alyssa.”
Alyssa turned to find Spence standing in front of them. The man was tall, maybe an inch taller than Jackson, and had shoulders like a linebacker. He had green eyes that were sure to star in more than a few women’s fantasies, and a smile that surely set people at ease.
As Alyssa glanced in turn at all four brothers, she was amazed they weren’t related by blood. Each one was stunning in his own right, had the same crooked smile, and boasted eyes whose sparkle was unmatched by anything she’d seen before.
She felt painfully shy all of a sudden. She’d seen Spence only a few times before, and she had to admit that he intimidated her just a bit.
“Yeah, Spence would love to steal you away, but I have game,” Jackson said with a smile.
“I don’t know. I’m pretty charming when I want to be,” Spence said with a wink that had Alyssa blushing. “When’s the baby due?” he asked, and she looked down. Her stomach was really beginning to stick out.
She blushed again as she looked up. “In about three months,” she said, praying the good doctor wouldn’t ask about the father.
“Congrats, Alyssa. It’s about time I got to be an uncle.”
And that was the end of it. Whew!
Spence talked with Jackson for several more minutes, and Alyssa was awed by the way all of Jackson’s family had accepted her immediately. They all knew she’d been in Sterling for four months without Jackson. They all knew she had to have been pregnant with someone else’s child. It made more sense than that it was Jackson’s.
They didn’t know about her night with Jackson just under six months ago. She was actually a bit offended that he thought her so easy that she would sleep with him and another man within a couple of weeks of each other. Of course, he hadn’t known her at all then. But he knew her now. Why hadn’t he put the pieces together? Why hadn’t he questioned her?