Page 26 of Poppy Kisses (Return to Coal Haven #3)

Chapter Thirteen

Jensen

Auggie was asleep, and I reclined on the couch, watching one of my favorite episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Poppy wouldn’t be home late. She and her sisters weren’t like that, but on the off chance she was, I had the urge to wait up for her. I wanted to make sure she made it home safely.

An anxious tangle formed in my gut. I didn’t like the sense of waiting, of wondering.

Of having to nurse a hungover wife who’d partied with clients and fellow cowboys.

Of wondering if this time she’d smell like someone else’s cologne.

Or when she’d rush right into the shower.

Back then, I’d known it was a matter of time.

My ex had a code of honor, but I was never sure how long it’d protect me.

Headlights swung by the window and a knot in my stomach eased. It was barely after ten, and she was already home. She’d joked about getting wasted. I hoped if she did, she caught a ride.

My phone pinged. Frowning, I glanced at it.

Poppy: Can you meet me outside?

I was out the door in a minute. All I had on was a white T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants full of brightly wrapped presents that my mom had helped Auggie pick out for Christmas.

Poppy was waiting by my pickup, shifting from foot to foot like she was doing some ankle warm-up drill from her soccer days.

The sky wasn’t fully dark. I could see her pretty clearly, standing between our vehicles.

She had worn the same thing to the bar that I had taken off her in the shop this afternoon.

That had also been like a balm to the scars inside me.

She hadn’t dressed to the nines like she wanted to be the center of male attention—because being the center of mine wasn’t enough.

“What’s up?” I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets. The pants dragged a little lower on my hips, but the other option was to squat and run my hands down those muscular legs that drove me wild.

She started pacing. “I’m sorry that I had to talk to my sisters about us.”

Lead lined my stomach. What’d they say? I’d been the topic of “girl talk” before and it was about how much I’d been a downer. “It’s fine. You needed to talk.”

She stopped abruptly in front of me. I drank her in—the fading light on her soft curls and the sparkle in the yellow flecks of her eyes. “They had some, uh, good ideas.” When I lifted a brow, she nodded and her cheeks flushed bright. “Like an engagement agreement.”

“Don’t we already have one?”

“For sex.”

My dick immediately came to attention. If this kept up, all she had to do was think about sex, and I would get hard.

“We don’t do it in a bed,” she continued and licked her lips.

Fuck. “We only do it when Auggie’s asleep, and no cuddling or that’d invite emotion, and we haven’t even started our official time together.

” She wrung her hands. “Mostly, I don’t want to mess this up.

I like you and I like our arrangement. I know the sex will be good, probably amazing, and if we catch feelings, then… we risk messing up our bargain.”

Mulling over her words, I also enjoyed the nervous buzz of energy coming off her. I didn’t smell alcohol, just her normal sunshine-and-peaches scent. She was serious. So serious, she’d had a Duke sisters meeting about it, about us.

She’d thought it out. I didn’t have to ponder for long. “Auggie’s asleep and we’re nowhere near a bed.”

Her lips parted and a soft inhale resounded between us.

I wrapped a hand around her waist and caught those puffy lips.

She plastered herself against me. Her sweet tongue was in my mouth.

I met her stroke for stroke, tasting the syrup in whatever drink she’d had tonight.

I’d been wanting this woman since I’d first seen her on the laptop screen.

I fumbled behind me, searching for the door handle of my pickup.

After getting the door open, my ass hit the seat.

The dome lights stayed on and we made our own private cove.

I swiped my hands up her shirt, landing on that soft, velvety skin I felt in my dreams. It was getting darker, but I didn’t want to risk stripping her down entirely.

Ditching her stomach, I hooked my thumbs in her pants and started to tug down.

Clarity hit me. We were adults, and we had to be smart about this. I broke the kiss. If only I could see her puffy lips and dazed eyes, but this was important. “Sorry. I don’t have a condom with me.”

“Oh.” She twined her hands around my head and kissed me. “I mean, if we’re going to be it for each other for a while, and I’m on the pill…”

The thrill I got from thinking of sinking into her wet heat with nothing between us should concern me. I was near feral for Poppy Duke. “I want that, baby, but you’ve gotta be sure. I haven’t been with anyone for a long time.”

“Me either, and I get checked at every physical.”

“I had to. After…” I did not want to think about that part of my history right now. “You’re okay with it?”

Her shadowed smile was sexy. “It’s more efficient, right? Since we’ll probably have to seize the moment a lot?”

“I like how you think.” I dragged her pants down. “Now kick those fucking pants off and climb on top of me.”

She got them off and stepped out of her shoes at the same time. My butt slammed on the seat, and she was scrambling in with me.

I yanked my pants down and her hands were there too, freeing me from the confines of the fabric. I hissed when she gripped my erection.

“You’re going to feel so good,” I said through gritted teeth.

She tried to straddle me. One of her knees hit the metal frame and her other bumped the console, but that didn’t stop her.

Desire must be coursing as hot through her blood as it was through mine.

I helped her lift her leg between the front and passenger seats and I raised her other until it draped over my shoulder and the seat.

“I’m really exposed,” she said breathlessly.

I held her with her pussy hovering right above the tip of my cock. “My favorite is when you’re exposed. And I have all the control.”

I lowered her and notched inside an inch. Tight, wet heat gripped the tip of my cock. If this was only the beginning, tonight would be seared into my memory forever.

“Jensen.” She dug her fingers into my shoulders, and her ass muscles flexed as she tried to wiggle her hips.

“I need to make sure you’re wet enough.” I lifted her and lost some of that drugging warmth. We didn’t have much room, but I dragged her back and forth across my crown. She coated me. “Fucking dripping.”

Her whimper got lost in the night. “I need…” She was breathing hard, her legs tense and her body taut. I supported her, but her position wasn’t a natural one.

“Tell me what you need, Poppy.”

“I need you to fuck me.” She clamped her legs around me as much as possible, and I lowered her. So fucking close to heaven.

She had no idea how much that got to me. My control nearly snapped. “Say please.” I needed to hear that she needed me just as much.

“I need you to fuck me, please.” She said it without hesitation. The push-pull we normally had was absent. Desire swelled larger in me, pulsating and demanding. I carefully lowered her as I thrust up.

Tight, wet heat enveloped me, all-consuming. “Fuck,” I said against her mouth. “You feel so good.”

She wriggled until she’d fully settled on me. “You’re so big.”

“You’re just right.” She was. A perfect fit. We were in an uncomfortable position, but we clicked together.

Some of the stiffness had left her. By the time I was done with her, she’d be completely pliant. I took over, pumping my hips as much as possible and lifting her. My pleasure skyrocketed. I gritted my teeth to keep control. She squeezed me as we both chased a high that came closer with each stroke.

The way we were crushed together provided the friction she needed. Her walls rippled, on the brink of her climax, gripping me tight, pushing me ever closer to the edge.

“Jensen?” She said my name like another plea.

I couldn’t get enough. “Let yourself go, Poppy. Let me feel you come.”

She fought to go faster than I was letting her, but I kept the pace steady. She whined and rolled her hips. She was ready to release, but I couldn’t have her hitting her peak before me.

She sank onto me, over and over, with nothing between us. My arms started shaking, but it wasn’t from her. I fought to keep my climax at bay, until finally she barked out a cry, her shining gaze flying to mine.

“That’s it,” I said. “Take it all.”

She dropped her head back and came—hard.

That was all I could take. I exploded as a freight train of an orgasm hit me.

She chanted my name in my ear and that only made me come harder.

I’d never experienced anything like this.

The power, the closeness. I couldn’t tell where I ended and where she began.

Fear dampened some of my desire. This was consuming. She was consuming. I wanted to give her everything, and I knew how that turned out last time.

I held her as she collapsed against me. She was pliant like I’d wanted her to be despite our awkward position. No beds.

That was right. We had rules. An engagement agreement. And I’d need those to keep from turning into the stupid, smitten man I’d been for most of my life.

* * *

Poppy

I woke the next morning with a delicious sensation between my legs and the question of when it would happen again in my head.

Jensen had carried me in after helping me back into my pants.

I had cradled my shoes. Then he’d brought me to my bedroom door, gave me a sweet kiss, and disappeared into his own room.

I’d never had that strong of an orgasm. Had it been the position? The suddenness? The lack of protection?

How soon could I test those factors?

I rubbed my hands down my thighs. It was Saturday, and I was going to work on the house. Jensen had supplies ordered, and he was already working on the cabinets. I could clean and paint.

After I dressed, I went to the kitchen. Auggie was at the table, a soccer ball at his feet that he was rolling around while he watched a show on his tablet. “Morning, Poppy.”

“Morning, kiddo.”

Jensen came out of the shower, towel-drying his hair. The gray shirt he had on hugged his powerful torso. My mouth went dry, and I forgot what I was doing.

“Morning, Poppy.”

The way he purred my name sent a shiver right down my spine. “Morning, Jensen.”

So proper. Last night, when I was split over him, we were so not.

He ruffled Auggie’s hair. “Did you take your clothes to the laundry room?”

“Not yet.”

Jensen’s lips flattened. “Unload the dishwasher?”

“Oh. No.” Auggie put the tablet down.

“Feed Luna?”

“Not yet.”

“Auggie.” Jensen blew out a breath. “You were supposed to do that after breakfast. Before you watched your show.”

“Sorry.” Auggie popped up.

“Be right back.” I jogged upstairs and grabbed one of the write-and-wipe boards, along with some markers, out of my tub of supplies. I scribbled the three things Jensen told him on it before I raced downstairs and put the board and marker on the island. “You have anything else for him?”

Jensen shook his head and propped his hands on his hips. “Mom called and offered to have him sleep over.”

“Yay! I’ll go pack.” Auggie darted for the stairs.

“Not so fast, quicksilver,” I said. “You have to finish your duties first.”

Auggie’s little shoulders slumped.

I added pack to the list and pushed the board to the edge of the counter. “Here you go, Auggie. Check off each item when you get it done.”

He peeked at the list, gave one determined nod, and ran up the stairs. I was just happy he was willing to try it.

Jensen wandered over and checked the board. “Think that’ll work?”

“I’ve been told by parents that it helps the kids who get verbal lists jumbled in their head. Some parents swear by it.”

“Hmm.” He studied my writing. “If it’s as simple as that, I’ll take it.” He leaned over the counter. “And if he was asleep, I’d also take you right on this island.”

I let out a little gasp, but my gaze dropped to the counter as my belly tingled.

A rough growl left him. “Tell me, four-ten, do those rules account for when Auggie’s having a sleepover?”

I licked my lips, and he tracked the move. “I think that gives us a lot more flexibility.”

“And the Perez house? What rules are there?”

Oh god. So many options. I had to squeeze my legs together. “There’s an island there.” His pupils widened. “And no beds.”

“Fuck, Poppy.” He came around the island, but footsteps pounded down the stairs. He reared back and turned away from the stairs. The bulge in his jeans was clear. I’d never tire of his reaction to me.

“I got my clothes, Dad.” Auggie went in the opposite direction to the laundry room.

Jensen looked over his shoulder. “Thanks, bud.”

“The coast is clear,” I whispered.

He scowled playfully. “It’s never going to be clear with you. You going to the house?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll come by after I drop Auggie off.”

A thrill coursed through my veins. We were definitely going to test at least one surface in that house. “Okay.”

“And remember—it’s date night.”