Page 7 of Love Unbound
“I will not let you fall! Trust me, Jodi!” Free shouted again, reaching his arms out. “Come on, jump, Jodi!”
As the flooring beneath her feet gave way, Jodi screamed and jumped. Free caught her, but the force of her leap pushed them both backward and he lost his footing. Tucking her into his chest, they rolled to the edge of the loft and tumbled down. He squeezed his arms around her, praying they didn’t land on any machinery or broken wood beams as they fell through the air. He felt more than heard Jodi’s scream into his chest, and the next second they had landed, thankfully, in a pile of hay that hadn’t been taken care of yet.
The impact knocked the breath out of him, but he didn’t let himself linger on that, instead he rolled them until she was beneath him, his hips to one side of her, one of his thighs covering both of hers. Leaning on his elbows, his panicked gaze ran over her, checking for any blood or obvious injuries. Free couldn’t stop his hands from brushing the hair away from her face. Hay was now stuck haphazardly in her wayward curls.
Her sapphire eyes stared up at him, her breathing rough through slightly parted lips, making her chest rise and fall where it was pressed tight against his own. His heart was pounding,adrenaline coursing through him. “You okay?” he breathed.
His fingers were still stroking her hair, their eyes searching the others. Jodi nodded and let out a long, shuddering sigh, and Free’s eyes dropped to her lips. The sudden, indisputable urge to press his lips to hers made his heart hammer in his chest, and his eyes flew back up to hers, his hand stilling. She was still staring at him. He’d never noticed before that she was no longer the awkward child he’d met years ago, when Levi had taken him and Shane in as teenagers themselves. She was turning into a beautiful young woman. Never before had he thought about kissing little Jodi Kendall.
Lord was he thinking about it now! He couldn’t stop thinking about it.
She shifted beneath him slightly, her hips pressing against the juncture of his thighs, and he clenched his teeth as a pleasurable groan rumbled in his chest. He was growing hard thinking about her body pressed so close to his, and how badly he wanted to cover her mouth with his so he could taste her.
What the hell was wrong with him!
Free heard shouting and the thunder of running feet moments before Levi, Shane, and another farmhand appeared in the doorway of the barn. Free rolled off Jodi quickly, his eyes bouncing from Levi to Jodi. He wouldn’t blame Levi if he kicked in his face right then and there after finding him lying on top of his teenage daughter.
“What the hell happened in here?” Levi barked, his own sapphire blue eyes taking in the scene before him. “Were you up in that loft when it came down?”
Hinged at the waist, Jodi sat up. Tears filled her eyes as she nodded forlornly. “Yes. I’m sorry!”
“You could have been killed! We told you it wasn’t safe up there!” Levi bristled, though Free knew the anger in Levi’s voice was born of fear. Free was thankful the older man couldn’t readthe thoughts he was currently having regarding his sixteen-year-old. “You could have gotten yourself and Freeman killed!”
“I know, I’m sorry,” Jodi whimpered and looked around at the carnage that used to be the loft. Dust and dirt clouded the air around them as everything settled. Free stood, brushing hay and dirt off the legs of his jeans brusquely, willing his rampant erection to go down. Shane reached down and helped Jodi stand. Free couldn’t meet her eyes.
“Thank you,” Levi said earnestly and extended his hand to Free, and he stared at it for a long second before grasping it firmly. “It sounded like thunder from the house. We came running as soon as we realized it was the barn. I’m just glad you were here to get her out, Free.”
“Don’t thank me, Levi,” Free mumbled, taking several steps back. “It was pure instinct.”
“Thank you, Free,” Jodi whispered. At the sound of her voice, his eyes raised to hers. There were still pieces of hay sticking out of her curls and his palms itched to reach out and find each one. Her gaze dropped to his lap and he watched as a blush tinged her cheeks. He was still half-cocked, and as her eyes raised to meet his again, he watched as she licked her lips. He swore viciously in his mind, tormenting himself thinking about her mouth again.
He coughed roughly, half turning away from her. “Of course, kid.”
Her eyebrows bunched together briefly, and her lips tightened in what he knew to be irritation. Free knew that look well. He didn’t dwell on why she would give him that look now, though.
Levi then ushered her out of the barn, and she turned her head to look at him once more as she walked away. Free met her gaze for the briefest of moments before he turned away from her.
For weeks after he had avoided her. He couldn’t be near her without imagining her mouth under his, her breast cupped in his hand, her body entwined with his. He was like a teenageragain, unable to control his body. He became moody and damn unpleasant to be around.
“Jesus, Free,” Levi had shouted one afternoon, months later. They were working on a new build across town. Jodi had been haunting him all day and he missed the nail he was hammering and got his finger instead. He cursed loudly and crudely. “Do you need to get laid or something?”
Free snarled an unintelligible response and threw the hammer he’d been using down. He ducked through the bare support beams and headed toward the door and to his truck. “I’ll be back in an hour,” he said tersely to Levi. The older man raised an eyebrow and shrugged, waving the younger man off.
Free drove angrily and pulled into the driveway at home, grinding the gears and parking abruptly next to the barn. He stomped up the stairs and into his and Shane’s loft and went to the fridge, slamming three beers in rapid succession. His lower body ached with a need that he knew was not going to be quenched. At least not how he would like it to be. Palms flat against the counter, he leaned on them, bowing his head. Teeth clenched tight, he swore viciously again and straightened. Releasing the buttons of his fly, he freed his painfully erect cock from the tight confines of his jeans. Baring his teeth in intense pleasure, and hating himself as he pictured Jodi, his hand gave his loins the relief they so badly needed.
He’d sought out as much unsavory company as possible as Jodi continued to mature. He certainly developed one hell of a reputation with the ladies; he used them for what he couldn’t—wouldn’t—take from Jodi.
And then he’d kissed her and it had taken every ounce of willpower he possessed to stop himself from continuing until he had been buried inside her.
Free groaned now, the hot water of the shower beating down over his skin as he thought back on those months of torment. Hecursed Jodi for still having such a hold on him. Hating himself now just as much as he had before, he did the same thing he had all those years ago, using his hand to find relief from the burning desire he had for Jodi Kendall.
Chapter 5
“Have a nice day, Jodi,” the salesclerk said with a fond smile as he handed her the two grocery bags. She smiled and hoisted the brown paper sacks higher in her arms. As she got to the door, she paused. Both of her hands were full and the doors only opened toward her.
She was about to turn and ask for help when Free stepped around her and opened the door. He held it for her, a paper bag of groceries in his other arm.
“Thank you!” Jodi laughed and walked out through the door. He followed behind her. “You’d think they could get paper bags with handles.”
