Her eyes flashed, but he thought it was with amusement. “Even when he’s being a buttinski.”
Joey’s little face curled up in a frown. “Daddy buttski?”
Laughter escaped.
“Yes,” Dare agreed, squeezing Jesse and lifting her lips for a kiss.
“Don’t blame me when that kid says things we’d rather he didn’t in front of Grandma,” Jesse warned with a whisper in her ear.
“We’ll blame Grandpa.”
Worked for him. Jesse pulled her tight. “Hello, love. I missed you today.”
Then he kissed her. A sweet moment that made being apart bearable because he knew this was the reward waiting. The coming back together was not just fire and heat—although they had plenty of that between them.
After nearly three years, the quiet moments were growing richer. The conversations and the searching for the next adventure to share were being built on a firm foundation.
Jesse was damn grateful.
Her lips on his, the heat of her body and the swells of her breasts pressed against him were also something to be thankful for. Joey squirmed, and Jesse put the boy back on the ground.
Catching Dare’s hand, Jesse held her in place when she would’ve taken off to the kitchen. “I apologized to Joel, and now it’s your turn. I was out of line this morning. Thanks for giving me hell. I was distracted, but that’s not an excuse.”
Dare lowered her chin slowly. “Okay.”
Then she waited.
For one moment, Jesse wanted to burst into laughter, because it was exactly what he and Joel had just talked about. “You’re not going to let me leave it at that, are you?”
She winked then headed toward the back of the house. “Of course, I am. For now. Go. Grab a shower, and I’ll finish supper. I can wait until later to poke you to find out what’s wrong.”
It wasn’t until Joey was fast asleep in bed that Jesse brought it up. Taking Dare by the hand, he led her into the living room and in front of the fire he’d lit in the airtight stove.
Dare sat beside him, arms wrapped around her legs. “This looks serious.”
“I guess it is.” All evening his admission to Joel had been echoing in his head. The part about how much he enjoyed working with his family. With all of the Coleman clan. Jesse pulled the letter out of his pocket, running his hand over it in a futile effort to straighten some of the wrinkles before passing it over. “I got this in the mail a couple of days ago.”
She examined the envelope. “University of Alberta.” A small furrow formed between her brows. “There’s a problem with your school records? But, wait. You went to Old’s College, not the university.”
Jesse pointed at the letter. “One of my profs moved. It’s all kind of technical, but I guess the program he taught us to use was experimental. Somebody with a bunch of money wanted to invest in agricultural technology, and I was one of the guinea pigs.”
She nodded. “Go on.”
This was the part where it got a little unreal. “Dr. Wadia asked students who used the program to send him periodic updates. For data analysis—that kind of thing.”
“I remember that. I remember you asked my brother for permission to share after you did some programming for them down at Silver Stone.” Dare no longer looked worried but very curious. “Caleb said both he and Luke really appreciated your help.”
“They weren’t the only ones.” Jesse took a deep breath. “There’s more, but long story short—Dr. Wadia’s got a research grant that starts in September of next year. They’re going to run a five-year program, including regular travel to other countries to help them set up their own systems.”
Dare went very still. “He didn’t write just to tell you his exciting news, did he?”
Jesse shook his head. “He wants me to join him. He wants me to be one of the main programmers on the project, including teaching and travelling.”
Dare sat back, sprawled on her arms as she gazed at him. “Jesse. That’s a huge compliment. It’s amazing.”
It was—and the mere thought of it tangled his insides into a thousand knots. “I don’t know what to do.”
She was too far away. Jesse pulled Dare into his lap. He circled her with his arms and buried his face against her neck. Her rich auburn hair fell around him like a curtain, blocking out everything except the two of them. The warmth of her body melded against his, the heated brush of her breath ghosted past his ear.
“We’d have to move away from your family and farther from mine.” Dare’s words were barely a whisper. “Away from Vicki and Joel.”
“Away from all of them, yes.” Jesse took a deep breath and straightened slightly, cupping her cheek. “My first instinct is to say no, but there’s a hefty salary involved. And I do mean hefty—the corporation that’s funding the research has deep pockets. We need to think seriously about this.”
“When do you have to decide by?”
“There’s no rush,” Jesse said. “Dr. Wadia says he’s getting the first steps of the process in place but wanted to give me a heads-up. He should know it’s a go for sure by the end of April. The absolute deadline for my decision is August first.”
“Wow.”
Silence reigned again for a while before Dare nodded decisively. “Well, I can see why you were distracted. But the fact that we’ve got a long time to make a decision means you have to try to not worry right now. Especially if he won’t know until the end of April if there’s actually a job for you.”
It was good advice, but Jesse knew he would still think about it a lot more than was good for him.
He went for a topic change. “You’re not mad at me anymore?”
“Nothing to be mad about,” she insisted.
“I’m a little pissed that you’re being so understanding,” Jesse confessed. “I could use a little arguing.”
Dare rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because throwing dishes and shouting is so much more fun.”
He rolled her to the carpet, pinning her under his body. “It’s not the shouting that’s fun, it’s what comes after.”
“Oh, that’s the part you’re missing.” Her gaze shifted to his lips. “We can probably come up with a reason why we need to have some angry sex. It is angry sex that you’re looking for, right?”
“Angry. Hot. Heavy.” He jammed a hand under her shirt and slid it upward until her breast filled his palm. “I want to take you hard.”
Instead of telling him he was an ass or yawning in his face, both responses he would’ve completely understood, Dare proved once again she was his absolutely perfect partner.
She grinned. “I think we can manage that.”
Unexpectedly, she twisted. With a hand on his shoulder, she got enough torque to flip him onto his back. An instant later, she’d crawled over him, peeling her shirt up and over her head to toss it aside.
Jesse hummed in approval. He curled up far enough to undo her bra and then sent it flying after her shirt. “Your tits are always stunning, but pregnant? There should be an entire wing in some museum to pay homage to them.”
“They’re big enough to fill an entire wing by themselves,” Dare teased before moaning. “God, Jesse. Yes.”