12-Alarm Cowboys (51 page)

“Anyone with binoculars might see us.” He nibbled at her earlobe, his harshening breaths gusting.

She flattened her hands and slid them up his back. “Then take me somewhere a little more private, but not too far.”
How long can I wait for this?

He rested his forehead against her for a second, and then lifted it. He set her away from him. “Get back in the mule.”

She didn’t mind he’d given her yet another terse command. The truth was she liked the sharp edges of his voice. Biting back a grin, she circled the vehicle, climbed into the seat, then held on as he hit the gas.

They left the gravel road and went cross-country, heading to another dip in the landscape, this one a tree-lined stream. He parked then reached into the tool box on the back of the vehicle, pulling out a blanket.

“Awfully convenient,” she drawled.

“I keep it in case I want to eat beside the river.” A shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I like coming here.”

He’d brought her someplace he loved. She smiled. “I wasn’t complaining.”

“Get out,” he said, then gave her a sexy, narrowed glare.

Laughing, she climbed out and sauntered toward the stream.

Behind her, his boots crunched in the dirt, coming fast, but she didn’t hurry, waiting and then gasping when he came beside her and swept her off her feet.

She settled an arm around his shoulder and didn’t bother looking around. She watched his taut features, admired the breadth of his chest, the strength in his arms.

When he reached the stream, he set her on her feet and stood back, shaking out the blanket.

She reached out and helped him lay it on the ground. Then she stood and toed off her boots, unbuttoned her blouse, and slid it off her arms.

He stood watching, not moving, his darkening eyes skimming every inch she exposed. So encouraged, she continued, unbuttoning her jeans and pushing them down her legs. In her underwear now, she held her breath, knowing she wasn’t very curvy. That her lean frame didn’t appeal to some men, but the color that crept across his cheeks and the hard glitter of his eyes as he glanced down to her panties was gratifying.

She reached behind her and unsnapped her bra, then slid it off her arms. Next, she slipped her thumbs beneath the elastic at her hips.

But he shook his head. “Stop.”

She held still while he stripped off his boots and shirt. When she saw him pause and not go any further, she deliberately eyed his Wranglers. “Hardly seems fair.”

“Carly, I don’t want it over before it even begins.”

Her gaze dropped to the hard ridge riding one thigh. “Not too snug in there?”

“Snug enough. You,” he said, pointing toward her. “Here.” He jabbed the finger toward the center of the blanket.

Goose bumps rolled over her skin, and she stepped barefoot into the middle.

Jeremiah walked to her, reached out, again gripping her upper arms as he raked her nearly nude body with a hot glance. “You’re beautiful.”

His gravely rasp had her believing him. Deep inside, she relaxed. “Thank you,” she whispered.

His gaze darted upward, and a frown furrowed his brow. “You don’t think you’re beautiful?”

She shrugged. “Like you said last night. I’m skinny.”

“I was wrong. You’re…” he shook his head, “slender.” He glided a palm over her hips. “Maybe I’m a little scared about how slender you are, but I’m not petting bones here.” He gripped her ass.

“Why would you be scared?”

“Because I’ll have to be gentle.”

Carly shook her head. “No, you don’t. I’m not fragile. If I’m…slender…it’s because I work hard. I’m strong, Jeremiah.” She lifted a hand toward his face. “You’ll see.”

A muscle rippled at the side of his jaw. His eyelids dipped. “Don’t touch me.”

And because she’d been worried about what she’d do if ever she found herself in this position, that out of fear she’d show him just how ignorant she was, she held still. Happy in fact to do that.

Slowly, his hands smoothed up and down her arms, and then he went to one knee and caressed her shoulders, her breasts.

Savoring his touch, she closed her eyes and fought for breath as he kneaded her as though her small barely-there mounds were something precious. His fingertips circled her nipples, and when she was drugged with the soothing pleasure, he pinched the tips.

She blinked open her eyes to find him studying her face, and when he pinched her again, she let him see just how much she liked it—her mouth rounding and her chest lifting on a quiet gasp. But the stimulation was too much. She cupped the backs of his hands and pushed them downward, over her ribs, to her hips.

He plucked at the elastic and then dragged down her panties, his hair rubbing her belly and her mound as he bent to take them to her feet. She stepped out of them, then gasped again as he pushed on her feet, telling her silently to spread them.

The pressure on her ankles released, and he nuzzled her belly, the bristles of his whiskers scraping her skin and making it quiver. He scraped over her mound, and she let out a little moan, because moisture was trailing down one thigh, and soon he’d know.

His tongue stroked out and burrowed into the top of her folds, and, at that moment, she thought she’d die. “Jeremiah!” She gripped his hair and tugged, trying to draw him away, but he was insistent, his tongue flicking and rubbing, and her clit grew harder and harder, until the thin hood receded, and he touched it directly.

Her entire body shuddered, and she gave a choked cry, curving over him and gripping his hair to anchor her. Just when she felt ready to burst, she felt him pull back.

He held out a hand. “Lie down, Carly.”

She released her grip on his hair and let him bring her to the blanket, his arms coming around her body to help her settle to the ground. As she lay there, staring upward, he bent and kissed her breasts, taking time to lick and nibble at them before moving downward to kiss her mound.

Carly’s breaths came in shallow, ragged puffs. She combed her fingers through his hair and scraped his scalp, giving encouragement.

Quickly, he rose and stripped off his jeans and underwear.

Apparently not feeling a bit of the concern she’d had when she’d stood nude. And why would he? The man was built like a god. No excess flesh. Narrow waist. Muscled thighs. A thick, straight cock. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but he’d been adamant about her not doing that.

He wrapped his fingers around his shaft and gave one stroke, then ringed himself at the base of his cock and held it, closing his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that,” he growled.

“Like what?” But she knew she looked hungry. If he glanced at her now, he’d see her licking her lips. At that moment, she wanted more than anything to have the courage to lick him up and down, to learn his flavors, his textures. And she wanted to start with the part of him that was most male.
Most interesting.

His eyes opened, and he released himself. He went to his knees then climbed between her legs, nudging her with his knees until she was spread wide. “My jeans,” he said, tilting his chin toward them lying beside her. “There’s a condom in my wallet.”

“For a rainy day?” she quipped breathlessly.

An eyebrow arched. “For a sunny one.”

Her hands were shaking a little, but she managed to slide the condom from an interior pocket of his wallet, and then held it out for him to take.

One corner of his mouth quirked upward, and he shook his head.

She bit her lower lip. She’d never slid one on a cock. Had only had one cock—in college. The experience hadn’t left her wanting more. So here she was, hoping she wouldn’t look stupid as she searched the edge of the plastic square for the little notch, then carefully tore open the packet. The condom fell on her chest.

When she picked it up and pulled at the center to stretch it, she raised her glance.

His gaze was steady and warm. “You haven’t cloaked a man’s cock before, have you?”

She frowned. “It’s that obvious?”

“You looked…worried. And you were concentrating too hard.”

Frowning, she fit the circle to the end of his cock, plucking at the center to make sure she’d left room for his ejaculate to fill it—just as she’d learned from a You Tube video using a banana. Then she slowly rolled it down his shaft. When she’d gotten the edge near the base of his sex, she arched a brow. “That okay?”

“Perfect,” he whispered through gritted teeth.

Still holding him, she gave into her curiosity, encircling him with her fingers. They didn’t meet. Carly swallowed, and her breathing grew more rapid. “We’ll fit, right?”

His mouth curved slightly. “We’ll fit. Have you been with anyone else?”

She jutted out her chin. “Of course.”

“Really?”

She glared upward. “A couple of times, with this guy in my government class in college.”

“And that’s it?”

She shrugged. “I haven’t been that interested.”

“Why change your mind today?”

She couldn’t meet his gaze, and instead trailed a finger down his length. “You did.”

Jeremiah sighed and lowered his torso to rest on one elbow while he slipped a hand between her legs. His fingers thrummed against her pussy, and then a single digit slipped inside.

At the intrusion, she stiffened and forced herself to breathe deeply.

He slid another inside, all the while watching her face.

Her lip trembled, and she bit it. Feeling his fingers swirl inside, she groaned and lifted her knees, needing to rock up and down as he began to stroke in and out.

Carly forgot to school her features, giving herself over to the sensations his fingers produced. A cool breeze wafted between their bodies, and her nipples tightened harder. She cupped one, caressing herself, and noted how his gaze followed the motion and that his fingers stroked faster.

Obviously, he liked watching her, so she put both hands into play, massaging her breasts, assuaging some of the ache he built inside her.

The touch of his thumb rasping over her clit made her arch her back, and she cried out, “Please. Please, Jeremiah.”

He withdrew his fingers and braced his weight on both hands. “Guide me inside, Carly.”

Lord, she liked the rough texture of his voice. He wasn’t unmoved. Wasn’t casual at all.

Carly reached for his cock and rubbed the tip over her clit, pleasing herself, then slid it downward between her folds. Once it was at her entrance, she glanced up to catch his glance.

“Ready?” he whispered.

“No.”

He grunted, his gaze narrowing.

“You asked.”

His dark brows drew together. “Don’t make me laugh.”

“Can’t you do it if you laugh?”

“Yes, but…” He shook his head. “I need to concentrate.”

“Why? Afraid you’ll do it wrong?” She fluttered her eyelashes. “Don’t you remember how?”

“You’re teasing, right?”

“Yeah.” She let one side of her mouth curve. “I have no doubt you’ve practiced a lot.”

He gave a laugh that turned into a groan the moment he pushed inside her body.

She felt pressure as her body tried to accommodate his girth. “You’re bigger than I had before.”

“Stop talking.” His jaw tightened as he began to move inside her, pushing inward, pulling out.

“I can’t help it. I have nothing to do. You said I couldn’t touch you.”

“Changed my mind. Hold me, Carly. Hold on tight.”

Tentatively, and then with more assurance as she read the pleasure in his face, she smoothed her hands around his waist, ran her fingertips down his spine, and then clutched his buttocks because he was moving faster, and she was fascinated with the hard, flexing muscles she held.

She dug her fingernails into his skin, and his entire body hardened, his movements quickening. Soon he was driving hard toward her womb, his cock ravaging her slick, rippling walls. She couldn’t help it, she wagged her head side to side and hummed. “So good, ’miah, so good.”

He paused and pushed away from the ground, his cock slipping out, but just for a moment as he slid his bent arms beneath her knees and lifted her bottom. Then he centered himself and drove hard inside her. Soon he was pistoning, jerking her legs to slide her toward him as he hammered deep.

With him so far above her, she had nothing to touch except herself, and she did, pinching her nipples because she needed the distraction. Inside her belly, excitement tightened her core, holding her nearly breathless.

She was close. And she almost feared the explosion because she’d never felt this intensity, and knew she’d lose control—and she was afraid, because he was so strong, so much more experienced, and she didn’t want him to see her as anything less—certainly not as this wild creature who wanted to shout aloud, wanted to curse, because the pleasure was right there, and her sight was narrowing.

He fucked her faster and faster, relentlessly, ruthlessly, and then she couldn’t hide—her mouth opened on a keening cry and her back arched impossibly hard. All she heard were her heartbeats pounding in her ears, all she felt was the expanding pleasure that trembled through her body, from her core and radiating outward to her limbs. When she could think again, when she finally dragged air into her starved lungs, she slowly opened her eyes.

She rested inside his embrace, and he was pushing her hair from her face, and pressing kisses against her cheeks and mouth. “You’re back,” he whispered and rolled, taking her over his body—still locked together.

Carly rested her knees on the ground beside his hips and hid her face in the corner of his neck, still huffing her breaths.

His hands glided up and down her back. “You have goose bumps. Are you cold?”

She snorted. But couldn’t answer, because her voice felt raw, and tears burned at the back of her throat.

His hands cupped either side of her face, and he forced it above him. His gaze swept her face and his hands softened, holding her as though she was fragile. “I hurt you.”

She shook her head.

“Then why are you crying?”

“I’m not.”

A thumb stroked the moisture on her cheek, and he arched a brow.

But he didn’t call her a liar.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his tone deepening.