Lawless (7 page)

She nodded, not sure if she was alarmed or intrigued. His closeness and her nudity sparked a response that held her prisoner, mesmerized by his clean scent and the imposing width of his shoulders.

“We’re going to be here alone until Gabe gets back. At that time, we’ll set out for your father’s ranch and you’ll be back with your family and off my hands. In the meantime, we have to figure out a way to stay out of each other’s paths as best as possible. There’s no question that I’m not a saint, so don’t assume anything good about me except that I don’t have any active desire to do you harm. That’s about the best you can hope for.”

His mouth was so close she could feel the warmth of his breath against her lips.

Without thought, Laurel licked them, and she saw a flicker of reaction in his eyes. He inhaled audibly and jerked his gaze from her mouth back to her eyes.

With cool emphasis he went on. “I watched you in the stream because I took on the job of keeping you safe of my own free will. I’m sure as hell not saying I didn’t enjoy the scenery, because you might remember I told you flat out I think you’re a beautiful girl, Miss Daniels. I would bet every jack man who has met you thinks so. Just keep in mind I’m tempted, steer clear, and we’ll get along just fine.”

Maybe it was the memory of the kiss and the close proximity of his mouth that made her so reckless. Maybe it was the pent-up tension of the past few days, and maybe it was just something she’d never felt before, but Laurel whispered, “What if I’m tempted too?”

His tall body stiffened and his eyes suddenly glittered.

What was she doing? Playing with a man like Cal Riker was just plain crazy, but she was telling the complete truth. She found him attractive in a way she never had anyone www.samhainpublishing.com 47

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else, and who and what he was didn’t seem to matter. Her parents had raised her to be honest and she usually told the truth without even thinking about it.

She lifted her chin and looked him in the eyes. “I’m not indifferent to you either.

After that kiss, I’d guess a smart man like yourself has already figured that out.”

For a moment he seemed to not know what to say, but then he murmured, “We’re talking about a hell of a lot more than a kiss, Miss Daniels.”

“I’m not stupid,
Mr. Riker
, I’ve a pretty clear idea what you’re saying.” Her voice was a little hoarse and she cleared her throat.

“I’m saying I really want to fuck you. That’s clear as a summer sky, isn’t it?”

Laurel blinked at the crude word, taken aback more by the almost desperate note in his voice than what he’d just said.

“Sorry.” He straightened and backed away a few paces, leaving her sprawled on the bed, her clothes and damp towel in disarray on top of her. One hand lifted and ran through his hair in a restless movement, his long fingers tousling it attractively.

“Offending you isn’t going to solve this problem, so I apologize for that last remark. You didn’t deserve it, but quite frankly, this isn’t the best discussion for us to have when you aren’t wearing a stitch and I’m a little on the edge here anyway. I’ll go outside and you can dress in privacy.”

“I don’t want you to go outside.” Laurel sat up, letting the clothing she’d been holding like a shield go, baring her breasts. She could feel her blush and resisted the urge to snatch her dress back up and cover herself again. Slowly, she added, “I’m not sure why I feel this way with you when I never have with anyone else, but I think I want what you want.”

His gaze was riveted on her chest for a moment, and then he gave her a direct look from piercing gray eyes. “You’d better more than
think
you want to give yourself to a man like me, Laurel. I’m an outlaw, a man without much except a reputation for violence and a price on his head.”

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She liked the sound of her given name as he said it in that soft, musical drawl. “I know who you are to the world. The trouble is, I think there’s a lot more there. Please also remember, if it wasn’t for the notorious Cal Riker, I doubt I’d still be alive.”

“Your gratitude doesn’t have to take this form, girl.” There was a husky note in his voice.

“This isn’t about gratitude. I was just pointing out you aren’t what you seem and even without Gabe’s cryptic little remarks, I was beginning to cotton on to that all on my own.”

“I thought I was despicable.” The ghost of a smile haunted his mouth.

“You were when you were carrying me off like some heathen. I was mad when I said that.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you should stay mad before we both make a big mistake.”

She gave him a level look. “I should be. I should be horrified you watched me in the stream. I should be ashamed of myself sitting here offering what we both know I am willing to give you. But somehow I’m not and that says a lot to me.”

He swore softly under his breath, the words inaudible but the implied emotion clear.

The tension in his lean body was visible. “If I don’t walk out of here right now, I’m not going to leave.”

Laurel smiled, feeling an unfamiliar anticipation coil in the pit of her stomach. Her nipples tingled slightly, as if he had already touched her. “That’s fine. Seems to me I invited you to stay.”

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She was an angel, her damp, curling hair framing her lovely face, her blush belied by the voluptuous beauty of her naked breasts, the pink tips high and tight. Those enormous blue eyes looked at him in expectation, and the trust implied by her invitation humbled him.

Cal knew he wasn’t worthy to touch her hand, much less what he wanted to do, but he had the feeling that even though he had carefully honed his ability to control his reaction to almost any situation, this slender girl had him beat.

Damn him to hell, he should leave her alone. She was innocent. He was anything but.

Still, he knew there was just no way he could force himself to walk out that door.

Part of it, of course, was that fateful kiss. Maybe if he hadn’t ever touched her, tasted her, he wouldn’t feel this gnawing hunger. At the moment, he was pretty dead certain he was harder than he’d ever been in his life, his cock at full attention in his pants, straining against the confinement.

He took a step toward the bed and knew he was lost. Laurel watched him, the color in her cheeks deepening as he started to unbutton his shirt. He told her in a low, rough voice, “You win, sweetheart. I couldn’t leave to save my life.”

The frightening truth was maybe he was right about that. How he felt about her wasn’t healthy, not for someone like him who lived on the run, who didn’t need anything someone else could use as leverage against him.

“I’m glad.”

The breathless tone of her response sent blood he didn’t think he had left south to his already throbbing shaft. He shrugged off his shirt, the cool air welcome on his heated skin, and sat down to remove his boots. His gun belt went next, and he almost didn’t have the presence of mind to set it by the side of the bed within easy reach.

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Yeah, he was pretty distracted, he decided with inner cynical amusement, his fingers fumbling as he fought to unfasten his jeans. It was a relief to shove them down his hips and step free, but even in the haze of his need he didn’t miss the way Laurel stared at his blatant erection with wide-eyed uncertainty.

“It’s big.”

Cal stifled a laugh. “Women are supposed to like that.”

“Oh.” She looked chagrined but still fascinated.

He would have staked everything he owned she was a virgin and that remark just proved it. He sat down on the edge of the bed and cupped her cheek in one hand, feeling the smooth warmth of her skin. “Are you still sure?”

Her lashes drifted down and she turned her face so her lips brushed his palm. “Yes.

Don’t ask me why, but I’m sure,” she murmured against his skin.

His heart tightened in a way he’d never felt before and suddenly he broke out in a light sweat that had nothing to do with sexual need.

He could fall in love with her, he realized with a stab of stunned enlightenment.

Maybe it had even happened already. Look at what he was doing. “What about your fiancé?”

“I was never going to marry Weston. I thought about it for a little while, but came to the conclusion I wanted a man who wasn’t just money and smooth manners.”

“Well, I don’t have either one of those, that’s for sure.” Cal leaned in as he tilted her face to his and captured her mouth.

Their first kiss had been everything tender and sweet and slow. This one was as explosive as a charge of dynamite. Slim arms came up around his neck as she pressed her body next to his and she opened for his tongue with amazing eagerness. The sensation of the erect tips of her breasts against his bare chest made him slide his arms around her and haul her onto his lap, his cock hard against her hip, their mouths mating with need.

The awareness that he needed to go slow registered in his brain, but his body was in argument with the realization. Without thinking he lowered her to the bed, his mouth trailing down her neck, stopping briefly at the pulse point in her throat, feeling the flutter www.samhainpublishing.com 51

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of her racing heart with an inner smile. The taste of her skin was unique, a combination of the fresh flavor from the stream and the warm essence that was hers alone, all woman and more enticing than anything he could think of on this earth.

He tried to rein himself in.

She gave a small gasp as he nuzzled the valley between her delectable breasts, and then found one pointed nipple with his mouth. The first gentle swirl of his tongue won him a ragged sigh and the pink bud tightened. He ministered to it with care, giving her a chance to relax and enjoy the sensation.

“Cal.”

“Yes, sweetheart?” He licked the soft side of one firm breast and lightly squeezed the other, fondling the crest, thumbing the nipple in small erotic circles.

“I don’t know what I was going to say,” she confessed with charming candor.

“Maybe that you like what I’m doing?” he suggested, his fingers stroking her nipple, the way she’d reacted to his kiss not in question. She wanted him, and he was going to have to ponder that later. The chemistry had been there from the beginning, unique in his experience, and obviously in hers too. The fact they’d both felt it so acutely disturbed him, because he hadn’t ever believed in the romantic fantasy of love at first sight.

It was for fools.

So, maybe he was guilty as charged. He was guilty of a lot worse things.

“Yes.” She shifted, the restless movement betraying her growing arousal as he touched and fondled her with as much finesse as he could summon considering his body screamed for release from the sexual tension that had been a palpable presence for the past week. Again she whispered and arched, “Oh…yes.”

The lady liked it, all right. Good. Slow was going to be for next time. He was beyond slow, it was an abstract concept. He suckled both her nipples until they were tight and straining and there was an uneven sound to her breathing.

She was still entangled in a pile of clothing even if she wasn’t wearing any of it, and he pulled the items in question away, tossing them carelessly on the floor. The sight of 52

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her nude gleaming body wasn’t unfamiliar after the past few days, but this was the first time it had ever been available to him in a carnal way.

His mouth went dry as he looked at her, knowing he’d never seen anything as desirable in his whole misspent life. Laurel’s hand flew to the apex of her thighs, shielding her sex from his avid gaze, and he took her wrist and urged her hand away.

“Don’t cover yourself. You’re…so damned perfect.”

It was true. She was all long supple limbs, golden hair now drying in tangled curls around her alabaster shoulders, and the focus of his attention at the moment, the promise of heaven between her legs. With his fingertips he brushed her soft pubic hair, wondering if it was still damp from her bath or if that was for him.

“Let me touch you here.” It came out more of an order than he intended, and he amended the request with a wicked smile. “I swear you’ll like it.”

After a momentary hesitation, she opened to the slight pressure of his hands, spreading her legs, though her hands fisted in the blankets as if it took some effort. “You told me not to trust you.”

He had said that and it was true, because he was certain he would bring nothing but trouble into her life. It gave him pause, but not enough to stop. He was too far gone for that, and it amazed and scared him.

But if he was going to do this foolish thing, he was going to make this good for her or die trying.

“Looks like you’ve ignored that warning.” He stroked the satin skin of her inner thigh, getting her used to the intimate touch. As his finger glided upwards and found the damp, silken folds of her cleft, she made a small sound. Cal murmured, “I can’t think of a greater trust than a woman naked in bed with a man. I’m going to do my best to earn it, sweetheart.”

The bud he sought between the soft lips of her labia was pink and slightly swollen already. Holding those enticing folds open, he leaned in and inhaled the fragrance of her arousal with satisfaction, lowering his head. He could tell the minute Laurel realized his www.samhainpublishing.com 53

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intention, for her body jerked, but he just laughed and licked her in a languid sweep of his tongue across her clitoris.

“Oh…oh.” Her pelvis lifted convulsively and she closed her eyes.

Yeah, that was exactly the response he wanted. With a light pressure, he teased and taunted, tasting the rise of her passion. In his current state of pressing need, he wanted her to climax before he entered her, because he was fairly sure he wasn’t going to last long the first time.

Did all virgins taste so sweet, so lush and delectable?

He didn’t care, he realized. Laurel mattered, but no one else. The whole world could implode and as long as this cabin, this bed and this woman still existed, he wouldn’t even blink an eyelash.