Spurred On (The Quick and the Hot) (6 page)

His throat clicked when he swallowed. “This thing—it’s different from the flirting.” A statement not a question—determination seeping into his words as if he would make it true because it came out of his mouth.

Except it was true. “Very different.” She nodded and sank her teeth into her lower lip.

“Goddamn right it is,” he growled a split second before yanking her across the seat and into his lap.

Exactly where she shouldn’t be—where she wanted to be. She melted into him as he claimed her mouth. Dark need swirled in her body along with a rush of passion so strong she swayed at the heady cocktail.

The hard ridge of his denim-covered cock dug into her ass, and her pussy squeezed hard. When she opened her mouth to his invasion, a moan broke from her.

Spurred by her lack of control, he tightened his hold and drove his tongue deep. Flavors burst in her head—man, leather, and the bitter taste of the grass he’d obviously chewed.

Angling her head, she dragged her short nails over his shoulders, reveling in the worn softness of the flannel. He plunged into her mouth again and again until she was a puddle in his lap.

Her pussy ached, and her nipples were two hard buds. It took all her control to keep from rubbing them on his chest.

“Fuck, you’re delicious,” he grated out between assaults.

She yanked his hat off and abandoned it on the seat. Delving her fingers into the soft mass of his hair only made her burn hotter. For long minutes, she lost herself to his caress, tumbling into the dark waters of this attraction that threatened to drown her.

If anyone found out about her and Hayden, she’d become more invisible to her father as a prospect to run the ranch. And Hayden, who did run the ranch, might lose his job.

Zoe Beth yanked away and scrambled off his lap. His confused look followed her, and her heart flexed hard. Shaking her head, she laid a hand on his. “We’re going to get ourselves in a haystack of trouble.”

He jammed a hand through his hair. Then without looking, he grabbed his hat from the seat and placed it back on his head low enough that she couldn’t clearly see his eyes.

A hot, sick feeling flooded her. The last thing she wanted was to be taken as a tease. “Hayden—”

“I know, okay? You’re right. Dammit.” He sat frozen for a painful heartbeat before sliding the truck into gear. “Let’s just do this thing.”

In a minute they were at the border between the Cole Ranch and Joseph Michaels’s land. Hayden parked so the headlights flooded the brush where the calf had been. When Zoe Beth crouched before the bushes, sure enough, the animal hadn’t moved.

“Oh poor thing. Hurry.”

Hayden reached between the thin, low branches and encircled the calf in his strong arms. It gave a feeble kick as he lifted it from a place it thought to be safe.

“Wait—what are we going to do with it? I forgot blankets—so stupid.”

“I got ’em. In the back of the truck.”

Relief tingled through her system. Zoe Beth hurried forward to put the tailgate down. A pile of thick horse blankets had been dropped in a heap near the side. Hayden placed the calf on them, and it gave a pathetic grunt.

“I’m going to ride back here with it,” she said.

Hayden looked down at her, shoulders hunched and head lowered. For a breath-stealing second, she thought he might kiss her again.

And she might let him.

Hell, who was she kidding? Her mind said
no
, but so far her body had ruled when it came to this hunky cowboy. Foreman or not, she was interested…too interested.

He nodded. “Go on then. I’ll go slow so you and Five Feet won’t bounce too much.”

As she climbed into the truck, she found herself smiling at the nickname he’d given the calf. Hayden closed the gate and started to circle to the driver’s door.

“Wait.” She laid a hand on his shoulder as he passed.

He stopped dead, shooting her a glance from the corner of his eye. “Yeah?”

“When we get to the barn, I’ll need help.”

A full-body shudder ran through him, zipping up her arm. “’Course.” His voice sounded as if he’d ground up nails and gargled, then chased it with moonshine the guys brewed behind the tool shed.

The truck lurched forward, and Zoe Beth slid to the floor beside the calf. It lay so still, eyes wide and glassy. It might not live even after she exerted her healing efforts.

In her mind she ran through the ways she’d try to nurse the animal. Before meeting Hayden, she’d prepared a spot in the far corner of the horse barn. There was a stall no one went into because it was typically filled with junk—old tack that had outgrown its usefulness, and even some lawnmower parts. She’d gathered it all into a box and moved it out to make room for the calf.

For Five Feet.

By the time they reached the ranch, she was a jittery bundle of nerves. What if they got caught? With twelve ranch hands it was more than possible someone was up prowling around. They worked hard all day, but some of them played hard at night. Drinking and running twenty miles into town to meet up with girls.

They’d know this calf didn’t belong to the Cole Ranch. Even without seeing the ear tag heralding its ownership to Joseph Michaels, the ranch hands could name and describe every calf born this spring.

When Hayden drew the truck in front of the barn, Zoe Beth cast a worried glance around the property. The house was a short distance away, the windows lit in warm welcome. Night had fallen. Fortunately Hayden had parked in the black shadow thrown by the barn. No one could see it from the main house.

He cut the engine, and Zoe Beth reached over the side of the truck to unlatch the tailgate. Hayden was there immediately to lower it slowly so it didn’t squeak.

She bent and wrapped the blankets around the baby cow. “Take all of it. The blankets will make a good bed.”

“Right.” He did as she said, pulling the calf and blankets into his arms. The big bundle looked eerily like a body to Zoe Beth. She shuddered. “Run ahead and show me where you want it.”

Composing herself, she leaped to the ground and hastened into the barn. A row of overhead lights could be snapped on with the flip of a switch, but it was too risky. She stopped just inside the door and by feel located the flashlight she’d left there earlier.

“Smart thinkin’,” Hayden said behind her.

She shone the beam into the long open central space. Stalls lined the sides. Once she opened the door for Hayden, he stepped inside and stooped to the thick layer of hay she’d spread. He lowered the calf.

Working fast, Zoe Beth grabbed the feeding bottle with the long nipple and filled it with syrupy feed supplement. The calves loved it, and she hoped this one had the strength to suck. If not, they were in more trouble than she’d thought.

Hayden stood back and contemplated the animal. “Think it’ll work?”

“I have no idea.” Her voice was too breathy. Was it from the lightning bolt that struck her at his scorching glance, or from fear?

Both. I’m such an ass.

She dropped to her knees, still shaking the bottle of milk. “I have to try.” She waved the nipple in the calf’s face. “Hey, Five Feet. Have a little drink, okay?”

After a couple minutes of her trying to entice the calf, it closed its eyes and put its head down on the blankets. A noise burst unbidden from Zoe Beth.

She tilted her head up to meet Hayden’s gaze. The plea must have been evident on her face, because he knelt beside her. “I’ll open her mouth, and you stick the nipple in. Tip the bottle so the milk flows in and she knows what she’s got.”

When he pried the animal’s jaw gently open, Zoe Beth guided the nipple past its lips. The calf swallowed reflexively as the feed hit its throat.

“Yes!” she cried, triumph breaking over her like a wave. “That’s it, little beauty. Drink up so you have enough energy to get better.” As the calf swallowed, Zoe Beth stared at it, assessing its health.

While it had an extra limb, it didn’t seem to be hurt. Hungry, dehydrated, and neglected. These things could be dealt with. Minutes passed, and the last swallows disappeared down Five Feet’s throat.

Hayden swayed toward Zoe Beth, bringing his musky male scent too close. She turned her head to meet his gaze.

Want blazed through her.

Without a word, Hayden removed the bottle from her. Then he took her hand and drew it up and around his neck. “Hang on to me, baby. I’ve got a feeling this is going to rock both of us.”

He dropped his mouth to hers, and she surged upward. Urgent want fueled her as she opened her mouth wide and accepted his hot searching tongue. She threw both arms around his neck and clung. He dragged her so she was half lying across him while he angled his mouth over hers again and again.

Tendrils of heat clawed at her core. Her pussy spasmed with every stroke of his tongue. He gripped her hips hard, kneading the indentations above her hipbones. The touch, so close to her needy pussy, threatened to hurl her over the cliff of control.

“To hell with the consequences, woman. I’ve wanted you since the moment you tried to brain me with the shovel.” He skimmed his hands downward over her jean-clad thighs to draw circles upward until his fingertips were dangerously close to her sex.

Suddenly he changed paths and worked his hands over her hips to her waist. He kept going until her aching breasts were in his palms. He and Zoe Beth shared a groan.

“I’m so getting fired for this.”

“I’ll take your job,” she gasped as he closed his fingers over her nipples.

He pinched each gem hard—harder yet. She cried out, and he caught the sound with his tongue. The ridge of his cock protruded into her hip, seeming impossibly thick. If she let him go further, would he even fit?

She was willing to give it a try.

Digging her fingers into his hair, she drew him down to suck on his tongue. The hot, silken feel of it in her mouth did things to her insides she’d never known before.

Things that were dangerously close to her heart.

He bunched her shirt upward and found her straining nipple through her lace bra cup. He twirled it between thumb and forefinger until she quaked. Pulling away from their kiss, he stared at her.

Eyelids heavy with wanting, lips wet from her kisses. “Let me.”

It wasn’t a question but a demand. She answered anyway by arching her back, bringing her breast toward his mouth. He caught her bra cup with a tanned finger and eased it down. When her nipple hit the cooler air, she sucked in a breath.

As he covered her bud, she stopped breathing.

Mindless to anything but his tongue bathing her aroused flesh, she went boneless in his hold. Each lap of his tongue shot her higher. She tugged at his shirt buttons until his chest was bared to her. The smooth, hairless flesh made her mouth water.

The calf shifted on its bed, tearing her and Hayden from their moment.

In the beam from the flashlight, she noted a bracket had formed around his mouth with his smile. She stared at the creases extending from the corners of his eyes that weren’t there when he was straight-faced.

“Hayden, we should—”

“Don’t even suggest that I stop, sweetheart.” His smile vanished as he moved her off his lap, then tugged her to her feet. Before she could say she couldn’t tell him that if she tried, he yanked her into the main part of the barn and closed the stall door on the calf.

His eyes glittered in the darkness. The way he hovered over her made her feel safe and like a cornered rabbit at the same time. With slow steps, he walked her backward until her spine came up against the rough wood wall.

She didn’t want to be anywhere else. Since his fingers had fallen away from her nipples she couldn’t think straight. Gripping his hands, she placed them back over her breasts.

He groaned and dropped his head to her shoulder, breathing hard. “Damn, baby. You’re smoldering hot.”

That was nothing. Her skin under her bra felt as if it were on fire. Even as he rubbed her mounds in slow circles, her mind sped through a dozen reasons why this was a mistake.

If her father caught Hayden feeling up his little girl, she’d better pray he wasn’t armed.

Getting entangled meant losing what was left of her reputation on the ranch.

Hayden might lose his job.

Wasn’t that what she wanted?

Deep down she admitted it wasn’t. To be fair he seemed to know what he was doing and had slipped into the position of foreman as well as a rancher’s foot fit a familiar boot.

Hayden plucked at her nipples, then eased a hand around her back. Before she gained her wits, he’d popped the clasp of her bra. The cups fell away from her skin, making her breasts tingle at the new freedom.

As he dropped his mouth to the side of her neck, he stripped her shirt, then her bra off her arms and let them slip to the floor. When he took her in his arms, she gasped at the kiss of his hot skin through his open shirt.

“Hell, you’re more beautiful than I dreamed of.” He sagged at the knees and opened his mouth over her upturned nipple, stealing all thought for a long minute.

She held his head to her, loving the soft feel of his hair on her skin, of his tongue working so expertly over her straining bud. “You’ve…dreamed of me?”

He released her nipple and kissed a fiery trail to the other. As he grazed it with his teeth, she rocked onto her tiptoes. A thrill hit her pussy, and juices soaked her panties.

“Dreamed of this.” He pulled her nipple deep into his mouth. “And this.” Sliding a hand down her belly, he popped the button of her jeans. With one finger, he pressed the zipper down. As each tooth gave way, the vibrations of the zipper shook her more.

Zoe Beth rubbed her chest against his and reached around to cup his hard ass. The muscles felt like steel. God, how would they feel without a layer of denim?

Hayden nipped her lower lip. “Tell me you want this.”

She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think about anything but easing the throb between her legs and how she loved his incredible body. She nodded.

He locked his thigh between hers, and with his knee he pressed on her pussy.

“Ohh…” She panted at the sensations ricocheting through her body.