The Buckhorn Brothers Box Set: Sawyer\Morgan\Gabe\Jordan (65 page)

He trailed off as he realized how fascinated she was, soaking up his every absurd word. Good God, he hoped she didn’t put any of that in her damn thesis!

Shaking her gently, he added, “Lizzy, listen to me. There’s something about you….”

She tilted her head at him in a measure of pity. “What? My freckles? Come on, Gabe. I’ve never heard of freckles inspiring lust. Or red hair that’s too curly. Or…”

Gabe curved his hand around one lush breast. He could feel the warmth and softness of her, the incredible firmness of virgin flesh. “How about a body made for a man?” he growled. “Or a smile that’s so sweet I feel it inside my pants.”

She gasped.

“Or skin so soft it makes me crazy wanting to feel it all over my body. Or the way you talk, the things you talk about, your innocence and your daring and your—”

She pressed her fingers over his mouth, her eyes squeezed shut. He parted his lips and ran the tip of his tongue down the seam of her middle and ring finger, probing lightly. She snatched her hand away and panted.

“I want you, Lizzy.”

Her eyes opened slowly and they glowed. “I want you, too.” She gulped in air, then added, “Just for the summer, for this one time in my life, I want to experience everything I’ve never felt before. When I go back to school and my old life-style and my plans, when I start my formal training, I want it to be with new knowledge. I don’t want to be inexperienced anymore. I want to loosen up, as you suggested.”

Gabe took her words like an iron punch on the chin.
Just for the summer, just for the summer…

Damn her, no! He wouldn’t give up that easy. But he also didn’t want to scare her off. He’d give her everything she asked for and more. He’d drown her in pleasure so intense she’d get addicted. She wouldn’t be able to do without him. He’d tie her so closely to him she wouldn’t even be able to think about walking away from him.

He had no idea what the murky future held, but for the first time in his life he was anxious about it. A year from now? Who the hell knew? Lasting romantic relationships weren’t his forté, but he’d seen his two oldest brothers work it out, and that was nothing short of a miracle. One thing he was certain about: a month from now he’d still be wanting her, today, tomorrow…maybe indefinitely. He wanted, he
needed,
a chance to see what was happening between them.

Gabe reached to the floor of the car and picked up the box of popcorn they’d bought earlier. He put it in her lap. “Hold onto that.”

“Gabe?”

He didn’t look at her again as he stuck the speaker out the window and hooked it into place on its stand. A lot of people would recognize his car, and they’d know he was leaving early. They’d probably even deduce why. For Lizzy’s sake, he hated that, but couldn’t think of an alternative. It would be worse if he ended up doing things with her here that he knew damn good and well should be done in private. And his control was too strained. Already he wanted her so bad he felt sweat forming on his naked back and at his temples, though the night had cooled off and was comfortable.

Even without the speaker in the car, he heard the on-screen moaning and looked up.
Tanya’s Revenge
wasn’t much in the way of evil intent. Gabe figured she planned to physically, sexually wear out her adversary, then gain her revenge—whatever it might be. Lizzy was spellbound. She’d watched every sex scene with single-minded intent.

His heart pounded in his chest as he considered doing all those things to her, and how she would react. “Put your seat belt back on.”

Without tearing her gaze from the screen, she obeyed. His car started with a low purr and then they were maneuvering out of the lot. Once the screen was no longer in view, Lizzy turned toward him. He could feel her curiosity, could almost hear her mind working, thinking about what she’d watched and wondering if they’d do things like that together.

“Damn right we will,” Gabe said, answering her silent question. Lizzy fanned herself, but otherwise held quiet. They reached her place in record time. In one minute flat they were inside with the door locked and Gabe had her pressed to the wall, giving his hands and his mouth free rein.

* * *

E
LIZABETH
held her breath as Gabe’s right hand stroked down her side, over her waist, her hip, then to the back of her knee. He pulled her leg upward so that she was practically circling his hips—then he thrust gently.

A moan escaped her. She could feel the fullness and hard length of his erection through his jeans as he deliberately rocked against her in a parody of sex. His mouth, open and damp, moved over her cheek to her arched throat. “I want to be inside you right now, babe. I
need
to be inside you.”

“My…my bedroom,” she muttered, nearly incoherent, more than ready to accommodate him. But Gabe shook his head.

“You have to do some catching up. I want you to be as hot as I am.”

She tried to tell him that she already was, but then his mouth covered hers and his tongue licked past her lips and she could barely think, much less speak.

His hand, rough and incredibly hot, smoothed over her bare thigh to her panties. Elizabeth couldn’t stop her instinctive reaction to his hand on her bottom, exploring, first palming one round cheek then gliding inward to touch her in the most intimate spot imaginable.

“Easy,” he whispered against her mouth. “Damn, you’re wet. You do want me, don’t you, sweetheart?”

“Yes…” She felt like she was falling, though her back was flat against the wall with Gabe’s hard torso pinning her in place.

“Let’s get these out of the way.” He released her leg and hooked both hands into the waistband of her panties beneath her skirt. It felt naughty and exciting and achingly sexual the way he went to one knee in front of her to strip off her underclothes. “Step out of them,” he instructed.

Like a sleepwalker, Elizabeth lifted first one foot and then the other. Her sandals were still in place, but Gabe had no problem tugging her panties off around them. She waited for him to stand, but he didn’t, and she looked down.

His face was flushed, his eyes burning hot as he kneaded the backs of her thighs. He looked at her and didn’t smile. Instead he leaned forward and kissed her through her cotton dress, making her suck in a startled, choking breath. Her hands automatically sought his head and her fingers threaded into his cool blond hair.

“Gabe?”

“You smell good,” he said, nuzzling into her. Her knees threatened to give out, but his palms moved to cuddle her naked backside, keeping her upright. “So good.”

“I…I can’t do this.” Even as she said it, her hands clenched in his hair, directing his attentions to a spot that pulsed with need. His mouth opened and his breath was incredibly hot, almost unbearable. She felt the damp press of his tongue through her clothes and she cried out.

Gabe shot to his feet in front of her and took her mouth in a voracious kiss meant to consume her. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t react, couldn’t think. She felt wild, this time lifting her leg to wrap around him without instruction. Both his hands covered her breasts, squeezing a bit roughly, but she loved it, loved him and the way he made her feel.

He started on the buttons of her dress and had them all free within seconds. The bodice opened just wide enough for him to tug it down her shoulders and beneath her breasts. The dress framed her, caught at her elbows and pinning her arms to her sides. “Gabe?” She struggled, wanting to touch him, too.

The dress pulled taut and forced her straining breasts higher. Her nipples were stiff, pointed, and with a low growl Gabe bent and sucked one deep into the heat of his mouth, his rough tongue rasping over her, his teeth holding her captive for the assault.

She screamed. Her body arched hard against his. Gabe switched to the other nipple and his hands went under her skirt, one lifting her thigh, the other cupping over her belly then delving into her moist curls. She knew she was wet, could feel the pulsing of her body. His fingers were both a relief and a torture as he moved them over her hot flesh, stroking, then parting slick, swollen folds.

She pressed her head against the wall, feeling a strange tension begin to invade her body.

“We’ll go easy,” he promised, but the words were so low, so rough, she could barely understand them. “Right here, sweetheart,” he murmured, and she felt a lightning stroke of sensation as one fingertip deliberately plied her swollen clitoris. Gasping, she tried to pull away because the sensation was too acute, but there was no place for her to go.

“Don’t fight me,” he whispered around her wet nipple, licking lazily. “Trust me, Lizzy.”

She couldn’t. The feelings were coming too fast, too strong. Her muscles ached and tightened, then tightened some more. Her vision blurred as heat washed over her in waves. She tried to tell him it was too much, but her words didn’t make any sense and he ignored them anyway, listening more to her body than what she had to say. His fingertip felt both rough and gentle as he continued to pet her, concentrating patiently on that one ultrasensitive spot, driving her insane.

Her climax took her by surprise, stealing her breath, making it impossible to do more than moan in low gasping pants, going on and on…. Her body bowed, but Gabe held her securely, not stopping his touch, pushing her and pushing her. He moaned, too, the sound a small vibration around her nipple as he sucked strongly at her. His left forearm slipped beneath her buttocks, keeping her on her feet as her knees weakened, forcing her to feel everything he wanted her to feel.

When finally she slumped against him, spent and exhausted, his hold gentled, loosened. She was no longer crushed against his body, but remained in his embrace, gently rocking. His palm cupped her, holding in the heat, and he said, “I can still feel you pulsing.”

Embarrassment tried to ebb into her consciousness, but Gabe didn’t give it a chance to take hold. He kissed each breast, her throat, her chin. Putting his forehead to hers, their noses touching, he whispered, “That was incredible, Lizzy.”

If she’d had the strength she would have laughed. Gabe was a master of understatement. Slowly she opened her eyes and was seared by the heat in his. While she watched, he removed his palm from her and raised his hand to her face. His gaze dropped to her mouth and with one wet fingertip, he traced her lips.

She sucked in a startled breath, but couldn’t think of a thing to say. Still watching her, Gabe slowly licked her upper lip, then pulled her bottom lip through his teeth to suck gently. “You taste as sweet as I knew you would.”

She couldn’t move. Her eyes opened owlishly. Good grief, she’d never been in this situation before, never even imagined such a thing! He hadn’t shared intercourse with her, but she supposed this was one form of lovemaking. Only…against her front door? With her panties off and his clothes still on and his magical fingers…

“Cat got your tongue?” he asked while smoothing her hair from her face.

“I…” She swallowed hard. “I don’t know what to say.”

“How about, ‘Gabe I want you.’” His gaze moved over her face in loving detail, his fingers gentle on her temple. She noticed his hands shook.

“Gabe, I want you.”

The smile she’d already fallen in love with lighted his face. “Thank the lord. I haven’t come in my pants since I was a teenager, but it was a close thing, babe. A very close thing.”

“Oh.” The things he said, and how he said them, never ceased to stupefy her. She was still considering the image he’d evoked with his words when Gabe scooped her up in his arms and started across the floor. She held on tight, charmed by the gallantry. This was another thing, like fogged windows, that she thought only happened in books.

“Sunburn okay?” he asked. He wasn’t even straining to hold her weight.

She sighed, totally enamored of his strength. “What sunburn?”

Gabe laughed, a sound filled with masculine satisfaction and triumph—wholly male, hotly sexual. Rather than put her on the bed, he stood her beside it, and with no fanfare at all, caught the hem of her dress and whisked it over her head. Her arms caught in the sleeves for just a moment, making her feel awkward, but Gabe wasn’t deterred. He freed her easily, then stepped back to look at her.

She still wore her sandals, was her first thought. Second was that the way he looked at her was almost tactile, like a stroke across her belly, penetrating deep to where the need rekindled and came alive once again.

Without a word Gabe kicked off his shoes as he surveyed her body. He unbuttoned his jeans, slid down the zipper and shucked both his jeans and his shorts. Lizzy was given time to look all she pleased—which was a lot. Gabe stood still for her, except to reach out with his right arm and stroke her nipples with a knuckle.

He swallowed at her continued scrutiny. “Put me out of my misery, Red. Please.”

His hips were narrow in contrast to his wide chest. His abdomen was hard and flat, his navel a shallow dent surrounded by golden brown hair that felt soft to the touch. His shoulders were straight, his legs long and strong and covered in hair. His groin…She gulped, then reached out to encircle him with her hand and squeezed. So hard and so strong, his erection flexed and he made a small strangled sound. His hands fisted; his knees locked. One glistening drop of fluid appeared on the tip, fascinating her. She spread it around with her thumb, and heard his hissing breath.

“You’re playing with fire, babe.”

“You’re so beautiful,” she breathed, then started slightly when he growled and reached for her.

“Come here, Elizabeth. Let me hold you.”

But as she stepped up to him he stepped forward and carried her down to the bed. Balanced on one elbow above her, he began exploring her body again.

“I love all these sexy little freckles.” He traced around her breasts, skimming just below her puckered nipples, then trailed down her abdomen to her belly button. He dipped his baby fingertip there before moving over her hipbones and her upper thighs. His hand cupped her between her thighs and she groaned, knowing exactly how he could make her feel. “And this fiery red hair,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”