Worth The Price (Hart's Fall, Montana) (9 page)

The ache inside his chest became unbearable. It was heartbreaking to watch her mock herself because of the doubts he had placed within her. Brandon stuck a hand inside his pocket and matched her gaze. “I wanted you long before you came out to the ranch and I want you now more than ever.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You want a woman who you believe will up and leave after you dole out the cash?”

“Danika, I never said—”

“I know you didn’t outright say it. I’m not stupid, though. I don’t want you to hold this thing between us over my head. I don’t want
you
to have it inside your head the money is all there could ever be between us.

A spark of hope lit beneath his skin. “Could there be more?”

“You tell me.”

The challenge in her eyes ignited the shred of hope he’d tried so hard to extinguish and he should be happy… yet the niggling doubt inside his mind refused to budge. Would Danika have been willing to marry another man if he, too, had made the same terms and agreed to her twenty grand request? The question burned at the tip of his tongue. Brandon managed to swallow it back. Knowing himself, he’d only succeed in destroying the rest of the night.

He slipped his arm around the span of her waist and gathered her to him. “I’m trying so hard to do this right with you,
Cailín
.”

To his delight, she leaned into his embrace. “How about we start over, Brandon. Forget about my father. Forget about what everyone else in Hart’s Fall thinks about you…us. I want you, Brandon.” A tender kiss warmed the pulse on his neck. “I want all of you.” Eyes soft and luminous gazed up at him.

Unfamiliar feelings and longings fluttered inside his stomach. His erection went impossibly hard. This was the first time a woman… a beautiful woman was looking at him with the remote hint that she was actually attracted to him. The fact that Danika had gone so far as to voice that she wanted him. It was all too much for him.

“Do you feel that?” He ground his hardness into her. “That’s how much I want you. You have no idea how frustrating it’s been for me all evening watching you. I don’t want you to be afraid of me again, but I can’t stay away from you. I even told myself I wouldn’t try to touch you tonight.” He kissed below her hairline and looked down at her. “Tell me to leave you alone tonight. Say it and I’ll go into one of the spare bedrooms. Remind me that I’m still the same ugly bastard who had no right to marry you.” Yet, as he said the words, his hands strayed toward the smooth skin above her ass, cupping and caressing the lush flesh.

“I can’t tell you that because I’d be lying to myself and to you.” She placed his hand on her chest. “Do
you
feel that? That’s how much I want you, Brandon Sharpe. How fast my heart is always beating when you’re around.”

He buried his face in her hair, inhaling the exotic scent of coconuts and orchid.
I’m definitely not dreaming
.

“I want to see our bedroom.” She slid her arms around his neck.

Brandon groaned inside his head. “Danika, if we go in there, I won’t be able to stop myself from touching you. Every inch of you. I won’t stop tonight until I lose myself completely inside you.”

“Show me which way to the bedroom.”

Brandon froze. His finger rose and pointed to the staircase. By the time his brain regained function, she was already halfway up the staircase turning a corner to the bedroom.

Danika flicked her gaze backward to see Brandon advancing up the staircase, his long legs annihilating the distance separating them. His eyes were cold and hard, yet simmering with a thirst that she longed to quench.

Looking at him reminded her of a predator stalking an all-too-willing prey. Once he made it to the landing, she felt her lower belly coil with liquid heat. Moisture dampened her lace panties. She stole a glance at the doors on either side of the hall, unsure of which led to the bedroom then turned to face Brandon.

Big mistake. The incessant pounding in her heart escalated. Carnal need radiated from her pores. Everything about Brandon appeared bigger, stronger…powerful. His eyes held hers captive, refusing to relinquish their fierce hold. Sensing her confusion, he lifted a hand and pointed his forefinger toward the door on the left. His chest rose slowly as if it was hard for him to speak.

“Brandon?”

He pointed his finger toward the door again. “Get inside.”

Oh Lord
. Danika sank her teeth into her lip to suppress the moan. She grasped the door handle, aware of his solid male presence behind her. His large hand brushed hers aside to push open the door.

Inside the bedroom, his long finger curled around a lock of hair above her nape. Brandon swept the hair up and pressed his lips to her bare skin. “From here on out no other man will ever touch you like this.” His hand glided beneath the v-shaped neckline, fondling her breast before giving it a firm squeeze. A gasp fell from her lips at the sensuous touch.

His eyes searched hers as his thumb caressed her nipple. The tiny bud beaded and stiffened with excitement.

“You sound so innocent,” he murmured. “How can that be? You’re so beautiful,
Cailín
, surely you’ve been touched like this before, haven’t you?”

Knees quivering, she managed to speak. “No. Never like this. A few kisses in college, yes but there was no one I was ever in a serious relationship with. There never seemed to be the right moment or the right guy I wanted to be intimate with.”

He expelled a loud breath at the precise moment his hand rose from her breast. “You know what I want from you tonight, don’t you? Are you willing…ready to share yourself with me?”

“I’m ready. I…I just don’t want to disappoint you.”

He swallowed hard and she could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “Turn around,” he instructed softly, undoing the clasp and zipper at the back of her dress. The dress cascaded in a pool of satin at her feet. Cool air whispered across her tingling skin. Instinctively, Danika crisscrossed her hands against her chest to cover her breasts.

“Don’t.”

Her eyes lifted as Brandon took a step backward and peeled her hands from her breasts. “I want to see you, Danika. All of you.”

Her hands slowly fell to the side. She wanted nothing more than to obey Brandon. Allow this man, her husband to guide her in the art of pleasure. His attention returned to her nearly naked frame. Danika watched his every move. The breath hitched in her throat as Brandon slid his forefinger along the valley of her breasts and down to her flat stomach. His finger dipped languidly into her navel.

She inhaled a gasping breath and squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh, Brandon. It feels wonderful.”

“I’d forgotten how soft a woman could feel.” His darkened eyes lowered to her waist. “I wonder how soft it is between your thighs, wife …how hot.”

His eyes held hers in a fierce unrelenting grip as a thick, callused finger delved between her slickened folds.

“Ohhhh.” Her head lolled to the side on the luxurious cry.

“Tell me. Are you that same lovely shade of brown all over, Danika? Inside that honeyed little spot I can feel melting for me?”

Liquid heat flooded onto his fingers at the provocative question. “You. You should look for yourself,” she panted.

A harsh groan tore from his chest. He added another finger, taking his time to pet her clitoris. “So many thoughts going through my mind right now,” he said. “Can’t imagine how much I want to slide into your wetness and stay there.”

“I always want to know what you’re thinking,” she said against his lips. “I love knowing how you feel because I want you as much as you want me.”

He clasped his arms around her hips and lifted her against him. Danika wrapped her legs around his waist and tugged at the buttons on his vest. Their lips locked in a kiss, Brandon carefully laid her on the bed then knelt on the hardwood floor before her.

“Will you let me see all of you tonight?”

She squirmed a little and grazed her fingertips along the flimsy band of her underwear. “Take it off, Brandon. Please.”

He slid the panties below her ankles then tossed them to the ground. His head lifted. Penetrating eyes sliced into hers as he held her thighs open. His smoldering gaze settled on her sex. Exquisite heat rushed into every nerve ending in her body. She was torn between closing her legs in fear of the unknown and splaying them wider for her husband. Desire won out. She flattened her palms to the mattress, undulated her hips and spread her thighs, wide and unashamed.

“Danika.” Brandon stared, his eyes gleaming with a heady mixture of fascination and surprise. “Stay like that for me.” Rising swiftly, he made quick work of the shirt he wore. His chest was wide and muscular with a golden tan, shades lighter than her dark complexion. Pride flourished inside her chest at the sight of her husband.

Holding in a breath, Danika watched as he removed the rest of his clothing. When Brandon tugged down his briefs, she sank her teeth into her lip, unable to take her eyes off him. His penis jutted forward, so thick and long it curved toward his stomach. The broad tip was reddish pink and slick with moisture.

“May I touch you?” Her fingers brushed along the base before giving him a chance to reply.

Standing between her legs, his body tautened. A low hiss sizzled from his lips as if her touch burned him. His hips jerked forward, pushing himself into her hand. Her fingers roamed over his flat abdomen, sinewy with muscle and not a trace of fat. Danika kept her gaze on his face. His eyes were slanted, with dark lashes fluttering open and closed as his head tilted to the side.

A rush of pleasure and confidence burst into her. She had brought him to such a state of heightened arousal. Emboldened by his reaction, Danika circled her fist around his swollen shaft and glided it upward. “Like this?”

“Yes,” he gasped. He clamped his hand above hers. “But no more. Unless you wish to see me spill before I get inside you.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh. I didn’t—”

Brandon mashed his lips against hers, cutting off her retort. “Lie back. I want to see how wet you are. Let me see how much you need your husband.”

Danika did as instructed. Her lips parted in breathless abandon and a hushed cry rippled from the back of her throat as Brandon climbed on top of her. His powerhouse frame prevented her from seeing anything but him. With both hands braced on the mattress, he looked down at her, while his fingers parted and explored her soft folds. “You’re ready for me,” he crooned into her ear. “You’ve been ready for me a long time, haven’t you,
Cailín
?”

Her back arched a little off the bed. “I have. Make love to me, Brandon. Make me yours.”

“You already belong to me.” In one long, hot thrust, his shaft plunged deep within her sex, tearing away the thin barrier. Brandon’s lips were warm on her cheeks, whispering tender words of endearment. As the pain steadily subsided, Danika rocked her hips, seeking more of the tiny shards of pleasure that rippled through her with every thrust that felt more splendid than the last.

“Never felt this good,” he groaned above her, withdrawing only to pump deeper, harder. Danika thrashed her head to the side and dug her hands into the soft cotton sheets.

“I’ve always wanted to be so deep inside you. Dreamed about it so many times. Tell me you like having your man inside you.”

Her fingertips raked across the corded muscles that roped his back. “I love it. Feels a thousand times better than I imagined.”

“Than you imagined,” Brandon repeated, as if he was still in disbelief of her desire for him. His movement became rough inside her soaked channel. Danika felt the bed dip beneath her with each frantic thrust of his cock, driving her to depths of arousal she never knew existed. The pleasure intensified until she could no longer hold it in. Her muscles tightened and her legs trembled.

“It’s all right. I’m right here with you. Come with me, baby.” His hips drove into her with fervor, frenzied movements meant to push them both over the edge.

A low cry echoed from her heart and bounced across the bedroom walls. Warm wetness flooded into her as Brandon threw his head back and released a guttural cry. The sound rocked her to the core and left her clinging to him wanting more.

Worth the Price