A Cowboy Worth Claiming (20 page)

Quick as the snap of a whip, Chance curved his hands around her slight waist and drew her up against him. “I’m gonna tell you to be quiet, so I can kiss you.”

He claimed her mouth in one quick swoop. He didn’t give her time to protest. He didn’t give her room to pull away. He held her tight and went on kissing her, letting the warmth of her giving lips tear down every barrier he’d built in his mind. Letting her sweetness seep into his soul and touch every place he’d sheltered for so long. He wasn’t going to deny he wanted her with a need so fierce, he was ready to murder anyone who’d try to stop him.

“Oh, Chance,” she whispered into his mouth. “I couldn’t take it if you pushed me away.”

“Not today, Lizzie,” he said, stroking her unruly long hair away from her face and looking deep into the prettiest eyes he’d ever seen. “Not ever again. Today, I’m gonna make you mine.”

He lifted her in his arms and looked her straight in the eyes. “This is what you want?”

She nodded, without a bit of hesitation.

He nuzzled her throat and kissed her again.

Then he carried her into the bedroom.

* * *

Chance set Lizzie down on her bed gently. Her pulse pounding, she watched Chance move to the curtains and close them, denying afternoon sunlight entry into the room. Everything dimmed. She kept her gaze trained on him as he strode to the washbowl on her dressing table. He dipped a cloth into the rose-scented water and came over to the bed. Lowering onto his knee next to her, he washed her face with the cloth.

“I look a mess,” she murmured.

He shook his head. “You have a scratch on your face. A few on your shoulders,” he said tenderly, dabbing them. Cool moisture met her bared shoulders and after he’d wash an area, he’d bend to brush his lips to her skin. Goose bumps prickled all over.

She was impatient for him to lie next to her. She’d missed breathing in his scent and rolling over to see him sleeping beside her. One night, he’d covered her body with his, to protect her from the freezing storm, but now it was different. Now, she saw the undeniable intent in his eyes as he kissed her tenderly, making her squirm on the bed and wish for more. “Slow and easy, princess,” Chance murmured.

Finished with his ministrations, he set the cloth aside and unbuckled his gun belt. She watched him in the dim light as he lowered down onto the bed. She welcomed the dip of the mattress with a silent sigh.

They faced each other on the bed and she peered into Chance’s handsome face. He was so familiar to her now. She knew every fleck of color in his brown eyes. She knew every sharp angle of his profile. She knew the powerful breadth of his shoulders. She loved every measure of him, every little part that made him who he was and the newness of her love made her giddy inside.

She could hardly believe that just a few hours ago, she thought her life was ruined. Losing Hayden as her best friend and knowing Chance didn’t want her had been crushing blows, even for her strong, stubborn nature.

But now, her immediate future was hopeful. Lizzie would not make any further assumptions. She would simply treasure each moment she had with Chance.

His fingertip trailed a path along her cheek with the slightest of touches. A tremble coursed the length of her. His gaze was warm, shed of any defenses, shed of the guard that had hardened there since she’d met him.

“I won’t hurt you, Lizzie. Trust in that.”

She touched his cheek, her fingertips absorbing the heat of his skin. “I do.”

His lips met hers again briefly and then his hands went to her back. “I want you out of this dress, pretty as it is.”

With expert fingers, he unfastened the hook and buttons. The back of her dress fell open and Chance put his hands on her shoulders, carefully moving the dress down inch by inch.

His eyes stayed on his task as he tugged the material lower and lower.

“Lift up a little,” he said, kissing her shoulder.

She arched and Chance guided the dress past her waist over her hips and down her legs.

He flung the dress to the floor and returned his attention to her.

She took a big swallow.

Her chemise and a thin cotton skirt covered her.

“If I do anything you don’t like, you just tell me,” he said.

“There’s nothing you could do that I won’t like,” she said, breathless. Her body was a mass of trembles.

Chance smiled with warmth in his eyes. “Lizzie, you don’t know what your words do to me.”

He rose from the bed, his gaze staying with her as he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it over his head. Her eyes dipped to the expanse of his powerful chest, bronzed from working in the sun. She drew in a sharp breath. She’d seen him this way, many times, only now, she would have the freedom to touch and explore, to sink her fingertips into his skin and relish each caress.

He came back to the bed and gave her a greedy kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him closer. Her fingers wove through the thick strands of his hair.

“So sweet,” he said, between kisses.

“I’m not sweet,” she said, laboring for breath.

“Don’t argue,” he whispered, his lips lifting in a quick smile as his tongue found hers with a deep stroke.

A soft moan spiraled up her throat. She ached now throughout her body, but the tip of her thighs fairly throbbed.

Chance seemed to know her needs, because he broke the kiss to remove the rest of her clothes. He was quick handed and before she knew it, she lay naked on the bed beside him. Every instinct she had told her to cover up. To hide her body from his eyes. She was sure he would find her lacking in many ways. But when she dared to peek at his face, his eyes held nothing but appreciation.

“You are beautiful,” he said quietly, reverently, and this time, his tongue found the very peak of her nipple. He licked her there and then circled the tip round and round, until finally, to her shock, he took the upturned tip into his mouth.

Heat burned below her belly. She squirmed and squeezed her legs together as he suckled her gently. Her sensitized body seemed to move on its own accord now, following him wherever he would take her.

She gasped aloud from the tormented pleasure and put her hands on Chance’s chest, her palms flat on his hot skin, her fingers gripping him.

“Touch me, Lizzie. Anywhere you want,” he said urgently.

And she did. As he toyed with her, she explored him. She found joy and solace in letting her hands roam over his shoulders and back. She didn’t know how strong and powerful he really was, until she’d been allowed to do her own uninhibited exploration.

He grunted as her fingers slid below his navel to the top of his waistband. He murmured for her to be careful. It was dangerous and thrilling to see Chance react to her touch as if he couldn’t get enough of her caresses. As if, he, too, was on the brink of something much more powerful.

She kissed him freely now, moving her mouth over his body, licking his flesh with tiny strokes of her tongue in the same way he had done to her.

The warm gleam in his eyes changed then to a glint of raw desire. He pressed her down onto the bed with a gentle shove and she landed easily on her back. He moved his palms over her small breasts to fondle her over and over, causing a wonderful ache of need to shoot clean through her body as he kissed her.

Something was building inside, a new sensation that left her desperately wanting.

Anticipation grew stronger as he caressed her. His fingers splayed wide on her stomach then traveled lower and lower. Her female center burned with scorching immeasurable heat.

The throbbing intensified.

“Lizzie, stay with me, darlin’.” He kissed her again as he wove his fingers through the soft curls that protected her center.

Her breaths were rapid, almost out of control.

She ached so badly.

And then he touched her. Where, she knew by natural instinct, he needed to be.

He stroked her once, twice, and the third time, a wonderful tension-filled moan escaped her lips. “It feels…so good.”

“That’s it, sweet princess,” Chance said, reassuring her. “Let go.”

And Chance continued his ministrations, stroking her, gliding his fingers in and out, building heat, building pressure until Lizzie thought she would completely burst from the glorious sensations gripping her.

Her breaths came out in little pants. She arched her hips and moved in harmony to his stroking. When she thought she couldn’t take another second, Chance stopped suddenly and rose to remove the rest of his clothes.

He stood for a second, bare skinned and beautiful. She caught a glimpse of him below the waist and took another swallow of air. She’d never before seen a man fully unclothed. She was struck with awe.

As he approached the bed, he looked at her, the hot gleam in his eyes replaced by concern. “Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you.”

She craved him and yearned to know what it was like to have that craving satisfied. Her body pulsed in need of him. But first, she had to ease the look in his eyes. She breathed on a bare whisper, “You know I’m not
really
a princess.”

He smiled softly as he returned to the bed and kissed her soundly on the lips. “You should be treated like one.”

With that, Lizzie fell even more in love with him.

“Are you still with me?” he asked, parting her legs and stroking her again.

She reacted to his touch with a drawn out sigh. “Yes.” She squeezed her eyes closed.

Chance positioned himself over her and spread her legs wider. The tip of his manhood nudged at her entrance and she felt her skin stretch. He waited and she impatiently spread her legs wider in invitation. He moved slowly, allowing her to adjust to his size and strength, the restraint on his face proof of his keen willpower. He held back for her and she wanted so much to please him. With his teachings, she would soon learn how.

“Try to relax, darlin’,” he murmured. Then he inched farther and farther with utmost care. Having him inside her and being connected like they were was strangely wonderful. Sharing their bodies this way, was better than she’d ever imagined.

The fire inside her kept building.

When he gently started to thrust farther, a shot of stabbing pain seized her. She flinched, holding back a scream, and then it was over. Her breaching had ebbed. Chance watched her carefully and she lifted up to kiss him, his concern warming her heart.

“I’m fine,” she whispered, meeting his gaze.

He nodded and whispered her name. “Elizabeth.”

Calling her by her real name was the best gift he could have given her.

He moved more freely now and she met his rhythm. They were in harmony with each other. Lips to lips. Hips to hips. Skin to skin.

Sweet hot sensations swept through her body. Seeing Chance above her, seeing his face tense with pleasure and knowing she could give him this, made each moment precious and sacred.

When his thrusts deepened, she arched her hips off the bed, straining for some unknown precipice. Her heart raced as she heaved short breaths, and when Chance gripped her waist higher, to drive deeper, long, sweet, unexpected sounds slipped from her throat as her body splintered apart.

Chance pumped into her one last glorious time, his face releasing tension, his body shaking in unabashed satisfaction.

The moment froze in time as Chance peered into her eyes. Sated and newly schooled in the bedroom, Lizzie could only stare at him in wonder. She knew then that she’d never give herself to any other man. She’d never lie with anyone else. Chance was all she’d ever need.

He lowered himself down onto the mattress and took her into his embrace. He kissed her a dozen times before relaxing on his side. “Are you alright?”

She was sore, but it was a wonderful kind of pain.

There was such worry in his eyes that Lizzie couldn’t be fully truthful. She touched a hand to his face. “You didn’t hurt me. It was…glorious, Chance.”

He nodded, spent and seemingly satisfied with her answer.

She set her head against the pillow and gazed at the ceiling, allowing the aftermath of lovemaking to wash over her. “I never want to get up from this bed,” she murmured on a sigh.

Chance wound an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “I was thinking the very same thing.”

* * *

Lizzie had never known joy like this. She hadn’t known that her body could sing with pleasure and the hum of it could vibrate inside of her all day long. She hadn’t known what love was truly like until Chance came into her life. She was filled with it and her bliss threatened to overflow in her smile and the bounce in her step.

Last night Chance had been protective of her and refused to touch her again until she’d had time to rest. They’d slept awhile in each other’s arms and she’d gotten up briefly to bring supper to the bedroom, while he’d bedded down the horses and checked on the livestock. But this morning, they’d woken in each other’s arms and his good-morning kiss had ignited another bout of lovemaking.

Now, he sat at the kitchen table, his eyes on her as she handed him a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. She buttered a few biscuits and put a basket of them in front of him, next to a mug of steaming coffee.