Chaste (McCullough Mountain) (12 page)

The
back door burst open and she jumped. “Kelly?”

“Shh…”
he said as he took two determined strides toward her.

His
arms caught her shoulders and she gasped as he pulled her front flush with his
hard chest and crashed his mouth to hers. His lips pressed into hers and her eyes
went wide. Holy crap he was
kissing her!

His
hands roamed over her shoulders, settling beneath the cross of denim at her
back. He pulled her tight and she made a small squeak of uncertainty as her
breasts mashed to his front.

“Relax,”
he whispered over her mouth.

She
breathed in his scent, tasting the spicy essence that was Kelly on her lips.
Her body tingled to life as he took a step forward, forcing her feet to shuffle
back until the stool skidded out of their way and the wooden table pressed into
her butt. Her body arched backward to accommodate his bulk. He was suddenly
larger than before, hulking, muscled, and too much to comprehend.

His
lips were soft as they brushed over her slack, shocked mouth. “You have to kiss
back, love, or it doesn’t count.”

Holy
crap!

His
mouth teased at her closed lips, opening and closing and then there was the
warm wet contact of his tongue. She gasped and his lips sealed over hers. He
worked her mouth open and she tasted a mixture of sweet apple and Kelly. Then
the strangest sensation of him inside of her had her jerking back.

“Relax.
Feel. It’s all good.”

His
hand slid lower as he pressed her fully to his front, her spine arching against
the edge of the table. Her hands caught at his broad shoulders, fisting in the
warm cotton of his shirt as he tipped her world on end. His tongue explored her
and her eyes slowly shut as her thoughts scattered like dandelion seeds on a
warm breeze.

Her
heart raced as though it was about to explode out of her chest. Everywhere he
touched caught fire. Pins and needles chased up her spine, firing every nerve
receptor into overdrive. Her body tightened and loosened in places she’d never
acknowledged before.

Her
tongue finally got the message and meekly pressed past his lips. His hold on
her tightened, pulling her so close she nearly winced, but it was a good hold,
a discomfort that turned comforting. His head tilted as he pulled at her lips
with his warm mouth.
My God, his body’s
so warm.

Suddenly
her feet were off the ground, her boots abnormally heavy as they dangled in the
air, and her back was flattened on the worktable. There was something jabbing
into her thigh and, as she realized what it was, she snapped out of the trance
and shoved him.

Kelly
grunted and bit—
bit!—
at her lip. “You taste so good.”

She
could feel a hard ridge against her abdomen that could only be his penis. His
erect
penis. It was too much. “Stop,”
she whispered.

He
stilled, lips tickling hers, body blanketing her like a second layer of
scorching flesh. Slowly, he pulled back, his mouth withdrawing, but his body
remaining over her, pinning her to the table where she could still feel
his…penis. His blue eyes were so dark, the pupils overwhelming the sapphire
irises.

“Now,
you’ve been kissed,” he whispered, voice gone gravelly.

At
this point her thoughts no longer made sense. All she saw in her head were
those funny little symbols that rested at the top of a keyboard. Sheer and
utter nonsense.

She
swallowed and when he eased off of her, she was too weak to move. Her chest vibrated
with shallow breaths. Her lips were swollen, her chin raw from the stubble on
his jaw scraping over delicate skin.

Her
body was dense like wet sand, her insides heavy and achy in ways that were both
good and bad. It was as though her blood had thickened, chugging sensually
through every vein. If
that
was kissing, she’d never survive sex.

Kelly
licked his lips, which were also kiss swollen and smiled. “You’ll do fine,
love. You’re a natural.”

Slack
jawed, she stared at him. “Why did you do that?”

His
chest heaved with slow breaths as he met her stare. There was so much confusion
in his blue eyes, as if even he didn’t have an excuse. “I…I don’t know, but I
needed to.”

So
he could lay claim to her? Easing into a seated position she scowled at him. “I
don’t like games.”

His
lips pressed tight and he nodded. In a quiet voice he said, “Neither do I.” And
with that he turned and left and didn’t come back.

Chapter Four

Hard
acrylic nails scraped along his scalp as Naomi wrapped her leg around his hip
and shoved her tongue down his throat. His head wasn’t in it. Kelly squeezed
her generous ass and she moaned.

“Take
me home,” she whispered over his lips, dragging her mouth to his ear.

He’d
first seen Naomi pile in with the college crew that was home on break and knew
he wanted a piece of her, but something wasn’t jiving. Her makeup was suddenly
too done, her nails a little too fake, and her clothes a little too desperate.
Still, who was he to turn down a night of promise and orgasms?

“Let’s
stay here a while longer. It’s still early and Sue has customers.”

Her
pelvis ground into his and he was shocked he wasn’t even at
halfmast
.
“Where’s your car?” she breathed, her liquored breath making his nose twitch.

Headlights
fanned over the lot as a car pulled in. It was Thursday, a mildly busy night
for O’Malley’s, but slower than usual. Kelly could take off for the night if he
wanted to, but new reservations had him hesitating.

Being
the co-owner of O’Malley’s, which also belonged to his aunt’s, but for the most
part was his, he always kept an eye on anyone entering his establishment. His
gaze followed the car as it parked.

When
Josh climbed out of the car Kelly pulled Naomi off of him. Her limbs clung to
him like a starfish clings to the side of a tank. There might have even been a
slurping pop as he detached her from his body.

Josh
didn’t seem to look farther than the illuminated area of the lot. His head
turned as though searching for a specific car. Was Ashlynn coming? Kelly’s
heart picked up as he heard the rumble of a truck. Sure enough, it was
Ashlynn’s new, white, four-door pulling into the bar.

“I
gotta get back to work. People are still showing up.”

Naomi
pouted. “But…what about later?”

Yeah,
he wasn’t really sure why she’d caught his attention a week ago, but the
intrigue was gone. “Listen, it was fun, but honestly I have plans tonight. I
can’t. Sorry.”

She
played it off, but he suspected she was more than pissed. Oh well.

The
lights of the truck shut off with the engine and he waited, mumbling more
excuses to the girl at his side, his eyes pinned on the driver’s side door of
the truck. His pulse skipped a beat when the door eased open and two little
feet in flip-flops descended on the running board.

Ashlynn’s
feet hit the pavement and the door closed. Another skirt. This one khaki and
above the knee. His little virgin was getting braver.

He
stilled, realizing he’d referred to her as
his
. Frowning, he watched
Josh walk to her and smile. No kiss hello, but he did take her hand.

Kelly’s
jaw locked. Ashlynn wore a ribbed, white tank top. Her curves displayed even
more than the last time she’d gone on a date. She had a good sized chest, more
than a handful, but nothing a guy could suffocate in. He bet she wore plain
cotton panties, no frills for his little farmer.

She’s
not yours!

There was no turning off the blooming obsession
he’d developed. At the moment he was working with a few scenarios. One, he was
looking out for her. Not a likely truth, but he seemed to react whenever the
other man got a hand on her. Two, she scorned him with her little comment about
the company he kept, which pushed his buttons and opened up some old wounds. Or
three, he simply wanted what he knew he couldn’t have. Then there was scenario
number four. She was a challenge.

The fourth scenario was a tricky one. He couldn’t
have her, because he couldn’t be what she deserved. However, the moment she
made this clear in one of their exchanges over the last week, a part of Kelly
came alive and preened at the challenge. It was playing with fire and eventually
he’d have to back off, but the intrigue was there, more so than with any other
female at the moment.

For years his siblings had broken his stones about
Ashlynn Fisher’s crush. Her moving on to other men alleviated a lot of the
complications she put on the table. But the moment her attention went
elsewhere, he lamented its presence in his life. He needed to figure out if
this was a matter of sheer will—her denying herself what she knew she shouldn’t
have—or if he was losing his mojo and she honestly was over him. Either way, he
was in complete control—or so he told himself.

Her
back showed in the racer back tank and Kelly admired the play of muscles
gleaming under the streetlamp. Okay, maybe he was losing a bit of his control.
There was something undeniably alluring about her.

Her
shoulders and arms were naturally toned. Her legs also didn’t have an ounce of
jiggle. She must work her ass off in that garden of hers. She’d have to, in
order to supply her own farmer’s market.

They
disappeared through the front door of the bar and Kelly turned to Naomi or
Nadia or whatever her name was. The girl had been chattering about God knows
what as she fixed her lipstick.

“I
gotta go,” he said, darting toward the back of the bar.

“What
about tomorrow?” she yelled after him.

“I’m
busy,” he shouted as he ducked inside.

“That
was quick,” Sue said, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t expect to see you again
until tomorrow.”

Kelly
quickly washed his hands and dried them on a rag. “Yeah, well, I changed my
mind.”

“Why?
Was she a chin licker?”

He
turned and frowned at her. “A what?”

“You
know, a chin licker…bad kisser.”

He
laughed. “Honestly, I can’t even remember how she kissed.”

No,
he could only recall one kiss, one heart searing, brain numbing, cock
throbbing, need to have you right now kiss, he hadn’t stopped thinking about
since last Saturday.

His
eyes scanned the bar and found Josh and Ashlynn sitting at the same booth they
occupied the week before. “I’m gonna go check on the tables.” Sidestepping, he
slipped past Sue.

“We
don’t have any tables—Oh…my mistake.” She smiled like a wicked witch. “Yeah,
you better see what they need.”

Kelly
approached the booth in the back and drilled his stare into Ashlynn’s. Her
attention diverted from whatever Josh was saying and locked on him as color
tinged her porcelain skin. “Hey, Ashlynn.”

“Kelly…I
didn’t think you were here tonight.”

“I’m
always here.”

“Hey,
Kel, can we get a diet cola and a draft?”

Kelly
nodded, but didn’t look at Josh. His gaze remained on Ashlynn, her spiky blond
hair forming two pixie like wisps by her ears and swooping over her forehead.
He recalled how soft it was, not stiff with product like most girls’ hair. God,
he’d like to get her in a
Tinkerbell
costume.

The
flush on her cheeks deepened and he realized he was standing there staring at
her. He turned to Josh. “Where’re you two coming from?”

“We
had dinner down at Jack’s place, but figured we’d stop here.”

Ashlynn
never drank. He wondered if that was another thing with her faith, or perhaps just
something she had yet to try. So many cherries to pop. It was strange that her
inexperience somehow turned from something he avoided to something he coveted.
Could all these changes come from simply seeing her with another man? She’d always
been just Ashlynn, but now…something had changed.

He
shook off the thought and frowned. What the hell was he doing? She was here
with Josh. Even if she was inexperienced it wasn’t his duty to change that.

He
needed to get out of there and regroup. “I’ll get your drinks. Sit tight.”

As
he filled the order he continued to scowl. His fascination with her innocence
had nearly quadrupled in the past week. Was it some innate male thing that made
her virtue appeal to him? Was she channeling his inner caveman? Why was he so
obsessed with her all of a sudden?

“You’re
spilling.”

At
Sue’s voice he glanced down and saw the diet cola overflowing. He released his
hold on the gun and tipped the foam off the top of the glass. Pouring Josh’s
beer, he added two cherries to Ashlynn’s glass and returned to the table.

They
were in the middle of a conversation when he placed the glasses on the table.

“I
was so surprised,” Ashlynn was saying. “I was going to buy it anyway, but my
dad beat me to it.”