Chloe's Secret (10 page)

Chapter 17

I had decided it was time to confront Mona about her secret. After all that had happened, she needed to tell her family. Perhaps I was selfish because I hated keeping it to myself, but regardless I was going to have a talk with the old woman. It wasn’t my secret to tell and I’d tried, but it didn’t go over well. Now was her time.

I went to the hospital fully prepared to chastise her for keeping such an important thing secret. She wasn’t there; she’d been discharged earlier in the morning. I had a choice. I could go to her house where I risked seeing Colton, or just leave it alone. Seeing Colton didn’t exactly scare me so I opted for a personal visit.

I’d never actually visited a working horse ranch before. Knotsberry Farm had been on my school field trip list in Junior High, but that didn’t count. I knocked on the door several times with no response, so I walked around the house. It wasn’t the normal type of house for the Midwest. A rambling porch surrounded it and I easily walked the entire house without stepping to the yard.

However, when I reached the back and looked toward the barn a wide row of steps made it easy to step down and traverse toward the barn and horses.

The loud sound of rock music filled the air—so loud it was difficult to hear anything else once I entered the barn. One of the horses looked over his stall, watching me. Bullwhip, I thought, but not sure. I was even less sure when I called out and two other horses looked out at me. There were small differences, but the horses were close in size, features, and stature, inviting me to give them my full attention.

“Back here,” a voice called, a voice hidden in the shadows of the barn. I walked between the stalls until I reached an open gate. Water sprayed up into the sun and glistened like a fountain.

I had expected to find Mona and the horses. I wasn’t sure what else, but it certainly wasn’t close to the picture that presented itself when I stepped to the gate. One of the horses stood tall and regal, tied to the fence, as he was being bathed. A man on the other side of him sponged and scrubbed him with a hose while the horse preened. The sun streaked over his wet hair, glistening as if oiled. He looked amazing . . . and he knew it.

“Is that Goliad?” I asked of the legs on the other side of the horse. Goliad, the flirt.

“Goliad’s in town. This is Felix. He’s one of the babies.” Colton’s husky voice already had my juices flowing, but when he rounded the horse as he spoke, my brain shut down.

Colton was sin on a stick. His wet t-shirt hung from the top rail of the fence, obviously discarded during Felix’ bath. Water rolled lovingly down his chest and glistened almost as slickly as on the horse, though it beaded up in a few hairs that rested between his pecs and over his navel. His jeans were dark from the wetness of either sweat or water and his hair was black and also slick. My mouth fell open and I stared.

“He’s no baby in my book,” I managed to mutter.

Colton turned his back to me, and my bottom lip quivered. His back, perfectly smooth rolled with muscle as he worked the sponge over the horse. Small drips of water trickled down the center of his spine and disappeared into the shadows of the low slung jeans. For the first time in my life, I imagined—

“Tess?”

I shook myself back to the present. “Ummm, what?”

“Did you want something?” He stood, holding the water hose as it puddle under the horse’ hooves. Should I
really
answer that? Ummm, yeah, where’s that whipped cream?

“I, uh, was looking for Mona. I went by the hospital and they’d sent her home. So, I thought I’d come by and check on her. Is she here?”

He untied Felix then leaned down, giving me a really nice visual of his backside, and turned the water spigot off. “She’s in the house, sleeping. She’s still not doing too good, but they’d had enough of her. The door’s unlocked, go on in and say hi, she’ll be happy to have a guest.”

“You live here too?”

“No, I have an apartment . . . actually it’s near you. I’m just helping with the horses until she’s better.”

He pulled the rag from his back pocket and walked toward his motorcycle, which sat on the concrete slab opposite the horse. When he leaned down and started wiping the water spots from it, I’d seen all I could stand.

Yikes, I can’t take this,
I thought as I turned and headed toward the house.

“Can’t take what, lucky bird?” he asked.

Uh-oh. I said that. I actually said it out loud.

“Nothing.” I headed through the barn, making a quick escape. He caught me in front of one of the horse stalls. Bullwhip, it said below the door in handwritten letters on the wood. So, they’re marked. Colton pulled my arm around and grasped it tightly as he stared at me.

“Can’t take what?” His delicious back was to the stall and the horse chose that moment to stick his head out. A big blockhead that shoved Colton right against me. Wet, fluid, dripping muscles smashed to my chest. I looked down at the hairs that glistened with water. I wanted to kiss them, or lick the water from them, I wasn’t sure which.

Bullwhip nuzzled the back of Colton’s head, further pushing his head right into mine—mouth first. Sexy, wet, dripping mouth right against mine. Yum. Damned horse. Damned water. Damned—everything. Especially me, because I wanted that mouth and everything that went with it. That was the real something I wanted. Not Mona.

Colton adjusted his head without pulling back and slipped his arms around me, slick wet chest and arms sticking to my cotton shirt. I opened my mouth and he kissed me deeper with his tongue sliding against mine. My head spun a little and I stepped backward, turning to position myself against the wall of the next stall. I needed stability. I needed—a lot of things but most importantly I craved more. I drew my hands up his chest, sliding fingers through the slippery wetness that oiled his abs.

Apparently that turned him on, because he pressed into me, capturing me full against the stall door. He slid a hand up to cradle my head as he delved his tongue deeper. “I can’t take it either, Tess.”

I wasn’t really sure what that meant, but I hoped I’d find out. Then a splintering crash occurred and I fell backward.
Ooomph
. Into a pile of straw, with yummy veterinarian bad boy’s full weight covering me.

I opened my eyes long enough to glance around the inside of the horse stall with wide eyes.

“You okay?” Colton asked.

Hmmm, I have wet, sexy
you
on top of me. “Great,” I huffed, “really, great.” I captured both sides of his head with my hands and pulled him toward me, because he looked like he was going to get up. He was going to uncover me from all that testosterone and frankly, I wasn’t ready to be uncovered.

Yet.

He grinned and I flashed one back at him, then he brought that mouth back where I wanted it. “I’m crushing you,” he whispered against my mouth as the water on him melted into my skin.

“Yeah.” I didn’t care. “Crush away, bad boy.” I had officially lost my mind. Gone delirious. And it was all his fault; no one should look that good wet. I pretty much threw my reserve to the wind at that point and mauled him. I’d never really been one to lose control, but I had officially done it. Gone over the deep end. I should have been embarrassed or disappointed, but that was not happening. I was simply
hot
. For him.

He kicked the stall door closed and we were alone. Well, except for half a dozen horses somewhere out there.

Which, for some reason, didn’t bother me. I ran my hands over his back, and down further to cup his very tight and firm butt. He lifted up for a second, and I ran my fingers between us and clutched into those deliciously wet pecs. He didn’t seem to mind because his hands were pretty much doing the same thing.

It wasn’t until I felt the straw against my bare back that I realized somewhere in the confusion, my boots had flown off . . . one by one. My jeans were off too, and my shirt was hitched up under my armpits while he sucked on my neck. One of his big hands was cupped over my breast with a thumb rubbing greedily against the tip, while the other hand squeezed inside the back of my panties. I was lying in a horse stall about to
do it
with a stranger. This had to be straight out of a movie.

When he ran those firm and wet lips down to where his thumb had left me panting and needy, I squealed. I couldn’t help it, it was amazing.
He
was amazing. And I was acting crazy. So
not
like me.

“Hello?” a voice called from the house side of the barn. Colton pressed his lips to mine and shook his head to shush me. Whoever it was, I really hoped they would leave. I was sure it would scare the bejeezus out of someone to find us half naked in the hay. Correction, I was half-naked, he still wore his jeans
and
his boots.

“Hello, anyone in here?” I thought I heard steps approaching.

Colton whispered in my ear, “Shhh, be still. They’ll leave.”

Seconds ticked away as he pressed against me fully covering me with his warmth, then the voice cooed somebody said, “Hey, big boy, I haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been?”

Bullwhip stomped and breathed out a rumbling snort, then the footsteps trailed back out of the barn. When the steps were sufficiently away, Colton let out a rasped sigh.

“Bad timing for a visitor, wouldn’t you say?” I started to scoot out from underneath, but he held me in place. “Hey, don’t be in a hurry now. Seems like that would make us both miserable.”

Obviously he had registered my stilted breathing and the fact that my nipples were on full alert with him against them. Yep, he bent down to bite into one through the lace of my bra. I sucked in another squeal. “Misery wasn’t exactly on my mind.”

“No?” He bit me gently again and ran a hand over my stomach, twirling fingers around my heaving naval. “What was on your mind then, Tess? Don’t tell me it was Grams, ’cause I know you’d be lying.”

Actually, she
was
the reason I showed up. Or at least that’s what I told myself, but in reality it wasn’t true. I just wanted— I didn’t know what I wanted. And it didn’t matter. I pulled his head down and positioned those lips back where I wanted them and he stopped talking. In fact, he didn’t make another sound until I slid my hand into the back of those jeans and clutched a handful of skin. Then he groaned.

And shucked the boots and jeans. When the warmth of
all
of him touched against all of me from ankles to armpits, I was lost. No going back. I’d had sex before so that wasn’t a problem, but I had a control issue. As in, I had to have it. I’d never lost it with a guy
ever
, until now. And it had completely flown out the window—or maybe barn door. Yes, I was doing
IT
in a barn, in a pile of straw, on the ground no less.
Wow. Serious lack of control.

He trailed his lips down my entire body, stopping only when he reached the wetness that he’d caused. Not from the water he’d drenched me with, but from the heat of touching, and kissing, and wanting. And he used that tongue until my eyes rolled back in my head and I held him tightly against me. I could feel tears starting to squeeze out of my lids. When I finally came, the spasms were strong enough to shake me out of my clothes—if I’d had any on, which I didn’t.

I hadn’t even gotten my breath back before he had scooted back up and slowly, gently worked himself between my legs. He had rummaged through the discarded jeans and found the necessary protection, thank god, because I ha d completely forgotten
that
part. I felt him hot and hard against me as he teasingly slipped in, then stopped. His chest pounded against mine and he stared into my eyes. His were completely dark. He looked hot but confused—and concerned. I saw the hesitation. Then I wrapped both palms around his hips and pulled him to me, hard and greedy. I forced him to take the final step, which he did.

“Yes,” I whispered as he closed his eyes and struggled for control.

“Shit, Tess.” His face was strained, his neck pulsed, as he pulled back and stroked again and again. “Oh, my God, look at you.” He held himself up with forearms as he continued to fill me. I could feel his heartbeat throughout his entire body as the tension climbed and climbed. His release was more violent than mine. He grasped my hips and pulled me to him, melding us together in sweat, straw, and heat as his body convulsed until he collapsed. With a satisfied hum, he slid to lay with his head snuggled against my neck. One bare leg lay across me, holding me down, until his breathing returned to normal. And the straw itched against my backside.

Then I panicked. Grasping for clothing, I slipped on my panties and bra in a hurry, and grabbed for my jeans. He clutched the bottom of them as I tried to get a foot in.

“What’s wrong?”

What’s wrong?
He lifted up, naked as a jaybird, unconcerned with the straw or the ground, and watched me.

“What’s wrong? We’re naked. With people coming in and horses all around. That’s what’s wrong.”

“There aren’t any people here. Just us. And I kinda like the naked part.” He let go of my pants and wrapped his fingers around my wrist, then yanked on it. I tumbled into him and he slid those big hands around my waist. “You’re okay with this, right?”

Other than the fact that I was completely embarrassed, and I’d just had sex with a man I barely knew anything about. In a barn, no less. I lied, “Sure.”

He let go of my arm and I slipped into my jeans, tugged my shirt back over my head, and pulled on the boots. I felt like such—a tramp. I stood up and brushed the straw from my clothes. I was about to open the stall and run when he pressed into me from behind. All of him. Every naked inch.

Colton lifted my hair from my neck with one hand and trailed his lips down my neck. “You’re lying, Tess. I can see the terror in your face. You’re scared as hell.”

“Of you? Don’t kid yourself.” I pulled the stall opened and rushed out, leaving him completely naked—and watching, and it took every ounce of shattered control to not look back.

I was officially nuts. It wasn’t bad enough that I had nearly lost my job. Or that I had practically killed myself on a motorcycle. No, I had to take it to total destruction. My entire life had spiraled completely out of control and I’d capped it off with
that
. What was wrong with me?