Crazy For You (11 page)

Ella switched to Carrie Underwood who started taking a bat to her boyfriend’s truck for cheating on her.

With a groan, Ella turned on some George Strait. That would keep her from thinking about her own cowboy.

Her
cowboy? She rolled her eyes. With a sigh, she reattached the hand then left it alone to work on the cowboy’s lean yet muscular body. She still couldn’t believe she was creating a sculpture of Clint busting a bronc.

Her memories took her back to when she’d been very young, from before she was even in elementary school. Clint had been like a big brother to her and used to have a cherry lollipop in his pocket whenever he came over. She smiled. She’d forgotten about that. Cherry had been her favorite.

She’d been a tomboy and had followed Bucky and Clint around the ranch, everywhere possible. They’d tolerated her most of the time, and Clint had always been nice to her, but often the boys would slip away before she could find them.

When a rattlesnake had spooked her horse, and she’d fallen off and hit her head, her horse had taken off and gone back to the ranch. Clint and the rest of the family had come looking for her, but he was the one who’d found her. He’d carried her home from the north pasture all the way to the house. She’d been a tough kid, but that had been a bad spill.

When she was young, Bucky and Clint had played kid games with her like Go Fish and Chutes and Ladders, and then Monopoly and Scrabble when she was a little older. In her pre-teens they had taught her poker and she’d gotten pretty good at it.

Once she’d entered her teens, everything changed. Clint no longer seemed like a brother and she’d been certain she was in love with him. Of course he’d been so much older than her that he still considered her his best friend’s little sister. She’d gone through a real awkward period in her life where she had become shy and embarrassed in front of him.

To her horror, when she was a teenager he’d once overheard Cara teasing her about having a crush on him. One moment it had just been her and Cara in her family’s living room and the next, Clint had been right there. Ella never knew exactly how much he’d overheard.

Her crush had lasted from junior high through high school until he left for God knew where. Even then she’d continued to think about him, to pine after him. It had taken a long time to get over Clint and realize he was never coming back.

Yet, now here he was, and he was interested in her in ways she’d only dreamed of. The age difference between them didn’t seem quite as big as it had when she was young.

But she still held against him the fact that he’d left them without a word, and stayed away without contacting them for so long. And now he was so sure of himself, arrogant and treating her as if she couldn’t do certain tasks without him.

The worst part was that he was probably going to be moving on… And she already knew she hadn’t fully gotten over him. In fact, she was petrified he’d take her heart with him again.

Clenching her jaw, she turned her thoughts away from Clint to concentrate on her sculpture. It took a while, but she finally relaxed and fell into sculpting, listening to music, and letting the world slide by.

Time slipped away before she was jerked her out of her artistic trance. Frowning, she raised her head. Something was off—she could feel it from head to toe. She glanced at the time on her cell phone and saw that she’d been sculpting for over two hours.

She took out her earbuds and set them on the workbench beside the sculpture and cocked her head. She heard a thump and her skin prickled. Maybe her dad had stopped by, yet no knock came at the front studio door.

The noise was coming from inside the cabin.

Her heart beat faster as she heard a scraping sound then felt the vibration of the front door closing. Her dad would not have come in either door unannounced, although maybe she just hadn’t heard him.

As she stood, she glanced at a short two-by-four close to her workbench and snatched it up before crossing the room and putting her hand on the doorknob. She took in a deep breath, opened the door, and came to an abrupt stop.

A pile was in the middle of the floor that included two duffel bags and a backpack. No one was in the main room that consisted of the kitchen and a living room that doubled as a bedroom with a pull-down wall bed and a couch. A bathroom was off to one side but the door was open, the light off.

Hair prickled at the back of her nape. The first thing that came to her mind was that some squatter had come in and planned to stay in the cabin, thinking no one would know. But that didn’t make sense because the cabin clearly wasn’t abandoned, so why would someone think they could squat here?

The cabin’s front door opened and Ella’s heart lurched as she whirled to see a large man silhouetted in the doorframe. She blinked against the sunlight, trying to make out the face as she raised the two-by-four.

The man shut the door and Ella’s body sagged with relief. It was Clint.

“Didn’t know that you came along with the cabin.” He moved his gaze slowly down her body and up again. “Nice.”

Her body tingled from head to toe and a flush crept over her face as she realized she was nearly naked in her tank top and panties. “What are you doing here?”

“I take it your dad didn’t tell you.” Clint shook his head. “You two really need to have a talk. This is where I’m staying while I’m working on the ranch.”

Her jaw dropped. “You can’t stay here.”

“In addition to pay he offered me room and board.” Clint looked amused as he studied her. “He mentioned you have a studio in the cabin.”

Why hadn’t her father told her? She’d been so busy the past couple of days that she hadn’t seen much of her dad, but he could have mentioned it at dinner. Although, when she thought about it, since he’d become more and more forgetful he may have forgotten that he hadn’t told her.

She was at a loss for words as she stared at Clint. The last person she wanted to be near had just invaded her space, and wasn’t planning on going anywhere.

He moved close to her and she felt his body heat straight through to her skin. “Love your working clothes,” he murmured as he skimmed his knuckles over her shoulder and the strap of her tank top.

She flushed. “Just stay out of my way,” she said as she fisted her hands at her sides, doing her best to not let him know how much he unnerved her.

“I don’t know why you keep fighting it.” He stroked her cheek with his fingertips, slipped his fingers into her hair, and cupped the back of her head with his hand. “I know you want me.”

His arrogant statement had her grinding her teeth. “Back off, Clint.”

He settled his hand on her hip and pulled her up against him. “Tell me to stop and I will,” he murmured before he lowered his head, his mouth hovering over hers. “Go ahead, Ella. Can you tell me to stop?”

She caught her breath at the feel of his rough clothing through her silky panties and her skimpy tank top. Tingles raced from her belly to that place between her thighs that had suddenly come alive.

He slid his palm from her hip and cupped her ass, pressing her closer until she felt his erection against her, long and hard.

She moved her hands to his biceps, feeling his power and strength through her palms. She knew she should tell him to stop, but instead she found herself clenching his shirt in her fists.

He gave her a slow, sexy smile before his mouth met hers. She gave a soft moan as he began kissing her with a seductive intensity that had her mind spinning. He lightly scraped his teeth over her lower lip before nipping at it. The sensation was so erotic that it sent her mind spinning and she felt like her knees might give out on her.

The way he was holding her to him made her feel like she had nothing to worry about—like he’d never let her go. He continued to kiss her gently and she kissed him with her own restrained desire. It was nothing like the fiery moments in the barn. This was slow and sensual, a seduction of her mind and body.

Why had she been fighting her attraction to him? Didn’t she want him more than she could have ever thought possible? Even when she’d had a long-time crush on him, she had never imagined the kinds of feelings he stirred in her now that she was an adult.

As he kissed her, he eased his hand down her belly and moved it beneath her panties and she stilled as he settled his palm on her mound. She trembled as he slipped one finger into the wetness between her thighs.

Her body went tense as he raised his head and she looked up at him, her lips parted. Before she knew it, she fell into the sensations of his finger rubbing her clit, causing her whole body to feel like she was on fire. It was the first time any man had touched her there. She had given herself orgasms, plenty of times, but experienced the touch of a man, never. Her eyelids fluttered closed and she moaned.

“Look at me.” His voice was rough as he spoke.

She opened her eyes again, her breath catching as she looked at him and the raw hunger and emotion she read in his gaze.

He watched her face as he moved his other hand to one breast and fondled her nipple. She fisted his shirtsleeves tighter, hanging on with all she had as he slid his fingers through her wetness, moving away from her clit and into her core. “You have no idea of the things I want to do with you, to you,” he murmured.

She swallowed, hard, unable to think clearly, much less speak.

“Do you like this?” He stroked her clit and she gasped. “Tell me.” He stilled his hand. “Do you like it?”

She wanted to scream at him not to stop but all she could do was nod and whisper, “Yes.”

The look in his eyes was one of satisfaction. He started to stroke her clit again and she whimpered.

He continued to play with her nipple as he moved his finger in her wet folds, and he brought his mouth down on hers.

An orgasm built inside her as she fell into the kiss, and she knew her climax would be more than anything she’d experienced before. She dug her fingers into his biceps as she held on to him, needing him to anchor her.

His kiss grew more passionate, but he continued to take it slow, building every sensation inside her until she thought she would truly go out of her mind.

Closer and closer she came to the peak, until her whole body was so sensitive she knew she couldn’t take much more.

And then she was flying, her orgasm sending her spiraling and spiraling. She cried out against his mouth and he seemed to take it from her and keep it, as if savoring her pleasure. He continued stroking her until a tear rolled from her eye. She struggled against him, begging him with her body to stop.

But he didn’t. He kept going until another climax swallowed her whole. More tears wet her cheeks and she sobbed from the incredible pleasure that was almost too much to bear.

When she came down she realized he’d raised his head and was watching her. Both his hands were now on her hips. “You look so beautiful when you come.”

She bit her lower lip, feeling suddenly embarrassed.

He moved his hands from her waist to her thighs and back to her waist again. “You feel so good. So soft and sweet.”

Heat burned through her. She’d thought that more than anything she wanted sex with Clint. But she wasn’t ready. She wasn’t experienced, couldn’t give him what he probably needed. He wouldn’t want a virgin.

She pushed out of his embrace, her face flaming. She turned, bolted into her studio, and locked the door behind her.

“Ella?” he said from the other side of the door. “Are you all right?” He sounded concerned as he spoke.

She jerked on her shirt, jeans, and socks, more tears welling in her eyes. She wasn’t sure why she was so upset except that she felt entirely inadequate. When her boots were on she sat on her stool. With her elbows braced on her thighs, she buried her face in her hands.

“Ella, come out here.” Clint’s voice was low, almost comforting, but it had the opposite effect on her. She felt worse than ever.

“Go away,” she finally said. “Just leave me alone.”

“I’m not leaving.” He spoke firmly. “Come on out. Let’s talk, please.”

Ella stared out the front door of the studio. She got to her feet and headed straight for the door.

Clint pulled his new truck up to his family’s ranch house and parked. When he climbed out, he breathed in the rain-fresh scented air. It had rained like hell again last night but today was clear as could be.

He avoided a puddle as he strode toward the barn where Cody was talking to a kid who nodded and took off in the direction of the corrals. Likely the kid was one of the 4-Hers who Cody had said he hired for help.

Cody slapped Clint on the shoulder when they met up. “I’m off work so you caught me on a good day,” Cody said. “Now you can take that old wreck off my property. So, Carl Fisher offered to let you keep it at his place?”

Clint nodded as they walked into the barn. “Carl has room in his shop and I can work on the GTO in my spare time. The tow truck should be here soon.”

Cody grinned. “So you’ve decided to hang around Prescott.”

With a shrug, Clint said, “For now.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” Cody shook his head. “Now that you’re back you know that this country is in your blood.”

“I’ve heard that somewhere before,” Clint said dryly as he thought of what Walt had said to him. “We’ll see.”

Cody snorted as they walked through the barn to where the GTO was being kept. “I wager you’re not going anywhere.”

Clint’s mind turned to Ella and he knew he shouldn’t take any wager from his brother. No matter what he’d told Cody, leaving Ella wasn’t something Clint wanted to do.

“You know a cowboy named Johnny Parker?” Clint asked Cody.

“Worked for me some time after you left, when he was seventeen. A real hard worker and a good kid.” Cody braced one hand on a beam. “He’s a rodeo champion now and damned good.”

“Know anything about him and Ella Fisher?” Clint asked.

“You got something for that Fisher girl?” Cody frowned. “She wasn’t more than a kid when you left. Fifteen?”

“Sixteen.” Clint blew out his breath. “She’s twenty-three now.”