For Love's Sake Only (8 page)

Grabbing the condom from his shirt, Ty ripped through the foil, impatiently sliding the ribbed condom onto his hard shaft. “I can’t get over how beautiful you are,” Ty murmured as he moved toward her, aroused and eager. “And this ass ...” Bending down, he nipped at her firm cheek, rousing a hoarse chuckle from her before standing up again and positioning himself at her moist entrance. Grasping her hip, Ty angled her body for a smooth entrance. Her height was a bit of a disadvantage, but he knew once he was inside her tight sheath, he’d be able to maneuver her into a position they both would love.

Before pushing in, Ty slid his cock through the cream-coated lips of her sex. Teasing her engorged clit with the ribbed edges of the condom, Ty could feel the tremors quaking through her body.

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“Don’t tease me,” she demanded, as she pushed backwards trying to get him to slip in.

Her warm center called to him, beseeching him to enter, but Ty wanted Charlotte to be as far gone as he was.

He also wanted her to know who was in charge. Lightly smacking her ass with one hand, Ty pushed down on the center of her smooth back, holding her in place with the other. He liked her tied up and docile at his command. “How badly do you want it?”

“Damn it, Ty, don’t fuck with me,” she growled, looking over her shoulder at him like the fierce kitten she was. Ty loved it.

“You know what I want, sugar?” he asked, tormenting her clit with his cock. “Beg me.

Tell me what you need.”

“You. Inside of me, now!”

Raising her ass higher, Ty gripped her hips and drove into her moist center, almost stopping his heart in the process. It was always like that, the first surge into her body was all-consuming. The hot swath of her sex made Ty feel like his entire body was on fire.

Charlotte gripped the hay to steady herself, as he powered into her from behind. In this position, he was in complete control of the rhythm and motion, just the way he liked it.

Moaning, she cried out, “God, yes. Fuck me harder. Fuck ... me.”

“Harder, sweet baby? Is this what you want?” He panted, speeding up his rhythm per her request.

Charlotte’s guttural moans of appreciation were all he needed to hear to know she was right there with him. Gripping his fingers into the light brown globes of her ass, he looked down and watched as his pale shaft disappeared into her dark sex. The difference in their skin color provided the perfect contrast to highlight his cock driving in and out of her.

“Mine. Mine. Mine.” His brain parroted over and over in his head, beating the words like a drum into his mind.

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Pushing harder into her he quickened the pace, until he could no longer tell if he was coming or going. Charlotte had given up on all pretense of decorum and was crying his name with every thrust.

Raising his hand, he brought it down sharply against the curve of her bottom, sending Charlotte screaming over the edge. She came in a loud, orgasmic rush moments ahead of Ty, who rode her until their knees buckled.

Catching himself with his hands on the hay, Ty leaned forward and laid his head on her damp, quaking back as the aftershocks rocked through them. He could feel her lissome body quivering underneath him, and it made him want to gather her up and place her on the tallest shelf, to keep her safe from all harm.

This was his woman -- his woman -- and what they had was too good to give up. It wasn’t just sex. Sex he could get anywhere at any time. It was something more. Charlotte aroused his mind and his heart, as well as his cock, and she wasn’t something he was willing to do without.

Distance be damned. Ty wasn’t going to let Charlotte mosey her way out of his life, no matter what.

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Chapter Six

Despite every single one of her misgivings and doubts, somehow Charlotte and Ty were making it work. With the right motivation, the three-hour drive seemed to take mere minutes, especially when she knew Ty was waiting for her back at the ranch. Charlotte did most of the commuting, but she didn’t mind. The mileage was worth it to be back in his arms.

But today, today he was coming to her turf, and Charlotte had to admit she was a bit nervous. On the ranch they could pretend like the world didn’t exist, but here in Los Angeles they wouldn’t have such a luxury. It wasn’t the city she was worried about, so much as his reaction to her life.

Things in Charlotte’s part of the world worked a bit differently than they did in Santa Estrella. Her work and life was an important part of her, or it used to be, and she wanted Ty to see it firsthand. Maybe then he would understand why she still kept coming back.

Although Charlotte had to admit, even to herself, that it was becoming increasingly difficult to find a reason to come back home. So much so that Charlotte was at the point where she didn’t even understand why she was fighting her feelings for Ty any longer.

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“He’ll get here when he gets here,” Tamara teased slipping out onto the balcony, where Charlotte had snuck out from the office party for a few minutes of peace and quiet. “Geez Louise, woman, get off the man’s jock. You act like you haven’t seen him in years.” The cool night air drifted over her bare shoulders, causing her to shiver a bit. California was a warm state, but even here it got cold in December, especially in an after-five party dress, a dress that Charlotte had bought specifically with Ty in mind.

The black, knee-length, strapless dress was as simple to take off as it was to put on, and that was something she thought Ty would really appreciate. Rubbing her arms, she turned to her friend and smiled. “Five days can be a very, very long time.” Snorting, Tamara’s lovely face showed her disbelief. As Charlotte’s unofficial back-up date, she was decked out in her evening finery as well, her pleasantly plump figure accentuated in a two-piece forest-green pantsuit. “He must be king ding-a-ling, because you’re all kinds of sprung.”

“I’m not ...” Pausing in mid-sentence Charlotte gave Tamara’s comment a bit of thought. “Well, maybe I am, but you just don’t know ...”

“Know what?”

Know what it was like to be in his arms. Know what it was like to be loved and made love to by one of the best men she’d ever known. There was so much Tamara didn’t know, and there wasn’t enough time in either of their lifetimes for Charlotte to fill her in. “He’s just great. Just wait, you’ll see.”

“Hell, I’ve been waiting to see since the end of November, and if he’s not worth it, trust me, you’ll hear about it,” Tamara promised with a wink.

Charlotte wasn’t worried about whether or not Tamara and Ty would get along. They were both such easygoing people that it would be hard for them not to like each other. “He should have been here twenty minutes ago. I wonder if something happened at the ranch.” A large grin spread across Tamara’s face, prompting Charlotte ask, “What’s so funny?” Spurs & Mistletoe: For Love’s Sake Only

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“You are.” Leaning back against the rail, Tamara crossed her arms over her large chest.

“You’re wondering if your boyfriend had problems on the ranch. The ranch, for Christ’s sake. That’s funny as hell.”

“Shut up.” Charlotte was thankful for the low lighting that was hiding her flush. Saying it like that did seem sort of funny.

“I mean, did you ever see a horse close up, before your visit with the Ingalls?” Tamara ribbed with a grin. “You’re the woman who won’t go camping unless you’re sleeping in a cabin.”

“It’s not like we’re roughing it on his ranch, Tamara. He does have indoor plumbing, smartass.”

“But can you see yourself staying out there, like forever?” Yes, her heart and mind answered at the same time, shocking Charlotte into silence.

Looking over at Tamara who had lost all trace of her smile, Charlotte could only stare dumbfounded. She was in love with him, and she wanted to be with him forever. When the hell did that happen?

“Charlotte,” Tamara’s voice held amazement and disbelief. “You’re not in love with him, are you?”

“Charlotte,” a voice called from the open doorway, saving Charlotte from answering.

Turning, she raised a questioning brow to her co-worker, Val, who was smiling broadly at her. “I think your guest is here.”

Looking past Val’s shoulder, Charlotte saw Ty standing in the center of the room and almost swallowed her tongue. He was dressed in a dark suit like the majority of the men in the room, but unlike everyone else, he was wearing his black Stetson. Charlotte thought it was damn impossible for him to look any better than the way she had seen him in the past.

She had been wrong. Dead wrong.

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He didn’t just wear the suit. He wore the suit. His suit accentuated his large frame, making it seem as if it were molded for his body alone. And the hat that adorned his head, made him appear dashing and debonair. Ty looked fucking great.

Tamara pushed up behind her, staring across the room. “Is that ... is that him?” The awe in her voice broke Charlotte’s hypnotic stare.

“Yes,” Charlotte’s voice sounded almost as bad as Tamara’s did. “That’s my cowboy.”

“Oh ... my ... God.”

“You can say that again,” Val agreed, fanning herself with her hand. The blonde woman was eyeing Ty like he was a Prada bag on clearance. “I didn’t know they made men like that anymore.”

“They don’t,” Charlotte said, pushing past the fawning woman and into the crowded room. “He’s a dying breed.”

Ty was searching the room for her, giving Charlotte ample time to study him as she approached. Watching him with new eyes, eyes of love, Charlotte wondered what had taken her so long to realize what he meant to her. It wasn’t like she’d ever made such an effort with any other man in her life. That alone should have told her of her feelings, but now that she knew, now that she really knew, she just wanted to bask in the glow.

She was in love.

Charlotte was almost to his side before he spotted her, but when he did, his entire face lit up with joy. It was the most beautiful sight Charlotte had ever seen. Her man, happy to see her. Coming to his side, Charlotte stood up on her tiptoes and placed a warm kiss against his firm lips. Although she wanted to strip him bare and have her wicked way with him right there where they stood, she knew she couldn’t, so she kept her kiss quick, not wanting to tempt herself more than she already was.

Pulling back, she smiled up at him. “Hi, stranger.” Ty encircled her waist, holding her to him, and smiled back at her. “Sorry I’m late.” Spurs & Mistletoe: For Love’s Sake Only

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“I didn’t even notice,” she lied, no longer caring how long it took him to get there, just thankful that he was.

“You look beautiful.”

“As do you. I didn’t know you owned a suit,” she kidded stepping back to admire him up close.

“My good jeans were at the cleaners.”

“I bet. You know ...” Charlotte took his hand in hers, about to say something else, when she noticed the boisterous party had seemed to die down a bit. Glancing around she saw several people avert their eyes quickly, as if they hadn’t been staring. Smiling mischievously, Charlotte couldn’t help but to agitate the situation a little. “Good thing I like being center of attention.”

“I think we should give them something to really stare at.” Ty leaned forward and covered her mouth with his own before she could utter a word, and the second his lips touched hers, Charlotte lost all will to.

All thoughts of their surroundings, of the people staring, all fell to the wayside as she gave in to Ty’s demanding kiss. She was becoming an addict to his kisses. It had only been five days, as Tamara noted, since she had last seen him and yet she couldn’t stop kissing him.

She didn’t want to.

Ty was the first to break away, which was a good thing, because Charlotte could have kissed him all night. “I think we got their attention.”

“I’d say,” Tamara called from behind her.

Flushed, Charlotte backed up a step, desperate to get some air to her burning lungs.

“We were just trying to prove a point.”

“What, that you two need to either go to a hotel or charge a fee?” Winking at Charlotte, Tamara held her hand out to Ty. “Hello, I’m the best friend, confidante, and one of the many women who are gnashing their teeth in envy.” 64 Lena Matthews

Roaring with laughter, Ty took her hand in his own. “It’s very nice to meet you at long last, Tamara. I’ve heard many good things about you.”

“Not as good as some of things I’ve heard about you, I bet.”

“Really?” Turning his smiling blue eyes toward Charlotte, Ty asked, “What has she said?”

“She’s said --” interjected Charlotte, refusing to allow Tamara to get started, “-- that if my so-called friend says anything, she will die a slow death. A very slow and painful death.”

“You never let me have any fun,” Tamara pouted. Sighing, she turned back to Ty.

“Would you care to dance?”

“It would be an honor,” Ty said, taking her hand and placing it in the crook of his arm.

“I’ll be back.”

“I’ll be here.” Charlotte smiled, glad to see that the two of them were getting along.

The two of them no sooner made it to the dance floor, than Charlotte was suddenly surrounded by several of her female co-workers. “Who is he?” one of them asked boldly.

Charlotte turned to the lusting women and said the one thing she thought they needed to know. “He’s mine.”

There were too many men staring at Charlotte’s ass for Ty’s peace of mind. Not that he couldn’t take any or all of them at any given time; he’d just hate to spoil her little party with a blood bath. A party that was becoming increasingly closed in by the second, thanks to the women who wouldn’t leave him alone. Too many people, not enough space, and way too many hands accidentally brushing his ass were beginning to wear on his nerves.

Once was a mistake. Twice he could chalk up to an accident. But the third time, the third time would be considered molestation in any court of law. It was almost as if the damn women had never seen a cowboy hat before. Things were so bad, he was leaning against the Spurs & Mistletoe: For Love’s Sake Only