Rough Ride (11 page)

He moved his hand up and cupped a breast like he’d been dying to last night. Just leaning forward, leaving a kiss on the raw redness from her bra—it liked to have killed him. But not tonight. She was all his, all evening. She moaned under him as he rubbed his thumb across a tight nipple. Lifted her chest, pressing her breast into his palm and he squeezed a little harder, pulled at the tip just a little bit more and her breath caught.

He dipped his head and pressed a light kiss to the top, a sooth after his roughness, only to move his mouth and do it all over again. Then he squeezed her other breast and sucked that one in his mouth while he pulled on the other. Flicked his tongue across her tight nipple until she panted. Her hands scraped across his head and held him tight to his chest.

“Lane.”

He pulled her breast into his mouth again and she straightened and tensed. Hips bucked. Her wet opening stroked his thigh and his cock hardened a little more. He dropped his hand down to her belly. Her stomach was tight under his touch as he moved passed her belly button and his fingers slipped between her curls. Her thighs squeezed against his hand as he stroked along her entrance and inserted a finger in her gripping heat.

She gasped and he covered her mouth with his, kissed her while he slid his finger deeper inside. Her hips curved and moved with his hand. He flattened his palm to her front, hitting her sweet center and rocked as she came apart in his arms. After all this time, there wasn’t going to be any slow build up. Already he was aching to the point of tight pain pulling on his balls. They’d danced around this too much. He wanted her too much. He tested another finger in her and she stretched beautifully beneath him. Flushed skin, trembling body. God, she was a sight. She stilled. Her head lay back and he kissed down her throat past her cleavage and settled between her legs.

“Lane.” She gasped for air, but he didn’t want to hear whatever she might have been asking for. Wasn’t sure he could survive another moment if she said something he was aching to hear in her breathy whisper. He put his mouth to her opening and licked, sucked. She was sweet, light on his tongue and there was no stopping the moan of complete satisfaction rumbling through his chest as he licked and savored.

All that pie she ate had no doubt soaked through her skin and flavored her body. Because that’s what she was, a sweet dessert. He nibbled at her until she was close again. Her body tightened around his tongue. Her thighs squeezed on his ears and she cried out his name. Her voice echoed through the room, wound through him faster than it ever had before.

He moved over her for a condom from his nightstand. Fumbling with the package, he managed to cover himself and centered between her legs. He cupped her face and kissed her again, not getting enough of those special Gretchen kisses that drove him crazy.

He pushed the head of his cock into her tight entrance, planning to tease her, but the tiny move, her wet heat right there, licking the head of his cock, he couldn’t wait anymore and he pushed forward. Her body opened and she gasped. Her legs fell apart wider as he still pushed, wanting all the way in. Wanting that tight, gripping entrance to wrap around his cock and hold him.

He thrust until he could go no further. Hips on hips. Her gasping lungs pressed against his chest. He pushed hair from her face. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

“Lord, no.” She reached her hands down his sides. Her fingers stretched along his hips and he rocked against her. Immediately her thighs squeezed his legs, her insides held firm to his cock and he thrust. Now that he was here, now that she couldn’t be taken away from him, he slowed down. Needing a moment to catch his breath or he would spill before getting started.

He moved in easy strokes. Took his time and made love to Gretchen. Savored all of her cries and gasps of air. Slowly took her as her fingers curled against his sides and her hips lifted to meet his strokes. But he couldn’t hold off forever, not after all of the time he’d spent wanting her and he picked up his pace. Thrust faster, harder.

Her hands shook against him as she moved them up his chest and wrapped them around his neck. She pulled him down, his head against the crook of her neck as he filled her over and over. Her fingernails pressed in his back. Her insides squeezed so hard on him he was coming faster than he wanted, but he couldn’t help it. Gretchen did this to him. Made things different from every other experience.

She cried his name at last. Her body stilled and he thrust again, giving over to his orgasm as she squeezed and held him tight. He rolled off her, but kept her tucked against his chest. He cupped her cheek and angled her to look up at him.

Her eyes were drowsy, a lazy smile on her lips. He stroked his thumb across her cheek. “Didn’t get to ask you, but, how was your day?”

She smiled. “Excellent now. Yours?”

“I’d say the same.” He could not stop touching her or caressing her sides or back. It was dangerous, he knew. He should probably get out of this bed and keep this what it was, but he couldn’t. This, right here, was what he wanted. Pillow talk. A soft woman in his arms drawing circles around his nipple. Instead of doing the right thing, he relaxed in his bed, kept her tucked against his side and just enjoyed the moment of not needing to do anything or be anywhere. “I cleaned out a big section today then chopped a load of firewood.”

“Firewood?”

He nodded. “Trent figured some of the townspeople could use some of the firewood. He talked with Tonya, and she’s put a notice out in her diner for first come, first serve. Usually men pull up, chop what they want and go. This was an older woman. I chopped for her.” He squeezed his stiff hands from gripping the ax all afternoon.

She breathed deep and managed to scoot a little closer. “Well aren’t you cute and adorable.”

He grinned, because yeah, he knew he was racking up the brownie points.

“You must be starved after all that.”

“Little bit. I put a dinner in the oven, but turned it off when I found you waiting for me.”

“Good thing. You didn’t even look in the refrigerator, did you?”

His stomach growled. “You brought me something?”

She nodded.

“What?” The idea of Gretchen cooking had his stomach rumbling already. Yet another reason he should remember what this was between them, but couldn’t. It was going to be pure hell returning back to Louisiana. All he could do was take what he could now and maybe that’d be enough for later.

“You’ll have to go see.”

He pulled away and stepped out of bed. She chuckled as he left room, anxious to find what she’d hidden there. She was spoiling him. He knew it. She probably knew it. He opened his refrigerator and found a pile of raw meat in a plastic baggie. He frowned. “You brought me raw meat.”

She laughed and he turned to find her coming into the kitchen. She’d put on a big t-shirt and white cotton panties, which were only showing because her hands were up as she pulled her hair back. “Deer steak. Pull out my things from that other cabinet.”

He opened the one she pointed at and found a big skillet, oil and a bag of spices and vegetables.

“I didn’t want to cook until you got here, in case you came in late. It would be soggy.”

He walked across the room, cupped her cheeks, turned her face up, and pressed his mouth over hers. Even with it months away, he already knew that each new day with her was going to make it that much harder to leave.

Chapter
Twelve

Gretchen moaned and sighed, then wiggled her bottom into Lane’s lap. Could it get any better than waking to chills falling across her shoulders with a warm, hard body at her back? Oh wait, it could. It could also include a strong hand dipping between her thighs. With skilled fingers stroking, separating, causing her breath to catch.

“Good morning,” he whispered in her ear, the heat of his breath tickled her neck and she shook.

“Good morning to you.”

He turned his hand between her thighs, pulled a leg up and over his hip and widened her. “I think I’m going to be late for work. Again.”

She moaned and rocked against him, grinding her rear against his hard length. “Good thing you work for family then.”

He laughed. “Definitely good right now.”

He took his time making long, lazy strokes up and down her slit. She arched her back, pressed her bottom against his hard cock. Desire was already pooling between her thighs and nerve endings were standing on end as he pressed kiss after kiss to her shoulder and neck. While one hand did tricky slow things between her thighs, he curled his other arm around her and caressed his thumb over her nipples.

Oh, yes. More of this. Still ever slow about it, his fingers slipped inside and she gasped as he pressed and stroked. Her heart pounded. He pulled at her nipples, nipped her shoulder. She called his name out, needing and wanting more.

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “I love hearing you say my name like that.”

She tried getting his name out again, but it cracked in her throat.

He chuckled. “Hmm, that might have even been better.”

“Lane,” she rasped out.

“Yes, Gretchen?”

She shook, trying to hold on to his strong, soothing voice, but his hand pressed harder. The tips of his fingers turned and stroked. Everything else but the feel and the clean scent of his soap that she’d come to know on his skin was all that existed as she fell apart in his arms.

His hands came off her, a drawer opened and he was back. He grabbed her hips and she arched, curving her rear up as far as she could. His cock slipped between her thighs, pressed through her opening. She bent over for him. Even though she just had the best wake up ever, she wanted more. Lane did this to her, constantly left her in a state of wanting more and more and still more. He pulled her backside against him, slid all the way in and took her breath with his entrance. His length filled her and she pressed against him.

He thrust while tugging her hips back. He reached around, put his thumb to her and she came apart for the second time in a few minutes. He thrust as she squeezed with a cry rushing past her lips and he stilled.

She sank back against his chest and sighed. Oh, boy. A girl could get really used to mornings like this. In fact, this was the fourth morning of it and she had already gotten rather used to it.

He hugged her to his chest and his watch beeped from the nightstand. He groaned and rolled back. “I can’t believe it’s already seven.”

She rolled to face him and wrapped an arm around him, kissed his shoulder blade.

“Shit.” He sat up with a groan. “It’s already after nine. I don’t remember hearing my alarm this morning.”

She started to ask him to stay the day since he’d missed most of the morning already, but bit it back. They were together in this bedroom and nowhere else. “I don’t either. Did you set it?”

“I don’t know. Have to go though.” He kissed her shoulder and pulled away. “See you this afternoon?”

She smiled and snuggled in his warm spot. “I’ll be here.”

“Here, here?”

Her smile broadened. “Here…somewhere.”

He slipped out of bed and she rolled over, watching the open door of the bathroom, but was unable to see inside, only heard water running. A closet door slid open. After a few minutes, he stepped out in jeans and a shirt. “I’ll try not to be late.”

“Okay.”

He bent at the bed and left her with a toe-curling kiss. She waited until his front door opened and closed. His footsteps padded over the front porch and then the sound of his truck leaving the lot. She stretched and slipped from bed. With the amount of time she’d been spending at his house, she needed to get home and look through paperwork and pay bills on the park. She pulled on the shorts and shirt she’d worn over, let herself out and locked the door behind her.

The morning air was warm and muggy, the sun bright and direct. She kept her head down on the blinding pale-yellow gravel drive and hurried home.

“Nice walk of shame.”

She looked up and found Tonya standing on her porch with a cup of coffee and a big grin slapped on her face.

Gretchen walked up and sank into a chair along the corner of the porch. “It’s not the walk of shame.”

“Mm-hum.” Tonya sipped from her coffee. “What do you call it then?”

“The I-had-sex-last-night-more-than-once-then-again-this-morning-and-you-didn’t walk. And I’ve done it for several days.”

Tonya made a face. “Slut. Do you want breakfast?”

Her stomach rumbled and she was in need of something more than just pie. Which was the only fast thing at her house. “Do you have anything ready?”

She nodded toward her door. “Biscuits and juice. Some ham in the refrigerator.”

Gretchen stood. “Sounds awesome.”

Tonya headed into the kitchen and pulled out a plate. “It seems to be going well, between you and Lane.”

And there went that glow thing again. It’d been happening a lot. She didn’t know if people could see it on her face, but she could feel it. Just this pure, simple happiness that bloomed through her chest and body at even the mention of his name. Glow seemed the best word for it. She poured a cup of juice. “It is. Really well. He’s not completely what I expected.”

Tonya only lifted her brow and sipped her orange juice.

“He’s gentle and sweet.” She smiled.

“Don’t go there.”

“Go where?” she looked up and frowned.

“With your smiley, happy sighing ass. Don’t.”

Gretchen stared at her plate. “I haven’t forgotten he’s leaving and that this is all temporary.” Though at times, she wondered if he did. There was just something about Lane. He claimed to want his life back along the Gulf, away from his family, but he was such a family-like man at other times. “Hey, Tonya, do you think it hurts less if you know you’re going to get your heart broken?”

Tonya’s face softened and she rubbed a hand down her back. “Sweetie.”

“I don’t love him now…but I can see myself one day. And he’ll be here several more months. So, do you think knowing ahead makes it easier?”

Tonya’s eyes watered. “No, honey. No, I don’t think it does.”