Trail of Lust (8 page)

"Please, Graham!"

He lifted his head and smiled down at her. “Trust me, baby. I'll give you what you need."

With that, he gripped her chemise and inched it over her body, skimming her skin as he did. When she lay bare beneath him, he set about exploring her every inch with his mouth. His cock strained against his fly, determined to gain release. But he tamped down his desires, wanting first to look at her body in the light.

He turned her this way and that, finding each tiny freckle. The curls covering her sex were dark red and glistening with moisture. He groaned and buried his face between her fragrant breasts.

"How did I find a woman as beautiful as you? I love the look of you, the feel of you...the taste of you.” He claimed her mouth again in a tongue-swirling kiss that stole his control.

He reached between her legs and stoked her fires. Pressing her hard nubbin with his thumb, he sank his fingers into her wet folds.

Heat tore up his arm, traveled down his shoulder, and lodged somewhere around his heart. He bit off a groan. Fuck, she was ready for him. Soaking wet.

He slowly eased his fingers from her, leaving her gasping. Holding her gaze, he stuck his fingers into his mouth and lapped his digits clean of her juices.

"I-I want to taste you too, Graham.” She placed a hot palm on his groin. Flames licked his insides.

"Christ, woman. You undo me.” He pressed on her wrist, pushing her hand harder against his erection. His balls swelled with impending release.

With a growl, he tore her hand away and dove between her thighs. Gripping her dainty ankles, he pressed her legs upward, spreading her pussy to his mouth. He opened his lips over the slick folds, driving his tongue deep into her channel.

She bucked against his face, humping his tongue. He licked the core of her, stretching his tongue deeper in an effort to reach her neediest spot. Then, lapping upward, he found her pulsating clit. He suckled it gently, applying the scantest pressure.

Twisting her fists into the bedding, she cried out. “Graham, I need you!"

"You need this.” He swirled his tongue over her hardened pearl again and again, feeling her tense with each pass. He slipped two fingers into her pussy and thrust them.

She quivered all over. He gazed up the length of her body, watching the bliss claim her beautiful features. Her pale skin was bathed in a sheen of perspiration, and her auburn hair tumbled into one hooded blue eye.

He curled his fingers.

Waves of release broke over her. Her hips rose and fell to the rhythm of his heart. Her orgasm sent shocks up his arm, and another bit of his heart cracked open and flowed out to her.

Before she completely came down from the high of her release, he was shoving off his pants and had poised himself between her thighs. She wrapped them around his hips. A current of passion hung between their gazes as he slowly entered her.

She pinched her eyes shut, and her face twisted with pleasure. “Fill me, Graham."

Her bold words drove him on. He sank balls-deep. Covering her with his body, he captured her mouth in a searing kiss. A fog of sensation surrounded her, stealing her senses. She could only think in fragments.

For long minutes, their kiss spiraled out of control as he moved within her depths. The pain of their first encounter was long gone, leaving only a bit of tenderness and a lot of need.

Rocking against him, taking him deeper, she watched his handsome features spasm. Her juices drenched him, and her walls contracted sporadically around him—an aftereffect of the toe-curling release he'd just given her.

His scents dizzied her. Male and leather and a hint of hay. He'd shaved for their wedding day, but the faint shadow of hair was already present on his cheeks and jaw. She outlined the shape of his face with her kisses, tasting, nipping, scraping her teeth against his jaw.

He took her higher and higher, hitching her legs farther up on his waist. After plunging into her this way for a minute, he wrapped his fingers around her ankles and brought her legs up before him.

Instantly, she was at the pinnacle of pleasure. She clung to the edge of the cliff of ecstasy. One more thrust, and she was tipping over the edge.

He poured his hot seed into her pussy at the moment she shattered. Her juices mixed with his, their moans a symphony. Each twitch of his cock sent another pulsation ripping through her body until she gasped for air.

Tears filled her eyes and broke free. They rained down her face and wet his cheeks as they kissed.

Feeling the moisture, he broke the caress and looked at her. “Did I hurt you, baby?"

Unable to speak for the lump in her throat, she shook her head.

He caught a tear on his thumb and licked it off. The gesture touched her heart, a touch more intimate than the one that had sent her sailing a moment ago.

He continued to kiss away her tears. His big body pressed her down so perfectly. This was absolutely right—their union. Their passion.

She wrapped her arms snugly around his body and drew him even closer. Their breathing slowed, and her heartbeat returned to normal.

"You gonna tell me why you were crying, love?"

A brand-new throb took up residence in her chest. Love? Surely it was just an endearment. He couldn't possibly be feeling the fuzzy sensations she was. But it didn't matter at the moment. He'd bound himself to her.

Too bad he insisted upon keeping their union a secret.

She searched his gaze. The golden-brown depths of his eyes sparkled, and his pupils were blown wide. He dropped his forehead to hers and rubbed it back and forth. His soft hair tickled her temples.

"You've made me a happy man this night."

Her heart surged. “I'm filled with joy to be your wife. But...must we really hide it?"

His sigh washed over her face. He tightened his hold on her until she could barely draw breath. “I'm sorry, baby, but it's something I must do. If I hadn't been so hasty in making you mine and had courted you in a proper fashion, I would have already made certain no dangers could touch you."

"You really believe there are any?"

He leaned away to fix her in his level stare once more. “Allow me this, Kathleen. It's—” He broke off and struggled for words. His tortured expression backed her belief in what he was saying more than anything else. She couldn't bear to argue with him. “It's something I must do. I cannot take a risk with you."

The throaty way he spoke and the way he touched her gave her hope that she meant something to him already. As long as she had that, she could wait to claim her place at his side. She turned her lips to his and felt the first stirrings of his body even as hers quickened, eager for more.

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Kathleen's kisses and the feel of her body against his still lived in Graham's mind as he hurried her across the expanse of ground to her house. He'd barely been able to wrench himself from her arms and force her back home through the early hours before dawn.

He'd stopped at the church and recovered her hat but refused to allow her to cover her auburn waves, which were still mussed from his hands.

He dragged his gaze from her once more. Damn, he was on the verge of hauling her off to the high grass again.

At the corner of the closest outbuilding to the house, they stopped. A shiver rippled through her and threaded through their entwined fingers. She gave him that wide-eyed, innocent stare that nearly unhinged him. Yes, protecting her had become his world.

"Baby.” He cradled her cheek with one palm. “I'll be back for you tonight. Maybe sooner. I might have to pay a call to that newborn calf.” He smiled, hoping his false sense of lightness would spread to her.

"How long is it going to take you to finish this business, Graham? Before we can live properly as man and wife?"

"Not long. I promise.” He scanned the house for any sign of movement. That Silas hadn't noticed his daughter wasn't in her bed two nights in a row was surprising. The old man was still sharp, and Kathleen couldn't be that good of an actress.

"All right, now go on in.” He released her reluctantly—first, peeling his hands off her, then setting her back a couple of inches so their bodies no longer touched. In a short time, she'd consumed him just as his first wife had. He prayed things ended better this time around.

He wanted the lifelong connection his parents, aunts, and uncles had. Even his cousin Xander had found a female to settle down with and a man who shared their bed too. Now Graham held the fragile string of a new relationship, but until he knew no one could snap that string, he'd never rest. Never truly be happy.

He sighed. With a nudge on her spine, he sent her away. She carried her boots again so the thump of the heels didn't sound on the wood floors once she was inside. Tripping barefoot across the turf, she sent a longing look over her shoulder that made his throat clench.

She turned again, her hair fanning in an arc around her narrow shoulders. If he lived to be a hundred, he'd never forget this moment. Or this night.

All the way home, his thoughts were filled with her. Heaviness throbbed in his groin as the memories of their lovemaking tormented him. When would he next hold her in his arms? He longed to get her into his own bed.

By the time he reached the Hollis lands, the sun had risen fully into the sky. He paused on the rocky ridge to stare across the valley. From here, he had a view of the entire ranch. Four curls of smoke from four chimneys crawled into the sky. On the flat of the hill above, a little log cabin nestled, belonging to Xander.

Graham's stomach rumbled. His ma would have a stack of pancakes for him, if he was lucky.

Spurring on Old Gray, he dashed down the steep slope and raced across the valley, imagining how it would feel to ride into the yard with Kathleen in front of him. Introducing her to the family would be harrowing, to say the least. His brothers and cousins could take their teasing too far. He could almost hear them now—the “dark horse” among them, Graham, had taken a wife? And in secret, what else?

He was a dead man. No Hollis could get away with it, and Graham would be battered with questions about his motives for keeping Kathleen a secret. Suddenly, if Graham were hemmed in by Wabash and his family, he'd rather go up against Wabash. Right now, it seemed the easier way out.

As he reached the house, the clatter of wagon wheels echoed through the valley. Drawing up short, he looked up to find a wagon full of Hollises bouncing toward him. He smiled to see the familiar blue hat of Xander's wife, Annabelle—a woman who looked so much like Bella it had nearly put a rift between him and Xander when Graham had insisted on claiming her.

He shook his head, still filled with guilt by his actions. Of course, he'd made amends, but he always approached the woman with a certain amount of caution when Xander or James, her other lover, were around. The men were possessive about their woman.

Graham swallowed hard. What would Kathleen be doing right now? Fixing breakfast for her pa and the hired man, no doubt. A frisson of unease wove through him. Something about that ranch hand unsettled Graham. The man hadn't lifted a finger to help with the calf pulling. In fact, he'd been nonexistent until after the work was done.

"Ho!” Xander's command for the horses to stop boomed out.

Graham dismounted and strode to meet the wagon. James and Annabelle were in the back with the baby. Little Sadie was snuggled in the crook of James's arm, sleeping like an angel, her rosebud lips pursed and dark lashes casting shadows on her baby cheeks.

For the first time ever, Graham's heart turned over at the sight of a child. Visions of an auburn-haired, pink-cheeked baby flitted into his head.

He stuck out his hand for Annabelle to take and pulled her to her feet, but she remained in the wagon. “A mighty cozy family you have here, men."

Xander twisted on the wagon seat and flashed a smile. His hat was pulled low against the glare of the sun, but it didn't hide his happiness.

Soon I'll have that too
. “What brings you today?"

James passed the baby to Annabelle before jumping down from the wagon. He helped Annabelle out just as Xander climbed off the seat.

"The big dinner's today, remember?” Xander moved toward his family, snaking an arm around Annabelle and James.

Graham racked his brain, trying to figure out what dinner his cousin was talking about.

"You don't remember, do you?” Xander laughed and shook his head. “It's only the biggest dinner of the year in our family, Graham. The celebration of our Grandfather Hollis's arrival in Texas."

"Damnation, today?” Each year, the Hollis clan flocked together to share a day of relaxation in honor of the man who had brought them all here into this part of the country. While Graham loved listening to stories of his grandfather, who some said he resembled, it was also the last thing he wanted to do today. Thoughts of Kathleen tormented him. He wanted nothing more than to head into the stable and start his work. Maybe later catch a nap before riding across the fields to her house again.

He doffed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. Would anyone notice if he shot out of here? Being surrounded by family was far from his idea of enjoyment at the moment.

"Hell, why hadn't I noticed before now that you're all duded up, Graham?” Xander's voice annoyed him further. “Where you been, all dressed up like that?” He looked around. “Are you just coming home?"

Graham glared at him. “Mind your mouth."

"Won't matter if we do. Here comes Clay."

"Fuck,” Graham said under his breath. Jamming his hat back on, he put his head down and started toward the house, hoping Clay passed without a word.

"Well, here comes the eldest son of Robert and Felicia Hollis,” Clay drawled. He strutted a circle around Graham, gazing at his attire pointedly. “Why, brother, it looks as if you've been courtin'."

Graham clenched his teeth and gave his brother his best “kick your ass” glare, but Clay just laughed.

"Not courtin', I see. With your disposition, I don't know a woman in the county who would accept your attentions."