“Yes.” She looked up and smiled. “I’d love to.”
On the way to Bisbee, Kade used his cell phone to call Nicole to see if she had an available room. Fortunately she did have one left, and said it was all theirs.
He also called Sadie and let her know that he and Kelsey wouldn’t be back until the following night. He could hear the smile in his mom’s voice when she told him to have a good time.
Sadie was more than delighted with Kade’s interest in Kelsey, and if he knew his mom she was probably working hard to finish that wedding ring quilt. More and more, Kade was finding he hoped she would need to.
Chapter 23
“We’re lucky Nicole had an available room,” Kade said as they walked into the bed-and-breakfast. “Couldn’t get into this place normally. We’re in historic Old Bisbee. A real tourist magnet. Tomorrow, I can show you the sights—all two of ‘em.”
He signed the old-fashioned guest register with the plumed pen provided by a man who looked like he came straight from the sixties. He wore a faded tie-dyed T-shirt and frayed jeans, had a flowing beard, and long blond hair held back with a leather strap.
“All we have is the honeymoon suite.” The clerk handed them a set of brass keys, rather than a modern key card.
“Where’s Nicole?” Kade asked. “I’d like to introduce her to Kelsey.”
The clerk shrugged. “She’s out with her cousins.”
“Maybe we’ll catch her in the morning,” Kade said as he took Kelsey’s hand and led her up the stairs.
A paisley carpet runner covered the polished wooden staircase, and every step creaked. Old-fashioned gas lamps lit the stairwell and hallways, and the walls were painted a deep mulberry. At the top of the staircase, their room was the first to the left.
When he opened the door, Kade thought it was a nice room, as far as rooms went. But Kelsey seemed enchanted.
“Incredible. All the furniture is at least 1800s, and this pitcher and washbasin are fabulous.” Kelsey tossed her purse on the bed and then dodged into the bathroom. “This is so wonderful. And the tub is enormous.”
She peeked around the corner and gave him a sexy smile that made him hard in a rush. “Big enough for two.” She went back into the bathroom. “Oooh, and champagne bubble bath, too.” He heard the pop of a cork and then running water.
“Right behind you.” After he pulled a foil package out of his wallet, Kade tossed the wallet into the top drawer of the dresser, slid his Glock next to it, then peeled off his clothes. An ice bucket with a chilled bottle of champagne sat on the vanity, along with two crystal glasses and a note that read Compliments of the staff on your honeymoon.
Kade smiled at what he was sure was Nicole’s mischievousness. He had dated her a couple of times, but they’d decided they enjoyed being friends more than they liked dating each other.
He opened the bottle, poured two glasses full, and managed to carry both along with the bottle to the bathroom. By the time he joined her, Kelsey was chest-deep in bubbles. She was leaning back in the tub with her eyes closed and a look of total relaxation on her face. He set the champagne bottle on the vanity beside the tub before he climbed in.
Water and bubbles rose and splashed over the side as he settled next to Kelsey, his naked body sliding along hers. He pressed one of the chilled glasses against her left nipple and her eyes flew open.
“That’s cold,” she murmured as the nub grew taut and he brushed the glass across the other nipple, making sure it had equal attention. “You naughty boy.”
He winked and handed her the glass. “How about a toast?”
“Mmmm, champagne.” She took the crystal stem and held it up. “To what?”
“To us.” Kade brushed his lips over hers. “And to first times.”
“First times?” Her breath was warm on his mouth.
He took his glass and slid it to the sensitive spot between her breasts. “First time making love in bubbles.”
Kelsey gasped and shivered at the feel of the crystal sliding over her skin. “I’ll toast to that.”
Kade clinked his glass to hers, the sound like the sweet chime of a bell. Feeling utterly content, Kelsey took a single swallow of the golden fluid, the bubbles tickling her nose and her throat.
He drained his glass and set it on the vanity beside the tub. “Drink up, sweetheart,” he said with a glint in his blue eyes. “I want to take as much advantage of you as I possibly can.”
Kelsey couldn’t help a giggle. “All right.” She raised her glass. “Here’s to being taken advantage of by the hottest cowboy in the West.”
The corner of Kade’s mouth quirked as he watched her sip from the champagne. “Come on now, down it, honey.”
She took the challenge and tilted her head back and swallowed the rest in one long draught. When she handed him the glass, she was amazed at how she already felt woozy from the champagne.
He set her glass on the vanity with his, then grabbed the bottle of champagne. When he brought it toward Kelsey, she raised her eyebrow. “What are you going to do with that?”
“I like dessert with my champagne.” Kade tipped the bottle and Kelsey gasped as he poured some of the sparkling fluid over one of her nipples, washing away the soap bubbles from the hard pink nub and her breast. He lowered his head and licked the champagne with long strokes of his tongue.
With a moan Kelsey arched up to him, reveling in the contrast of the cold champagne and now his hot mouth licking and sucking her nipple. He poured more of the bubbly over her other breast and proceeded to lick it all away, too.
Kelsey could only feel, could only give herself up to the sensations. The champagne affected her senses and she felt so relaxed yet so hot for Kade.
“Hold on, honey,” he said as he set the champagne bottle aside again.
Kade settled on his haunches between her thighs. He positioned Kelsey so that her back rested against the side of the tub and she was in his lap, against his cock. She slid down a bit in the bubbles but braced her hands to either side of her. Her head was still above water as he hooked her legs above his shoulders, raising her ass up in his palms so that she was wide and exposed to him.
Somehow he managed to hold on to her and grab the champagne bottle, and then poured more of the fluid over the soft curls on her mound.
Kelsey cried out at the incredible feel of champagne bubbling over her. When he set the bottle aside, he raised her up while lowering his head and began licking and sucking her.
The tipsy feeling from the champagne, combined with the sensation of Kade’s warm mouth on her, was almost more than she could bear. Her arms trembled as heat rushed over her, expanding to every pore in her body. It was like fire, fire licking her from her toes to her thighs, her belly, and on up over her breasts and her cheeks to the roots of her hair. She gave a choked cry and almost slipped under the bubbles as her climax hit her.
Kade released her long enough to catch her to him and pull her up out of the water and onto his lap. She faced him so that her legs straddled his. His jaw tensed, his eyes sparking with blue fire as he cupped her head and brought her to him and kissed her. With her dazed senses she could swear he tasted of fire as well as champagne.
“I’ve got to take you.” His expression was fierce as he pulled away. “Now.”
Kelsey was burning up as he grabbed a foil packet that he’d apparently left on the vanity. He tore into it and in no time he tossed aside the wrapper and covered his erection.
“I want to fill you up,” he said. “I want to take you rough and hard. Is that how you want me to take you?”
“Yes.” Kelsey nodded, wanting this wildness, this freeness that she’d never before experienced. “Please, Kade.”
She gripped his powerful shoulders as he raised her up and brought her down on his cock, deep and fast. God, how he stretched her wide and filled her so, so deep. She let herself go and rode him hard, raising herself up and down his length. Her breasts bounced and her nipples ached as she gripped his sh
oulders.
He had a tight hold on her and he moved her even faster. “That’s it, sweetheart. Ride me just like that.”
Kelsey watched his face, his intent expression, the fire in his blue eyes, and the way he gritted his teeth as if holding back with everything he had. She pressed her hands on his shoulders and rose up and down on his shaft, slamming down on his cock so that it reached her G-spot again and again. Water splashed and blood roared in her head as he took her like he never had before.
All the sensations were too much. Kade’s tongue flicking against -her nipples, his cock deep within her, water sliding over her body. Kelsey came in a rush, her body so hot that this time she thought she’d burn into cinders. Her channel contracted around his cock, gripping and releasing him in wild flares as her body continued to tremble. Several more thrusts and Kade’s growl told her he’d climaxed. He gripped her hips tightly and she collapsed against him, their bodies melding together completely.
Sunlight spilled through sheer curtains at the bay window and onto their bed, caressing Kelsey’s face with its gentle warmth. Kade had molded his body to her back, his arm snug around her waist, and she could feel his cock, hard against her. She smiled, loving the feel of him against her, not wanting the moment to end.
His breath tickled her neck, and she shivered. He moved his hand to her shoulder and traced a pattern on her back with his finger.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was husky with sleep.
“Playing connect the dots,” he murmured. “You have the cutest freckles across your shoulders.”
She rolled over in Kade’s arms to face him. “Oh, yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.” He ran his finger along her collarbone, then down to the swell of her breasts. “More freckles here. And here. And here.” Kelsey stroked his cheek with her palm, his stubble coarse to her touch yet somehow erotic, inflaming her desire for him. He slid his thigh between her legs and she felt his erection hard against her stomach.
She wiggled so that his thigh was higher, pressing against her mound. “We’ll be late for breakfast, cowboy.”
“It’s a bed-and-breakfast. Bed comes first, then breakfast.” He lowered his mouth to hers, his kiss waking every nerve in her body. “Or breakfast in bed, which is what I’m interested in.”
With a teasing grin she slid her palm down his muscled chest, his tight abs, and down to his cock. “Can I have seconds?”
His mouth quirked into that drop-dead sexy grin of his. “And thirds.”
Kelsey kissed his chest, flicking her tongue and tasting the salt of his skin and breathing in his masculine scent. She didn’t care if they ever got out of bed. She couldn’t imagine a more perfect moment than this.
A rumble rose up in Kade’s chest and he worked hard at regaining his self-control. He intended to make love to Kelsey this morning, not hard and fast like they had last night. The way she was kissing and touching him, he was finding it harder and harder to hold back, but he was a man with a mission.
A mission to make her his... forever.
He loved her slow and easy, taking his time to taste and touch every inch of her. And when he finally slid his cock into her silky heat, it was like everything around them slowed to that one point in time.
He rocked his hips against hers, feeling a sense of satisfaction welling up inside him in tune with his building climax. This was his woman, and there was no way on earth she was getting away from him.
Chapter 24
They barely made it to breakfast in time. Kelsey let out a sigh of contentment as the desk clerk escorted them to a garden courtyard with a fountain splashing in the midst, a sheer rock wall hugging one side of the patio.
Sunlight filtered through leaves of oak and mulberry trees, their shadows dappling the white patio furniture. A hodgepodge of geraniums and roses in brilliant hues of reds and pinks crowded the tables. Because she and Kade had arrived during the night, Kelsey hadn’t realized that the B & B was nestled against a mountain.
A breeze caressed her skin, as soft as a newborn’s breath, the perfume of roses light in the air. Kelsey wore her hair in a French braid but felt grungy wearing the same clothes she had the day before. Kade promised to take her shopping after they ate, but once Kelsey got a look at the casual clothing of the hotel staff, she didn’t feel a bit out of place.
Kade introduced Kelsey to his friend Nicole, who owned the B & B.
“You’ve got a real cutie here,” Nicole said to Kade with a good-natured grin as she ushered them to a table for two and set out a menu for each of them.
Heat reddened Kelseys cheeks, but Kade said, “Don’t I know it.”
Once they had ordered, the vivacious Nicole stayed and chatted for a few moments, then went to greet more guests.
In no time at all, the waiter brought plates heaped with toast, scrambled eggs, sausages, and Danish pastries, then poured glasses of fresh-squeezed orange juice. Kelsey looked at the mounds of food and her appetite vanished.
“Is that all you’re going to eat?” Kade asked as she finished a piece of buttered toast and pushed her plate away.
She gave him a smile. “I’m full.”
Kade’s vivid blue eyes bored into her. “Sure you’re okay?”
“You worry too much.” Smiling, she reached down to squeeze his knee under the table. “When I’m with you, everything’s all right.
“So, tell me about this town,” Kelsey said, changing the subject before the moment got too serious.
Kade shrugged and reached for a cheese Danish. “Bisbee does have a pretty interesting history. Back in the late 1800s until the mid 1970s, it was a major copper mining community. It was called ‘Queen of the Copper Camps.’ ” He took a bite of his Danish.
Kelsey smiled, enjoying watching him. “Bisbee is an unusual name.”
He nodded and finished chewing. “It was named for a guy that never even set foot in this town. DeWitt Bisbee, a judge and investor from San Francisco.” Kade drank his orange juice, then set the empty glass next to his plate. “When I was a kid, I’d wonder how a guy could never bother to go see a town named after him.”
“Hey, he was from San Francisco. Can’t beat some of the snobs in my home city.” Her smile faded as she thought of Davis, the epitome of a successful elitist.
After breakfast, they strolled onto Main, a narrow street that snaked its way down Tombstone Canyon. Homes and trees clung to the steep sides of red canyon walls.
“Reminds me a little of home,” Kelsey said. “Though in San Francisco you don’t usually see houses that look like they’re going to slide off the side of a mountain at any moment.”
“A lot of people compare it to Frisco,” Kade replied. “But the weather here beats the hell out of your hometown. When I was in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, I almost froze my ass off, and it’s the middle of the summer.”
Kelsey nodded and laughed. “My favorite quote about the city is one by Mark Twain. I think it goes, ‘The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.’ ”
Kade laughed. “Twain also said that in Arizona the temperature ‘remains a constant hundred and twenty degrees in the shade, except when it varies and goes higher.’ ”
She leaned against his arm, feeling relaxed. And wanted. Something she hadn’t felt since her parents and sister had died. She didn’t care to think about how limited their time together was. Too soon the magic would end. Only in fairy tales could anyone be as happy as Kade made her. It couldn’t last. But today she would pretend that it would last forever.
Hand in hand they walked down the sloping sidewalk, from Castle Rock to the century-old masonry buildings along Main Street. Art galleries, potters, and antique stores filled the buildings that Kade said used to house department stores, jewelers, and banks when he was a kid.
They found an eclectic clothing store where Kelsey bought a filmy skirt and blouse that had been hand-dyed a soft rose. The skirt swirled around her ankles, just above her silver sandals, and the peasant blous
e rested off her shoulders. And she wasn’t wearing a bra or panties, which made her feel both sexy and naughty.
Kade smiled when she came out of the changing room wearing the new outfit. “Beautiful.”
Kelsey warmed at his approval, and they paid for the purchase, the clerk giving Kelsey a bag to carry her other clothes in.
They spent the morning exploring shops along Main. At a pottery store, she fell in love with handmade dinnerware in an unusual pattern of soft mauve, sea green, and butter yellow.
“Think this would go good in the kitchen when our new home is built?” Kade asked as she ran her hand over one of the glazed plates.
For a second her heart stopped when he said our home.
Stop it. He meant his and Trent’s.
Kelsey collected herself and replied, “Absolutely.” She pointed to the price tag. “It costs a small fortune, though.”
He nuzzled the top of her head. “I like it. Let’s get it.”
Let’s?
Their conversation with the potter was an experience. Half the time Kelsey thought the woman was in another discussion altogether. The potter wore a clay-streaked T-shirt and jeans, her long black hair tied back with yarn away from her thin face, and her hazel eyes seemed vague, as if she was thinking about something else the entire time.
Kade ordered the entire dinnerware collection and arranged to have it shipped to Sadie and Chuck’s home.
Kade glanced at his watch when they left the shop. “It’s after twelve. Ready for lunch?”
“Sure.” Kelsey hadn’t regained her appetite but didn’t want him worrying.
They chose a small sidewalk cafe where she was able to look out the picture window as they ate and observe shoppers and tourists. A sense of contentment filled her and she sighed.
“What?” Kade asked as he looked up from his menu.
She smiled and shook her head. “This day is too perfect.”
Her stomach flip-flopped as he gave her his slow, sexy grin. “If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?”
Kade: Armed and Dangerous Page 18
