by Vivian Arend
Allison wrinkled her nose. “If you’re too tired to talk, then maybe I should do all the…discussing.”
She leaned forward and their mouths met, and damn, he was glad she wasn’t the kind to just give up. He curled a hand around her waist, the other around her neck, and kissed her for dear life.
Her taste rolled over him, pleasure increasing. Her tongue teased his tentatively at first, then bolder as they tangled themselves up. Breaths mingling, bodies closer. Somehow she crawled into his lap, and he had her shirt tugged free of her jeans.
He slipped his palms up her torso, soaking in the warmth, the silky smoothness of her skin. She groaned into his mouth as he undid the clasp on her bra and snuck his hands forward, warm full globes of her breasts filling his hands.
Her nipples were hard against his palms as he rubbed slowly, loving the weight of her breasts, wanting more than to touch, but first, dammit, he was going to enjoy touching.
He remembered something from earlier in the day, a good memory, and he left her mouth to press his lips to her throat.
She sat up like he’d electrocuted her.
“Hmm, nice.” He nibbled on her neck while playing with her nipples, tiny pinches and tugs that made her volume increase and her squirming ratchet up a notch.
Her bra was in the way, and the fabric of her shirt, so he grabbed them both and lifted, Allison helping until she was naked from the waist up. He stared down, and that electric cattle prod zapped along his spine.
“Sweet Jesus, woman.”
She had a tattoo. And a belly ring. He traced the edges of the butterfly with his finger, the single wing he could see just poking out from the edge of her jeans.
She grabbed his hands and pulled them back to her breasts. “More. I’ll show you my tatts later.”
More? Gabe’s brain went into overload. “Allison, this isn’t the place, but damn if I don’t want you.”
She knelt and offered him her breasts, and thinking about putting the truck into drive and getting them home where there was a bed slipped away like the ashes of the fireworks blowing on the wind.
He licked her nipple, twice, just because he loved the sound she made the first time he did it. Then he switched to the other side and sucked.
He got lost for a while in touching and tasting. Coming back to her mouth again and again even as he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
When she popped the top button on his jeans, he finally found the strength to grab her wrists. “No room. Let’s take it home so I can make this good for you.”
She lifted a brow. “First, let me make it good for you.”
Nope. Not doing it. He still had enough of his brains, barely, to back the truck up, Allison squealing with laughter as he snagged her with one arm up against his side.
She kissed his neck, dragged her fingernails over his shoulder. Pressed her fingertips down his chest and played with his abs until he was ready to explode.
The truck skidded a little as they pulled into the parking space next to her car. He was parked twisted sideways and he didn’t give a damn. He had them out of the truck and into the cabin without stopping, without thinking. He carried her, leaving her boots abandoned behind them, shirt as well. All the way into the bedroom where he tossed her on the mattress and crawled over her, unwilling to take a break from making physical contact.
“Condoms?” Allison gasped when he finally sat up to strip off his shirt.
“Side table.”
She scrambled away as he jerked off his boots and peeled down his jeans. A pair of arms came around from the back, warm breasts pressed to his naked skin, her fingers flicking his nipples.
“Damn it, woman. I can’t think… Fuck—”
She’d slipped one hand all the way down and grasped his cock over his boxers, fingers wrapped tight. “Yes. Fuck. I want to. Need to.”
Maybe he should have stopped them, but that point had passed, and now there was no getting the horses back in the corral without letting them have a good hard ride.
He clasped her wrist and held on tight, turning to discover not only was she naked from the waist up, heavy breasts right at mouth level, her jeans were gone. The only thing remaining was a tiny triangle of sheer fabric over her mound. Dark curls showed through the material, and the head rush he felt nearly knocked him to the bed.
Which wasn’t a bad idea.
“Come here,” he ordered, tugging her downward. Allison collapsed willingly, hair around her shoulders, limbs at rest. Gabe leaned up and kissed her, one hand cupping her breast. Thumb sliding back and forth over the tip. When she gave him one of those sexy moans, he changed his tack, licking and sucking on her neck, moving his fingers lower until he covered her pussy.
“Oh God, yes.” Allison clutched his head, and he smiled all the way to her nipples. He pressed his fingers along the edges of her labia, the thin fabric of her panties slipping between her folds. The hard point of her clitoris sat up as if eager for his touch.
“Not enough.” Not enough time to do everything he wanted to. Not with the way his cock ached, wetness already marking where the tip pressed into the fabric.
Gabe kissed his way down her stomach, stopping to lick her belly button and tug lightly on the ring looped there.
He didn’t pause to take off her panties. Just covered her with his mouth and licked, hard pressure on the sensitive nub at the top.
Allison breathed erratically, chest heaving. She pulled up her thighs, knees falling aside to reveal herself, as much as she could with the material still between them.
He slipped a finger under the fabric, lightly tracing her opening. Again and again until she lifted her hips toward him, begging him for more.
He thrust in the finger at the same moment he made contact with her clit, and Allison jerked hard. “Finally. Holy shit—more.”
“You say that a lot.” He paused for long enough to tease her with his words, then bent intently to his task. Adding another finger, working her with his tongue and teeth until her passage tightened around him and she gasped out her pleasure.
She clutched his shoulders, trying to pull him over her.
“Condom.” The bit of his brain that still functioned kicked out the word.
Allison swore, and they pulled apart for a second, him to cover himself, her to strip off the sopping-wet underwear. Then he kissed her and pressed them together. His cock nudged her hip, bumped her thigh. Centered over her warmth, wetness and heat guiding him.
As the tip of his cock slipped in Gabe lifted his head to look into her face. He wanted to see what was revealed there—what speed she wanted, how hard, how soft.
Allison panted lightly, pleasure lighting her eyes and shaking her limbs. She wrapped her thighs around him and arched upward, impaling herself on his cock.
He’d never had anyone do that before. Not while they stared at him with mischief and urgency, and something halfway between pain and pleasure in their eyes.
She relaxed her upper body and threw her hands over her head, grabbing on to the sturdy wooden posts of the headboard.
Gabe tilted his hips and rocked slowly, and her smile got bigger. He did it again, dragging back an inch at a time and then pressing into her. Her sheath was tight around his cock, squeezing and holding him perfectly.
He kissed her again, and suddenly going slow was for the birds. The next motion forward became an actual thrust. His bed was too sturdy to squeak. Too heavy to move. But by the time he’d pumped five or six times, Allison was calling out his name and digging her heels into his ass like she was determined to last a full eight seconds, more than once.
Eight seconds was about all he had left.
He snuck a hand between them and caught hold of her clit, and her eyes that had gone half-lidded with pleasure, popped open. Her lips quivered as she called out.
Her orgasm wrenched his own from him, the sweat on the superheated flesh of his back cooling in the air. Balls emptying, arms shaking as he fought to keep from crushing her.
Allison relaxed, her legs falling away, heart pounding so hard he felt it against his forehead when he rested his head on her to catch his breath.
“Holy. Fucking. Hell.” She gasped the words out, one after another.
Gabe collapsed beside her, his cock slipping from her warmth. Rolled to his back and managed to drop the condom to the floor, and that sucked dry all the energy he had left.
Allison curled up against him, resting her head on his chest. Her hair curtained over them, and he lifted a hand to run his fingers through the soft mass.
They were both quiet for a long time. Quiet, except for the occasional gasp.
He finally had enough strength to do more than let the blood return to the extremities. Gabe leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Thank you.”
Allison traced circles on his chest. “I wanted it too.”
“Needed it.”
She leaned up on her elbow to look at him. “I like you. I’m glad we’re friends. And tonight…I needed this so bad. It’s like—”
Allison stopped.
Gabe was more up on the psychobabble than she’d probably expect.
“We needed to feel alive.”
She thought through his words before nodding.
He’d wanted her too. He wasn’t going to let her offer excuses. Or feel bad about having sought comfort.
“I wanted to give you pleasure. I needed it myself. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”
She rested her head on him again, and he couldn’t see her face.
“You’re right. And it was. Pleasurable, I mean.”
“Holy fucking hell I think you said,” Gabe teased.
Allison laughed, and they curled up together. Just being. Holding each other.
Usually at night Gabe planned the chores he had to complete around the ranch the next day, but tonight somehow it was easier to put that aside for a bit. Label it tasks to be dealt with tomorrow. Right now? He had something else that was a far higher priority.
Feeling that way was pretty much as special as it was confusing.
Chapter Fourteen
The changes were subtle, but there. Over the next week as Allison went through her day it was disconcerting how often she was distracted from the task at hand. More and more she found herself thinking about Gabe. Longing for the time when she could get back to the cabin and they could curl up together.
Curl up. What a bunch of crock. She meant so they could strip naked for another round of sweaty, satisfying sex.
After that first frantic night, the next time wasn’t as desperate but just as needed. Something about tangling with him let her forget her worries and fears for a moment.
She was still going to lose her mom. They still had to tell her siblings and deal with the fallout of that. But the body-shaking pleasure helped numb the hovering pain. Somehow made her able to get up in the morning and head into her day.
She stirred the sausage in the pan as she planned what she needed to accomplish that day. Friday. Time off from the restaurant opened up her agenda. Her mom had suggested coming over in the afternoon—Maisey was doing the morning shift at the Timberline and had promised she’d be home early after that.
There had also been talk of letting Paul and Elle know the truth soon. Maybe even this coming week. Allison wasn’t holding her breath, but while keeping the secret was hard, having it still secret meant she didn’t have to worry about dealing with their reactions either.
A meow brought her attention to the floor just as Puss in Boots wrapped himself around her ankles, looking for attention. Allison stooped and picked the kitten up, nestling him against her chest and cuddling him. Scratching his tiny chin the way she’d learned he liked.
Puss had made himself at home in the cabin, claiming an old T-shirt of Gabe’s and turning it into a nest. With Gabe in and out during the day, and Rafe offering to stop in to take care of him, it seemed the little creature had both made a full recovery and found a home.
Taking him with her when she eventually left seemed cruel, but the idea of leaving without him didn’t sit right either.
She was so deep in thought she never heard Gabe step behind her.
His greeting wrapped around her the same moment his hands slipped over her belly. “Good morning.”
He pressed his lips to the back of her neck, and goose bumps rose. A delicious shiver somewhere between anticipation and the ready knowledge of the pleasure he could put her body through.
“You’re lazy today,” she teased.
Gabe lifted his hand a little higher to pet the kitten, smoothing his fingers over its head gently. “Someone wore me out last night.”
Allison snickered, pulling the pan off the heat and turning off the burner. “I slept without moving for ten hours. I’m not sure who wore out who.”
He turned her, the kitten supported between them as Gabe lifted her chin. His toothpaste-fresh mouth woke desires inside she really didn’t feel comfortable with. Sex in the evening when it was about giving each other comfort? Sex in the morning when it was sheer physical pleasure? She could handle those situations.
This seemed far more intimate, and damn if she didn’t like it. Liking it was a bad thing.
Reluctantly, she pulled away, patting his chest for a second. “Breakfast is ready. If you grab the coffee, I’ll serve up.”
Gabe didn’t let her go. Instead, he stared down with a touch of something in his expression that looked strangely like fear before it vanished, and she wondered if she’d seen it at all.
He followed her orders, taking food to the table. Sitting easily.
Allison lowered Puss to the floor by his bowl, leaving the kitten with a final pet. She had to resist running her hands along Gabe’s shoulders as she made her way past him back to the sink to wash her hands. Addicted, that’s what she was fast becoming. Addicted to his touch. Since this wasn’t about anything permanent, she needed to nip those impulses right now before they got her in trouble. Bad enough she’d messed up his life with her crazy demands—last thing he needed was for her to fall in love with him.
Gabe pushed the sugar pot toward her. “I went over the reports you got back from the lab. Doesn’t look like I’ll be to be able to use the south fields for organic grain this time around.”
Another blow. She hated to be the bearer of bad news, but he’d told her to be upfront about the truth. “No. They’ll have to be in transition the three years. I guess the positive is that gives you time to talk to your neighbour. To convince him to stop spraying so close to the line. I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “That section was the least likely to work. I’m okay with it.”
Only she could tell he was still disappointed. She hurried to the good news, hoping to put the smile back on his face.
“The vegetables from your mom’s plot are working out wonderfully with the new menu we put together. Is Dana okay with the orders we put in?”
“She’s happier than I’ve seen her in a while. Swear that woman never sleeps. Every time I go over there she’s found something new she wants me to ask you about. Latest is she wants to know if you’d like her to plant a second crop of spinach—seems she found a shady spot she thinks will work to stop the plants from going to seed too soon.”
Allison smiled, thinking the last time she’d stopped in at the house and got to listen to Gabe’s mom enthuse about the new crops. “Yes, we can use the spinach. If there’s a bit of excess, I’ll ask the chef to create some specials to use it up. People love that we’re using more local produce. The whole 100 Mile Diet craze is making them more aware.”
Gabe laughed. “Remind me to thank my cousin Blake’s wife for that one.”
Allison paused. “Jaxi? What’d she do?”
“The usual. Interfered in all the right ways. I found out she’s involved with the reading club at the library and added that book to the reading list. She organized a challenge for the summer, daring people to try to meet the 100-mile goal.”
>
The Coleman clan—through thick or thin. “You think she did that to help you out?”
He raised a brow. “Helps them out as well—she’s selling farm-fresh eggs like crazy. I’ve set up with my Uncle Mike for us to butcher some of the sheep privately come the fall. The profit per animal is way higher than taking them to market, especially the ones that I’ve been keeping aside and following the organic rules on. I’ve got the turkeys as well.”
“I can get you in touch with a few more sellers out in Red Deer—people who work the farmer’s markets and that kind of thing. That organic meat is going to be like gold, you know.”
His grin lit the room.
It was comfortable and peaceful, sitting and talking through the plans for the Coleman land. By necessity things were slow to change, but Gabe seemed content not to rush, and some of her burdens fell aside.
The sexual frustrations and longings? They stayed right up at high.
There was also the part of her that wondered why she wasn’t more focused on getting back to her life in Red Deer. This was supposed to be a temporary gig, living in Rocky, being there for her mom. Thoughts of wanting to see what Gabe could make of the land in the next five years had no place in her long-term plans, and the thought itched her the wrong way.
She really didn’t want to think about why.
Gabe was stacking their plates when loud knocking hit the door.
He sighed. “Bet it’s Rafe pretending to need something, but really here to visit the cat.”
Allison smiled. His kid brother had been coming over often, but he wasn’t bad company. “I don’t mind, and neither does Puss. And hey, at least Rafe’s knocking now.”
“Afraid to catch us fooling around on the kitchen table, or something.”
Her gaze darted to the solid wood planks still covered with the dirty dishes from breakfast, and the thought of having Gabe bend her over the surface made the most delicious shiver go through her.
She turned to the door instead of being brave enough to meet his eyes, just in case he could read the insta-lust that notion created.
