She gazed doubtfully at his erection and back into his eyes.
His expression was one-third lust, one-third pride, and one-third tease.
Maddie was no dummy. Inexperienced, perhaps, but she knew the mechanics—she’d grown up on a ranch where animals bred and reproduced. She understood the simple act of mating. But the sheer size of him had her a little frightened. Was it even a physical possibility?
As if he could read her mind, one brow cocked. “Don’t worry. We’ll fit.”
Gideon permitted her doubtful inspection before easing down beside her and staring into her eyes. All of a sudden, he frowned. Maddie could tell the moment the truth hit him.
“It’s natural for a woman to be a little afraid,” he whispered, brushing stray tendrils of hair away from her face. His hands were gentle as he rested them on her shoulders, his thumbs tracing rough circles on her delicate skin. “You and Harrison never…?”
Maddie shook her head, grateful for his perception, and dropped her gaze. Bold eyes, now smoky gray, filled with patient understanding, stared back at her. Being embarrassed was silly. She was a grown woman, not a child.
“You’re looking at a twenty-eight-year-old virgin,” she quietly admitted as she felt a wave of heat break over her skin. “I’ve never had sex. Certainly not for lack of desire or effort. But Harrison… He didn’t want me that way, said he wanted to wait until we were married. I don’t think he knew then that he would never want me the same way I wanted him. I assumed he was acting out of consideration for me, and I tried not to push. So no, Harrison and I never…”
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Maddie.” Gideon sighed as he softly kissed her cheek. “From my perspective, I’m damn glad he didn’t.”
“It doesn’t turn you off?” she asked. “My inexperience?”
He swallowed a chuckle. “No—it doesn’t turn me off. Quite the contrary.”
An embrace so tender, so caring, folded around her. She could feel the hot pulse of his male member against her stomach.
“Your first time should be in a big soft bed, not on the hard Wyoming ground,” he murmured, stroking her shoulders and back. “But damn, I don’t want to stop. Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
Without meaning to crack a joke, she let out a nervous giggle. “Ah, yeah. I think I do.”
Gideon smiled. “It’s up to you, sweetheart. Tell me now, and I can stop. Later…”
“No, Gideon,” she whispered. “I don’t want to stop.” A nervous tremor shook her heated body. “It’s such a beautiful night,” she murmured, as his hand stroked and calmed her.
Together they stared up at the magnificent sky with its sparkling lights decorating the night. Branches of towering trees danced around them and swayed in the breeze, casting shadows of black lace on the ground. Rushing water sounded a symphony as Mr. Moon stood silent vigil from his watchtower in the sky.
“You are what’s beautiful, Maddie.”
Now this—this is perfection.
Her heart pounded as Gideon released the hooks on her bra, the small straps falling from her shoulders. Her heavy breasts spilled free, and Maddie could feel them tightening, swelling, her nipples puckering into hard, red buds. Against her thigh, his need grew, throbbing and hot, a brand against her air-cooled flesh.
“I knew you would look like this. All woman. Made for love.”
Feeling incredibly small and helpless beside him, she quivered under his touch, then lay still and expectant as he tongued her nipples, kneading, suckling, until she arched into his mouth and buried her fingers in his hair, urgently pressing him closer. His rough palm trailed down her stomach until he touched the neatly groomed hair between her legs and caressed her folds.
“You smell so damn good,” he murmured, kissing her flat tummy, her navel, her hipbones to her mound and back. “Sweet—I can’t get enough.” He inhaled as his lips left a moist trail over her. Nerves firing messages to her brain, endorphins flooding her senses, Maddie threw caution to the wind and moaned aloud her pleasure. Why had she waited so long to enjoy a man’s touch?
Callouses brushed her fevered skin as he traced her torso and, finally, reached her femininity. Gently inserting one finger, he paused at her gasp. Her first intrusion from a male. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it. Strange and pleasurable, a fullness, a burn, until he touched something deep inside that made her cry out.
“Gideon!” she whispered, and his finger began to move.
“Easy, sweetheart. Let go. Relax and let me love you.”
She tried, but the experience of having a man touch her so intimately felt awkward. The intrusion wasn’t all that painful but slightly inhibiting. No man had seen her completely naked before, and no one had…oh! There, the spot he just touched. My God… She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sensation. Yes, that was good—very good.
“Gideon…” Again she breathed his name.
He inserted another finger, filling all of her with the stretch. In and out he moved, watching her face, careful with her body until a fever began to build and intensify and she was powerless against the swelling tide.
****
Gideon poured his soul into loving Maddie.
She was incredible—her body taking control, so sexy it must have a mind of its own. He could feel the spasms clenching her canal, and he crooked his finger, searching for that one spot that would bring her ultimate pleasure. Her eyes suddenly sprang open, wide and pleading. She whimpered. Almost there.
“Come for me, Maddie. Don’t hold back,” he whispered.
“Gideon…” Repeating his name over and over, mindless and incoherent. The sound of his name on her lips driving him wild.
Maddie’s eyes rolled back in her head as she came; all her senses exploded, and she cried out. Her body shook with the force of her orgasm, and he rode it out, murmuring love words, bringing her slowly down. Ignoring his own raging need, wanting to give this to her, her pleasure.
Clasping her to him, his hand knotted in her damp hair, he held her while she clung to him, chest heaving. Their bodies were slick and hot and sweaty, and the smell of sex was heavy in the air around them. Gideon’s head rested in the cradle of her neck as she stroked his shoulders.
Taking his heavy weight from her body, he braced his forearms on either side of her head. Had any man ever seen a more beautiful sight? He tenderly brushed wet strands of hair from her face.
“Are you ready?” he asked simply and lowered his head for another kiss.
She nodded, and his heart began to race as her entire body vibrated against him.
Sitting back on his knees, he reached for his jeans, pulled out a condom, and slid it down his length. Then his knee spread her legs, making room for his hips. His arousal, hot and hard, rode the inside of her thigh. Reaching down, he guided himself into position, the tip of his penis barely penetrating where his fingers had brought her to climax. She was small and tight. He didn’t want to hurt her.
Carefully, he pushed in, his body tense with the effort to control it. The thin barrier of her virginity surprised him; she’d been riding practically all her life. To have evidence of her purity was a priceless gift.
“You’re not going to hurt me,” she whispered and wrapped her legs around his waist, changing the angle, pulling him in. Gideon covered her mouth in a hard kiss and plunged deeply, tearing the membrane. Maddie cried out while he murmured sweet words of encouragement, filling her mouth as he filled her body.
Gideon held still, allowing her time to adjust, then groaned as he sank to the hilt inside her. A primitive, almost tortured sound burst from his throat as he felt her body tense in an effort to remain still.
“It’s all right. It won’t hurt for long. Just breathe for me, baby,” he said as he lapped away her tears.
“I’m glad it’s you,” she breathed, her hand sliding behind his neck to draw him down.
One branding kiss, and he growled and began to move, setting the tempo, watching her face fo
r the slightest reaction. On and on he drove them, hips undulating, pounding, coaxing every nerve in her core as they strained together.
“That’s it, baby, let go, let it happen,” he urged. “So pretty, so sweet, ah, Maddie, you’re driving me crazy…”
Deep rumbles escaped his throat, played against a counterpoint of soft, erotic melodies of sensuality as he made love to her. Maddie grasped his wide shoulders and held on, keening with pleasure until she thought she would die.
Higher, hotter, bolder the fire burned, building until she felt like she was being consumed, until he gripped her hips and fitted himself into her; they were one flesh as God intended. Her entire body clenched, shuddered, writhed with frantic need for this man and this act and this miracle.
Fire gave way to an explosion of light. They were cast into the starry universe by a magical, mad pleasure beyond description.
Maddie screamed as her entire body wrapped around Gideon’s, and he held her as she flew through the galaxies, igniting the inky void before burning out and floating down to earth again.
Chapter Fifteen
Maddie opened her eyes to stare in wonder at the face above her. The tender yet harsh face that touched her heart in a way no man ever had before. Letting her heart show in that glance, knowing she was opening herself, coming from behind the wall she’d erected after her failed engagement, she let him in.
Stroking her hair back from her damp face, he gently kissed her. When they could breathe again, he disengaged, prompting a soft cry as her body objected to his absence.
“Be right back,” Gideon rose a little stiffly, hopped to his saddlebag, and disposed of the condom. Grabbing a canteen of water, he returned to her and pulled a clean handkerchief from his jeans on the ground. Without saying a word, he dampened the hanky and gently cleaned her swollen tissues.
A thoughtful lover. A thoughtful man. More of Maddie’s wall disintegrated.
“We should get dressed. I don’t want you to get a chill,” he said as he scooped up her jeans and T-shirt. She took them but couldn’t keep her eyes off him as he gathered his clothes.
“You’re a very handsome man, Gideon,” she observed.
“Even without the leg?” He watched her carefully.
“You’re self-conscious about it.” Both a question and a comment.
“A little.” He shrugged. “I haven’t been with a woman since it happened.”
“It didn’t make a difference to me,” she said with a sly smile. “Does it hurt?”
“Always, to some degree—sometimes more than others.” He pulled his briefs over his hips and sat to attach and adjust the prosthesis. Glancing over his shoulder, he carefully observed her reaction. “I’m glad it doesn’t bother you.”
“You were afraid it might.” It wasn’t a question. His sensitivity over the appearance of his leg and the potential effect on her was obvious. Had some woman rejected him because of the loss of his leg? No woman who was worth anything would.
“You’re the only woman I care about,” he replied as she realized she’d commented out loud.
“I do—feel that way, I mean.” She didn’t bother to hide the heat in her gaze as she watched him pull up his jeans and zip.
“Glad you like what you see.” Amusement filled his voice. An endearing swagger to his stance. They shared a smile.
“You made it wonderful for me—thank you.” Dipping her chin, Maddie could feel the blood rush to her face.
His broad back was toward her, but he turned and pulled her into his embrace. Hands linked on her hips, soft gaze caressing her features, he kissed the tip of her nose. She cupped his jaw and smiled.
“It was wonderful for me, too. More than wonderful.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “We’d better get you home before I forget I’m supposed to be a good guy, and take you again.” The rough timbre of his voice washed over her.
“You’re not a good guy?”
One side of his mouth quirked up. “Not with you, I’m not. All I want to do is lay you back down on this hard earth and make love to you until neither of us can walk.”
“Wow.” Maddie understood what he meant and brushed an errant lock of his hair from his forehead. The intimacy of the gesture felt natural, right.
He helped her dress, and while he rested his hands lightly at her waist, she helped him snap his western shirt. It stuck to his damp chest, and she couldn’t resist running her palms over his pecs again. When she was finished, she cast him a glance from under her lashes and stepped back.
What now? Should she say thank you again?
Thank you for rocking my world. Let’s do this again sometime.
Now she understood why some people smoked after sex. It filled the incredibly awkward void of what to say and how to act once the deed was done.
Gideon tipped up her chin. “You’re being a worry wart. Stop overthinking this.”
“What? You mean how I’m going to sneak back in the house without making the proverbial walk of shame?” She grinned.
Gideon laughed. “For one thing, you don’t have anything to be ashamed of. Secondly, it doesn’t show. What we’ve done—what we do—is between us. Pap is in all probability asleep.”
She nodded, “He’s really sick, you know.”
“Sweetheart, I know you’re worried—so am I. Whatever the future brings, you won’t face it alone.” His words warmed her as they sank in, and she believed him. Whatever happened, he would be there for her. This much, at least, she could count on.
Without saying a word, she raised on her toes and softly claimed his mouth.
He helped her saddle King, and together they rode toward home. Once they got to the ranch, Maddie left Gideon at the barn and peeked in at Pap. He looked so thin, not the robust grandfather of last year. The cancer was taking its toll on him. She tiptoed to his side and pressed a kiss against his withered cheek. He didn’t even stir.
Returning to the barn, Maddie saw that Gideon had put King in his stall and seen to his needs.
“Thanks.”
“My pleasure,” he answered, and she knew from the glint in his eye he hadn’t been referring to putting King in his stall.
“Call you tomorrow?” he asked before he mounted his horse. “You going to be okay?”
Maddie nodded. “I’m going to read for a while and then go to bed.”
Leaning down from the saddle to give her one last kiss, Gideon hesitated above her mouth. “Try and get some rest.” He reined his horse toward Snowy Branch, gifting her with a wave before urging his mount into an easy lope.
After looking in on Pap one more time and quietly closing the door, Maddie went into the bathroom, grabbed a towel, and turned on the faucet. While the clawfoot tub filled with water and steam warmed the room, she stripped and lowered herself into the silky heat. The groan that escaped from her throat came from the depths of her body. Heaven.
Taking a sip of the rich cabernet she’d poured and brought into the bath with her, she let her mind wander, not wanting to analyze the evening, put a label on it, or file it away. Gideon had been an ardent and exciting lover, initiating her into womanhood with tenderness and care. As if he were still holding her, she closed her eyes and savored the moments of their encounter, remembering the taste and feel of him, causing her entire body to throb, making her want more. A satisfied smile covered her face as she sank lower in the tub.
Gideon—his name echoed through her dreams as she ran her fingers through the liquid warmth enveloping her. Sinking low into the fragrant water, she lay back and let it do its job. Relaxing, cleansing, easing the aches from her body.
What a beautiful man he was. His body, built by hard work and his military training, had an air of complete confidence with the exception of the vulnerability he’d shown about his leg, which tugged at her heart. Otherwise he was confident and incredibly strong in spite of the injury, and she found that tiny chink in his overpowering armor endearing.
Gideon was so much more than that one appendage, a
nd she’d been so distracted by the rest of him, the missing part of him had been insignificant. On some level, she must have noticed, but not until he pointed it out and asked if it bothered her.
It didn’t.
His body was powerful and all male, extraordinary in spite of or perhaps because of his injury. She couldn’t imagine any woman thinking him less than a man because he’d lost a leg defending his brothers and his country. He was a hero in every sense of the word.
She drained her glass and yawned sleepily as she let the water drain from the tub. The new Maddie was ready for bed. As she toweled off and slathered on her favorite lotion, she whispered his name aloud.
Gideon had promised that, whatever the future brought, she wouldn’t be alone, and tomorrow was almost here.
The tomorrow when she had to face the illness threatening Pap, start working on her business plan, research the required certifications, and try to ignore the distraction of Gideon Branch.
As she slid beneath the covers, Maddie wondered if that was even possible—ignoring Gideon. But as her eyes closed, her fingers stroked the satin edging of her blanket, and she drifted off thinking of a tall man with sure hands and a lover’s touch, whose deep, wet kisses tasted like the promise of infinite pleasures to come.
Smiling to herself, she snuggled in and thought about one exceptionally hot man, making incredibly hot love, during a magical Wyoming night.
****
Morning came before Maddie was ready. She dressed hurriedly, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair. She had a lot to do today, beginning with checking on her grandfather.
With a pod of premium roast in the coffeemaker, she got out a pan and whipped up some eggs.
Never Say Never Again Page 12
