“Yeah.” His voice was merely an exhale that mingled with hers and Talon stared at his mouth never wanting anything more.
Gone was the good girl who thought she should apologize for her lust-addled thoughts. Instead, there was just Colt and how he made her feel and how she wanted to make him feel. She reached out tentatively and touched his sternum right where his heart would lay. She wondered if he’d ever been in love, been loved back. He didn’t shrink away so she let her finger slide down the middle of his body, dividing him in two. Left and right. He still didn’t stop her, but he sucked in a breath and seemed to be holding it, waiting for what came next. In the small room, where the washer and dryer fit tightly and the dog crate made it crowded, it seemed like all the air to breathe had been sucked up already.
“What does it mean?” She tried to gather at least one coherent thought to her.
“Later.” He hissed in a breath and arched into her.
She reeled with the closeness. And the power to affect him.
“You’re so beautifully made.” She breathed. “Do you have other tattoos?”
His lips tilted a bit in what might have been a smile at the beautiful word, but she was not exaggerating.
“Do you really want to know?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you?” He challenged.
“Yes.”
“Where?” His eyes flared with excitement, and the fact that she was having just as much effect on him as he was on her, charged all her cylinders.
“No.” She corrected. “I don’t have any. But your tats, I want to see them.”
“You need to search.”
He held his arms out a little as if in permission and she gulped at the opportunity. Eyes on his, she flattened her palm against his pec and let it slide over his skin. He briefly closed his eyes and then opened them again, and they focused on hers, burning hotter than before.
“Can I touch you?” She asked.
“Anywhere.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely anywhere.”
Her thumb stroked one of his nipples and her tongue lightly ran around the inside of her lip simulating what she wanted to do to his nipple and other parts of him. She let her other hand rove over his shoulder and down his arm to feel each muscle, and then both hands did what she’d been dreaming of, caressed over his back down to his waist, her fingers tucking into his waistband. She let one finger circle his waist, and he sucked in a ragged breath as her fingers brushed the tip of his erection.
“Talon.” He hissed.
“Do you like that?” The power she felt from his reaction was heady and addictive.
“Yes.” The snap of his teeth was like a shot in the small room. His hands gripped her waist, and he pulled her in tight.
“Me, too,” she whispered. “I like feeling you a lot.”
His fingers tugged off her bandana head wrap, pulled off her elastic band, and tangled in her curls. She nearly wept when he finally closed the distance between their mouths.
There was nothing gentle or exploratory about their kiss. He sucked on her mouth, demanding entry, his hands rocking her hard against his erection and his tongue mimicking the motion in her mouth. She loved how his body was so hard.
She kissed him back, feeling almost frantic, her hands moving over him, trying to memorize and incite. Her head fell back against the wall, bouncing limply when he broke the kiss and fastened his mouth around her breast and sucked hard through her shirt. She felt like she’d been shot into orbit.
“Yes, yes, yes.” She chanted, feeling the tension start to coil in her lower body, only this time she didn’t panic, she fell into the sensations racing through her and held his head to her. Crying out as he bit lightly down.
“Is this what you want?” He demanded.
It so totally was.
“Tell me.”
“Yes,” she said, totally forgetting where she was, who she was. “Yes. I want this. I want you. Take off your pants.” She tugged at his button, but the fabric was still and didn’t yield. She cupped him through his jeans and felt a thrill run through her. Whoever said that size didn’t matter didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. Colt felt large and she wanted to see him and taste him and feel all of that pumping inside of her fast and hard and right now!
“I want to taste you.” The words burned between them as he kissed her again.
“Later,” he promised as he roughly popped the button on her jeans and his hands slid inside of her underpants.
“Yes.” She hissed as his finger found her jackpot. She hiked one leg up around his waist to give him better access. He brushed her clit back and forth, tweaking it with his fingers and then soothing it so she was jacked up so fast. He lifted her so both legs were wrapped around his waist and she was completely open to him.
“You have no idea what I want to do to you.” He ground out, his eyes burning holes through her, his face lined with tension.
“Please.” She breathed out, tortured. “Please do it.”
She was so close, but he kept slowing down. Laughed a little when she grabbed his hand and tried to force him into her rhythm.
“Jesus.” He jumped and untangled her legs from his waist and dropped them so her feet hit the floor. He held her loosely around her waist and his forehead rested against hers. His breathing was ragged, and he felt a million miles away.
“Sorry,” he said, “sorry.”
“For what?” She nearly cried in frustration.
“I don’t want to…I promised myself I wouldn’t take you like that, against a wall like…like—” He broke off.
“Like what?” Anger overrode her disappointment and embarrassment that she’d done something wrong.
He swore.
She pushed him away and he let her. Even though she’d wanted the distance, now she hated it. She was shaking. Her body not fully getting the message that no, he didn’t want her. Not that way.
She’d thrown herself at him and his body had responded until his head kicked in. It was another rejection in a long string of them.
*
“Sorry, Talon.”
The words were so him he thought derisively. Cold and utterly inadequate. What the hell was wrong with him? She was so beautiful and kind and tenderhearted and he’d practically fucked her against her laundry room wall, fully clothed and with her kid upstairs looking for a damn box to bury a dead puppy in. And last night, hell, he’d probably bruised her with his eagerness.
Could he be more of an animal? He couldn’t be around normal women. She needed a man who would hold her and kiss her and take her to dinner not maul her at the first opportunity. She had a kid. She wasn’t someone he could get off and then walk away with his usual head bob of thanks.
“What just happened?” she asked, and he hated how small her voice sounded. “Again.” That word drove the stake deeper into his guilty conscience.
She should slap him. Curse him and throw his ass out on the gravel drive.
“What did I do wrong?”
He could finally suck in enough air to get his brain to function and the confusion and hurt in her voice was like a knife in his side.
“Nothing.” He breathed and placed his hands gently on either side of her cheeks so he could look into her beautiful blue almost violet eyes. “You did nothing wrong. You’re perfect.” He kissed the top of her head, trying to keep sex out of it and telling his cock to stand down, but it was standing at such painful attention that he was unable to walk away like he needed to. He needed some distance so he could corral his thoughts and force his body to behave.
“I don’t feel very perfect. Why’d you stop? You make me feel so amazing, and I want to make you feel amazing.”
He huffed out a breath, completely out of his element on how to deal with this situation. He pulled her body against his. Physically, she took him to the moon just when she touched him with her gentle hands, but there was not going to be an amazing moment for him. He was
a jerk. He didn’t know how to make love to a woman all slow and sweet with a slow build and candles and music and soft sheets with flowers and whatever the hell else was involved in that. He was all about quick hookups at bars or parties on base or at clubs.
“You deserve better, Talon. A man who’d stay around. Not some random stranger who throws you up against a door jamb the first day he meets you and can’t keep his hands off you even when you have a newborn runt that’s been rejected by its mother in your arms.”
“That sounds like a country song,” she said, and he was relieved to find the hint of a smile and a light back in her fathomless eyes. “Why don’t you let me decide what I deserve?”
He stared at her, a bit shocked at that statement.
“And I blame your potent maleness. I completely forgot Parker and the dead puppy. We haven’t had the sex talk yet, and I don’t think he’s quite ready for that visual. They don’t teach that in school until fifth grade.”
“Actions speak louder than words,” he said.
“That would have been yelling.”
He found himself smiling. He liked her. Even when things were intense, she could still find the humor and share it. When she wasn’t making him feel like he was burning up inside or that he’d explode if he couldn’t pour himself into her body, she made him feel relaxed, part of something. Not so separate.
Not good.
Still, the urge to get the hell out of town was nearly offset by the desire to stay. To learn more about her. To watch her eyes light up and her sexy, pouty lips turn up in smile after smile. Despite the fact he wanted to cool things off, he leaned forward and kissed her lightly then caught her lower lip with his. He stroked her inner bottom lip with his tongue.
“You have a delicious mouth,” he murmured against her lips wanting to lose himself in her all over again. “There are so many things I’ve been fantasizing about your mouth.”
“Keep fantasizing,” she said. “But be warned. I intend some of those fantasies to become real so you’d better be creative.”
“Are you propositioning me?”
“You’re the one without your shirt,” she said, letting her hands slide over his body. “No way can I resist that invitation.
“You’re killing me,” he said, his voice husky. “I am trying to behave. You could help me out.”
“I could,” she said.
His mouth twisted.
“I think that was a smile,” Talon said.
“I think you said something about a list.”
Chapter Eleven
Colt loaded the supplies in the back of his truck, turned around, and surveyed the parking lot of the feed store. He’d been here so many times as a kid, helping his uncle load the truck, and then as a teen when he’d been driving, he’d made the trips himself, savoring the time alone, listening to the radio, and watching the miles unfurl behind him, imagining himself just driving and driving, not turning around, never coming back.
Well, he was back today.
“Was there an ice cream shop in town when you were a kid?” Parker asked, his voice so innocent it practically had wings and a halo.
Colt looked down at the kid, who’d begged to go into town with him and had been quite helpful gathering up all the supplies for the dogs. Talon had added a grocery list for dinner. He probably shouldn’t have committed to staying, because he was committing to a lot more, and his body couldn’t wait. Last night, everything in his body had recoiled in even the thought of driving by his uncle’s house, but sitting in the kitchen this morning and eating pancakes, watching the puppies be born and then whatever had caused him to spontaneously combust with Talon in the laundry room had been one hell of an exorcism.
“Might have been.”
“It’s still here.”
“Really?”
“I could show you.”
“Show me?” Colt found the kid’s earnestness cute, his enthusiasm infectious.
“Sure. We can walk. It’s just down the block and around the corner. We could walk by and see if they have your favorite flavor.”
“Sure.” Colt closed the tailgate.
Parker nodded. Fell into step beside him.
“Although if they have my favorite flavor, I might not able to walk by.”
Parker fairly danced beside him. “I hope they do. I hope they do.”
“What’s your favorite?”
“I have a lot of favorites,” Parker said.
“Smart.”
So they bought ice cream. Colt could have made a trip to the grocery store and back in the time it took Parker to settle on bubble gum. He couldn’t remember the last time he had ice cream, but the double scoop of pistachio and rocky road was definitely hitting him right.
They walked out of the store, licking their cones. Parker already had ice cream on his chin and nose and Colt went back in for more napkins. When he came out, he walked right into Nick Palotay and Code Mathews.
“Wow.” Nick commented. “You move fast, brother. Bought last night for the hot waitress and this afternoon you have a kid. Congratulations.”
“You got game.” Code body-bumped him in the shoulder much like he used to do in high school after a great play.
“And skills,” Nick said, but clearly his eyes were asking questions.
“Parker,” Colt said after a brief pause and a hard “watch it glare” that merely had Nick grinning. “This is Nick Palotay and Code Matthews. We played football together in high school.”
Parker licked his ice cream and, without missing a beat, shifted his cone to his left hand and shook each man’s hand. “Parker James Reese,” he said. “I wanted to sign up for football through rec league but my mom said no because of head injuries.”
“Good plan,” Colt said. “That’s what happened to these two.”
“Does it still hurt?”
Nick laughed and Code high-fived Parker. “I like this guy. Maybe you should both join us for lunch.”
Parker’s eyes lit up. Colt wasn’t going to fall into that trap. Nick’s eyes burned with curiosity, and no way was Colt sharing any info on Talon even if he did know what the hell was going on.
Nothing. Nothing’s going on. Not now. Not later.
“Sorry, we have to hit the road—ranch errands.” He couldn’t believe those words had come out of his mouth. Again.
“Lame, Colt, lame,” Code said. “There’s nothing at the ranch except for a damn emu, I asked.”
Colt looked at Parker. He hadn’t seen an emu. How the hell was there an emu on a desolated cattle ranch? He wasn’t quite sure he knew what an emu was.
“We haven’t seen you but a couple of times over the years and your emails are even less informative than your vocal chords,” Nick said.
“It’s top secret. And if I tell you I get to kill you.”
“Contain your glee.” Code shot back.
“So what’s the deal?” Nick demanded. “Your Lady’s Choice date is babysitting? Gavin’s going to love this.”
“I’m not a baby,” Parker said, in between licks of ice cream. “Colt and I climbed a tree today and delivered puppies. Colt saved a life. And he’s going to build a pen for the dog and her puppies and then he’s going to help me fix up my broken tree house.”
“Army strong,” Nick muttered and rolled his eyes. “I heard a rumor you were good with your hands.”
“Most romantic date ever.” Code’s shoulders were shaking as he tried to hold back his laughter. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of Parker and Colt. “For Gavin. He’s going to dig the kid and the puppy aspect of your formerly badass, new whip-assed self. Lady’s choice.” He snorted. “Should have thought that one out better.”
Parker shifted his stance to mirror Colt’s, which was radiating tension.
Nick and Code definitely noticed.
“Careful bro,” Code said in a low voice.
“You and the three of us, Wolf Den, tonight,” Nick said.
Colt shook his head.
“What? Why the hell…lonious not?” He demanded after looking at Parker. “Hot date?” He taunted.
“Yeah, hot,” Parker said. “We’re grilling out.”
Even Colt had a hard time not smiling. “Not another word,” he said to Nick and Code. “Tomorrow. Maybe.”
“Tomorrow, definitely. 8 pm, got it. Gavin will be there, too. And I want the goods. All the dirt.”
Colt touched Parker’s shoulder and they turned and walked down the street. He could feel the two men’s scowls behind his back so he flipped them off.
“Oh, I’m so hurt,” Nick called out. The unspoken “asshole” hung in the air.
It was only after Colt and Parker loaded the truck up with groceries, far more than what Talon had written down that it occurred to him that meeting up with Nick and Code would have been a great opportunity to ask where they were bunking in town, and if they had room for him. But that hadn’t even crossed him mind. And he couldn’t blame the desire for privacy this time.
He paused. A foreign thought entered his brain. “Hey, P,” he said, “we got ice cream. What does your mom like for a treat?”
Parker thought about this for a while. “She bakes me cookies.”
“But this would be a treat for her. She shouldn’t have to bake her own treat.”
Parker stared at him, and Colt recognized the self-centered, blank expression. He’d never been the present buying man. “Does she like cookies? Is there a bakery in town still?”
“There’s a coffee shop my mom likes, but we don’t go there very often because it’s expensive and she gets free coffee at the diner.”
Colt tapped his foot. Seemed like Talon did so much for others, but not much was done for her. No, not completely true. Her friends had bought her a guy at an auction. Fucking unbelievable. And one thing he needed to make clear was that if anything was going down between them, sex was not going to be the Lady’s Choice date. Code had been right about one thing. He should have definitely planned that one better.
Parker looked up at him, halo on again, and Colt was beginning to suspect he was seriously being played. “There’s a chocolate shop in town. Sage Carrigan owns it and she gives out samples so customers can make better decisions.”
Seducing the Bachelor (The Bachelor Auction Returns Book 3) Page 10
