He pushed himself up on his elbows. “Funny. I can’t either.”
When she reached the side of his bed, she sat on the mattress beside him. “I keep thinking about you…you and me.”
“So do I.” He reached his hand up and ran his knuckles along her cheekbone. “I can’t seem to stop thinking about you.” He let his hand drop to his side. “Which is a real good indication you shouldn’t be here with me. I don’t want to push you somewhere you might regret going.”
Without saying a word, she leaned forward, brought her mouth to his, and kissed him. He slipped one hand into her hair, cupping her head as he kissed her in return. He was gentle and she fell into the sensations, loving the way he tasted, loving his scent as his strong hands rested on her waist, holding her to him.
He grasped her tighter and caught her off guard as he raised her and brought her over him and onto the bed. One moment she was sitting beside him on the mattress, and the next she was on her back in the middle of his bed, looking up at him.
His features looked almost harsh in the moonlight and his eyes were heavy-lidded as he studied her. “I don’t know if you should be here.” His voice was rough as if he had a hard time getting the words out.
“This is where I want to be.” She slipped her hands up to his shoulders then linked them behind his neck. “With you. Right now.”
“If you change your mind—” he started.
“I won’t.” She smiled. “I know exactly what I’m doing and I have no reservations. There will be no regrets.”
He brought his mouth gently down on hers and she let out a soft moan. His lips were firm and he gently nipped her bottom lip with his teeth. As he kissed her, he slid his hand up the short silky nightgown to her breast and rested his palm on the soft mound.
The heat of his hand traveled through the material and she arched her back into his touch. He rubbed his thumb over her nipple as he continued to kiss her senseless. Her mind spun, her thoughts whirling as she got lost in his kisses.
Her breathing came faster as he moved his lips from hers and fraction by fraction trailed them along her jaw to her ear. His breath was warm as he brushed his mouth across her ear and then she shivered as he lightly nipped her earlobe.
“You are so beautiful, Renee.” His lips traveled the curve of her neck as he inched his way down. He darted his tongue out to taste her skin in the hollow at the base of her throat. “I love what I see inside and out.”
She tried to find the words to tell him she felt the same way, but they caught in her throat as he moved his mouth to her nipple and sucked it through the soft material.
While she tried to catch her breath, she slid her fingers into his hair, the strands soft to her touch. He eased his palm from her breast, along her side, his big hand splayed on her slim form. He reached the hem of her nightgown that had hitched up almost to her waist. He cupped her ass through her silky panties and the ache between her thighs was almost too much to bear.
Small whimpers came from her throat as she squirmed while he slowly removed her panties then pushed her nightgown up and over her belly to rest just below her breastbone. He lowered his head and licked a lazy path from her belly button to the valley between her breasts.
“So sexy.” He pushed her nightgown farther up so that her breasts were exposed and cool air brushed her wet nipple. She caught her breath as he nuzzled her breast then found her other nipple with his tongue. He licked slow circles around it before slipping it into his mouth and sucking while flicking his tongue over the hard nub. At the same time, he moved his hand to the opposite nipple and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger.
The words she finally found came out on a cry. “Please, Dan.” Fire curled through her belly and she felt like she might burn up with need. “I want more.”
“You make me crazy, Renee.” He groaned and pressed his muscled body tight to hers. She felt his cock, hard and thick against her side and another thrill rolled through her. He slid his hand from her breast, easing them down the flat plane of her belly. His fingers found the curls at the apex of her thighs.
She writhed in his arms as he slipped his fingers into her wet folds. He circled her clit with his finger then stroked the hardened bud. She gasped as his finger moved farther and he slid it inside of her wet heat and thrust it in all the way to his knuckles then eased his finger out.
His lips found hers again as he touched her, stroked her, and brought her closer to a pinnacle higher than she’d ever reached in her life. His touch was gentle, loving, but at the same time it ramped up her body’s thrumming until she could barely think straight.
She found herself whispering his name at first and then it came out more and more urgently. It was as if her hips rose of their own accord, wanting him closer and closer.
Flashes of light sparked in her mind and then her body flushed with heat as her hips bucked against his hand and her back arched. She felt like she was going to come off the bed with the power of her orgasm.
As she fought to catch her breath, she heard the sound of a package opening. Then he moved so that his hips were between her thighs, his big body partially on her. She loved the feel of his weight on her and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he placed his cock at the opening to her core.
“Are you ready for me?” he murmured.
“Yes,” she said, her throat tight. “I need you.”
He was as gentle with her as he slid into her as he’d been all along. She gasped at the feel of his hard cock pushing its way inside her. He reached her deep inside and she felt full, stretched by his thickness and length.
With slow, even strokes he started moving in and out, riding her like the cowboy he was. Their bodies were coated with perspiration and she felt the dampness in her hair. Every sensation seemed to burn her like sparks from a fire on her skin as she rose toward another climax.
She met his gaze, his eyes holding hers as he took her. Thrill after thrill went through her belly as he thrust inside her while he watched her. Illuminated by moonlight, his expression was dark, intense, focused. The tightness in his jaw told her that he was holding back, waiting for her.
Her eyelids fluttered, threatening to close as she fell into the incredible feelings swirling throughout her. She forced herself to keep them open because watching him take her made her feel as though every nerve ending was alive. She wanted to savor this, to treasure every moment of their first time together.
A ferocious expression crossed his features and he bared his teeth. It was taking everything he had not to climax before she did.
The orgasm that had been building inside her grew and grew until she knew she wasn’t going to be able to contain it any longer.
“Come for me, Renee,” he said. “Come for me.”
She reached climax and cried out like she never had before. Even if he’d had neighbors who were close enough to hear, she wouldn’t have cared at that moment. All that mattered were the waves of ecstasy rippling through her. Every rush of sensation was all the more magnified with every stroke he continued to take.
He thrust a few more times then pressed his hips tight to hers. A sound like a growl traveled through his clenched teeth as he climaxed. He didn’t take his gaze from hers as his body trembled, shaking from the power of his orgasm.
As she started to come down from the heights, back to some semblance of reality, she watched him. Every look on his face was dear to her, something precious to treasure.
He shuddered as the last of his orgasm left him. He took a deep breath before he gathered her in his arms as he rolled onto his side and brought her tightly to him.
They rested on their sides and he brushed his knuckles in soft strokes across her cheek, pushing her long hair behind her ear. For a long moment all he did was touch her as he looked into her eyes.
His expression was gentle and he gave a soft smile. “I’m falling for you, Renee. It started back when we were kids and now that we’re adults, here, together…I don’t want to ev
en think about letting you go again.”
She didn’t answer, just studied him, thoughts whirling through her mind. Maybe she was falling for him, too, but it wasn’t something she was ready to face. So much had happened and was still happening in her life that she needed time to think it all through.
He wasn’t pressuring her, she was certain of that. He was letting her know how he felt and it was something she needed to consider. She didn’t want to toy with his feelings. Maybe she shouldn’t have—
“No regrets.” He touched the end of her nose. “You promised.”
He was right. This moment was meant to be.
She placed her hand against his chest and felt the beat of his heart beneath her palm. “No regrets at all,” she said.
A smile tipped the corner of his mouth and she smiled back at him. He brought her tighter into the circle of his arms and she sighed. Within moments she slipped into a deep sleep, wrapped in a blanket of the happiest feeling she’d had in a long, long time.
Chapter 14
Rain pelted the house, a steady drumming on the rooftop. Renee peered outside through the wooden blinds and watched the tire tracks fill, the road shimmering with water that the hard packed dirt didn’t easily absorb.
It was Sunday, the morning of the Camerons’ BBQ. Summer storms in Arizona are often intense and hard to predict. They came and went, so it was possible the weather would clear up by the afternoon. She didn’t hold out a lot of hope, though since the forecaster on the TV had said they were in for a wet one today.
Memories of her night with Dan kept a smile on her face all morning. Every now and then thoughts of what he had said made her pause. He’d said he was falling for her. Truth was, she was falling for him, too, but she didn’t know what to do about it… Not with the mess her life was in.
Her phone rang and she moved away from the window and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Zane Cameron was on the caller ID—she’d programmed his number into her address book yesterday. Likely he was calling to tell her the get-together was cancelled.
She pushed hair out of her face and brought the phone to her ear and answered it. “Hi, Zane.”
“Good morning,” he said in his country drawl. “How about Mexican food instead of barbeque? Unless it clears up it’s going to be a mite wet outside.”
Renee brightened. “That will be great. What time?’
“Around one this afternoon,” he said.
“I’ll tell Dan,” she said. “We’ll see you then.”
She disconnected the call just as the front door opened. Dan walked in, water dripping from his western hat and clothing and mud on his boots. As he set his wet hat on the hat rack beside the door, he wiped his boots on the doormat then toed them off so that he was in his sock feet.
“Let me get you a towel.” She hurried to the downstairs bathroom, grabbed a towel from the rack, and returned with it.
“Thanks.” Dan took it from her with a smile and kissed her firmly before he started toweling off.
“The get-together with the Camerons is still on,” she told him as he took off his wet shirt. She almost couldn’t keep talking as she watched his muscles ripple as he dried himself the best he could. She cleared her throat. “Zane called and said to be there sometime around one. What was BBQ is now Mexican food.”
“Mexican food sounds good,” he said as he smiled down at her.
They headed upstairs and she entered the guestroom, where all of her things were.
Dan paused in the doorway. “How about moving your things into my room after I shower?”
She smiled. “I’d like that.”
When he left, she peered at herself in the mirror. The bruise on her face was fading, but she’d put on makeup to cover up what remained. She went to her suitcase and dug out her cosmetics bag. She didn’t want to have to answer questions and say something ridiculous like she’d run into a door.
Fifteen minutes later Dan returned to the guestroom and something inside her warmed at the sight of him. He’d showered and he was now dressed in dry clothes. He leaned up against the doorframe and watched her French braid her hair into a long braid that fell to the middle of her back.
His lips curved into a sexy smile as he studied her and she felt more flutters in her belly. Every time the man was around her she felt a charge in the air between them, and after last night it was even more palpable. The feeling was more than sexual… It was a connection between them that transcended anything else.
Dan felt a tightening in his gut as he watched Renee. She stirred emotions in him that he’d never felt for another woman. He wanted to take care of her, to keep her safe. He wanted to be with her, to spend time alone or in the company of others—he liked being around her.
Last night hadn’t been nearly enough as far as he was concerned. He wanted to take her in his arms and claim her in every way a man could claim a woman. He’d told her he was falling for her because it wasn’t something he could have held back. Maybe he should have stopped himself. He didn’t want to pressure her but at the same time he intended to claim her as his own.
His lips curved. She looked so damned cute with her long braid and sweet smile. Snug blue jeans molded her nice little ass and her firm breasts pressed against her red blouse. He’d loved the way her petite body had felt spooned with his when they’d slept together. In every way she was a perfect fit.
When she finished her braid, she faced him and smiled. That adorable smile made his heart thump a little harder. Damn, but he had it bad when it came to this woman. Real bad.
“I need to make that dessert to take to the Camerons,” she said as she walked toward him. “We still have a couple of hours.”
He’d all but forgotten she’d planned to make something. He’d already brought the cooler out of the back room to use to take a couple of six packs of beer along with some sodas on ice.
“Looking forward to eating whatever it is you’re making,” he said.
“How can you be so sure when you don’t know what it is?” she asked with a grin.
He pushed away from the doorframe. “Anything you make I’ll be pleased to eat.”
She moved past him into the hallway. “First we need to see what you have in your pantry.”
“Good luck,” he said in a teasing voice.
They headed downstairs, him following behind. When they made it to the kitchen, she went straight for the pantry.
She hummed as she pushed things around. “It’s not as bad as I expected for a bachelor.” She glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, vanilla, and a few other staples. I can work with this.” She started taking things out of the cabinet and handing them to him. “Do you bake?”
“Biscuits and cornbread every now and then,” he said. “Not much more than that.”
He helped her make a golden cake that smelled so damn good while it baked that it had his stomach growling. She made caramel frosting using granulated sugar since he didn’t have powdered sugar, and had baked the cake in an oblong pan because he didn’t have round ones to make a layer cake.
She looked happy as she baked and was clearly at home in the kitchen. Now and then their hands would brush or they’d bump into each other and he’d have to stop her and kiss her. Every time they touched he felt something alive between them and by the way she looked at him he knew she felt it too.
An hour after the cake had finished baking, the pan was still warm as he picked it up and carried it out to the big white truck, Renee hurrying beside him through the warm summer rain. On the passenger side he opened the door for her and helped her climb in with one hand then gave her the cake to hold onto. He’d already loaded the ice chest with beer and sodas while the cake had been baking.
Her spirits were clearly high as he drove to the Camerons. He liked how relaxed and happy she had looked as the day had gone by. It was markedly different from the tense way she’d seemed around Nelson when they’d last been at the Camerons, especially w
hen the man would put his arm around her.
She’d only been with Dan a couple of days, but it felt as if they’d been together much longer. If it were up to him, he’d never let her go.
Excitement bubbled up inside Renee as the truck’s tires splashed through puddles in tire tracks on the dirt road leading to the Bar C Ranch. It wasn’t long before they were driving through the ranch’s gate and up to the Cameron home. Other vehicles were there, telling her that likely more of the Camerons had arrived.
Dan parked the vehicle then came around to the passenger side and helped Renee climb out. It had stopped raining and the world felt washed clean.
A tiny bit of nervousness went through her and she held the cake pan close to her belly, the still-warm glass heating her through her shirt. She told herself that these were old friends and there was no reason at all to feel nervous. Still she felt another twinge and she swallowed.
Dan put his hand at her waist, a comforting touch that bolstered her courage. She smiled up at him and he gave her a sexy smile of his own. That delicious smile made it all the easier to let some of her nervousness slide away.
Her shoes sank into the soft earth leading up to the house until they were on the walkway. Just as they were wiping their shoes on the welcome mat, the front door swung open.
“Come on in.” Zane held the door as they walked through the entrance. As soon as they were in the house, Zane gave Renee a one-armed hug since she was carrying the cake pan.
He took the pan from her and nodded toward the kitchen. “Everyone is waiting in there.”
After they wiped their shoes again on the inside mat, they followed Zane into the spacious kitchen.
Immediately, Renee was swept up into the Cameron family. There were greetings, laughter, and hugs. All of the Cameron men were tall and all had the intense Cameron blue eyes that she remembered so well.
Dillon introduced her to his wife, Carly, and then she met Wayne’s other half, Kaitlyn. Wyatt had married a woman named Sabrina, and of course Renee had already met Zane’s wife, Jessie. The only ones missing from the family get-together were Danica and her husband, Creed.
Lingerie and Lariats (Rough & Ready#7) Page 10
