Rancher's Deadly Risk

by Rachel Lee

  Nor had she noticed the fencing with gates that Linc closed behind them to keep them in relatively small pens. Well, why would she have noticed? She didn’t understand the purpose of a lot of things out here and hadn’t even thought about them until she saw them in use.

  The blizzard didn’t seem to disturb either the sheep or goats. As soon as they were safely enclosed, they settled down and began pulling at the bales that surrounded them on two sides, dining as if nothing was going on at all. She loved it.

  Cleaning the horse stalls strained her muscles in new ways after Linc showed her how to use the pitchfork and shovel. It took a while, but soon the horses had fresh beds of loose hay, and troughs full of fresh water and feed.

  By the time they returned to the house, visibility approached zero. Linc clung to her gloved hand as if he were afraid she would wander off or blow away.

  Either option would have been possible, she thought as they trudged across frozen ground that was beginning to be covered by little drifts of snow wherever it was uneven. She could see the house only in snatches until finally it loomed over them, too big to miss.

  She paused on the porch to look back over a world that had gone completely white, and could hardly see the barn.

  “You’re not going to have to go out there again, are you?” she asked Linc. “You could get lost.”

  “Not until tonight. If worst comes to worst, I made sure the horses can make it until tomorrow. I’d hate to leave them like that, but...” He shrugged, the conclusion obvious.

  The change between indoors and out was sharp. Warmth, no wind, relative quiet. She could still hear the wind howling and the windows rattling as strong gusts hit, but it was a different world in here, cozy and protected.

  “How are you feeling?” Linc asked. “Still as upset as last night?”

  “I’m relieved James is going to be okay. I hope his family gets him some therapy, though.”

  “And the rest?”

  She half shook her head. “I don’t know, Linc.” She held out her arms as he helped her out of her jacket.

  “I need to get you some better gloves,” he remarked as he took hers and tucked them into the pockets of her coat before hanging it on a wall peg.

  “I can do that on Monday.”

  “No, I meant I’ll dig some out. I’ve got a few pairs in a box upstairs I just never got around to donating.”

  An especially strong gust rattled the entire house, and she felt a draft snake past her shoulders. She glanced at Linc, experiencing a twinge of uncertainty.

  As their eyes met, the air became instantly charged around them. She could almost feel searing heat leaping from her to him. She felt as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. Her heart slammed hard, and then an ache clenched her between her legs.

  Everything else vanished but this moment, this man, and an arousal that grabbed her so strongly, so suddenly, it swamped her.

  She never knew which of them moved. All of a sudden their bodies met, their arms wrapped around each other, mouths came together in a hungry, devouring kiss.

  Nothing in her life prepared her for the firestorm that swept through her with staggering intensity. In an instant she became elemental in her need. The trappings of civilization vanished, except for clothing, which had become a hindrance to escape.

  His tongue plunged into her like a spear, commanding, demanding, conquering. She wanted to be conquered. She wanted to brush everything away and get to the most basic coupling possible, because she had wanted it for so long, because she feared something might happen to intervene.

  She wanted to know.

  Apparently he felt it, too, or sensed her impatience. His hands slipped down her back to grasp her rump. She felt the world spin, although her eyes were closed, her mouth coming alive to an erotic awareness she had never before experienced.

  Then she was sitting on the counter’s edge, her thighs splayed, and he nudged his way between them until their loins met, a hard, welcome pressure. Instinctively she arched toward him, wanting more, and as she did she broke the kiss.

  He didn’t seem to mind. His mouth found her throat, hot and wet, pulling a groan from her. Her head hit the cabinet above but she scarcely noticed. Instead she lifted her arms, grabbing his shoulders and arching into him even more.

  As his hot, wet tongue traced fiery lines along her throat and ear, she felt his hands slip up under her sweater. Roughened hands, feeling cool against her heated skin. Close, but not close enough. She wanted to feel those hands everywhere, and her nipples ached for more intimate touches.

  She felt suspended on a tightly drawn wire of anticipation, excited by his touches, aroused to an almost mindless state. It had happened as fast as if someone had touched a match to gasoline, and the explosion of hunger and want in her was beyond anything she had ever imagined.

  Every cell in her body seemed to be demanding its due. Touch me, touch me, touch me! rang like a pounding refrain, pushing her toward a pinnacle. Need lashed her as sharply as a whip, so strong it almost hurt.

  She gasped again as he pulled her sweater over her head, and cold air met her skin. Then she felt her bra release her breasts, a sensation that excited her even more.

  At last, his palms brushed across her nipples, taunting and teasing, each touch drawing a helpless moan from between her lips.

  It was a nearly silent communion, punctuated only by sighs and moans. Hands and bodies did all the talking. She tugged at his shirt, but a gentle grip of his hands stopped her. A whisper of protest escaped her. She wanted so badly to feel skin on skin.

  But he stopped her only so that he could bend his head and draw her nipple deeply into his mouth, sucking with a fervor that caused a deep clenching between her legs. With each draw of his mouth, she wound ever tighter until she felt she might snap.

  But she didn’t snap. She tightened even more, her thighs clamping hard to his hips, her hands pulling at his shoulders, every movement a plea for more.

  He moved to her other breast, sucking so hard it was almost painful. With his hands, he pulled her rump closer to the edge of the counter, closer to his staff, its hardness unconcealed by layers of denim. Feeling his need that way made her soar even higher, made her want even more, and she tried to rock her hips against him, seeking the pressure and friction she needed as her mind plunged downward to that point of contact, making it the center of her universe.

  Images popped into her mind, the things she would like to do to him, the ways she would like him to touch her. They added steam to the heat that was already burning her like a torch.

  With a groan, he released her breast. Before she could protest, as cold air hit her wet skin causing a delicious shiver, he pulled her up against him. Instinctively she locked her ankles behind his hips, and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders.

  The room spun and she realized dimly that he was carrying her upstairs. Burrowing her face against his neck, she found warm skin, a hint of stubble, and licked him as he had licked her.

  A muffled oath escaped him and he quickened his pace up the stairs. His evident eagerness was more fuel for the fire that licked at her every nerve ending.

  Finesse didn’t exist. As soon as he set her on her feet, they tore at each other’s clothing, impatient and eager, not caring if they were rough, or if buttons went flying. They were past even noticing in their need to come together.

  The roughness and impatience aroused Cassie even more. She now teetered higher on the mountain than she had ever come before, sensing a nearby cliff-edge where she could tumble fast into the oblivion of release.

  It was close, so close, and she didn’t want to wait anymore. The fuel of suppressed fantasies over the last few months joined the realization that it was actually happening. An explosion was beginning in her, sweeping her away before its force.

  They tumbled onto the bed. There was an awful moment when everything seemed to stop, and she started to open her eyes only to see him rolling protection onto his magnific
ent staff. That hardness was for her.

  Another spear of pleasure arrowed straight to her core, then his hands pushed her legs apart and he was there. Oh, he was there. He touched her with his fingers, stroking that velvety slit once, twice, causing her to shudder with delight and need, and then the wonderful moments when he slid into her warm depths, filling her, answering an ache that could be answered no other way, stretching her and completing her.

  He moved. The first thrust drew a cry of ecstasy from her. She rose to meet him, needing every bit of him deep inside her.

  Then it happened. Fast. Hot. Hard. She shattered into a million pieces of pleasure that almost hurt. Moments later she felt him thrust one last time, and with a deep groan joined her in completion.

  * * *

  Linc came back to earth slowly, relishing the womanly curves and softness beneath him. Glorious. Better than glorious. Some little corner of his mind whispered that he’d been too rough, though, and he was almost reluctant to lift his head for fear he would see disappointment or hurt in Cassie’s gaze.

  So he stayed as he was, propped on his elbows just enough to allow her to breathe, his face buried against her neck and the soft curve of her shoulder as perspiration dried, and then the air whispered coldly across his skin.

  Outside, the wind keened even louder, like a reminder that he had to face the world.

  Slowly he lifted his head. Her eyes were closed, her face turned a little to one side. Fear spiked him. Had he hurt her?

  “Cassie?”

  Her head turned slowly and her eyes opened a little. Then a smile dawned on her face, a warm, content and happy smile.

  “You okay?” he asked, his heart lifting.

  “Never better,” she whispered. “Never ever.”

  “Me, too,” he said honestly. Then he remembered necessities. “I need to run to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

  Holding the condom in place as he withdrew his softening staff, he was glad to realize he hadn’t waited too long. God, he never forgot himself like that.

  He tugged a quilt over her so she wouldn’t get cold, then raced to the bathroom. He wanted to get back to her, to cuddle with her under the covers, and take the time to learn her as he hadn’t in the time just past.

  He looked back at himself from the mirror, and realized that he had never looked as satisfied as he did right then. Damn, that had been something.

  Grabbing a razor, he quickly scraped away stubble that he was sure must have reddened Cassie’s skin, then he hurried back down the hall to his bedroom, buck naked in the house’s chilly air, with one thought on his mind: get back to Cassie.

  He had lost the battle and had little doubt that he was going to pay a heavy price. All that caution about a woman new to the area had burned away in his hunger for her. Even more stupid considering what had happened to her. He wouldn’t be able to blame her if she decided she didn’t want to live in a county where people would vandalize her car and leave dead animals on her desk. She’d even mentioned leaving, then backed away from it.

  But the taste of this experience was likely to stay with her for a long time, and if it turned to aversion she’d pack and go. No argument about how it was only a small number of people would change that. Especially since he couldn’t actually prove it wasn’t everyone, and she hadn’t been here long enough to believe it.

  But all those thoughts seemed hardly relevant as he hurried back to her side. He could take it. He’d taken it before, from a woman who’d become a huge part of his life for so long. Cassie had only just started to become a part of his days. Separation would be easier.

  Or so he tried to tell himself. Not that anything he told himself would change the fact that he couldn’t wait to climb back into that bed with her.

  She was lying on her side, back to him as he entered, staring at the window that rattled angrily in the wind. “It’s really bad out there,” she remarked as his footstep made a floorboard creak.

  Why did he feel as if she had withdrawn? She was simply looking toward the window. He strode over and pulled the curtain back. Whiteout.

  “I’m going to have the check the animals soon.” While he cared about those animals, he felt a surge of resentment that they might need him at this time.

  “I know.”

  Something in the tone of her voice made him pivot and stare at her. “Cassie? What’s wrong?”

  The corners of her mouth tipped up. “What could possibly be wrong?”

  Plenty, he thought. And that was no answer. Another stab of fear lanced him. His stomach sank. But if she wasn’t going to talk...well, there was only one way he could think to deal with this, to try to get to whatever was troubling her.

  Reaching the bed, he pulled back the quilt, revealing her. She astonished him by instinctively covering herself protectively, and looking embarrassed.

  “Don’t hide from me, Cassie. Please. Everything about you is beautiful. Sexy. Marvelous.”

  She looked dubious and didn’t relax.

  Damn! Without another word, he slid onto the mattress beside her, gently opened her arms and moved her until he had her pinned on her back on the mattress. She was startled but she didn’t fight.

  “I know I was a Neanderthal just now,” he said, sweeping his gaze over her. “I didn’t let you know how beautiful you are. Hell, I didn’t even do a decent job of learning you. Trust me, Cassie, I’ve been drooling over you for months.”

  Still she appeared doubtful. “You could have fooled me.”

  “It was the main reason I avoided you.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “It would if you knew.” He bent and dropped a kiss on each breast, realizing he was going to have to fess up and hating to reveal his stupidity once again. She squirmed at the touch of his mouth. So whatever doubts she had, they hadn’t quieted her desire. Good. He almost smiled.

  But then it was time to talk, much as he hated to hash this over. But while he was hashing, he supposed he could be loving her, too. He sucked her nipple, more gently this time, and felt it harden in his mouth. Had anything ever made him feel so good?

  He lifted his head. “I was engaged. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it.”

  Her eyes widened a bit and she shook her head.

  “Martha. Anyway, we were engaged, we’d been together for well over a year, the wedding was two months away, and she delivered her ultimatum.”

  “Which was?”

  “Sell the ranch and leave with her. She couldn’t stand this place. She was bored all the time, there wasn’t anything to do, she didn’t like the animals, she thought... Oh, hell, never mind what she thought. I was a fool not to have guessed what was coming long before it hit.”

  He scooted down a bit and dropped a kiss on the thatch of hair between her thighs, feeling another shiver run through her.

  “Why should you have known?”

  “Because the push was there almost from the start. She wanted me to remodel the house. She wanted a master bedroom with a private bath. She wanted new furniture. She wanted a lot of stuff. In fact, I have a dishwasher because of her. Kind of silly for one guy, don’t you think? Anyway, almost from the outset she wanted to change things. If I hadn’t been so blinded, I’d have to have seen her constant discontent.”

  “Maybe she mostly hid it.”

  He raised his head. “That’s a kind thing to say. Well, hindsight is twenty-twenty. And I might see things clearer now because of the way she left.”

  “Entirely possible.” She tugged a hand free from his grip and reached down to stroke his hair.

  “Anyway, she wasn’t from around here. Like you, she moved here for a job. Clearly this wasn’t the place for her.”

  “So you wanted to avoid another outsider?”

  “Bingo. I was drawn to you from the instant I saw you, but I kept telling myself that since you’d probably be leaving at the end of the school year, I should just be smart and stay away.”

  It seemed so incredi
bly intimate, even to him, to be lying here with his head so close to her most personal places and looking up at her over her body. He liked it a whole lot, and she seemed to be relaxing a bit.

  The need was awakening in him again. He licked her in the crease between her thigh and abdomen, and she shivered. “Linc, you are a devil.”

  A chuckle escaped him. “You love it.”

  “I can’t deny it.”

  Relief that he’d diverted any continued conversation away from Martha filled him. He didn’t want to talk about the past, or about the fear he couldn’t quite escape that he would be judged wanting again. That this woman, too, would be unable to tolerate life here. Not now.

  Right now he just wanted to sink into her depths, forget all the worries of the past week, forget his fears for her and for the Carney boy, and just focus in this moment with a glorious woman lying in his bed.

  He lifted himself a bit and settled between her legs, his face near the apex of her thighs. “If you have any objections to this,” he said huskily, “tell me before I offend you.”

  “No offense. I’ve never...”

  Never? For some odd reason the thought delighted him. He couldn’t imagine anyone skipping over these honey-blond curls with their musky scent, but it thrilled him to know he could give her something no one ever had before. He eased her legs farther apart, propped himself on his elbows and gently stroked her velvety petals. As shiver after shiver ran through her, he felt his own body pound its way into renewed need.

  His fingers traced her soft flesh, avoiding the very seat of her desire, teasing out the moments, loving her growing excitement. Only when her hips arched up in demand did he lower his head and follow his fingers with his tongue.

  She tasted as good as her aromas had promised, and with his tongue he explored every nook of her. Soft moans started to escape her, encouraging him to press on, to stiffen his tongue as he slid it inside her and then dragged it up to her swollen nub.

  She cried out, but he remained merciless, flicking her with his tongue until her hips rolled like the sea. The sounds of her pleasure fed his own arousal until he felt as if he would explode.