Her words, his need for her, the sight of her breasts hanging beneath her, glaring for attention while she spread her delectables wide open, were all just too much. So when she dipped her shoulders down and arched her ass in the air, he caved to her demands.
Rubbing his hands over her sweet ass, he bent over her to kiss her spine while he guided his fingers to test between her legs. So wet. He swallowed. Hard. And clenched his jaw in an attempt to keep his cool.
“Oh…” She momentarily tensed. “That’s a different angle.”
He stilled. “It’s not too late to change your mind, Beth. I like being inside you no matter the position.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him, her hair obscuring some of her face, but not the excitement and hunger in her emerald gaze. “Brick. Please.”
Ah hell, she didn’t have to beg. Straightening, he grabbed her hips and pushed slowly inside.
So damn tight.
“Oh…wow.” Her voice was but a whisper.
He clenched his jaw to fight the urge to plunge all the way in. “You okay?”
“Yes. Don’t stop,” she said on a hitched breath, and then backed her sweet ass up until he was completely inside. “Brick…I…”
She felt so damn good.
“Still with me?” God, he hoped so. If he had to pull out, he’d probably break down and cry.
“Yes. I need you to move.”
He closed his eyes and began to move. Slow, at first, still worried he’d hurt her.
She was so sweet. So damn sweet.
Even while half of him raged with a fierce hunger and wanted to stake his claim and take her hard, the other half filled with tenderness and wanted to hug her against him and nuzzle her neck.
He settled for somewhere in between. Leaning over her back, he kissed her neck and cupped her swaying breasts as he pistoned in and out, completely convinced he was in the middle of the best damn erotic dream he’d ever had.
Only it wasn’t a dream.
It was real.
“Oh. My. God. Brick.” The woman moaning beneath him, bucking back and forth, and tightening around him while he stroked between her legs was very real.
As real as the burning down his spine and into his balls, signaling his release. He straightened and grasped her hips, pulling nearly all the way out before plunging deep, calling her name as he exploded in an almost painful climax. His ears rang and the world faded while he pumped in and out of her, his whole being centered on their connection and the feel of warm, slick heat hugging him tight as she continued to climax—so damn tight—coaxing the fiercest release of his life.
When he finished, he had just enough strength to pull out before he collapsed onto the bed, rolling onto his back and tucking her against him. Her warm sigh washed over him. His last thought before exhaustion claimed him was: life is never going to be the same.
He was good with that.
…
The next morning, Beth alternated her gaze between her empty, sheet-tossed bed and the phone in her hand. Rachel was waiting for her update. She’d been putting off the call for the past hour, wanting to keep the incredible night to herself for a little longer.
But she was also excited to share a few things with her friend.
A knock sounded at her door, startling her into action. “Hey, Beth. It’s me. Are you decent? I’m dying here,” Rachel said from the other side.
Smiling, Beth opened the door to find her friend with an anxious expression pinching her face, arms full of coffee and something delicious, judging by the aromas wafting out of the white bag. “Good morning.”
“Thank God.” Relief erased the stiffness from her friend’s rigid body and taut lines on her face as she stepped into the room. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to find. You never answered any of my texts or calls.”
Guilt clawed at Beth’s gut. She hadn’t even thought about that. Just because she’d known she’d be safe with Brick hadn’t meant her friend had a clue. “Sorry. I was kind of…busy.”
Rachel’s gaze immediately shot to the bed and her mouth dropped open. “Oh my God. You actually did have an all-nighter.”
“No. I wish.” She sighed, grabbing a cup of coffee from the tray Rachel still held and sat down at the table by the window. “He left during the night. He lives in the next town and had to be up early for work.”
But not before ravaging her from head to toe and delivering her sixth orgasm in as many hours.
“Oh, I know that look.” Grinning, her friend sank into the other chair and handed her a muffin from the bag. “You had a mini-marathon.”
“Something like that.” She snickered and bit into chocolate chip heaven. Then took another bite. And another. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until now.
“I’m glad he didn’t turn out to be an ax murderer,” her friend said, while pulling apart her cheese danish into bite-size pieces. “I would’ve felt so bad.”
“Me, too.”
Rachel laughed. “So, are you going to see him again?”
“Yes, tonight.” They’d made plans to go to dinner at an actual restaurant. Although, she had absolutely no complaints with the pizza delivery they’d eaten in bed after round two. None whatsoever. Best damn meal of her life.
“Think maybe you’ll actually venture outside this room?”
She stilled and blinked at her friend. Evidence of their dinner was outside, in the Dumpster where Brick had tossed it. How could her friend have known they’d stayed in?
Rachel snorted. “Yes, I know you didn’t go out. The way you just scarfed down that chocolate chip muffin like you were famished, the rosy glow on your face, and the fact you look like you still haven’t quite found your bones all sort of give it away.” She produced another muffin from the bag. “Got you two, just in case.”
“You’re a goddess,” Beth gushed as she grabbed the second muffin, then took a big bite, indeed as famished as accused.
Her friend inhaled and sighed. “Damn, this room smells like sex. Makes me want to make a surprise stop at Jake’s office to test the integrity of his desk.”
Beth’s head snapped back. She didn’t know where to start with all that, so she grasped the first thing to pop into her head. “I didn’t know sex had a smell.”
Her friend popped a piece of danish into her mouth and nodded. “Yes. I guess if you have it often enough, you come to recognize it. Hah…see what I did there?”
She chuckled at Rachel’s reference to the word “come.” “Yeah.”
“And I didn’t mean to insinuate you don’t have sex, I just meant that…well, being in a relationship, I have it often.”
“I know. I wasn’t offended,” she reassured. “Envious, maybe, but not offended.”
“I still can’t believe you had sex with a stranger, though. My Beth. Sweet, never-rock-the-boat Beth. Cord would be shocked at his Lizzie.”
At the mention of her brother, she lost some of her euphoric glow. Cord wouldn’t be happy with the risks she’d taken with Brick. But she trusted the cowboy. Never felt so safe in her life. Warmth and tenderness and heat were always in his eyes, and although he sometimes stared at her like he wanted to consume her, it was always when they were naked and he was buried deep inside her.
Not once had Beth ever felt threatened. Just cherished. Like she mattered.
God, it was the most addicting feeling in the world. Now that she’d had it—had him—she wanted it all the time. It was one of the reasons she agreed to another date. She wanted to see if perhaps she could have him in her life. To see if they fit. To see if he minded the fact her life was two hours away. Something she planned to talk about with him tonight.
And speaking of talking. It was probably best if she confided in her friend now, too. “Rachel, there’s something you should know.” She sat back in her chair and held her friend’s gaze. “Brick isn’t exactly a stranger.”
Rachel cocked her head and frowned. “Define exactly.”
“I met him when
I was here two weeks I ago.”
A brow arched. “You did?”
She nodded.
“You sly dog.” Rachel slapped the table. “The Roadhouse! You met him there, didn’t you?”
She twisted her to-go cup of coffee and nodded. “Yes.”
“I knew it! I knew there was something you weren’t saying. He’s the reason you knew about the line dancing.”
“Yes.” She nodded again. “It was a great weekend. But I honestly hadn’t expected it to be anything more. I didn’t plan to see him again. I mean, we never even exchanged last names or phone numbers. Nothing like that.”
“So when he walked into the fair yesterday, it was the first time you saw him since that weekend?”
“Yes.” Beth blew out a breath and shook her head. “I couldn’t believe it. Brick.”
“Wow. Brick? Is that really his name? Or just a nickname because he’s hard all over?”
Beth choked on the coffee she unfortunately sipped a second before Rachel had opened her mouth. “It’s his name.” She ignored the “hard all over” inquiry. “Of all people to walk in at that exact moment, it was him.”
“Wow,” Rachel repeated with a blink.
“Yeah.”
“That means something, Beth. Has to.” The conviction in her friend’s tone matched the glint in her blue eyes. “Neither one of us believe in coincidences.”
They ate in silence a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.
“I’m glad you decided to see him again.”
“Me, too. But I don’t know if it’s smart. I mean, I’m not from around here.”
“You could be.”
“What?”
“You could be. What’s stopping you from moving up here and opening your own event planning business?”
Beth had never even thought about working anywhere but Austin. Of living anywhere but Austin. It took time and planning and…“A little thing like startup money, and oh, the college I enrolled in for the fall.”
“Oh my God.” Rachel shot to her feet and pulled Beth into a hug. “You actually did it? You accumulated enough credits to finish off the final few at college?”
“Yes.” She smiled and hugged her friend back. Rachel had always encouraged her to pursue her degree one course at a time, if need be. And at times, that was all Beth had been able to manage. “It might have taken me six years, but I finally made it. Only four courses—one semester—to go.”
“I’m so damn proud of you!” Rachel drew back to smile at her. “What do your mother and grandmother think?”
“They’re happy and proud, too.”
“And Cord?”
The smile disappeared from her face. “I haven’t told him yet.”
“Hey.” Rachel squeezed her upper arms. “Don’t look like that. He’ll be proud, too.”
“Yeah, but you know Cord. He’s going to feel bad. Like it’s his fault it took me so long.” That the damn guy always felt he needed to shoulder the blame for every trial and tribulation in their family was getting old. Fast.
“He’ll get over it.” Rachel gave her arms one last squeeze before she released her to sit back down. “I’d be more worried about what he’s going to say about Brick.”
She sighed. “Yeah. That’s not a conversation I’m looking forward to, and for the moment, I’m not bringing it up. I’d appreciate if you kept this all quiet.” She nodded in the direction of her sheet-tossed bed. “Who knows? Maybe we’re not compatible outside of bed. I’d like to find that out first before I go introducing him to my family.”
“Okay, but since Cord lives less than an hour from here and comes to Braxton a lot, there is a possibility the two guys are going to bump into each other. Despite our growing population, Braxton is still small. Look how you bumped into the cowboy at the fair.”
“I know. I just want to get to know Brick a little more before I spring him on my brother. And vice versa.”
“Uh-oh.” Rachel sipped her coffee and narrowed her gaze on her as she set her cup down. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Her friend was so damn astute. Beth closed her eyes and sighed, dredging up the courage to speak her suspicions out loud. No time like the present. She opened her eyes and pushed past her misgivings. “I think Brick is military.”
Rachel’s gaze widened. “Oh boy.”
“Exactly.”
“Probably better if he were an ax murderer.”
Beth laughed despite her predicament. “Probably.”
“What makes you think Brick served?” Rachel asked. “He has a killer body, doesn’t he?”
She nodded. “Big time. Even his muscles have muscles. And he has that V thing going on. I swear, every time I see it, I misplace my brain.”
“Well, on that note, I’d better get to work. My shift starts in an hour.” A nurse at the local hospital, Rachel’s transfer brought her to Braxton and put her in the doctor’s line of sight. One rotation together and they fell in love. The rest was history. “Now I need to stop at Jake’s office to work off that danish…the old fashioned way. All this talk of sex has put ideas in my head. You’re a bad influence, Elizabeth Madison Brannigan.”
“Yeah, right.” She smirked. “You’re so pure.”
“What? I’m an angel.”
“So am I, literally, at least, if you asked Brick. Speaking of asking,” Beth said, changing the subject to a work-related question. “Did you talk to Jake about the menu?”
Rachel tossed the bag in the trash can by a small desk then turned to face her. “Yes, and I’m waiting on his mother to get back to me about possible food allergies. She’s supposed to let me know by this afternoon. I’ll text you as soon as I know.”
“Okay.” She followed her friend to the door and held it open. “I’ll see you Thursday for our appointment with the band the mayor procured.”
“God, I sure hope they know some songs from this millennium.”
Beth assured her friend they would and waved as she watched Rachel drive away. It was so great being around her friend again. Leaving was really going to suck.
She stepped back inside the room, shut the door, and inhaled. Did it really smell like sex? She’d do well to remember that in the future if Cord wanted to drop by. They were meeting tomorrow for lunch here in Braxton before her brother headed to Austin to install a cabinet for their mother, but Brick was due in tonight for their second attempt at a dinner date. The way her hunger switched from food to hot cowboy when he was around she figured it was a safe bet they’d end up in her bed tonight. That meant if Cord came by before housekeeping tomorrow, he’d know. If there was such a thing as the smell of sex, then her brother would detect it. The guy was shrewd. Never missed a trick. She assumed it had helped him garner the nickname Warlock from his Ranger team. But he’d had the P.I.T.A. ability long before the military. She had a whole childhood of foiled fun to prove it.
Best if she met her brother at the restaurant. This way she was covered. As long as Brick didn’t show up.
Chapter Four
Well aware of the strange looks and near cases of whiplash the guys bestowed on him all day, Brick decided not to hide the fact he was in a good mood. A great mood. Thanks to that amazing angel visiting Braxton.
He could kick himself for not taking her to dinner, though. She deserved that. Plus, he really did want to get to know her better. To see if they were compatible beyond the bedroom. Not that he was complaining about last night’s date and the new “intimate” discoveries he added to the previous ones from two weeks ago. Hell no. He loved knowing how to rev her engines. Where to kiss her to make her sigh. How to touch to elicit a moan. The exact stroke and pace to make her dig her fingernails into his back while she bucked and panted his name and flew apart around him.
Damn.
Now he was as hard as the rebar wall he was covering with cinderblock in preparation for the concrete scheduled to pour tomorrow morning. This was their second attempt to add a female barracks to the ranch. Ho
pefully it would fare better if a tornado decided to visit again.
Stacking the final three blocks in place on his end, Brick was eager to finish the job so he could call it a day and get ready to meet his angel.
“We’re good to go, guys.” Cord signaled with a thumbs up from across the site.
Music to his ears.
Brick scaled down the ladder and pivoted. He had just enough time to grab a quick shower and get on the road to meet Beth at the restaurant.
“Hey, Romeo, where you going in such an all-fire hurry?” Vince Arcadi asked as Brick dropped off his gear in the barn where they set up a temporary section to store their tools.
The original spot, a storage barn, was another tornado casualty. The small temporarily converted stall wasn’t ideal, especially when there was a handful of men dropping off at the same time. Like now. Brick wasn’t claustrophobic by any means. Hell, he’d been in plenty of tight spaces, some a lot tighter as a Ranger, but he was a big guy and right now, he felt like a sardine stuffed in a can.
“Got a hot date?” Vince didn’t seem to mind moving this way and that to accommodate the crowd. Even as a Ranger the happy Italian moved among masses with ease.
Vince and Cord helped him and Stone finance and run At-Ease Ranch as well as Foxtrot Construction. Together they decided building the female barracks was top priority, along with repairing the men’s barracks. So while Stone and Vince oversaw the repairs, he and Cord were in charge of the crew working on the female barracks—between actual paying jobs.
“Something like that. How are the repairs going?” He hoped the change in subject worked.
Normally, Brick liked talking about his dates. But Beth was different. He knew that was a sign, another damn red flag to his bachelorhood, but he ignored it.
“They’re going great.” Vince dropped his tool belt in his designated spot and turned to face him. He was the only founding member not from Texas, but damn, that Jersey boy could cook. And did. Not only did he help out when they were shorthanded in the construction company, he was the cook at the ranch. And damn good, too. “Thanks to Jovy, we should be done with the repairs and have the men back in their barracks by the end of next week.”
Her Secret Ranger (The Men of at Ease Ranch) Page 4
