By the time he parked in front of the ranch, her whole body was on fire and one trembling mass of need, thanks to the wicked finger brushing her through her silk panties.
“You’re wet,” he growled, releasing her to grip the steering wheel, close his eyes, and draw in a breath.
She took in the angle of his high cheekbones, clenched jaw, and strong column of his throat. His whole body was rigid and his knuckles white as he fought some kind of inner battle.
When his eyes reopened, the sheer force of desire in his gaze pinned her in place. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
A moment later, he was out of the truck, striding across the driveway toward the construction taking place in the men’s barracks. Move? She couldn’t if she wanted to. Kind of needed strength in her legs to make them work, and right now, she was all out.
The feeling was just starting to return to her limbs when he exited the barracks with a determined expression on his handsome face, his stride purposeful, resolute—straight to her. It didn’t take much imagination to envision him in full Ranger gear, heading into a mission. Only this time she was his mission. At that realization, she grew weak in a hell of a lot more places than her legs.
He opened her door and held out his hand. “Come on, angel.”
“Everything okay?” She unhooked her belt and grabbed the bag with their lunch before placing her hand in his and giving her knees a direct order not to buckle.
“It will be, once we’re alone.” He helped her down and shut the door, still holding her hand as he led her toward the stable. “I owe you a picnic.”
The thought of spending alone time with him out in nature was a surprising turn-on. She swayed closer, brushing against the hard muscles in his arm. “Mmm…I think I know what I want to eat first.”
He cursed under his breath, and she smiled at the heated look he shot her way. “Keep it up and you’re going to get it.”
As they entered the stable, she angled her body and brushed her breast against his arm and chest. “Promise?”
A second later, she found herself sandwiched between a stall wall and his deliciously hard body. She dropped the bag but didn’t care, her attention riveted to the hot cowboy Ranger. His hands were in her hair, his mouth a mere inch away as he pinned her with that sexy, damn stare again.
“Count on it.” Warm breath washed over her skin as he tilted her face to suit him before he captured her lips for a heated kiss. Soft at first, then serious and demanding, the kiss channeled all his need and every ounce of his hunger into an embrace that set her entire body on fire. And when he shoved his big thick thigh between her legs the last of her brain cells rode out of the stable on her common sense.
Beth moaned, sinking her fingers into his hair, and held on while she rocked against his leg. It was good. He was good. So good she forgot where they were, completely lost in the feel of him, hot, hard, and strong, holding her, kissing her with a passion to match her own.
When Brick eventually broke the kiss, he set his forehead to hers. “Damn, I missed that. Missed you. The weekend never seemed so long.”
“I know.” Three days was much too long to go without one of his magical kisses.
He brushed her nose with his lips before drawing back. “As much as I’d like to take you right here, right now, up against this wall, I’ll refrain on account I’m shy around horses.”
Caught completely off guard, she laughed at his unexpected confession, knowing it was utter bull and he’d only said it to cool their situation. “I highly doubt that, cowboy. I don’t think you’re shy around anything.”
After retrieving their bag of food by their feet, he grasped her hand with his free one and brought it to his chest, sending her a look full of mock pain. “You wound me, angel.”
She squeezed his fingers. “Then I’ll just have to kiss it and make it better.”
And as they rode out of the stable together on a beautiful chestnut mare a few minutes later, Beth thought of nothing else but kissing the man whose strong arms and thighs surrounded her with a shield of warm, unyielding strength. Determined to enjoy the afternoon, she pushed aside thoughts of her impending disaster and settled back against him in the saddle. She wanted one more day, and she miraculously got one more day. Even the clouds obscuring the sun couldn’t ruin her euphoria.
So when Brick stopped at a nice grassy spot near a beautiful oak tree a good mile from the stable, she was more than eager to help him spread out the blanket and food they brought and enjoy their lunch.
“Now I see why V-Spot was a success,” she said, finishing off the last of her food ten minutes later. “If everything tastes as good as this, it makes sense.”
“Yeah, and I’m a meat-n-potatoes guy, but I have to admit, even I don’t mind an occasional lunch from there. I just load up on extra meat at supper to make up for it.”
Her mind immediately jumped to a naughty place, hearing Brick talk about extra meat. To keep from saying something off color, she shoved the last of her raspberry square into her mouth and chewed an extra long time, while mentally undressing him with her eyes.
“You look like you’re really enjoying your dessert, angel.” Amusement and heat darkened his gaze as he trailed his bar up her arm to linger on her chest. “Would you like mine, too?”
“Don’t you want it?”
“No.” He brushed her lips with the bar. “I have a different dessert in mind.”
She didn’t recall Cece packing anything else. “Oh? What?”
“You.”
She smiled on an inhale. “Take what you want, cowboy. I’m all yours.”
A sexy growl emanated from his chest as he pressed her back against the blanket, set his hat aside, and replaced the bar with his mouth, kissing her oh so slow and lingering, nipping and tasting and drinking his fill. By the time he released her lips to place open-mouthed kisses down her throat and neck, her mind was mush and her body was a tingling mass of awareness.
“Mmm…” he murmured against her skin, his lips grazing her collarbone before he tugged her bodice down, exposing her breasts to his heated gaze. “Best dessert ever.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but then his lips were on her breasts, kissing, teasing, sucking her nipples into his mouth while the scruff on his chin grazed in delicious spurts that had her moaning instead.
When he lifted his head his eyes were heavy-lidded and dark. “That was just the topping.” Holding her gaze, he brushed the heavy underside of her breasts with his hands, teasing, stroking until she sighed his name, her nipples peaking and aching for his touch just out of reach. Still, he kept teasing until she muttered his name again, louder, and then finally, oh God finally, he brushed over her nipples.
Beth moaned and arched into his touch, silently begging for more. A wicked smile pulled at his lips, telling her he knew what she wanted a second before he showed her, bringing his fingers up to meet with his thumbs and gently roll her aching peaks.
She gasped, feeling an invisible pull straight between her thighs. If she closed her eyes and concentrated, he’d set her off without ever touching her there. But apparently he had other ideas, because he chuckled and released her.
“Hold that thought, angel.” He winked, then shifted down her body to kneel between her legs and grasp the hem of her dress. “Lift up.”
Without a thought to the contrary, she complied, and he quickly pushed her dress up to meet the bodice bunched at her waist. “Almost perfect.” He bent down to kiss her hip bone, then hooked his fingers under her panties and trailed kisses down her leg. She leaned on her elbows to watch as he slowly tugged them off then sat back on his heels and spread her legs wider to look his fill.
Breath caught in Beth’s throat at the fierce hunger that darkened his eyes to near black.
“Damn, angel.” His voice was rough with need, and his hands shook as they started at her ankles, grazing over her shins and knees, slowly inching to her upper thighs. And then between.
She ga
sped. “Brick—”
He settled between her legs, using his broad shoulders to spread her apart, and with his gaze on her, he pressed his mouth over her center.
Sweet mercy, his mouth…
As with anything the man did, he was thorough and unhurried, stroking and licking until she nearly swallowed her own tongue. In under a minute, she was panting like a crazy woman, holding his head as she bucked to meet his strokes.
“Brick…I’m going to…”
“Come for me, angel. Do it,” he urged, with his mouth still on her.
Watching his enjoyment was as much a turn-on as his touch, and it spurred her over the edge. She closed her eyes and flew apart, moaning his name, and he stayed with her, licking and lapping, prolonging her orgasm, then he slowed down and eventually stopped.
When she drifted back to herself and found the strength to open her eyes, she caught his sexy, satisfied grin.
“You’re my new favorite dessert.” He opened his mouth to say more, but the wind suddenly picked up and fat droplets of rain started to fall. “What the…?”
They both glanced up to find the sky full of clouds that hadn’t been that dark when they’d left the stable, growing darker by the second. “Shit.” He pulled her to her feet and glanced around. “We won’t make it back before it lets loose.”
Beth shimmied into her panties and fixed her dress while he shoved his hat on and watched their horse shift uneasily near the tree where she was tied.
“What about Rogue?” Beth frowned. “If we let her go, will she make back to the stable in time?”
His gaze once again returned to the sky and he shook his head. “No.”
Then the hail started.
“Ah hell.” Brick grabbed the blanket from the ground and rushed to her, but she shook her head.
“No. Put it on Rogue.” She ground her teeth against the sting of the tiny hail.
“No way, Beth.”
“Yes way, Brick. She’s defenseless, we can at least try to take cover.” And without waiting for his consent she yanked the blanket from his hands and headed for the nervous mare.
Two big hands took it from her and quickly draped the blanket in place, then grabbed her upper arm and yanked her behind a small embankment. “Get down.” He pressed her to the ground then covered her body with his own, using the bank to shield them from some of the storm.
The hail grew larger, fell faster, and as the wind blew the rain and hail sideways into the bank, not all of it was blocked. Tears burned behind Beth’s eyes as she felt the vibration of the hail pounding into Brick while none of it touched her.
All she could think was: Oh God, what have I done?
Chapter Eight
As soon as the hail stopped, Brick pushed off of Beth and began to slowly run his hands over her body to check for injuries. A few tiny pink marks on her shoulders. No broken skin.
God, she was shaking like a leaf.
“I’m fine. I’m just wet. Nothing hit me.”
Normally, whenever Beth said the word “wet” his mind and body dropped into full lust mode. But right now, he was too concerned about her health. He was only in half-lust mode. “Humor me,” he said, continuing his assessment before he allowed her to turn around and sit up. Thankfully, she appeared to be okay.
“Oh my God, Brick. You’re bleeding!” She reached up to brush his shoulder.
“It’s nothing. I’m fine. The hat shielded my head.” His back, legs, and arms were another story, but she didn’t need to know his whole body stung like a son-of-a-bitch. “Let’s go while there’s a break in the storm.”
Drawing them to their feet, he swallowed a grunt as every muscle in his body protested at once. Definitely not something she needed to know.
“Turn around.” Concern darkened her gaze and her hands trembled as they gripped his arms to try to make him turn.
“There’s no time—”
She pushed harder. “Turn around.”
“Okay, but we have to go.” He did better than that. He turned and walked toward the horse, her indrawn breath following him to the tree. She could look all she wanted while he checked on Rogue. That hail could’ve been a prelude to a tornado, and if there was one bearing down on them, he wanted Beth in their storm shelter, not some damn ditch with only his sorry ass as cover.
Surprisingly, the blanket was still on the horse, so when he removed it with a quick tug all he found were a few scrapes on the mare’s lower legs. Rogue had fared fairly well. He straightened up and winced. Better than him.
“Brick…your back…” Beth was standing to the side, dress dirty and plastered to her body, face pale, with her arms crossed over her chest. “God… It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.”
He rushed close to rub her arms. “Hey, angel, it’s okay. Honest. My body has taken a hell of a lot more punishment than this overseas.”
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because she drew in a breath, her mouth quivered, and her eyes filled with tears.
Ah hell. Not tears. He wasn’t good with tears. Anything but them.
“Come here.” He pulled her in close and held her tight, ignoring the pain in his back where her hands automatically slid. She was shaking and in shock, and he needed to get her to the ranch.
She sniffed and drew back. “How’s Rogue?”
The hail could’ve been bad.
“Good, thanks to you.” He kissed her quick on the lips then released her. “Let’s get going.”
Without any more protests, she mounted the horse, allowed him to wrap the blanket around her before he joined her in the saddle. The ride back wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as the ride out. Her soft, warm curves and the feel of her every bounce had ricocheted through his body, making him hard on the way to their picnic. Now, he just wanted her out of the elements, even though the wind and rain had long since stopped. Just the thought of her getting hurt—that soft, supple skin of hers suffering any cuts or bruises—made him nuts.
As soon as they reached the stable and he learned Cord wasn’t home, Brick handed Rogue over to one of the men he trusted in Cord’s absence.
“Come on.” He ushered Beth across the yard and into the house where Vince was preparing supper.
The guy stopped peeling potatoes and cursed. “What happened to you two?”
“We were caught in that hail storm,” Beth replied.
Vince reeled back. “Hail? It didn’t hail here. Jesus, are you all right?”
“Brick is hurt.”
Before he knew it, Beth twisted him around and he heard Vince wince.
“Damn, that looks painful, man.”
Ah hell. Last thing he needed was the idiot fueling her fear.
“Is there anyone here who can fix him up? If not, I need a car to take him to the hospital.”
Fuck no.
He twisted around and grasped her gently but firmly by the shoulders. “I told you. I’m fine. I don’t need a hospital. A few Band-Aids will do the trick.” Her green gaze was full of determination, so he called over his shoulder. “Isn’t that right, Vince?”
“Yeah, of course. Hell, this is nothing compared the time Brick took a knife to his shoulder, or when that father peppered him with buckshot—”
“I think she gets the picture,” Brick cut the bastard off before his past came back to bite him in the ass.
“Well, Stone and Jovy just got home. I think they’re in the office. He’ll patch Brick up.”
Beth grabbed his hand and tugged. “Thanks.” Still wrapped in the blanket, she somehow managed to drag him straight to the office, where Jovy was sitting on his brother’s lap, apparently checking for tonsils.
The couple broke apart and jumped to their feet.
“Jesus, what happened to you?” Stone stepped closer.
Before he could open his mouth, Beth told them about the sudden storm and reissued her threat to take him to the hospital.
“I told her I’m fine.” Although, by now, whatever spot on his back wasn’t st
inging ached like hell.
“Yeah.” Stone grinned. “It’d take more than that to get him to a hospital.”
Beth opened her mouth, but luckily, his brother stepped forward.
“I’ll take care of him for you, Beth. He’ll be fine.”
Smiling, Jovy draped an arm around Beth and walked her toward the stairs. “Come on. A nice hot shower and some clean clothes will make you feel human again.”
Their voices faded as they disappeared upstairs.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I still have to clean you up, and I’ve got the feeling it’s going to hurt like a son-of-a-bitch, bro. Where you want to do this? Your bathroom?”
One look at the guy and Brick knew he won all the battles he was going to win that day. “Fine.” He led the way upstairs, not bothering to hide his grunts.
Yeah, it wasn’t going to be pretty.
A half hour later, after cursing out his brother while he cleaned and dressed the open wounds and cuts on Brick’s back and arms, he slipped on a pair of sweatpants and uttered a few more.
“You may want to consider rethinking your decision about the pain pills.” Stone shook a bottle. “Even your ass is black and blue, bro.”
“No.”
“How about a simple muscle relaxer, it’ll—”
“No.”
Stone chuckled as he left both on the nightstand. “Fine. I get it. If you take them you won’t be able to get it up.”
Damn straight.
He and Beth had unfinished business. They’d only just gotten started, and hell, she’d tasted so sweet he couldn’t get enough. Dammit, it’d been over four days since he was inside her. Four long-ass days. Not since last Thursday. His body might be battered but not his libido. So yeah…hell yeah, his dick was calling the shots right now.
Thankfully, though, his brother hadn’t been a witness. The fork-scraping Stone imparted on his back—at least that was what it had felt like—had weakened his boner enough to spare Brick his brother’s teasing when he’d dropped his drawers to step into the shower.
“Seriously, though, I’m sorry the damn storm ruined your picnic.”
Her Secret Ranger (The Men of at Ease Ranch) Page 11
