by Elle James
“I’m going to get a shower and wash my hair,” Brenna said. “I’m showing Mr. Hunt some properties tomorrow and want to look my best. Hopefully, we’ll find something he likes. The man appears to be loaded. He drives a Ferrari and wears a pretty swanky suit.”
Emily chewed on her bottom lip. She wanted to forbid her sister from leaving Iron Horse Ranch, but she couldn’t.
Brenna took her hand. “I see worry wrinkling your brow.” She shook her head. “Don’t worry. Sebastian vowed to be my bodyguard all day, if necessary.”
Emily drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Okay. I guess it’ll be okay. A man driving a Ferrari isn’t likely to kidnap my baby sister. And if he did, a Ferrari will stick out like a sore thumb around here. We’ll find it.” She winked. “Don’t hate me for worrying.”
“I’d hate it if you didn’t,” Brenna assured her. “Good night, sweetie.” She kissed Emily’s cheek and entered the house.
“Now that everyone is where they should be, I’ll be off to bed,” Mrs. McKinnon said. “Be sure to turn off the porch light when you come in.”
Mrs. McKinnon’s departure left Emily alone with Colin.
Colin reached inside the house and switched off the porchlight. Then he took her hand and raised it to his lips. “I don’t suppose we can pick up where we left off?”
Emily laid his palm against her cheek. “It’s insane. Every time I’m around you, I lose focus.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
She nodded and touched her lips to the inside of his hand. “We should call it a night. Tomorrow might be a busy day, depending on what Swede finds on that phone.”
“Yeah.” Colin drew her into his arms and pressed her against him. “You’re right. We should call it a night.”
A minute ago, Emily had been exhausted by the worry of not knowing where Brenna was. Now, in Colin’s arms, adrenaline shot through her veins, revitalizing her senses.
This was the man she’d always been in love with. She’d settled for Alex because she’d been too afraid to love a man who would put his life in danger on a battlefield.
God, she’d been a fool.
When Colin bent to claim her lips, the ten years they’d been apart faded away.
This was where her heart belonged. In Colin’s arms.
His mouth came down on hers, claiming her. His tongue traced the seam of her lips.
Emily opened to him.
He swept in, caressing her tongue with his in a long, sensuous twist.
Her hands found their way around his neck, pulling him closer until she didn’t know where he ended, and she began.
The lights in the hallway blinked out, leaving only the stars to shine down on them, bathing them in a soft blue light.
When Colin finally broke away, he stared down at her, his eyes reflecting the starlight. “I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time,” he said, his voice husky.
“I’ve wanted it, too.”
“What are we going to do about us, Emily?” Colin pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Where do we go from here?”
She shook her head, her thoughts in a haze of desire. “Well, we can’t go to my room. Brenna’s in there.”
His stilled, his fingers gripping her hips, curling into her flesh. He tipped his head to the side. “Am I reading you right? Maybe you should spell it out for this Marine, so I don’t make a mistake.”
She leaned up on her toes, touched his mouth with hers and whispered, “Let’s go to bed. Your room. Now.”
It was crazy. She’d never come on to a man like this before. And she might regret it in the morning. But at that moment, all she could think about was getting naked with this man. “Don’t think too much. Don’t take it past the moment. I need to feel, to touch, to hold you.”
Colin hesitated for a second. “Are you sure?”
She bit his bottom lip lightly. “I told you not to think. Don’t ruin the moment. I want this. For now.”
He swept her up in his arms and hurried toward the door.
Emily reached for the doorknob and whispered, “What about your mother?”
“I’m a grown man,” he said. “And now, you’re thinking too much.”
She pulled open the door.
Colin carried her across the threshold and straight up the stairs. He passed the room she shared with her sister and stopped in front of his bedroom door.
Emily could have called a halt to the insanity at that point. Instead, she reached for the doorknob, turned it and let him carry her across the threshold.
Once inside, Colin kicked the door closed behind him. Then he set her on her feet and kissed her long and hard, stealing the breath from her.
Emily melted against him, her body on fire, no longer in her control. She wanted him so badly, she couldn’t think straight.
She shoved his jacket over his shoulders.
He shrugged free and let it fall to the floor. His hand rose to brush the hair back from her cheek, smooth the strands down over her shoulders and grip the hem of her shirt.
Emily raised her arms, her gaze capturing his.
Ever so slowly, Colin dragged her shirt up her torso and off, tossing it to the corner of his room.
The chilly night air did nothing to cool the heat burning a path through her body and coiling at her core.
She tugged his T-shirt out of the waistband of his jeans and shoved it up his chest, eager to be done with the clothes standing between them. Her urgent need to be skin to skin drove her into a frenzy of stripping.
Clothes flew off, and soon they were naked in front of each other.
Emily’s breathing was ragged as if she’d been running or she’d forgotten how to breathe in her desperate desire to be close to this man.
Colin paused to cup her face between his palms. “You’re even more beautiful than you were ten years ago.
She laughed, giddy with what was happening. “You’ve improved on the younger model.” Running her hands over his rock-hard chest, she looked up into his eyes. “I don’t want to think about yesterday. Tomorrow will come whether we want it to or not. Make love to me tonight. No promises. No strings. Just us.”
“What if I want promises and strings.”
She touched a finger to his lips. “Don’t overthink this, Marine.”
He drew in a deep breath and let it out. Then he scooped her up in his arms, carried her to his bed and laid her across the quilt, lying on the bed beside her. “I’ve wished for a very long time to have you like this. You were what kept me alive in the desert.”
“Even though I was married to Alex?” she asked.
“I knew I couldn’t have you, but it was the thought of you riding like the wind on that old nag, Sassy. You laughing beside the old swimming hole, the sun making your hair look like spun gold.” He lifted a strand of her hair and smiled. “You were a hope that someday I’d find someone who could put up with me.” He kissed her forehead and her eyelids. “Emily, you’re amazing. We should talk about this. I’m not into one-night stands.”
Heart pounding, blood rushing through her veins and desire coiling tightly inside, she didn’t want to think past the moment. She didn’t want him to make promises in the heat of the moment. She wasn’t sure what the future held for either of them. She didn’t want to think that far ahead. Not when she had him naked in front of her.
She only wanted to feel.
Emily wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her mouth. “Stop talking and start moving.”
“But—”
“No buts. I want you now. Don’t disappoint me.”
“Oh, sweetheart, there will be no disappointment.” He leaned over her, parting her legs with his knee.
“That’s what I wanted to hear.” She sighed and leaned up to meet his lips as he positioned his body between her thighs.
For a long moment, he teased her tongue, caressing it with his own in a kiss that stole her breath away.
Then he was kissing her cheek and d
ragging his fingers along her jaw and down her neck, blazing a path of kisses and nibbles to the rounded swells of her breasts.
He paused there, taking one nipple between his teeth, rolling the tip against his tongue until it tightened into a hard, little bead.
Emily arched off the mattress, needing more.
He moved from that breast to the other, taking it in a similar fashion, leaving Emily breathless in his wake.
He wasn’t done.
Colin slid down her body, tonguing and kissing each rib along the way, dipping into her bellybutton and slowing as he reached the mound of curls covering her sex.
By then, Emily was holding her breath, waiting for what came next. Her body teetered on the edge of something big, something colossal.
Colin parted her folds and blew a stream of air over the tightly packed bundle of nerves. Her body tingled in anticipation, ready to take whatever he would give.
And he gave.
First, he tapped a finger against the nubbin of flesh. Then he dipped that finger into her channel, swirled in her fluids and came back out to wet her clit. Slowly, he massaged that narrow strip of flesh, drenched in her own juices. As he stroked, he increased the pressure and speed.
Emily dug her heels into the mattress, holding back her moan of extreme pleasure. With her sister in the room beside Colin’s, she didn’t need to announce she was having sex by screaming out Colin’s name. Not that she was thinking all that clearly.
Not when he was playing her like a fiddle, his fingers making music at her core.
He shifted his hand, sliding that finger and two more into her channel.
His tongue took control where his finger had been.
Sweet heaven above.
He flicked, licked and nipped at the tender flesh.
Emily reached for his head, holding him there. The joy was so intense, she wasn’t sure she would survive it. But she couldn’t tell him to stop. Not now. Not when she was so close…
The next flick of his tongue sent her rocketing to the stratosphere.
She let go of his hair and gripped the comforter at her sides, holding on to keep from flying to the moon.
Wave after wave of sensations washed over her, carrying her along until minutes, hours, maybe a lifetime passed, and she slowly fell back to earth.
Though her orgasm had been good, it wasn’t over. She wanted more. Emily wanted him inside her, filling the empty place in her body and in her heart.
She gripped his shoulders and pulled him up her body.
When he took her mouth, she could taste her essence on his lips and tongue. It fired up her senses and pushed her to the edge again.
Colin paused, his cock poised at her entrance, his body tense, his arms holding him above her.
“What?” she asked, breathless and ready for the next step.
“Protection,” he said.
“I can’t get pregnant,” she said. “And I’m clean.” When she’d thought Alex was cheating on her, she’d had tests run to make sure she hadn’t been affected by his indiscretions.
“I am, too. But wouldn’t you feel better if we had more protection?”
“I’d feel better with you inside me. Now.” She gripped his ass and guided him into her channel.
He was big, his erection thick and hard.
Her orgasm had provided sufficient lubricant to ease him into her.
She pressed harder, wanting all of him.
When he’d gone as far as he could go, he stopped and waited for her body to adjust to his girth.
Impatient and needy, Emily pushed him away until he slipped nearly all the way out of her. Then she slammed him back home.
Colin took over from there, sliding in and out of her, slowly at first. Soon, he was riding her in a full gallop.
Emily held onto his hips, urging him on, loving the way he made her feel so complete.
The tingling started at her core and quickly spread throughout her body, all the way to the very tips of her fingers. She raised her hips, meeting his thrusts with ones of her own.
The intensity of their lovemaking sent her over the edge for the second time that night.
Colin thrust one last time and remained buried deep inside her, his cock throbbing against the walls of her channel, spilling his seed inside her. He collapsed over her, his body beautifully heavy on hers.
For a moment, sadness flashed over her.
She would never bear Colin’s child or any other man’s child for that matter.
The thought didn’t linger, not when it felt so incredibly good to be coupled with this man, his naked body lying against hers.
Just when she was feeling the need to breathe again, he rolled to his side, taking her with him.
Pulling her close, Colin rested his cheek against her hair and drew in ragged breaths. “You’re amazing,” he whispered against her ear.
She chuckled, a joy she hadn’t felt in a very long time making her smile in the dark. “Back atcha, Marine.”
“Where do we go from here?” he said softly.
“To sleep.” She cupped his face in her hand and leaned forward to kiss him fully on the lips. “Sleep.”
“But I want to talk.”
“Talk is overrated.”
He laughed. “I thought foreplay was overrated.”
“Oh, no. Foreplay is way underrated. And you get an A+ for your efforts in that department.” She sighed and leaned her cheek against his chest.
“What about tomorrow?” he asked.
“It’ll be here before you know it,” she said, refusing to get into a discussion about their future. “Everything is too complicated to sort out when I’m so sleepy, I can barely keep my eyes open.”
He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. “Then sleep, sweetheart. The morning will come soon enough, and we’ll have time to talk then.”
Basking in the glow of the best sex she’d ever experienced, Emily drifted into sleep, lying in the arms of the man she’d always loved. Life didn’t get much better than that.
A murderer was still at large, and she wasn’t out of danger by any means. But for a few moments out of what had been a lousy day, she’d been happier than she could ever remember.
Too bad it wouldn’t last.
Chapter 13
Colin woke when Emily left his bed during the darkest hours of the morning.
“Where ya going?” he asked.
In the starlight streaming through the window, he could see her moving about the room, collecting clothing from the floor.
“To my room before everyone wakes up,” she said.
“You think they don’t already know where you spent the night?” He chuckled. “Nothing gets by my family.”
“Great,” Emily whispered. “I’ve disrespected your mother by sleeping with her son.”
“She’s a grown woman.” He snorted. “I’m all grown up…not the teen she had to bail out of trouble all those years ago. She wouldn’t have a problem with it.”
“Yeah, well, I do. It’s not my home. I’m a guest, and I at least need to make it look like I slept in my own bed.” She slipped into her jeans and pulled her blouse over her head. With her bra and shoes in her hands, she crossed to the bed.
Colin leaned up on his elbow. “I wish you’d stay.”
“If it were my own home…” She paused. “No. If it were somewhere else, I might. But not under your mother’s roof.” She leaned over and pressed her lips to his. “Go back to sleep.”
He sat up, wrapped his arms around her and swept her off her feet.
Emily dropped the shoes and bra and rolled onto her back on the mattress beside him. “What are you doing?”
“If you won’t stay, at least give me a real kiss.” He took her mouth with his, starting out with a feather-soft brush of his lips across hers.
Emily captured the back of his neck and pulled him closer. Sealing her lips over his, she thrust her tongue past his teeth to tangle with his, in a dance so intimate and tempting, it l
eft him wanting so much more than just a kiss.
His groin tightened as he slid his hand beneath her blouse and caressed her bare breast.
Emily arched her back, pressing against him. “You’re making this harder.”
“No…you’re making me harder.” He pinched the tip of her nipple once then rolled her out of the bed and back on her feet. “Go, before I decide to kidnap you and make you stay.” He smacked her bottom with the flat of his hand and sent her toward the door.
As she walked across the room, he rose from the bed and stood naked in the starlight.
Emily paused with her hand on the doorknob and glanced back at him. “Colin…”
“Go to bed, Emily.” He wanted to keep her from leaving but knew she wouldn’t feel right taking advantage of his mother’s hospitality. That was just the way she was, and he loved her for it. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
She hesitated for a moment longer then ducked out the door, closing it softly behind her.
Colin pulled on a pair of boxer shorts, staring at the door for a long time before he turned to the window.
The stars shone brightly over the Crazy Mountains that night, lighting the ground below with a soft indigo blue.
At that moment, she was probably lying down in the bed next to her sister. Was she staring out at the night like he was? Did she think about him at all? Had their lovemaking been enough to make her want to come back for more?
Staring out at the beauty of the night, he could imagine living fulltime in Montana. Especially if it meant he could be with Emily for the rest of his life.
Giving up the Marine Corps would be hard but losing Emily for the second time in his life would be harder. This time, he’d fight to win her heart, no matter what it took.
He turned away from the window and lay on the bed. Sleep was elusive. Thoughts of making love with Emily got his heart pumping too fast and adrenaline zipping through his veins. When the gray light of pre-dawn crept over the mountains, he gave up, got up and dressed in his jeans and cowboy boots.
A good workout would help burn off the excess energy before the rest of the family started moving around.
