“I dunno,” I sighed. “Water is expensive, machinery breaks down, being organic means a higher risk of losing crops to pests. There’s always something that eats into profits.”
His eyes twinkled mischievously.
“I might know a guy that can help.”
“And what’s that gonna cost me?” I asked sassily.
His gaze dropped to my mouth and I suddenly realized how close we were. My whole body flushed with heat. I didn’t even have to touch him to feel the heat radiating from his body as well.
My heart crashed against my ribs.
Without ever tearing his eyes away from my lips, he leaned in.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
REAGAN
“Oh my God, look!”
My half-closed eyes shot open, just moments away from kissing Pepper.
When I looked she was pointing at the tree canopy right above us, her eyes and mouth wide with childlike excitement.
“What?” I asked, not seeing anything in particular for her to point at.
“There’s a rope swing wrapped around that tree branch!” She returned her gaze to me and I wondered if she had any idea what I was about to do. “Someone else did make it here before us!”
In a flash, she scrambled up the bank toward the truck with Bonny hot on her heels. I followed at a slower pace, pausing to adjust my massive hard-on that just wouldn’t quit when she was lying next to me.
By the time I caught up to her, she had already climbed up to the first big split in the tree and was unwinding the thick rope from around the branch.
“The rope is really soft. It’s been here a long time,” she observed.
“Think it can actually hold weight?” I asked skeptically.
“Only one way to find out,” she replied with a devilish, sexy grin.
“I dunno, Pepper,” I said, looking at some of the frayed strings around several of the knots. “It doesn’t seem safe.”
“The water is deep right here,” she said, looking over the edge of the bank. “I’ve swum across this entire lake as a kid. It’s not very rocky.”
“You can’t even see anything,” I argued, peeking over the edge. The water lapped gently at the land below us.
“Yeah, that’s how you know it’s deep,” she shot back and tugged hard at the rope a few times. “Seems pretty sturdy.” She giggled. “I can’t believe we found this, I feel like a kid again! If only there was a tire attached to it.”
“Pepper,” I snapped. “You’re not actually thinking of swinging on that thing, are you?”
“Why not?” Her eyes flashed as she swung the rope back and forth between each hand. “It’ll hold for at least one or two swings.”
I shook my head. “Please don’t. It’s not worth risking a broken a leg. Or your neck.”
“Aww, where’s your sense of adventure, Reagan?” she teased, bouncing on her feet.
Just as I was about to argue again she bit her lower lip in such a sultry way, it made me shut the hell up.
“I know what you won’t say no to,” she said in an equally sultry voice.
Without warning, she flicked open the button on her shorts.
And then pulled her T-shirt over her head.
My jaw dropped as I stared openly. Her body was absolutely mouthwatering.
Sun-kissed skin covered her gorgeous chest, stomach, and hips. As she bent over to step out of her shorts, her large, round tits threatened to spill out of the purple bra that held them back.
She was no runway model but her body was absolutely perfect. I didn’t know if the alcohol gave her the courage to strip out of her clothes or what, but I was absolutely mesmerized by the sight of her.
Her ass was round and luscious, her thighs thick and strong. I watched as if in a trance as they wrapped around the thick rope, nestling the knot right against her crotch.
I blinked, feeling panic suddenly rising in my chest as I realized what she was doing.
“Pepper, don’t!” I shouted.
Sitting her full weight on the rope now, she rocked back and forth on her feet looking like Jane from Tarzan.
“You’ll have to come get me if you want me, Reagan!” she cried gleefully as she backed up for momentum, ready to swing out over the water.
Shit. She's really fucking doing it.
"Goddamn it, Pepper," I muttered as I yanked my T-shirt over my head, quickly kicked off my shoes and started peeling out of my own shorts.
When I glanced back up at her, she hadn't moved yet. But her pupils dilated as she watched me strip down to my snug, silk boxer briefs that left nothing to the imagination.
My erection pitched a tent pointing directly at her, which she did not miss.
Her lips parted thirstily before widening to the biggest, naughtiest grin I'd seen on her yet.
We both stood frozen for a moment, silently daring the other person to move first. Her teeth grazed over her lip as she dug her heels into the ground and tightened her grip on the rope.
I moved first.
With a loud battle cry I lunged at her, but she was still out of my reach. My arms wrapped around nothing as she simply lifted her feet off the ground and sailed out over the cliff.
My momentum nearly sent me tumbling over the edge as well, but I skidded to a halt just in time to see Pepper's beautiful, free moment.
"Aaaaahh!" she screamed with a mixture of delight and fear.
She looked back at me with a maniacal grin as she neared the end of the rope's arc.
That moment reminded me of the one wise moment my dad ever had.
"It's all about the simple things," he said as he snorted more crack up his nose. "Fuck politics and all that bullshit. If you can feel more alive in one moment among all the other shitty times in your life, then that's a life worth living."
He was talking about being high of course, but his sentiment applied perfectly to Pepper right then. Swinging on a rope over a crystal-blue lake was a perfect, exhilarating moment. The farm, money problems, her family, even me trying to stop her, didn't matter. In that moment, she was absolutely free.
I smiled back at that beautiful, carefree girl and held my arms out, ready to catch her when she swung back toward solid land.
The rope reached the height of its arc and my heart dropped into my stomach when Pepper released one hand.
And then two.
It all happened so fast, but I felt like I was watching in slow motion as she went from flying to falling.
"No!" I screamed.
Until she hit the water, her expression never changed. A wide, unrestrained smile followed by musical, carefree laughter.
Then she disappeared below the surface, her splash like glass shattering across the calm waves lapping at the shore.
“Pepper!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “Pepper!’
Don’t panic yet, I tried to tell myself. She planned on doing that stunt all along. Give her a few seconds.
But again the world around me felt like it was moving in slow motion. Her splash disappeared like it was never there and she still didn’t come up.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
My panic rose as I glanced to my left. No, going down to the beach and swimming over would take too long. She could already be drowning.
I couldn’t even think. My body simply acted.
I took a few steps back and then a running leap over the edge of the cliff.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
REAGAN
Right before I left Oakland for good, some kid stabbed me in the ribs.
He mistook me for someone else and thought I owed him money or something. I remembered feeling cold all over as someone rushed me to the emergency clinic.
Diving into that icy lake felt exactly like getting stabbed.
The icy water shocked my system. I could only imagine what it felt like for Pepper.
I opened my eyes as I forced my shocked body to swim but it was nearly impossible to see. Only murky shapes floated across my vision and it was eeril
y quiet underwater.
Fucking hell Pepper, where are you? I thought desperately.
This was the worst possible situation to panic. An accelerated heartbeat used more oxygen and would keep me from holding my breath for longer. Every precious second taken to go back to the surface for air and not looking for Pepper was a second wasted.
Something pale and shimmery caught my eye as my lungs started to burn and I swam toward it desperately.
If I believed in mermaids, I would have died happy right then.
Pepper waved at me, still smiling underwater, and did a perfect back flip before swimming effortlessly away with strong kicks of her shapely legs.
Relief swept over me like a drug high. She got me, again.
The water made the sunlight dance on her skin as she swam circles around me like a playful dolphin. My lungs ached and my vision began spotting. I kicked back up to the surface with the little strength I had.
I gasped for that sweet, beautiful air the moment my head broke the surface. Unlike me, Pepper surfaced slowly, revealing just her naughty, mischievous eyes at first like a crocodile.
“You scared the shit out of me!” I cried, aiming a splash right at her.
She came back with spitting a stream of water at my face.
"Blech!"
I wiped the nasty lake water out of my eyes and lunged for her again.
"Come here, you sneaky little..."
This time, I caught her.
She giggled and squirmed as I pulled her tight against my body. Her soft skin was covered in a layer of goose flesh and I felt her shivering when she stopped splashing around.
"Come on, I got more towels in the truck," I said softly, rubbing my arms across her back to warm her up.
"I'm disappointed. I thought you'd freak out a lot more," she said, smiling wickedly despite her shivering.
"I'll get you back," I said in a low, threatening voice. "When you least expect it."
My hand wound through her hair floating on the surface like drifting foam and found itself caressing the back of her neck.
"You really did have me worried there," I admitted.
"I'm touched," she replied, her tone still playful.
I felt something warm and soft slide across both sides of my ribs and realized they were her thighs.
Her long legs wrapped securely around my middle to straddle me, and despite the freezing cold water, my dick responded with growing approval.
As we treaded water together toward the beach, her arms floated up slowly to wrap around my shoulders. Her skin felt delightfully warm and alive against mine in the cold, murky water that surrounded us.
"You stopped shivering," I noted as I traced my thumb across her lower lip, which no longer trembled but was flushed and plump, just begging to be kissed.
"Somehow I'm not cold anymore," she answered.
My mouth fell to hers with nothing holding me back. My kiss was hard, bruising, and needing. I wanted her more than anything and I never took what I wanted gently.
She gasped so sweetly against my tongue as I kissed away the coldness of the lake. Her thighs clenched harder around my waist and her nipples, hard as diamonds, pressed into my chest.
My hands slid across her curves to cup that beautiful round ass that I had been dreaming about for weeks.
"Oh god," I groaned into her mouth.
Her pussy felt like molten lava against my concrete stiffness, practically burning against the icy water. Both of our bodies were so hot as we devoured each other. The unyielding cold made everything more sensitive. My skin erupted in gooseflesh too as she pressed her sweet, hot pussy against me, the thin fabric of our underwear barely acting as a barrier at all.
Fuck, I couldn't get enough of this woman. She'd been the only thing on my mind for weeks and I finally had her. Legs wrapped around me, putty in my hands, and making the sweetest little sighs and moans as I explored her with my mouth and hands. And she felt and tasted better than I ever could have imagined.
I gripped her hair in my fist at the base of her skull and dragged my lips to her earlobe and down the side of her beautiful neck.
"Aaaah."
Her moan was like music to my ears and she gripped a handful of my hair with a firmness that matched my own.
Just then, my foot touched the sandy bottom of the lake. We were close enough to the beach to walk out.
I gently untangled Pepper's legs from around my waist and, still gripping her hair, swiftly dunked her head underwater.
I let her go and made a beeline for our towel, still resting on the dry, sandy shore.
“You jerk!” she shrieked, surfacing mere seconds after I dunked her and chasing after me up to the beach.
“Told you I’d get you back!” I yelled.
I reached the towel and dropped down on it heavily, watching the jaw-dropping sexy sight of Pepper emerging from the water and coming straight toward me.
Her soaked bra and panties left absolutely nothing to the imagination.
The fabric pieces clung to her mouthwatering curves, all but completely transparent. Her round, luscious tits took on a gravity-defying perkiness from the cold. I could see the folds and outline of that sinfully hot pussy that pressed against my cock, that I was dying to taste and sink into like there was no tomorrow.
"I guess we're even now," she said in mock defeat as she approached the towel, her eyes taking in my full erection now that my eyes feasted on her full, soaking wet and stunning form.
"No," I said, my voice dark with lust.
I was done playing around.
I grabbed her hand and yanked her down on the towel next to me. She barely had time to gasp as my tongue invaded her mouth with another hard, possessive kiss.
My hands took firm hold of her waist and pushed her down flat on her back. Her response was immediate and so fucking hot, I could barely breathe.
Without a moment of hesitation, her inner thighs glued to my hips, opening herself up to me and pressing her hot vulva against my shaft. She was soaking wet and not from the lake.
"We're not fucking even," I growled as I sucked the tender flesh just underneath her earlobe, making her mewl and writhe and press even harder against me.
I yanked her bra straps off her shoulders, peeling away the soaked bra like it was a second skin. Her nipples, stiff and tense little peaks, were the color of milk chocolate and looked just as delicious.
She moaned so hotly as I kneaded her tits, rolling my thumbs over her nipples and shrieked when I sucked those little mounds into my mouth.
I fucking loved how expressive she was. I fucked too many women who acted like dead fish in bed and nothing was better than one who genuinely enjoyed herself.
I swirled my tongue around those sweet nipples, warming up her cold skin before moving on to taste more of her.
"We're not even until I've made you come at least a hundred times," I whispered as my mouth traveled against the landscape of her flesh. "Until your whole body craves-- no, needs-- only me."
"Reagan." The way she moaned my name was like an orgasm for my brain. I couldn't even handle how hot she sounded.
Her fingers raked over my shoulders and back, sending sweet tingles of pleasure down my spine as I kissed the undersides of her breasts, her ribs, and her bellybutton.
She was so close already. I could feel it in how she quivered beneath me. She wasn’t freezing anymore but the play of hot and cold sensations definitely heightened her sensitivity.
I kissed along her waist, taking my time to truly taste her as I dipped my hand between her legs.
“Ohhh!” she cried out with a wild thrash as I applied gentle pressure to her most sensitive intimate area.
Her pussy practically burned against my palm as I cupped between her legs. I watched her face with fascination as I experimented with movement. Up and down. Small circles. Every bit of it drove her wild and she bucked her hips against my hand like a wild mare.
“I’m so close,” she whimpered. “I want y
ou so bad.”
My fingers pressed against that hard nub, not letting her escape and buck away as she shuddered under the intense sensations coursing throughout her beautiful body.
“Come for me, Pepper,” I whispered in a low growl. “Let me see you let go.”
Through slitted eyes, she watched me as she squirmed from the friction and the pleasure. She wanted to burst open with pleasure, I could see it. But she was still nervous.
Maybe it was insecurity about how she looked, maybe it had to do with the fact that we still barely knew each other and basically lived in different worlds.
But I didn’t care about any of that. Laid out on that sandy beach, droplets of lake water still beading on her gorgeous, sun-kissed skin, she was an absolute goddess and my only purpose in that moment was to please her.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, I can’t stand it,” I rasped. “I’ve wanted you since you first pointed your gun at me.”
“Liar,” she breathed barely above a whisper but a lazy smile crept across her lips all the same.
“Never,” I growled and brought my mouth crashing down on hers to prove my point. “Fuck your land. Giving you this pleasure is all I ever really wanted.”
Her moans were infectious and went straight to my cock. I wanted so badly to be inside her but not yet.
She breathed in ragged desperate moans and her thighs clamped shut, trapping my hand at the center of her pleasure. I kept rubbing and pressing against her hot slit with a steady rhythm, watching her body lose control as she climbed higher and higher.
“Oh god, Reagan,” she gasped. “I’m gonna…”
And then she shattered in my arms, breaking open with the height of human pleasure shining out.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
PEPPER
Nothing could prepare me for that.
I felt so raw, vulnerable and open, like a helpless bird in Reagan’s hands.
At first, fear overtook me. Fear of what he’d think of my body when the freezing lake sobered me up from the wine. My broad shoulders and huge ass.
Cocked and Loaded: A Billionaire Romance (Small Town Bad Boys Book 4) Page 7
