Wanton Desire

by Ruth D. Kerce

  “No. He said he was counting potatoes.”

  Counting potatoes? She didn’t even know what to say to that.

  Without hesitation, Myrah said, “I think you’ve got that boy so rattled that he don’t know what to do.” She patted Emma on the shoulder. “You two are gonna make a nice couple.”

  “Oh, um, no. We’re not—”

  Myrah huffed, cutting her off. “Why you young folks always gotta go around denying your feelings is a mystery to me. Just fess up and talk to one another before you miss the opportunity to be happy.” She shook her head. “I’ll be out back in my cabin, taking care of some laundry. I might even catch me a nap. It’s been a trying day. I suggest you two put the alone time to good use. You won’t have the ranch house to yourselves for much longer.”

  Good use? “Certainly you don’t mean—” Before she could finish, Myrah was gone.

  Long ago, Wade and Skylar had built small individual homes used by the regular help. Just one-room places, but something they could call their own and where they had some privacy. Emma had always admired Wade’s generosity and how well he treated those he cared for. It also gave the family more privacy, which she found appealing. She wasn’t quite sure what Myrah had meant by her last statement. But the woman was right about talking to Joe.

  Emma gathered the tea and cookies and strolled into the kitchen. She put everything on the counter then swiped a cookie and nibbled on it as she stared at the open door leading down to the cellar.

  She hated cellars. Bad things tended to lurk in the dark. She walked over to the entrance and peered down the steps. She could see the dim light from a lantern. “Joe?” she called but didn’t hear a response.

  After finishing off the cookie, she brushed the crumbs from her fingers and started down the stairs. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the change in lighting and she called out again. “Joe, are you down here?”

  “Yeah, what do you want?”

  Once at the bottom of the steps, she answered. “I’d like you to be a little less surly for one.” She glanced around and saw him toward the back of the cellar—by a pile of potatoes. “Are you really counting those things?”

  “No. What do I look like, a halfwit?”

  “Don’t ask questions you really don’t want the answer to.”

  “Funny.”

  She moved closer. Joe’s face was obscured by shadows, so she couldn’t read his eyes. The lantern light made the cellar feel eerie and a chill spread over her body. “What are you doing down here?”

  “Taking stock.”

  “Of the inventory or something else?”

  He stepped toward her. “Why do you care, Emma?”

  “I don’t. Really.”

  “Really? You just came down here to aggravate me then? Come on. You need to go.” He reached out and touched her hand. Immediately he hesitated. His fingers caressed her skin. “Why are you trembling?”

  “I’m cold.”

  He stepped closer. “It’s not that cold down here.”

  Emma swallowed hard. In the near dark, she felt the heat of his body, his touch, even his words. “What do you want me to say?”

  “The truth.”

  “I always tell the truth.”

  He laughed low and deep, a sexy sound that curled her toes. Then he slid his arm around her waist and drew her near.

  She stumbled into him. “What are you doing?” She pressed her palms to his chest, as her heart raced. She felt his heart pounding just as hard.

  “I’m doing exactly what you want me to do, but won’t admit.” He lowered his head and his lips brushed hers. “I’m going to kiss you senseless.”

  When she opened her mouth to protest, he closed the distance and kissed her so thoroughly that she had to cling to his arms to keep to her feet.

  His tongue touched hers and she mewled. She felt as if her blood had turned into warm butter. When one of his hands lightly caressed her butt, she pressed herself more firmly against him and raised her hands to cup his cheeks.

  Joe groaned and clasped her butt tightly in both hands. He shifted a bit and pressed his cock between her thighs.

  Emma moaned and writhed against him. But then she remembered him pushing her away in the parlor. Before he could do that to her again, she tore her mouth from his. “Let me go.”

  Joe took a deep breath then chuckled and let her go.

  She stumbled backward but quickly found her footing. “What’s so funny?”

  “You act more proper than you really feel.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You want much more than a kiss. You need it.” He glanced down at her breasts. “Get rid of that damn shawl. It covers too much.”

  “You’re obsessed with…with womanly assets.”

  “Just yours.”

  “You shouldn’t have touched me like that.” Anyone could have come down the steps and seen them. That’s how gossip got started and how reputations were ruined.

  “You liked it well enough.”

  He was right. She had liked it. And she had wanted more. Even so, she should have pushed him away sooner. But she simply hadn’t the strength to resist his sensual touch.

  His gaze met hers. “How long since you’ve been fucked, Emma?”

  She gasped and froze. Had he just really asked… Her hand shot out and smacked him across the cheek. “How dare you!” She turned and ran up the stairs.

  Joe watched her go. “Damn,” he whispered. He hadn’t actually meant to say that aloud to her. It had just slipped out. He was a halfwit.

  Chapter Six

  Her limbs trembling, Emma rushed up the stairs to the second floor as quickly as her feet would carry her. She slammed the door of her bedroom so hard that the walls rattled and a picture fell off the wall. She stared down at the cracked frame. “Damn.”

  She wasn’t sure whether to cry or to let her temper fly. She really should have punched Joe in the nose. Maybe she had been acting wanton by pressing against his body as she had. But he had no right to-to— “Oh!” She stalked across the room, pulling off her shawl as she went. Her fingers clutched the fabric so tightly she wouldn’t be surprised to find holes torn in the soft material.

  The door suddenly flew open behind her.

  She spun around to see Joe standing there. “Oh no. You get out. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to talk to you. Ever!”

  He stepped inside and closed the door behind him with a soft click.

  “Open that up.”

  He leaned back against the door and crossed his arms. “Not happening.”

  As they stood there staring at one another, each heartbeat that passed seemed like an eternity to her. “So what do you intend now?” A dangerous question for sure, given the dark look in his eyes. As she waited, her heart pounded so hard that she began to feel ill and very wobbly.

  Joe started to say something, then stopped, visibly took a deep breath and let it out slowly as if getting himself under control. He dropped his arms to his sides. “I shouldn’t have said what I did to you.”

  At his reasonable tone, she relaxed slightly, willing to hear him out. But just barely. She raised her chin a notch. “And?”

  “And what?”

  Damn him. He couldn’t even give her a proper apology. Maybe because he wasn’t really sorry? The thought angered her even more and she threw the shawl still clutched in her hand into a nearby chair. “Why are you being such a bastard?”

  He dragged a hand down his face. “It’s better this way.” His voice remained low and controlled. He stepped forward, approaching her slowly.

  She took a step backward. “Better for whom?”

  “For the both of us.” He reached out to stroke her cheek.

  Emma took another step back and Joe’s hand dropped to his side. The only thing that kept her from railing at him was the new look in his eyes. Sadness, regret, uncertainty—all rolled into one. “I know things are different now,” she said to him, keeping her voice soft. She
hated arguing with him and they were continually butting heads over one thing or another. “We’re different.”

  “Not as different as you apparently think. And certain things will never be different. Not for me.”

  The look in his eyes changed again and her breath caught in her throat. She saw need, desire and something else she couldn’t quite name. All her anger and frustration melted away. Suddenly it felt as if time had reversed and they were back as they were two years ago.

  Joe reached out and touched her elbow, then urged her into his arms. He pulled her close and kissed her so gently that she wanted to weep with joy. The tip of his tongue licked hers. She slid her tongue along his into his mouth. He moaned and slowly the kiss changed from one of tenderness to a combination of passion and what felt to her like desperation.

  Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt, holding on tightly. He backed her up until they both tumbled onto the bed. Emma’s breath caught.

  Joe broke the kiss, and just as she was about to push him away, he circled the inside of her ear with his tongue. The erotic feeling shot right to her nipples and they hardened painfully. She heard herself moan and was unable to stop the sound.

  Joe murmured her name and caressed one of her breasts through her dress. His thumb brushed her hardened nipple and she moaned again, awed by the sensation. He shifted to kiss the top of her breasts, where the skin was exposed, moving from one mound to the other. His lips felt warm and exciting.

  She should stop him now. She slid her fingers into his hair. But she couldn’t bring herself to pull him away. Joe murmured something more that she didn’t catch right before he covered her lips with another heated kiss. His hands seemed to be everywhere, caressing her body, stealing her senses.

  When he tugged at the top of her bodice, her heart skipped a beat then pounded like the out-of-control rain pelting the land. He broke their kiss and looked deeply into her eyes with a depth of feeling in his expression that she’d never seen on any man’s face. His gaze lowered and he again kissed the top of one breast, moving lower as he slowly pulled down the material covering her. He dragged his tongue across her bared nipple.

  “Oh!” She arched her back, thinking she’d faint from the intense pleasure of his tongue.

  Joe’s lips closed around the fleshy bud. He cupped her breast with one hand and sucked hard.

  “Ah, ah, ah…” Emma couldn’t control her desire. She wanted to rip off her clothes. She wanted his hands and his mouth everywhere. She reached out, fumbling for the buttons of his shirt, needing to feel his flesh against hers.

  While helping her remove his shirt with one hand, Joe groaned and bared her other breast with his other hand. He moved to suck the newly exposed nipple, drawing on it deeply.

  “Joe, I—”

  Before she could finish, he released her bud and covered her lips with his. He thrust his tongue into her mouth. Emma loved how he kissed her with such desire. He pressed one of her hands between his legs. She felt his hardness through the trousers and was amazed at its length and thickness. When her fingers explored his clad cock, he tore his mouth from hers.

  “Ah, yeah.” He tugged at his belt, trying to get it off.

  She worked on the fastenings of his trousers. She wanted to see his cock. She’d never seen a man fully aroused.

  “Damn, Emma,” he choked out.

  She glanced up at him and the feral need in his eyes made her pause. She suddenly realized the consequences of her actions and a lump formed in her throat. Too much. Too fast. She tugged on the bodice of her dress, trying to cover herself.

  “Leave it,” he ordered, his voice a half growl. He reached out and pinched one nipple, tugging on it hard.

  “Oh!” She jerked. The feeling of need that accompanied the slight pain sent her mind reeling.

  As she stared at him, he pulled off his belt and let it fall to the floor then he slowly undid the front of his trousers. He stood up beside the bed, toed off his boots, then pushed down the trousers and kicked them aside. Standing before her naked, with an intensity in his eyes that stole her voice and senses, he simply stared at her, as if waiting for her decision.

  Her gaze lowered to his cock, thick and semi-erect. At the erotic sight, she couldn’t seem to pull enough air into her lungs. The largeness of his cock surprised her. She reached out then quickly pulled her hand back.

  “Touch it,” he said in a low, gravelly voice.

  Her gaze shifted back and forth between his eyes and his cock. Her desire and curiosity finally won out. She scooted forward and tentatively reached out. The second her fingers touched him, she heard him take in a sharp breath. She glanced up briefly, but when he didn’t move, her attention returned to his cock.

  His skin felt soft like velvet. Velvet over iron. The contrast seemed oddly compelling. Her fingers circled his shaft but didn’t quite meet, he was so thick. The deep color of his cock, along with the veins, and how it grew harder in her hand, fascinated her. She’d studied human anatomy extensively, but nothing was better than personal experience. Or more exciting. She began to stroke and rub him.

  “Ah, yeah…”

  Touching him, pleasing him, made her own needs rise to the surface. And those needs were much stronger than what she was used to dealing with.

  “You’re killing me. I need to come.”

  She understood that feeling. She needed release too. She had never seen a man come, only read about it in her medical books. To experience it personally sent her heart to racing. She knew from her studies how sensitive a man’s cock was supposed to be. The clear drops on the head caught her attention and she dragged her fingers through them, spreading the moisture over the tip of his cock.

  “Oh, fuck,” he ground out. His hands clenched into fists. Like a shot, he came, barely missing her face.

  She quickly pulled back. “Oh.”

  “Ah!” He wrapped his fingers around his cock and pumped himself, while she watched. She reached out and caught some of his seed on her fingers. When she slowly brought it up to her nose then tentatively tasted it, he came even harder. “Oh-ah!” He didn’t think he’d ever stop spewing. It felt great. “Fuck, Emma.” Finally spent, he collapsed on the bed. He lay beside her, breathing heavily. Then he chuckled.

  “Is something funny?” she asked in a low voice.

  He looked up at her. “I was determined to seduce you before you left town. And you’re the one who ended up seducing me. You barely touched me and had me coming harder than most women do with me inside them.” He touched her hand, stroking her skin. “Next time I want you to suck my cock.” The pleasure might give him a heart attack but he really wanted to come in her mouth. “I’m sure Mason taught you how to do that all proper like. Or maybe improper is a better word, but it’s a hell of a feeling.”

  Suck? His cock? It took her a moment to digest all his words. She just sat there staring at him. Then she yanked back her hand, tugged up her dress and scrambled off the bed. “Dr. Mason is a woman, you idiot. I’ve never been with a man. Never done anything like this with anyone. Just you. I’m going downstairs. Get yourself decent then go to your own room. I want you gone by the time I get back.”

  He stared at her as if dumbstruck. When she turned and headed for the door, she heard him jump to his feet and cross the room. He slammed his palm against the door as soon as her hand touched the knob.

  Joe pressed himself against her back. “You’re still a virgin?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hmm.”

  What did that mean? Did he think she was lying? She felt his heavy breath against her neck. It seemed forever before he spoke again.

  “Get back on the bed. I’m going to make you come.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath and it took a moment before she could answer. “It’s not necessary.” Her voice sounded shaky even to her own ears.

  “Yes, it is. You’re going to come for me. Over and over, until you have nothing left to give. Now do as I say.”

  “A
s you say?” She turned and pushed him away. “Why is it every time you’re a little nice, you suddenly turn into a jackass?”

  “Get back on the bed. Now.”

  “Don’t order me.” It made her nervous with him standing there naked, pressed so close, while she was fully dressed.

  He tugged at one side of her bodice.

  She slapped at his hand. “I don’t want—”

  He grabbed both her hands. “Yes, you do want.” He leaned close and lowered his voice. “I think this is exactly what you want. And need.” With one large hand, he held her wrists over her head, against the door.

  “What are you doing?”

  He bared her breast, then pinched her nipple until she gasped. “You don’t have to always be in such control, Emma.” He dipped his head and lapped at the hard nub.

  She groaned but quickly bit back the sound. Trapped against the door, she wasn’t sure what to do. Insist he stop or— She felt him smile against her skin. “I haven’t said yes yet.”

  “Sure you have.” Joe sucked her nipple into his mouth.

  The ache between her legs grew so intense that she hurt. “Um, not really.”

  Joe pulled down the other side of her bodice, so both her breasts were exposed now. He rubbed his thumb back and forth across one nipple then the other.

  She struggled to stay quiet and stand still when she really felt like squirming against the door and moaning.

  He looked into her eyes. “I’ll break you of that damn control. Say yes.” He lowered his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth again. Instead of sucking it though, he began to nibble on the tip.

  Emma arched against him. “Oh…” The feeling shot down her body. “Joe!”

  He pressed his free hand between her legs and found her pussy even through the dress. “Say yes.” He rubbed her intimately with his fingers, while lapping at her nipple. He pulled on it with his teeth.

  “Ah!”

  “Picture me licking and sucking the fleshy nub between your legs. Imagine how that would feel.”

  “Yes. Yes!”

  He chuckled and rubbed her pussy harder, pressing his fingers roughly against her. “Spread your legs.”