Maverick Wild (Harlequin Historical Series)

by Stacey Kayne

  “I’m right here.” He reached for her even as she collided against him. She damn near scampered onto his lap. “Honey, have I frightened you?”

  “No,” she whispered. “I don’t like the dark. I shouldn’t have put out the lamp. I kept trying to tell you.”

  If she had, he sure hadn’t noticed. He’d been wholly focused by the passion welling beneath his lips. She’d enjoyed his intimate kisses, and he’d damn sure enjoyed kissing her. But the tremors shaking her body as she clung to him now weren’t derived from passion. “I’m sorry, honey.”

  She smiled against his neck. “You did a good job of distracting me.”

  He kissed her bare shoulder, relief breaking through him. He moved back against the headboard. “Ease back, darlin’,” he said as he reached toward the side table.

  She sat back, her skin warm against his thighs.

  “I’d hate to accidentally light your hair instead of the wick.”

  Her giggle danced through the room and under his skin as he lit the lamp.

  “How’s…” His voice dried up, his words forgotten as his gaze collided with the flawless curves in his arms, straddling his lap. The wild flames of Cora Mae’s hair glittered in the lamplight. The pink crowns of her breasts peeked through long auburn coils. The gown he’d unlaced hung loosely on the sweet curve of her hips.

  Want pounded through him with such force he didn’t know what to do first. So he simply stared.

  “My God. You’re beautiful.”

  A blush began to creep up from her breasts to her pretty white cheeks.

  “Feel better?”

  She flashed a shy smile. “Yes.”

  Chance was afraid to move, the hard proof of his arousal precariously hidden beneath the white ripples of her gown. “Honey, I don’t want to frighten you.”

  “You don’t.”

  Cora licked her lips, her fingers tingling at the thought of smoothing across the firm muscles of his chest. Golden light twinkled through the hair on his chest with his deep breaths.

  “Do I get to touch you, as well?” she asked.

  His eyebrows shot up, and she was quite certain she’d surprised him. His slow grin put a tingle in every place on her body he’d kissed.

  “As much as you want,” he said, easing back against the pillows.

  More than eager, she flattened her hands against the ripple of muscles in his torso and made a slow ascent. The bursts of pleasure she felt at just touching him shocked her. The sheer power of his body was startling. Yet she’d never felt more secure.

  She glanced up at green eyes that smoldered, and felt the loss of her own breath. She wanted more of him. She wanted to make him feel all that he’d given her, sweet lightning coursing through his body, making him cry out in pleasure.

  “Can I kiss you?”

  “Hell yes.”

  Smiling, she rose up on her knees and pressed her mouth to the tender pink scar at the base of his throat. “I wanted to do this the night you were hurt.”

  He groaned as her lips followed the trail of new skin. Her fingers tested the resilient muscles of his arms as she kissed his shoulders, his collarbone. She delighted in the salty taste of him, the violent tremors of his body as she moved over him.

  Chance didn’t know how much more he could stand. With every shift of her body, the gown bunched at her waist brushed over his erection, stripping away his control. If she moved a fraction closer, he’d lose it for sure.

  Her lips branded his chest, and his hips flexed in response, the sting of pleasure dragging a groan from deep inside him, stripping away his restraint.

  “Cora Mae,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “You’re making me weak.”

  “I don’t think that’s possible.” Finding the flat disk of his nipple, her tongue teased and circled, mimicking what he’d done to her.

  A sweat broke out over his body.

  Holy hell! He was supposed to be teaching her the pleasures of her body, not vice versa.

  Her teeth raked over the surprisingly sensitive peak.

  “Cora…Mae,” he choked out.

  She moved up his body, her kisses light, teasing, barely dusting his skin. Reaching his mouth, her arms slid around his neck, her hips shifted against his and Chance nearly shouted from the jolt of desire. He framed her face with his hands, his tongue mating with hers, linking their mouths the way he desperately wanted to link their bodies.

  She rocked against him, rumpled satin and lace the only barrier between his hungry body and the sultry heat burning him through the layers of fabric.

  Chance broke the kiss. “Honey, stop.”

  Cora flexed her hips against the ridged heat of his body, shivering from the shocking spiral of sensation.

  His hands closed around her waist, stopping her movements, even as his body strained against her. She wanted to give him everything he’d given her, to caress the part of him that was most male. She slid her hand over corded stomach muscles. Her fingers followed the line of golden hair, uncovering the satiny steel of his body.

  Chance’s eyes flew open.

  She brushed her open palm over the smooth length of him, intrigued by the satiny softness of something so hard. His breath broke. His hand closed over hers before she could repeat the caress.

  She leaned up to kiss his lips. “I want to give you what you gave me.”

  “I can’t…take it,” he said in a broken breath.

  “But it’s possible?” she asked, watching pleasure take him as her fingers closed over him, measuring him.

  His fingers locked around her wrist. “I’d be taking the pleasure I should be giving you.”

  “But I feel it just the same. Deep inside me. An ache that’s more pleasure than pain.”

  Her words burned Chance as deeply as her caress had, knowing she took such joy in touching him. She was a wonder. He knew they’d have passion between them, but he couldn’t have guessed that it would exceed anything he’d ever experienced.

  “Do you still?” he asked.

  She stared at him in silent question.

  His hands flexed on her hips, increasing the heat in her gaze. “Do you still ache for me?”

  Her instant blush answered his question, even before she gave a slight nod. Her innocence was humbling. Her trust touched him to the deepest depths of his soul. “When we make love, it will be the same, even better, both of us pleasing each other. No pain.”

  “I want that,” she said in a quivering breath.

  “Lift your arms,” he said, gathering up the bottom of her gown.

  Her eyes widened, uncertainty flashing in those rich brown depths. She still straddled his legs. Without the gown, there’d be nothing but the sleek heat of her body between them.

  “Remember my promise?” He kissed her lips. “Buck-naked on top of me. You say the word, and I’ll stop.”

  Holding his gaze, she raised her arms over her head with the elegance of a ballerina. Chance slid the gown up the ivory curves of her body, lifting her hair away from her breasts as he passed over them. He leaned down, kissing each rosy tip, smiling as she trembled in response. As he tossed the gown to the floor, her hair flittered back down, but it was the deep auburn curls arched over his thighs that held his attention.

  He glanced up and found Cora’s wide eyes on the proof of his arousal. He closed his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, impatient to feel her skin pressed to his. She went willingly, curving her arms around his neck.

  “Oh, my goodness.” A sigh unraveled from her lungs as she settled against him.

  “You are a wonder to touch,” he said, stroking her from her shoulders to the lush curve of her backside. “So smooth and soft.”

  Overwhelmed by the tender intimacy, tears burned at Cora’s eyes. She hugged Chance’s gentle strength against her, hardly able to believe where this day had brought them. She sniffed as tears leaked from her eyes onto his broad, beautiful shoulder.

  “Cora Mae?”

  Hearing the concern in
his voice, she smiled and kissed his neck.

  He eased her back, his brow furrowing at the sight of her tears. “Honey, if you’re—”

  “I love you,” she said. The surprise in his eyes brought another smile to her lips. “I love the sound of my name on your lips.”

  “It’s a beautiful name.”

  “I’ve always hated it,” she said, watching her hands move over his chest. She marveled at the feel of his skin beneath her palms, how safe and unabashed she felt sitting with him like this. “You give me so much.”

  His mouth slanted over hers, and Cora welcomed his wild kiss. Her breath caught at the feel of his hardness pressed against her sensitive flesh.

  To be joined so intimately with him will be worth the pain.

  His hands curved around her buttocks as he repeated the caress, and Cora arched back, stung by a lash of intense pleasure. Her hips moved in response to the desire coursing through her.

  Chance needed to be inside her more than he needed to breathe. Her body was burning him like liquid fire as she pressed against him.

  Slipping his hand between their bodies, he caressed the delicate bud of her passion in the same languid rhythm. She cried out, her movements becoming urgent.

  “Chance!”

  Straining for control, he fought the urge to tumble her back on the bed. She rocked against him, her mouth seeking his. She moaned, her fingers delving into his hair as she kissed him. The feel of her breasts against his chest, her tongue possessing his mouth, her heat spilling into his palm…

  “Let me make love to you,” he said against her lips, needing to hear her say the words.

  “I want—” her breath broke as he stroked her softly.

  “What do you want?”

  “You,” she said simply. “I want you.”

  “I’m yours.” He gripped her hips, tugging her up until his shaft met the slick molten heat of her body. A groan broke from his chest at his slight penetration. Cora Mae tensed.

  “Cora—”

  “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I want this, I want all of you.”

  That was exactly what he wanted to give her. A kind of pleasure he’d never known. He’d never given all of himself to any woman. He’d never stayed inside a woman long enough to share his seed. Not ever.

  He surged forward, taking her down onto the mattress, wild to be fully sheathed inside her. Realizing the abrupt move, he froze.

  Wide cinnamon eyes stared up at him, her hair swirled across the bed like waves of fire. “It’s not hurting,” she said.

  “Only pleasure.” He kissed her lips. “I promise.”

  Her eyes bright with desire and trust, she shifted, the cradle of her thighs caressing him as she adjusted to the new position. The sensual movement drew him deeper into her body, causing them both to tremble.

  He pushed into the tight satin heat, filling her completely. Desire exploded into shared cries of ecstasy.

  “Cora Mae?”

  Awash in sensation, Cora locked her legs around his hips, wanting to keep him deep inside her. His body shifted against her, the friction a hot rush of pure, wild pleasure. He moved again and she lifted to meet his thrust.

  Every powerful movement flooded her body with sensation, the pleasure building with each stroke. She called his name as he filled her again and again. Tension coiled harder, his tempo increasing with each wild surge.

  “Cora Mae.”

  She opened her eyes, meeting the heat of his gaze. Passion burst through her. She flexed against him, crying out as pleasure pulsed to every point of her body.

  Chance shuddered with each sharp, shocking pulse of Cora’s climax, her cries of completion pulling him over the edge into the blinding rush of his own release. She locked around him, all warmth and softness, caressing him clear to his soul. Her name was torn from him as he spent himself completely inside her.

  A short while later Cora continued to hold the man lying on top of her. Warm, sated, deliriously happy, she didn’t much care that she could hardly breathe beneath his relaxed weight.

  He eased up, caressing her even as he withdrew from her body. She moaned, shivering as he rolled onto his side, taking her with him, keeping their bodies close. The involuntary sound echoed in the quiet room, and Cora suddenly realized just how vocal she’d been during their lovemaking.

  Her breath stalled.

  “What’s wrong?” Chance asked.

  “Nothing,” she said, attempting to tuck her face against him, but he propped up on his elbow to look down at her.

  “Tell me.”

  “I just…” She groped for the sheet, suddenly aware of her nudity.

  “Cora?” He pulled her close, seeming to understand her modesty.

  “Was I terribly loud?” she said in a whisper.

  His chest vibrated against her and she realized he was laughing. “No, darlin’.” He kissed her blushing cheek. “Sweet, brave Cora Mae. You were perfect.”

  Before she could bask in the glow of those words, he rolled away from her. Cora instantly felt the loss of his warmth. She sat up and realized they’d been lying at the foot of the bed. Careful to keep herself covered, she scooted back to where she’d started.

  Chance reached toward the floor and picked up a blanket. All the covers but the sheet she held against her breasts had been kicked off the bed. He smiled at her, setting off a flutter of sensation as his strong arms flapped the blanket out and across the big bed. He reached for the second blanket, and she couldn’t look away from the sculpted lines of his body, skin gilded in the lamplight, every ounce of him molded to perfection.

  He walked around to his side, stacked her pillow with his at the center and climbed in.

  “You gonna share that sheet?” he asked, his big body dominating the middle of the bed, the two blankets pulled up to his waist.

  Cora slid toward him. He held up the blankets and reached for the sheet, pulling it over him as he gathered her against his skin. She rested her head in the hollow beneath his shoulder as he lay back. His warmth and the soothing glide of his hand across her back drew her closer. She sighed and settled more firmly against him, her hand stroking across the thatch of golden hair on his chest. She felt strangely relaxed, yet wide-awake.

  “Should I turn out the lamp?”

  She liked being able to see him. “Could you leave it on?” she asked. “For a little while?”

  “I’ll leave it on all night if you like.”

  “You wouldn’t mind?”

  He shifted, turning her onto the pillow beside him. “Sweetheart, I’m just happy to be holding you.”

  Staring into his warm, smiling eyes, her body began to hum…and ache. “Will you kiss me some more?”

  His lips brushed hers in a light kiss, stirring the wild wonderful tendrils of sensation that began to thrum through her.

  “All over,” he promised.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “A Miss Tindale is here to see you.”

  Salina glanced up from her desk at her housekeeper standing in the doorway. Shock stole her voice. She’d assumed that little tramp would be long gone by now. Grissom had seemed a determined and capable sort of fellow. She had planned to pay a visit to Chance this very evening.

  She pushed back from her desk. If Cora Tindale thought she’d seek refuge here, she was mistaken. Her mind was still plagued by the image of Chance’s arms wrapped around that woman, kissing her the way he had in the middle of the boardwalk.

  Her stomach rolled on her way to the door. “Carmen, make some sweet tea, would you?” she said, pressing against the flat of her stomach.

  The woman’s gray eyebrows pinched inward. “Feeling ill again?”

  Nothing that couldn’t be helped by Miss Tindale’s speedy departure. “I’m fine. I’d just like some tea.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she said, turning away.

  Drawing a deep breath, trying to ease her morning nausea, she made her way to the parlor. Her eyes widened at the sight of Mr. Grissom. H
e stood beside an older woman sitting on the settee, her elegant black gown quite similar to the one she wore herself. A young girl, appearing no older than fifteen and dressed in white, sat to her left. Her gaze was fixed on her folded hands—clearly the lady’s attendant.

  “Mrs. Tindale?” she asked.

  The woman smiled pleasantly.

  Salina glanced at Mr. Grissom, perplexed as to why they would be paying her a visit.

  “Mrs. Jameson,” he said, “might I introduce my mistress? Winifred Tindale.”

  “A pleasure,” Salina said, not about to forgo her manners. Lord knew she’d waited long enough to have a real reason to use them.

  “I apologize for the intrusion,” said Mrs. Tindale. “Mr. Grissom tells me you were helpful to us yesterday.”

  “As much as I could be. I gave him directions to the Morgan Ranch. I trust you found it.”

  “Yes. Unfortunately my daughter is not thinking clearly. I only wish to return her to her rightful husband.”

  “Husband?” said Salina.

  “Yes,” said Mrs. Tindale, “her intended husband. This entire business is quite disgraceful.”

  “What is it you wish to ask of me?”

  “We only need access to the ranch,” said Mr. Grissom. “I’m told your property borders the Morgans’.”

  “Yes, by quite a distance, a good fifteen miles.”

  “Is it possible to approach their ranch undetected?”

  Salina sensed a plan brewing and smiled. They wanted Cora Tindale. She wanted Chance. “Yes. My men have, on occasion.”

  “Would one of your men be willing to guide me in?”

  The only man on the ranch at the moment was Nigel. He’d have to do. The way Wyatt had been sulking lately, his absence was likely a blessing.

  “Your tea, Mrs. Jameson,” said Carmen, entering the room with a large silver tray. The sweet-scented tea added to the delighted stir welling inside her.

  “Serve our guests first,” she instructed, “and then send in Nigel. I have a task for him.”

  From the moment Chance had stepped in the back door for their noontime meal, a permanent blush had stained Cora Mae’s cheeks. He hadn’t awakened her this morning, allowing her to sleep in past breakfast. As she fluttered around the kitchen, not once meeting his gaze, he began to think not waking her had been a mistake.