Her Fated Cowboy (Harland County Series)

by Donna Michaels

  Cole picked her up and laid her on the blanket, then ended their kiss to tease and torture her nipples, rasping them one by one against the roof of his mouth. She drew in a breath and arched, desperate to feel his hot touch on more of her sensitized skin. As if he knew, his wandering fingers found her wetness and slid inside.

  “So wet.” He made a rough, sexy sound deep in his chest while his finger stroked slow and deep. She moaned. Damn he was good. But she wasn’t ready to burst…well, hell yeah, she was, but didn’t want to lose control just yet.

  Breath hitched, she pushed his shoulder and flipped him over. “My turn,” she panted, straddling him.

  His eyes sparkled and erection throbbed against the inside of her upper thigh—deliciously close to her own throbbing zone. Leaning down, she kissed his lips, tugging on the lower one before trailing to his earlobe, then pulled back to puff air over his moistened skin. He hissed her name, tightened his grip on her waist and rocked his hips in a sensual rhythm. His rhythm. A rhythm she now knew and would never forget.

  “Somebody likes that,” she teased, sinking her teeth into his neck, while she ran her hand down his heated skin and thumbed his abs just below his belly button. Taught and hard and quivering, his body was magnificent.

  Finding his hot length, she stroked and squeezed, and he let go another of those sexy, deep rumbles while she kissed his torso on her way down. Need burned her body with trembling force as her breasts skimmed his muscles. Mmm…he was lickable. So damn lickable. Riding the frenzied tide, she covered his thick tip with her lips.

  “Christ, Jordan,” his hoarse gasp filled the evening air and blew away with the ocean breeze. Strong fingers tangled in her hair to lightly grip her head. Delighting in his thrusts, she took in more until he grabbed her shoulders and drew her back up his body. “Enough. I’m not done with you yet.”

  Capturing her mouth, he rolled her onto her back. Heat pooled low in her belly along with rapidly building pressure. She spread her legs to welcome him. He drew back and looked down at her through smoldering eyes. “God, you’re so beautiful.”

  But he didn’t enter her. No. He bent down and kissed her long, and lazy, and hot. She was so on fire. This unhurried, smoldering he had going on was slowly consuming every inch of her trembling being, driving her out of her mind.

  “Slow this time,” he murmured against her neck, collarbone, over her breasts where he lingered and had her pleading in seconds. “Soon.” He headed south to the curve of her hip before placing open-mouthed kisses across her belly. His breath was warm, his chin deliciously rough against her skin and finally, finally he brushed her thighs. She closed her eyes and drew in a breath, need ripping through her. He nudged them open with his shoulders and settled her legs where he wanted them.

  “Cole, I…”

  “I know,” he said, his gaze dark and fierce with the same need. “I’ll give you anything you want, Jordan. Anything.”

  She wanted…she wanted…him. Just him and his love. But she wouldn’t ask. Not exactly. “Love me,” she begged instead.

  His gaze grew wickedly indecent and that in itself nearly set her off. “With pleasure,” he promised an instant before he traced a finger over her center.

  She jerked with a gasp, but he wouldn’t be rushed. The bugger kissed her inner thigh, his chin grazing her sensitive skin in a delicious rasp. She moaned her approval. “Somebody likes that,” he said, repeating her words from earlier, then kissed her other thigh. “Me, too.”

  Without warning, he slid a finger inside and she cried out and arched right up off the blanket. A rough sound ripped from his throat. “You’re so wet.”

  He settled her back down, ragged breath warm and tantalizing on her sensitive skin. Cripes, she was wound so tight a few more puffs of air and she was going to burst.

  “I have to taste you,” he said, and then did.

  “Yes...” That was what she wanted, too. She was quivering and hot and he was right there, his mouth warm and seeking on her damp folds. “Please…” And he did, sucking her into his mouth while he slid a finger inside her, then another. It was too much. Too incredible. Perfect. He was perfect, and on his second stroke she burst with a powerful release.

  He brought her down gently, and when he lifted his head after taking one last lick, his eyes were so dark and so heated she lost her breath all over again. Holding her gaze, he entwined their fingers and with one thrust, drove deep inside her. She cried out, lost in the incredible feel of him filling her so completely.

  All Cole. Raw Cole. No barriers.

  And there were no barriers in the emotions she saw in his eyes. Their hearts connected, bodies connect…souls connected in that very moment. She wrapped her legs around him, drawing him in further, and he slowly lowered himself down. They were chest to chest, heart to heart, nothing separated them, not even air. He held her tight, as if she were his very life, and he certainly was hers. Continuing to hold her gaze, he began to move, pulling nearly all the way out before thrusting in to the hilt.

  Hunger took over. Need rushed through her body, blazing where they touched. Everywhere. Eyes dark, he continued the slow thrusting, their ragged breathes combining to form rough spurts competing with the distant roar of the ocean. She was falling, drowning with this man…in this man, and nothing else mattered. Not their unspoken words, their past, their future. Nothing but right now. The unhurried drag of their bodies and the fierce connection they shared.

  She was not going to be able to let him go next week. No way could she walk away from this man.

  But what if what she was seeing in his gaze and feeling in his touch wasn’t enough for him to want her to stay?

  Tears burned behind her eyes and she closed them, not wanting him to see the depths of her emotions for fear it would scare him off.

  “Jordan.”

  They were supposed to take it slow, but she’d jumped straight to light speed.

  “Jordan, look at me.”

  Somehow she managed to open her eyes and meet his gaze, hoping she’d toned down her emotions. But the look in his eyes told her she needn’t bother.

  Gaze soft and warm, he gently touched her lip, brining tears back to her eyes. God, she loved this man.

  “Cole I...”Emotions clogged her throat.

  “I know,” he said. Moonlight glistened off his heated skin and a trillion stars twinkled above as he began to move again, reigniting the blaze. “Me, too.” He kissed her deeply, completing the connection, intensifying the burn.

  He upped the pace, thrusting harder and faster, breaking the kiss to look down at her, holding her gaze as he slid almost all the way out then drove all the way home. That’s when she burst and took him with her.

  Warm, languid, and tingling, she lay under him, watching his shoulders rise with each ragged breath. He pulled out but didn’t leave her arms.

  “You were incredible, Jordan,” he said against her collarbone, lips brushing her skin in a soft caress.

  She smiled and hugged him closer. “Yes, you were, Cole.”`

  He made a noise in his throat but otherwise was quiet as he kissed her neck, her temple, her eyes. She could’ve stayed like that forever. Lavishing his back with caresses, she loved the feel of his hard muscle under her fingers. He leaned on his elbows, lifting some of his weight but not his gaze. Dark eyes gleamed as a warm finger grazed over her breast.

  “I’m not done with you yet.”

  His words and his touch brought a delicious shiver to her skin and anticipation tingled in all her good parts.

  “But I need some food to replenish my strength. I say we dig into that meal. You wait here,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips before headed for the basket.

  Feeling more content than anyone had a right to, she stretched and waited for his return. Her stomach growled. Maybe eating wasn’t such a bad idea. The cowboy certainly helped her work up an appetite. When he approached with their food, she sat up and pulled in a breath.

  He really was
beautiful. Naked. Lean. Ripped.

  Naked.

  Eyes gleaming dark and delicious under the glow of the nearby hurricane lamp, he placed the food and cooler on the blanket, then kissed her hard, running his hands down her torso. “I think we’d better eat quick. I need to be inside you again.”

  She trembled, completely on track with his plan. “Yes, very quick.”

  He poured wine while she made them each a plate of chicken and raw vegetable, leaving the dessert for last. She smiled. Her sister would be getting a big hug tomorrow.

  “What’s that grin for?” He raised a brow as he ate.

  “Wait till you see dessert.”

  His drumstick poised mid air. “Oh?”

  “Yes, eat up.” She had several bites of chicken before nibbling on a piece of celery.

  He skimmed a slice of carrot up her arm and circled her shoulder before he popped the vegetable in his mouth. She was still shivering when he spoke. “Tastes much better with Jordan on it.”

  She ran her gaze down his naked splendor and smiled. “Well I know you’ll enhance dessert.”

  His gaze darkened and he pushed their plates aside. “Bring it.”

  “Oh, believe me, McCall, that’s exactly what I intend to do.” She winked, pushed him onto his back, then pulled out the strawberries and chocolate sauce.

  He stilled. “Oh-ho-ho, man. You can keep the strawberries, give me that sauce!”

  She slapped his reaching hand. “Nope. Me first.”

  Taking a dipped strawberry to his chest, she swirled it around before biting the bottom of the berry. “Not bad.” She leaned down to lick the chocolate from his skin, lingering to scrape her teeth over his nipple, smiling when he uttered an oath. “Mmm, that’s good, too.”

  His tortured gaze darkened further. “When do I get to taste?”

  She rubbed the berry across her chest. He groaned. Smiling, she brought the strawberry to his lips. He bit into the fruit, then licked the juice and sauce from her finger.

  “That was delicious.” Then before she knew it, he had her on her back and was licking the chocolate off her breasts, lapping and licking until she writhed under him.

  They spent the next ten minutes sampling each other’s bodies, until they ran out of dessert. Hot, demanding lips found hers. He tasted of chocolate, berries, wine, and a whole lot of passion—bringing a whole new meaning to the term passion fruit.

  Fully erect, he was as ready as her trembling form. Wanting to shift their foray down to the beach, she moved from underneath him and stood, while her mind still harbored a few brain cells.

  “We need to clean up.” She winked, nodding toward the ocean.

  He rose to his feet and opened his mouth to speak, then stilled when a fat rain drop hit his shoulder. “I’ve the feeling that’s not going to be a problem.”

  Following his gaze to the sky, she noticed the moon and stars had disappeared and a rumble of thunder shook the night.

  She frowned. “When did that happen?”

  “Must’ve been when you were ravishing me.” He grinned, running a bold hand down her back.

  “Mmm, yes. I guess I was preoccupied.” She smiled and would’ve returned the caress but he stopped her.

  “Sorry, sweetheart. We really should head back before everyone worries about us out in the storm.”

  She sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

  Late summer storms in Texas were nothing to take lightly.

  Dressed quickly, they were halfway through packing up when it started to drizzle. As fast as possible, they finished their tasks and galloped for the ranch.

  Completely soaked by the time they reached the stable, Jordan’s body hummed with need. Their frantic pace forced her to cling to Cole, and the frenzied contact of brushing up and down his slick, warm back fogged her mind with a haze of delight. Sliding her hands under his wet shirt, she stroked the hard, hot flesh of his chest and abs. Mmm…yes, please. Trembling into him, she inhaled the scent of ocean and rain. Images of the two of them naked and entangled increased her ache. She needed to finish what they’d started. Needed him and his unrivaled release. Nothing else mattered.

  Legs quivering, center heavy with desire, she was eager to face the front of him when she lost her grip and fell from the horse to the stable floor.

  “Jordan? Jordan, are you all right?” He was kneeling at her side in an instant, eyes dark and tortured as they swept over her body. “Wait! Don’t move. Let me check you first.”

  “I’m fine, Cole…although, I wouldn’t mind if your hands ran all over me to make sure.”

  “I’m serious, Jordan.” Brows knitted together in a face seemingly devoid of blood, he muttered an oath. “Look how close your head is to the damn pitchfork someone left laying out.” His fist shook around the handle before he propelled the pitchfork across the stable.

  Her heart lurched.

  “Hey.” She sat up, grasped his chin and looked straight into his wild, darting gaze. “I’m fine, Cole. Nothing bruised but my ego.”

  Pressing her lips to his, she kissed him until he took over the embrace. She never wanted to see that crazed, worried look in his eyes again. Ever.

  He rolled her on top of him and granted her wish when his hands roamed all over her fevered body. Desire returned in a rush of heat. She knew they needed to get inside but…

  His horse whinnied.

  Cole stiffened and she reluctantly lifted her mouth.

  “I…uh…guess I should take care of him,” he said without enthusiasm.

  The light on the porch flicked on in the distance. She sighed. “I was hoping you’d take care of me but looks like you were right. Our parents are up and no doubt worried.”

  “Yeah, but don’t worry, Jordan.” He smiled and helped her to her feet. “I have a special day planned for you tomorrow.”

  She shivered despite the heat of his gaze. “You do, do ya?”

  “Yep.” His smile turned smug as he readied his horse for the night.

  Her gaze followed the rippling muscles in his arms and shoulders as he unhooked the saddle. “You care to elaborate?”

  “Nope.”

  Cold under her wet clothes, she hugged herself and threw him a pout. “That’s not fair, you know.”

  “I know.” Finished, he sauntered toward her, eyes bright with mischief.

  “You’re bold, McCall.”

  “I know,” he repeated, grabbed the cooler, then dropped a kiss on her nose. “You ready to get wet?”

  She snickered. “Yes, because obviously I’m not wet enough.”

  Smiling, he reached for her hand and together they raced through the rain to the house, surprised to find Connor in the foyer.

  “Just the guy I was looking for.” Connor clasped a hand around Cole’s shoulder, his face unusually serious. “I could use your help,” he claimed before turning an apologetic gaze at Jordan. “Sorry, darlin’. I hate to cut your night short but the storm rolling in has shifted, instead of centering north, it’s now tracking south, which means I have cattle to move.”

  “It’s okay,” she reassured. “You just take care of the cattle. And be careful.”

  The famous Marlboro grin appeared, dimples and all. “Always. And I promise to bring him back in one piece.”

  “You’d better or you’ll have me to answer to.”

  Connor shuddered. “Yes, ma’am. Will do.” He turned to Cole. “The guys and I are meeting in the stable in five to mount up.”

  “I’ll be there in a minute,” Cole replied.

  Connor nodded then left the house.

  Shivering and beyond soaked, she’d hoped Cole would’ve joined her for a long, hot shower, but those plans just took a hike. Or a gallop. “You’d better get going,” she said. “I’ll take care of the cooler.”

  “Thanks.” He set his hat on the container on the floor, and cupping her face with both hands, backed her up against the door where he leaned into her with his incredible, wet body. A delicious tremor shot to her
toes and she gripped his hips for support.

  “Don’t wait up,” he said, caressing her cheek, regret filling is gaze. “Even with all of Connor’s men, it’ll take awhile.”

  She sighed, not bothering to hide her disappointment or her worry. “Just be safe.” Her mind refused to entertain the alternative. This was a common Texas occurrence. Cole will be fine. Connor will be fine. Everyone will be fine.

  Thunder boomed, closer than before, causing her to jump, and a few seconds later lightening lit up the sky visible through the windows.

  He pressed his forehead to hers. “No worrying, okay?” His gaze held steady, waiting for a reply.

  “I’ll try not to, but I…care very deeply for one of the cowboys,” she said, almost dropping the L word.

  A smile spread across his face. “Yeah? He cares very deeply for you, too.” His words and the affection in his gaze warmed the chill from her body. “Good night, Jordan,” he whispered, mouth slowly drawing closer.

  “Night, Cole.” More than ever, she longed to spend the night in his arms.

  He traced her mouth with his. “Pleasant dreams.”

  …Cole looked at the clock on his office wall. Quarter to eight. Where is she? She called and said she’d bring supper. What could be keeping her? His gaze fell to the codes on his desk and he drew his chair closer.

  The desk suddenly faded and he found himself inside the cab of a stuffy truck. Rain pelted the mist-covered window. He couldn’t see. Squinting, he flipped on the defroster, then flinched when something whacked the windshield. The mist slowly disappeared.

  Smack!

  What the hell?

  He leaned closer. CD’s and flash drives pummeled the semi like rain. He switched the wipers to high. It didn’t help.

  Crack!

  Pitchforks and computers fell from the sky.

  He swerved the truck but couldn’t avoid all of the falling objects. Smash. The windshield spider-webbed.

  Son-of-a-bitch!

  Pressing the brakes, his foot hit the floor.

  No brakes.