Forever Wild: A Camden Ranch Novel

by Jillian Neal

  “Well,” she convulsed against his chest. He stepped back and cradled her face in his right hand.

  “What the hell happened, sweetheart?” Genuine concern etched his features.

  “Well, Daddy … and noises … naked noises,” she shuddered. “And … the couch … just right there … in the living room … I saw … and an Oldsmobile … and gross.”

  Humor played in his eyes, and a half second later he was laughing at her outright. Irritated, she shoved him back. This only made him laugh harder however.

  “Stop laughing at me.”

  He caught her hands before she could push him again. “I take it Diana was over at your dad’s?”

  “Who the hell is Diana?” Another round of gall inched up her spine. Why had no one mentioned Diana to her?

  “According to Eliza, your Daddy’s friend with benefits.”

  “Oh my dear God! What? He’s too old for a friend with … ew!”

  “Okay,” Luke planted a kiss on top of her head that she did not find particularly soothing. “Deep breath for me. They’ve dated off and on for maybe a year now. I’m guessing they’re back on. She’s a waitress at the Open Range in Ogallala, and she fills in at Saddlebacks when they need a hand. She still owns a little portion of the corn farm she and her husband had back in the day. He passed a while back, from what I’ve heard. And your daddy is far from too old to have needs, sugar, even if you don’t want to think about it.”

  “Why didn’t he ever tell me this?”

  “Maybe because he had a pretty good idea this was how you would react.” He winked at her. He was playing with fire and he knew it.

  “I wouldn’t have reacted this way if I’d known she was coming over and therefore would not have had to walk in on … that.”

  “I suspect he thought you’d be staying over here.”

  “Can I?”

  Luke’s brow knitted. “Indie, honey, I’ve been beggin’ you to stay with me for damn near a week now. We just got into an argument because you wanted to leave. Of course you can stay.”

  “I was asking because of the argument. How is this so difficult to understand?”

  “But the argument was my fault.”

  “No, it wasn’t! It was my fault.”

  “You needin’ to fight badly enough to argue about arguing?”

  Dammit. He always managed to douse her fire. How was one man so good at stoking it to all new heights of passion when that’s what he wanted, and turning it off like a knob on a stove when she wanted to be mad?

  “I ain’t sayin’ we can’t keep going, darlin’. I’m just making sure you were aware that’s what was happening.”

  “No.” She sank against him. She was exhausted and this night was more than she could deal with anymore. “She owns an Oldsmobile,” she fussed into his chest.

  His chuckle shook through her, warming her soul. “Maybe don’t hold that against her. She makes do with what she has.”

  “Great. Now I have more guilt.”

  “Why don’t I take my baby to bed, and let’s forget everything that happened from about five minutes after the most amazing sex we’ve ever had until right now?”

  “You don’t want to hash the whole thing out?” Somehow Indie didn’t quite believe he was going to be that good to her.

  “Later. Maybe. Thought we were taking this day by day.” The concession in his voice bordered on defeat. Indie just didn’t have the strength to call him on it.

  “That sounds good.”

  She could be pregnant. She probably isn’t. You hoping she is? Luke tossed and turned in the bed, trying his best not to disturb Indie. At least she was sleeping soundly. If you’re hoping she is so you can get her to stay, you really are an asshole. His mind wasn’t playing fairly. Didn’t matter. He had no more control over his thoughts currently than he had his temper earlier when she’d run.

  Okay, no more bare-backing until she’s really ready for the commitment you want. A ring or something. He stalled his motions and his thoughts momentarily on that decree. The head on his cock, however, played the part of the devil on his shoulder. She asks, we give. I’ve never felt anything so amazing. Like you’d ever be able to deny her that anyway. You’re still a weak motherfucker when it comes to her. Always have been. Always will be.

  Luke sank his fist into his pillow and ordered both his heads to shut it. For now, she was right beside him. Her easy breaths said she’d let their tumultuous night go for the moment. He needed to do the same.

  What does day by day mean, exactly? He huffed audibly. Indie scooted closer to him, attempting to soothe him even in her sleep. Grinning to himself, he guided her sleeping form up on his chest and cradled her closely. Her responding sigh of contentment eased his restless thoughts. Who cares what it means? Right now she’s where she belongs. If you added enough days together, you’d get a whole damn life. Nothing wrong with that.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Long before sunrise, he slipped from the bed. He’d put his brothers off on haying for the past week. They had to get it in, but it had several more days in it and he may or may not have that much time left to convince Indie to stay. Hell would freeze over before he spent the next week on a tractor instead of on her. Some things in life just couldn’t be put off.

  He perked a cup of coffee into one of his many travel mugs, left her a note on his pillow, and headed out into the cool damp air of morning.

  Stopping by the barn, he thanked Grant for bringing in the horses and gave Atlas, his personal copper quarter horse, a rub down before he saddled him.

  He’d been out to check on Juliet twice since he’d taken the bandages off of her hoof. She was healed up, but not quite ready for riding. Indie loved to ride her horses more than she loved working on cars, and that was saying something. He eyed Whirlwind, a feisty mare that now belonged to Summer, Austin’s wife. Whirlwind was a beautiful horse that had no time for going slow.

  Austin was saddling Lusty, his gelding. “Hey, you think Summer would mind Indie ridin’ Whirlwind this afternoon if I can talk her into going on a quick trail ride with me?”

  “Hell no. Well, she might mind, but she’ll get over it. Save me a day of trying to keep her off of the damn horse anyway. She birthed my nine-pound kid not six weeks ago. I watched the whole damn thing. Getting back in a saddle’s gonna hurt like hell. I don’t know what she’s thinking, and Doc says she needs to give it another week or two because of the stiches. She keeps thinking Whirlwind’s not getting rode, and it’s making her antsy. So, Indie’d be doing all of us a favor.”

  “She gonna give you shit about it though?” Luke inquired.

  Austin smirked. “She gives me shit about everything. Why the hell do you think I married her? Ain’t a damn thing better than my girl.”

  Luke couldn’t really deny that part of what made Indie so damned addictive was the fact that she had twice as much sass and fire as she had sweet tenderness. She was sure as hell a fighter when she was fighting, and occasionally when she was loving, too. So, the Camden men liked their women with some spitfire. Nothing wrong with that.

  Indie was trying to convince her eyes to open when she heard Luke tiptoe back into the bedroom. Sunlight warmed the room. She inhaled the mix of his salty musk and their lovemaking entrenched in the sheets mixed with the scents of horses and hay. She couldn’t quite hide her grin. Chuckling, he brushed a kiss in her hair.

  “Good mornin’, beautiful.”

  Peeking her eyes open a half-notch, she watched him toe off his boots and work his t-shirt up to his elbows and then over his head. Sweat glistened on the perfect planes of his broad chest. His solid shoulders contracted as he worked the buckle of his belt and the snap on his Wranglers. They were rubbed and worn at his substantial thighs. Capable, hardened, cowboy perfection all for her. Damn, but a girl could definitely get used to waking up to this.

  When he left the room wearing nothing but boxer-briefs, she pouted but still couldn’t quite make herself get out of his massi
ve bed. Sleeping in the full-sized from her childhood wasn’t working so well. She’d had kinks in her spine and an aching neck all week. Stretching her hands over her head, she reveled in the room his king provided.

  Luke returned a moment later, looking like he’d stepped directly out of one of those men’s underwear commercials. He was carrying her a steaming mug of coffee, and judging from the bulge in those sexy undies, his cock was pleased she was naked in his bed.

  “You gonna keep pretending to be asleep, sugar, or can I coax you up with some coffee?”

  Giggling, she worked her way into a seated position and reached for the coffee. He held it just out of her grasp.

  “I get a good morning kiss first.”

  “Coffee,” she whimpered.

  Chuckling, he leaned in and whispered a gentle kiss on her lips. She pulled away a half-second later and made another grab at the mug.

  “Not finished, sweetness.”

  “You are a sadist, and I hate you.”

  That brought on more laughter. “Careful, Indie Jane. Be sweet. You have to go through me to get the coffee.”

  Setting the mug on the bedside table, he proceeded to kiss his way from the sides of her scowl, over the fading hickeys on her neck, to each of her nipples that he tongued and suckled, making her weak with desire. Her body was confused. She desperately wanted him to keep going, but she also really needed caffeine.

  When he lifted his head, his sinful smirk sent a surge of wet heat to her pussy. “Now, was that so bad?” He handed over the mug full of liquid sanity with cream and sugar, just the way she loved it.

  “I’ll hate you less when I get to the bottom of this mug.”

  “I’m well aware. When you decide you love me again, come get in the shower with me.” With that, he headed to his master bathroom. She heard the old pipes squeak when the water began its rapid fall.

  “I’ve always loved you. I always will. But I’m finishing this whole damn mug before I set one foot in that bathroom, so there.” She called just before she drew another long sip.

  “Oh yeah?” He returned to the bedroom just long enough to strip out of his underwear, waggle his eyebrows, and run his right hand up and down his extremely impressive erection. “My cock didn’t get near enough lovin’ last night, honey, and you are looking so damn fuckable this morning. Don’t make haul your sexy ass in there.”

  Her mouth watered, and she almost dropped the hot coffee in her lap. Damn him, and his fucking gorgeous body, and his remarkably long, thick cock that had her downing the coffee in one extended swallow. How the hell did feeling this weak for him make her feel so powerful? She’d worry on that later. Kicking her way out of the sheets, she all but sprinted into the bathroom.

  He was standing by the shower door, still sporting a cocky grin and one hell of a hard-on. “’Bout time.”

  “I came in here to pee,” she sassed.

  “Liar.” With that, he caged her between the heat that radiated from him and the cool marble countertop. Her back pressed firmly against his chest. She turned to look up at him, a much more appealing picture than staring at herself in the massive bathroom mirror.

  “No ma’am.” He gently turned her head, fixing her gaze on the reflection of her own thick curves, scars, and other assorted imperfections. “My God, sugar, look at how beautiful you are.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I have sheet marks on my face.” And huge tits that have no hope of ever facing forward, and scars everywhere, and cellulite, and my stomach is dimpled and not in any way toned, and I haven’t seen the inside of a gym since we were in high school … she shuddered.

  “They’re adorable and they came from sleeping so sweet in my arms last night. Watch me and feel what you do to me.” He positioned his cock between her ass cheeks and lifted the heft of her breasts in his hands. “Watch me get your gorgeous body ready for me, Indie. My God, you are perfection. So damn pretty. Just the way a woman’s ‘sposed to look.” Her breasts spilled through his fingers. His cock throbbed against her ass and the look on his face said he was so turned on he hurt with it. The carnal fire burning in his eyes doused a little of her self-flagellation. That look he had staring at her body in the mirror said he was about to fuck her senseless.

  “Luke … I … mmm … don’t want ….” His fingers twisted and taunted her nipples. “Oh God, that feels good … to do this in a mirror. I look terrible.” She watched his hand draw back. The firm slap of her bare ass stung and oddly brought another rush of heat to her pussy.

  “Hush. Nothing gets me going the way your body does. I’m damn tired of hearing you put yourself down. You are sexy as hell. You can either watch me take you in the mirror or I can turn you around and make you watch me paddle you in the mirror. My choice, and it all depends on what comes out of your mouth next.”

  Both scenarios sounded extremely naughty and both turned her on to all new heights, but thoughts of watching her rather large ass jiggle in a mirror had her sealing her lips shut, not that she’d admit that to him.

  “Excellent choice. Now watch.” He rocked his hips forward, slicking the hollow at the top of her ass with pre-cum while he ran his hands down her waist. His fingers pressed into her hips, and his sac teased at her pussy. “Lean back against me and keep watching.”

  She settled her head on his chest and followed his orders. Keeping his right hand on her breasts, he placed his left over her mound. Her body arched in a slow roll, and for a moment she forgot to hate herself.

  Electricity arced between the primal urgency in his eyes and her body. Her own eyes were bright and fervent. Her lips, anxious to be kissed, looked like they’d been dipped in expensive red wine. Her long hair was in an untamed mane on her shoulders, swishing softly, teasing at her ample breasts. Fevered heat streaked her chest and face. Her nipples peaked and throbbed. Her waist contracted. The arch of her spine and the thick roll of her ass was … beautiful? Maybe. Sexual? Oh yeah. Graceful? Definitely. She felt alive with the power of her own femininity.

  “So fucking pretty, darlin’. So soft. Jesus Christ, you make me hurt. You make me crazy. How can you not see how beautiful you are?”

  But maybe she could. If she just believed him enough to convince herself.

  “Watch what I’m gonna do to you.” His fingers parted the swollen lips of her pussy. Breath tangled in her throat. She saw the tender cream her body supplied for him, for them. It knew precisely what to do. It provided everything they needed. Shouldn’t she be thankful? She decided she was as she watched his long fingers rub up over her clit and then dip down to her opening. “See how pretty you are when I get you like this?”

  Her hips undulated against his strokes. Another wave of intoxicating femininity washed over her. She couldn’t look away now. She wanted to see her body’s responses to his.

  “That’s it. And when I touch you like this,” he stroked her g-spot with the fingers deep in her drenched channel and her clit with his other hand, “God, you get so wet for me. Listen.”

  He stroked harder, whipping her into a frenzy as she heard the slick essence move with his fingers. His thundered moan echoed off the bathroom tile, further amping her arousal. She felt her body clench tightly around his fingers.

  “And that’s how I know you’re getting needy for it. I feel you squeeze my fingers, I know my baby’s on fire, and I know I’m gonna get you right where you need to be. I’m gonna get to feel it. Nothing makes me feel more powerful, Indie. Nothing but you. I live for this.”

  “Oh God.” She shuddered against him. She watched her body shiver with need. The beauty of it simultaneously confused and enlivened her. His eyes were an indigo fire. His entire body honed in on hers like he’d never seen anything more stunning.

  “Then I do this and I tell you to breathe because I want you to enjoy this as much as I am.” He slicked the thumb of the hand inside her through her wet heat and then circled the puckered opening of her backside. “’And ‘cause I know my girl likes it naughty sometimes. Likes when I
touch her here where no one else ever has. Because you’re mine, sugar. All fucking mine. Deep breaths for me.”

  He pressed his thumb through the tight ring of muscle. Her body relished the pressure and the rampant desire. She came hard with the next stroke. There, in the split second before her eyes shut out the world around them, she saw the feral power of her body, raw and wild with carnality and heat, tensing with undiluted passion, and the victorious look in his eyes. She’d watched her fingernails claw at the marble counter, heard her own wanton cry when he overwhelmed her every sense, and felt his cock give a fierce throb against her back. The picture emblazoned in her mind, and try though she might, she could find nothing in it unappealing.

  Luke’s body was racked with desperation. The wildfire in Indie’s eyes surged through his veins.

  “Now watch me fuck you raw, sugar.” He turned them to the side. Unable to stop himself, he gripped her hips and sank himself between her pussy lips balls-deep. Her eyes flashed and her back arched, giving him even more. A savage growl of approval ripped from his lungs.

  Nothing could ever feel so good. Nothing should ever feel this good. He managed to remember why he was able to experience every silky ripple of her pussy and the flood of warm honey drowning him. The condom. Indie’s eyes were glazed with lust, locked on the image of his cock thrusting in and out of her in the mirror. Her teeth gripped her bottom lip. Sexy moans constantly sounded from her. God, she was loving this.

  He squeezed her ass, trying desperately to show her how incredibly sexy she was. If she wanted a show, he’d sure as hell provide. There were other ways around the awkward condom usage discussion.

  He kept his thrusts rhythmic and ravaging. Every pass he made pushed him closer to the edge of abandon. Longing clawed at his skin. The primal urgency of it all sliced through him. The musk of her arousal joined the steaming air filling his lungs. His vision blurred.

  Her pussy milked him constantly. Sweet Jesus, another stroke maybe two. He was too close. Tension sizzled in his balls with the familiar need. He was right there. She came again, tensing around him and shaking wildly. Jerking out of her with a guttural cry, he unloaded all over her back and ass. The erotic image had him spurting again and again. Potent and uncontrollable, he bathed her in his cum.