Rearranged

by Carreiro, Tina

  She felt the burn in her stomach start to climb. Her nipples rubbed against the upper hem of her bra every time he yanked down causing them to stay erect and sensitive. The combination was pushing her to the edge so fast her knees turned in and her muscles clenched. She thought she knew what to expect from what they had shared before, but this was different. He wasn’t making love to her—he was claiming her—branding her from the inside each time he slammed into her. She felt so innocent in the way of pleasure, but she tried to follow his lead, just as she had on the dance floor. His palm kept lifting her ass right before he ground himself inside her. This time, she tilted her hips and took his thrust deeper inside her. She cried out from the added depth and dug her nails into his arm that held her shirt.

  “Christ, baby…” His voice was raspy, his eyes were needy, and sweat beaded his brow. He pulled her shirt, moving her toward him until he bent to meet her lips. His hot mouth devoured hers. Wild would be too civil of a word for what he was doing. He set out to break and conquer her with every part of his body, and he was accomplishing it. She’d never be the same after this. The heat in her belly pooled down her legs, settling in her toes as her pleasure built into something she knew would shatter her bones.

  His thrusting never faltered, and she lifted her hips each time to meet him. He pulled at her shirt, moving it down and ripping the material until her breast spilled over the top edge. His mouth wrapped around her nipple and bathed it in heat as he sucked in rapid succession. Never would she have thought sex could be like this. Savage. Raw. Hungry. The warmth in her toes started to travel up her legs. She buried her fingers into his wild hair and arched her back. “Wade…” Wet kisses trailed up from her breast. His tongue darted out, and he licked the valley of her neck, over her collarbone, up the side of her neck, and then flicked the tip of her earlobe.

  “Give it to me.”

  Locked into his gaze, she shattered beneath him. A white light burst in her vision, and she arched her back to the point it would snap if she bent any further. He held onto her as she crashed back down, rolling his hips making each stroke deeper, harder, and meaningful. “I’m fallin’ right behind you.” His hands went to her hip, pulling her body to meet his needs.

  There was something so wickedly delicious about him coming for her. Keeping one hand on her hip, he fell forward, placing one hand beside her head. Manly sounds came from his throat, and then he leaned his head back. “Ahhh… fuck.” Rocking forward, he gave her his weight. She felt his liquid heat spread inside her, and she almost came again from the feeling. Seeing him come apart did things to her she couldn’t explain. She felt the addiction to see him like this often seat itself inside her.

  He moved his hand in the hay, and his gentle eyes stroked her face. “I’m movin’ us to the blanket.”

  “I’ll get up.

  “Don’t you dare move and break our connection. I’m stayin’ inside you as long as I can.” He lifted her legs, looping them around his hips and stood. Flattening his palm against her back, he lowered them to the blanket. When she sat on his length, she hissed. With an expression of adoration, he moved inside her. “We need to talk.”

  Chapter 28

  My Everything

  Wade reached down and tugged his jeans, which still wrapped around his legs. Her gaze followed his hand. When she giggled, his balls tightened. As powerful as his release had been, it hadn’t softened his cock at all. He could take her again, right now. “Somethin’ funny?”

  “What are you doin’?”

  “Adjustin’.” He cupped her cheeks and stared at her, for how long he didn’t know. She looked at him just the way he wanted her too—branded and broken. “Not married…” He shook his head. This information could have been useful the minute she had stepped out of the car. He’d been hardheaded and stubborn, just like his brother said. Picking up her arm, he kissed the tips of her fingers. Opening her hand, he pressed his lips to her palm, then her wrist. His lazy gaze moved down her skin with every intention of kissing her body until his mouth had touched every inch.

  Tilting his head, he lifted her arm and stared at a mark on her forearm between her wrist and elbow. “What the fuck?” The protective and possessive feeling hit him like a tsunami.

  She yanked her arm from his grasp and held it to her chest, only to have him take it back.

  “Who did this?” He sat up, palming her rear with his free hand to keep them attached.

  She dropped her eyes and tensed in his arms.

  “Carly, look at me darlin’.” Her blue eyes pooled, and he knew it was bad. It tightened his chest.

  “Chet.” She blinked a tear, and it rolled down her cheek, dropping on his chest, burning him where it fell. “When I called off the weddin’, he…” She sucked in a breath and stilled.

  “Breathe, darlin’. I’ve got you.” His arms wrapped around her, cocooning her in a protective hold.

  “He attacked me. He was gonna—” Her voice cracked, and her body went boneless in his arms, all the toughness, all the attitude and fire gone. She sobbed in the crook of his neck. “He bit me.”

  “He bit you!” Wade tightened his arms around her and shook his head, hoping to shake lose the rage he felt building. The mark indicated a hard bite, one that broke the skin. He’d left her with a monster. “I’m so sorry, baby. I should’ve taken you with me.” He’d never forgive himself. He should have been there to take the beating for her, just like with Levi.

  “This is not your fault. I wouldn’t have gone with you, Wade.” She cupped his cheek, and he tilted his head into the warmth of her hand. “I threw you away because I thought it was the right thing to do.” She bent and placed a kiss on his lips, so tender his rage melted.

  “I’m goin’ to find that man and beat him within an inch of his life.” His rage was gone, but his intent was clear.

  “No need. Levi, my guardian angel, took care of that for you.”

  Angel. His eyes watered. She was unmanning him, one layer at a time. “Explain,” he choked out. He’d thought the worst about the two people he’d die for, and he couldn’t have been more wrong—all because of his issues.

  “My daddy was gonna sell me for ten thousand dollars. That’s how much I meant to him.” She softened in his arms as he stroked her back with his fingers. “I think he truly believes it was for the best; a solution to everyone’s problems. Mainly his.”

  “So, you didn’t go to the church when I left you?”

  “Oh… I went to the church.” She filled him in right up to the attack. “I thought it was you. Levi kept whalin’ on him. He broke his jaw.”

  “He should have broken more than his jaw.”

  “I would have been stuck, if it hadn’t been for Levi and Tracy.”

  “Tracy?”

  “Yeah. The waitress… she drove up just in time and got me out of there. Said somethin’ about payin’ it forward.”

  He pulled her down, placing his forehead in the center of her chest. He listened while she went on, explaining about buying the deed, a car to get to him and clothes. When she became silent, he could hear her heartbeat, and it matched his. He’d never let her go. She’d given herself to him. He’d asked for her soul and she gave him her heart along with it. The connection he felt was heady and the world became clearer—meaningful.

  She explained everything, except one thing. “It’s been over a month, Carly. Where’ve you been?”

  “Finding my self-worth.”

  “Did you find it?”

  “Yeah.” She smiled.

  “Good. You ready to be my everything?” He stared at her, his gentle gaze turning serious. The full meaning of his question seemed to evade her until he held a ring in front of him.

  She stared at it. Her eyes flicked to his, and she cocked her head. “Aren’t you supposed to be on your knees?” Without warning, he flipped them, reversing their position. He kept her flattened against his groin as he rose to his knees.

  “My dear, Miss Scarlett…” He jerk
ed when she slapped his chest and giggled.

  “Stop.”

  “You can’t get away from me now.”

  “I don’t want to get away from you. I won’t leave you, Wade.”

  “Marry me.” Holding the ring out, he smiled, and he knew his dimple was showing when she reached out and stroked it with her thumb.

  “That didn’t sound like a question.”

  “It wasn’t.” He slid the ring on her finger. His hands moved up her back, and he smothered his fingers in her hair, fanning the strands outward. “It’s one of the few times I will ever tell you what to do.” He flexed his hips, and rolled her underneath him. “You gonna listen?”

  Carly parted her lips as he started to move inside her. She felt so complete, and he’d devastated her heart with the dimple he flashed. He didn’t show it often, and that was something she planned to change because the world needed to see that dimple. Was she going to listen? “That depends.” She arched her back when he licked across her nipple and then blew air across it.

  “I’m listenin’.”

  “What happens afterward?” She felt his smile against her neck before his teeth nipped her jawline, and then his lips took hers.

  “We follow through with our obligations.”

  “What would that be?” She stared at him as his eyes searched hers in a way that stripped her down to her soul.

  “To love each other—unconditionally—with every piece of our being.”

  “Yes.” Tears slid from the corner of her eyes, rolling into her hairline. Her heart had never felt so full. She went from feeling no need for life to wanting it to never end. He filled her world with color, everything about him made sense. He moved inside her, his strokes becoming more demanding. The first time he’d been inside her and taken her innocence, it had felt so different. This time, his flesh seemed hotter, more intense. Then it dawned on her. The warmth she felt flooding her inside when he came before was because he didn’t use a condom.

  “You came inside me.” She breathed against his ear as he continued to love her.

  “And I plan on doin’ it again.”

  The anticipation from his words ignited her once more. Although they hadn’t talked about kids, he didn’t seem to care. It rooted her to him even more. Her arms circled him, one rested on his back, as she cupped his neck with her hand. Her other hand buried in his hair. “I love you.”

  He stilled. A tiny grunt sounded in his throat, and then he moved again, slower and more deliberate in his motions. “Say it again.”

  “I love you.”

  “My name, on your lips, always.” He breathed hard as she said his name, almost as if the sound of it physically touched him. And it must have because it was his undoing.

  Chapter 29

  Walk Beside Me

  Carly followed behind Wade through the stable toward the training pen where Levi and another man stood. She rubbed her lower cheek and smiled. She’d have to be careful what she said to Wade in the heat of an argument next time. Not only had he kissed her ass, but he’d nibbled on it too.

  He stopped short, and she bumped into him.

  “Shit,” Wade mumbled.

  “What? Who’s that?”

  “Darlin’, you could make me forget my name.” He laced his fingers with hers. “That’s my one o’clock business meetin’.”

  “Oh.” Her smile faded, and she released his hand. “I’ll go in the house.” Even though she had just come from the house adorned in a fresh set of clothes suitable for ranch work. Wade had threatened to take her again, but they were behind on ranch chores. He tugged her hand.

  “This aint’ a ‘go in the house’ kind of of relationship.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “And please, walk beside me, not behind me.” He jerked his head toward the man, tugging her into a walk. She couldn’t fly any higher than she already was, but the adoration in his eyes, in his voice, made her feel weightless.

  She walked beside him, stopping right in front of the two men. Wade released her hand and extended his to the man. “Mr. Foyt.”

  “Mr. Dawson. Nice to meet you.”

  He placed his palm at her back, and glanced at her. His smile was just short of devastating. “This is my fiancée and ranch agriculturist, Carly West.”

  She tried to hold herself to the ground as the gravitational pull of the earth left. She extended her hand and knew she was smiling like an idiot again, but she didn’t care. No one had ever shown her the amount of respect Wade had. “Hi.” She glanced at Levi’s gaping mouth, his eyes glued to the large diamond on her finger.

  “Mr. Foyt, Carly will be takin’ you to the back field. She hasn’t had a chance to look at the land or soil, but she’ll be handlin’ all business concerning the crops.” Wade held a set of keys up, and she stared at them.

  “Excuse me… Wade, can I talk to you for a minute?” She walked a safe distance away and he followed. Anxiety quickened her breath. She grabbed his arms, turned him until he blocked her view of the two men.and looked up at him, “Are you crazy?”

  “You can handle this.”

  “What if I mess it up?”

  “What if you don’t?”

  “Wade…”

  “Spread your wings and fly, darlin’.” He stroked her cheek. “If the crop goes to shit, you’ll learn from it.”

  “But the money it will cost—” His lips covered hers so gently she swayed back.

  “Darlin’, I’d give it all away just to see you smile the way you did when I introduced you.”

  “Give it all away?”

  “All of it.” He held her eyes, not letting her go.

  Suddenly, something dawned on her she hadn’t realized before. She looked down at the unusual and stunning ring on her finger. The forty thousand dollars he’d given to her… “How much is all?”

  “You know that horse you were on?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He's a hundred thousand dollar horse, and it’s already got a buyer. What we deal in, is big money.” He turned her by the shoulders and pointed to a bull in a pen. “See him?”

  “Yeah.”

  “His semen gets us three hundred dollars per straw.”

  “My God.” She looked around, her eyes touching on the array of livestock. Some were for sale, and some used for semen. She understood their markings now. She mentally calculated and looked up at him with wide eyes. “You’re loaded.”

  “Yep. I’ve busted my ass to get here too.”

  “I don’t understand. Why do you need crops if you have all this?”

  “It’s somethin’ I’ve always wanted to do but haven’t had the time or full knowledge to make it work well, but the truth is, darlin’, it’s for the same reason I have a bounty huntin’ business.” He rested his hands on her shoulder. “The crops are for you.”

  Her breath hitched. “And the bounty huntin’ is for Levi?”

  “Yes. Things have been rough since his accident, and he needed a diversion from the animals he loves so much.” His hands played with the tiny stray hairs at her neck. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m a business man, and I have faith you’ll turn a profit. But all this”—sticking his hand out, he moved it around—“didn’t have any meanin’ until I met you.”

  * * * *

  Wade stood at the pen next to Levi and watched Carly pull the truck onto the path leading to the back field. He knew she was nervous, but Mr. Foyt couldn’t tell. The look in her beautiful blue eyes made his knees weak. He knew it wasn’t about the money to her, in fact, she had asked him for a smaller ring. He almost choked when those words came out of her mouth. This crop, working the land, would mean everything to her. His chest filled with pride that he could be the one to give it to her. She said she wouldn’t leave him. The truth in her eyes confirmed it, and he couldn’t begin to explain it, but he felt it. He turned to his brother. “I’m sorry.” He smiled, but his tone held a pang of guilt.

  “It’s okay.”

  “No it’s not. You’ve
had enough shit thrown at you, and—”

  “No, brother, you’ve had enough shit thrown at you.” Levi looked toward the truck disappearing into the tree line.

  “I thought you two…”

  “I know what you thought. I saw that redneck-crazed look in your eyes.”

  “I should’ve trusted you wouldn’t do that to me.”

  “It’s okay.” Levi punched his arm. “Hey… I’d piss you off all over again if that’s what it took to get you to see her. Because I am convinced, brother, that God made that woman just for you.”

  Wade was still reeling with emotion from his and Carly’s time together. He reached out and wrapped his brother in a bear hug. “I love you, little brother.”

  “What the hell is this? You ain’t dyin’ are you?”

  “Just workin’ out my issues.” He slapped Levi on the back and released him.

  “Aw… see. That therapy shit works.”

  “Yeah, well, I may need some more of it because I’m scared shitless. I know she loves me. I believe she won’t leave me, but I can’t stop worryin’ about it.” They turned and placed their boots on the lower rail, and crossed their arms on the top simultaneously as if they were twins. They stared at the horse in silence, and then Levi cleared his throat.

  “You know… when a bull comes out of the chute, you have no idea what he’s gonna do. He could jerk you to the left, or the right. Your heart is poundin’, and the adrenaline is rushin’ through you like a ragin’ river. The bull could buck you off and trample you—kill you even. You can choose not to take that chance.” Levi paused, rubbed his finger over the top of his lip, and looked at Wade. “Or, you can hold on tight, and he’ll give you the ride of your life.”