He worked her nipple with his tongue and his lips until her moans grew higher, rougher, and then he worked it harder, adding the edge of his teeth, making her burn for him.
“Good, baby?”
She was so lost he didn’t think she’d heard him, but then there was that little smile and her hands wrapped in his hair, pulling him closer still. He kissed his way over to the other breast, pinching that nipple first, snapping it to attention, starting the fire going there before curling his tongue around it and drawing it into the heat of his mouth. Maddie dug her heels into his back, pulling him closer. His cock ground against the roughness of the blankets when he wanted the heat and silk of her pussy. He’d get there eventually. But first...
He kissed his way down her stomach, following the dip as she sucked in her breath, nibbling when he got to her navel, circling it with his tongue, pressing down with his chest, pinning her as he slipped one arm and then the other under her knees, lifting her legs over his shoulders, exposing her to him.
Her pussy lips were plump and covered with fine red hair. Between, the sweetest of pink greeted his eyes, wet and moist—not nearly wet enough, though. He wanted her dripping for him, screaming for him before he took her.
Her scent rose to his nostrils. Musky, clean, sweet woman. He couldn’t believe nobody’d ever loved this pussy. It was so perfect. The inner petals as delicate as her spirit, sweet, sexy... His.
As he leaned in, she tugged at his hair. He ignored the order and placed his tongue against the little V surrounding her clit, working inside, licking it and rubbing it, coaxing that bundle of nerves tight, feeling the tension radiate through her legs. Bracing his hands on the back of her knees, he pushed her legs back farther, arching her up to his mouth, exposing all of her, keeping her open and vulnerable to the assault of his tongue and teeth. He loved her tenderly and sweetly, following her moans and her gasps, giving her more pressure, more joy, feeling that first delicious tension enter her muscles. Waiting as it built, hearing the desperate gasp that signaled she was teetering on the edge before he sucked her clit into his mouth and clamped it with his teeth, he felt the shock go through her, heard the scream rip out of her as her first orgasm pulsed through her body. He lapped at her clit as she convulsed, drinking her cream, his cock swollen to bursting as she sobbed his name. Sweet. So sweet.
He continued to suckle lightly until the last ripple shuddered through her and she was pushing at him, twisting away because she thought it was too much. She had yet to learn that it could never be enough. She could never come enough for him.
He did, however, gentle his approach, focusing more on the outer lips as he coaxed her back into the fire, sliding his finger gently into her pussy, feeling it clench down around him, working his way back up to her clit again, just resting his tongue against it until she stopped shivering, and then he began to work her in earnest, slipping another finger into her pussy when she lifted up, fucking her slowly as he sucked her swollen clit.
“What are you doing to me?” she asked, her fingers raking over his shoulders, drawing blood. The pain just added to the passion. Fuck, he needed to be in her.
“Loving you.” He kissed his way back up her body, biting at her stomach and her breasts, kissing her mouth.
She opened her legs to him immediately. The instinctive submission soothing that wild part of him that wanted to fuck her so hard she’d be feeling him for a week, giving him the strength to find tenderness. The thick head of his cock slid over her clit before settling into the well of her pussy, and for a second she stiffened.
He kissed her cheeks, her nose, her eyes.
“No, honey. Just more pleasure.”
She opened her eyes; he saw the fear in them and then saw the trust push it away. His Maddie mine, who should have been broken beyond repair, reaching out to him. He cupped her head in his hands and rested his forehead against hers as he slowly, gently joined them.
“Mine.” The word whispered out on a breath so soft he didn’t know if she heard. Her pussy was hot and tight, liquid fire surrounding his cock. He wanted to hold back. He wanted to make it last, but it was too much. He started to withdraw, gritting his teeth against the need to plunge wildly.
“Come with me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Yes.” He dropped his hand between them, settled his thumb on her clit. It was still swollen and hot and wet. He rubbed in time with his strokes, starting out slow, feeling the tingles rush up his spine, the tensing in his balls, as the need to come, to fill her with his seed, to brand her his overwhelmed him. He fought it back, wanting her with him all the way. Wanting to come with her this first time. Wanting it to be perfect.
Her breath caught, her back arched.
“That’s it.”
He fucked her harder. She pulled him closer. Him riding her, she riding him. Both of them striving for the moment when they both had what they wanted. Him, her, each other, possession.
The climax flashed over him like fire, drawing her name from his lips. Her pussy clamped around his cock as her body convulsed, tearing his seed from his balls. She whispered his name on a soundless scream and he exploded, his world narrowing to this moment, this woman. His lover. His wife.
His Maddie.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
FOR THE FIRST time in her memory, Maddie woke up feeling content. She smiled and took a deep breath, breathing in Caden’s scent and the reality of being naked in his arms and feeling good about it. He made her feel safe. She thought back to the night before, the passion, the tenderness, the kissing. Reaching up, she touched her fingers to his lips. She did love kissing. Against her fingers, his lips pulled into a smile. She stretched up, he leaned down and she got to kiss again.
“Such a marvelous thing,” she murmured against his mouth.
“What?”
“Kissing.”
His fingers touched her temple and slid down to her ear before moving with that familiar caress to the nape of her neck.
“And the other?”
“That’s probably the most amazing thing of all,” she said. “I never liked that before.”
“No surprise.”
“But I like it with you.” She smiled. “It feels natural.”
“Natural?”
“Like it’s the way it should be.”
“Like maybe you were made to burn for me, baby.”
There was a time when that kind of talk would have made her uncomfortable, but with her pussy still feeling the imprint of his cock, and her nipples so tender from his kisses, it was hard to be uncomfortable with anything. She was like warm porridge, all mushy and gushy on the inside.
She slipped her arms around his neck. Against her will the words just slipped past her lips. “I love you.”
“Aw.” This time when he kissed her it was more passionate, and this time she responded without hesitation, her legs parting as he settled between them, taking his cock easily into her body, moaning as she stretched deliciously around him. Not a bit of dread in her, just a lot of expectation. She knew where this was going to lead and it was heaven.
She dug her heels into the ground and pushed up. His fingers twisted in her hair and pulled her head back, his mouth found her neck, her collarbone, the top of her breast, skimming the surface until he reached her nipple, taking it into his hot mouth even as his cock pushed farther into her hot pussy.
Heat. Everywhere there was heat. He moaned her name. She sighed his, opening her body and soul to him, giving him the emotion that was pouring through her. He was her husband. She belonged to him. She’d never be alone again. It was good, so good.
His finger found her clit and rubbed. Fire streaked through her body. His teeth found her nipple and bit ever so delicately, just enough to bring her to that edge. He thrust harder, bit harder, rubbed harder, not giving her a break, sending her catapulting into that maelstrom of emotion. She embraced it with everything she had, coming hard, screaming his name, forgetting about everythi
ng, where they were, who she was, Ace, Hell’s Eight, everything. There was only Caden and the way he made her feel. Perfect. Just perfect.
When it was over, he was still there, holding her, kissing her, joined to her, giving her the one thing she’d always wanted: a sense of belonging. And she clung to it as hard as she clung to him, letting the security of that pour over her like the morning sun. Bright and strong.
Bella was right. She had needed to find out who she wanted to be, and who she wanted to be was Caden’s wife. Clenching her pussy around his softening cock, feeling his seed between her thighs, she smiled. She was most definitely that.
She didn’t know how long they lay there. It felt like an eternity in a good way. She didn’t want it to end, but from the woods to the left there came a lot of stomping and breaking of branches and some very heavy whistling.
Ace. She grabbed the blanket up to her chest.
Caden laughed. “That, I believe, is Ace trying in his own discreet way to tell us he’s coming back.”
“Well, tell him to come back a little slower!” She didn’t even remember where Caden had thrown her clothes. She grabbed her camisole and pulled it over her head, but she couldn’t find her pantaloons anywhere. Caden, damn his hide, just sat there and chuckled, watching her. She opened her mouth to yell. He forestalled her.
“We’ll be with you in a minute, Ace.”
“Well, hurry up, dammit. My stomach’s empty. Not everybody can live on love.”
Maddie smiled to hear it put that way. Even Ace knew this was love.
“Where are my pantaloons?” she hissed.
Caden shrugged. “Might want to crawl out and look for them.”
She started to before she realized his motive. “You just want to stare at my—” She blushed. She actually blushed.
“Your ass? You’re damn right.” He pointed to the foot of the bedroll. “Wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all if you crawled on down to the bottom there to start your search.”
“I’ll do no such thing!” Not with Ace standing just on the other side of the bushes. She sat and untangled herself from the covers before getting to her feet. Before she was halfway upright, Caden slapped her on the butt. The tingle went right through her and she gasped. His hand lingered, stroking over the sting.
“Like that, huh?”
What was the point of lying? His fingers slipped around and tested her clit with a touch so delicate, her knees almost buckled. He smacked her butt again.
“Oh, yeah, you do.” He grinned a devil’s grin that just made her want to kiss him. “We’ll have to experiment with that a little bit later.”
Her clit or spanking? She didn’t know which, but then again, she didn’t care. Maybe it’d be both. She’d never been spanked before, and it wasn’t something she thought she’d enjoy, but there was no denying the heat that ripped through her with that swat, and since the one who’d be doing the spanking would be Caden...
She eyed him lying there on the blanket like a pagan god, another blanket just barely covering his modesty, his wide shoulders, broad chest, well-muscled stomach and that intriguing line of hair that went from his navel down to... Licking her lips, she reached forward and twitched the blanket off him. His cock rose before her eyes, filling and expanding to its impressive size.
She curled her fingers around it, smiling at him.
“I think we’ll have to.”
He moaned and pulled her down across his lap, pushing her thighs aside so his cock slid between, tucking up against her pussy before he slapped her three times hard on her ass. His fingers dipped between her cheeks, finding her pussy wet with their come, taking their juices and sliding them back to her asshole. She’d been violated there before, but this wasn’t a violation. This was seduction, and what hurt before made her gasp with pleasure now as he circled the tight hole, inching his finger in, holding her down until she was taking it all, drawing it out before shoving it back in, stretching her to his pleasure. Making her feel.
“God, baby, you make me burn.”
She moaned in response.
“Tell me you like that.” It was all she could do to nod. He pumped his finger in and out two or three times, letting her imagine how it would be if it was his cock. More stomping came from the woods. His finger withdrew. Her ass clenched on air, wanting it back. Another slap on her ass, this one more tender, followed by a soothing rub.
“Stop seducing me, woman. We’ve got company.”
He rolled her off his lap, laughing as she pushed her hair out of her face and glared at him. He dragged her forward for a kiss. Reaching underneath him, he handed her her pantaloons. She snatched them from him, fire in her cheeks, fire in her eyes, everything about her burning.
She just had time to pull her dress over her head and turn her back and button it before Ace came out of the woods. She quickly stuffed her pantaloons down her bodice.
“You could have given us a few more minutes,” Caden said.
“Hell, if I gave you a few more minutes, my stomach would be gnawing on my backbone. Besides, no matter how long I gave you two, I can see it wouldn’t be enough.”
Embarrassment and desire warred for dominance inside Maddie. “I’m going to go to the creek and wash up.”
Ace handed her a pot. “I’ll make some oatmeal if you fill that up.”
She grabbed it along with some soap and disappeared down to the water. She made short work of cleaning up, braiding her hair quickly, washing her face and arms, between her legs and under her arms, freshening as best she could until the day warmed up and a swim would be comfortable. Then she’d have Caden come down with her and guard her while she took a full bath. She imagined how he’d look sitting on the bank. Those gray-blue eyes of his studying her, looking so beautiful in the sunshine. Maybe she’d invite him in and bathe him, too.
Heavens, she was turning into a wanton woman, something she’d often been called but had never had a clue as to what it really meant. But with her husband, oh, she defined the word, and it was just another supposedly bad thing that was incredibly good. With the right person. Caden was correct. The right person made all the difference
Gathering up her soap before filling the pot with water, as requested, she hurried back to the campsite. When she was almost to the edge of the woods, she heard Ace ask Caden, “Did you tell her yet?”
There was a pause before Caden said, “No.”
She assumed he was shaking his head.
“When do you plan on springing it on her?”
“When it’s time.”
“We’re packing up in an hour. You going to wait until she’s on the horse?”
“She’ll ask herself before then.”
“So why not tell her now?”
She stepped a little closer, wanting to see Caden’s face when he answered whatever Ace was asking. With a wave of his hand, he said, “She’ll figure it out long before that.”
“When she does, what are you going to tell her?”
“The truth.”
“Which is?”
“None of your damn business.”
“I’m thinking you should have told her before you made love to her.”
“Why?”
“So she had a choice.”
“She has a choice.”
“I’m thinking maybe she wouldn’t have wanted to be on the love-’em-and-leave-’em list.”
“Love ’em and leave ’em?” Caden scoffed.
Inside, the ice started, freezing over her warm glow of happiness. “What do you call it? You probably spent the whole night making her depend on you, open up to you, care about you, and six hours from now you’re going to drop her off in town by herself. How the hell do you think she’s going to feel?”
“She’s my wife. She’ll be fine.”
“She’s a woman. She’s going to be mad as hell.”
“Then she’ll be mad. It’s the way it’s gotta be.”
“Why, because you say so?”
Caden slammed
his hat on his head. “Mind your own business, Ace.”
Maddie stood there, pot in hand, and let the horrible reality sink in. He was leaving her?
“Maddie’s Hell’s Eight. She is my business.”
“She’s my wife. My hand trumps yours.”
“Just because you say so doesn’t make it a fact.”
“In this case, it does.”
Maddie took another step into the campsite. Ace and Caden were facing each other, shoulders set, feet braced. Water sloshed over the pot onto her foot. It was cold, just adding to the chill taking her over.
“You’re leaving me?” she asked Caden.
“You can’t stay here.”
“Why?”
“It’s not safe.”
“It’s been safe enough for the last two days.”
Caden looked at Ace. Ace folded his arms across his chest; Caden made a sound like a growl under his breath.
“No, it hasn’t. I didn’t want you to worry, but the Comanche have been raiding.”
“So? They won’t bother us here.”
Caden ran his fingers through his hair. “Honey, they’d bother you wherever you were.”
“So we can go to Culbart’s.” Anywhere but a town full of judgmental people.
“The hell you will.”
“What’s wrong with Culbart’s?”
“He doesn’t have enough men to protect you.”
“He’s got practically an army and he gets along with the Comanche. He gives them beef.”
A dark expression passed over Caden’s face. “Honey, the anger these boys are carrying, a few head of beef isn’t going to make any difference.”
She looked at Ace. He had the same dark expression on his face that Caden did.
“He’s right. The only place you’ll be safe is in town.”
Damn him for siding with Caden, but what did she expect? They were like brothers.
“I don’t want to go to town.” Strangers were in town. People who might know her were in town. Shame was in town.
“You need to go.”
“You’re going to stay with me?”
Caden's Vow Page 19
