by Em Petrova
His beard was rough on her cheeks, and she reveled in the way he tasted. A fist seemed to squeeze her insides, low, and her panties were growing wetter by the second.
When he pulled back, she sucked in air.
Before she got her bearings, he dropped onto the ground and yanked her across his lap. Her backside smacked hard thighs and she clutched at his shoulders to steady herself. But he scooped her firmly to his chest and took full control of her mouth.
He surrounded her, giving and taking with his lips and tongue. She kissed him back, digging her fingers into the longer hair on his nape even as her body chanted, Don’t stop, Ford. Not this time.
She pulled back to gaze into his eyes.
“I know,” he grated out.
Knew what? She wasn’t quite sure, at least until he skimmed his hands up to her breasts. When the warmth of his touch seeped through her shirt, she understood that he couldn’t hold back any more than she could.
A quiet gasp left her as she went for his shirt buttons. She bared flesh inch by inch, hard pecs calling out for her touch.
“I hate this shirt.” He tore her old boyfriend’s T-shirt over her head and tossed it into the bushes. Then he bent to her throat, nuzzling, kissing his way up and down until she was squirming for his mouth on her breasts.
She straddled him, and the bulge in his jeans was unmistakable. Her body moved without her willing it—rocking her against his erection.
He groaned and sank his fingers into her hair, yanking her down atop him. She moaned as her skin met his.
“Oh God, Susannah. I can’t fight it anymore. I need you. Don’t hate me after.”
“I could never hate you.” She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and one arm then the other. When she drew back to look at the strong beast of a man she’d bared, liquid heat soaked her panties. He was so damn sexy, all cuts and ridges with a few scars to add to the masculinity.
His eyes hooded as he skimmed his callused fingers over her collarbones down to the swells of her breasts.
“Touch me, Ford,” she said for the second time in her life, praying this time he wouldn’t stop.
A twist of a smile flitted over his face, capturing her attention wholly—at least until he slid his fingers over her nipples and pinched lightly.
Her head dropped back on a shudder. She rocked her weight on his bulge again.
“You’re so damn beautiful. I don’t deserve this moment or your special coffees or chocolates or any of it.” He squeezed her nipples harder, shooting electricity to the far reaches of her body. Need spiked.
Moving her hands behind her, she unhooked her bra. The cloth loosened and fell off her arms, landing her breasts right into his waiting hands.
They both moaned, and he leaned upward to take her mouth again. Licking, nibbling as he caressed her into a frenzy. Passion filled her body, and she was more turned on than she’d ever been in her life.
When he eased his hands down her torso and plucked at her belt buckle, she whispered, “I didn’t plan for sex out here. I don’t have protection but I’m on birth control.”
He went still. “I don’t have anything either, but I’m clean. Haven’t touched a woman in ages and cleared for any diseases before back surgery.”
So this was a moment of truth. She could let this man into her body with no barriers or she could roll off and lose out on what she really wanted. What her body was yelling at her to do.
“Susannah, we can wait.” He cupped her face.
Leaning into his hand, she looked into his eyes. “I want this, Ford. Don’t stop.”
His eyelids closed and then opened. “C’mere, sweetness.” He drew her down and rolled her into the grass. When he shimmied her jeans and boots off, he scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’re a work of art. These hips.” He dropped his head to nuzzle her there from hipbone to hipbone, his jaw scraping over her flesh above her low-cut panties.
She was soaking, aching, quivering. If he didn’t strip her completely soon, she’d go mad.
Gazing up at her, he inched her panties down her thighs. A groan left him when he looked upon her trim pubic curls covering her wet slit.
He dived between her thighs. As he buried his tongue between her folds, she trembled and cried out. He circled his tongue around her clit, leaving it straining for more. But he’d moved on down the line, gathering her juices on his tongue as he thrust his tongue into her soaking pussy.
“Ford!”
“Mmm.” His rumble against her sex set her aflame. It’d been so long since she’d been touched and well, he’d had her on edge for days. Ever since she’d set eyes on his unsmiling face back in that field, if she was honest.
He stroked her with small flicks of his tongue up and down, around and around, building the need deep inside her core. She dug her fingers into his hair when he sucked on her clit gently. More pressure built.
She shot higher and higher, the light rasps of her breathing turning to squeaks of pleasure.
The knot snapped.
She came with a loud cry, twisting under his mouth, bucking for more. Need splashed over her, waves pounding her with pleasure.
Licking up and down her seam again, he drew out more moans from her lips. Long seconds passed where she forgot how to breathe, but then her body demanded it and she sucked in a gasping cry. A final shiver shook her, and he lifted his head. “Hell, sweetness, you came apart for me.”
She should feel a bit embarrassed by his words, but she only felt empowered—and ready for more.
Giving him a grin and a coy look, she said, “Get up here, cowboy.”
* * * * *
There was a throb deep inside Ford for this stunning woman, and it amplified until it was all he could hear. Plus his jeans were too tight to keep on anymore. He worked open his belt with a flick of his wrist and then went for his fly. She watched, lip caught in her teeth and eyes burning as she gazed up at him.
Fresh from her release, she was freakin’ glowing. A dew of perspiration dotted her forehead and throat, and her skin was infused with pink. He swiped his tongue over his lips, still tasting her and wanting to again.
“Hurry, Ford.” Her throaty whisper ran hot with urgency.
He maneuvered out of his boots and jeans and finally cast off his socks. With his shaft jutting out, he supported his weight on his arms, hovering above her.
“Are you sure, sweetness?”
She looped her arms around his neck and yanked him down. The brush of her bare skin pulled a choked noise from him, and he dropped his forehead to hers. Breathing hard, he scented her desire all over again, mixed with her honeysuckle perfume.
“God help me.” His words were lost on her cry as he joined them. With one swift shove, he was deep, penetrating straight to her core.
The feeling of being with a woman again was overwhelmed only by the fact it was this woman. This smart, beautiful, courageous and sassy woman.
He claimed her mouth, and she pushed her hips up to bring him deeper. They shared a moan and he began to move. Slowly at first, with long strokes and longer kisses. But it had been so long for him, and her body was so tight wrapped around him.
“I don’t want to come yet, sweetness. Slap me or something.” He panted with restraint.
Her laugh tickled over his senses, and she angled her body upward to receive him more fully even as she pulled his head down for another deep kiss. The silky passes of her tongue sent him into a whirlwind and he squeezed his eyes shut. His moves grew jerkier, and she took up the rhythm.
Five strokes, ten. Her cries growing louder until he felt her tense all around him.
Each kiss they shared fed into the volcanic pressure growing inside him. He wanted it to last forever, but she was stripping away any control he might have had coming into this.
“You… feel… sooo… good.” Her words sent a thrill through him, and that was too much. He jerked his hips and with a groan, exploded in a blinding burst. Pumping his release into her sweet body with eac
h twitch of his hips.
She folded herself close to him, effectively stealing his heart along with his mind. Holding her tight, he rode out the last of his pleasure and dropped his head forward again. Looking deep into her green eyes, he was already trying to make sense of what he’d done.
He’d taken the woman he’d been wanting since the first time he’d set eyes on her, and without apology. He dragged in a deep breath. And without regret? No. No regret either.
He didn’t even have a lingering trace of a memory of Gabby, and that was more than a relief. It seemed he’d been holding onto something that had long since passed out of his system, and somehow while he wasn’t paying attention, his heart had cracked open and Susannah had dived in.
He’d heard about men getting panicky after being with a woman and realizing he cared, and Ford was feeling a bit sweaty too. He had let Susannah get close—too close to evict from his heart without a lot of damn pain, and he’d just lived through enough of that shit for a lifetime.
He rolled to the side, and she came with him, looping her thigh over his so her damp pussy rested against his skin. Damn if his cock didn’t stir all over again, ready, eager and more’n willing.
She brushed her lips across his shoulder, raising the hairs in her wake. “Pretty good end to the day, if I do say so myself.”
“More like a good end to the year, sweetness.”
She gave a throaty laugh. “It’s only summer.”
He offered her a crooked smile.
She touched the corner of his lips with a forefinger, gaze fixed on his smile. “Guess I know what makes you smile now.”
It widened without any help from him, and she smiled back. The simple act of sharing joy… man, it blew his mind.
Her honey-blonde hair fell forward, partially into one eye. He lifted a hand and brushed it back, excited all over again by the silk gliding over his knuckles.
“Guess it’s my lucky day.”
She ran her finger around his nipple, making it—and other body parts—harden. “You could get lucky again real soon.” Her cooed words did the trick, and he drew her across him, kissing her with all the heat he’d left off with.
Thankfully the grass was thick and soft enough, cushioning her as he flipped her into it and cupped her face. Slanting his mouth across hers over and over, he explored her curves. From the swells of her breasts to the dip of her waist. When he sank two fingers into her tight pussy, he found her soaked from a combination of their release, and damn if he wasn’t smacked with dizzy need.
Her inner muscles clenched on his digits, shooting heat through his whole body. “I’m aching to get inside you, sweetness. But first I’m going to make this moment the best you ever had.”
She pushed down on his hand. When he saw the pleasure ripple across her face, though…
Crazy with desire, he drew his fingers out slowly, watching the wetness coat them before slipping them back in. She wiggled her hips, and her breasts bounced. He caught one nipple in his mouth and sucked.
With each glide of his fingers, she issued a womanly moan, and he answered with a growl of his own. Arousal leaked from the tip of his cock, and all he had to do to end the torment was brace his body over hers and slide home.
Right to the root. But not yet.
“Oh God, Ford. Right there. Like that. Right…” She opened her mouth as another orgasm swept her up. He moved his fingers faster, extending her cries until she gave a final whimper and opened her eyes.
He slid his fingers free and gave them a long suck. Her eyes rolled back in her head. “I feel like I can’t get enough of you,” she said.
“Feeling’s mutual.” He moved over her and captured her gaze as he poised his hard cock at the quick of her. Never had he been so ready so soon, but he felt he could go on forever with Susannah, giving and taking pleasure until they both collapsed. That was just what he planned to do.
Chapter Eight
When Ford rounded the barn, he found a little boy wearing chaps crouched in the dirt, poking something with a grubby finger.
Pausing in his step, Ford looked down. “Whatcha got there, buckaroo?”
Hank’s son Danny looked up, his cowboy hat sitting crooked on his head so Ford could only make out one blue Dalton eye. “Was a toad, I think.”
His twang was the cutest thing, and Ford couldn’t help but smile. But would he have allowed that emotion to come through to the surface before Susannah had come into his life? Maybe not.
He squatted to inspect the dead animal squashed flat by the big tire of a tractor. “Yep, it’s a toad. See how the leg is?”
The child nodded. Then he cocked his head back to look at Ford again. “I like all animals, even dead ones. I like looking at their bodies and seeing what they do.”
“Sounds like you’re a little wildlife scientist, Danny. Nothin’ wrong with that. Lots of people study animals, both living and dead for just the same reason.” Talking to the boy left Ford thinking of how it would be to have his own kids someday. Immediately, a vision of a little blonde girl like Susannah popped into mind.
He patted the boy on the top of the head, tilting his hat into a better position at the same time. “Just take care to look at what’s around you once in a while too, okay?” The Daltons were triple careful to make sure of their surroundings before taking out any of the big equipment for this very reason—small boys crouched in the dirt. But a word of caution to a thoughtful boy like Danny wouldn’t go amiss.
He nodded vigorously, which only made his hat tilt again. Ford laughed and straightened. As he did, he caught sight of a small girl tucked up on a bench closer to the house, all by herself. She didn’t seem to be playing or reading, just sitting there with her arms slung around her knees.
Ford looked around to see if there were any other children around, thinking maybe one had picked on her or left her out of a game. But she was alone.
Feeling a tug on the old heartstrings, he crossed the yard to her.
“Is this seat taken?” He waved to the spot on the bench.
“Nope.” She popped her P when she spoke, giving him the impression she was feeling downtrodden as he’d thought.
Taking a seat, he glanced over at her. Cash’s oldest was going to be a heartbreaker and once she hit fifteen, his cousin would be beating off the guys streaming steadily to his door.
“What’s going on, Addy?” he asked gently.
She shot him a glance that was so much like her mother, he hid a smile. That feisty Hispanic blood was definitely coming out right now. “It stinks being the oldest girl cousin. They’re all babies and they want to play dolls. I don’t like dolls.”
Ah, growing pains.
“What do you want to do instead?”
She sat up straighter and released her hold on her knees. Her dark hair was tied in a messy ponytail like she’d done it herself, though she couldn’t be more than eight. He could be off too, though—he knew little of kids.
“I want to ride, Cousin Ford. I want to ride like the barrel racers on TV.”
Her aspirations touched him. She wasn’t too young to begin training, but in this family, it was probably a matter of time allowance. Did Cash have time to spare to teach her how to properly ride and race?
“That’s a great goal, Addy. Have you ever tried it?”
“Not yet!” She threw up her hands as if fed up with the whole deal. “My daddy’s too busy and my momma thinks it’s a bad idea.” She slumped again, arms folded and chin tucked as she pouted.
“I remember my youngest brother used to want to tag around us older boys when he was three or four. We didn’t want him because we thought he couldn’t keep up. But one day we were forced to take him with us on our adventure, and you know what?”
She lifted her head, eyes dark and round. “What?”
“He kept up. He wasn’t as little as we thought. Maybe your parents see you as small. Then again, you are little enough to still fit in my pocket, Addy May.” That earned him a twist of h
er lips. “But if you really want to learn to barrel race, I could talk to your dad about it.”
“Oh my gosh!” She hopped onto her knees, bringing her face on a level with his. “Would you really?”
He nodded. “If I could put a smile on your face, I’d move that barn over there with my mind.”
She cocked a brow. “What else would you do to make me smile?”
“Make that calf grow into a fat cow right before your eyes.” He put his fingers to his temples and concentrated.
She giggled, tugging at his arm to lower his hand. “You can’t do that, Cousin Ford. But you can talk to my daddy. I’d like if you would.”
“Soon as I can, sugar. Now run off and play with your cousins, because you know what else we learned by hanging around with my brother, Justus?”
She shook her head.
“That he was pretty fun, even for a little guy.”
She nodded and swung her legs off the bench, in a dead run before he could even stand. With the problems of the younger generation of Daltons solved, he set to work loading lumber into his truck. A huge delivery had been made at the barn site, but a second shipment had been dropped off when nobody was home, and the delivery man had left it in a spot far from where it was to be used.
As he hefted twelve-foot boards, he let his mind roam. In Paradise Valley, that was easy to do. Something about the beauty and peace of the land drew all the tension out of him and replaced it with happiness. After yesterday with Susannah, he was spouting rainbows from his ears.
Following their second coupling, he’d held her for a long time, until the horse wandered over to tell them it was time to go home to his stall. Then he’d helped Susannah by handing her clothes to put on, lifted her into the saddle and then grinned ear to ear when she glanced back over her shoulder at him three times as she rode away.
By the time he got all the lumber he could fit in his truck, the Texas heat was slamming him. He stopped at the house to grab a long drink of sweet tea—or two, actually—and then got in the truck and drove it to the site where the barn would be built.
