“I’m serious! I’d never met the girl until my mother showed up in my kitchen with her in tow and tried to sic her on me. Forget her.”
“I can’t. She’s very beautiful. Plus, I don’t seem to remember you objecting when your ‘fiancée’ was introduced to the rest of the class.”
Okay she was sarcastic as hell when she was angry, but he totally deserved it, she thought, silencing her conscience.
“First off, I didn’t say anything because she’s a guest in my home; I wasn’t going to embarrass her by denying her in front of everyone. Also, Lauren’s merely pretty as a Barbie doll, you are beautiful! You're all woman; you just have to look at me from across a room to set me on fire! You are the only woman in the world for me,” he finished.
Tiana stared. That sounded about as close to a declaration of love as anything she had ever heard! Her heart fluttered in her chest and she tried once more to wrench her hand from his grasp.
“I see those words please you, Tiana,” Christian observed. “Take them to heart because they are true. I don’t want a perfect doll in my bed; I want a warm, giving woman with the body of a siren, a heart of gold and the damn best mothering instincts this side of the world.”
“Wow. You sure know how to make a person glow,” Tiana muttered happily, positively glowing.
She looked so pleased with herself that Christian chuckled. He bent his head and rubbed his lips very briefly against hers. The kiss was very brief and very light; so light they were barely touching. Yet, a spark of electricity arced between them, so intense and profound.
Several minutes later, Tiana emerged from the truck, trying to hide how shaken she was by that brief kiss as she shepherded a sleepy Jamal into the house coaxing him to open his eyes enough to see the stairs in front of his feet. She grinned when he yawned, reminding her of a cute little kitten.
She was still grinning when she walked into the house with Jamal, but her smile died on her lips almost immediately. Lauren Baxter, Christian’s supposed fiancée, was sitting with his mother in the living room watching Days of our Lives. They both turned in unison, giving Tiana identical dirty looks that suggested they had in fact just been talking about her, before they turned back to face the television.
Tiana sighed under her breath; on top of everything else with Hank, the last thing she needed was to also have to deal with cat claws here.
Hours later, she tossed and turned, unable to go to sleep as her mind kept torturing her with visions of Hank’s mean, handsome face. Christian would keep them safe, she assured herself feverishly as she hugged her knees to her body.
As though she had conjured him, a slight knock sounded at the door, causing her to jump almost a foot high. Tiana looked over at the door, her heart in her mouth.
“Tiana?” someone called through the thick panel of the door. It was Christian.
Hastily, she ran to open the door. He stood there, looking almost boyish in his pajamas. Somehow, she had always pictured him as someone who would prefer to sleep in the buff.
“Um, something I can do for you?”
“Yeah, you can step aside,” he told her as he walked past her into her room.
“What now?”
“I’m sleeping in here,” he told her calmly as he deposited himself onto the lone chair in her room.
“But...”
“Indulge me, Tiana. I won’t cross any boundaries, not with Jamal in the next room. But I sure as hell won’t get any shut-eye either if I’m worried sick about Hank creeping in your window at night.”
“My hero,” she breathed, grinning up at him.
A dark flush of embarrassment crept up his neck and spread to his cheek.
Tiana hid a grin; who knew the tough, macho cowboy could be embarrassed by a little honest-to-goodness compliment.
CHAPTER TEN
Christian sat watching as Tiana slowly unfurled from her fetal position like a rose responding to the sun’s rays. Outside, the air was chilly with a storm; the sky, a crisp, exhilarating orange as night slid into daylight. Wind rustled through the leaves of the trees littered around his ranch and he walked over to the window, breathing deep as he enjoyed the breaking of dawn.
The slightly chilly weather made him want to ride so badly he could taste it. From the corner of his eye, Christian saw Tiana’s head turning around the room; she was apparently looking for him.
“You’re still here?” Tiana asked, finally seeing him standing over by the window.
“Where else would I be?” he asked with a shrug.
She sat up in one fluid motion as the memory of yesterday apparently came rushing back. “Jamal,” she began.
“Is sleeping off the rest of the hangover. We went down to the library last night when you were out and knocked back a few,” he told her dryly.
Tiana’s eyes widened with alarm.
Seeing her expression, Christian tsked lightly, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Seriously, Tiana, you gotta lighten up and start trusting me,” he told her, half-jokingly.
Tiana relaxed. She did have to start trusting him. He had watched over them all last night when he didn’t have to, hadn’t he? She had just gotten used to having no one but herself to rely on.
“I’m sorry,” she told him. “Force of habit.”
He smiled his understanding. She was sleep-tousled, her hair falling into her eyes with faint wrinkle lines on the side of her face from her position on the pillow and yet she was still the most beautiful woman in the world to him. Her nipples pressed visibly against the thin silk of her nightgown and he deliberately looked away, moving his eyes to her face instead.
“Come riding with me today,” he murmured huskily.
“Jamal...”
“Will be just fine with Rose. In case you haven’t noticed, the old biddy appreciates him.”
“No she doesn’t, she dislikes him,” she said earnestly.
“Please,” he scoffed with a small chuckle. “Haven’t you noticed that Rose routinely yells at everyone she likes? She yells at me more than anyone else in this house; Jamal is next; and that old gardener Ambrose probably gets the worse of her tongue because she is in love with him.”
Tiana’s eyes bulged. Ambrose, the head gardener, was at least eighty years old! Aside of which, she really couldn’t imagine Rose in love with anyone.
“Please, come riding with me, Tiana. Jamal will be just fine, I swear,” he murmured huskily, reaching up lazily to rub the fine strands of her hair lightly between his fingers.
Tiana sternly ordered herself to feel nothing; it was not really her hair after all, just extensions. But for some reason, just watching him rubbing the strands between his fingers and leaning down to inhale the citrusy scent of it made her nipples harden into tight, little points of desire. His eagle eyes didn’t miss her reaction. His gaze sharpened on her chest and then he raised his eyes to hers, an answering flame of desire in his gaze and just like that, Tiana knew what he was really asking. If they went riding, they wouldn’t be taking in the sights; they would be looking for a secluded spot to tear each other’s clothes off.
She held his gaze, letting him see what she was feeling as she silently mouthed the word, “Yes”.
Thirty minutes later, with a picnic basket packed, Christian saddled up Aasifa and helped Tiana up behind him. Aasifa surged forward with powerful grace and strength at the barest tap of his knees against her sides, the hills and trees flying past as she raced through the sweeping fields of green on the ranch.
“Where are we going?” Tiana asked breathlessly, clinging to him as the wind tore through her hair, her breasts pressed against his back. She was wearing a sundress, pearls around her throat and a pair of flat sandals; not the most practical ensemble to go riding in but Christian never uttered a word of complaint.
“You’ll see,” he murmured with a grin as he guided Aasifa round a sharp jutting hill.
Tiana’s breath escaped in a rush as she saw the view in front of her. A tiny
cottage was tucked away at the very end of the ranch with a little spring water flowing from a rock beside it and catching hints of the morning sun. The image was picturesque like something straight out of a fairytale.
“What is this place?” she asked in an awestruck voice as he helped her down from the horse.
“A secret getaway I discovered as a child,” he told her.
“It’s... It’s beautiful,” she whispered, her eyes widening as she looked around.
Christian grunted, picking the blanket from the picnic basket as he looked around for the best spot to spread it.
“I want to see the inside of the cottage,” she said excitedly, almost bouncing on her feet.
Christian replaced the blanket onto the picnic basket and straightened. There was something about Tiana’s excitement that had gotten to him too. He carefully opened the door of the cottage, satisfied to note that it was exactly as he had left it the last time he had been there.
It was a strange cottage with just one big room. A large king-size bed occupied the very middle of the room, while the walls and the floor made it seem more like a log cabin than it had from outside.
This was where he came to every time he needed to think or just plain needed some time alone.
Tiana sank onto the edge of the bed, her hair falling over her shoulders as she looked around the room. Her eyes, twin bulbs of excitement, met his and she grinned.
Just like that, he was hard and ready.
With a growl, Christian lowered himself onto his knees in front of Tiana, his lips seeking and melding with hers in a heated, no-holds barred kiss that curled every last one of her toes. His lips immediately left hers to trail over one eyelid, slowly down her jaw-line, and towards her throat making her heart to do a scared little dance even as she tilted her neck to give him better access.
His mouth moved back up to tease hers and she shifted with satisfying discomfort as she clung to him and murmured her encouragement.
Christian’s mouth moved over hers with unhurried movements that made her tense against him. His tongue stroked gently over her lips, sending her heart into a triple dance as she clung to him. Tiana’s hands encircled his neck, plastering her against him. His lips touched the joining of her neck and shoulder and it was as though lightning struck. She jumped.
Christian grinned against her neck, pleased with her reaction. His lips trailed down to her chest, nudging the creamy swell of her breasts through the thin cotton of her dress.
Her hands wrapped about his neck with gratifying speed and Christian tugged the neckline of her dress lower with one finger, exposing her ample, generous breasts covered in a bra that was little more than an enticing lacy scrap to his view. He bent his head and took her nipples between his lips through the thin lace of her bra, his tongue flicking expertly against the tiny bud of flesh in short repeated caresses. Tiana moaned, a low, almost animal sound deep in her throat and then she thrust her breasts closer towards him.
Christian slowly pushed her down onto the bed until she was lying flat on her back with her legs hanging over the side, all the way to the floor. His hands worked lazily at the big row of buttons working their way from the neckline of her dress to the very hem.
His lips descended once more to her ripe, large brown nipples and he suckled hard against the breasts. Christian was ready to explode as he gently nipped her nipples with his teeth. His lips trailed down to her bellybutton, setting a trail of fire in its path. He flicked his tongue against her bellybutton and unexpected, she jumped and laughed.
“Ticklish I see,” Christian murmured against her belly, tucking away that information for later.
His lips trailed downwards, still to the lace of her panties and Tiana almost went wild, jumping with gratifying ease when his lips landed on the crotch of her panties.
“Open your legs wide,” he ordered.
She did so without hesitation and Christina nodded his approval. He gently shifted her panties to a side and slid one finger into her wet, tight pussy and pulled it out almost immediately, drawing out the moisture. Tiana whimpered and surged against his hand. He pressed her back down with a low chuckle as he lazily thrust the finger in and out of her again and again and again.
“You’re tight,” he told her conversationally even as he increased the tempo of his thrusting finger.
Tiana sobbed, helplessly against the questing, relentless finger that was driving her wild.
“You like it?” he asked.
“I do! I love it! I love it! Oh don’t stop. Please don’t stop,” Tiana pleaded disjointedly, panting as she twisted her hips in circles in rhythm with what he was doing with his fingers.
“Oh, I love your G-spot,” he crooned as he thrust in again, his palm facing upwards and then curved his finger and began to rub the tiny, spongy spot inside her.
Bolts of electricity shot through her, spreading from that sweet, secret, hidden spot to every part of her body until she was quivering and shaking as she began to scream his name. Christian’s finger continued to rub the spot, building tension in her loins and she arched her hips, unable to control the onslaught as her pussy suddenly began to clench and unclench around his finger, pushed past all endurance.
As she slowly drifted back to earth, Christian withdrew his finger oh so slowly, making her vaginal muscles clamp down around it in frantic little spasms that wrenched even more gasps from her throat.
His gaze locked with hers as he slowly placed his fingers in his mouth one after the other, licking off every last drop of her juices from them. As he licked, her breath caught in her throat at the undoubtedly erotic pleasure of watching him suck her orgasm right off his fingers.
“I can’t wait,” Christian grunted suddenly and Tiana’s eyes widened in erotic wonder as he reached down, and with his strong, corded, muscled hands, tore her lace panties, ripping it in two right at the crotch.
Christian had always fantasized about ripping her panties with his bare hands and the simple act filled him with pleasure. Her facial expression tripled his desire, making his arousal grow so hard he actually hurt with it.
He glanced down at the glistening, red entrance of her vagina and it was all he could do not to bury himself in her right there and then. He was huge though, and she was very, very tight. He needed her so wet and ready for him, she would be completely slippery.
Getting her ready was a pure pleasure, he thought with a wicked grin.
Christian leaned down over her naked, exposed vagina, building crazy anticipation in Tiana as he stared at her. Then slowly, he leaned his head down and licked her... leg!
Disappointment surged through Tiana, raw and acute as his lips trailed down her creamy thighs and back up to the insides of her thighs again.
“Please,” she pleaded disjointedly. She hadn’t even known she was going to say anything.
He kept right on licking her smooth skin, his lips trailing dangerously close to where she needed him until she was clutching his dark head with her hands and whimpering with need.
“Please! Suck me! Now!” she moaned.
Finally, he stopped teasing her and covered her wet, juicy vagina with his lips. The impact was almost scalding and she jumped about a foot high. His lips and tongue felt surprisingly hot against her soft folds. Christian’s tongue licked her in one slow, thorough, sweep that made her gasp and moan his name, long and hard.
His tongue returned to flick gently against her clitoris, making her sob as need curled inside her, tight and uncontrollable. He inserted one lone, long finger deep into her, thrusting in and out with slow, unhurried motions as he continued to eat her. More wetness pooled between her dripping folds and she unconsciously spread her legs wider, holding his head down against her. His teeth gently nipped her labia and then his tongue caressed the spot before returning once more to stroke her over-sensitized clitoris in long, dizzying strokes. Her last hold on her control broke and the dam burst.
“Oh God, I’m cumming,” she screamed as she began to orga
sm right onto his fingers and hands. Her insides tightened as everything was sapped from her; as he pushed her relentlessly harder and harder, higher and higher until she was a quivering mass of sensations, helplessly writhing in his arms.
“I want to fuck you,” Christian whispered in her ear, sweat popping onto his forehead and dripping down his face as though he had run a marathon.
Tiana opened her eyes then and looked into his, and it was his turn to be lost for words; all the love in the world was shining from her eyes.
She held his gaze as she said, “I want you to, But first, I want to see you; all of you! And then I want to taste you!”
Christian was so freaking turned on he almost burst the front of his pants. His hands tightened about her almost reflexively and then he released her and rose gracefully to his feet. He almost ripped his shirt right off in his haste and then shoved his pants down his legs in record time, freeing his rigid member which immediately sprang free.
Tiana knelt on the bed, her eyes locked on him. He was so huge, she felt a tiny spurt of alarm which was quickly squashed. He would never hurt her, regardless of his surprisingly huge size.
She took him in her hands, deliberately caressing and smoothing her soft palms over the smooth, thick, column of his shaft. Slowly, she leaned down and flicked the tip of her tongue against the head of his penis. Christian grunted and adjusted his stance, moving even closer to the bed.
Tiana opened her mouth and took him in, closing her soft lips around his hard, rigid penis as she tasted him.
Christian’s breath hissed out of him as she began to suck him, moving her lips back and forth along his hard length. He endured it for what felt like an eternity but in truth couldn’t have been more than two seconds, before he pulled out of her mouth.
His hands urgently went to her hips, guiding her onto her hands and knees on the bed. He climbed onto the bed behind her and entered her with one sure, swift thrust. He began pounding into her, enjoying the way her tight sheath closed around him so tightly.
The Love Ranch (BWWM Romance) Page 7
