“Ohh,” she hissed. “Shilah…Shilah, you’re…big,” she rushed out, embarrassed. But forced to admit the truth she continued, the words halting. “And…it’s been a while for me. A long while. Just, give me…give me a minute.”
She felt his arms that held her legs wide tremble, yet he leaned down to place a kiss on her mouth.
“We’ll go at your pace, baby,” he promised.
As before, Elli was struck by his utter selflessness. One she knew didn’t come easy, as she felt the hardness between her legs give testimony.
He reached his hand between her legs, lightly stroking her clitoris, until she felt the tension ease from her body, as her body again readied itself for him.
After several tense moments she took a deep breath, and nodded her head for him to continue. Slowly he continued to feed her his shaft, carefully, until he was fully seated inside her body, his sac tapping against the soft space between her bottom and the lips of her vagina and they released mutual sounds of pleasure.
Yet, it wasn’t until she told him verbally she was okay that he moved, adjusting her so that she lay snugly against him.
Her mouth opened in an O of surprise when, without losing connection, he shifted them so that she lay sprawled on top of him.
“You control the ride, baby,” Shilah said, staring up at her beautiful body as she lay on top of him. “I—I don’t want to hurt you. And your pleasure is my main goal. My only desire.”
As she sat astride him, Shilah was forced to shut his eyes against the sight of her, one side of her mouth hitching in the smile he favored that brought out her lone dimple, afraid, as he’d told her, it would be over before it started.
As she rode him, he glanced up at her from hooded eyes, watching as her small breasts slapped together with every bounce and glide.
Her eyes were closed and she was biting down into the lower rim of her lip as she established a rhythm, one he had allowed her to set, and one that had him clenching his jaw, fighting down the need to flip her over and dive into her over and over, until he’d wrung every bit of release from her lithe body.
Ellie was on fire.
Shilah’s hard hands dug deep grooves into her waist as he held her tight. Squirming against him, her body was on fire as the decadent, delicious pressure build inside her with every hard driving drag and pull of his shaft inside her body.
But, it wasn’t enough.
She couldn’t get close enough to him, and felt crazed with the need for a release she felt, hovering, just out of reach.
When he placed a hand between them, and found her clit, pinching it lightly, spreading her own essence between the seam of her lips as she feverishly worked her body against his, she released a low keening moan, her body quickening its pace.
He swiftly removed his hand, placing it on her backside, and urged her to go faster, quickening the pace and Ellie felt every muscle in her body tense, as she arched her body and screamed her release.
Within minutes of her wrenching cries of release, her body shaking uncontrollably, she felt him shift their bodies so that she lay beneath him.
Thinking she had nothing else to give, her body weak from her orgasm, she lay on the bed, spent.
When he spread her thighs, repositioned himself between them, she offered only a groan, too weak to do anything else.
He grasped both of her wrists, shackling them with one of his hands, and drove back inside, so deep, it wrung a deep moan from Ellie. So deep she felt him stroke the back of her womb.
Thinking she had no more to give, he proved her wrong, driving into her over and over with surefire strokes, and she felt the delicious curl of pressure build this time deep, deep inside her body.
“Do you want to come with me, again…to that place just for us?” he whispered the decadent words against her ear, and mindless with pleasure she bobbed her head up and down.
“Then come for me, again, Ellie…come with me,” he said.
When he lifted her leg, leveling her at a different angle against his shaft and drove inside her, she broke, her keening cries of release echoing off the wall.
Their cries of release, one low, harsh and deep, the other high, wailing, merged into one harmonious cry of satisfaction as together they gave over and their cries blended into one long, unanimous cry of satisfaction.
Chapter 17
You can ring my be-e-ell, ring my bell, ring my bell ring-a-ling-a-ling!
Although muffled, the sound of her alarm from her phone brought Ellie out of a deep sleep and she groaned, mentally cursing herself.
She’d forgotten to change the setting on her phone so that the damn thing didn’t go off on Sunday, the only day of the week that she didn’t have to get up at o-dark-thirty.
When Ellie raised her arms above her head, arching her back as she did so, she stopped, mid-yawn, and slowly expelled, finishing the yawn in one long breath.
She slowly pried open eyes that felt filled with sand, swallowing deeply.
Oh God…please don’t let that be…
No amount of praying was going to remove the large male arm that was draped around her waist…nor the big hand that cupped her butt.
She swiftly closed her eyes, hoping—praying—that last night had been nothing more than a result of a very hot dream.
A wildly erotic, out of this world dream, but please…just a dream.
She closed her eyes, vainly hoping that when she opened them, he would be gone and she’d be left alone in her bed at home. Slowly she counted to ten. Twenty. Hmm…thirty. Slowly.
When she opened her eyes again, not only was he still there, but he was lying next to her, his head braced on his elbow as he stared down at her, one side of his sensual mouth hitched in a low, wicked smile.
The same kind of smile that had gotten her in trouble in the first place.
“Hey, you,” he said, in a sexy growl, his deep voice roughened with sleep, one finger coming out to lightly caress the side of her face.
Ellie cleared her throat, staring up at him. “Hey, you,” she replied, clearing her throat, hearing a similar gruffness. On Shilah it was sexy and oh-so-hot, but on her, she managed to sound like a frog.
When he bent his head down to kiss her, Ellie raised her hand, connecting with his hard, naked chest, turning her face to the side before he could make contact.
“Shilah,” she said, drawing in a hissing breath when she felt his wicked tongue snake a path with its tip down her neck, running along her collarbone and back up.
“We shouldn’t.” She shook her head, rephrasing her wording. “We can’t. Last night…last night was a mistake, a mistake that can’t happen again.”
As she spoke she could feel the hard length of his naked shaft as it lay against her thigh, and his hand that had been lightly cupping her butt moved, trailing along on her hip to softly tangle in the hair covering her mound.
“Shilah…Shilah, I’m serious. We can’t do this,” she said, twisting her body to try and evade his busy hands and searching mouth.
She yelped out a surprise when he smoothly flipped their bodies so that she lay beneath him, trapped, his arms coming out like brackets on either side of her, effectively caging her in.
“No, you’re right, Ellie. We can’t…because you seem hell-bent on making sure that doesn’t happen.”
She twisted around, squirming beneath him, glaring up at him. “Let me out of here, Shilah. I need to go home—”
His mouth came down hard on hers and she stubbornly kept her lips closed, refusing to give in to his demand.
He moved his hands from where they shackled her body, and brought his hands up to her face, his kiss gentling until, with a soft cry, Ellie gave in to the softness of his kiss.
Slowly he lifted his head, his dark eyes staring down at her, intensely. Ellie sighed, looking away from him.
“What’s wrong, Ellie?” he asked, moving away from her. He shifted their bodies so that she lay in front of him, with his arms coming out to cross over h
er.
Naturally, as though they had lain that way together for years, her body fitted into the groove of his embrace as though that’s what it had been made to do.
As Shilah listened to Ellie speak, her voice hesitant at first, as she outlined all the reasons why they shouldn’t be together, outlined all the reasons why what they’d done last night was wrong, he finally stopped her, pulling her around to face him.
“Listen, none of that matters, Ellie. None of those are good enough reasons for me to stay away from you,” he said, and saw the indecision in her eyes. “For you to deny what we have—” he stopped, cupping her face in his palms “—is real or that it shouldn’t have happened…that what we have growing between us isn’t something worth breaking a few rules for is…” He stopped again hearing the catch in his own voice.
“I can’t do that, Ellie…even for you.”
“Shilah, this has all happened so fast. We barely know each other—”
“What are you talking about, El?” he broke in, frowning. “We’ve known each other all our lives,” he said, shaking his head.
“As children, yes, Shilah.” She spoke softly, and Shilah heard the emotion that made her voice shaky.
“Ellie, can you tell me that you don’t have feelings for me now? Feelings that go beyond what we felt when we were kids?” Shilah knew his voice was pleading, but he didn’t give a damn. She meant more to him than any woman ever had. She always had.
She always would.
She turned away, but not before he saw the glimmer of tears in her beautiful light brown eyes. She sniffed and nodded her head slightly.
“You know I do,” she replied softly. At her admission he went to pull her closer. She shook her head and again he felt his heart thud heavily against his chest, reading the rejection in her eyes.
“But—” She stopped and took a deep breath. “Despite any feelings, I…we…can’t do this.”
Forcing her to face him, he brought her close, and laid a soft kiss against her lips.
“All I’m asking for is a chance, Ellie, before you throw away something that could be good…damn good. Something special. Just give us a chance. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Shilah, my job…I can’t allow this to interfere. There are ethical issues I have to consider—”
He laid a kiss on her mouth and slowly withdrew. “I’m willing to wait, El. No pressure.”
She frowned up at him, her brows drawn together. “No pressure…okay, what exactly are you saying?”
“Until you finish the investigation, I’ll back off.”
Ellie stared up at him, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “Meaning exactly…?” she asked, holding her breath. As much as she wanted to explore what they had…what they could have, she wasn’t willing to risk everything she’d worked hard for. Even for Shilah.
The sexy half smile that hitched the corners of his mouth upward was almost her undoing.
For a brief moment she was tempted to say to hell with it, throw consequences to the wind, and go with what her heart was telling her was the best thing that ever happened to her.
She drew in a deep breath, waiting for his answer.
“Ellie, I know your job…your career is important to you. And it’s important to me, too. If you think my helping you could in any way jeopardize your professionalism, baby, you’ve got to know you mean too much to me for me to allow that. I’ll have Jake take over for me, until you finish.
“And…” He drew in a deep breath. “Until this is over, and you’ve sent in your report, I’ll back off personally, as well,” he promised.
Ellie’s face broke into a wide grin at his answer.
“I hope that happy Cheshire-cat grin on your face isn’t because I’m backing off…that’s only temporary.”
“Just like that?”
He grabbed her and, pulling her body on top of his, lay claim to her lips.
“Yep, just like that,” he said, after giving her a pulse-pounding kiss. “But don’t get used to it,” he said a frown marring his perfect features. But, she saw the twinkle in his unique eyes. “As soon as this is over…the very minute you tell me you’ve completed your assignment, I’m claiming what’s mine.”
The sensual threat in his tone sent a delicious curl of heat along Ellie’s body. Not to mention the feel of his shaft, long, deliciously hard, as it pressed against her heat.
“So what do you want to do about this?” she said, moving her brows up and down suggestively while wiggling her hips against him.
All humor vanished when he placed his hands on her rear and flipped them so that she lay sprawled beneath him.
“One more time won’t hurt, will it? Give me something to tide me over while I’m waiting,” he said in a deep, do me, baby voice.
With a feminine purr of acquiescence she softly ground herself against him.
“I’m going to take that as a yes,” he said with a groan, completely covering her body with his as he did his best to make sure the experience would indeed tide them over until they could be together, again.
Chapter 18
“Dr. Crandall, what do you want us to do with the livestock we have in the south pasture? They’re new, haven’t been mingling with the others yet…are they s’posed to be quarantined, too?”
Ellie broke her attention away from her notes, where she’d been scribbling down the last of her observations for the last pen of animals, and stretched her back.
It had been a long day, and her body was feeling the effects, the muscles in her back bunching and tensing. Yet, the end was near and soon she’d complete her investigation.
Although she and Shilah had been careful to keep their distance from each other, Ellie had caught the looks from the others when they thought she wasn’t looking. Somehow, word had gotten around about them.
Not that it had taken a rocket scientist to figure it out, she reflected, worrying the lower rim of her lip at the nagging thought.
Shilah had been true to his word, keeping his distance from her as she worked, allowing Jake to take over for him as Ellie finished her investigation.
At times she wondered if the agreed separation was becoming as difficult for him as it was for her. Last night, after watering and feeding her favorite stallion following her customary ride once she’d finished work, he’d shown her, explicitly, that she wasn’t alone.
As she’d turned, leaving the stable, Shilah had been there.
Before she could speak, he’d placed a finger over her mouth, shushing her, and had proceeded to dispel any lingering doubts in her mind that their separation wasn’t as hard on him as it was for her.
After their short but hot tryst, they’d left the stable together, and had run into two of the ranch hands, along with the young girl who’d helped Lilly in the kitchen.
Although she’d feigned nonchalance, swiftly walking away from Shilah, a nagging feeling settled deep in Ellie’s stomach as she’d wondered if they’d seen what the two of them had been doing.
“What do you think, Mom? Too much?” Ellie asked, turning in the full-length cheval mirror to look at herself from all angles.
She’d gone through her entire wardrobe, twice, and tried on every combination of outfits until finally settling on the closest thing she had with any real sex appeal, a short black dress.
So clichéd, she thought, critically assessing herself. But it was the best thing she could come up with, short of driving into Lander and going to the mall.
Something she refused to do, as she’d already spent way too much time thinking about her date with Shilah tonight.
As she surveyed her image in the mirror, she thought about yesterday, when Shilah had surprised her by showing up at her father’s clinic.
“Hey, you, thought I might find you here.”
Ellie turned at the sound of Shilah’s deep voice, surprised, believing she was alone in the clinic.
As she turned, rising from her chair, her knee chose that moment to knot and her an
kle turned. She hissed in pain and would have fallen dead on her face had Shilah not rushed forward and gently cupped her beneath the elbow, steadying her.
“Careful, Ellie… A broken foot doesn’t really figure into the plans I have for us,” he said, and Ellie’s glance flew to his.
“Plans? Am I missing something?” she asked. Despite her nonchalant reply, excitement rushed over her.
After a full week of work, she’d completed her investigation of the animals, the last of the blood drawn, labeled and carefully sent to the lab in Cheyenne. All that she had left was to wait for the results. Coupled with her final report as soon as the results were in, she’d be able to clear the ranch.
“I believe you finished the investigation?” he murmured, and she licked the full bottom rim of her mouth. Although she hadn’t told him, she knew that he, like the rest of the ranch, knew she’d finished. She nodded her head, answering, “I have.”
“Then I believe we have some business to take care of?” he murmured.
“We…we do?” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
The edge of his sensual mouth curved, just the smallest bit.
Ellie drew in a swift breath.
“Yeah…we do,” he said, and lowered his mouth, slanting it over hers.
With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his kiss.
After giving her a deep, long kiss, suckling and caressing her mouth with his, until she cried out, her body pressing into his, he finally released her.
Ellie sank back down on her desk, her eyes dazed. He stroked a long finger down the side of her face, his gaze on her passion-swollen lips.
“I’ll pick you up tonight at eight,” he said, his tone slightly gruff, telling her he was as effected by the short exchange as she.
Without another word he turned and strode from the office, leaving a shaky Ellie with her fingers on her lips and an unknown smile on her face.
“Ellie?”
Ellie’s glance flew to the mirror, to see her mother’s image behind her, bringing her mind back to the present. She quickly gathered her scattered wits and turned to look at her mother, over her shoulder.
To Desire a Wilde Page 11
