His mother had been an only child, and he hadn’t known anything about his father’s family. Jeff Claiborne had claimed he didn’t have any. Now Rico wondered if that had been a lie like everything else.
She gasped. He glanced over at her and followed her gaze through the windshield to look up at the sky. He brought the truck to a stop. “What?”
“A shooting star. I saw it.”
“Did you?”
She nodded and continued to stare up at the sky. “Yes.”
He shifted his gaze to stare back at her. “Hurry and make a wish.”
She closed her eyes. A few minutes later she reopened them and smiled over at him. “Done.”
He turned the key in the ignition to start the truck back up. “I’m glad.”
“Thanks for taking the time to let me do that. Most men would have thought it was silly and not even suggested a wish.”
He grinned. “I’m not like most men.”
“I’m beginning to see that, Mr. Claiborne.”
He smiled as he kept driving, deciding not to tell her that if the truth be known, she hadn’t seen anything yet.
Eight
“I think this is a good spot,” Rico said, bringing the car to a stop.
Megan glanced around, not sure just what it was a good spot for, but decided not to ask. She looked over at him and watched as he unbuckled his seat belt and eased his seat back to accommodate his long legs. She decided to do the same—not that her legs were as long as his, mind you. He was probably six foot four to her five foot five.
When she felt his gaze on her, she suddenly felt heated. She rolled down her window and breathed in the deep scent of bluebonnets, poppies and, of all things, wild pumpkin. But there was another scent she couldn’t ignore. The scent of man. Namely, the man sitting in the truck with her.
“Lean toward the dash and look out of the windshield.”
Slowly, she shifted in her seat and did as he instructed. She leaned forward and looked down and what she saw almost took her breath away. The canyon appeared lit, and she could still see horses moving around. Herds of them. Beautiful stallions with their bands of mares. Since she and Rico were high up and had the help of moonlight, she saw a portion of the lake.
“So what do you think of this place, Megan?”
She glanced over at him. “It’s beautiful. Quiet.” And secluded, she thought, realizing just how alone they were.
“It didn’t take you long to change clothes,” he said.
She chuckled. “A habit you inherit when you have impatient brothers. Zane drove me, Gemma and Bailey to school every day when he was around. And when he wasn’t, the duty fell on Derringer.”
Rico seemed to be listening so she kept on talking, telling him bits and pieces about her family, fun times she’d encountered while growing up. She knew they were killing time and figured he was trying to make sure she was comfortable and not nervous with him. He wanted her to be at ease. For what, she wasn’t sure, although he’d told her what he wanted to do and she’d come anyway. They had kissed twice so she knew what to expect, but he’d also said he would let her stay in control of the situation.
“You’re hot?”
She figured he was asking because she’d rolled down the window. “I was, but the air is cooler outside than I thought,” she said, rolling it back up. She took a deep, steadying breath and leaned forward again, trying to downplay the sexual energy seeping through her bones. He hadn’t said much. He’d mainly let her talk and listened to what she’d said. But as she stared down at the canyon again she felt his presence in an intense way.
“Megan?”
Her pulse jumped when he said her name. With a deliberate slowness, she glanced over at him. “Yes?”
“I want you over here, closer to me.”
She swallowed and then took note that she was sort of hugging the door. The truck had bench seats, and there was a lot of unused space separating them. Another body could sit between them comfortably. “I thought you’d want your space.”
“I don’t. What I want is you.”
It was what he said as well as how he’d said it that sent all kinds of sensations oozing through her. His voice had a deep, drugging timbre that made her feel as if her skin were being caressed.
Without saying anything, she slid across the seat toward him, and he curved his arms across the back of the seat. “A little closer won’t hurt,” he said huskily.
She glanced up at him. “If I get any closer, I’ll end up in your lap.”
“That’s the idea.”
Megan’s brows furrowed. He wanted her in his lap? He had to be joking, right? She studied his gaze and saw he was dead serious. Her stomach quivered as they stared at each other. The intensity in the hazel eyes that held her within their scope flooded her with all kinds of feelings, and she was breathless again.
“Do you recall the first time we kissed, Megan?”
She nodded. “Yes.” How on earth could she forget it?
“Afterward, I lay awake at night remembering how it had been.”
She was surprised a man would do that. She thought since kisses came by the dozen, they didn’t remember one from the next. “You did?”
“Yes. You tasted good.”
She swallowed and felt her bottom lips began to tremble. “Did I?”
He reached out and traced a fingertip across her trembling lips. “Yes. And do you know what else I remembered?”
“No, what?”
“How your body felt pressed against mine, even with clothes on. And of course that made me think of you without any clothes on.”
Desire filtered through her body. If he was saying these things to weaken her, break down her defenses, corrode her self-control, it was working. “Do you say this to all the girls?” she asked—a part of her wanted to know. Needed to know.
He frowned. “No. And in a way, that’s what bothers me.”
She knew she shouldn’t ask but couldn’t stop herself from doing so. “Bothers you how?”
He hesitated for a moment, broke eye contact with her to look straight ahead, out the window. Slowly, methodically, he returned his gaze back to her. “I usually don’t let women get next to me. But for some reason I’m allowing you to be the exception.”
He didn’t sound too happy about it, either, she concluded. But then, wasn’t she doing the same thing? She had let him kiss her twice, where most men hadn’t made it as far as the first. And then she was here at two in the morning, sitting in a parked truck with him in Texas. If that wasn’t wild, she didn’t know what was.
“You have such warm lips.”
He could say some of the most overwhelming words…or maybe to her they were overwhelming because no other man had said them to her before. “Thanks.”
“You don’t have to thank me for compliments. Everything I say is true. I will never lie to you, Megan.”
For some reason, she believed him. But if she wasn’t supposed to thank him, what was she supposed to say? She tilted her head back to look at him and wished she hadn’t. The intense look in his gaze had deepened, and she felt a stirring inside of her, making her want things she’d never had before.
He must have seen something in her eyes, because he whispered, “Come here.” And then he lifted her into his arms, twisted his body to stretch his legs out on the seat and sat her in his lap. Immediately, she felt the thick, hard erection outlined against his zipper and pressed into her backside. Tha
t set off a barrage of sensations escalating through her, but nothing was as intense as the sensual strokes she felt at the juncture of her thighs.
And then, before she could take her next breath, he leaned down and captured her lips in his.
* * *
Rico wasn’t sure just what there was about Megan that made him want to do this over and over again—mate his mouth with hers in a way that was sending him over the edge, creating more memories that would keep him awake at night. All he knew was that he needed to taste her again like he needed to breathe.
In the most primal way, blood was surging through his veins and desire was slamming through him, scorching his senses and filling him with needs that only she could satisfy. He couldn’t help but feel his erection pressing against her and wishing he could be skin-to-skin with her, but he knew this wasn’t the time or the place. But kissing her here, now, was essential.
His tongue continued to explore her mouth with an intensity that had her trembling in his arms. But he wouldn’t let up. It couldn’t be helped. There was something between them that he couldn’t explain. It was wild and, for him, unprecedented. First there had been that instant attraction, then the crackling of sexual chemistry. Then, later, after their first kiss, that greedy addiction that had him in a parked truck, kissing her senseless at two in the morning.
He slowly released her mouth to stare down at her and saw the glazed look in her eyes. Then he slowly began unbuttoning her shirt dress. The first sign of her bra had him drawing in a deep breath of air—which only pulled her scent into his nostrils, a sensuous blend of jasmine and lavender.
Her bra had a front clasp and as soon as his fingers released it, her breasts sprang free. Seeing them made him throb. As he stared down at them, he saw the nipples harden before his eyes, making hunger take over his senses. Releasing a guttural moan, he leaned down and swooped a nipple between his lips and began sucking on it. Earnestly.
Megan gasped at the contact of his wet mouth on her breast, but then, when the sucking motion of his mouth made her sex clench, she threw her head back and moaned. His tongue was doing the same things to her breasts that it had done inside her mouth, and she wasn’t sure she could take it. The strokes were so keen and strong, she could actually feel them between her legs.
She reached out and grabbed at his shoulder and when she couldn’t get a firm grip there, she went for his hair, wrapping some of the silky strands around her finger as his mouth continued to work her breasts, sending exquisite sensations ramming through her.
But what really pushed her over the edge was when his hand slid underneath her dress to touch her thigh. No man had ever placed his hand underneath her dress. Such a thing could get one killed. If not by her, then surely by her brothers. But her brothers weren’t here. She was a grown woman.
And when Rico slid his hands higher, touching her in places she’d never been touched, his fingertips making their way to her center, she shamelessly lifted her hips and shifted her legs wider to give him better access. Where was her self-control? It had taken a freaking hike the moment he had touched his mouth to hers.
Then he was kissing her mouth again, but she was fully aware of his hand easing up her thigh, easing inside the crotch of her panties to touch her.
She almost shot out of his lap at the contact, but he held her tight and continued kissing her as his fingers stroked her, inching toward her pulsating core.
He broke off the kiss and whispered, “You feel good here. Hot. Wet. I like my fingers here, touching you this way.”
She bit down on her lips to keep from saying that she liked his fingers touching her that way, as well. Whether intentional or not, he was tormenting her, driving her over the edge with every stroke. She was feeling light-headed, sensually intoxicated. He was inciting her to lose control, and she couldn’t resist. The really sad thing was that a part of her didn’t want to resist.
“And do you know what’s better than touching you here?” he asked.
She couldn’t imagine. Already she had been reduced to a trembling mess as he continued to stroke her. She gripped his hair tighter and hoped she wasn’t causing him any pain. “No, I can’t imagine,” she whispered, struggling to get the words out. Forcing anything from her lungs was complicated at the moment.
“Then let me show you, baby.”
Her mind had been so focused on his term of endearment that she hadn’t realized he had quickly shifted their bodies so her head was away from him, closer to the passenger door. The next thing she knew he had pushed the rest of her dress aside, eased off her panties and lifted her hips to place her thighs over his shoulders.
He met her gaze once, but it was enough for her to see the smoldering heat in his eyes just seconds before he lowered his head between her legs. Shock made her realize what he was about to do, and she called out his name. “Rico!”
But the sound was lost and became irrelevant the moment his mouth touched her core and his tongue slid between the folds. And when he began stroking her, tasting her, she couldn’t help but cry out his name again. “Rico.”
He didn’t let up as firm hands held her hips steady and a determined mouth licked her like she was a meal he just had to have. She continued to moan as blood gushed through her veins. His mouth was devouring her, driving her over the edge, kicking what self-control remained right out the window. The raw hunger he was exhibiting was sending her senses scurrying in all directions. She closed her eyes as moan after moan after moan tore from her lips. The feelings were intense. Their magnitude was resplendent and stunning. Pleasure coiled within her then slowly spread open as desire sharpened its claws on her. Making her feel things she had never felt before. Sensations she hadn’t known were possible. And the feel of his stubble-roughened jaw on her skin wasn’t helping her regain control.
“Rico,” she whispered. “I—I need…” She couldn’t finish her thought because she didn’t have a clue what she needed. She’d never been with a man like this before, and neither had Gemma before Callum. All her sister had told Megan was that it was something well worth the wait. But if this was the prologue, the wait just might kill her.
And then he did something, she wasn’t sure what, with his tongue. Some kind of wiggly formation followed by a fierce jab that allowed his mouth to actually lock down on her.
Sensations blasted through her, and she flung back her head and let out a high-pitched scream. But he wouldn’t let go. He continued to taste and savor her as if she was not only his flavor of the day, but also his flavor of all time. She pushed the foolish thought from her mind as she continued to be bombarded with feelings that were ripping her apart.
She gasped for breath before screaming again when her entire body spiraled into another orgasm. She whimpered through it and held tight to his hair as she clutched his shoulders. He kept his mouth locked on her until the very last moan had flowed from her lips. She collapsed back on the car seat, feeling totally drained.
Only then did he pull back, adjusting their bodies to bring her up to him. He tightened his hold when she collapsed weakly against his chest. Then he lowered his head and kissed her, their lips locked together intensely. At that moment, she was craving this contact, this closeness, this very intimate connection. Moments later, when he released her mouth, he pulled her closer to him, tucking her head beneath his jaw, and whispered, “This is only the beginning, baby. Only the beginning.”
Nine
The next morning, Rico and Megan l
eft the Golden Glade Ranch after breakfast to head out to Forbes. He had been driving now for a little more than a half hour and his GPS indicated they had less than a hundred miles to go. He glanced up at the skies, saw the gray clouds and was certain it would rain before they reached their destination.
Rico then glanced over at Megan and saw she was still sleeping soundly and had been since he’d hit the interstate. Good. He had a feeling she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.
She had pretty much remained quiet on the drive back to the ranch from the south ridge, and once there, she quickly said good-night and rushed off to her room, closing the door behind her. And then this morning at breakfast, she hadn’t been very talkative. Several times he had caught her barely able to keep her eyes open. If Clint and Alyssa had found her drowsiness strange, neither had commented on it.
Rico remembered every single thing about last night, and, if truth be told, he hadn’t thought of much of anything else since. Megan Westmoreland had more passion in her little finger than most women had in their entire bodies. And just the thought that no other man had tempted her to release all that passion was simply mind-boggling to him.
Ramsey had warned him that she was strong-willed. However, even the most strong-willed person couldn’t fight a well-orchestrated seduction. But then, being overcome with passion wasn’t a surrender. He saw it as her acceptance that nothing was wrong with enjoying her healthy sexuality.
I like being my own person and not following the crowd. Those were the words she had spoken last night. He remembered them and had both admired and respected her for taking that stance. His sisters had basically been the same and had handled their own business. Even when Savannah had gotten pregnant by Durango, she had been prepared to go at it alone had he not wanted to claim the child as his. And knowing his sister, marriage had not been on her mind when she’d gone out to Montana to tell Durango he was going to be a father. Thanks to Jeff Claiborne, a bad taste had been left in Savannah’s mouth where marriage was concerned. That same bad taste had been left in Rico’s, as well.
Texas Wild Page 9
