He pushed away from rail and took three short steps toward her. She gripped the wood in anticipation until she thought she’d break her nails. Would he kiss her? Oh God, she wanted his kiss. She wanted him to rip her dress from her body and make passionate love to her, knowing what pleasure she could have with him.
He didn’t touch her, at least not yet. He leaned closer and her nostrils filled with his musk scent. She wanted to lick the beads of dampness from his body as he filled her with his sex. Her core moistened and a fire burned like sweet agony.
Closing her eyes, she invited his kiss. No reward came. Opening them, she stared at him in frustration. He reached past her and grabbed his Stetson from the post. He smiled as if he knew he’d sent her close to the edge only to drop her off a cliff.
Lila sighed. Her heightened emotions were that of a shunned woman. She had an idea the ogre taunted her and it sent anger spiraling through every nerve ending. “The invite was nothing more than the two of us needing to discuss Ava. I hope you didn’t think I was planning a romantic dinner with dessert in bed.”
“I can’t make tonight. I have dinner plans,” he said as he slid on his hat.
“Plans?”
“I’m meeting Leslie Bakerfield.” He turned and started toward the barn. Lila quickly followed, rushing to keep up with his fast stride.
“Leslie Bakerfield? The vet? The one who tried to break up Chance and Carly?”
“She didn’t try to break anyone up. There’s more to that story.” He didn’t stop. He just kept walking.
“Dinner? Why dinner?” This may be crossing a line she knew, but Lila didn’t care. She remembered how much trouble that woman had caused Carly.
He reached the barn door and turned to her. “Did I ask you why Lucas took you to dinner the other night?”
She couldn’t find a good retaliation. “It’s different, and certainly not what you thought it was.”
“And maybe having dinner with Leslie isn’t what you think.” He entered the building and started moving bales of hay.
Lila wasn’t giving up yet. “Carly will have your head for this.”
Duke kept working. “Carly’s not my boss.”
“Unbelievable. I’d say that’s betraying your friend.”
He threw one last bale and stomped across the straw covered floor until he reached her. Lila felt the rage of his penetrating stare. “Don’t toss betrayal around in front of me. You’re standing here talking to me as if you own me. You’re jealous. You keep putting me down for my feelings, yet it doesn’t feel so grand when the shoe is on the other foot, does it?”
“Get real, Duke. How often are you going to lust after Chance’s women?” The air snapped. She wasn’t sure what was wrong but it seemed her tongue was possessed. Guilt coursed through her. He’d never crossed a line with Carly, and the crush had turned to friendship long before Lila was in the picture. She’d never been jealous, but her insecurities and doubts were getting ugly. How had it gotten this far?
“I’d like to take you over my knee and swat your bottom.” His voice was low and dangerous.
“Don’t you dare!” she said through tight lips.
“I know what you need.” Before Lila could gather the meaning, he had his hands on her shoulders and he was pulling her hard against his chest. His lips descended on hers with a fury of a starving man as he pushed his tongue inside her mouth. She brought her hands up with the intention to push him away, but found herself reflexively wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
The deep kiss continued as he searched her with his lips and tongue. His hands rubbed her back and the curve of her waist. Lila moved closer, standing on her tiptoes, wanting all that he had to give. He grew behind his zipper, proving to her that he was virile and full of desire.
Lowering her palm to his chest, she smoothed it downward until she reached the waist of his belt. With trembling fingers, she undid the leather, but his hand came down and gently grasped her wrist. He pulled his head away and his breathing was ragged. “You know where this is leading.”
She looked up into his piercing gaze. “You…don’t…want…this?” she said between gasps of air.
“I’m a lot of things, Lila, but I won’t take advantage of a situation.” He kept his steely stare on her. “Do you want me?”
Her pulse slowed. “Take advantage? How can that be possible? I’m willing and ready. I’m practically throwing myself at you.” She sucked in a needed calming breath. “I want you, Duke.” She touched his cheek with the tips of her fingers.
“Not here.” He looked around the space, lifted her into his arms and carried her to a back stall. Placing her on her feet, he entwined his fingers in her hair. “You make me lose my mind.”
“Stop talking,” she whispered and stood on tiptoes, kissing his jaw, along his neck and gently sucking his skin, followed by licking. She dropped to her knees and quickly undid his belt buckle, button and zipper. His cock was iron hard as she brought him to her mouth, rolling her tongue across the pearl of pre-cum. Surrounding her lips around his girth, she suckled him and played with his balls until his moans grew deeper and needier. Standing, she took slow careful steps back until her she met the wall. Lifting her skirt high on her hips, she smiled when his eyes slanted.
“No panties?”
“Are you complaining?”
“Fuck no!”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
He moved the three steps toward her and quickly lifted her legs around his hips, pressing her against the wood as he entered her in one stroke. His cock stretched her and she clutched his shoulders. His thrusts became faster as his breathing became heavier. He was deep and his tip rubbed her sensitive insides, massaging her G-spot until the tingling grew into throbs. She cried out as release coursed through her in wicked heat.
“Baby, I’m going!” Impelling her one last time, his muscles tensed as he buried his forehead into her shoulder. Spasm after spasm moved his body.
Lila didn’t know how long he’d held her steady against the wall, but when someone entered the barn, Duke pulled away and zipped his pants. Lila pushed down her skirt and ran her fingers through her hair.
“You okay?” he whispered.
She nodded and followed him as they made their way out of the hidden stall and into the outer room. “Who is it?”
“Brooks,” Duke answered.
Dillon was loading bales of hay onto the back of a truck. He saw Duke first and greeted him with a nod. When he saw Lila, he smiled. If he had any clue as to what Duke and Lila had been doing, he didn’t show it. She was grateful.
“Enjoy your evening with Miss Bakerfield,” she said to Duke as she passed him. “Have a nice day, Dillon.”
“You to, Lila,” Dillon said.
Hurrying from the barn as fast as her shaking legs would carry her, she didn’t stop to take a breath until she was far enough away from prying eyes. Sweat beaded on her upper lip and she wiped it away with her knuckles. Her knees trembled and her heart beat rapidly, still reeling from the best orgasm she’d had in a very long time.
CHAPTER TWELVE
LILA POURED ANOTHER cup of tea just as she heard the key in the front door. She checked the wall clock and smirked. Nine-thirty P.M... Duke was home early.
She sipped from her cup as he came into the kitchen. He looked handsome in a long-sleeved blue and white shirt and dark jeans, and of course his worn cowboy boots. His gaze caught hers as he sat down at the bar. “Early night I see,” she said.
One corner of his mouth curved into a perfect smirk. “Were you up waiting on me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Duke.” She set the cup down and tightened the belt on her silk robe. “I made myself a cup of tea.”
He relaxed and stretched his legs. His eyes slanted. “You only drink hot tea at night when you have a lot on your mind.”
Bracing her hands on the edge of the granite counter, she sighed. How did this man know her so well? “Of course I have a lot on my m
ind.”
“I’m guessing it has something to do with me.”
“Why is it you think everything involves you?” He flipped an eyebrow. She sighed again. “Okay, it does this time. But not all of my thoughts revolve around you.”
“You don’t have to be angry about Leslie,” he said in a calm tone.
“I’m not angry.”
“You sure?”
“I’m going to bed.” She swept past him, but his hand on her elbow stopped her. Looking at his large fingers against her skin, she couldn’t deny his touch warmed her. A current of awareness sparked every nerve ending. She brought her gaze up. His eyes were on her. “What, Duke?”
“You wanted to talk to me this evening. I’m here now.”
The richness of his voice was like a hypnotic seduction. “It’s late. The talk can wait.” She started to move, but he continued to keep his hand on her.
“No, I don’t believe it can.”
He stood up and Lila swallowed. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her hard against his body. He lowered his face and nuzzled her hair. “I can’t get you out of my blood,” he whispered.
She lifted her chin, bringing her face to his. “I know you said you weren’t on a date with Leslie, but I guess if you were it’d be none of my business,” she said.
“There can be a dozen Leslies and Lucas’s but never enough to break this spell that binds us.” His voice was warm. He smelled of beer and mint. “Can you deny that?”
His fingers pushed into her back and her breasts tingled against his chest. Her nipples came alive. “Duke…”
“You’re still the most beautiful woman.”
His erection pressed against her hip. She remembered holding his throbbing sex in her hand and tasting him as she brought him pleasure. She knew every smooth curve and shape. There was nothing more she wanted than to fall into his arms.
Her breath caught when his fingers dropped to her neck, swept across her shoulder blade and down her chest to the opening of the robe. “So soft. Silken flesh.” His words penetrated the cloud engulfing her. She moaned as he slid his hand inside and stroked her naked breasts, flicking her nipples with the tip of his thumb. He moved the satin off one shoulder and lowered his lips, suckling each mound. Closing her eyes, she rode the waves of seduction.
His palm smoothed over her stomach, stopping at her belly button. He lifted his head slightly. “You have new curves. Carrying a baby has made you lovelier. I wonder what you looked like, full with our child. Stunning, I’m sure.”
Duke was a rugged man, but when it came to sweeping her off her feet, he was an expert. His fingers dipped lower, sliding across her moist lips and she arched as he rolled the tip of a finger over her clit. Shards of sensation shattered through her core. He slipped his thumb into her opening and pumped in and out. “You’re body is on fire, baby. I remember how wet you’d get when I’d touch you. I remember the taste. The scent is an aphrodisiac.”
The combination of his words and his touch brought every cell in her body awake and high on the adrenaline. Swirling her hips around his palm, she silently invited him to take her. He must have understood the unspoken request because he drove his finger deep, moving his digit until she wanted to scream. She swallowed back the sound, except for one… “Duke…”
****
Duke buried his head into the mound of her breasts. He loved the feel of her silky skin. He licked
one erect nipple as he glided his fingers along her smooth, moist body. Her fragrance reached his nostrils and he breathed in the sweet musky scent. His cock grew harder. Damn! He was ready to sink himself inside her. His focus was on giving her pleasure.
Her breathing turned shallow and she gyrated her hips. He knew she was there—on the brink of satisfaction. “Let it come, baby. Let it come for me.” Her muscles tightened around his finger. It was almost his undoing.
Holding back was no longer an option. He removed his hand to unzip his jeans and lift his throbbing cock from his boxers. Lifting her onto the counter, he moved himself between her thighs and pressed his tip against her moist lips. Gently, he guided his length inside her and her muscles eased to fit his. “I…don’t…think I will last,” he said through an exhale of breath.
“I’m coming again,” she said through a moan and her fingernails dug into his back.
Control was lost. In one hard thrust, he buried himself deep inside. Release came with the velocity of a wind tunnel, carrying them onto a plateau of heavenly bliss.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LILA EXAMINED HER nude body in the full-length mirror. She didn’t look different, but she felt changed. She was a real woman again, not just a mom. In fact, she imagined she could move a mountain with the adrenaline coursing through her.
She’d had sex twice yesterday. Not just sex, all logical reasoning to the wind, never-forget sex.
In reality, any attention in the nether region, after sustaining for so long, would feel like erotica times ten, yet she couldn’t downplay the connection she had with Duke. Lovemaking, whether naughty or intimate, had always been amazing. She knew she shouldn’t have fallen into that web again, but passing up a calorie-free dessert of hot, sexy male seemed forgivable. Lila rested her guilty conscious. She wouldn’t allow regret to mar the wonderful experience.
She’d wanted Duke to come to bed with her last night, but she’d been feeling a little cautious. And apparently he was too because he didn’t ask.
Today, she would return to work since taking the hiatus to help with Duke. Working flexible hours, she’d still have plenty of time to spend with Ava. Right now, she needed the extra money. Soon, she and Ava would be moving from the McAllister. She made a mental note to call Carly and tell her she’d take the cottage at the Swift Wind.
Jenny, the new sitter, would be arriving soon. Margaret had a new granddaughter and would be helping her family in Arizona. Lila hadn’t had a chance to speak to Duke about the arrangement. There wasn’t much talking going on last night. She smiled. Talking was overrated.
Glancing at the clock on her nightstand, she sighed. Seven-thirty. Ava wouldn’t be waking up for a while. Lila headed down the hall to the nursery and peeked in through the partially opened door. She expected to find a snoozing, curly-headed baby, but the crib was empty.
“Duke?” she yelled out as she descended the stairs.
A mumbled voice sounded from the kitchen. She followed it and found Ava sitting safely in her highchair, stuffing pieces of banana into her mouth. Duke stood at the counter pouring coffee into a cup.
“I found you.” Lila kissed the baby on the head. “Why aren’t you out working?” she asked Duke.
“I decided to take a few hours off. Coffee?” He was already handing her a cup.
“Thank you.” She sipped the rich liquid. It was delicious, and the view wasn’t bad either. Duke made waking up a pleasure. She tried ignoring his scent of masculinity and soap, but awareness crept across her libido. She needed to work on how much affect he had on her. Yet, she’d make that effort later. For now, she slipped her gaze over his black tee, worn jeans and bare feet. She also, against better judgment, looked at his crotch, remembering with great recollection how good his long, thick member had felt inside her.
“Was it okay?” he asked.
She fluffed her ponytail and knew her cheeks had turned crimson. How did he know what her thoughts were? “It was good, I mean, it was great. No regrets right? We got caught up in the moment.”
A charming smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “I was talking about feeding Ava.” Lila choked on her coffee. “But, yes, no regrets about last night.”
“Yes, that’s fine. Bananas are her favorite fruit.” She forced her hands to stop shaking. What was wrong with her? “I go back to work today.”
“I got the idea by the scrubs.” His voice was warm. “I’ll gladly stay with Ava.” He winked at the baby who giggled. Lila knew the feeling.
This offer was no surprise. “I’ve hired
a sitter since Margaret won’t be available. Her name is Jenny and she is a college student at the local university. Ava has met her and they got along fine.”
“Shouldn’t we have talked about this together? I’m more than capable, Lila. Is the sitter for me or for Ava?” There was a slight edge to his tone.
“For Ava, of course. And I guess we should have talked about hiring a sitter, but it seems we are like ships passing in the night.” She swallowed the last drink of coffee and rinsed her mug in the sink. “Won’t you be out on the ranch? It’s no place for a baby.”
“Not if I’m needed here,” he said.
“That’s great, but what if an emergency happens and you’re expected? How helpful would it be to have Ava with you?”
She could see his jaw relax. “You’re right.”
One hurdle down. “And you’ll put your demon personality away for the day, right?”
He caught her with a narrowed expression. “Sure, you won’t be here.”
The joke made her laugh, although, she figured he meant it to a certain degree. “Can we talk?” she asked.
“I thought that’s what we were doing?”
She needed to get this over. “In private.”
He glanced around the room. “We are.”
She pointed at Ava. “Away from baby ears.”
“What will she care unless you’re planning to repeat last night?” He wriggled his brows.
“It requires a lot of patience to have a conversation with you. Do you realize that?”
“So, no repeat huh?”
“Never mind, Duke. I’ve got to get going and the sitter is running late.”
“Lila, you can leave. I’ll stay until she gets here. Everything will be okay,” he said.
Second Ride Cowboy (Second Chance Series) Page 9
