by Sandy James
“Stop that,” he scolded.
“I must borrow some of your heat.”
What she was doing was trying to drive him out of his mind. “Cassie…”
“Stop growling at me. You sound as mean as an old bear.”
“You’re from San Francisco. You ain’t never heard an old bear.”
“I know they growl, just like you’re growling at me. Why are you so prickly all of a sudden?” Her hands flitted over his chest, making him suck in a breath.
Should he simply tell her? God help him, he wanted to. He wanted to tell her—in vivid detail—exactly what was making him growl. He wanted to tell her how much he wanted to kiss her breasts, to run his hands over every inch of her soft skin, to bury himself so deep inside her they became one flesh.
Tempering his words, he said, “It’s the way you’re touchin’ me.”
“I told you, I am merely borrowing your heat.”
“You’re making me plenty hot.”
“How could I make you hot when you claim my hands are like— Oh…” Cassie tucked her face against the side of neck, hiding from him.
Ty chuckled at her innocent response until she started to pull her hands back. “Don’t. Leave ’em there. I like it when you touch me.”
“I like touching you.” Her fingers spread to fan out over his chest and up his shoulders. “You’re so different than I am. Hard. Hot.”
He had to keep from laughing right in her face. “Oh, I’m hot and hard all right. Cassie, if you keep touching me like that, I’m going to—” Biting back the words, he shook his head.
“Going to what, Ty? Kiss me again? I–I want you to. I do like the way you kiss.”
A groan slipped from his lips.
“You don’t like kissing me?” She jerked her hands back and struggled in his arms.
“Quit wiggling. Yes, I like kissing you. You don’t understand what you do to me at all, do you?”
“Yes, I do. I make you mad. Every time I am in your company, I raise your anger, judging from the way you constantly snap at me.”
“No, you raise something else entirely.”
Her indignant gasp brushed over his face. “You must put me down now.”
“I must, must I?” He was done trying to figure out her thought process. The time had come to let the woman know what kind of temptress she was.
Striding over to her bedroom door, he nudged it open with his shoulder and carried her inside. He shut it with his foot. The afternoon light spilled through the small window, giving the room an orange glow.
“Ty? What in heaven’s name—”
His lips covered hers, simply to keep her quiet for a moment. He let her body slide down his while he kissed her long and deep. She tasted so sweet, and every time he kissed her, he lost a little more control. Her coat was quickly brushed from her shoulders. His fell behind him. He started to remove his gun belt.
“Ty?” She looked up at him, her eyes as wide as saucers.
He laid the Colt on the only other furniture in the tiny room—a small wash table. Then he let her know exactly what he was thinking. “I want you, Cassie.”
Her gaze shifted from his face to the bed. As her cheeks tinted red, her eyes found his again. “You cannot mean—”
“Oh, but I do mean.” Ty toed off his boots, all the time holding her gaze.
She swallowed hard and breathed rapidly, as though there wasn’t enough air.
“It’ll be okay, sweetheart.”
“It will?” Cassie only took one step toward the door before he grabbed her shoulders and turned her back. Although she sputtered in protest, he kissed her again, unleashing the hunger deep inside him for the first time.
He needed her acceptance, and he meant to have it. The kiss was one of total possession—and total commitment. His mouth slanted over hers, his tongue thrusting between her lips—a kiss that demanded her response.
And respond she did, her tongue as wild as his as she looped her arms around his neck and moved her hips against him, revealing some of her own urgency. He splayed his hands over her backside, loving the way it curved into his palms. Then he lifted her hard against the erection straining his pants.
He caught her gasp with another hot kiss, rubbing himself against her, needing her to want him as desperately as he wanted her.
When he finally broke the kiss, she sighed against his lips.
Disappointed, Ty let go of her and backed away, taking her response as regret.
Cassie’s bewildered expression stole his breath. “Oh, no. You are not going to leave me feeling like...like...this again and do nothing to ease my torment.”
“Torment?”
“Pain. Agony. Hurt.”
“I know what torment is,” he snapped. “I just... What do you mean? Ease your torment?”
Contemplative, she nibbled on her bottom lip as she wrung her hands. “I... I... You make me so... It feels like...”
Then he understood. “Hot? Are you hot for me, Cassie girl?”
With a curt nod, she took a step back, causing the back of her legs to hit the bed. A quick glance over her shoulder sent more color to her cheeks.
He’d been wrong. She wasn’t ready. Not yet.
Ty stooped to grab his coat, but she hurried to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t.”
His gaze captured hers. “What?”
“Don’t put your coat back on.”
Slowly rising, he shook his head. “I should go.”
“Don’t go.” She threaded her arms around his waist. “Kiss me, Ty. Please kiss me.”
He shook his head. “I can’t, sweetheart. I can’t keep kissing you. I want...I need...more.” Hell, he had to be the most frustrated man in all of Montana.
Tilting her head, she cupped his cheek in her palm. “What do you need?”
“I need to make love to you. Holding back is...painful.”
“Then don’t hold back.”
“Cassie... You’ve never...um... Hell, you’re a virgin.”
Her smile was as bright as sunlight. “‘And Romeo, not death, take my maidenhead.’” Her fingers worked on the buttons of his shirt.
While he might not have understood the words, he knew what her body was telling him. “Are you sure?” He stared into her eyes. “If you…if we…do this, there’s no going back. Are you sure?”
“I am sure.” Her hands trembled as she unbuttoned her blouse.
He shrugged out of his vest and whipped his shirt over his head, not even bothering to finish unbuttoning it. Then his tanned hands gently brushed hers aside to take over the enticing chore of undressing her.
She looked away, nibbling furiously on her bottom lip.
Cautioning himself to go easy, Ty couldn’t suppress a sigh at her unease. He wasn’t sure what to say to soothe her. He always got tongue-tied whenever he needed to find the right words. This time, showing would probably be a hell of a lot more effective than telling.
The last buttons were concealed beneath the waistband of her heavy skirt, so he tugged her shirt loose. After unfastening those last obstacles, he stroked his palms up her flat stomach, across her full breasts, to her shoulders, where he pushed her shirt from her body.
Her camisole was whisper-thin, revealing more than it covered. The tease was exquisite as he took in the shadow of her nipples, loving how they hardened to strain against the snow white fabric. He let his hands return to her breasts, stroking the peaks with his thumbs.
Cassie had dropped her arms to fist her hands against her sides, but she leaned into his touch. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her cheeks were bright with color.
Damn but he was proud of her for trying to conquer her fear. He’d find the control he needed to go slow—to be sure and bring her pleasure in her first bedding—even if it killed him.
Dropping to his knees, Ty put his hands on her hips and pulled her close. Her clean scent filled his senses, the smell of roses that he knew he’d never tire of. He pressed kisses to her
linen-shrouded belly, loving the heat of her skin beneath the soft cloth. Her fingers raked through his hair and she arched into him. With a low groan, he worked his way up her body until his lips covered her breast and he pulled a hardened nipple covered in fabric with his teeth.
Cassie tugged hard on his hair. “Oh, God...”
He needed to feel her skin. The bows holding the camisole together were stubborn. His patience at an end, he ripped the garment open to find plump, firm breasts with nipples the color of raspberries. His lips closed around one and he began to suckle.
The splendor took Cassie by surprise. While everything Ty had done to her felt wonderful, the sensations his mouth caused were almost too wonderful to bear. Her whole body trembled, and had he not been holding tight to her hips, she might’ve fallen—her legs were that weak.
She suddenly recognized the depth of his passion. Yes, his other kisses had curled her toes. But now he ignited a fire deep inside her that set her heart ablaze, burned a path down her stomach, and settled between her thighs. This was more than simple lust. What Ty couldn’t seem to say, he revealed in his kiss and his touch. She tried to return that ferocity, telling him with her body what she felt in her heart.
In that moment, she made up her mind.
She and Ty might have no future beyond what they shared now. Her family was going to eventually come between them, and she might well find herself married to a man she abhorred. But there was one thing she could deny that man—one thing she could give freely to the man she loved.
Her virginity.
He offered her nothing but passion in return, and Cassie wouldn’t delude herself into thinking otherwise. This wasn’t some love story where the lovers found a happy ending. No, she and Ty were star-crossed lovers—like Romeo and Juliet—and their pairing would surely end in heartache or tragedy. She no longer cared.
She would reach for happiness with both hands and deal with the future when it darkened her doorstep.
As he shifted to her other breast, she let her torn camisole fall to the floor. Then she cupped her hands behind his head, urging him to continue his sweet torture. Her breasts felt heavy and full, and her core grew hot and wet—a response that happened often around Ty, especially when he kissed her. Everything was so new, and she wanted to revel in each fresh sensation.
He tugged at her skirt, fumbling with the buttons. She helped. Her pantalets were off just as quickly. The chill in the air touched her skin, raising goose flesh.
Ty let his gaze rake her body slowly. Then he shed his pants.
Cassie couldn’t drag her eyes away from his face.
“It’ll be okay, sweetheart.”
Her voice had fled, so she gave him a curt nod.
“Why are you shaking?”
“I’m cold, Ty.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Then let me warm you up.”
His mouth covered hers as the shock of being skin-to-skin with him banished the chill. Her breasts were flattened against his firm chest, and his hot, hard arousal pressed against her lower abdomen, drawing a gasp that was smothered by his lips.
Ty’s hands smoothed down her back and settled on her backside. As he moved his hips forward he pulled her against him. Funny how such a simple act could send her thoughts into such a riot.
With no warning, he scooped her into his arms. Balancing her against him, he swept the blanket down before setting her on the ice cold sheets. Before she could even shiver, he stretched out on top of her, blanketing her body with his.
Cassie certainly wasn’t cold now. Ty was incredibly hot, that warmth seeping into her skin. She pushed her arms around his neck. “Kiss me, Ty.”
With a low growl, he obeyed.
She lost herself in that kiss, closing her eyes and letting her instincts take control. His tongue glided over hers, coaxing her tongue to chase his back into his mouth.
He rolled to his side and pressed kisses along the column of her throat as his palm covered her breast. Arching into his touch, she flitted her fingers over his shoulders. She wanted to touch him everywhere, but when he kissed his way down her chest and licked the valley between her breasts, every thought she held scattered like dried leaves in the wind.
As he drew one of her nipples between his lips, he slid his hand over the flat of her stomach to rake his fingers through the curls on her mound. Moving to her other nipple, he sucked hard at the same time he slipped his fingers between her folds.
Her heart pounded a wild beat. Surely nothing could feel as good as Ty exploring her body. Then his clever finger found a spot so sensitive that a hard rub had her planting her feet against the mattress and crying out.
He snatched his hand away, rising over her with a frown. “Did I hurt you?”
Unable to find a single word to beg him to continue, she grasped his wrist and moved his hand back to her core.
“Liked that, did ya?”
“Don’t stop!”
With a satisfied masculine chuckle, he started his delectable torture again. The pad of this thumb quickly found the sweet spot, and he rubbed circles that had her hips rising from the bed. She’d never known such pleasure—until he slid a long finger deep inside her.
Cassie shattered, letting out a shout as her body spasmed with a pleasure she’d never known existed. Her breath came in pants as she opened her eyes.
Ty stared down at her, his gaze full of emotion and a smug smile on his face.
“That was...amazing,” she said, her voice breathless.
“Gets better.”
She found a grin. “Well, then...show me better.”
He took her hand and led it to his groin. Then he closed her fingers around his erection.
The skin was silky soft, yet the flesh beneath was hard. And so hot. She ran her hand down to the root then back to the tip, where she rubbed her thumb over the cap.
His body fascinated her. Everything was the opposite of hers—from the rough skin to the depth of muscle. But what she held in her hand was the most captivating. That, and the soft sac she gave a gentle squeeze before returning to his staff.
How in God’s name would something so long and thick fit inside her?
Ty gently brushed her hand away.
What if her exploration had somehow hurt him? “Was I doing it wrong?”
He shook his head before gripping her shoulders and easing them back against the mattress. “You touching me makes me want you past waitin’.”
Cassie let his words wash over her heart. They might not have been a declaration of love, but they made her core tighten as her desire begin to climb again. She welcomed his kiss, grasping his tongue between her teeth and hoping he enjoyed her boldness.
Ty parted her thighs with his knee and then settled himself between them. He held his erection and rubbed it between her folds, making the burn flare deep inside her. She raised her hips, meeting his teasing strokes.
His hand moved to her hips. “Are you ready, sweetheart?”
She bit his shoulder and wrapped her legs around his hips.
He buried himself inside her in one hard thrust that made her feel she’d just been torn in two. She tried to get him off her, but his weight kept her pinned to the bed. Tears spilled from the corners of her eyes.
Cradling her face in his hands, Ty stared down at her. “Cassie girl...I’m sorry I hurt you.”
She’d known it would hurt—her mother had told her as much—but the pain was rapidly subsiding, replaced by a wonderful fullness. She swallowed her fear and hurt. “It’s better now.”
His gaze searched hers.
“Kiss me again, Ty. Make me forget the pain and remember the pleasure.”
The kiss he gave was as intoxicating as champagne. He rubbed his tongue over hers, rekindling the passion that had dimmed with her breaching.
But she wanted more.
She got more when he pulled back and then sank deep inside her. Although she was a little tender, she also felt her body respond each time he repeated th
e action. When he’d hurt her, she’d dropped her legs from around his hips. Now that he moved in and out of her body, she couldn’t stop herself from wrapping them around his hips again, which helped him push deeper inside.
There were no words—only the feel of his body caressing hers as Cassie surrendered to instincts she didn’t understand. The rhythm sped as Ty’s thrusts became less measured and more forceful. The tension knotted inside her, and this time she knew not to fear it. Instead, she welcomed it, wanting the bliss that only he could give her.
And it burst on her suddenly, capturing her completely as she called to him and raked her nails across his back.
Ty thrust into her—again and again—until he groaned and shuddered. The heat of his seed bathed her insides, setting off a few more tremors deep inside her.
The aftermath was quiet. He rolled to his back, and she snuggled up against his side, rubbing her toes against the tops of his feet. The cold had been banished from their bed, and she dreaded the moment when the blanket would have to be lifted so they could dress. She wanted to stay in the warmth and shelter of his embrace.
“Cassie? Where are you?” a voice called from outside the cabin.
“Caleb,” she whispered.
“What in the hell is he doing here?” Ty demanded.
There was a knock on the door.
Cassie scrambled over Ty to get to her clothes. He seemed to be in no hurry as he stacked his hands behind his head and watched her quickly try to dress. Her fingers shook so hard, she couldn’t even tie the ribbons on her nearly destroyed camisole.
Caleb incessantly pounded on her door. “Cassie! Are you asleep? Wake up! I need you!”
“Get dressed,” she hissed at Ty. “He’ll know.”
Ty merely shrugged.
She tossed his pants at him. “Please get dressed and be very quiet.”
The door to the cabin opened with a loud squeak. “Cassie?” Caleb called, his voice echoing through the main room.
Since she couldn’t seem to dress herself, she whipped the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders like a cloak. When she reached for the doorknob, Ty bounded out of the bed.
