Cowboy Take Me Away (21 page)

“Is this new?” He traced the garter belt with the tip of his finger, stopping at the tiny pink rose at the top of the garter.

“Yes.”

“You look like an angel in this and I’m havin’ a devil of a time not tearin’ it off you with my teeth.”

The sensations he aroused in her just with words, or the hungry way he looked at her were still new enough to take her by surprise. The quiver in her belly spread between her legs, making her sex hot and slick. Her nipples tightened and her breasts felt heavier. Even her lips felt fuller, moister. And her pulse pounded everywhere.

Carson’s hands curled around her hips and he urged her backward. “Sit.”

Her rear met the edge of the bed.

He stood and took off his hat. Shrugged out of his suit coat. Unbuttoned his vest and tossed it aside. Untied his western tie, letting the ends hang loose. Popped the snaps on the top two buttons of his white dress shirt and untucked it from his pants.

A tiny thrill of possession rolled through her when she had peeks of his shiny new wedding band as he unsnapped his cuffs.

Carson removed his boots with practiced ease. Not once during his strip down had his eyes left her body.

Carolyn reached to slip off her right shoe, but his hand stayed the movement. “Leave ’em on. And open your knees wide so I can see what belongs to me.”

Heart racing, she adjusted her heels and parted her thighs.

“Let that sexy ass hang off the bed a little and brace your arms behind you.”

“You always gonna be this bossy?”

“Yep.” He lowered to his knees. “Just tellin’ you what I want.”

“What do you want, Carson?”

“My mouth on my wife’s pussy.”

Her cheeks heated. She fought the urge to hide her face. Would she ever not blush when hearing him say such blatantly sexual things?

You like it. That’s why you’re blushing.

Then he opened his mouth over the satin covering her mound, delicately tracing the edge of her panties and her inner thigh with his tongue.

She sucked in a breath.

He continued to lap at her, getting her panties wetter and wetter—inside and out. He’d nip with his teeth, blow a stream of hot air, and suck; all the while his hands were caressing the skin between her stocking and garter belt. Finally he tugged at her panties but they didn’t budge.

After making a displeased growl, Carson rested on his haunches and dug in his front pocket. He lifted his pocketknife into view and she gasped.

“What are you—?”

“Can’t tear these off with my teeth so I need to cut ’em off.” One quick slice by her hip, a firm tug and her underwear were dangling from his hand.

“Carson!”

“I’ll buy you a new pair,” he said offhandedly and whipped them behind him.

His devastating mouth paused over her mound. She watched as he breathed her in. Then petal soft kisses landed on the petals of her sex. Whisper light and tinged with devotion.

Oh, it was such a glorious sight, Carson’s dark head between her legs and the sounds his mouth made as he ate at her. Feasted on her really. His tongue licked and teased, swirling and flicking. His soft growling noises vibrated against her sensitive flesh, pushing her arousal to a new level.

Carson sensed the change and focused entirely on her hot button.

It didn’t take long before her pelvis tingled in warning. Pleasure slammed into her in waves so strong her entire body bowed. She gasped when he wouldn’t relent; he just flicked that skilled tongue faster and faster until it set her off again. Once the second wave slowed to a dull throb, she thrust her hand into his silky hair, lightly tugging to get him to back off.

He lifted his head and their eyes met. He offered her a grin and feathered kisses over the inside of her knee. “You like me doin’ that.”

“You know I do.”

“One of these days—soon—I’ll stay right here for an hour to see how many times I can get you to come. But for right now…” He pushed to his knees. Then his hands glided up the tops of her thighs, over her hips and the garter belt, stopping on her rib cage.

Carolyn watched as his fingers traced the bottom band of her bra and disappeared behind her back. Those deft fingers of his unhooked the clasp.

“Ditch the bra.”

She slid the straps down and peeled the cups away from her breasts. The instant the air hit the tips, they shriveled into hard points and she was tempted to cover them up again.

“Damn. You are perfect everywhere.” He angled forward and enclosed her right nipple between his lips. Then his wet mouth and silky tongue worked her over. Soft sucking where it felt as if he tried to stuff her entire breast into his mouth. He released her flesh slowly. “You like that too.”

“I like everything you do to me.” She ran her hands through his hair. “I like everything you let me do to you.”

Carson tilted his head back.

The fire blazing in his eyes made her mouth go dry.

“I want you from behind. I know it’s our wedding night and you were probably expecting sweet love makin’, but I need more than that.” He rose up, looming over her, and snared her mouth in a soul-searing kiss.

She could scarcely catch her breath when he released her lips to attack her throat.

His lips grazed her ear. “I want you to feel my possession, Carolyn. So when you look back, you’ll remember this as the night you became mine in name and body.”

She whispered, “Show me.”

Carson stripped and she sighed at seeing his muscular body, his sex jutting out, fully aroused and ready for her. Then he rolled her onto her belly. His hands, his mouth, his body brought every nerve ending alive from the nape of her neck to her backs of her heels. She was a mass of need by the time he raised her hips into the air. He spread her pussy open with his fingers and impaled her in one stroke.

Then he caged her body beneath his and remained like that for several long moments. His hipbones pressed against her butt cheeks, his belly and the hard wall of his chest plastered to her back, covering her completely. His strong arms alongside hers. His mouth on her ear.

This position was overwhelming—the possession and the intensity when he began to slam in and out of her. Hard and deep. Their skin grew slick. The sounds in the room were the squeak of the bed, their harsh breathing and the slap of flesh against flesh.

Her body seemed electrified, tingles zipping across every inch of her skin. The swollen pulse of her pussy around his cock dangled her on that edge between pleasure and pain—a dizzying sensation she liked far more than she would’ve believed.

Carson shocked her by placing whisper soft kisses on the sweep of her shoulder even as he hammered into her. “I love you, Carolyn. You’re mine forever.” Then he fastened his mouth to the side of her throat and sucked, his hips bucking against hers wildly.

Between the love bite, his rapid-fire thrusts and the fiercely sexy way he came, her name a deep growl that vibrated to her core, she went sailing off into ecstasy again.

She collapsed on the bed and he followed her down, his hips still slowly pumping. She winced when he pulled out, but she knew he was right about one thing; she’d never forget how he proved he owned her—heart, soul and body—straight down to the marrow of her bones.

Then they were face to face. His eyes were filled with so much love she couldn’t breathe.

“Thanks for marryin’ me. I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life makin’ you happy. I’ll always put your needs and your happiness above everything else.”

“Even the cattle?” she teased.

“Even them.”

And she believed him.

Chapter Eighteen

Present Day… Hospital, Day 2

After being in the hospital thirty-two hours, Carson had had enough of his own company.

He’d made a list of people who he’d welcome in the ICU waiting area: anyone with the last name McKay or Donohue. He’d half-expected/half-hoped that Keely would show up to rip into him.

But no one had stopped by. His phone hadn’t rung even one time.

So he stared out the window. Or he sat in his chair in the corner, deluding himself that he could nap while he waited for his first hourly five-minute visit.

“Hey, Uncle Carson.”

Carson turned and saw his youngest nephew, Dalton, leaning against the wall. He eyed him from his ball cap to his steel-toed boots. Dalton was a strapping guy with the rugged good looks the McKays were known for. He’d left Wyoming a few years back to get his shit together after taking the term “hell-raising McKay” to a new level. Word among the family was Dalton liked to fight as much as Carson used to.

“How’s the newlywed?”

Dalton grinned. “Happier than a pig in shit. And if you tell my beautiful wife I phrased it that way, I’ll deny it.”

“So noted.” Carson lowered into a chair. “Got time to keep your old uncle company?”

“Of course.” Dalton sat across from him. “I realize it’s the dumbest question in the world, but how are you holdin’ up?”

“I’m here. Beyond that, I don’t know. It’s a blur.”

“Uncle Charlie mentioned you get to see Aunt Carolyn?”

“Not for the first twenty-four hours. In a bit they’ll let me see her for five minutes. Which is better than nothin’, I suppose.”

“Your kids still givin’ you grief about not sharing your time with them?”

Carson glanced up. His eyes narrowed. “I figured they would’ve sent Tell or Ben here as the peacemaker to try and talk some sense into me, not you.”

“Whoa. I’m not here on anyone’s behalf except my own. While I’d be pissed off if it was my mom in there, my dad wouldn’t have gone all guard dog for his wife or anyone else. So I don’t understand where they’re comin’ from. And not to be a dick, but you’ve been layin’ down the law for years. Why in the hell are they so surprised you’re doin’ it now with so much at stake?”

“That’s the question I’ve been askin’ myself the past thirty-two hours. Enough about that. How was the honeymoon?”

“Great. But I’ll admit we were bit by the travel bug. Rory is already planning our next trip.”

“Is she here?”

“She’s at her mom’s. Rielle said to tell you that you’re in her and Gavin’s thoughts. And once you and Carolyn are home, she’ll bring by a meal or two for you.”

“Tell her thanks. How long are you here for?”

Dalton adjusted his ball cap. “Just a couple of days. Now that the honeymoon is over, we both gotta get back to work. There’s plenty of stuff to do on the house we bought.” He groaned. “Don’t know what the hell we were thinkin’—the place is a money pit.”

“I’m sure repairs are no problem for a man with your skill level. Kyler brags on you all the time. Says you can do anything.”

“Ky’s a great kid, but what he saw me doin’ as far as a remodel at the house in Sundance was a cakewalk compared to what this house needs.” He shook his head. “After all me’n Rory went through to be together, I swear it’s fightin’ about house stuff that’ll break us up.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That bad?”

“The crazy-assed woman threw a hammer at me.”

“What did it hit?”

“The wall I’d just sheet rocked. I suspect stress from her new job and planning a wedding made her hypersensitive—” he leveled Carson with a look, “—and according to my lovely wife,
hypersensitive
is a word I don’t ever get to use in our household either, so between us, I’ll use the term bat-shit crazy to describe her there for a few weeks. But I know livin’ with me when I ain’t workin’ in the winter months ain’t a picnic either. So I’m hoping that now we’re married, we’ll settle in and it’ll be smooth sailing. They always say the first year is the honeymoon phase, don’t they?”

Carson laughed. A little meanly.

“What? Christ, Uncle C, you scare me when you laugh like that.”

“I’ll just say that the first year Carolyn and I were married we hit rough waters. Right away. We made it through, but it wasn’t pretty.”

Dalton wore a skeptical look. “You and Aunt Carolyn? Really? But you two never fight.”

“We never fight in public. Except for a few times during those early years, but if anyone ever mentioned specific incidents to our kids, we lied like hell about it.”

Dalton laughed.

“Anyway, we’ve had our throwin’ hammers and settin’ the curtains on fire moments. Getting over those moments and not dwelling in the past is why we’ll hit the fifty year mark in our marriage next month.” Carson refused to consider Carolyn wouldn’t be around or sentient enough in a few weeks to celebrate that milestone.

“That’s an accomplishment. Congrats.”

The nurse walked over and put her hand on Carson’s shoulder. “It’s almost time, Mr. McKay.”

“Good. Thanks.”

He and Dalton stood at the same time.

“I’ll get outta your hair.” Dalton clapped him on the back. “Give Aunt Carolyn a squeeze from me. Rory was so excited to get that book of McKay family recipes as a wedding gift from you guys. Mighty thoughtful.”

“All Carolyn’s doin’, I promise. I still can’t cook a lick.”

“Too bad she didn’t teach you to man the stove in the first year of marriage like Rory’s threatening to do with me.” Dalton offered his hand. “Take care of yourself.”

“I will. Safe travels back to Montana. Tell that pretty bride of yours hello.”

After Dalton left, Carson slipped on his sterile gear. His mind drifted between the here and now and the past he’d been lost in the past day and a half.

Finally, he was here with her. Where he was supposed to be.

Inside her room, he rolled the chair next to her bed and ran his gloved fingers down her forearm, threading his fingers through hers. He rested his forehead on the metal side rail. Between the hissing of the respiratory machine and the other noises, he figured this angle was the best for her to hear him. He had to speak loud, since the faceguard he was required to wear covered his mouth, protecting her against airborne germs.

“Hey, sugar. I’m sittin’ here beside you. I know you can hear me. I
need
you to hear me. Come back to me. I need you to know that I’m right here, I ain’t goin’ anywhere.

“It’s quiet out where I am in the waitin’ room. There’s really not a whole lot for me to do except sit around and think. Dangerous, right? I don’t care if everyone thinks I’m an old fool for talkin’ to you like this, because I know you can hear me. I
know
it. I feel you—my Carolyn—stirring inside there. I can’t explain it any better than that and I don’t even bother tellin’ the nurses or doctors, lest they believe me to be a crazy old coot and kick me outta here.”

He cleared his throat. “I’ve been thinkin’ about our courtship, but as fast as things went between us, we shoulda called it a rocket ship.” He paused because he knew she was laughing inside at his lame joke. “Anyway, Dalton just dropped by and said to tell you that him’n Rory are holdin’ you in their thoughts. I’ll admit I was surprised to see him.” He let his thumb sweep over her knuckles. “Guess they had a nice honeymoon. Wish I’da taken you someplace fancy. So I’ll make you a deal; when you come outta this, I’ll take you anywhere in the world you wanna go for our fiftieth, okay?”

He paused. Forcing himself to slow down.

“So Dalton was tellin’ me his house remodel project is a big job. He kinda hinted around that him’n Rory have had some cross words about that. I’m afraid I laughed at him when he said now that they’re officially married things will go right as rain between them. I couldn’t help but remember that first year we were married… It’s a miracle we stayed married. Yeah, I know it wasn’t all bad. It made us stronger as a couple goin’ forward, that’s for damn sure. Makes me cringe to think you couldn’t even buy your own birthday shot that year. Christ. I cannot believe you were only nineteen. You looked that young, but sugar, you never acted that young. Especially with what you had to deal with growing up.”

The door to the room opened. “Mr. McKay? Time’s up.”

He acknowledged the nurse with a wave.

“Come back to me. I’m right here. Where I’ve always been, where I’ll always be. I love you. Please. Come back to me.”

Carolyn felt as if she was suspended in a box. Trapped inside the four walls, aimlessly floating up, sinking to the bottom or floundering in the middle. Every once in a while she’d get a sharp pain in her head from being too close to the top. She’d reach up and push herself down and the pain would fade.

A spike lanced her brain. Before she moved, she heard it.

Heard him.

And I don’t care if everyone thinks I’m an old fool for talkin’ to you like I do, because I know you can hear me. I
know
it. I feel you—my Carolyn—stirring inside there.

She pounded her fists on the ceiling, yelling,
I’m here! Right here! I can hear you! Don’t go! Stay here with me!

But the louder she yelled, the fainter his anguished voice became so she went motionless again.

I couldn’t help but remember that first year we were married…

She listened to the cadence of his voice, needing it to tether her. But she found herself spinning headlong into that memory even as she tried to reach out to hold onto him for a little while longer…

They’d been married three glorious weeks.

Carolyn had never been happier. Carson left early in the morning, came home for lunch, and did mysterious “ranch stuff” until supper, or he’d knock off mid-afternoon. He never mentioned if the tension and anger between him and his father had been patched up. Occasionally he’d mention a dumb thing that one of his brothers had done, or more accurately what they’d left undone. He came down hard on Casper and seemed to forgive Charlie because of his age. Even though Carson and Cal were twins, Cal deferred to his older-by-just-a-few-minutes brother.

Although there were only six weeks until the end of summer, Carolyn convinced Carson to till up a section of dirt behind the trailer. He brought her a truck bed full of good black dirt to mix in with the red clay soil and fenced the area off.

She’d planted peas, beans, lettuce, radishes and other vegetables with shorter growing times. She drove to see her mother twice a week and checked on that garden because her brothers had no interest in maintaining it. In her mind that meant half the yield of whatever she grew and canned belonged to her.

Since it was her birthday, Carson insisted on celebrating by taking her out. After supper they headed to the dancehall to meet Cal, Charlie, Casper, the McKay’s neighbor Jerry Jenkins and his girlfriend Brenda, Beverly and Mike, who were officially engaged, and her brother Thomas and two of his friends.

Booze flowed freely and as the birthday girl she nursed a beer just to keep people from nagging her about not drinking. Carolyn chatted with Beverly about her upcoming wedding and her excitement at being a military wife. When she looked up she noticed Carson had disappeared.

At the half an hour mark when Carson hadn’t returned, when her brother Thomas asked her to dance she said, “Sure.”

Out on the dance floor, she knew Thomas had something on his mind. “What’s going on?”

“Remember that stuff we talked about the first night you met McKay?”

“About me moving to Denver with you or to Chicago with my friend Cathy?”

“Yeah. I told Dad tonight that I’m going to Denver and I gave the mine my two-week notice.”

She felt as if he’d punched her in the gut. “You’re really doing it.”

“I really am.”

“What did Dad say?”

“Some smart thing about not being surprised because I’ve always been too good to get my hands dirty for very long. Not much I could say to that, was there? Anyway, Mom started crying about another of her kids flying the nest. But she wasn’t upset, just…resigned.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

Thomas squeezed her hand. “Don’t look at me like that. You’re a married woman now, with a life of your own. Denver’s not that far away. Carson wanted to take you there for your honeymoon and you know you can visit me anytime.”

Her eyes searched his. “But that’s the only way I’ll ever see you, isn’t it? Because you’re not coming back here.”

“Maybe I will. Chances are I won’t.”

“Because of Dad?”

He sighed. “Yeah. Mom’s gotten way worse in the last year and Dad won’t…”

“But he took her to the doctor last month.”

“Did either of them tell you what the doctor said?”

Carolyn shook her head.

“The rheumatoid arthritis is in her lungs.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

He said nothing.

“Thomas. You can’t spring something like that on me and then clam up.”

“Do you think I wanted to share this with you on your birthday?” he demanded. “No way. And here I am… Just forget it.”

“Because it’s bad, isn’t it?” she whispered.

“Yes.”

“How bad?”

“If she goes on oxygen they’re giving her another two years to live at most. Without oxygen…a year.”

That’s it? “How’d you find out?”

“They were fighting about it. She’s refused to go on oxygen because she doesn’t want to move into a nursing home just to prolong her miserable life—her words, not mine.”

She rested her head on her brother’s shoulder, too shocked to even cry.

“I’m sorry. I was the only one home during their fight so I’m the only one who knows. And now you.”

“Even knowing she’ll probably be dead in a year, you’re still going to Denver?”

Thomas locked his gaze to hers. “Yes. I can’t change anything and I’ve watched this situation deteriorate long enough. You weren’t here and I didn’t say that to make you feel guilty. We have to make our own choices. You did. Now I am.”

“What am I supposed to do with this information? Mom and Kimi had a fight after the wedding and she left in a huff, saying she wasn’t ever coming back. That she’d finish out her schooling and work for Aunt Hulda until she turned eighteen.” Carolyn wanted to scream,
who’s going to take care of her?