Hard Ridin' (11 page)

She shuddered as their mouths met. He tried to hold the kiss, to show her a tender side, but the instant their skin connected, the old primal passion rose up between them.

Groaning, he pushed through her lips and drove his tongue into her hot mouth. She opened to him and her tongue met his with wild abandon. He gathered her flavors and went back for more. Hands roaming, he molded her breast to his palm, tweaked the nipple to fit perfectly between his fingers.

“Holden, I want you so bad.” Her whispered admission stole his sanity. He only saw her beautiful face and felt her amazing curves and imagined thrusting into her body until they finished with a scream of completion.

As she ran her hand over his hard length behind his zipper, his cock pulsed heavily.

Fuck, this wasn’t what he wanted. She and Jens actually held conversations—they talked about farming and seeds and fertilizer. How to pattern the crops for best rotation, and who knew what kinds of hopes and dreams passed between them? Jens didn’t just bend her over and take her, but showed he cared.

Holden had to do the same.

Tearing himself away from her, he plunked her onto the seat a few inches away from him. She stared at him for a heartbeat, her lips pink and swollen, confusion in her eyes.

“I have a special afternoon planned,” he panted, battling to keep his gaze from dropping to the peaks of her breasts.

“All right,” she responded unevenly.

Damn, all he could think about was sex—the hot, nasty kind. Could he scrape together the remnants of a romantic date after he spread her out beneath him on the truck seat?

With supreme control, he put the truck into drive. As he headed around the back of the property by way of a narrow cattle road, he attempted to get words past his dry throat.

“Tell me what you’ve been doing these past months, Laurel. Besides becoming a farmer.” He shot her a grin, because never in a hundred years would he have imagined returning from Alaska to find her renting the Ransom place with an organic farm underway.

She returned his smile and a bit of the sexual tension eased between them. “It’s exciting, isn’t it?”

Her enthusiasm was infectious. He made a right-hand turn onto a bumpier road. Clinging to the holy-shit handle above her door, she started to talk about how she’d made the decision to leave the hospital and farm.

When the subject moved from organic food to her finances, she grew tense.

Holden placed a hand on her thigh. “We’ll take care of what you need to put your farm at the top this season. What you’re doing is providing markets with food that’s in demand. There aren’t a lot of organic farms in these parts, and you’ll have the monopoly.”

“That’s good. Then I can pay you and Jens back.”

Fuck, she’d done it. Thrown Jens’s name out between the two of them, and it couldn’t be yanked back. Was she thinking of him? Breathing shallowly, Holden fought his emotion. This wasn’t what he’d planned for their day.

That just means you’ve gotta fight harder to win her in the end.

Laurel caressed the back of Holden’s hand. “Sorry.”

Brooding, Holden simply guided the truck up a steep slope and onto a switchback. She grasped his hand hard when the truck skidded on some gravel. Shooting her a look, he sought to soothe her.

“No worries, babe. I could drive this road blindfolded and in the pouring rain.”

“Let’s hope we don’t have to try that. This is one of the hardest transitions for me. I’m accustomed to the safety of the hospital. Sterile environment and nine-to-five hours. Now I’ve got baby cow spit on my hands from feeding them, and incidents like what happened with the tractor happen in a blink of an eye.”

“You’ve been feeding the calves?” He sought to alleviate her stress related to the tractor episode. Forgetting about how much of an ass he’d been and how close he’d come to getting Jens killed was the best course for both him and Laurel.

“Not every day, but I’ve fed them a few times. They’re such sweet little things.”

Holden stopped the truck on a flat and cut the engine. Turning to her, he slid a hand up the column of her throat, beneath her hair. “Not as sweet as you.”

Shifting closer, she leaned in at the same moment he did. He dropped his forehead to hers. “I’m so glad to be with you again.”

“I’m happy you’re here.” Again, she was breathless.

He pressed his lips against hers softly, gently, letting the moment build. “Come on. I want to show you the view.”

Reaching across her, he purposely came in contact with her warm thighs and held her gaze as he popped the door open. Then he returned to his seat. She hesitated before climbing out, her eyes gleaming.

Feeling easier than he had in a long time, he grabbed the food and drinks and rummaged behind his seat for one of several blankets he travelled with. A man never knew where he’d be stranded, and it was always good to come prepared.

After rounding the truck, he caught Laurel’s hand and entwined their fingers. The sun trickled across the flat area he’d chosen for their picnic, and a faint breeze played with tendrils of Laurel’s hair.

She gasped as they neared the edge. The level territory was wedged between two small mountains and overlooked a good portion of the Rope Burn Ranch. The main house was nestled in the valley, and a few horses circled in the corral behind the barn. Thick stripes of golden brown, green and dark brown earth stretched as far as the eye could see—fields in various stages of readiness for planting season.

“Holden…it’s gorgeous.”

He set down the picnic items and blanket, and then wrapped an arm around her middle. Looking over her shoulder, he pointed. “See there?” He stretched his finger toward the faint spot where her house stood. The sun beamed off the roof and turned it to gold.

“Oh!”

“Pretty, huh?”

“Gorgeous.” She turned into his arms, her body fitting perfectly against his. He couldn’t resist kissing her again. Those ripe lips called to him on a higher plane than he could function.

Softly nibbling her lips, he separated them with his tongue. The first warm stroke of her tongue nearly undid him. Damn, would he ever get used to her sultry allure?

Desire thundered through his veins, and he felt his pulse in his temple. Better yet, he felt Laurel’s erratic pulse under his index finger, where he settled it against her throat.

“Thank you for bringing me here. I couldn’t think of a more special spot.”

Score one point for Holden. His grin spread across her lips and he gave her one last solid kiss. “Let’s eat. It’s been hours since breakfast.”

He spread out the blanket and they curled up on it side by side with legs outstretched. She peeled away her outer layer and abandoned it beside her.

“You dress different now.” He unwrapped a sandwich and handed it to her.

Surprise washed over her features. “What do you mean?”

“Before…” Unspoken words hung between them. “When you worked at the hospital, I never saw you in all these layers.”

“Well, the most I walked was from the house to the car and the car to the hospital. There was no need for two undershirts and long johns beneath my jeans.”

“You’re wearing long johns?” He dove for her waistband.

Giving a squeal, she twisted away from him, but not before he slid his fingers into her waistband and met with the silk and lace of feminine panties.

“Little liar.” He sank his teeth gently into the side of her neck where it met her shoulder, possessing a spot just above the small red mark obviously left by Jens. A shiver rippled through her, and she grasped his nape to hold him there.

“Made you look,” she said breathlessly.

Christ, this was going to be one hell of a difficult date, considering all he wanted to do was stretch her out on the blanket, go down between her thighs and lick her pussy.
Get a grip.
Some semblance of control was necessary. He couldn’t just be the “fuck” date. He had to be the whole package deal—the caring husband-type with a side of intrigue.

Something like Jens, goddammit.

“Holden.”

Tossing away his tenuous grip he had on his need to show her how important she was to him, he trailed his tongue over her neck and down to her collarbone. It was too chilly out to strip off her shirts and worship her breasts with his mouth, but he would damn well keep her warm.

She dropped her sandwich as he bore her back on the woolen blanket. The scent of crushed grass hovered around them, mixing with her soap-and-water perfume and the cold cuts from the discarded sandwich.

Holden released her neck and gazed down into her eyes. “I don’t want to only have sex with you.” His voice came out roughly, as if he’d gargled with a belt buckle, a horse bit and a swallow of whiskey.

Something moved behind her eyes that he didn’t know how to read. Then the warmth was back, her chocolate eyes melting as she stared at him. Running her tongue along her lower lip, she surged upward for his kiss. “I know,” she said a split second before their mouths met.

He angled his mouth over hers and drove his tongue deep, tasting her desire. A ripe peach. That’s what she was. All curves and softness and sweetness. Dipping into her mouth was like lapping at whipped cream drizzled with chocolate—a decadent sugar high.

He trapped her with his hips and ground his erection into her pussy. With a groan, he dropped his forehead to hers. “Fuck, I can feel your heat through your jeans.”

“It’s hotter inside the jeans.”

“Have mercy.” All his worries about their rocky reunion and the strange tangle with Jens vanished, and suddenly he was alone on this ridge with the love of his life.

“Never.” She ran her palm down his abs and captured his rigid cock. Through his jeans, she stroked him. Each pass of her fingers over his bulbous head made him grind his teeth. Pleasure licked at his insides.

He inched his fingers beneath the layers of her shirts and met with searing skin. Words sprang onto his tongue. The things he’d thought about while in Alaska—how he adored her musical laugh and the way she nibbled at the tines of her fork after she took a bite. Now he loved her for even more reasons, such as the fact that she dressed like a country girl and fit into the ranch as a man’s hand fit a work glove.

“I can’t get enough of you. You smell so damn good.” He nuzzled her breasts through her shirts as he circled her navel with a thumb. His cock hardened another fraction when she brought her hips upward against his.

Raking her nails down his spine, she wrapped her thighs around his hips. “Take me, Holden. Right here. Now.”

The need to drive into her tight sheath was more than he could bear. In seconds, he had her jeans and panties shimmied down her hips, her shirts off and her bra unhooked. She nudged his pants down too and eased his thick cock onto her palm.

Staring into his eyes, she stroked him. Juices oozed from the tip, and she smeared her fingertip through it. The sun was warm on his back but a cool breeze teased at their exposed parts. He covered her more fully with his body to keep her warm.

“Come into me, Holden.”

For a frantic minute, he warred between giving her what she wanted and giving her what he thought she needed. Right now, she wanted his body, but later, she may think back on this encounter and wish they’d continued with their sweet picnic.

She rocked her hips, and her wet pussy lips engulfed his swollen cock head. A full-body shudder passed from her and into him.

“Oh, hell!” With one hard thrust, he sank deep into her pussy even as he pinched her nipple.

Crying out, she squeezed her eyes shut, and bliss painted her features into a masterpiece. Behind her, the colors of the landscape contrasted with her dark hair and eyes. The creamy hue of her skin turned to gold beneath the midday sun.

He withdrew almost to the tip and then slammed back into her deeper than before. His balls were bulging and his heart throbbing. When her walls suddenly tightened around him, he slid home again and again until she tipped over the edge.

Feeling her splinter around him, her pussy contracting madly, sent him out of control. A primal cry burst from him as white-hot jets of come soaked her.

At that moment, they sucked in matching gasps. Her gaze met his, frantic with a
what have we done?

A final shudder left her as her release ebbed away. Holden’s chest was tight with fear, though his body burned with the aftereffects of an amazing orgasm. Everything had been so perfect, so right. Except there might be an “oops”.

Did he care? Binding her to him through a child would never be a bad thing. Hell, he wanted to marry her anyway. This would just sway her toward him, and Jens would be cut from the picture.

Still, he had to ask. “Shit, Laurel, I didn’t think. Are you…on the pill?”

She gave a small nod. “For regularity.”

A little flutter of disappointment took up residence in his stomach.

She was looking at him, her eyes still blurred by passion. “You okay?”

“Yeah, baby. Are you?” He skimmed her lips with his, but a shadow had settled over them. Though the sun was high in the sky and the clouds had floated away, their day was darkened.