Hearts Are Wild (28 page)

Shain leaned back slightly, his hands tightening on her shoulders as his breath rasped out. Desire raged through Lily and, with quick hands, she shoved his jeans down into a pile at his ankles before kneeling lower and breathing out across his member. Bringing up a hand she cupped his testes, entranced by the weight of them on her palm. The spicy, male scent of him filled her senses and Lily used her other hand to grip the base of his cock. “I need to taste you,” Lily whispered before flicking out a tongue to lap the pearly bead at its tip.

Shain’s throaty growl spurred her on and Lily wrapped her mouth eagerly around his cock, twirling her tongue over the firm curve of molded flesh, sucking him in deeper as her hand worked along his length.

She was rewarded with an almost painful moan. His pelvis rocked into her mouth, his hands gripping her shoulders. Lily took him in, loving the feel of him inside her mouth, unable to control her own moans around his cock.

“Woman, you’d better find something else for your lips to do before I—”

Lily gripped his ass and worked into a fierce rhythm that gave no quarter and asked none. With a roar, Shain bucked against her, spilling himself into her mouth. Lily drank him in, using her hand to milk him dry before releasing him and sitting back on her heels.

Looking up, she smiled, feeling wanton and not giving a damn.

* * * * *

“Stand up, woman,” Shain ordered, every fiber of his body whipcord tight.

Lily moved to her feet to stand on the bed, her toes sinking into the soft quilt. Her breasts were now even with his face, the tiny camisole top barely concealing the high, pale globes and their hard-tipped nipples.

One look…one thought of her going down on him like she just had, and Shain was hard again. So goddamn hard he wondered if the woman didn’t possess some kind of magic.

Magic…the power of spirit.

Shain shook his grandmother’s voice out of his head and refocused on the outstanding woman in front of him. Damn, she was a goddess in more ways than one and Shain realized that he could no longer think of her as a needy little manhunter. Shain had been intimate with enough women to know the difference between a woman wanting to please and a woman wanting to love. There was more than simple lust in her actions.

Miss Lily Whitman was loving his body, not fucking it. And as Shain’s eyes drank in every delicious inch of her, stopping at her flushed face and swollen lips, he wondered if she realized it herself. Their eyes met and he was lost in the ocean-deep green.

As long as she keeps loving me, I don’t care what she thinks she believes.

Shain knew that couldn’t be true, not with all that was at stake, but at the moment it was the only reality he cared about. He lifted a finger and drew it down the side of her cheek. “Take off your shirt.”

She hesitated only a moment before pulling the camisole over her head with both arms and tossing it aside. Her breasts were taut with anticipation, the pink buds hard enough to cut glass. Shain longed to crush her to his mouth but that wasn’t how he wanted things to go—yet. She needed to understand that he was the one in control. That he was the master of what happened here on the ranch. This was
his
world and, if she wanted to play in it, she had to follow his rules, his lead.

With his hands in fists at his side, Shain leaned next to her ear. “Turn around and take off your panties. Bend over when you do it, so I can see your firm ass.”

He pulled back and smiled at the startled look on Lily’s face.

“Now,” Shain said with a flick of his wrist. He had to force himself to stay motionless as she turned and, with slow movements, hooked her fingers into the narrow straps of her panties.

Sweat beaded on Shain’s forehead at the erotic sight of her easing the panties down inch by slow inch. When she reached mid-thigh, she bent at the waist and Shain wrapped a hand around his throbbing erection in an attempt to restrain himself from plunging into her wet core. As she bent lower, she exposed a glimpse of her glistening lips and Shain’s grip tightened on his cock. When her panties were finally over her feet, Lily paused and stepped out, her body quivering.

“What now?” came her low purr.

Shain could tell she was still uncertain, but trusting enough to play along, which only heightened his intense craving.

“Turn around and face me,” Shain said firmly.

Lily did, her lips parted, her eyes dark. His gaze fell to her beautiful, upturned breasts. “Play with your breasts,” Shain said.

After a slight hesitation, Lily’s hands moved to cup the soft globes. She closed her eyes as her fingers found the pebbled tips.

“Open your eyes,” Shain growled. “I want to see your desire and I want you to see the effect you have on me.”

Lily’s gaze dropped to where Shain was palming his erection and her eyes widened. She licked her lips, then pinched and rolled her nipples, a moan escaping. “That’s it, my gilded Lily. Imagine my tongue on your breasts, sucking, moving from one to the other.”

Shain swore under his breath. He had to touch her. Had to feel her writhing beneath him. Shain placed a hand on her thigh and Lily gasped. “Don’t stop,” Shain said. “Feel yourself, Lily. Understand how perfect you are.”

She did and Shain was able to turn his attention to her creamy inner thigh. With her standing before him, her hands plucking at her nipples, Shain stroked her like a cat, moving his hand higher and higher until it brushed the soft strip of hair above her clit. Her knees nearly buckled but, with a sharp command, she stayed upright. Shain eased his fingers across her damp outer lips, his breath strained as he fought for control.

Lily moaned and Shain moved in closer until he could smell the freshness of her skin.. “Open your thighs wider for me, Lily.”

She did, her hands still circling her breast. “Shain…please…”

“Are you saying I’m not pleasing you?” Shain asked softly before he delved a finger up to the knuckle into her creamy slit.

Lily cried out and fell against Shain’s neck and chest. He held her up with one hand, the other still deep within her. With a steady rhythm, Shain thrust in and out. One finger, two…bending them to stimulate her red hot core.

“Oh,” Lily said breathlessly, her silky hair brushing Shain’s chest, sending tingles racing across his shoulders and into his already burning groin.

“Keep touching your tits, woman,” Shain said gruffly, his own need near choking him. “And tell me what else you want me to do.”

Lily gasped, her pelvis moving on his hand demandingly.

Shain increased the speed of his thrusts, feeling her close, knowing she was on the edge of climax.

“What else do you want me to do, Lily?”

She moaned and threw back her head, exposing the graceful lines of her neck and the sensitive hollow at its base.

With one hand on her ass, Shain lifted Lily a bit higher until his head was once again even with her tits. He blew across the red, puckered tips. “Tell me, Lily. What do you want?”

“Shain, damn it,” Lily stammered, moaning again as he flicked her clit. “I want you to fuck me, lick me, do whatever in the hell you want to with me, as long as you do it. As long as—Oh!”

Shain wrapped his mouth around one pink nipple, his tongue dancing across the hardened tip. He withdrew and Lily cried out again. “As long as what, Lily?”

Lily’s fingers found his head, pulling him toward her breast, but he resisted, his gaze finding hers. “As long as what?”

She gave a quiet sob, her lip quivering. “As long as you don’t break my heart, you big prick!” she finished with a shout.

Shain went still, his finger still deep inside her, his mouth next to her perfect tits. Her words echoed inside him.
Does she mean them?
Hurt and uncertainty lurked in her forest green eyes and Shain recognized a measure of fear. The vulnerability that comes from letting someone in. Giving them space in your life, in your heart.

Crap.

One minute his whole attention was focused on saving the ranch so he can get the hell out and back on the road and, in the next, his thoughts and feelings were so tangled up in a woman, it was all he could do to function.

Feeling a push at his chest, Shain looked up. “Get off,” Lily said and Shain realized she was on the verge of tears. “Damn it, let me go!”

“Lily,” Shain started, only to get a smack on his chest.

“I mean it!”

He released her and watched as she scrambled backward on the bed, her breath coming fast, her head low. “Where are my clothes?”

Shain took a deep breath as his gaze followed her every movement. “Lily…”

Her head snapped up. “Look, it’s no big deal if you don’t want me.” With a trembling hand she pushed hair away from her face. Trying to seem unconcerned. Trying to pretend she wasn’t feeling like someone had just punched her in the gut. “But why do you keep asking me things like that? First you dare me to stay, then disappear for four days, then you bring me to a place like this… What kind of game are you playing?”

Anger sparked, then simmered in Shain’s chest. “Games? You want to talk about games?” He leaned in and yanked Lily off the bed and onto her feet in front of him. Irritation mixed with desire and his own deep fear blurred his thoughts, skewing everything he’d always felt to be true. “How about you tell me what type of woman makes a bet to fuck the first man that ‘trips her trigger’?” Heat spread through Shain like wildfire. “What about
that
game,
Miss
Whitman?”

Lily’s mouth fell open and she froze. “Wh-what did you just say?”

Shain dropped his hands and crossed his arms. “You heard me.”

She spun, putting him at her back. Shain could imagine the thoughts going through her head but, damn it, the little minx deserved to be made accountable for her actions. If he hadn’t spoken to Nhya, then gotten the call from Lance less than an hour ago, he never would have known about the silly bet or the fact that Lily was, in fact, exactly who she said she was—a straight-laced museum curator with a nominal sex life and a passionate love for her job and family.

It was incredible, really, that she’d followed through on the wager and, from the tone of the e-mail Nhya had intercepted while snooping through Lily’s laptop, both Lily
and
her cousins seriously doubted she’d make any attempt at all.

But damned if she didn’t. Shain’s cock was still rock-hard as he stared at her gently curved back and long, kill-you-with-one-look, legs. Shain wasn’t certain if he should be pleased that she’d jumped into the bet with both feet or not.

Memories of their lovemaking wiped any doubt from his mind. Damn straight he was pleased…and doubly lucky that it was
him
she fell for.

Shit. Shain ran a hand through his hair, his entire body screaming with need and his heart tripping with feelings he hadn’t dealt with for a very long time. If ever. There was no doubt, bet or not, Shain Stevenson was head-over-heels for this gorgeous, generous and passionate woman. And it wasn’t just the sex. When he looked at her, it was as if he’d known her forever. Her smile. Her laugh.

Her spirit.

Shain sighed, accepting his grandmother’s wise words. While he’d known he could never completely escape those odd moments where time seemed to stand still, where he heard gentle voices giving direction, advising, being away from the ranch for extended periods of time
had
lessened them. It was one of the reasons he’d been so keen to leave. It had been…different, to not be haunted by things he didn’t understand, didn’t want to understand.

Unlike Nhya who’d embraced it. Treated it as their heritage. Not something to fear, but something to treasure. To cultivate.

So who was the true fake here?
Shain’s gut twisted with guilt and a decision made. He stepped forward and placed a hand on Lily’s shoulder, the smooth texture of her skin sinking into his belly like a slow drink of Jack D. “Lily, damn it, talk to me.”

She shivered beneath his palm. “How—how could you possibly have found out about the bet?”

Shain shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does!” Lily turned, her sumptuous bare chest rising and falling with the force of her breath. “There’s no way for you to know about that unless you talked to my cousins and they told you, which wouldn’t happen, or you—” Her deep green eyes widened, then narrowed. “My laptop!”

Shain frowned. This wasn’t going the way he’d planned at all.
He
should be the one pissed as hell.

Nostrils flaring, he stepped closer, giving her his most intimidating glare. “Stop it.”

Lily raised a fist and shook it. “Stop what? Being furious that you felt you had the right to go through my personal items? To snoop into my life where you had no business being?”

The strength of her words bounced off his chest and Shain was silent in the face of her distress. Her words were nearly the same ones he’d spoken earlier about his great-grandfather’s murderer. And as gorgeous as she was with her fist raised and her eyes blazing, it wasn’t really anger wafting off of Miss Whitman…it was hurt. Pain. Fear.

He knew her emotions for what they were, because he was feeling them too. They weren’t so different, really. Classy, smoothly perfect Lily Whitman and rough, scarred Shain Stevenson. At their hearts, they were the same. Both desperate for a deeper connection but terrified about finding it.

And
had
they found it?

Shain captured her small fist in his much larger hand, holding her there as their gazes locked. “Stop it, Lily. No more covering up. No more lies. It’s just you and me. “Tell me…” Shain paused, a tingling rushing through his gut all the way to the top of his head. He swallowed, feeling a glimmer of rightness, a foot at the crossroads, as his grandmother would say. There was no going back. “Tell me what you want. With us, Lily. What do you want?”

After a moment of frozen stillness, she started to tremble. From her gorgeous legs, past her flat belly and up to her flushed cheeks. But her eyes stayed locked with his. Searching. Trying to decide if she should step up to the crossroads, too…and cross over.

“Shain,” Lily murmured. “God help me… I want to be with you.” She shook her head, silky hair swishing around her face in glimmering waves of gold. “I don’t even know, really, exactly what that means. Being with you.” She looked up once more and Shain’s breath caught in his throat. She looked unreal, head tilted, her eyes wide, her barriers down. “You tell me, what does that mean, Shain?”

Shain tightened his grip on her fist and stepped in until she was directly beneath him, their clasped hands locked against his chest. “I’m not sure either, sugar, but I can’t imagine starting another morning where you’re not there to see it with me.” He lifted his other hand and brushed strands of gold behind her delicate ear. “You’re in my blood, woman. Last night all I could think about was you. Being with you. Loving you.” Shain grinned wolfishly. “Fucking you.”