Second Hope Cowboy (17 page)

Then he removed the other boot, massaged her heel, her toes and nibbled one piggy. She jerked and giggled. He gently laid her foot down and climbed over her.

She looked at him through the veil of her lashes.

He lifted his head, only a sliver. “I want nothing more than to rip the clothes off your body and take you—make you mine.” He was breathless. “But tonight, my love, we take things slow. I want to savor this moment. Does that sound like something you want?”

She nodded and brought her legs up higher over his bottom, squeezing her calves across the tight muscle. “More than anything.”

“There are no words to describe how beautiful you are.”

“Then show me,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart.” He slid the backs of his knuckles along her cheek. “I plan to bring you pleasure like you’ve never known before.”

He slipped his fingers to the hem of her shirt and she lifted her arms high above her head as he slid the material away from her body. Bringing his fingers to the waist of her shorts, he dragged them off her hips and down her legs until she lay before him in her thin, red bra and panties. He skimmed his eyes casually over her and she quivered.

“Wow…nice.”

His fingers were between her legs and she sucked in a breath, aching for his touch in her most sensitive spots. She widened her hips, silently begging that he put her out of her misery.

Cooler air swept across her center as he tucked the material of her panties to the side and slid his thumb along her seam. “You’re wet and ready. Hot.” He kissed her jawline, her neck, the small space at her collarbone.

“You want to take things slow and my body is craving fast,” she whispered next to his ear then she licked his earlobe. He jerked and groaned.

“We have all night, baby. Let me love like you deserve.” He drove his thick finger deep inside of her and she arched her back, accepting the satisfying intrusion into her body. “Oh yeah, roll those hips, nice and smooth. Rock your body and let the heat grow.”

His sexy voice lulled her. Passion filled her. She cried out, bucking against his palm, not wanting the blast of pleasure to stop, yet needing release before she burned from inside out.

“You’re on fire, sweetheart.”

She rolled the tip of her tongue over the curve of his lips, drove it in, tangling with his. He swallowed her moans.

She had no idea that he’d removed her bra until he cupped one breast, flicking his thumb over the sensitive nipple. “Put your mouth on me,” she pleaded, digging her fingers into his denim-covered ass.

“With pleasure, love.” He covered one mound with his mouth, kneading the other, callused skin covering her tender flesh. He circled his tongue over the puffy tip, groaning and vibrating the nub. It sent a sharp twinge to the center of her, threatening to explode her into tiny shards.

He wasn’t finished yet.

He kissed his way to the waist of her panties, removing his finger, he replaced it with his tongue, burying it into her creamy opening through the lace. She watched as he clenched the red material with his teeth and dragged them off her hips and down her legs, giving them a toss over his shoulder.

Returning between her legs, his hair looking darker against the backdrop of her pale skin. With the tip of his tongue, he coaxed her clit into a hard pearl, creating the infinity symbol, before gently rubbing his teeth along the sensitive knot. “I can’t get enough of your taste,” he said against her pussy lips. He drove his tongue into her opening, licking the walls.

Burying her head into the blanket, she inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly…sensation gripped her every cell. He was lifting her higher, way above the clouds, flying high above their bodies lying on a bed made of straw. He kissed her pussy tenderly and tingles fanned upward, deep into the pit of her stomach. Her panting grew loud in her ears, her lips trembled, her eyes rolled back into the lids as she bucked one last time before an invisible hold clutched her in warmth.

When her spasms stopped, he lifted his face, scrubbed his hand over his wet mouth. “Blueberries. That’s how you taste.”

“I. Need. You.” She fumbled with the large belt buckle. It clanged and clacked before it came loose, banging against his hip. She tore at the leather until his jeans were undone and the zipper was down.

Freeing his length, it stretched above the waistband of his boxers. “Can I satisfy you?” There was more to his question than the obvious.

“More than enough,” she whispered.

She stared at his wet tip, purple with lust, glistening with a pearl of pre-cum at the slit. She slid her finger across the bead and licked it from her digit.

“Oh fuck!” His words came on an exhale of breath.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Responsive and beautiful.

Tucker gazed down at Hope and was overtaken by the rush of emotions that ransacked his body. He’d never known such desire…such a need.

He eased over her naked body, their warmth mingling and enveloping them in steamy heat. Her eyes darkened, telling him how much she wanted him, and he’d never been more flattered. His body screamed for release, but his heart wanted to take things slow, savor every moment like a once in a lifetime treat.

“I want to give you everything, Hope.” He smoothed his thumb along her jawline, over the plump curve of her pink bottom lip. “I want to see the pleasure on your lovely body.”

She wriggled beneath him, rubbing his aching cock with her core. He sucked in a breath but demanded his body back off. She knew him well, knew what he liked and when she clamped her mouth over one flat nipple, his chest tightened.

“Like that?” Her breath swept across his nipple, making it even more sensitive.

“There’s nothing you can do to me that I wouldn’t like. I’m a sucker for my ex-wives.” He wriggled his brows and she chuckled.

“You only have one.” Her voice was breathless.

“Yeah, that’s right.” His cock ached and his jeans grew tighter. “If I don’t get rid of these things, I’m going to have some serious damage.”

“I’ll help.” She pushed his jeans off his hips, their fingers meeting at the material and together they removed them until they were gone from his ankles.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this pent up before,” he admitted.

“It’s only been a few days.”

“A few days that have seemed more like ten years.” He nuzzled his nose in her hair, inhaling her scent. Her natural smell could be bottled and sold for millions. He met her gaze, absorbing her like a beautiful sunset. “Hope, I want you.”

Her lids fluttered like butterfly wings against the tops of her cheeks. “I want you too.”

He lifted himself high above her, taking in her lovely features. From her pale locks spread over the dark grey blanket, her warm eyes wide and expecting. Her skin glowed and her lips were still swollen from his kisses.

A knot caught in his throat as realization stabbed his gut. He still loved her.

He’d lost himself…again.

Hell, had he ever been found?

Her fingers grabbing his shaft brought him back to the moment and the sensation oozing through his limbs. She glided her palm over his length, using the pad of her thumb to slide along the pulsating vein from balls to head.

He grabbed her wrist, gently tugging it to the side. Seeing her confusion, he found his voice. “Darlin’, much more of that and I won’t get to enjoy all of you.”

With a need that rocked his world, he trapped her soft body beneath the hard lines of his own and moved himself between her thighs, his shaft rubbing her moist pussy. He held her gaze and she didn’t turn away as a scorching heat fingered its way between them.

“I don’t know how long I’ll last, love. The need is pure torment.”

“Then we’ll have as many rounds as it takes until we get enough.”

Didn’t she understand that no matter how many rounds, none could ever eliminate the desire buried in the most recessed places of his body.

He’d never get enough.

****

As he stretched her muscles, Hope wrapped her legs around his hips and he deepened his reach within her. If there was ever a heaven on earth, this would be the definition.

They shared a kiss, and she could taste her juices on his tongue. Her scent lingered on his mouth. The pressure built in the pit of her stomach, pulsing and throbbing. He moved his mouth to her neck, licking the skin, his five o’clock shadow rasping her flesh.

She wanted to touch all of his body, each coiled muscle and cord. Gliding her fingers down his broad shoulders, she followed his spine as if playing the keys on a piano. Once she reached the tops of his toned bottom, she splayed her palms wide over the taut muscle, feeling him tense under her palms.

His body tightened and she knew he was close, and somehow knowing she’d brought him to the edge sent her sailing over the abyss. Together they soared and when screams met her ears, she realized it was hers. Only he could draw uninhibited emotion from her.

Once the spasms left her body, he rolled off of her and pulled her into the curve of his shoulder and arm. She didn’t resist and allowed the warmth and security of his body to ooze over her like a cloud of safety.

Nothing mattered. Not the past, the future, but only the moment of here and now.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Are you sure about this? I could just make them if you’d like.”

Hope looked across the flour-dusted table at Delores. “No, I’m not sure, but I have to learn.” Hope pulverized the dough into the kitchen counter. “I didn’t think it’d be this hard.”

“Don’t pound it, dear. You have to gently persuade it to abide and mold under your touch. Imagine it as a man and how you stroke him into submission. Just as you have Tucker.”

Hope felt her cheeks heat. “Delores! You naughty woman.”

The woman chuckled and her shoulders shook. “How do you think I became such a good cook? I imagined everything I made being my husband. All men like to be coddled and kneaded, right?” Her grey eyes twinkled.

Hope’s imagination went back to last night in the barn. Her stomach fluttered and her cheeks grew warmer. “I can see your point.”

“I know it’s none of my business, but tell me, child, how are things between you and Tucker-boy? He certainly seemed happy this morning when I passed him on the porch. He was even whistling and I haven’t heard that in a while.”

Moistening her lips, Hope debated her words, knowing the older woman would see right through her if she wasn’t careful. “Things are moving along, but Delores, this is only a temporary situation.”

The woman popped her head up and disappointment smothered her ghostly complexion, “Temporary. But I thought—” She laid her palm, covered in flour and dough, over her chest. “This can’t be true.”

“Will you hate me too much if I tell you I’m doing this to get the house?”

“But tell me, dear, how does one fake the glow in her cheeks or the smile on her face?”

Yeah, she knew Delores could find the hole in her wall. “I won’t deny that I still have feelings for Tucker, but it’s not that simple.”

“Hogwash!” Delores waved a hand. “These days all you youngins can do is put complication in where complication doesn’t belong. Love is simple. You either do or you don’t. It’s not always easy to love someone, never without pain, but the reward is what we strive for, sweet pea.”

Hope dropped back into the chair, abandoning the dough. “He deserves more, Delores.”

Smacking her dough one last time, Delores picked up the towel, scrubbed her hands and laid it over her shoulder. She then gave Hope all of her attention as concern fled over her expression. “From what I’ve seen between the two of you, I’d say he is deserving of the happiness you give him.”

Hope shook her head, sending tendrils of hair falling out of the bun. “You know what I’m referring to.”

Delores’s sigh cracked the air and she came around the table, pulled a chair closer to Hope and took a seat. “My child,” she said and took Hope’s hands into her larger ones. “We don’t always understand God’s plan for us or our relationship. I’ve prayed that He offers you peace from losing those sweet babies. It makes no rhyme or reason why they went on without blessing all of us with their love. But that doesn’t mean that your love for Tucker has gone. When we face such tragedy it can be difficult to find happiness because we are filled with guilt for staying here in the land of the living.”

“How did you do it, Delores? How did you go on after losing your son and husband?” Hope had never come out and asked the woman this question and she’d never talked about the incident. Tucker had told Hope that twenty years ago Delores had lost her family to a car accident.

Tears filled the woman’s pale gaze, but she blinked them away. She gently squeezed Hope’s hands before laying them down. “I can’t tell you how I managed. I’ve forgotten so much of the pain.” Her gaze drifted to the far wall, as if she looked into the past. “I didn’t want to go on, I assure you. I was so distraught that I could have taken my own life, but my sister Minney kept an eagle eye on me. She told me if I dared lay a harmful finger to myself, she’d kill me.” Delores’s laughter sounded hollow. “By the grace of God I grew stronger. I live in the hope that one day I’ll be reunited with my boy and my husband Ronnie. You know, my baby boy was only thirteen. He didn’t get to experience his first love, first kiss or children. I guess we should all be grateful for our experiences—some little and some big.”