Trail of Lust (5 page)

Worry settled in her chest, mingled with a pang at the hurt in his voice. “R-ripped?"

"Killed.” He sounded as if he'd gargled gravel.

She quivered with longing. Suddenly, she couldn't bear the idea of him knowing that pain. Her pa had shattered after losing her mother. Very slowly, he had put his life back together, but it still pained her to think of his distress during that time.

Wrapping her arms tightly around Graham, she brought him down atop her. His weight felt good, pressing her into the ground. She held him for long minutes, stroking his hair and spine.

"I'm truly sorry to hear it, Graham. I only hope to fill a portion of the hole she left behind."

He made a sound like a sob. But when he looked at her, she found his eyes dry. With startling suddenness, he claimed her mouth. Gone were the playful caresses. This kiss was smoldering. Consuming. Soul-binding. She felt part of herself trickle away, already belonging to him.

"Take me, husband. Bind us."

With savage lust, he tore open the hooks holding her skirt at the waist. The cloth loosened. In one swift tug, he pulled it off, exposing her calves and ankles to the night air—and to his gaze.

More vulnerable than ever, she was in a state of arousal she'd never known existed. She pinched her eyes shut, then opened them immediately, not wanting to miss the expression in his as he looked her over for the first time.

"Christ... These curves. Here. And here.” He touched her breasts again, sending them bouncing. “Tender-eyed woman. I needed you for a very long time and never realized it."

With a cry, she locked her arms around his broad shoulders, scraping her nails over his shirt, eager to feel the warm swells of muscle beneath. How would he taste? Would he let her kiss his skin as he did hers?

He gripped the fabric of her chemise and tore it down the front. The fragile cloth shredded, the fine threads of her stitches popping. Excitement gathered in her core at this primal gesture.

"Fuck, yeah.” He spread the cloth, baring her to him.

Before she could react, he was drawing her straining nipple onto his tongue, sucking the peak until she thought she'd burst. Low moans escaped her unheeded. She lashed his head to her, forcing him harder. The silken swirl of his tongue over her bud maddened her. A throbbing began in her pussy. He pushed her higher and higher. The need was so great, and she had no idea if there was an end to it.

He released her nipple with a
pop
and moved to the other, grinding his jaw into her sensitive flesh. He palmed her breast, pulling her bud to his mouth. It disappeared fraction by fraction. The sight of his wet tongue probing her intimately made her quake.

Dropping his weight to her naked frame, he brought out her gasp. Uncontrollable shivers claimed her. He nudged her thighs apart as he kissed a trail down the slope of her belly to her mound of red curls.

A shudder racked him. “God, Kathleen. I can smell your arousal.” Without warning, he dropped a kiss to her moist seam.

Shock stole her senses. Did men and women do this? Kiss each other in this way?

He probed her with his tongue, sliding it down her slick outer folds and gathering her juices. He moaned, vibrating her flesh. White-hot ecstasy claimed her. She bucked upward, desperate for him to ease this ache inside her, wanting him in a way she didn't understand. She clung to his shoulders, trusting him to guide her down this unknown path.

"Yes, Graham. Please!"

"Mmm.” He tasted her deeper, sinking his tongue into her channel. Fire spread through her. She twisted her fingers in his shirt, closing her eyes against the pleasure-pain of need he was creating in her. Swiftly, she opened them again, unable to stop watching his mouth moving over her sex.

Juices soaked his lips and tongue. He pressed the tip of his tongue deeper. Then suddenly, he licked upward and located the hard pearl at the top of her seam.

"Ohhhh!” She rocked wildly, urging him to do that again. He obeyed, strumming the bundle of nerves.

Rocketing upward, her fear and pleasure intertwined. “Graham!” Her voice was breathless and scared at once.

He dug his fingers into her hips, locking her to the earth. “Give yourself over to it, baby. I'll always keep you safe.” He drove his tongue into her pussy again, licking her pearl until an unbearable burn filled her.

With a cry, she splintered. Pulsations struck her like a wave. Her world narrowed. The song of the wind in the grasses vanished along with the lowing of the cattle. She knew only the movement of his tongue.

He eased a finger into her entrance, and she was slammed by another wave of sensation. Rough cries echoed through the night. Was it her? She had no idea. She was out of her head with bliss.

His finger stretched her, filled her. The slippery juices she squeezed out slicked his path. He continued to lap at her nubbin as he curled his finger.

Suddenly, he left her. Her pussy clenched around the emptiness, yearning for his finger once again. He leaned over her, wetness in his beard and coating his lips. “Take off my shirt, Kathleen."

Mewling, she did his bidding. Little pangs still shocked her. But when she set eyes on his massive body, she thought she'd faint dead away. Muscle bulged on his chest and down to his midsection. Bands of muscle ran horizontally across his body, carved as if from stone.

She ran her hand over his skin, learning his body the way he'd explored hers. His groan spurred her on and let her know what she was doing was all right. When she reached his waistband, he took over, yanking open the fly with one swift movement.

In seconds, he'd shed his pants and covered her bare body with his. If she'd thought him warm through his clothes, he was positively scorching without. She stifled a gasp.

He swallowed the noise as he plunged his tongue into her mouth. For long minutes, he brought her back to a heightened state of need by tangling his tongue with hers. When her restlessness flared to life once more, he brought his erection to the quick of her.

"You're mine, Kathleen. My darling, sweet woman.” With one solid thrust, he joined them.

Pain ripped through her, pulling the rug of pleasure out from under her. She pushed against his chest, but he was unmovable. Holding perfectly still, he stared into her eyes.

"I'm sorry, baby. The pain will pass, and it's only this one time."

"Y-you could have warned me!"

He stroked the hair off her face. His warm fingers comforted her as did his gentle words. “Remember that heat and the need you felt minutes ago? It will build again if I move."

She searched his gaze, practically pleading with him to make the painful ache go away and to bring the splendid one back.

"Touch me. Feel my skin."

Running her hands along his spine, she learned that he was like steel covered in velvet. Her breathing hitched as he shifted, moving slightly within her. Rather than the blinding pain she'd felt before, the slippery movement felt good.

She pushed air between her pursed lips.

"See, baby? It feels better, right?"

"Mmm.” She slid her hands down his back to his buttocks. He surged suddenly within her, and she cried out, scoring his flesh with her nails. Her cream flooded his thick shaft.

Above him, the moon had climbed the sky and hung over his right shoulder. She gazed up at him in wonder. How had she come to this place in her life? This morning, she'd awoken in the same way she always had. She'd had no inkling that within hours she'd find herself betrothed and thoroughly loved by this strong man.

He nuzzled her throat as he withdrew to the tip of his cock, then glided back into her slowly. Her pussy contracted around him, hugging him tight.

"Kathleen, I can't last long. You're so tight. So fucking hot!"

His heated words sent her sailing, reeling out of control. The release he'd given her with his tongue had been a sharp and blistering pleasure. This one was deeper and filled her with emotion such as she'd never known. She held her breath and let the waves pummel her, clinging to her rock in this unknown sea—Graham.

He stiffened, and exquisitely hot spurts bathed her walls. A long, low moan reverberated from him. She turned her mouth against his, capturing the sound as he pumped into her.

The tendrils of sensation continued to rise. Wrapping her arms and legs around him, she held him as together they came down from their high.

His breathing stirred the hair on her temple. She opened her mouth against his shoulder and tasted the salt of his sweat and musk. Under her roving hands, his skin rippled.

After a long minute, he settled against her, bracing his weight on his arms but trapping her with his hips. He nudged her chin up so she could meet his gaze. “Welcome to my world, baby."

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Goddammit, he'd made a grave error. Graham dropped his face into his hands and let the terror roll through him. How could he have done such a thing? Bound himself to another woman who was sure to be taken from him? Self-disgust followed on the heels of his fear. He'd dragged the innocent Kathleen into his arms and made promises with his body when he wasn't suitable for her.

The chance of losing her to a murderous enemy wasn't slim with Wabash on the loose. Even if that traitorous bastard wasn't out there lurking, ready to steal any peace Graham had managed to gain, women didn't last long in this part of the country. Illnesses and hard work wore females thin, and childbirth took them out more often than not.

He stared down at the woman slumbering in the tall, fragrant grasses—his woman—and assessed her. Was she hardy enough to withstand the rigors of life as a cowboy's wife? Cooking and cleaning for her father was less of a trial than running a ranch with a string of babies clinging to her skirts while Graham rode off for weeks at a time to sell horses.

She lay on her side, her cheek pillowed on his wadded-up shirt and her long auburn tresses spilled into one eye. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically beneath her skirt, which he'd used to cover her. The sun was just rising over the lip of the land, spreading its glowing fingers through the sky.

Kathleen was too pale. Hell, he could see several networks of veins beneath her fair skin. Though she possessed womanly curves, she was surely too thin. She wouldn't last a week as his wife.

But it was too damn late. He'd claimed her, and that meant he had to get her to the preacher with all haste. If his family discovered he'd bedded a good woman without marrying her first, he'd find himself facedown in the barn, spitting hay and teeth. He could even expect a broken bone or two from his vigilant cousins. The Hollis boys simply did not carouse.

Fuck
. He continued to stare at the little vixen who had weaseled her way under his skin. As with Bella, he'd gone with his gut instincts and the primal drive to possess her. The parallels were too alike, and that was what scared the hell out of him. That kernel of guilt had firmly lodged in his gut too. Was he marring Bella's memory by taking up with another woman? He'd sworn to himself he'd never take another woman, yet here she was, spread out before him like a feast for a starving man.

Keeping her safe from the threat of Wabash and any other ghost from his past would be the real challenge. One he was up for?

Too late.

An impulsive ass, that was what he was. He deserved to be beaten to a pulp by his brothers and cousins. He had half a mind to ride straight home and confess to his brothers, Nolan and Clay. Though they were younger, they'd deliver the punishment he deserved. Maybe the pain would help him curb the feelings of guilt and absolute fear that engulfed him.

Kathleen's breathing deepened. Her full lips popped open, and he was granted a glimpse of her wet pink mouth. His cock hardened instantly, bobbing against his belly. He'd loved her all night but had joined with her only twice due to her sore state.

He'd brought her climax after climax, using his fingers and mouth. The memories filled him with joy. She was indeed a good match in bed, eager to please and hungry. He suspected it wouldn't be long before she began to make demands.

His balls clenched tightly to his body at the thought.

She flung out an arm, her fingers twitching open as if seeking something. The sight made his heart jerk hard, and he placed his palm against hers.

No, he couldn't leave her now. But that didn't mean he had to take risks with her. He'd let his guard down with Bella, never believing anyone would harm a woman. He wasn't about to take that chance with Kathleen.

As he stared at her peaceful countenance, he formulated a plan. He had a family big enough to help protect her, but asking them was the rough part. He hadn't been exactly friendly with his brothers or cousins since he'd returned from the war, but had kept to himself. Would they be willing to help someone who'd shown so little interest in their affairs?

But he couldn't claim her body and then run away either. Driven by his passions, he'd sunk himself deep—too deep. Now it was time to own up to his actions. She wasn't going to be happy about it, but he didn't see a way around it. If he explained his reasoning, she'd understand, wouldn't she?

In a few minutes, he'd have to wake her so she could dress and slip back into the house before her father awakened. The animals in the barn were already getting restless, and it was only a matter of time before Silas was up.
Probably with a gun in hand, ready to blow my balls off for cavorting with his daughter.

He scooped up his pants from the ground and gained his feet to put them on. His gaze returned to Kathleen again and again, drawn to her hip jutting into the air, to the delicate turn of her bare ankles...and to the steady pulse in her ivory throat.

Her life could be snuffed out too easily. As far as he could see, there was only one way out of this predicament.

Kathleen's belly quivered as thoughts of her night spent in Graham's arms distracted her. She'd stolen a few minutes of sleep between his attentions, and the act of washing his scents from her body and donning a fresh dress robbed her of the last hints of her energy.