Page 90 of A Rancher's Heart
Cold air poured in the door and swirled around them as the December wind shifted over the Rocky Mountains. A glacier-kissed ice-scented breeze that would normally have sent her running for shelter, but she was hot. Scorching, burning hot as he stared down, his ironclad grip controlling her hips.
Pleasure rose again, never quiet after her first orgasm, and she let go of his hand to strum her fingers over her clit, helping matters along. Stronger, higher—
But not quite there before he tightened from head to toe, arching against her and pulsing helplessly as he came. Release taking him and shaking him, and she couldn’t even be disappointed that she hadn’t gone two for two.
It still felt so damn good, and unless she was mistaken, this was only round one.
His head dipped forward, chest quivering as he breathed uneasily. “Damn.”
Tamara sighed happily. “That pretty much sums it up.”
He looked at her from under his brows, a small satisfied smile curling his lips. He didn’t say anything else, just leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers with a soft, tender kiss. Cold air swirled around them, his cock hard enough to be felt inside her tingling sex, and she couldn’t imagine anything better.
Except knowing this was just the beginning.
He wasn’t about to apologize.
If it’d been any other woman, at any other time, Caleb would have been appalled at his lack of control. But as he put them back on the highway and headed for home, Tamara was damn near gloating in the seat next to him.
Considering how goodhefelt, this wasn’t a time for apologies.
He almost wondered if he was dreaming, though, because she’d agreed far more easily to his proposition than expected. It wasn’t as if he only wanted this for today—only for now. He still needed to take that final step and make their relationship more official. Getting there made the distance between two points seem a hell of a lot longer than it should be.
It was like the spot out at Silver Stone where the river stood in the way, and even though the horse sheds he’d been told to go check were less than a five-minute walk apart, because of that river it was an hour unless he wanted to get wet.
Unless he wanted to face the rapids that could twirl him around and possibly send him reeling.
Tamara isn’t Wendy.
Tamara was forthright, all energy and boldness as she reached for his hand, linking her fingers with his and offering a smile full of satisfaction. He felt himself smiling in return.
“I can do better than that,” he informed her. “I feel like a greenhorn, trying to seduce you in the back alley of some nightclub.”
“Caleb Stone. Is this something you’ve done a lot of? Seducing innocent young things behind taverns?”
He shook his head. “Honestly? I never was much of one for hitting the bars. Luke, Walker and I used to go on occasion, and after Josiah moved to the area he and I went. But I mostly stopped after…”
She stroked her fingers between his, caressing. “Tell me to go to hell if you want, but do you have anybody you talk to about Wendy?”
His good mood faded slightly. “I try not to think about her.”
“Which makes sense, and I get it. I’m a lot happier when I don’t think back to everything that brought about me being fired, but there are times and situations it would be much easier to— I don’t know. I guess I just want you to know you can talk about her with me. I’m not going to judge you for making a mistake,ifyou made any, and I’m not saying you did.” She gave his hand a squeeze then adjusted position. Slipping off her boots and bringing her feet up on the seat beside her as she faced him.
“Why’d you get fired?” It was off topic, and yeah, a protective move. But he wanted to know how she’d respond.
Turns out, with utter honesty. “The reason on paper is I ignored the patient/doctor confidentiality clause when I told my friend that her mom had terminal cancer. The real reason is I pissed off a man in a position of power by refusing to worship his cock.”
Caleb jerked the water bottle from his mouth, coughing as he attempted to get rid of the mouthful he had just taken. Thank God he hadn’t spewed it all over the inside of the windshield.
“Was that a little too blunt? I went out with one of the doctors a few times, but it ended up he wasn’t as much fun as he thought he was. And I couldn’t resist smart-mouthing him back when it became clear he thought he had the right to push me around.”
Caleb wiped his lips dry before glancing at her. “You? Smartass comments?”
“Shocking, right?”
He was silent for a moment. That was a pretty big thing she’d done wrong. “Was it worth it? Not the part about being a smartass, but telling your friend.”
Tamara nodded. “She’d already lost her dad to cancer. It was this long, drawn-out illness that was hell on the entire family. Which is why her mom was keeping her diagnosis a secret, but I know Allison. I know she would’ve been even more devastated to have been living hours away instead of spending those final days with someone she loved.”
