Page 12 of An Angel for the Cowboy
Something in me snaps. I kiss her desperately, claiming her. She meets me stroke for stroke; her blanket falling away, her body pressing against mine.
We're both breathing hard when we pull apart. Her lips are swollen, eyes dark with want. "The bunk," she whispers.
It's narrow, barely wide enough for one person, let alone two. But I don't care. I lift her. Elation soars through me when she gasps and wraps her legs around my waist. I carry her the three steps to the bed.
I lay her down carefully. She's in nothing but her bra and underwear, all those curves on display, and I have to stop and just look at her. Memorize this moment because part of me still can't believe it's real.
"Chance." She reaches for me. "Please."
I strip off my underwear and join her on the narrow bunk. We're pressed together, skin to skin, and it's the most incredible thing I've felt in years. Maybe ever.
I kiss her again, slower this time. Her neck, her collarbone, the swell of her breasts. She arches into me, her fingers digging into my shoulders, little gasps escaping her throat that drive me wild.
"You're beautiful. Perfect."
"Not perfect. But yours. If you'll have me."
The words hit me square in the chest. Mine. She wants to be mine. And God help me, I want her to be.
I unhook her bra, toss it aside. She helps me remove her underwear, and then there's nothing between us. Just skin and heat and need.
I touch her everywhere, learning what makes her gasp and moan my name. Her hands rove down my back, squeezing my ass. When they wrap around my cock, I nearly lose it.
"Condom," I grit out. "I don't have one."
"I'm on birth control." She pulls me closer.
“I haven’t been with anyone in the past twelve years.”
"I trust you."
The faith in her eyes undoes me. I position myself at her entrance, and we lock eyes as I push in slowly. She's tight and wet. The sensation is overwhelming.
We both freeze, just breathing, adjusting. Then she rocks her hips and I'm lost. I move with her, finding our rhythm. It takes every ounce of strength in me to wait for her pleasure.
"I love you," she whispers against my ear.
I want to say it back. Want to tell her she's everything I've been afraid to want. But the words stick in my throat, tangled up with fear and old pain.
Instead, I show her with my body. With every touch, every kiss, every thrust. I pour everything I can't say into the way I make love to her, and when she comes apart in my arms, crying my name, I follow her over the edge.
Afterward, we lie tangled together on the narrow bunk, sweaty and spent. She traces patterns on my chest, and I hold her close, breathing in the scent of her.
"What if you get bored with ranch life?”
She props herself up on one elbow, looking down at me with fierce determination. "I’ve lived in a big city and travelled a bit, at first with my parents and later with friends. But I always longed for the joy I felt herding and tending cattle those summer breaks before I finished high school, even though I earned a pittance. I fell in lust with you when I saw your photo on your profile. That, Mel’s cute picture and how well tended the ranch looked made me decide to come."
I want to believe her so badly it hurts.
But the fear is still there, a cold stone in my chest.
She kisses me, silencing the spiral of thoughts. "Stop thinking so much, just feel."
I pull her close and let myself feel her warmth, softness and the way she fits perfectly against me.
Outside, the storm rages on. But in here, wrapped in her arms, I feel something I haven't felt in over a decade.
Loved.
