“But powerful.”
“How do you mean?”
He lifted his gaze to hers. “What else would have brought you back to me?”
“Ah.”
“Look at you. So incredibly beautiful.” Sliding his work-roughened hands up her ribcage, he cupped her breasts.
Those talented hands, calloused from ranch duties, could bring her to a fever pitch in minutes. He’d ruined her for city boys.
He massaged her breasts, squeezing gently. “I like you pregnant, Izzy. Turns me on.”
“Kinda turns me on, too.” Understatement.
“You’ll have to guide me, though, tell me what feels good.”
“That.”
“Are you tender?”
“No.” She shivered. “Eager. I want to be touched.”
“That I can do.” He tossed the covers aside. “Scoot over.”
She moved to the middle of the bed and turned on her side. “I want to touch you, too.”
“Can’t think of anything better.” He climbed in and lay on his side facing her. Sliding a hand beneath her head, he wrapped his arm around her waist.
She mirrored him, cradling his head and stroking his broad back. This had been the way they’d started the first time they’d made love—lying face-to-face, bodies aligned, desire simmering as they gradually turned up the heat.
Holding her gaze, he pulled her in close, his chest a wall of muscle against the cushion of her breasts, his cock pressing against her damp thigh. His throat moved in a slow swallow. “Never thought I’d be here again.” His voice was gruff with emotion.
“Me, either. Feels so good.”
“Always did.” He rubbed the small of her back. “Funny, but I thought I’d walk in and tackle you. Instead I want to take it slow, since we only have time for one round.”
“Doesn’t feel quite real, does it?”
“No.” Leaning closer, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’d better not be dreaming this.”
She sighed as he kissed her eyelids, then her cheeks. “If I am, it better be a good dream.”
“The kind where you come?” He feathered a kiss over her lips.
“Yes, that kind.”
“It’ll be my pleasure.” He gave her an open-mouthed kiss as he eased a hand between her thighs.
Heart thrumming, she shifted to give him access. He’d only had one night to learn what drove her wild, but he’d learned it well. His thick fingers slid in with ease and his thumb pressed on exactly the right spot.
He lifted his mouth from hers. “You’re drenched.”
“Told you.”
His voice roughened as he deepened the caress. “Makes me feel like a million bucks, knowing you want me this much.”
She dragged in air as her body clenched. “I tried not to want you.”
“Why?”
“Because… it’s inconvenient.” She sucked in another breath.
“It’s not inconvenient right now.” He bore down. “Come for me, Izzy. Make this a good dream.”
She dug her fingers into his back muscles, panting as he brought her closer… there. “CJ.”
“I’m here. Let go.”
Arching against his hand with a sharp cry, she welcomed the waves crashing over her, again and again, carrying away the stress of days, weeks without CJ. Gradually the powerful surges ebbed, leaving her languid and cleansed. She sank back to the bed, sighing with pleasure.
He nibbled on her mouth. “Good dream?”
“Excellent dream.” She struggled for breath. “Got any more… like that?”
“Yes, ma’am. Time for you to lie back and get what’s coming to you.”
She flopped over, boneless but already wanting more. “I hope you mean…what I’m imagining.”
“Let’s find out.” Levering his big body above her, he nudged her thighs apart and settled down, his weight on his forearms as he dropped his hips.
The blunt tip of his cock touched her quivering entrance and she gasped. “Whoa.”
“Yeah. No latex. Can you handle it?”
“Are you kidding? I can’t wait.” She clutched his hips. “I’ve never—”
“That makes two of us.” He pushed forward, squeezed his eyes shut and cursed softly.
“You don’t like it?”
He opened his eyes. “I love it. Do you?”
“Yeah.”
His gaze darkened. “It’s so good it’s too good.”
“I can tell by your eyes.”
“I’ll hang out here for a little bit, get used to the sensation.”
“I say go for it.” She tightened her core muscles.
His breath caught. “If you do that I won’t have a choice.”
“Want that good dream?”
“You know I do, but can you—”
“You bet I can.” She squeezed again.
“Okay, we’re doing this.” He drew back and pushed forward. “Wow.”
Her thighs began to tremble. “Keep going.”
“Can’t help it.” He began to stroke. Laughing with delight, he picked up the pace. “Damn, Izzy. Damn.”
“Yeah.” Excitement churned through her as she stayed with him, rising to meet each thrust and urging him on. She came first, loudly and with great joy.
He followed, his deep groan vibrating through his body as his cock pulsed unconstrained deep within her.
Resting his sweaty forehead on her shoulder, he fought for breath. “A-maz-ing.”
“Uh-huh.”
He lifted his head and gazed at her. “Rest up while I’m gone. We’re going to do this a lot.”
Chapter Fifteen
CJ dressed on the porch while Izzy leaned in the doorway wearing a Buckskin Ranch terry robe. She looked way too warm and tempting. But if he gave in to that temptation, he’d be late for barn duty.
He could ask her to step inside and close the door, but he appreciated her impulse to keep him company while he buttoned his damp shirt and leaned against the porch rail to pull on his socks.
“I hate seeing you put on those clammy wet clothes. Must feel awful.”
“Goes with the job. We work outside and sometimes it rains. And snows.” He puffed out his chest and struck a pose. “Cowboys deal with it.”
“Okay, Dudley Do-Right. Don’t tell me you’re enjoying the effort it takes to zip your jeans.”
“Truth be told, I’d rather be unzipping them.” He glanced at her. “It’s not easy to leave you, Iz. Especially when you’re giving me that special look and I know you’re naked under the robe.”
“Want me to go inside?”
“I’d rather have you stay and torture me with the gleam in your eyes.”
“I don’t have a gleam.”
“That’s what you think. You have a gleam right this minute.”
“Must be a reflection from the one in yours.”
“That may be so, but I’ll wager you’re thinking about my package, especially while I’m working so hard on this damn zipper. Draws your attention to the significant area.” He gave it one last tug. “Got it.”
“I suppose you think I fantasize about—”
“I fantasize about your body.” He buckled his belt and picked up his boots. “Why should you be any different?”
She laughed. “You’re right. I’m not. I’ve thought about your body quite a bit over the past two months. Might be why I noticed you’ve put on some muscle since I left.”
“Didn’t expect I’d get a chance to show it off.” Leaning against the porch rail, he tugged on his boots.
“To me, you mean. You must have intended to impress some other woman eventually.”
“A few years ago you would’ve been right. I worked on my six-pack for that very purpose.” He picked up his hat from the Adirondack chair and gazed at her. “This time my only goal was to forget you.”
“Oh.”
“You seem surprised.”
“Surprised and sad.” She pushed away from the doorjamb.
“You got drunk because of me?”
“A few times. Then Nick suggested lifting weights. Seemed like a better way to go.”
She padded out on the porch, barefoot, and stroked his cheek. “I’m sorry.”
“Wasn’t your fault.” He captured her hand and placed a kiss on her palm. “We’d established the ground rules. I’d agreed to them.”
“Because you’d rather have something than nothing.”
“Right.” Releasing her hand, he cupped her shoulders but maintained his distance. No way he’d mess up her white robe. “It’s still true. That thing about not making love until you had no doubts is out the window. I couldn’t hold to it.” His grip tightened. “I crave you, Izzy.”
Her expression softened. “I crave you, too. I hated walking away in April.”
“That helps.”
“I wanted to believe you’d be fine. But you weren’t.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
Relief pushed the breath from his lungs. “That’s good to know. I mean, it’s not, because I don’t want you to be miserable, but if we’re in the same boat, then—”
“It doesn’t mean you should pull up stakes and move to Seattle.”
“Do you have a better solution? Because I—” He stopped when she frowned and took a breath, readying herself for an argument. “You know what? We just made beautiful love to each other and this is a topic that could rain all over our parade.”
“But it’s important. We—”
“I know it is.” Lifting her by the shoulders, he gave her a quick, forceful kiss. “I’ll be back at six-twenty, ready for more of your sweet loving.”
“But we need to talk about—”
“I’d be happy to ignore Seattle for the rest of the night, if it’s all the same to you.” Releasing her, he tipped his hat, spun around and clattered down the steps. He didn’t want to have another argument about Seattle. Not after the most incredible sex of his life.
And look at that. The sun was out. While he’d been loving Izzy, the clouds had moved off and the late afternoon sun had begun drying the soaked earth. He liked rain. He’d be fine in Seattle, even if nobody else thought so.
He was early getting to the barn, but better that than being late with his shirt buttoned up wrong. Nick wasn’t there yet, so he used the time to lay straw over the muddiest areas in front of the barn. Between the exercise and the warm sun, his clothes mostly dried.
Fetching a brush from the grooming tote in the tack room, he carried it outside and started working on the caked mud decorating his jeans. He even had some patches on his shirt. Made him smile. That wild dash for her cabin had been great.
The de-mudding was still in progress when Nick showed up. “Hey, Nick.” He sent him a brief glance and kept brushing.
“I can see why you had to shuck your clothes on Isabel’s porch.” Nick grinned. “You’re a disaster area. What’d you do, roll in the stuff?”
“Ran through the rain.”
“And the mud, evidently. Not too smart.”
“I know.” He stomped his feet to shake off what he couldn’t reach. Good enough. “Couldn’t help it.”
“Yeah, well, I guess I understand that, once you got the green light. What I don’t understand is why you’re here.”
He looked up. “Same reason as you. I have barn duty.”
“You could have texted one of us to cover for you.”
“Matt offered. I didn’t like the idea of him giving up time off so I could be with Izzy. Sets a bad precedent if I start shirking my duties.”
“But won’t you have a better chance of changing her mind if you’re with her more?”
“Maybe.”
“Then as part of the campaign, shouldn’t we assist you in arranging that?”
“Not if it means dumping my responsibilities on the Brotherhood. She knows I work full-time.”
“I see your point. You don’t want to look desperate.”
“Too late. She already knows I am. But just because I’m desperate doesn’t mean I get to be selfish.”
“I don’t see it as selfish. It’s helping out a brother.”
“I appreciate that, but for now, I’ll stick with my work assignments.”
“Okay. You going back over there after this?”
“Yep. She asked me to.”
“Hey, that’s encouraging, right?”
“Guess so.”
“I want things to work out for you guys.” Nick shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Did you make some progress this afternoon?”
He laughed. “I have no idea how to answer that, bro.” He gestured toward the barn. “Let’s go get us some lead ropes and catch us some ponies.”
Chapter Sixteen
Right after Isabel finished tucking food she’d brought from the buffet in an under-the-counter fridge, her phone played Naomi’s ring tone. Not good. They’d talked this morning. No reason for her to call tonight unless there was a problem at the shop.
She glanced at the time. Ten minutes before CJ would knock on her door. She tapped the icon for the speaker option. “Hi, Naomi. I only have a few—”
“The roaster’s dead. Fred just left. Drum is warped. No point in fixing it.”
“Damn it.” Her stomach churned. Their maintenance guy had been with them from the beginning. He’d helped them find that reconditioned roaster. If he could have repaired it, he would have.
“Yeah, and—”
“But you have enough inventory to buy us some time, right? This morning you said—”
“That was this morning. Turns out there’s a techie convention starting today. The organizers fell in love with Cup of Cheer when they were location scouting and they’re sending attendees here in droves.”
She groaned. “Can you estimate when you’ll run out?”
“At this rate, Friday afternoon. I have a possible solu—”
“Give me a minute. Let me think.” She paced the small confines of the one-room cabin. Her five-year-plan had just gotten kicked out the door. So had her budget. “Grab the paperwork for the roaster I have tacked up on my wish list bulletin board.”
“Already called them. They can’t ship until next week.”
She swore under her breath. “What about that company in California? I have their brochure bookmarked on my computer. They’re more expensive but—”
“I already checked. They’re backed up, too. But I have a lead on a roaster. Fred did an install for a guy in Bellingham who wants to sell his roaster.”
“No. I gambled on this one, but at least I got a limited warranty from the dealer. Buying from a private party would be a nightmare. We—”
“Izzy, this is a nightmare. We need a roaster by Friday morning. Thursday night would be better. The guy has a year-old model at a very reasonable price. If I close the deal tonight—”
“Have you talked to him?”
“Of course I talked to him! If I give him a deposit, he’ll hire a crew to load that sucker into a moving van and drive it down here tomorrow. Fred will come over after it arrives and hook it up.”
“What do you know about this Bellingham guy?”
“That he’s my freaking knight in shining armor! And that Fred’s set to head up there first thing tomorrow morning to confirm the roaster’s in good shape.”
That was some consolation. “But it’s still used. Why’s he selling it? What if it’s defect—”
“Fred will check it out.”
“You’re talking about risking tens of thousands. No warranty, no—”
“Want me to close the shop when the coffee’s gone?”
“No! But this—” She paused. “Hang on. CJ’s at the door.” She clicked off the speaker function before opening the door.
His happy smile faded. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s scared to death. Doesn’t want to make a move without you here.”
“Are you scared?”
“You bet, but I’m not paralyzed like George.”
She took a deep breath. “That’s good.”
“Do you want the guy’s phone number?”
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll text it to you as soon as I hang up. I’ll also send the picture of the roaster that he sent me. It looks brand-new, Iz.”
“He could do a bait and switch.”
“I don’t have to pay him until the roaster’s operational, so he’s taking a bigger risk than we are. And Fred says he’s legit.”
“Then send me the info. In any case, I’ll also look at flights. I doubt I can get there any sooner than tomorrow night, but I’d like to be there when Fred hooks it—”
“Sis, don’t do that.”
“Why not? This is a major crisis. I need to be there.”
“If we go through with this deal, it’ll either work or it won’t. You being here isn’t going to change that.”
“But—”
“I’m handling it. You could end up spending a lot of money to change your ticket and you’ll also cut your time short with CJ. Or have you settled everything with him?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then stay until Sunday morning, like you planned.”
“I’ll see how much the change fee is.”
“Izzy, I can han—”
“Listen, I’d better call this guy. We may be forced to take a chance on him, but I’ll feel better about it if I can ask a few questions. I’ll text you after our conversation.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” She disconnected and turned to CJ.
He held his hat in his hand as if unsure whether he was supposed to stay. “You’ll be looking at flights?”
“Yes, but first I need to talk with a guy who has a used roaster for sale. He’s less than two hours away and offered to arrange the delivery.”
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