by Em Petrova
Another moan escaped her lips.
“When I do that, your body responds to me.”
“H-how do you know?” Her stomach muscles leaped, and her thighs quivered.
He planted his hands on her thighs and parted them a bit more to give him access to her juicy folds. Under his fingers, her muscles quivered.
When he slipped his tongue between her pussy lips again, she stretched onto tiptoes and issued a long groan.
“That’s how I know.” He plunged his tongue in again, lapping at her bundle of nerves until he felt her unraveling for him. The points of her nails dug into his shoulders, and his cock beat at his fly while he thought he’d lose his shit like a teenager if he didn’t get inside her quick.
“There…right there. Oh God, Asher!” She threw her head back, straining into his tongue as she came apart. The pulse of her pussy on his tongue proved too much for his sanity.
He lifted her still-pulsating body, tore down his jeans and slipped her over his cock.
She went dead still. “Condom.”
“Fuck!” Pulling out of her tight, wet heat now that he’d felt her wrapped so snugly around him took a massive effort, but he managed to get the rubber from his wallet and rolled on. When he swung back his hips to poise the head of his cock at her entrance, he clutched her face and kissed her. At the same time he thrust inside her, he plunged his tongue into her mouth.
He had to sag at the knees, almost lifting her on his cock. Bracing his hands under her ass, he pulled her into him. Over and over. Need blasted through him. He churned his hips. She pushed down on him.
In the back of his mind, he still felt her slickness wrapped around him with no barriers. Jesus Christ, he wouldn’t last…one…more…
Burning pleasure exploded through him. As the first spurt ran up his dick and jetted from the tip, he surged faster, harder, pounding into her as the bliss hit. She clung to his shoulders, shaking apart in his arms.
And hell, he was so deep with this woman. Could he ever walk away?
If it came down to leaving in order to save her from the Moon curse, he couldn’t. He was too fucking selfish.
* * * * *
Branson sat next to Kinsey, relating the details of where he’d taken his date the previous night, when her ringing cell interrupted him.
She cast him a look. “Hold on. I want to hear all about that right after I answer this.” She pressed a button and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Kinsey, where the hell are you?”
She stiffened. Just when she’d been thinking of Asher with all the warm fuzzies still bouncing through her system, the man rubbed her in all the wrong ways with that tone of voice.
“I’m working. Where do you think I’m at?” she snapped back. Branson raised his brows at her.
“I need you at the ranch.”
“Okay, I’m just heading—”
“You don’t want to wait, Kinsey. Get here as fast as you can.”
“You realize I hate being bossed around, right?”
He chuckled. “Not in bed, you don’t. Remember last night when I told you to get on your knees?”
His dark reminder made her glad she had chosen to keep the call off speakerphone. Carefully keeping her eyes on the road and praying Branson didn’t see the flush crawling up her neck, she fought for an even keel. “I’ll be over as soon as I can,” she said through clenched teeth. “Goodbye, Asher.”
Before he could get in another reminder that she’d sucked his cock like a prostitute working for rent, she hung up. Silence filled the Jeep. Finally, Branson cleared his throat.
“You know I could hear every word.”
“Oh. My. God. Tell me you’re lying!” She threw him a glance. “You’re not. Should I just drive off the side of the mountain now?”
He laughed. “You’re never dramatic, Puffy. Must mean you’re really into this Moon guy.”
Her face felt so hot she might burst into flames. “Shut up, Cody. I don’t need any crap from you.”
Chuckling again, he directed his attention to the mountain road she navigated at a speed that would get her down the mountain faster. “Love does stupid things to us all.”
“Does that mean you’re in love now?”
“Don’t direct the conversation to me. This is about you.”
“What about me?” She slowed for a sharp bend.
“Well, you told me your father’s angry with you for seeing Moon. And your brother isn’t around anymore to give you advice.”
She grunted. “So now it’s your job?”
“Why not? You’re like my kid sister.”
She leveled her stare at him. “Big sister, more like.”
“Well, big sister, what do you think Moon wants you to hurry up and meet him for?”
She sighed. “It could be to do with the coyotes. His brother stayed up all night on watch, and then the others are alternating to watch the herd. Maybe he saw something…” She sped up a bit on a straight pass to gain some time.
“We haven’t heard of any other attacks today, so maybe you’re starting to get a handle on the problem,” he said.
“I hope so. The last thing I need are ranchers breathing down my neck. And the more they pressure Asher, the harder my job becomes.”
He nodded. “So let me tell you more about this date...”
Luckily, his story took her mind off why Asher sounded so short with her on the phone and passed the time faster too. After she dropped Branson at the office and his truck to continue making the rounds on his own, she headed to the Moon Ranch.
Part of her still sizzled with Asher’s ministrations in her bed—all night long. And the other part wanted to walk up to him and knee him in the jimmies for his abrupt demands on the phone. When she stopped in his driveway, he pulled open her door.
Looking up into his eyes, shaded by the brim of his Stetson, she felt her heart turn over. “What happened?” she asked.
“Come with me.” He stepped back to allow her out of the Jeep.
The walk across the field, they were both silent. She felt the heavy weight of whatever he carried on his shoulders and didn’t know what to say. Leading her down to the creek, he slowed his pace to match her shorter-legged stride. Then they rounded a clump of trees and she saw it.
A coyote in the trap.
She whirled to Asher. “You did this for me. You didn’t take care of it so I can relocate it.”
He gave a single nod.
Her heart thumped. “Why? You could have dispatched the animal and I wouldn’t have known. The coalition would have been happy with your bounty.”
“Yes.”
“Why, Asher?” She faced him, head tipped up to look into his eyes.
The depths of his burned through her like a hot knife. “I care about you.”
Her throat closed. “Just care?” she managed to force out.
His eyelid twitched, and he issued a rough noise. “Fuck it. I can’t stop from loving you, darlin’. C’mere.” He yanked her several feet toward him and into his arms. She hit his broad chest with a thump and threw her arms around his neck just as he lowered his mouth to hers. As the sweet, tender kiss went on for long moments, she couldn’t help but marvel at his words.
He loves me. And I don’t know when it happened, but I love him too.
After they broke away, their gazes locked. They shared a smile.
“Let’s get this thing loaded up for relocation,” he said.
“Asher.”
When he zeroed in on her like that, with all his attention and his heart in his eyes, she tumbled even deeper in love with him.
“Thank you.”
* * * * *
Asher stroked his fingertips down Kinsey’s naked spine, over and over in long passes that left her sinking against him more. She issued a soft sigh, and he smiled at that sound.
Damn, how fast his life had whipped in a three-sixty. From growing up in a toxic home, to that fateful day that had helped end his
love of being an enforcement agent, to lying with this woman in his arms…a woman who had changed him, if he was honest.
Maybe his brothers felt the same way with Esme and Brennah. Asher never listened much to people who said things like the love of a good woman changes a man, but now, well, he might have become a cliché.
At least the horse that had been attacked was on the mend, according to Brennah. If he couldn’t get peace of mind from Kinsey, at least he could stop the nagging worry over the ranch staying afloat.
She sighed again—this time the tone sounded different.
He looked down at her. The sandy hair falling across her forehead made his fingers twitch to brush it away, which would lead to cupping her face and then kissing her. Things would get out of control fast, and pretty soon he’d be buried inside her.
“What is it?” he asked, unable to stop himself from brushing that hair aside. The wisps were like silk against his callused fingertips.
“It’s something Branson and I talked about today.”
He studied her face and the crease between her brows.
She went on, “He called himself my brother and said that he should be able to give advice.”
“And this is a problem?”
“Not exactly. It’s nice to have someone in my corner. But it started me thinking about my own family and how dysfunctional they are at this time. I don’t know how things got so effed up.”
“The effed up I know all too well.”
“I know, and you’re so strong for overcoming it.”
His brows pinched, but she didn’t notice how her words affected him and continued.
“If only my father would heal a little bit from losing Mom. If only he didn’t side with Trent to the point where he can’t see what’s real or one of Trent’s lies… And I don’t even know what’s truth.”
He stared at the ceiling of her bedroom for a moment and then swallowed hard. “I do.”
She shifted to lean over him. “What?”
“I know the truth about your brother’s case.”
“How?”
Now that he’d opened his mouth, he wished he’d kept it shut. For the love of a good woman, he would step in a huge pile of shit he didn’t want to be ankle deep in.
“I have access to some facts.”
“Access where?”
“On a website. I can sign in and see who I’m going after next. And everything about that person is listed, including current charges or the state of their investigation.”
She sat up in a flurry, hair streaming into one eye and the sheet loosely gathered over her breasts so it dipped enticingly and revealed her luscious cleavage. “Well, can I see? Will you show me?”
He reached for the hat on his head that wasn’t there. He dropped his hand to his side. “I shouldn’t. But I will.”
She stood, yanking the sheet with her and bundling it around her nudity, which left him exposed from head to toe. And in between, his cock lay half hard against his stomach.
Her gaze dropped to his package and then she jerked it away. “Get up. Please, Asher?”
How to deny her? He couldn’t deny her anything. Swinging his legs over the mattress, he wondered what new information had hit Trent’s file. Last time he’d looked, the DNA for the hit and run was processing, along with traffic camera footage.
She has the right to know. To understand. And then, hopefully, she could process the emotions associated with having a disappointing family member and figure out her course of action from there.
As he pulled on his underwear, she grabbed a computer tablet off her dresser and carried it back to the bed. She thrust it toward him. “Will you show me?”
He sank to the mattress again, and she slid closer, sheet still gathered around her. He navigated some internet pages and used a password to sign in.
She sucked in a breath. “You just showed me your password.”
He chuckled. “I know it’s supposed to be secret, but I don’t think you’ll be getting on here and using what information you find.”
“But…you trust me.” Her voice echoed with awe, and he looked down at her.
“I do.”
She leaned against his side as he pulled up Trent Reynolds’ file. When his mug shot popped onto the screen, Kinsey sucked in sharply.
Asher stared at her. “You sure you want to see this?”
She nodded. “I have to know. All I know is what Dad and Trent have told me.”
Gliding a finger down the screen, he scrolled through the information. She leaned closer to read. Silence filled the bedroom. When they reached the part of the DNA and camera footage revealing that Trent was indeed at the scene of the hit and run—that evidence revealed he had actually gotten out of his car and checked on the person and then driven away without helping, which resulted in the young man’s death—then Kinsey twisted her face away.
Asher dropped the tablet and pulled her against his chest. When he kissed her brow, she gave a sniffle. The noise broke his damn heart. He dragged her across his lap, and she curled into him.
He resumed his stroking on her spine until she relaxed in his hold. “You okay?” he asked finally.
She nodded. “It isn’t totally a shock. I knew he couldn’t be innocent in all this, but to know he’s so far gone from the boy I grew up with, who I looked up to…”
“I get it.”
“Now I need to talk to my dad.”
He moved away enough to search her eyes. “From what you said, he’s rejecting anything is wrong with his son. Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“I have to try. He has to wake up and then maybe he can start healing—from everything.”
“And if he doesn’t accept it?” Or worse, he turned on Kinsey and caused her more emotional pain.
She took a shuddering breath. “Then I did my part and it’s all I can do. Right?”
“I think you’re on the right track. You can lead a horse to water and all that.”
“Exactly. Present facts and get out. Let him process and come to me.” With that plan, she jumped off his lap and dropped the sheet. One look at her sumptuous curves had him reaching for her. He toppled them back on the mattress and held her flush to his body. His cock stirred.
“Asher…”
“Baby?”
She giggled. “You call me a different love name every single time.”
“Because they all fit you so well—why settle on one?”
“I like that.” She smiled down at him. “Okay, if I don’t get up—”
“You’re going to take advantage of this little problem?” He ground his hips upward, letting her feel his erection to the full extent.
“Mmm. Not so little. And maybe I can hold off on talking to Dad for a few more minutes.” She kissed him, letting her tongue slip into his mouth against his own. He growled in response to her hard nipples beneath his palms and the restless swish of her hips.
* * * * *
After having a bit of time to process what she’d seen in that file about her brother, Kinsey knew she couldn’t put off talking to her father any longer. And with Asher busy on the family ranch—not distracting the clothes right off her—then she had no more excuses.
She ran through the pouring rain and shook off the shoulders of her coat before entering her father’s house. To her surprise, he had the living room lights on. Though the clutter of magazines and newspapers littered the coffee table, along with too many empty coffee mugs, she felt cheered by the thought he now welcomed some light in the place.
“Dad?”
“Bathroom.”
“Um… Okay, I’ll wait.”
“No, I’m not going to the bathroom.” A loud clank sounded, and she followed the sound until she saw her dad sprawled on the floor with his head inside the open bathroom vanity cabinet.
“What are you fixing?” she asked, heart surging with hope that he was actually doing anything but sitting on the sofa.
“Sink’s been”—he torqued th
e wrench on the pipe—“leaking for months and I thought it was time I fixed it.”
“Do you need any help?”
He shoved out of the cabinet and peered at her. “Try the faucet. Slowly.”
“All right.” She twisted the faucet handle slowly. Her father bellowed and dived back under the sink.
“Turn it off!”
She bit down on her lower lip to hold in the laughter, but a giggle escaped anyway.
“You think this is funny?” He muscled the wrench again.
“Yes, I do.” A laugh burst from her, but her father’s silence quickly stamped out any mirth she felt. She watched for several minutes as he made other attempts to stop the leak. When he finally shoved his way out of the cabinet again, Kinsey eyed him warily. Maybe now wasn’t the right time to bring up Trent either.
“I think I have to call a plumber.”
“I bet those pipes need replacing. This house is pretty old.”
He nodded and started dropping tools into the open box near his leg. The clinks of metal on metal had her teeth on edge, but she patiently waited for him to finish. He drew up to his feet.
They stared at each other.
“You stop seein’ that Moon guy yet?” Her father arched a brow.
“No.” She folded her arms. “I didn’t come by to speak about Asher. I want to tell you about Trent.”
“What about Trent?” he barked out.
“Can we at least get out of the bathroom before we talk? I don’t want to look at that grimy bathtub, Dad.”
“What do you care?”
She dragged in a deep breath and walked out. This wouldn’t be easy—the stubborn man wouldn’t admit to his behavior today, or maybe never.
A moment later, he entered the living room and plopped into his armchair. “Tell me about Trent.”
If Asher were here, she’d clasp his hand for support. But she’d told him she would do the telling herself, and she would.
She worried her lip between her teeth a moment. “I found out that those charges he claims are false?” She shook her head. “Dad, I knew there wasn’t a way the authorities arrested the wrong person or he took the fall for his friends on several different crimes.”
Her father narrowed his eyes.
After rushing across the room, she knelt by his chair and took his hand. “Daddy, I think it’s time you see the truth and face it. If I knew it, so do you—deep down.”