by Stacy Gail
The only view she was interested in at the moment, however, was Killian. Without a word, he climbed out of his truck, pocketing his keys as he moved to her car door and opened it for her.
“Welcome home.” He pulled her to her feet and up to meet his mouth in one smooth move, before he looped an arm around her shoulders and guided her into the house. “I’ll give you the full tour tomorrow morning after breakfast, but then you’re going to be occupied the rest of the day.”
“Am I?” She smiled as the excitement began to bubble in her veins. Lord, how this man affected her. “You’re lucky I have the day off tomorrow.”
“Luck’s got nothing to do with it.” As he spoke, he led her through an airy entryway that flowed into an open-plan, vaguely L-shaped main living area with soft sofas and armchairs, a gorgeous dining room outlined by columns, and a kitchen with commercial-sized appliances in stainless steel. “I got Manny a couple tickets to a Houston Astros baseball game and a comp stay at a nearby hotel. I wanted you all to myself tomorrow.”
For the first time in her life, she actually felt her jaw drop. “Whoa. That was incredibly devious of you.”
“You complaining?”
“Not at all. Well done, you.”
“I do what I can.” Smiling, he kissed her even as he kept her moving toward a gracefully curved staircase that would have looked great in the lobby of a grand hotel. “The second floor is pretty much my room. Ry had a similar design for his place, but come to find out, that was a mistake. He’s now turned the whole damn house upside down with emergency renovations, trying to figure out where to put more bedrooms. With one baby on the way, he’s already talking about having another one. Man’s gone kid-crazy.”
“Celia might have something to say about that.”
“I think they had that talk before they tied the knot. My brother wants a big family.”
“And you wanted a big master bedroom.” The light bloomed overhead as they entered a pair of double doors near the top of the stairs, and she got her first look at his bedroom. It was as if a mountain man tried to make a palatial space, and the result was an unexpected feast for the eyes. Gleaming hardwood floors were liberally covered with artistically arranged cowhides. To the far side of the room, a malachite rock fireplace took up most of the wall. A wall of night-dark glass curved up to meet the vaulted ceiling crisscrossed with thick wooden buttresses, and facing all that glass was a California-king sized bed with what looked like priceless slabs of polished petrified wood for the headboard and footboard. A red, brown and turquoise Native American rug under glass hung on the wall over the bed, and several Southwestern-themed watercolors clearly by the same artist added softness to the overt grandeur of the space.
She took it all in, eyes wide. “No wonder you weren’t comfortable on the twin.”
“You’ll never spend another night in that room.” With his eyes focused on her as if she were the only thing worth seeing in a room full of opulent beauty, he closed the doors behind them. “Now, what was it that was on my checklist?”
All at once she found he was the most interesting thing in that room as well. “I believe the first item you mentioned was to get me to your house.”
“Home,” he corrected as if that were an important distinction, all the while kicking off his shoes. “I brought you home, Dallas. Check that off.”
“Okay.” She copied him, toeing out of her boots and letting him help her balance as she did so. “Then I think the next thing you wanted to do was undress me.”
“You don’t get to help.” With quick efficiency he discarded his shirt and tossed it carelessly aside. Then he took her hand and led her to the side of the bed. “From here on in, you follow my instructions, and I reward you with all the pleasure you can take. Deal?”
Her heart began to thud so hard she wondered if he could hear it. “Deal.”
“Good. Put your arms over your head.” The moment she did, he pulled the plain white T-shirt up and over her head, and it was also tossed aside. He took his time drinking in the sight of her, and she adored the obvious delight in his eyes. “Lower your arms and turn around.”
With her breath almost panting out of her, she did as she was told, putting her back to his front. A few seconds later, her bra fell to the cowhide rug under her feet.
“I love all your dangerous curves.” He eased her back to lean against him. Her skin sizzled wherever they touched, and a small purring sound escaped her when his hands came to cradle the soft weight of her breasts in his palms. “I’ve got big hands, but you still fill them like you were made for me. Best damn tits in all of Texas, if not the world, and they’re all mine.”
“Yours, huh?” Smiling at his quintessential man statement, she reached behind her back and felt around for the fastening of his jeans. Ah, there it is. “Funny, I thought they were mine.”
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law. Mine now.” His breath hitched as she worked his jeans loose, her attempts deliberately rubbing against the hardening bulge hidden by a veil of denim. “Damn, woman. Just a touch from you gets me so hard I feel like my dick’s about to explode. You’re messing with dynamite.”
“Oh dear, is that what I’m doing?” Sweet innocence dripped from every syllable, drawing a chuckle from him as at last she worked the button and zipper loose. “Heavens to betsy, I had no idea. I should be more careful.”
“Too late. You already lit the fuse. Now you’re just going to have to deal with the fire.” With that, he stroked her nipples until they were hard peaks and every caress reverberated throughout her entire nervous system.
“I love those little purrs you make when I’ve got my hands on you.” As he spoke, his attention moved south. Within moments, her jeans were undone and his hand was delving inside her panties. “The sounds you make drive me crazy. I could be ninety years old and on my deathbed, and I’d still get a hard-on if I heard you moan.”
“You don’t have to try to turn me on, Brody.” She widened her stance and shimmied her hips a bit to entice that hand down her panties to get the show on the road. “My engine’s already started.”
“I’m just speaking the truth, woman, and if you call me Brody while I’m finger-banging you, there’s going to be hell to pay.”
Oh, wow. “Technically speaking, with all your dawdling, the finger-banging part of this hasn’t yet...oh.” His timing was perfect, really. The bold intrusion of his fingers through the slickness of her cleft before pressing against her clit was enough to obliterate higher brain function. “Killian. Oh...Killian.”
“There we go.” Sounding inordinately pleased with both her and himself, he continued to stroke her between her legs with one hand, while the other fondled the tight and aching peak of her breast. “Do you remember what else was on my checklist, Spice?”
Holy crap, he had to be kidding. Did he actually think she was capable of speech right now? “Um... I can’t, um... Think.”
His low, sexy chuckle made her pelvic muscles clench with the sexiest damn ache. “I said I wanted you to sit on my face so I could mouth-fuck you until you screamed.” As he spoke, his hand stroked faster, working her cleft relentlessly until her whole body jolted with helpless spasms of pleasure and her hips pumped in avid, desperate need. “Do you remember that?”
“Yes, yes, yes.” She had no idea what she was saying. All she knew was that she teetered ever closer to the world’s greatest orgasm, and his words spawned a scorching-hot mental image that made her crazy. With both his words and his hand he fucked her, and she couldn’t get enough of it.
“You’re already close, aren’t you, baby?” His voice had roughened around the edges, thrilling her. Without warning he took his hands from her body to lift her into his arms. “Remember, I also said I wanted to carry you to my bed. What I didn’t say was that I planned on making your legs shake so fucking much by stroking your pussy that you would need to be carried. But I think you’re getting that now, aren’t you?”
“God, yes.” It was
nothing short of a relief when he lowered her down onto the massive bed covered in a plush comforter in hues of brown and gold.
This was where she belonged.
“You don’t need these.” Without further ado, he pulled her jeans and underwear off. Then he shucked his own, before pausing just long enough to put on a condom he retrieved from the nightstand. “Scoot over and get up on your knees, Spice. I’m hungry for your pussy.”
“Wow, the things you say.” But she hastened to do as he instructed, her pulse running away with excitement. He helped her get into position over him as he lay down, her hands on the headboard and her knees on either side of his head. He gripped her hips as she carefully lowered her body, letting him pull her down to his satisfaction while she worried about smothering him. That worry dissolved along with her brain at the first glide of his tongue along her slit, and when he toyed with her clit she couldn’t stop from crying out.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” His voice was thick with desire, and so damn sexy the sound alone pushed her closer to the edge. “Yell the house down while I make you come, Dallas. Honest to God, there’s nothing that excites me more than listening to you when you come.”
She was beyond giving any sort of coherent response. Instead she ground against his mouth, loving how his lips and tongue pleasured her. When he sucked on that pulsating nub, the exquisite tension that had been building inside her swelled and snapped hard enough to shatter every part of her mind and soul.
She was utterly mindless as she cried out her ecstasy, intoxicated on the bliss he gave her. She was nowhere near done with her orgasm when he pulled her from his mouth. He sat up so that they were face to face, and his eyes locked onto hers as he spread her knees wide on either side of his lap and slammed her down on his cock.
Another wave of rapture hit like a damn freight train, and she flung her head back, gripping his shoulders while she pumped her hips wildly, instinctively driven to keep that flood of pleasure going. He groaned, thrusting into her tight depths until he did some yelling of his own, teeth bared and eyes squeezed shut. She watched him with her breath backing up in her lungs, so moved by the beauty of watching him come that she wished with everything in her that she could live in that moment forever.
“Damn.” With his cock still seated as deeply as it could go inside her and the powerful wall of his chest pressed against her breasts so she could feel the hammer of his heart, Killian pressed his mouth to the side of her neck. “I love being inside of you.”
“I love—” You. Her hazy, blissed-out mind crystallized all at once, and to her shock she realized what she’d been about to say. Love? What the hell? “I love it, too.”
I love you.
No. Just... no.
Those weren’t really the words she’d been about to say.
Were they?
Yes, came the answer from somewhere deep inside. That was exactly what she’d been about to say. Those were words she’d never thought she’d say to anyone, much less a Brody, but there they were, front and center and demanding attention.
Somehow, without her even noticing, she was now on the same path her foolish, hopelessly doomed mother had once walked.
She was in love with a Brody man.
God help her.
Chapter Sixteen
“I have to get my clothes figured out.” Ensconced in the truck’s passenger seat, Dallas adjusted the sleeveless green and white striped dress she wore. With her vibrant coloring, she looked like a fucking knockout, and it was all Killian could do not to drive off the road because he couldn’t take his eyes off her. “This is like the third article of clothing I’ve borrowed from Celia because all I have are jeans and T-shirts. What do you think about my heading into Sugar Land at some point so I could pick up some of my clothes?”
“Better yet, why don’t I call your landlord and have him either pack up everything, or toss it all out?”
“Toss it all out?” she repeated, and she couldn’t have sounded any more horrified if he’d suggested tossing orphans into a river. “Are you crazy? I need clothes, Brody. Actual clothes that are mine. I miss my clothes. I miss a lot of things that I used to have.”
“Then I’ll get your landlord to pack up all your shit and send it to the ranch. Problem solved.” Since that didn’t get rid of the frown shadowing Dallas’s brow, he reached over and took her hand in his. “What’s the matter, Spice? You’ve been weird all morning. Did you wake up on the wrong side of me, or what?”
“No, it’s...it’s nothing. I’m sorry.” Her fingers squeezed his, and he was soothed when she brought his hand to her mouth for a little kiss. Damn, his lady was sweet. “You should know that sometimes I can be a bitch for absolutely no reason. Or, in this case, because I have a killer red dress with a bunch of cutouts all along the side, and it shows an eye-popping amount of skin. I would have loved to have worn that for you today, but instead I’m wearing someone else’s dress that isn’t nearly as sexy, so I’m kind of pissed about it. I promise I’ll try to un-bitchify my mood.”
“If it helps any, I’ve known you to be sexy even in granny panties.” He grinned when she gave a reluctant snort of amusement. “But I’ve gotta admit, I’m looking forward to seeing you in that red dress.”
“It’s barely legal. You’ll love it.”
He had a feeling that what he’d love was the act of tearing it off her. “I get you in that dress, I’ll have to make plans to take you out someplace to show you off in style.”
“Speaking of which, where are we going?” She looked out at the spaghetti-bowl mess of fly-over freeways crisscrossing each other, with all the roads jammed with traffic. “San Antonio’s grown a lot since I was a kid. When did it get so big?”
“It’s now the tenth largest city in the US, but San Antonio isn’t where we’re going. This is just our jumping-off point.”
“Jumping-off point? Where are we going?”
“Houston.” He gave it a moment’s thought. “Maybe we can swing by your old place in Sugar Land and pick up that dress.”
The way her jaw dropped was downright adorable. “What? Houston?”
“Yep. You don’t mind flying, do you?”
“I have no idea. You’re saying we’re going to get tickets, board a plane, and fly to Houston? What’s wrong with driving?”
“It’s four hours by car, forty minutes by plane. I want to get there and get settled in quickly, because the game starts at noon. You’ve never been on a plane?”
“No, and I’m totally unprepared for a trip like this.” She began searching through her purse. “I’ve heard going through airport security is a nightmare. Do they really confiscate things like water bottles and manicure kits? Because I totally cannot exist without my manicure kit. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used those cute little scissors, though oddly enough I’ve never used them for a manicure. I suppose I could always leave it in the truck—wait.” She blinked and looked up at him as he exited the freeway, following the signs for the airport. “Game? What game? What are you talking about?”
“You’re the most knowledgeable woman I’ve ever known, and I love that. But you don’t know a damn thing about baseball, and that’s unacceptable.” Slowing so he could read the signs for where he needed to be, he tossed her a quick wink. “The best way to learn is to go to a ballgame with someone who knows all about it, and the ‘Stros are playing a double-header today. That’s why we’re going to Houston.”
Her face filled with excitement. “You’re taking me to a baseball game?”
“Yep.”
“Can we sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame?’ And order peanuts and Cracker Jacks?”
Damn it, if she didn’t stop being cute, he wasn’t going to be responsible for his actions. “Whatever trips your trigger, baby.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had Cracker Jacks, but I’m open to whatever.”
“It’s good to keep an open mind.” He’d already ordered their menu, but if she had her he
art set on fucking Cracker Jacks, then that was what she’d get.
“I just remembered,” she added, snapping her fingers. “You gave Manny some tickets to the ball game. Are we meeting Manny and Imogene there?”
He shook his head. “They’ll be somewhere up behind first base, but we’re going to be in a different part of the stadium. Green Rock Ranch keeps a private box up above home plate so we can host clients and potential clients throughout the year—give them a little taste of some good old-fashioned Texas fun, while still spoiling them rotten in the lap of luxury. For today, though, you and I will have that private box all to ourselves.” And he had more than a few plans for their alone time.
“A plane ride and a baseball game.” She uttered a fluttery sigh as he turned into the lot he’d been looking for, and pulled up to a security gate to show his identification. “I know it’s still morning and we’re just starting out, but... thank you, Brody. Thank you for the best day I’ve ever had.”
He glanced up after signing in, then handed the security guard the clipboard without looking at him. Nothing in the world could have made him look away from the woman who was his personal definition of heaven on earth. “You can thank me after I make it the best day you’ve ever had,” he said roughly, rolling up his window and driving on to the hangar his family had used ever since he could remember. “Giving you every dream you haven’t yet thought to dream is my intention. And why the hell are you back to calling me Brody?”