Taming Clay

by Raeann Blake

  “Say you want me,” Clay whispered.

  She couldn’t get her voice to work at first, but then managed, “I want y…” His lips were over hers hungrily before she could finish it. She slid her hands up his chest, leaving one there as the other moved up to his neck and around to slip her fingers into his hair, letting it play across them.

  Clay groaned softly as soon as her hands touched him. Every touch, every taste excited him and pushed him to keep going. Her lips parted easily, readily as soon as he touched them and he deepened the kiss. His hands were moving now, moving down to her hips to pull her firmly against him, letting her know how much he wanted her as he nestled her against the already full erection. Once he had her there, one hand held her tightly in place as the other started a journey up, sliding underneath the hem of the t-shirt. The soft moan that he felt more than heard when his fingers touched bare skin only made him want more. But he was the one moaning when he reached her breast and brushed against it, finding it bare and closed his hand over it, letting the weight of her settle in his palm perfectly and dragging his thumb across the already distended nipple.

  When her back arched, pushing her harder into his hand he broke the kiss and moved hungry lips across her jaw to her neck.

  “Why do I want you so much?” he murmured against her skin.

  The deep growl was out before he knew it was going to happen. She did three things at once and the combination pushed all thoughts of anything but her out of his mind. Her lips were pressed against the side of his neck, one hand running through his hair, and the other trailing her fingernails lightly down his chest to where the top button was already open on his jeans.

  “Come with me,” she whispered then pulled away from him but pulled him with her in the direction of her bedroom door. When they reached the bottom of the stairs he pulled back.

  “No…you come with me,” he whispered then started up the stairs, still holding on to her hand. He felt her resist and turned back to look at her.

  “Hailey?”

  She lifted her eyes to his door then back to him. “No, Clay. I shouldn’t be…not in…”

  He walked back down the two steps between them and lifted her into his arms and started up the steps with her. He could feel her trembling and didn’t know why, but he knew how much he wanted her. And something pulled at him to take her there. No other woman had been in his bed, but he wanted her there tonight.

  He set her on her feet beside the bed then held her eyes as he unfastened the buttons on his jeans and let them fall to the floor, kicking them away. He threw the covers back then stretched out on the bed, watching her steadily.

  “Undress for me,” he whispered hoarsely.

  He heard the breath rush out of her suddenly, but she didn’t hesitate as she started to slowly lift the t-shirt, sliding it up, revealing only an inch at a time. Before she even had her breasts revealed to him, he was already struggling to not reach for her. As soon as they were, the soft moan came out but he made himself wait. He watched her as she finally lifted the shirt above her head then dropped it to the floor. The few seconds that she waited before she hooked a thumb on each side of the cut-offs almost had the plea out of his mouth before he bit back the words. He managed to stay still and stay silent as the thumbs slid along the inside of the waistband, finally meeting at the middle and her fingers began unfastening the buttons down the front at such an excruciatingly slow pace that he couldn’t hold back the moan that each one coming undone produced.

  When the last one was free, her hands slid back up her flat stomach to the waistband and then stopped moving. He stood it as long as he could before he lifted pleading eyes back to hers.

  “Please,” he moaned.

  She slowly started sliding them down, watching his face as his eyes followed the path of the material down her hips. His breath was as ragged as hers, and his hands would start to move before he pulled them back. Until she dropped the shorts to the floor. Then he moved with such quickness that it took her by surprise. He pulled her down on the bed and rolled with her, sinking inside with a low moan all in one fluid motion. The explosion that rocked through her on the first stroke caught her off-guard and she was quickly struggling to breathe and clinging to him as he kept pushing her higher and asking her for more.

  The immediate spasms that had gripped him tightly tested his will to hold on until he could take her up again. He fought his way through them, never stopping. He wanted to be gentle and slow, but he couldn’t and she wouldn’t let him. That would have to wait. This time was about need and hunger. His and hers. As each one fed on the other, the more the other grew in a vicious cycle that kept pushing them towards the brink. The soft moans and whispered words only fueled the flames that threatened to consume them both.

  His lips dropped to her shoulder, to that place that would unravel her as his hand slid beneath her, lifting her up to him. He knew what it would do and it still took his breath away when he slipped farther inside.

  “Oh, goddamn,” he whispered hoarsely against her shoulder then scraped his teeth along the skin. He was teetering on the edge, trying desperately to wait for her. He welcomed the first tremor that ran through her and was hanging on for the next one. When it didn’t come he groaned softly and moved his lips up to her ear.

  “Baby, please. I need it. I have to feel it,” he whispered. He moaned her name in deep satisfaction as the first wave rolled through her without any warning, lifting her completely off the bed to him, sending him sailing into that free-fall with her. He held onto her tightly, and didn’t stop moving until he had nothing left and his muscles were trembling, threatening to collapse under the double strain of exertion and being sapped of strength by the very earth dropping out from underneath them to let them plummet into nothingness. He lowered them slowly back down to the bed then leaned his forehead against her shoulder as he dragged heaving breaths in and out.

  “That was…the sexiest thing…I’ve ever…seen,” he managed between breaths.

  “Yeah?” Hailey rasped.

  He managed to nod his head slightly.

  “It couldn’t be…sexier than you…watching me,” she said then blew out a short laugh. Trying to talk when you couldn’t breathe wasn’t easy.

  He kept drawing in as much breath as he could until he finally managed to swallow once and wet his dried lips. Just that took too long and he quickly pulled in another breath. It was several more before he remembered and groaned softly.

  “Oh, God. I did it again. Hailey, I’m sorry. I didn’t use…”

  “Shhh. I know. I didn’t want you to. I like the way it feels,” she whispered as she turned her head to nestle her face into his neck and tightened her arms around him.

  “So do I, but…” he stopped and grunted as he rolled to his side, pulling her with him then pressing her head against his chest.

  “You said you were taking something?” he asked quietly.

  She nodded her head slightly. “I am.”

  “But…okay,” he finally said hoarsely. He hadn’t thought about how that would sound before he had asked her. Still it had to be asked. But he felt like he needed to say more.

  “Baby, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Like I was saying that I…”

  She leaned her head back and looked up at him as she laid a finger across his lips. “I understood, Clay. I didn’t take it the wrong way, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  Baby. She heard the click echo through the room of the lock opening to a spot that shouldn’t be unlocked. But that one word of endearment had unlocked it when she wasn’t looking. She rushed to push everything back inside and fought to lock it back again. She could almost see herself searching frantically around her, trying to make sure she hadn’t missed anything when it clicked back into place. She hoped not.

  She was afraid to look at him anymore and lowered her eyes. He watched her for a few seconds then whispered, “Come here. Turn over and lay back.”

  He helped her turn to h
er back and laid her back against his shoulder with his arm around the front of hers. He had something he wanted to say and he wasn’t sure he could look at her when he did. He pressed his lips against the top of her head then leaned his cheek there as he let his free hand trace down the arm that had lifted to hook her hand behind his neck.

  “Hailey…we both know we shouldn’t be doing this,” he started.

  “I know, Clay. Do you want me to go?” she asked quietly.

  “No. No, I don’t want you to go. But I…I can’t tell you how this is gonna turn out because I don’t know. I like the way I feel when you touch me. And I like the way it feels with you here beside me. Can that be enough?” he finally asked. He felt her breath stop for just a second before it started back again.

  “Yes, Clay. That can be enough,” she whispered.

  He hesitated for several seconds then asked, “Hailey, why do I feel like I said something wrong?”

  She shook her head immediately and then tightened her arm around his neck. “You didn’t say anything wrong. Not one thing. Clay?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “You never brought…I mean Gail never…”

  “In here? No, baby. Not once. No woman has ever been in this room before. Well, except for Isobell.”

  Hailey bit her lip and tried to keep her heart from swelling but she couldn’t help teasing him at the same time. She got very still and slowly sat up and turned to face him with as serious an expression as she could maintain.

  “Isobell?” she asked quietly.

  Clay let his eyes drift shut and the grin tugged as his lips. He opened them again then spread his hand across her face and pushed her gently back down on the bed.

  “To clean the room, silly. And never when I was in it,” he said then laughed when her face finally broke into a smile.

  “Ah. There’s that smile. Where you been, darlin’?” he whispered then brushed his lips against hers before he settled them into a soft kiss that deepened the longer it went.

  * * *

  Laine sighed as he walked across the yard. No matter what they had said yesterday, he knew that Clay was going to want to know what Lynn had said. He was determined not to tell him unless he asked, but he was sure that he would. He just hoped that Clay didn’t let those thoughts settle at the back of his head and mull them over when it was quiet and he was alone. He knew with every fiber of his body that the entire story was nothing but lies to try her best to eventually lead to Hailey either quitting or getting fired. He doubted that she cared which one, just so long as she was gone.

  He walked around the house and in through the side door the same as he normally did if he came over early in the morning. If Clay was up, the front door would be unlocked. But he knew this one always was once Isobell got there.

  “Good morning. How was the drive?” Isobell asked as she glanced up at him then right back down to the food she was cooking.

  “The drive was super. I really enjoyed it. How did you enjoy not having us underfoot all day?” he asked as he stopped and kissed her on the cheek then walked to the coffee pot.

  “It was too quiet. I missed Hailey’s chatter and Clay’s grousing about it,” she said then laughed when Laine chuckled softly.

  “Yeah, I heard some of that.”

  “Which one?”

  “Both,” he said then smiled slightly when she started laughing. He studied the floor as he took a sip of coffee and tried to make a decision about what to do. When he finally realized Isobell was saying something he jerked his head up and looked at her.

  “What? Did you ask me something?”

  “I asked you what’s wrong.”

  Laine shook his head and said, “Nothing. Just something I need to talk to Clay about. He’s not up yet I guess.”

  “Not yet. He’ll be down here in a minute. Sit down, Laine. Have you eaten?”

  “Hmmm? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I ate earlier. You know Shack. He’s up at the crack of dawn, and…”

  Clay grunted something that sounded like it might be a greeting and Laine couldn’t help the grin that he shot to Isobell.

  “Good morning to you, too. I’m feeling well. Thanks for asking. You?” he said then hid his grin behind his coffee cup when Clay glared at him and poured a cup of coffee.

  “Smart ass,” he finally muttered after the third swallow.

  “Good morning everybody. God what a beautiful morning. Isn’t it wonderful? Good morning, Isobell. Good morning, Laine,” she said as she grabbed a cup of coffee then stopped and kissed Laine on the cheek then walked back to the counter and stopped by Clay’s stool and leveled a gaze at him.

  “And good morning to you. You look a little tired, Clay. Did you sleep well? I know I didn’t. It must be that first night back inside. Don’t you find that it’s that way when you’ve been out like that? Oh, Isobell, you should have been there. I had no idea…”

  “Good God, woman. Can you at least let me get one cup of coffee down?” Clay snapped.

  “Of course you can drink a cup of coffee. I’m not stopping you. Go ahead. You don’t have to talk. Oh, before I forget, I’m going into town either today or tomorrow and pick up some UPS’s. If any of you need anything, let me know and I’ll get it ordered and pick it up…”

  Laine and Isobell both roared with laughter when Clay’s hand pressed against her mouth and he calmly took a drink of coffee without looking back at her again. Until he felt her lips press against his palm in a slight kiss and met his warning eyes with raised eyebrows.

  He took one more swallow as he held the narrowed gaze on hers then finally let the grin that was tugging at his lips show and moved his hand.

  “Half a cup should do. Go ahead.”

  “While I’m there.”

  He frowned and looked up at Laine then back to her. “While you’re…where?”

  “You said go ahead. I was just finishing my sentence. If any of you need anything, let me know and I’ll get it ordered and picked up while I’m there,” she said then grinned broadly when he dropped his chin to his chest and shook his head.

  “Isobell, don’t you have something she can put in her mouth?”

  “It’s almost ready. But that hasn’t worked before. Why do you think it would now?”

  “It’s worth a shot,” Clay grumbled then finally looked up at Laine. “What’s on your agenda for the day?”

  “I thought I’d talk to Charlie today. I wanted to see if you’d like to sit in on that,” he said as he held Clay’s gaze levelly.

  Clay waited for just a heartbeat then shook his head. “Not unless you just want me there. It’s your area. I’ll let you handle it.” He stopped and lifted a steady gaze to him for a few seconds then added, “Why don’t we ride the fence line this morning?”

  Laine took a deep breath and blew it back out as he nodded. “Okay. We’ll do that.”

  “Alright. Hailey, what do you have going on today? Anything I need to sign or review?”

  “Nothing that won’t wait. I can wait until tomorrow to go into town. And you’ve already signed the checks that need to be mailed this week. I can start working on getting the line-item detail in on all of this month’s bills then start working my way backwards.”

  “Why are you entering the line item detail?” Laine asked.

  “Oh, hell,” Clay muttered when Hailey’s eyes lit up and she sat up straighter in the chair then started to explain all about the reports. He couldn’t help getting drawn in and found himself with his own eyes turned to her, watching her talk, listening to the way she rattled off the information so fast that it would make a man’s head spin.

  She had spent the night in his arms. They had made love again then slept. And when he opened his eyes, she was wrapped in his arms, pulled back against him the way she had been that first night in camp. And it felt damn good. Still he’d made himself get up and get dressed. He had left her sleeping in his bed, but she must have awakened almost as soon as he went out the door. He’d stopped in his office for just a minut
e before he came to the kitchen. And she had come in not far behind him. He had no clue how she had gotten up, gotten dressed, gone down the stairs to her room and changed clothes in that time frame, but she had done it.

  Even knowing how it felt to wake up next to her, knowing that he had gone to her not the other way around, there in the light of day, all of those doubts were back again. The ones that made him wonder just exactly what it was that she wanted and to what lengths would she go to get it.