by Karen Kelley
Cal couldn’t imagine the kind of holidays Nikki had celebrated. They sounded cold. Maybe that was why people called her The Barracuda.
Nikki reached into the bin and grabbed the egg, then put it in the basket he’d brought with them. She cocked an eyebrow as if to say gathering eggs wasn’t all that hard. Then she stepped to the next bin and saw the hen still sitting inside. She stared it down for a few seconds before looking at Cal.
“I don’t think she wants to move.”
“Probably not.”
“And?”
“You reach under her and get the eggs.”
“Won’t she…”
“Peck you? No.”
Nikki took a deep breath. He really liked the way she inhaled. He also liked the expanse of skin she showed. When he’d first seen that she’d tied the ends of her shirt under her breasts, he’d wondered if she was trying to seduce a story out of him. Not that he minded that much. He kind of liked the fact she put so much into her job.
“Ow!” She jerked her hand back, then glared at him. “You lied.”
“You were too slow. She sensed your fear and took advantage of you. You need to get the eggs faster.” He reached under the hen and got the egg the chicken was sitting on. The hen didn’t do a thing to him. “Easy as pie.”
“I wasn’t afraid of her.” She jutted her chin.
The chicken rose slightly, puffing out her chest. “Block, block, block.”
“I think she’s taunting me, though.”
He laughed. It was hard to stay angry with Nikki, especially now that he knew a little more about her. So what if she was trying to get a story. It didn’t mean he had to give her one.
And she’d definitely chased away his boredom. He liked watching her as she faced challenge after challenge and didn’t back down. Kind of reminded Cal of when he played football. He never let anyone stand in his way.
Of course, she’d probably kill him when she found out he knew she was a reporter after a story on him and Cynthia. He kind of figured turnabout was fair play, though.
She reached under the next bird and brought out two eggs, then placed them in the basket. She tried to bite back a smile, but it still formed on her face.
“I did it,” she said and didn’t have to add, “I told you so” because it was written all over her face. When he didn’t say anything, she continued, “Unless I have to do something else with the egg? I don’t, do I?”
“No, just fry it and eat it.”
She sighed with relief.
A soft morning breeze blew a strand of hair across her face. He automatically reached over and brushed it back. His hand stilled, liking the silky-smooth texture of her cheek. Yeah, his life was definitely not boring with her around.
“Are you going to kiss me again?” Her lips pouted in open invitation and she leaned a little closer.
It would be damned easy to fall into her trap. “I don’t think so.” He turned away and quickly gathered the rest of the eggs.
She squared her shoulders. A frown wrinkled her forehead. “Why not?”
“Why not what?” He pretended not to know what she was talking about as he walked back toward the house.
“Why don’t you want to kiss me? We both enjoyed the first one.”
He didn’t answer until he had gone inside and set the basket on the counter. “Because you look like you want it too much.” He could’ve added, “because I want it too much,” but he decided that much knowledge could be dangerous in her hands.
“And there’s something wrong with that?”
He made the mistake of looking at her. She leaned back, elbows resting on the counter, which thrust her breasts forward. Damn, his hands began to itch with the need to touch them, massage them.
Before Cal could stop himself, he let his gaze move over her. From her sultry half-closed eyes, to her full lips, down to the expanse of bare skin below where her shirt was tied. Past her tiny waist and over her gently rounded hips and down her long, long legs.
He slowly made the trek back to her face and the knowing look in her eyes. Yeah, she knew exactly what she was doing to him, and what’s more, she was doing it very well.
Swallowing was difficult. Hell, it was even hard for him to breathe when all he could think about was kissing her, stripping off her clothes, and making love to her.
Dammit, she was taunting him.
He sauntered closer. So close there were only inches between them. Nikki tilted her head and looked up at him, then slowly licked her lips. It was all he could do to stifle the groan that threatened to escape.
“Sweetheart, I more than enjoyed the kiss. It made me think of other things that I’d like to do.” He brushed her hair behind her ear, enjoying the feel once again of her soft skin.
She probably used the finest creams to keep her skin soft. He remembered what Jeff had told him about her parents: wealthy lawyers. Maybe she hadn’t celebrated holidays the way he had, but she’d led a life of privilege, never knowing any kind of hardship. Just like Cynthia.
He planned to teach Nikki a lesson she wouldn’t soon forget. Before she left the ranch, she’d have a whole new outlook on life.
“Other things?” She visibly swallowed.
His gaze dropped down to her breasts. Her bra must be thin. Silk? Her nipples were pushed tight against the fabric of her top. He lightly circled one before he ran his finger over the pebbled hardness. She whimpered. He watched her face. Her eyes had closed and she nibbled on her bottom lip.
His body began to throb. He hadn’t meant to go any further than this, but what he shouldn’t do was pushed to the back of his mind as the need inside him grew stronger. How far would she go?
He leaned closer, testing the waters. “I want to see you naked. I want to suck on your breasts, caress your skin.”
He slipped his hand between her legs and rubbed it against her sex. She nudged her crotch against his hand, silently begging for more.
“Are you hot? Are you damp with need? Do you want me inside you?” he whispered.
Chapter 8
Nikki couldn’t swallow. Hell, she could barely breathe. Only one thing ran across her mind: she wanted Cal Braxton, had wanted him from the moment she saw his picture.
Now he was touching her, whispering words in her ears that made her burn with desire. The story didn’t matter as she lived out the fantasies she’d been having about the rugged football player.
Oh, yeah, she could care less about the damned story. At least, at this moment in time. She’d think about it later. But the man? That was a whole different matter and she most certainly wanted him.
“Make love to me,” she moaned.
“Are you sure?” he muttered as he nuzzled her neck, his hot breath teasing her neck.
“Yes,” she said, barely holding back a moan of desire. She tugged his shirt out of his pants and quickly unbuttoned it, then could only stare at his male beauty. God, look at all those delicious muscles! And they were all hers to caress while she had her way with Cal.
He pulled at the knot in her shirt until it came loose, then fumbled with the buttons, not having much luck.
“You’re too slow.” She brushed his hands away and unbuttoned her top, then yanked it off. Her bra quickly followed.
Cal stood in front of her, mouth open.
She arched an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a naked woman, because I won’t believe you.”
He came out of his daze and practically ripped off his shirt the rest of the way. “No, I’ve seen lots of naked women, but they’re not quite this brazen about it.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Not in the least.”
She popped the button on her shorts through the hole and slid the zipper down. “Good, because when I see something I want, I usually go after it. Why should I deny myself?”
He grinned. “You want me?”
Oh, Lord, now he was going on an ego trip. She slid off her shorts, then her panties. “I’m naked a
nd I’m standing in front of you. What do you think?” she asked as he kicked out of his jeans and briefs.
She’d known there was a reason she wanted him. Nice, very nice and she couldn’t resist not touching a second longer. She stepped closer, running a fingernail over the hard ridges of his chest, the six-pack abs, all that deliciously tanned skin.
“No tan lines,” she said.
“There’s a pond on the ranch that I like to go swimming in when I’m here.”
“And you don’t own a suit?”
“Don’t need one since no one goes there but me. I don’t wear one when I go swimming in my pool at home, either.”
“I bet your female neighbors just love that.” She stepped closer, licking across first one nipple and then the other. He tasted salty, nice.
Before Nikki could do more exploring, he ran his hands through her hair, then grasped her neck and rubbed lightly. She closed her eyes, then leaned back. He took the opportunity to massage a breast, tweaking the nipple.
“Oh, yes, that feels good.” She opened her eyes, saw the passion in his. She liked knowing he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
“It seems like forever since I’ve been with a woman.”
She had to bite her tongue to keep from asking about Cynthia. His ex-fiancée didn’t matter. Not right now. Nikki only wanted Cal buried deep inside her.
But curiosity got the better of her. “You haven’t been with anyone in a while, either?” she asked, liking that he hadn’t been with Cynthia recently. If he wasn’t lying, that is. Men seemed to know what they should say to a woman, and she’d heard it all before in other relationships.
He stilled. “Do you really want to talk about past affairs?”
She shook her head. “No.”
He relaxed. “Good.”
Cal scooped her into his arms. She grabbed him around his neck as he headed toward the bedroom. Naked skin against naked skin. She’d never been carried to the bedroom before. It was something she could get used to.
But when he set her on her feet, she took charge again. It was a role she didn’t give up easily and she wasn’t about to start now.
She pushed on his shoulders until he was sitting on the bed. Her plan was to be the one on top, but he caught her unaware again.
“Nice view,” he drawled.
His breath blew lightly across the curls that covered her sex. Cal didn’t just look but clasped her bottom and brought her body closer to his face, his mouth.
“I’m supposed to be on top,” she gasped, grabbing hold of his shoulders for support. “I wanted you to lie back on the bed.”
His chuckle vibrated against her, sending trembles of delight over her. She bit her bottom lip. God, that had felt good.
“So, you were going to have your way with me.” He began to place soft kisses against the folds of her sex.
“Yes,” she gasped as she clung to him. “Right there. Yes.” She pressed her body closer. So what if she’d let him take control. As long as he didn’t stop what he was doing, she didn’t care. His tongue was making her wild. When he told her to spread her legs, she obeyed without question.
He inserted a finger inside her and began a slow in-out motion while his mouth continued its heated assault. He licked up her clit, then back down before sucking on the fleshy skin. She couldn’t stop the moan as it escaped past her dry lips.
The blood rushed through her body. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster. A deep, throbbing began to build inside her. Her body clenched, then unclenched. She couldn’t take a deep breath. All she could manage to draw inside her oxygen-deprived lungs were little puffs of air.
Her body began to tremble as his mouth continued to suck, his tongue scraping across the fleshy part, drawing it into his mouth. She cried out as intense pleasure washed over her, wave after wave of incredible gratification.
She vaguely knew when Cal picked her up and laid her on the bed. She curled on her side, her legs clasped together. He covered her with the quilt.
A condom, of course. He would be slipping back into the kitchen to get one out of his pants. She should’ve told him there was one in the bedside drawer. Too late now.
When he returned, they would finish what they’d started. She would just rest for a moment. Damn, he was good, damned good, but as soon as he came back, she would be in charge and she had a few tricks of her own.
Cal walked into the kitchen and grabbed his briefs off the floor, pulling them on. When his hand bumped his dick, he groaned. Ah, damn, the ache inside him was almost too much to bear.
This was the craziest thing he’d ever done and he was afraid it was only going to get worse. He planned on leaving. That would piss her off. Show her that he had no invested interest in her. She was just a woman who’d needed gratification and he’d given her that. This would really teach her a lesson.
Had he lost his freakin’ mind?
What the hell was he doing?
He closed his eyes, but all he saw was Nikki—naked and waiting for him. He could be plunging into her wet heat right now.
Involuntarily, his hips thrust forward but there was nothing there to sink into. He grabbed the edge of the counter and held on for a moment, taking deep, steadying breaths.
His body throbbed with need. He could almost taste her again, could almost feel the softness of her skin, could almost see her legs parting for him.
Lesson be damned. Leaving now was a crazy idea.
He grabbed a condom out of his pocket and jerked off his briefs before heading back into the bedroom. She lay curled on her side, but she’d tugged the quilt under her chin until her backside was exposed. He reached out and lightly stroked the cheek of her ass.
Nikki stretched and turned. As she did, she pushed the covers off and spread her legs in invitation. He swallowed hard and gazed down on that sweet clit he’d sucked on only a moment ago. Heat spread through him like a fire out of control.
He lay down beside her, and she turned and wrapped her arms around him. As his mouth lowered to hers, he cupped her ass and brought her against his dick. Man, just the contact with her sex against his almost made him come.
She teased him with her tongue, stroking his. He relaxed, enjoying what she was doing. When she shoved him to his back, he was caught off guard, not that he wouldn’t have gone willingly at this point in time.
“I don’t know how long I can last,” he told her. “Two seconds might be an accurate assumption.”
“Are you in pain?”
Her innocence didn’t fool him for a second. There wasn’t anything innocent about her. “You know damn well I am, and I think I dropped the condom.”
She scooted to her knees and stared down at him as he lay naked in front of her. “Then let me remedy that.” She leaned over him, her breasts brushing across his face as she reached inside the drawer of the bedside table.
He couldn’t resist. He sucked a nipple into his mouth. She gasped with pleasure.
“I’m supposed to be relieving you of your pain,” she told him, her words raspy, but he noticed she didn’t seem to be in any hurry to move away.
He swirled his tongue around her nipple one last time before releasing it. “I thought you were offering up your delights for me to savor.”
She grabbed a condom and tore it open, but when he reached for it, she moved it away.
“I’ll do it.” She slowly rolled it down his length.
He only thought he was in pain before. He gripped the sheet in his hands. When she licked her lips, he lost it. He flipped her onto her back and drove into her hot, slick body. She dug her fingernails into his back and gasped.
“Damn, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so brutal.”
“Brutal? I don’t think so.” She laughed as she wrapped her legs around him so that he sank deeper inside her body. “I told you, I like it rough and I like it hard. There’s nothing soft about me, baby.”
With a growl, he pulled out, then plunged back inside. The heat of her
body wrapped around him. He plunged in again and again.
“Oh, yes, harder, faster.”
He looked at her face and saw the passion building. She bit her bottom lip, her breathing ragged. His body burned with the need for release, but he still held back.
“Oh, God, yes. This is what I want. Now, now!” she cried out. She arched toward him as she came.
He might have cried out, but he wasn’t sure. Lights exploded around him, plunging him forward into a haze of brilliant color. His body trembled and the burning ache inside him began to relax its hold.
This was good, damned good. He’d never been with a woman who enjoyed sex as much as Nikki did. He sank down to the bed, careful to roll to his side. She opened her eyes and looked at him—then laughed.
He frowned and she laughed even more. “I can say with one hundred percent certainty that no woman has ever laughed after I’ve made love to her.”
“I laughed because I’ve never had sex this good. I’ve dreamed about it, came close to experiencing it, but it’s never been like this.” Her grin was wicked. “Was it good for you?”
For a moment, he let what had happened wash over him.
He’d made love before. The first time had been in the back of Jenny Bradley’s Mustang. She’d been a senior in high school and he a lowly freshman. Cal had thought he’d died and gone to heaven that night. Some part of him had known he’d never feel the same kind of intensity that only the first time brings with it.
Until now.
This was some lesson he was teaching Nikki. At least, if she wrote about making love with him, it would be a great series of articles.
Chapter 9
“Hey, Shelley, feeling better?” Brian asked his secretary as he started toward his office. Her nose was a little red and she still talked funny. He wondered if she should’ve stayed at home another day or so.
“I feel better.” She grabbed a tissue out of the box and sneezed. “I hate getting a cold at the end of summer. People should only get colds during the winter—when it’s cold. This is so not fair.”
He frowned. “You don’t look like you feel better. Maybe you should take another day or two off.”