Of The Cowboy's Own Accord (Double Dutch Ranch; Love At First Sight #3)

by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

  “This is all my fault,” Gracelyn said when they pulled into the parking garage.

  Dammit, no way is it her fault. “Because you refused a date with an asshole? Don’t blame yourself for his problems. We’ll figure this out.”

  “Whatever you said to him on the plane must’ve ticked him off.”

  “So now we’ll blame me?” Dane lifted one hand from the steering wheel but set it right back and gripped it until his knuckles turned white. “He followed us here with some weird intention from the beginning. The fault lies with him.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m upset and not feeling well. My brain’s in a spin. He deserved whatever you said.” She folded her hands in her lap. “I need to lie down.”

  What a hell of a way to end the day. More importantly, how did Jamison know they’d be on that plane? His only connection to Gracelyn was the restaurant as far as he knew. Someone at the restaurant is giving him information…her phone number, details of her life. Why? Dane found a parking spot and turned the car off. “Right now we’ll check in, hit the room. Maybe we can put this out of our mind for the rest of the night. Get some room service, too.”

  “All right.”

  At the desk in the lobby, the young girl congratulated them as she handed over a key card to a honeymoon suite. “Enjoy your stay with us,” she said with a smile and a cheerful voice to match.

  After checking in they took the elevator to the ninth floor. “Something you should know about me. Seems everything in my life runs ass-backwards. This isn’t the wedding night I expected for damn sure.” Dane shrugged. “Then again, why should this be normal if nothing has been since we met?” He circled his arms round her waist. “Come here. We’ll make it all up.”

  “This is out of our control, like many other things. Like me falling in love with you was something I didn’t want to control, even if I could. We’re married. Together. We’ll take what life gives us.”

  “Damn straight. It’ll do you good to go home tomorrow to see your family. Maybe you don’t realize it, but you do need to be with them.”

  “We’ll see. Right now I want to do what the police suggested. Clear my head the rest of the night—think about earlier today—nothing else but you and me.” She held out her hand, the diamonds in her ring sparkling in the dimly lit elevator. “You know, we weren’t even supposed to be together yet, but here we are married. I’m so sorry you had to be wounded for this to happen, but not sorry you came home early. Your ass-backward life will have to do what it does.”

  Dane held her tighter. “I love your confidence—the fact that we are together already. The fact I’ll be with you when the baby’s born. Bass-ackwards or not, this is the way it is and I’m happy as hell for this part of life.”

  After five stops, the door opened to the ninth floor. “I’m doing it right this time.” He slid the key card to open the room door. Next thing he did was swoop her up into his arms. “Might as well start with this since you are my lovely bride.”

  Gracelyn leaned back in his arms, lowered her head, and let her arm drop to her side. “I’m yours, cowboy. Do with me as you will.”

  ***

  He carried her inside, kicked the door closed behind them, and lowered her to the floor without releasing her. “Hmm, quite daring you are giving me control like that.”

  Candlelight adorned the walls like flickering fingers. “Staff must have lit the candles when they knew we were coming.” The pillow-top king bed sat right there through the doorway in its unique style with a large padded headboard. A sheer netting hung from the ceiling, giving it a historical European type appearance—the theme carrying on throughout the room that had separate dining and sitting areas. “This is lovely. Do you agree?”

  He pressed her up against the door and placed her arms around him. “I love you, Mrs. Carlson. Damn. Mrs. You’re a Mrs.”

  Her kisses were full of love and sexuality even after all that happened tonight, and it was obvious he still got excited at her closeness.

  Gracelyn squeezed his hands and fell into his kiss. When it ended, she did a slow lick to her lips. “Your kisses rock me upside down and back again.”

  “I’d like to see that. Let’s get out of these clothes.” Dane chuckled. “I expected to be out of this uniform by now, and have you out of your wedding dress.”

  “Yes, my plan too. But now we’re alone, and our wedding night doesn’t have to be over. I’m sorry about your planned dinner.”

  A knock on the door disturbed them. “Now what?” Dane opened the door to find a man standing there with a cart. “Thanks.” He dug into his pocket for tip money, and took the handle on the cart himself instead of having the attendant wheel it in. He closed the door—shutting the rest of the world out of their lives for now. Rolling it to where Gracelyn sat in a chair beside the loveseat, he nodded toward it. “What do you think?”

  “I love it. Champagne and sparkling juice.” She stood to check out the items on the cart and picked up the vase of red roses. Her nose pressed against the petals on one of them on the way to the table near the dining area. “They smell…edgy, empowering. Luscious.” Gracelyn turned. “Did I see robes?”

  “Wow. You’re beautiful with those roses up against your face. Hold still.” He whipped his phone from his pocket and took a picture. “A sexy vision if I ever saw one.” With a wink, he took one of the robes to let it fall open. “How about getting into it? Might as well be comfortable.”

  She went to him and hooked her fingers behind his neck. Her head tilted and chin quivered. “My beautiful red gown—”

  He pressed his fingers against her lips. “Shhh, none of that…focus on now. We’ll buy you another one.”

  Nodding, she gazed back to the cart. “Fruit, cheese, crackers—even a bottle of good wine.” She made eye contact, her stare soft and mellow, but she left his arms to investigate other items on the cart. “Look, a hundred dollar room service credit. Do you think it’s part of the package or maybe the manager from the other hotel arranged it?”

  “Part of the package is my guess.” Dane tossed his tie to the chair then pulled his shirttail out of his pants. “Time to get undressed.”

  Removing his jacket, she draped it over the chair and helped to unbutton his shirt. “You have a lot of medals on your jacket. One day you’ll explain them to me?”

  “They aren’t all medals, honey.” Dane brushed a few wayward locks of hair over her shoulders. “Some are for deployments, sharpshooting, other things I’ve done, trained in—group medals, and not necessary to discuss at the moment.”

  Her husband was humble about his accomplishments, but she wanted to know all about everything. The things that made him the soldier he was. “One day for sure. I need to know what there is to know about you.” Gracelyn tilted her head. “You know what I mean?”

  “All right, one day I’ll give you a lesson, but not now, baby.” A yawn drew his hand to his mouth. “If I’m tired, you must be drained.” He removed his shirt then tossed it to the chair.

  “I am sleepy, but I’m afraid if I close my eyes, I’ll replay what happened earlier.”

  “No you won’t. I’ll give you something else to think about.” Dane turned her around, proceeding to untie the ties he had so carefully tied this afternoon. “Did I tell you what a stunning bride you are?”

  She held up the front of her gown when the back became loose. “A few times. Tell me again.”

  Dane lifted her hair to the side. His lips pressed against the back of her neck, and he slowly trailed his kisses around to her throat. “Your skin is sweet, like you.” He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of her in. “Where did you come from?”

  “I told you.” She tilted her head back against his shoulder. “I flew into the Phoenix airport and waited for you.” She sniffled. “Of course I didn’t know until I saw you sitting there.”

  “Apparently, I left to go back two days early because I knew you’d be there. Or, some force unbeknown to me, knew.” His hands gingerly fo
ndled her breasts with sincere caresses, loving squeezes, mingling with yearn-filled moans. Through kisses against her throat, he whispered in a muted voice, “Get out of this dress, honey,” and he helped by slipping straps off her shoulders.

  Facing him, she let it fall to her feet. “Done.”

  “Hot damn…” A slow gaze ran up her body, and he had the hint of a smile on his lips. He held her hand as she stepped over her gown. She stood in nothing more than a white backless slip, the straps nude color. “Oooh, barely anything underneath.” His eyes widened in excitement. “You keep getting more gorgeous.” He took her shoulders then walked her toward the bed and pulled the covers back. “Lie down.” With one knee on the bed, he leaned forward to kiss her.

  Gracelyn scooted away, saying, “Let me run into the bathroom to freshen up.”

  Moving away, Dane stretched out on his side. “All right, sweetheart.”

  Upon her return, she crawled across the bed to lie beside him. “Join me, my love.” Gracelyn rolled to her back and yielded to his open mouthed kiss when he embraced her.

  Dane lowered his hand to her abdomen, and then moved lower. “I’m about to show you what you taste like,” he said intimately. “Everywhere.” Removing her slip, he tossed it aside. A path of wet kisses from her neck led to her breasts, but he continued down to where his fingers played.

  Excitement dissuaded her from worrying about anything else. The way her body and mind responded to the control of his lips and fingers ruled the moment. Kisses and caresses up and down her inner thighs brought sensuous chills.

  “Luscious! Sexy panties again.” Dane eased them down with his teeth until he slowly removed them with his hands, and then kissed his way back up her leg. “Nice. Can you wait for it?” A cunning growl came from deep in his throat. “Can you wait—”

  “You’re so freaking bad. No…” She squirmed beside him. “You start something you better finish, soldier boy.”

  He stripped out of the rest of his clothes. “You’re very bold in your compromised position. I always finish my missions, and I’m not a boy.” Long, tender strokes with his hot fingertips swept over her body, sending her over the edge of desire.

  She writhed and gave into the warm touches from his lips that expertly sent her to places of beauty…love, ecstasy. She breathed out a moan, finding him to be as hot as he promised, sexy, greedy… She clenched her hands at the same time her hips instinctively arched.

  His hand smoothed over her abdomen as he teased. “Enjoy.”

  “Yes…” she managed to say in a waning whisper.

  Dane actions sent her to worlds of pleasure until she screamed out, thrashing to escape him for a chance to breathe. She shoved her fingers into his hair, and her body blended with his passion.

  His gaze lifted to hers. “Your sexy cries are magic to my ears.” Again, his lips pressed against her inner thighs, sending chills and quivers in yet another round of ardent kisses. But he wasn’t finished. She screeched out again—again when he went right back to where he’d started. While she still shuddered from the first round of out-of-this-world sensations, it began all over again a second time. Lost in a world of passion, she pulled at his hair as she screamed out…

  “Mission complete.” With his hand against her abdomen, he kissed her lips with his seeking mouth, and whispered, “You’re perfect…everywhere. Hear that? Everywhere.” His tongue circled her lips in a slow lick while his lips pressed against hers, which added another shudder on top of what was already there.

  Gracelyn savored his long kiss until he lowered his head to her shoulder. Releasing a satisfied sigh, she smiled. “Mission complete. Roger that, buddy.”

  Dane laughed then rolled over with her in his arms. “Way to go, sweetheart. I love you so much.” They clung to each other for a moment until Dane rose from the bed. “I’ll be right back.”

  Her gaze followed him as he double checked the door, then he picked her dress up from the floor to toss it over a chair before disappearing into the bathroom. No matter what, her mind still fixated on earlier. She feared this was only the beginning. Dane wouldn’t take it lightly about what Smith did. What would he do when they returned home? What would Smith do now that he knew Dane wasn’t about to put up with his actions? As much as she tried to fight it, her eyes closed and she succumbed to slumber.

  ***

  Sauntering to the window when he returned, Dane pulled the curtain back. “Hey, you have to see this.” His mood mellowed when he saw her there asleep. The troubled look from earlier gone from her face, and he turned back to the window. The Eiffel Tower stood right there. She’d love this view in the morning, but the lighted tower and Strip was so much better at night. He slid the curtains open to let light inside before crossing to the door to flip off the interior lights. Next, he blew out candles.

  Out of habit, he folded and laid his pants over the back of the chair. Observing the medals on the front of his jacket brought a heavy heart. She wanted to know about them. One day he’d tell her. For now, he ran his finger over the Ranger tab and scroll. My muscles still ache—a good ache. Lowering his finger, he outlined the Airborne tab. Jumping out of planes turned out to be a real adrenalin rush. I’ll miss that, too. A final touch of the 3rd Ranger Battalion scroll made him proud.

  Dane turned toward the bed. I’d surely miss her. One more browse out the window for a moment but sleep called. As he eased in beside her, he crawled up against her back—her flesh warm against his. Smoothing his fingers across her arm, Dane traced a line down her bare back, unable to keep his fingers off her.

  “You finally came to bed. I’m sorry I fell asleep.” She yawned into her pillow but turned to face him. Her leg wrapped around his hips. “I can’t get close enough to you.”

  Hair raised at the back of his neck. A quickening breath caught in his throat. With desire, a need to touch her, he brushed hair from her face, and spoke warmly, “Bonjour, madam. If you plan on staying asleep you shouldn’t lean on me as you are.”

  “I want to make love.” She hugged him and attempted to roll to her back with him in her arms.

  Gracelyn rested back against the pillow. For a moment, he gazed upon her body lying there with her legs crossed at the ankle. When he casually brushed hair away from covering her breasts, she folded her arms across herself.

  He got out of bed and reached for her hand to bring her to the window. “Look at this sight. If I didn’t know better, I’d think we were in Paris. The manager almost made up for his error in keeping us safe.”

  “We earned this tonight.” Gracelyn leaned back against his chest. “Thank you for pointing this out to me. I would’ve missed it in the morning. If we use our imagination, it can look like Paris. I’ve been there for additional wine classes. Had a little room where the Eiffel Tower stood in the distance. We can pretend.” She brought his arms around her. “I love you.”

  He splayed the fingers of one hand over her abdomen while the other lifted hair from her neck. Dane whispered, “My baby son inside of you makes my heart smile. You know I love you two,” with his lips against her ear. “Come on.” He sat on the edge of an armless, cushioned chair near the window, and smoothed his fingers up her legs and over her abdomen.

  His lips went to her breasts while his fingers tenderly caressed places that yearned to be touched. “You take control here.” His body trembled inside at the reflection of having her again. “As far along as you are now, let’s be careful, babe.” His body needed to be one with hers right now.

  Gracelyn shifted around to sit astride his thighs. Observing the innocence, the beauty of her face in the ambient glow of outside lights shining upon her, he had to have her. His lips parted to kiss her, and his tongue gingerly slipped through her lips in a heated kiss filled with begging for what he wanted—sex, passion. Desire burned from deep within his soul—hot. “I want to make love to you in so many different ways. Until I can’t breathe or move. Wear me out.”

  “Honey…” Gracelyn moaned against his ear
. “I need you…” She kissed his throat and went lower to his chest where she flicked her tongue against a rigid nipple, like he had hers.

  “Uh uh, no…” he whispered, half-heartedly. “D-don’t do that, it tickles.”

  She took hold of his hands and held them out to the side. “I want to…wear you out.” She went back to kiss his right nipple and he squirmed beneath her. “Maybe you like it a little more than you admit to.”

  “Maybe I do.” He breathed passion into every moan. “Does it tickle you?” Breaking free, he took her hands behind her and held them there. Groans escaped through his open mouth as he voraciously kissed each breast until she couldn’t be still. “It doesn’t tickle you… If I’m correct, it excites you. Yes?”

  Through a fervent sigh, she answered, “You’re correct.”

  The sweet in her voice showed at times like this, and when high on pleasure it came out sexy as hell. “Make love to me as my wife.” He released her hands, his lips returning to her breasts until she moved back a bit. Looking into her eyes, he mumbled, “Having you right here exposed to me like this is a big turn on to me.”

  Her voice was filled with need as she slowly lowered herself over him. “Yes-s-s-s, me too-o-o…”

  Fingers pressed against her back to hold her closer, but he faded away as her hips undulated in an unhurried and seductive motion—driving him to give, take…enjoy the pleasure. “That’s it, sweetheart. Don’t let me hurt you, but I want you so much.”

  Through a ragged breath, she whispered, “Feel me. Possess me.” Gracelyn spoke low into his ear, “Take me however you want.”

  Her lips against his ear sent chills all the way to his toes. By time she screamed out in fulfilment, the excitement hit his groin—no longer chills but hot coals spreading throughout his body. Letting her be the guide, he moved with her, easy and slow, bringing him closer—through each breath against his ear, every murmur of love. Each easy, rhythmic flow until he could hold back no longer.