by Calista Fox
“You feel incredible in my hands,” he murmured against her skin. And felt the shiver run through her.
“I have extremely sensitive nipples.”
Sam groaned. His pulse jumped. He peeled back the lace from one breast, tucking it under the plump mound. The pad of his thumb whisked over the taut center. She pulled in a sharp breath. He pinched and rolled the little bud, tightening it further. Her chest rose and fell heavily. Her fingers in his hair tugged on the strands and her body writhed against his.
Sam cupped her breast again, bent his head, and curled his tongue around her nipple, then fluttered the tip over the pebbled peak.
“Oh, God,” she said on a throaty sigh. “That makes me crazy.”
“I’m going to do more than that,” he assured her. “I’m going to make you come.”
He drew her nipple into his mouth. Sucked hard.
“Sam!” she cried out.
As he tongued the puckered bead, one hand pressed to the small of her back and the other went between her legs, his fingers massaging, teasing her through her jeans.
She clasped his biceps, her nails digging into rigid sinew. He could feel her tremors and he suckled again, inciting a fierce tremor within her that reverberated to his core.
“You’re making me so wet,” she whispered.
That drove him out of his mind.
He deftly unbuttoned her pants and slid the zipper down the track.
“I want you dripping for me,” he said. His hand slipped into her thong panties. He rubbed her clit as his mouth returned to hers.
He kissed her heatedly. Greedily. All the reservations—the demons—that had been tormenting him since he’d met this woman didn’t stand a chance of holding him back now that he’d tasted her lips, caused her body to respond ardently to him, felt the tiny pearl between her legs swell under his touch.
She released her vise grip on him and twined her arms around his neck, clinging to him. Her breasts were pressed to his chest, one still covered in lace that rasped over his skin, taunting him as much as the nipple he’d exposed.
God, she felt like a slice of heaven as she squirmed in his loose embrace, her arms tightening as though she couldn’t get close enough to him.
His hand at the small of her back slipped lower into her jeans, his fingers easing beyond the thin strand of her thong nestled in her cleft. He penetrated her pussy from behind, working two fingers into her slick, narrow canal while he continued a slow, circular motion on her clit.
And damn, she really was dripping for him.
He tore his mouth from hers and lightly bit his way down her neck as she moaned and writhed. Her inner walls contracted around his fingers, released, contracted stronger, insistently.
“You’re close, aren’t you?” he murmured.
“Yes. God, yes.”
He picked up the pace at her apex, stroked her pussy quicker. Her breathing escalated. Her fingers twisted in his hair again.
“Sam,” she said, her wisps of air teasing his temple. “I want you between my legs, crushing me beneath you, with all of these muscles against my body, surrounding me.”
“You want me inside you.”
“Yes. Desperately.”
The urgency in her voice called to him, struck all the right chords.
“Come for me first,” he quietly demanded. Then drew her nipple into his mouth with a forceful suction that jolted her.
Her breath caught and her body tensed.
A heartbeat later, she called out, “Sam!” as she shattered, every inch of her quaking. “Oh, fuck,” she said. “Oh, God.”
She held fast to him and her orgasm. Whimpering softly.
Sam waited until she was a little steadier on her feet and her body relaxed a bit. Then he withdrew from her and palmed her ass cheeks. He lifted her up and her legs instantly wrapped around his hips. He carried her through the kitchen to the couch he’d slept on the night before, the sheet still draped over the distressed-leather cushions, a fur blanket tossed over the back of the sofa. There was a mound of pillows in the corner, and he settled Scarlet there.
He hastily whipped off her hiking boots, which looked to be brand-new, followed by her socks and jeans. He paused, simply taking in the arousing sight of her in skimpy white lace.
A strangled sound lodged in his throat. “Damn, you’re gorgeous.”
Her gaze followed his, along her body. Her lingerie was slightly disheveled. “I’m a mess.”
“One hell of a sexy mess,” he said, lust tinging his tone.
“So why are you still standing there?” She crooked a finger at him. “We should be naked by now.”
“I’m all for naked.” He toed off his boots, then ripped open the fly of his Levi’s and shoved the denim down his thighs.
A sharp, “Oh,” fell from Scarlet’s parted lips. Her emerald eyes feasted on the bulge in his shorts.
Sam rid himself of the rest of his clothing, then had her out of her bra and panties two seconds later.
As he joined her, he asked, “Did Michael use a condom?”
“No. And, yes, that part was reckless. But I did believe him when he told me gets tested.”
“He does. So do I. Though I was very careful during my short-lived promiscuity.”
“I’m not holding that against you, Sam.” She swept hair from his forehead. “Everyone copes differently.”
“I don’t mean to press my luck here, but—”
“I want you to come inside me.” She stared into his eyes. “I want to feel you—all of you.”
His lips skimmed over hers, so warm and soft, like the rest of her. He loved having her beneath him, their bodies melded together, his cock gliding over her slick folds with each deep breath they took.
“You make me so damn hard,” he said. “I didn’t think I could get this hot for someone.”
“I like that you took your time reaching this place in your mind. I understand, you know?” She kissed him.
Sam could easily lose himself in this woman. And he wasn’t even inside her yet. Was merely savoring every single second of flesh on flesh. Her wicked tongue twisting with his. Her hands skating down his back and to his ass. She gripped his cheeks and squeezed.
A silent plea.
One he answered by shifting his pelvis ever so slightly until his tip nudged her opening. Her nails dug into his butt. His pulse spiked. His cock thrust into her.
She broke their kiss and cried out.
Sam’s hips rocked with hers as he pumped slowly.
“You’re so fucking tight,” he said against her lips. “So wet.”
His shaft slid smoothly along her inner walls. He slung one of her legs over his hips, forcing her to relinquish her hold on him. Her palms flattened against his shoulder blades instead, keeping him plastered to her. Sam’s hand on her ass angled her hips just so and he plunged deeper into her. They easily fell into a sensual rhythm that had them grinding together and Scarlet opening further to him.
“Yes,” she whispered. “You feel amazing.”
His thrusts were long and full, unhurried despite the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He kissed her possessively, amping up the passion and the need that arced between them.
This wasn’t at all what he’d experienced with those other women, following cassidy’s death. Those encounters had been brief. Minimal to no kissing. Mostly anonymous with her bent over a desk in a hotel room or pressed up against the door. Quick and physically gratifying, but no more than that.
With Scarlet, he could stay buried in her warm depths forever. She moved in sync with him. Tasted as sensational as she felt. Even the hint of her floral perfume seduced and enticed him. Sam was completely consumed by desire, but she also stirred something inside him. Tugged at heartstrings he’d long since thought had been severed.
Also knowing that she’d been with Michael sparked dark yearnings. Sam couldn’t help but think of how mind-blowing it would be for him and his stepbrother to pleasure her at the same time.
Turn her soft whimpers into throaty moans. Make her come twice as hard.
Spurred by that fantasy, his hand glided along the cleft of her ass, down to where their bodies were joined, and he collected some of her cream on his middle finger, then circled the rim of her anus.
He asked, “Did Michael—”
“No,” she hastily said in a breathy tone. “Not there.”
“Has anyone been here?”
“Just toys.”
Fire roared through him. “That’s good to know.” In terms both of him being her first—and the fact that she was already primed for what he wanted to do to her.
As he pumped into her pussy, his finger penetrated the small hole and she let out an excited cry.
Sam’s hips rocked faster and she maintained the tempo with him. He drove deep, working her from both angles. Her broken breaths filled the quiet room and resonated within him, pushing him close to the edge.
Her body felt so fucking good against his, and she milked his shaft with her inner muscles, clenching and releasing until his own breathing was ragged and his pulse echoed in his ears. His heart hammered and the blood in his cock surged and throbbed.
He kissed her once more, turned on by her supple lips and velvety tongue. His hips bucked harder, faster. She didn’t miss a beat. Her nails clawed at his back and her leg that was wrapped around his waist tightened so that he was pinioned to her.
Shudders ran through her. She practically vibrated beneath him.
Tearing his mouth from hers, Sam murmured, “Come for me.”
“I couldn’t stop it if I tried.” Her eyes glimmered and danced. Her cheeks were rosy and her lips were swollen from his kisses.
She was even more stunning in the throes of passion, and Sam committed every little thing about her to memory.
“You’re so deep inside me,” she said. “Perfect spot. It’s so fantastic—everything you do to me is so incredible.”
He would have kissed her again, but she clamped down on her lower lip. Her eyelids dipped. Her pussy clutched him firmly and Sam thrust harder into her.
“Yes,” she moaned. Her head fell back. “Oh, God, yes. Just like that.”
He kept pumping, pushing her higher.
“Yes,” she said. “Oh, Christ—yes!”
She squeezed him tighter and called out his name. Sam lost it, too.
“Ah, fuck!” His body convulsed, his cock pulsated, and he filled her pussy with his hot cum as she continued to move with him, drawing out every ounce of their orgasms.
Sam hadn’t thought he could ever come so explosively after Cassidy.
He’d been wrong. Way wrong.
ELEVEN
Scarlet couldn’t catch her breath. Nor did she relinquish her hold on Sam. She wanted him to stay right where he was, buried inside her, his hulking body covering hers.
God, that felt so wonderful!
She still quaked beneath him. Still rode the residual high of a powerful release. Still savored the scintillating sensation of him filling her.
Whether her heart rate would ever return to normal was debatable. Certainly not while she was around this man, she suspected. Or his stepbrother.
She could only imagine what it would have been like to be Misty Ferrera and Pembroke Peterson the night of the art theft. Those were two seriously lucky women.
So, too, had been Cassidy Harkins, she had no doubt. Even if Sam and Michael hadn’t both been involved with her, knowing what she knew of Sam, Scarlet was sure his fiancée had landed herself one hell of a man.
Said man was currently leaving feathery kisses along Scarlet’s throat when the back door swung open and Rudy yipped again.
Scarlet’s eyes flew open. Sam slowly lifted his head and gazed beyond the end table and the lamp sitting on it.
“Well, hello there, Jesse,” he said.
Jesse? Scarlet mouthed.
Sam grinned at her as he casually reached for the fur blanket on the back of the sofa and draped it over them.
He said to the intruder, who was obviously a friend, “You’re a bit earlier than I expected.”
“Your tire came in an hour ago. Thought I’d bring it out to you. Help you pull the dent while I’m here.”
“I appreciate that,” Sam said. “Meet the woman who needs that tire. Scarlet Drake. Scarlet, this is Jesse Wilks. From Lakeside.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Drake.” She heard his footsteps on the hardwood floor and—wholly mortified because she was naked and lying beneath Sam—she thrust an arm over her head for Jesse to swoop in and give her hand a gentle shake. “Sorry for the interruption.”
“Nice to meet you as well, Jesse. And Scarlet’s fine.”
She didn’t dare look at him since he’d only see the horror on her face. Instead, she glared at Sam. Who chuckled.
He told her, “Darlin’, I’m gonna have to leave you for a few minutes so Jesse and I can fix up your SUV.”
“I’ll try to survive without you,” she caustically said.
Sam’s laugh was heartier this time. “Trust me, I have a preference of where I’d rather be. But Jesse did come all this way.”
“And I’ll be outside gettin’ the tire from my truck,” Jesse chimed in.
When the back door closed behind him, Scarlet narrowed her gaze on Sam. “Stop looking like the cat that ate the canary.”
He kissed her, then said, “Any man on the planet with air in his lungs would get a kick out of being walked in on when he had a woman as beautiful as you underneath him.”
“Save your flattery,” she told him in a dry tone. “I’m likely turning three shades of red.”
“And it’s damn pretty.” He kissed her forehead. Then hauled himself off of her, though he covered her back up with the blanket. “I won’t be long.”
Scarlet watched him scoop up his jeans and boots and strut bare-ass naked to the kitchen sink, where he washed his hands and then dressed. He ducked into the storage room for his T-shirt, put his jacket on, and shot her a brow-wagging look before walking out.
A long breath blew through her parted lips.
Sam Reed was sexy as hell.
And she was thoroughly captivated by him. So much so, it took several minutes for her to compose herself and toss off the blanket and retrieve her clothes.
It was only noon, so she figured she could have a quick lunch with Sam before she hit the road while there was a break in the storm. In this weather, it could take her five hours or so to get through Montana and Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, and then into Spokane.
She decided to check on flights out of Kalispell, a faster route. But she didn’t have any more luck finding availability into San Francisco than she’d had when she booked the round-trip airfare. So Spokane it was.
Sam returned not more than thirty minutes later, declaring success. He joined her for stew and then Scarlet packed up. Sam escorted her to the SUV.
Admittedly, she was reluctant to leave. But time was still of the essence with her case.
Sam put her bags in the front on the passenger’s side and then rounded the vehicle to the driver’s door where she stood. He’d turned the rental around so it was ready for her to easily depart. The engine was running to warm it.
He asked, “You really have to go now?”
Her heart fluttered at his hint of disappointment. “You’re officially a cold lead. I have to find a hot one.”
“Hey, I think I take offense to that.”
She kissed him, then said, “You know what I’m saying. I still have work to do. And as much as I’d love for you to distract me for another evening or a half dozen more of them, I have a prior commitment.”
“A woman with a work ethic,” he quipped in a mock-grave voice, and rolled his eyes for dramatic effect. “Onward, then. Though I hardly took you for the love ’em and leave ’em type.”
She smiled. Her nails trailed along his pecs as she said, “You know I’m not. So I expect you to call me.”
“Already slipped my number into
your laptop bag.”
“Excellent.” She kissed him again. “Then I’ll call you. Now … I really do have to be on my way. It’s going to snow again tonight and I’d rather be at the airport when it starts.”
“Agreed.”
He opened the door for her and she slipped into the seat and latched the belt.
“Be safe and call me if you need anything more from me,” he said.
Sadly, Scarlet already did need something from him. Another go-round on his sofa. But that was an issue she couldn’t rectify at the moment.
And for God’s sake, when had she become a nymphomaniac?
With an inward snicker, she had to contend it was right about the time she’d met Michael Vandenberg. Then his stepbrother, Sam Reed.
Yeah. Too hot to handle—times two—but so worth the try!
She left the ranch and rambled through Montana, picking up I-90 into Idaho. All the while, her brain was divided. She contemplated her next moves with this investigation. Yet thoughts of Michael and Sam invaded her mental strategic-planning efforts.
So Scarlet decided a couple of things had to happen. First, she’d address the never-ending sizzle consuming her by consulting with Jewel on how to juggle two men. Then she’d talk to Bayli about picking up another scent to follow with the case.
Perhaps then she could find a modicum of harmony between her personal and her professional lives.
The next morning, Scarlet breezed into Jewel’s office in River Cross, where she was busy with preparations to break ground on hers, Rogen’s, and Vin’s new inn and winery.
Jewel’s beautiful face lit up at the sight of Scarlet. “Thank God you survived Montana!”
She laughed. “Really, you and Bay worry too much.”
“Well, driving across three states in a blizzard isn’t exactly in your normal travel repertoire.”
“It wasn’t a blizzard, but you’re right. And it was touch and go there for a while on the inbound side. I hadn’t factored elk dashing across the highway into my master plan.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Scarlet sank into a chair in front of Jewel’s glass-topped desk. She was a striking blonde with sapphire eyes and a never-ending infectious smile. That likely had something to do with her living arrangement with both Rogen and Vin.