Flynn's Kiss (Disarmed & Dangerous)

by Diane Saxon

  “Liberty…” It sounded like a plea. Flynn moved his hand to cup the back of her head, drew her in closer as his chest expanded and a deep moan vibrated under her lips.

  She glided her hands down his sides, enchanted to feel his muscles ripple under her fingertips. Bold now, she worked her hands between them, scraped her teeth across his breast as she unhooked his jeans and pushed them, together with his underpants, over his narrow hips, ran her hands around to grip his ass, and squeezed with total appreciation of his strong, flexing muscles.

  The cool of the evening no longer affected her as molten heat spread through her veins, licking at her flesh, warming her body. She whipped his shirt from around her shoulders, flung it on the ground, and dragged him down to lie on it.

  Desperate, she grappled his trousers farther down his legs, and then gave up as they stuck at his knees. Dipping her head, she nipped him there as a punishment, then soothed with her warm, wet tongue, blazing a trail from his flexed muscles above his knee, to cruise along his inner thigh, pausing to nibble and stroke, reveling in the torture she seemed to be inflicting on him as his body writhed underneath her. His gasps and muted groans were the only noise in the clear night air.

  As she smoothed her lips over his groin, Flynn grabbed her hair in one hand, wrapped his other arm around her shoulders, and hauled her up his body so she sprawled her entire length over him.

  “Jesus, Liberty, now before it’s too late.”

  The loud rendering of material as her skirt split didn’t bother her as she spread her legs wide to straddle his body. Impatient, she wrenched the material up to her waist, shoved her underwear to one side, and lowered herself onto him.

  Her soaking excitement helped to accommodate the long slide down his shaft. Flynn’s hands rested on her hips and then gripped as she gave a small rotation to complete their coupling.

  She stilled, the man beneath her adding to her sensual assault as she tipped her head back, closed her eyes and concentrated on the small ripples spreading from her very center in ever-widening circles. She gave an experimental rock against him and almost melted as she felt him swell within her, press deep into her core. He moved his hands up to cup her breasts, swiping rough thumbs over her nipples that sent her racing. Her body rode his, her hips shooting like pistons back and forth. Her breath heaved through burning lungs, and fire streamed through her veins as he bucked beneath her and she gyrated above him.

  Almost out of breath, out of energy, she strived for something, felt it just out of her reach, and then her body tautened like a bowstring. Desperate and frustrated, she cried out and Flynn grabbed her hips with one hand, ramming himself higher inside her. He slipped his fingers between their bodies, and as soon as he placed a featherlike touch to her clitoris, her body exploded in a shower of fireworks. His rock hard penis pulsed inside her and stars blazed behind her closed eyelids.

  Gasping for breath, she flopped onto Flynn’s heaving, sweat-slicked chest, her own damp cheek sticking to his skin as they both struggled to gain a normal heartbeat and a little more oxygen.

  “Oh God, I needed that. I really needed it.” Elated and invigorated, she propped herself up on her elbow and chuckled into Flynn’s quiet brooding face, leaned forward to place her lips on his, and felt him stiffen. His hands shot around to grasp her shoulders, his fingers digging in as he held her from him. Silence stretched out between them, and a hot ball of nauseous disappointment washed over her. Despite the frantic, full on lovemaking, and his breathless aftermath, he appeared to be emotionally unmoved by the entire experience, and it didn’t seem he was too keen on after-sex affection.

  Embarrassed, she wriggled off him and straightened her clothes, tugged her torn skirt back into place, and fought her rucked up bra back around her breasts. Barely able to look at him, she glanced around. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and the almost full moon peeped from behind a small cloud to cast a bright silvery hue over the clearing.

  He gazed up at her, his gorgeous, naked body compelling her to take one more glimpse. He still lay supine, his head now resting in the crook of his arm, tilted so the injured side was tucked into the shadows. The soft glow of moon shine shimmered across his face, highlighting his breath-stopping beauty. His ice cold eyes surveyed her, and the heavy lump in her chest expanded.

  Desperate to break the uncomfortable quietness, she flapped a hand in the direction of her lodge and spluttered out a small embarrassed laugh.

  “Well, perhaps if we’d waited another minute, we could have done it in the comfort of a bed.”

  She cringed at his silent contemplation. Anything further she may have said stuttered to a halt and dried up on the tip of her tongue. She glanced at her lodge and wished she was already there.

  In one fluid movement he sat up, rolled to his feet, and towered above her, blotting out the moonlight for a moment before dipping to yank up his jeans and pants from around his knees.

  “The grass was good enough for me.” He turned his head in the direction of her lodge. “I guess we’d better move.” He paused, rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, and blew out a breath. “You okay on your own from here?”

  She stared at the dark, uninviting cabin twenty steps or so away, wondering how half a glass of bubbly wine could have made her blind to where she was. Or maybe it was the brooding cowboy who had blinded her to her surroundings…and her common sense. Disappointment weaved an uncomfortable thread through her veins. She gave a small nod and stepped away from him, forcing a wide smile.

  “Of course. I’ll see you around.”

  It took her twenty-four steps to reach the door to her lodge. Twenty-four steps before she allowed herself the luxury of turning around to check to see whether he was still there. The clearing was empty, the bright silver wash of moonlight interspersed with nothing but eerie shadows.

  It wasn’t until she slipped between the cool, cotton sheets of her bed that she allowed herself a delighted shiver of remembered passion and a brief thrill of sheer naughty pleasure.

  She’d just seduced a man. A beautiful, vital, sexy man. She hadn’t so much seduced him as…she giggled to herself, flipped over onto her front, and buried her burning face into the cool pillow…ridden him. And what a ride it had been. It was the best sex she’d ever had. Not that she’d had much experience, and it had certainly never been with a fallen angel. The men she had chosen in the past tended to be scientists—intelligent, cerebral, sensitive, and definitely lacking in the muscle tone the cowboy had been endowed with. She’d wanted to just lick him all over, head to foot to make sure she didn’t miss a single defined muscle. In fact she almost had if he hadn’t been so desperate.

  She wrapped her arms around her pillow, squeezed it hard, and imagined Flynn in her bed, in her arms. If he’d have come back with her, she would have had the opportunity to lick him all over, take it nice and slow. She writhed against the cool sheets as the heat in her face slowly spread down her neck, her chest, her breasts.

  She’d seduced him once, she should have persuaded him through the door, but his body language said he was finished with her. Although his eyes…his eyes still burned.

  •●•

  He paused next to the wide trunk of an old tree and turned to watch her walk away. He’d had every opportunity to invite himself in, every encouragement to follow up on their brief and scorching encounter. The woman knew how to give her all. Her bubbly, bouncing personality certainly followed through.

  He scratched his still naked chest where she had rested her head. Her hair had clouded around them both for a moment, teasing his skin, but as she rose again and stared down at him, he’d gotten the distinct impression she was about to lean over and kiss him. Horror at the thought of her lips touching his had seized his body and made a direct communication to her. Regret washed over him. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but she seemed fully in tune with his emotions. Too much. Too close. He squeezed his eyes shut briefly before seeking her form out again in the darkness. She paused, t
urned and scanned the clearing. He knew she couldn’t see him, but he held his breath for a moment, promising himself if she called out to him, he would go to her.

  She remained silent as she turned her back on him and allowed the darkness of the building to swallow her.

  Chapter Four

  “Kate. I’ve got to tell you. I had sex with Flynn last night. He was magnificent!”

  Kate tilted her head and a small inquiring smile quivered around her lips as Liberty stepped into the kitchen, bristling with excitement at the same time as Jack emerged from the far corner, coffee in hand and a wide-eyed look of horror plastered on his face.

  He stabbed the forefinger of his free hand toward his cup.

  “I’ll just…umm.”

  He stabbed the same finger in the direction of the door, and before any of them said another word, Jack was gone.

  Heart sinking, Liberty raised a slow hand to her mouth and wondered whether it was better to laugh or run hysterically from the room. She laughed.

  “Oh my God. He won’t say anything, will he?” Her knees weak, she slid into an empty chair as Kate snorted.

  “Of course he will. Flynn was ‘magnificent!’”

  She sat back and let the humor of the situation wash over her, a self-satisfied smile stretched wide across her face. It didn’t really matter. People were going to find out Flynn and she were having a relationship. They’d all seen them together at the picnic the day before, and it couldn’t do his reputation any harm if people heard he was “magnificent.” Although she would have preferred it a little more private, the deed was already done.

  Kate placed a cup of coffee in front of her, and Liberty blew out a quick breath.

  “Oh, he really was magnificent and beautiful, so beautiful. I can’t believe he even looked twice at me. I’ve never known a man with such…” She squeezed her fingers together and Kate’s eyebrows shot up. “…muscles. Fabulous, gorgeous muscles.”

  Kate took a seat opposite her at the table as a small knowing smile played across her lips.

  “Well, you’ve not exactly chosen the alpha male before. They’ve all been rather studious and…”

  “Humorless.”

  “I haven’t exactly seen Flynn dancing a jig, but he is intense.”

  “Brooding, which is very different from my normal type.”

  “Yes. I think you’ve always managed to overwhelm them with your buoyant personality.”

  “Oh.” A strange flat feeling crept in, swiping at the buoyant personality Kate referred to.

  “I don’t mean it that way, Liberty. I mean, you’ve never picked the right man. Someone who can match you.”

  “Like you have with Jack.”

  Her eyes met Kate’s and the penny dropped. She slapped the table.

  “You have an alpha male, and you never told me. You left me to find out all by myself. Jack’s a hunk—not as good-looking as Flynn—but a whole hunk of manly man and you never went for his type before, either.” She pointed an accusing finger across the table at her best friend. “Why didn’t you tell me there was a genetic pre-disposition within this family to be one—good-looking, two—alpha male, and C—cowboys?”

  “I did tell you. You were in New Zealand, and if you’d come to my wedding, you would have been surrounded by testosterone. In any case, I got you here as soon as I could, but up until last night you haven’t shown any interest in the cowboys. Apart from a brief look at Buddy, and that didn’t work out too well.”

  “It was the night before last actually when I first saw Flynn. He came into Toe Tappers not long after you left. He wasn’t there long, but I spotted him. Oh my goodness, did I spot him…” Her eyes almost rolled into the back of her head with the remembered thrill of seeing him for the first time.

  “I thought you might have taken to Bill’s younger brother Ethan, the dark-haired deputy. He very definitely has the sexy gene.”

  Liberty tipped her chair back on two legs and took a sip of strong, hot coffee while she contemplated the idea of the handsome deputy with the gentle eyes.

  “No. He’s lovely looking, and I’m sure in another couple of years he’ll mature enough to make someone a perfect husband, but he’s too young for me.”

  “Too young?” Kate poked her tongue in the side of her cheek and gave a superior smile. “He told me yesterday he went to school with Flynn. They’re the same age.”

  Liberty’s mouthful of coffee almost burst back out again as she slammed the chair back onto all fours and stared at Kate. Eyes watering, she gulped the scalding liquid past the lump in her throat.

  “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “No.” Kate chuckled into her own cup. “Cradle snatcher.”

  “How old are they?”

  “I think Jack said Ethan was twenty-five.”

  “Twenty-five?” Liberty lurched to her feet as panic shot through her stomach. “Oh my God, he’s six years younger than me.” She paced across to the window and stared out at the stables in the distance. “I hope Jack doesn’t say anything. Honest, Flynn is not going to want people to know he’s having a relationship with a woman six years his senior.” She covered her face with her hands and sent out a warbling yowl as the panic shot from her stomach and out of her throat.

  “Oh, the humiliation. He’s not even having a relationship with me. Oh Kate, how stupid of me. I thought he was older. I had sex with him and thought it might lead to something and all the time he was probably thinking he’d have a one-night stand with an older woman grateful for his attention.”

  “I’m sure it’s not the case.”

  “No. No, you’re right. It’s not the case.” A loud thundering echo sounded through her head as waves of black clouds floated across her eyes. Kate followed her to the window, wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and led her back to her chair, pushing her head down to rest on her knees.

  “Stop panicking, Liberty. You’re hyperventilating and you’re going to faint.”

  “No, I’m not,” she mumbled into her knees. “Nor is the ground going to open up and conveniently swallow me.” She turned her head sideways to peer up at Kate.

  “I forced myself on him.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah. I did. I ripped his clothes off, flung him on the ground, and…” She tucked her head between her knees again, this time in order to hide her scorching cheeks from Kate. “…mounted him and rode him with wild abandon…it was fantastic…and he was magnificent, but not as magnificent as me. I did all the work.”

  Kate’s spluttering laughter managed to overshadow the raging torrent of rushing water she could hear in her head, and she raised it once more to stare at her best friend in horror.

  “How can you laugh?”

  “Because it’s funny. You’re funny. I’m sure you didn’t force yourself on him. He seemed quite happy to be with you yesterday.”

  “Well…no, you were the one who told him to walk me home. He never volunteered. He just did as he’s told because he’s a…a…damned kid!”

  “Twenty-five is not a kid, and if he hadn’t wanted to walk you home, he would have declined. After all, he reserved a seat for you, he put his hat on your head. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who can be manipulated. Nor can I imagine him allowing you to force yourself upon him. Perhaps he enjoyed you being dominant.” Kate laughed again, deep and full.

  Sick shame rolled over her.

  “I must have seemed desperate.” She tried not to think of the details, but every time she blinked, her brain wickedly provided a snapshot of Flynn’s beautiful face staring up at her, his sculpted body undulating beneath her, his firm muscles rippling as he moved.

  “I was desperate. Why the heck would I imagine he’d be interested in me? He’s so gorgeous, and I’m just, I’m just…ordinary.”

  “You’re gorgeous too, Liberty. Don’t put yourself down. You’re beautiful.” Kate stroked Liberty’s hair back from her face. “And you shimmer. You attract men like moths to a fla
me with your bright personality.”

  “The reason I attracted Flynn was because I was the only available female there yesterday. Oh, how naïve of me. If he’d been interested, he would have come over when we saw each other in the bar the night before. Instead he took one look at me and left.”

  She picked up her coffee, took a large gulp that stuck and brought tears to her eyes again, probably because her throat had already swollen from the previous scalding. At least she had an experienced ER surgeon in the room who could always perform a tracheotomy. She breathed heavily for a moment, cleared the fluid from her windpipe with a couple of delicate coughs, and allowed oxygen to flow once more.

  “Right…that’s it. Self-recrimination over and done with.” She pulled in a long, cleansing breath. “I had sex last night with a cowboy. I rode him like a rodeo queen. It was great and I don’t need to repeat it.”

  Knowing for certain it was a whopping lie, she made a conscious decision to put the experience behind her. She stood and smiled brightly into Kate’s worried face.

  “I have a paper I need to write up on Rhizobium-legume symbiosis.”

  “That’s easy enough for you to say.” Kate smiled, obvious relief washing over her face. “And I don’t believe it was just a flash in the pan. Flynn will be around, you’ll see.

  •●•

  Three days and still no sign of Flynn. It worried her he’d not even been to visit Jack and Kate and was obviously embarrassed by the whole incident to the extent he was avoiding not just her, but everyone.

  Determined to move on, Liberty picked up her newly acquired Stetson and brushed her fingers over the pinched teardrop front, savoring the smooth feel of the material. She couldn’t help but grin as she reverently touched the delicate, bright canary yellow feathers attached in a thick covering all the way around the hat band.