by Jess Bryant
“Call me Blue. Nobody outside Fate calls me Bluebell.”
“Baby-doll you’re in Fate.” He brushed her hair back and looked her in the eyes, “And I like the sound of Bluebell better, it fits you. It’s sweet and pretty.”
“Thank you.” She swallowed hard at the compliment.
Their eyes met and she felt her skin sizzle where he touched her. She didn’t know him, didn’t know how old he was or if he’d ever been married or if he’d ever been arrested but she didn’t care. All she wanted to know was what sort of bad decisions they could make and how good it’d feel to take that risk.
“We should go get another drink.” He spoke after a long pause.
She knew he wasn’t offering her a glass of wine. That glint in his green eyes. That upturned curl at the edges of his mouth. All she had to do was say yes and see what happened next. But Bluebell Montgomery Carter didn’t toe that line for nothing and she certainly wasn’t going to trip over it now.
“I think I’m going to call it a night actually.”
His eyes narrowed, “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I should get home. I have an early breakfast with my Daddy tomorrow. He couldn’t make it tonight and I haven’t spent very much time with him this weekend.” She was rambling, she knew she was rambling but if she kept talking she couldn’t give in to the urge to use her mouth for other, less productive, more dangerous, things. “And then it’s a long drive back to Denver. It’s like eight hours and I have to go to work on Monday morning. I’m going to need my beauty sleep.”
“Beauty sleep?” A smile rose on his handsome face, “Sure.”
“Thank you again for helping me yesterday. It was really nice meeting you Zach.” She held out her hand, fully aware of the awkwardness of brushing him off in the middle of a dance floor.
“Like I said, the pleasure’s been all mine Bluebell.” He chuckled and took her hand, “Let me walk you out.”
He didn’t release her hand as he propelled her off the dance floor and towards the doorway. She liked the feel of her smaller hand in his big one. Liked it a little too much to argue with him even though she knew him walking her to her car was a bad idea.
Their footsteps echoed down the empty hallway. Neither of them spoke as she grabbed her purse out of the changing room. He held the door open, let her walk through and then took her hand again as they walked outside. She had to tug on his arm to stop him as he wheeled her into the gravel parking lot at the back of the church.
“I can’t walk that fast.” She pulled her hand away, thankful for the excuse to put some distance between them.
“What?”
“Heels. Gravel.” She explained with a shrug. “God didn’t make these babies for small town girls.”
His eyes trailed slowly to her feet and he grinned when he looked back up, “How you walk in those things at all is a mystery to me but you look damn good doing it.”
“Thank you.” She could feel her cheeks blush at another of his easy compliments, “I can take it from here. Thank you again for everything.”
“A gentlemen cowboy doesn’t leave a lady at the door baby-doll.”
Standing alone in a darkened parking lot in the middle of a warm spring night a shiver ran across her skin. She was alone with him. That’s exactly what she’d been trying to avoid. He had to have known walking her out was a bad idea.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re not as gentlemanly as I first thought?”
His grin was practically salacious, “Because you’re getting to know me better.”
She started to giggle but the next thing she knew his arms were around her and she was in the air. Her laughter turned to a squeal. He’d picked her up like she didn’t weigh an ounce. She shivered again at the feel of his strong arms holding her.
“Zach! What are you doing? Put me down!”
“I’m delivering you to your car so you don’t break an ankle on one of these rocks.” His eyes danced with laughter, “I’ll add it to the list of things you owe me for if you want.”
“Oh you’re keeping a list?” She found herself grinning yet again as he carried her across the parking lot.
“Yep. The tire, saving you from sitting at the bar alone, making sure you didn’t fall out of your dress and now keeping you from ruining those sexy ass shoes.”
They’d reached her car by the time he called her shoes sexy and he gently set her back on the ground though he didn’t move out of her personal space. His head hovered just over hers. She could feel his body heat. He was too close for her to think straight.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” His breath brushed her face, “Remember how I said I’d think of a way for you to pay me back?”
She nodded because words failed her.
“I’m collecting.”
It was a whispered statement that had barely reached her ears when his mouth covered hers. He was warm and delicious and so distinctly masculine that the one simple touch ignited the fire that just dancing with him had already kindled. Her mouth opened to him on instinct.
He took advantage, his tongue sweeping in to taste and tease. She melted from the heat and wetness pooled in her core. His strong arms went around her again, pulling her against him. If she’d had time to think about it common sense would have told her to resist but he’d jumped ahead to stroking her skin with his big hard hands and she couldn’t catch up or catch a thought other than how good he felt.
Deep, invading, wet kisses drugged her with desire. Her body was pressed between the cool metal of the car at her back and the hard heat of the man in front of her. Everywhere he touched her sizzled as wanting burned through to need.
Pleasure punched her in the chest as his hands found her breasts. His palms seared her through the satin of the dress and her nipples responded by turning to hard nubs that strained against the cotton of her bra. He caught her moan in his mouth as he caressed her breasts.
More. Faster. She wanted him and nothing else mattered. Her world spun out of control and the only thing left was the feel of this man touching her, the taste of his mouth devouring her greedily. Her hands ran across his chest, around his neck, into his hair, touching him, feeling him.
It was too fast, too reckless and impulsive. She knew it and she didn’t care. It felt too good, had been too long since she allowed her body to feel like this. His erection pressed hard against her pelvis and she rocked into him. So long, too long since she’d had a gorgeous, impossibly sexy man that knew what he was doing touch her.
His mouth danced across her jaw to the soft spot below her ear, “You are so damn pretty Bluebell.”
His hands roamed down her body, finding her hips and then the hem of her dress. Her dress inched higher as he bunched it and the cool night hit her bare thighs. She gasped as his hand moved beneath the remaining material and he cupped her through her lace panties.
“Mmm, you’re wet.” His words were a low growl, almost feral.
Her head fell back as liquid heat swept through her and a moan escaped her lips. This couldn’t be happening. She shouldn’t be letting this happen. Not here. Not now. Not with a man she barely knew but Zach’s fingers slipped under the edge of the lace and she was reduced to a puddle of incomprehensible need.
“You’ve been wet from the minute I touched you at the bar haven’t you?” His mouth played down her throat, “This is what you want?”
“Yes.” Oh God, she’d meant to say no, really she had but it would have been a lie. She needed to say no, to stop him before it went too far, before it went any farther. They had to stop before there was no going back but then his fingers stroked her slick flesh and parted her and another moan escaped, “Zach!”
“I like the way you say my name.” He nipped at her earlobe, “You want more?”
“Yes, God yes.”
“Get in my truck.”
“What?” She was having a hard time grasping the English language with his magical hand rubbing her into a frenzy and his mouth
on her neck.
“Get in my truck; I want to fuck you with your legs around my waist while you wear those sexy shoes but we can’t do it here.”
“What?” She squeaked on the lack of air in her lungs.
She couldn’t. They couldn’t. Definitely not here but not there either. He had to stop. She opened her mouth to tell him just that but it got swallowed up as his mouth crashed against hers again in another mind-blowing kiss.
Liquid fire snaked through her, turning everything fuzzy so that when his rough fingers rubbed her sensitive flesh she ground her hips against him to get more, “Zach please…”
She was begging and she knew it wasn’t for him to stop. She didn’t want him to stop. She never wanted it to stop and then everything exploded in a rush that started between her legs where he touched her and fanned out, leveling her as the orgasm pounded throughout her body.
“Please… don’t… stop.”
She squeezed her thighs around his magical hand. Her body pulsed and throbbed. Lust ravished her as she cried out. She shivered from the trembling that reached from the top of her head down to her toes.
Only as the pleasure began to ebb did she begin to sink back to reality. All the air rushed out of her lungs. She remembered suddenly where she was, who she was with and what had just happened.
“Oh God! Stop.” She jerked away from him, “Stop. Jesus, stop.” She shoved at his chest, “We have to stop!”
“You just begged me not to.”
“Oh God.” She had hadn’t she? “We’re in public, in a church parking lot for God’s sake! This is crazy!”
“I tried to get you into the truck but you were pretty insistent on the whole not stopping thing.”
She heard a trace of humor in his voice but refused to look up to meet his eyes. Her face flamed red and she covered her eyes with her hands. She’d just let him give her an orgasm in the middle of the First Baptist Church parking lot where anybody could have come outside and seen them.
“Oh God.” She thought she might faint.
“You said that a couple of times already.”
“I have to go.”
“What?”
“I have to go.” She grabbed her purse from where it had fallen to the ground and pulled out her keys, “Oh God I have to go.”
Chapter Six
Since all of his blood was currently pooled in the southern region of his body it took Zach an extra second to realize what was happening. She was leaving? Just like that? When he was a hell of a long way from done?
“Wait just a second!” He tried to reach for her but she was already out of his grasp.
He watched her slip into the driver’s seat of the R8 and nearly lost a hand when she slammed the door behind her. Sexual frustration beat from his groin straight through the rest of his body and he took it out on her window. He banged on it with his fist.
“Damn it, just hold on.”
She didn’t even look up as she threw it into reverse and the tires peeled out on the gravel. He watched as she whipped in a half circle. The Audi roared as she shifted and then there was nothing but taillights as she left him standing there alone with a hard-on the size of Texas.
That had not just happened. He’d barely gotten started touching her when she went off like the fourth of July and less than one full minute later she’d run away from him like her hair was on fire. He cursed and kicked at the gravel.
“Fuck.” He tried to adjust the painful bulge at the front of his jeans.
He should have known she was going to be trouble. She was Bluebell Carter after all. He should have known better than to follow his dick when it went sniffing her out. So she was a pretty blond? They were a dime a dozen in Texas. He should have listened to common sense and stayed the hell away from her.
Except that he hadn’t been able to. He’d watched her the whole time she stood up at that altar while Molly recited her vows. He hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away. She was so damn pretty not even that ugly orange dress could hide it. And then he’d seen her sitting alone at the bar and he’d decided playing with fire might be worth the risk if she was up for it too.
And she’d been more than willing to play. He’d been with enough women to know when they were looking at him and thinking about sex and he’d seen those big blue eyes cloud when he touched her. He’d felt her body mold against his when she danced with him. And it was her idea to get out of there; he’d simply followed her lead and look where that got him.
The erection that refused to die made it hard to sit but he stomped to his truck, climbed in and peeled out. His anger and frustration were bubbling just below the surface. He’d like to hit something right about now but he strangled that urge.
He’d go home and do some damage to the house instead. He still had a couple of demo projects on his to-do list anyway. He’d beat his frustrations out one way or another.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been left hanging after getting a woman all hot and bothered. Maybe in high school? Hell, maybe never. He’d always had a lot of luck with the ladies. Obviously that luck didn’t extend to Bluebell Montgomery Carter.
She hadn’t owed him sex but if she hadn’t wanted it she should have stopped him before his hand was up her skirt. She was old enough to know where things were going long before they got to that point. He never even would have kissed her if she hadn’t looked up at him with those big blue eyes and licked her pretty pink lips expectantly.
Sure the parking lot wasn’t exactly an ideal location to get down and dirty but he hadn’t been thinking with the head on top of his shoulders. He hadn’t had sex in a while and abstaining had shaken his game. He’d been hard from the minute he laid eyes on her so yeah he’d have taken her in the church parking lot if she’d let him but she didn’t have to go running off.
He was a reasonable man. If her objection was the location he’d have moved her to the truck or even taken her to his house. But she hadn’t been the least bit reasonable and she’d high-tailed it away from him without so much as a thank you for the orgasm that’d so clearly rocked her world that she forgot where they were.
If anybody had told him he’d end this night alone in the First Baptist Church parking lot with a hard-on that could cut glass he’d have called them crazy. He figured he was due this shit-show. He’d known she was crazy and he’d ignored his gut instinct that said she’d be trouble. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. Little miss Bluebell could take her fancy car and her cock tease games and go back to wherever the hell she came from.
When he turned his truck into the driveway at the ranch he’d just about worked through the anger but was still trying to deal with the disbelief. His headlights landing on a shiny black motorcycle parked in his drive was unexpected. The figure sitting on the front steps was too. He cursed under his breath, certain his night was about to get worse.
“What are you doing here?” The words were out of his mouth before his boots hit the gravel.
“Nice to see you too big brother.” Devin stood on the bottom step. “Where’ve you been?”
“Went to Molly McBride’s wedding.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I was fuckin’ invited.” He growled.
Why could nobody seem to grasp the concept that he’d received an invitation to Molly’s wedding? First Bluebell and now Devin? He got an invitation and he went. It wasn’t that complex.
“You usually avoid those things like the plague.”
“I didn’t have anything better to do.”
And he’d known the cute blond that owed him a test drive in a fast car would be there. Not that he planned on telling Devin that much. Not when all it had gotten him was a lap full of frustration.
“Sure, whatever.” Devin smirked, “Looks like you had fun.”
“What?”
“If you were going to start wearing lipstick I’d have pegged you for a red man, not pink.”
“Son of a…” He growled and wiped the back of his hand
across his mouth.
Sure enough, a light sheen of pink glowed in the moonlight. Unwittingly he wondered what it’d look like to see that shade of pink around his dick. He hated that he still wanted to find out even when he was bound for blue balls thanks to the damn tease.
“Anyone special?” Devin was grinning.
“No.” He stomped past his younger brother and into the house.
The screen door didn’t slam shut behind him and he assumed Devin had followed. He didn’t really care. He marched to the kitchen to grab a much needed beer.
“You’re in a hell of a mood for a guy that just got laid.”
He twisted the cap off a Shiner and threw it in the trash, “I didn’t get laid.”
“Ouch.”
“Tell me about it.” He took a long pull of his beer and tried to reign in his frustrations. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk to you but now I’m thinking it’s not the best time.” Devin collapsed into one of the kitchen chairs with a knowing smile. “How long’s it been since you got turned down?”
“Kiss my ass.”
“You’re seriously pissed huh?” Devin laughed.
“My balls hurt like hell so you can get to the point or you can leave.”
That only sent Devin into another round of laughter and Zach scowled at him as he drank his beer. He’d always had a hard time staying mad at his middle brother. It’d made it difficult to discipline him after their father died and he had to become the parental figure. Still, Zach didn’t have to work hard to be frustrated at the moment and his brother laughing at him wasn’t helping matters.
“I’m warning you Dev, one word of this to Riley and I’ll tell mom you were the one that broke her Tiffany’s vase.”
“I was ten.” Devin straightened up but couldn’t hide a smirk.
“I’ll still tell her.”
“You’re a lousy big brother you know that.” Devin ribbed him, “This is the kind of thing your brothers are supposed to bond over. You’ve always been the ladies man and we were just trying to live up to the legends. Turns out maybe you’re mortal after all.”