She placed her fingers over his lips. “Don’t say anything. This was everything I thought it’d be. Thank you.” Then she kissed him with sweet reverence as she stared into his eyes. “This was perfect. You were perfect, Carson.”
“Sugar.” He framed her face in his hands and covered her mouth with his, their bodies still connected. They kissed until they each had their fill, balancing tenderness with lingering desire. “I wish I could take you home and tuck you in my bed.”
“I do too. But I need to get going.”
She only winced a little when he pulled out.
He lowered her leg and righted her panties and skirt before he fought with the wet, cold denim around his knees. Her hands shook as she buttoned her blouse. Carson didn’t bother fastening his shirt; he was going straight home and Cal wouldn’t care if he stumbled into the trailer naked.
He picked up her key ring and inserted the key into the lock. It popped on the first try. When he opened the door, she smiled at him.
“What?”
“For the first time ever I’m happy that lock sticks.”
“Me too.” He placed a kiss on the side of her neck and murmured, “Don’t be alarmed if you think someone is followin’ you home. It’s just me.”
“Carson. You don’t have to. It’s another thirty miles out of your way.”
“It’s late, it’s raining, and you’re alone, so yeah, I’m followin’ you. Like it or not.”
“Okay.” She kissed his chin. “You’re sweet.”
He snorted. “First time I’ve heard that.”
“Then I’m happy to be the first one to have noticed it.”
“I wanna see you tomorrow, Caro.” And the day after that, and the day after that.
“I don’t know if I can swing it.”
“The next night then.” But he knew he couldn’t stay away from her for even one day.
She planted another kiss on his lips. “Drive safe after you see me home, okay?”
“I will.”
Chapter Seven
Carolyn
The house was so quiet.
It was strange being the only one home. Her father had taken her mother into Rapid City for doctor’s appointments and they’d be gone until suppertime. Marshall was in Cheyenne overnight. Stuart and Thomas were both at work. For the next few hours she could do anything she wanted.
She could finish the pedal pushers she’d started last week. She could weed the garden. Or she could wander into the field behind the house, searching for wild parsnips and mushrooms, or pick a bouquet of wildflowers for her room.
Or she could sit here with the sun warming her face, reliving every moment of losing her virginity to Carson McKay.
Every single moment. Every word. Every touch. Especially his touch.
She’d really thought he’d hold out after lecturing her on sex in a “proper” bed, even after she’d made the smart remark about his expectations of candlelight, flowers, chocolates and the release of beribboned doves at the moment of breaching her maidenhead—were not hers.
But it turned out he’d been as powerless against the passion that exploded between them as she.
So she hadn’t lost her virginity in any proper manner at all, rather one hot and bothered cowboy had pushed her up against her car and driven into her in the driving rain.
She sighed and closed her eyes. It’d been absolutely perfect. Water soaking their feverish skin. His hot mouth on her rain-cooled flesh. His hardness filling her softness, over and over. His rough-skinned hand clamped onto her behind. The sexy rumble of his voice in her ear when he wasn’t kissing her. Kissing her like her mouth alone could sustain him.
And when she feared her body would simply fly apart from the bliss that beckoned, Carson took her to paradise, joining her, and everything in her life changed.
Dramatic? Maybe. But that physical connection was way more than she’d ever expected.
Carolyn had just decided to quit lazing around and accomplish something, when she heard a vehicle turn up the drive. Probably just Harland or Darren coming to borrow tools or something, so she didn’t bother to move from her comfy spot in the sun. Maybe she wouldn’t do anything today but loaf.
Right. That’s not your nature.
A door slammed. “Sugar, is this really how you’re spendin’ all your days?”
She sat up so fast her sunglasses went flying. Then she scrambled to her feet. “Carson? What are you doing here?”
He paused at the bottom of the steps. His left eyebrow winged up. “That’s how you greet me after last night?”
Happiness nearly split her heart in two. She laughed and said, “Catch!” before she launched herself at him.
Carson caught her, his hands curling around her hips as his mouth found hers.
With the hungry way he kissed her and with her arms twined around his neck she felt like she was floating. The kiss went on for a blissfully long time. He broke the kiss slowly, treating her lips to little nibbles, a soft glide and then decisive smooches. “I probably oughtn’t maul you on the front porch in case your mama is peeking out the window.”
“She’s not here. My dad took her to the doctor and they’ll be gone all day.”
“That right?”
“My brothers are gone too.”
“So you’re all alone?”
She kissed his chin. “Not anymore. Have you had lunch?”
“Nope.”
“Come in.” She tugged his hand. “I’ll fix you something.”
“In a second. Lemme grab something outta my truck.”
Carolyn watched him amble to the driver’s side door, enjoying the view of his tight buns and long legs encased in denim. Although it was fairly warm out today, he wore a long-sleeved shirt—not that the extra fabric could hide the broad set of shoulders. Shoulders she’d been clinging to last night as his body had moved in and out of hers.
She was still lost in heated memories of hands and mouths and bodies in motion when he stopped in front of her.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Caro?”
Her eyes locked onto his. “Last night.”
He dipped his head and kissed the side of her throat. “You ain’t the only one.” Then he looked at her and smiled. A sweet, slightly devious smile and Lord have mercy she was just gone for this man. “I brought you something.”
That’s when she noticed his hands were behind his back. “What?”
Carson handed her a box of candy. “Since I didn’t give you the hearts and flowers romance you deserved last night, and since you were sarcastic about the doves at the moment of the official cherry popping, I thought I could at least bring you a sweet treat that’ll remind you of me.”
She laughed softly and studied the box of chocolate-covered cherries, hoping he didn’t notice her damp eyes. This man was so sweet and he had a good sense of humor. “I love chocolate. Thank you.”
“Hey.” His fingers were under her chin, lifting her face to meet his gaze. “You okay today?”
“Very okay. I know last night wasn’t…didn’t play out how you’d hoped. But for me, it was everything I’d ever wanted it to be and more.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
“Was it okay for you?”
“No.”
Her heart stopped. “It wasn’t?”
“No,” he said again as he brushed soft, seductive kisses across her mouth. “It was fuckin’ amazing.”
She smiled against his lips. “Oh. Good.”
“Mmm-hmm.” He started nibbling her jaw. “Sugar, are we really alone?”
She loved how his breath felt fanning her skin. “Yes.”
“For how long?”
“For hours.”
“That’ll work.” He lifted her into his arms.
“Carson!”
�
��Open the door.”
She turned the handle and he strode inside the house and kicked the door shut behind them. “Which way?”
“To the kitchen for lunch?”
“No. To your bedroom. We can eat food after I’ve had a taste of you.”
Her stomach cartwheeled so hard it kicked her heart into high gear.
“Caro?”
“Straight ahead. I sleep in the sun porch.”
Once they were in her space, she tried to see it from his point of view. Half the room was packed with junk since it doubled as a storage room when she and Kimi weren’t here. Her mother’s sewing machine, dress maker dummy, ironing board, irons and sewing instruments were in the center of the room, along with stacks of material, thread, ribbons, notions, paper patterns, a box of buttons and other odds and ends.
In the corner, she’d pushed the twin beds together, making a decent-sized sleeping area for herself. A bed with pale peach sheets, lots of pillows, a bright reading lamp for the foldable flat board so she could hand sew pieces in bed if she chose. Her closet and dressing area was in the opposite corner behind two floral sheets. She’d hung her clothes on a dowel placed between two chains. Her underwear, slips and hosiery were in an old suitcase she’d cut in half and converted into dresser drawers.
The click of the lock brought her attention back to Carson. He wasn’t looking at her surroundings. At all. His eyes were focused solely on her.
It dawned on her it was the middle of the day. There’d be no darkness, every part of her, every part of him would be completely visible. Every other time they’d been intimate had been at night. And she’d never completely bared herself to another person…well…ever.
“Don’t,” he said softly as he stalked closer.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t think.” He reached her and pushed her hair over her shoulder. “You’re beautiful and I can’t wait to get my hands on every inch of you. Last night was just the start. Trust me.” He rested his forehead to hers. “You do trust me, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. First you gotta lose the clothes.” He hooked his fingers in the hem of her baggy red peasant shirt and pulled it up until she raised her arms.
Her bra wasn’t sheer, just plain white. She fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest.
His fingers slipped beneath the waistband of her skirt near her belly button, using her skin as a guide to find the button in the back. After unbuttoning her, Carson made short work of the zipper too. The navy blue cotton skirt fell to the floor.
Her panties matched her bra—bonus points for that, but her underwear wasn’t sexy, just plain white cotton.
Then his mouth was on her neck and his hands started at her shoulders and moved down. Stroking and caressing her skin. His thumbs following the swell of her breasts while his palms curled around her ribcage.
At Carson’s show of reverence, she relaxed even when every tender touch and nip of his teeth set her body on fire.
His hands stopped on her hips, those wickedly stroking thumbs of his brushed over the rise of her mound and the sensitive inner skin by her hipbone. And still he didn’t say a word, he just explored. As his hands moved south so did his mouth. He palmed her behind in both hands as his tongue traced the edge of her bra, down one side and up the other.
Carolyn wasn’t sure what to do with her hands. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair. Grip his shoulders. Or should she start to undress him too?
“Unhook your bra for me so I don’t have to stop touchin’ you.”
She twisted her arms behind her back and tugged the clasp.
Carson’s gaze met hers as he eased the straps down her arms. Only when the straps cleared her fingertips did he look at her chest.
“Perfect. Jesus, look at you.” He held her breasts and rubbed his cheek and jaw from the top of the left side, down to her sternum and back up the right side.
Every kiss, every taste inched closer to her nipple and her body went rigid in anticipation. Then his mouth enclosed the hardened tip.
Wet. Hot. His tongue flicking, his mouth sucking. Her head fell back and she groaned as each determined suck sent chills racing down her body.
Carolyn was so lost in the way he worshipped her breasts that she didn’t notice his hand had slid down the center of her torso until he was stroking her there. Right there.
“You like that.”
“Yes.”
“I can tell,” he murmured against the side of her breast. “Your panties are getting wet.” He nipped her breast with his teeth and stroked her faster. “Time to take them off.”
She froze.
“Trust me, sugar, you want this.” He captured her mouth in one of those kisses that made her mind fuzzy as his hand slipped inside her panties, his finger connecting with her bare flesh. “Take them off.”
She tugged her underwear down, even while his finger kept up that long glide on her slit.
Carson broke the kiss to whisper, “Sit on the edge of the bed.”
Somehow she managed it, despite the throbbing between her legs and her head floating in the clouds. She closed her eyes and started to lie back on the mattress but Carson’s grip on her wrist stopped her.
“Huh-uh. I want you to watch.”
Carolyn opened her eyes and immediately snapped out of the passion-filled stupor. Her gaze moved over him. He was still fully dressed. Was he going to strip for her? “Watch what?”
Carson dropped to his knees, right between hers. His hands landed on her thighs and he pushed them wider apart, his focus completely on her sex.
She felt her entire body turn the color of a ripe tomato as he stared at her there. Stared and made a growling noise as his fingers inched forward.
What was he doing? Her mouth went so dry she couldn’t form a question.
Then those blue blue eyes hooked hers, sending a blast of heat through her. “Watch me put my mouth on you.”
Wait. What?
Then Carson bent his head, moving closer and closer…surely he didn’t mean to…? And a bolt of electricity shot through her at the first touch of his tongue.
The second and third licks were delicate, but no less powerful. She held herself stiff, waiting—hoping—for more.
“So goddamn sweet,” he said roughly, but his lips were gentle as he brushed his mouth over the blonde curls at the top of her sex. He kept muttering.
“What?”
Again he looked at her. She blushed, thinking about the intimate position they were in. “Ever had a man’s mouth down here?”
She shook her head. But something compelled her to say, “I didn’t know that—this—was part of it. Of sex. I just thought it was…you know. What happened last night.”
That surprised him. Then he grinned. “I love that you don’t know nothin’ about this and I’m the first to taste this sweet pussy.”
Before she wanted to close her eyes; now she couldn’t look away when he lowered his head.
He curled the tip of his tongue where the split in her sex started at the top of her pubic bone. He wiggled his tongue side to side, so it would hit that good spot and then he’d move it away. She wanted to force him to stay there and keep doing that flicking thing until the ache abated.
“That’s my favorite spot, but I love it here, where all your sweet juice gathers.” He swirled his tongue around her opening, keeping his eyes locked on hers. Then he plunged his tongue into her, like he’d plunged his hardness into her last night. He closed his eyes and groaned softly, his face lost in bliss as he tongued her deeply.
With each plunge and lick she felt the changes in her body. Getting wetter. Swelling and yet softening. Her thighs were quivering. Her spine tingled from the nape of her neck to her tailbone. She wanted that pulsing rush. “Carson.”
He eased back, letting his
hot breath wash over her tender tissues, and his tongue darted out to trace her inner folds. “Do you want me to make you come?”
“Yes.”
“After that…you know we ain’t done.” He placed a soft kiss on the insides of her thighs. “I’m thinkin’ I ain’t ever gonna be done with you.”
Before she could ask him what he meant, he fastened his mouth around that hot spot and began to suck.
Then he’d flutter his tongue over the swollen nub, pause and return to sucking.
Carolyn couldn’t keep her eyes open. She threw her head back. She couldn’t stop the pleading noises from coming out of her mouth. When he brought her to the edge of release and then backed off, she grabbed hold of his head, her fingers gripping his hair, holding him exactly where she needed him. “Don’t move. Don’t stop. Please.”
And he didn’t. The intensity of her climax…she’d never experienced anything like it. She cried out his name, she pulled his hair, she thrashed against the mattress and when he finally brought her down, she had the overwhelming urge to cry.
But Carson petted and stroked her. Planting sweet, soft, lingering kisses on her quaking legs and kissing the insides of her wrists. That’s when she realized she still had a strong grip on his hair. Her hands fell away. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I loved that you didn’t hold back even on your first time.” He kissed her fingertips. “That seems to be the norm with you sugar, and I like it. A lot.”
Carson stood. She noticed his hands shook as he began to unbutton his shirt.
He helped you get undressed; help him. Show him you want him.
Carolyn sat up and reached for his belt buckle.
“I got this,” he said, staying her hand.
“I want to.”
Uncertainty flickered in his eyes but he never missed a button. He tugged the arms free and the shirt fell to the floor.
By then Carolyn had already worked the belt buckle loose. She popped the button on the waistband of his jeans and noticed the zipper tab poked out. After she lowered the zipper to the base, she pulled apart the material and ran her fingers along the hard length.
He sucked in a swift breath.
Cowboy Take Me Away (Rough Riders #16) Page 11