by Alicia Rae
“Colton,” I said his name on a strangled cry, knowing it wouldn’t take me long to fall apart at the seams.
He didn’t respond. Instead, he slightly adjusted me and pierced his tongue through the lips of my sex, penetrating me like he was priming me for what was to come.
My climax rushed, breaking through its barrier, and vibrations ricocheted through me. I shuddered as I rode the waves, biting my lower lip to keep from screaming out.
Colton gave me a moment to recover before he flipped our positions, and I found myself on my hands and knees.
Raking his hands down the length of my legs to my ankles, he gripped the ends of my heels and slightly lifted them. “Fuck, these are sexy,” he hummed in approval from somewhere deep in his throat.
Delirious with need and longing to have him filling me full, I rocked my hips into his hard erection. The tip of his head penetrated my opening and slipped inside one delicious inch, teasing me.
I moaned, and Colton groaned at the contact.
He ran his fingertips up my thighs to the curve of my ass and gripped my hips, squeezing hard enough to make my breath catch in my lungs. All at once, he yanked me backward and thrust his pelvis forward. My forehead fell against the mattress below me, and I clenched around him, almost coming on the spot from the delightful friction he created inside me. But I held back, so I could savor this moment with him.
He receded out to the tip of himself and gruffly ordered, “Not yet, Paige,” as if reading my mind.
The sensational fullness of him as he sank deep inside me again caused my vision to slightly blur around the edges. I was in pure bliss at the havoc he was igniting in my core. I felt drunk on him.
He set a pace, thrusting in and out of me, with pure determination, and I countered each one. The slap of our skins blended with our labored breaths, and the air smelled of sex.
I could feel him losing himself in me, as I was with him. He loomed over me and pressed his chest into my back. One hand came to grasp my chin, and he turned my face toward his to ardently kiss me.
When I felt him thicken inside me, I clenched myself around him. My orgasm slammed into me, hot and heavy and hard.
“Ah, fuck,” Colton groaned against my lips as his body began to tremble.
On one more forward thrust, he pumped his release into me as my core milked him.
After a few minutes, he fell to the side of me, and I kicked off my shoes. We slipped under his sheets together. His arm banded around my waist where he tucked me close and nestled his nose into the crook of my neck.
He gently kissed me. “I love you, Paige, so much that it hurts.”
I raised my arm and put it on top of his forearm resting against my bare chest. “I love you, too,” I murmured.
It wasn’t until after he slipped off into a quiet slumber, I frowned into the darkness and pondered his words. I knew Colton loved me—and I, him—but he’d told me several times now that his love for me was so powerful that it hurt him.
The thought brought tears to my eyes, unsure if he’d meant his admission in a good or bad way. I didn’t want to hurt Colton.
“YO!” Kyle waved his hand in front of my face.
My eyes snapped to his in time to see his somber expression.
“You okay, man? You’ve been drifting in and out of this conversation. I may as well have been talking with myself.”
“Sorry,” I said as I gazed past him.
The last few colors from the sunrise this morning were dimming, and the sun was now just beaming overhead. Sunrises always made me think of the beautiful woman still asleep in my bed.
“No need to apologize.” Across from me, Kyle grasped his cup of coffee in his hand. “Do you want to tell me what has you on a head trip over there?”
“No.”
Kyle rested his elbows on the patio table and leaned toward me. “How about you humor me and tell me anyway?”
I sighed deeply, knowing Kyle wouldn’t give in until I told him. He was the relentless type.
“Even though I only took back what was rightfully mine, I can’t help but feel I stirred the pot by going to Hank’s house last night.” I shook my head and gathered my thoughts. “I told myself I would let go of Paige to keep her out of this mess, yet out of my own selfishness, I’ve dragged her right into the eye of the storm with me.”
Kyle drew his brows together in contemplation. “Why would you let her go just because of some asshole?”
“Would you want Lily by your side if a lunatic set your barn on fire?” I countered, ignoring his question.
“No.” Kyle paused, and I saw the gears turning in his head. “But I wouldn’t leave her either.”
I frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense. You can’t have it both ways.”
Kyle sat back in his chair and was silent for a brief moment. “I suppose not,” he responded, rubbing his hand over his cup. “But since the day Lily walked into my life, I haven’t been able to leave her side. And when I look at you, I see that you have the same thing with Paige. There has to be a way, man.”
“But at what cost?” I asked more to myself than him.
“I don’t know, but we are going to figure it out.”
I stared ahead again, looking at the loose dirt where my horse barn used to be. He made it sound so easy, but it sure as fuck didn’t feel like it. I continued to let my gaze wander to the pasture, and I saw the horses all standing in line with the fence, eyeing me with a look that said, You’d better come feed me, buddy.
I stood to my feet and glanced back at Kyle. “I’d better get started with my chores, so we can make the most of the day.”
“All right.” Kyle nodded. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Nah, I got this. Take a break for a bit, and then we’ll start clearing debris,” I said before walking off.
On the path to the horses, I tried to force away all my doubts. I wasn’t a man to cower away from a fight—ever. I would stand my ground and hold my own, but bringing someone else into my battle was something that weighed on my conscience. I loved Paige too much to hurt her.
I threw myself into my work and hauled bale after bale into the pasture, letting my frustration out as I tossed around the fifty-pound bales like they were nothing. Next, I carried ten bags of grain inside.
Hank is nothing, too, I thought.
My muscles bulged with anger for allowing that fucker to get beneath my skin. I vowed to myself right then and there that it was the last time I’d let it happen. I would defend what was mine. Paige, my home, my livelihood—they were all mine for the keeping. He wouldn’t take or harm any of them.
As I approached the cattle pasture to repeat the feeding process, my cell phone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw it was Nancy, Paige’s mom.
“Good morning, Mrs. Summers. How are you?” I asked with a smile. I was missing that lady’s famous pancakes right about now.
“Hello, Colton.” I could hear her reciprocating my expression into the line. “I’m okay. I’ve been trying to get a hold of Paige all night and this morning to see if Sadie happened to sneak over by you.” She chuckled. “I know how much that pup likes to roam the farms.”
“Sorry, Mrs. Summers. We were out late last night with some friends of ours who are in town,” I explained. I shook my head. “No, I haven’t seen Sadie, but I’ll ask Paige when she wakes up.”
“Okay, thank you. I’m sure she’ll come wandering home soon. She is always off chasing birds or raccoons or whatever else she can find.” Nancy chuckled.
“Probably.” I laughed, recalling the stories Paige had told me of Sadie dropping dead birds in front of the back door for Nancy, acting proud of her catching skills. “You have a real hunter on your hands with that dog.”
“Unfortunately,” she answered, joining in my mirth. “Well, when Paige wakes up, please tell her to call me.”
“I will. She shouldn’t be asleep for too much longer.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Take care,” I replied.
Ending the call, I tucked my cell phone into my back pocket, so I could continue with my tasks. Knowing I had a short time before Paige and everyone else awoke, I quickly fed the cattle and filled water troughs for all my animals.
By the time I finished, I was eager to start working with the guys. The quicker I finished clearing the debris, the sooner I could rebuild and start fresh.
Kyle, Jason, Damon, and Blake were all sitting on the patio as I went back up toward the house.
“Hey,” I said as I came to a stop in front of them.
Jason cocked his head over at me and grinned. “Hey yourself. Do you ever sleep?”
My eyes widened. “Yes.”
He flippantly waved his hand, motioning behind me. “Then, how is it that you have tons of shit done this morning, and we are all just dragging our asses out of bed?”
“I don’t know.” I laughed, raising a mischievous brow at him. “Because you’re a lazy ass?” I grinned.
Kyle, Damon, and Blake all busted out laughing.
I started for the door. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m going to get some food. I’m starving.”
“Uh, I wouldn’t go in there if I were you!” Damon stopped me mid stride.
I looked over my shoulder at him. “Why the hell not?” I asked, perplexed.
Blake was shaking his head from side to side in awe.
Damon said, “Man, it’s scary. They won’t even make us breakfast.”
“Why?” I probed.
“Just go see for yourself, man.” Damon waved me off. “But don’t say we didn’t warn you.”
Curiosity had me opening the door anyway, and then I was rooted in my spot. All four of the girls were swathed in piles of blankets and pillows.
Paige was the first person I noticed on the couch with her head laying on a pillow on Lily’s lap. Abbey appeared to have her legs slung over Paige’s waist with her cheek on Gail’s shoulder as Gail rested slumped against Audrey. They were out cold with their hair pulled up into messy ponytails and mascara smeared beneath their eyes, except for Audrey. She was staring over at me with amusement in her eyes.
“What the…” I trailed off.
Audrey lifted her finger to her mouth. “Shh…they are all resting peacefully now, and you don’t want to wake the hungover sleeping bears.”
I let my chest rise and fall in a noiseless laughter, wishing I had a camera on me. Then, I remembered I had my cell. My hand came to my back pocket, and I opened my camera app to snap a few quick pictures.
Audrey glared and pointed her finger at me. “You had better delete those.”
“Not gonna happen,” I whispered with a devious wink.
I tiptoed into the kitchen to fetch myself a bowl of cereal. I pulled out a bowl and a spoon, and then I headed to the fridge to grab the milk. I set them on the counter before reaching for a box of Frosted Flakes. I poured the cereal and couldn’t help but frown, wishing it were some French toast or fluffy pancakes. But I wouldn’t dare wake my girl and take a chance at starting her day wrong, so I ate my scrumptious breakfast at the kitchen island.
As I swallowed my last bite, the guys wandered into the house.
“Time to wake up the sleeping beauties!” Jason laughed as he neared the couch, causing me to swivel on my stool and face the door.
“Are you crazy?” Damon whispered loudly from the corner of the room.
“No, but these lazy bums need to get up,” Jason answered in amusement.
“He just has a death wish.” Blake chuckled under his breath.
I grinned to myself, thinking Jason was definitely asking for it.
I set my bowl in the sink and turned to see Abbey. She was now awake while still sitting on the couch, narrowing her eyes at her husband.
“Indeed he does,” she gritted with humored eyes.
Jason stalked over to his wife, unraveled her from the pile of blankets, and picked her up into his arms. “Come on, sweetheart. The day is wasting away. Time for a shower with your hunk.” He beamed while carrying her off in the direction of the guest bedrooms.
I entered the living room to see all the girls awake. Paige yawned as Lily’s gaze bounced between Kyle, Damon, Blake, and me.
“We sincerely apologize, but due to an extensive hangover, us ladies are on strike for another hour,” Lily announced.
“I have a cure for that hangover of yours, beautiful,” Kyle crooned at his wife.
Lily blushed and methodically shook her head at her husband. “You can cure me later, handsome.”
Kyle crossed the room and challenged, “Or now.”
Lily looped her arms around his neck, and he carried her off.
She squealed over his shoulder, “Colton, you need a bigger couch for sleepovers!”
“I’ll remember that.” I chuckled as I glanced back at Audrey, Gail, and Paige. “You women are stealing all my workers that I need today around the ranch,” I joked.
Audrey lifted her chin at me. “That’s what you get for snapping pictures of them when they were sleeping.”
Paige and Gail gaped between Audrey and me, making my heart race.
“You what?” Paige exclaimed before jumping off the couch in a hurry.
“Tattletale,” I quipped at Audrey.
Paige crashed into me, and her hands started grabbing at my front pocket and then my ass. “Where is your phone?” She tried to keep her tone stern. “I want to see it—right now.”
I chuckled from deep in my throat, and when she went for my left back pocket, I spun around to dodge her efforts. “I don’t know what Audrey is talking about,” I teased.
“Liar,” Paige jested on a huff.
I felt my phone being yanked from my back pocket. “Hey, give that back!” I called as I turned to face Gail’s scheming expression.
Gail winked and said, “Gotcha.”
At the same time, Paige’s hands instantly clamped around my center. “Run, Gail!” she squealed.
Gail took off down the hallway en route to the spare rooms.
“A little help would be nice!” I yelled over at Damon and Blake.
They were laughing their asses off.
“You dug your own hole, man.” Damon held his hands up in front of himself. “You’re on your own.”
Blake was nearly buckled over in laughter.
I directed my attention back to where Gail had disappeared. “Gail, you’d better not be deleting my pictures!” I shouted as I tried to take a step forward.
“Oh no, you don’t,” my girl told me, pulling me back.
“Shit, there is a stupid passcode!” Gail yelled from the room.
“Zero, six, two, zero,” Paige chimed loudly for her friend, calling out the month and day of our anniversary when I’d asked her to officially be my girlfriend when we were kids.
I spun around in her hold to face her. In the blink of an eye, I had Paige up and over my shoulder. Her squeals filled the air as I stalked in the direction of the guest bedrooms.
I bellowed out, “Gail, make good choices!”
“Hurry, Gail,” Paige said.
I raised my free hand to tickle her side.
“Stop, Colton!” she cried.
I stormed into the bedroom to find Gail on the far side of the bed. Her eyes darted to mine as I tossed Paige down onto the bed. She landed with a small bounce.
“Let’s not make this difficult, Gail.” I grinned devilishly, inching my way closer.
Gail’s eyes went wide, and she chucked my cell over my head. Paige scrambled to her knees before catching it. As Paige fiddled with the apps, Gail barreled toward the door.
I slowly inched my way toward Paige, shaking my head. “You’re in trouble with a capital T.”
“Huh. Wherever did I learn that bad behavior from?” Her eyes glowed with mischief, making her look sexy as hell. “I can only think of this one cute ranch cowboy, who had a terrible influence on me when we were younger.”
My mind got stuck on one word, and I cocked a boyish brow at her. “You thought I was cute, even then?” I already knew the answer, but I still always loved to hear her say it. I would never tire of her voicing her affection for me. In fact, I lived for it.
“Oh, did I say cute?” She raised her brows, a sassy glint shining from her gorgeous brown eyes. “Shit, I meant fugly.”
“Fugly?” I teasingly narrowed my eyes at her.
On a natural impulse, I gripped her ankle and tugged her toward me. She fell backward, and I launched myself on top of her, straddling her and pinning her beneath me.
“I can’t believe you just said that to me.” I set my hand over my heart. “I’m wounded. I’ll never recover,” I finished. Then, I tickled her everywhere.
“Stop, stop! I take it back!”
Paige fell into a fit of giggles as I continued my relentless assault.
She squirmed and thrashed about. “I said cute.” She inhaled sharply and chortled again. “I said cute first!”
My movements paused as I let my eyes take in her beauty. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. A rosy pink filled her cheeks and trailed down her throat. But what took my breath away was the love and affection in her eyes. It was a look she reserved only for me.
I lowered my lips to the corner of her mouth, and then I skimmed them across her supple lips.
“I’ll let it slide—just this once,” I breathed. “But only if you say what I want to hear.”
She wrapped her arms around me, and her fingers dived into my hair. “And what might that be?”
“You should already know,” I answered.
“Hmm…I don’t think I do,” she said with a frown. Her fingers made soothing strokes along my scalp as she regarded me. Then, her eyes lit up as though she’d found the answer. “How about, I love it when your lips are tenderly kissing me?” She softly kissed me. “They make me forget about everything. The world just seems to slip away.”
“That’s a good start,” I groaned into her mouth.