A Hero's Heart: Resolution Ranch (Flint Hills Military Heroes Book 2)
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So this is what mind-blowing felt like. As she set an achingly slow pace, he stroked up and down her back, spinning closer and closer to oblivion. This view of her, riding on top of him like some mythological queen, full breasts gently swaying as she rocked into him was the closest thing to heaven he’d ever experienced. He captured a rosy peak, sucking and lapping, and was rewarded with a sound of ecstasy coming from the back of her throat.
She met his gaze through hooded eyes and didn’t look away. “You feel so damned good,” she breathed, voice husky with desire.
He squeezed her ass, burying his fingers in her softness. “You, too. So good.” He swiveled his hips, grinding against her, stroking her back, and filling his mouth with her tits as she took them nearer and nearer to the edge. Her pants turned to soft moans, pitching higher and higher as he thrust into her hot, tight pussy.
“Sweetheart,” he warned. “I can’t take much more of this.”
She clenched her walls around his cock and rode him harder. “Then don’t hold back.” She bent and took his mouth, sweeping her tongue against his as she increased their pace. He groaned as he thrust with her giving everything he had. She cried out into his mouth, body trembling uncontrollably. The waves of her orgasm gripped his cock and sent him over the edge in an explosion of white light that ripped through him, balls to neck, blinding him as he came with a shout. And still they rocked together, riding the tidal wave of sensation until at last she collapsed on him with a sigh.
“Wow,” she murmured into his chest.
He kissed her forehead, a low chuckle rumbling through him. “If I’d known it would be like this, I’d have beaten down the doors to your ranch. Brothers be damned.”
CHAPTER 14
Sterling paused in the entryway. He’d been dragging his feet returning to Prairie all afternoon, but he couldn’t wait any longer. Travis expected him back this evening. And the work was piling up. He pulled Emma close, reveling again at the way her soft curves fit against him, then calculated how long it would take them to christen the entryway the way they’d done every other space in the condo over the last twenty-four hours. His cock sprung to life again at the thought of taking her against the wall. They hadn’t tried wall sex yet.
“When will I see you again?” As soon as the words came out, he regretted them. Their tryst was supposed to be a one-off thing. A means to slake the chemistry between them, not the beginning of something. Macey’s grief-stricken face flashed in his mind. “You know… so we can work on the fundraiser?” he recovered quickly.
She stiffened in his embrace. “We? I thought I was working on the fundraiser and you were just signing off.”
He laughed easily, relieved she hadn’t read more into his slip-up. “Of course. But you still need to run everything by me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t think that this,” she flapped a hand between them, “gives you license to take over my project. Now that we’ve set the general direction, there’s not much for you to do.”
That wouldn’t do. She needed his ideas, their banter, even if she didn’t realize it yet. “There’s plenty to do. You need my connections. And anything taking place on the ranch needs to go through me first.”
Two spots of pink bloomed high on her cheeks. “Is that so?”
“Definitely.” He dipped his head to steal a kiss, sucking gently on her lower lip.
She softened, returning the kiss, then sighed. “Sterling, don’t think you can sweet-talk me into letting you call all the shots.”
“Who said anything about sweet-talking you?” He swept a thumb down her jaw and cupped her face to kiss her again. He flicked his tongue languorously against hers, hands sliding down her back to stroke her ass. “I’d much rather dirty-talk you.” His voice came out rough with the sound of his rising need.
She notched her core against his growing desire, hooking her hands around his neck. “Mmmm. It won’t have any effect on me.”
He spun, pinning her to the wall with his hips. “None?”
Her eyes lit as she pressed back into him. “Give it your best shot.”
His cock stood at full attention now, ready for a last go-round. “And what do I win when I make you come in under five minutes?”
She held his gaze and slowly licked her lower lip, then arched a brow, angling her head so the smooth column of her neck was exposed. “A cookie?”
“Only a cookie?” He licked a trail from her collarbone to the sensitive spot below her ear. “You can do better than that.” He slipped a hand underneath her sweater, fingers grazing the soft skin just under her waistband. “Your breathing gives you away. You’re already turned on.”
She gasped as he slid his hand down the front of her pants.
He nipped at her earlobe, letting her perfume permeate his senses. “What am I going to find when I slip my fingers under your pretty little lace panties?”
Her head dropped back to the wall, and she shut her eyes, biting down on her lip. “Nothing,” she squeezed out. He’d give her props for attempting to stay cool. Her efforts were valiant. Cute, even. But he had her. He could tell by the rise and fall of her chest.
“Nothing at all?” he murmured, fingers playing with the scrap of lace that separated him from his goal.
“Nope,” she squeaked.
“Liar,” he breathed. “We both know how wet you are. How ready.”
She made a noise in the back of her throat that went straight to his cock. It was the little things like that which set his blood on fire. A glance, a sly smirk, a sigh. Fuck. Who was he kidding? Just being around her heightened his awareness. Set his nerve endings alight. Made him want to do every naughty thing with her that popped into his head. He slipped a finger through the slick wetness he knew he’d find, grazing her clit. Her mouth dropped open with a sigh.
“You’ll have to do better at resisting than that, sweetheart.”
“I am impervious to your charms.” She took in a ragged breath and bit down on her lower lip again.
He laughed low. “Are you?” He slipped a finger inside her, grinning as she rolled her hips and sighed. “So I should stop now and go home?” He pulled out, sliding his desire slicked finger around her clit before removing his hand entirely.
Her eyes flew open as she gasped, then she narrowed her eyes, reaching for his belt buckle. “You still only win a cookie,” she hissed breathlessly as she buried her hand in his pants and stroked his hard cock.
He laughed, then lowered his head to hers, claiming her mouth in a searing kiss that left both of them breathless. “You like the game as much as I do, sweetheart. Like going toe to toe with me. You love the challenge and the sparring. The difference is, I can admit it. Now put your leg around me and let me fuck you.”
She gave a slow pull on his cock, squeezing his length. Fuck. Everything she did to him made him see stars. He shoved down his pants, then yanked on her leggings, pulling the damn things off with a ferocity that surprised him. He wanted her to see them here every time she walked in the door. Hitching an arm underneath her knee and bringing it to his hip, he pressed her into the wall. She wrapped her other leg around him and he clapped her hips, bringing her down on his length. They both cried out together.
“That’s it, right there,” she gasped, pressing her forehead against his.
“You like watching, don’t you?” he grunted, pushing into her then pulling out slowly. “You like seeing my cock fill you up?”
She gripped him with vice-like strength. “Yes,” she moaned, her tone of voice telling him she was close.
For a moment, his breath caught in his throat as he watched his cock disappear into her pussy. The way she moved on him sent waves of desire racing up the back of his legs. So many firsts with her. He brushed away the wave of emotion that bubbled up from a hidden part of himself and concentrated on pleasing her, on stroking her clit until she cried out from the joy of it.
He braced a hand against the wall by her head, and with the other, cupped her neck
drawing her mouth to his, sweeping his tongue into her mouth and filling her. Her legs squeezed his hips and tightened around him as she kissed him back with equal fervor, moaning as they soared higher until she shattered on his cock with a cry. His belly tightened and the most intense orgasm exploded through him, spotting his vision and nearly buckling his knees. “Holy smokes, Emma. I’ve never, I’ve never–” he caught himself and let out a harsh sigh.
“Never what?” she murmured, running her hand through his hair.
He shoved the feelings back to the hole they’d crawled out of. He could never tell her that in a moment of sex-induced weakness he’d thought about forever. “I’m never gonna taste anything as good as that cookie.” He winked and gave her sweet ass a little pinch as he helped her stand on her feet.
She gently socked him on the shoulder. “Ass. You better hope I don’t put salt on it.”
He bent to retrieve his pants. “Even salt can’t diminish the taste of victory.”
Her eyes turned soft. “I had a nice weekend, Sterling.”
His throat squeezed painfully. Regret filled him as the words left his mouth. “You know we can’t do this again.”
She let out a little sigh and dropped her head, nodding stiffly. “I know.”
There was so much meaning there. So many words left unspoken. His heart twisted hard in his chest, and a cold ache seeped in to replace the warm buzz of post-sex bliss. For a heart-stopping moment, he considered taking back his words. But then the picture of Macey and Sophie, bent and broken at Johnny’s graveside, slammed into his mind with the force of a sledgehammer. This was the right thing, even if it sucked at the moment. A little time apart and it would be like nothing had happened between them anyway.
She gave him a small smile “You’re bad for my work schedule.”
Shit. He didn’t like this. Didn’t like the flash of pain he saw in her eyes before she hid it with a smile. Didn’t want to go home to his cold trailer and his cold sheets. And that was very dangerous. “It’s for the best.” A woman like Emma could make him forget everything, and that would ruin them both. In spite of that, his tongue seemed to have a mind of its own. And his body seemed to be more interested in staying rooted to the spot, touching Emma. “I have Guard duty next weekend, and then Travis, Cash, Weston and I leave for a week to go observe the Horses Helping Heroes organization in Montana.”
She raised an eyebrow, a ghost of a smile curving her mouth. “I guess you’ll just have to wait a little longer to see what I have planned, then.”
He appreciated her attempt to push his buttons. Put them on more even footing as they said their goodbyes. But the only buttons he wanted pushed had to do with burying his cock deep inside her one last time. And the fact that those buttons wouldn’t be pushed ever again left him… sad. He drew a finger down her cheek, imprinting her softness into his memory. “I’ll call you.”
“No need to.”
The look she shot him told him she didn’t believe he’d call even once. That stung. He wasn’t an asshole. Screw that. He would call her every damned day just to show her he could be a gentleman about this. That they could still be friends. “What if I want to?”
She shrugged, mouth quirking like she was trying to cover a smile as she pushed him toward the door. “Goodbye, Sterling.”
CHAPTER 15
Emma’s phone buzzed from its place on the console. It vibrated again as she pulled into the parking lot across the street from the construction zone surrounding Dottie’s Diner. Putting on the brake, she glanced at the number.
Sterling.
Nervous energy zipped through her stomach. To her eternal surprise, he’d called every day this week, often leaving laugh-out-loud messages. And while she’d never admit it to him, she liked the way his voice made her insides vibrate with something close to anticipation. And she loved the way he touched her. She’d never been with anyone who made her feel so alive, so uncontrolled and wanton. Sterling knew a side of her no one else did. Had encouraged it. Seemed to feed off it.
But he’d also made it clear that their slide into sexy times was nothing more than an itch to be scratched. Sterling couldn’t be serious for love or money. So she’d sat on her hands, turned off the ringer, left the phone across the room to avoid temptation. But now that she was back in Prairie, she couldn’t in good conscience avoid him. He’d see her marketing plan in action when he returned the following week. She could at least give him a heads up. Her heart began to pound as she reached for the phone. “Yes?” she asked a little too breathlessly.
His rich laugh lit nerve endings all the way to her pussy. “Couldn’t hold out any longer, huh?”
“This is me rolling my eyes.”
He laughed again. “I knew you missed me.”
“Hmm.” She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Words formed on the tip of her tongue. Tell me about your week. But that would take things between them into dangerous territory. “I was just getting ready to grab a cup of coffee at the food truck.”
“Oh?”
“I’m meeting my photographer over at the ranch this morning.”
“But I’m not there.”
Was she imagining the pout in his voice? “But Travis and Cash and Kate are. It’ll be fine. When you get back into town next week, I’ll have a stack of publicity materials to show you.”
“Oh.” He definitely sounded disappointed.
“Everything okay?”
“Sure, sure.” He paused. “If you run into any issues, you know where to find me.”
“I didn’t think people took phone calls on Guard duty?”
“Not usually. But you know. If it’s an emergency…” his voice trailed off.
She bit her lip to keep from giggling. “Of course. Thanks.”
“Great. Is there anything else you need?”
“You called me. Is there anything else you need?”
“No, no. Just making sure everything’s okay.”
What was going on with him? He sounded… nervous. “Sterling?”
“Yes?”
“Be safe this weekend.”
“I knew you missed me.” The cockiness was back in his voice.
“Goodbye, Sterling,” she said, shaking her head as she crossed the street to the food truck.
Her sister-in-law, Jamey, waved her over to one of the picnic tables. “Em, you know Lydia and Emmaline, right?”
She nodded. They’d been within a few years of each other at the high school. She sat, taking the cup of coffee Jamey held out. “What’s up?”
“We’ve been catching up,” Jamey said. “Emmaline and Lydia are thinking of teaming up to create a line of western wear.”
“Oh?” Emma perked up. She appreciated her big accounts, but nothing got her excited like helping new businesses. “How can I help?”
“Branding for starters.” Lydia pushed a paper napkin toward her. “You know how gorgeous Emmaline’s dresses are.”
Emma nodded. “And your boots.” Lydia had made beautiful one-of-a-kind boots for each of her brothers’ brides. She’d do anything to help these talented women get off the ground.
Lydia blushed. “So we thought the obvious starting place would be to go into custom wedding attire, but we need help breaking into the Kansas City wedding market.”
“I can absolutely help.” All she’d need to do is show a few pictures to some of the socialites she knew and the women would be on their way. Her brain was spinning with ideas. They could do a photo shoot. Maybe even at Resolution Ranch. Or at Jamey and Brodie’s hunting lodge. They’d been talking about trying to break into the same market. “I’m going to rearrange my schedule next week and work from Prairie. Let me see what I can do.” She’d have to juggle a few of her clients and rearrange some design meetings, but her bosses would understand. And it would be worth it to help. “Have you thought of a name yet?”
Emmaline’s eyes grew big and she shook her head. “I only make clothing. Everything else is Lyd’s thing.”
Lydia took a big breath. “I always liked the sound of Grace Boots, but I’m not so sure if that works with the addition of apparel.”
Emma nibbled on a pen while her brain raced. “I’ll think on it. Maybe this needs to be a collaboration between two different brands.”
Lydia took a big breath. “I should also tell you in the name of disclosure, that I made a deal with Colton Kincaid.”
Emma’s eyebrows flew skyward. “Colton? That’s quite a coup. I think the man has more groupies in Vegas than Elvis.”
Lydia blushed to her roots and exchanged a significant glance with Emmaline. “Yeah. We… ah… have an understanding. But it’s very confidential.”
This was juicy. Colton Kincaid had been trouble with a capital T when they’d been young. Kicked out of the house when he was seventeen, he’d scrabbled his way to the top of the Pro Rodeo circuit and was killing it. He was a huge celebrity beyond rodeo, modeling everything from jeans to watches. If Lydia had managed to secure his help, that was huge. Emma couldn’t help but wonder what the story between them was. “Let’s talk more next week. Jamey, would you be willing to make dinner? I’m certain there’s a way I can help all three of you. I’m meeting my favorite print photographer over at Resolution Ranch shortly, so I’ll talk to her too. She may have some ideas.”
Jamey hopped up and gave Emma a hug. “I knew you’d be able to help.”
Emma stood and topped off her coffee. “Figure out what night works for the three of you and send me a text. I’ll bring my laptop and pens.” Her phone buzzed again as she made her way back to the car. “Alex, how are you?”
“Still miss your sweet face. How are you?”
Funny. Her ex’s voice didn’t do anything to her insides the way Sterling’s did. “Not that much, you don’t,” she laughed. “And I’m great, thanks.”
“Aww, you know you’ll always be the one that got away.”
“Don’t let your girlfriend hear that. Were you able to check with management?”