Slowly his head descended toward hers. “I honestly didn’t bring you here to seduce you.”
“I never thought that you had.” She tightened her hold on his waist and as their bodies moved closer together, she could feel the bulge of his desire pressing against her. The sensation made her forget all the reasons she shouldn’t make love to this man. Instead, it reminded her that no matter what misery she’d endured these past four years, she was still a woman with a woman’s needs. And right now, they were too strong, too compelling to ignore. “You don’t have to seduce me, Laramie. I’m already here in your arms.”
Beneath the veil of her lashes, she watched his lips mouth her name and then he closed the last bit of distance between their faces. When his lips finally made contact with hers, an explosion of sensations rocked her senses and all she could do was cling to him and let his kiss draw her into a swirling vortex.
Instantly, the intimate contact turned to a hot, out-of-control mating of their mouths. Tongues tangled and lips searched for relief from the grip of desire that had overtaken both of them. Leyla had never been kissed so recklessly or completely. The intensity robbed her ability to think or even breathe. If she hadn’t been gripping his back, she would have fallen.
Once his lips finally eased away from hers, her lungs were heaving for air and her face burned from the heat that was consuming her body.
“Leyla,” he whispered, “do you know what that kiss was telling me?”
He was giving her a chance to change her mind, she thought. A chance to walk out of the house and end the desire that had been simmering inside her almost from the first day she’d met him. Stopping things now might be the sensible thing to do. But then she would never know what it meant to be in Laramie’s arms, to experience the pleasure of making love to him. And to miss that chance would be a loss that would haunt her the rest of her life.
“It was saying I want you to make love to me,” she said in a breathless rush.
His eyes were suddenly glowing as though she’d just handed him a gift.
“Leyla,” he murmured. “Sweet Leyla.”
His hands held her face as he bent to kiss her again. But this time he didn’t allow the kiss to go on and on like the first one. Instead, he wasted no time in scooping her up in his arms and carrying her out of the room.
Chapter Ten
Laramie carried her out of the kitchen, down the tiny hallway and through a door to their left. When he set her feet back on the floor, Leyla could see they were standing next to a double bed. The sagging mattress was covered by a thin, faded blue spread. Two pillows in plain white cases were propped against the iron rail headboard.
“This isn’t the place I would’ve chosen for this,” he said. “But it’ll have to do.”
He moved around the room to a small window and partially opened the wooden shutters. Fresh air and sunlight came streaming in, along with a symphony of birdsongs. When he returned to Leyla, he pulled her into the loose circle of his arms, and as his hands gently roamed the contours of her back, the soft, kneading pressure of his fingers sent licks of fire through Leyla.
Glancing at the bed, she tried to reassure him. “I’m not used to special things.”
“We could shake out the spread, but I figure that would only stir up the dust worse.”
A faint smile touched her lips. As far as she was concerned, being in a luxurious bedroom on a romantic island couldn’t make these moments with him any more special. And with a sense of amazement, she wondered how she’d been able to resist this man until now. “I can stand a little dust.”
With a grunt of pleasure, he said, “I knew all along you were my kind of woman.”
Mesmerized, she watched the grin slowly fall from his face. Her heart pounded with anticipation as his head bent and he pressed kisses across her cheeks and nose, then on her closed eyelids.
The sweet sensations drew sighs of pleasure from her until his lips formed a hot seal over hers. After that her sighs turned to deep groans and before she realized it, his fingers were inching down the zipper at the back of her dress.
When the garment fell from her shoulders and pooled around her ankles, she felt a sense of freedom, and not just from a barrier of clothing. She felt free to let herself feel again, to be a whole woman again.
“You’re perfect, Leyla. Perfect and lovely,” he whispered as he stood gazing down at the image she made in a set of white, lacy underwear. “Ever since I met you that first night, I’ve pictured you like this. You’re more beautiful than I imagined.”
His bold gaze didn’t make her feel self-conscious, but something about hearing him say the compliment put a blush on her face. “I’m very average,” she denied.
Grinning, he slipped his thumbs beneath her bra straps and guided them down her shoulders. “I’ve never had any problem with my eyesight, Leyla.”
As he spoke the last words, the lacy cups fell from her breasts and she gasped as his hands closed around the sensitive mounds of flesh. Her head rolled to one side and as his thumb and forefingers teased her nipples, his lips sought the curve of her exposed neck.
As he kissed his way down to the curve of her shoulder, the ache of wanting him pierced her loins and spread to the intimate spot between her legs. The sweet agony had her groaning with need and arching her body into his.
As her hands sought the buttons on the front of his shirt, she whispered frantically, “I need to touch you, Laramie. Please let me.”
His hands shaking now, he pushed hers out of the way and jerked the tails of his denim shirt out of the waistband of his jeans. As soon as they were free, he ripped the pearl snaps apart, then shrugged out of the garment and flung it aside.
He wore no undershirt and for one split second Leyla could only stare at the wide, muscled chest that narrowed down to a lean waist. His skin was brown, his flat nipples a shade darker. There was no patch of hair growing between them, but a faint line of fine black hair marked the indention between his abs, then disappeared below the waist of his jeans.
Awed by the sight of him, her hands settled against his ribcage, then slid slowly up and over his hot skin until they reached the bulge of pectoral muscles. There her fingers tweaked his nipples until they became two hard buttons.
“Oh, Leyla, honey, I can’t take this.”
His voice was thick with desire and the sound empowered Leyla even more. Just to know that she could arouse this man, that he could want her this much, filled her with a sense of confidence and gave her the courage to allow her actions to convey her wants.
She brought her lips against one of the nipples. “What about this?” she whispered.
Not waiting for his answer, she softly bit the tiny nub, then followed that with a moist kiss that left her tongue lathing his flesh.
Above her head, she heard a deep groan in his throat and then his fingers were in her hair, tearing at the pins holding the heavy coil in place. Once it was loose, he grabbed up fistful of strands and used them to draw her face back up to his.
With his lips against hers, he spoke roughly, “I can’t hold on, Leyla. Not like that.”
“I don’t want you to hold on,” she said in a rush.
He closed the space between their lips, but as soon as the kiss grew out of control, he broke the intimate contact and reached for her underwear. Once the scrap of material was out of the way, he placed her on the mattress and slipped off her sandals.
Her heart pounding with anticipation, Leyla watched him as he sat on the side of the bed to pull off his boots. After the second thump on the floor, he stood and quickly removed the remainder of his clothing.
As he lowered himself next to her on the mattress, Leyla realized she should feel some sort of embarrassment at seeing Laramie in an undressed state and especially at her decision to go to bed with him. But as he pulled her into the tight circle of his arms and the front of his body pressed against hers, she felt nothing but mindless pleasure.
Once his mouth fastened over
hers and his hands began to urgently search the contours of her body, Leyla’s thoughts closed off to everything but him and the need to be closer.
When she slipped her leg over his hips and drew the bottom half of her body next to his, the silent invitation caused his head to ease back far enough to look at her. “Leyla, this is awkward, but do I need to wear protection? I wasn’t planning for this.”
Placing her palm alongside his face, her gaze delved deeply into his. “Ever since I gave birth to Dillon, I’ve taken oral contraceptives. Not because I needed them but because I was afraid. Afraid that I’d not learned my lesson. That I’d meet someone and have a weak moment. Or I’d meet someone who pretended to care but really didn’t.”
His roving hand stilled upon her hip. “You didn’t trust yourself. Or men,” he said knowingly. “What about now? Me?”
Her throat tightened with raw need. Not just to couple her body to his, but from the need to love him with all her heart. “I don’t have any choice, Laramie. I want you too much.”
Something gentle and caring flickered in his eyes and then his lips were against her cheek, softly mouthing her name. Her heart melting, Leyla wrapped her arms around his neck and urged him to make the connection between them complete. He didn’t deny her.
Rolling her onto her back, he braced himself over her and she parted her legs, inviting him to end the throbbing agony. With his head thrown back, his gaze holding on to hers, he pushed himself into the moist folds of her womanhood. The pleasurable shock rippled through her like gentle waves on a smooth pond.
“Leyla. My darling.”
His low voice vibrated with the intensity of his desire and the sound brought a sting of tears to her eyes. Quickly, she closed them and buried her face against his shoulder.
“Love me, Laramie. Love me.”
His hips thrust against hers. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. Leyla matched the needy rhythm and the friction acted like wind on a forest fire. There was no stopping the flames from tearing through their bodies. The only way to end it now was to let the fire burn itself out.
Leyla couldn’t hold back or hide her need for him. She clung to him while meeting his open-mouthed kisses with a recklessness that stunned her. And then as she fought to get closer, even as she found herself climbing higher and higher, she realized she was craving much more than this man’s body. She loved him. Loved him with every particle in her body.
The fact hit her at the same moment her body was splintering into a shower of lights, and the combination of her body and heart merging into one, loving and giving at the same time, caused her to sob his name over and over.
He responded by clasping her head to his chest and burying his face in the top of her hair. She felt herself floating off to a soft place where there was nothing but him and her together. Always together.
*
Moments later, his body drenched in sweat and his lungs still working hard to return to normal, Laramie shifted his weight off Leyla but kept a firm hold on her waist. Even now with his senses slowly returning, she was the most solid thing in the room. And he didn’t want to let her go. Ever.
He wasn’t sure what had just happened between them. Even though he’d thought about making love to Leyla a million and one times, he’d certainly not planned or expected it to happen today. Hell, he figured it would take a miracle for her to ever fall in bed with him. But from the moment they’d left the ranch to drive over here, he’d sensed something different in the way she’d looked at him, touched him. And then when they’d kissed it was like the world around them had exploded. She’d not held back then and she sure hadn’t held back just now. Merely thinking about the way she’d responded, giving every part of herself to him, was enough to curl his toes and stir his exhausted body.
Admit it, Laramie, it was more than her body that rocked you. When you held her, when you poured your seed into her, your heart opened and she slipped inside it. You love her. If you hadn’t known it before, you know it now.
Laramie didn’t try to suppress the little voice going off in his head. There wasn’t any use in trying to deny what it was saying. The question now was what he intended to do about it.
“I’m so sorry, Leyla.”
His words came out on a strangled sort of whisper, but she heard them and turned her head to look at him. Her dark eyes were glazed with moisture, her lips swollen from the kisses he’d placed upon them. Drops of perspiration dotted her forehead and dampened her hairline. She was so lovely, he thought. So soft and gentle. She was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman and it amazed him that she was here beside him like this.
“You’re sorry because this happened?”
He turned onto his side so that he was facing her. “That’s not what I meant at all. I’m sorry that it happened here in this dusty old house instead of someplace special. You deserve that, Leyla.”
A faint smile tilted her lips and Laramie couldn’t stop himself from bending and placing a soft kiss on one corner. A musky, sensual scent drifted from her hair and mingled with the womanly smell of her body. Laramie inhaled and reveled in its pleasure.
“You make it special for me, Laramie. Don’t you know that by now?”
Laramie often received praise for his work, his horses and the dedication he showed to his friends. But Leyla’s remark was something totally different, something he’d never heard from anyone before, especially a woman. The fact that it was coming from Leyla made it even more incredible.
His chest swelling with tender emotion, he nuzzled her cheek with his lips. “I can’t begin to tell you how you make me feel, Leyla. These past few hours—they’ll be forever burned in my memory. I’ll never forget them. Ever.”
She didn’t say anything and he eased his head back so that he could look at her face. To his dismay tears filled her eyes and were very close to spilling over onto her cheek. The sight of them cut him deeply. He never wanted Leyla to cry or hurt over anything. She’d already suffered too much in her young life.
“Leyla! What’s wrong? I’ve messed everything up, haven’t I? I’ve hurt you—”
The emphatic shake of her head halted the remainder of his words and he stared, bewildered by this sudden change in her.
“You’ve not hurt me. I was just thinking about—things. About this. You and me. And Dillon.”
Suddenly she closed her eyes, then quickly rolled away from him and sat up on the edge of the bed. “We’d better be going, don’t you think?” she said, her voice low and stiff. “Sassy will be expecting us back very soon.”
He didn’t want to go. He wanted to pull her back into his arms and make love to her all over again. He wanted to hear her whimpers of desire, feel her body telling him how much she needed him. The way she was at this moment made it feel as though there was a deep, rocky canyon between them.
Pushing himself up from the mattress, he raked both hands through his tousled hair and tried to compose his rattled senses. In a matter of minutes he’d gone from euphoria to confusion.
“If that’s what you want,” he said.
“What I want has nothing to do with it,” she reasoned. “I have a son—responsibilities.”
A spurt of anger suddenly rifled through him. “I have plenty of responsibilities, too. And I figure when I turn my phone back on, I’ll be blasted with calls and messages from people needing me. But that doesn’t mean you and I don’t deserve a few minutes together. We are human.”
Blinking at the tears in her eyes, she bent over to retrieve her sundress from the floor. “We just proved we’re human, Laramie, and I wish we had a few more minutes to share like this, but we don’t.”
Standing, she stepped into the garment and Laramie reached to zip the back of it together. Once the task was finished, he rested his hands on her shoulders.
“Leyla, I’m going to ask you the same question you asked me a few moments ago. Are you sorry this happened?”
Groaning with anguish, she turned and buried her face again
st his chest. Laramie closed his eyes and held her tightly.
“No! I’m not sorry, Laramie.” Tilting her neck back, she looked up at him. “I think I’m scared. Scared of what you’re starting to mean to me.”
He shook his head. “There’s no need for you to be afraid. I’ve told you before, Leyla—I’ll never hurt you.”
Biting down on her lip, she glanced away from him. “That’s not exactly what scares me. You’re not like Heath—I can see that. But I can see that your life is on the Chaparral. And that’s so far away from nursing school and all the things I’d planned for myself, my son and aunt.”
Laramie wanted to set her down, to explain that what they’d shared on the bed behind them had been more than just incredible sex to him. He needed to tell her that he’d fallen in love with her, that his future wouldn’t be complete unless she and Dillon were in it. But something told him that now was not the time or place. When he did reveal his feelings to her, he wanted them to be on the Chaparral. Because the ranch was his home. It was who he was. And if she couldn’t accept it as her permanent home, too, then there was little hope for their relationship to flourish.
“Okay. We’ll talk about that later. We’ll get you back to Dillon now.” Bending, he placed a kiss on her forehead. “If you want to freshen up before we leave, there’s water in the bathroom. It works on gravity flow.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, then grabbed her sandals and quickly left the room.
*
On the drive home, Leyla sat quietly gazing out at the landscape, seemingly lost in her thoughts. It was clear their moments of closeness were over. At least for the time being. Before they’d left the little stucco house, Laramie had turned his phone back on and now, as he negotiated the truck over the rough dirt road, it began to ring incessantly.
At first he ignored it. Like Leyla, he wasn’t really in the mood to talk, but after a moment she looked at him and said, “Something must be wrong. Maybe you should answer it.”
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