“I’m not, but thank you, so much.” She felt like a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Skye wrapped her arms around him and just relaxed in his embrace. “I have been taking classes online to finish up a degree in social work. I’ve looked into getting a position with the tribe to try and help women who’ve been through the same thing I have.”
“You’d make a marvelous advocate for women who have faced horrors the way you have, baby.” He rubbed her back. The only thing that didn’t sit well with him was the idea she’d want to move away from Kerrville, away from him. “I’m sure those job skills could apply to lots of situations.”
“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to spend a few days out here like this. I need to make some decisions. I’m not saying I expect to receive some supernatural message from my ancestors or the Great Spirit, but I want to use this time to heal, to get to know myself and since you’re here with me, to get to know you.” She let her hand move up and down his arms, enjoying his strength.
“What about those gorgeous clothes you design? I don’t think you realize how talented you are or what a good marketing strategist could do with your creations, especially using your beautiful face and your background to brand them and sell them.”
His tone was excited and encouraging. It touched Skye’s heart and made her think. “Part of me wants to throw my hat in with Libby and introduce my vision of Native American fashion to the world. After Aron comes home, of course. Libby can’t concentrate or plan for the future until he does.”
Noah didn’t comment. The subject of Aron and Libby made his heart raw with sorrow. “Why can’t you do both? Finish your degree and put out some job feelers and at the same time complete some designs and do some research into a business plan. That way you can keep both as possibilities, at least until you figure out which one suits you best.”
“Will you help me make some plans over the next few days or at least listen to me while I debate the issue with myself?”
He kissed her on the mouth, a gentle joining that spoke of his commitment. “Yes, I’d love to help you and you can help me make up my mind about a few things, too.”
“Okay. We can be partners for a little while.”
A shrill ke-eeeee-arr echoed through the air as a red-tailed hawk dive-bombed into a brush pile in search of prey. “Look at that, Noah. Isn’t he beautiful? Such freedom, to fly and soar on the wind.” Memory of being locked away without being able to see a sunrise or a bird in flight made Skye more appreciative of the opportunity she was enjoying.
“Yes, beautiful.” But he was looking at her, not the hawk. She looked into the distance, the rays of the dying sun illuminating her face. An evening wind tossed her hair behind her. Noah’s breath caught in his throat. At the same time she looked both vulnerable and wise beyond her years.
“The hawk is a messenger and symbolizes guardianship. We have been appointed a protector, one to the other. Her incredible vision tells us to hone our focus on the areas which are out of balance in our lives. The beak and claws reminds us of power, especially the power each of us has over others. We should reflect on her freedom and clarity and know that we need to use our intellect to obtain the freedom we desire.” When she finished speaking, it was like she was coming out of a trance. And she became aware that Noah was staring at her. Skye felt her cheeks grown red. “What you must think of me. How presumptuous for me to tie our goals together like that. We agreed on casual and temporary.”
With one big hand, Noah pressed her back against the rock and he covered her. “I think you’re the sexiest woman in the world. Everything about you turns me on—your looks, your brain, your soul—hell, you’ve got me wrapped around your little finger.” With slow, deliberate moves he unbuttoned her shirt and unhooked her front-clasp bra. “The temperature will start dropping soon. Let me warm up your nipples. They look like they’re a little cold.”
His lips grazed the silken flesh of her cheek, her throat, stealing little licks from her sweet flesh. He swore to God he saw fireworks as the taste of her exploded against his tongue. Sliding his arm under Skye, Noah lifted her to him as a primitive hunger overtook his senses. With a groan, he pulled her head back, covering her lips with his own, finding the complete response he’d been searching for, for damn near all of his adult life. And by God, it was worth waiting on. Skye shuddered in his arms. “Noah?” She tangled her fingers in his hair, forcing his head down so she could kiss him even harder.
Merciful heavens, she made him want. Skye Blue made him want things he wasn’t ready for. His tongue parted her lips and he plunged inside. Sweet. Fire. Spice. This pagan princess was an enigma, a mystery, a riddle he would give almost anything to solve. Her response to his kiss just blew him away.
“Noah?” she asked between earth-shattering kisses.
“Hmmmm?”
“My nipples are still cold.”
Noah started to chuckle. “Yes, ma’am.” Trailing kisses down her neck to her breast, his lips sought out her tight, sensitive nipples. She arched up, pushing herself into his mouth as though she craved his touch more than anything else in the world.
“Damn, Noah.” She clung to him hard, wrapping one long leg across his back as if daring him to try to move away. He sucked on the tender tip, biting the soft flesh in gentle nips and tugs. Heat on his thigh made him aware his leg was nestled right against her feminine softness. With the slightest of movements, he pressed into her and she responded, lifting her hips to grind her mound against the heavy muscle of his leg. “Oh, God, yes!”
He was pleasing her, and that only aroused him more. Noah raked his teeth over the hard nubbin before he pulled it in even deeper, taking as much of her areola in his mouth as he could. With long hard sucks, he pleasured her, using his tongue to lash back and forth over her nipple.
Skye tossed her head from side to side. She was moaning, so lost in the ecstasy that she was dizzy. His lips were ravishing her breasts, moving from one nipple to the other, him growling his lust as he cupped her pussy, massaging the tender flesh with the palm of his hand. “Feels so good,” she whimpered as he delved his fingers under the side of her panties and dipped into the creamy folds. Sparks of ecstasy sizzled in her sex, whipping through her veins as she clenched her pussy muscles desperately around his invading fingers.
“God, Skye, you are incredible,” Noah whispered against her breast as he pressed kiss after kiss to the firm globe. With erotic intent, he pressed his fingers deeper into her channel, thrusting, stroking in and out even as he nuzzled the deep cleavage between her tits.
“I can’t…can’t.” She gasped.
“Can’t what, Princess?” God, he was harder than he’d ever been in his life.
“Stop,” she cried out as he continued to finger her, playing her like a fine instrument, the touch of the master’s hand.
“Stop?” He paused for a split second.
“No! If you stop, I’ll scalp you paleface!”
“Hahahaha.” He took the time to laugh before she pushed his head back to her breast and thrust her hips up to ride his hand.
With renewed vigor he suckled at her breast while he gave her pussy what it needed—a second finger joining the first. Her body writhed against him as her hips bucked helplessly. A volcanic eruption was rising, raging up from her womanhood. Skye was completely captivated by what he was doing to her. She was wet, burning up and ready to beg for more.
“Cum for me, baby.” He finger-fucked her, setting a rhythm specifically designed to drive her mad. Skye was wild. She gave back as good as she got, returning kiss for kiss, tightening her thighs on his leg, striving to keep his fingers where they were.
“Please, please,” she begged as her pussy began to flex and spasm. Her whole body was begging for release.
Noah moaned at the combined pleasure, the sweet texture of her nipple on his tongue, the f
reedom she was giving him to enjoy her body—total acceptance. With a sigh, she jerked in his arms as though she’d been shocked with a strong surge of electricity. “Noah!”
An orgasm surged through her. The intensity of the pleasure which rocketed through her system left her gasping. Skye held onto him, clasping him around his neck as she trembled through each spasm. Noah held her tight, needing to be inside of her more than he needed tomorrow.
Snap!
Noah jerked his head up. His eyes searched their surroundings. A movement off to his right caught his eye, but he couldn’t see what it was, nor even how big it was. Skye was still quaking with little aftershocks. Tenderly, he kissed her. “We’re going to have to continue this after supper. We need to get back.”
“Awww.” She bucked her hips upward. He realized his hand was still in her panties. “I was having so much fun.”
“I’ll give you more fun than you can handle when we go to bed. Promise.” He lifted himself off of her, arranging her clothes, at the same time looking in the direction the noise had come from.
“What’s wrong? Is there someone out there?” All she could think about was Langley.
“I don’t know, it was probably a deer or an armadillo.” Helping her down off the rock, they started back toward the cabin.
“I enjoyed that very much.” She smiled her thank-you.
Noah hugged her close. “I am so into you. I can’t remember ever having this much fun with a woman.”
“Oh, really?” She gave him a mischievous look. “Catch me!” Pulling from his grasp, she took off with him not far behind. Laughter and squeals echoed through the woods as Skye stayed just ahead of him, jumping rocks and fallen limbs like they were hurdles.
Finally, just about ten feet from the front door, he caught her, lifting her off her feet. “Gotcha!”
“Lucky you.” She panted as he opened the door.
“Yes, lucky me.” And he meant every word.
CHAPTER FIVE
“I can’t believe you left out the onion,” Noah grumbled. “What’s a fajita without onion?”
“Hey, I like onion, too. This is a mutual sacrifice for the sake of good sex.”
Noah acted as if he was giving the idea a lot of thought. “What kinda sex?”
“Ha!” Skye snorted. “What kind do you want?”
He leaned back in his chair, almost tipping it over. “Food sex.”
A gleam of interest lit up her eyes. “I didn’t bring any chocolate sauce or whipped cream.”
“That’s okay, those are too sticky anyway. We’ll find something when it gets time for dessert.”
“Now, I don’t want to eat my meal.” She leaned around the table and looked at his crotch.
“What are you doing?” He looked down to see what she could see.
“Just getting a sneak peek, keeping my motor running.” Skye winked at him. He started to push back from the table, but she shook her head. “I can wait. If you can get my mind off of your cock.”
Noah groaned.
Then she grew serious. “Lance told me about Jessie and the baby. I’m so sorry they’re going through this.”
He sighed. “I know. It’s rough and unexpected.” Noah didn’t really want to think about home or family. He really didn’t know what those words meant anymore. “The doctors seem to have a plan. His prognosis looks good.” Taking a big bite of fajita, he smiled. “Dang, this is good. What kind of spice did you use?”
“Cumin and chipotle chili powder.” Studying Noah’s face, she wondered at the pensive look. Maybe he was just worried. “What did your family say about the special program at the ball?”
Noah bit the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t about to take his unrest out on her, and he couldn’t tell her the real reason he didn’t want to talk about these subjects, so he settled for short answers and changing the subject. “I told them. There was no use hiding it, word would have reached them by this afternoon anyway. It hurt Libby, of course.” Skye nodded, understanding. “I’m thinking about finding a job other than just keeping McCoy interests straight.” This was true. It had been on his mind from the moment he realized he might have no real claim to Tebow at all.
“Like what?” Skye leaned forward, her eyes shining.
“I don’t know, it would have to be something to do with ranching and financing, that’s what I know. I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of somehow to help people and utilize my experiences.”
Skye propped her chin on her hand and dipped a chip in some hot sauce. “Lance and his family lost their ranch and he’s never gotten over it.”
A look of surprise crossed Noah’s face. “I never knew that.”
“Well, Lance is a very private person.” In some ways she was glad of that, because he’d never told any of the McCoys about her problem. If he had, she wouldn’t have had the courage to spend some time with the family. If they ever found out, she’d be too embarrassed and humiliated to remain around. “What I was thinking though, was if you might want to start some type of program to help families hang on to their land and ranches when hard times hit them—be they weather, health issues economic downturn, any reason which would cause a man to lose his legacy.”
Noah perked up. “Like a loan program?”
“Maybe, and I may be wrong, but I’ve heard of a government policy where land can be protected by a conservation easement.” She didn’t tell him she had learned this in prison. One of the inmates at Eddie Warrior had been there because she had defrauded some people into selling her their home place and then when she tried to resell it, the easement had prevented the fraudulent exchange from going through with a crooked land developer.
“You mean set aside the land for wildlife or ecological preservation?”
“No.” Skye shook her head. “Farmers and ranchers who allow their land to be placed in trust like this, agree to work for those things...wildlife and ecological preservation, by using the right kind of fence, keeping their streams clean, agreeing to grass management. The benefit is that the rancher keeps his land, gets to pass it on to his family and their taxes go down to next to nothing because the market value lowers without chance of development. Does that make sense?”
Noah nodded his head. “Okay, I know about easements, but is there any other way I could financially help these folks other than helping them fill out some paperwork?” He wasn’t being difficult. He just wanted more to get excited about.
Biting her lower lip, Sky appeared to be in deep thought. The sexy little gesture had his package swelling. Finally, she looked up with a smile. “Up in Oklahoma, and I’m sure it’s no different down here in Texas, there is a big market for managed hunts.”
“Who are you?” Noah laughed. His admiration for this woman was growing by leaps and bounds. “Go on.” He was definitely interested now.
“These ranches that have been put in trust and have part of the land set aside for wildlife conservation could also be used as areas where quail are introduced or more whitetail are brought in. During hunting season, the rancher could host guided hunts on the acreage under easement, keeping the animal count under control and making some extra money for the family. Those hunters will pay top dollar.”
Noah took out his phone and began to make notes. “Okay, I love your idea. Now tell me how you came up with it.”
She decided not to be offended, even though he seemed shocked she had knowledge of the subject. “The tribal land in Oklahoma utilizes some of the same principals to make money for our people.” Skye bit her tongue to keep from telling him it was a pity he couldn’t open casinos. But he probably wouldn’t appreciate her humor.
Noah rose and kissed her on top of the head. “You have given me a lot to think about. I love your idea. If I can get it off the ground, you can come work for me.”
“Oh, we’d kill each other. We’d both want to be boss.” She was joking. Even if he weren’t kidding, she knew the time was drawing near that she’d have to leave the Hill Country. Falling in love with Noah was a given and she wanted to be strong enough to walk away.
“Oh, I’d make sure you felt appreciated.” Without asking he began cleaning the kitchen and putting away food.
“Gee, you’re being helpful.”
“Hey, I’m getting ready for dessert.” He dug in the refrigerator.
“What are you planning on having?” She knew there were cookies and fruit.
“You.”
***
“I feel decadent.”
“You look decadent.” That was the understatement of the year. Noah had kissed her into delirium and stripped her down to bare naked skin. Then he’d placed her on the dining table, a banquet laid out for his sole enjoyment.
“What are you doing?” She tried to peer around him.
“Stay where you are. I’m cutting up some fruit.”
She could smell peaches. “I want a donut.”
He looked over his shoulder. “A donut? If you need a sugar rush, I’ll give you a kiss.” Then, he proceeded to do so.
After he’d finished, she found herself arching upward, wanting more. “Ahhh, that was good. But I want the donut for you.” He turned around with a bowl of cut-up fruit and a quizzical expression. To answer, she reached out and placed her hand over his cock. “I want to play ring toss over this monster and then eat it off you.”
He groaned. “Sounds good, but the hole in the donut isn’t nearly big enough.”
Skye Blue (Hell Yeah!) Page 9