The grin on his face stretched nearly ear-to-ear. “Yes, ma’am.”
*****
Shaw squeezed Harper’s hand. This was the first time she’d taken his. Before this, he’d been the one to touch her.
Was this progress?
They plopped into their seats, the warm evening air carrying the scent of the dirt and animals, but no aroma had ever smelled this good to him.
“What can I get you? A beer? Wine cooler? Maybe something to eat?”
She touched her flat stomach. “I’m still stuffed from supper, but I’d share a beer with you.”
He blinked a few times. Share? Where had that come from?
Her gaze stayed focused on his. She hadn’t done that since that first night, since before he told her he was just a roughneck. What was going on inside that sharp brain of hers? He could only hope her feelings for him were overriding her rule.
“Be right back.” Shaw bought two beers and was back in minutes. He set one can under his seat and opened the other. “Here you go.” He handed it to her.
Her sweet lips pursed as she drank, and he could almost feel them, soft and warm against his.
“Thank you.” She passed the beer back to him. He placed his lips where hers had been, and took a couple long swallows.
“Shaw.” She glanced down at her hands, linked in her lap.
“Yeah?” He slung his arm around the back of her seat, leaning in closer to hear her.
“Tell me about your job in the oil fields .” She looked up into his face. “What’s it like?”
“Uh.” Was she just being friendly or was she changing her mind about their relationship?
He talked for a half hour about his work, what his friends did, and life in a quickly-expanding small town. She looked genuinely interested, and asked about his living conditions. “A two-bedroom apartment with four twin beds. It’s not much, but by the time we have supper and get back there, we’re exhausted enough to sleep until the alarm goes off the next morning.”
She grimaced. “A real man cave?”
“Actually, Huck is our neat-freak. You’ve seen his truck.”
Harper’s perfect red brows lifted. “That’s lucky. A built-in housekeeper?”
“Uh huh. And he’s the most organized person I’ve ever met. He has a photographic memory, and is in line for a promotion at work.”
“That’s really amazing. Your friends all have these hidden talents.”
“They’ve got their areas of expertise.”
“I saw Pete’s artistic talent. And Dax is going to make it big in music.” She blinked up at him. “What’s your talent?”
Her look sent a wave of heat to his groin. “Mine is something that has to be experienced to be understood.”
“Mm. Mysterious.” She bit her lip
Was he completely misreading her, or was Harper flirting?
He asked her about her life in Chicago. She opened up, told him more than he’d ever expected, and shared stories of her childhood on her grandparent’s ranch.
When the sun dropped below the horizon, a cool wind blew in from the north.
She leaned closer to him and he rubbed her arm with his hand. Intimate, but something a friend would do.
After the last ride, the announcer encouraged everyone to head to the parking lot to view the fireworks. Shaw looked down into Harper’s brown eyes. If he could read her thoughts, he’d move a hell of a lot faster with his seduction plans. “Watch the fireworks with me?”
She nodded. “I’d love to, Shaw.” Her gaze dropped to his lips.
His belly jittered with a hot shot of desire. Was she really shifting their friendship into something more?
Holding hands, they filed out with the rest of the crowd. Since they had been among the last to arrive, her car sat at the back edge of the lot.
They wandered that direction, into the darkness where the parking lot lights cast long shadows.
At her car, she leaned against the quarter panel and crossed her arms over her stomach. “I don’t know how to say this, Shaw.”
He stood in front of her, his gut tightening as he waited to hear what was on her mind. “Come right out with it, Harper. That’s always best.”
She glanced away. “I’d usually agree with you, but this is going to make me sound like I don’t know what’s going on in my own head.” She dropped her arms.
“Oh, yeah?” He could make it easy on her. Move in for a kiss, let her body speak for her. She was a thinking kind of woman, though. If she didn’t get it out, it might not stick.
“Yeah.” Harper sucked in a long breath. “I think I’d like to change my mind about us being friends.”
Chapter Six
Standing in the shadowed parking lot next to Harper’s car, Shaw’s muscles tensed, wanting to pull her close. But he had to be sure he was interpreting her words correctly. “So, you’re sayin’ you want to give us a chance, right?”
A laugh burst from her and she leaned back on her car. “Lord, I’m so bad at this. I’m not telling you goodbye, I’m trying to say I want to be more than friends.”
Warmth cocooned his heart. “Oh yeah? What made you change your mind?”
Her eyes turned soft, misty. “You’re a good man, Shaw. I want to know you better, see if what I’m feeling for you right now is something that can grow into...more.”
Shaw didn’t move. This was the opening he’d been waiting for, but he didn’t want to rush it. “Don’t think that I’m not willing, because I am, Harper. I’m into you, deep as a man can get. But I don’t want to wake up tomorrow alone, finding out you’ve changed your mind again.”
Over his shoulder, the first sparkles of fireworks glowed. She stepped closer and put both her hands on his waist. “Forgive me? I got confused there for a while. Things were muzzy and just felt wrong when I tried to be your friend. Now, wanting you in my life, everything’s clear and true.”
His lips curved upward and he found it hard to take in a breath. “You don’t know how glad I am to hear that.” He set his hands on her shoulders.
She shivered under his palms.
“Do you want to go someplace and talk for a while?” He wanted to grab her, pull her in, haul her somewhere and make love to her, but she deserved his respect and restraint.
“We’ll go to my room, Shaw Donahue, but there won’t be much talkin’ going on.” She gave him a wicked smile. “At least not until tomorrow morning, over breakfast.”
*****
The grin that broke across Shaw’s face completely eased her guilt at the way she’d treated him the last few days, and erased the embarrassment she felt at her brazen words. Her heart tumbled a little wildly.
He pulled her against him and tipped his head down. “Red, ain’t nothin’ I’d like better.” His lips brushed hers softly, warm and firm. Then he tasted her with his tongue, tracing her lips.
She opened for him, and he invaded. His tongue found hers in a teasing duel. He explored, running his tongue along her teeth and across the roof of her mouth. Her core contracted as heat exploded deep inside her, racing through her bloodstream.
Long minutes later, with the fireworks still exploding above them and her knees quivering, he pulled back. “You interested in these fireworks, or do you want to make some of our own?”
She laughed. “Your lines, Shaw. Outrageous.”
He stepped around her and opened the passenger door for her. “I got a hundred of them, Red. All for you.”
She brushed her hand across his cheek. “I can’t wait.” After she was tucked in, he walked around the hood of the car, typing on his phone.
He slid into the driver’s seat.
“You let the guys know you’ve got a ride?”
He nodded and stared at her. “I turned it off, too. They’ll be sending text messages telling me to go for it because they like you, Harper.” He slid his hand around her neck to her nape. “But I don’t need them telling me anything. I know in my gut this is going to be the start
of something good. Really good.”
She leaned in and kissed him, giving up every last ounce of her uncertainty. He was the one.
Five minutes later, Shaw used Harper’s key card to unlock her hotel room door. He held it open and she walked in first. The air conditioning hit her like a polar blast. Before the door closed, he spun her toward him and kissed her. He was exceptionally skilled at it, too. His hands caressed her arms, over her shoulders, and up and down her back as his tongue played with hers, coaxing hers into his mouth for her own exploration.
Wherever he touched, tingles burst on her skin. She squeezed her thighs together to intensify the sweet ache in her pussy.
He slowed the kiss and stared down at her. “Are you sure, Harper? This is what you want?”
It didn’t even cross her mind to stop now. Batting her eyes at him, she ripped open the front of his shirt, popping all seven snaps. “That’s how sure I am, cowboy.” Referring to him as a cowboy when he technically wasn’t one didn’t bother her a bit. She liked him. She trusted him. She wanted to have breakfast with him tomorrow. And many mornings after that.
Harper ran her fingers through the soft, brown curls that formed a light thatch on his chest and thinned to a trickle as they headed south to his waistband. “God, I love your hair.” She touched the brim of his hat, and when he bent toward her, she pulled it off and set it on a chair. With her fingers, she combed his hair, letting it go wild.
He shrugged off his shirt and tossed it aside, then pulled off her shirt, boots, and jeans until she stood there in only her pink bra and panties. “You are beautiful, Harper.” He stroked her hair. “Everything about you. I liked just sittin’ and talking with you today. You’re so smart. Makes me wonder if you—”
She brushed her fingers across his lips. “Let’s save the heavy stuff for breakfast.”
He kissed her fingers and picked her up in his arms. “There’s a lot of hours between now and breakfast, Red.” He tossed her on the bed and she bounced a couple times, sliding along the satin comforter.
“Red, huh? Not very original.”
He bent and pulled off his first boot. “My brain wasn’t fast enough that morning in town to ask your name. I had to call you something.”
She loved that he admitted it. Not a cocky cell in that hot body of his. Her gaze drifted over his solid length as he bent and pulled off his other boot. Working the oil field evidently did wonderful things for a man. Bulging biceps, ripped pecs, defined shoulders, and a six-pack that she needed to taste. Her breathing grew ragged as her brain switched off all conscious thought and turned on her primal desire. She wanted him hard and heavy on top of her, pressing her into the mattress.
His hands went to his belt buckle. Her eyes followed. Slowly he undid the belt, unbuttoned his jeans, and slid the zipper down.
Her mouth watered and her hips started circling, needing to see what came next, knowing it was going to be good.
He dropped his jeans, bent over to take them and his socks off, and came back up wearing only his black boxer-briefs and the sexiest smile she’d ever seen. His long, thick cock pulsed in the stretchy material.
“Cowboy.” She held out her hand to him.
He nodded. “Red.” He strolled to the bed. What had she said about him not being cocky? He was confident and bold as he hit the bed, rolled on top of her, grabbed her wrists in his calloused hands, and settled his hard staff in the vee between her legs.
An explosion of desire raced through her and her hips tipped up, welcoming him as cream trickled from her pussy lips, hot and slick.
His nose nearly touched hers and their breath mingled. The brown of his eyes had turned dark, nearly black, and his jaw set in a stubborn clench. “I want you. I’ve never wanted anything this bad, Harper. I’m into you, more intensely than I know is good for me.” Between his eyes, a wrinkle formed.
His words threw her heart into a gallop. To have a man admit something so personal made her want to...
“I want you too, Shaw.” Shivers coursed down her spine. “I want you pulsing inside me, hot and thick and long. I want to scream your name.”
His hips jerked and his hard erection tweaked her clit. “Harper.” He shut his eyes for a few seconds then locked gazes with her. “I gotta taste you first.” He sucked her earlobe into his mouth and whispered, “Everywhere.”
Her back arched and through her bra, her nipples dragged across his chest. “Don’t wait. Do it now.” She was a greedy woman. Greedy for his hard loving.
As his lips trailed along her neck, nibbling and sucking, his hand went to her back, easily unfastening her bra. In seconds, he had it off and threw it across the room. “Aw, Red.” He stared at her breasts.
She shivered and her nipples puckered, hard and aching for his touch.
“You’re perfect.” He cupped his palms around her C-cups and massaged.
Harper slid her hands up his arms, loving the sexy, hard muscles, then threaded her fingers through his hair. “Taste me.” She arched up as she pulled him down.
He didn’t hesitate. Ravenously, he kissed and suckled her nipples, licked each mound like it was candy, and tweaked her needy points with his thumbs.
Flares of heat shot straight to her belly, making her slit quiver and juice for him.
“I can smell your cream.” He lapped at her nipple, his eyes intent on hers. “I’m gonna lick up every drop and make you lose your mind.”
Her breaths came in pants, her head thrashed back and forth, needing release from the sensual ache. “Please, Shaw. I’ll do anything you want. Just make me come.”
“Anything, huh?” Easing down her body, his lips and tongue left a wet trail across her belly button and to the top of her panties. “I’ll have to think on that.”
“No time for thinking.” She lifted her head to watch as his teeth nipped at her skin then snagged the elastic on the little scrap of pink. Throbbing lust convulsed in her core and her ass cheeks tightened until they cramped.
Using his teeth, he made fast work of pulling off her panties. A second later, his mouth fastened on her ankle, nipping and licking. Making a swirling pattern with his tongue, he crawled up her body on his hands and knees. A sleek predator ready to eat his prey.
When he reached her pussy, he buried his nose in her trimmed curls. “Red. I knew it.”
She laughed, but quickly stopped when he sucked her lips into his mouth. Her body stiffened and a wild race of tingles traveled up her spine. Her brain turned muzzy as she gripped the comforter.
His big hands pressed against her thighs and she opened for him. With a groan, he slid his tongue deep inside her core.
“Shaw.” It came out on a breath. His rhythmic lapping set her hips jerking, needing more. He trailed his tongue up her pussy to find her clit hidden beneath its hood.
“You taste fucking fantastic.” His voice rumbled. He sucked her clit into his mouth and teased it with his tongue.
The shot of lust that ran up her back clicked off every thought and sent her spinning upward, toward the stars.
“Come. Now.” He pushed two big fingers inside her canal as his tongue circled her clit. “Come for me, Harper.”
She flew into the heavens, stars spinning around her and through her. Her skin flushed hot and her muscles shook.
He pumped his fingers into her, dragging them out and pushing into her again while his tongue found a wicked rhythm on her tender bud.
She sailed in widening circles in her own universe, knowing he was with her, but unable to even speak his name. Slowly she descended, her body twitching with the intensity of the release. She floated back into reality and forced open one eye, then the other.
Shaw softly kissed her clit, her pussy lips, then, looking into her eyes, he withdrew his fingers from her canal and sucked them clean of her juices.
A fast aftershock raged through her and her hips bucked as her head went for another quick spin.
He climbed up the bed and wrapped her in his arms. “You’re b
eautiful, Harper. Your body responded to me like we’d done this a hundred times.”
She snuggled into him. She’d love to do this with him a hundred times, but right now he was toasty warm. She wanted him to heat her from the outside the way he’d done on the inside.
“You’re cold.” His hand gripped hers, then he leaned down to touch her calf. “Are you okay?” He looked at her mouth.
Harper smiled to keep her lips from quivering. “I just took a little chill at the rodeo, I guess.” She shivered. “And I’d left the air on high, I guess. I need your body heat to keep me happy.” She kissed his shoulder and nuzzled her nose in his chest hair, squirming further underneath him.
“C’mon.” He slid off the bed, his cock still at full throttle in his shorts, and held out his hand to her. “Let’s get in the shower and warm up.” His crooked smile told her they would be doing a lot more than just standing under the hot water.
Chapter Seven
As he held out his hand to Harper to help her off the bed, Shaw’s cock grew so hard, he could barely stand up straight. He’d never tasted anything as sweet as Red’s hot pussy. And he’d never been as crazy about anything on a woman as he’d been when he saw the short, red curls between her legs. A fantasy come to life.
He’d barely gotten started licking her, sucking her, finger-fucking her, when she’d exploded like a Brahma bull out of the chutes. Damn, his woman was sexy as hell. He blinked. His woman? Where had that come from?
She reached up and took his hand and he helped her from the bed. Shaw turned the air conditioner off as they walked past it. He brought her with him into the fancy bathroom he’d spied as they came into the room. A tiled, walk-in shower with a big showerhead hanging from the ceiling. His favorite sex took place in a shower, and with this exceptional woman pressed up against the tile wall, today would be the best of his life.
He turned on the water. “Are you sure you’re okay, Red?”
She nodded, a tiny smile on her lips. “I’m fine...now.”
Red Hot and BOOM! A Sizzling Hot Collection of Stories from the Red Hot Authors Page 5