“I can’t see you wanting to be a ranch cook for the rest of your life.” Carter looked at her as though trying to figure something out. “What is it you want in the long run?”
“Who says I don’t want to stay a ranch cook?” She laughed. “Okay, one day I do want to own my own restaurant.” She tilted her head to the side. “I could start out slow, with a great dining experience for patrons in a smaller town, like King Creek. After time, I could sell it and move on up to a more upscale location, possibly Scottsdale.”
“So you intend to stay in Arizona?” he asked.
“I’ve always liked my visits to this state.” She looked ahead as they continued into the Superstition Mountain foothills. She glanced back at him. “Yes, I think I’d like to stay here. You’re right about L.A., and it’s a rat race I don’t want to go back to.”
A sexy smile curved his lips. “That means we get to keep you.”
She grinned. “Not sure how the men are enjoying what I make. They seem to be choking it down.”
Carter laughed and shook his head. “Those men are so spoiled now that if you try to leave I think they’d rope you and keep you tied up in the kitchen.”
“There’s an image.” Kit pictured herself hogtied on the kitchen floor. “How would I get anything done?”
“I’m sure they’d let you free long enough to cook.”
She laughed and surprised herself with her next question. “So why aren’t you married and raising a houseful of kids?”
His voice dropped an octave. “Up until now, I haven’t found the right woman.”
A thrill rolled through her belly as he looked at her in a way she had never been looked at before. Wanted, desired, needed…and more.
She wanted to tease him, to get him to say more, but she was afraid she was venturing into dangerous territory.
Yeah, she should definitely change the subject about now. She shouldn’t have gone there to begin with.
She looked down at the pommel she gripped while still holding loosely onto the reins. “Where are the best places to eat in King Creek?”
“Depends on what you want,” Carter said. “If you’d like home cooking and a good fish fry, that would be Mabel’s Diner. The best barbeque in Arizona is Jake’s Longhorn Steakhouse. Los Dos Vaqueros can’t be beat for Mexican food.”
“I’ll have to try them all.” Kit gave a firm nod. “I’m in the mood for Mexican sometime soon.”
“I’ll take you.” His easy response made her feel it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be taking her out. “I haven’t had Mexican food for a while.”
She smiled. “I’d like that.”
“We have an annual barbeque out at the ranch every summer.” Humor lit his eyes. “Are you up to fixing dinner for a hundred or so of our closest friends?”
“Only a hundred?” She waved it away. “No problem. I happen to make a mean barbeque sauce, too. Jake’s Longhorn may make the best in Arizona, but I make the best in the west.”
He chuckled and she grinned. “You think I’m kidding, don’t you?”
“No, honey.” He shook his head. “When it comes to food, I think you’re damned serious.”
It was almost noon by the time they entered the shade on the outer edges of a forest.
His stomach made a loud rumbling sound as they rode beneath fluttering oak and sycamore leaves and past swaying juniper branches.
She grinned. “Your stomach says let’s eat lunch.”
He nodded and answered her grin with his own. “Couldn’t be more perfect timing.” He brought his horse to a halt and swung down so both feet were on the ground.
LJ came to a stop beside Heidi, and Kit realized now she’d have to get off. She’d become so comfortable, thanks to their talks and Carter’s easy storytelling, that she’d forgotten to be scared. He’d been right, LJ was an easy ride.
Carter appeared at her side, on the left side of the horse. “I’ll help you dismount.”
She grimaced. “It’s a long way down.”
“You’ll do fine.” He gave her a reassuring smile. He instructed her how to swing her leg over and helped her down. The moment she was on the ground, she realized two things. First, she was already saddle-sore.
Secondly, but more importantly, she and Carter were standing so close her breasts were touching his chest, and his hand was on her hip. She tipped her head back and looked into his whiskey-brown eyes that grew darker by the moment. He focused on her mouth and she could see the hunger in his expression. Hunger for her.
Her nipples hardened to tight points and her breasts and sex ached. Her throat worked and she didn’t know what to say or do.
A long moment passed. His jaw tightened and his voice was rough when he finally spoke. “I’ll get the blanket and the insulated bag with the food. You get one of the thermoses.”
“Okay.” The word barely came out as he moved away and grabbed the blanket roll from behind Heidi’s saddle.
She let out her breath in a rush.
Dear God.
She pulled a thermos out of LJs saddlebag and wandered a few feet away. “I can tell already I’m going to be saddle-sore.” Her legs ached, especially the insides of her thighs, as she headed to a clear area beneath the trees. “How’s this?”
“Perfect.” He nodded as he walked up her side.
They moved a few rocks out of the way and he laid the blanket down on the earth that was still slightly damp. Trees and bushes surrounded them, and the air was cool in the shade.
Moments later and they were relaxing and eating roast beef and egg salad sandwiches. He shook his head. “I have never had sandwiches that taste this good. What did you put in them?”
She shrugged. “A little of this and a little of that.”
He shook his head as he finished the sandwich. “You are a magician in the kitchen.”
With a laugh she tossed him a bag of chips. “Try these.”
He raised an eyebrow before opening the bag and trying one of the chips. It crunched as he bit into it. “Homemade?”
She nodded. “You betcha.”
“You’re not just a magician, you’re a wizard.”
“So now I’ve graduated from magician to wizard.” She laughed.
“And an enchantress.” He looked at her in a way that made her warm from head to toe.
After he polished off the sandwiches and annihilated the potato chips, she handed him a large baggie with the twelve cookies she’d brought.
“You remembered the cookies.” He reminded her of a little boy as he took a cookie out and devoured it. “Damn, they’re good.” He brushed crumbs off his shirt. “There’s something different about them. Not just the toffee, but another ingredient that makes them even better. What is it?”
She gave a mischievous smile. “Super-secret recipe.”
He responded in a low, sexy drawl as he set the baggie of cookies down. “I bet I could tickle it out of you.”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “Noooo. Not that.” She was as ticklish as hell.
She started to scramble away, but he moved toward her too fast. He grabbed her arm and rolled her onto her back before he pinned her body by straddling her hips. She gasped as he gripped both her wrists in one big hand and pressed them against the blanket, above her head.
With his free hand, he tickled her beneath her arm and she squealed with helpless laughter. She squirmed in his hold, giggling so hard tears flowed from her eyes as he searched for ticklish places on her.
She cried, “Mercy, mercy.”
Carter stopped tickling her. “Are you going to give me the recipe?”
Kit’s heart thundered as she stared up at him. Not just from the bout of tickling, but from the desire that suddenly darkened his eyes.
Her lips parted and her heart seemed to pound in a choppy rhythm.
He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers in a feather-light touch, and she didn’t think she could breathe anymore.
9
Kit sighed as Carter’s lips met hers and it was like everything in the world was perfect and right. He nipped her bottom lip with his teeth before sliding his tongue into her mouth. He kissed her long and deep, and a soft whimper escaped her.
She wriggled beneath him, wanting more of him, to feel all of him.
He moved so that his hips were between her thighs and lowered himself so that she felt his weight and his solid muscular body. His erection pressed against her belly and she wrapped her legs around his hips, drawing him even closer.
His kiss became more passionate and her response was the same.
Everything shifted as what started out as slow and sensual became rougher and needier.
A rumble rose in his throat, a primal sound that sent a thrill through her, from her breasts to the place that ached between her thighs. She wanted him inside her, wanted him to fill her in every way possible.
She wanted him.
He moved his mouth from hers and she gasped for air as he dragged his lips along her jaw line. His stubble abraded her soft skin as he moved his mouth to her ear.
His voice was rough and edgy. “I. Want. You.”
“God, yes.” She slid her arms around him and squirmed, rubbing herself against him, as if that might assuage her need. It only served to make her feel wilder that before.
He fastened his mouth over hers again. This time his kiss was more forceful, but she still demanded more of him in her answering kiss.
What had been an easy, playful dance all week rushed to a feverish pitch of their combined desires. He groaned as he slid his mouth down the curve of her neck to the hollow of her throat, and brushed a kiss over the soft skin.
He moved lower, to the V of her blouse, and then moved his mouth to her breast. She arched her back and cried out as he sucked her cloth-covered nipple into his mouth.
She writhed in sheer pleasure as he lightly nipped at the taut nub. He slid his mouth to her other nipple and sucked it hard enough that she gasped. She was so wet and needed him inside her so much, and soon.
He rose onto his knees and she almost begged him to come back to her as her hands slid from his back to his forearms. He grasped her blouse, and in their wild state she almost expected him to rip it open, sending buttons flying all over the blanket.
Instead, he unbuttoned her blouse, his eyes on hers the entire time. She bit her lower lip as she gripped his biceps.
He pushed the blouse away, grasped her bra, and pulled it beneath her breasts. Cool air brushed her skin and tightened her nipples even more.
“Beautiful.” He cupped both her breasts then moved his gaze to meet hers. “Every bit of you is gorgeous.”
Her whole body heated from his words and the way he seemed to drink her in. She’d never had anyone look at her the way he was right this moment. She couldn’t think of a response, so she reached up, slid her fingers into his hair, and pulled his head down toward her breast.
He gave a soft laugh that turned into a groan as he slid his warm mouth over her nipple and pinched and pulled her opposite one with his fingers. She groaned, too, as he licked and sucked, and drove her to the point of frenzy the way he teased and tantalized her. He dragged his mouth down the slope of her breast, and a slight breeze tightened the wet nipple.
“Carter.” His name came out in a rush. “I—please.”
He flicked her nipple with his tongue before sucking it into his mouth. Her core flooded and she felt a need so great she didn’t think it could be completely satisfied.
She needed something and she needed it now.
He slid his mouth up the column of her throat to her lips. He paused. “You take my breath away. Every time I see you, every time I’m with you.”
Surprise made her still for a moment. Sincerity marked each of his words. She swallowed. “I feel the same way.”
“Good.” He rubbed his erection against her, “I want you to want me, just as much as I want you.”
She managed to get out a shaky laugh. “No problem there.”
Even though she was wearing jeans, his cock was thick and hard between her thighs, pressing against her sex. But he wasn’t naked and he needed to get that way.
“Clothes.” She gasped as he continued each erotic thrust. “Get them off.”
He rose up on his haunches as he pulled his T-shirt over his head.
Dear God, he was beautiful in such a hard, masculine way that made blood rush through her veins.
His muscles flexed as he dropped the T-shirt onto the blanket, and his expression grew more intense and focused as his gaze held hers.
He grasped his belt buckle and unfastened it before pulling the belt out of the loops and tossing it aside. The buckle hit the thermos and clanked as it went down.
She watched him rise. He looked so very tall as he stood on the blanket. He toed off his boots and kicked them away before removing his socks and dropping them onto the boots.
When he stripped off his jeans and boxer briefs, her mouth watered. Big and thick—she had to taste him.
She shifted and rose to her knees. He started to take off his hat, but she grabbed his arm. “Leave it on, cowboy.”
His sensual smile sent tingles through her entire body, tightening her bare nipples and causing more moisture to dampen her panties.
Still on her knees, she shrugged out of her shirt and ditched her bra.
Carter didn’t think he was going to survive much longer without tasting Kit and being inside her. He began to lower himself between her thighs again. She stopped him when she wrapped her hand around his cock. He stilled.
“That’s right.” She moved her mouth closer to the head of his erection. “I’ve got you.”
She darted her tongue out and he hissed a sound of pleasure and desire as she tasted his semen. She slid her mouth down his length, bringing his cock to the back of her throat and he let out a groan that vibrated his entire body.
He watched her as she focused on him at the same time his cock slid in and out of her mouth. Her breasts swayed and bounced with her movements.
Well, fuck. He was going to come in her mouth if she kept up the slow assault.
He speared his fingers into her soft hair, feeling the silkiness of it in his palms. He thrust his hips slowly, in time with her movements as her head slid up and down. His cock moved in and out of the wet heat of her mouth as she sucked and licked.
Stars started to spark at the edge of his vision. “Stop, Kit.” The words came out in a harsh growl that he hadn’t intended. She let his cock slide out of her mouth before running her tongue along her lower lip.
His voice rumbled from his chest. “I’m in no condition to control myself if you keep that up.”
A sexy smile turned up the corners of her lips.
Lord, he wasn’t going to make it.
He got onto his knees, so that they both knelt together, and then he put his hands on her shoulders and gently pressed against them. “Lie down, honey.”
She slowly obeyed. When she was on her back, he grasped one foot and then the other, sliding off each of her boots, followed by her socks.
“Are your feet ticklish, too?” He ran one finger down her arch. “Answer the question.”
“Yes.” She hissed the word and squirmed. “You don’t play fair.”
“No, I don’t.” He couldn’t help a smile. “But that’s good to know.”
He stopped and lowered her foot before he reached for the button on her jeans. He unbuttoned and unzipped the denim before he tugged her jeans over her hips.
All that remained were her black panties. He slid his finger over the cloth covering her folds and smiled as he felt the damp fabric.
Her throat worked. She started to say something, but appeared to have completely forgotten what she had planned to say when he stripped off her panties.
He didn’t wait for her to gather her senses as he lowered himself between her thighs. “Now you’re mine.”
Kit didn’t have a moment to giv
e his words a second thought. One moment she was breathing, and the next she wasn’t, as he went down on her.
“Carter!” Her voice bounced off the trees and birds took flight as he swiped his tongue over her clit.
She wriggled at the pure, sweet torture. He clasped her legs with his big hands, pressing her thighs apart with his shoulders.
He licked her folds in tantalizing swirls...nipping, licking, sucking.
Tears wet the corners of her eyes as sheer pleasure swept through her, bringing with it an oncoming orgasm.
She grasped the blanket to either side of her, as if that might tether her to the earth when she came. She had no doubt about what was coming now.
All the sensations she was experiencing grew in proportion. Naked on a blanket in a forest...cool air sliding over her skin...Carter’s soft hair sliding on her inner thighs...his stubble rough against her fair skin.
Closer...God, she was almost there...
The orgasm tore through her. Her eyes flew open and another cry ripped from her throat.
She was vaguely aware of the tearing sound of a wrapper. Her thoughts became coherent again the moment Carter slid inside her.
Her eyes flew open and she gasped as he stretched her, filled her, with his thick, hard length.
“Fuck,” he said as he moved in and out, his warm brown eyes drinking her in. “I’ve never felt anything as good as you in my life.”
She wrapped her arms around him, raising her hips in time with his thrusts. She dug her nails into his ass, feeling the hard muscles flex beneath her palms.
“You feel so good inside,” she whispered. So, so incredibly good.
Perfect.
He paused in his thrusts and looked down at her, sweat beading on his forehead. “I could stay like this forever, right inside of you.”
She moved her palms up his back. “Yes.” She let out a moan as he started moving again.
They moved in time, faster and faster. Kit thought she just might climb so high she could never come down again.
And as long as she was with Carter, that would be just fine.
Country Heat (King Creek Cowboys Book 1) Page 8