Own the Night

by Debbi Rawlins

  Noah smiled and reached over to cup the back of her neck. “Get over here.”

  “Seriously,” she said, laughing. “I’m supposed to respond to ‘get over here’?”

  “If you want a kiss.” He kept his eyes on the road, because he knew a curve was coming up. After that it was one mile to town.

  She muttered something unintelligible and then slid closer. “It won’t be much of a kiss with you driving,” she murmured, the smile in her voice making him want to pull over and show her all kinds of things that could be done in the cab of a truck.

  “You’re right,” he said. “We should forget it.” Before she could mouth off, he slipped his hand from her shoulder to the top of her breast. “I like it better when you don’t wear a bra.”

  Her sharp intake of breath pleased him. “That would’ve gone over well with your parents. Is that Blackfoot Falls coming up?”

  “Yep.” Lights glowed from Earl’s filling station at the edge of town. Thank God. Noah’s jeans were getting tight.

  “We should stop in and check on Sadie.”

  “No stopping.”

  “But you’re going to your office anyway.”

  “I lied.”

  Alana let out a short laugh. “Sheriff Calder.”

  He circled his thumb over her nipple, nice and hard even through the shirt and bra. “You have a problem with going straight home?”

  “Not a one,” she said breathlessly.

  * * *

  ALANA THOUGHT SHE HAD IT ALL planned out. As soon as they made it through the front door of his house, she was going to jump him and rip that damn shirt off. Screw the lead-up. Something could go wrong, like this morning, and she wasn’t about to end up sleeping alone.

  Ha.

  The moment he had her inside, his mouth caught hers and he kicked the door closed behind them. Guess he showed me, she thought, and started giggling.

  “What?”

  “Lock it.”

  “I will.”

  “Now. I mean it,” she said against his mouth, because he wouldn’t stop kissing her. “I don’t want any interruptions. And take the phone off the hook and turn off your cell.”

  That briefly brought him to a halt. “Sorry, the cell has to stay on.” He flipped the lock on the door and then returned to nipping and sucking at her lips with an urgency that stole her breath.

  He cupped her breast through the T-shirt, finding her hardened nipple and toying with it until a small whimper rose from her throat. She arched back and his other arm banded around her waist, pulling her tighter and closer until she gasped for air. Only then did he loosen his hold and yank the hem of her shirt from her Levi’s.

  She tried to get to his buttons, but he was in the way, pushing up her shirt and lowering his head to press soft kisses to the skin between her breasts. Alana didn’t realize he’d unsnapped her bra until it slackened. He shoved aside the cups and rolled his tongue over one taut nipple, then drew it tightly into his mouth. Pleasure shimmered through her body and she clutched his shoulders, the feel of hard-muscled flesh beneath the soft cotton making her anxious to get at his buttons again.

  He wasn’t about to let her have her way. Maneuvering her past the recliner, then the couch, he kissed the line of her jaw, the side of her neck while he unsnapped her jeans. He steered her to the kitchen phone and used his elbow to knock the receiver from the cradle. The off-the-hook warning buzz startled her even though she should’ve expected it.

  In the backyard, Dax started barking.

  Noah cursed.

  Alana laughed. “We have to let him in.”

  “I know,” he muttered, and yanked down the tab of her zipper.

  “You have a thing for kitchens?”

  “Hmm?” He lifted his head and his mouth twisted in a lopsided smile. “No, saving time. Jesus, Dax, shut up.”

  “I don’t think he got that. Oh.” She gasped at the warm, moist breath bathing her right breast. “Take off your shirt while I let him in.”

  “He’s gonna be a pain in the ass,” Noah murmured against her nipple, biting softly, then using his tongue to soothe.

  “We’ll give him a rawhide bone to keep him busy.” She tried to move toward the back door, but Noah’s growing ferocity overwhelmed her.

  She was used to being more in charge, and she could barely breathe, much less order him to slow down. Probably because that wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want it to end, not the kisses, not the way he was reaching inside her waistband to rub her backside, or the way he suckled her as if he could never get enough. The bedroom—that would be good, though.

  “Hey.” She reached between them and touched his hard-on through the denim.

  Noah groaned and took a shuddering breath.

  She pressed her advantage, rubbing her palm up and down, delighting in the raspy moans coming from his throat. “We have to let Dax in before the neighbors start calling, or worse, knocking.”

  “You’re right.”

  Just as she was about to turn to the door, he cupped her chin with his slightly callused hand and held her face still for a leisurely, heart-stopping kiss that said he wasn’t done with her yet.

  In the next couple minutes locks were checked, Dax was treated, twice, and the phone restored to order with the ringer turned off. Alana’s jeans and heels and Noah’s boots littered the hallway in their rush for his bedroom.

  His comforter was still turned down from his nap. He had smoothed the brown sheets up to the pillows. The bed was king-size, and the four dark-wood bedposts inspired a fleeting but absurdly hot fantasy that had her swallowing hard. She spun toward him, her gaze going straight to the part of his chest where his shirt hung open.

  Good Lord, he was perfect. He had plenty of lean muscle and there was a six-pack in there, but he wasn’t one of those bulky, overly muscled guys.

  “Why do I have less clothes on than you do?” she asked, grabbing his shirt and pulling him closer.

  “I’m more determined.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “Yeah?” He had her T-shirt off in the space of two heartbeats. Another second and her bra was history.

  Her shaky laugh ended in a shuddery sigh at the way his hungry gaze ran down her nearly nude body. He smiled at the pink panties, with which he was well acquainted, then slid a hand beneath the elastic.

  “Hey, wait.” She shoved ineffectually at him, trying to give herself enough room to finish stripping him.

  “Did enough of that already.” He kissed her hard, following her as she moved backward to the bed.

  12

  FLATTENING HER PALMS ON HIS chest, she pushed forcefully enough to show him she meant business. “Either I rip those jeans off or you do.” She stared pointedly at the bulge behind his fly. It wouldn’t be easy getting the zipper down, not without hurting him.

  He shrugged out of his shirt and, biting her lip, she watched the muscles ripple and bunch across his shoulders.

  She wanted to touch him, all of him, slowly…first with her fingertips and then her tongue. This was a new experience for Alana. She’d always assumed her appetite for sex was as healthy as the next woman’s, but she knew better now. When it came to Noah, she was voracious.

  He drew down his zipper, and the burning ache at the pit of her stomach spread lower until she had little choice but to fall back on the bed and squeeze her thighs together. Using her elbows and heels, she inched back while she watched him shuck off his jeans. He wore black boxers, but she already knew that—not the color, but this morning she’d felt enough of him to know he wasn’t a briefs man.

  “Take off your panties,” he said, flinging his jeans at the dresser, his gaze practically devouring her.

  “Take off your boxers.”

  With a deceptively cool smile curving his mouth, he bent over and finished undressing, and all she could think was, holy crap, she was in for a hell of a good night.

  He didn’t tell her again to remove her panties, but crawled in next to her and ya
nked them off. She thought she heard them tear. “Hey, you might’ve just messed up my whole week.”

  “I’ll let you know when it’s Sunday again,” he said, and kissed the lower part of her belly. “Nice…”

  “What?” She came up on her elbows and saw that he was referring to the small sculpted patch of hair. “Oh, it’s a European wax,” she said inanely, and then flopped back to roll her eyes at the ceiling.

  “Good to know.”

  She felt his smile and then his teeth as he lightly bit the hypersensitive skin above the area in question, his seductively warm breath drifting lower, lower, stoking the burning ache between her thighs. He skimmed the curve of her hip, found her breast and teased the already rigid nipple, first with his fingers and then his tongue.

  His earlier frenetic pace had slowed to languid petting, and she couldn’t decide which she preferred. As long as he was touching her, she didn’t care, she concluded, and arched into his mouth. He moved against her, his arousal heavy and hot on her outer thigh. The tingling started in her chest and radiated down to her belly. She clutched his arm, dug her fingers into his hard-muscled flesh. Not because she wanted him to stop; she wanted him to go on forever. But already the pressure was unmercifully building inside her and they’d barely gotten started. This was new, kind of crazy. Usually it took her ages to climax with a guy, but this cowboy had her on a hair trigger.

  When he wedged his hand between her thighs she about flew off the mattress. “Condoms?” Her question was more a gasp than anything, and she tried to say it again, but he kept doing delicious things to her nipples.

  He finally looked up long enough to say, “In my wallet.” Then he went back to using his tongue in that clever way of his. And his fingers, God, his fingers…

  “None in the nightstand?”

  “I don’t bring…no.”

  Her grip on his arm had to be painful, but she couldn’t tell by him. “I’m your first?”

  “Yeah, so be gentle with me.”

  She managed a shaky laugh, but decided not to tell him it was the other way around; she needed the TLC. “Not a chance.”

  “I figured.” He used his teeth to lightly tug on her nipple, and she shuddered with pleasure.

  “Condom. Now. Seriously.”

  He pulled back and gave her a considering look, his brow furrowed. “We’ll use one. I’m not reckless—”

  “No, it’s not that…. I think we should have it nearby.”

  “Ah.” One side of his mouth lifted, transforming his expression from mildly offended to pleased, and he rolled off the bed and retrieved his jeans.

  She watched him remove his wallet, or rather she stared at his impressive hard-on and peripherally sensed everything else that was happening. If she’d thought the short time-out would help her cool down, was she ever wrong. Though if her gaze hadn’t been glued to him the short break might’ve worked. He was stunning. Every part of him, his lean-muscled body, his chiseled face and those eyes…

  Alana finally had to look away. She flipped onto her side and concentrated on plumping pillows, because if she kept looking at him, he’d just breathe on her and she’d come.

  The mattress dipped behind her, and she felt his mouth at her lower back, pressing moist kisses until he got to her ass. The first soft bite made her clench everything that would clench. He sure liked using his teeth, and who knew she’d love the sensation so much? She closed her eyes and gripped the pillow, letting him do whatever he was doing. In a second she’d reach behind and find his cock and—

  She gasped. “Oh, my God, are you giving me a hickey?”

  “I’ve never done that, not even when I was a kid.” Sliding his hand between her thighs, he brushed his long fingers against her slick clit. “Why? You want one?”

  Whimpering, she instinctively tried to squeeze her legs together, tried to twist around to face him, but he refused to move his hand. He glided his mouth along her spine until he got to her shoulder, his finger probing deeper, entering her and pushing inside until she whimpered again.

  “You’re so wet,” he said, his voice hoarse and broken, almost a whisper. Without warning, he withdrew his hand and turned her over, pinning her back and shoulders to the mattress.

  She stared up at him, mesmerized by the dark, sexy shade desire had turned his eyes, and felt her pulse hammering wildly at her throat. His gaze found the exact spot and then his head dipped as he pressed a kiss there.

  When she reached between their bodies and touched him, he grunted, jerking back in surprise. She wrapped her fingers around him and slid her palm along the upward curve.

  Noah’s entire body shuddered and he made a deep sound of pleasure. “Jesus, I’ve got to get that condom on.”

  “You do,” she said, enjoying the feel of him pulsing against her hand. She heard the packet tear, then smiled when he shoved her hand away.

  “You’re trying to kill me,” he murmured.

  “Hmm, pretty sure that’s not the goal,” she said, and wrapped her hand back around his cock.

  His laugh came out tortured. He caught her chin and kissed her hard on the mouth before trailing his lips to the skin below her ear. “I ought to give you a nice big hickey right here, a souvenir to take back to New York.”

  This time she did the shoving. “Don’t you dare.”

  Grinning, he ducked away from her hand. “You know what happens when we start daring each other.”

  “Remind me.”

  Already sheathed, he positioned himself between her legs, and she sucked in a breath, heat swamping her, as she waited for him to enter her. His gaze on her face, he teased her with his fingers, sliding in and out, mimicking what he was about to do with his cock.

  “Noah, please,” she whispered.

  He leaned down and kissed her, and then pulled her legs around his waist and pushed slow and deep inside her.

  She let out a small moan, and he stopped, then eased back. “Don’t,” she said in a raw voice that couldn’t be hers, and yet it was. “Don’t stop.”

  He moved against her, shoving harder this time, faster, deeper. She bucked up to meet him, to show him she wanted him, all of him. And he eagerly delivered, filling her so completely that the room seemed to swim around her, making her dizzy, making her feel as if she would drown in all the heat. Her whole body trembled, as did his. The entire time he stared into her eyes, as if nothing else existed but the two of them, every move designed to ratchet up the tension until they were ready to ignite. Finally, he closed his eyes and held himself still, every muscle tight and straining. She climaxed so fiercely she almost didn’t hear the cry that ripped from his throat.

  The tears that filled her eyes defied explanation. She clung to him even as he collapsed against her, his chest heaving, his head resting heavily on her shoulder as he whispered her name.

  * * *

  NOAH WISHED HE COULD OPEN THE bedroom door a sliver to let in some light. Alana was curled up next to him, warm and naked, sound asleep, and he wanted to get a look at her. Wouldn’t happen. For one thing, his arm was around her and her cheek was pressed to his shoulder. The other problem was Dax—if he heard anything and realized the door wasn’t latched, he’d come bounding in and land on top of them before Noah could utter a word.

  No, he’d let her sleep. It was the least he could do after keeping her up until one-thirty. Not that she’d complained. In fact, she’d been quite the eager and creative partner. Damn, the woman had him in a tailspin. One minute she reminded him of his former girlfriend in Chicago, driven and self-centered, and the next she was going out of her way to be kind to his mother, and stewing over Sadie.

  Of course there was nothing wrong with being ambitious. He didn’t want to be sheriff of Salina County forever. The job served his purpose for now. His parents weren’t getting any younger, and the time was approaching when his father would be unable to refuse Noah’s offer of paying someone to help with the ranch. The best solution would be to sell the small spread and move so
meplace that required less work, but he doubted that would be an option.

  He was fairly certain his parents still lived in a dream world, thinking one of their children would end up taking over. His older sister and her husband would’ve been the most likely to keep the ranch in the family, maybe even expand the dinky operation, which had been increasingly neglected. But that wouldn’t happen as long as their mother was still drinking.

  Beside him, Alana stirred, sighing softly in her sleep and moving her hand to rest over his heart. He gazed down at her, and even though he couldn’t see much in the darkness, he easily imagined how she’d looked a few hours ago in the glow of the lamplight, her hair mussed, her cheeks and nipples flushed as she straddled him and came for the third time.

  He wished like hell he could get some movement on her stolen luggage. Aside from just giving her peace of mind and her life back, it would go a long way to making him feel as if he actually deserved being with her like this. What the hell good was a sheriff if he couldn’t find a set of luggage and a purse in his own town? On the other hand, finding her things would mean there’d be no excuse for her to stay with him any longer. Though he’d like to think she’d stay anyway. Now that Noah had her in his bed, he wasn’t willing to let her go until he had to.

  As for his initial concern that she might be the grifter? He knew in his heart and his mind that she wasn’t a criminal. It had just been a case of bad timing. And a son of a bitch who was bold enough to steal a woman’s belongings in the middle of Main Street.

  Noah shifted slightly, hoping to make her more comfortable. Wrong move. She jerked a little, her head coming up.

  “Noah?” she said groggily.

  “Shh. It’s still early.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Doesn’t matter.” He tucked her closer and stroked her hair, trying to coax her back to sleep.