Where had that breathy voice come from? Was she seriously that girl? That flirty vixen? Apparently, with Colt she was another person, but this felt so right.
He slid his thumbs inside the waistband of her jeans. As his rough fingertips grazed her skin, Annabelle trembled. Colt jerked her pants down, pulling her panties with them.
When he dropped to his knees and removed the rest of her clothes, Annabelle pulled in a breath and willed herself to remain calm. She certainly didn’t want to make a complete fool of herself right now. Between the ache and the nerves, she wasn’t sure what to do, what to say.
But when she stood before him naked and Colt remained on his knees, sampling her with his heavy-lidded gaze, Annabelle knew for a fact that she held the control. He was giving her the reins, so to speak.
She dropped to her knees in front of him and curled her hands around his shoulders. “Touch me,” she whispered.
* * *
Colt cursed his shaky hands. He finally had Annabelle naked before him and he was nervous. He’d never been nervous with a woman before, not even when he was a virgin. He’d always been about pleasuring his partner, being in control.
But with Annabelle, something was different. Something he didn’t want to think about. He only wanted Annabelle, right here, right now.
Colt captured her mouth beneath his as he lowered her back to the blanket. Extending his arms to the ground, he caught himself before he could fully put his weight on her. Wrapping her slender arms around his neck, she threaded her fingers through his hair.
Colt pulled back, glancing down at the beauty laid out before him. He came back to his feet and quickly shed the rest of his clothes and boots. Annabelle’s eyes roamed over his bare body. That passion he saw in her eyes only amped up his ache for her.
Despite the fact she told him to do anything, Colt had to have some semblance of self-control. He’d never taken an inexperienced woman before.
With her hair fanned out all around her, Annabelle reached for him. Colt grabbed his pants, pulled a condom from his wallet and covered himself. He dropped between her knees, took her hands in his, and stretched her arms above her head. She arched at the adjustment and it was all Colt could do not to devour her.
“You’re driving me crazy,” she stated through gritted teeth.
“At least I’m not alone,” he muttered.
He used his knees to shove her legs wider. His free hand trailed up her inner thigh, instantly causing her to tremble beneath his touch. When he found her center, Annabelle’s eyes drifted shut as she let out a moan.
Yes. That’s exactly the response he wanted. Her hips tilted, urging him for more. He leaned down, placing his mouth on her stomach and trailing his lips up to her breasts. Her hands jerked beneath his grip as if she wanted loose from her restraints.
“Not so fast,” he murmured against her heated skin. “I’m not done and you can’t touch me just yet.”
“I need...”
“I need,” he agreed. “Too much.”
So much, that he wasn’t about to reveal everything on his mind. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what he was thinking because he was trying not to think it.
When Colt removed his hand from between her legs, she let out a whimper. She was so ready and he...damn if he wasn’t eager to show her what she’d been missing. He wanted to freeze that moment. To lock away this second of her staring up at him with such desire. He’d never felt so wanted before. Definitely not with...
No. He wasn’t bringing any other woman into the picture, not even in his mind. Annabelle was perfection. She was his.
Everything else in the outside world didn’t exist for him. Not the farm, not the potential dude ranch, not his brothers or even his father. There was nothing, no one but Annabelle.
Releasing her wrists, he placed both of his hands on either side of her face as he settled between her thighs.
“Tell me you’re okay with this.” Because if she wasn’t completely on board, he’d stop. It would kill him, but she called the shots here. “You want me to keep going?”
“Don’t even think of leaving me like this,” she panted. “Finish what you started.”
Music to his ears. Slowly, Colt joined their bodies. He kept his eyes on hers, waiting for a sign that she needed him to stop.
But her eyes merely widened as she bit her lower lip. Her hips jerked up to meet his and a low, sexy groan escaped her. Colt gritted his teeth. The agony of not claiming her the way his body needed to was excruciating. He wanted to gather her up and have her wrap those long, lean legs around his waist as he made her his.
Next time, he vowed. Because there would be a next time.
Annabelle lifted her knees on either side of him as she rocked her hips. “I told you not to hold back.”
“I’m hurting you.”
Her eyes held his as a smile danced around her mouth. “You’re torturing me. I need this. I need you. Now move.”
Colt nipped at her lips. “Whatever you say, sweetness.”
“Don’t—”
He crushed his mouth against hers as her arms looped around his neck. Colt quickened the pace, finally. He relished the sting of her fingertips on his skin. He wanted her to feel, to make him feel. They came together perfectly and she was certainly holding her own.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he demanded against her lips. “Now.”
As she circled his waist, locking her ankles behind his back, Colt pumped faster. Her little pants and whimpers spurred him on as she matched his rhythm.
“Colt.”
“Right here, baby.”
Her taut body beneath his trembled, then tightened. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes.
“Look at me,” he commanded.
When that green gaze came back to his, Colt tried not to get lost in the depths there. Tried not to see exactly what was staring back at him, because it was definitely more than just sex. There were feelings. Feelings that he sure as hell didn’t want to see.
Colt leaned down to run his lips along the side of her neck, across her chest. She cried out his name as her body stilled, her nails biting deeper into his shoulders.
Thrusting again, Colt shattered right along with her. This was exactly what he wanted, what he could control. All the feelings and emotions had no place here.
As her tremors ceased, Colt gathered her close, inhaling her jasmine scent. As much as his instincts told him to flee, he wasn’t that big of a jerk. This was her time—he couldn’t help if everything he saw in her eyes scared the hell out of him.
He prayed she didn’t have some crazy notion that this meant anything more than just sex. He couldn’t let her believe they had a future. Acting on their attraction had been inevitable, but he hadn’t said anything up front about not getting involved. He had plans, damn it, and they didn’t include getting wrapped up in those expressive green eyes.
But there was still that part deep inside him that could want more...with her.
Colt eased to the side, pulling her in his arms. He wasn’t one to cuddle, but again, he wasn’t about to be a jerk. He just needed to relax and consider his next step.
And that nugget of emotion circling his conscience could shut the hell up.
Fourteen
Colt was already having regrets.
Even though he hadn’t said a word, he didn’t need to. Annabelle lay against his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath her cheek and Colt was miles away—mentally at least.
His entire body was rigid and she knew he didn’t want to be there. Didn’t want to be holding her. The pity snuggle was not working for her and she refused to ever be made a fool of by a man again.
Annabelle sat up, causing Colt’s arm to fall away. She smoothed her hair back from her face and attempted to radiate confidence she didn’t feel. When it came to intimacy, she had zero experience, but her body was still humming...while he was silently stewing beside her.
If he was having regrets or doubts about what had
happened, that was on him. Not her problem.
Coming to her feet, Annabelle purposely didn’t look back at him. Bad enough she was walking around the riverbank retrieving her clothes, she didn’t want to see guilt in his eyes.
What a fool. How could she think a man like Colt Elliott would actually want to be with someone like her? He’d known exactly how to touch her, what to say, and just how forceful to be.
She’d relished every single moment.
Annabelle jerked her panties on, then wrestled back into her bra. Clutching her jeans to her chest, she whirled around to see him sitting up on the blanket watching her.
“If you’re sorry this happened, just keep it to yourself.”
Not a care in the world that he was as naked as the day he was born, Colt lifted a knee and propped an arm across it. “I’m not sorry this happened.”
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, heat flooding her cheeks. “Because you’re not exactly giving off a vibe like you had a good time.”
Like a panther, he rose and stalked toward her. “I had a good time, darlin’. I just didn’t want you to get the impression that this meant more than what it was.”
It took a second for his words to sink in, but when they did, rage boiled within her.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked, swatting her hand on his bare chest. “You think you show me a good time by the river on your family’s property and I’m going to be head over heels in love with you? You do have quite the ego, Colt. I’m not going to start planning our wedding, so relax.”
She hated to admit, even to herself, that she could see herself falling for him. She hadn’t gotten there, yet, but it could happen. Still, the fact that he was afraid of it happening pissed her off. Like he was some gift to women because of his magical penis.
“Listen, if you have a problem, don’t put it on me,” she stated, still holding on to her jeans like a shield. “This wasn’t what I expected when I left the house this morning, but it definitely got my mind off my problems.”
“That’s it?” he asked, one brow quirking. “You’re glad I could help you push aside your problems for a while? Don’t downplay the joys of your first experience.”
Strike one to that ego.
“The sex was great. Is that what you want to hear?”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her body to his. With his free hand he jerked her jeans away and flung them aside. That cool power and confident strength was too damn sexy.
“That’s exactly what I want to hear.”
Oh, that low tone could get her aroused in less than a second. And he knew it, too.
“We’re going to do this again.” He slid his mouth back and forth over hers as he spoke. “Whenever I can get you alone again, you’ll be mine.”
She had to grip his biceps to hold herself upright. “What makes you think I want to do this again?”
Colt eased his hand between them and palmed one of her breasts. His thumb raked back and forth over her thin bra. “Because I can have you squirming and panting in no time. And because we’re not done with each other.”
The moment was getting too intense and she needed to regain her composure. She patted the side of his cheek. “I’ll let you have sex with me again, but if you go and fall in love, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m quite a catch.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked as his eyes dropped to her mouth. She had no clue what was going through his head, but he clearly didn’t like the idea of love. Well, that made two of them.
They dressed quietly and found their shirts around the front of the house by the horses. Colt threw her blanket back on Genesis before adjusting the saddle back in place.
As they rode back, all the issues awaiting her flooded her mind. If only life were as perfect as it had been moments ago on the riverbank. Annabelle couldn’t even enjoy the euphoria because of the crap storm life had thrown her way.
Since her father was clearly gambling again, she had no idea how she was going to make everything work. He’d ring up more debts, and she’d have to bail him out. That was the cycle and she could only be stretched so thin. She knew gambling, as with any addiction, was a difficult habit to break. But she’d truly hoped losing a daughter and having to borrow money from the neighbor to pay off the mortgage would’ve slapped some sense into him.
Apparently not.
Annabelle’s first priority was making sure Colt got every penny owed to him. She couldn’t be her father’s keeper and worry about his actions. “Once I get the house paid off, do you think I could continue to work for you until I find something else?”
Putting her pride aside was a bitter pill to swallow. The timing of her question was beyond tacky, but she had no shame at this point. She’d slept with her boss...what was the protocol?
“There’s always work to be done on the ranch,” he replied easily. “But I figured you’d want to take some time off to be with your girls.”
Her girls. Yeah, they were hers. She’d come to think of them as her own and obviously Colt saw that, as well. And sure, in an ideal world where she wasn’t broke she could take time off to spend with her family, but these weren’t exactly typical circumstances.
“I’ve got too many bills to take time off.”
Silence settled between them before he spoke up again. “Your father is gambling again, isn’t he?”
Instantly, tears clogged her throat. She didn’t want the world to know her father couldn’t keep it together for his family. She despised that he was seen as weak and she resented having to clean up his messes. But the reality was, he had an addiction and she couldn’t heal him.
“He took some money from my purse,” she muttered, hating how saying those words made her heart ache—hating even more that she had to face the cold reality. “We argued about it this morning.”
Great. She’d shared her body with him and now she felt it necessary to open her heart. She didn’t want Colt, or anyone else, to know the details of her father’s downfall.
She stole a glance at him, noticing his white-knuckled grip on the reins, the firm set of his jaw.
“Anyway, I’ve just got more on my plate than I’d hoped for,” she went on. “But don’t keep me at Pebblebrook out of pity. I’d rather be broke. Besides, I’m sure there are several places in town that are hiring. I worked at an upscale bakery before, so if I could do something along those lines, that would be—”
“You’ll stay on at Pebblebrook as long as you want.”
His low, commanding tone silenced her. Okay, then. At least that was something. It wasn’t the position she dreamed of, but it paid and Colt understood her need to be near Emily and Lucy. If she could just get her bearings and keep her head above water, maybe she’d see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And maybe she’d quit thinking in cheesy clichés, as well.
“Tell me about your brothers,” she threw out there. With all the intensity of the day, Annabelle needed normal. Just a simple conversation.
“I know their professions, but why don’t they want to be cowboys like you?”
She kept her eyes on the horizon. Pasture as far as the eye could see. In the distance, the tip of the main barn near Colt’s house guided their direction.
“Nolan loves the ranch,” Colt stated. “He’s swamped with the hospital and he’s always taking on more shifts. But he helps where he can.”
“You have to be pretty proud of what all of your brothers have accomplished. And I’m sure they’re proud of you for keeping all of this running so flawlessly. It’s the greatest ranch I’ve ever seen.”
Colt laughed. “I am proud, but it wasn’t that long ago you were bashing me and praising them for being nicer and giving back to society.”
A sliver of guilt spiraled through her. But, in her defense, that was before she’d developed feelings for Colt.
Oh, no. She was falling for her boss. Was boss even the correct term? Landlord? Virginity taker?
Regardless of the l
abel, Annabelle’s emotions were calling the shots and now she’d gone and slept with the man. But she wouldn’t have been intimate with him if she didn’t care for him. And she was starting to care. A lot.
“I think what you’ve done here at Pebblebrook is amazing.”
His thigh brushed against hers as they rode side by side. “I can’t take the credit for something my grandfather started and my father carried on.”
“No, but you can take credit for keeping up the tradition and loving this land and these animals like they deserve.”
She squinted against the sun and tried not to let that random touch throw her off. It was rather difficult to ride back to work like he hadn’t just removed her wall of defense and changed her life. No matter what happened at the end of their agreement, or how long she stayed on at Pebblebrook, Colt Elliott would always be her first lover.
“If I owned this land, I’d never want to leave,” she added. “It’s so peaceful, so perfect.”
“That’s why I’m here,” he told her. “I travel to get away, but I’m always eager to come back home.”
As they neared the barn, Annabelle wondered how she was going to be productive when her body still tingled. He’d blatantly told her that their encounter was not a onetime thing. Fine by her because she was more than ready to have that strong body pressed to hers again. When she’d pictured her first experience she’d been married, in a bed, wearing some sexy lingerie she’d purchased for just that occasion.
Instead, she’d been deliciously ravaged on a riverbank before her first cup of coffee.
“I like that smile on your face.”
Colt’s statement pulled her from her thoughts, and made her realize she had indeed been smiling.
“Makes me think you and I are both having the same thoughts,” he added.
“I’m sure we are,” she agreed with a slight laugh. “But right now I need to work so I can pay off the rest of my house. So, what are we getting into today?”
Colt’s expression sobered. “Actually, I need to run an errand. I’m going to have you take it fairly easy today and clean out the stalls. I’ll have Ryan pull down the extra hay from the loft.”
Twin Secrets (Mills & Boon Desire) (The Rancher’s Heirs 01) Page 12