by Lacey Silks
“I’m going to ask this once, Cowboy,” she said in a stern voice. For a moment I wasn’t sure whether she was playing or not, and I decided to treat her tone seriously.
“All right.”
“Have you ever had a girl in your barn? In this barn?” she asked.
I wondered for a moment where the question was coming from, and it didn’t take me long to figure out the culprit.
“No, Emma. I haven’t,” I said.
She looked at me for a moment as if her eyes held the power of a lie-detector test, and said, “I want to be the first one in here, Eric. I want to be the only one you have here.”
I stepped toward her, kneeling down in front of her, right between her legs. “Emma, I want that too, but I don’t want to hurt you.”
I thought about the secrets I was keeping from her. The fact that, as blessed as I’d been for Hunter to call me and tell me about Emma, I wished I had just run into her on my own. I didn’t want her thinking that her brothers’ meddling was the reason we met each other.
“What do you mean?” She squeezed my torso with her thighs, causing the jean fabric to writhe against her flesh and my cock to spasm in response.
“There’s no one else in the world I want more here than you. This” – I looked around the barn – “to me is a long term commitment. Once I fuck you here, you’re mine forever, Emma. I. Claim. You. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
She nodded, a more confident smile finding its way to her mouth. Was it possible that she felt the same way about me? I could see the honesty in her eyes. I could see her giving me her soul and crossing over from whatever had troubled her before we’d met. A past had been laid to rest, layers of pain she’d lived with had been crossed off one by one.
“I. Want. You,” she said. “And everything that you come with. Your past, your present, and your future. I want to make you happy.”
“What about your family?”
“They will remain my family.”
“And your job?”
“I have a feeling I could find one here.” She lowered her hands to around my neck, pulling me in closer.
“Emma… there’s something you need to know.”
“Tell me later, Eric.” Her mouth pressed to mine, and my thoughts disappeared. I drew my hands up along her inner thighs until my fingers reached her soft flesh, pulling along her outer lips that spilled from the thin crotch, feeling her wetness slick her for me.
She moaned into my mouth and I pulled away, reaching for the blanket hanging on a side post. I spread it over a hay cube, picked Emma up, and lay her over the stack on her front, right on the fabric, her knees down on the floor and ass poking up, all ready for me. With one swift move I removed her shorts, baring her for me. Emma had nothing on underneath, and I fought the urge to dive into her right then. I fumbled with the brassiere, unclasping the little hooks that ran down her spine, and finally gave up and simply reached in front of her and lowered it off her breasts so that I could get a taste of her softness as she leaned her upper body back up toward me. Her nipple pebbled in my mouth and I licked around its rim, tasting every perfect imperfection.
Her back arched and she reached back for my jeans. I helped her pull them off my hips. Thank God I’d worn the loose ones, as I wasn’t sure that with my straining erection she could have completed the task otherwise. Trailing my mouth to her shoulder blade, I kissed her upper back, feeling my cock rest against her perfect round ass. She leaned back again, kissing me, breathing seductively into my mouth, “Fuck me, Eric. I need you to fuck me here.”
I claimed her lips and thrust into her slick opening with ease, jutting her forward.
“Ah!” she screamed.
“Too hard?” I asked, knowing so well that it wasn’t enough for what we both needed.
“No.” She shook her head as I plunged in again, feeling her full depth.
“Emma, you’re so wet, baby.”
“Aha.” Her soft moan floated into my lungs as I pushed my hips in and out of her, feeling her squeeze around me and take me deeper as her back arched lower pushing her ass up. She grasped the blanket at the front, holding on for her life as I pounded into her over and over again, thinking, You’re mine, Emma. Forever.
My hand drew down her hip and to her front, rubbing her swelling clit. The dampness squishing out of her lubricated both me and her. I flicked her nub, making a note to taste it afterward. There was nothing better than feeling her blood-infused flesh in my mouth, cramping and spasming until she found her release. I could already tell she was close from her body language, heavy breaths and the Fuck and Please that left her mouth every few seconds.
“I’m gonna cum, Emma.”
She whispered, “Yes.” And with her permission I spilled insider her, just as her body began shaking underneath me while bending over more to ensure I could drain myself fully at the sight of her giving her entire body to me. She was so beautiful.
When we both finally stopped moving, she breathed out, “Unbelievable.”
“Not yet,” I said, slipping out of her and flipping her onto her back and spreading her knees apart.
“What are you doing?” she laughed.
“We’re not done yet, baby. Didn’t anyone tell you that you’re not coming out of here until the sun sets?”
“Well, then, I should have started this the moment it rose,” she said. “You have some catching up to do.”
“Exactly.” With that last word, I dove into her still swollen pussy, tasting us both on her flesh.
“Oh, God!” she screamed.
I drew my tongue from the bottom up, all along her wetness, until I reached her pulsing tip and closed my lips around her. I could already feel her ass tightening in my palms as I held her steady.
Sucking on her flavors, I slid my fingers inside her, hooking them and rubbing her inner wall until her hips flew forward and she fully pressed herself to me. I flicked my tongue back and forth on the growing nub in my mouth, my saliva and her fluids all over my chin and around my lips, devouring her whole. Her hands grasped my hair, holding on. The spasm came quickly as her legs straightened and she let out a scream. “Eric!”
After a few more licks I pulled away, her spent body falling down onto the bale. Lifting her into my arms I carried her half-naked body out of the barn, unconcerned that I was wearing my birthday suit as well.
“I thought you said we’d be here until sunset,” she breathed against my chest, and I stopped.
“You’re the lady of this house from now on, Emma. You make the rules, and I’m pretty sure you’d prefer the bed over the barn. Your choice.”
She looked up into my eyes and said, “Bed, please.”
She snuggled back into my arms. There was no better feeling than having a woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with so satisfied. And I could only hope she’d feel the same way after I told her the truth about why she happened to get my case.
CHAPTER 22
Emma
I’d kept Eric away from his chores for most of the day as we made love throughout the house, each time choosing a different room. By the time evening came, my stomach was grumbling.
“Where did you get those muffins?” I asked.
“Claire brought them over. I have a feeling you may have met my ex in town.”
“Aha, I met her, all right.”
“So I see she got to you?”
I shook my head. “No, she didn’t get to me. But she did make a point of saying that I wouldn’t last here much longer.”
Eric took me onto his lap. Because he was wearing only his boxers, I could feel his legs underneath my ass. My panties and his over-sized shirt on my body didn’t provide much of a barrier between us.
“Emma, I want you to stay with me. I mean it. But I know how much your job and your family mean to you. I could never ask you to leave that behind.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, because I’ve met them, and you’re so good at what you do.”<
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“No, I mean, why do you want me to stay?” I whispered, wondering if it was at all possible that Eric had fallen for me as hard as I had for him. It wasn’t until I spoke with Mrs. Gladden in town that I realized I was feeling so guilty over David because my feelings for Eric had grown to the enormity of what I’d felt for my first boyfriend – and even beyond.
“I… I just do. I want you with me, at this ranch. What I feel for you is nothing I’ve had before. Never. You’re my woman. You’re my everything.”
Why couldn’t he say it? Was it so difficult for him to say he loved me? What if he didn’t? What if I had fallen for a man who couldn’t reciprocate what I felt for him?
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“Aah, I guess I do.”
“You guess?”
“I do. I trust you.”
Eric reached to the couch where I’d left my scarf and with a smug grin said, “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“And how do you know what I’m thinking?”
“Because I know you. But we can postpone that thought for another time, I promise.”
I sighed, wondering what he’d planned now and noting how swiftly he had changed the topic.
“Close your eyes.”
I obeyed as he tied the silk around my eyes, reducing the room to darkness. As soon as my sight was taken away, all my other senses heightened. The crackling fireplace echoed as if it had been burning for hours, not minutes, consuming much more space than the pit. The smell of the bubbling dinner still in the crock pot filled my nostrils, and Eric’s touch on my hand warmed my entire body in an instant. When he gently leaned over and I felt his breath on my face, I couldn’t help but smile. He lowered his lips to mine, kissing me ever so gently. I tasted the remnants of wine on his lips as my body yielded to him, letting him embrace me tighter and hold me. His shaft hardened underneath me as I wiggled my ass.
“I like where this is going,” I whispered.
“It doesn’t take much to please you, does it?”
I shrugged.
“There’s a part of this home I haven’t shown you yet, and I’d love to do so now.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s a hidden gem. Come.” He lifted me off him but held me tightly around my waist.
I leaned into him, letting him guide me with small steps, trusting his hold. “There’s a table on your left. Be careful. Right there, that’s it. You’re doing great, Emma,” he cooed into my ear as he led me.
Few moments later a light squeak of hinges resonated from above and I heard Eric’s strained breath as he seemed to reach for something. A rolling noise was next, and it sounded like the entire ceiling fell off right onto the floor, which of course I knew couldn’t have happened. A slight smell of dust and wood intensified, camouflaged by an odd freshness.
“You’re going to take twelve steps up. They’re very steep. I’ll hold onto you from behind so you don’t fall.”
“You just want to look at my ass.”
“That too,” he laughed. “I guess some responsibilities come with an advantage.” Eric gently slapped my backside, whispering into my ear, “First step right in front of you.”
“I didn’t know this house had a staircase.”
“I wouldn’t call it a staircase.”
“Which must mean we’re going to the attic.”
“Perceptive, but no. Up you go.”
What?
I took my second step and Eric was correct. They were quite high. He held onto my hips from behind, steadying my stance. His warm breath caressed my lower back. I tried to reach to the side but there was nothing to grasp and I lost my balance for a moment.
“I’ve got you. You’re okay, Emma. Three more to go.”
A floral scent with a hint of dust filled me.
“Last one, and then you can walk forward.”
I listened to his instructions, feeling the surface underneath my feet change when I reached the top of wherever we were going. I was still convinced we were in an attic, but when the fresh country air slammed into me, as if I were outside, I gasped. Where were we? I knew there were no balconies on the house.
“OK, are you ready?”
“Yes,” I said with anticipation.
Eric removed the scarf from my eyes, and I couldn’t believe where he’d taken me. At first, it was difficult to get my bearings. We stood at what seemed like the top of the roof. The dark night was illuminated by the twinkling universe above. My head jolted up, taking in the millions of stars in the sky, which looked close enough to fall on us, as if we’d lifted off Earth and traveled at least half way through our atmosphere.
“Eric, this is beautiful.” I turned back to see that there was, in fact, an attic behind us. We were at the edge of a huge gap which opened up to the roof. The flaps had been flipped onto the shingles on the side. Eric guided me a step further.
“OK, be careful, but if you go over the hump, there will be a more level area there.”
He guided me toward a landing of sorts, slightly tilted to let the water run off. The willow tree in the back obscured the view of this secret hideaway. I sat down on the ready blanket, crossing my legs and leaning on my hands. My head tilted back, and I looked up to the sky above us. This view was breathtaking. Millions of stars above us and the universe what seemed like within reach.
“You said you were hungry.” Eric began unloading food from a basket at the side.
“When did you get this ready?”
“While you were in the shower.”
“I was wondering why you didn’t jump in.” It was rare that Eric could resist joining me while I bathed.
“Now you’re making me wish I had.” I saw him adjust his straining boxers. His scarred brow lifted, adding a spark of hunger to his eyes.
“The night is young,” I laughed digging into the delicious stew he’d prepared.
“And your spirit is contagious. Are you ready for tomorrow?” he asked.
“I hope so. Should I be expecting Claire to make a claim on you?”
“I’m already spoken for, but yes, I wouldn’t put it past her to try to get under your skin.”
“She’s already said you had her in the barn.”
“Oh, Emma. Is that why you… today?” He sat there with his mouth open.
“Partly. I guess I was jealous. I’m sorry. But I still wanted you there. Are you mad?” Sometimes, placing so much emphasis onto the barn sex, I thought I sounded silly. After all, there were much more comfortable places to make love than that.
“No, of course not. There is no one else in the world I wanted to share this with. I’m just sorry you had to listen to her lying mouth. Yes, I’d had her in a barn when we dated, but not that one. For her to say that… I swear I’m gonna…”
“You’re not going to do anything. I don’t blame any woman who swoons over you. It’s your own fault for being so sexy and giving.”
“Sexy?” He tackled me to the floor of the roof, kissing me.
Our bodies entwined with each other, his thigh resting comfortably in the apex of my crotch, gently pressing in, lifting me into his arms. His warmth penetrated my skin, reviving my need. I grasped his arms, holding on, savoring his mouth, feeling like I could kiss him like this until sunrise.
“I visited Mrs. Gladden today,” I said, pulling away.
He regarded me from above. “That’s a big step, Em.”
“Yeah, it helped. She helped. You know, the people in this town, for the most part, are lovely.”
“They really are.”
“I’m also done my work here.”
I felt Eric still above me before he rolled to the side.
“All right, what does that mean?”
“It means that until I get a new ping on Huntz, I’m pretty free.”
“Ping?” he asked.
“My assistant is tracking his banking activity and credit movement. He operates with cash, for the most part, withdrawing and depositing money every fe
w months.”
“What will you do if you get it?”
“I’ll go find him.” I raised my finger. “And before you argue against it, I’ll take Hunter.”
I saw Eric flinch when I mentioned Grace’s boyfriend.
“He works undercover at Cross Enterprises and does some computer forensics. And he’s dating my best friend, so you have nothing to worry about. I actually set them up together. Grace texted me that his workload has eased, and he’d be perfect to come with me. Don’t worry. He’s quite capable of handling bad guys, Eric.”
“Maybe you should drop the case, Emma,” he said, lowering his head.
“No way. I can feel I’m getting closer. It’s an instinct. I can’t explain it.”
“That worries me.”
“Yeah, but Huntz has no clue who I am. There’s no reason why he’d go after me.”
I saw him finally exhale. “Just let me know when it happens. Please?”
“Of course.”
“All right. Now where were we?” His mouth lifted into a grin and he leaned in, forcing me to lie down on my back. Eric hovered above me, his beautifully bright eyes resembling the stars.
“You were about to tell me downstairs why you want me on your farm.”
“I don’t remember that.” He kissed my lips.
“You’re stalling.”
“With you underneath me, all hot and wanton, it’s difficult to concentrate.”
“I’m the wanton one?”
“Aren’t you?”
Of course I was, but so was he, and he’d changed the subject again, raising his arms to reach underneath his head, making those muscles underneath his arms widen. I lay on his chest, looking up into the sky as the stars twinkled above us. As I admired a cluster of stars, Eric lifted his hand above us both. A necklace with a sparkling horseshoe dangled on his finger. “For you, to remind you of me and tonight and the farm.”
I held my breath, watching the sparkles around the trinket sparkle in the dim light.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you, but you know I could never forget you.”
“That’s good, Em, because I certainly wouldn’t forget you.”
There was an awkward silence between us, as if each of us wanted to say more but didn’t know how to do so.