Western Homestead Love (Trilogy Bundle)

by Hart, Melissa F.

  Erin told him the story, and he reached for his gun. “You didn’t kill it?”

  She shook her head. “I tried, but I was trying to keep the horses from taking off too. It was a disaster.”

  His forehead pulled into a frown. “Do you believe me yet?”

  Frustration surged up in Erin. Tonight had been emotional and now Matt was back, piling on even more. She fisted her hands and planted them on her hips. “I can handle this!”

  Matt took a step back. “Obviously you can’t. You haven’t even been here a day and something’s already gone wrong.”

  “Something always goes wrong. That’s life.”

  Matt eased forward and lifted a gentle hand to her shoulder. “Honey, out here wrong gets you dead.”

  She shrugged off his touch, all too aware of where each fingerprint had rested against her shirt. The heat of his hand still radiated onto her skin. She liked having him here, but admitting that made her feel weak. She’d been on her own for years, and this wasn’t the time to start getting soft. “Thank you for bringing my horses, and your opinion is noted. Please leave.”

  Matt lowered his hand but stepped closer, pressing into her space until she had to tip her head back to look at him. “I can appreciate your willfulness, and your need to do this on your own, but you’re in my town, and that makes you my responsibility.” His voice was low, but stern. “I left you once because you asked me. I’m not leaving again.”

  They stared at each other, and a strange feeling stirred deep in Erin’s belly. No one had wanted to protect her just for the sake of protecting her for a long time. That was what this felt like. Granted he was using words like “responsibility,” but she still felt like he wanted to make sure she stayed safe. She didn’t know how to respond to that. Part of her wanted to let him help but another part knew that relying on someone else to watch over her and her property could lead down a dangerous path that would leave her far worse off.

  While they stared at each other, the horses fidgeted and Matt’s hand moved uneasily toward the pack. A howl split the tension, and Erin jumped.

  Matt’s arms instinctively flew out, pulling her behind him. One hand dropped to his gun and he had it unholstered and pointed into the night before Erin could peek around his massive body.

  She couldn’t see anything, just like last time, and that made ignoring the heat of his hand on the small of her back nearly impossible. Her chest smashed against his broad back and a warm wave of his masculine scent washed over her. A spark of desire mingled with the adrenaline coursing through her body. Matt’s insistence at protecting her had unearthed physical feelings she’d long ago buried. Her arms were rigid at her sides, and it took every ounce of self-control to keep from wrapping them around him.

  “I’m staying.”

  “Yes.” Erin grimaced at the breathlessness in her voice. She briskly stepped away and tended to the horses, tying them close to the fire this time. Matt cleared his throat, adjusted his pants, which she was determined not to notice, and pulled his bedroll off the back of his saddle.

  Horses tended to, they stood awkwardly for a moment, watching each other. Erin reassembled her bedroll. There wasn’t really a way for them to not sleep close together with the horses taking up the entire other side of the fire. She straightened hers to lie just outside the rocks where she’d stay warm, and Matt settled his right beside. Erin averted her eyes, disappointed in her body’s reaction to his bed so close. Her nipples puckered and a warm nest of tingles settled in her belly.

  Kneeling on her bed, she set her gun and hat at the head of her bedroll and Matt did the same with his hat, but left his gun in its holster at his hip. She hoped none of the weapons from that area of his belt were going off tonight and couldn’t keep her gaze from shifting to the area of her thoughts. From this angle, she was eye level with his entire package and her mouth went dry at the large, unmistakable bulge in his pants. Tonight’s episode had clearly gotten his emotions and adrenaline in a tangle too. Her mouth went dry, and she crawled beneath her covers without looking at him and turned toward the fire.

  Her ears refused to ignore every rustle of his own bed a few inches behind her, and she envisioned the long line of his legs as he tucked them into his roll and the curve of his arms as he rested his head on them for a pillow. Erin needed her body to stop being so aware of him or she was never going to get some sleep.

  “G’night, Miss Wisecomb.”

  “Thank you for staying. Good night, Sheriff.” The fact that they’d resorted to formalities made Erin wonder if he was feeling the tension between them too. Her body was nearly quivering on the overload of having him so close by. Even though she hadn’t admitted it before this very moment, there was no denying how incredibly handsome he was, but there was more to him that attracted her—his caring nature, his gentleness with the animals, his need to protect. Obviously as sheriff of a tiny homesteading town, protecting people was just part of who he was.

  She needed to remember that and stop getting all doe-eyed about his treatment of her. He probably would have done the same if she was an old man or a newly married couple.

  The wolf howled again and she jumped, caught off guard by her wandering thoughts. That was a good way to get killed.

  Matt’s arm wrapped around her and pulled her closer. He cinched her tight against his body, and she was more than a little distraught to feel how well they fit together. His arm rested beneath her breasts, and his strong thighs pressed into the backs of hers. She tried to keep her bottom away from his holster but to do that she had to arch her back uncomfortably.

  His soft voice was warm against her ear. “I don’t think he’ll come back tonight, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

  That was the stupidest reason in the world to let his arm stay around her, but Erin didn’t want to tell him to remove it. It felt so good to be held. Never mind that she was ramrod stiff, but the feeling and arousal coursing through her body was nearly enough to send her straight to the moon. Oh my, he felt deliriously good.

  “Okay.” She bit her lip and tried to focus on the horses’ legs on the far side of the flames. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and her thighs were slick with the need to feel more of him pressed against her. She’d never been so aroused in her entire lift. Her nipples were so tight that if he moved his hand just a few inches, he’d feel the hard nubs where they were nearly poking through her shirt.

  He shifted and her bottom brushed against his gun. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to rub against him to see if that had perhaps been some other hard weapon he might willingly unholster. She hadn’t been touched or held in so long that this was nearly enough to drive her out of her mind. He was so strong and safe. Letting him stay had been a horribly bad idea.

  “Relax, Erin. Nothing’s going to hurt you while I’m here.”

  She wasn’t entirely sure that was true. Right now he held a ridiculous amount of power over her and her body. The feelings and desires he’d unleashed in her were building so forcefully that she had no idea how to control them. With a simple gesture, he’d undone years of careful and controlled thoughts and dismissed, unmet needs.

  Erin wanted things from him. Lots of things. Bad things.

  Chapter Four

  Matt’s hand shifted and rubbed slow circles across Erin’s belly. “Relax,” he crooned. Up and down, his hand traveled in a caress over her curves. Each circle widened ever so slightly, brushing upward against her breasts and down nearly to her belly button. She wanted to squirm and move with him, but she didn’t dare. He was probably treating her like he would any scared child who needed soothing. This was just him doing his job as sheriff.

  She bit her lip and tried to relax, but if she did, her bottom would fall back against him and she wasn’t altogether certain that would help her relax one bit. But she wanted to feel him. Wanted to have him pressed fully against her, even if it drove her slowly out of her mind while he touched her. She was going to make him stop. Any second
now.

  His breath tickled her ear, and Erin had to bite back the moan. She was sure he was just settling into sleep and she was making a huge deal out of it. She needed to get her body back under control. Fast.

  She drew in a slow measured breath and forced her body to relax. It melted against Matt’s, and he inhaled sharply. Her full bottom pressed into his hips and the hardness of him pressed into her pillowy flesh. She might as well not have pants on and their two bedrolls seemed to no longer exist.

  His hand stilled on her belly, and Erin held her breath. Was he going to take it away now that their bodies were seamlessly joined? He probably should, but she didn’t want him to. Ever. She wanted him to move it over her entire body and had to fist her own hands to keep from guiding his to her aching nipples.

  She slowly exhaled, shifting her skin beneath his hand so it traveled gently while her ribs moved up and down with each breath. His fingertip brushed a button and her breath caught again. Even if it was only for one night, she wanted to feel his skin against hers. Needed it. One night. What would it hurt if she let herself give into her needs for one night?

  Matt flicked her button open, in a movement so swift she didn’t realize how he’d done it. Her sex clenched and her nipples puckered so tight she nearly moaned. If he didn’t touch her, she was going to die from the rush of arousal. Another button, then another.

  Erin couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think of anything else but the anticipation of his fingers against her skin. His hand slid inside her shirt, and she gasped. First, he repeated the slow circle over her belly, but this time she couldn’t hold still, and her body moved with him, begging him for more. Ripples of desire played across her skin, like his every touch was a pebble in the deep pool of her desire.

  The rough scratch of his calloused hands felt amazing on her skin and electrified every nerve ending. When he swept them higher and cupped her full breast, Erin moaned. He pressed his hips into hers and she arched her back, nearly driving his erection through her pants. She wanted—needed to be naked so she could swallow his massive cock between the swells of her cheeks.

  He pinched her nipple and rolled it between her fingers. She couldn’t believe she was letting him touch her like this, but there was no stopping her need. Her hand slipped out of her bedroll, and she reached behind her to grab his hips.

  He growled and pumped against her. “Erin.”

  She needed his touch. Just for tonight. Just one night in the darkness to be held and cuddled and cherished. That would be enough to get her through all the cold, dark, lonely nights that awaited her.

  The fire crackled and bloomed higher, mimicking the heat in her body. The horses relaxed and their heads drooped. All was right in the world for this moment. Erin didn’t need to take care of anyone. Not right now.

  Matt made quick work of the rest of the buttons and the cool night air bathed her skin, a wildly erotic contrast to the fiery heat of Matt’s warm hand. He beaded her nipples and tugged them, pulling them gently then releasing them only to tease them again. Erin moaned and pushed back into him, needing far more than the single touch of his hands.

  She rolled onto her back and bit her lips as his hand stalled and his face reddened beneath the fiery glow of the flames.

  “I’m sorry—”

  He started to take his hand from her breast, but she trapped it beneath her own. “I’m a grown woman, Matt. I could have stopped you if I wanted you to stop.” She stared at him and refused to break his gaze or let him look away. “Please don’t stop.”

  He lowered his forehead to hers, and his warm breath came in heavy gasps. “I shouldn’t have stayed. I’ve never—”

  “I’m glad you did.” She lifted her hand to his jaw, savoring the feel of his prickly beard beneath her palm.

  His eyes opened, and he searched her face. While he worked through the situation, Erin played with the buttons of his shirt, unsnapping the first three and slipping her hands inside. He inhaled sharply and clenched his teeth. “Are you sure?”

  “Very,” Erin purred as her hands spanned his chest. He was a man who was no stranger to hard work and his body was sculpted by long, hard days on the land. His muscles filled her hands and she slid his shirt over his shoulders, revealing more lean curves that she wanted to run her fingers and tongue over.

  Matt rearranged their beds until their bodies were together beneath a single cover. It was a tight space, but that made the intoxicating feel of his body all the more powerful. Erin slid her own shirt off, gasping at the feel of his naked chest against hers. Their stomachs slid together and Matt moved between her legs.

  His dark head moved lower, and he took her breast in his mouth. She arched her back and her hands flew to his hair. He drew her nipple deep into his mouth, swirling his tongue over the tight bud and cupping the other with his hand. Her short nails scraped across his scalp, and she tried to slow her need. This had to last her for so many nights from now. Tonight was all she had.

  His hard cock pressed against her wet, throbbing sex. She wanted him so badly and her hips moved against him, creating a furious friction. Her orgasm built and crested higher, threatening to speed her along to another moon. She held onto him while he loved her breasts. First one, then the other. Her hands roamed over his body, cupping his shoulders, his biceps, pleasuring the strength and the heat of him.

  Their hips moved together, and Erin couldn’t keep hers from speeding up. She wanted him inside her. Needed to feel him deep, deep.

  Matt kissed his way up to her neck, suckled her earlobes and breathed warm air over her ears, igniting a new fire that she’d never experienced. Her body craved more, needed more. Her hips pumped greedily against him and he met her, thrust for thrust. Erin’s orgasm built until she felt like every cell was on the verge of exploding into the night air.

  She wanted more than sex though. She wanted to taste every inch of him. Wanted the fullness of his cock against her lips, wanted it filling her mouth until she couldn’t take another inch. She wanted him to stretch every part of her until the darkness didn’t exist anymore. She wanted him everywhere. Sex in the way she knew it wouldn’t be enough to chase away the shadows. Erin knew that Matt could expose her darkest corners and shine this building explosion into every space her body could hold.

  She pushed up and rolled them closer to the fire until she straddled him. The thickness of his cock pushed up against her and Erin couldn’t breathe, couldn’t take anything into her body other than the feel of his cock straining against the fabric that separated their bodies. Naked from the waist up, she threw her head back and cupped her own breasts. Matt gripped her waist and pumped against her, building the friction until Erin thought they could outshine the moon.

  Up and up he pressed into her. She needed him in her somewhere, and she didn’t care where. She tried to slide off him, making him groan loudly and tighten his hold on her waist. She lifted his fingers and drew one into her mouth. His eyes flew open and she settled his other hand on her breast. In and out, she sucked his finger hard, tasting the salt and earth and savoring the newness of him. Her tongue worked feverishly against the bottom of his finger while her mouth sucked him deep down her throat. She took another finger, making him moan and drive his hips into her.

  Erin’s fingers slid to the buckle of his pants and while her mouth worked on his hands, she slid off him and let her fingers release the fly. His hand tightened on her breast.

  “What do we have here?”

  The unmistakable cock of a weapon yanked Erin’s head up as Matt tumbled her to the side and grabbed for his gun.

  “Hold it right there, Sheriff.” Two men stood on the far side of the camp, hidden between the shadows of the horses who still dozed away so close to the warm heat of the fire.

  Matt froze, his hand only inches from the handle of his shotgun where he’d laid it. In their passion, they’d rolled a few feet away, leaving both of them weaponless.

  Erin couldn’t believe neither she, nor Matt, nor the horse
s had heard the approach of the gunmen. Both held guns trained on her and Matt and she had no idea how they were going to get out of this. Matt kept her shielded from view, but who knew how long the men had been watching their display. She frantically searched the folds of their rolls for her shirt. She found it beneath Matt’s shoulder and quickly tugged it on, her fingers fumbling with the buttons as she tried to slip them through the openings in a hurry.

  Erin gasped as the fire glinted off Matt’s waist and the holster of his other gun. From behind him, she could almost ease her hand forward without being seen by the intruders. She lifted her head just enough to figure out where the men stood and if she could hit them without taking out one of the horses.

  “Don’t even think about it.” A deep voice behind her made her stiffen with age-old anxiety. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. Her family wasn’t supposed to find her. She’d done everything right.

  Everything except let herself believe that she could ever truly escape.

  The hard barrel of a gun jammed into her back. “Get up.”

  She scrambled upright. “Don’t hurt him. He was only trying to help me out. I’ll come willingly.”

  Matt eased into a sitting position and looked like he was trying to keep his attention on all the weapons pointed at them. Was there a way she could distract the men so he could draw his gun?

  “Erin, I’ll handle this.” Matt kept his hands high, but his jaw was set in a stern slant. She couldn’t believe that she’d gotten him into this mess. She thought for sure that they’d never try to track her down. She’d truly believed that this was far enough outside their clutches. She glanced over at her uncle and glared at the cruel set of his mouth. He’d probably done this without orders from anyone. He’d probably done it just to show her that he could and that nowhere was beyond his reach.

  Erin sighed. “Matt, this is my uncle and his men. They’ve come to take me home.”

  Matt jumped up, startling her uncle. “Over my dead body.”