Can't Resist a Cowboy (10 page)

Her eyes flashed. “The ranch, for instance. I come home to find out you basically own it.”

“I did it for you. Jesus, Carrie, do you think I’d let your childhood home go to auction? The minute I was able to get my feet on the floor and stand up without a fucking walker, I was determined to come to you. To find you, to
see you again
. Then I found out about the ranch, and I figured…maybe you’d see how sorry I am.”

He brought her to his chest. Wetness pooled where his fingers cupped her jaw. Trembling, she sank into his body. Emotions pumped through him, bouncing and colliding with each other. The closer he got to her, the more everything faded down to the simple realization that he’d stepped right back in love with her. With greedy hands, he pulled Carrie fully into his lap. Her legs went around his hips.

She was warm and vibrant in his arms. Little kisses trailed over her hair until they met the skin of her temple. His fingers skimmed behind her left ear until they disappeared into her hair, his lips dotting her forehead with adoring kisses.

“I never stopped caring about you, Sunshine. I learned to push it away, but it was always there, with each breath.”

Her hands smoothed over his chest until she met the hem of his shirt and lightly tugged it up. He hissed a breath as she touched his ribs beneath the fabric and leaned close to his ear.

“Show me.”

Chapter Sixteen

She hoped Levi would throw her onto her back and rip her shirt open. That’s what the pure lust running through her craved. Instead, he placed a soft kiss on her lips before he drew back.

Taking his hand, Carrie took a short breath to slow her racing nerves before placing his palm on her breast. Seemed a lifetime ago, or maybe someone else’s lifetime, that they’d been seventeen and Levi had laid her down inside the barn, tucked into a corner of the hayloft, on thick blankets like the ones he’d brought tonight.

She’d fumbled; he’d soothed. Those hours they’d spent in each other’s arms that first time, and all the times after, were safe, comfortable, perfect; exquisite—and nothing she’d experienced since had matched.

Levi straightened, with one hand on her lower back. He pushed her forward, his lips finding her neck to trail firm kisses over her skin as her hips slid forward until they were locked together. Hips to hips, chest to chest. The fire crackled, sending up a flare of sparkling embers as their lips met. The first kiss was gentle but quickly changed as Levi cradled the back of her head, tipping her to the side so his mouth could devour hers completely.

He meshed their lips with long, hard, nearly bruising pressure that balanced between raw and controlled. Meeting her tongue with his, he explored her mouth as he softened the kiss, giving her a blip of needy panic that he would restrain himself. She didn’t want restraint. She wanted his raw passion—all that heat and strength and pure power that had always emanated from him, but he’d rarely displayed with her.

Maybe he didn’t feel as powerful anymore—maybe she needed to remind him he was still strong; perfect and everything she’d always desired.

“I’m not fragile,” she rushed. His kiss turned fierce, his fingers tugging at the buttons of her shirt. When that proved too slow, he nudged her arms up and pulled it over her head. Still damp from the waterfall, her bra clung to her breasts
.
The warmth of his hands soaked through the wet fabric, making her shudder.

Carrie leaned into his touch, closed her eyes to better absorb each sensation as Levi lowered one bra strap, his fingers drawing lazily down her shoulder. Turning to the other side, he did the same, leaving perfect rows of heat where each finger imprinted into her skin.

Levi pulled her into another kiss as his hands looped around her to unfasten the bra. His lips marked a path down the side of her throat while his touch hovered over her breasts—stealing her breath in anticipation and longing. Just when she was about to vocalize her need, he slid a hand to her hip and leaned her back, cupping her left breast, his mouth closing over the rigid peak.

Carrie arched, forcing her hips forward so her pelvis leaned into his hard length. The simultaneous sensation of his hard erection and soft mouth nearly paralyzed her with need. It had been eons since she’d been touched, or even wanted to be. That it was happening now with the man who’d repeatedly haunted her fantasies was almost too much for her brain to process. Her insides quivered with anticipation, like being afraid of heights but standing close to the ledge…waiting for the moment your eyes close and you lean forward and simply fly.

She pulled up the hem of his shirt, urging him back enough to yank it up and over his head. The warmth of Levi’s chest saturated every inch of her torso against his as he brought her to him. He devoured her mouth, his hands gliding up and down her back. And then he was urging her up, letting their kiss meet and linger as long as possible before she stood.

He found the button on her shorts, hooking his thumbs in the waistband, panties included, and yanked them down. “Girl, the only thing I want to see on you is tan lines.” The cool air that washed over her belly and thighs had a short life span as Levi grabbed her hips and pulled her back over his lap. She straddled him, began to lower onto his lap, but a squeeze of his hands stopped her. Looking down, she noticed his gaze was slowly roaming her middle…the very center of her almost in perfect alignment with his mouth.

Anticipation and liquid heat rippled through her limbs. And then his hands smoothed over the rise of her buttocks, nails lightly raking over the backs of her thighs. Cupping her backside, he pulled her closer. Her hands found his shoulders because she needed something, anything, to support herself. As if knowing, Levi wrapped an arm beneath her bottom as his lips touched her lower belly.

Soft. One simple touch of his lips. Electricity exploded beneath that gentle touch. Quivering, desperate for more, Carrie clenched her fingers into the soft-hard flesh of his shoulders and tipped her hips so slightly, offering. Surrendering.

He caressed her hips, his fingers lightly teasing along the sensitive rise of her hip bone, to her belly button…a vertical line down…

“I don’t see any tan lines, Sunshine.” A hot stream of breath punctuated where his finger stopped just above her curls. “Maybe I need to look closer.”

She couldn’t drum up a vocal response, only a physical one—leaning into the press of his mouth when he placed a kiss. Shaking, Carrie held her breath as he brushed her curls with his fingers, his mouth touching those insane little kisses over every inch of her belly.

Panting, positive she’d never be able to stand without assistance again, Carrie fumbled with the zipper on his jeans as he rose back over her. He groaned when the fly finally fell open and she parted it wider before trying to pull the waist down. He gripped her wrist with a small shake of his head.

“Keep them on.”

Beside them, the fire crackled—a perfect echo to the desire racing through her. She wanted to see him, all of him. Nothing between them but the night air. Yet, not wanting anything to dampen the moment, she smiled and ran her hand down the length of his cock beneath his boxers. They had time to get comfortable enough to expose everything—he would, she had no doubt. And she’d accept him no matter what he had hiding under the denim, because she absolutely couldn’t fathom doing anything else.

In a swift move, she’d pulled down his boxers, freeing him completely. They both made little noises at the same time as she gripped him hard, remembering and experiencing. Before she could stroke him, Levi positioned her above him, brought her down with a softly questioning look in his eyes.

“Oh yes, baby,” she reassured him, letting him lower her, widening her legs to steady herself as he entered—slowly, but with a firm glide. As her body adjusted to him, her brain remembered how it felt to have Levi inside her. Only, this was different—fuller, more meaningful. When she had him completely, Carrie let the fog in her brain take over as pleasure tingled through every nerve path in her body, lighting her up in a way she’d never been before, making her nearly crazed in her need to have him.

She clung to him, arms around his neck, nipples brushing against the warmth of his chest as he moved, reaching a place inside her that set off a barrage of sparks each time he touched. He wasn’t stroking her clit, but it felt like he was, each upward motion pushing her closer to an orgasm. It was an illusion, a figment of her mind, something, because
this
had never happened like this before.

“Oh, God, Levi.” She moaned into his neck, fingers digging into his back. His breathing was erratic and hard, the muscles along his collarbone straining as he guided her up and down with fierce, fluid motion.

“Come on, girl, give it to me.” And then his fingers were between her legs, gently rubbing the spot that jumped to life at his touch. The simultaneous stimulation was almost too much—almost—as her body wanted to give up and just
feel
but wouldn’t allow her to stop moving. Grabbing his wrist, Carrie wanted to push his hand away, yet hold him there…edging the rim of that explosive pleasure she knew was there. If she could just fall…

“Please, Carrie Lynn.” The heady, broken plea pushed her that much closer, until she circled it, danced around it. He gently bit her shoulder, his fingers making one long, firm stroke and she went for it. Let go. Shattered in his arms.

His name flew from her lips as she crushed her chest to his, rocking her hips against his touch as his own release followed. Like he’d been waiting for her. Lost in sensation, Carrie had no idea how long they stayed like that, entwined together, breathing hard. When her skin began to cool, she looked up from his shoulder, and his arms loosened from around her.

His heavily lidded eyes crinkled at the corners. Pulling her in by the chin, Levi kissed her softly, their bodies still locked in a lazy way that made it clear neither of them was in a hurry to let the connection end. He brushed hair away from her cheeks with a reverent look, one arm cradling her hips with a strength that let her know she was secure. The way he was searching her face, though, made her think he was looking for reassurance.

How could you convey to someone that you’d never felt so gloriously alive in your entire life? That every touch, every moment, every breath had been absolute perfection? Carrie tilted her head and deepened the kiss, hoping she could display all the feelings in a way words never could. With a shuddering breath, Levi wrapped her in his arms and they clung together, the crackling fire making Carrie fuzzily aware that night had completely fallen. She smiled and let out a cleansing breath, melting into Levi’s support, her body making a sweet descent from high passion to pleasurable closeness. Let night come.

For the first time in a long while, she wasn’t afraid of the dark.

Chapter Seventeen

“Where the hell were you last night?”

Levi came down the porch steps and stopped short. His jaw tightened at the sight of his truck covered in mud, huge dried chunks clinging to the sides and caking the wheel wells. It had been well after midnight by the time he’d gotten Carrie home, sat around in a lazy glow with her tucked under his arm on the couch, and made it back to Paint River. He’d been too jacked in a post-sex high to notice his truck then.

Tucker met him on the bottom step, palms out. “I’m going to wash her right now, so settle down.” His brother’s eyes narrowed, a suggestive grin on his lips. “So, about last night…”

Levi punched his brother on the shoulder as he passed, but he couldn’t keep a grin off his own lips. Yeah, about last night. He wasn’t yet convinced it had really happened. If not for the excellent replay of Carrie’s legs around him, her body moving with his, the sounds she made, he might have believed it had been just another dream. But no dream had ever been that tangible, that exquisite.

“Why are you so worried about it?”

“Because you missed the family dinner. Too busy to check your cell phone, huh?”

Levi groaned. He’d completely forgotten his family was gathering in Missoula to celebrate his mother’s upcoming wedding. He was walking her down the aisle, for crying out loud. He should have remembered. God, she was going to kill him.

“She’s going to kill you.”

“Yeah.”

“Cole must have called you twenty times.”

“Hmmmm, yeah.” Levi pulled his neglected phone from his back pocket and turned it on. The notification light began to flash like it was having a seizure. Twenty-three messages, actually.

“I said you were getting laid and to leave you be.”

He put the phone back in his pocket. “Classy, Tuck. Classy.”

Tucker shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve got your back, bro.” With that, his brother went to the mud-encrusted truck and grabbed something from the front seat. He came back and thrust papers at Levi. “The contractor stopped late afternoon. Dropped these off for you.”

The prints showed a mock-up of the camping space slated for the adjoining land between Paint River and Agate Falls. Flipping through each paper, Levi could easily envision the beautiful layout on the prints coming to life. Tastefully designed, the mixture of modern amenities like a luxurious bathhouse and a mini waterpark and playground combination for families, with the rugged backdrop of mountain range, trees, and creek, would create massive appeal.

Perfect. It’s exactly what they’d wanted to put in at Paint River, but currently lacked the space for. Now, he just had to convince Darren it was a good use of his land. The profit worksheet alone should provide enough push. Agate Falls needed a sustainable future, and this was one big way to get it.

“Thanks, Tucker.”

His brother nodded and took the porch stairs two at a time. Levi took a big breath of damp morning air, taking in the haze of mist floating over the peaks in the distance. The air had a purplish hue, brought to life by rays of the sun trying to burn through the fog. This view, this incredible nature, was what tourists loved. What they loved more was being pampered while they enjoyed the outdoors. Around him, the ranch was already awake and moving. The guest cabins had started to fill up and guest vehicles came and went. By summer, this place would be a mass of tourists, people constantly filtering in and out to go horseback riding, or have a cattle drive experience, or take a guided hike or fishing trip. They offered it all here.

But where was the limit? One more little tip in the wrong direction and they might as well fold up ranching save for a token to entertain the out-of-towners. He rolled the papers. Did he really want to subject Agate Falls’ good ranching land to the same?

He thought of the Waites’ old barn, the first structure put up on what would become a ten-thousand-acre ranch. Weathered, worn, it had refused to succumb to time and elements, standing crooked, but firm. Just like Agate Falls was now…injured, but still standing.

Another thought crossed his mind. Maybe there was a way he could bring in the secondary income the ranch needed without taking away from the land.

“Better come in and say morning to Ma before she decides not to let you walk her down the aisle after all.” Tucker clomped down the stairs, a coffee mug in one hand and three doughnuts in the other.

Levi blankly watched Tucker get in his truck and pull away. His mind flooded with a possibility he hadn’t considered before. Excitement coursed through him as the plan started to come together. He needed to tell Carrie…but not yet. Not until he had more information. No, he was better off keeping this to himself a while.

What he couldn’t keep quiet was the pulsing fact that he didn’t want her to leave.

The wedding was in a week, and she was leaving shortly. Even if they hadn’t made love yesterday, he’d still be at war over letting her go. They’d made no promises, no proclamations of love, though he’d felt it in every touch of her hand, every breath against his skin. He’d survived a blast that had nearly taken his legs, learned to walk again, and quieted the nightmares in his mind. He’d been torn up, on the brink of a complete mental breakdown, and had been pulled back into life by the love and strength of his family.

His entire family would wrap around Carrie, too, he knew they would. He’d be there to hold her up, to push her through and to keep the light in her life. He needed to convince her to stay.

Going back inside, he dug out the papers he was looking for, filtering through them and really reading them for the first time.

“Holy shit,” he uttered before he picked up the phone. This just might work.

…

A bang sounded from outside, followed by distant male voices. Her blood warmed as she recognized Levi’s tone. Holding back a sneeze from the dust, she ducked her head against the low attic ceiling and went to the dormer window. He was talking with two ranch hands, and slapped one on the shoulder and laughed at something he’d said. It wasn’t lost on her that he’d taken on this role for her—to help her and Darren out as much as himself. He was suited to being in charge, to getting things done. And he seemed to love it. Levi fit here.

Just as he’d always fit her. After all this time, he could be the perfect puzzle piece, falling right into place as if he’d never been misplaced. Her body was alive with the memory of his touch, his kiss. He’d held her long into the night after they’d gotten back to Agate Falls, talking, sharing stories and bits and pieces of his life away from her. She’d done the same, realizing things she’d thought were insignificant or boring were fresh and new to him.

Well into the early-morning hours, they’d been trying to share six years of their lives as quickly as possible. Probably because time was dwindling down until she left and all this would go back to a hazy dream. So she’d stopped talking and simply enjoyed the feel of him wrapped around her until he carefully untangled them a few hours before dawn.

There were no regrets over what they’d shared yesterday. It would hurt later, when she was gone, but she’d do it all again. With a heavy sigh, Carrie moved away from the window and back to the stack of boxes she was sorting. She’d made the decision to be intimate with Levi, and nothing that perfect had room for overthinking and worry to tear it down.

Rummaging through the boxes, she pulled out little mementos she wanted to take with her, and made a small pile. Satisfied, she put everything else back and turned her attention to the large stained glass panel she’d uncovered a few days ago.

The usually vibrant hues of the sunflowers and cardinals were dull, covered by a fine misting of dust. She’d worked countless hours to make it. The process had been cathartic in the heartbreaking time after Levi had left her. Carrie used the edge of her shirt and wiped dust away from one of the cardinals. Instantly, the red went from drab to ruby.

She’d created something beautiful when she’d been broken, and it had survived intact all this time. Dings marred the wooden frame. Small nicks in the glass and chips in the lead beading displayed that the panel had seen rough times, but the imperfections didn’t make it less. With a little care, it would shine like it had before.

Carrie leaned back and traced a finger along the top of the frame. Like the stained glass, maybe she and Levi just needed a bit of tending to make them strong again. Hope flooded through her at the thought. She was being given a second chance with a man who could help her deal with the changes her medical condition could bring.

Inspired to polish up the panel, she stood and lugged it to the door and out onto the landing. It wasn’t heavy, just bulky, and with three flights of stairs to come down, she’d have to pick her way carefully.

“Carrie Lynn?” Levi’s voice sounded from the bottom of the staircase, startling her. She maneuvered down the first set of stairs. Her pulse picked up, but it wasn’t from carrying the stained glass.

“Yeah?”

“Come on down a minute?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “How about you come up here?”

There was a pause. “My boots are muddy.”

Readjusting the panel, Carrie went down the second flight. “You traipse through the house with muddy boots, but you can’t come up? Hope you’re good with a…mop.” She stopped on the landing, getting her first good look at him. A bouquet of purple and yellow flowers was clutched in his left hand.

Jet-black blades of hair spiked along his forehead and curled over his ears. His red-and-black flannel shirt was unbuttoned, showing off a painted-on gray T-shirt underneath, and the low rise of his jeans. This messy country thing he had going on was totally working for her. Swarthy lengths of skin showed along his forearms from his rolled-up sleeves, the corded muscle nicely defined.

His cocky smile got bigger. “You’re staring, Sunshine.”

“If you saw yourself from a female perspective, you’d be staring, too.”

“That right?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Setting the stained glass against the wall on the landing, she came down the last stairs. A muscle in his brow twitched, followed by an impatient shifting of his feet that made her wonder what exactly he had in mind when she reached the bottom. Three steps from him she paused and tilted her head to catch the brilliance of his eyes.

“You look like you’re up to no good, Levi Haywood.”

“That’s what these flowers are for.”

He came up two steps, boots perfectly clean, she noticed. He took her hand as he went back down to the floor, then gave her a gentle tug that propelled her into his arms. Carrie squealed, her breath catching in her throat.

“You’re making me wait way too long for this kiss, woman.” She was vaguely aware of the flowers falling to the floor as Levi hitched her up onto his waist, urging her legs around his hips. Her knee-length skirt bunched over the tops of her thighs. One arm supported her beneath her rear, the other wrapped around her head.

Her response was a nonsensical sound, because his lips were on hers with a bruising, luscious kiss. He walked her back the short distance to the wall and pressed her against it. Carrie tightened her thighs against the hard curve of his waist, positive she was going to fall. His tongue made a sensual sweep along hers, his lips urging her lips farther apart. His hand lightly followed the contour of her shoulder, down her arm to trace her ribs and the curve of her waist. She shifted, bringing her bottom in contact with the hard ridge in his jeans. Levi groaned and pulled at the hem of her shirt, lifting it and sliding his hand beneath.

Skin on skin—the rough pads of his fingers over the sensitive, tender flesh of her abdomen made a wandering path over her body until all the clothed parts were begging to be freed.

His hands cupped her breasts, and she was done. Lost. She put her arms in between his and nudged his hands away from her chest. Her breasts ached for contact as she grabbed Levi’s flannel shirt and tried peeling it over his shoulders. With the force of his hips alone, he held her against the wall and shrugged out of the shirt. Taking her wrists, he stretched her arms up above her head.

Taking her shirt in both hands, he pulled it up with a slow, teasing pace that made her libido squirmy and demanding. As each inch of her skin was bared, her breasts ached more and that spot between her legs—the one he had his pelvis wedged against just right—was ready to go postal.

“Sucks to wait, doesn’t it, Sunshine?” The shirt flipped up and made a path over her arms, covering her face. Anticipating he’d pull the fabric free and toss it aside, Carrie squirmed in protest a bit when he didn’t. Soft, wet lips pressed against her collarbone. Nibbling along her clavicle, Levi bit just hard enough to send zings of pleasure-pain down her chest. With one forceful pull, the shirt cleared her body and his chest pressed into hers.

“Right here.” He growled, nearly ripping the strap of her bra from her shoulders. It tugged against her flesh with a sharp pull, and then it fell, lowering the cup and baring her breast.

“Yes, here,” she repeated, arching her back in search of his mouth on her pebbled nipple.

He pulled the other strap down. “Right now.” Against the wall, at the base of the stairs in the hallway. She couldn’t have cared less.

“Anywhere, Levi. Whenever you want.” Her fingers found his hair and pulled his head down until his hot breath assaulted her breasts. One more desperate tug and his lips closed around her left nipple. Sensations became a flurry from his lips and his wandering, delicious touch, until Carrie thought the very center of her would explode. His skin smelled like fresh soap, with the faint flavor of hard work and sunshine when she cruised his neck with her lips.

Her body must have conveyed the edge she was on, because Levi worked the fastener of his jeans with one hand while supporting her with the other. Consumed with the dizziness of need, she tried to move back to allow him room. But Levi took over, holding her hip and moving the thin strip of her panties aside. His hips moved back as he repositioned just slightly—just enough to align them perfectly.

And when the tip of his cock pressed against her entrance, Carrie arched forward with the elation of anticipation. But Levi palmed her hip and stopped her motion, catching her eyes. His brows knit together, adding to the strain of withheld passion on his face.