I Cross My Heart (5 page)

Tearing open a foil packet and muttering a curse under his breath, he strode back into the room. “I’m not usually like this.”

“Naked?”

“Desperate.” He glanced up as he approached the bed. As his gaze focused on her, he stopped in his tracks. “Good God, Bethany. You’re magnificent.”

The dim light hid her flush, and she was glad for that, because she wanted to seem at least a little bit sophisticated. “I wouldn’t say I’m—”

“I’m the guy looking at you, and I say you are magnificent.” He tossed the half-open condom packet on the nightstand. “And I’d be a fool to rush this.”

“Maybe I want you to.” As she surveyed his impressive package, she ached with a fierceness that made her suck in a breath. “You’re pretty magnificent yourself.”

“I’m standard-issue.” He put a knee on the bed and braced a hand on either side of her shoulders. “You, however, are a masterpiece and deserve to be treated accordingly.” His massive chest heaved. “Instead of being assaulted by some lust-crazed maniac.”

His penis jutted proudly, and she couldn’t resist reaching for it. “Being assaulted by you has a certain appeal.”

He circled her wrist with strong fingers. “Not the first time. Let go of me, Bethany.”

“Why should I?” She rather liked having a handle on him, so to speak.

“Because now that I see you stretched out on this bed, I have a plan.”

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. “Which is?”

“To turn you inside out.”

Now there was a showstopper of a promise. She had trouble dragging in enough air to ask the question. “How?”

“If you let go of me, you’ll find out. If you keep squeezing me like that, you’ll never know, because I’m seconds away from coming.”

She released him. What woman, given those choices, wouldn’t? Even in the fading light, his eyes glittered with purpose, and she wanted to find out how Nash Bledsoe approached the task of turning a woman inside out. “This bed’s kind of small.”

“It’s big enough for my purposes. But if you need more room to flail around as I make you come, then we can move to the floor.”

“I don’t flail.”

His smile was slow and filled with masculine confidence. “We’ll see about that.”

She’d never understood the concept of swooning over a guy. Gazing up at Nash she finally got it. He was the first swoon-worthy man she’d ever had sex with, and the concept made perfect sense to her now.

She would enjoy the hell out of having him in her bed. She moistened her dry lips. “Challenge accepted. Bring it.”

“Oh, I intend to, Bethany. I intend to.”

5

A
S
N
ASH
UTTERED
THOSE
words, which were either brave or foolish depending on how this episode ended, he hoped that he’d be able to cool himself off a little. Somehow he had to hold back the climax that had threatened to overwhelm him ever since her mouth had made contact with his cock.

She was better at this than she knew, and she’d turned him into a wild man. But the picture she’d made stretched out on the bed had brought him up short and challenged him to slow down and savor the moment. A lush body such as hers didn’t show up all that often, and he was a man who’d always taken his time.

He could do that again. Moving over her, he kept their bodies from touching, except for his lips against her skin. He began with her temples. “Close your eyes.” When she did, he feathered a kiss over each eyelid. “Now lie still, or as still as you can.”

Her answering sigh was a quivering, tension-filled sound. He used his tongue to outline her mouth and she sighed again. “Relax,” he murmured. “You’re strung tight as a bow.”

Her eyes opened again, and they gleamed in the twilight. “I can’t relax.” Her voice was low and throaty. “I want you too much.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He kept his tone light, but lust slammed into him. He tamped it down. He’d made a boast that he would turn her inside out. That would take more than a three-minute bout of frantically plunging into her.

Yet that was exactly what his body was craving. Ignoring the ache in his groin, he lowered his mouth to the pulse in her throat and nipped her there. She moaned, igniting another flare of heat in his veins. God, how he wanted to pound into her.

He’d blame abstinence for that. His divorce had left his ego battered, and he’d made a conscious decision to wait a while before getting involved with someone new. How ironic that he was breaking his sexual fast with Bethany Grace.

And yet, how fitting, too. Her books, intentionally or not, had affected his self-confidence. Providing her with mind-blowing orgasms would do a lot to restore his faith in himself. He hadn’t planned for the evening to go this way, but if she wanted to lead him to temptation, he’d make her damned glad she had.

Yes, driving Bethany Grace slowly insane was far more important than satisfying his urgent need to have her. She’d primly informed him that she didn’t flail. There would be some justice in being the guy who made her come completely undone.

That goal helped him focus. Pushing aside his own need for release, he began a leisurely journey over her hot, silky skin. He paid special attention to her full breasts and her nipples as they puckered beneath his tongue.

When she arched her back with a whimper of need, he applied gentle suction. He loved both the sensation of tugging on her nipple and her little gasp of pleasure. His cock loved those things, too, and it throbbed with impatience. The condom waited on the bedside table, taunting him.

Instead of reaching for it, he moved on, licking his way down her rib cage as he eased lower on the mattress. He paused to explore her navel.

She groaned and dug her fingers into his shoulders. “Nash...I want...”

“You’ll get what you want,” he murmured. Balanced on his forearm, he used his free hand to loosen her hold. Then he brought her hand to his mouth and made passionate love to it. He sucked on each finger and dipped his tongue into each crevice. He traced every line in her palm.

She began to tremble, and he wondered if she was responsive enough to come through suggestion alone. He had something else in mind, something he’d never tried before, but Bethany inspired him to be creative. He held on to her moist hand as he slid lower. The scent of her arousal made him long to taste her, but first...

Grasping her wrist, he drew her hand down between her thighs. “Show me how you touch yourself. Is it like this?” He took hold of her finger and rubbed it back and forth over her sweet little clit.

She groaned but didn’t pull away. She was obviously desperate for a climax.

“Or like this?” He switched to a circular movement.

“Like...that.”

“Keep doing it, Bethany. Let me watch.”

She continued the caress he’d coaxed her into, and her breathing grew rough with excitement.

“Don’t stop. I’m going to help.” His pulse raced as he slipped two fingers deep inside her. “You’re so wet, so incredibly wet.”

“Because I want—”

“I know. Come for me.” He matched his strokes to her rhythm, and as she rubbed faster and harder, he increased his speed. The liquid sound he created nearly made him come, too. He wouldn’t be able to play this game much longer.

He felt her contractions a split second before she cried out and arched upward. Slipping his hand free, he slid his shoulders under her raised hips. Then he settled his mouth over the entrance to all things wonderful. She was still riding the crest of pleasure, and he intended to keep her up there.

* * *

B
ETHANY
’
S
FIRST
CLIMAX
nearly turned her inside out as promised. She was still shuddering in reaction when Nash brought his mouth into play. She sensed he was about to make good on his boast. Gasping and uttering wild, inarticulate noises, she gave herself up to the most sensuous round of oral sex she’d ever experienced.

He didn’t mess around, this cowboy. He was coming to get her, and the tension built so quickly in her womb that in seconds he’d hurled her over the precipice into another shattering orgasm. She was just beginning to gather herself together when he began his assault again.

“I
can’t!
”

He lifted his mouth long enough to say, “Sure you can,” before seeking her essence once again. He’d breached her defenses and taken all she possessed. Now he demanded total surrender.

Heaven help her, she gave it—loudly, joyously, and yes, with much flailing around. A woman experiencing an orgasm this intense simply had to flail. When he finally lowered her hips and bestowed one parting kiss on her drenched curls, she sank to the bed in boneless ecstasy. He had, indeed, turned her inside out.

The mattress shifted.

“Please don’t leave,” she murmured.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Foil crinkled. “We still have unfinished business.”

She struggled to find enough air in her lungs to tell him she was done. “You’ll have to...finish it.”

His chuckle was low and filled with desire. “Don’t worry. I have enough momentum to carry both of us.”

“Good.”

He moved between her thighs. “A true gentleman wouldn’t ask this of you.” Bracing himself on his forearms, he probed gently with the tip of his penis. “But I’ve never claimed to be a true gentleman, and I need...” He sucked in a breath and rocked forward, burying himself deep. “This.” He stayed still for several long moments before letting out his breath. Then he leaned down and kissed her gently. “Perfect.”

Despite having three orgasms and feeling as if she had no more to give, Bethany found herself reacting to the delicious slide of his penis. “You feel good inside me.”

“That’s the general idea.” He drew back a fraction and pushed home again. “If this didn’t feel really good, the human race would have died out long ago.”

The light had nearly faded from the room. Yet she looked up at him, wanting to make that connection even though they couldn’t see each other very well. “You’re keeping a tight rein on yourself, aren’t you?”

“Trying to. I don’t want to jolt you out of your postorgasmic haze if I can help it.” He drew back and slid in again.

She found the energy to wiggle her hips. “You must want more than that. You’ve been on the verge of coming for quite a while. Aren’t you ready to turn that bad boy loose?”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “You’re a wicked woman, Bethany Grace. If you’re not careful what you say, you’re liable to find yourself being ridden like you’ve never been ridden before.”

His words lit a flash fire that burned away her exhaustion and left desire beating a steady tattoo in her core. “You know what?” She wrapped her legs around his hips. “I’d like nothing better.”

He hesitated, as if not quite believing what he’d heard. Then he groaned and his whole body tensed. “Damn, lady. I hope you know what you’re asking for.”

As she continued to gaze up at him, she clutched his muscled arms, loving the way they flexed beneath her fingers. “Do it, cowboy. Ride like the wind.”

With a soft oath, he eased back, but this time he didn’t return slowly. Oh, no. He shoved into her with a force that lifted her from the mattress.

Wow. She’d had no idea, but there was no time to think, only to feel. Nash radiated raw masculine power as instinct replaced logic. He seemed driven by the need to claim and possess, and she responded with primitive joy as she absorbed the pounding rhythm that shook her from the balls of her feet to the roots of her hair.

So this was how a man firmly planted in the natural world made love. The heat and intensity swept her along and she rose to meet each vigorous thrust. Panting, she urged him on, and he picked up the pace.

Their bodies became slick with sweat as they slammed together again and again. She hadn’t expected to climax this time, but suddenly, there it was, and she was coming in glorious spirals of sensuality while he continued to pump into her, as though he couldn’t get enough.

Then, with one last thrust and a groan that seemed torn from the depths of his soul, he shuddered in her arms. She held him close, murmuring soft words and stroking his back. Instinctively she knew that in responding to her tonight, he’d risked far more than she had.

He’d been hurt in ways that hadn’t touched her, at least not yet. She’d never allowed herself to get serious enough about a man to contemplate marrying him. In some ways she’d protected herself from the worst kind of heartbreak. She’d never considered her choices to be cowardly, but they seemed that way now.

Nash hadn’t been a coward, though. He’d flown into the heart of the storm and taken a beating. Sadly, her last book had been one of the lightning bolts that had nearly wiped him out.

Although she wouldn’t take responsibility for that—his ex-wife could claim the honor—Nash deserved better. She didn’t qualify because she wouldn’t be sticking around long enough. But at least she wouldn’t kick him in the teeth when she left.

Slowly he sank against her, although he kept most of his weight on his forearms. He nestled his head against her shoulder. “Incredible,” he murmured.

“Yes.” She continued to stroke his back. “Incredible.”

“I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep. I can’t do that.”

“Guess not.”

“They’ll expect me to come in at a reasonable hour.”

She smiled. “It’s like high school all over again with parents waiting up. Do you have a curfew?”

“No, but...”

“Someone will take note of when you get home.”

“Yeah. I sleep in a bunkhouse. At least one of the hands will wake up if I come in late. Nothing will be said then, but tomorrow I’ll face the comments and joking remarks.”

“Do you care?”

“Not for myself.” He propped his chin on his fist. “But I don’t want them thinking anything they shouldn’t about you.”

She was touched by his chivalry. “I’m the one who started this by kissing you, Nash.”

“No one will hear that from me.”

“Does it matter? Even if I’m branded a loose woman, I’m not sticking around. If nobody connects me to the woman who writes motivational books, I’ll just be the Grace girl who came back to straighten out her father’s affairs, got it on with a local guy and left, never to be seen again.”

“You have a point, but I still don’t want to give anybody a reason to say something insulting about you. Then I’d have to deck them, and that’s not—”

“You’d
fight
them?” She was stunned. “Why?”

He peered at her in the darkness. “How long have you been gone from this area?”

“I left when I was eighteen and haven’t lived here since then, which makes it about thirteen years. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Either you’ve forgotten how things work around here, or you never really knew. But in cowboy country, a man doesn’t stand by and let others insult his wom— I mean, the person he’s involved with. Well, unless he doesn’t like her anymore and she deserves it. But even then, a guy’s likely to stand up for her.”

She caught the slip. He’d almost called her
his woman.
Chivalry was all well and good, but if it included possessive, paternalistic behavior, she would take a pass. “I appreciate the urge to defend my honor, Nash, but it’s really not necessary. Besides, if you challenge someone to a fight because they said something about me, won’t they get the wrong impression about our relationship?”

He was silent for a few moments as if considering that. “I suppose, which is why I can’t fall asleep in your bed. If I show up back at the ranch before eleven, and I have some sawdust on my boots and maybe a little paint on my shirt, no one will imagine anything is going on between us.”

Now it was her turn to think. Maybe she was being paranoid about how the Triple G looked. If she cleaned up the house and salvaged any keepsakes, something she could do during the day, maybe it wasn’t so all-fired important for the exterior to get a face-lift. She wasn’t trying to get top dollar, anyway.

If she was careful and cautioned the real estate agent to keep his or her mouth shut, no one would connect this place with her public persona. The less she had to worry about how this ranch looked on the outside, the more time she could spend in bed with Nash.

No, that wouldn’t work. He’d already told her he needed the money, and paying him for sex wouldn’t fit either of their value systems. She’d already cut into tonight’s income.

But now that she’d experienced being turned inside out by Nash Bledsoe, she wanted him to do it again. He might want that, too, which wouldn’t leave him much time to work on her place. Unless they vowed to stop having sex, his paycheck would be adversely affected.

She took a deep breath. “I didn’t consider all the ramifications of getting naked.”