Cowboy All Night (Thunder Mountain Brotherhood, Book 5) (8 page)

Dream or not, he leaned down and offered her a hand up, the gentlemanly thing to do. He remained at a loss for words, though.

She smiled at him as he lifted her to her feet.

Searching his dazed brain, he tried to come up with something cool to say. “I...that was very...”

“Nice?”

He shook his head.

“It
wasn’t
nice? From the way you reacted, I thought—”

“Way more than nice.” He drew her into his arms. Her wet T-shirt was refreshingly cool against his overheated skin. “I can’t think of any word that applies.”

Her eyes sparkled with new awareness. “I wanted a preview of tonight.”

“Oh, God.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Please don’t judge my staying power on what just happened.”

“I wasn’t talking about that.”

“No?” He opened his eyes. “What then?”

“Length and girth.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’re pretty big, but I think I can handle you.”

“I think you just did.” Dipping his head, he gave her a quick kiss. “And now it’s my turn to get even.”

8

A
RIA
WASN
’
T
USED
to someone with Brant’s strength. He picked her up with ease and, when she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist, he carried her to the side of the van as if she weighed nothing. Supporting her with one arm, he pushed open the sliding door and lowered her to the seat so she was facing him.

“What about washing my van?”

“Don’t worry, lady.” He leaned in and cupped the back of her head. “I’ll wash Matilda. Right after this.” His mouth claimed hers as he deftly unsnapped her jeans.

Her pulse rate shot into the red zone. The zipper came down next, adding fuel to a fire that was already raging. The hose had soaked her jeans, but her panties were wet for a totally different reason.

He raised his head to gaze into her eyes. “The jeans need to come off.”

“Are you sure?” Much as she longed for whatever he had in mind, she wasn’t happy about taking off her jeans. “What if somebody comes?”

He smiled. “I’m counting on it.”

“Brant! I mean—”

When he stopped her protest with a kiss, his mouth was very persuasive, almost as persuasive as his fingers sliding in through the open zipper and stroking whatever he could reach. He breached the barrier of her panties just enough to taunt her with the possibilities.

Like a magician, he dissolved her misgivings. She broke away from his kiss and dragged in air. “Okay, okay. Get rid of the jeans.”

“Lie back and lift up.”

The three-passenger seat gave her room to lie down and lift her hips. As luck would have it, her panties came off at the same time.

“Perfect.”

She thought he was referring to the maneuver that had left her completely accessible. But when she propped herself up on her elbows, she noticed his rapt expression and the focus of his attention. Self-consciousness started to take hold.

He drew in a deep breath and let it out. “You’re so beautiful...everywhere.”

The awe in his voice was exactly what she needed to claim this moment. He’d given her the power to excite and arouse him and she decided to use it. Sitting up again, she peeled off her T-shirt. Next she unhooked her bra and tossed that away, too.

He swallowed. “My God.”

“Come here.”

He didn’t have to be told twice. Ducking his head, he leaned inside and cradled her face in both hands. “Maybe I won’t wash your van, after all,” he murmured. Then he guided her back down to the seat and kissed her so thoroughly that she wondered if she’d have an orgasm just from that.

She didn’t, but she trembled on the edge of one as he moved his attention from her mouth to her throat and finally to her breasts. Gripping his shoulders, she arched upward, straining toward the sweet suction, the swirl of his tongue and the nip of his teeth.

He swept a hand over her belly and between her thighs. One deep thrust of his finger and she came, pressing a hand to her mouth to keep from crying out. But he wasn’t finished. Sliding down her body, he wedged his shoulders under her thighs.

While she was still quivering from her first climax, he settled his mouth over her slick entrance. The stroke of his tongue made her moan. “I can’t.”

He kissed the tight bud nestled in her sensitive folds. His breath was hot against her moist skin. “Sure you can.” He raked the same spot lightly with his teeth. “Relax and let it happen.”

She couldn’t imagine relaxing when every nerve was vibrating. Then he began massaging her thighs with his gentle hands while he pressed lazy kisses in a circle around that trigger point. Gradually the tenseness left her body except for the growing ache right where he was kissing her.

And she wanted...more. Clutching his head in both hands, she surrendered to needs she’d never acknowledged before. She wanted to be taken, possessed, ravished.
“Now.”

“Yes, now.” His cupped hands supported her, holding her steady for his assault.

She thought he would turn her inside out, so intense was the pleasure. He burrowed deep and the connection became so intimate that had she not been writhing in ecstasy she might have been shocked. Instead she abandoned herself to loving more passionate than she’d ever known. She came quickly and almost forgot to muffle her cries.

In an endearing display of tenderness, he stayed where he was, kissing her damp thighs and pressing his hand where his mouth had been as if to steady her descent. Earlier she’d been worried that someone might discover them like this. Now she didn’t give a damn. Some things were worth risking embarrassment.

Gradually the chirping of birds and the rustle of wind through the nearby pines reminded her that a whole world existed beyond the confines of the van. Someone might eventually show up and wonder why it was parked here with two comatose people inside, including one who was completely naked.

The outrageous nature of what they’d just done began to penetrate her lust-fogged brain. She’d never had sex in a semipublic place in the middle of the day. She’d never had sex in a semipublic place in the middle of the night, either.

Brant lay with his cheek against her thigh and his eyes closed.

She stroked his hair. “That was wonderful.”

“Mmm.”

“But we should probably move.” The precarious nature of their situation had finally dawned on her.

He snuggled closer.

She patted the top of his head. “Really. We can’t stay like this.”

No answer.

“Are you
asleep
?”

“No.” His eyes remained closed. “But I’ve found my favorite place and I don’t want to leave it.”

“Sorry, but your favorite place is about to go. I’m getting dressed.” She tried to extricate herself.

“Wait.” His big hand closed over her thigh, pinning her down.

“I really think we need to make ourselves presentable.”

“We will, but let’s not rush it.” He opened his eyes and looked up at her. “Man, I love this view. And, FYI, you may think you’re done with the program, but your nipples say otherwise.”

As usual, he made her laugh. “They don’t speak for me. I say it’s time to put some clothes on.”

“Promise me this. Once you’re inside the cabin tonight, you won’t wear clothes until you’re ready to leave in the morning.”

“Easy promise. I like being naked with you. It’s the rest of the population I’d rather not face.”

“Actually, I’m okay with that reservation.” He pushed himself up on his forearms. “Having an exclusive sounds excellent to me. Let’s get you covered up.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. The heat they’d generated had burned away all her inhibitions, but now they came surging back. “I’ll need some help finding things. I have no idea where you put my panties.”

“I do. Be right back.” He slid out of the van and plucked something from the door handle. “Hey, they’re dry. They were really wet before.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

“Because you hit me with the hose.” She shimmied into them and was aware that he watched her do it.

“I don’t think it was the hose.” He handed her the jeans he’d draped over the door. “I think somebody was turned on.”

“Maybe.” She struggled into her jeans, which hadn’t dried as thoroughly as her panties. She found her bra and T-shirt on the floor where she’d tossed them. Both were still damp.

“So you’re dressed.”

She glanced down at her wrinkled shirt. “But not very presentable. We’re supposed to have lunch with Rosie and Herb.”

“Okay, I have an idea. There’s a compact washer and dryer in Cade’s cabin.”

“Wow, it really is fitted out well.”

“It is. So let’s quickly get the outside of this van looking good and then head on up there. I can at least dry your clothes and you can fix your hair.”

She hadn’t even thought about her hair, but when she ran her hand over it she discovered the braid was coming loose. Not surprising. Everything had come loose a few minutes ago.

She hopped down from the van. “Great idea. Matilda doesn’t need more than another quick rinse and a toweling off. That’s good enough.”

“Got it. Stand back.”

Moving to the edge of the slab, she watched him hose down the van. He was poetry in motion, his back muscles shifting invitingly as he worked. Normally cowboys wore shirts, long-sleeved ones at that. The fabric protected their arms from thorny bushes and rough fence posts.

She understood the need for shirts most of the time, but it seemed a shame that Brant stayed dressed. Washing vehicles might be one of the few times he could go bare-chested. Well, that and jumping into bed with a willing woman.

She looked forward to spending an entire night with him. He’d seen every naked inch of her today, but she still had uncharted territory to explore when it came to Brant Ellison. She couldn’t wait.

After he turned off the hose he threw her a towel. “You take the lower half and I’ll take the upper.”

“Makes sense. I’ll follow you.”

“No, I should follow you so I can see where you left off and dry from there on up.”

“Brant, that’s crazy. I can just as easily see where you left off and dry from there on down.”

He started laughing. “I know. I just wondered if you’d buy it. I want to ogle your ass.”

“And I want to ogle yours! I thought of it first, so move it, cowboy.”

“That’s why you said you’d follow me?”

“You think you’re the only one with sex on the brain?”

His eyes gleamed. “Obviously not.” Turning toward the van, he slapped the towel on the roof. “Enjoy the show.” He started humming and gyrating his hips as he worked.

She lost it. The harder she laughed, the more he exaggerated his movements.

“This van won’t dry itself, you know,” he called out. “Better hop to it, Danes.”

“I can’t!” She gasped and held her aching sides. “Not with you dancing around like a stripper!”

He paused long enough to grin at her. “Then maybe
I
should follow
you.
”

“That won’t work anymore. You’re way ahead of me.”

“Oh.” He walked over, turned on the hose and sprayed the side of the van again. “Problem solved. Over to you.”

“All right.” She wondered if they’d make it back to the cabin before lunch. But her clothes were nearly dry and she could redo her hair easily enough, so maybe it didn’t matter how long the job took. Besides, payback would be sweet.

Positioning herself beside the van, she began toweling it dry at shoulder height. Normally she would have crouched to get the lower section. Instead she moved her feet apart and bent slowly at the waist.

His sharp intake of breath told her she’d achieved her goal. She pretended not to notice as she moved to the next section and repeated the maneuver. Halfway down she glanced over her shoulder and discovered him staring fixedly at her ass. The fly of his jeans was stretched as tight as it had been earlier that day. “This van won’t dry itself, you know. Better hop to it, Ellison.”

“You win.” His voice was husky. “But let the record show that you fight dirty.”

“So do you.” Walking over to him, she looped the towel around the back of his neck and tugged. “Now come down here and kiss me.”

“I’d like to do a hell of a lot more than that.”

“I know.” She wiggled against the bulge in his jeans.

“Stop.” He cupped her bottom and held it still. “I’m going to kiss you and then I’m going to finish drying your van while you sit quietly on your sexy tush.”

“If that’s what you want.”

“It doesn’t begin to describe what I want.” His fingers flexed in a slow massage. “You know exactly what I want, but I can’t have that now. So I’ll settle for this.” His lips came down and he kissed her most thoroughly while his fingers continued their rhythmic kneading motion.

She clutched the ends of the towel and hung on for dear life. When he finally lifted his head, she was gasping and her panties were damp once again. She gulped for air. “I guess I should learn not to mess with you.”

He took a shaky breath. “On the contrary. I love it when you mess with me. Keep it up.”

“I’ll bet we’re running out of time, though.”

He glanced up at the sun. Typical cowboy, checking the position of the sun instead of a smartphone. “Yeah, we are.”

“We don’t have to go back to the cabin. My clothes are dry and I can tidy up my hair right here.”

His eyes brightened. “Let me undo it for you.” Reaching behind her back, he deftly unwound the elastic holding the end of her braid, then combed his fingers through the strands, gradually loosening the braid until her hair fell in waves down her back. “Here you go.” He handed the elastic to her.

“Where’d you learn how to unfasten a braid?”

“Horses. I’ve braided and unbraided plenty of manes and tails.”

Some women might have been insulted but she wasn’t. “I used to do that all the time with Lucy. Pegasus, too. I’d forgotten that.” She closed her eyes as he massaged her scalp and combed the last tangles from her hair. She marveled that his fingers could both arouse and soothe. Versatile guy. “That feels good.”

“Hope so. I’ve been wanting to take your hair down ever since you arrived.”

Keeping her eyes closed, she basked in the feeling of being cared for. “Do you treat the horses this nicely?”

“Not quite. Their hair isn’t as silky.” His breath warmed her mouth. “And I didn’t feel like doing this, either.” His lips touched hers in a feather-light kiss. Then he changed angles and increased the pressure, but not by much.

So sweet. She let go of the towel and cradled his head with the same easy touch. But soft kisses, she discovered, could get her just as hot as demanding ones. Her grip tightened and she thrust her tongue into his mouth.

With a deep groan he responded and in seconds they were plastered together again and breathing hard. He was the one to end it. Grasping her by the shoulders, he set her gently away from him. As his chest heaved and his hands trembled, he gazed into her eyes. “Damn, Aria.”

“Damn, Brant.” Looking up at him, she fought the urge to launch herself into his arms.

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Last night I was thinking we needed to get comfortable with this attraction so we wouldn’t have any tension when we worked with Linus. Do you think we’re comfortable with each other yet?”