Goodnight Kisses (11 page)

He shot her a doubtful look. “No, I don’t.”

Out on the main highway, she held
tight to the steering
wheel
and focused on the passing cars.
The size of the truck was more than she was
used
to. Her grandma’s
old truck was half the size of this one. “Why not?”

“Indian attacks, harsh winters, blistering summers
and,” he paused, “men usually took what they wanted.”

Her smile fell. “Thanks for bursting my bubble.”

He laughed. “Sorry, I spoiled the fantasy for you,
darlin’.” 

“I’m sure not all men were like that. I can’t
imagine any of the Coldiron men taking what they wanted.”

“What makes you say that?” he challenged. “Don’t
think we could ravish a few virgins?”

She rolled her
eyes
and took her
turn at disagreeing. “No, I don’t.”

The bottle was
at
his lips when
he hesitated. “You clearly underestimate us.”

“You would never mistreat a woman.”

“No, I wouldn’t.” The deep pitch in his voice
dropped another notch. “Because I know how to persuade a woman into
giving me what I want.”

I bet you do.
The drive to the ranch had her frustrated. In the bar, he was
aroused and fervent for her. Now he looked as mellow as a housecat,
relaxed against the seat with his legs apart, enjoying the ride.
How did she get him back to being interested? “By the way,” she
gave him a flirty glance. “I loved the way you were explaining
virginity to me this afternoon. As if I know nothing at all about
sex.”

“You know your books, Eleanor. Trashy fairy
tales,” he teased.

“They are not! You should read one and see for
yourself. You might learn something.”

“I doubt it.”

“And I’m nineteen.” She gave him a “get real”
glance. “I’ve had some experience.”

“From the Conner kid or the guy you’re so in love
with?”

“My experience didn’t come from Conner.”

He pointed
toward
s
the ranch
road. “You’re about to miss the road.”

“Oh.” She flipped on the
signal
and waited for a car to pass before turning. “Conner threw up
in the parking lot, and I went in by myself. I told you spending
all that money on a dress was a waste.”

She knew he had bought the dress, and that he was
watching from the fence when Conner picked her up.

“It made you happy, and that made it worth every
penny.” He indulged in another guzzle and recapped the bottle. “So
you’re an experienced virgin?” Something about that seemed
satisfying to him.

She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so, why?” The truth
was, most of her knowledge on the art of making love did indeed
come from the books he labeled as trashy.

“Drive out to the cabin.”

She slowed the truck and let it roll to a stop. The
cabin was just off the ranch road, and vacant except for hunting
season when the family rented it to out of town hunters. “Why do
you want me to drive out there?”

He shoved the
whiskey
bottle
under the seat. “It’s the perfect place for our date.”

Perfect because it was secluded or because it was
the place they had first met? She wondered if he remembered that
day. “I don’t recall saying “yes” to that date,” she resisted with
a hint of friskiness “I volunteered to take you home.”

“I don’t recall you saying “no” either.”

She eased off the brake and let the truck roll
closer to the cabin road. “True enough.”

“Half the women in town would trade places with you
in a heartbeat.” He grinned at her open mouthed expression. “After
all, I’m rich, handsome and irresistible.”

“And arrogant.” Damn, she loved flirting with him.
“Okay, if I accept this date,” she paused wondering if she should
ask. “What can I expect?”

Against the dashboard lights, his expression changed
from playful to serious. “I’ve already told you. My dates don’t end
with goodnight kisses. I’ll teach you about seduction, but,” the
muscles in his jaw flexed before he continued. “Not so you can
seduce some other guy.”

As if
, she
almost laughed aloud.

“Sure, you may care for him, but it’s just
infatuation. Puppy love. Nothing more.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because you’re considering taking me as a lover.
Your first lover. If you really loved the guy, you would have told
me to go to hell when I kissed you back at Tubs.”

All that truth and he hadn’t a clue. Now would be
the logical time to tell him he was the guy she wanted to seduce.
The one she trusted. The one she was in love with. But if she did,
would he dismiss her feelings as puppy love or infatuation? Would
it change his mind about giving her a lesson in seduction? Her
confession would have to wait.

She made the turn, drove to the cabin and
parked.

“Leave it running,” he said, taking
her hand as he twisted around to stretch one leg out in the seat. A
quick but gentle
yank
positioned her between his thighs.
“It will be pitch black in here without the dashboard
lights.

“I’m okay with that.”

He tilted her chin
up
and
the coolness of his dark eyes made her tremble with expectancy. “No
hiding,” he ordered with a tame kiss that soothed her. “Don’t be
nervous. Think of this as a dance with me leading the way.”
 

“I have two left feet.”

“
No,
you don’t. I saw you
dancing with Jess. You never missed a step.”

“Jess isn’t you.”

His thumb slid across her bottom lip. “Meaning?”

“I don’t get stupid when I’m around him, and,” she
hesitated before finishing. “He doesn’t make me ache the way you
do.”

He sucked in a ragged breath. “Are you aching now,
darlin’?”

“Yes,” she confessed with a whisper.

After a long look into her eyes which seemed to
penetrate her soul, he lifted her hand to his lips and grazed a
kiss across her knuckles. “Seduction,” he inserted his thumb into
her closed hand, and pushed up, exposing her palm. “Requires
intimacy and trust,” he finished the sentence with a wet,
tantalizing kiss to her palm.

“It’s about,” with his other hand, he unbuttoned the
bottom button of his shirt. “Skin,” he freed two more buttons.
“Against skin,” three more buttons, and slid her hand inside the
shirt. “Touch me.”

The need to do just that had
her
hands
moving over the dark dusting of hair that tickled
her palms.
God,
he felt good! His skin was warm and smooth and she
craved a taste. She lowered her lips to the rift between his pecs,
and kissed downward to the ridged muscles just above his
navel.

“Seduction requires,” his voice
trembled with restraint. “Control.”
He
gently fisted her hair, and lifted her lips to his for a deep kiss
that screamed of wanton intrusion. As his tongue penetrated her
mouth, she understood his kiss in the bar had been a
teaser.

His hands slid up her thighs, to
her hips and waist, lifting the hem of her dress as she straddled
him. The barrier of his jeans did little to hide his size and the
painful twinge building inside her made her arch into the hardness
of his erection. The rain, which had been a mist, now dashed
against the truck, setting the tempo for the rhythm of
a dance
he knew well. His fingers squeezed the soft flesh of her butt
while his hips thrust upwards, coaxing her with his hardness.
“Sweet Eleanor.”

“McCrea,” his name came out as a mew of sensual
frustration.

“I know, darlin’.” One hand moved up her hip to her
waist, then on to cup her breast. “You need more, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

His fingers hooked in the
elastic
and uncovered her breasts. She didn’t pull away or hide. She
wanted him to see her as no other man had.

“So perfect and beautiful.” Desire constricted his
throat, making his voice rough. His thumb grazed the nipple,
rousing a pleasure induced moan from her lips. He raised and kissed
it just shy of the nipple.

Her
eyes,
closed in
passion
and opened to meet his. “Oh.”

His hand moved to the inside of her panties, and
though he said not a word, the hypnotic gaze of his eyes convinced
her it was okay to let go. It was okay to let him have what she so
desperately wanted to give. “I won’t do anything you don’t want,”
he reminded her and claimed her breast with his mouth. The feel of
his lips sucking her nipple brought the air from her lungs.

“More?” His question was hot against her skin.

A nod signaled her permission, and his fingers
slipped into her yielding wetness. The shock of him loving her so
intimately caused her to stiffen. “Relax and enjoy your first
orgasm,” he murmured.

She did. Over and over, his fingers teased her body,
sensually, skillfully and patiently building her pleasure until her
need was met with a hoarse cry of satisfaction. Her body clenched
around his fingers. “That’s it. Come for me.”

After the peak of pleasure departed, Eleanor floated
back to earth to rest as a crumpled mess against his damp chest.
Her strength was gone, used up by the sweet ecstasy.

“I thought you were an experienced virgin.”

“I’ve never experienced anything like you,
McCrea.”

He caressed her arms and kissed the
top of her head. “Wasn’t that better than
goodnight
kisses?” he
asked.

She wiggled the dress over
her
breasts
and raised to his naughty smile which made her
flushed cheeks hotter. Still straddling him, she was acutely aware
of his own unmet need. A slow gyration of her hips against his
erection closed his
eyes
and gave her a chance to mimic his
naughty smile. “Shouldn’t we do something about this?”

Tender
fingers
drew back her
hair. “I intend to, but I’m not taking your virginity in a
truck.”

Her naughty smile broke into a frown. “Does that
mean our date is over?”

“It’s far from over darlin’.” He swung the truck
door open and jumped to the ground, lifting her into his arms.
“We’re just moving it inside.”

She wrapped her legs around
his
waist
and held
onto
his shoulders.

The short run to the porch had them
soaked, but neither cared. The need to finish what had been started
drove them. He took the steps two at a time, stumbled through the
front
door, and
headed for the bedroom. Tossing her on the bed, he
peeled away his wet shirt and kicked off his boots.

The bare window didn’t allow much light from the
black night, but faint pulses of lightning delivered flashes of his
face and chest.

She welcomed his deep kiss while
working
to unbuckle his
belt
. Once it was free, she unbuttoned his
jeans and pushed them down. But the wet denim didn’t make the
simple task easy. “Darlin’, you’re killin’ me.”

At mid-thigh, he took over, stripping them off
quickly. “Stay put,” he said and disappeared into the other
room.

She yanked off her boots as he
returned with a Coleman lantern. He sat it
on
the floor and tossed
a condom on the bed next to her.

Birth control. She hadn’t thought of that.

She rose to her knees, and let her
eyes map out the places her hands wanted to go. She was fascinated
by the
hardness
and beauty of his body, and the lantern gave off
just enough light to make the exploration of her hands sinful. She
yearned to look at him, naked in the light, touch him, hold him in
her hand and feel him intimately.

He held her gaze, watching her
discover his body as her palms glided over his rain soaked chest,
and lower to the black briefs which hugged his privates. Past the
hard
V-shaped
muscles of his lower stomach, and
downwards.

Oh! Wow!

His face contorted with pleasure when her fingers
curled around him, and closed his eyes with a moan. A clenched jaw
and an inward breath enticed her to caress the length of him.

All the stories she consumed hadn’t
prepared her for the physical experience of lovemaking.
Sex isn’t like cooking. There’s no recipe to
follow. No directions. You could read a hundred books and not know
what the hell you’re doing.
His lecture on
sex pierced her mind, conjuring an impish grin, and a husky
laugh.

McCrea’s lids peeked opened. “What?”

She teased wet kisses along his jawline, to his chin
and down to his chest, hesitating long enough to add a flick of her
tongue to the nipple. “Still think I can’t cook?”

A
lip-biting
smile decked his face. “You’re
just beatin’ the batter, darlin’.”

Surprised, but not derailed, she
quickened the movement of her hand into a long sensual
stroke
and met his lewd answer with a
slow,
lascivious lick from
navel to
sternum
. “Do I get to lick the
spoon?” 

The fingers tangled in her hair at
the
nape
of her neck clenched to tilt her head up.
“Remember what I said about a man having limits?”