Heartbreak Ranch (13 page)

He moved down her arms and then beneath them, washing gently. He then worked his way down her back, lightly tracing his fingers over her spine. He stopped just above her backside and grasped her hips. Slowly he ran his hands up the side of her body, lifting her arms above her head and fitting them around his neck. He rested his chin on her shoulder, pressing his growing erection against her behind.

“You have no idea what you do to me,” he whispered into her ear as his hands snaked up her belly.

His touch was soft and hard, and the combination was causing a delicious ache between her legs. The ruggedness of his calloused hands coupled with the gentle whispers of his touch running over her made her whole body tremble. He moved his hands upward, gliding across her breasts and then cupping them. He kneaded them gently. “Not being able to touch you all day long drove me crazy.”

“All I could think about was your hands running all over my body,” Graysen whispered breathily as he gently plucked her nipples until they were hard under his fingers. He massaged her until she was a quivering mess. Unable to bear it any longer, she unwound herself from his arms, so she could touch herself. She was going mad with need.

“No, Graysen. Keep your arms around my neck,” he ordered her.

She willingly complied, wrapping her arms back around him. Colt moved his hands down Graysen’s wet, soapy body. One arm clutched her around the waist, while a soapy hand moved through the wet folds of her sex. She clasped her legs together, wanting to trap his hand there so the delightful pressure would continue.

“Hun, now how am I supposed to wash you clean if your legs are clamped shut like that?”

His teasing was so damn sexy clothed in that southern drawl of his. Graysen held her breath and tentatively moved her legs apart, waiting for his fingers to ply her tender, wet flesh.

“Yes, … God, your body is perfect. I love the way your narrow strip of hair there teases me …” His fingers moved skillfully, carefully stimulating her, and her hips started to move in their own rhythm as though answering his fingers’ plea by pushing back against his hand.

Graysen titled her head back and moaned, “All yours ... All for you …” He stroked her with his hands as though she was one of his wild horses. His command and potency baffled her.

“Well my sweet girl, I will just have to express my appreciation, won’t I?” His finger began to move over her swollen nub in tight circles. His tongue descended upon her neck, licking away drops of water that covered her skin. She whimpered softly, drowning in the satisfaction of his touch.

“Oh baby, you are so wet. Tell me Graysen, is that for me too?” He growled against her skin as he slowly drove a finger insider her, sliding it smoothly in and out of her slick flesh. With every movement, moisture pooled in her center and more heat built up in her.

“Yes ...” She breathed and gripped his neck with such force she was sure she left fingernail marks behind.

“Are you going to come for me Graysen?” Colt’s fingers worked her frantically. He knew just the right rhythm to drive her to the edge. Her whole body began convulsing, and he held her tightly to keep her from falling. “Come for me, Graysen,” he whispered breathlessly.

Graysen unraveled at his words. Her breathing became more ragged as her excitement grew. It was time to let go of her control and hand it over to him, surrender to him and do what he demanded. Like a tsunami building out in the ocean, she felt a slight tingle start in her belly and ripple outward until it crashed against the wave that had started in her extremities, powering together and exploding in the center of her body.

When Graysen stopped contracting around his fingers, Colt gently turned her around so she could nestle her head into his chest. She kept her arms wrapped around his neck for support. She was still panting, and she tried to slow her breathing and the tumultuous thoughts dancing in disarray through her mind. Colt leaned down and gently pressed a kiss against her forehead.

“Come, I think you have had enough time in the shower, Darlin’.” Colt reached behind him and turned the water off. Graysen mewled in disappointment when the stream of warm water left her body. He kissed Graysen again, sweetly, passionately, before he exited the shower. She took his proffered hand, and he led her out into the bathroom. After he had dried himself off with a large, fluffy black towel, he wrapped her in the towel, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her hard, pushing his tongue into her mouth. As he dried her off, he whispered huskily, “I wish this towel weren’t in the way. I wish I could just dry your body off with my hands.” He lightly brushed the places on her body he had already dried off with the towel.

“Aren’t you tired of putting your hands all over me?” Graysen asked, partly joking.

“I will never be able to get enough of you, of feeling your soft body under my hands Graysen,” he whispered, emphasizing her name. He took her hand and led her back to the living room. While Graysen had started her shower, he had busied himself with creating a cozy spot in front of the fire. He’d lit a few candles, had some soft music playing, and had spread out a warm blanket in front of the hearth.

The storm had worsened during their time in the shower. Every so often the sky outside the windows would flash with lightning and be chased by a rumble or clap of thunder.

“The storm seems to be getting worse,” Colt commented as he motioned for her to join him in front of the fire. Graysen lay down on the warm blanket next to him.

He covered her with his naked body, leaned down, and captured her mouth with his. “Looks as though you’ll have to spend the night,” he murmured blissfully against her lips before taking them with full force and tossing the towel that lay between them aside. Their naked bodies melted together as they lay in front of the warmth of the fire.

Graysen knew she could never get enough of him. She reveled in the feeling of being in his arms, losing herself in his kisses, and their hearts colliding as the rain doused the ranch.

“Colt?” she whispered, breathing heavily while his teeth tugged gently on her earlobe.

“Hmm?”

“I want you to teach me.”

“Teach you? Teach you what, Darlin’?” Colt lifted his head long enough to ask her before he began planting kisses along her collarbone.

“Show me everything. Show me how to love you.”

Colt stopped his oral assault on her body, and paused before lifting his gaze to hers. A warm smile grew to the corners of his mouth. He closed his eyes as he pressed his forehead against hers for a moment. He kissed her forehead, inhaling deeply, his nose in her still dampened hair, and then he released her. Colt’s eyes twinkled with delight. “Darlin’, it’s gonna be a long night.”

The days became a routine. Colt worked often, but when Graysen could see him, they usually met in the barn. They would tend to the young foal, or go out riding, or make love. Each night he would take her slowly, quickly, passionately, tenderly, and ruthlessly. They worshipped each other’s bodies as though they were the last two people on earth. The day after the storm, they’d fallen asleep in one of the storage barns, limbs entwined, atop the fresh hay. Both of them were exhausted from the previous night when their passion had been as restless as the raging rains.

Graysen’s family wasn’t stupid. After she hadn’t returned during the storm, they figured out what was going on. They confronted Harper about Graysen’s whereabouts and she sang like a canary. Graysen overheard her parents discussing her relationship with Colt one night.

“Well, Chase, what do you suggest we do? She is almost twenty-one. As an adult she can make her own choices.” Her mother talked in hushed tones with her father.

“Grown woman or not, this is a family vacation on my dime, which means I get a say in whether or not she can run off in the middle of the night with some roughneck.” Her father rarely raised his voice or allowed his temper to flare, but he was upset with her behavior.

Her mother retorted, “He is not some roughneck. He’s like a son to the Edmistons. June introduced us, and he seemed like a very level-headed, polite young man.”

Chase Beaufort countered, “He’s not a nice young man. He’s too old for her. Besides didn’t you see him at the bar the other night? He nearly bashed that other guy’s head in!”

Ellen sighed. “What do you want to do? We can’t lock her away in her room or ground her.”

“Well we could always head back to Iowa now.”

“Chase Beaufort, we paid in full for this vacation, we are not going home early. It wouldn’t be fair to Carson or Harper. Graysen is an adult, and we have to trust her to make her own decisions and learn from her mistakes,” her mother whispered tightly.

“What if she gets pregnant?” her father whispered.

Graysen wanted to listen to more, but her stomach was in knots from what she had already heard. She crept back to her bedroom. Although they never confronted her about what was going on with Colt, the disapproving looks were never-ending. She couldn’t fault her family for their cautious and skeptical behavior. They were cautious for the same reasons she had been. What was going to happen when they went back to Iowa?

***

As they sat at their breakfast table in the lodge a couple of mornings later, they were joined by the Heywards, another routine that seemed to develop. Graysen blinked sleepily as she brought her glass of cranberry juice to her lips. She tried to drown out the sound of Brady’s voice as he bragged about interning for some senator. Instead, her thoughts drifted to the reason why she was so exhausted this morning.

She and Colt didn’t get much sleep last night. Each time they tried, they ended up making love again. Her thoughts drifted to his amazing bedroom eyes and his unruly hair that taunted her fingers to get tangled up in it. That brought another vision of him from last night to mind. Colt was all sweaty and hot, tangled up in sheets. She had a fistful of that thick, dark hair in her hands as he whispered sweet, naughty words in a breathless drawl.

Reality in the form of Brady’s attentions deflated her blissful balloon of fantasy. It thudded to the ground like lead as he placed his hand on her bare arm.

“Graysen, you really should go riding with me. What are you doing this morning?” Brady had been asking her to go riding with him for the past few days. Graysen had been able to deflect his persistent proposals to show her how well he sat a horse, as he put it.

“Brady, I’m really not much of a horseback rider.” She feigned politeness in order to appease her parents.

“Not to worry. I am quite skilled, and I can show you how to ride.”

Graysen choked on her juice, trying to refrain from bursting out in laughter. She pictured Brady trying to show her how to ride a horse after all the times she had gone riding with Colt behind her in the saddle. “Um … Sorry, I think the juice went down the wrong way … excuse me …”

“Graysen, I think you’d have fun riding today with Brady.” Her father knew that she wasn’t interested in Brady, but he wanted to get her attention away from Colt.

“Gray, go ahead and go. We’ve been here more than a week, and you haven’t been out riding much.” That wasn’t the case. She had been out with Colt several times. He loved showing her how capable a ride he was by demonstrating a variety of things he could do to her body while he maintained control of the horse. She shuddered as those memories flooded her heart, heat washing over her body.

She wracked her brain for some excuse that could get her out of going with Brady today, but it was useless. He smiled at her longingly while the rest of the table stared at her, knowing she was defeated.

“I suppose I could go today ...” Graysen decided she might as well get it over with. She wasn’t planning on meeting Colt until late that evening.

“Terrific,” Brady responded, smiling. He brushed his knee against hers lightly, leading Graysen to believe he had a different motive for their outing apart from horseback riding. “We can take the south trail that leads down to the main road of the ranch.”

“Harper,” Graysen turned to her sister, begging her. “Would you like to come with us?” If she had to endure this, she sure as hell didn’t want to do it alone.

Before Brady could protest, Carson chimed in. “Actually, Harper was going to take me on that trail that you two were on the other day, weren’t you Harper?” Her older brother, of course, was siding with her father on this whole thing. Harper gave her an apologetic look before Graysen turned back to give Brady a forced smile. “I ... I guess it’s just us then.” The hesitation in her voice was obvious, but Brady seemed to ignore it. He was too arrogant to think she wouldn’t be attracted to him.

***

A few hours later, Brady met Graysen at her cabin, and they walked to the stables. Well, Brady was walking. Graysen sort of dragged her feet in reluctance. Brady talked with one of the ranch hands near the corral about taking two of the horses out for an afternoon ride. After Brady assured him that they both knew how to ride, the hand told them there was someone in the stables who could help get the horses ready.