Heartbreak Ranch (9 page)

I must be crazy
, she muttered to herself as she grabbed a small flashlight from her bag, and crept out into the cool Wyoming night. Once outside, she briskly walked behind the cabin, and somehow in the dark, found the creek that Colt showed her yesterday. As she followed the water, she tried to calm herself by thinking of what she might say to him.
What am I doing?

Graysen noticed the lights on in Colt’s cabin and her heart galloped in her chest. She couldn’t determine if joy or fear were to blame. Excitement bubbled out of her, putting a sparkle in her eyes. Her heart had been racing since she had stepped out of bed, but now it hammered against her chest as though it were trying to break free from her mind’s prison.

***

Colt was exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep. He was seething. Not a blessed thing had gone well for him since Graysen left him, heart in hand, in the barn last night. He woke up that morning in a terrible mood, and it lingered with him throughout the day. He spent the morning mucking out the stalls. The newer hands usually had that chore, but Colt needed hard work to clear his mind of her.Tonight he was still burning with a dangerous combination of anger, lust, and frustration when he went to the bar to get a drink. Some of the other hands were there, and as he knocked back the first swallow of single malt, he listened in on their conversation. Lance was bragging about getting an up-close look at one of the female guests’ assets. He listened as Lance described Graysen perfectly.

He and another of the hands kept making lewd comments about her, and for some reason, it really pissed him off. Some primal place inside him claimed her as his. He reasoned that he was the first one to see her, catch a glimpse of her brilliant, soul-bearing smile and they had kissed. She was his. They had no right to lust after her. Lance got lucky that night, but not with Graysen. Heck pulled Colt off of Lance just as he was about to knock the stupid cowboy six ways into Sunday.

What in the hell is wrong with me?
Colt’s heart brewed, ready to explode. Last night in the stables, he sank into her scent and taste, wrapping her tighter and losing himself in the moment. When she ran her hands over his chest, they were like hot coals, stoking an already unquenchable fire. That kiss with Graysen last night knocked the common sense right out of him. He was in his late twenties, not his late teens. He’d had girlfriends before. He’d broken his share of hearts. He’d even been in love before. What was it about Graysen?

Whatever it was, his gut told him that she would be worth the wait. He would be patient and bide his time. He would let her think she was getting away for now. He needed to cool off and plot his next move. He stripped his shirt off, removed his boots and his belt and headed for the calm of a shower.

***

Just knock on the door already before you lose your nerve
, she told herself harshly as she stood on his porch, her face just inches from the front door. Her hand knocked on the wooden door of his cabin, maybe a little too loudly; a result of the adrenaline coursing through her body. She cussed a bit at herself for being at his front door at such a late hour. For a split second, she thought about running, but it was much too late for that.

As the door swung open, her eyes were greeted by Colt’s rock-hard, bare chest. A trace of chest hair made its way down the center of his chest, only to disappear into a pair of jeans that had the top button undone. Graysen’s thoughts flashed back to the first night she spotted him. He was atop the wild mustang, shirtless and covered in sweat. What she had seen that night now stood in front of her in far more detail than she could have hoped for. His bare-chested self was now branded into her mind forever. Graysen’s eyes traveled upward and met his stare. He didn’t say anything, but he stepped aside, giving her room to walk into the cabin.

Graysen hesitated. She knew that once she went in, her life would never be the same. Her desire to be with Colt pushed her over that threshold and into his living room. The large stone fireplace in the center of the room was surrounded by saddle-brown leather furniture that begged to be sat on. A bar separated the living area from a bright, clean kitchen. To the right of the living room was a door to what she presumed was his bedroom. All in all, it was a man’s house.

Graysen grew nervous as she turned to him. Colt stood against the back of the loveseat with his arms crossed. His eyes sparkled with desire. They roamed over her, but she knew he was not going to make a move. Instead, he was going to wait patiently until she made herself clear. His intensity flared and challenged her. She was the one who had gone there that night; she was the one taking the lead. Graysen looked at him with a pleading in her eyes, as if begging him not to make her feel this way. She sighed. She knew she had to speak her heart. She had to kick the can of fear down the road and take a risk.

“I’m going back to Iowa in a week and a half.” She said it more for herself than him. She was trying to reason with her emotions.

“Then why are you here tonight?” His voice was steady and firm, yet quiet.

“I ... I don’t know,” she said exasperatedly, turning away from him so that she could clear her head. He was barely dressed and standing so close to her that she could see a little nick from shaving amidst the fine scruff that danced across his jawline. Her heartbeat robbed her of her breath and her voice.

“Yes you do,” his voice softly scraped like sandpaper over her ears; one side rough and the other side smooth as he answered her.

“No ... I ... I couldn’t sleep.” There was no reason behind the words she chose.

“Well that makes two of us, Iowa,” his voice became more relaxed. “Can I get you a drink?”

“A drink? No ... No ... I don’t need a drink.”

Colt walked around to one of the chairs and sat down, his gaze still burning on Graysen’s back. “Perhaps some music then? I know how much you enjoy a good two-step.” He was teasing her now, playing off of her inability to express her desire.

She sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come here tonight.”

“But you are here, and you must have good reason to have come over in the middle of the night,” his husky voice grew more serious. “You need to admit to yourself what is going on. Graysen, turn around and look at me. Tell me what you want.”

He was right. She was here, and there was something that she wanted more than anything she had ever yearned for in her whole life. Slowly, Graysen turned to look at him, and without breaking the gaze between them, she walked over and stood in front of the chair opposite him. A current flowed between them like an unanswered challenge.

“Colt, I want you,” Graysen whispered in a voice so soft that she doubted he heard her.

“You want me to do what?” His eyes darkened, and his gaze was almost paralyzing.

“I want you to make me yours. I want you to make love to me.” She was shocked by the torrent of emotion which had caused those words to flow from her lips.

Colt came undone at her desire. A look of lust that promised to devour her filled his eyes as he rose from the chair. “Come here, Graysen.”

As he headily whispered her name, she couldn’t get into his arms fast enough. Suddenly she was being crushed to him, and their mouths met with fervor. Colt moved against her as if he couldn’t get enough, angling her head to deepen the kiss. Her thought process failed utterly, and she hung in a balance where sexual awareness gave way to deep-seated sexual need. She tried to kiss him back, but all she could actually do was stand there and experience this rare kiss. His tongue penetrated as his hands roamed up and down her back, making tiny little circles with his calloused fingers, and then over her backside, squeezing and gripping handfuls of material from her dress. She never realized a rough hand could be so damned sexy. They were on fire. All she felt was his hard body and bare skin against her, beneath her fingertips.

Her heart began to beat wildly; her knees started shaking at the sharp realization that every future kiss would have to compare to this one.

Colt’s eyes locked with hers, and she realized his breath was coming just as harshly as hers was. His hands still cradled her head, and his forehead dropped to hers as he took huge drags of air. “God, I love the taste of you, Graysen.” The words sounded exposed, almost naked to Graysen, and they sent her already decimated thought process into even more confusion.

He pulled away and sat back down in the chair. “Graysen, we need to slow down. I don’t want to rush this. I want to enjoy every delicious minute of loving you.” He was breathing hard, his eyes were blazing, and his body was tense and stressed. He reached out and took her hands guiding her to stand closer to him. He stood up, his hands moving back up her arms and then coming to rest on her shoulders. He grasped the straps of her dress. In one unbearably slow motion, he peeled it off her, and let it fall, pooling at her feet.

Colt let out a low groan between ragged breaths while his eyes memorized every inch of her. She was standing so close to him in just her white lacy bra and panties. He cupped her breasts gently through the thin barrier.

Her knees almost gave out. The ache she felt between her legs grew to the point of slight pain. “Colt ...?” Her voice was breathless. She knew she needed to tell him about her inexperience before they went any further.

“Yes, Darlin’?”

“I ... I, um ... I’m not ... Very experienced with this type of thing ...” she flushed, her cheeks hot with embarrassment.

He didn’t shift his gaze to her eyes until he realized what she was trying to get at. His eyes widened with surprise. “Are you ... Are you a ...?”

Before Colt could get the last word out, Graysen nodded sheepishly. He stood slowly, cupping her face. He stroked her check gently with his thumb. “Graysen, a moment ago you wanted me to make love to you. Has that changed?” His gentle, green eyes caressed her.

He still wants me?
“No that hasn’t changed. I still want you. I want to feel you inside me.” She whispered in agony, shocking herself at how bold her desire made her. That was all Colt needed to hear before he left a trail of kisses down her neck, nipping at her sensitive skin until she relaxed against him. She moaned with pleasure and clung to him.

The next thing she knew, he lifted her into his strong arms and carried her to his bedroom. His mouth never left hers. He sat down on the edge of the bed, cradling her against his muscular body so that she straddled him. He tugged her closer. He held her against him, his hands roaming her back while his tongue delved deeply, tasting her mouth.

Colt rocked into her body, his lips crushed hers. He consumed her as though she was his last meal. Graysen felt his throbbing erection pressing against her belly. She whimpered, tilting her hips against him to bring her aching wetness directly against the button fly that strained at his hardness. His hard bulge teased her soaked panties, the pleasure of sex against sex, making her weak with need.

“Wrap your arms around my neck, Hun,” he whispered against her mouth. As soon as she did as he asked, he moved his hands to unclasp her bra. He stared into her eyes and slid the straps down her arms at a maddeningly slow pace, unwinding her limbs from his neck as he did so.

Her first instinct was to hide herself. She’d never been naked in front of a man before, and part of her was reluctant to make herself so vulnerable to this one who seemed to be controlling her every move and thought with his touch. She made an ’x’ with her arms to cover her breasts as her lacy white bra dropped to the floor.

His gentle voice commanded, “No. Don’t. I want to see all of you, Graysen. I want you naked and undone beneath me.”

***

Colt had never craved a woman this much. While his heart hammered and his loins throbbed for release, he forced himself to remember this wasn’t just all about his needs. Methodically he set about his goal. He tugged on the ponytail holder that held her beautiful hair captive until it fell down in waves past her shoulders, grazing her breasts. Waves of chestnut strands sifted between his fingers.

Colt’s eyes devoured the sight displayed before him as Graysen unfolded her arms. “God, you’re beautiful.” Using the tips of his fingers only, he skimmed his hand down her chest through the valley of her breasts. His knuckles brushed the soft fullness. Her stiff nipples teased his palm, urging him to rub their peaks in lazy circles. Graysen’s eyes drifted shut and her mouth opened. A little gasp of pleasure escaped her full lips. Groaning, he lowered his mouth and kissed the center of her chest while he set her down on the edge of the bed and then pushed her down onto it.

“Graysen, I knew we would be together from the first moment I spotted you in the lodge. I knew then that it was inevitable. That we are inevitable.” His voice was a heavy, erotic whisper as he slowly drew a beaded nipple into his mouth, nipping gently before he laved it with his tongue. He rubbed his mouth back and forth between her breasts, and his jawline scraped her tender flesh with his stubble. “You have the softest skin I have ever felt.” He lifted his head and gave her a wicked grin as he cupped each one of her perfect globes in his hands, delicately thumbing her taut nipples.

Graysen moaned beneath his touch, and he watched her as one hand made its way down her body. Under the virginal white of her panties, he traced the narrow strip of curls that adorned her sex. No doubt they’d be an extraordinary shade of caramel like the rest of her hair. Imagining it had Colt gnashing his teeth to keep his waning control reined in. His erection begged for mercy.

“Yesterday was torture,” he whispered while she shivered in pleasure. “All I could think about was making you mine.” Testing how far he could push himself, Colt moved so his hand gently cupped her mound over her panties. Colt grinned victoriously at the discovery of how wet she was for him. “... I think we need to get rid of these, Darlin’.”

Moonlight fell over her, making her curves even lovelier if possible. Graysen moaned appreciatively when Colt leaned over and slowly removed her panties. They came off quickly and soon she was quite naked. He raked his gaze over the rest of her. A perfect bit of curls tempted him to discover their hidden treasure. Hell if he wasn’t going to find out.