Her Rugged Rancher (12 page)

Bella was the first to finally tear her mouth away and as she sucked in long, raspy breaths, she pulled apart the snaps on his shirt.

Once the fabric fell away to expose his bare skin, she said, “I wondered if the rest of you was as brown as your face. Now I can see for myself that you are.”

Helpless with need, Noah couldn't do anything to stop the reckless path they were taking. And when she lowered her head and touched her tongue to the center of his chest, his last exhausted attempt to resist collapsed. Like a dam trying to hold back churning flood waters, it burst wide and suddenly it was far too late to push her aside and walk away from the danger.

Slowly, the tip of her tongue made a swathe of moist circles upon his skin until the throbbing need inside him built to an unbearable pressure. Finally, he thrust his hands in her hair and gently lifted her head. And when his gaze connected with her smoky brown gaze, he was too overwhelmed to speak.

“Am I hurting your arm? Your back?” she whispered.

“You're making me hurt all right. But not in those places,” he told her in a voice rough with desire.

The corners of her lips tilted upward as she slipped her warm hands down over his rib cage and farther downward to the button on the waistband of his jeans.

“I don't have nursing skills,” she said impishly, “but I can try to ease the pain.”

He quickly moved them to a sitting position, but even then, she kept her hands on him, as though she feared he still might try to slip away from her grasp. The idea that he could make an escape now was laughable. Except that there was nothing funny about surrendering to this woman's arms. Mistake or not, he was tired of always denying himself the pleasures a man dreamed about, the love he needed to make himself whole.

“Bella.” He breathed her name as he nuzzled his nose against her cheek. “I don't want this to happen and then you have regrets.”

She eased her head back far enough to look into his eyes and in that moment Noah felt like a very young man, one who'd never been intimate with a woman before. Just touching Bella, looking into her eyes and having her hands move over him felt different and new. And so wonderful it nearly sucked his breath away.

“I don't want you to have regrets either, Noah. That would hurt me more than anything.”

“Bella, I—

Before he could finish, she gently placed a finger upon his lips. “You don't have to say it. Neither of us can predict the future. You've already told me no promises. I can live with that for now.”

She could live with it at this very moment, Noah thought, but how would she feel later? How long would it be before she wanted more from him? Things that he could never give her? Like marriage, a home and children?

He wasn't going to dwell on those questions tonight, Noah decided. No, for now he was going to simply enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman wanted to be in his bed. Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with the consequences.

Chapter Seven

N
oah rose from the couch and pulled her along with him. Once she was standing beside him, Bella's legs began to tremble as if she'd just jogged a fast five miles.

With a breathless little laugh, she snatched a hold on his arm to steady herself. “I think you've knocked my legs out from under me, cowboy.”

“I can fix that.” Bending forward, he put an arm around her back and the other beneath her legs, then lifted her easily off the floor. “Just hang on.”

“Noah! Your arm—the cuts!”

“Shh. A little flyweight like you isn't going to hurt my arm.”

Past the tiny kitchen, a door led into a shadowy bedroom. As he carried her into the small space, she caught a glimpse of a standard-sized bed with an iron slatted head and footboard and covered with a light-colored patchwork quilt. Along the outside wall, a window stood open, allowing the pine-scented breeze to drift into the quiet haven.

At the side of the mattress, Noah set her down on a braided rug, but kept his arms planted firmly around her. Their strength and warmth enveloped her with a sense of homecoming and she wondered if he had any clue as to how much he was affecting her. How much he was coming to mean to her.

Her heart was thumping wildly and the more she breathed, the more light-headed she felt. It seemed as if she'd wanted to make love to Noah forever. From the first moment she'd ever laid eyes on him, a feeling of wild, wicked desire had popped into her mind. It hadn't made sense then. But it did now. And as she slipped her arms around him, she felt as though her life was just beginning.

Tilting her head back, she met his gaze and a swell of emotions caused tears to sting her eyes. “Noah, it's been a long time since I—well, have been with a man. Please forgive me if I'm awkward.”

His hands gently cradled the back of her head. “Oh, Bella. You could never be anything but perfect. And anyway, I'm not exactly Mr. Romeo.”

She splayed her hands against his bare chest and curled her fingers into the patch of curly black hair. “You are to me, Noah,” she whispered. “And I want you just as you are.”

“You don't know what you're saying. But right now I don't care. All I care about is you. And this.”

His head dipped to hers and then his lips were on hers, creating a magic that caused her head to buzz. Excitement hummed along her veins and the glow deep within her ignited into a scorching flame that took away her breath and her ability to think. All she could do was react to the urgings of her body.

Tearing her lips from his, she began to shove his shirt down over his shoulders. In her haste, she forgot about the bandages on his forearm, until he winced and jerked his arm free of the sleeve.

“Oh, Noah, I'm sorry!”

“Forget it.” He tossed the denim shirt to the floor. “Just let me do it. It'll be faster.”

She stood to one side, watching as he stripped out of his jeans, then sat on the edge of the bed to remove his boots. Once he was down to nothing but a pair of plain white boxers, he reached out and pulled her between his legs. But not before she'd caught an eyeful of broad shoulders and a wide chest dusted with curly black hair. A corded abdomen narrowed down to a trim waist, while the long legs pressed on either side of her were all hard, sinewy muscle.

Being this close to his naked body, with the masculine scent of his bare skin wafting all around her was all it took to send ripples of excitement rushing through her. When his fingers began to clumsily deal with the buttons on her shirt, her nipples tightened with anticipation, her body ached to be connected to his.

Curving her hands over both of his shoulders, she leaned closer, while mentally willing his hands to move faster.

“I thought you said you could do this faster,” she said in a breathless rush.

He groaned with frustration. “I thought I could. But these damned buttons are too little for my big fingers.”

“Let me do it this way.” Brushing his hands aside, she grabbed the hem of the shirt and quickly tugged it over her head.

After she'd tossed the garment to the heap of clothing he'd already made on the floor, he stood and lifted her onto the bed.

“Be still,” he ordered as he reached for the closure on her jeans. “I can handle a pair of jeans.”

While he dealt with the button and zipper, Bella focused on the black waves of hair falling over his forehead. She'd never been this close to such a rugged, sexy man and the idea of making love to him was more potent than a shot of whiskey.

By the time he'd stripped her down to nothing but a set of pale pink lacy underwear and joined her on the bed, she was trembling with need, her breaths coming and going in jerky spurts.

He rolled her toward him and she wrapped her arms around his neck and aligned the front of her body next to his. With one arm, he pressed even closer and the sensation of his heated skin sliding against her breasts caused a shiver to ripple through her and a moan to find its way past her lips.

“You feel like a piece of hot satin against me.”

His voice was rough with desire and the sound was just as provocative as the touch of his hands moving against her back and down to the lace covering her hips.

“And you feel like everything I've ever wanted,” she whispered. “Make love to me, Noah.”

He tilted her chin to an angle where his lips could reach hers. His kiss swallowed up her sigh and then he broke the contact between their lips to begin a slow, sweet caress along the side of her throat.

Eventually the tempting kisses reached her collarbone and his hand found its way to the middle of her back to unfasten her bra. Once the flimsy garment slipped away from her breasts, his hands cupped their fullness while his gaze devoured the plump flesh.

When his head lowered and he drew a puckered nipple into his mouth, she cried out with pleasure and thrust her hands into his thick hair. His tongue laved the sensitive bud until she was writhing against him, desperate for even the tiniest form of relief.

Eventually, the hot throbbing in her nipple spread downward until it pooled in the intimate spot between her thighs. The unbearable ache caused her to tug on his hair and lift his head away from her breast.

“Noah—I—can't—wait! I need to feel you inside me! Now!”

* * *

Her frantic urgings pushed Noah's desire to the boiling point and it was all he could do to stay in control as he peeled off his shorts and rolled her onto her back.

Once he'd positioned himself over her, he took a moment to look down and as he gazed at her partially closed eyes and swollen lips, her dark hair lying in tangled strands upon the worn quilt, he was quite certain he'd never seen anything more lovely or precious.

“Bella. Oh, Bella, I wanted this to be slow and sure and perfect. But I—”

He didn't finish the rest as she suddenly snatched a hold on his hips and jerked him downward.

“It will be all those things next time,” she whispered.

With her hand on his manhood, she guided him into her soft, warm folds. After that Noah wasn't aware of anything except the movement of her body rising up to his, her hands skimming over his back and buttocks, the hot trail of her lips against his skin and the feel of her teeth sinking gently into his shoulder.

The need she was building in him far outweighed anything he'd ever felt before and the realization rocked the ground beneath him. As he frantically drove himself into her, flashes of the room spun wildly around him, while outside the window, the sound of calling night birds faintly registered through the hazy fog.

Tiny particles in his brain were questioning whether he'd gone crazy. If he had, then crazy was a place he didn't want to leave. For the first time in his life he wanted to give the deepest part of himself to a woman, and the feeling was so euphoric he wondered if he must be dying. No living man could feel like this and still be alive.

Time ceased to matter as over and over their bodies crashed together in a perfect rhythm that grew faster and faster until Noah's breath was gone and his heart pounded as if something wild had suddenly inhabited his chest.

Beneath him, Bella was groaning, her hands gripping his buttocks. And then suddenly she was arching and straining against him.

“Noah. My Noah!”

She was slipping over the edge and taking him with her. The frantic fall had him snatching her upper body close to his and with his mouth on hers, he made one final thrust. The release was so great he was certain he'd been catapulted to heaven. Every cell in his body felt like a glowing star and for one brief instant he felt immense happiness.

Rolling away from her, he lay on his back and fixed his gaze on the open window. His breathing was still coming in rapid gulps and though his heartbeat had slowed, it continued to throb loudly in his ears.

He'd never felt more weak and vulnerable in his life. Yet there was a sense of contentment in him that contradicted each doubt that swirled through his mind. In the end, he didn't know which feeling would win out, but for the moment it didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact that Bella was lying next to him. His bed was no longer empty. And neither was his heart.

Sighing, she turned onto her side so that she was facing him. Noah looked over at her and winced with longing as he scanned the soft light in her eyes and the tender smile curving her lips.

“I don't know what to say, Noah. Except that nothing like this has ever happened to me. Not like this.”

Her hand reached over and came to rest in the middle of his chest. Noah lifted it to his lips and kissed the tips of her fingers.

“It shouldn't have happened here in this old cabin. You deserve much better.”

She scooted close enough to press a kiss against his damp shoulder. “This old cabin, as you call it, was built by my grandfather. I happen to like it. Besides, what just happened between us would have been just as great if we'd been on the ground underneath a pine tree.”

The fact that she looked at everything so simply and logically made it impossible for Noah to express his feelings. She couldn't understand his thoughts or fears. He'd be wasting his time to try to explain them.

“Yeah. I expect it would,” was all he could manage to say.

Propping herself up on one elbow, she gave him a long, pointed look. “I told you I would have no regrets, Noah. And I don't. But I'm not so sure you can say the same for yourself.”

With a groan of frustration, he pulled her head down to his and cupped his hand against her damp cheek. “If you're thinking I regret what just happened, you're wrong. I feel blessed and honored to have you here with me.”

Her soft brown eyes swept over his face. “And what about happy? That's how I want you to be, Noah. Happy.”

He tried to smile and the effort made him realize the expression was one he'd rarely displayed in his lifetime. “I'm not sure I know what that is, Bella. If I was ever happy, the feeling didn't stick around. Maybe because I'm not capable of holding on to it. Or maybe I just didn't know what it was when I had it. Either way, you don't need to be worrying yourself about pleasing me. You've given me more than I ever expected to have.”

Her hand moved gently over his chest and Noah wondered if this might be how it felt to be touched by an angel. Bella was making him feel wanted and needed and that was a heavenly thing.

The need to put an end to his soft thoughts made him ease away from her and rise from the bed. After fishing his shorts from the pile of clothing, he tugged them on and walked over to the window.

As he breathed in the cool night air, he hoped the sharp, tangy scent of the pines would help to clear his mind. Yet he knew that nothing on earth would be able to erase the passion he'd just experienced with Bella.

So what was he going to do now? How would he be able to keep his hands off her? And if he couldn't, what would it do to his job, his friendship with Jett? He'd worked so hard to start his life over here on the J Bar S. If everything ended, he wasn't sure he'd have the will to start over again.

The deep thoughts were churning around in his head when Bella came to stand next to him.

“The night is beautiful,” she said quietly. “The crescent moon looks like it's pouring silver dust over the mountains.”

“It would be prettier if a band of clouds were pouring rain.”

She chuckled. “Spoken like a true Nevada rancher,” she said, then looked up at him. “Tell me how you came to be a cowboy and rancher, Noah. Was it something you always wanted to do?”

Noah had never talked much about his past. Sometimes with the ranch hands, he'd bring up a story or two about an ornery horse he'd ridden, or a particularly bad spell of weather he'd worked in. But that was as far as his reminiscing went. Bella deserved more than that, though.

“When I was just a little kid, I'd see cowboys on television and a few around the small town where we lived. But all I knew about them was that they rode horses and chased cows.”

A knowing smile tilted her lips. “And that seemed exciting to you.”

“Well, not any more than a fireman or policeman or some job like that.” He slanted her a wry glance. “My parents weren't exactly the sort to encourage education. Being a lawyer like you was as far out of reach as becoming president of the United States.”

“In other words, your parents never asked you if you wanted to be a doctor or lawyer.”

He let out a caustic laugh. “Hell, my parents couldn't even figure out where their own lives were going. They weren't concerned about what their little snot-nosed boy might grow up to be.”

Her hand rested on his arm. “I wish—well, that things had been different—better for you.”

He shook his head. “I'm not telling you this for sympathy, Bella. I made out okay. I had a roof over my head and food to eat. And when I went to live with my grandparents some things got better. They had a fairly nice house, plenty to eat, and the utilities were never turned off. But Granddad was a rigid, narrow-minded man, who believed everyone should see things his way. Even if I'd wanted to go to college, he wouldn't have helped. For one thing he was a miser. Secondly, he was a retired copper miner. The job had made him a decent living and he thought I was stupid for not wanting to do the same.”