Midnight Thunder(INCR) (11 page)

Lexi had figured that, but no mass appeal ideas were coming to her. “What was your hook for the microbrewery?”

“I found a semi-historic building that was scheduled to be demolished. Turned out people were sentimental about it, which helped a lot. I proposed to save it and turn it into a viable business, which would revitalize that area.”

Damon looked impressed. “That's brilliant. Unfortunately there's nothing semi-historic about Thunder Mountain Ranch. Judging from the architectural style, I'd say it was built in the fifties.”

“Maybe somebody famous lived here,” Finn said.

Cade swallowed a mouthful of beer. “If they had, Rosie would have loved telling us about it. I think we're as famous as it gets.”

“Then we're in trouble.” Finn glanced around the kitchen. “People would donate to revive it as a foster home, but if Rosie and Herb's retirement is gone, they need a decent income producer.”

“They'd be okay if they sell, though. There's equity in the place.” Lexi wouldn't let the guys forget that option. She didn't want to see that happen, either, but it might be the least stressful outcome for Rosie and Herb.

“They could do a reverse mortgage,” Finn said.

Damon pushed back his chair. “Okay, that's another idea, but it doesn't sing to me. They could still end up scrimping their way through their golden years. I like the crowdfunding option, but it needs more brainstorming and my brain's fried.”

“Mine, too.” Finn stood.

“We'll tackle the subject again tomorrow when we're not so tired.” Damon gathered up empty beer bottles and carried them over to the recycling bin in the corner of the kitchen.

“Good idea.” Finn threw away the pizza box. “We'll take our stuff down to the cabin and get a good night's sleep. Then we can meet back here for breakfast and talk about it some more.”

“You two go ahead.” Cade stood, too. “I have something to discuss with Lexi.”

“Sure.” Damon scrubbed a hand over his face, but not before Lexi caught his grin. “How about we take your cat? You know a cabin's just not complete without a cat.”

“If you can pry him off Lexi's lap, then go for it.”

“Piece of cake.” Damon walked over to where Lexi sat cradling Ringo. “Hey, fur ball, there will be kitty treats and play toys before bedtime down at the cabin. Wanna come with me?”

Cade peered at his friend. “And what kitty treats and play toys would those be?”

“When we stopped to pick up cat food, I bought some kitty yummies, a couple of catnip mice and a feather wand. You must have missed that.”

“I do believe I did.” Cade shoved back his hat to study Damon. “I thought you were all about dogs. Since when did you become a cat guy?”

“You must not have been paying attention, Gallagher. I've always liked cats.” Damon neatly scooped Ringo into his arms. “Especially great ones like this dude. Come on, Ringo. It's you and me, buddy.” Damon tucked the purring cat against his shoulder and glanced over at Finn. “You coming, brewmeister?”

“Yep. I hope you got fish flavored, because those usually go over better than chicken.”

“I got some of each, just in case.”

“Good idea. What brand?” The two men left the kitchen discussing the merits of various kitty treats.

“They've kidnapped your cat.” Pulse racing, Lexi pushed back her chair and stood to face the man she hadn't been able to resist since she'd turned sixteen.

“Looked to me like he went willingly.” He pulled her slowly into his arms. “How about you?”

“As you probably recall, I've never been interested in telling you no.”

He nestled her against his hard body as his green gaze lingered on her mouth. “I'm counting on that.”

“But...not here.”

“No, not here.” He leaned down and brushed her mouth with his. “Let's take a drive.”

 

10

L
IKE
ANY
SENSIBLE
cowboy who drove in unpredictable Rocky Mountain weather, Cade kept a couple of blankets tucked behind the passenger seat of his truck. He'd gotten new ones since he and Lexi had been dating. Back then blankets had been for emergencies in the winter and lovemaking in the summer.

“I've never had sex on these,” Lexi said once they'd arrived at their old make-out spot and he spread the blankets out in the back of his pickup.

He left his hat on the tailgate and hopped down to gather her close. “Matter of fact, I've never made love to anyone but you in the back of this truck.”

She smiled and nestled against him. “Because no other woman would put up with it, I'll bet.”

“
No.
Because the back of this truck is...ours.”

“Oh, Cade.” Her sigh was long and heartfelt.

That tender sound stirred him in ways that he couldn't even begin to identify. The urge to bond with her in a basic, earthy way was so strong—he needed her clothes off
now
. A few clouds had moved in, and the half-moon continued to play hide-and-seek. In the gaps between the clouds, the stars glittered like rhinestones on a fancy pair of tight jeans. He wanted her stretched out on those blankets, moonlight and starlight gleaming on her skin as he touched every inch of her warm body. After boosting her up to the tailgate, Cade pulled off her boots and tucked them in a corner of the truck bed. He'd always put her boots right there, and he had some superstitious idea that if he followed their pattern, they'd re-create the magic they'd known all those years ago.

She remembered her cues and pulled off her knit shirt. The next move was his. Reaching behind her back, he unhooked her bra and drew it slowly off as he kissed every precious inch he revealed. At last his mouth closed over her nipple, and she clutched his head with a soft moan.

Their lovemaking this morning had been incredible, but he'd missed this, the sweetness of that tight bud against his tongue and the way her breathing changed as he sucked. She was sensitive to this particular caress and sometimes would come with nothing more than his mouth at her breast.

But he longed to touch her in other ways. When he unfastened her jeans and slipped his hand underneath the denim, she parted her thighs and his blood pumped faster. She might have changed her attitude about many things, but in this, she was his Lexi, wanting his touch, wanting his thrusting fingers to bring her pleasure.

As he used his lips and tongue to tease her breast, he stroked her slick heat, causing her to gasp his name. Pushing deeper, he coaxed her up, up, until she surrendered with the sharp cry that had haunted his dreams. He felt her climax from his fingers to his toes. He damned near came with her.

But he held back, and, as she drifted down to earth, he stepped away from the truck and took off his clothes. His friends had done him a favor by asking him to bring his cat to the kitchen, because that had given him a chance to stuff a couple of condoms in his pocket. He'd had no guarantee that he'd use them tonight, but having Lexi on the property had been a start.

By the time he climbed up on the tailgate, she'd wiggled out of her jeans and lay waiting for him on the blankets.

He knelt beside her and laid both condoms in her hand. “Hold on to these for later.”

“How much later? I need—”

“It's been a long time, Lexi. I didn't get to do all that I wanted to this morning.” He smiled at her. She probably couldn't see that in the dark, so he leaned down and nibbled at her mouth. “You're delicious, and I've missed you so much.”

“I've missed you, too.” She wrapped her hand around his cock. “Don't I get a taste?”

His heart thumped wildly, and he had to swallow before he could speak. “Is that what you want?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

“I'm...I'm a little out of practice.”

“Me, too. So let's practice together.”

Excitement threatened to sabotage his control as he made a one-eighty turn to give her what she'd asked for. They'd experimented with this when they'd first discovered sex. While it required a certain amount of coordination, they'd taken that as a challenge and had discovered they liked it. A lot.

She'd said she was out of practice. Had she saved this special pleasure for him? Maybe in her mind, as in his, this also belonged only to them.

And oh, sweet heaven, it was as wonderful as he remembered. As he sipped the tangy juices of her arousal from the soft petals of her secret center, she took his aching cock deep into her hot mouth. Sucking gently, she taunted him with flicks of her tongue and light pressure from her teeth.

He groaned and took his intimate kiss deeper. He used his tongue more aggressively, and as she applied more pressure, so did he. She massaged his balls, and he cupped her firm little ass. Pressing his fingers into her soft skin, he spread her thighs wider, giving him greater access.

His climax hovered, demanding release. Then she lifted her hips at the same moment she took him deep. He sucked hard on her clit as his cock touched the back of her throat. They both came in a blizzard of sensation that was a hundred times, a thousand times, more intense than he remembered.

And as they took all that each of them had to give, a soft rain began to fall on his bare back and the clenching muscles of his buttocks and thighs. Slowly his trembling body grew still, and she relaxed against the blankets. Raindrops gently touched his skin.

He shifted back around so he could gaze into her shadowed face. “It's raining.”

“I know.”

“Do you want to get into the cab?”

“No. Do you?”

“No. Still got a condom?”

“Yes, but you can't be ready to—”

“Like I said, it's been a long time.” He rolled the condom on his stiff cock. He hadn't been this quick to recover since he'd been a teenager. He pushed effortlessly into her orgasm-slick channel and made long, slow love to her while the rain fell in a soothing, steady rhythm.

It ran in rivulets over his back and shoulders and onto her face and breasts. He paused to lick the drops from her nipples, from the hollow of her throat, from her smiling lips.

“I like this,” she murmured.

“Me, too.” The rain dribbled between his thighs and mingled with her juices until they were both slippery as otters. The squish and slide of their bodies moving together was the most erotic sound he'd ever heard.

He wanted it to go on forever, but his climax edged closer with each thrust. He traced her rain-wet mouth with his tongue. “Can you come?”

“Oh, yes. I'm trying to wait, but—”

“Don't wait.” He pumped faster.

“Not waiting.” She dug her fingers into his back.

When her hot channel contracted, he drew back once more. Pushing in hard, he surrendered to his body's fierce demands. His cock pulsed within her as she arched upward with a wild cry of release. Gasping, he shoved deeper, wanting...wanting...Lexi. Only Lexi.

As the aftershocks lessened, he rested his forehead against hers. “And I thought this morning was epic.”

She stroked his back, her palms slick against his skin. “We've never done it in the rain.”

“For good reason.” He lifted his head to gaze down at her. “You were still living at your folks' house then. I couldn't take you back there looking like a drowned rat.”

“Do I look like one now?”

“Can't tell. Too dark.”

“Bet I do.” She laughed. “And I don't care. This has been awesome.”

“Yeah.” He dropped a sweet kiss on her mouth. “It—” A rumble in the distance made whatever he'd been about to say unimportant. “Okay, time to pack up. Rain is one thing. Thunder and lightning is something else.”

“I agree.”

After rolling away from her, he removed the condom and left it in the truck bed. He'd deal with that later. “Forget your clothes for now.” He crawled to the tailgate and jumped down. “I'll carry you back to the cab.”

“You don't have to. I can—”

“Come here, Lexi.”

“Okay.” She crawled to the edge of the tailgate.

He scooped her into his arms and started toward the front of the truck. “You sure are slippery.”

“I said I'd walk.”

“I like you when you're slippery.” Rocks and pine needles bit into the bottoms of his feet, but he ignored the pain as he hurried to the passenger door. “You'd better open it.” He angled her so she could reach.

She'd no sooner clutched the door handle than lightning cracked close by. She flung the door open and he dumped her onto the seat.

“You're coming in, too!” She grabbed his arm, and because he was off balance, she managed to pull him partially through the opening.

Rather than stay like that, he crawled the rest of the way in and managed to close the door just before another bolt of lightning slammed down. For a split second everything was bright as day, but then blackness closed in again.

That was the thing about Wyoming. When you drove into the boonies to make out, you'd better have a flashlight because it would be pitch-dark. His was in the glove compartment and there was no way he could open that with both of them tangled up on the passenger side.

Maybe not being able to see had heightened his other senses. The fragrance of sex seemed to fill the cab, and each tentative movement on his part put him in contact with her soft, womanly body. Her skin was still wet, which reminded him of how good she'd felt as he'd eased in and out. In no time at all, he wanted her again.

“Um, Cade?”

“I'm squashing you, I know. I'd turn on the dome light, but the bulb's out and I haven't gotten around to replacing it. Give me a second to figure out the best way to maneuver across the console into the driver's seat.”

“I don't mind being squashed. You're not hurting me or anything, but I'm worried that pretty soon you'll put my eye out.”

“With what?”

Warm fingers wrapped around his cock. “This.”

He started laughing and couldn't seem to stop.

“Now it's jiggling but getting harder.”

“I don't doubt it.” He gulped for air, but fresh bursts of laughter kept bubbling up. He wondered if a man could have a climax and laugh at the same time. Still chuckling, he reached down and put his hand over hers. “You can let go now. I'll make sure I don't do any damage with my mighty battering ram.”

“Or, since I'm holding the second condom in my other hand, I could—”

“You have it?”

“I'd put it down while we had rain sex, but when I started crawling toward you my knee bumped it, so I picked it up. No sense losing it.”

“Guess not.”

“We made love in this seat once before, remember?”

“I remember everything we ever did together, Lexi. It was snowing.”

“Yep. And now it's thundering.” She stroked his cock. “Seems a shame to waste a perfectly good erection.”

He started laughing again, but the sound of foil tearing sobered him up fast. “You're serious about this.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't know if I can reverse our positions without hurting you. The other time we had it all worked out in advance. I sat down first and then you climbed onto my lap. Now I'm sort of in your lap.”

“Trust me.”

As she smoothly rolled on the condom, he decided he had no choice. Sometimes a guy had to do what a guy had to do. They went through a few contortions before his bare butt settled into the imitation leather seat, and he hit his funny bone on the dash. But he managed to keep her bruise-free, and that was the main thing.

Well, no, it wasn't. When she straddled his hips, placed her hands on his shoulders and lowered herself onto his waiting cock,
that
was the main thing. At first she went slow enough that he could cup her breasts and play with her nipples. But then she picked up speed.

As her backside slapped his thighs, their ragged breathing drowned out the thunder. Her cries of pleasure and his deep groans muffled the crash of lightning. As they held each other close while their bodies quivered, he was willing to believe it was snowing outside and their five years apart had been a bad dream.

“The storm's over.” She cupped his face in both hands and feathered a kiss over his mouth. “We should head back.”

“I don't want to leave. Let's homestead this spot, build a cabin, live here forever.”

Her breath caught. “Cade, I—”

“Just kidding.” Whatever she'd been about to say, he didn't want to give her a chance to say it. Not tonight. Not when they'd made love in the rain and overpowered the thunder with their cries.

“I knew that.” She climbed off his lap with great care and moved to the driver's seat.

“I don't know how to build a cabin, anyway.” He opened the glove compartment and took out a trash bag for the condom. “I could get Damon to do it, but he'd probably make me get permits and inspections. I just want to cut down some trees, notch them like Lincoln Logs and put the thing together.”

“Yeah, Damon would be all about building to code.” She leaned her head back against the seat. “He knows about us, doesn't he?”

No point in denying it. “Does that upset you?”

“Not really. If you move back like you're hinting you might, then everybody will assume we're together unless we tell them different.”

“I'm moving back.”

“I figured.” She sounded amused.

“And not only because of the great sex we just had, smarty-pants.”

“I know.” She turned her head to look at him, even though neither of them could see each other very well. “There's Rosie and Herb, and whatever help you can be to them right now. And you love the mountains.”

And you, a feeling that goes way beyond sex.
But he didn't say that. “Then there's this crazy thing with my relatives. If I'm going to get to know them, I want to do it from here, from my home base. I don't know if that makes any sense now that I've said it out loud. But it's what I want to do.”