Rocky Mountain Cowboy (41 page)

“You are not my boss! So fuck you!”

“Do it, then! Fuck me!” God, she was driving him crazy, wiggling and tugging! She was so defiantly beautiful when she was this spitting mad. And he was so goddamned worried about her! It all made him feel dangerously raw and primitive. “Fuck me then,” he repeated, yanking her against the full length of his body, locking her in his arms despite her rigorous struggles. “Let’s end this, damn it!”

His mouth swooped downward in a ravenous kiss that took complete possession of her lips and every inch of her squirming body. He could feel all the pent up anger and thwarted passion that had been building in him released in the first moments of his kiss. His tongue drove deeply into her wet honeyed heat, thrusting against hers, dueling with hers. He was so hard he was afraid he was going to explode.
Dressed as he was in just his sweatpants, he knew she could feel his fierce arousal. He ground his hips against hers, rubbing, pushing, entreating. His hands slid to her buttocks and squeezed their soft round shape. Coherent thought scattered in a million directions, and he was sure he would die before he got inside her.

But he didn’t want to hurt her, and he was afraid he might have when he heard her whimper. She felt small and fragile in the tight lock of his arms
. He wanted her safe and happy. His kiss gentled. His arms loosened, but he kept her within their circle to prevent her from bolting away.

Only he
quickly realized that she no longer wanted to escape him. She’d risen onto her toes to reach his lips more easily, and her hands were locked around his neck, her fingers woven into the hair at his nape. He was no longer taking. She was no longer struggling. They were finally kissing each other, giving.

Jenny’s anger faded the moment Hawk’s kiss gentled. His body heat radiated around her as powerful waves of desire swept through her. The damn man ignited a firestorm of fierce need within her. She couldn’t resist him when he was so determined to have her, and damn it, loving him made it even more impossible to deny him. No matter how angry he’d made her, she hadn’t stopped loving him, needing him.

Undulating her hips against his, she pressed against his turgid length, wanting to alleviate the quickening inside of her. With a quiver, she gave herself up to the mindless hedonism of his erotic kiss, lifted one leg and curled it around his hips, wanting to get even closer than she was.

Hawk thought he heard her moan his name, but the blood pounding in his veins was so fierce, her voice sounded distant. He had never wanted any woman like he wanted her. He burned for her. The ache was raw, the need insatiable. The urgent desire to claim her, to completely possess her and mark her as his own rose inside him so fiercely, he felt overwhelmed by it.

His mouth slid down her throat as his hands slid to cup her bottom. He lifted her until she wrapped both long legs around his waist. Then he carried her to the bed, pushing her robe off her as he went. Beneath it, she wore a short little nightgown made of a satiny material. Beneath that, she was naked. The feel of her soft delicious bare flesh in his hands rocked him with white hot lust.

He set her on the edge of the mattress and whipped her nightgown off over her head. His eyes swept her naked form hungrily.

Jenny had his sweatshirt over his head before he could reach for her. With an impatient yank, he divested himself of his sweatpants, kicking them clear as soon as they reached his feet. His moccasins followed quickly. Pink-flushed skin and small pebble-hard nipples pressed against his chest as he lowered himself over her onto the bed. His knee moved between her thighs, and the soft curly hair between her legs felt warm and damp against his groin.

Lord, she felt exquisite— sweet and hot and utterly feminine, writhing beneath him, her flesh quivering, her need betrayed by the barely audible sounds that came involuntarily from her throat. He staked her arms above her head, and she immediately arched her smaller body upwards, voicing his name. Kneeling between her thighs, he spread her legs for his entry, but it wasn’t enough, so he growled into her ear, “Wider. More.”

She surrendered to him with complete abandon, just as she always did when they made love. There was no artifice, no game-playing; just raw honest passion. It had always been so different than it had been with Cindy.

He dropped his mouth to her high full taut breasts and licked each rigid little pink peak, tugging tenderly with his teeth, then finally engulfing one at a time within his mouth. His fingers traveled over every erogenous zone he’d discovered these past weeks. She moaned and whimpered with each stroke, each teasing caress. He loved it!

His mouth wandered lower, his tongue licking its way down the center of her nude body to her cute little belly button. After a moment’s diversion, his mouth moved lower yet, while his hands pushed her legs even wider apart. Then he slipped his hands beneath her to raise her hips to his oral invasion. He kissed her, licked her, even bit her gently. The scent and heat of her was nearly his undoing. She was twisting and moaning, her head digging into the pillows, her body arching upwards under his insistent, intense assault.

Hawk wanted her mindless with desire for him. He squeezed her butt. His tongue probed deeper, then swirled. He bit her again, gently. She nearly shot off the mattress. He pinned her down and continued to torment her. He knew he was making her wild as he drove her to the edge, then backed off, then drove her there again, only to leave her hanging once more. She cried out to him. Somehow he managed a laugh. He didn’t just want her mindless, he wanted her begging. He brought her nearer and nearer to a climax, over and over.

She was cursing him by the time he finally moved up her hot, slick gyrating body. “What do you want, princess?” he teased mercilessly. When she only shook her head back and forth, he held it still and demanded she open her eyes to look at him. “Tell me what you want.”

“You!” She was breathless, panting, her heart drumming. “I want you!”

His erection throbbed and jerked against her pelvis. Taking her slow like this was torturing him as much as it was torturing her, but he needed to hear how much she wanted him. Her
like I care
tonight had cut deeply. Bottom line— it hurt hell. He wanted her to care about him, more than he’d ever wanted anything in his whole damn life. Feeling savage with the need to hear her say it, he pushed a couple of inches of himself inside her, then pulled out again, wondering where the hell he found the capability to laugh as he did so.

She bit his shoulder and swore. “Damn you!”

His fingers clamped around her wrists as he dragged her arms over her head again. His gaze roamed her flushed face. The hair around her temples and neck was wet with sweat. Her lips were bruised and swollen. This time, he pushed himself halfway in before he pulled out, knowing he couldn’t keep this up too much longer or he was going to come long before he got fully inside her.

Jenny screamed his name when he withdrew. Hawk gritted his teeth. Before he gave her what she wanted, he wanted something from her.

“Tell me you care,” he demanded hoarsely.

“Damn it, you bullheaded bastard!” she cried.

“Tell me you love me.” He was relentless. He penetrated and withdrew again.

“Damn you!” Her eyes were fierce, her body taut, arched.

“Tell me, Jenny,” he whispered this time, poised above her barely touching her.

She met his eyes. “God help me, but I
do love you.”

His world righted again. He’d needed to know so damn badly that she still loved him. He thrust into her all the way finally, burying himself so deep he hoped he’d never find his way out again. Her hot channel closed around him like a fist just as she wound those long incredible legs around his hips, gripping him as fiercely as her inner contractions. Lost in her, he surrendered as last, climaxing hard, spilling his seed, planting it deep within her where it belonged; where he belonged.

As he collapsed into the incredible oblivion only she could bring him, he shifted onto his side and pulled her tight into the curve of his wet body. Still inside of her, he placed one hand behind her head and one behind her back, pressing her to his chest, tucking her under his jaw, certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was where Tom’s beloved daughter belonged— in
his
arms, at
his
side, with
him.
He’d find a way to keep her safe. He wasn’t going to lose her the way he’d lost so much in his life. Damn it, Brad wasn’t going to take her from him.

CHAPTER 24

Eli was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher when Hawk came through the back porch door the next evening. He’d gotten up before dawn to fly two businessmen to Cheyenne this morning, returned alone, parked his plane in its hangar, then made a quick trip into town. It was obvious he had missed dinner because Eli and Hank were still in the kitchen cleaning up. Carrying a big bouquet of flowers, Hawk greeted the two cowboys, then headed toward the living room, missing the look that passed between Eli and Hank.

Jenny had been on his mind all day. He’d hated leaving her so early this morning. She’d still been sound asleep, so he hadn’t wanted to waken her. But she was the only person he wanted to see at the moment, especially after what they had shared last night.

When he didn’t find her in the living room or the office, he headed upstairs. At her door, he didn’t bother to knock, just threw it open. But she wasn’t inside. He checked the bathroom, again not bothering to knock. Next, he strode across the hall to his room, then to Tom’s old room. There was no evidence of her anywhere. He returned again to her bedroom. It was neat as a pin today, but even though her clothes still hung in her closet, something was beginning to feel wrong. Alarm sent him back downstairs, the flowers still held absently in one hand.

Eli remained in the kitchen, though Hank had left. He stopped Hawk as he headed to the back door to check the barn. “She’s in Los Angeles,” the old man informed the younger one.

Hawk spun around. “Los Angeles? Why? When? She didn’t say anything about going anywhere.”

“She left this morning and caught a noon flight from Denver.”

“How did she get to Denver?”

“She drove her ‘Vette. Said she was going to check it into one of those long-term parking lots at the airport.”

“Then she’s coming back?”

“Reckon so.”

“What do you mean you reckon so? Did she say she was, damn it? Did she say when?”

“She wasn’t real clear ‘bout her plans, but I figure she’s coming back if she left her fancy car in Denver. Far as when, I got no idea. She was pretty close-mouthed ‘bout what she was up to. Just said she had to go to Los Angeles to take care of some business.”

“What kind of business? She just got back from there a couple of weeks ago!” Hawk set the flowers down finally on the kitchen table and spun a ladder-back chair around to straddle it and fold his arms over the top. His dark face was etched with anger and frustration. “Why didn’t she let you know when she was coming back?”

“Hell, man, I don’t know!” Eli threw his dishtowel onto the kitchen counter and came back to the table to sit across from Hawk. “I figure she wanted some time away to think.”

“To think about what, for christsakes?”

“I reckon you know more ‘bout
what
than I do, seeing as how you were such an ass refusing to form a partnership with her.” Eli gave him a glaring look.

Hawk dropped his hat onto the table and raked a hand through his hair. “Well, holy damn hell!” Then he hit the table top with his balled up fist. “She didn’t say anything about taking off last night.” Getting up, he paced to the door and back, then retraced his steps two more times. When he spoke again, it was barely audible, as if he was talking to himself. “We made up last night— at least I thought we did. She told me she loved me.”

Eli stood up and walked over to the younger man, whose back was to him. Quietly, he put his hand on Hawk’s shoulder. “Did you make up with her or just sleep with her?” When Hawk looked blankly over his shoulder at him, Eli rolled his eyes. “Young fool,” he snorted. “Did you tell her you’re in love with her? You are, you know. Hell, everyone can see it. Haven’t you figured that out yet, or are you just afraid to admit it?”

Hawk shook his head and frowned, deeply. “I don’t know, Eli. I thought maybe I’d told her by my actions how important she is to me, but ....”

“Not forming that partnership with her didn’t tell her how important she is to you.”

“I know, but damn it, I didn’t want her to become involved with this nasty business with Caldwell, and hell, I guess I’m not sure exactly what I feel, or maybe I don’t know what love is supposed to feel like.”

It was an honest admission, and Eli couldn’t blame him for his failure to recognize love. Except for Tom, Hawk hadn’t experienced much love in his thirty two years. He’d lost his mother early and never talked about her. He certainly hadn’t learned anything about love from Cindy Caldwell.

“Well, I’m no expert, but I was in love once, and I can tell you it makes you feel kinda crazy, like your whole life is outta control. You just can’t seem to get through the day without thinking ‘bout the woman; wantin’ to be with her all the time. Nothing seems important anymore, but her.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much how I feel.” The perplexed expression on his face faded into into a broad grin. “So, I’m in love, huh?”