CHAPTER FOUR
Rhett
I couldn’t get the taste of her out of my mouth.
It had been hours since I’d kissed her, since I’d felt her melt against me and heard those little sounds she made when I’d deepened the kiss, and I was still hard as a rock thinking about it.
About how sweet she’d tasted, how responsive she’d been, how she’d gripped my jacket like I was the only thing keeping her upright.
About how she’d admitted she’d never done any of it before.
Virgin.
Maggie was a virgin. And that possessive, primal part of me that I usually kept locked down tight was roaring with satisfaction at the knowledge. Mine. She’d be mine. First and only, if I had my way about it.
I adjusted myself on the saddle, thinking I hadn’t been this horny even as a teenager, wet behind the ears.
I’d had my share of women over the years. Bought and paid for with a fancy dinner, maybe a trinket. I knew I was handsome and could be charming when I put forth the effort. I usually didn’t have to with women. My bank account did the talking for me.
But with Maggie. I didn’t see dollar signs in her eyes. I say wonder. Curiosity.
And heat.
Despite her innocence, she wanted me.
I knew it.
She knew it.
And getting her in my bed? It wasn’t a question of if anymore. It was when.
When I arrived at her place, she was already outside, pacing the porch like she was nervous. Good. She should be nervous. She should be thinking about that kiss, about what it meant, about what came next.
She looked up when she heard me approach, and I didn’t need to see the blush staining her cheeks to know it was there.
Now, I wanted to see it everywhere on her body.
She was wearing jeans again and a blue flannel shirt that looked too big on her.
Her aunt’s probably. And she looked beautiful to me.
“Morning,” I said, dismounting.
“Morning.” Her voice came out a little breathless, and I smiled. She was affected. Had she spent the night thinking about me the same way I’d spent all night thinking about her?
“Sleep well?” I asked, even though I knew damn well she hadn’t.
“Fine.” A lie. I could tell by the way she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt and refused to meet my gaze. “What are we doing today?”
“Thought I’d take you out to check the cattle. You’ve got about thirty head that need to be looked over, make sure they’re healthy, not injured.” I moved closer, watched her track my movement like prey watching a predator. “But first, come here.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Come. Here.” I let command seep into my voice, the tone I used when I expected to be obeyed. “Now, Maggie.”
She hesitated for just a second, then walked down the porch steps toward me. When she was close enough, I reached out and snagged her wrist, pulling her against my chest.
“Rhett—”
“I’ve been thinking about you,” I said, my free hand coming up to cup her jaw, tilting her face up to mine. “I’ve been thinking about this mouth, about how sweet you tasted, about all the sounds you made when I kissed you.”
Her breath hitched. “We shouldn’t—”
“We should. We are.” I brushed my thumb across her bottom lip, watched her eyes go dark. “I told you yesterday that kiss was just the beginning. Last night, did you think about what comes next?”
“I—” She swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do.” I leaned in close, my mouth right by her ear. “You know exactly what I mean. You laid in your bed and touched yourself, thinking about me, didn’t you?”
Her sharp intake of breath told me everything.
“That’s what I thought.” I let my hand slide down from her jaw to her throat, feeling her soft skin beneath my rough palm. “Did you come, Maggie? Did you touch that pretty pussy and imagine it was my hand, touching you? Rubbing that sweet clit of yours?”
Her face went scarlet, and she tried to pull away, but I held her firm.
“Don’t be embarrassed. It’s natural. I did the same thing thinking about you.
” I pressed my hips forward slightly, let her feel exactly how hard I was.
“I stroked my cock last night imagining what you’d look like spread out beneath me.
Imagining what you’d sound like when I finally get my mouth between your thighs and make you come on my tongue. ”
She made a strangled sound, half shock and half arousal, and I grinned against her ear.
“You like when I talk like this,” I said. “You like it when I tell you exactly what I want to do to you. I can feel your pulse racing, feel the way you’re pressing closer even though you’re trying to act scandalized.”
“You’re—this is—” She couldn’t seem to form a complete sentence, and I loved it.
“This is me being honest about what I want. About what we both want.” I pulled back just enough to look at her face, to see the way her eyes had darkened, watch the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Fuck, her tits were perfect.
“You’re curious, aren’t you? You want to know what it feels like when a man touches you properly.
When he knows exactly how to make you come apart. ”
“Rhett...” It came out like a plea.
“I’ll show you, Maggie. I’ll show you everything.
But you have to tell me you want it. You have to tell me you want my hands on you, my mouth on you.
” I slid my hand down to her hip, squeezed.
“You have to tell me you want me to fuck you until you forget every other man who’s ever looked at you and know that you’re mine. ”
“I’ve never—no one’s ever—”
“I know. That’s what makes this so damn perfect.
” I kissed her then, hard and possessive, swallowing whatever protest she might have made.
She melted into me like she’d been waiting for it.
Her hands fluttered between us, then grasped my shoulders, anchoring herself to me.
I deepened the kiss and let her feel the full force of my want.
When I pulled back, we were now both breathing hard.
“Today we’re checking cattle,” I said. “But tonight, you’re coming to my place for dinner. And after dinner, I’m going to start teaching you exactly what that body of yours is capable of feeling.”
“I don’t think—”
“Don’t think. Just say yes.”
She stared up at me for a long moment, conflict written all over her face. Then, so quietly I almost missed it. “Yes.”
Satisfaction rolled through me, dark and possessive. “Good girl.”
We spent the morning riding through her property, checking on the small herd of cattle that grazed there.
I showed her how to spot signs of illness or injury, how to move cattle without spooking them, how to read their body language.
She paid attention, asked smart questions, but I could tell her mind was somewhere else. On tonight. On what I’d promised her.
Good. Let her think about it. Let her get herself all worked up imagining what I was going to do. It would only make her more responsive when I finally got my hands on her properly.
Around midday, we stopped by a creek to water the horses. Maggie climbed down from her mare with more confidence than she’d had yesterday, and I watched the way her ass moved in those jeans as she walked to the water’s edge. Perfect. Round and full, the kind of ass I wanted to grip while I—
I shook my head, trying to focus. Tonight. I’d have her tonight, and I could take my time with her, do this right. She deserved to be seduced properly, not thrown down by a creek because I couldn’t control myself.
She knelt by the water, splashing some on her face and neck, and I watched a droplet run down her throat and disappear beneath her shirt. My cock throbbed.
“You’re staring,” she said without looking at me.
“Damn right I am.” I moved closer, standing over her. “I can’t help it. You’re distracting as hell.”
“I’m just washing my face.”
“You’re being sexy without even trying, and it’s making me think about all the ways I want to touch you later.”
She looked up at me, some of her sass returning. “You can’t just say things like that.”
“Why not? It’s true.” I reached down, offered her my hand to help her up.
When she took it, I pulled her to her feet then pulled her straight into my arms. “I’ve thought about you constantly, Maggie, for the last fucking forty-eight hours.
I think about burying myself so deep inside you that you’ll feel me for days after. ”
Her breath came faster, and I watched her throat work as she swallowed. “Rhett...”
“Tonight,” I said, my hand sliding down to cup her ass, pulling her tight against me. “Tonight I’m going to lay you out on my bed and learn every inch of this body. I’m going to find out what makes you gasp, what makes you moan, what makes you come so hard you forget how to breathe.”
“I don’t know if I can—”
“You can. You will.” I kissed her again, slower this time but no less intense. “And you’re going to love every second of it, because I’m going to take care of you. I’m going to make sure your first time is so good you’ll be begging me for more.”
When I pulled back, she was trembling. “What if I’m not... what if I don’t know how to—”
“You don’t have to know anything. That’s my job.” I brushed my thumb across her cheek. “All you have to do is trust me, let me make you feel good. Can you do that?”
She nodded, and the trust in her eyes made something in my chest go tight.
“Say it,” I commanded. “Tell me you trust me.”
“I trust you.” Barely a whisper, but it was enough.
“Good.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead, gentle compared to everything else. “Now let’s finish up here so I can get you home. I’ve got plans to make for tonight, and you’re going to need your rest.”
“Why do I need rest?”
I grinned, slow and wicked. “Because once I get you in my bed, sweetheart, I don’t plan on letting you sleep much.”
The rest of the day dragged. I sent her home around two, told her to be at my place by seven. That would give me enough time to make sure everything was ready, to make sure I had everything I needed to make this good for her.
My housekeeper was surprised by my early return but didn’t question when I asked her to fix dinner early and leave it in the refrigerator so I could heat it up later. Nor did she question that I asked her to prepare enough for two people. She did smile when I told her she could leave afterwards.
Too restless to stay alone with my thoughts, I went back out, catching up with the men. I sent two over to Maggie’s to check on a couple of animals and mend a section of fence line I’d noticed was down.
I took a shower and dressed. Jeans and a clean shirt. Then, I drove into town to get condoms. Condoms, because even though I wanted to feel her bare, I wasn’t an idiot, and her first time wasn’t the time to be reckless.
While women were in and out of my life, there wasn’t a constant stream. It had been over a year since I’d touched a woman in fact. Maybe that was why I wanted Maggie so fucking much.
“Shit.” I cursed, knowing that wasn’t the truth.
I’d never been so attracted to a woman before in my life the way I was with Maggie.
There was just something about her. Her damn curves.
Her attitude, which I fucking adored. And that innocence.
I didn’t think that would ever fade—not even after taking her to my bed.
I glanced at the time. It was time to go get her. My cock went hard.
She opened the door almost as soon as I knocked. She was wearing a dress. It was simple, nothing fancy, but it hugged her curves in a way that made my mouth water. Dark green, hitting just above her knees, showing off legs I wanted wrapped around my waist.
“Hi,” she said, and she sounded nervous.
“Hi yourself.” I crowded her, stepping inside. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. I wasn’t sure what to wear.”
I cut off her rambling by pulling her to me and kissing her. She made a soft sound of surprise, then melted into it, her hands coming up to rest on my chest. I pulled away slowly. “Are you sure you didn’t wear it to give me easy access, darling?”
I wasn’t surprised when she slapped me on my chest. “No. You’ve got a big enough ego as it is.”
“Oh, baby, you have no idea how big I am.”
“Rhett!”
I leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. “You’ve got about twenty more minutes to act innocent, darling. Now come on.”
I took her hand and pulled her behind me to my truck. I wanted to press her against it, steal another kiss, but knew my control couldn’t take it. It only took about ten minutes to get to my house. I parked the truck in front, and came around to her side.
I opened the door and looked down at her. “Dinner can wait. I need to touch you first. I need to taste you. I’ve been silently going out of my mind all day thinking about getting my hands on you.”
“Rhett.” My name was a soft whisper.
“Tell me no if you don’t want this. Tell me to stop, and I will. But if you don’t say it in the next five seconds, I’m taking you to my bedroom and showing you exactly what I meant when I said I was going to make you mine.”
Five seconds passed.
She didn’t say no.
“That’s my girl,” I murmured, bending down and lifting her into my arms.
She yelped, but her arms went around my neck. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you to bed.” I headed for the stairs. “Where you belong.”
“I can walk and I’m too heavy.”
I stopped. “What did you just say?”
She tilted that defiant little chin at me. “I said I’m too heavy to carry.”
“I’m a grown man, Maggie. I can decide what I can and cannot do.
And carrying you, feeling these curves against me.
It’s the best damn feeling I’ve had a long time.
” I continued into the house, opening the door while still holding her tight.
“And if I wasn’t in so much of a hurry to feel that tight pussy of yours squeezing the life out of my cock, I’d put you over my knee for saying that. ”
She opened her mouth than closed it. I kicked the door shut behind me and carried her up the stairs straight to my bedroom.
I set her down next to the bed, then stepped back, giving her space.
“We’re going to take this slow. Or as damn slow as I can,” I said ruefully, even though every instinct I had was screaming at me to throw her down and devour her. “I’m going to touch you, kiss you, make you feel good. And if at any point you want me to stop, you tell me. Understand?”
She nodded.
“Words, Maggie. I need to hear you say it.”
“I understand.”
“Good.” I moved closer, ran my hands up her arms to her shoulders. “Now, let’s get you out of this dress and see what you’ve been hiding from me.”