Chapter 24 #2
She didn’t just walk up to me. She closed the distance in three quick strides and practically launched herself.
I caught her on pure Alpha instinct, gripping the backs of her thighs as she wrapped her legs securely around my waist. Without missing a beat, she reached up, plucked my hat right off my head, and plunked it onto her own, tipping it backward so the brim wouldn’t get in her way.
Before I could even process the gorgeous sight of her wearing my worn Stetson, she grabbed the neckline of my shirt and kissed me all over again.
It wasn’t a slow devouring like earlier or even a sweet, end-of-the-date peck.
It was hot, needy, and open-mouthed, and instantly demolished every single one of my good intentions.
I groaned, my hips jerking forward automatically, pressing my sudden, painful erection flush against the seam of her jeans.
“I’m trying to be a gentleman here, Sparkles,” I warned, my voice dropping an entire octave as I rested my forehead against hers. “I know you were just with Stetson a few days ago, and I know you’re probably a little sore.”
She grinned wickedly against my mouth, scent spiking with an intoxicating hit of pure arousal. “I’m not fragile, Ransom. Besides, I think the saying goes... save a horse, ride a cowboy.”
The playful banter evaporated from my brain. My grip on her thighs tightened until my fingers dug into her denim. “Don’t tease me, Sparkles.”
Her dark eyes locked onto mine, the humor dropping away to show me just how serious she was. If that weren’t enough, her scent turned downright sinful, letting me know she was already slicking her panties for me.
“Take me to bed, cowboy,” she purred.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I shifted my grip on the backs of her thighs, hoisting her a little higher against my chest, and marched straight out of the barn.
I didn’t set her down. Didn’t even consider it.
The walk across the gravel drive was a blur of heavy breathing and the hot, open-mouthed kisses she kept dragging along the line of my jaw, making all my blood rush south as my cock turned from steel to fucking diamond.
We hit the back porch, and I kicked the screen door open with my boot, carrying her right into the kitchen.
Boone was standing at the stove, a wooden spoon in his hand.
He glanced over his shoulder as we barged in.
His dark eyes tracked the way Julia’s legs were locked tight around my waist and the fact that my hat was sitting crookedly on her head.
He raised a single, thick eyebrow and shook his head, but underneath the gruff, silent exterior, his scent shifted.
It flared with warmth that tickled my nose. He was genuinely happy for us.
And a little jealous, which—duh. I was a lucky bastard, and I’d admit I was feeling smug about it.
Gideon was sitting at the center island. He didn’t even put his coffee mug down. He just took a slow sip and shot me a thoroughly amused smirk over the ceramic rim.
I didn’t slow my stride. “Evening, gents,” I managed to bite out, my voice tight with the strain of keeping my hands from stripping her right there in front of everyone.
“Have a good night, Ransom,” Gideon called after us, amusement dripping from his words.
I bypassed the main staircase that led up to the Omega suite. I was a greedy bastard, and I had waited a long damn time for this. I wanted her cherry and amber scent soaked directly into my own sheets. I took the back stairs two at a time until we hit the second-floor landing.
I kicked my bedroom door open, stepped inside, and shoved it shut with my heel.
The second the latch clicked, I walked her backward and pressed her flat against the wall.
“The gentleman is officially gone, Sparkles,” I warned, dropping my hands from her thighs to grip the hem of her shirt. I stripped it over her head, knocking my hat off her hair in the process. It hit the floorboards, forgotten.
Her bra was next, and then I just—stopped.
Stared. Swallowed. Because Julia was so damn gorgeous it physically hurt.
Her dark hair tumbled over bare shoulders, her olive skin flushed from her collarbones to the tops of her full breasts.
They were round and plump and looked impossibly soft.
I wanted to dip my head and taste her dusky, rose-brown nipples that were already pebbled and straining, practically begging for my mouth and teeth and tongue.
Every cocky, clever thing I’d ever planned to say in this moment evaporated like morning dew under a hot sun.
She was all luscious curves and silky skin, and the sight of her knocked the swagger clean out of me.
“Ransom?” She arched a brow, a smile tugging at her swollen lips. “You still in there?”
“Give me a second,” I managed, my voice coming out rougher than I intended. “I’m committing this to memory.”
Her cheeks darkened, and for once, she didn’t have a comeback.
I dipped my head and closed my mouth over one peaked nipple, dragging my tongue across the sensitive bud until she gasped and her fingers twisted into my hair.
I gave the other the same attention, tasting the salt of her skin and the faint sweetness underneath that made my head swim.
Her back arched off the wall, pressing herself deeper into my mouth, and the desperate little sound she made nearly ended me right there.
But I wasn’t done.
I set her on her feet and then dropped to my knees in front of her.
Her brown eyes went wide, staring down at me, her chest heaving.
I held her gaze as I unbuckled her jeans, hooked my thumbs into the waistband, and dragged them down her legs along with the scrap of lace underneath.
She kicked them away, bracing her hands on my shoulders for balance.
I lifted her left leg and draped it over my shoulder, pressing my mouth to the inside of her thigh. She trembled, her fingers tightening in my hair.
“Ransom—”
“Shh. I just need a little taste…” I turned my head and licked a slow, deliberate stripe right through her center.
Her knees buckled. I caught her, one arm banded around her thigh, the other gripping her hip to pin her against the wall while I buried my face between her legs.
She was sweet and slick and tasted better than any pie I’d ever had, and I lapped at her like a man who’d found water in the desert.
Her thigh shook on my shoulder, her heel digging into my back, and every sound falling out of her mouth was a reward I planned on earning again and again.
I could’ve stayed on my knees for hours. Could’ve made her come against my tongue and then done it twice more just because I could. But the ache in my cock was past the point of patience, and if I didn’t get inside her in the next thirty seconds I was going to lose my mind.
I pulled back, pressing one last kiss to the inside of her trembling thigh, and stood. Her leg slid off my shoulder, and she swayed on her feet, blinking up at me, completely dazed.
There was no slow, agonizing buildup. No tentative exploration.
We’d been flirting and dancing around this tension since the very first day I found her in my kitchen, and the fuse had finally burned all the way down to the powder.
She tore at the pearl snaps of my western shirt, popping them open with an urgency that matched my own beat for beat.
Once my shirt was gone, she raked her nails down my bare chest, leaving red trails behind that sent my pulse right through the damn roof.
My hands went to my belt before I could think about it, and I stripped the rest off in seconds flat—boots, jeans, boxers, all of it hitting the floor in a pile I’d deal with never.