Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Ten minutes later, Sam drove through an iron gate with a sign above it that read, Stone Ranch.
This was the first official ranch that Grace had been to.
A white, two-story house with blue shutters and a picket fence sat off in the distance.
A thin forest lined one side of the property.
On the others, there were just fields of green pasture.
She could see for miles in three directions, but not beyond the woods.
“Which Stone lives here?” she asked.
“It’s where I grew up. I own it, but Richard runs it with our ranch manager, Steve.”
“If he runs it, why is everyone staying at the hotel?”
Sam shrugged. “I’m sure that was more Sarah’s idea than Richard’s. She’s always wanted a lifestyle outside her means.”
“Then why didn’t she stick with you? I mean, you own your own company.”
“Not when we were engaged. I hadn’t decided what I wanted to do with my life, up until she broke my heart.”
“And so you’ve made it your personal mission to mend everyone else’s?”
“Something like that.” Sam bypassed the main house and pulled up behind the barn.
“You can’t be suggesting…”
“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. Don’t worry. The horses were boarded on a neighbor’s ranch and the staff has the week off due to the wedding. It’s just us and there’s no one to disturb us. No one even knows we’re here. The entire place is ours.”
“Then why not a bed?” she asked, climbing out.
“Bad memories,” he offered as his only clue. He didn’t need to say anymore. She knew exactly what he meant. Somewhere up in that house there were memories he’d like to forget. She’d help him make more memories, so that when he returned, he’d have something even better to remember.
“You sure you wouldn’t like a nice, comfortable bed? I can help you create new memories.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?” He teased before slipping out of the SUV and taking her hand.
He led her into the barn and up into a loft type area, which was filled with hay.
There was a window on the second story that was partially open.
Grace walked to it and glanced down at the pile of hay below.
“I bet you jumped from here when you were a kid.”
“You know I did.” He pulled her to him.
“All you’re missing is a cowboy hat, stud, and you could give me the full experience.”
“Next time.” Sam ran the pad of his thumb down her arm, driving the thrill of her needs to new heights.
She was nuts, certifiably so, for not immediately heeding her aunt’s demand to leave.
There was something about Sam that made her feel welcome, and home, something she couldn’t describe, something she didn’t want to analyze.
She just wanted to experience it right then, with him.
“You have goosebumps,” he said before kissing her. He traced a path over her outer thigh and beneath her dress. The feel of his hands on her thong excited her, as did the tear they made when he ripped them free. She had not been expecting that either.
“You read that in my book.”
His lips twitched. “Maybe. Let’s see if it turned you on.”
He ran his finger through her folds and moaned. “Damn, woman. It did.”
“I told you…women writers. Men could take a hint.”
“You’ve given me a whole new reason to read.” He dropped to his knees in front of her and kissed her inner thigh. The feel of his lips against her skin made her part her legs more. His chuckle filled the open loft as his hands caressed her ass. “I’m going to taste you.”
His words sent a ripple of awareness up her spine. The cool evening breeze from the open barn window chilled her sensitive bud making her shiver, and her nipples puckered beneath her dress. He blew on her sex before covering it with his mouth.
Grace cupped his head, holding on to keep herself from flying into orbit.
The scent of her arousal permeated the air as he ran his tongue through her folds, tasting and teasing her to the point that her legs were shaking.
Her need spiraled out of control until she was on the verge of breaking when he slowly pulled away.
He rose and kissed her, taking his time to let her taste herself on his lips.
“I want to taste all of you,” he said, turning her.
The sound of her zipper being lowered had moisture forming between her legs.
Sam slid the silky material down her arms, letting it pool at her feet around her boots before he reached for the silver chain and ran it through his fingers to her shoulders.
Every ounce of her wanted to tell him to turn her to see where it ended, but she didn’t.
The slide of his fingers over her shoulders as they followed the delicate chain that split around the neck and descended down the front of her body. He moaned when he found it attached to her nipple piercings.
“You’re the definition of sexy,” he whispered.
She reached behind her back, and between their bodies, unhooking his jeans and lowering his zipper.
He turned her in his arms and lowered her into the hay. His lips touched and tasted every inch of her exposed skin before he undressed. He rested between her thighs and held her gaze as he positioned himself at her entrance.
“Condom?” she asked, almost afraid that he wouldn’t have one. She was on the pill, but one could never be too careful, especially with the way women were turning up pregnant in her family.
Sam slipped a wrapper out of his pocket and ripped it open. The neon yellow glowed.
“Pretty. Just think. We’ll be able to find you if you get lost in the dark,” she whispered.
“I don’t think you’ll misplace anything of mine.”
His bulge was long and thick. He was most definitely right. “I’ve seen your goods. Show me you can make neon disappear.” She smiled.
“My brother insisted I needed the condom more than he did. He must have known we wouldn’t make it back to the hotel.”
“Remind me to thank your brother.”
She took the condom and rolled it down his shaft. He eased her back and repositioned himself. He held her gaze as he slid inside her tight channel. Sweat beaded on his brow as he took his time, easing into her.
“You won’t hurt me,” she said and dug her boot heels into his ass. “Take me for a ride, cowboy.”
“You’ve got it, baby.”
Sam winked and slid hard into her, stealing her breath. He eased in and out of her, filling her as he set up a pace and a rhythm that was sending her to new heights. She moaned as she dug her nails into his arms, wanting and needing him to feel everything she was.
“You’re so tight,” he murmured between clenched teeth as he continued his thrust.
“It’s been a while,” she said, lifting her hips to meet each of his thrusts.
He drove into her, his shaft pulsing with every thrust. She could feel her channel tighten on him and knew she was close. Neither of them would last long, not this first time. And it was definitely the first of many times tonight.
He wrapped his teeth around the nipple ring and gave a little tug, sending a path of electricity straight to her core that sent her flying over the edge.
Her muscles tightened around his shaft again as she cried out his name, coaxing his orgasm from him until he was seated deep inside her when he stilled, the muscles of his body hard as he gave a little thrust with another moan.
“Oh God.”
He collapsed to his elbows and deeply kissed her, taking his time to appreciate her thoroughly.
“I hope he gave you more than one condom.”
He shook his head. “I wasn’t expecting this. We’ll have to go back to the hotel for more.”
Sam rolled off her and pulled her into his side. He moved some of the hay over their bodies, aggravated he hadn’t thought to carry a blanket up to the rafters with them.
The creaking sound of a barn door opening made them still. Her eyes bulged as Sam handed her the dress and reached for his jeans. They tried as quietly as they might to redress.
“Sarah, you’re running out of time to convince him to sleep with you. He’s not going to need to be a math genius to realize this child isn’t his,” an unfamiliar male voice said.
Grace didn’t recognize the male voice and she froze, holding the dress up against her body. Sam’s cheeks turned an angry red, and not from the strenuous rafter play. He looked ready to explode as he clenched and unclenched his fists.
Grace grabbed his hand and shook her head, holding her finger over her lips.
“I poked holes in the neon condom and told him I couldn’t wait until our wedding day to have sex. That I wanted him tonight. I even paid the guys to make sure he was hot and horny. I’m trying my best to fix this, Steve.”
Grace’s eyes bulged as her gaze went to the discarded condom.
She covered her mouth with her hand. Sam mouthed obscenities that would have made her sister, Quinn, proud.
It was something she would have expected from her Aunt Betty.
Not Sam’s ex, Sarah. Yep, they were screwed…
literally. Had this been what Aunt Betty meant when she said their lives were in danger? God forbid one of them has a gun.