Chapter 18
Desire raged, and need consumed her. Abby couldn’t catch her breath, but she didn’t care. The feel of Clayton’s hands and mouth on her felt too good.
The sensations rushing through her halted all thought, making her feel each swipe of his tongue and caress of his calloused hands. The awareness of his touch and his breathing was incredible.
How had she forgotten desire and passion? The sizzling, inconceivable tightening low in her belly as her need mounted so quickly, she was already on the verge of an orgasm—and he’d only touched her breasts.
With quick fingers, he unbuttoned and lowered the zipper of her jeans.
The air that brushed against her hot skin made her suck in her stomach.
She began to tremble, but not from the cool breeze.
No, it had everything to do with Clayton’s hand splayed across her stomach and his fingers inching lower to her sex.
Her breath locked in her lungs when his hand slipped beneath the waist of her panties and moved lower. When he cupped her, she jerked, the air rushing past her lips as she moaned.
“My God,” he murmured huskily and sucked harder on her nipple.
Then, suddenly, Clayton was gone. Abby forced her eyes open while trying to control the tide of desire that bombarded her. It wasn’t until he took her foot in hand and unzipped her boot that she realized what he was doing.
While he removed her footwear, she began to push her jeans over her hips and kick them off, along with her panties.
Then, she was on her knees, helping him yank off his cowboy boots.
Her fingers wouldn’t work right as she fumbled, trying to unbutton his jeans.
It took him helping her before they finally knelt naked in the sunlight.
She had run her hands over his chiseled chest earlier, taking in the hard sinew and rigid planes. Now, she let herself see him—his tattoos and all the scars from his battles.
Her palms had found many of the scars before. Some were small, some large and jagged. She couldn’t imagine the pain he’d suffered with each of them. Yet it wasn’t what defined him. He didn’t allow it.
She glided her fingers across the tribal tattoo that ran over his left shoulder and down his forearm as well as across part of his chest. An oval scar marred the ink slightly. A bullet wound that had been so close to his heart.
Her head tilted to look down. She bit her lip when she glimpsed his arousal jutting between them, thick and hard. Even more scars were on his thighs. It just proved that he didn’t hesitate to do what had to be done, even if it meant putting his life on the line.
When she raised her gaze to his face, it was to find his lips gently curved while he looked at her as if she were the most precious thing in all the world.
It made her heart skip a beat.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he said as he slowly ran his hands up her arms, touching her reverently.
She couldn’t think of the words to reply, so she decided on action instead. Abby pulled his head down. The moment their lips met, his hands grasped her hips and brought her against his cock.
Her head dropped back when his lips moved along her jaw and then down the column of her throat. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly even as she sighed when his teeth lightly scraped along the skin of her shoulder.
His muscles moved beneath her hands as he lifted her until she wrapped her legs around his waist. She cried out when it brought his arousal against the sensitive flesh of her sex.
The next thing she knew, she was on her back with Clayton’s hands braced on either side of her head as he leaned over her. She wanted him inside her so badly that her brain stopped working.
With his pale green eyes watching her, he circled her nipple with his finger, coming closer and closer, but never touching her before moving on to the other breast.
The torture was exquisite and made her ache for him. When she reached for his cock, he quickly caught her hands and captured them above her head with one hand.
Excitement drummed through her as she impatiently waited for him to touch her.
Abby was like a feast laid out before him, and Clayton couldn’t decide where to partake first. But since they had all afternoon, that meant he could have her every way he wanted.
He let his eyes roam over her body. So soft. Her curves were mouth-watering. He’d never liked the girls that were stick figures. He wanted a real woman with all the amazing curves that came with such a beautiful body.
His perusal stopped at the juncture of her thighs. Her legs were still spread as he knelt between them. Her triangle of dark curls beckoned, as did the sight of the swollen, pink flesh of her nether lips.
When he’d cupped her before, her back had arched, and she’d let out a low moan that made his cock jump. What would she do when he teased her clit or sunk a finger inside her? His body shook just thinking about it.
He glanced up at her to find her blue eyes hooded as she watched him. Her lips were parted, and her chest rose rapidly. He glided his hand down her side to the indent of her waist and over the flare of her hip to her thigh.
Her breath hitched when his hand moved across her belly to the triangle of curls at the junction of her thighs. Clayton held her gaze as he slowly caressed downward and lightly swirled a finger around her clit.
She bit her lip, her body tensing. It only took one more swipe before she whispered his name as her eyes rolled back in her head.
The way her hips rocked in time with his finger mesmerized him. He was so focused on bringing her pleasure that he didn’t realize she was close to climaxing until her body jerked and she let out a cry.
He didn’t relent in his teasing, though. While in the middle of the orgasm, he thrust a finger inside her. And then nearly came himself when he felt her body clamp down on him.
Clayton clenched his teeth and began pumping his hand. Her screams grew louder as he felt another orgasm claim her. The pleasure on her face and the way her body flushed were things he’d never forget.
To see her head thrashing side to side and hear her moans was exactly what he needed. But he also knew he would never get enough of her.
Unable to hold back any longer, Clayton withdrew his fingers and quickly pulled the condom from his pants. Once it was on, he positioned himself at her entrance. Then he pushed inside her. Her tight, wet heat nearly sent him careening toward his own climax.
His touch was ecstasy. Abby barely drew in a breath before the second climax swarmed her. It was more intense than the first, flinging her into a vortex of blinding pleasure.
And then he was inside her.
Her body was more than ready and quickly stretched to accommodate him. He moved slowly, gradually, until all of him was inside.
That’s when she opened her eyes. He leaned over her with his eyes squeezed shut and his arms shaking from the effort not to come.
She touched his face, and he stilled instantly. When his green eyes met hers, something solidified between then, bonding not just their bodies but also something deeper.
It scared her, but she didn’t pull away. She couldn’t. Not with him looking at her so tenderly. Despite the trepidation she felt with whatever was happening between them, his steadfastness kept her from bolting.
“I’ve fantasized about this moment from the first time I saw you.”
She was about to reply when he withdrew and then thrust. All words deserted her. She gripped his arms as he began moving, building his rhythm with each drive of his hips.
Somehow, this man had actually seen her. Not the hot mess of a woman she’d become, the one trying to juggle her life, work, and her brothers. No, he saw the woman beneath.
He refused to let her back down, pushing her in new, frightening directions. He saw her fears and worries and made some of them his own. He recognized her need and woke her desires.
And he appeared to have no intention of stopping anytime soon.
She’d never felt more beautiful or wanted than in that moment. He’d given her pleasure before himself, playing her body as if it were his favorite instrument in the universe. His skilled fingers had flung her over the precipice with ease.
Abby clung to him now as he pounded her body with long, hard strokes that had yet another orgasm building. She let the pleasure take her, welcoming the bliss while his hard body filled her again and again, deeper, harder.
He shifted slightly, causing him to rub against her clit. And just like that, another climax roared through her.
In a daze of ecstasy, she watched Clayton. She caught a glimpse of his pleasure, so pure and unadulterated as it crossed his face that it made her breath catch.
She couldn’t look away as he gave one final thrust, his back arching as he came. The sight was glorious. His face pinched, his muscles straining, and a sheen of sweat covering his body.
When his head dropped forward, she pushed his hair back and looked into his eyes. With his breath still coming in gasps, he leaned down and put his lips against hers for a moment.
She liked his weight atop her, so she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. They remained that way until their breathing evened out. Then he pulled out of her and removed the condom before rolling onto his back. He reached for her, and she eagerly moved against him.
“Damn,” he said, a smile in his voice. “That was amazing.”
She grinned. “Yeah. It was.”
He played with the ends of her hair as they grew quiet. Abby closed her eyes, content to lay upon him, listening to his heart and the birds.
“I want you.”
She chuckled without opening her eyes. “Again?”
“Always,” he replied in a solemn voice.
Her eyes snapped open when she heard his reply. Then she rose up on her elbow to see him. “What?”
“I’ve been around the world more times than I can count. I’ve met a lot of people, but no one has caught my attention like you.”
She wanted so badly to believe him, and a part of her did. But she wasn’t ready to talk about such things. Perhaps she never would be.
All these years she’d been alone, she’d claimed it was because of her brothers, but Justine had made her see the truth. Abby hadn’t let anyone close because of her fears of abandonment. And it reared up now.
As if sensing that she was thinking of returning to the house, Clayton pulled her back down on top of his chest. “I wanted you to know how I felt. There’s no need to reply. Just enjoy the afternoon and this fine weather we’ve been given.”
That she could do. It was thinking of the future that gave her hives. No. It was thinking of a future with Clayton. She could see the years stretching before her were she was alone. She always had. Ever since her mother left.
Clayton never stopped touching her. He caressed her back and arm in slow movements that lulled her and eventually allowed her muscles to relax. But his words replayed in her head.
How wonderful it would be if she and Clayton could be together.
But how long would it take him to see all of her flaws? When would the things she did become annoying? Or her brothers? How long could they go without getting into trouble as they always did? The Easts had been forgiving, but everyone had their limits.
It was no great feat to think of all the ways she could drive Clayton away. And she hated herself for it, almost as much as she hated her mother for making her and her brothers so scared of the possibility of everyone leaving them.