Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
C asey knew the moment everything changed. The moment when the kiss was no longer just a kiss—when it turned into something more. Something that didn’t just feed the sexual desire that had been prodding him for the last few weeks. This kiss fed a deeper need. One he didn’t even know existed until Noelle’s sweet lips and gentle caresses filled it.
He knew in his soul she would be the only one who ever could.
While that thought scared him, he wasn’t willing to waste a second of being with her now on thoughts of losing her later. Especially when she pushed him back to the pillows and kissed her way down his body.
She wasn’t experienced or skilled, and yet, every brush of her lips and stroke of her fingers made him tremble like he had never been touched by a woman before. And maybe it was more that he’d never been touched by this woman before.
She’d been so hesitant at first. She wasn’t hesitant now. When she reached his nipple, she circled it with her tongue in a sweep of fire before tugging it into the hot, wet flames of her mouth.
He groaned and dug his head back in the pillow as he tried to hang on to his sanity. But sanity completely slipped away when her hand moved lower and gripped his condom-sheathed cock. She held him firmly, but, at the same time, hesitantly. As if she didn’t know what to do next.
His body knew. His hips jerked, pumping into her fist. She quickly caught on and rubbed him from base to tip. His groan was guttural and he worried he wouldn’t make it through another stroke. He placed a hand on hers and stopped her.
“Wait.”
She released his nipple and looked up at him with confusion clouding her green eyes. “Did I do something wrong? It doesn’t feel good?”
“Just the opposite. It feels too good.” When the truth dawned, a smug smile spread over her face. He couldn’t help laughing. “Feeling cocky, are you?”
Her fingers tightened and he groaned as she gave him a full stroke. “I think that’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
He allowed her to bring him to the edge with a few more tight pumps before he stopped her again. “I want to be in you when I come, Ellie.”
The smoldering look in her eyes scorched right through him. She gave him one more squeeze before she released him and leaned up to kiss him. “I want that too.”
Her words were music to his ears, but with them also came a helluva lot of responsibility. He rolled her over, but hesitated when he was positioned to enter her sweet heat. “I want to make this good for you, Ellie. So if anything hurts or just doesn’t feel right, you need—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “You’ve already made this feel good, Case. So just shut up and finish what you started.”
He tried to take it slow, but it wasn’t easy when the first feel of her tight heat had him wanting to thrust so hard he broke the bed. The only thing that held him back was the thought of hurting her. He took his time easing in and pulling out in shallow thrusts, watching her face for any signs of discomfort. When she crinkled her button nose, he froze.
“Is this hurting you?”
“No. I just thought . . .” She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s something. We’re not continuing until you tell me what’s going on.”
She bit her bottom lip. “It’s just that I thought sex would be a little more . . . intense with you.”
Talk about his ego being slapped down. It was lying out on the floor, crying like a baby. “You want intense, Ellie. I’ll give you intense. But if it hurts, you need to tell me. Okay? No keeping secrets.”
“O—” That’s all she got out before he thrust deep. Oh shit, it felt good. So damn good that he had to take a few seconds to collect himself or things would be over too quickly.
“You good?” The words rasped out of his throat.
She nodded. “It doesn’t hurt. I just feel . . . full.”
Her words had him squeezing his eyes shut. That’s how he felt. Encased in her body, he felt full. Abundant. Overflowing. Complete. He eased out just a little and then shifted his hips and thrust until he was seated deeply. A satisfied ahh fell from his lips at the exact same time as one fell from hers. Her green eyes held a look similar to how he felt.
Awed.
Who would have thought that Casey Remington and Noelle Holiday would fit so well together.
And not just well.
Perfect.
He enjoyed the feeling for only a moment before his body started clamoring for release. He pumped into her, slowly at first, and then faster as his need for friction grew. It was hard to stay focused when sheathed in tight heat that set his body to trembling with every sweet clinch. But he refused to reach climax without her—refused to not give her what she deserved.
It was obvious she was enjoying it. Her head was pressed back, her lips parting with every erratic breath. But it was also obvious by the way she squirmed beneath him that he wasn’t meeting her needs.
“Tell me what feels good, baby,” he panted. “Tell me what you need.”
She bucked her hips. “I need . . . I don’t know!” He stopped pumping and pulled out of her. She shook her head and grabbed his arms. “No!”
“I’m coming right back, baby. I’m just going to make it feel better.” He grabbed the pillow next to her head. “Lift your hips.” When she complied, he tucked the pillow under her hips, tilting them at just the right angle. When he thrust into her this time, the choked moan she released told him everything he needed to know.
She no longer squirmed. Instead, she wrapped her legs around him and met every thrust with one of her own. Her back was arched and her pupils dilated with passion and orders came out of her mouth like a drill sergeant.
“Oh, yes, like that! Just like that! Faster! Harder!”
The beauty of her claiming her sexuality was the thing that sent Casey over the edge. Try as he might he couldn’t hold back. His entire body trembled with the force of the orgasm that hit him. As he closed his eyes and pumped out his pleasure, Noelle tightened around him and screamed out her release. Which only added to the waves of hot desire that flooded through him.
By the time it was over, he felt completely drained . . . and completely content. That contentment only grew when he melted down into the soft body beneath him. He only intended to stay that way for a moment. He was much too heavy for her. But then Noelle wrapped her arms around him and held on like she never wanted to let him go.
He didn’t want to go anywhere either. He would have been satisfied to stay with his face pressed into her sweet-smelling neck forever. But only seconds later, her soft words fell against his ear.
“That. Was. Awesome.”
His heart cracked open and confetti shot out as he pushed up to his forearms. “You liked it?”
“Liked it? I loved it! It was amazing, Casey. No wonder women are falling all over themselves to get you into bed.”
The confetti dropped like bullets. He didn’t like Noelle bringing up other women so casually. He didn’t like it at all. What had happened tonight wasn’t ordinary. He hated that she thought it was.
“It was never like this, Ellie,” he said. “Never.”
For one heartbreaking second, he thought she wasn’t going to believe him. But then her eyes filled with a sparkling happiness that brought back the heart confetti.
“I’m glad.” She slipped her fingers through his hair and drew him down for a deep kiss. It was shocking how quickly she had him hardening again. When she pulled back, the sultry look she gave him made him even harder. “But I think we can top it. Wanna try?”
There was nothing he wanted more.
Casey hadn’t planned to stay long at the Holiday Bed and Breakfast. He’d planned to stay only long enough to scratch the itch that had Noelle’s name written all over it. But as the night went on, he discovered the more he scratched the itch, the more it itched. It was close to eleven and three mind-blowing orgasms later when he realized the itch wasn’t going away. The realization should have scared him, but it was hard to be scared when he had Noelle’s soft body tucked against him.
She made him feel invincible and powerful. Like there wasn’t anything he couldn’t achieve.
Even being loved by a woman.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked as she drew lazy circles in the middle of his chest.
Not ready to divulge his thoughts, he quickly searched for another answer. The pretty wrapped presents under the little Christmas tree gave him one. “Your birthday is coming up. I was wondering what you wanted?”
She lifted her head and looked at him with surprise. “You know when my birthday is?”
“December twenty-fourth. So answer the question. What’s your birthday wish? Wait, I bet I know what it is. You want to own your own bakery.”
“True.” She settled back against him, continuing to draw lazy circles with one cherry-tipped finger. “But that’s more of a dream. Dreams you are responsible for making happen. Wishes are more of something you hope happens.”
His fingers stroked up and down her arm. How did she get skin so damn soft? “So what do you hope happens?”
She hesitated before she spoke. “I want a real birthday party.”
“You’ve never had a birthday party?”
“Not with friends. My birthday lands too close to Christmas so I always just celebrated it with my family. No one wants to come to a birthday party on Christmas Eve.”
“I would have come if you’d invited me.”
She stopped circling and propped her chin on her hand, her green eyes twinkling up at him. “You would not have. Even if you had wanted to, your daddy wouldn’t have let you. Our daddies were feuding, remember?” She hesitated. “Do you know why?”
“No. Both Rome and I asked, but Sam never gave us a real reason.”
“Same with my daddy.” Her gaze locked with his. “Maybe like us, they just didn’t take the time to look deeper.” A soft smile tipped her lips. “I’m glad I looked deeper, Case.”
His heart took an exhilarating ride down a slip and slide. “I am too.”
She placed a kiss on his chest, over the spot that now ached, before she snuggled against him and sighed contently. A few moments later, he heard the even breathing of sleep.
He had told her no cuddling, but there was nothing on God’s green earth that could have made him move from that spot.
He woke to Noelle’s squealing. He sprang out of bed with fists clenched, ready to battle whatever villain had snuck in during the night.
But there was no villain.
Noelle was sitting on the opposite side of the bed talking on her cellphone—although her gaze was on him. Her eyes twinkled with humor and he figured he must look pretty silly standing there buck naked with his entire body posed for a fight. He released his fists and crawled back into bed, sliding over to the warm woman who was just as naked as he was. Her breath hitched as he straddled her hips and nibbled his way along her bare shoulder.
“No, I’m fine, Mama.” She tried to swat him away, but he wasn’t going anywhere. “Yes, I’ll see you soon.” After she hung up, she melted into his arms for a brief second before she pulled free and stood. She took his breath away and he couldn’t help reaching for her again. But she stepped out of his reach.
“Sorry, but I have to go. Sweetie’s gone into labor.” He started to get up, but she shook her head. “There’s no need for you to leave. You can stay as long as you want.” She headed to the closet and disappeared inside, then reappeared a moment later in sweats and fuzzy boots. “Just lock up when you leave.” She walked to the door, but then stopped and turned back around. He was hoping she’d say something about the amazing night they’d just shared and ask when she could see him again. She did neither. “And do you mind letting out the dogs before you go and checking their food and water? Thanks! I owe you.”
Then she was gone.
He sat there staring at the empty doorway and feeling like . . . the last heel of bread in the bag. He knew he was being silly. Her sister was having a baby. She had to go be with her sister. And he was the one who had set the guidelines of one night and one night only. So he shouldn’t feel upset she hadn’t asked him to go with her . . . or even kissed him goodbye. He should be happy she had made it so easy for him to walk away.
But he didn’t feel happy.
He felt miserable.
He knew there was no way he was going to fall back to sleep. So he got up and got dressed, then went downstairs to let out the dogs and make sure they had plenty of food and water. The miserable feeling grew even worse on the way back to the ranch when his brain decided to replay every moment of his and Noelle’s time together. Every kiss. Every caress. Every gasping orgasm. She had come to him for instruction, and yet he felt like he’d been the one who got schooled—the virgin who was taught what a real night of passion felt like. After Noelle, he now knew that all the other nights with all the other women had just been emotionless sex.
And that was the defining variable.
Emotions.
Somehow, tonight, he had let emotions get involved and he was paying the price.
Since it was around three in the morning, the house was dark when he got home. He pulled into the garage and quietly came in through the mudroom, trying not to wake anyone—especially Autumn Grace. As he headed for the stairs, he noticed the flickering light coming from beneath the door to his father’s study. His daddy got up early, but not this early.
Concerned, Casey tapped softly on the door before opening it and peeking in.
Sam was asleep on the couch in front of a low-burning fire. Since Casey had been warned often enough about wayward sparks causing fires, he moved into the room to bank the coals and make sure the screen was properly closed. After he finished, he turned and noticed the framed photograph lying on the floor next to the couch. He walked over and picked it up. Since his father had never been the sentimental picture-cherishing type, he didn’t know what to expect. But it certainly wasn’t a picture of Noelle and Rome.
Confused, he looked closer.
No, not Noelle and Rome. Darla Holiday and Sam. They had to be no more than eighteen or nineteen. Sam had his arm around Darla and was looking at her like she hung the moon while she was looking into the camera and smiling a smile almost identical to the soft smile Noelle had given Casey that very night.
“What the fuck?” He spoke loud enough to wake his father. As soon as Sam sat up, Casey turned the photograph to him. “What is this?”
“None of your business.” Sam got up to take the picture from him, but Casey jerked it out of his reach.
“Tell me what this is, Daddy.” Since he rarely called his father by the title, it seemed to get Sam’s attention. He stopped trying to take the framed photograph from Casey and dropped his hands to his sides.
“It’s what it looks like. It’s a picture of me and Darla Ford.”
“Darla Holiday, you mean? You dated her?”
“Briefly. In high school.”
All the pieces of the puzzle came together. “That’s why you and Hank hate each other.”
“Among other things.”
“But that’s what started it. She chose him over you.”
Sam shrugged. “It happens. Nothing I can’t handle.”
Casey held up the photo. “Which is why you sit around mooning over this.” A thought struck him. “You were in love with her?” Sam’s silence was answer enough. He stared at his father in disbelief. “That’s why Mama left, isn’t it? You were in love with another woman.”
Sam sighed. “Your mother left because she realized she didn’t want the life of a rancher’s wife.”
“But she would have stayed if you had loved her.” His voice grew louder as his anger and hurt swelled. “She would have stayed!”
“She wouldn’t have stayed, Casey. Nothing would have made her stay.”
“You could have! If you had loved her, you could have!”
Rome came charging into the room in his underwear. “What the hell is going on? Autumn Grace is sleeping and I’d just as soon she didn’t wake up until Cloe gets back from the hospital.”
“What the hell is going on? That’s a good question, brother.” Casey threw the photograph as hard as he could at the fireplace. Before the glass shattered, he was heading for the door. “Why don’t you ask Daddy and Darla Holiday?”