Chapter 16
This wasn’t Belle’s first time having sex.
In college, she’d had sex with a guy she’d met in her chemistry class and dated her entire junior year. Riley had been nice and considerate. He’d asked what she liked and tried to give it to her. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had a clue what she liked and Riley was too inexperienced to give her options.
That wasn’t the case with Corbin.
He didn’t ask her what she liked. He paid attention. His gaze never left her face as his lips, tongue, and mouth experimented. If something didn’t feel right, he seemed to know immediately and he changed either his technique or rhythm. It only took a few tries before he found what she liked.
What she liked a lot.
The sweet pulls of his lips and lush strokes of his tongue made her feel like her veins had just been injected with the most mind-blowing drug. She couldn’t look away from the hot cobalt blue of his eyes. Not when the tidal wave of heat had goose bumps spreading over her skin. Not when her entire body started to quiver with the intensity of her need. And not when everything inside her tightened and then released in an explosive orgasm that sent her soaring and then gently floated her back to earth.
She didn’t know how long she lay there looking up at the clear blue Texas sky with a satisfied smile on her face. It took the sound of a zipper closing for her to come out of her euphoric trance. She sat up to find Corbin buttoning his jeans. Jeans that couldn’t hide his impressive hard on.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He glanced up, his hot gaze sweeping over her body before quickly looking away. “What does it look like I’m doing? Getting dressed. We should probably get back before Sunny starts to worry.”
He obviously regretted what had just happened. She should too. Getting sexually involved with the man who had foreclosed on her family’s ranch was just plain stupid.
And she wanted to be stupid all over again.
Not only because she’d just experienced the most amazing orgasm of her life, but also because of what he’d said before she’d kissed him. No one had ever referred to her as a seductress. A goddess. It didn’t matter that he only thought she was seducing him to get back the ranch. She wanted to feel like a goddess again.
She wasn’t above seducing him to get what she wanted.
Of course, he wasn’t making it easy. He dressed in record time and took off before she even got her boots on. By the time she got back to the ranch, he was in the barn unsaddling Homer. He didn’t even glance up when she approached the stall.
“I’ll unsaddle Sadie Mae,” he said. “You don’t need to stay.”
“My daddy taught me to always take care of my horse.”
“Suit yourself.” He went back to taking off the bridle.
“So that’s it,” she said. “You’re just going to give me the best orgasm of my life and then ignore me?” His shocked eyes snapped over to her. It felt good to be the kind of woman to shock people. “And don’t you dare use the excuse that I’m only using you to get the ranch back,” she continued. “I know you aren’t going to do that.”
“Then what do you want?”
It didn’t take her any time to come up with an answer. “More of what you gave me today.”
He blinked before he looked away and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s not a good idea, Bella.”
“Why not? I’m not asking you to marry me, Corbin.”
He looked back at her, his eyes confused. “What is with you Holidays? Don’t you know I’m the enemy?”
“You didn’t feel like much of an enemy today.” She sent him a sassy smile before she led Sadie Mae into a stall.
She wasn’t surprised to find him gone once she’d finished taking care of Sadie. Nor was she surprised to find him waiting on the front porch with her suitcases.
“I guess I’ve overstayed my welcome,” she said as soon as she reached the porch.
He held out the key to the trailer. “Like I said before, you can stay at the trailer for as long as you’d like.” She knew he wanted to add, just as long as you aren’t near me. He was obviously running scared and she couldn’t help but feel happy. She was making Corbin Whitlock, a savvy tough businessman, nervous. Talk about feeling empowered.
She tried to hide her smirk as she accepted the key. “Feel free to stop by anytime.”
His brow knotted. “I won’t.”
For some reason, she didn’t believe him.
Gilley was quite happy to be back at the trailer. While Belle took a shower, he had a party—getting into the leftover tacos she’d gotten for dinner, chewing up a pair of panties, and shredding an entire roll of toilet paper. After she cleaned up the mess, she put him in his crate.
“Obviously, I need to get you a cat to keep you in line.”
Once Gilley was settled, she headed for bed. As soon as she slipped beneath the covers, her mind filled with thoughts of Corbin and Cooper Springs. He wanted her. It was obvious he wanted her. It was also obvious that he still thought she was trying to play him. He had said as much before he had called her a seductive goddess and completely wiped out any logical thoughts in her head—like that having sex with a man who didn’t trust her was an extremely stupid idea.
And yet, if she had thought logically she wouldn’t have had the best orgasm of her life. She wouldn’t know what it felt like to be worshipped with soft kisses and hot sweeps of a skilled tongue.
Corbin had worshipped her. Damned if she didn’t want to be worshipped by him again.
A pounding on the door had her sitting straight up in bed and Gilley barking like crazy from his crate. She jumped up and headed to the living room where she peeked out the front window. It was dark, but not so dark she couldn’t see Corbin’s big white truck. A giddy feeling settled in her stomach as she soothingly talked to Gilley to quiet him before she answered the door.
Corbin stood on the other side looking like he’d just rolled out of bed. His hair was mussed like he’d been running his fingers through it, his western shirt wasn’t snapped correctly, and he was barefoot. He looked totally confused. Like he didn’t know how he’d gotten there.
“What game are you playing, Belle? Tell me. What game are you playing?”
She used the same soothing voice she’d used with Gilley. “I’m not playing a game, Corbin. I swear—”
He didn’t let her finish before he stepped in and kissed her. His kiss was as desperate as his voice had been. His lips were hot and greedy as he shoved the door closed and pushed her against it. His hands seemed to be everywhere at once—sliding under her pajama top and cradling her breasts. Slipping into her pajama bottoms and cupping her bottom. Skimming her back and caressing her stomach. Strumming her nipples and brushing heated strokes between her legs.
“I tried,” he whispered against her lips. “But I can’t fuckin’ resist you anymore. Let me stay, Bella. Please let me stay.”
She shouldn’t. He still didn’t trust her. Any good relationship needed trust. Relationship? Is that what she thought this was going to turn into? If that was so, she needed a reality check. She and Corbin could never have a relationship. He had made it clear he had no intentions of giving back her family’s ranch. Once he kicked her parents and grandmother out, her entire family would hate him.
But was it wrong of her to want just one night?
She drew back from the kiss and looked into his eyes. “Stay.”
He closed his eyes for a second as if offering up a prayer of thanks before he lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bedroom. On the way past Gilley’s crate, he spoke.
“It’s okay, boy. I’m not gonna hurt her.”
Belle wished she could believe that.
But whether he hurt her or not, she hadn’t lied. She wanted him to stay. She wanted it more than Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or Pea-Nutty Buddy muffins or fish tacos. He was an addiction she couldn’t resist.
When they got to his bedroom, he became less desperate. His kisses were slower and deeper. His touches gentler and more thorough. He had her naked before she knew what was happening. Then he lowered her to the mattress on the floor and started taking off his clothes. It was too dark to see anything. And she very much wanted to see everything. So she reached over and turned on the lamp sitting on the floor next to the mattress.
He froze in the middle of pushing down his jeans.
“You got to see me,” she explained. “I want to see you.”
A spark of amusement flickered in his eyes before he finished taking off his jeans and kicking them away. He had already removed his shirt so all he had on were his boxer briefs. Briefs that barely concealed the hard length beneath. That length sprung out when he pushed down the elastic waistband. Belle couldn’t help but stare.
It was impressive.
Or maybe what was impressive was how well it fit with the rest of Corbin’s hard, muscled body. He reminded her of the sleek stud horse her father had paid a pretty penny for.
Corbin was a stud.
And he was hers to ride . . . at least for one night. She wasn’t about to waste a second being inhibited. As soon as he stepped closer, she reached out and wrapped her hand around his hard length. His eyes registered surprise, then steamy heat. As she learned the feel of him, his breathing escalated and he made satisfied, sexy noises in the back of his throat. Wanting to satisfy him even more, she knelt on the mattress and kissed the very tip.
His eyes opened and he looked down at her with a look so hot it took her breath. “You don’t have to, Bella.”
“I know. I want to. You told me yourself that I needed to try things.”
He blinked before a smile tipped the corners of his mouth. She didn’t think there was anything more beautiful than Corbin’s smile. “Then by all means. Try me.”
As soon as she took him into her mouth, his breath left his lungs in a rush and his entire body trembled. His reaction made her feel empowered, but also protective. He had been through so much pain in his life, all she wanted to do was give him pleasure—to erase all the bad memories and replace them with good ones.
So, with deep pulls of her lips and long strokes of her hand, she went about giving him the same amazing orgasm he had given her. By his groans and trembles, she seemed to be doing a good job. But before he could climax, he pulled away. She started to argue and then only gasped when he dropped to his knees, pushed her back to the mattress, and spread her legs.
Using his scorching mouth and tongue, he had her reaching orgasm so fast she didn’t know what happened. Her insides were still quivering by the time he put on a condom and entered her. The deep stretch had her body filling with need once again as if it hadn’t just found release.
“You okay?” His passion-thick voice brushed her ear.
Too overwhelmed for words, she nodded.
He slowly pulled out, angled his hips, and then thrust in much deeper. He continued to take his time with slow, deep thrusts that touched an erogenous spot she’d just discovered. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she slipped her hands over his muscled butt cheeks and urged him to go faster.
He got the message and rode her hard and fast.
“Bella.” He whispered her name like a song. An anthem. A prayer. A word that didn’t need anything else with it. It was complete just by the way he said it.
She met every thrust, the friction fanning the fire he’d built inside her. She was almost there when he groaned and tensed.
“I’m sorry, Bella baby. I can’t hold back.” With a sexy growl, he came. She tumbled right after him, never looking away from the gorgeous sight of him finding his release.
At that moment she knew. She knew she would never ever experience what she had just experienced with anyone else. And that wasn’t good. Especially when he didn’t seem to feel the same way. He didn’t look into her eyes and share in the feeling. He didn’t brush a kiss over her forehead. He didn’t pull her into his arms and hold her close. He just got up and walked out of the room. A second later, she heard the toilet flush and water running.
She didn’t know why she was upset. His reaction after giving her an orgasm at Cooper Springs had proven Corbin was a flight risk. But he could have at least given her a kiss or a thank you. Or anything. Knowing him, he would just walk out the door without a word.
She wasn’t about to let that happen.
She got up and grabbed the first article of clothing she found on the floor. It happened to be his western shirt. She was snapping it haphazardly when he walked back into the room.
“What are you doing?”
She blinded at his naked body. God, he was a phenomenal male specimen. “What are you doing?”
“I was throwing away the condom.”
“Oh. I thought . . .”
“I was leaving?”
“Well, it was what you did earlier today.”
He pulled her into his arms and nibbled his way along her neck. “I’m sorry. I was just . . .”
“Scared?”
He drew back, his eyes serious. “I still am.”
She knew how hard that was for him to admit. She cradled his face in her hands. “Well, you don’t need to be. I promise to go easy on you.”
A smile spread over his face. “You will, huh? What if I don’t want it easy?”
“Then I guess I’ll have to give it to you rough.”
He laughed. “I don’t think there’s anything rough about you, Belle Holiday.”
“Is that so?” Using a technique Hallie had taught her, she hooked her foot behind his ankle and shoved hard. He stumbled back and she took advantage of his instability to dive on him and knock him back to the mattress. Once they had stopped bouncing, she straddled him with a triumphant smile.
“Then I guess you don’t know me as well as you think, Corbin Whitlock.”