Page 54 of Cowboy Don't Go

“Sacrifice for the greater good,” he murmured with that famous grin of his.

She couldn’t believe she was here. Half-naked with Cooper Lane, atop a strange bed, staring up at his beautiful face while his gaze searched hers. She skimmed his warm chest with her hands and the sprinkling of dark hair there. His chest was solid as the rest of him, contoured and beautiful from all the hours working on the range. She reached up and pressed her lips against his shoulder making him smile.

As he watched her beneath him, his hand roamed over her flank, across her belly and farther south. His mouth followed. Her eyes slid shut.

How long since any man touched me? How long since I’ve felt wanted? Physically wanted. So long. What if nothing worked anymore? What if I can’t—

“Sshhh—” he whispered. “It’s all right.”

Had he read her mind? Could he feel her tense?

“I know. It’s . . . it’s just that it’s been a long time for me,” she admitted, her fingers against his scalp. Maybe we should talk this out. Maybe we should wait. Not jump into anything we can’t take back.

“If you’re worried, I have protection.” He reached for his wallet, discarded on the bed along with his jeans.

“Wait,” she breathed. “Wait.”

“No?” he asked, clearly ready to stop if she asked him to.

“No, I want to. I-I just need—”

“What? Tell me.”

“Control. I need more control.” Ugh. “That sounds awful.”

He smiled slowly, understanding what she meant. Perhaps even why she needed that. “No. It doesn’t. Take it.”

And after a moment, she did.

All of that was old stuff, old fear and memories of a summer long ago. Not wanting to feel . . . powerless. It had nothing to do with Cooper except how he made her feel safe, right here and now.

Her hands were shaking as she rolled toward him, pushing him back against the duvet until she was on top of him. With his hands on her legs straddling him, he waited for her to make the next move. So, slowly, she stripped off her blouse and discarded her bra, then bent over him to do to him exactly what he’d done to her.

She kissed him everywhere, enjoying how he allowed her to control the pace and even refrained from touching her until she pulled his hands against her breasts. She nibbled on his neck and tugged on his earlobe, eliciting a groan from him. He was having a hard time staying still under her and finally didn’t try. He reached for his wallet and quickly dispensed with the protection as she tortured his neck with her teeth.

“Promise me that’s not ancient and broken,” she said.

He shook his head with a smile. “Promise. Brand new.”

“Good. But a little cocky.” She bent down and kissed him on the mouth until he rolled over with her arms around him. “Did you plan this?”

“No. But that’s me. Hopeful and practical.”

She laughed and so did he. He was hard with wanting and he flexed his hips against hers. She moved on top of him until, with his hands bracketing her hips, he guided himself inside her.

She smiled down at him, moving slowly at first, teasing him, watching the look on his face change from humor to need. She felt powerful yet vulnerable. And with each up and down, she controlled the pace, controlled her own body, her own choices. With the gentleness of his hands, he seduced her, telling her how he felt through his tender caresses. Until all she could do was to lean over him, kiss him with all the emotion she was feeling inside.

Slowly, he rolled her in his arms until she was under him, moving inside her slowly at first, giving her time to adjust to him. With every breathtaking thrust of his hips, she forgot to be afraid. Forgot the need to protect herself. Or even that they were two separate people—as if they’d been fused together by some magical force.

He gathered her up to him with his arms around her. Soon the rhythm overtook them, and they forgot to think at all. And when they both—by some miracle—came nearly at the same time, Cooper cried out his release, burying his damp face against her shoulder. He held her until their hearts had stopped racing and their breathing returned to normal.

When he finally rolled off her, he lay there smiling up at the ceiling as she turned to him, throwing her arm across his chest and her bare knee over his. She let out a deep sigh of satisfaction. “We just did that,” she murmured.

“We sure did.” His eyes were sparkling with happiness. He pushed a strand of hair off her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “You don’t plan on firing me for that, do you?”

“Nuh-uh. Although I hear it’s never a good idea to mix business with pleasure. And that was . . . a lot of pleasure.”

“Yes, it was,” he agreed, kissing her again—just a brush of his lips with hers. “I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around how amazing that was.”

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