Page 40 of The Rancher's Secret Son

She moved over him, her hands fluttering, titillating him while she showered him with wet kisses. She trailed her tongue down his chest, and lower, lavishing kisses along his inner thighs. With a groan he grabbed her arms to roll her over, but she pushed him back down on the bed. “Wait, Nick. Just wait and let me love you.”

She did, and the more she touched him, the more she wanted him. Memories taunted her, longing filled her, making her shake with need.

This time when he shifted she let him move her onto her back. He paused only long enough to look at her. “I want you,” he whispered and then kissed away any answer she might have had.

He reached out to open a drawer and get a condom. She watched him, her gaze raking over his lean, muscled body, his strong shoulders and flat stomach. He was aroused, ready to love her. She wanted him and she was probably falling more in love with him than ever, something she’d feared would happen this week.

As he moved over her again, she opened wide for him, wanting him, thinking of all the nights she had dreamed of this moment when she hadn’t thought it would ever happen again.

He entered her slowly, filling her, hot and hard, and she stopped thinking then, just moving, wanting him and crying out with need. He began to move slowly, driving her wild with wanting him, tension coiling tightly in her.

She clung to him, relishing that it was Nick in her arms, the man she loved and the man whose love she wanted in return. She ran her hands over his back, down over his buttocks, as they moved in perfect synchrony.

Passion swept her up, higher and higher, until she reached the apex of her desire, and with a throaty gasp leaped into ecstasy. Only then did she feel Nick lose his iron control. He pumped wildly as she kept with him. Release burst over her, shattering her, in a climax unlike any other.

His weight came down and he held her, turning his head as he kissed her cheek. They both gasped for breath while he held her close.

“You’ve given me so much, Claire,” he whispered.

She combed locks of his hair back from his damp forehead.

He was quiet, just holding her close, and she held him, remaining just as silent, deep in her thoughts. After a while he rolled onto his side but he continued to hold her close. “I want you with me all night,” he said.

“I can’t do that, Nick.” It pained her, but she couldn’t stay the night in his bed. “I’ll go in a while.”

“You’re a tough woman sometimes,” he whispered, caressing her cheek.

“So, you think I’ve been tough the past hour?” she teased.

His arm circled her waist and he pulled her closer even though he was almost covering her with his body. “Not tough. Sexy beyond my wildest dreams.” His eyes darkened again and she wondered if he was feeling desire again so soon. “I admire you, Claire. You know what you want and you stick to it.” He gave her a quick grin. “But you do know there’s such a thing as compromise?”

“Compromise is for politicians. I have to do what I think is best for Cody, for me and for my family. Maybe I made the wrong choices by not telling you about my pregnancy and not telling you about his birth, but I thought I was doing what was best for all of us—Cody, me and my family. Actually, after a certain point, I thought it was what was best for you, too.”

“Stop worrying about all that. It’s done and over. Let me just hold you close.”

They were quiet again as he held her and stroked her back. “This is good, Claire.”

She didn’t answer him, certain they hadn’t made anything easier tonight.

“I don’t want to let you go,” he said.

“You’ll have to soon,” she answered, even though she wished he’d never let her go. But there was no way with their circumstances.

Finally she rolled away, starting to get up, but Nick’s arm tightened around her waist and he drew her back. “Don’t go.”

“Nick, I’m not staying here all night.”

He released her and she stepped out of bed. He lay there and watched her as she gathered her clothes. “Good night, Claire,” he said before she reached the door.

She turned to look at him. He sat back in his big bed with his hands propped behind his head and a sheet across his lap. Her mouth went dry and she wanted to be back in his arms, to stay the rest of the night with him.

Tonight hadn’t brought them any closer to a solution, but had simply complicated her life and made Nick far more difficult to resist. She wouldn’t make it any worse by giving into the temptation and staying with him. Steeling herself, she turned away and hurried to her room.

* * *

Thursday morning after breakfast, Nick had a pickup parked at the back gate. It was a blustery day with wind gusts that carried a winter chill, and after breakfast, when Nick announced they would go select a tree, she gave Cody his parka and gloves. She pulled on her heavy coat, turning the fur collar up to protect her neck.

“You need some boots out here, Claire.”

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