Loving That Cowboy Page 8

  Hell. What was wrong with him? He’d never had trouble getting a woman’s shirt off before but suddenly his fingers were fat and ungainly and he fumbled each button until they were all undone. Trisha didn’t seem to notice his ineptness as she worked at undoing his buttons. Both shirts were now gone, thrown beyond the bed.

  Cameron drew back slightly and looked down at her. She was as perfect as he’d imagined she would be. He ran his hand up the smoothness of her long, lean body and palmed one of her perfect breasts. The sigh that drifted from her made him smile.

  “I’ve wanted to do this since I first set eyes on you.”

  The yearning in his voice reached somewhere deep inside her. Now was not the time for words, talking could come later. She pushed herself up into his hand, wordlessly telling him how much she craved his touch.

  He dropped his head to her breast and drew its rosy peak into the warmth of his mouth. An explosion of sensations coursed through her, one following fast on the tail of another, giving her no time to savor each delightful discovery. She wound her arms around his head and held him as close to her as she could. Her nipple puckered even more when he released it, the air cooling it and making it fold in on itself into a hard little bud.

  “Noo-oo, Cameron, don’t stop.” A moan followed by a sigh of pleasure escaped her lips as he suckled her other nipple. She raked her fingers through his hair and kissed whatever patch of skin she could reach until he lifted his head from her breast. Cradling his face in her hands she looked into the storm-cloud grey of his eyes and saw the wanting in them. Unable to resist, she drew him down to her, opening her mouth under his, taking his tongue as eagerly as she wanted to take the rest of him.

  Her body burnt with the scorching certainty that there was only one way to quench her inner fire. She wanted him, all of him, but when she placed her hand on him, he shuddered and lay still.

  She smiled as she sensed the reason. “You nearly came, didn’t you?”

  Breathing hard Cameron turned on to his back. “Just like a damn teenager at his first go-round.”

  Trisha buried her face in the soft hair on his chest and giggled. Cameron closed his eyes and groaned as her fingers reached for his waistband.

  “Breath in,” she ordered. He sucked in his breath as she slid his zipper open, easing it over his impressive erection. She tugged his jeans down over his hips and pulled them down his legs to toss them on the floor. “Lift up.”

  His boxers followed and Trisha sat back on her heels, her eyes wide as she saw him for the first time.

  “Oh, my.”

  The pure pleasure in her voice made Cameron open his eyes. The surprise and awe he saw in her expression filled him with satisfaction, but he closed his eyes again with a sigh as her hand tightened around him. Whatever else happened tonight, he was a goner in more ways than one.

  A heightened awareness flooded Trisha’s belly as she tightened her fist around him. She leaned down and ran her tongue down the length of him, swirled it around the rough ridges of his tightly drawn testicles, breathed in the salty scent of him. Cameron shot up on the bed.

  “Don’t you like that?” Trisha asked, surprised at his reaction.

  “Are you kidding?” Cameron drew her into his arms. What could he say? He wanted to tell her how she’d thrown him for a loop, captured his heart with that first green-eyed glance. Nope, Carter, she won’t fall for that. Try the truth. “You’ve got your hands and tongue all over me, sweetheart. What’s not to like?”

  He heard her contented sigh as he pulled her closer, kissing her slowly, thoroughly, teasing his tongue at the corner of her mouth, sliding it over the fullness of her bottom lip and tasting her all over again. Then he suddenly lifted his head and looked down the length of her body.

  “But there is something wrong with this picture.”

  A sudden chill ran through her. What had she done or not done? Did he regret bringing her here and being with her? She stiffened with apprehension.

  “What do you mean?”

  The wariness in her expression caught him off guard but he grinned at her and dropped a swift kiss on her mouth. “One of us is still wearing clothes.”

  Trisha instantly twisted away from him, hoping he wouldn’t see the relief she was sure must show on her face. He caught her, pulled her back and reached for her waistband. He popped the button and lowered the zipper enough to reveal the flat plain of her belly and trailed his finger over her smooth-as-satin skin, watching the rippling tremors his touch produced. He listened to the catch in her breath before opening the zipper the rest of the way, revealing a black satin and red lace thong.

  “You sure like your fancy underwear,” he said.

  The light in his eyes warmed her to her core and she relished the sensation of the denim sliding down her legs as he slowly peeled off her jeans. She shivered as he placed his hands on her hips and spread his fingers across her belly then hooked his thumbs under the edges of her thong.

  Her skin pebbled with anticipation as his thumbs prescribed slow circles moving closer and closer to her already engorged centre. Her breathing shortened and she pushed up against his hands but he moved them away and shifted down the bed. The moan of dismay that formed in her throat turned into a gasp of delight as Cameron’s hot mouth covered her mound.

  He suckled her through the satin scrap that covered her, his hands now under her buttocks lifting her as though she was a juicy morsel for him to feast upon. He sensed her tension building as she strained against his mouth. The muscles along the inside of her thighs quivered and he stopped before she reached her climax. He tugged the scrap of fabric off her and smiled down at her.

  “Perfect,” he whispered.

  It might not be in his bed but here she was, just where he’d wanted her to be from the moment he’d first set eyes on her. Naked and beneath him.

  She reached up for him. Cameron gathered her into his arms and buried his face in her neck. She held him with a strength and urgency he had not expected. It hinted of desperation, as if she might expect him to cut and run. If she’d only trust him with her fears he might be able to quell them. But now was not the time for whispered reassurances. Now was the time to put out the fire she’d started in his body and his brain.

  He kissed her chin, slid his hungry mouth to her neck and nearly came undone as she opened her legs for him. He reached out blindly for his jeans until his fingers gripped his wallet. He pulled out a square foil packet and ripped it open with his teeth. Trisha took it from him.

  “Cameron, I can’t wait much longer,” she pleaded as she rolled the latex over him.

  “You won’t have to,” he assured her.

  He pushed against her hot, wet, swollen lips and slowly slid inside her. Man, she was tight. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to let go, every instinct willed him to drive home. But he caught and held himself, floundering in a trough between the pain of a fierce hard-on and the pleasure of what was to follow.

  “Now I know what it must be like to give birth.” He braced himself on his arms and dropped his forehead to rest on hers.

  Trisha looked up at him, wide-eyed with surprise. “What?”

  “The need to push,” he groaned.

  The laugh that rolled through Trisha released the remaining tension in her muscles. Cameron closed his eyes as he moved further into her. If there was heaven on earth, this was it.

  Her inner muscles gripped him like a velvet vise. His breath hitched painfully in his throat when she tightened her muscles even more in short, quick pulses of pressure. When she softened her grip, he let out his breath on a long exhale and sank all the way into her.

  She wrapped her long legs around him and moved with him, matched every one of his slow strokes with one of her own. Her arms wound around his back and held him close. Her lips moved on his neck murmuring words that didn’t reach his ears but her notes of passion were as clear as if she’d sung them. Her breath on his skin was a pleasure so strong, so sinfully intense it blurred
his vision.

  But then she arched her back and her body strained against his, each supple movement urging him on. Her cries filled the heated air around them and he drew in a sharp breath as her nails dug into the skin on his back.

  It was the only spur he needed. He drove into her again and again and roared his release as Trisha screamed hers.

  * * *

  Cameron lay on his back, one arm thrown across his face and Trisha curled up in the crook of the other. The fact that she was the only woman to go to bed with him and still be there in the morning was not lost on him. He drew her closer, knowing that what they’d shared wasn’t just sex, that it had been a melding of every possible element between them.

  It scared the hell out of him, as did the fact that he didn’t want to let her go.

  She shifted and looked up at him. Her heart had slowed to its regular steady beat but now turned cold. Even though his arm had tightened around her, couldn’t he even look at her? She sensed they had experienced something monumental, but how long lasting could that be if he learnt the truth about her? She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  Cameron caught her wrist. “Where are you going?”

  “To the bathroom.”

  He let her go. Her feet made no sound as she crossed the deep pile carpet. She walked into the en-suite and closed the door before fumbling for the switch and turning on the light.

  Catching sight of herself in the mirror, she gasped in dismay. Her hair, messed up and tumbled every which way, hung over her flushed cheeks. Her lips were still swollen from Cameron’s kisses, kisses she had been only too willing to return.

  Tears filled her eyes. How could she have done this? How could she have so easily used him to salve her conscience? He deserved better. And how could she get out of this without her heart breaking all over again but for very different reasons?

  Chapter Eight

  He’d fallen asleep, his breathing deep and even. Uncertainty made Trisha hover beside the bed. Should she crawl back in beside him, leave him or wake him up? Making that decision was taken from her when he flung out an arm, obviously searching for her. His eyes flew open and he sat up in apparent alarm at not finding her beside him.

  Trisha half smiled at the realization he still wanted her and slid under the covers.

  “It’s so warm here,” she whispered as she nestled into his arms.

  “Could be warmer still.” He turned on his side, taking her with him as he nuzzled her neck and ran a hand down her bare back.

  Her eyelids drifted shut in dreamy delight as Cameron’s fingers made lazy circles at the base of her spine. His thumbs slid over her hip bones and whisked over her thigh until his hand nestled behind her knee. Lifting her leg over his waist made it easy for Trisha to take his rampant length into her with a sigh.

  What previously had been raw, hard sex became slow, gentle loving. Fingers touched, tangled, explored. Soft, sweet kisses mingled with satisfied sighs and moans of delight. Trisha’s body came alive, tingling from head to toe under Cameron’s touch. His breath whispered over her skin making her shiver with need. He was all hard muscle under her hands yet she marvelled how her touch caused him to tremble.

  They rode each other with measured strokes until their pleasure grew, spiked until their breathing shortened in quick sharp gasps. They needed no words for one to encourage the other to move faster, harder, to be guided by the urgency in their sweat slicked bodies. Their climax came in a rush of heat, of quivering muscles and blinding light, of pleasure so deep and extraordinary it bordered on pain.

  They held on to each other, riding the quivering aftermath of their lovemaking, their hearts beating in unison while they inhaled each other’s breath and waited for the sensations still shaking them to subside.

  Cameron’s breath still rasped in and out of his chest with exertion as Trisha turned her face into the pillow. What they shared was so far beyond anything she had ever experienced and she did not want to consider the implications of what that might mean. Before she could even begin to think of what to say, Cameron groaned. She lifted her head and was shocked to see a broad swath of sunlight splashed across the bedroom wall.

  “Morning? Already?”

  “Yup.” Cameron rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

  Trisha peered at her watch and read four-thirty a.m. It was her turn to groan. Where had the night gone? After a very short shower Cameron returned to the bedroom with one towel slung around his hips, another over his head as he vigorously rubbed his hair dry.

  “I’ve got to get down to the grounds.” The towel muffled his voice but then he pulled it aside and grinned at her. “Do you want to come with me?”

  “I believe I already did.”

  Cameron threw the damp towel at her. Trisha laughed even though the thought of him leaving made her heart heavy. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll stay here and get a cab over to Samantha’s a bit later. Can I make you coffee?”

  “I’d love it, but there’s no time now.” Cameron pulled on his jeans. “Everything you need’s in the kitchen, so just make yourself at home.”

  “What if your brother walks in?”

  Cameron straightened up and reached for his shirt. “Not likely. But if he does, you’re a Stampede tenant.”

  Trisha absorbed that information and while Cameron finished dressing, grabbed a towel and wrapped herself in it. She made her way downstairs to the kitchen. The expanse of granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances reminded her of Cameron’s kitchen. The two brothers’ tastes in décor were remarkably similar.

  Cameron came downstairs in a rush, shoved his feet into his boots and grabbed his hat. He couldn’t believe his awkwardness. He’d shared something deep and precious with Trisha and leaving her was the last thing he wanted to do.

  He couldn’t think of a darn thing to say to her as he stopped at the door with one hand about to turn the knob, the other on his hip, his gaze on the floor.

  Hell, talk about a tongue-tied teenager. He didn’t want her to think that last night was all he’d wanted from her. Nothing could be further than the truth but he couldn’t make her any promises. Not until he knew for sure exactly what he did want.

  He had to go but every part of him wanted to stay. He dared to look back at her and wished he hadn’t. She stood by the kitchen counter, clutching the towel around her slim body. Her un-brushed hair curtained her face but not enough to prevent him seeing a suspicious sheen forming in her eyes.

  What was with that? He’d given her fair warning of what to expect, knowing he’d find it hard to hold back. Had his lovemaking been too vigorous for her? Or did she think he’d got what he’d wanted and was walking out on her? He didn’t have time to ask or to reassure her, he knew he was running late and had to get moving.

  “Oh, damn,” he said softly as he went back to her. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  He whisked a tear from her cheek with his thumb then leaned in to kiss her.

  “No, you didn’t,” she whispered when their lips parted. Reaching up she laid her hand on his cheek. “I’m being unreasonable. I just don’t want you to go.”

  “I’m sorry, but I have to get my butt in gear.” He took her hand and kissed her fingers, swore again and then tore himself away. “I’ll call you later.”

  Trisha listened to the purr of the truck engine, the mechanical whirr of the overhead door as it opened and closed, then the silence once Cameron was gone. The emptiness engulfing her rocked her to her core.

  She sniffed hard and swiped her hand across her face. How could she possibly feel so much for a man she so recently met and knew so little about? How had she allowed this to happen? The pain now would be nothing to what it would be if her past history became known. She couldn’t let it ruin what had to be a short time together.

  “Time to pull up your big girl panties,” she told herself. She sniffed again and ignored the knot of tension forming in her stomach as she r
eturned to the chaos of the bedroom. The comforter lay half on, half off the bed. Her clothes were strewn across the floor and she sighed as she started picking them up. If she spent any more time with Cameron she’d have to invest in a laundrette. She shook out her jeans and shirt, laid them across the bed to smooth out the worst of the creases before taking a shower.

  Once dry and dressed, she surveyed the crumpled bedding and piles of damp towels with some consternation. Cameron hadn’t said he was coming back, and she didn’t think there was any room-service to tidy up after them. She quickly straightened the sheets and comforter and arranged the towels over the edge of the bath and shower rail to air dry. When she had done what she could, she ran downstairs and let herself out of the house. The door swung closed behind her with a solid thunk, but she checked it all the same. Satisfied that it was secure, she walked down the driveway and crossed the road.

  Despite the early hour the sun already blazed in a crystal-clear blue sky and the reflection off the acres of glass on the downtown buildings dazzled her. A few runners jogged past her, dog walkers wished her good morning, all while her heart and head warred with each other.

  Far below the pathway on which she walked, the fast flowing river sparkled like a living thing. It separated her from Samantha’s condo, but when she reached a point opposite the building, she stopped and pulled out her phone.

  “’Lo? That you Trisha?” Samantha’s voice sounded heavy with sleep but then she let out a screech. “Are you nuts? It’s not even six. Where the hell are you?”

  “Look out your window and I’ll wave to you,” Trisha said.

  “What are you doing over the river in Crescent Heights?” Samantha sounded wide awake now. “Don’t answer that, just stay there and give me a few minutes. I’ll come and pick you up.”

  Trisha closed her phone and sat on the low balustrade separating the road from the path. She pushed her hands into her pockets and slumped down. She couldn’t get Cameron out of her head and didn’t want to. He’d annoyed her at first but that, she admitted, had been as much her fault as his. Now his kindness, his gentleness, his sense of humor made her want to believe in a future.