Cowboy Take Me Away (Rough Riders 16)

“That hardly seems fair.”

He shrugged. “It is what it is. My dad won’t just hand over the McKay Ranch to me or my brothers. We’ve gotta prove we’re worthy.”

“Worthy of what?” She didn’t see Carson as the type who’d need validation even from his father; he oozed self-confidence.

“Worthy stewards of the land. He doesn’t say too much unless one of us royally fu—screws up. But owning land isn’t a right; it’s a privilege. Guess that’s something he learned from his dad when he and his brother came over here from Ireland.”

“Speaking of our ancestors… Do you have any idea what happened between the Wests and McKays?”

“Nope, and I don’t care. Water under the bridge.” He faced her. “Besides, I’ve got a new appreciation for the West family.”

Carolyn set her hand on his cheek. “Do you now?”

“Yep. C’mere. You’re too far away.” He plucked her up and settled her on his lap, facing him, with her legs dangling on the opposite side of his.

“Carson, I don’t—”

“You don’t want to be this close to me?” He pushed her hair over her shoulder. “Or you’re feelin’ it’s wrong that you want to be this close to me?”

“Am I that easy to read?”

“Sugar, you’re just that innocent. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. With your background…there’s part of you that feels what we’re doin’ is wrong.” Carson kissed her chin. “But it’s not. I believe you have more curiosity than guilt when I touch you.”

“So I am very easy to read.”

“I’ll respect any boundaries you set. But I ain’t gonna lie to you. If it was up to me there’d be no boundaries between us at all.” He smoothed his hand down her hair. “It’s different with you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I just know I like bein’ around you.”

Carolyn studied his mouth.

“What?”

“Oh, I was so busy listening to your words that I missed flashes of that silver tongue.”

He laughed. “Lemme show it to you up close.”

This was yet another type of kiss, teasing, playful; still the passion between them simmered below the surface and that kicked her anticipation higher, knowing the kiss could change at any second.

In this position, she felt just how the kiss and their bodies being meshed together affected him.

Carson’s hands slipped beneath her skirt. He stopped kissing her when his hands reached mid-thigh. “No stockings today.”

“Too hot. But if I did have them on I’d let you take them off.” There. That was bold.

His eyes glittered in the near dark. “You liked that?”

“You know I did. Your hands give me that shivery feeling. Inside and out.”

He ran the tip of his finger from her chin down to the V of her blouse. “Did that do anything for ya?”

Her arms were a mass of gooseflesh. “Yes.”

“How about if I do this?” He fastened his mouth to the skin below her ear and sucked.

“Oh. That…” Her ability to speak vanished when he placed soft kisses down the arch of her neck.

“I’m thinkin’ you bein’ speechless means you like it.” He nuzzled the spot between her collarbone and her shoulder. “You smell so damn good.”

“It’s probably the powder I use.”

“Or maybe it’s just your skin.” He kissed a path to the other side of her neck. “Makes me want to check if you have this same scent everywhere.”

The entire time Carson’s mouth was on her his hands weren’t idle. He’d have one hand twisted in her hair while the other hand would roam; caressing her back, her behind, her hips, the outside of her thighs.

With every touch he wound her tighter. She had the urge to rub her thighs together to offer some relief to the ache she felt building there. She wanted to rock her pelvis forward to feel his hard bulge rubbing against her. She wanted his rough hands and his soft kisses on her br**sts. She wanted to reacquaint herself with how warm and smooth and hard his chest felt beneath her hands and her mouth. And since she’d never wanted anything like this before she had no idea how to ask for what she wanted.

Then Carson’s hand was on her jaw, forcing her attention to him. “Sugar, you still with me?”

She blinked at him.

“If you don’t like what I’m doin’, tell me.”

“I like what you’re doing. A lot. And I want more, but it… I don’t know how…”

Keeping his gaze locked on hers, he feathered his thumb across the inside of her bottom lip. “I can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me. You set the boundaries.”

“I want to take your shirt completely off this time,” she blurted.

He lifted an eyebrow. “Really? That’s what you want?”

She nodded.

“All right. But here’s the deal. If my shirt comes off, your shirt comes off too.”

“You want me to take it off now?”

“No. I get to take it off you as soon as you’ve had your turn with me.”

“Okay.” Carolyn scooted back on his knees and dropped her feet to the ground before she stood.

“Whoa there. Where you goin’?”

“Nowhere. I thought it’d be easier if you sat on top of the picnic table.”

His answering grin was very naughty.

But as soon as he’d moved, Carolyn had a moment of shyness.

Of course, Carson caught it and reached out to her. “I know I’m the first man you’ve been with.” When she ducked her head, he tipped her chin back up. “I’m nervous too.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want you to be disappointed, thinkin’ you’re getting a guy built like Mr. Universe and end up with this.”

Smiling, she leaned forward to kiss him. “I already had a little preview of you so I know getting you would be the better deal, cowboy.”

Her hands shook when she popped the first snap on his shirt. The second snap revealed a delicious glimpse of his chest hair. The third and fourth snaps even more. She experienced the urge to bury her lips in the dark curls and breathe him in like she’d done yesterday.

After she freed him of his shirt, she set her palms on his shoulders, marveling at how broad he was. Then she inched her hands down his upper arms, feeling every bump and bulge of his muscles. His forearms were thick, bunched with tendons and sprinkled with dark hair. As she let her fingers trail back up, she noticed the tan line in the middle of his biceps, separating the pale skin of his torso from the sun-kissed flesh on his forearms, neck and face.