Staking His Claim (Ranchers of Chatum County 1)

A barrage of images inundated her brain. The first time she met him when his rough palm held her hand for as long as he reasonably could. The day at the feed store when his anger and jealousy were already apparent. His temper when she had run out of gas. The first time he kissed her in the study. Tonight, with his head betwe

en her legs.

Suddenly, it was all too much for her to handle.

“I want to go home.”

CHAPTER TEN

Raul’s big body jerked over her, and he surged to new life inside of her. “No.”

Elaina whimpered and pushed her hands against his shoulders. “I can’t breathe.”

“You can breathe just fine,” he grunted over her, his hands lifting her face up to his and his eyes devouring hers, trying to see inside of her.

She closed her eyes against him and he growled low in his throat at the small defiance. When he spoke, there was a silken thread of warning in his tone, “Open your eyes, Elaina.”

He hung in suspended animation above her, waiting for her compliance. She held her eyelids closed a few pulsing moments, long enough to let him know she only opened them because she wanted to.

The beautiful brown orbs glistened up at him, fury and determination coming from their depths. She spoke through gritted teeth. “You’re not being fair. I need a moment, Raul. Is that too damn much to ask for?” She pushed against him, hard. “Get off me!”

Her fury sparked an answering emotion in him, and he jerked away from her, forgetting all about being careful.

Her body didn’t release him easily. He was fully aroused again, and the friction against her delicate inner skin resulted in pain that made her flinch as tears flooded her eyes.

“Shit! I’m sorry,” he bit out as he rolled away from her.

She caught her breath and pushed herself up into a sitting position with her back against the headboard.

He rolled to his back, dragging oxygen in and out of his lungs, physically trying to subdue the violent urge to grab her again. He clenched his jaw in suppressed need and silently watched her. He saw her gaze slide down his body and she stiffened visibly at what she found. His eyes followed hers to his erection, and he knew that what she was seeing was threatening to her. She’d been a virgin until only minutes before, and now she was experiencing sex in the stark aftermath. His cock was no doubt intimidating to her, and the soiled condom and blood weren’t things from a fairytale.

It wasn’t something he was used to seeing, in fact couldn’t ever remember seeing blood of any kind on his cock. Knowing it was her blood, her virgin’s blood, gave him a swift kick in the ass and the realization that no matter what kind of shit he was going through, she was feeling more.

He rolled to his feet and walked to the bathroom and quickly cleaned himself. It did little to relieve the heat in his groin. He retrieved a warm, wet cloth and brought it back to her.

She was watching him walk back toward the bed, her eyes skipping down to his full blown hard-on, like he was a snake about to strike. She clutched the covers to her chest.

If he hadn’t felt like a piece of shit before, the look on her face cinched it for him. He couldn’t do anything about his unruly cock, but he bent down and pulled on his boxer briefs.

He saw a slight flare of relief in her eyes from the underwear he pulled over his hips, and he sat on the side of the bed facing her.

He held the cloth in one hand and took hold of the covers with the other and began slowly pulling them away from her body.

She resisted. “No.”

“Yes.”

“I can do it,” she said, holding out a hand for the cloth.

“I want to do it,” he demanded.

“No.”

“Are you about to ask me to take you home?” His voice was sharp.

“Yes.”

“Then give me this. Please.”