Redeemed Cowboy (Whiskey Valley Bryant Brothers)

She lifts her shoulders. "I don't want you to walk away. I want you to make love to me, Ryan."

I take off my shoes and strip down to my underwear. Her eyes are on me the entire time, spanning over my shoulders, my arms, down my belly and my thighs. I stand there and do the same to her. I take in every curve of her body, and my cock hardens just looking at her. How in the world I ever would've said that she's frumpy is beyond me. Maybe I said it because I'm stupid and I was trying to hide how I really felt about her. Whatever the reason, it was a stupid one, because there's nothing, absolutely nothing frumpy about her. She's breathtaking. She's beautiful, and I'd be lucky to have her. I reach out and rub my hand across her shoulder, down the front strap of her bra and to her nipple that is pressed against the soft material. Her back arches, pushing her breast fully into my hand.

I smile, enjoying the fact that she reacts the way she does to my touch. I reach behind her and undo the clasp of her bra and pull it down her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Her breasts heave against her chest with every breath she takes. I put a finger in each side of her underwear, pull them down her legs, and kiss her belly as she steps out of them. Her hands go to my shoulders, and she sucks in a breath. When she's naked in front of me, I stare at her, trying to commit it all to memory. I kiss her breast and suckle her hard nipple in my mouth. I release her with a pop and then move to the other one.

My hand slides between her legs, cupping her sex. Her hips thrust against my hand, and I slide my finger through her swollen, wet slit. She moans as my finger slides through her channel. She's hot and ready. I stand up to my full height, put my hands on her hips, and lift her up, taking her over to the bed and laying her back. I don't know where to start. I want to have my mouth on every part of her. Her legs fall open, and I fit my wide shoulders between her thighs. Staring at the apex of her thighs, I know that one taste is going to change my life forever. I put my mouth on her, stroking my tongue through her channel, licking her clit. She groans, and her thighs lock on my head. I don’t stop. I can’t. I keep pressure on her clit, licking back and forth over and over until her lower body is riding my mouth.

"Come for me, baby. Come for, Mia," I tell her.

As soon as I wrap my lips around her clit, sucking on her, her hips are thrusting uncontrollably as the orgasm shoots through her body. My hips are banging against the bed, looking for relief, and I know that it won't take long for me to come. She's spent, but her body is still trembling from her recent release. I climb up her body, kissing a trail from the apex of her thighs up her belly and to her breast, not stopping until I'm back at her lips again.

I know she can taste herself, and she moans as the flavor hits her tongue. "Please," she says, pleading with me. “Don’t stop.”

I position myself at her entrance and slowly lower myself, inching inside her. I'm barely in before her whole body arches into a tight hold.

I rear back and look at her in surprise. "Mia—?"

She's shaking her head. “Please don't stop. Please," she begs.

I put my forehead against hers and breathe out heavily. "You should have told me."

She looks at me. "I was saving myself for you. You're the only one I would let this happen with, Ryan. Please don't stop now."

As if I could. There's no way that I can pull out of her. I reach down between us and put my hand back on her clit. I know it's sensitive already, but I need to make sure this is good for her. I bring her to the edge again and slide a little further inside her.

When I come up against that tiny piece of skin that separates us, I know that I have to do it. There's no way I can stop. With a thrust of my hips, I push inside her, and she lets out a guttural groan that fills the air around us. I put my mouth to hers, taking it all in, wanting to take the pain and make her feel good all at once. I don't stop rubbing her clit until she starts to come again. And then I start to thrust in and out of her. One pump, two pumps, and I'm coming, exploding inside of her. I’ve never felt something so strong that made me feel so weak before in my life, and I know that this is what making love is. For the first time in my life, I've made love. It's not been about sex or just making myself feel good. It's all about Mia. And there’s no way I’m going to be able to let her go.

Chapter 14

Mia

When I wake up the next morning and stretch in my bed, muscles that I've never felt before pull, and it's a good pain. I smile without even thinking about it. And then it hits me. Everything that happened last night all starts to roll into my mind. That first time Ryan took me and then when he woke me up again in the middle of the night. I turn over and look at the sleeping man beside me and all but gasp, seeing that he's still here next to me. Thankfully, everyone in the house is gone or else we would have a lot of explaining to do.

I slide out of the bed as quietly as I can and go to the ensuite bathroom. I use it and brush my teeth and tiptoe back out into my room, wishing I’d grabbed clothes before I went in. When I hear him clear his throat behind me, I pull a shirt over my head and turn around and look at him. He's watching me with hooded eyes, and he's really quiet as he stares at me. I wish I could turn my happiness off because the way he's looking at me makes me feel like maybe what happened last night didn't mean as much to him as it did to me.

Instantly I know that something is wrong, and I refuse to embarrass myself again. I'm not going to be clingy or whatever. I know what this is. I know what Ryan is. He's a playboy cowboy. I've known that since the beginning. I start to get dressed, pulling my underwear on and then even putting my bra on awkwardly, trying to keep my shirt on while doing it. I get jeans and my boots on and put my hair up in a ponytail.

"Where are you going?" he asks.

"I need to go out to the barn. I have some work that I need to catch up on." I point to him in my bed. "You may want to get out of there before Pauline comes in to fix breakfast or something and sees you coming out of my room. We don't want to make this more than it is, Ryan."

I don't wait for his response. I really don't need him to have the talk with me and tell me what this is or what this isn't. I already know by the way he was looking at me this morning that he was filled with regret.

I trudge down to the barn, and it's barely light outside. There are a few ranch hands around. I say hi to them and make my way to the office. I know there are a thousand things that I could be doing, but I can't concentrate on any of them. The night keeps replaying in my mind, and there's no way that Ryan doesn't know how I feel about him.

I told myself that I wasn't going to have a crush on him. And I definitely wasn't going to let all of the Double B Ranch know how I felt, but there was no hiding it last night. He has to know that I love him, but obviously he doesn't care.

The morning goes by quickly. It seems like one thing happens after another, and with Ryan being the only brother here, he stays busy putting out fires across the ranch. I hold my breath every time I hear someone come into the barn, wondering if it’s him. Even though I've tried to get lost in my work, I feel like I'm at my wit’s end and need a break. I stand up and stretch and walk out of the barn just as the truck from the feed store pulls in. I can’t deal with this right now. Rachel smiles at me as she gets out. "Hey, is Ryan around?" she asks. I want so badly to tell her that she can't have him, but I know that I don't have that right.

"I'm pretty sure he's over at the corral," I tell her, pointing to the other side of the barn. She nods thanks and walks over that way, and I all but run toward the house.

"Don't look, don't look," I tell myself over and over, but, of course, I do exactly what I shouldn't. I look back over at the corral, and Ryan and Rachel are standing close to one another.

I can't do this. I know I can't. It will kill me if I have to stay here and see him with another woman. It's too bad that Nat is not here. She would go into town with me. For the first time in a long time, I regret not having friends off the ranch. Regardless, I can’t stick around here. Maybe I’ll go into town or go and see Brent at the McCoy ranch. I grab a set of the ranch truck keys hanging by the door. They’ve always said I can drive whatever I wanted when I wanted. I’m hoping that’s still true.

I put my purse over my shoulder and am walking down the steps when Ryan shows up. I look over toward the barn, and the truck from the feed store is gone. So he and Rachel must be done with whatever business they had. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" Ryan asks me.

"I'm going to go over to the McCoy ranch for a while. I'll be back," I tell him sadly.