Branded as Trouble

“Start dating? Two weeks ago.”



Silence.



Chassie sighed. “I just bared my soul and that’s all I get?”



“Yes, ’cause Indy ain’t the kiss-and-tell type like some people I know.” Colt set his hands on India’s shoulders and leaned in, mock whispering, “Although, there is plenty to tell after last night, huh?”



He kissed down the side of her neck. “Mmm. Mornin’, sugar.”



Goose bumps broke out in the wake of his warm kisses and sweet words. She closed her eyes and sank into him. “Morning.”



“Thanks for makin’ coffee.”



“Like I had a choice.”



She felt him grin against her cheek. “Is that a complaint?”



“No. Hell no.”



His smile widened, if anything. “Good to know.”



“But I am going to insist on no more betting today.”



“You’re the one who always starts it.”



Chassie snorted. “You two are so whipped. It’s as sweet as it is nauseating.”



Crap. India had forgotten about their guest. She opened her eyes. “Chassie brought caramel rolls.”



“Lucky us.” Colt gestured to Chassie’s coffee cup. “You ain’t supposed to be drinkin’ coffee, Chass.”



“So don’t tell.” At Colt’s continued hard stare, she said, “But I know you will. Fine. Dump it out, meanie. I probably better get home anyway.”



“What are Trevor and Edgard doin’ today?”



“Probably screwing around.” Chassie slid off the barstool.



“Nice seein’ you, India. Nice boxers, Colt. Next time, I’ll knock.”



She shuffled out.



“I like her,” India said.



“She’s ornery and sweet with a big heart. Kinda like you.” He grinned. “Which is probably why she and I have gotten on so well over the years.”



“Is that part of the reason you built out here?”



“Maybe. By the time I got my life back in order, Chassie had married Trevor, Edgard had moved in, and havin’ family close, but bein’ in my own place, appealed to me. I get along great with all of them, sometimes better than with my brothers. Heck, the four of us have even partnered up breedin’ stock.”



“But you still work at the McKay Ranch?”



“Yep.”



“I don’t understand how that works.”



“The ranch is run like a corporation. We’re all shareholders.



We take care of the ranch as a whole, but we’ve divided it into four sections. Each one of my uncles and my dad is an original owner.



But when the main owners started havin’ sons, they divided their individual sections up again. So, we’ve all added separate parcels.



Like Cord and my dad bought the Foster place a few years back.



Colby and my dad bought an acreage north of Colby’s place up in the mountains. That’s where Kade was during Skylar’s pregnancy.”



“I’d wondered about that.”



“It was easier for Kade to take off since there’s only Kade and Buck on my Uncle Cal’s portion and they haven’t expanded.”



India frowned. If Cord and Carson bought land, and Colby and Carson bought land, wouldn’t it make sense…Carson and Colt would’ve bought land? “Did you and your dad buy other acreages together?”



“Nope. I bought land on my own that I kept separate from the McKay Ranch, which pissed them off. Because financially it ended up bein’ a good investment, one that was solely mine.”



One thing India and Colt never talked about was finances.



“Like this place?”



“Technically, we all own the land my house is on. My other McKay cousins take care of their two sections, and they’ve added significantly to their holdings in the last ten years. We help each other out, but mostly we’re responsible for what goes on in our area.



So Colby, Cord, Dad and I run ours. My cousins Kade and Buck theirs. Quinn and Bennett theirs while Chase is off rodeoin’. My other cousins, Dalton, Luke, Brandt and Tell…I ain’t gonna get into the clusterfuck that is right now.”



India stared at him, too embarrassed to admit she didn’t understand a word he’d just said.



“Am I borin’ ya?”



“No, it’s just a hard concept to grasp.”



“Tell me about it. I’m glad it ain’t my job to figure out who’s owed what when it comes time to get paid.”



For some reason, bringing up ranch business always made Colt tense. His hands were wrapped around his coffee cup so tightly she feared he’d break the ceramic.



“You hungry? The caramel rolls look delicious.”



“Nah. I ate earlier.” Colt smirked at her over his cup.



Cocky man. She smirked back when she remembered what he’d had for breakfast.



It was time to return the favor. She set down her mug. “I hope you don’t mind if I indulge. I love caramel. So thick, and sweet and sticky.” She peeled back the foil and dipped her finger in the center of the gooey mass. She sucked her finger provocatively. “Wanna taste? Mmm-mmm.”



“Indy—”



“Colt.” India leaned forward and let her sticky lips track the line of his jaw. “Take your boxers off.” She breathed heavily in his ear. “Don’t ask why, just do it.”



His mug hit the counter and a second later his boxers hit the floor.



“Good boy. Grip the counter and spread your legs. Now watch me.”



Colt managed to choke out, “Watch you do what?”



“Show you my favorite way to eat caramel.” India recoated her fingers with the sugary goodness, scooping a dollop into her palm.



Keeping her eyes on his, her hand circled his cock. “Might get a little messy.”



“I live to get messy.”



With the hand that wasn’t stroking his brown-sugar coated shaft, she scraped the gooey topping off three caramel rolls and smeared it on Colt’s chest. She took special care to paint both his nipples. Thoroughly.



Then she bent her head and tasted. Mmm. Sweet sugar and salty Colt. The perfect combination. She enclosed her mouth around his left nipple and sucked. And sucked. Worrying the pebbled tip with her teeth. Stopping to rub her cheek across his pecs. Each brush of her mouth and lips made those tight muscles dance.



Colt didn’t utter a sound until she bestowed the same treatment to the other side.



India followed the sweet trail down the center of his spectacular body. She drew small circles around his belly button, dipping her tongue into his navel. Several times. She enjoyed the way his six-pack rippled with each wet swipe. Then she dropped to her knees.



He growled. “Sweet Mother of God.”



As she received her first up-close-and-personal look at his cock, she couldn’t believe how…big it was. Yeah, she’d felt it inside her, but Colt had pretty much kept her hands off his junk. Mr.



Chivalrous hadn’t allowed her to put a condom on him at all last night. Or in the shower this morning. He’d slipped one on and hoisted her against the tiled wall as she’d been trying to gather her wits after her second water-pik-induced orgasm.



India looked up at him. “Packin’ some serious heat there, cowboy.”



He blushed. Colt McKay actually blushed. “I-I—”



“I’m not complaining.” Keeping her eyes on his, she licked all the caramel from the head. “I’m not complaining at all.”



“Goddamn that feels good.”



“Why don’t we quit talking so I can get to the really good part.



The licking—” she flattened her tongue and licked from the root to the crown, “—more licking—” she lapped at the purple head, flicking her tongue over the pre-come seeping out the tip, “—and my favorite, sucking.” India bent her head and swallowed as much of his cock as she could.



A strangled groan emerged and he swayed.



She sucked off the brown sugar sweetness until all she could taste was the muskiness of Colt. “You didn’t tease me the first time you used your mouth on me, so I’m returning the favor.”



“Christ,” he muttered, “I’m so lasting about four more seconds.”



Her fingers loosely wrapped around the base of his shaft and she stroked her hand up to meet her mouth going down all that delicious hard male heat. India curled her left hand around his right hip, stroking her thumb on the delicate skin by his hipbone as her head bobbed.



All at once, his balls tightened and she knew he was close.



Especially when Colt started bumping his hips into her face.



She jacked his cock faster and focused her attention on the sweet spot beneath the cockhead.



“Yes.” His cock twitched against the roof of her mouth.



“That’s it. Ah hell, Indy.”



India sucked him as deep as she could, suctioning as hot bursts of semen hit the back of her tongue. She swallowed the bitter/sweet taste, losing herself in the satisfaction of pleasing her lover.



After she let him slip from her mouth, she kissed the tops of his shaking thighs and rubbed her face against his semi-soft cock, nestled in the dark hair covering his groin. Marking him with her scent as clearly as he’d marked her with his.



She rolled to her feet. Before India even met his gaze, Colt picked her up and set her on the kitchen table. “What are you doing?”



“I’m wantin’ a little caramelly goodness of my own.” He pushed her flat, keeping his hand in the center of her chest. “Don’t move.” Then his other hand was smearing caramel between her thighs.



“Colt—”



He lapped at the caramel as delicately as a cat. The pointed tip of his tongue traced the outline of her weeping sex, from the piercing above her clit, down through her cleft to the slit of her pussy, to the rosette of her ass. He swirled and licked and probed with that nimble tongue until her whole body vibrated. Colt drove her to the brink of orgasm, dangled her at the edge and then yanked her back at the last second.