CHAPTER 18
Haley rolled her eyes. “No. Besides, we promised Mario we’d order dessert.”
Axel lowered his head nuzzling her ear. “I think you’re on the menu for dessert, darlin’.” And this time, he’d make sure they were in a proper bed. His bed. In his bunkhouse. He didn’t care if they were the latest subject of gossip at Dottie’s Diner. He was moving back into his bunkhouse. “You don’t know how badly I want to slip my hand up your thigh.”
She shivered against him and gave him a look full of dirty promise. “Why don’t you?” She shifted closer and pressed her thigh against his and raised an eyebrow in challenge.
His cock liked that. A lot. So did the rest of him. Her suggestion set his head spinning. His fingers itched to move. Discover if she was as hot for him as he was for her. His pulse started going double time and he swallowed, bringing his focus back and casting a quick glance around the room. The restaurant was half-full this evening, and they were ensconced in the most secluded spot. Someone would have to be right on top of them before they noticed any shenanigans.
He dropped his hand and skimmed it down the slippery material, searching for the edge. Her quick intake of breath hit him the same time his fingers encountered soft skin. He peeked over. She held herself very still, and a pale flush began to creep up her neck.
He shifted his legs a little wider accommodating the growing bulge in his jeans. Fuck, this was hot. He slid his fingers under the fabric and down to the delicate skin in between her limbs. Slowly, inch by inch, he worked his way up to her center. Caressing and massaging slowly. Haley’s lips had parted and her breathing became shallow. God she was so gorgeous all quivery and wound up. He was so close to his treasure. Just the tiniest bit further and he could sweep against a silky barrier. Would it be lace this time? Or maybe that see-through netting? His cock twitched at the thought of what he’d discover, and a corresponding rush of heat bloomed low in his belly.
He slipped his fingers higher, searching. And met slick, wet, heat.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Coop,” he muttered, sweeping against her slick folds again.
She gave him a look so hot he thought he’d combust. “You still had my panties.” Her voice was low and breathless.
God, he wanted to drag her onto his lap and fuck her silly right here. And now she wanted him to stay here and eat dinner? And dessert?
The whole time knowing there was soft, wet, pussy just waiting for him to bury himself?
He gave a strangled cough. “I swear to God, Coop. You’re killing me.”
She gave a little roll of her hips, pushing herself against his fingers. “You can’t die until after dessert.”
So she was intent on torturing him through dinner? Well, two of them could play the teasing game. He pulled his hand away, registering her little sigh, and brought his arousal slicked fingertips to his mouth and slowly ran his tongue over the pad. Her taste burst in his mouth, a heady combination of dusky salty sweet with a sharp tang. More amazing than he’d remembered, and so, so much better than dessert. All he wanted was to feast on her until she shattered.
“Now who’s killing who?” Her voice stuttered and sent a hot itch curling down his spine.
“Are you sure you don’t want to leave? Now?” How in the hell were they supposed to make it through dinner? He was already burning up.
She smiled at him wickedly and took another sip of wine. “Mhm… am I too distracting? Shall I move over?” She began to scoot away.
His hand shot out to stop her. “Hell, no,” he practically growled. Now that he had her, she wasn’t going anywhere.
Mario appeared with their plates and a platter piled high with ravioli, acting like a shot of ice to his inflamed libido. “You eat family style tonight, yeah?”’
“Sure, Mario.” Axel scooped the squares onto a plate and pushed it in front of Haley. “Eat up. You’re going to need your strength.”
“Take your own advice, cowboy.”
Coop cut into the ravioli and popped a bite in her mouth. Her eyes rolled back and she let out a little moan of delight. “Oh my God, this is so good. I haven’t ravioli had this good since New York. Gino’s is the real deal.”
Wait. What? That got Axel’s attention. “When were you in New York?” He’d never been east of the Mississippi, and it dug at him that there was so much of her life he’d missed.
“Meteorology conference I attended in grad-school.” She took another bite and shut her eyes, obviously savoring the flavor. “It was great. So big and loud. So many different smells and flavors. I tried everything. Indian, Somali, Nepalese, Polynesian.”
Of course she tried everything. Her spirit of adventure was boundless. But worry niggled at him. How could he compete with the excitement of New York? “Would you ever want to work there?”
She cocked her chin at him, a smile lifting the corner of her mouth. “Me?” She shook her head. “Nah. I’m a country girl at heart. I want to come home to the sounds of the outside.” She took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “Besides,” she waggled her eyebrows. “Not enough tornadoes in New York.”
Relief washed over him. And hope. Maybe, just maybe, they could figure out something more than a temporary love affair. As they continued to talk and eat, Axel peppered her with questions about her graduate activities, and warming every time she giggled at one of his humorous interjections. Time stopped. Before he knew it, both the ravioli and the wine were finished.
Haley pushed her plate back and shot Axel a look full of meaning. “I’m ready for dessert. How about you?”
Just like that, his libido kicked into high gear. He’d always be ready for her. “Cannoli or spumoni?” Axel already knew the answer. She’d done this to him once before. He’d never forget at her twenty-first birthday dinner how she picked up a cannoli and slowly devoured it, never taking her eyes off him.
“I was thinking we could get dessert to go.”
“Done.”
He signaled Mario, who bustled over. “Let me guess. You want dessert to go. I know that look in your eye. I was young once, too.”
Axel took care of the bill and a few minutes later Mario returned with a box. “From my wife. Tiramisu. She says it goes great with breakfast coffee.”
Axel slid out of the booth and offered his hand to Haley. She entwined her fingers with his, and stood, eyes shining. “Ready to go home?”
Home. The word slid over him and settled deep in his bones. Could she ever consider Prairie her home?
The fifteen minute drive back to the ranch crept by. Axel gripped the steering wheel tightly the whole drive back. Electricity crackled between them, like a storm brewing, ready to unleash its power. By the time they paused at the bunkhouse door, he vibrated with anticipation.
He lifted his hand, studying her delicate fingers, suddenly unsure of himself. “Are you sure you want this?” He tried to keep his voice as light and neutral as possible.
She tilted her face up in the moonlight. “So chivalrous.”
He wanted to be anything but chivalrous at the moment. “Well?”
She turned the handle and pushed open the door, tugging him along behind her. He kicked it shut behind him as he crossed the threshold and pulled her flush to him, mouth crashing to hers. His hand bunched the material of her dress at her hip, sliding it up until he could slip under it and cup her bare ass.
So soft. So sweet.
He teased and licked at her mouth until she moaned. Slowly he walked her back to his room, pausing only to flip on a small light on his dresser. When the question appeared in her eyes, he answered. “I want to see your face when you come.”
The look she gave him scorched him.
She kicked off her shoes and backed up to the bed, sitting when the edge hit the back of her knees. Slowly, she raised the hem of her dress over her hips and opened her knees.
He swallowed, mouth going dry, and met her eyes as he sank to his knees between her legs.
So fucking naughty.
God, he loved her.
Shit. Yes. He loved her. What now? Nobody ever believed declarations given in the heat of the moment.
He cleared his throat. “You’ve been busy.”
“Like?”
“Hell, yes.” Her bare pussy, pink and swollen, glistened in the soft light. “Fucking gorgeous.” His cock strained against his jeans. He tilted forward, inhaling the scent of her arousal. His balls tightened as something deep inside him twisted and pulled. Slowly, he took a long swipe with the tip of his tongue, lightly invading her slick folds and giving a little flick over her clit.
A soft sigh escaped her. “More.” Her hand came to his head.
He licked again, going deeper this time, tasting more of her sweetness, and making curling motions with his tongue as he swept up. When he reached her clit he sealed his mouth over it, applying suction as he lapped at the hardened bud.
Haley’s fingers clenched in his hair. “Yessssss. Oh Axe. That feels so good.”
Truth.
He couldn’t get enough of her silky, sex-slicked folds. The taste of her filled him. So much better than the preview he’d enjoyed at the restaurant. He curved his arms under her knees and pulled on her hips, widening her. When he began again, he used the flat of his tongue, moving in slow concentric circles. Her hips began to undulate with his movements, and her legs trembled.
He slipped one, then two fingers into her slick, tight heat, scissoring as he slowly pressed in and out. Haley’s head fell back and she let out a little tight moan giving his head a squeeze, and then shattered, crying out. He continued his movements, helping her ride out the waves as her breathing slowed. He couldn’t not tell her. His feelings were too big.
Turning his head, he kissed the inside of her thigh and sat back on his heels, releasing the buttons on his shirt. “Haley, before we… I want to tell you this so you know it’s not just the heat of the moment.”
She raised her head, eyes glazed pools of arousal. “You keep calling me Haley. You’ve never done that.”
She was right. Somehow it had started slipping out. “Because you’re so much more than ‘Coop’ to me. I love you, Haley. I think a part of me never stopped. So it was easy… to pick right back up.”
His pulse thrummed at rocket speed. She stilled, staring at him intensely.
“I love everything about you. The way your laugh sounds like music, the way your eyes light up at a joke. I love touching you – tasting you. The way you feel when I’m inside you, and the little noises you make right before you come.”
There.
He’d said it.
Whatever happened between them now, at least he could look himself in the mirror and know he hadn’t shied away from letting her know how he felt from the get-go.
Silence hung between them.
Her face softened, but her eyes… Her eyes told him she was struggling with something. He reached for her, stroking up her thighs. “Sweetheart? What is it? Did I say too much?”
She gave him a sad smile and shook her head, cupping his cheek. “I love you, Axe, you great big softie.”
Delight burst inside him, launching butterflies of joy in a thousand different directions. But she bit her lip, looking totally unsure of herself, and concern washed over him. “Whatever it is. I swear, we can fix it.” No matter what it was, he’d make it right for her.
She shook her head. “You can’t fix this, Axe… can’t fix me.”
A little tendril of fear hooked through him. “Just tell me, Haley. Please.”
The look she gave him shredded him. Bleak eyes and a face contorted in pain. “Axel, somebody died because of me.”