Unbridled, page 21
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alex had never been in a situation like this. She’d been responsible for causing a significant amount of worry, and it had never occurred to her. The selfishness of taking Daniel with her, playing with him in the woods like a kid, well, it was almost embarrassing.
She gazed at Claire as she embraced Daniel. The expression on her face was one of love, in its purest form. That of a mother for her child.
Suddenly the resentment Alex had been holding tightly for Claire began to melt away. There was no rhyme or reason in how she held Claire accountable for her father’s sins. The woman so obviously loved her son, it made Alex’s heart hurt to watch them.
She missed her mother; the kind of hugs and affection that Alex had received were irreplaceable. She felt guilty for causing Claire so much worry. She dismounted and walked toward them, ready to face the music for the afternoon’s activities.
“Claire, I—”
“Don’t. Don’t you dare tell me you’re sorry. You are the adult here, the big sister he can’t stop talking about. You can’t possibly have an excuse for being so irresponsible.” Claire’s voice was like steel, her tone sharper than any knife.
Alex’s guilt increased tenfold at the admonishment, which was well deserved, unfortunately. “I don’t have an excuse. We spent the day together and it was, uh, fun. Time got away from us.”
“You had fun?” Claire glanced at Daniel. “You had fun?”
“We went on a treasure hunt like I used to do with Daddy.” Silent tears streamed down his face. “I’m sorry, Mama.”
“And whether or not you accept my apology, I’m sorry too, Claire. You can’t imagine how much.” Alex hugged herself, since there was no one else around to do it.
Claire’s shoulders dropped and she hugged her son again. “Ah, Daniel, there’s never a dull day with you around.”
“I guess you’re Alex Finley.”
Alex turned to find a giant beside her in the guise of a sheriff. The man blocked out the sun.
“Yes, good or bad, I’m Alex Finley.”
He held out a big paw toward her. “Yancy Scanlon.”
She took his hand and he barely squeezed it, although his hand practically swallowed hers. “Nice to meet you, Sheriff.”
“Eh, call me Yancy. I’m glad I didn’t have to search for you. Claire was about to tear me a new one, if you’ll pardon the expression.”
Alex’s cheeks heated. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem. We haven’t had anything exciting happen around here in a while. It’s good to keep us on our toes.” Yancy looked behind her. “You need me to do anything else?”
She turned to find Connor, his face still set in granite.
“No. Thanks for coming out.” Connor had never looked so fierce, and she found herself somewhat nervous to face him alone. That was a first for Alex.
He grabbed her arm. “We’ll see you later, Yancy.”
The big sheriff’s brows went up but he just waved and walked away toward his deputies.
“Let’s go, Finley.” Connor marched her to Rusty. “You need to take care of your horse.” He took the pinto’s reins and, whether or not she liked it, they walked into the barn.
Everyone was outside, so the building was empty. Alex was glad of the chore; it brought her back to earth. The shock of realizing her mistake, her negative impact on not only Claire but everyone at the ranch, made her feel awful. Even if she felt closer to Daniel than she’d expected, her actions had caused a great deal of problems.
After unsaddling Rusty and rubbing him down, she went to the feed bin to get a scoop of oats for the bay. As she walked back with the food, she noticed the pinto’s stall was closed, which meant Connor was finished. But he was nowhere in sight.
She poured the oats in Rusty’s trough and he pushed her out of the way to get to it. Obviously grass hadn’t been enough for the great horse. Alex closed the stall door and looked around, but still didn’t see Connor.
Perhaps he was angry enough with her to go somewhere and cool off. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she knew that was the wrong assumption. He was close by, waiting for her.
Against her will, Alex felt a tingle race through her body, making her nipples pop and a pulse beat thick and heavy in her pussy. He was watching her.
There were two stalls at the back of the barn where the clean hay was kept. One of those doors was open and she walked toward it, confident she’d found out what he was up to.
When a hard body slammed into the back of her, she gasped in surprise. His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against him and the already hard cock in his jeans. A moan escaped from her as his other hand traveled up and down her body, pausing to pinch her nipples hard.
He hadn’t been the aggressor in their sex. Yet. Now that she’d shown him how she liked it, apparently Connor was ready to show her. Alex was more than ready for that.
Using his pelvis, he bumped her forward toward the stall. She tried to grab something, grip her boots into the floor, anything to halt his progress, to make things more challenging for him. Of course, he had her in the middle of the barn, and there was nothing to grab but him.
So she reached around and felt his hard-on. Her pussy clenched in anticipation of the fucking she’d get from him. It was life and death all over again, when people need to feel alive after an intense experience. Alex definitely felt alive now.
“You like this?”
She managed to make a sound of agreement although her body already told the truth for her.
“I can smell your cunt already. You want me, don’t you?”
Alex squeezed him again. This time it was his turn to moan. He pressed his mouth against her ear and whispered harshly.
“I’m going to fuck you hard, up against the wall.”
Alex almost creamed her jeans.
They entered the stall and he kicked it closed. Their harsh breathing echoed in the stall with bales of hay stacked every which way. Sounds from outside the barn were muted, but they told her there were people just a few feet from where they were. Anyone could hear them or see them.
Alex had never been an exhibitionist but the very idea they could be caught made her excitement notch up quite a bit. He turned her around and captured her mouth in a bruising kiss. This was no time for gentleness, and she didn’t want any.
Their mouths opened and tongues dueled for control. He unbuttoned her blouse, then popped her bra clasp. His callused fingers tweaked and rolled her nipples until she nearly begged him to bite them. Her heart pounded so hard, her ribs ached—she’d never been so aroused in her life.
She yanked at his shirt and he pinned her arms against the wall. He took control and she wanted to fight it, wanted to grab it back from him, but this time Connor wouldn’t let her.
“It’s time you let me take the reins.” He kept her pinned with his weight, sliding one leg between hers until her pussy rode his thigh.
As he pushed up against her clit, his mouth settled on one ripe nipple and bit hard. She swallowed the scream that threatened as she rode his leg.
“Take off your pants.” He let her arms loose and she felt disoriented for a moment or two.
Then she heard his zipper and knew she had seconds before he’d be inside her. Her body shook with pure adrenaline as she fumbled with her clothes, standing stark naked within seconds.
He, on the other hand, had freed only his cock, which stood proudly in the shadows, jutting from his jeans.
“Suck it.”
Alex didn’t mind the order; in fact, she reveled in it as she dropped to her knees and took him. The hot maleness of him filled her mouth. God, he tasted so good. She grabbed the base of his shaft and massaged the sweet spot between his balls.
She lapped at the head, gently nipping the sensitive skin, smiling when he hissed. He groaned and grabbed her head, showing her what he wanted from her. Alex took his lead, eager to please him, eager to fuck him.
Her lips closed around the pulsing shaft. As she sucked him deep into her mouth, to the back of her throat, she pinched her nipple. She closed her teeth around him and bit lightly, making him jerk, pressing against the roof of her mouth.
Alex smiled inwardly and did it again. The saltiness of his pre-cum coated her tongue. She fondled his balls and sucked harder. They tightened in her hands and she knew she had him close to coming, anticipating the gush of fluid for her to swallow.
He yanked her head away and pulled her to her feet. Connor turned her around, putting her hands on the wall and kicking her legs apart. His clothes rubbed against her as his cock slid between her wet folds.
He guided his staff into her welcoming entrance, then reached around to her breasts. Alex shook with need as he poised just barely inside her.
“Jesus, Connor, fuck me.”
His fingers closed around her nipples and pinched just as he thrust inside her, embedding himself to the hilt. She bit her lip to keep the scream from exploding. Her body clenched around him so hard, she could barely tell where he ended and she began.
“So fucking tight,” he whispered as he bit her earlobe and began moving inside her.
Deep, sharp thrusts, nearly impaling her on his dick. She had never known him to be so rough, and she loved it. This was a fierce fucking, a primal mating between animals. Their quickie in the cabin was nothing compared to this. It was intense; it was incredible. It wouldn’t last for either of them.
Voices in the barn made her breath catch, and Connor paused. They could be caught at any moment, she naked with him fucking her. What a story that would make around the campfire.
“Come for me, baby,” he commanded. “Now.”
As if on cue, her body responded and she felt her pleasure building to its peak. She grunted as her hands dug into the walls, splinters lodging themselves in her skin. His grip tightened on her hips as he pounded into her, faster and faster.
The orgasm traveled north from her toes until it hit her pussy and the explosion made stars shine within her, around her, outside her.
Yes, yes, yes.
She shouted Connor’s name in her mind as she came so hard, she stopped breathing, her heart stopped beating and her mind stopped thinking. It was the most amazing moment of her life.
He buried himself inside her as his own orgasm hit. The hot cum gushed inside her, filling her, making her own waves of pleasure continue off his. She pressed her forehead into the wood, trying to suck in a breath. Connor was shaking as much as she was.
The voices grew closer and he withdrew from inside her, leaving her a bit bereft. She wanted more, needed more, but now wasn’t the time. They were about to be discovered. He shoved a bandanna at her.
“I know it’s not ideal, but use it to clean up.”
In the shadows he straightened his clothes while she pressed the cloth against her pulsing core. A little dizzy and trembling quite a bit, Alex managed to pull on her clothes. She picked up her boots as Connor came over and kissed her hard.
“I love you, Alex Finley.”
With that, he left the stall, leaving her shaken and bewildered. The man had handed her his heart and walked away with hers.
Connor managed to keep his cool as he walked out of the barn. His entire body vibrated with enough energy to launch a damn space shuttle. He kept a grim expression on his face and sent everyone back to work, then walked Claire and Daniel back to their cabin.
What he wanted to do was run back to the barn and hold Alex until he stopped shaking.
He couldn’t possibly explain what happened in that barn, but it was a turning point in their relationship. It was an elemental union that affected him right down to his bones. Then he’d actually told her he loved her.
Holy Mary and all the saints. He’d told her he loved her. Never mind if it was true or not; he had simply blurted what he was thinking, what he was feeling, without a thought to the consequences.
Claire was too distracted telling Daniel about how irresponsible he’d been, how worried she’d been, and how glad she was to have him safe. If she hadn’t been so focused on the boy, she might have noticed Connor tripped four times, let the door slam in his face and walked through a pile of horse shit.
Oh yeah, he was in serious trouble, and her name was Alex Katherine Finley.
He felt like a heel leaving her alone in the hay stall. She’d looked as shocked as he felt. Alex also looked completely amazing, wonderful, and he had to stop himself from throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her off to his cabin.
It wasn’t even four in the afternoon—he needed to do work that day other than worry and search. There was a stack of paperwork waiting for him, and he had to check all of Alex’s accounting work from the previous week. Either that or he could simply let it go and trust she knew what she was doing.
Connor grabbed a soda on the way back to his office, fielding questions from curious employees. Everyone was glad to hear Daniel was safe, tutted about how little boys could cause such worry, and congratulated Connor on successfully finding him.
He didn’t tell the truth—that the boy had been out for a ride with his big sister for the first time in his life. That the happiness on Daniel’s face had been nearly blinding when they rode down the hill toward him. Connor had known the boy all his life, and he’d never seen such joy before. Something had happened between them out in the woods.
Connor wanted to yell at both of them for causing such strain, but he didn’t. It was because of the joy, of the knowledge that whatever happened had changed their relationship. It was a stunning event, considering Connor expected Alex to fight her connection to Daniel for a very long time.
Yet apparently all they needed was a long ride in the woods and a treasure hunt. He would ask the two of them what exactly they were searching for later on. For now, Connor went back to his office and buried himself in getting the paperwork done.
He planned on locating Alex later and finishing what they’d started. Facing her after telling her of his love was nothing short of daunting. Yet he wouldn’t dream of missing it for the world.
His future depended on it.
Alex filled the tub with bubbles and deliciously hot water. After her dunking in the stream, or at least partial dunking, the warmth of the tub was heavenly.
As she slid down into the water, her inner thighs stung a bit and she remembered exactly why. The sex in the barn with Connor had been intense, more so than anything else in her life. She closed her eyes and shivered at the memory even in the heat of the bath.
Connor was everything she didn’t think she wanted in a man. He was bossy, opinionated and, worst of all, a cowboy. She’d run from all of that ten years ago; now she was back and found herself deeply involved with a man she barely knew.
Alex was exhausted from the ride, the emotion, the sex. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the pleasure of a bubble bath.
She didn’t know if it was ten minutes or forty, but she woke suddenly, wrinkled and in lukewarm water. With aches and pains that were too much for a twenty-six-year-old body, she got herself up out of the water and wrapped herself in a warm, fluffy towel.
The sun was low on the horizon, which meant it was nearly the end of the day. She felt disoriented and tired, likely aftereffects of the injuries from the week before, the physical strain of the weekend, followed by the long ride and incredible sex.
Alex padded to the kitchen to make coffee and stopped in her tracks when she found Connor sitting at the table. Torn between anger and frustration at his behavior, she frowned at him.
“I told you not to come in here uninvited.”
“I was born in Bakersfield, California. My mother was a waitress, my dad an auto-body guy. I had four older brothers and two dogs. We were a blue-collar family from a bad neighborhood.” He sounded contemplative, even sad. “What the world didn’t know was that my father was a thief, a man who ran a chop shop out of his garage.”
Alex sat down at the table, her surprise and annoyance overshadowed by her own curiosity over Connor’s story. “I didn’t know you were from California.”
A ghost of a smile flitted across his face. “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.”
“Make me coffee and I’m ready to listen.” She pushed aside any lingering tiredness as she watched him quickly make her a cup of steaming brew, then add just the right amount of cream.
That he knew exactly how she liked her coffee should have worried her. It didn’t.
“Did your dad get caught?”
“My brothers had learned the business from him. They were a regular crime family, boosting cars and drinking, picking up women. Since I was the youngest, they held off on initiating me into the business until I was thirteen. To them, that was the golden age for learning the trade.” His laugh was nowhere near humorous. “By fourteen, I could break into a car in thirteen seconds flat. I was quick and small, and that meant I could hide easily in tight spots. On my fifteenth birthday, my brothers crashed a society ball parking lot, manned by valets, to try to get me a Porsche.”
She heard his voice tighten, winding up like a spring. Something terrible had marred that birthday, something that had changed the course of his life.
“What happened?”
He looked out the window, his gaze faraway and full of memories. “The valets were armed. Two of my brothers were killed point-blank, the other two wounded so badly that one of them died on the operating table. The other lost his sight in one eye and his right arm.”
Alex gasped and took his cold hand in her own. “Did you see it happen?”
“Oh yeah, I had a front-row seat underneath the blue Porsche that was to be mine. My father came barreling in like a lunatic and they beat him until he lost consciousness. He was tried and convicted, sent to prison in Chino. My mother wept for weeks, barely leaving her bed to even eat.” He swallowed hard enough that she actually heard it. “I was the only one left, the baby boy who had nothing that wasn’t given to him by his brothers and father.”
Alex took a sip of her coffee and tried to come up with the right words to express herself. She understood pain, all too well. He was obviously telling her a story he thought she needed to hear, perhaps to understand just who he was.
