Boone’s Bounty Read online

  “I have to kiss you. But that’s it. Nothing else.”

  She started to put her arms around his neck.

  “No,” he whispered, leaning down. “Don’t touch me. Just let me kiss you. One kiss.” His palms still braced against the wall, he leaned down and touched his mouth to hers. He began with slow, sensuous nibbles, as if her lips were a sugary treat he wanted to make last a long time.

  “Your mouth is so…ripe,” he murmured. He raked her bottom lip gently between his teeth. “I want to gobble you up.”

  “I want you to. I want you to kiss me all over.”

  His quiet moan spoke of his frustration. “I can’t risk that again. But I can do this.” As if he had forever, he outlined her entire mouth with languorous flicks of his tongue. And although his only point of contact was her mouth, he did indeed drive her crazy. He was making love to her mouth, she realized, and this was foreplay.

  When she was gasping, nearly begging for a more full-bodied kiss, he gradually dipped his tongue deeper and settled his lips more firmly over hers. Her heart thundered as he stroked the inside of her mouth. The motion blended with memory, as her body recalled the satisfaction he’d brought her once before with that wonderful tongue. The throbbing core of her moistened in readiness.

  As his tongue continued to caress her, the rhythmic sensation spiraled downward. An insistent tension coiled ever tighter between her thighs. Clenching her fists at her sides, she moaned and opened her mouth wider, wanting to be ravished. He continued to caress only her hot mouth as he plunged deep, his breath coming fast.

  Her nipples tightened and thrust against her blouse. She wanted him to cup and stroke her there, yet still he kept his palms flat against the wall. The ache pulsed ever stronger between her thighs. She wanted him there, as well—caressing, kissing, thrusting. At last the force of her need tricked her, guiding her to imagine him touching her everywhere, and there, especially there. As he kissed her with passionate abandon, she arched away from the wall. Her shuddering climax took her by storm.

  He caught her in his strong arms before she crumpled to the floor. “Shelby,” he murmured against her cheek as he gathered her up and carried her toward her room. “Oh, Shelby, sweetheart.”

  She struggled for breath. “Come to bed with me,” she begged.

  His voice rasped in the stillness. “It’s not…a good idea.”

  “Do it anyway.”

  He carried her into her bedroom. “No. I—” In the dark he tripped against Sebastian’s office chair and sent it rolling across the floor. It was a testament to his strength that he stayed upright and didn’t drop her. “I’m leaving you here. Lock the door.” He deposited her on the daybed.

  Sitting up immediately, she reached over and snagged his belt buckle before he could turn away. “Oh, no, you don’t.”

  “Let go, Shelby.” He sounded as if he might strangle on the words as he fought a desperate battle between desire and conscience.

  She didn’t let go. She’d made it this far past his natural barriers, and retreat wasn’t an option. He wouldn’t have birth control with him, so she had to find another way to show him what he would be missing if he walked out that door. Grasping the tab on his zipper, she pulled it firmly down.

  He clearly hadn’t expected her to be so bold, judging from his quick gasp. Before he could recover enough to grab her wrists and stop her, she slipped her hand inside and stroked the solid length of him.

  He groaned and tried to manacle her wrists in his long fingers. “No,” he whispered.

  “Yes. Let me love you,” she murmured. She pulled her hand away and her searching fingers found the opening in his briefs, caressing the hot, smooth skin of his erect penis. “Please. Let me love you before you go.”

  “It’s not right.” But his protest was weaker, the grip on her one wrist not nearly so tight.

  Had there been more light in the room, he never would have let her touch him like this, she thought. Instinctively she knew he wasn’t a man who freely opened himself to such intimacies. Yet here, in the dark, after the amazing kiss they’d shared, his defenses were down. He might, just might, give in to the fantasy.

  “You’ve been so good to me,” she said softly. “Let me make you feel good, too.”

  The moan deep in his throat could have been either protest or permission. She took it for permission. Slowly she eased her hand inside his briefs and grasped him gently. He was so large her fingers couldn’t complete the circle.

  Heart pounding from the discovery of his incredible girth, she explored his length and grew dizzy imagining so much man deep inside her. She would know that thrill, too, but first she needed to stake her claim.

  The sound of his rapid breathing filled the small room, brushed by a faint glow of light from the hall, as she nudged his erection free of the cotton material. With a sigh of surrender he released her wrist. Triumph surged through her as she took him in both hands.

  She could feel the blood pounding through the impressive length beneath her fingers. As she ran her hands slowly upward, his penis twitched in reaction. Then, as she eased her grip and slid her hands back down, she leaned forward and kissed the moist tip. His whole body trembled, like the quaking of a giant tree about to topple to the forest floor.

  A sense of power encouraged her to taunt him even more. She swirled her tongue in a lazy motion around the slight ridge just below the tip, and he trembled again. Then she placed her mouth against the velvet surface, and in a pace designed to drive him wild, she began to draw him in.

  He gasped for breath. And gradually, tentatively, his big hands cupped the back of her head, his thumbs resting against her temples. Whether his touch was meant to restrain or encourage her, she wasn’t sure. But when he applied a slight pressure she knew that Boone, who never asked for anything, was asking now. His pride and shyness were being consumed by fiery need.

  She could not take all of him, and he seemed to hang onto enough of his sanity to know that. But his passiveness slipped away as he began to thrust gently yet eagerly into her mouth. With a broken cry his fingers tightened against her scalp, and the salty rush of his climax flavored her tongue.

  BOONE SANK to his knees in front of Shelby. He longed to shower her with diamonds, yet all he could give was a kiss filled with awe and tenderness. The taste of him remained on her lips, and he was humbled once again by her generosity. And still aroused. He’d never guessed that this angelic woman would be so daring with a man. The room was filled with the erotic scent of passion, his and hers.

  She wanted him still. He could tell from the way she opened to his kiss. And he, too, wanted more, wanted to find out if she would become a wild creature when he pushed deep inside her. She was so small. He would have to be careful with her—if she would let him be careful. Already his penis was stirring at the thought of being enclosed by that hot, tight little body.

  Lifting his mouth from hers, he tilted her head back and gazed into her shadowed eyes. His voice was husky with an emotion he hadn’t expected to feel again for a long time, if ever. “We’re not finished, are we?”

  “No,” she murmured.

  He brushed his thumbs across her cheeks. “Nothing’s changed. I still have a duty to Jessica. And the baby.”

  “You do,” she agreed, her voice low and rich with desire. “But everything’s changed.”

  He took a shaky breath. “Maybe.”

  “If you don’t know it yet…” She pressed her forefinger against his bottom lip before sliding it smoothly into his mouth. “You will when you’re deep inside me.”

  The surge of lust came like a blow to the gut. No matter what had just happened between them, he wanted her so fiercely that he nearly pushed her to the mattress then and there.

  But before he could decide his next move, Josh’s small voice carried down the hall.

  “Shebby?” he called plaintively. “Bob, he had a bad dream.”

  “I’d better go,” she said.

  He stood and zippe
d his pants. Then he stepped aside to let her pass.

  She rose on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll be back.”

  Such a simple statement, but it made his heart thunder. “Do you want me to see if I can find some con—”

  “Yes.” Tucking in her blouse, she hurried out the door.

  Moments later, as he searched Sebastian and Matty’s bathroom cupboards, he listened to the muted sounds of Shelby talking to Josh. His heart wrenched as he faced the truth. Both of them had become so much a part of him that he might not survive without them. But what if Jessica wanted marriage? After what he’d done, he couldn’t refuse her anything.

  Well, if Jessica wanted marriage, he’d give it to her. And if that happened, he would never hold Shelby in his arms again.

  Jessica could return any time. Tomorrow, in fact. Matty had said she’d sounded happy to know that he was at the ranch. Tonight could be all he and Shelby would ever have.

  He found the condoms. Carrying the box, he made a last tour of the house, shutting off lights and double-checking locks. The alarm was activated and the dogs lay sleeping in Josh and Elizabeth’s room. It should be enough, but if not, he’d be here, ready to protect those he loved. And that was exactly what he felt for the three people in this house. Might as well be honest with himself. He’d fallen hard for each of them.

  Finally he returned to the guest room and wondered whether he should undress. No. But he could at least take off his boots. He sat on Sebastian’s desk chair to pull them off. When he was finished he impulsively leaned over and switched on the antique banker’s lamp with the green glass shade. The light cast a soft circle of light over the rumpled daybed.

  Good, thought Boone. He and Shelby had spent enough time in darkness. If this could be his only night with Shelby, he wanted to see everything. Most of all he wanted to be able to look into her eyes as he undressed her, to watch those blue eyes sparkle with excitement as he stroked her soft skin, and finally, to see them glow with passion as he pushed slowly, tenderly inside her.

  MASON LOWERED his night-vision binoculars. At last his targets were moving toward bedtime. The lights were out in the front of the house, but one had flicked on in a back room. From the pattern of lights he’d figured out where Josh must be sleeping. That light had blinked out an hour ago, sometime around eight.

  He could imagine what might be going on in the room with the light. And he figured it would work to his advantage. He hoped the bitch would wear that cowboy out. Heavy-duty sex made a guy sleep like the dead, which was exactly how Mason would like that big lug to sleep tonight. Shelby was doing Mason a favor without even knowing it.

  Once the light went out, Mason planned to give them another couple of hours to finish their hanky-panky and fall asleep. Then he’d make his move. First he’d disengage the alarm. As for the dogs, the big cowboy had played into his hands by letting the pooches out right on schedule.

  Mason had watched through his binoculars as those dumb canines had wolfed down the hamburger he’d left on the ground where they’d be sure and find it. The tranquilizer buried inside the patties would keep them out of the action until morning.

  He could smell success, and damned if it wouldn’t be sweeter than going to bed with a willing virgin. The operation seemed almost too easy, but that was because, as usual, people had underestimated Mason Fowler. And by the time they realized their mistake, it would be too late.

  BOONE HAD JUST thrown back the covers on the bed when Shelby came into the room. She reappeared so silently that only his sharpened sense of her let him know she was there. He turned to look at her, taking his time, memorizing the way she looked now and imagining how she’d look as he gradually took off her clothes. He didn’t plan to rush the process this time.

  When he noticed that she’d taken off her shoes and stood there in her socks, he realized why he hadn’t heard her come in. So she’d decided to start by taking off her shoes, too, he thought with an inward smile. He loved the idea that she was so eager for him.

  But as she stood in the doorway, color tinged her cheeks. For a woman who had acted so boldly not long ago, she seemed hesitant, almost shy.

  “Josh had some trouble going back to sleep.” She swallowed and made a nervous gesture with her hand. “And I…I checked on Elizabeth, too. She’s fine.”

  “Good. Thank you.” He thought of what a wonderful mother Shelby would make. She deserved a baby of her own. He pictured her growing round, her belly becoming almost as big as she was. And he wanted to be the one to plant the seed.

  Her cheeks still glowing a rosy pink, she glanced back at the door. “I guess we should close that.”

  “Yes.”

  She turned and closed the door with a soft click. Then she faced him again. Like a wild thing struck with curiosity, she slowly ventured farther into the room. He waited, afraid she’d changed her mind and couldn’t think how to tell him.

  When she hesitated and rested her hand on the desk, his fear grew. “You know, it’s easier when you’re caught up in the moment,” she said, running her finger back and forth along the edge of the desk. Then she cleared her throat. “Now that we’ve been interrupted, I’m not sure what to do next, Boone.”

  Pain knifed through him. But if she’d reconsidered, he’d honor that. “You’ve changed your mind?”

  She shook her head. “Oh, no.”

  Thank God. “Then—”

  “My rhythm’s messed up, is all. I don’t know whether to throw myself into your arms, or do a sexy striptease, or take your clothes off, or—”

  “Then let me decide,” he said with a small smile and a huge feeling of relief. If that was all that was bothering her, he could take care of it. He wanted to take care of it, in fact. He held out his hand.

  Holding his gaze, she came toward him and put her hand in his. “I noticed you turned on the light,” she said in a breathy voice.

  “Yes.” His hand dwarfed hers. He brought it to his lips, turned it palm up and placed a kiss there. “You’re so small and delicate,” he murmured, tracing the shallow creases in her palm. He glanced into her eyes. “Are you afraid? Because I’m so big?”

  “No.” Her voice had become almost a whisper.

  He unfastened the button at her wrist. “You know I’ll be careful.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  Easing her sleeve back, he slowly kissed his way from the pulse at her wrist to the inside of her elbow. Along the journey he savored the satiny feel of her pale skin and the almost innocent scent of soap and flowers. His angel, who could seem so fragile one minute and so sexually daring the next. She made his head spin.

  As he trailed his tongue along the return path to her wrist, she sighed. “That’s why I’m not afraid,” she murmured. “You are so…” She paused as he relinquished one hand and took the other, unfastening the button there. When he placed his lips against the inside of her other wrist, she sighed again. “So gentle.”

  He hoped he could live up to that. They were only beginning, and already fine tremors passed relentlessly through him, and beneath his jeans he was hard and hot. Unbuttoning the front of her blouse should have taken only one hand, but desire affected his coordination and he needed two. Gradually the placket gapped open, revealing the lacy cups of her bra. She’d begun breathing faster, and her breasts, cradled in white lace, quivered in response. He licked dry lips.

  The light in the barn hadn’t been very good. He hadn’t been able to see clearly what he’d enjoyed that night, but he would take the time to see now. Pulling the tails of her blouse from the waistband of her jeans, he continued to watch the rapid rise and fall of her breasts as he pushed the blouse off her shoulders. It slid down her arms and whispered to the floor.

  His heart hammered in anticipation as he reached behind her back and unfastened the hooks of her bra. Lifting it by the straps, he pulled it down, and nearly forgot to breathe. He’d remembered the heart-stopping fullness of her breasts and how they’d seemed even fuller contrasted
with her small rib cage and narrow waist.

  But colors had been muted in the barn. He hadn’t seen the delicate tracing of blue veins, or that her nipples were such a tender shade of rose, a shade that deepened as he gazed. The tips grew more erect with each breath she took, and he remembered this was a woman who could climax with only a kiss.

  He looked into her eyes and the blue sparkle had turned to intense navy. Cupping a breast in each hand, he shuddered at the delicious weight filling his palms. He had big hands, yet she nearly overflowed his grasp. Just by smoothing his thumbs over her taut nipples, he made her gasp. Instinctively he realized that if he suckled her, even for a moment, she could erupt.

  And he didn’t want that. Not yet. Instead he leaned down, softly kissed each raspberry tip, and released those heavenly breasts. Her jeans came next, and although he lectured himself to go slow, he took them off much too fast. But he wanted…oh, how he wanted to discover what he’d suspected, that her panties were drenched and fragrant with passion.

  With one hand behind her nape, he watched her expression as he spread his hand and placed it firmly against the wet cotton panel between her thighs. A flame leaped in her eyes. He slipped his hand inside her panties and found her slick and hot to the touch.

  The fire burned brighter in her eyes, and then she blushed again. Her lashes fluttered down. “You must think I’m…”

  “Wonderful?”

  “Oversexed.”

  His hand stilled. The thought had never occurred to him. He’d simply been grateful for her response.

  “But I’m not usually so…excitable.”

  An emotion stronger than gratitude blossomed in him. “You’re not?”

  She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Then she shook her head.

  “Oh, Shelby.” Postponing his intimate caress, he cradled her face in both hands and kissed her, putting all that he didn’t know how to say into that kiss.

  His mouth was tender and reverent against hers. I love you. But those were words best not spoken. Not when his future was so uncertain.