his flesh and a drop trickled down his palm.
Hunger raged inside him and he dipped his head, flicked his tongue over the swollen tissue and lapped up her sweet juice.
At the first contact of his mouth, she arched up off the bed and her hands grasped his head. He tasted her, savoring the bitter sweetness and relishing the sound of a gasp here and a moan there. He swirled his tongue around her clitoris and felt the tip ripen for him. She whimpered as he sucked the sensitive nub into his mouth and nibbled until she tensed beneath him. Her fingers clutched at his hair in a grip that was just short of painful. The sensation fed his ravenous desire and made his breath quicken. He laved her once, twice and her breath caught on a ragged gasp. He knew she was close.
So close, but not quite there.
He gathered his control and pulled away, determined to make it last for the both of them. But then his gaze collided with hers and he saw the fierce glitter in her eyes—a mix of desire and relief and a desperate longing—and he had the strange feeling that this moment meant more than just sating her lust.
As if she weren’t just living in the moment, but looking forward to the morning after.
If he had been a different man, he might have liked the notion. But Josh McGraw wasn’t interested in a future when it came to women. The only thing on his mind was fulfilling his grandfather’s dying wish, and getting the hell out of Romeo and back to his life.
His gaze shifted to her naked body. Okay, so it wasn’t the only thing on his mind at the moment, but it was still a priority.
Right beneath getting inside the hot, sexy woman stretched out on the bed.
He snatched up his jeans and retrieved a condom from his pocket. After sliding on the latex, he settled between her legs. Bracing himself, he shoved his penis deep into her wet heat in one swift thrust that stalled the air in his lungs.
He gripped her lush hips, his tanned fingers digging into her pale flesh as he plunged into her again. She closed her eyes, lifted her hips and met each thrust until he couldn’t take it anymore. His cock throbbed and filled and he was right there. Just a few more movements and he was going to explode….
And she wasn’t.
She wasn’t nearly as tense, her body wasn’t strung as tight as it should have been if she were teetering on the edge.
All the better. If she didn’t have an explosive orgasm, it would surely sour the evening and push him right back down to the nothing-special category when it came to men.
He thrust again and again. The pressure built and pleasure fogged his brain and before he could stop himself, he reached down between them and parted her flesh just above the point where he filled her. He caught her swollen clitoris between his thumb and forefinger and squeezed lightly.
She moaned and her body convulsed around him and he knew she’d tumbled over the edge. He buried himself deep one last time and followed. He held her tight and relished the way her inner muscles milked him.
Finally, his hold loosened and he collapsed onto his back. He reached for her, tucking her against his body.
He needed to get up and get dressed. He had an early day waiting for him. He was riding fence first thing in the morning before he moved two hundred new head of cattle into the west pasture. But damned if he could breathe, much less move, and so he closed his eyes. Just for a few minutes. Then he would haul himself up, pull on his clothes and say goodbye.
AN HOUR LATER Josh forced his eyes open just in time to see Holly stand and slide on her panties. He folded his arms behind his head and watched as she bent over to search through the covers they’d kicked off for the rest of her clothes.
She was just pulling on her top when she noticed that he was watching her.
She smiled. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
He winked. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“It’s just that I really need to get going. I’ve got a long drive ahead of me.”
“You’re going all the way back to Houston tonight?”
She nodded and finished with the last button before perching on the edge of the bed to pull on her skirt. “I run my own business and I’ve got a ton of things to do first thing in the morning.” She stood and reached for her purse. “Maybe we could have dinner some time. Whenever you’re available. I know you’re probably busy with horses or cattle or whatever you do.”
“Actually, I do both. For now. My grandfather passed away about six months ago and I’ve been running my family’s ranch since then. But that’s just temporary until my brother comes home in a few weeks. Then I’m headed back to Arizona. I run a small charter business.”
“I thought you were a cowboy.”
“Professionally, I’m a pilot.”
“But you look like a cowboy.”
“Cowboying isn’t something you do, cupcake. It’s the way you think.” He winked. “I’ll always be a cowboy. I just like climbing into the cockpit of a Cessna more than I like climbing into a saddle.”
Disappointment filled her gaze and Josh barely ignored the urge to pull her into his arms.
“But you look like a cowboy,” she stated again, as if she had to say it twice for the words to really sink in. “I’m sorry. I thought…” She shook her head. “Maybe I’ll see you around sometime then.”
“I doubt that. I don’t get down to Houston too often. Austin’s closer, so I do most of the ranch business there.”
“I’m talking about here. In town. I live here now.”
He sat up. “What did you say?”
“As of three o’clock this afternoon, I own the Farraday Inn—my grandmother left it to me.”
What? “You’re Holly Farraday?” It was more of a statement than a question, because the truth was right there in front of him. In the deep red hue of her hair. The bright green of her eyes. He’d recognized her, all right, because she looked like her grandmother. A young, vibrant version of the old woman who’d stolen his grandfather’s heart all those years ago, and his land.
“So maybe we’ll see each other again,” she said as she hauled open the door. “Before you leave, that is.”
But there was no maybe about it.
Josh would have to see her again, all right, because sweet-smelling Holly Farraday had something he wanted really, really bad.
His groin throbbed and he conceded. Okay, so she had two things he wanted, but he’d already had one of them and he wasn’t going back for seconds.
More importantly, she had his family’s land and he meant to get it back. He’d promised his grandfather as much, and Josh always kept his word.
Especially with his own peace of mind hanging in the balance.
3
“IT’S
