“Think it’s funny, huh?” I chuckled when she squealed in surprise. She let a giggle out when I laid her down on the blanket and crawled up over the top of her. Leaning my weight on one arm, I ran my free hand up her hip and along the side of her body, brushing my thumb over her nipple along the way until I was cupping her face.
“Umm?” Was the half-moan, half-question I received as I stared down at her. An overwhelming need to tell her how pretty she was rushed over me. “‘Melia, you’re so damn gorgeous I almost can’t stand it.” Her slight blush turned into a full flush and she turned her face away trying to hide. Her simple action bothered me. How did she not know how stunning she was? Had she not been told enough?
Either way I was planning on doing my best to fix it.
9
Amelia
Hours later, after another round of mind-blowing sex and some heavy petting, we were wrapped around each other watching the light dusting of cloud roll over the twinkling stars. Something had shifted between us; Destry had gone from fighting with himself to letting go and embracing whatever it was that was happening. I was still quietly conflicted. Not very long ago, I was resigned to marry a low life scumbag of a man, yet I found myself lying in the arms of a guy who wasn’t only the very definition of sex, but he knew how to treat a lady without trying to turn her into a Stepford Wife. Destry’s hands ran lightly over my hip in slow lazy circles, his face lax in its contentment. No doubt mine showed the same thing, considering I’d never felt more comfortable as I did right then.
In the short time I had been on the ranch, I’d learnt a few things about myself. I was most comfortable just being me. Not worrying about a hair out of place or a designer cushion not perfectly centered. It was freeing and I’d come to quickly realize the life I had been living wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted wide-open space and fresh air. I wanted a cowboy who’d wrap me up in his arms and lay in peaceful silence. I wanted this kind of life. I looked across at the man beside me. I wanted this kind of life with Destry. I didn’t know a million things about him, but I wanted to find them all out in the best ways possible. I wanted to watch him screw his nose up at food he didn’t like. I wanted to watch him struggle to do something just because he thought I wanted to do it. I wanted to learn about him. But first I needed to learn about me. I’d lived a lie for the entirety of my life. Not only had my relationship with Warren been a load of crap, apparently, any chance of a close relationship with my sister had been too. I shuddered at the thought of having to face the disaster I’d driven away from, but if I wanted to move on, I needed to go back and deal with it all. Or at least, collect a few things and clear out my trust fund.
“Sorry?” I asked when I realized Destry had asked me a question and I’d missed it while wrapped up in my own thoughts.
“I said, where’d you go?” He brushed my hair back and tucked it behind my ear while staring down at me. “You got this look on your face while you were off in dreamland.”
“Oh, just thinking. I need to sort a few things out. Go back home and wrap some things up before I can start over here.” I stopped for a second when it registered how my words would sound out loud. “I mean, before I come back and find a job, get a house, all of the financials settled, that kind of thing.”
“Mhmm.” His lips ghosted across my bare collarbone; the vibration from his lips as he spoke sent goose bumps across my arms. “How long will you be gone for?”
“Umm. I, ah. I... Oh…” My train of thought completely derailed and his mouth came down over my nipple.
“How long, darlin’?” The want in his voice was hard to miss. So was the delicious way he was nibbling on my breast. I shifted my legs and rubbed them together in a feeble attempt to relieve the ache that was building between them.
“What?” I asked confused and distracted. I pushed my chest up, silently asking for more to no avail. He lifted his head and stared into my glassy eyes.
“How long you gotta be away from me, darlin’?” His smirk told me he knew how distracting his tongue and mouth were. However, with his hand slowly snaking up my inner thigh, I would tell him the answer to the world’s mysteries just so he’d keep going.
“A few days, a week at most, I think.” My chest was now moving heavily as the fire burned brightly inside of me. I reached up and grabbed either side of his head, my fingers twisting into his hair. I bit my lower lip and slowly scanned his chiseled jaw, his broad muscled shoulders and down his solid smooth chest. When I looked back up to his eyes, they were reflecting all the heat and passion I was feeling.
The hand he had running up the inside of my thigh stopped and he gripped my leg tightly, his fingers digging into my flesh, which in turn only worked me up more. He needed me as much as I needed him. I brought his face down closer to mine. A hairs breadth away from our lips meeting, we stopped. I could almost feel the electricity crackling in the air between us. I never knew being with somebody could be like this. It was exhilarating and the very opposite of boring everyday mundane sex. Destry set me alight in every way imaginable and I didn’t want it to stop.
X X X
“‘Melia.” A light kiss on my shoulder had me stepping from complete sleep to eyes closed not wanting to wake up. I loved when I had these types of dreams. Destry touching me, his soft gentle lips touching my skin. “‘Melia, darlin’. Time to wake up.” His voice sounded so real, but then it always did. I snuggled deeper into the blankets and sighed. Only when I moved my hands to grab the pillow I always tucked up against me, did I realize I wasn’t dreaming. I slowly cracked an eye and was greeted with a glorious naked—from the waist up—Destry. His hair ruffled from sleep.
“Mmmm.” Best non-dream ever,” I quietly mumbled, smiling to myself. That earned me a chuckle and another soft kiss this time to my forehead.
“Time to get up, sleeping beauty.” He moved to his knees and I noticed his jeans weren’t buttoned. The happy trail that I’d taken my time following the night before caught my eyes, and I all but eye raped his toned stomach.
“Commando in the morning might be the best thing in the world.” I yawned, stretching out my sore muscles. We’d cuddled under the stars all night making good use of the food I’d packed, and eventually fell asleep in the back of the truck. “Cum gutters are pretty high up there too,” I smiled sleepily.
“Cum gutters?” he asked with a short laugh, handing me my clothes he’d obviously gathered up at some point.
“Mhmm.” I ran the tip of my finger along the clearly defined V muscles that ran from the top of his hips and disappeared into his jeans. “Cum gutters.” Tapping the skin there, I slowly sat up, watching him shake his head and smirk.
After a quick unplanned make-out session and the short ride back, I pulled the ATV up beside Destry’s truck and watched him climb out. He walked around and lifted me off it before setting me down and laying a hard heavy kiss on me. It was a total caveman move with him marking his territory, but I was more than fine with it. He grabbed my hand and led us up the three steps to the house, not loosening his grip on my hand once.
The moment we walked inside, everyone stopped what they were doing and took in our clearly disheveled appearances. Braxton zoned in on our linked hands and smiled to himself before nodding once at Destry and walking back to the stove. Thankfully, my ankle hadn’t given me any grief. It seemed I’d slightly sprained it, and once the swelling had gone down, a slight twinge here and a small ache there was all I had left after my fall.