Page 14 of Claimed by the Cowboy (Havenstone: Mail Order Brides #3)

Tom

I sweep Kitty up in my arms, ignoring her squeal of surprise, and carry her toward the path that leads to our cabin. Behind us, cheers and catcalls follow, along with Cheese Puff’s triumphant bleat.

“Tom!” Kitty laughs, her arms winding around my neck. “I can walk!”

“Not happening. I’m carrying my bride over the threshold like a proper husband.”

“The threshold is half a mile away!”

“Then you better get comfortable, darlin’. Because I’m not putting you down until we’re inside our home.”

She settles against my chest with a contented sigh, her head tucked under my chin. “Our home. I like the sound of that.”

The cabin appears through the trees, windows glowing with warm light from the fire Dad made earlier. It looks like home—our home—and the rightness of it makes my chest tight with emotion.

I carry Kitty up the porch steps and pause at the door, looking down at the woman in my arms. My wife. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, hair mussed from dancing, eyes bright with love and anticipation.

“Ready?” I ask when we reach the door.

She nods. “So ready.”

I carry her inside.

The cabin is lit with firelight and candles. Rose petals trail across the floor, and champagne waits on ice.

I set Kitty down slowly, letting her body slide against mine.

“Tom,” she breathes, looking around at the romantic setup. “It’ s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.” I thread my fingers through her hair, letting the wildflowers fall. “My beautiful wife.”

Her hands come up to rest on my chest, and I can feel her heartbeat racing. “I’m nervous.”

“Good nervous or bad nervous?”

“Good. Definitely good.” She bites her lip, looking up at me through her lashes. “I want this. Want you. I just... I’ve never...”

I cup her face, thumbs stroking her cheeks. “We’ll go slow. As slow as you need.”

“What if I disappoint you?”

“Impossible.” I silence her with a kiss, soft and reassuring. “Kitty, darlin’, you could never disappoint me. Never.”

“How can you be so sure?”

I spin her around, backing her against the wall beside the fireplace, caging her with my body. My hands slide down to her waist, pulling her closer. “Because you’re made for me.”

She shivers at the possessive words. “Show me. ”

I lean down to kiss her throat, tasting the rapid pulse there. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

Her hands slide up my chest and around my neck to tangle in the hair at my nape. “What do I do to you?”

“You make me crazy.” I nip at her collarbone, satisfaction burning through me when she gasps. I work my way up her throat, leaving a trail of marks that will be visible tomorrow. “Make me want to mark every inch of you so everyone knows you’re taken.”

“Do it.”

“Jesus, Kitty,” I groan.

“Mark me.”

My mouth finds the sensitive spot where her neck meets her shoulder, and I bite down just hard enough to leave a mark. She cries out, her nails digging into my scalp.

My hands find the zipper at the back of her dress, sliding it down with deliberate slowness. The fabric pools at her feet, leaving her in nothing but white lace and stockings that make my mouth water.

“Exquisite,” I breathe, stepping back to look at her. “So damn beautiful.”

She turns away shyly, but I catch her wrists.

“Don’t you dare hide from me.” My voice carries a command that makes her eyes widen. “I want to see all of you. Every perfect inch.”

My fingers sweep over bare shoulders, find the nape of her neck, and knead the tense muscles.

Kitty shivers and moans. “Oh, that feels good.”

My cock lengthens in my dress pants, aching to be inside my wife. “Your skin is like silk,” I murmur, pressing my lips to the curve of her throat.

My gaze wanders over her skin, followed by my hands. Long sweeps down her arms, around the small of her back, and over the curves of her ass. Palms sliding over her full breasts, hips, and thighs.

I nod toward her remaining lace. “Off.”I pause. “But leave the stockings on. ”

My authoritative tone makes her shiver, but she obeys, unhooking her bra with trembling fingers. When she pushes down her panties, stepping out of them with shy grace, I have to grip the mantel to keep from lunging for her.

“Perfect,” I rasp. “Absolutely fucking perfect.”

I scoop her up, carrying her to the bedroom, where our bed is covered in rose petals. When I lay her down, she looks like a goddess among flowers—golden hair spread across white pillows, skin glowing in the lamplight, her only covering the stockings clinging to her thighs.

“Jesus, Kitty,” I rasp. “You’re a sight that’s gonna ruin me for every sunrise and sunset from here on out.”

Her lips twitch nervously. “You’ve already seen me naked, Tom.”

“But you weren’t my wife then. Now, you’re mine.”

I unbutton my shirt, watching her eyes follow my movements. When I shrug out of it, her gaze tracks over my chest with obvious hunger.I shove my pants and boxers down and kick free of my boots, finally stripping the last of the barriers between us.

Kitty’s eyes widen as they travel the length of me—shoulders, chest, thighs—before snagging on my swollen cock. Her breath catches. “Oh.”

A laugh rumbles out of me, low and smug. “That all you’ve got to say, darlin’? Oh? ”

Her gaze darts up to mine, cheeks flaming. “It’s… bigger than I imagined.”

“Is that right?” I climb onto the bed, hovering over her as I brush my mouth against her ear. “Sweetheart, that’s the best damn compliment anyone’s ever given me.”

Her russet eyes flicker with uncertainty. “With a body like yours, I’m guessing you’ve had a lot. Of compliments, I mean.”

I huff out a laugh, though it contains no real humor. “It’s been a long while, darlin’.”

Her eyebrows lift as if she’s unsure whether to believe me.

“Truth is, Kitty, I’ve never done this before.” I trail a hand down her side, slow and reverent. “I’ve had sex, yeah. But I’ve never lain down with a woman I loved. Never wanted to take my time, learn her body, her heart.”

Her lips part on a soft inhale, and the nerves in her eyes shift into something warmer.

I press my forehead to hers. “I want to make love to you. Slow if you want. Rough if you need. Whatever way keeps you looking at me the way you are now.”

Her hands fist in my hair, drawing me closer until her whisper brushes my lips. “Then love me, husband.”

I groan, bracing myself over her, fighting the urge to bury myself inside her right now. “Careful how you look at me, Kitty. I might forget all about taking it slow.”

I lower my body to hers, covering her smaller body with mine. The skin-to-skin contact makes us both gasp—electric, perfect, right.

“You feel that?” I ask, settling between her thighs. “That’s us fitting together. Like we were made for this.”

“Made for each other,” she corrects, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“Damn right.”

I kiss her again, deeper this time, letting my hands roam freely. She’s responsive and eager, arching into my touch with soft moans that drive me wild. When I take her nipple in my mouth, she cries out, her back arching off the bed.

My hand slides lower, dipping into her folds to find her ready for me. She’s slick and warm, and when my finger grazes her clit, she nearly comes off the bed again.

“Tom, please,” she whimpers.

“Please what?”

“I need... I want…”

“Need what? Use your words.”

“Tom!”

“That's right. Say my name.” I lavish attention on her other breast, using my teeth and tongue until she’s writhing beneath me. “Let me hear who makes you feel this good.”

“You do,” she gasps, bucking against me.

“Easy, darlin’.” I gentle my touch, building her pleasure slowly. “We’ve got all night.”I slide a finger inside her, stretching her carefully. “You’re mine, and I’m going to worship every inch of this beautiful body.”

I crook my finger inside her, searching for that little rough patch of skin while my thumb circles her clit with a steady pressure.

“Oh, Tom, I…”

“Are you going to come for me, Mrs. Sutton?” I ask, drawing her nipple into my mouth and sucking hard.

Kitty doesn’t answer. She shatters around my finger with a cry that echoes off the walls, her body trembling with release. I work her through it, prolonging her pleasure until she’s boneless beneath me.

“Holy...” she breathes, eyes unfocused, cheeks flushed.

I position myself at her entrance, looking down at her flushed face. “ Ready for the rest?”

“Yes. Please, Tom.”

Christ. That one word— please —nearly finishes me before I’m even inside her.

I push forward slowly, easing past her tight resistance, and she gasps, clinging to me. “That’s it, baby. Just breathe. I’ve got you.”

It’s the hardest damn thing I’ve ever done, holding back, giving her time to adjust. She’s so snug around me that I swear stars burst behind my eyes. Every muscle in my body shakes from the effort not to thrust hard and deep.

But then Kitty shifts her hips slightly, testing the sensation, and I sink deeper. Her tight sheath welcomes me, clings to me, bathes my cock in delicious heat. And I’m gone. My control snaps like a fence post in a storm.

A guttural curse rips from my throat as pleasure detonates inside me. My body jerks, hips grinding against hers as I come embarrassingly, catastrophically fast. I empty myself inside her in a teeth-grinding climax, then collapse against her with a groan that’s half bliss, half horror.

“Oh, fuck me,” I rasp against her throat .

She blinks up at me, dazed. “Um… wasn’t that the idea?”

Despite the heat scalding my face, a bark of laughter bursts out of me. “Christ almighty, darlin’. You’ve officially ruined me. Thirty years old, thought I had stamina for days, and you”—I gesture vaguely at her flushed, gorgeous self—“turned me into a one-pump chump.”

Her lips twitch as she fights a smile. “More like half a pump.”

“Jesus.” I drop my forehead to hers, groaning. “Go on, twist the knife. Kill what’s left of my pride.”

She giggles then, soft and sweet, and it’s the sexiest damn sound I’ve ever heard. “It’s okay, Tom. Really.”

“No, it’s not,” I growl, though I’m grinning now. “You deserve better than a husband who pops like a rookie on prom night.”

Her blush deepens, but she doesn’t let go of me. She strokes her fingers through my hair, eyes tender. “I didn’t hate it, you know. It was flattering that you wanted me that much.”

That right there sets my blood on fire again. Wanted? Hell, she has no idea.

I kiss her hard, my cock stirring inside her again.

She gasps into my mouth when I start moving, slow and deliberate this time. “You’re already…”

“Oh, darlin’,” I murmur against her lips, thrusting shallow and easy. “I told you—I’m not stopping.”

Her nails bite into my back. “Tom?—”

“Mm?” I tease, sucking her bottom lip. “You want more?”

“Yes.” A desperate whisper. Then, bolder: “Give it to me.”

That’s all I need to hear.

I take my time, long, deep strokes that make her arch beneath me, gasps turning into moans. Her nails rake down my back, her thighs spread wider to welcome me deeper, and every sound she makes is fuel to drive me harder.

“See?” I murmur against her ear. “Round one was me being a fool for you. Round two’s where your husband makes love to you the way you deserve. Not rushed. Not clumsy. Just us. Just right.”

She gasps my name, clinging like she’s afraid I’ll disappear. Wildness surges in me, and I flip us, settling her on top.

Her eyes fly wide. “Tom?”

“Don’t worry,” I rasp, guiding her hips over me. “I’m still right here. Just want to see you take what’s yours.”

Her blush reaches her chest, but she doesn’t argue. She experiments with a roll of her hips, and the moan that leaves her lips almost tips me over the edge again. This woman is unraveling me and making me whole at the same time.

“God, Kitty. Look at you.” I grip her thighs, steadying her as she finds her rhythm. “Sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Her hair tumbles forward, wild and golden, as she leans over me. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You’re doing perfect.” My grin is wicked. “Hell, if you keep looking at me like that, I’ll embarrass myself again.”

Her laugh bubbles out, half shy, half emboldened. She moves again, this time with intent, until my little virgin bride is riding me like she was born for it.

I let her set the pace, watching every expression chase across her face—uncertainty, surprise, then pure, radiant pleasure.

Sensing she’s close, I sit up and crush her to me, driving into her until she shatters.

She clenches around me like a fist, her sob of pleasure tearing through my chest like wildfire.

I follow her over the edge with a roar that probably carries to the main house.

We collapse together, breathing hard, sweat cooling on our skin.

She tucks her face into my neck, breathless and glowing. “So… more like a thirty-pump chump that time.”

I kiss her damp hair, grinning like a fool. “Careful, Mrs. Sutton, or I’ll have to go for forty next time.”

“Good.” She traces patterns on my chest, looking satisfied and thoroughly claimed. “Because I want to do that a lot .”

I laugh, but I'm already hardening against her thigh. “Darlin’, that was only the beginning.”