Page 9 of Claimed by the Cowboy (Havenstone: Mail Order Brides #3)

Tom

Are you trying to get me naked, Tom Sutton?

Her blush is so fucking cute, as if the bold, flirtatious words slipped out before she could stop them.

My cock stirs and heat flares in my blood at the thought of a naked Kitty, despite the chill of my wet clothes.

I grin. “Just trying to keep you from catching pneumonia.”

Kitty sighs and flutters her eyelashes. “ Such a gentleman.”

If only you knew how un gentlemanly my thoughts are right now…

I wink. “Don’t let that get around. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.” I stand and hold out my hand. “Come on, darlin’. Let's get you somewhere warm before you turn into a popsicle. If Delaney finds out I let you catch your death in a creek, she’ll skin me alive and use my hide for a rug.”

“Delaney’s not that violent,” she protests, then pauses. “Actually, she might be. She’s very protective.”

“Smart woman. You’re worth protecting.”

Her breath catches as my calloused fingers close around hers, and I pull her to her feet.

My gaze slides over her, catching on her puckered nipples straining against the material of her sweater.

I tear my eyes away from those tempting morsels but only get as far as her mouth—her lush pink mouth with its perfect cupid’s bow.

I’ve spent the last ten days remembering how her lips felt against mine, how they tasted.

Up close, I can see that the bottom one has a faint crease in the middle that I want to lick .

Finally, my eyes lift to hers, and what I see in those deep brown depths undoes me. The same want. The same yearning. The same visceral need.

“Kitty,” I say roughly as she instinctively sways toward me, caught in the same sensual spell that’s robbing me of every ounce of willpower.

She moves closer, her breasts brushing my chest, her eyes locked on mine. “Kiss me, Tom,” she whispers. “Please.”

Heaven is pressed up against me, breathless and begging. Staying away from her has been hell. Ten days of holding back when all I’ve wanted is this . To touch her, taste her, devour her like a man starved.

And I am starved.

Every stolen glance at the breakfast table, every accidental brush of her hand while we worked side by side, every smile that lit up her face—it’s been killing me.

I’ve tried to bury it. To tell myself I can learn to love Delaney. That I should be grateful to marry a good woman and fulfill my promise like a man of my word.

But this girl… This girl has made a liar out of me.

Because right now, with her soft gasp against my neck and her fingers curling in the fabric of my shirt, the only vow I want to make is to her .

I give in with a groan, slanting my mouth over hers. It’s not a gentle kiss. It’s claiming, possessive, the kiss of a man who’s done fighting his instincts. She kisses me back with equal hunger, her tongue meeting mine greedily as I slip it into the sweet heat of her mouth.

My hand slides through her hair, cupping her nape and angling her head to deepen the kiss. I can taste her need, feel it in the way her small frame trembles when I nip at her lower lip.

“Kitty,” I groan against her mouth. “We should stop before I do something we’ll both regret.”

“What if I want to see what happens next?”she asks breathlessly.

I pull back to study her face. I think about Delaney, about the arrangement, about all the sensible reasons this is a terrible idea. Then I look into Kitty’s eyes and see my future written there.

I capture her hand, raising her wrist to my lips. A grazing kiss across her rapid pulse point makes her gasp. “Do you ache the way I do, Kitty-Cat?” I ask, the nickname rolling naturally off my tongue.

She gazes up at me, nodding helplessly.

I tug her closer, my lips hot on her skin as I dip my head and scorch a line up her neck. She smells of nature and cherry blossoms and the heady, feminine scent that’s driven me crazy since I last kissed her.

Her lips find my jaw, tentative and reverent. My breath stutters.

“I’ve wanted this,” she whispers, “since the barn.”

“You and me both, darlin’,” I groan, kissing across her cheek to the corner of her mouth before claiming her plump lips again.

Her hands fly to my shoulders, squeezing with delight as I ease my tongue into her mouth and sweep it against hers. When she moans, I do it again. And again. Fuck, she’s so responsive.

I draw back, breathing hard, seeing the look of longing in her eyes.

“W-why did you stop?” she huffs, looking miffed. “Shouldn’t you be trying to get your hands on my boobs or something?”

I choke on a laugh and nearly bite my own tongue. “Jesus, woman,” I wheeze, grinning like an idiot. “Romance isn’t dead—it’s just flat on its back trying to recover from that line.”

She turns beet red. “I didn’t mean?—”

“Oh, no, you absolutely did,” I say, delighting in her embarrassment. “And for the record? Yes. Yes, I should be trying to ‘get my hands on your boobs’ as you so eloquently put it, but I’m pacing myself.”

“Pacing yourself?”

I lean in, nuzzle her neck, and murmur, “Darlin’, you’re a five-course feast in a world full of gas station snacks. I’m gonna savor every damn bite.”

I kiss her again, slower this time. More reverent but no less hungry. My hand skims down, cupping her waist, then sliding up until my thumb brushes the underside of her breast.

She arches into me. “Took you long enough. ”

I chuckle against her mouth. “Told you I was pacing myself.”

She buries her face against my neck and licks my skin before catching my earlobe between her teeth and biting down gently.

“Okay. Enough pacing myself,” I say hoarsely, my entire body clenching with need.

Grabbing the hem of my shirt, I yank it over my head, spreading it on the grassy bank beneath the aspen tree. It’s already half-dry from the sun as I place it on the warm grass.

“Down you go, Kitty-Cat.” I easily scoop her up and lay her upon it. Careful not to crush her, I brace myself on one elbow beside her. Her hair fans out, damp and wild from our impromptu dip, and for a beat, I simply look at her. No jokes. No flirting. Just awe.

“You really are something else,” I murmur, plucking a strand of hair from her cheek.

She gazes up at me, wide-eyed and breathless. “So are you.”

“Off with this.” I tug at her sweater, and she lifts so I can pull it over her head. “Fuck,” I mutter at the sight of her voluptuous breasts encased in white lace. “Finally time to get my greedy hands on you.”

Kitty rolls her eyes, but she’s laughing and squirming, which is a dangerous combination when I’m this far gone.

She arches her back when I reach for the bra clasp. Once I’ve bared her, I simply stare. Her breasts seem to swell for me, as if aching for my hands and mouth. She arches her back, whimpering as her breasts thrust forward as if she were reading the erotic thoughts on my face.

My cock pulses. “You’re a vision, darlin’.”

I peel her damp jeans off her, lifting her to tug them past her ass, leaving her in white lace panties.

Then I stare some more.

“Am I”—her throat bobs as she swallows—“what you were hoping for? ”

“So much more, sweetheart,” I rasp, my gaze fixed on her straining nipples.

With a groan, I brace my arms on either side of her waist and lower my head.

I press kisses over the mounds of her breasts, circling licks up to her stiff nipples.

Her breathing becomes shallow. Christ, this is so much better than the dreams that have woken me for the last ten nights, my cock hard and aching for release.

When I finally drag my tongue over one stiff peak, she cries out, shivering with bliss. She laces her fingers in my hair, tugging my head closer, and earning a fierce growl around the swollen peak. I slip my hand into her panties, and she tenses.

“Relax, darlin’. I won’t hurt you.”

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she suddenly blurts.

“You’re a virgin?”

Her fiery blush gives me my answer.

I suspected as much. Not that it matters. I’ve had my fair share of women, and it would be hypocritical of me not to expect the same in a partner. Still, I can’t help the selfish thrill at the knowledge that I’m the first to touch her this way.

“I don’t know the rules or what to expect,” she whispers.

I graze the backs of my fingers over her hot cheek, my eyes intent on hers. “When it comes to this— us —there are no rules.”

She nods. “That sounds… good.”

I smile, teasing a finger over the curls of her sex. “You’ve never had a man kiss you here?”

An audible swallow. “No. Am I about to?”

“Oh, yes, darlin’. I’m going to lick you between your thighs until you scream my name.”

Despite my confident words, my hand shakes as I inch my fingers lower to discover her plump folds.

Christ , she’s weeping for me. I cup her possessively, and wetness soaks my palm.

Her lips part on a moan, and I tremble as I imagine them wrapped around my length.

My cock jerks, and a bead of pre-cum oozes from the head.

Control. I need to stay in control …

I can’t take her, but I can give her this, give her release. We’ll figure everything else out later, but for now, I only want to pleasure her. To have these sacred moments between us.

I hook my index fingers under the sides of her panties and tug them down to reveal a neat thatch of blonde curls that makes my mouth water. When I have her completely naked, I gaze down at her in disbelief.

Skin smooth and pale, her body a platter of curves waiting for my hands and mouth. Swollen lips parted. Damp hair clinging to her flushed skin, messy and wild, brown eyes heavy with lust. Sunlight filters through the trees, drying the drops on her thighs as I kneel between them.

Did I think she was cute? Try exquisite .

“Jesus, you’re perfect. The things I plan to do to you…”

My words muffle as I lower my head and dive in. I almost spill in my jeans as she moans with my first lick. She tastes fucking divine. She tastes like mine . When I slide my tongue over her clit, she cries out.

“Oh, God! Don’t stop. Please don’t stop. ”