Wind River Rancher, page 29
As her arms fell away from his back, Reese caught one wrist and then the other, moving them above her head, holding them against the pillows with one of his large hands. Now, she was trapped in the best of ways, unable to move, a feast to his eyes, body, and heart. Seeing the radiance in her half-closed eyes, the arousal burning in them, thrusting a little into her, watching her head tip back, a low sound of gratification spilling from her parted lips, he smiled.
“You’re mine,” he rasped, thrusting his hips against hers, watching her eyes widen with joy, her back arching to meet his sweet assault. Dipping his head, he settled his lips around one nipple that was begging for his attention. He slid his hand down the curve of her torso, across her hip, until it was beneath her cheeks. Lifting Shay just so, getting an angle he knew would engage the swollen pearl just inside her entrance, he felt her shudder and moan, head thrown back as he pumped swiftly into her. Reese knew it had been a long time for Shay as well. She was more than ready to orgasm, and he felt her walls contract around him. He held her firmly, pulsing into her. With each stroke, she whimpered and continued to strain against him.
“Look at me,” he commanded roughly, staring down into her flushed face. Shay opened her eyes and he saw animal lust in them and he hummed inwardly, knowing he was satisfying her as much as she had him. Her lips parted and suddenly she cried out his name, her entire body nearly lifting off the mattress beneath him, the orgasm so powerful it took them both by surprise.
Shay’s cries were ecstasy to his ears as Reese increased his thrusts, keeping that angle of her hips, milking her until all her sounds became little sobs and whimpers of utter satisfaction.
Finally, Shay sank weakly against the mattress, her eyes closing, her breath ragged, her lips curved. Only then, did he release her wrists and ease his hand from beneath her hips. Watching as her flesh grew rosy from her chest upward, and continuing to give slow, deep thrusts into her to maximize her enjoyment, he saw her smile and open her eyes, drowning in his gaze.
Nothing had ever felt so good, so profound, as loving Shay. Her brown hair lay mussed around her head, golden highlights here and there among the clean, strong strands. She looked wanton, wild, and she was his. Nothing in two years had ever made Reese feel as good as he did right now. He felt such incredible love for this brave woman who had dared breach his walls and call him out.
And no one was more grateful than he. For so long, he’d given up on himself. Shay had slowly brought him back to life, whether she knew it or not. Back home to who he was. As he moved strands of hair off her dampened brow, smiling deeply into her fulfilled gaze, Reese knew he’d taken the first step of many to come back to living life once more. Not allowing the fear to always rule him as it had for so long before she’d walked into Charlie Becker’s store and offered him a job.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Shay slowly awoke and found herself wrapped in Reese’s embrace. Her cheek lay against his upper arm and she lifted her lashes, meeting his calm green gaze. “I must have dozed off,” she whispered, rubbing her eyes.
“You’ve been through a lot of late,” he murmured, smiling a little. “Good loving does that to a person.”
Nodding, she stretched languidly, savoring full contact with Reese’s naked, warm body. Nothing had ever felt better. “Did you sleep?” Because she saw the light had changed and shifted. The clock on the dresser read 4:00 P.M. In another hour, the vets would be home and Garret would be in the kitchen down the hall. Shay didn’t want the time to hurry by; she wanted to stay here with Reese, absorb him, love him.
“No,” he said. His hand came to rest on her shoulder. “You dozed for about half an hour.”
Frowning, she whispered, “But weren’t you tired afterward, Reese?”
“Yes.”
“Then—”
“I can’t sleep with you, Shay.”
The words came out sad.
Her heart tripped with anguish. Slowly, she sat up, pushing her hair behind her shoulders, facing him. Sliding her hand along his broad shoulder, she looked deep into his eyes. “I want to share a very important story with you.” She proceeded to tell him about Chuck and Diana. His eyes narrowed and he listened intently to her. When she was done, she gave him a pleading look. “I want to sleep with you, Reese, unless you don’t want that. Maybe I’m reading too much into what I feel we have.”
Gently, he ran his hand down her left arm, engaging her fingers with his. “We need to give ourselves the time to explore one another, Shay. I’m not opposed to sleeping with you, but I’m not over that hurdle yet.”
“Because you’re afraid you’ll lash out in your sleep and hit me?”
Reese nodded. “Very much so.”
“Couldn’t we try what Diana and Chuck do?”
Silence settled into the room as Reese thought about it. “I don’t know . . .”
“Look,” she said huskily, “I’m a vet with PTSD, too. Why aren’t you afraid of me waking up and swinging?”
“You have a point,” he conceded, and then tried a little teasing. “But if you hit me, you aren’t going to cause much damage. If I hit you, I could break your nose . . . your cheek or jaw, Shay. That’s the last thing in the world I want.”
The worry in his eyes tore at her. “I want to try this method, Reese. Please, don’t tell me no.”
With a groan, he sat up, leaning against the headboard, drawing Shay into his arms, settling her against his body. He lightly rested his chin on her hair, holding her close. “What if it happens, Shay?”
Shrugging, she whispered, “I don’t think it will. This time, it’s different.” She looked up at him. “We’re different. Things aren’t the same as they were when you hurt Leslie. You can’t lay that experience on us, Reese. We’ve both been in the military, we both have PTSD.” She slid her fingers across his jaw, feeling the sandpapery quality of it. “You’re at a different place with your PTSD than when you were married to her. You were trying to hide it. You’re not doing that anymore. It’s in the open. Everyone knows.”
Nodding, he rasped, “I hope you’re right, Shay.” He leaned down, taking her mouth gently, kissing her for a long time, savoring her taste, her scent. Lifting from her warm lips, he met her worried look. “I would do anything for you, Shay. But I’m not in control of myself when I’m sleeping. That’s why I tried to avoid you for so long. I’ve wanted to kiss you senseless from the moment I saw you. I’ve wanted you like I’ve never wanted anyone or anything in my life. I kept forcing myself from wanting you because I live in fear of harming you.”
Giving him a stubborn look, Shay knew she was fighting for both of them, for the dream she knew they could reach together. “And I live in fear of hitting you in my sleep, too, but I’m not going to let fear rule me, Reese.”
“Well, the last couple of weeks, you sure wore down my resistance,” he said wryly, giving her a crooked smile. “Every time you got near me, I could barely keep my hands off you.”
“You needed a gentle push,” Shay said.
“You’re a pretty gutsy lady.”
“You were worth me becoming that way to get you to move toward me, Reese.”
“I was digging in,” he admitted somberly. “I didn’t want to . . .”
“I knew that better than anyone,” she whispered, sliding her hand across his shoulder, delighting in his tightening skin, the play of muscles leaping wherever she grazed his flesh. “Diana gave me the courage I needed to do it. I was at my wit’s end trying to persuade you to let go and come to me.”
Reese gave her a grateful look. “Okay,” he said quietly, “we’ll give this sleeping together a try. And we’ll try out Diana and Chuck’s method of dealing with it. Fair enough?”
Hope rose strong and fierce within Shay. “Thank you,” she quavered, throwing her arms around his shoulders, hugging and kissing him for all he was worth.
* * *
Two weeks later, Shay called the vets together just before dinner. Garret was in his bright red-and-white checked apron at the kitchen counter when Noah and Harper ambled in. There was some curiosity on all their faces as Shay asked them to sit down, Reese beside her. Garret came over and sat down, giving them both a guarded look.
“Something’s up,” Garret drawled.
Shay grinned, unable to keep her happiness to herself any longer. She glanced to her left at Reese, who smiled, too. “Yes, and I’ll bet this isn’t going to be a surprise to any of you,” she said.
Reese claimed Shay’s hand and said, “We’re in a relationship,” he told the men.
Garret gave the other vets a wolfish I-told-you-so grin.
Harper smiled.
Noah laughed.
“None of us missed the signs,” Garret informed them archly.
“Wouldn’t expect otherwise,” Reese told the men. “But Shay and I wanted to share the good news with you.”
“That’s what you get for letting this cowboy sleep in your house,” Noah said, teasing Shay unmercifully.
Shay colored. “It just happened. I mean, I wasn’t looking for anyone, Noah.”
Garret raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Lord, let that happen to me. Please? I need a good woman to warm my bed at night instead of hearing these two hombres snoring.” He gave Noah and Harper a black look.
Snickering, Harper said, “Hey, in another week, those four houses will be done. We’ll each get one. You won’t have to have your beauty sleep interrupted anymore, Garret.”
The whole table laughed.
“Seriously,” Noah said, holding out his hand toward Reese, “congratulations. We were all betting that it would happen.”
Shay gawked at them. “You can’t be serious?”
“Oh, honey,” Garret soothed, “we’re black ops. We see little teeny, tiny signs civilians never pick up on. Harper, Noah, and I made a bet that by this time, you two would be hitched.”
Coloring, Shay gave Reese a nonplussed look. “Did you know about this?”
“Me? No. I lived under this roof, not with them.”
Garret chuckled. “Have you proposed to her yet, Reese?”
Now it was Reese’s turn to blush. “No . . . not yet. But . . . soon.”
“What are you waiting on?” Noah asked, smiling.
“Figured we’d give it some time,” Reese told them.
“Time?” Harper said. “Listen, we all know you no longer live your life in the future. And it’s clear you two love one another, so why not make it official?”
Shay looked over at Reese. “I’m open to the possibility.”
Reese nodded. “I’ll get right on it.”
The vets grinned widely, as if congratulating one another for pushing Reese into it sooner, not later.
Shay dug into her pocket. “Guys, I’ve got something for you.” She smiled and handed each of them a key. “The key to your new home.” Her voice grew watery with feelings. “Thanks to Maud and her crew coming in last weekend, plus you guys working your tails off with them, the houses are going to be ready to move in to next week. You each picked the color scheme of your home and you only have to paint the rooms.”
Garret looked at Shay, the key in his large palm. “Thanks, Shay. This means a lot to all of us. You know that.”
Wiping tears from her eyes, she sniffed and said, “I love it when there’s good news for everyone.” She gave Reese a fond look. “I get this wrangler and you all get a new house to live in.”
Noah got up, walked around the table, and hugged the hell out of Shay. His voice was deeper than usual, with feeling. “Thanks, Shay. It was your dream and now it’s coming true for all of us.”
Harper got up next, clearing his throat, and hugged Shay. “You’re one of a kind, lady,” he said, his voice muffled against her cheek. “Thank you.” He released her and turned quickly away, wiping his eyes before sitting down at the table once more.
Garret reached out because he sat at her right elbow. Squeezing her hand, he said, “Now who is gonna cook for all of us? Are you kicking us out of your house?”
Shay clung to Garret’s large, scarred hand. “Well, that’s something we need to discuss as a group.” She looked at Reese and said, “I do like the idea of having my kitchen back. Reese and I were thinking that maybe on Sundays, all of us would meet here for midafternoon dinner? Garret? You could cook for all of us then, if you felt like it. If not, I can do the cooking, no problem.”
Garret gave Noah and Harper a look with his eyebrows raised. “Oh, you two are in big trouble. You’ll have to cook for yourselves. That is gonna be interesting to see. Neither of you can boil water.” He snickered. He devoted his attention to Shay. “I’m fine with that. How about you vets?”
Noah said, “Sounds good to me.” His lips lifted. “At least we’ll get one good meal a week.”
Harper groaned. “I’m in deep trouble. But yes, Shay, you deserve to have your house and your kitchen back. I like the idea of a family Sunday dinner together.”
* * *
Shay snuggled into Reese’s arms, their damp bodies against one another. Her lower body rippled with the glow of orgasm and she sank into the intense satisfaction he had given her. She sighed, nuzzling her face against the hard line of his jaw. Relishing his arms around her, drawing her against him, he pulled up the sheet to their waists. Their hearts were still pounding and she placed her palm over his. “I feel like I’m in a dream,” she confided.
“I do too.” He sighed. “At least,” he said against her hair, caressing her nape and damp shoulder, “there’s been no nightmares since we’ve started sleeping together.”
Shay heard the amazement in Reese’s low, gruff tone. It had been nearly a month since they’d started to test the waters with one another. “Well,” she said, smiling against his neck, “we’re making love nearly every night. That’s enough to make anyone sleep like a baby afterward.” Shay heard him chuckle, felt the rumble through his chest beneath her hand.
“Whatever magic we have together, it is working,” he agreed, kissing her hair, caressing her cheek.
“Are you worried about it as much now, Reese?” she asked, lifting her lashes and moving back enough to engage his gaze.
The changes in him had been nothing short of stunning to Shay. The tension that was always around his eyes, was gone. Reese slept deep and hard every night. She knew because sometimes she’d awaken in the middle of the night, finding him snoring softly, dead to the world. Most of all, he was regaining his confidence in himself in large and small ways. Shay knew it was because they loved one another. Her heart swelled with quiet joy. She couldn’t think of two people who deserved happiness more than they did. It wasn’t a complete antidote to PTSD, but at least they had one another, and it helped them through the rugged moments they still had from time to time.
“No, my worry has been pretty much laid to rest,” he admitted to her quietly, skimming her brow with his index finger. “I guess it’s in my nature to worry a little.”
She saw the love clearly in his eyes. “Good,” she murmured, smoothing her hand across his chest. He was a tall man, built lean, and he’d muscled up, reminding Shay of a boxer in his prime.
Reese eased onto his elbow, settling Shay on her back so he could study her in the moonlight drifting through the lacy curtains at the window. “I want to marry you, Shay.”
Her breath caught for a moment. Lifting her hand, she touched his chest, seeing how serious he’d become. “We’ve only known one another since May.”
Shrugging, he traced her eyebrow with his thumb, continuing to caress her warm, velvet cheek. “It’s long enough for me. What about you?” He gauged her suddenly very serious expression. “I’m okay with waiting, too. It’s whatever you want, Shay. All I want is for you to be happy.”
She sat up, her lips meeting and melding with his. Shay felt his hand fall lightly on her naked shoulder, drawing her toward him until her breasts grazed his skin. Moaning, she felt her nipples growing hard, tangling in the soft hair on his chest. His mouth took hers swiftly and heatedly, making her entire lower body spasm with need all over again. The man could kiss her into oblivion and she’d float in clouds of pure ecstasy as that mouth of his wreaked a special magic upon her. Never had she been so well loved. She had seen the gratification in his eyes so often after he’d pleased her. Shay never knew a woman could have so many orgasms in one night! But Reese brought out her love for him and her body thrummed in concert with her heart. He loved her. Fully. Completely. Forever.
Slowly, he eased from her lips, opening his eyes, cupping her cheeks, their mouths still touching one another. “Say yes,” he rasped, sliding his fingers gently across her cheek. “Say you’ll be my wife, my best friend, Shay.”
She sank tighter against him, her breasts feeling electric shocks of pleasure. “Yes,” she whispered, tasting him, tasting his maleness, the strength he held in check when he loved her. “I’m so happy, Reese . . . I don’t want anything more in this world than you,” she whispered against his mouth.
Sliding his hand more firmly against her jaw, he angled her to take her mouth fully, tasting her special sweetness, feeling the lushness of her opening to him, allowing his tongue entrance. Her breath snagged as his hand drifted downward, caressing her breast, teasing the nipple, making her gasp, and then flow against him even more.
In one motion, Reese eased her down upon the mattress, arm beneath her neck, his other hand curved around her breast. He broke their kiss, watching her in the shadowy darkness, his eyes gleaming, reminding Shay of a primal alpha wolf, and she was his wild mate. Reese made her feel wild. He’d shown her so much about her body, how to make it sing, how to hurl her into a universe where only intense ecstasy bubbled like an overflowing cauldron in her lower body.
“Marry me soon?”
She was taken aback by the seriousness in his eyes, feeling his thumb on her nipple, sending fiery sensations all over her body. How could she think when he was giving her such pleasure? And when he leaned over, his lips capturing her breast, she groaned, arching fully into his body, his erection tight against her belly. All her words fled. All she could do was feel the heat beginning to boil in her, dampness once more collecting between her thighs. A joyous sound caught in her throat as his hand moved between her thighs, caressing her wet, hot entrance.
