Braced, page 11
“Already claimed.” Her eyes sparkled with what looked like outrage, and he was crazy enough to get turned on by the mere sight of it. “Are you even listening to yourself? You can’t claim a person.”
“You’re mine,” he said again, making it as clear as he knew how. “I don’t like other men looking at what’s mine. That’s why I lost my damn mind over that blind date your mom set up for you. That’s why I bounced Trapper out of here. And that’s why, as of now, I’m all about very public displays of affection.”
“You can’t,” she blurted out as he started lowering his head. “My crazy mother is probably watching through the CCTV.”
Fuck. “Remind me to pull the plug on her monitor after this.”
“Wait—”
He didn’t wait.
He brought her mouth up to his, and he nearly lost his mind when she met him full force. She was up on her toes, pressing against him while her lips did that miraculous fusing to him with devastating perfection.
God, he loved that. Loved how she felt, how she tasted. If he could just kiss her like this for the rest of his life, he told himself he’d be a happy man. But deep down the tightening of his stomach muscles and the pulsing heaviness of his cock demanded more than just kisses.
As good as Lilah’s kisses were, being buried in that tight pussy of hers was so much better.
He pivoted, taking her with him so that she was backed up against the pen’s gate. Once he had her good and pinned, he slid a hand down the length of her thigh to lift it so that she could hook it around his waist.
Yes.
Those long, slender legs of hers were works of art, and he’d become an art lover of the highest order. Driving behind her as she’d jogged had left him so turned on that he’d had to go home, jump into the shower and stroke his rock-hard cock until he came with her name on his lips. But that hadn’t dulled the edge of his hunger; if anything it had made it worse, adding an edge of yearning to it that had him half out of his mind. Just the memory of her willowy, long legs and tight ass moving in perfect harmony as she ran had stiffened his dick until he’d ached in ways he hadn’t known were possible. He’d been hurting ever since, and nothing was going to kill that deep-down achy need until he finally buried himself inside her once more.
If he didn’t get there soon, he was going to go fucking insane.
“Fin.” He tasted his name on her lips. The sound of it was better than any aphrodisiac on the market. “We can’t do this.”
“Yeah, we can.” To prove his point, he adjusted her leg around him and ground into that sweet cradle of her thighs. In that moment he would have given his share of Green Rock Ranch to make all the layers of clothing between them vanish. “See? We’re doing it.”
Her eyes fluttered closed, and she was so staggeringly beautiful all he could do was stare. “I don’t know why you’re doing this.”
It was his own damn fault his woman was so confused. “I’m doing this because I want to make you come, Lilah. I want to make you come so hard you scream my name. Right here and now I want to give that to you. Then there will be no question in the minds of any man on this ranch who the fuck you belong to.”
“Don’t you dare.” Her breath hitched, a thrilling sound that was pure sex, and the heaviness in his dick intensified. “I can’t do this here. We can’t do this here. Oh, God...”
“Hold on to me while I take you for a ride, baby.” He was grinding up into her, looking for that sweet spot that made her moan, and when she squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, he knew he’d hit the jackpot. “You’re so damn sexy it breaks me, did you know that? I can feel you shaking, and I love that I can give you that. All I want to do is give you more, until you’re so aroused you can’t even stand.”
Her hands clutched his shoulders, no longer pushing him away as her hips caught his rhythm and began to rock against him. “Damn it. Oh, damn it, I hate what you do to me...”
“You’re the sexiest woman this world’s ever seen once you decide to let go, and I love that. Always so eager once I get past those prickly defenses of yours. You don’t know how crazy it makes me, the way you turn on, even when part of you doesn’t want to.”
She turned to bury her face in his neck. “No woman would ever like the sound of that. Are you saying you only get turned on when I resist you?”
“No, ma’am.” He hitched her higher, wedging himself between her legs and grinding hard against the juncture of her thighs until the pleasure of it had him panting as if he’d just run a mile. “I’m saying I get turned on knowing you want me like hell in spite of yourself. And you do, don’t you? Tell me you want me, Lilah. Say it.”
“You talk too much.” With that, she curled her fingers in his hair and pulled his mouth to hers. Initiating a kiss was something she’d never done before, and he would have strutted about it if she hadn’t danced her tongue along his.
Maybe he could spend the rest of his life kissing her, after all.
She rocked her hips against him as if she’d been born to do just that, making his cock swell until he couldn’t decide whether it was a source of pleasure or pain. But even if each sinuous move she made pushed him closer to the boundaries of borderline anguish, he never wanted her to stop. The friction they created was the most addictive thing he’d ever known. It burned through him, making him crave more.
More heat.
More friction.
More Lilah.
God, he wanted to be inside her.
“Scream for me, Lilah.” He breathed it against her lips because he didn’t have the strength to pull his mouth from hers. All his strength was wrapped up in trying not to scream himself as his balls tightened with exquisite, achy need. “Let me know you like it when I sex it up with you, even through your clothes. Let the world know.”
“The world...” She bit her lower lip, then shocked and delighted him when she then bit his. “You’re a dangerous man, Finian Brody. You made me forget there is a world.”
“The only world you need to think about is me, sunshine. I’m your world.” He pinned her against the gate so he could free a hand to undo the front of her jeans. But at that moment the animal in the pen with them made an ominous grunt and shifted closer. Instinct had him wrapping his arms around Lilah and spinning away just as the cow kicked out in their general direction. Then the animal grunted again before lying down on the thick bed of hay under their feet.
“Oh, geez.” Lilah looked over his shoulder at the cow. “Her water bag.”
“What?”
“The amnio sac is showing. This heifer’s in active labor.” She pushed against his shoulders. “Let me go, Fin. We’re done.”
“We have to get to work, but we’re far from done.” He captured her chin so her distracted gaze had no choice but to lock onto his. “And if I haven’t made myself clear on the whole letting you go thing, let me do that right now.”
“Fin—”
“No.”
She blinked. “No, what?”
“No, I’m not letting you go, and no, we are not done. We’re not done because you’re mine. Find a way to make peace with that.”
Chapter Nine
Thunder rumbled as Lilah pushed her front door open, so exhausted she nearly stumbled over the threshold.
What a day.
She dumped her keys and bag by the front door and made a beeline for the shower, intent on getting the day washed off her before she headed out once again, this time for night school.
If she made it to San Antonio without falling asleep at the wheel, it would be a miracle.
The heifer that had gone into labor had turned out to be a complicated delivery—a breech that just didn’t want to come out. For a time, she’d thought she might lose both the mama and the baby. She’d had someone put a call in to Dr. Petrosian at that point, and her boss had arrived just as she and Fin pulled the calf bull from his mother, with all the admittedly yucky stuff landing on them along with the baby.
Within minutes the new mother figured out what to do with her brand-new calf, had him cleaned up and nursing like a champ. Dr. Petrosian pronounced the baby bull to be the biggest Black Angus newborn he’d ever seen, and had the measurements to prove it. That meant that rather than being raised for beef, the newest addition to Green Rock Ranch was destined to be nurtured along like bovine royalty, and would eventually be sold to some lucky farm for stud purposes. The announcement of his birth, complete with weight and measurements, was already being drafted, virtually guaranteeing another feather in Green Rock Ranch’s cap.
That had been just the start.
The rain had begun after lunch, and two more mothers-to-be went into labor. Thankfully neither one was a breech and the deliveries went smoothly, but it was like a switch had been thrown. As the skies opened up in earnest, it seemed like every cow in the nearest pasture and birthing barn went into labor. Sixteen calves had been born so far, with several more expected before the night was through, but Dr. Petrosian had shooed her out at the end of her shift so she could get to class. More than anything she just wanted to fall into bed and sleep the clock around, but she didn’t have the luxury of zonking out.
This close to graduation—that magical day when her world would change and her dream of becoming a veterinarian became a reality—she couldn’t afford to mess up now.
Like she hadn’t messed up royally by allowing herself to fall back into Fin’s arms, she thought darkly. Arms that would no doubt push her away again once he’d scratched the itch he obviously had.
She could almost hate him for having that selfish kind of itch.
Heaven knew she hated herself for helping him scratch it.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it,” she muttered, turning the shower taps off with more force than necessary. Wrapping herself up in a blue terry robe, she yanked the bathroom door open only to find Elmo and Jack waiting for her. Sitting side by side, they looked at her as if they’d never seen her before, and that brought her self-directed rage down to a dull roar.
Great. Now she was scaring her pets.
“Don’t worry, guys,” she murmured gently, holding out her hands to them. “Mommy’s just having a bad day because she’s a weak-willed idiot. Nothing new there.”
The moment she spoke Elmo trotted forward for pets, while Jack made a U-turn to station his magnificent long-haired self by his half-empty bowl, clearly worried he’d starve now that the bottom of his food dish could be seen.
“In my next life I want to be a cat.” Shaking her head, she quickly hopped to it like the well-trained human servant she was, filling their bowls and water dishes with fresh noms. “It must be nice, not caring about anyone but yourself. What I wouldn’t give to not stress over how much I’ve screwed up in the past, or how much more I’m going to screw up in the future. You wouldn’t hate yourself for wanting someone you know doesn’t give a crap about you, would you, Jack? You’d just do whatever you wanted before walking away like a boss. Am I right?”
Not surprisingly, Jack the Jerk didn’t even swivel an ear her way as he chowed down.
Living like a cat would solve so many problems, she thought, scanning her pantry before realizing she didn’t have time to make anything. To want something with single-minded intent while not getting emotionally tripped up sounded like heaven. If she could find a way to turn her emotions off and live like a cat, she’d do it in a heartbeat.
Because...
She still wanted Fin.
Even though he didn’t care about her, except in a lustful horndog way.
She still wanted him.
Which proved she was an idiot.
With her hair still damp, she twisted it into its usual Dutch braid before heading to her room to get dressed. The worst part of it was, she didn’t understand where Fin was going with all this. She knew he didn’t want anything to do with love, and considering how he grew up she couldn’t blame him there. But he knew she’d once loved him. If he kept getting all touchy-feely with her, he had to know she might be stupid enough to fall for him all over again.
He had to know that.
So what kind of game was he playing?
Elmo’s warning bark heralded the sound of the doorbell. Lilah froze in the process of pulling on her boots before she forced herself to move, her stomach knotting even as she reached for the door.
She’d been expecting this.
“I don’t have time,” Lilah announced the moment she swung the door open to reveal her mother standing on the Welcome mat. Stupid mat. As soon as she had an opportunity, she was chucking that thing in the trash. “I’m leaving for class.”
“Then I’ll get right to the point.” Her mother raised her chin, and it was like watching a battle flag going up. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s raining cats and dogs. May I at least come in for a minute?”
“There’s enough shelter out here on the porch.” To prove it, Lilah stepped out onto the porch with her, closing the screen door so she could lean against it. It was the best she could do without barring it like a maniac.
Her mother shook her head. “Honestly, Lilah. Can you please tell me when I became your enemy? All I’ve ever wanted to do, ever, was to make sure you had a life free from pain and disappointment. I don’t see how that makes me the bad guy.”
Always, always, her mother started her play with the guilt card. “It’s stifling. Mothering doesn’t make you a bad guy. Smothering does.”
“How is it smothering, when all I want is the best for you? Which, by the way, is not Finian Brody.”
“Oh God, here we go. First the guilt, then the kill shot in a one-two punch. At least you’re consistent.”
Dottie ignored her. “The Brodys have to be off-limits, Lilah. It’s self-destructive to aim your sights so impossibly high, don’t you see that? You’re so beautiful and smart and ambitious—heaven knows you’d be a great catch for any man who’s...who’s just like you.”
“Just like me?” Lilah couldn’t seem to stop herself from growling out the words. “Are you saying that Finian isn’t beautiful or smart or ambitious?”
“I’m saying that you’re a townie, Lilah Jane Ledbetter. That’s all you’ve ever been, and that’s all you’ll ever be. And there’s nothing wrong with that,” her mother went on while Lilah groaned and dropped her face into her hands. “Not everyone is destined to be sophisticated and worldly, all right? That’s not a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with living a quiet country life and not making a huge sensation every time you walk into a room. Most of the world’s population lives like that.”
“But not the Brodys, right, Mom?” Tiredly she raised her head and fought the almost overwhelming urge to cry. “They’re Texas royalty, and I’m more common than dirt.”
Dottie blew out a short sigh. “Why do you react with such hostility when all I’m doing is trying to make you see that you must not waste your life on impossible dreams? And I would never call you dirt, for God’s sake.”
“But you have no problem with calling me common. Or at the very least, a townie.” A humorless snort escaped Lilah as she shook her head. “God, you’re something. And you wonder why I avoid you like the plague.”
“Lilah—”
“Do you have any idea how many times you’ve told me I’m not good enough for Fin? That I’m not good enough to even be around him?” And did she have any idea what it was like to hear it over and over again? Even as Lilah accepted it as an unalterable fact—the sun rose in the east, water was wet, and she wasn’t good enough for Fin Brody—her mother still kept hitting that button.
God.
“It’s not a personal judgment, Lilah Jane, so don’t make it like I’m going out of my way to hurt you. I would never do that. No woman is good enough for the Brodys, not even the daughters of oil barons and Middle Eastern royalty.”
“First off, Fin says that story you told me about those women was bullshit. And second, Fin thinks I’m good enough for him.”
“Oh, I know exactly what he thinks about you.”
“Which explains why you’re here.” Again Lilah shook her head, this time in disgust. “I don’t have the words to express how utterly sickening it is, to think my own mother watched me with a man. Just the thought makes me vomit in my mouth.”
“I turned the monitor off the moment I saw how things were going,” came the indignant response. “Honestly, what kind of monster do you think I am?”
“I don’t know how to answer that, since you shouldn’t have been spying on me at all. I’m a grown woman, not a misbehaving teenager.”
“Then act like one and listen to me for once in your life. I’m doing my best to protect you.”
“Amazing, how I have to keep telling people this, but I can protect myself.”
“By believing you’re good enough for Fin? My darling girl, when it comes to the Brodys, you’re the kind of woman who’s only good enough for now. That’s how the Brody men treat us townies. We’re disposable to them.”
“That’s not true.” Despite her best efforts, the memory of Fin’s words whispered with quiet viciousness in her ears. I screwed up, fucking a friend. Totally fucks with my habit of losing a woman after using her...
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but it is true. Townie girls are what the Brody men practice on before moving on to the more important women—women who match them on a social or financial level. With the possible exception of Ry Brody and his new bride, Celia, that’s how the Brody men have always been. I think you’re wonderful, of course, but I’m your mother. The truth is, you’re not special in any conceivable way that a Brody would want.”
A knife twisted deep into her chest. “Gee, thanks, Mom.”
