Merry Cowboy Christmas (Lucky Penny Ranch #3)(60)

When her underwear was on the floor, he feathered kisses so light that her skin ached for more all the way from toes to knees to the outside of her thighs and up to her breasts. He stopped to run his tongue over each one and then quickly moved on up to her lips, where he brought the game home with a kiss so passionate and filled with promise that she leaned into him, pressing her naked body to his. With a hop, her legs were suddenly wrapped around his waist, her body pressing against his erection. With a few deft movements, she could have all of him inside her, but she waited to see what was next.

He carried her toward the bed, shut the door with the heel of his bare foot, and laid her head on the pillow. He hovered over her, his eyes never leaving hers for several seconds and then their lips met again. The excitement of their tongues touching, the feel of his body heat so close that she could actually see the flames in her imagination, the tightness of the erection; it was more than she’d ever experienced and she wanted it all. Tomorrow didn’t matter. Tonight she wanted to be satisfied and the only person who could do that was Jud Dawson.

“You make me so damned hot that I can feel the blaze and still I’m willing to walk right into the fire to have you.” He ran the tips of his fingers down her rib cage, passed the curve of her waist, crossed over, and back up the other side.

“I like the way your eyes go all dreamy when you touch me,” she said.

“So do yours. They remind me of the green water of the ocean down in Florida. They’re inviting me to dive right in.” Tucking his fist under her chin, his eyes fluttered shut and his mouth covered hers, his tongue touching her lips, asking permission before he entered.

“Yes, they are. The water is so warm that it’s about to boil,” she gasped when the kiss ended. She traced his lips with her fingers, letting them roam from there down his chest to his erection. Then suddenly she pushed him backward and flipped over on top of him. In an instant, ready or not, he was inside her and she’d taken over the whole game. They rocked together until she was panting. He pulled her closer to him and with a fast roll he was on top and the tempo increased until there was an explosion like she’d never felt before. The glazed look in his eyes said that he was every bit as satisfied as she was.

“Oh my God, Fiona.” One word at a time came out because that’s all the air he could muster up from his lungs.

“I know.” She cuddled next to him, her ear pressed to his thumping heart and her legs still quaking. Nothing at any time had prepared her for what she’d just experienced. Not her ex-husband, not the boys in college—no one, ever!

She’d said no regrets and that tomorrow didn’t matter. If she stood by her word, then all she’d have would be the memories of that night. But dear Lord, what memories they were.

He pulled her even closer. “I should go.”

“Not yet. Stay a little while longer.”

They fell asleep in each other’s arms, totally exhausted and absolutely satisfied.





Chapter Sixteen



Fiona awoke slowly and reached for Jud but he wasn’t there. She was wrapped up inside the white chenille bedspread like a caterpillar in a cocoon. The fringe from the edges tickled her nose and she sneezed three times in rapid succession before she finally broke free from her bindings.

Something between freezing rain and sleet beat against the windowpane when she slung her legs off the bed. Jud’s scent was on her body, so she gathered up her nightclothes, checked the hall, and jogged to the bathroom for a quick shower. If she could detect that wonderful smell of shaving lotion and pure sex, then Dora June would take one sniff and the questions would start.

Instead of the plain old shower soap she usually used, she chose a rose-scented body wash and just in case there was anything left of Jud lingering behind in her hair, she washed it, too. Tingles shot up and down her spine when she shut her eyes and thought about him brushing the tangles from her hair and then massaging her scalp. Then she flashed on his naked body on hers and she had to remember to breathe.

Warm water sprayed over her back for a full minute after she’d rinsed the last of the conditioner from her hair; then she turned off the water and stepped out of the tub. One towel was wrapped turban style around her head and another around her body as she went from bathroom to bedroom, where she dressed before padding downstairs for breakfast.

“Looks like we’re in for a nasty day,” Dora June said.

“Yes, it does and I still didn’t get those snow tires put on the car like Mama wanted me to do. I’ll take it easy,” Fiona answered.

“You might as well close up the store and stay home.”

“There may not be a lot of customers, but I could get all caught up on my bookkeeping work.” Fiona removed a lid from a pot on the stove and took a big sniff. “I love your oatmeal, Dora June.”

“It ain’t nothing special. I just add some granola to it, lots of butter and cream, right off the top of the milk that Truman brings in every morning, and a touch of cinnamon. Oatmeal is kind of bland without some help.” Dora June beamed at the compliment.

Fiona listened with one ear as Dora June talked excitedly about the upcoming party, about doing some more Christmas shopping on Sunday if the weather was fit, and how happy she was that Truman had decided to play the part of Santa. “Although I’ll never understand how them boys got him to do it. Why, you’d think it was his idea.” She went from one tangent to another.