Spurs 'n Surrender (Operation Cowboy Book 2)(58)

By the time they reached the field, she was sweatier than before, hotter and more bothered. She peeled off her clothes and walked nude into the pond with Wydell right behind her.

When the cool spring water hit his nuts, he stopped and gave a shudder.

“What’s wrong? Too cold for you?”

“You like pushing my buttons, don’t you?”

“So much.” She squealed as he lunged at her. They both went under and came up sputtering. The luxury of being submerged was beyond words.

“Beats that tiny bathtub,” he mumbled, but she heard.

“I have to admit, it does. Especially when I have room to do this.” Under the water, she found his long, thick, hard shaft. As she curled her fingers around the base, he groaned and locked her against his body, treading water for them both.

As she slid his erection through her hand, her own need spiked. How she’d walked into Los Vista and found the love of her life was a totally mystery, but one she wouldn’t think on too much. She’d just ride the feelings of love and joy.

“C’mere, woman.” He hitched her up and settled her down over his cock. In one luxurious glide, they were joined.

Holding his eyes, she rocked up and down on him. Her pussy swollen and needy. Her nipples pinched tight from the heat of his chest against her breasts rather than the cool water. “I love you, Wydell.”

He stared at her lips until she burned even hotter. Then he slowly claimed her lips. Soft, deep kisses that mirrored their lovemaking. Slowing almost to a stop at times before one of them would take control and the water rings grew faster and closer together.

With a final shove, he roared his release. Her pussy clamped around him, milking every drop.

Skipping kisses over her neck and breasts, he murmured encouraging words. “That’s it, beautiful. I love watching you come. God, your pussy’s like a glove.”

As he wrung the last pulsations from her, true fatigue hit. After days of walking and sleeping rough, she longed for her bed. Throw in manual labor and a trip from her family and friend and she was ready to crawl onto the bank, close her eyes and sleep the day away.

Wydell hooked her arms around his neck. She clung to him as he swam with her back to shore. When she was able to stand, he told her to wait there while he retrieved something he’d left on the bank.

“Soap!” she cried.

He held up a bar with a toe-curling grin. Then he swam back out to her and proceeded to scrub her from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. Twice. By the time he was finished caressing, massaging and lathering her every inch, she felt utterly relaxed.

She reached for the soap, though. “Your turn.”

“You’ll fall asleep before I’m clean.”

“Try me.” She arched a brow at him, and he placed the slippery bar into her hand. She worked it over his chest and arms. Down to those rock-hard abs that made her dream of long winter nights under the blankets together, summer romps in the bed of his truck, and running naked through the spring rain and falling into each other’s arms.

“I’m wide awake now.” She lathered her hands, but before she could put them on him, he grabbed her wrist, turned her hand and splatted her palm across her own face.

Soap bubbles popped on her skin, and she spluttered. “You—you’re gonna get it!”

She chased him around the pond before he finally let her catch him. Then she repaid him by soaping the tip of his nose. With a growl, he pulled her close and rubbed his nose over hers Eskimo-kiss style.

“Let’s get out, sweetheart. I could play with you until the sun sets, but your family will be searching for us before long.”

“It took a while to do the chores,” she practiced her lie, but she could tell by Wydell’s expression she’d failed miserably. Shrugging, she said, “They aren’t here to control my life. They just came to make sure I was okay. They won’t interfere with our relationship, Wydell.”

He hauled her to shore. “I know. Your father practically gave his blessing.”

“Of course he did. He knows a good man when he sees one.”

As they dried off and dressed, she sensed his pleasure at her words. But they were a thousand-percent true. She’d gotten lucky when Marty had shown her that news footage that had propelled her to Los Vista. Her life was here now.



*



Wydell couldn’t believe the spread Anya and her mother had prepared. Mrs. Kent, Mrs. Fletcher and some of the other town ladies had pitched in too. Bowl after bowl marched down the center of the table, which were sheets of plywood set on sawhorses.

Everybody had come with a bench or a lawn chair to sit around the big table. As Wydell took his own seat between Anya and her father, he couldn’t help but feel a huge brimming in his heart. It was like a big Thanksgiving.

And only two people were missing.

Earlier he’d gotten a text from Brodie confirming that they’d lost the baby and were heading right home to rest. The doctors had assured them it was a common thing for first-time mothers, but Danica and Brodie were still heartbroken, Wydell knew.

As Anya slipped her hand into his beneath the table, he realized that through hard times and joys, he’d be okay. With her at his side, he was a better man. A stronger man. War and loss had shaped him, but this was a time of rebuilding and rebirth.

He squeezed her fingers and brought them to his lips. When she turned shining eyes on him, his heart swelled until it was too big for his chest.