Page 43 of The Cowboy and the Stray

"Yes," I whispered, catching his mouth again. "Yes, I'm sure, I want..." I rocked my hips against his, feeling him hard and straining. "I want you."

That was all the encouragement he needed. His hands found the hem of my shirt, peeling the sodden fabric up and off, tossing it carelessly onto the bank. My bra quickly followed, leaving me bare to his heated gaze.

Well. No turning back now. Not that I wanted to.

"God, look at you," he murmured, cupping my breasts, his thumbs teasing over the pebbled peaks. "So gorgeous."

I arched at the contact, my head falling back as he explored my body, mapping every curve and hollow with rough, reverent fingers. When he bent to take one nipple in his mouth, I cried out, my nails digging into his shoulders. He worshipped me with his tongue, his teeth grazing lightly, sending sparks shooting through my core.

Desperate for more, I shoved at the waistband of his jeans, shoving them down over his hips. He kicked free of them and then we were pressed together with nothing between us.

Calder's hand delved between my thighs, his fingers parting me, finding me hot and aching. I whimpered as he stroked me, circling the sensitive nub, dipping lower to tease at my entrance. "So ready for me," he rasped, his voice dark with want. "So responsive."

Well, yeah. Have you seen you?

I could only gasp in answer, my hips rolling into his touch, craving more. He obliged, one thick finger sinking into my heat, then two, curling just right to make me see stars. His thumb pressed on my clit as he worked me, ruthless in his rhythm, winding the coil tighter and tighter in my belly.

"That's it, sweetheart," he urged as I started to flutter around him, my breath coming short and sharp. "Let go for me. I want to feel you come apart on my fingers."

His words were my undoing. The tension snapped, and I shattered with a ragged cry, my body clenching tight, wave after wave crashing over me as he stroked me through it, drawing out every last shudder.

I sagged against him, boneless and spent, but he held me up easily, cradling me against the solid wall of his chest. "I've got you," he murmured, pressing a kiss to my temple. "I've always got you."

When I could move again, I reached between us to wrap my fingers around his length, hot and hard and silky against my palm. Calder groaned, his hips jerking into my grip.

I stroked him slowly, teasingly, loving the velvet weight of him in my hand, the way he throbbed at my touch. He let me explore for a minute before his hand covered mine, showing me how he liked it, the rhythm that would push him over.

I followed his lead, my hand working in tandem with his, twisting and squeezing as I pumped him. He pulled me in for a searing kiss and I swallowed his moans, reveling in the way he lost himself in my touch, in my body.

"Tess," he panted against my mouth, his free hand gripping my hip hard enough to bruise. "Tess, I'm going to..."

"Yes," I urged, my own release still thrumming through my veins, making me greedy for his. "Yes, do it, I want to see you, want to feel you..."

With a guttural groan, he thrust hard into our joined hands and then he was coming, hot and slick over our entwined fingers. I worked him through the aftershocks, until he was twitching with sensitivity, his chest heaving against mine.

We stood like that for a long moment after, foreheads pressed together, hands still wrapped around his softening length, the water lapping gently at our cooling skin. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt so sated, so safe, so cherished.

Eventually, Calder lifted his head to look at me, his expression soft in a way I'd never seen before. "That was..." He trailed off, like he couldn't quite find the words.

"Yeah," I agreed, understanding completely. "It really was."

He huffed a laugh, then pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to my mouth. When he pulled back, there was a gleam of mischief in his eye. "You know, I'm thinking we ought to make this a regular thing. For the good of your rock skipping skills, of course."

I grinned at him, leaning up to nip playfully at his jaw. "Oh, is that the only reason?"

"Well, maybe not the only one," he allowed, walking us backwards until he could settle on a submerged ledge, pulling me into his lap. "I can think of a few others."

As he drew me down for another slow, deep kiss, the sun shining through the leaves to paint our twined bodies, I couldn't help but agree. I could definitely think of a few reasons to keep coming back to this creek, to this moment, to this man.

Yep. This man was going to be a problem. He didn't even know my real name.

22. CALDER

The walk back to the house was too damn short to sort out the mess in my head. Tess's taste still lingered on my tongue, her sighs echoed in my ears, but with every step, reality crashed back in. What the hell was I doing? A human. It was selfish, reckless, stupid. The want was a wildfire in my blood, but the fear was an icy hand around my throat. I didn't know which would win out. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

The screen door banged shut behind me, making me wince. Sloane, Reid, and Midge were already at the kitchen table, three sets of eyes swiveling my way. I braced for impact.

"Nice of you to join us," Sloane said, arms crossed. "We need to talk about the human."