“Really. And why’s that?”

“Because I want you. And I’m tired of denying myself what I want.”

His face was inches from hers. God, she was beautiful, her hair a cascade of blond waterfall over her shoulders, her eyes so many different colors he could get lost in them. And her mouth—he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. Last time he’d been in a hurry, had taken and demanded instead of explored. All he’d thought about since then was all the things he’d missed.

She sighed against his mouth, and he smiled against her lips. She tasted like cookies and milk, and he swept his tongue along her bottom lip to capture more of her flavor before sliding it inside to lick against her tongue.

Jolene moaned and scooted over, and Walker climbed onto the bed, then pulled her onto his lap, his hand sliding over the bare skin of her butt as he did. She didn’t have anything on under that T-shirt, a fact that made his dick go rock-hard in a fraction of a second. He pulled her tight against his chest and slid his hand up the back of her shirt, scoping out those sweet mounds of her ass, so firm and yet her skin was so soft. He felt bad that his hands were so rough, and yet everywhere he touched her she moaned, so she must like his hands.

And he liked the feel of her skin, like gliding his fingers across butter.

He deepened the kiss and held Jolene as he moved on the bed, then laid her in the center of the mattress. He climbed over her, lifting up her shirt and bending down to press a kiss to her belly, ignoring her sex for now even though the scent of her filled the room. He wanted to bury his face in her pu**y and lick her until she screamed.

She tangled her fingers in his hair, raised her h*ps against his chest, and his c**k pressed hard and insistent against his jeans.

His c**k was going to have to wait. This was playtime.

He took her T-shirt off. Bare, she made his breath hitch. He’d seen enough of her that first time to know she was beautiful and built. But now he could look his fill with her underneath him, could take his time to smooth his hand over the soft column of her throat, the valley between her breasts, admire the pretty pink ni**les that seemed to pucker and harden to tight points just from him looking at them.

He bent down and laved his tongue over one. Jolene arched her back and dug her fingers in his hair, pulling at him as he took the nipple in his mouth and sucked, hard, while he used his hand to roll over the other nipple, to tease and torment it.

“Oh. Oh, God, Walker, I really like that.”

Her voice was a yielding whisper, nothing like the hard barking orders she gave out on the trail. He enjoyed her soft like this, her body squirming under his mouth and hands as he moved down her rib cage, teasing her belly button by diving into it with his tongue. Her hands followed his trek south by staying in his hair, holding onto him like he was a lifeline and she was drowning.

He wanted her drowning. He wanted her coming. He wanted to taste her.

He slid off the bed and kneeled on the floor, and dragged Jolene to the edge of the mattress, her pu**y dangling right at the edge, sweet and wet.

“You have a pretty pussy, darlin’,” he said, gliding his thumb over the moist puffy lips, then sliding one finger inside. Her walls gripped around his finger as he pulled partway out, then tucked back in again, f**king her slow and easy. “You’re wet. Have you been thinkin’ about me?”

“All I do is think about you, Walker,” she murmured, her eyes closed as her fingers danced in his hair. “I touch myself thinking about you doing this.”

His c**k twitched, his balls tightening high and hard. He wanted to plunge inside her, kiss her while he f**ked her hard. But not yet. Not when he could feel her hot and wet surrounding his finger, not when he could breathe in the scent of her, not when he could taste her.

He leaned in and swiped his tongue around her clit, and she let out a low moan.

“Yes. Like that,” she said, once again drawing his head down with her hand. “I like that a lot.”

And he liked that she talked to him, that she was right there with him while he lapped at her clit, took the bud in his mouth and sucked it, all the while continuing to slide his finger in and out of her pussy.

“Walker, I’m going to come. Lick me right there, I’m going to come.”

She lifted and he gave her what she wanted. She bucked against him, sliding her sex all over his face as she writhed in orgasm. Oh, man, he liked feeling her and tasting her when she came, liked feeling her body move as spasms gripped his finger over and over again, until she fell back against the bed and panted.

He removed his finger and crawled onto the bed, popping his finger into his mouth to taste her.

Jolene grabbed his head and brought his mouth to hers for a deep kiss that rocked him to the soles of his feet. She licked at his lips, tasting herself, and didn’t that just make his balls tight as stone.

When she let go, her eyes were glassy with spent passion, her skin flushed warm and pink. “Now get your clothes off so I can touch you.”

And not a minute too soon, either. He was as eager as a teenager fumbling with his clothes and about to have his first bout of sex with one hot, experienced woman. He stripped, pulled a couple condoms from his pocket and laid them on the nightstand. Jolene arched a brow, smiled and made room for him as he crawled onto the bed. As soon as he was flat on his back, she rolled over onto him.

“My turn,” she said, pressing her lips to his and kissing him with her sweet lips until his c**k was a raging beast ready to slide up into her and f**k her into oblivion. But when he reached for her, she pushed him back.

“Oh no. You are not going to deny me this time. I want your c**k in my mouth.”

Heat shot straight to his shaft. “Well I’m sure as hell not going to tell you no, honey. Suck that dick all you want.”

She laughed, moved down his body and positioned herself on her belly. With a wicked gleam in her eye, she focused on his cock. Now, what guy wouldn’t get his balls tied in knots to have a beautiful woman like Jolene lick her lips so close to his dick?

And when she put her hands on him, it was a slice of sweet heaven on earth. Whenever he jacked off, he did it to get a release, and his hands were calloused and rough. Hers, even though she worked hard for a living, too, were softer and smaller, and he could sure as hell tell the difference as she wrapped both around his shaft. And because she was a tough girl and not timid, she put some pressure on him, which he liked, swirling one hand over the other as she moved up and down.

He could lie back, watch her do that for hours, and die a happy man. But when she pushed forward and took the head of his c**k between her lips, he gripped the sheets in both hands and tightened his jaw, because son of a bitch she had one hot, wet mouth. She let go of her hold on him, then it was all her mouth doing the work, as she got up on her knees and went down on him full tilt, taking him from top to bottom all the way to the back of her throat.

“Fuck,” he bit out as she took him hard and over and over again, sucking him deep, then releasing him only long enough to slide her pretty pink tongue over the crest and the underside of his shaft. Then she’d slide that tongue all the way down and flick it over his balls until he thought he’d die.

He tangled his fingers in her hair while she wound her tongue around his balls, licking and sucking them just the way he liked it, taking them into her mouth and rolling her tongue over them there, too. By the time she had his c**k back in her mouth again, he was out of breath and ready to come.

And she knew it, too, because she smiled at him, held on to his shaft and began to stroke him. He jerked her hair, holding her in position while he pumped between her lips, his balls tightening with the pressure of her mouth around his cock.

“I’m going to come in your mouth, Jolene. Right . . . now.”

He groaned, then flexed his h*ps up as he jettisoned a stream of hot come into her waiting mouth. She squeezed and stroked every drop from him as he rocked against her, shuddering as the impact of his cl**ax tore through him with blazing heat. And Jolene stayed with him the entire time, taking everything he had to give, continuing to lick and suck every drop.

“Damn,” he managed when he could speak again. He reached for her, pulled her up against him, then rolled them side to side, facing each other so he could see her, kiss her, taste what she’d done to him.

She slipped her hand between them, holding his c**k gently to stroke him again while they kissed. He reached for her br**sts and slid his thumbs over the buds, feeling them harden, listening to her moan and whimper as he cupped her, then kissed and licked them.

His c**k was hard again in record time, no surprise considering the woman he was with. He reached for a condom and put it on, then spread her legs and slid inside, burying himself deep. Jolene wrapped her legs around his back and lifted against him.

There were no words this time, and it seemed so right to kiss her, to slide his hand underneath her to lift her, to need to be closer to her as he f**ked her, as he felt the sensations intensify inside. Her pu**y gripped him tight and hard, and he wanted her to come again, rolled his h*ps to grind against her clit, listening to the sounds she made. He knew when she was close, and he’d draw back a little, extending their pleasure until she was clawing his back, growling at him with the need to release.

And when he couldn’t stand it anymore, when perspiration poured down his face, when their bodies were both wet with pleasure and sweat, he thrust and ground against her, watching her eyes widen as she came. And then he came, too, wishing he didn’t have the burden of a condom so he could spill inside her, to fill her with his come and feel her hot and wet surrounding him.

He’d never been this . . . intimate with a woman before. With Jolene, it seemed natural. She gave as good as she got. She was something new and fresh and exciting, as wild and free in the bedroom as she was out on the prairie.

There was a reason he’d sought her out when he shouldn’t have, that he couldn’t stop thinking about her, that he needed to be close to her.

He was falling in love with her, and damned if that wasn’t the worst thing in the world that could happen.

six

jolene pulled into the parking lot at dirk’s, realizing that even though she was alone, she wore a giant grin on her face. Okay, so she was in heaven. Work was going well, and Walker was the best lover she’d ever had. They’d been together almost every night for the past few weeks, and she had no complaints. What more could she ask for than a dynamic lover, a valuable ranch hand and someone who was fun to be around?

Though she’d noticed he wasn’t into public displays of affection, and she got the distinct impression he intended to keep their relationship just between the two of them. Which was fine with her—for now. But she certainly had no intention of hiding it forever, especially since she realized things were getting serious between them. Or kind of serious. Oh hell, she didn’t know for sure. The sex was great, and she loved being with him. Mason thought highly of Walker and wanted to make him assistant ranch foreman. He had the skills and experience and had been at the ranch long enough. He’d earned it.

Jolene was beginning to see a future with Walker. What she didn’t know was what kind of future Walker saw, because everything with him seemed to be all about right now. Though they enjoyed each other’s company, they hadn’t talked about the future. They didn’t talk about much of anything, including Walker’s past. He knew everything about her, had asked her to fill in the blanks about her family and her past and anything he didn’t know. He liked her to talk about herself. But when she asked him about his past, he always managed to change the subject.

If things were going to go any further between them, that would have to change. She wasn’t going to fall in love with someone she didn’t know.

Or maybe she was already in love with him. She’d never been in love before, so how was she going to recognize it when it happened?

She opened the front door of the bar and country music blasted her in the face.

God, she loved this place. Grin still plastered on, she went inside, spotted Brea and Gage and headed over to their table.

“Where’s Val and Mason?” she asked.

“Home having hot sex while they have the place to themselves, probably,” Brea said, waggling her eyebrows.

“Decided to stay in tonight?”

“Yeah. Valerie said she needed to inventory medical supplies, so Mason said he’d stay to help her.”

“Which means they’re ha**g s*x instead of doing inventory,” Gage said. “Or at least that’s what I’d be doing.”

“Yeah, but you’re perverted.” Brea elbowed him in the ribs.

“And that’s why you love me.” Gage grabbed her and kissed her.

Jolene rolled her eyes. “Maybe you two should have stayed home and had sex, too. I’m going to the bar.”

She leaned against the bar and waved to Sandy, who was working at the other end. She didn’t have to bother to order. Sandy would just bring her favorite beer when she had a free minute. Jolene flipped around, putting her back against the bar, and scanned the room. Mainly she was looking for Walker. They hadn’t made plans for tonight, but she’d told him she was coming to Dirk’s. He’d nodded and said he might be here, too.

They didn’t make plans, they didn’t have dates, they didn’t go out together.

And that was beginning to irritate her. They were going to have to talk about having this secret relationship. Jolene didn’t want it to be a secret any longer. Walker was going to have to talk to her about why it was necessary to have all their meetings be clandestine.

She spotted him playing poker with some of the guys from the ranch, and waited for him to make eye contact. When he did, she smiled, but he looked away immediately.