Hidden Treasure (16 page)

Chapter Thirty

B
rielle stripped off
her soot-covered clothes, turned on the faucet, and waited for the water to heat. This wasn’t her old condo, where she had hot water on demand. Still, she was in love with her nice big walk-in shower here, and with the huge water heater. When it finally cranked up, it allowed her to shower almost forever.

When it was warm enough, she stepped under the spray and tilted her head back, feeling better almost immediately as the black ash began washing down the drain. She let the steam fill her lungs with each deep inhalation and cleanse them from the inside out, though the heat wasn’t doing wonders for her sore throat. This day had been a disaster, but a few encouraging words from Tony and she already felt better.

How sad was it that she needed his encouragement to feel better about herself? But she really was trying, and not just to beat her brothers anymore. For some reason she felt that if she didn’t succeed at this, she was going to fail with the rest of her life.

Not because of the trust fund, but because she’d never tried so hard at something she didn’t know how to do before. She’d been drifting through life for years, almost in a fog, counting on her family name to get her out of trouble. Those days were behind her now.

Letting the hot water cascade down her front, Brielle jumped when a pair of hands circled her from behind and climbed up her slick stomach.

“I figured you’d need help washing your back.”

The words whispered in her ear sent shivers traveling down her spine, leaving glorious goose bumps on all her flesh. She should tell him to leave — should be horrified that he’d invaded her personal space. But all she could feel was pleasure as Colt pressed up against her back and cupped her wet breasts, then squeezed the nipples into aching peaks.

“I didn’t give you permission to come in here,” Brielle gasped, but the breathless sound of her voice wasn’t doing much to chase him away and she knew it. She didn’t know what she’d do if he actually did leave.

When he stepped back, she started to panic, but he just leaned against the shower wall and gave her a smile that made her legs shake. Neither of them spoke as his eyes roamed over her, so with a flirtatious smile she picked up the bottle of body wash, poured a generous amount onto a washcloth, and began rubbing it over her body, all the while looking him in the eyes.

The gasps from his mouth as she took her time sudsing her breasts, and then sliding the cloth down her stomach and over her heat made her feel like a wanton woman. The pleasure shining in his eyes told her he was turned on. Of course, what was standing up between his legs also offered welcome proof.

He didn’t budge as she finished with the washcloth and ran her fingers through her hair, letting the water make it cascade out before she poured shampoo on it and lathered.

Never before had she realized that the act of bathing could be such a turn-on, but as he watched every move she made, she felt empowered, beautiful, desirable.

The feel of soapy water dripping down her body and traveling over her breasts was heightening her pleasure, making her already pulsing core almost unbearably sensitive. With her gaze locked on his, Brielle poured more body wash into her hands and ran them over her breasts, the feel of her nipples being touched sending waves of pleasure lower. Then she trailed her fingers down her stomach, and again gave attention to her swollen folds as Colt’s eyes took in every...single...move.

Unable to take the heat from his eyes, she turned, placed one hand on the wall, arched her back, and ran the other hand down the curve of her hip and over her rounded behind, leaving a trail of suds. Suddenly Colt was right there, his hands coming up to cage her against the bathroom wall. “You are unbelievably sexy,” he whispered, his head bent close to her ear as the water descended over them both.

He lowered one of his hands and smoothed over her stomach, seductively bending her over so that he was positioned just right for his arousal to wedge itself between her legs and rub against the outside of her core, hitting just the right place to stoke her fire even higher.

“Colt…” she cried out as he began kissing the back of her neck.

He moved his hips, letting his length rub her sensitive core, hitting her swollen pink pearl again and again while he massaged one breast, applying the perfect pressure as he pinched the nipple.

“I don’t think you’ve gotten clean enough,” he told her as he grabbed the body wash and poured some on his hands, then held her tightly below her breasts with one arm while he began moving a soapy hand across her stomach and circled her belly button before going to her core, where his hardness was still pressed.

He continued moving his hips slowly against her while his fingers moved in and began rubbing her flesh, making her cry out in pleasure as she came close to peaking. As if he could tell she was about to fall over the edge, he pulled back and shifted his fingers elsewhere on her folds, making her groan in frustration.

Between her shallow panti
ngs, she tried to form coherent words, tried to tell him to quit torturing her. But she didn’t want him to stop, because even though she wanted release, this torment he was putting her through was the sweetest of pleasure, and she never wanted it to end.

When his now suds-free fingers slipped inside her heat, with his manhood still resting along the outer edges, Brielle’s knees began to buckle. Colt held her up while he stroked quickly in and out of her while sucking on her neck.

That was all it took. Release ripped through her, and he drew out the orgasm, making her body pulse against him for what seemed like hours and finally leaving her limp.

“You make me go crazy with wanting you,” he groaned against her neck as his erection throbbed against her. “Feeling the force of your pleasure is beyond anything I can describe.”

Brielle was shaking so much now that the weight of her five-foot-three frame was all in his arms. The sensation of his hardness still so close to her heat made her realize this wasn’t over. She didn’t want it to be over. Her orgasm had been more than good, but she had no doubt that with him filling her to completeness, the pleasure would be mind-boggling.

When her shaking got under control, she turned around, needing to see him, feel his lips against hers. Then she was grasping his face, pulling him to her, taking control of his mouth, with her tongue tracing his lips before slipping inside.

His involuntary groans increased her confidence, and she rubbed her breasts against his chest, pushed her stomach against the thick shaft she wanted inside her. This man was driving her to the highest reaches of heaven and she didn’t want to come back down to earth ever again.

Reaching down, Brielle wrapped her slender fingers around his arousal and squeezed, making his hands grip her behind as he groaned again. She was on fire despite the water that was still raining all around them, and the slickness of their bodies together was sending her to new heights of pleasure.

She lifted one leg and wrapped it around his waist, then guided his manhood straight to her core. She was through with foreplay. She wanted him inside her, and she wanted it now. Colt’s eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t hesitate as he lifted her up and braced her back against the wall.

Then, in one smooth thrust, he buried himself deep inside her heat and began pumping in and out, her folds well lubricated with her earlier release, helping him glide easily as his rhythm increased in intensity, stimulating every nerve ending from within.

Angling his head down, he buried his face between her breasts and sucked first on one side, then the other, bruising the skin slightly as he nipped it, making her cry out in passion. The sound of their wet skin slapping together only added to their delight, only added to the music of their moans echoing off the shower walls.

Brielle began panting and threw her head back against the wall while his fingers squeezed the flesh of her derrière and his erection pummeled her. “More!” she cried, urging him to go even faster. The pressure built and built until she couldn’t take much more.

Suddenly, he plunged up to the hilt and then began shaking as his arousal pulsed against the walls of her core, giving her exactly what she needed for relief. As he slowed his movements and drained his hot seed into her, she attained her own release, screaming in ecstasy as she clenched against him. The orgasm went on and on.

When the last of the tremors tore through her, Brielle sagged against Colt, wondering how she would ever be able to step from this shower. Were her legs capable of moving anymore?

He swept his tongue across her breasts, just barely brushing her still-hard nipples, and a shudder rushed through her while an answering moan came from deep within his chest. There was no way either of them could come again, of course. It was impossible.

But she still clung to him, still enjoyed the feel of his hardness buried inside her while his hands held tight to her behind, and his tongue lavished attention on her breasts and neck.

“I have never felt anything like what I feel with you.”

Brielle had heard these wonderful words of his before, but as he lifted his head and looked into her eyes, she had no doubt that he spoke the truth each and every time.

“I can promise you that’s the same for me, Colt.”

When he withdrew from her body, she whimpered, feeling bereft and empty without him. What surprised her was that he was still hard, looking more than ready to do everything all over again. Feeling a bravery she’d never known before, Brielle dropped to her knees under the shower spray, and she wrapped her lips around the thick head of his arousal before he knew what she was doing.

“Brielle!” he cried out as she took him deep into her mouth, loving the rich texture of his manhood. Though she wasn’t sure whether this was doing a thing for him after the exceptional orgasm they’d just shared, she didn’t care. She just wanted to feel him on her tongue, wanted to taste if there was anything left in him.

When his salty flavor hit her tongue and she felt him throb in her mouth as his pleasure built, she sighed in satisfaction. He reached down and took hold of her hair as she moved up and down his shaft. He’d given her two incredible orgasms, and she wanted to do the same for him, or die trying.

“Brielle…” he moaned as he tried to guide her head away, but she was determined to give him more. The groans erupting from his throat only encouraged her, and she moved faster and deeper along his shaft. It seemed to grow even harder; was that possible?

“I’m going to come,” he warned, and she felt heat and elation rush through her body — she was able to do this for him, she was able to give him this pleasure. She sucked harder, and then she felt him begin to pulse and his fingers tighten in her hair. He cried out as he released in her mouth, a rush of warm fluid coating her tongue and sliding down her throat.

She sucked him as deep into her mouth as she could and felt a completeness she’d shared with no other man as he fell back against the wall behind him, his body spent. She finally freed him from her mouth, then sat back with a smile of supreme satisfaction. Closing her eyes and tipping her head back in the stream of water to slide her hair away from her face, she relished that she’d made this strong man weak. Talk about euphoria.

When he dropped to his knees with her, his eyes shone. “Thank you,” he said before grabbing her face gently and kissing her.

That water heater couldn’t quite handle this shower. The two of them didn’t leave until the water was cold, and then they simply floated to her bedroom.

Chapter Thirty-One

A
week later, Colt
still
hadn’t told Brielle the truth. He knew he had to tell her. Even Tony was giving him all sorts of hell about him keeping the secret from her, because, unbelievably, Tony had grown quite fond of Brielle.

She was working hard, learning the business side of running the ranch, but also getting down in the dirt and earning sweat equity. She’d even spent a solid day mucking out stalls to make up for her first time, when she ran away, much to the delight of several of the ranch hands. Of course, she had plenty of volunteers to help her now. It helped a whole heck of a lot that she looked so damn good in her Wrangler jeans and tight cotton tank tops.

Almost since the beginning, she hadn’t touched the wardrobe she’d brought with her, but Colt had seen some of it hanging in her bedroom closet, and he had plans for it. He wanted to take her somewhere she could wear diamonds dripping from her neck and ears. If he’d just get it over with and tell her who he really was, he could buy her gifts of that sort and fly her to Seattle, where they could have a romantic date, go dancing, and stay the night in a beautiful hotel.

Sleepless.

Colt had never been a man to live in fear, but the secret between them was practically eating him alive. Even Tony warned him that the longer he dragged his feet, the worse the lie became. And those feet of his were still dragging.

Every time Colt tried to say the words aloud, his throat closed. But time was definitely not on his side. He’d been amazingly lucky so far, but Brielle was becoming more comfortable with Sterling and its people, and someone was bound to say something soon. So he had to do this.

He’d planned a romantic horseback ride and picnic down at the lake that afternoon. This was the day he would spill all, he’d convinced himself. But when Brielle met him down at the barn with her jeans hugging her backside just right, and her tank top showing off her breasts to perfection, he almost forgot all about confessions — he wanted to carry her off into the hayloft and ravish her for the whole afternoon.

No. He managed somehow to rein himself in as she approached with a smile on her face — something she sported often these days.

“You take my breath away, Brielle.”

“Colt, I look terrible. Don’t lie to me. I was just with Joe and trying to lift hay bales. Do you know how much those miserable things weigh?”

“Yeah, darling. I’ve lifted a few in my day,” he said with a chuckle, loving the glow in her face and that sexy-as-hell sheen of sweat.

“Well, I don’t know how you guys lift them all on your own. I was determined to do anything any of the men could do, but after two hours I gave up. My arms are still shaking.”

“I happen to love your arms. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t change a single thing about you.”

“You might think that now, but just wait…” she said with a wink.

“There’s nothing about you I don’t love, Brielle.”

“That’s because I give you a lot of sex, Colt. You’re in a sex-induced walking coma.”

“Baby, if this is a coma, then never wake me up.”

“Your lines have gotten much worse, Colt.”

“What can I say? You inspire me.”

She threw her arms around him and gave him a big kiss for his efforts. “I thought we were going for a ride.”

“Not if you keep touching me like this.”

“Okay, I really want to go. I think I’m getting pretty good at it now.” After that mortifying fall on her first ride, she’d decided to practice in the arena. He’d watched her several times and she was picking up on it fast.

“I won’t be the only one to say this, but if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.” He led her to Bluegrass, whom he’d already saddled.

She gave the mare a treat and petted her nose for a moment before climbing up effortlessly. “I’m getting quite fond of her,” she said as she rubbed the horse’s neck.

“I think she likes you, too,” Colt replied as he climbed on his black stallion. Then the two of them were off, not in a hurry but enjoying the peaceful afternoon.

After about an hour of riding, sometimes spent chatting and sometimes in companionable silence, Colt said, “We’ll stop here.” Jumping from his horse and walking over to a favorite spot of his that boasted huge shade trees overlooking a full stream, swift and smooth, he spread out a blanket.

“I have to admit that this is almost like a postcard,” Brielle said as she sat astride her horse and looked at the crystal-clear water, not quite ready to get down.

He walked back over to her. “That’s one of the things I love best about Montana. There are so many areas that are unspoiled. Though the land is worked hard, it replenishes itself and stays pure.”

When she climbed down from the horse, sliding against Colt, she wobbled as she hit the ground. This had been a longer ride than she was used to, and her muscles were going to be screaming at her tomorrow. Their gazes locked together and Colt forgot all about the food he’d craved just a moment earlier. Whenever he touched her, the conclusion was inevitable.

As Colt’s lips moved gently across hers and his tongue played with hers, he was lost in another world, a world free of stress, a place only lovers could meet.

Several heartbeats later he pulled back, and the protest in her eyes sent a thrill through him. “I’d better feed you,” Colt said with a chuckle as her stomach rumbled.

“I hope you brought something worth eating.”

“Don’t get me started, sweetheart. But of course I did. Every cowboy knows you don’t go riding without good food in the saddlebags. You never know when you could get stuck.”

“Stuck?”

“It doesn’t happen very often, but when you stray too far from home base, things do occur.”

He watched as she tested out her legs, made her way over to the blanket and sat down, waiting for him to unpack the goodies.

At her first bite of the juicy chicken he’d brought, she grinned. “Oh my, this is good.”

“My cook is the best,” he said.

His words stopped her from taking her next bite.

“Your cook? What?”

He felt his cheeks heat, and then he hated himself when Brielle looked apologetic.

“Ignore me. The cook is great,” she said with a nervous laugh.

He knew she was thinking that he’d just messed up on his wording. She was assuming that the food came from the cook who prepared meals for the ranch hands. This would be the perfect opportunity for him to tell her all, but the words didn’t come out, and then the moment was gone.

It was ridiculous. This was the right time. She was happy, in love, and ready to hear the truth, but no matter how he tried to talk himself into it, he couldn’t say what he needed to say.

Brielle didn’t notice his sudden silence — she was too busy enjoying their lunch and gazing out into the peaceful water. Maybe if she’d pushed him, he would have told her, but he didn’t know. It was past time. But she wouldn’t be too upset, he assured himself. Fine. Tomorrow for sure. He just didn’t want to ruin their day.

That was what he told himself to make things better, at least for himself.