Rocky Mountain Romance (Six Pack Ranch) (10 page)

This kind of crowd was something she’d never experienced within her birth family. Her, her mom—that was it for family growing up. But Allison had been right that first day when she talked about friends being family. There was nothing more exhilarating than being in the middle of the Coleman clan and watching them take care of their own.

And
their own
meant quite a variety of things. The atypical threesome of Ashley, Travis and Cassidy. The quieter couples like Daniel and Beth, and Gabe and her own Allison. Blake and Jaxi—heir apparent of the next generation.

Into all of this family she dared to tread.
Glutton for punishment
came to mind, and she laughed at herself.

A broad hand hooked over her hip, tugging her against a rock-hard body. “You look as if you’re having a good time,” Steve offered.

Melody debated protesting his familiarity, then decided against it. Heck, she’d been waiting for this moment all night. Take what she wanted—and this was as good a time as any. Instead of pulling away, she subtly changed her position on the barstool. She leaned into his body and let out a long, happy sigh at how solid he was. “It’s been a fun party.”

“You haven’t spent any time with me,” he chastised.

“I’ve been right here all along,” she pointed out.

“So you have.” He leaned down, his chin brushing the top of her shoulder as his lips hovered near her ear. His warm breath caressed past her cheek, and she shivered, the involuntary move rubbing them together.

His grumble of approval sent another shock wave skimming.

“We need to talk,” Steve said.

Melody bit her lip as she stared at the pool game in front of her, attempting to concentrate on the game while playing an entirely different one with Steve.

“We do?” she asked innocently. “That’s funny. I thought we had a talk the other day, and we decided you were going to open the world’s most boring ice-cream shop.”

This time the noise he made didn’t send a shiver over her, it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

“See, that’s why I came over here private-like.”

“Private?” She laughed. “We’re in the middle of your relatives, plus another thirty to forty people. You call this private?”

“I could grab a mic and my guitar, put the question to music and ask you that way—if you’d prefer.”

He would too. “You always were a showoff.”

The hand on her hip was no longer still. He’d snuck his thumb between the edge of her jeans and shirt, and lifted the bottom corner of her T-shirt. With his fingers tucked into her front pocket, his thumb drifted over her belly, stroking back and forth, back and forth. Like a sensual pendulum ticking down the moments until she would spontaneously combust.

She twisted her head to one side, tilting back to speak toward his ear. “You have my attention.”

“I’ve been waiting for your answer. I thought about offering you a dare. You know, setting up some sexual adventure to challenge your little vanilla comment, but that could lead to all kinds of problems. At least with this crowd.”

His thumb dipped under the edge of her jeans, and her breath stuttered out as she enjoyed the rush of excitement spinning along her nerve endings.

“I thought about starting a drinking game,” he continued. “Last man standing, that kind of thing. I know I could convince at least a half-dozen of my cousins to get involved, but you’d probably drink them under the table.”

“I think I did that once,” she admitted.

“Ha. Then I thought about playing pool, either with you or against you, but frankly, that’s not the type of foreplay I’m looking for.”

Oh dear. They were talking about foreplay already. Melody considered for an instant before nodding. “Go on.”

“Tell me we’re back together. Tell me I get a second shot at making you happy,” he demanded.

Turn him down? Impossible. She pivoted far enough to look into his blue-grey eyes as she answered him. “Don’t disappoint me, Steve.”

His face lit up like magic. For an instant they sat there, grinning like fools at each other before the fire returned and Steve twisted her back toward the pool table.

At the same time, his hand slipped onto her belly, resting there briefly. Her T-shirt hid what his fingers were doing as he snuck into the front of her jeans. He’d picked the perfect place to do this—no one could see anything with the back of the counter directly in front of them. All it looked like was a serious conversation happening right there in the open, Steve at her back, whispering in her ear.

“You were pretty hasty the other day, sweetheart,” he noted, changing the subject. “Making that smartass comment after the picnic and then running away before we could discuss it.”

“We had an entire conversation about that comment at my place,” she protested, fixing her gaze on the pool table. Focusing on the white ball gliding across the surface, connecting with its target and sending a half-dozen balls rolling in different directions. Ignoring the thread of fire inching over her skin as his touch stirred her senses. “And I didn’t run away.”

“Drove away. Same difference.” He adjusted position, his muscular arm pressed to her side as he slipped her farther forward on the barstool. She went willingly enough, glancing to the side to make sure no one had noticed, but everyone was busy in their own little worlds.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” she taunted.

The change in position meant he had enough room to slide his hand all the way down, calloused fingers coming to rest on her mound. “I plan to do a lot, but first let us get this straight. I highly doubt I’m too vanilla for you.”

She shrugged, partly to cover up that she wanted to rock into his hand so he would get to the good parts. “Going by what I remember. I didn’t say you suck in the sack, just that I found I have a little more varied tastes than what we tended toward before.”

She pressed her lips together to trap the hiss of pleasure he drew from her as he slipped a finger between her folds, rubbing back and forth over her clit.

“And that’s why we need to start over. You and me, because some of what we had before was good, and some of it wasn’t. But that’s in the past, and what we’ve got now is a whole lot of time in front of us to work on making good new choices and avoiding stupid mistakes. You need to give me another chance.”

Melody laughed, leaning her head back on his shoulder so she could speak into his ear. “You got your hand down the front of my pants in the middle of a bar. I think you’re getting a teeny bit of a second chance, don’t you?”

She stuck out her tongue and flicked his earlobe, quick enough that unless someone was watching closely, the move would be ignored.

The only one who knew what she’d done was Steve, and he growled in approval, his fingers continuing to tease her. “Then in light of your earlier comment, I’m going to set down a few rules.”

Melody held back her amusement. “You think so?”

In response, he curled his hand around her and pressed a finger into her core. Deep inside for a moment before pulling back to apply hard pressure against her clit.

Her little gasp seemed all the approval he needed.

“I thought about you a lot when you were gone,” he confessed, his words a rumble in her ear even as his hand worked her body. Heat from his chest scalded her, and she adjusted her hips to line them up in the exact right position, working to keep her breathing as calm as possible. “It took me a while, but I figured out how important you were. How special you were, and I’m determined to show you that. And I’m not going to hold back any longer.”

She couldn’t resist moaning with pleasure as he pushed in another finger, holding her pinned in place as he forced her body to respond. “You were holding back?”

“You called me lazy. Give that as an excuse, but the point is it’s not happening anymore. I want you, and unless you tell me no right now, I’m going to take you any time, and anywhere I want.”

His words should have infuriated her, or put up her back and made her instant response a decisive
no
, but she couldn’t force out the syllable.

If he was serious, this was exactly what she was looking for. “You’re talking about sex, right? You don’t have some half-assed idea about trying to boss me around outside the bedroom?”

“Let’s not confine it to any room, considering I’ve got my hand in your pants in the middle of a bar. But yes, this is about sex—at least the me-being-bossy part.”

It was more than she’d hoped for. While he’d been a bastard before, he hadn’t been a dangerous one. More like neglectful and thoughtless. “You got three months,” she offered.

He withdrew his hand, circling her clit lightly with his fingers before pulling free. Steve adjusted his position until he stood beside her, an elbow on the countertop as he faced her. Then he lifted his hand to his mouth and licked his fingers clean.

Ohmigod
.

“You kids are avoiding the party.” Steve’s little brother Lee appeared out of nowhere, and Melody blinked for a moment before smiling at the young man. “Come on, we’re going to start some drinking game Ashley made up.”

“We’ll be there in a minute,” Steve assured him before tilting his head to send his brother away.

Melody glanced at Steve, her body vibrating from his touch. “You saw him coming.”

He placed his fingers under her chin, his thumb caressing her jawline as he stared into her eyes. “I’ll take care of you, I promise. Whether that means giving your body what you need, or exploring all the things we haven’t yet tried, you and me. I won’t do anything that hurts you.”

She was surprised how serious he sounded. “That’s never been an issue. Trusting you that way.”

“Three months,” he agreed. His smile tightened. “And Melody? I fully intend to prove you can trust me in other ways during that time.”

The volume across the room was rising, and in spite of the buzz of anticipation in her body, Melody looked forward to more time with the others. “Let’s talk about it later.”

“When I take you home,” he said, his expression hungry enough to make her shiver.

She wasn’t sure what she’d expected would happen tonight, but hell,
yeah
, this was what she needed. She accepted his hand as she slipped off the barstool, wavering for a moment as she hurriedly tucked in her T-shirt. He didn’t even try to hide his grin as he pressed a hand to her lower back and led her toward the game. Eyes lingered on them as they rejoined the group, knowing smiles breaking free.

By the time the evening was done, everyone in Rocky would know they were together again. Melody took a deep breath and hoped like hell that Steve really had changed.

Chapter Seven

It was trite, it was stereotypical, but even as he celebrated that he and Melody were back in the game, only one thought filled his brain to the exclusion of everything else.

He and Melody were going to have sex, and he couldn’t fucking wait.

They’d snuck away from the party, Melody leaving just before him. He pulled up outside her house and marched toward her door like his ass was on fire.

He glanced in the window, feet faltering to a stop as her silhouette moved past the thin drapes.

She pivoted, every curve clearly delineated against the background light, and he couldn’t wait to put his hands on her. To touch every inch of her all over again.

He took the steps three at a time and didn’t bother to knock.

Melody spun, her blonde hair flaring as she moved. She hadn’t had time to do more than take off her shoes and coat, and he soaked in the sight.

“You got here quickly,” she teased.

He stepped across the room and caught her in his arms, glancing around the room to decide where to take her.

“Am I a maiden about to swoon?” Melody asked, laughter in her voice.

He dropped her on the small island countertop in the kitchen area, pinning her in place with a hand on either side of her hips. “You can be any damn thing you want as long as it involves screaming my name and begging for more.”

Damn if she didn’t laugh. “You think that’s likely?”

That’s what they were about to make sure of, because he didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding between them. “Sweetheart, let’s get one thing clear. What we had before was good, but if you’re able to handle all of me? It’s going to get so much better you’re gonna walk around with a permanent smile on your face. Everyone in town will think the reason you’re tired at the end of the day is because you worked so hard, but you and I will know it’s because I worked you over even harder.”

He watched carefully as he spoke, and her response was better than anything he could have imagined. The flush on her cheeks grew rosier, and her breathing picked up. Her pulse fluttered visibly at her neckline.

He leaned in, licking the spot.

A tiny whimper escaped her, and he couldn’t resist. He went back and nipped, then did it again when she caught hold of his shoulders and let her head fall to the side.

It’d been too damn long. He left the tender spot under her ear and went for her lips, soaking in every moan and gasp as she undulated against him, her breasts rubbing his chest. She arched upward and opened her legs, thighs spreading wide to accept his body against hers. He used the hand around her back to drag her hips forward so his hardness connected with the heat between her legs.

He thrust his other hand into her hair, closing his fingers and tugging her head back so he could kiss her more easily. Licking her lips before slipping his tongue into her mouth to taste her. Feasting greedily until there was a roaring in his ears and a pulsing need everywhere in his body.

Her hands danced over his shoulders, her short-cut nails digging in as she dragged them over his muscles. Not enough. Her touch was only a hint of what he needed, so he broke them apart, grabbed hold of the bottom of her shirt and ripped the fabric over her head.

Her neon-yellow bra wasn’t enough to distract him from his need to reclaim her lips. This time his hand on her back made contact with the warmth of her skin. He pressed her thighs farther apart, dragging her hips forward and rocking them together until she was squirming.