The Circle Eight: Caleb (18 page)

Caleb dismounted and snatched his brother off the saddle quickly. He knocked on his forehead. “You awake in there?”

The boy pushed his hand away and stumbled. To his credit, the ranger didn’t reach to help him. He appeared to be giving Benjy time to wake up and find his feet, just as a big brother would.

“I’ll take care of the animals. You take your bedroll and go on inside. Make sure there’s no critters before you lay down to get some sleep.”

Benjy took the proffered blanket and opened the door to the shack. He waved his hand in front of his face before he stepped inside. While he was busy checking for unwanted houseguests, Rory was going to have trouble dismounting. It stuck in her craw to ask for help but she was going to have to swallow her pride.

“Ranger.”

Caleb glanced up from unsaddling his gelding. “What?”

“I, uh, don’t seem to be able to get down. I need help.” The words were like castor oil on her tongue, slippery with a bad taste. “Please.”

He took off his hat and grinned at her. She was torn between appreciating how handsome the man was and being annoyed with his cocky attitude. He set the saddle down on a rock hidden by some bushes, then secured the horse to a tree nearby.

“I’ll be right back, boy. I’ve got to rescue the damsel.”

“I’m not a damsel.” She scowled at him. The man spent far too much time enjoying her discomfort. “And this isn’t a rescue.”

“Oh that’s entirely not true.” He sauntered up and put his hand on her thigh. She stared at the strong fingers, the callused appendage that had brought her to the heights of pleasure. Her body jumped to attention, and blood started flowing to her nether region. “You are most definitely a damsel.”

He put his hands around her waist and picked her up off the saddle as though she weighed no more than a bedroll. She knew he was strong, of course, but this time his strength echoed through her body. Damned if she didn’t want to feel all of him without the encumbrance of clothes. His hands stayed at her waist as feeling flooded back into her legs, the pins and needles making her wince.

The door to the shack banged open and Benjy stepped out. He had a few critters in his hand, none of which Rory wanted to see, that he tossed into the woods. With his bedroll tucked under one arm, he clomped back into the cabin no doubt to lay down to sleep.

“I’m a woman.”

“I definitely remember that.” He didn’t move away and she found herself leaning toward him. His blue-green eyes were full of heat and she ached to feel that burn.

“And I don’t appreciate being compared to a simpering idiot like a damsel.”

Up close and in the dappled sunshine, Caleb Graham was beautiful. A few scars here and there on his face just added to the natural handsomeness. She could hardly believe he found her pretty. Rory decided he was funning with her about that. Nobody had ever accused her of being pretty and she damn sure would have a hard time believing it. She had seen her reflection before, and she’d also seen pretty girls. They didn’t match.

His hand trailed down her shoulder and arm until he found her hand. Then he raised it to his lips and kissed the back. “Oh I don’t think being a damsel is a bad thing. They’re not all simpering idiots. Some of them are strong and capable.” His lips traveled to her palm and then up her wrist. Fluttering commenced in her stomach as a throb beat low in her belly.

“What are you doing?” She sounded breathless, dammit.

His gaze flickered to hers. “Seducing you. Is it working?”

Yes
.

“Depends on what you want.” She hedged away from the truth, unable to admit she wanted to drop her drawers and invite him to plunder.

“I want to finish what we started last night.” He leaned into her, his hard body trapping her against the mule. Her hands itched to touch him but she held back. She didn’t want to appear too anxious.

“What about Benjy?” She glanced at the shack, unable to do anything with him if there was any danger of the boy seeing them. He’d already been traumatized enough.

“He’s sound asleep by now.” Caleb nodded to the woods. “I’m sure I can find a shady spot to, ah, relax.”

She almost grabbed his hand and dragged him. Truth was, she hadn’t been anxious to have sex with Horatio. It was mediocre at best, and she was left feeling restless and unsated. She had used her own hand to find pleasure until now. Until Caleb had used his to bring her the most pleasure she’d ever experienced. She wanted more.

“We should bring the bedrolls.” She turned to get hers when he stopped her.

“Trust me.”

This time, she didn’t deny it but she didn’t confirm it either. Somehow in the last four days, this ranger who had come to her land to throw her off it had become her friend of sorts, a man she trusted with her life. Rory raised her brows and smiled instead.

He smiled back and took her hand. His thumb swept back and forth across her hand, leaving a trail of tingles in its wake. They traveled straight up her wrist to her arm to her entire body. Her nipples peaked beneath her shirt, rubbing against the cotton with each step she took. It was erotic in the most mundane setting imaginable. Excitement raced through her and she could only wait impatiently for the pleasure she knew was forthcoming.

Around the back of the shack were three trees whose trunks were wrapped around each other, forming a natural seat. Vines grew around them, giving the seat a cushion of green. It almost looked like a small bed.

“That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.” She approached the trees, enchanted by the unusual sight.

“I spotted this a few years ago when I was first working as a ranger. Shame that no one lives nearby to use it.” He raised one brow. “Then again, we’ve got privacy because no one is around.”

Her heart thumped but she kept her expression neutral. However she couldn’t stop the urge to crawl up onto the tree bed. It wasn’t as soft as a feather bed but it wasn’t too far from a straw mattress. She laid back, her hands behind her head, and stared up into the tops of the trees. It was so peaceful, with birds chirping, squirrels chattering and bees droning nearby.

Caleb crawled up beside her and lay back, mimicking her pose. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Mmmm, it’s perfect.” She closed her eyes and breathed in fresh air. It was wonderful to not be riding Cora. Her body had barely recovered from the injury and fever. She was exhausted from the ride, but the promise of Caleb’s touch kept her body on edge.

He leaned up on one elbow and looked down at her. “I’m going to agree with you on that.”

Her eyes flew open and she tried to read his expression. What did he mean? He was staring at her when he said it. Did that mean he thought she was perfect? Ridiculous thought.

“Are we going to do anything other than admire the trees?”

Caleb barked a laugh. “You are one of a kind, Aurora.” He bent down and kissed her, his lips hot and smooth against hers. He kissed and nibbled his way across her mouth then back. His tongue lapped at the seam of her lips until she opened her mouth, then she was lost.

His mouth fused with hers, the heat from their kisses alone enough to singe her eyebrows. Then his hands start moving, sliding up and down her body, sneaking beneath her shirt and trousers, caressing skin and leaving goosebumps behind.

Oh yes, Caleb was going to give her the most she’d ever received from a man. She laid there, enjoying every second of his touch, her body happy to be off the mule and pleased to be finding pleasure with a man.

His nimble fingers unbuttoned her shirt, spreading it wide for his mouth to feast on her aching breasts. His tongue laved and nibbled, then he pulled the nipple into his mouth and sucked hard. She closed her eyes and let herself give up any pretenses. This was what she wanted.

When he lifted his hot mouth, the breeze made her nipple pucker more. He removed her trousers with little effort, then she heard the sound of him shucking his own clothes. She opened her eyes and looked.

Oh my.

Caleb Graham was blessed with a classically beautiful body. Honey touched skin stretched over muscle and bone in a perfect balance. His chest was covered in whorls of light brown hair, circling flat nipples and leading down his belly to that which stood at attention between his thighs. His cock rose from the nest of curls cupping the staff. Oh yes, he had been granted more than his share of gorgeous maleness.

She swallowed hard, knowing she probably looked foolish with wide eyes and quite possibly drooling.

“Like what you see?” He grinned, unrepentant and full of pride.

“As a matter of fact, yes.” Her response knocked a bit of the cocky out of his expression. “I’d like to experience it up close though.”

He shook his head. “You will continue to surprise me, right?”

“I hope so, otherwise my plan is foiled.” She crooked her finger at him. “I don’t want to be lying out here buck naked all day, Ranger. Let’s get busy.”

“Never let it be said I didn’t do what you told me to.” He climbed up onto the bed of tree trunks.

As soon as his body made contact with hers, she gasped at the sensation. Pure heat, hard and intense, washed over her. He nudged her legs apart and his staff tapped against the side of her thigh. She was wetter than she’d ever been, eager to feel him within her, rubbing and thrusting.

Up close, his beautiful eyes were like the Gulf of Mexico after a storm. Now they were dilated with arousal. She cupped his cheeks and pulled him down for a kiss. As his mouth plundered hers again, she wiggled her hips a bit. He crept closer, the head of his cock teasing her entrance.

She groaned and yanked at his shoulders although it was more like a scratch given her strength at the moment. He slid in an inch then back out, once, twice, three times. Her body clenched, trying to hold onto him but he slipped out each time. It was an incredible tease and she loved every second of it.

Soon he was going deeper, lingering longer, thrusting harder. She met him stroke for stroke, her body tingling. He let her mouth loose and kissed his way down her neck to her breasts. The man certainly liked her nipples. Yet when his teeth closed around the right one, she was surprised to find an orgasm building inside her.

She tugged at his hair, needing more, harder, faster. He picked up the pace, pounding into her as he continued to make her nipple sing with his teeth and tongue. Then she fell off a precipice, her body alive with a million points of light at once. She scratched at his back, her voice stolen by the waves of ecstasy crashing through her.

He grunted, then buried himself deep within, pulling her along for another round of pulses of pleasure. She could hardly breathe, much less think, floating in a sea of what she could only identify as bliss mixed with a bit of joy. His weight pressed down on her and she pinched his arm.

“You’re crushing me, Ranger.”

He rolled off her, landing on his side. “I think you can call me Caleb.”

She ignored him and focused on the floating sensation she had found. It was incredible, more than she ever imagined it could be like between a man and a woman. Horatio had been a bumbling fool with a good heart, but Caleb had brought her to a place she never knew existed.

Her heart fluttered and thumped once, hard. She was afraid the ranger had come to mean much more than a man. Now that she’d had a taste of his passion, knew what lurked beneath the hard exterior, she found he was a man she could fall in love with. Something she never, ever expected.

When the breeze caressed her skin again, she shivered, but this time it wasn’t from pleasure or from cold. She was scared.

Caleb slipped his clothes back on and then helped Rory do the same. She could barely keep her eyes open by the time he finished buttoning her shirt. Although she protested, he picked her up from their leaf-lined bed in the trunks of the trees and carried her to the shack. Benjy was a lump in the corner, snoring softly.

He laid Rory beside the boy, tucking the bedroll around her. She looked up at him with her amber eyes half-open. He saw shadows of something in her expression but the gloom of the shack didn’t give him a clear view. Then she rolled over and pillowed her head on her arm. Within seconds, she slept.

The ride had been hard on the two of them, but especially Rory. She was weak from the fever and wound, and what had he done? Fucked her in the woods without regard for her exhaustion or her healing body. He was a rutting fool, driven by his base instincts to own the woman.

He shouldn’t have touched her but hell, she invited him to. Nearly insisted he take her. Now he regretted it. At least part of him did. The other part, well, it was running wild and doing stupid things like craving Rory’s company and falling in love with her.

If asked, he would deny it, but if he were brutally honest with himself, he had fallen for the gruff lady blacksmith. The unusual, strong, amber-eyed vixen had completely bewitched him. Now he was helpless to stop the downward slide he found himself in.

He walked out to the animals and led them to the same spot behind the shack. The beasts immediately started feasting on the sweet, succulent grasses growing in the shade of the trees. He unsaddled them and rubbed them down. They had served their humans well and deserved a rest too. Caleb found a bucket without a handle half-buried in the dirt. He wiggled it out and followed the sound to a small creek nearby. After rinsing the bucket, he filled it and carried it back to the animals.