The Cowbear's Curvy Valentine (Curvy Bear Ranch 5) (9 page)

Chapter 9

Abby banged on the door to Cody’s bedroom. “I know you’re in there.”

The door swung open to reveal the disheveled man. How could he look so rumpled and sexy at the same time? He had a terrible case of bed head and his shirt was wrinkled in a hundred places.

As her gaze dropped lower, she sucked in a breath. He wasn’t wearing anything under the shirt. She looked away.

Dammit, focus!

She was supposed to be mad at him for talking to Madison about the trial. But it was hard to be angry with someone who could make her wetter than a river. She pressed her thighs together in an attempt to stop the rush of desire from flowing into her sex. Too late. She’d never met a man who could get her so completely aroused so quickly.

“Come in.” Cody stepped back to let her in.

After crossing the threshold, she folded her arms over her chest. In the center of the room sat a large bed. Long logs made up the frame. The blankets were pulled back, exposing the forest green sheets. Across the room, a matching dresser littered with framed photographs butted up against the window.

She moved closer to get a better look and picked up a black and white photo of a couple wearing 1960’s clothing. The woman sported a beehive hairstyle, large pouty pink lips and a tie-dyed dress.

“My mom,” Cody said.

“She’s beautiful.”

“She was.”

“She died?”

“Several years ago.”

“I’m sorry.” She set the photo down.

“I thought you were leaving,” he said.

“I am.”

“Then why are you here?”

“You had no right to talk to Madison about the trial.” She turned to confront him. “I told you some very private things.”

“I didn’t tell her much,” he said defensively.

“You should have told me you’re a bear before we had sex.” She stalked forward and poked her finger against his chest.

He grabbed her hand. “Hey, you wanted a fling. I gave it to you. Don’t try to twist what happened between us.”

“You lied to me,” she snapped.

He pulled her hard against his chest. “You need to calm down.”

“Or what?” she asked.

Cody’s eyes flashed a warning, but she didn’t care. The frustration she’d kept contained all week exploded with each forced exhale. His gaze dropped to her parted lips. She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say a word, he crushed his lips against hers.

She moaned while feebly pounding on his chest with her fists. She couldn’t be angry at him if he was kissing her. In fact, she couldn’t do anything but melt against his solid frame. As her hands slid up and tangled in his hair, he reached for her butt. He scooped her up and walked toward the closest wall. When he pressed her against it, she gasped.

“Cody, I can’t…”

“I need you, Abby. I can’t lose you right now,” he said in a tortured voice.

“This isn’t what I came for,” she whispered as his mouth dropped to her throat.

“I think it’s exactly what you came for,” he growled.

As he spread kisses across her neck, she groaned and wrapped her legs around his waist. His erection pressed against her jeans. She couldn’t catch her breath as he dipped lower to kiss the tops of her breasts. Maybe she hadn’t come with the intention of falling back into bed with him, but a surge of need coiled tight in her belly. She couldn’t stop clinging to him, even as he turned and walked her to the bed.

After unceremoniously dumping her onto it, he unbuttoned his shirt. She yanked off her sweater and reached to unzip her jeans. His hands got there first. After unzipping them, he bent to kiss her belly. He pushed the pants down over her hips. She kicked them off just as his lips closed over her panty-covered pussy.

“Oh, God.”

“And you’re not even undressed yet,” he murmured.

She hooked her fingers in her underwear, but before she could pull them off, his hands covered hers.

“Let go,” he whispered.

His gaze spoke volumes. He wasn’t just asking her to let go of her clothes, he was asking her to let go of all the anger, fear, and frustration in her life. She didn’t understand why, but in that moment, a feeling of complete peace moved through her. Logically, nothing made sense. She should be halfway back to Texas already. But in her heart, she knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

She released her grip and lay back. The look of devotion in his eyes made her heart clench. She couldn’t be falling in love with him. She hardly knew him. But she couldn’t ignore how she felt whenever she was around him. It wasn’t just the mind-blowing sex. There was more to it.

As he slid her panties down her legs, he kissed the insides of her thighs. She trembled with need. Every nerve ending in her body sang in harmony as tingles of joy raced down her spine. Maybe none of this had to make sense. Maybe trying to analyze their relationship was pointless. How could anyone quantify the attraction between two people?

His lips brushed against her sex. A jolt of crushing hunger tightened the muscles in her back. She reached for his hands and clutched them. The sensation of falling pulled her into the bed. Each lick brought her closer to the brink of total abandon. She knew she’d never reach the heights of ecstasy if she didn’t let go of the constant chatter in her brain.

When he swirled his tongue across her clit, her hips jerked. She killed the tiny voice in her head that loved to spew fear, frustration and anger. She refused to listen to it another second. Instead, she took Cody’s soft groans. He didn’t hide his need to savor every inch of her body.

As his mouth sucked and licked her delicate flesh, she arched against him. She didn’t care about his secret. Hell, she didn’t care about anything but where he was going to nibble next.

“Oh, God,” she yelped as his tongue vibrated against her.

He mumbled something she couldn’t make out.

“What?”

“You taste amazing,” he murmured.

She wanted to respond, but she couldn’t. Her mouth flew open as a long, undulating cry of pleasure burst from her throat. Twinges of orgasmic bliss sliced through her consciousness. She pulsed against his mouth, unable to keep from screaming out his name.

He quickly crawled up her body and kissed her, probably to silence her. She couldn’t help it. She’d given up on trying to reign in her feelings. She needed him in a way she’d never needed anyone before.

As he parted her thighs with his knees, she reached between them to stroke his cock. He moaned and pressed his forehead into her shoulder.

“I need you, Abby.”

“Then take me.”

In a slow, deliberate movement, he pushed into her, filling her with more than just his thick cock. He filled her with hope. Maybe she could find a way to move on with her life. Maybe Cody was the key to unlocking her future.

Each thrust brought her closer to him. Each roll of his sensual hips locked them together until she couldn’t imagine ever being apart from him.

“You’re incredible,” he whispered. “I want to watch you.”

Without warning, he rolled onto his back while dragging her up to cover him. She straddled his thick thighs and quivered as the new position pushed his cock into her at a different angle.

“Oh, God.”

“Ride me.” The urgency in his voice filled her with incredible power.

She moved over him in gentle waves until she was convinced she wouldn’t fall over. She’d never made love like this. Her other boyfriends always wanted missionary style with the lights out. Almost as if they didn’t want to actually see her. Cody wasn’t like that at all. A look of rapture crossed his face as he reached up to stroke her bouncing breasts.

“I could watch you for hours,” he said.

“I don’t think my legs will hold up for hours.” She grinned.

“We’ll see.”

She laughed and dipped to kiss his lips. His hands found her hips and guided her faster, deeper. For the first time since the trial, she felt powerful. Her confidence returned with each sway of her hips, until a heady rush of dominance pushed her over the edge.

As she plunged into a river of erotic delirium, he gripped her hips and brought her down hard. His mouth formed an O. A low, guttural moan burst from his throat as he found his release. She collapsed over him, still completely filled with his pulsing cock. She shuddered and pushed her face into the space under his chin.

For a long time, they lay like that, bound together in the throes of pleasure. She didn’t want to move for fear of ruining the moment. If she moved, they’d have to talk. And if they had to talk, then the reality of the situation would come crashing down to ruin her contentment. She wasn’t ready to let him go.

***

Cody stroked her hip as she clung to him. He wasn’t sure why she hadn’t moved yet. She was still breathing as far as he could tell, but an electric field of discontent crackled in the air. His bear sensed the slight tension in her body. Part of him wanted to ask if she was doing okay, but another part of him was afraid of the answer. Had they really accomplished anything by making love again?

When she finally stirred, he tensed. She pushed up on trembling arms and crawled to lay next to him. As she settled into the crook of his arm, his heart kicked. If he hadn’t been convinced that they belonged together before, he was now.

Told you so
, his bear snarked.

Fine, you were right.

I know,
his bear replied smugly.

“What do you dream about?” Her sudden question surprised him.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I guess I’m trying to find out if you’re normal.” She rolled onto her side and gazed up at him with shining blue eyes.

“I’m like any other man. I want to provide for my family, protect them. I want to get up and work every day to make sure the ranch is in good shape.”

“Not all men are like that,” she said.

“That’s sad. Real men take care of their families,” he said.

“My father took care of us financially, but there wasn’t a lot of affection in our house.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t get the love you needed, but that’s all in the past,” he said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Whatever happened when you were growing up is done and over with. Yes, you still have to interact with your parents, but it’s time to forge your own life. What do you dream about?”

“Painting.”

“And?”

“Love.”

He stayed silent while he considered whether or not he should confess his feelings.

“Why haven’t you fallen in love and gotten married yet?” she asked.

“I never found the right woman,” he said.

“What are you looking for?”

“Someone who wants to live a relatively secluded life. We go into town a few times a week, but this isn’t big city life. Our town’s movie theater has one screen. We don’t have a mall, not like the ones you find in big cities,” he said.

“Living in a city full of strangers is overrated. I like the idea of knowing your neighbors. I live in a condo downtown and I don’t know anyone in the building. I’ve lived there for three years. How sad is that?” she asked.

“I hear it’s pretty common. Carol moved here from New York. She told me that in a city of millions of people, she only knew a handful of them well. I’m not interested in a superficial relationship,” he said.

“Isn’t that what we’re doing?” she asked softly.

“Are we?”

When she didn’t immediately answer, a flash of hope warmed his heart.

“I don’t know what we’re doing,” she said. “Up until a few hours ago, I was ready to flee the ranch.”

“Why didn’t you?” he asked. “Did Madison convince you to stay?”

“No. She did give me some things to think about, but that’s not why I stayed.”

“Then why?”

“I couldn’t leave without seeing you again,” she said. “I don’t understand it at all, but there’s this pull I feel… I don’t know how to describe it.”

“Fate,” he said.

“Fate?”

“Have you ever heard of fated mates?” he asked.

“No. But then again, I’ve near heard of werebears.” She smiled.

He couldn’t resist leaning down to kiss her. When he pulled away, she rested her head on his bicep.

“Fated mates are two people who are destined to be together,” he said.

“That sounds so romantic… and completely impractical.”

“It’s real. Our bears know when we’ve met our mate. They have a special ability to sense it.”

“Like through smell or something?” she asked.

“Not exactly,” he said. “They just know it, on an intuitive level. Then they do whatever it takes to convince us that we’ve found our mate.”

“Have you ever found a mate?” she asked.

He considered blurting out that he had found his mate and that she was lying next to him. But he didn’t want to scare her again. He also couldn’t lie to her.