“Damn. It’s my lucky boot,” she said of the gray boot bobbing along down the stream. Forgetting her pole, she hopped in after it. She sucked in a ragged breath as the frigid water closed in over her legs.
“Holy moly, that’s cold.”
“Avery, get out of there. Jesus, woman, just forget it. I’ll buy you another pair.”
“I can’t, they’re my lucky boots.” She rushed after it, her jeans soaked, the water level hitting at her mid-thigh. Those boots had seen her through so many tight spots. It took her a minute to catch it. At least the rocks lining the bottom of the stream were smooth and didn’t poke her feet. By the time she had retrieved the boot, it was waterlogged but, thankfully, would live to see another day. She trudged back toward Colt. The cowboy looked all big and bad as he scowled at her. He stood with his hands on his hips, his hat pushed up, and that stern look made everything melt inside her. It made her hot enough that she was surprised she didn’t turn the water into steam. Did the man really think she would let her boot go? She tossed it up on the ledge.
That was when she lost her footing. One minute, she was upright, the next, she had splashed beneath the water. The deluge was icy, but it made her hyper aware of everything as she sputtered back to the surface. When she surfaced, she snickered.
Colt stood on the embankment, the fishing rods moved out of the way, yanking his boots off like he was coming in to rescue her. She didn’t know why but that only made her laugh harder.
“You think this is funny? You’re the one all wet,” he said imperiously, with his hands on his hips. It took some of the sting out now that he was barefoot. He was still a complete badass, though, and he caused heat to curl in her belly.
Avery admired him, all big and manly with that domineering glare. It tickled her naughty streak. She gripped the hem of her tank top, never taking her eyes off him she pulled it off and tossed it in the same direction as the boot. She unhooked her jeans and shimmied out of the slick material. The jeans went the way of her tank and boot until she stood in the stream in nothing but her ivory bra and panties, which were almost invisible now that she was wet.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, his gaze black with lust as he stared.
Biting her bottom lip, she noticed the firm bulge in his jeans. “Me? Well, I’m going for a swim. It’s cold, but once you move around a bit, it’s nice. Want to come in and play?” she teased.
His eyes scorched her. “Come out of there before you freeze.”
“I have a better idea, why don’t you make me?”
“You think I won’t?”
“Well, you’ll have to catch me first, cowboy.” Then she splashed him. She hooted at his thunderous expression after the water hit him. When he began undoing the buttons on his flannel shirt, she ran toward the deep pool.
Behind her, she heard a loud splash, followed by a, “Fuck, it’s cold.”
She reached the small grotto with the waterfall. It wasn’t all that deep, only three and a half feet or so. She glanced over her shoulder and squealed. Colt was almost upon her. She raced away, giggling but determined to make the game last as long as possible.
She eluded him a few times. But the man was persistent in his chase. And more strategic than she had given him credit for when he cornered her at the waterfall.
“You’re insane.”
“It got you in here, didn’t it? So, who’s the crazy one?” She leaned up and kissed him until she was panting and aroused beyond measure. Stroking her hands over his chest, she marveled at her good fortune that had brought them together. It was a trick of fate, an accident with astronomical odds of happening at all, and yet she was happier than she could remember being in a long time.
He groaned into her mouth when her fingers brushed against the bulge in his boxers. The cold water hadn’t deflated him at all. Ending the kiss, she grabbed his hands and pulled him with her underneath the waterfall to the shrouded area behind it. It was a small rock overhang, smoothed by erosion and large enough for them to stand beneath. And secluded enough for what she had in mind.
Avery didn’t wait for an invitation, and launched herself at him. He grunted as he caught her. His hands cupped her butt as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. She moaned at the feel of him, all those rock-hard muscles flush against her. Potent need gripped her. She planted her mouth over his for a torrid kiss, and rocked her hips against that hard ridge of flesh pressing against her sex.
Kissing Colt was akin to a star being sucked into a black hole. From the moment his lips touched hers, a fiery passion rose inside her and grew exponentially until she was part of him. It was a carnal mating of tongues and lips. Avery had never considered herself an overtly sexual person. She enjoyed sex, enjoyed having a lover to while away the hours with. But this, where a simple kiss left her deaf, dumb, and blind to the outside world, was another experience altogether. It was worse than when she was involved in her work and absentminded about the time or her other responsibilities. Because she knew she couldn’t pull herself away from him.
Colt tore his mouth from hers. “Avery, Jesus.”
“Right here, right now, Colt. I need you. I meant what I said. Take me.” She panted and ground herself against his crotch.
He groaned, the hands cupping her rear tightened, and he pressed her back up against the smooth stone. He snaked a hand between them, shifted her panties aside, and lowered his boxers enough to free his beautiful cock. And then he was furrowing inside her sheath with those hard inches, pressing deep until he grazed the lip of her womb.
“Hard and fast, I need—”
He cut her off with his mouth and growled, “I know what you need, just hang on to me, dammit.”
His mouth muffled her moans as he fucked her. God, the way this man loved her… Colt just had to look at her, and she wanted him. Wanted him to screw her brains out until she couldn’t remember her own damn name.
The waterfall shielded them from the outside world so that it was just the two of them. The sounds of their lovemaking echoed in the small space. The way he filled her, plunging deep inside, with fast, urgent strokes, drove her wild. The euphoria of it, the pleasure, left her breathless. She undulated against him, reveling in the sense of freedom, in the fury of their combined need, as they raced toward a glistening peak.
When her climax hit, she sobbed his name, “Colt.”
Ecstasy exploded through her system. It was cataclysmic, shifting her entire center of gravity as she clung to him, trembling in his arms. And she felt him strain, his cock jerking as he rammed deep, and he emptied inside her with a long, husky groan.
They held each other, glued to one another, and Avery knew in that instant that she was falling for him. That could be the only explanation for the way he made her feel. But it was also a complication—a big one, when he had indicated he preferred to keep things light between them.
She had ten days left before she had to leave for Vegas. Perhaps by the time her stay was up, she would grow tired of him, she thought, even when there was a part of her that yearned for more, for him to change his mind and agree to leave with her. But she shouldn’t wish for more than he was willing to give.
Maybe this was all they were supposed to have, this glorious, world-altering love affair for the short time she stayed on the ranch.