He groaned as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. He deepened the kiss as he plunged into her mouth—tasting, teasing, tormenting—as he set them both ablaze.
She came up for breath, smiled at him, and spread her fingers across the hard muscles of his chest. She massaged him as he’d massaged her and he felt his nipples harden in response. He grasped her shoulders and eased her back against the chaise lounge as he nestled his lower body between her legs. He took a deep, shuddering breath as he cupped her breasts with both hands, feeling her soft roundness completely fill his palms.
Still he couldn’t get enough of her. He kissed her swollen lips, then trailed kisses from the corner of her mouth across the edge of her jaw to her earlobe, where he nibbled the soft flesh with his teeth. He was rewarded with her quick shiver and intake of breath. He kissed down her throat as he eased the straps of her dress off her shoulders and slowly pulled down the bodice. He glanced downward to see her round breasts with rosy tips revealed to him.
He kissed her twin mounds while he moved one hand down her body. He eased up her dress and found her hot, moist center through sheer silk. He massaged and tweaked until she writhed up against his hand, panting with need. He caught her mouth with his own and plunged inside just as she shuddered with release.
“Oh,” she gasped, breathing fast. “Let me thank you, too.” She found the bulge in his jeans, grasped the zipper, and started a slow descent.
He groaned, knowing she was tormenting him on purpose, drawing out the suspense till he could feel her hand give him what he’d been aching for since the first moment he saw her.
And in that long moment between anticipation and fulfillment, he heard the loud chirping of a cricket.
She stiffened in his arms and pulled her hand away.
Puzzled, he looked into her green eyes.
“My phone.”
“Call ’em back later.”
“Might be an emergency.”
“I’m an emergency.”
“Won’t take a minute.”
He sat up, took a deep breath, and stalked over to the table. He grabbed her phone. As he handed it to her, he glanced down. Two words glowed in the night. “Texas Timber.”
Chapter 21
Trey jerked up his zipper the inch Misty had lowered it as he watched her walk away to take her phone call from Texas Timber. He felt blindsided, but he should’ve known better. She was too perfect. She’d said all the right things at all the right times. Everybody liked her, trusted her, and wanted to be with her. She was even leading the charge to get animal oxygen kits.
And she had to be working for Texas Timber, the rattlesnake in his woodpile. How could he believe anything she’d said or done since the first moment he’d met her? Every sultry look. Every sweet kiss. Every hot touch. For that matter, maybe she didn’t even have a fire phobia that led to panic attacks. Surely she couldn’t have faked it all. But that thought might go to prove he still wanted to believe in her.
Why hadn’t he at least looked her up online? That was a quick and easy check. But he’d been fighting fires, taking care of cattle, getting ready for Christmas in the Country. He hadn’t had a free moment. But he should’ve made time. He’d involved his family, friends, and community. He sorely regretted inviting the fox into the henhouse. But he was on alert now, and all his protective instincts were in play.
One major question remained for consideration. How far was Misty willing to go to get a signature for Wildcat Ranch on a Texas Timber agreement? Start fires? Cut fences? Crawl into his bed? The first two—he had to stop. The second—well, why not? If she was willing to take advantage of him, why couldn’t he return the favor? He knew how to slip a halter on a heifer. And that wouldn’t be one bit of imposition on his part. If she was determined to get animal kits for volunteers, that was all to the better. If she wanted to help with Christmas in the Country, fine by him. If she wanted to snuggle, he wouldn’t kick her out of his bed. But he’d keep one eye open all the time.
That brought him to his second round of reasoning about his not-so-nice Christmas angel. Was she working with somebody? And if so, whom? It could be an outsider, local, or just about anybody—except his friends and family. He’d trust them to the ends of the Earth. Still, he didn’t see how she could be handling all the problems on her own, particularly since she hadn’t been in town or she hadn’t shown herself in town before now.