Tempted by Trouble

chapter SIXTEEN


It was harder than hell trying to listen and make conversation while Matt’s fingers crept up her thigh. Carolina took hold of her glass, beads of sweat dripped down the side beneath her death grip. His hand skittered from her knee, between her thighs, and she shot a look at him out of the side of her eye.

He wore a blank expression — what a poker face — and she crossed her legs, clamping his fingers in a tight hold for a second. He winced and she laughed, low and short, before releasing her grasp. His hand moved to the back of her chair, and his fingers touched her hair, neck, and shoulder. Ever since the calving, he constantly touched her if she was near him. It had only been two days but he’d done everything to possess her mind, body, and breath.

“Carolina, Rory said you were there for the birth of calf. Not many women are up for the ordeal.”

“It wasn’t the first time I’ve witnessed a calving.”

“No?” Cory asked. “Whatever type of practice do you have in Miami?”

“Actually, I don’t have an office. I travel, which is pretty much the life for large animal vets. I extended the boundaries and have clients in various states.”

Brandon chimed in. “Like Doctors Without Borders. A vet without a border.”

“Sort of,” she mused. She gazed at Matt’s profile. A muscle clenched along his cheek. He was aware she’d received a request for vet services in Louisiana. Nothing long-term, but a ranch interested in buying stock wanted a vet on hand and required her ready to roll on-site by the end of the following week.

She took hold of his forearm. His muscles relaxed under her fingers and he covered her hands with his large calloused palm. He turned; his burning gaze held her steady. The conversation around the table receded.

They’d agreed to give his family the bare facts. It was the truth that they’d met because of her profession. No lie there. Not knowing what the lab report would say and how it might be interpreted placed her in the hot seat of being the person to point a finger. Yet even if she had a story formulated on the variables, everything was changing fast.

Matt had hinted at wanting to know her schedule and future plans. She didn’t know if he thought she’d have a breakdown next week when she was scheduled to fly out or if he was in the same boat as she, twisted and tore up by realizing the end loomed closer and closer.

He turned away without saying a word, removed his palm, and slipped his forearm from her grasp. Matt picked up his glass and tipped it back against his lips. His throat worked, muscular cords, and her heart stuttered.

Alone, making love, his body next to her, everything was perfect. Complications arose amidst his family, the ranch, the cattle issues.

“The calf is running about, suckling, stable. What more could we ask?” Rory stated.

“I wish I’d known is all,” Wade said.

“No one asked.” Matt interjected. “Since when do we get a curriculum vitae from anyone’s better half?”

Cory laughed. “None of my dates come and stay for weeks, big brother.”

“That’s only because you’d scare them off,” Stephen said.

“At least I remember my date’s name.” Cory snorted.

“What’s changed since yesterday?” Matt asked.

An uncomfortable silence followed. They were all talking about her as if she wasn’t present. That’s what she got for daydreaming.

Wait, did Matt just refer to her as his better half?

She glanced down at her plate, pretending that the grilled steak was more than entrancing, and took an excessive amount of time cutting a bite. She lifted her fork and his mother’s expression made her hesitate.

“Maybe we could talk after dinner while the men smoke?” Sarah asked.

“That would be lovely,” Carolina murmured. She had planned on reviewing the samples one more time. Tomorrow the preliminary lab results would be in. She suddenly felt caught. A door closing.

Matt kissed the side of her cheek. His face was closed and distant, even though he ruffled her hair. He squeezed her hand. The dishes were cleared and Sarah McLemore carried in a tray. “This house takes on a whole different personality when the men are outdoors.”

The laughter and talk was muffled and Carolina’s ears captured Matt’s deep voice. “That’s for certain.”

Sarah poured tea into the cups and handed one to Carolina. “Do you take cream or lemon?”

“Thank you for the other night. Cream. Where’s Cory?”

“My pleasure. As for Cory, I believe she’s talking on the phone. My daughter would do well with some sort of career that involved sales and telephones.”

“We were all that age.”

“You’re not that much older than she is and yet look at you. A professional. A woman who holds her own future. Commands respect.”

Carolina had the urge to turn around to see if there was someone else present that Sarah might be talking to instead of her. “I don’t know if that’s all true.”

“I know my son is taken with you.”

Carolina blinked. “Taken?” Her face heated uncomfortably. She wasn’t this woman who Sarah constructed. “You have a wonderful son. Really, he’s a remarkable man.” It took every bit of strength to speak evenly. She was a fraud and sitting here taking compliments solidified her act of duplicity.

“I’m not fishing for compliments for my child. I want to know your thoughts on him as a man.”

She swallowed. “I’m not sure it’s easy to sum up my thoughts. Every day is new.”

“Like a tornado?”

“Yes, but in a good way.”

Sarah chuckled. “Did Matt tell you anything about his brothers or father?”

“What do you mean?”

“McLemore men don’t mince words. They’re pretty set in their ways and strong willed. Have been for generations. I know that Matt is educated. He’s seen the world but he always comes back home. What I’m getting at is these are men know what they want and go after it wholeheartedly.”

The tea swirled in her cup, a vortex, and very much represented her emotional state. Here was Sarah explaining about her son and asking for clarification of her emotions. Carolina didn’t have a clue, only a yearning to stop being pulled in a million directions at once. Matt was a prize. He already was the perfect son and he’d be, without a doubt, an amazing husband and father with the right wife.

“Do you think he’s headed down the wrong path?”

“Oh, my dear, that’s not for me to say. I’m not the one to judge my son. I only wanted to know if we might see more of you after this week.”

Carolina’s lips curled. Such a southern lady. “Stranger things have happened. Did you come back right away?”

“Touché, my dear.” Sarah set her cup down. “In truth, I wanted to run like the blazes and get the heck out of here. I was in college and visiting with a friend’s family from school nearby. I met Wade dancing. That man didn’t let me get far. We were married within a week from our first meeting. Not one of those men ever stood for long engagements.”

“What about college?”

Sarah smiled sweetly, inhaled and let go of a long breath. “I never went back.”

• • •

Matt and Carolina hardly exchanged more than a couple of words going back to his house. He unlocked the front door, without so much as a word, swung her around, and slammed his hands on either side of her body. “Let me take you.”

In a moment, they were in each other’s arms. Matt pounded into her relentlessly, and Carolina knew he was telling her something about possession while making her forget the whole night. She twined her fingers into his hair and tugged. He groaned.

They were on his sofa. He gritted his teeth, and took her over the edge, deep pumping and hard grinding, his hips slanted and he hauled her over a cliff into a screaming orgasm. Only when his name was on her lips did he appear remotely satisfied.

He pulled out of her, panting, and growled, “This is only the beginning. How much of you is mine?”

“What do you mean?”

He touched her face and kissed her mouth. Tenderness turned into a hungry act. “Is your mouth mine?” he demanded, his voice a raspy snarl. “Without the smart-alecky remarks.”

“Yes,” she said without thinking.

His hands moved down her neck and then ripped open the front of her blouse. “And your breasts, are they mine tonight? To do what I want with?”

“Is this about a one-night no-holds barred?”

“Maybe. Just answer the question, Carolina.”

“Matt, you know I can’t hold back from you.”

He raised her hands above her head and pulled. They were both still somewhat dressed, with his slacks shoved down and her skirt pushed up. He pinned her beneath him, his cock brushed against her, teasing her, and then entered her again. “Really? ’Cause you’ve been holding back from me ever since we set foot in my parents’ house.”

“I don’t know what you mean. I wasn’t the one who went all cold-acting.”

“Don’t try to hide behind your words. Something’s got you spooked. I can tell you’re about to bolt. I can take hints. Just because I work on a ranch doesn’t mean I’m some shit-kicker with a dense-as-hell brain.”

“Shit, Matt. No one said dense. From where I stand, you sometimes appear a little distant.” She tried to free her arms, even though she was a fool to believe her wrists inside his grasp were going anywhere. She flexed her hip and tried to flail. He yanked her arms above her head, pushing down on her body with his weight.

“I’m not deflecting and avoiding questions. Answer me. Yes or no.”

“Yes. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I want every part of you. Every inch of you. You’ll be mine. For one night. Mine. Without reservation. Mine to do with as I wish.”

She met his gaze. So strong and self-assured, and now he wanted to be sure of her. How could he when she didn’t even know what she wanted, couldn’t even think what to want.

It had been forever since she’d gotten what she desired without some major screw-up. To wish for him only to have the rug pulled out from under her seemed more plausible.

She inhaled, a slow, long breath. “Matt, tonight I’m yours. All yours.”

“I love spending time with you, every second that I can, actually. But tonight I don’t want anything but you. Every inch. I want to listen to your sighs and moans when I’m eating your p-ssy. I want your body under me, on top of me, in front of me, on the bed, on the floor, any and every way I’ve ever imagined. I want to see the expression on your face when you’re about to come and when your orgasm is exploding, sucking the cum from my cock. I want you to tell me what it feels like when you come.”

He pulled her up from the sofa. “Are you afraid?” he asked.

She lifted her chin defiantly and pointed to her chest. “Me? Afraid of you.” She came at him. “Let me tell you something. You’d better be prepared to deliver on your sexy promises. I hope you can handle what I’ve got to give you. Man up, buck up, but don’t dry up on me. Babe, I’m ready to take this to the mat.”

Her hands snaked upward over his chest until she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She pushed her body snug to him, so close they were but a kiss away from each other. “No crying ‘uncle,’ Carolina. When we start, we won’t stop until we’re done.”

“I’m hearing hot, hard, fast sex. No courtesy. Hell, it doesn’t even sound like you want me to be nice to you.”

“I want you. With every emotion, every mood, everything. Say the word.” If his storming eyes were any indication, she’d awakened the demon inside him.

She let her gaze drop to his mouth.

“Word,” she whispered.

His mouth crashed into hers, taking her, scorching, branding, sizzling her insides. She moved her hands up his neck. Two fists filled with his hair and she pulled and bit his lip. He didn’t pull back but smashed his mouth harder down on her. He took without asking, tearing down every wall she’d erected. The kiss continued on a path of destruction, her world fighting against his. Only when she whimpered and slumped against him, did he relinquish his power, turn raw greed into tenderness, and transform fire in soothing heat.

He lifted her into his arms. “Tonight, baby, you’re completely mine. By the time we’re finished, we won’t be two separate people.”