Falling Hard (Colorado High Country #3)

  He closed the distance between them, unbuckled his belt, and drew it slowly through the loops. “Give me your wrists.”

  Her pupils dilated, her gaze falling on the leather belt. “What are you going to do with me?”

  “Everything.”

  He caught her by one hand, drew her over to one of the big bedposts, then turned her to face away from him and used his belt to bind her wrists to the carved wood. He made sure the belt was tight, but not painfully tight.

  He moved around to the other side, kissed her lips, and unzipped his fly. He wasn’t wearing underwear tonight, so his erection sprang free, the naked anticipation on her face making him even harder. While she watched, he gave himself a few lazy strokes. “I’m going to make you beg for every inch of this.”

  “You’ll beg first.”

  “A challenge?” He was game.

  He moved to stand behind her, shifted her hair to the side, and kissed her neck, nipping and licking that sensitive skin. She’d worn perfume—just a touch—its musk mingling with the clean scent of her skin, filling his head. “Ellie.”

  He let his hands have their way, running them over the swells of her breasts and down her belly, over the silky skin of her back and bare ass, beneath the garters on her thighs, savoring the feel of her. Then he reached inside her bustier, and cupped both breasts, his lips finding her pulse. Her nipples pebbled against his palms, inviting him to pluck them, flick them, rub them.

  She gave a little gasp, her eyes drifting shut, her hips shifting, her body telling him everything he needed to know.

  He kept up the onslaught, knowing how sensitive her nipples were. His mouth found her earlobe. He sucked, bit down gently.

  She shivered, her hips moving from side to side.

  He brushed his lips over the soft skin of her shoulder, bit her, soothed the pain with a kiss.

  She moaned.

  He let one hand drift down her belly to cup her. “You’re already wet.”

  He pressed the heel of his hand against her just above her clit, made slow circles, increasing the pressure until her head fell back. “I can do this all day.”

  It was a lie, but she couldn’t know that.

  She wriggled her ass, pushing all that sexy back at him, brushing it against him. “I don’t think so.”

  Okay, so maybe he wasn’t fooling her.

  Still, he kept it up, both hands busy, one between her legs, the other teasing an eager nipple. He could feel the tension inside her, could see the arousal on her face, but she wasn’t ready to yield yet.

  He caught her clit between two fingers, tugged on it, stroked it. “You are so swollen.”

  She didn’t have a witty comeback this time, her fists clenched against the bedpost, her thighs parting to make room for him.

  He found her entrance, teased it with slow circles, sliding just a fingertip inside her—enough to tantalize but not enough to satisfy.

  She moaned in frustration.

  He pushed his hips forward, rubbed his cock against her lower back, just to let her know what she was missing. The friction made him hornier, too. He ached to be inside her, ached to fill her and bring them both release.

  And then she broke. “Fuck me, Jesse. Please.”

  He reached into his pocket, pulled out a condom, and rolled it over his erection, then moved the red strap of her thong aside, forcing her legs wider apart with his knee. He gave a little nudge, buried just the head of his cock in her. “Like this?”

  She whimpered. “More. Please.”

  He pushed himself in another inch, then withdrew. “Was that what you wanted?”

  She laughed, the sound more of a moan, her hips canting backward in invitation. “No! All of you inside me. Please. Please, Jesse.”

  He entered her again, slowly filling her inch by inch until he was buried to his balls. “God, Ellie.”

  “Yes!”

  He’d meant to go slowly, but they were already past that point. He pounded himself into her, one hand busy with her clit, the other grasping her hip. His thrusts rocked her, lifted her onto her toes, desperate moans rolling from her throat.

  She drew in a breath, held it, then cried out, ecstasy lighting up her face as she came, her muscles contracting around his cock. He rode out her climax, driving her pleasure home with deep thrusts, then shattered, ecstasy shaking him apart.

  Ellie lay back against Jesse in the sunken hot tub, her body replete, jets sending up streams of little bubbles around them. A big arm encircled her waist, his hand playing lazily with one of her breasts. The empty bottle of champagne sat on the floor within arm’s reach, two flutes beside it.

  “Tell me your fantasies.” His voice was deep and sleepy.

  “My fantasies? You mean like sexual fantasies?”

  “Yeah. Tell me every secret, dirty detail.”

  She found herself blushing—and she hadn’t said anything yet. She’d never talked about her fantasies with a man before. “Well, I liked that tonight—being tied up. It might be nice to be tied to the bed spread eagle, you know?”

  “Mmm. Tell me more.”

  “I’ve always wanted to be fucked up against the wall, but that would probably be hard work for you.”

  “I’m hard just thinking about it.” He gave her a little nudge with his hips, revealing his erection. “Ever want to play doctor?”

  “No. That would make me feel like I was at work, and, believe me, I think very differently about the human body when I’m at the hospital than I do when I’m with you. You don’t want to go there.”

  He chuckled. “Got it.”

  “I like it when you’re forceful.”

  “Really?”

  “I’ve thought about having you shave me.”

  “You mean… here?” He reached down, cupped her.

  “Yes.”

  “Jesus.”

  “And I like your bad-boy vibe.”

  “My … what?”

  “You know—the bad-boy vibe. Okay, so you’ve spent your life working as one of the good guys, but put you in black leather, and you’d look like a biker with those muscles and those tats.”

  He seemed to find this funny. “Good to know.”

  Chapter 17

  A call from the front desk woke them both at five. Ellie whimpered in protest and snuggled deeper into Jesse. “I don’t want to.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t think you have a choice.”

  She didn’t. She dragged herself out of bed, her body pleasantly sore, and packed her things together, throwing on a pair of jeans and a sweater. By the time she was ready to go, he’d carried the leftover food to his SUV and had driven the vehicle around to the lodge’s door for her.

  The sun hadn’t yet risen, tiny flakes drifting in a cold wind.

  “More snow.”

  Jesse grinned, as if this were good news. “Yeah. They’re saying we’ll get another six inches tonight.”

  “That’s not so much.”

  “That’s not what you were telling me last night.”

  That made her laugh. “I bet you’re bigger than six inches.”

  “I wasn’t going to point that out myself, but since you mentioned it...”

  They arrived at her house to find Cedar and Claire ready to go and the twins still asleep. Jesse helped Claire out to the car while Cedar carried their overnight bags.

  “Thanks.” Ellie gave her sister a kiss.

  “You’re welcome.” Claire lowered her voice to a whisper. “Details.”

  Ellie changed the sheets on her bed—again—and then crawled under the covers, Jesse joining her, the two of them still dressed. And for a while, they slept.

  It was just after seven when a little voice woke Ellie.

  “Mama?”

  “You can sleep,” she said to Jesse. “I’ll get them changed and make breakfast.”

  “You handle them. I’ll make the grub.”

  It was almost like being a family—Ellie changing the twins’ wet diapers and getting them dres
sed, Jesse in the kitchen, the two of them sharing the work of getting the day on its feet. It was just one of many things she’d never gotten to experience because of Dan’s death.

  She had no one with whom to share the day’s chores and responsibilities or all the cute little things Daisy and Daniel did each day, the funny things they said. Yes, her parents and sister helped, and she took lots of photos and talked about her day with Claire and her parents. But this past week with Jesse had shown her that it was very different to have someone in the house to live those moments with her.

  She combed Daisy’s hair into pigtails, then followed the twins out to the kitchen. Full of energy, they chattered with each other and with Jesse, who probably couldn’t understand a word of their toddler talk.

  “What are you making?” She peered over his shoulder.

  “Scrambled eggs, pancakes, and coffee.” With his height and his broad shoulders, he dominated the small kitchen—and somehow managed to look sexy doing it.

  In fifteen minutes, he had food on the table.

  Ellie cut up the kids’ pancakes and drizzled them with maple syrup, then sat, the mingled scents making her mouth water. “This is amazing.”

  He took a sip of coffee. “I guess I need to make breakfast for you more often.”

  The idea that there might be more mornings like this warmed her like sunshine, but she hadn’t forgotten what he’d said about not being good with relationships or kids—or that he’d almost risked his life in a game of Russian roulette with a mountain.

  Don’t pin your hopes on this, on him.

  “Have you told the kids where we’re going today?” Jesse asked.

  She shook her head. “Daisy and Daniel, we’re going to see some horsies and some cows today. What does a cow say?”

  “Mooooo,” Daisy answered, then giggled.

  Daniel echoed her. “Mooooo.”

  Jesse nodded. “Well, they’ve got that down.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “Do what?”

  “Skijoring.”

  “Hell, yeah.”

  “Hell, yeah,” said Daisy.

  Jesse looked wide-eyed at her. “Whoa. Damn.”

  “Damn,” said Daisy.

  Ellie had just taken a sip of coffee and had to fight not to choke. “I warned you.”

  “What’s wrong with skijoring?”

  “Nothing—if you don’t mind breaking bones or risking your life.”

  “I watched last year. No one died.”

  “Two guys got hauled to the hospital in ambulances, remember? I just don’t want you to get hurt.” There was no sense in arguing with him about it. The man climbed rocks for fun, played with explosives at work, and probably skied double-black diamonds without a single thought.

  “You’re worried about me?”

  “Of course, I’m worried,” she snapped, then noticed he was smiling. She reached over, took his hand. “I care about you.”

  He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.

  After breakfast, Jesse helped clean up, then headed home to get his gear.

  Ellie called in to let the Wednesday playgroup know they weren’t coming, then packed the diaper bag with an extra change of clothes and some snacks. She didn’t want the kids to overheat in the car, so she zipped them into their coats and packed a second bag with their snowsuits, boots, hats and an extra pair of mittens each. She had all of it ready by the time Jesse pulled into her driveway.

  “Is there anything else I should bring—food, a first-aid kit,” she asked as they carried the kids’ car seats to his SUV.

  “We’re going to a ranch, not the seventeenth century.”

  She climbed into the passenger seat, and they were off.

  “Holy fucking shit.” Jesse stared at the Wests’ house. “That’s their house?”

  It was a mansion. Built of stone and logs, it was massive, with floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto the surrounding mountains. Stone chimneys jutted upward from the multi-pitch roof, smoke curling against the gray sky. The front door was set back from a portico driveway accented by a colonnade of polished logs. Off to one side stood several enormous outbuildings, including what looked like a large horse barn complete with several corrals.

  Ellie stared, too. “I’ve heard about it, but I’ve never been here before.”

  “I was expecting a log house like in Bonanza or something.”

  She looked at him and laughed. “Bonanza?”

  Jesse drove around to the back of the house and stared again, ogling the multiple-car garage that was attached at the rear. “I thought Jack West served as a Ranger. Rangers don’t make this kind of money.”

  “His family has owned this piece of land for three or four generations. They’ve done really well for themselves with horse breeding.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Did you tell them the kids and I were coming, too?”

  “Yeah. Nate said he was fine with that.”

  “Nate is a marine. He and Dan were friends. He was horribly burned in an IED explosion. It was in the paper every day for a while—updates on how he was doing. I didn’t think he would survive, but he pulled through.”

  “He didn’t mention that he was a marine. He must be a modest guy.” Jesse climbed out, opened the rear passenger door and unbuckled Daniel, who reached for him with little arms, still clinging to his blanket. “Come here, big boy.”

  “Welcome to the Cimarron.”

  Jesse turned to see a man about his age and height walking toward him, a white cowboy hat on his head. “Hey. I’m Jesse Moretti.”

  The right side of the man’s face was badly scarred from burns, as was the hand he held out. “Nate West.” His gaze shifted to Ellie. “Hey, Ellie.”

  Jesse shook his hand. “You two know each other?”

  Of course, they did.

  “She was a few years behind me in school. I knew her husband, Dan. He was as good as they come. And these are your twins. Hey, guys.” Nate took Daniel’s hand, sadness flashing across his face. “Wow. You look just like your daddy. Come on inside and meet everyone.”

  Jesse followed him, carrying Daniel, while Ellie carried Daisy. They passed through the five-car garage—talk about a wet dream—and entered a mudroom.

  “Don’t worry about taking off your boots.” Nate led them down a hallway to a kitchen, where an older man was stirring something on the stove. “Dad, this is Jesse Moretti and Ellie Meeks and her twins. Jesse, Ellie, this is my father, Jack.”

  “Always pleased to meet another Ranger.” Jack shook Jesse’s hand, his gaze fixing on Daniel. “He looks just like Dan.”

  “That’s Daniel,” Ellie said. “And this is Daisy.”

  “Hello, there, Daniel and Daisy.” Jack’s gaze moved to Ellie. “I was sorry to hear about your loss. I knew Dan from the time he was a little boy, watched him grow up.”

  “You came to the memorial service,” Ellie said. “I remember. Thank you.”

  “Dad’s making chili for lunch.”

  Jesse inhaled. “That smells incredible.”

  “Damn straight,” said Jack.

  “Damn,” said Daisy.

  “Uh-oh.” Jack gave Ellie a sheepish grin. “I’d best watch my mouth around her. She’s a smart little cookie.”

  “Like you watch your mouth around your grandkids, Dad?” Nate chuckled. “The rest of the family is in the playroom. Let me show you around.”

  In short order, they’d gotten a tour of a home that out-classed even the luxury suite at the Scarlet Mountain Resort and met Nate’s wife, Megan, and their kids—Emily, who was eight, and Jackson, who was nineteen months old. Nate also introduced them to Jack’s wife, Janet, and their little girl, Lily, who was eighteen months old.

  Emily was fascinated with the twins. “Can they play with me?”

  “I think they’d like that.” Ellie set Daisy down.

  Jesse did the same with Daniel.

  “Why don’t you and I go
out and get started?” Nate said.

  Jesse followed Nate outside. “Have you done this before?”

  “I’ve done it on both sides of the horse.” While Jesse loaded his gear into Nate’s pickup truck, Nate went over the basics. “You’ll want to keep your mouth shut and wear ski goggles. A couple dozen horses running down the same stretch of road means a lot of horse shit. Sooner or later, a clod is going to fly up and hit you in the face.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “You don’t want to wrap the rope around your arm. That’s how you end up with a broken wrist. Just hold onto it.”

  “Got it.”

  “And no slack. Make sure the rope stays tight, or you’ll get jerked off your feet and maybe dislocate your shoulder.”

  “No slack.”

  “I’ll ride straight down the middle. You’ll use the edges of your skis to control your direction back and forth. Based on prior years, there will be three jumps, three gates to move through, and three rings at the end that you need to catch on your arm.”

  “I watched last year.”

  Nate grinned. “You’re going to love it. One last thing. The road is hard-packed snow with asphalt beneath, so if you fall, the pain is real. Don’t fall.”

  They climbed into the pickup and drove a short distance from the ranch house, past a small stone building that looked like a picnic shelter. In the distance, he could see a ranch hand holding the reins of a big palomino horse and…

  Jesse stared. Nate had put together a full-sized skijoring course complete with two six-foot jumps, a four-foot jump, a couple of gates, and even rings. “Holy shit. You never do anything half-assed around here, do you?”

  Nate chuckled. “Not if we can help it.”

  Ellie sat in the playroom talking with Megan and Janet while Emily played with the twins and the two littlest ones parallel played on the floor near their mothers. “She’s really good with them.”

  Megan smiled, her gaze on her daughter. “She’s had a lot of practice. She was so excited when she found out there were going to be two babies in the house.”

  “Does she understand that Lily is her aunt?”

  Megan nodded. “She understood before Lily was born that the baby would be her daddy’s little sister or brother. She’s always just accepted that as normal, though she was a little jealous at first when Janet came into Jack’s life. She adores Jack.”