Braving the Storm (Crimson Ridge #2)

Chapter 22

D oes that make you want to fuck, darlin’?

I’m so horny for this man. I’m almost certain my blood has turned to flames.

Damn him for taking all of a few minutes to not only show me exactly how he can make my body do things I didn’t even know it could do, but then for being able to calm my panic and turn me on all in one knee-buckling kiss.

There is absolutely no way my legs work. Not after that orgasm. Not after the way he just claimed my mouth and made me taste myself. Especially not after how easily he just proved to me that I’ve gladly lost my sanity and have chosen to dive headlong into the deepest of waters.

“Please. Yes. I want to… I want you so badly.” My fingers come up to rest over his wrist, the one still wrapped around my throat like a collar.

“Tell me what I need to know.”

For a second, I’m so completely struck by him, his hard planes of muscle, his tattoos, his unruly hair I never want to stop sinking my fingers into, that I can’t imagine what else he could possibly want to know.

Then, his meaning hits me .

Oh, right.

Sex.

The talk.

“I’m all clear, and I’m on birth control.” I gulp. Please don’t ask me when the last time was that I had sex with anything non-battery-operated. I’ve already died in an inferno of embarrassment in front of this man enough for one lifetime.

Yet, for some reason, he's not disgusted by the mess I just made.

I just gushed all over him like a fountain, which had never happened to me before. I’ve heard of squirting, but didn’t think my body would ever…

He flexes his fingers, watching my mouth with open hunger, and I straight up whimper again. Each time he does, every sinful little point of added pressure makes my clit throb in response.

“I’m clear, too.” Storm’s voice is rough. So beyond sexy, I’m afraid my pussy is never going to recover after my time here ends. But I quickly thrust that niggle in my brain to one side. We’re not thinking about that right now.

We’re also trying really, really hard to believe this man—this living, breathing sexual fantasy—when he says he’s all clear. I want to believe and trust him so badly, I really do, but my mind drifts back to the bar…

His impossibly blue gaze tracks mine, flickering across my eyes. I see the moment he recognizes the hesitation in me. This man sees straight into my bruised and cheated-on heart and the instinctive distrust that lurks there like a parasite.

Before I know what’s happening, his strong arms hoist me up and he crosses the distance to the edge of the kitchen counter. My bare ass is deposited straight on the cool surface, and his expanse of muscled, bare chest, an ocean of tattoos, fills my vision when Storm braces his palms on either side of my hips. Leaning down, he makes sure we’re level. Eye to eye.

“What’s going on inside that head?”

I open my mouth to try and insist that it’s nothing, that I’m too young, too insecure for a sex god like him, that he should by all rights just ignore me because I’m clearly an idiot… but his brows draw together, and a click of his tongue is all he needs to do to force me to come out with it.

My brain is still swimming in a sea of oxytocin and dopamine in the aftermath of how masterfully he just played my body, and I ineloquently blurt out words without thinking.

“What about the other women you’re with? You know, the ones losing their things inside your truck.”

Storm’s face softens, and god, if that doesn’t make my stupid little heart leap straight out of my chest. He lifts the hand tattooed with his name, the same one that has teased my pussy, collared my throat, and now allows those inked fingers to absently play with a loose curl framing my face.

The enormity of contrasts present in this man are so striking, so arresting, I feel like I can hardly get enough air in my lungs when he treats me to such a delicate little gesture.

“I know you don’t trust easily, but, here it is all the same, Briar. Over winter, the weather here can turn to shit real fast.” He rubs the strands of my hair between his fingertips. “A couple of months back, a snow front rolled in unexpectedly, and between myself, Sheriff Hayes, and a few others we offered transport home for anyone in Crimson Ridge who had gotten caught out by the conditions. I helped a group of the bar staff and patrons get home safely. That girl was nothing more than a moment in time when I helped a stranger amid a group of other strangers.”

The blue in his eyes holds me so firm. There’s only truth to his words, even though I’m so quick to leap to assuming he’s no different from the people I’ve been surrounded by my whole life.

Using the backs of his fingers he strokes my cheek, then drops that same hand down to slip beneath the hem of my sweater. “I’ve got a reputation I’m well aware of, Briar, as much as I might wish it were possible, I can’t change who I was in the past. Rumor is rumor, and I’ve learned the hard way there’s no stopping that, but I haven't been with anyone for a long time. ”

As he speaks, so level, so sure, in a deep tone that leaves me a little breathless, those large palms roam up from my hips beneath my top, over my ribs, until he reaches my aching breasts. With the deft kind of touch a gruff, surly cowboy like him shouldn’t have, he begins thumbing the peaks of my nipples through my bra.

I nearly float off the kitchen counter. Forget this entire conversation, I need this man to play with my tits all day long. The throb in my clit has now spread, blooming into a pounding heartbeat between my thighs.

“Ok.” Do I sound like I’m ready to start moaning for this man again? With the way he’s managed to reignite my entire body, I’m about two seconds from grabbing hold of his belt.

“And just so we’re understanding each other perfectly, while we’re doing this, you so much as look at another man’s hat, I’ll stomp the fucker’s chest better than any bull.”

“His hat?” I trap my bottom lip between my teeth, mostly to stop the slutty noises threatening to escape with each passing motion of his thumbs stroking over my hardened nipples.

“You want a hat, you wear mine. All of this, you’re giving to me, and I don’t give a fuck if it’s in secret or not… no one else comes near what belongs to me.”

God, I want to climb this cowboy.

“Briar, this thing you want…” Storm tortures my nipples some more, because he seems really intent on having me entirely under his spell. “Even though you’ve given me control, it still has limits, you understand?”

“Limits?” I’m getting ready to pout when he shakes his head with a wry smile. Already guessing my immediate protest dangling on my tongue.

“Let’s call it boundaries. There will be moments, days, when you might not want it. There needs to be something in place so you can easily lay that line down, and it lets me respect that.”

“Oh. Have you… have you done this kind of thing before?” My heart is thrumming in my neck .

“Not as any kind of agreement like this. But I’m familiar with the concept.”

My head is trying to reconcile what he’s saying, but as I watch on he does something entirely unexpected. His hands slip from beneath my top. With practiced movements, he removes his leather cuff and takes my wrist in his hold. Lifting my hand, he then proceeds to wrap the leather around my wrist. It feels warm and supple and sits loosely over the protruding bone, even though he’s fastened it as tight as it will go. The deep brown hues and textures have a swirling pattern embossed into the surface, but it’s been worn and faded with so much life lived.

Storm rubs his thumb over the cuff while holding my arm. “If you’re wearing that, then it’s on… whenever, wherever… but if you need to take a break or you’re not feeling the mood, you can leave it off, and I promise I’ll always respect that, ok?”

Well, shit. I’m very ready to be the perfect slut for this man because I think he just unlocked a new desire inside me. Having the possessive, subtle weight of that strip of leather fitted neatly around my wrist just turned me into the horniest devil alive.

“Storm.” I breathe. Staring at him, utterly transfixed. “We can’t tell anyone about this. I don’t want to fuck your life up with more stupid rumors… it’s too easy for people to misunderstand…”

He kisses my palm, taking every remaining shred of sanity with that point of contact between his wet mouth, plush lips, and scratching rasp of stubble against the fleshy part of my hand. “While I hate to say it, I agree… not that I give a fuck what other people think or say—and there’s no possible way I would allow anyone in this world to speak shit about you and still have their teeth left intact—but, I’d rather we keep things between us. If that’s what you want?”

My stomach flips, and a giddy rush pours through me at the way his voice rumbles and dips low. As he speaks against my palm, keeping me snared in his blue eyes, it’s like he means every single word and fully intends to protect me from anything and anyone that might lurk beyond that door .

The subtle dip of my chin is all it takes.

I’m in desperate danger of falling for this man. My uncle. My Storm.

“So… is the cuff staying on, or coming off for the rest of tonight, darlin’?” Hitting me with a look that could melt panties, if I had any on, he rubs an enquiring, tempting thumb back and forth over the leather strap.

I’ve been so neglected and unwanted for so long; this thing he’s agreed to, it makes my head spin. To possibly feel desired for the first time? To have someone given the permission and control to use me, to expose me to everything I’ve been missing, to feel like they can’t go five minutes without touching me… I’m swept away by the idea that this cowboy can take whatever he wants.

“It stays on.” My pulse thuds relentlessly. I’m so beyond ready to experience every single aspect of this man in every way possible.

Fuck me. Use me freely. Those words want to burst past my lips. I want to seal my mouth to his and tell him all that and more through experiencing another of those simply life-altering kisses.

I didn’t know what I wanted until he charged into my life, and now here we are on the precipice of something that no one else would understand. But it feels so unbelievably right, so safe with him.

Storm blows out a heavy exhale and curses softly, reverently, under his breath. Then moves.

“Arms up.” Those strong hands fist my sweater while his gruff command sends a fresh wave of arousal through my pussy. He tugs it up over my head, tossing it somewhere, before moving to my bra.

“These fucking tits have been driving me to distraction.” His eyes drag across my bare skin as he takes no time to unhook the clasp, then slips the straps down my shoulders, ridding me of that, too. Goosebumps erupt along my arms. This man is so determined, so sensual, and confident with each step I could almost get lost in the fantasy of imagining he might’ve already planned this in his head long before tonight .

Sliding a palm beneath my knee, he hooks my leg, and the movement tips me back slightly, forcing me to lean on my hands. This position arches my spine and shoves my tits forward, and as he peels my socks off one by one—an act that shouldn’t feel like foreplay, yet he somehow uses those tattoos and muscles and makes the whole thing entirely erotic—I’m left in no doubt that was his devious intention all along.

My breasts ache, feeling heavy and full, with nipples so hard he could simply breathe on them and I might fall apart again.

I love the sheer hunger in his eyes, unrestrained and without hesitancy, as he looks me over. The tiniest, sexiest smirk plays on his lips. He’s far too confident, far too self-assured in this.

Meanwhile, I’m panting and throbbing all over, ready to lay myself down right here on this countertop for him to do whatever he pleases.

“Goddamn… you know I might just have you walk around here being my perfect slut without a top on every chance I get, little thorn. That way, I can play with these perfect tits any time I want.”

As he speaks, he pinches one causing me to cry out, involuntarily producing a desperate noise, then gets a real spark in his eyes. I watch on, spellbound, as he plucks his hat off the counter and places it on my head.

"My pussy." He runs his thumb along my jaw, tilting it up for him. “My hat.” Blue eyes flick up appreciatively as his voice drops into a lower, even more seductive tone. " My cuff. "

Storm holds my eyes as he drops forward to take one of my nipples in his mouth, and I lose a little more of a grasp on reality as my entire body quakes with pleasure. The warm, wet glide of his tongue and lips sucking and licking the tight bud drives me insane. I’m a mess of desperate pleas and the kinds of noises that perhaps, come morning, I might be embarrassed or self-conscious about… right now, I don’t fucking care.

He lavishes attention over both of my breasts, roaming his lips across the swell of them, and flicks my hardened peaks with his tongue until I’m writhing for him .

“ Mmmfuck . You’re so responsive. I think you love that idea, don’t you? Letting me do whatever I want to your tits. Would you like them covered in my cum?”

The horniest sound escapes me, unbidden.

Apparently I like that idea. A lot.

That makes him chuckle, dark and desirous against my aching breasts. But he moves now, unbuckling his belt fast and pushing down the waistband of his briefs as he stands between my slick thighs—the evidence of just how much of a complete mess I am for this man before me.

“Please. Please, Storm.” The sizable length of him makes my pussy clench and stomach swoop. My eyes fixate on his fist as he strokes himself leisurely, hungry eyes watch me as I watch him . I’m struggling to remember if I’ve ever seen a man thick and erect and veined like this beyond secretly watching porn. He’s bigger than anyone I’ve ever been with before, and I feel the urge that I want to taste him too. I want to feel the velvety weight of him on my tongue.

But more than that, I want him inside me.

Storm seems to match my urgency, fisting himself, he swipes his thumb over the head, where there’s a bead of wetness, and a devilish glint catches fire behind his eyes.

Leaning closer, he raises that hand to my mouth, allowing the weight of his rigid cock to bob between us. That thumb, covered in a smear of him, is forced into my mouth, coating my taste buds in the salty, tangy hint of release leaking out of his tip. A tantalizing hint of what sucking him down, letting him invade my mouth, how richly satisfying that would be. It feels hypnotic, powerfully so, to know that this is the effect someone as inexperienced as me could have on his body.

He guides the head of his cock to brush over my pussy for the first time, and I feel like my heart is in my throat. How can it feel so good already, and he’s barely touched me?

“You're gonna watch everything. Watch the way your cunt stretches around me, see how eager you are to swallow everything, to draw me into you. Feel how you’re making a mess, dripping, and eager to be filled, so fucking wet and perfect.” As he speaks, he rubs himself through my slickness, nudging at my entrance when he dips down, encouraging my hips to chase his dick, to chase what I’m so hungry for, and he damn well knows it.

“Just the tip to start.” Storm brackets one of my thighs and presses the head of him forward with the other, dragging a whimper out of me. “Need to feel you fit perfectly around me.”

He lets out a dark, sexy as all hell groan as the tip of him slips inside. My eyes are riveted to the spot where his dick presses and inches forward into my body perfectly. The stretch of him is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, yet feels so insanely good.

I’m in complete and utterly devastating trouble. I already know it. I already feel it. Somewhere deep inside every cell, a little thing just clicked into place, and I’m not sure I’ll survive this man.

“Goddamn, you’re so tight, this little pussy of yours has had nothing but a toy and your fingers to keep you satisfied, hasn’t it? But that’s not enough for someone as precious as you, darlin’. You deserve to be fucked properly. You deserve to be stretched around my cock all day long, taking my dick like you were fucking made for this.”

Storm uses his free hand to hook my other leg, spreading my knees obscenely wide and shifting me into the perfect position for his needs, and starts to move. Pushing his way slowly forward, wedging inside me on a slick glide. The horny mess that he reduced me to has ensured I am absolutely drenched, my pussy unbelievably ready to welcome him into my body.

“Oh my god… it’s so good… please… I need more.” I’m panting, having to balance myself on my palms in order to keep watching, because I can’t fucking stop watching. The sight is so erotic. So wicked. As much as I want to run my fingers all over him and dig my nails into those muscles, I also love that this position feels like he’s got so much control. It’s sending me into a shivering mess of pleasure that he’s using me like this, right here on the kitchen counter .

And yet, it somehow makes me feel powerful at the same time. He’s spilling filthy words, staring at my pussy being stretched around his cock, and yet there’s so much desire in his voice.

I’ve never had someone make me feel so wanted before.

“ Storm . God. I need you.”

It seems to please him to hear me beg because he makes another one of those rumbling sort of noises, and I feel it in every inch of my body, right down to my curled toes. “Watch how you try to suck me deeper, every time I feed you a little more, your sweet little cunt is begging for everything, trying to pull me in. I can feel you squeezing, trying to milk my cock already. So greedy. But that’s why we’re going slow this time, because there’s a whole night ahead when I plan to have you stuffed full of my cock. Watching you take me like this is fucking perfect.”

That’s the moment he sinks forward all the way to the hilt, and I can’t help the loud moan that bursts from me. I’m doing absolutely everything he said, my pussy is clamping down around him, squeezing, trying to encourage him deeper.

It’s so full having him inside me like this. The stretch is beyond anything I could imagine as he pulls back right to the tip before pressing forward again.

We both make noises that echo how intense this moment is, how much this feels like the most perfect, terribly bad choice the two of us could ever make.

Then, he’s pumping into me. Long, torturous glides where he withdraws almost to the tip and shoves all the way forward. Again and again. The slick, wet sounds of fucking fill the air, and I’m coiled so tight from how much he’s teased my body already that my orgasm flies headlong toward me.

I desperately want this to draw out, to last longer, but I’m gone and being sucked under already.

“Fuck… oh god… I think… I’m gonna come again…” There’s no stopping it, I don’t know how he’s managed to control my body and spin me out of my head so fast and so thoroughly, but it’s right th ere.

“That’s it. Come the fuck all over my cock, darlin’.” He moves like a whirlwind. One hand collars the front of my throat in a firm hold that is absolutely my undoing, while the other snakes between us to find my clit, and he sinks so deep I feel him invade every inch of my sanity.

I tumble head over heels. Moaning and clenching around him. Clinging to his forearms for balance—or maybe sanity. Gasping for air in between my whimpers and moans.

It’s so powerful I must blank completely. When my brain comes back online, our mouths are fused together, and my pussy is still rippling and squeezing around him as my climax keeps on rolling through in languid waves.

Storm grunts against my mouth and scoops beneath my ass to lift me against his body.

“Fuck. You’re going to give me so much more of that. You’re going to be coming all night long. My perfect little slut who was made to take my cock like a dream.” With those filthy words that don’t feel like anything but being coated in praise, he carries me to the bedroom, his length still buried deep inside me.

And as he tumbles us both down onto the bed, his hat tipping off onto the floor, I have no doubt he’s going to make good on that very promise.