Chapter Six

L ivia felt Wolfe's stare on her long before she turned around.

Part of her wanted him to see what he'd done to her.

Part of her wanted him to see what he did to her.

When she spotted the red mark from that smack on her ass in the mirror, her blood heated. At first, she thought it was anger. Then the tingle taking up residence between her legs told her just how turned on she was by what he'd done.

She didn't explore much in the bedroom. She took lovers the way she took shots of Badlands rum—knocked them back and enjoyed the short-lived burn. Then she moved on.

As she slowly straightened and pivoted to face Wolfe, she silently dared him to comment on her choice of sleepwear. A cami and shorts girl? He knew nothing about her.

In the dim light she always left on over the range at night, Wolfe's face was partly in shadow. But the desire in his hooded eyes was very clear.

Her insides, that had been tingling before, blazed . The skimpy thong underwear she'd donned after her shower flooded with desire.

She cut her gaze over the chiseled planes of his chest. His shoulders were thick, blocky with muscle put there from who knew how many pushups and toting a heavy weapon all over the world. His pecs were hard, she knew from pressing against him so wantonly in the alley outside Badlands.

And that trail of brown hair was like an arrow between the two halves of his six-pack abs, disappearing in the low-hanging waist of his jeans.

Her mouth dried out at the memory of just how hard that part of him had been. When he kissed her, she'd felt his stiff cock surge against her body and had to clench her fingers to keep from taking it out and guiding him between her legs.

Harsh need pulsed between them for thirty straight seconds.

Just as she thought they might be going on a minute, he broke the silence.

"You're cute."

"Mean." She didn't sound very convincing. The word sounded raspy with desire.

He opened his arms. "Show me what ya got, woman."

It was on.

She threw herself into his arms. He planted his hand on her bare ass cheek, right over the red mark he put there. His mouth crashed onto hers, drawing a dual moan from them.

Their tongues twisted together. He skipped over the preliminaries and cupped her breast. When he swished his thumb across her nipple, it puckered, and her pussy squeezed with want.

Passion throbbed in her core as she explored his bare skin with her hands. Then she tore her mouth free to taste him.

He tasted like salt and musk. His flesh felt like silk covering steel.

She imagined that his cock would feel the same in her mouth.

He plucked at her nipple and let out a growl. Before she realized what he was doing, he picked her up and set her on the counter. Dipping his head, he took control of her mouth. His kisses dizzied her. His hands made her burn up.

When he ducked his head and captured her nipple through the cloth of her nightgown, she let her head drop back on a moan of ecstasy.

Each sucking pull of his mouth shot her higher until stars shimmered behind her closed eyes.

He skimmed his hands down her waist, her hips.

As he gripped her thighs—hard—she let out a gasp.

His dark eyes flashed. She had no clue of his intention until he hooked his finger in the crotch of her thong and yanked it aside, exposing her wet pussy.

He dropped to his knees and buried his tongue inside.

Right there. With her sitting on her kitchen counter.

Juices flooded his probing tongue. Crying out, she dug her fingers into his hair and rocked her pussy against his tongue.

"Oh god!"

He growled in response, slicking his tongue through her folds to her stiff clit. He closed his lips around her nubbin and gave it a soft tug that made her eyes roll back in her head.

This was insane.

It was bliss.

She'd never ached for a man as much as she did right this moment. She needed his tongue all over her body, his fingers inside her. His cock thrusting into her tight walls.

He fucked his tongue into her drenched opening over and over and alternated with those mind-bending gentle pulls on her clit. The hard and soft, the push and pull, sent her sailing.

Her mouth opened on a silent cry and she shook apart in release.

* * * * *

Carver lifted his tongue from Livia's delicious folds and stared into her glazed eyes. Gliding to his feet, he ran his tongue across his cum-wet lips.

"We can stop here, Livia. Tell me what you want while I can still walk away."

She hooked her arms around his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist. "I don't want to stop. I want you inside me."

Fuck. There was no turning back now.

His cock pulsed, the head shoving at the waist of his boxer briefs like he was an adolescent boy. One brush of her lips against the head of his cock and he'd be a goner.

He lifted her off the counter that he'd never look at the same way again and turned toward the short hall leading to her bedroom.

With each step he took, she tested his patience by kissing him. Licking his neck. And digging her blunt nails into his back. Fuck, he loved that about her. That she was just as untamed as he was when it came to the bedroom. Hell, even in life they both threw themselves in headfirst.

Once they reached her bedroom, he felt something brush up against his ankle. Without looking down, he knew it was her damn cat.

He took another step toward the bed and it wound around his ankles.

"Your cat is a menace."

Livia raised her head from the line of nibbles she was placing on his throat, confusion pinching her pale brows. "Angel? What's she doing?"

"Trying to make me trip and fall on my face."

She giggled. "As long as your dick falls inside me, we're good."

He let out a rumble around the quirk of his lips. He would never agree with her that she wasn't cute. Everything she said and did was cute…especially when she came on his tongue.

Suddenly, realization stopped him one foot from the bed he so badly wanted to tumble her into.

She searched his face. "What's wrong? Is it Angel again?"

"No." He barely bit off the word through the hot clog in his throat. "I don't have any condoms with me."

"Don't worry—I got it covered."

He swallowed around the clog and a few growls threatening to erupt at the thought of another man in this bed with his ward.

Then she kissed him again and derailed that train of thought—and any other besides getting inside her.

He tossed her on the bed. Tore off that sexy-as-sin nightgown along with the scrap of lace barely shielding her pussy.

She stared up at him, eyes burning with lust.

"Get on your hands and knees."

At his order, she blinked.

Dragging her tongue across her bottom lip, she whispered, "Really?"

"Now, Livia. I want to see that handprint I put on your ass while I take off my clothes."

A shiver ran through her entire body. Her nipples tightened into small buds.

For a moment, he didn't think she'd actually obey his command. She hadn't followed his rules before.

Then she stunned him by very slowly rolling onto her stomach and shifting into the position he wanted to see her in.

At the sight of her round ass thrust his way, of that darkened stain of his handprint on her pale flesh, his cock surged. Precum streamed from the tip, and he barely held it together long enough to strip off his jeans and boxers.

With his fist clamped around his cock at the base, he tried to stave off his release while staring at his mark on Livia's sweet ass.

She craned her neck to glance back at him. Her jaw dropping was the most amusing thing he'd seen in a long time, but there was no laughing. He needed inside her—now.

"Where are the condoms?" His gravelly tone sent her into action. She stretched out on her stomach, one hand reaching for the nightstand drawer. When she came out with a large box, the urge to hunt down all her past lovers, one by one, scorched through him.

As she drew one out of the box and tore it open, his case of blue balls tripled.

She crooked her finger at him, her expression part temptress, part tease. "You've been taking care of me. Time to let me return the favor."

His feet were propelled across the floor by the mere look in her eyes. When she pushed to her knees, naked and gorgeous as hell, and reached for his cock, he damn near exploded.

"Easy," he gritted out.

She flicked her gaze up at him. Her lips tipped into the first smile he could remember her ever giving him.

Tenderness washed through him. He raised his hand and cupped her cheek, tangling his fingers in her mussed red locks.

When she curled her fingers around the base of his cock, a shudder tore through his body.

"This…" she gave him a long, slow jack through her fist, "is impressive."

"Thanks." His molars gnashed on the word in his effort to keep from blowing all over her hand and making a complete fool of himself.

She eased her fist down his length again, and he swung his hips away, snatching the condom from her fingers.

"It's been a while for me," he volunteered by way of apology.

"That makes two of us. Hurry, Wolfe."

Her use of his last name brought a laugh to his lips. "No woman's ever called me that when I was about to do this." He pinned her to the mattress and claimed her lips at the same time he slid balls-deep in her pussy.

She moaned into his mouth, and he swallowed it, feeding her one of his own. She fit him like a fucking glove. A perfect fit, actually—something that rarely happened.

Planting her heels on his ass, she ground her hips against him, taking him a fraction deeper.

He thrust his tongue inside her mouth as he withdrew his cock through her drenched walls on the first stroke. By the second, he was hooked. The third, addicted.

By the fourth, there was no turning back. He intended to pound into her until she shuddered around his cock the same way she had around his lips and tongue.

He broke the kiss, still tasting her pussy and wondering if she did too. She met his gaze for a throbbing heartbeat and looped her arms around him, holding him close as he filled her with steady strokes.

Broken cries ripped from her throat. With a deeper push, he located a sensitive spot on her throat and teased it with the point of his tongue. She writhed underneath him. Her pleasure became his—another first for him.

He liked showing women a good time, but he was only in it for the release.

Livia was different.

She thrashed, grinding her hips, rocking and bucking. Her release struck—and his followed right behind. The first tightening of her pussy walls around his length stole all thought, and Carver pounded into her.

Hot jets of cum spurted from him. Each pulsation of her inner walls milked him. The orgasm went on far longer than most he experienced.

When his wits returned, he'd rolled onto his back. Livia was draped across him, her fingertip circling his nipple in a lazy flick.

Hell. He never lost it that way. Had he given her enough satisfaction?

A quick study of her face told him that he had done his job—and done it well.

In the dim light of the moon streaming through the open curtains, he could see she wore a flush across her high cheeks. In the light of day, he knew her pale skin was dotted with faint freckles.

A smile stretched across her beautiful face, and the strain around her eyes had smoothed.

He brushed his lips over hers, drinking in the scent of her bodywash and shampoo.

"You're—"

She nailed him with a stinging slap on the chest. "Don't even say cute!"

"Stunning," he finished.

She snapped her lips shut. "Oh."

"Mm-hmm."

They fell into a silence that wasn't uncomfortable. Her breaths came more and more slowly. He knew the moment she drifted to sleep. Her arm thrown over his chest grew limp and boneless.

Carver waited for long minutes until he was certain she was in a deep sleep before he slipped out of bed. He scooped up his dropped clothes and paused to stare at the beautiful bar owner.

What had been a kernel of affection for her had quickly swelled into a ball of want sitting in his groin. But the longer he stared at her, the bigger and higher that sensation spread until he felt it touch the edges of his heart.

For the first time ever, he wished he could crawl back in bed and hold the woman he'd just thoroughly loved. But he had a job to do.

He was here to keep Livia safe.