Using his teeth with devastating effect, he further taunted her nipple, until she whispered, "Casey, please..."

He shuddered in reaction. "I love hearing you say my name." He couldn't wait any longer. Lifting her to her feet, he quickly finished stripping her. She didn't say a word when he hooked his fingers in the waistband of her bottoms and skimmed them down her legs. She stepped out of the material, he set them aside, and they both went silent.

So often in his dreams, he'd imagined having Emma just like this.

She stood there with her belly pulled tight, her nipples wet from his mouth. His to take. Casey drew a heated breath a and knew he was falling hard all over again.

It should have bothered him. Emma had walked out on him once; she kept secrets from him still. She'd only been back in town for a day and had definite plans for taking off again. But, at the moment, none of that mattered.

Keeping his eyes on the neat triangle of pubic hair between her legs, he unsnapped his shorts and shoved them down, removing his boxers at the same time. He kicked them aside on the dusty porch floor. He knew Emma was staring at his erection. He locked his knees and let her look her fill, but it wasn't easy when his every muscle strained against the need to hold her again.

In a breathless whisper, she said, "I hope I'm not dreaming."

That made him smile and relieved some of his tension. "Come here, and I'll make sure you're awake." The words were barely out of his mouth and Emma was there, her small hands sliding up and over his chest to twine around his neck, her belly pressing into his groin, her mouth turned up for his. She showed no reserve, no hesitation. And the kiss she gave him left him shaking.

Hoping to slow her down, he lowered them both to the bed and moved to her side. The urge to climb on top of her and sink deep into her body was already strong. With her encouraging murmurs and touches, holding back was h.e.l.l. But he'd been waiting for over eight years so what did a few more minutes matter?

And he had been waiting, he knew that now. The dissatisfaction he'd felt with every female since Emma now made sense. They'd been lacking simply because they weren't Emma. She was special in ways he hadn't realized.

Propping himself up on his elbow, Casey stared down at her.

She shifted, trying to bring him back to her, flesh to flesh. "Casey?"

"Shh." Fingers spread wide, he settled his hand on her belly and felt her muscles contract. "I love just looking at you, Emma."

Her velvety brown eyes, so hungry, so hot, held his as she caught his wrist and urged his hand lower, between her parted thighs. She started at the first touch of his fingers there, moaning softly, her breath hitching.

Watching her face, Casey gently opened her with his fingertips, stroked over her swollen v.u.l.v.a, her c.l.i.toris. She was wet, hot. His own heartbeat roared in his ears.

As he teased, her back arched off the mattress, making her b.r.e.a.s.t.s an offering. He dipped down to gently suck on her nipples at the same time he sank his middle finger deep. Her reaction was startling a and d.a.m.n exciting. Inner muscles clenched tight around his finger, her body shivered, her legs stiffened.

"Casey." So much pleading in one small word. h.e.l.l yes, he loved hearing his name, especially the way she said it now, with all the same need he felt.

A rosy flush covered her body, warming her skin and intensifying her luscious scent. Casey took his time suckling her, fingering her, enjoying her. Perversely, the more frantic Emma became, the more she moaned and writhed and pleaded, the more determined he was to take his time, to leisurely make her crazy with l.u.s.t. And to prove to her that she couldn't feel this with any man other than him.

She was so easy to read, not because her hands clenched fitfully in his hair and her broken moans were so explicit. Not because her hips rocked against his hand, faster, harder. But because he knew this one particular woman better than any other. It seemed he always had. And he knew he always would.

He felt her begin to tremble, felt the stillness that signaled the onset of her release, and he surged up from her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to take her mouth in a voracious, claiming kiss.

G.o.ddammit, she was his. She'd always been his. She...

The clench of her nails on his shoulders shattered his thoughts and warned of her release. Heart ready to explode, he rode out the climax with her, kissing her face, murmuring to her, maintaining the steady press and stroke of his rough fingertips between her thighs until she finally pulled her mouth away to gulp frantically for air. She took her pleasure as naturally as a woman should a relishing it, giving in to it.

"Oh G.o.d," she groaned as she slumped back into the mattress, still breathing too hard, still shivering. Her eyes were slumberous, heated. Damp with tears.

He wanted more.

He needed it all.

Casey came to his knees to look over her temporarily sated body a temporary, because no way in h.e.l.l was he done with her. He touched her everywhere, parting her legs wider, stroking her with both hands, catching her already sensitive nipples. He luxuriated in the feel of her warm, soft flesh in places that he'd once considered forbidden to him.

"You care about me, Emma. It's still there a whatever it is between us."

Her eyes were closed, her face turned slightly away. She nodded, sniffed, and more tears seeped out around her thick lashes.

Frowning, Casey trailed his fingers down her body, over her belly, through her pubic hair and between her lips. She was creamy wet now, swollen, throbbing. He watched her eyes open ... and thrust three fingers into her hard.

She cried out softly, twisting on the sheets.

"Admit it, Em. Say it." He waited, but she stared at him with that lost expression that had the ability to rip him apart. His teeth clenched. "Tell me it's still there. Tell me you care about me."

She swallowed hard and offered up a small, shaky smile. Looking more vulnerable than any woman ever should, she whispered, "Always, Casey." Her voice broke, and she laid one palm over his heart. "Always."

A tidal wave of feelings took his breath. He couldn't wait a second more. He snagged the condom from his shorts pocket and rolled it on in record time. Emma waited until he started to settle over her, then she rose up and pushed him to his back. Eyes still glistening with tears, that small secret smile still in place, she stared into his eyes. "It's my turn."

Casey groaned. That husky purr of hers would be the death of him. His muscles cramped when she wrapped both hands around his erection and stroked, slow, easy. Again and again.

He was still trying to get himself under control when she lifted herself over him, positioned him against her tender s.e.x, and sank down so languidly he nearly lost it there and then.

"Emma..." His awareness of her was so heightened, he felt everything, every tiny movement and touch. Like the press of her smooth legs around his hips, and her b.u.t.tocks on his thighs. The way her hands contracted on his chest and how her body squeezed him with each retreat, then softened around him as she sank down again.

Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s swayed, drawing his hands, then his mouth. Much as he enjoyed seeing her astride him, she was too far away. Craving the touch of her body to his, Casey sat up and pulled her closer so he could reach all of her, her slim back, the luscious flare of her hips and the firm resilience of her a.s.s cheeks. He kissed her, keeping her mouth under his even as he felt his t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es tightening with his climax.

As she wrapped her legs completely around him, Emma never missed a beat, rising and falling, rising again. She didn't let him hold back, didn't give him a chance to regain control. When he came, she took his harsh groans into her mouth and gave back her own sweet sounds of release. Their bodies strained, clung, and then shuddered roughly. Her arms wrapped around his neck, Emma leaned into him.

Casey felt her heartbeat rioting against his jaw and he pressed a kiss to her breast. Emma's fingers stroked idly through his hair, petting him, hugging him tight every couple of seconds. The contentment lasted for long minutes. He felt at peace, whole in a way that had eluded him until now.

But with the edge taken off his hunger, Casey knew he had to tend to other things. He mentally braced himself, then carefully stretched out on the bed with Emma resting over his chest.

He was still inside her when he kissed her temple and said, "Now we talk."

"Mmm." She toyed with his chest hair, and Casey could hear the sleepiness in her voice, reminding him once again that she was short on rest, heavy on worries. "About what?"

Staring at the warped boards in the ceiling, Casey tightened his arms around her back so she couldn't run from him. "About you." He kept his tone calm, firm. "About what happened that night you came to my house."

She stiffened in alarm, but he couldn't relent. This was too important. She tried to struggle away from him but he stroked her, hoping to soothe her, to offer rea.s.surance.

"Casey..."

He held her close to his heart. "I want to talk about your mother."

"No."

"Yes."

She lifted her face so he could see her disgruntled frown. Casey smoothed her tangled hair back and studied her taut expression. He touched the corner of her mouth with his thumb, and said, "She's a drunk, isn't she, Emma?"

DAMON SMILED at the picture Ceily made in her sundress and sandals. Given the understated outfit, she should have looked innocent. Instead, she looked hot. Tantalizing. Like a wet dream.

He knew women well enough to know she'd spent extra time preparing for him. It showed in the carefully applied makeup, the subtle s.e.xiness of her clothes.

She'd spent the last hour showing him around Buckhorn, not that there was that much to see other than the beautiful scenery. They'd had ice cream, and watching Ceily lick a cone was a special form of foreplay he wasn't likely to forget anytime soon. Damon was sure it had been deliberate. And it had worked.

He'd barely been able to take his gaze off her as they'd waved to a hundred of her "close friends" and browsed the one and only gift shop.

After showing him all the landmarks, she'd driven her small compact to the outskirts of town, parked near a pasture and gotten out. Carrying a small cooler of drinks and with a plaid blanket over his arm, Damon followed her. He had to be careful of cowpatties, a unique concern that.

He wasn't quite sure where Ceily was leading him, but he gladly followed. Walking behind her, taking in the sway of her lush hips, certainly wasn't a hardship.

The humid breeze ruffled her hair and played with her skirt when she twisted to look at him over her shoulder. "There's a beautiful creek right down here."

The entire area looked splendid a the perfect place to build some small vacation cabins or retirement homes. "Is this your property?"

"No, it belongs to my grandpa."

He wondered if her grandpa would be willing to sell. "You've lived here your whole life?"

"Yep." She stopped in front of a crystal-clear creek filled with churning water. The sound alone could mesmerize, but with the wildflowers here and there, birds circling and Ceily close by, it was outright magnificent.

Damon spread the blanket and watched her settle onto it. Ceily wasn't an introverted or uncertain woman. She had a teasing, confident presence that aroused him.

He dropped next to her and slanted her a teasing look. "If I get too hot, do you intend to throw me into the creek?"

Utilizing considerable thought, she plucked a long blade of gra.s.s. "I thought we might both cool off when the sun sets."

Damon arched an eyebrow. "Skinny-dipping?"

Her mouth curled while she positioned the blade of gra.s.s between her thumbs. "I bet you're a virgin, huh?"

"Was it my uncommon restraint that led you to that conclusion?"

Laughing, she said, "I mean a virgin to skinny-dipping. Somehow I can't see you frolicking outdoors in the buff."

Damon rested back on one elbow. "I'm always up for new experiences, especially when they're initiated by a beautiful woman."

He jumped when she raised both hands to her mouth, the blade of gra.s.s somehow caught between, and gave an earsplitting whistle. When she looked at him for approval, he asked, "Is that how country girls whistle?"

Pushing her hair behind her ear, Ceily nodded. She didn't quite look at him when she idly tossed out, "Wanna see how country girls kiss?"

Feeling a curl of heat, Damon murmured, "That's a dumb question for such a smart girl."

She laughed and came down over his chest, knocking him flat. "I like you, Damon."

"Is that so?" He smiled, enjoying her silly banter. "Show me."

"All right." Her eyebrows lowered. "But I should warn you first that I don't sleep with a guy on the first date."

"Pity." Did she expect him to start complaining? He held his grin back with an effort, ready to disappoint her. He liked Ceily, and he appreciated her honesty. He held her hair away from her face and brushed his lips over her chin, her throat.

"You're not mad?"

"That you've been teasing me? No. I happen to be enjoying your efforts."

"Unbelievable."

Feeling smug, he grinned at her, knowing he had just surprised her. "So how many dates will it take me?"

She stared deep into his eyes, lowered her mouth to his and groaned. "Let's play it by ear."

The second her mouth touched his, Damon was lost. d.a.m.n, she was sweet, and yet she was also brazen. A delicious combination.

Slowly the kiss ended. Ceily licked her lips, sighed and rested her head on his chest. "Want me to teach you how to whistle like that?"

Damon was in the most powerful throes of l.u.s.t he'd felt in years, and she wanted to teach him how to whistle. He laughed, liking the novelty of it, liking her more by the moment. "That's exactly what I was thinking about. Whistling. And with a blade of gra.s.s, no less."

She poked him in the ribs. "Liar."

He tightened his arms around her so she couldn't prod him again. "At the risk of sounding trite, what's a smart girl like you doing in Buckhorn?" Damon could easily picture her in the city, charming one and all.

She pushed up to see his face. "This is home. Where else would I be?"

The way she said it, he felt foolish for asking. Though he'd come with a distinct sense of contempt for the town that had ostracized Emma, Buckhorn had managed to charm him as well. The relaxed air, the openness, the sense of being where you belonged, fed something in his soul. The idea of settling here teased at him. "Your grandfather own a lot of land?"

Her sigh held a wealth of melancholy. "He does, but soon he'll have to sell a major portion of it, including this spot, which is one reason I brought you here. I don't know how much longer I'll get to enjoy it."

"Is he selling to developers?"

"He doesn't want to. But he needs the money, so..." She shrugged.

A variety of emotions clamored for attention. Damon hated that Ceily would lose something important to her, but at the same time his mind already churned with the possibilities. It would be an insult to the land to clutter it with shopping centers or parking lots, but a few cozy cabins s.p.a.ced out along the creek...well, it'd be lovely. And lucrative.

He couldn't think about purchasing the land without thinking about Ceily as well. She was in her mid-thirties, single, which prompted another question. "Okay, so why isn't a warm, s.e.xy woman like you married?"

Her cheeks dimpled with a smile. "I suppose I have high standards, and all the best men were taken."

"And those standards are...?"

"Mmm. Let's see." Somehow, her hand on his chest just happened to be over his left nipple. If she stroked him one more time, he was going to have to jump into the icy creek on his own volition. "He'd need to be caring, like Sawyer Hudson."

A dark cloud intruded on his contentment. "Case Hudson's father?"

"Yep. Sawyer is a local doctor and everyone in these parts loves him. He's almost perfect, but I'd want someone to be bold and vigilant too, like his brother, Morgan. He's the sheriff."

Damon saw a definite pattern beginning. "For crying out-"

"And gentle like his brother Jordan, handy like Gabe..."

"Enough." Damon rolled her beneath him. In a growl, he said, "I think you're teasing me again."