Storm in the Rockies Read online

  She pushed him from her thoughts and stepped from the bedroom. Reaching for the phone, her gaze swept around the room. An impressive bookshelf, an enormous fireplace, a piano, and oversized leather furniture filled the living area of the room. On the table, a model airplane was half finished. Hobbies and no T.V., she observed curiously. Not what she had expected from Mister January.

  “Detective Gray.”

  Cee Leigh ceased her scrutiny of the room. “Detective, this is Miss Farrah…”

  “Where the hell are you?” The detective didn’t even wait for her to answer. “Your sister assured me you were not kidnapped but what were you thinking? You can’t just up and leave in the middle of an investigation.”

  “I needed some air. I’m going to my cabin. No one knows about it so I think I’m safe.” Cee Leigh fingered the phone cord. “I just…I just didn’t feel safe there.”

  A long silence pulled on the other end. “Don’t do that again. If you are going anywhere, you tell me before you leave.”

  “Yes sir,” Cee Leigh agreed.

  “Are you alone?”

  “No. I’m staying the night with my neighbor. There is a storm and I won’t be able to get to the cabin until tomorrow. My sister and my editor can tell you how to get here.”

  “I’m sending someone tomorrow. I don’t want you to be alone.”

  “There’s supposed to be a storm.”

  “I’m sending someone,” the detective repeated firmly.

  “Yes sir. I…I didn’t mean to cause more problems. I just wanted…”

  “I understand,” he interrupted. “We’ll find him.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Goodnight.” He hung up. Cee Leigh let out a long breath as she placed the receiver in the cradle. She walked to the large window and smiled at Rex as he threw a ball for his dog. He was right. She’d made Robert too stiff. Rex was far more laid back than she’d guessed. The snow was starting to fall a little harder now, she noticed. The storm would be on them soon. She turned and hurried towards the bathroom.

  Chapter Two

  Rex looked up as Cee Leigh emerged from the bathroom. His body jerked at the sight of her dressed in sweats, a tee, and with her hair damp and hanging around her shoulders. She shot him a shy smile before darting into the spare room. He looked down at the model he’d been working on, his interest in it completely diminished. He wanted something more exciting to play with. He looked back at the door. Something like Cee Leigh Farrah.

  Though he hadn’t noticed it before, today he knew for certain that she had been aware of him…not as a pilot, but as a man. When he’d touched her, it had felt as if something electric had shocked him. And then she’d actually made mention of the boxers he wore in the calendar shot.

  He wasn’t stupid. He knew enough about women to recognize when one of them was interested. But Cee Leigh wasn’t a woman he just wanted to bone and send packing. He wanted to savor her, to make her scream with as much passion as her characters did. He’d wanted her for too long to do otherwise.

  When she emerged again, the scent of lilacs drifted into the room with her. Heaven help him. Rex stood.

  “I’ve got some leftover roast that I thought to make us some sandwiches with, but I didn’t know what you liked,” he said, unable to look away from her.

  “I’m not very hungry to be honest.” She looked across the room at the piano. “You play piano. I always wanted to learn.”

  “Mom was a Liberace fan.” Rex laughed.

  “Will you play something?”

  Rex would have done anything she asked. He jerked his head towards the piano and smiled when she stepped forward. When he sat down, he patted the space next to him, so she settled beside him. Her scent filled him - lilacs, some kind of powder, and one hundred percent woman. He ached to reach for her, to bury himself inside of her.

  Turning, he lifted his hands above the keys. He’d learned at an early age that playing piano was like moving with the wind. He could go anywhere, do anything, if he just let his heart find the music. His fingers fell and touched the cool ivory and for several moments, lost himself.

  “That was beautiful.” Cee Leigh spoke in a whisper after the music silenced.

  “I wrote it,” he admitted.

  “Another hobby?”

  He smiled, looking at her. He studied the way her damp hair curled at the ends, the way her cheeks glowed from their scrubbing. “You are beautiful.” Those cheeks reddened and she looked away. “You can’t possibly be embarrassed. You have to know what you look like.”

  “And what do I look like?”

  “Like prey.”

  “What?” She laughed.

  “I feel like pouncing on you.” Rex leaned towards her when her breath caught. “And devouring you completely.” She blinked. Her eyes were like windows without blinds. They hid nothing. He saw every emotion she felt flicker in their hazel depths. Excitement. Lust. Hopefulness.

  * * *

  Cee Leigh stood from the bench and took a couple of small steps back away from him. Her hands trembled. She’d never fucked a man she didn’t really know before. Plus, he’d read her books. He might think she was like the heroines she wrote about. She wasn’t nearly as brazen in real life as she was on paper.

  “Come back here.” He slid across the bench and reached for her. The moment his hands wrapped around her waist and drew her closer, she forgot her hesitation. Instead, her heart drummed in her chest with a yearning she couldn’t explain.

  “The first time I saw you, you were wearing an ugly polka-dot blouse and I wanted to fuck you.” He slipped his hands beneath her tee and the heat of his palms touched her stomach.

  “I only have one polka dot blouse and I love it,” she whispered.

  “I love it too.” The sound of the bench sliding out from the piano vibrated around the room as he stood. A moment later, his hands slid around her and he jerked her forward, his lips crushing hers. Rex was nothing at all like what she had imagined. His lips were firm and demanding, coaxing her lips apart so his hot tongue could lick at hers. His fingers pressed into her back, pulling her flat against him. She couldn’t think. She could barely breathe. And then he groaned into her mouth and she felt as if her body were set afire.

  They were moving, she realized and a moment later, he pressed her against the piano, her ass striking the keys so that the sound interrupted the silence. His hands left her back, dropped, and his thumbs hooked in her sweatpants, snagging her panties as well. Another wild tune rose from the piano as she shifted and his lips tore from hers and he dropped to her knees, tugging her clothes down to her ankles.

  There was nothing romantic about this; nothing like the fantasies she’d entertained. This was hot and raw, and it left her trembling for more. He grasped her right ankle, lifted, and freed her from her clothes, then spread her knees apart.

  She stared at the dark hair on his head as he leaned forward. When his tongue licked at her, she moaned softly. His palms slid up her thighs so he could part the lips of her sex with his thumbs. Then he licked again and tension knotted in Cee Leigh’s abdomen.

  “Rex,” she whispered, closing her eyes but all that waited for her there was him posing against his plane. No. It wasn’t enough anymore. She opened her eyes and looked down at him. Heat crawled across her skin and she jerked her tee over her head as his tongue swirled, licked, and sipped, until she ached for release.

  “You taste good.” His words vibrated against her and she moaned in protest as he leaned back from her. “I want you.”

  “Yes.” She hissed as he rose to his feet.

  “Come on.” He grasped her hand as she pulled her other foot from her clothes. “Hurry.” He strode across the room, leading her towards his bedroom.

  “Jones,” he called out to the dog who lay curled in a doggy bed in the corner as he flipped on the light. “Out.” The dog got up and padded from the room. Releasing her hand, Rex closed the door and pulled his shirt off over his head. Seconds later,
he pulled his boots off and stepped out of his jeans. No boxers, Cee Leigh thought as she watched the black briefs come off. Her disappointment was short lived. The man was hung like a horse.

  “Oh–My–God.” She lifted a hand to her chest. “You should have posed nude.”

  “We’ll discuss it later.” He reached for her and roughly pulled her to him. “Right now, I just want to be inside you.” He kissed her before she had time to respond, rubbing his cock against her thigh.

  She slid her hands over his shoulder, wanting him to kiss her deeper. She’d never wanted a man like this before, so much that her heart felt as if it would pump right out of her chest. His fingers slid from her waist and his arms slid around her so that she was wrapped in his embrace. His breath was hot and quick across her face when he released her lips.

  “Get on the bed,” he murmured and let his arms fall from around her. She turned and crawled into the middle of the King size. He disappeared through the door and into the bathroom, then returned, sliding a condom over his cock.

  He lifted a knee to the mattress, and then hefted forward, a grin pulling at his lips as he leaned towards her until she lay back on the bed, him above her. “I want to fuck you until you can’t move.” Those words forked lightening through her veins. Men didn’t really talk like that did they? None she’d ever been with had.

  “Are you warning me?” Cee Leigh laughed.

  His grin widened. “Maybe. Open.” She parted her knees and sucked in her breath when he settled between them. “Tell me if this tickles.” He nudged her, then pushed inside. Cee Leigh moaned and lifted her hips. It had been too long. Her body shook with anticipation. He eased deeper, then drew back and thrust to the quick. Cee Leigh cried out with pleasure at the intrusion.

  His fingers dropped between them to pluck at her as he rocked back and then pushed in again. Cee Leigh felt for anything to hold on to and only succeeded in balling her hands into the blankets beneath her. She lifted her hips, encouraging him to give her more.

  “Do you like this?” he asked, thrusting deep into her.

  “Yes. Oh God, yes.” She answered between clenched teeth. Fuck me, Mr. January, her mind screamed. Fuck me fast. Fuck me deep. “Fuck me hard.” Cee Leigh realized she’d spoken aloud when he froze. She’d never said anything like that before! But the blue of Rex’s eyes darkened and he withdrew his hand from between them and leaned forward above her. He pushed deep and then moved her up onto the pillows.

  * * *

  Rex’s blood pounded through his veins. He’d not expected her to be the verbal type. The sound of her sweet voice wrapping around those words had him so excited he could rip into her. He placed his hands on either side of her head. If she wanted it hard, that’s exactly how he would give it to her.

  He withdrew and drove deep, until every inch of him was inside of her. She arched against him, her muscles clenching around his cock as her lips parted. He ground his hips forward.

  “More?”

  “Yes!” She half growled, half cried.

  He thrust again and her legs lifted, to wrap around him, offering him more of her. He drove into her again and again, the sound of their bodies coming together echoing against the walls. In and out. Faster. He pumped into her and she bucked wildly beneath him in orgasm, rode her until she came back down again. Damn. She felt good.

  “Talk to me, Cee Leigh,” he said between breaths, dipping into her wetness in a lazy rhythm.

  She licked her lips. “I want on top.” It had sounded almost like a question.

  Rex pulled from her and moved to settle beside her. She smiled as she rose up on her knees. He watched her straddle him and then slip down over his cock. He groaned as her muscles worked over him.

  She hummed softly as she rode him, her pace steady. He stared at her as she tilted her head back and parted her lips. When he thrust upward, she sucked in her breath and his attention dropped to her breasts. Reaching up, he ran his thumbs over their tips until they darkened and pressed out against the pads of his fingers. He thrust up again. And again, feeling himself threatening to spill.

  His fingers slid down the silk of her stomach, and she sucked her breath through her teeth. His hand fell lower, and he curled his fingers in the damp curls, tugging gently before he ran a thumb over her soft, sensitive clit.

  “Um-hmmm.” She moaned, her pace quickening. He pet and stroked her until her body quivered, then grasped her hips firmly and began thrusting up into her.

  “Hurry,” he growled as he clamped his teeth together. “Hurry, Cee Leigh.” She screamed, her fingers raking through her hair as her entire body jerked. He held on, pumping into her until she fell forward, her fingers grasping his shoulders so tightly that her nails dug into him.

  “Yes,” he murmured as she shook, tears running down her face. “Come for me.” She screamed again, a sound that sent him over the edge. He grunted as he buried deep inside of her, jerking as spasms of pleasure shook from his own body.

  He released a heavy breath as she fell forward against him. “Lord, that was good,” he spoke against her temple. She nodded and rolled from atop him, stretching out at his side. A smile curled in her lips.

  “I can still move.” She lifted an arm and then giggled softly.

  “I’m not finished yet. Be right back.” He rose and headed for the bathroom.

  * * *

  Music roused Cee Leigh from sleep, soft and haunting. She climbed from bed, wincing at the soreness that tickled her legs and hips. Rex had remained true to his word and had not let her sleep until every muscle in her body refused to move.

  Standing in the doorway, she stared across the room at him now, seated at his piano, dressed only in a pair of sweats of his own. He swayed slightly as his fingers caressed the ivory. His eyes were closed. He looked as if he were flying.

  Her gaze dropped to the finished model airplane. How long had he been up? The wall clock said it was two in the morning. She looked back at Rex, but something was different. He wasn’t swaying and his eyes were open, locked on his fingers.

  “Can’t sleep?”

  She winced. He knew she was there. She had interrupted him. That was what was different. He looked at her and then let his hands fall away from the piano.

  “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean for you to stop.”

  “Kind of hard to concentrate with a naked woman standing in the room.” He sent her a small grin, his gaze lowering to her breast. “You are beautiful.”

  She felt her body flush with heat. She’d not thought to cover herself, too distracted by the music. Now, beneath his scrutiny, she felt self-conscious. She quickly swiped the afghan from the sofa and wrapped it around herself, and felt a bit of dark pleasure when she saw disappointment flit across his face.

  “What was that you were playing?” she asked after silence dragged between them.

  He shrugged. “Something I composed myself.”

  “Play something else.”

  “I’d rather touch you.” He stood and stepped around the bench.

  “Don’t even think about it,” she laughed softly. “I’m sore as it is.”

  Wickedness glitter in his eyes as he walked to the sofa and sat down. He patted the leather cushion beside him, indicating that he wanted her to join him. When she complied, he snaked an arm around her shoulders and hugged her against his side.

  “So what do you do when you aren’t seducing pilots or writing books?”

  Cee Leigh laughed abruptly. “I did not seduce you.” When he said nothing, she continued. “I spend a lot of time with my sister. She designs clothes. She wants to open her own store in Boulder. I’ve offered to help her financially but she is stubborn and won’t let me.”

  “I don’t want to know about your sister. I want to know about you.” Rex tilted his head and rubbed his jaw against her cheek. “What do you like to do?”

  “Well, I like to ski. I’ve got a weakness for anything chocolate. Most of my friends are writers and we get t
ogether often to talk about what we are working on and to throw around plot ideas.” Cee Leigh shrugged. “I do a lot of research for my books so I spend a good amount of time at the library.”

  “You like to keep things simple then?” Rex inquired, brushing his lips across her temple.

  “For the most part, yes.” She frowned. “When I told my sister that I was going to the cabin, she said I was running away.” Cee Leigh looked down at the coffee table.

  “Are you?”

  “Maybe a little. A few years ago, we took some self defense classes.” Cee Leigh sighed. “About a year after we did, someone tried to mug my sister and I…well, I used what I’d learned in classes to save her purse. Since then, she’s been convinced that I’m fearless.”

  “And are you?”

  “Are you kidding? I nearly had a breakdown when I found out this guy had been in my home.” Cee Leigh laughed.

  Rex hugged her closer, “It’s an extreme situation. Your home, your personal space, was violated.”

  Cee Leigh nodded. “Suddenly the phones are bugged and there are patrol cars circling my home. I enjoy my privacy.” She frowned. “I think that is what made me want to come to the cabin the most.”

  “I for one am pretty happy you did,” Rex said, and when Cee Leigh looked at him, he grinned down at her causing her to laugh.

  “What about you? What’s your story?”

  Rex grunted a laugh. “I enjoy my privacy as well. It’s just me and old Jones against the world.”

  “Girlfriends? Ex-wives?” Cee Leigh pressed, feeling a slight stab of dark satisfaction when he shook his head.

  “Despite the calendar picture, I’m a private person. I like my space. Relationships are too–“

  “--much work,” Cee Leigh finished, smiling when Rex looked at her. “They always want more than what you can give.”

  “Exactly,” Rex murmured, looking at her with an odd expression.