“You make it sound as if I’m getting the winning end of this deal,” he said, sounding intrigued. “I’ve been fascinated by psychology my entire life, but being around you for a few weeks could seriously throw everything I’ve learned and thought was true right out the window.”

  “You don’t sound really concerned,” Daisy said with a giggle.

  “Nope. For some reason, I’m not. I’m utterly fascinated,” he told her.

  “Maybe because you feel this thing between us as much as I do,” she suggested.

  “What are we going to do about it?” he asked.

  She was warm, full, and uninterested in fighting the next step they were about to take. But she needed him to be the one to make the next move. She needed him to step up and take the offer she’d placed on the table. She needed him to be the man she knew he was.

  “What are you going to do about it?” she asked right back.

  He stood . . . and her body lit on fire.

  Chapter Nine

  Crew had always been in control, always. But there was something about Darla that made him want to rip off his shirt, beat his chest, and act like a Neanderthal. What in the world had this woman done to his sensibilities?

  Right now he didn’t care.

  Without saying another word about her taunt, he approached her then shocked them both when he pulled her from the chair and swiftly threw her over his shoulder. He wasn’t sure which of them was more confused or excited.

  “What in the world?” Darla gasped, the air knocked from her lungs as her head hung down his back. She smacked him a few times on the butt.

  He smiled as he lifted his own hand and gave her a good slap on her luscious butt that was right next to his face. He turned and gently bit her hip, making her groan before she giggled. He smacked her butt again just to show her who was in charge.

  “You need cooling off,” he told her.

  “Wait? What?” The giggling stopped as he stepped into his large bathroom. He paused only long enough to kick off his shoes before moving inside his shower that could easily fit six people. He reached for the spicket. “Don’t you dare, Crew Anderson!” she shrieked a second before the cold water rained down on them.

  Her yell this time was of shock as the two of them were soaked, all of their clothing still in place. “I’m going to murder you,” she said through clattering teeth as she pounded her hands against his butt.

  Crew laughed, feeling a mixture of joy and so much heat that the cold water didn’t affect him. He had hot water on demand, so the cold spray quickly heated as he ran his hand over her soaked behind.

  He shifted her, finally placing her on her feet and looking into her eyes. They were wide. He’d finally managed to stun this woman who could turn a man’s insides completely out.

  “I can’t believe you just did that,” she said. The spray from two jets washed over them, their clothes plastered to their bodies. She might be shocked, but he could see desire burning in her gaze. He was sure it matched his own to perfection.

  “You’ve been driving me mad, woman,” he said in a low growl.

  “Good,” she told him.

  And then he didn’t want to talk anymore. He pulled her tightly against him and leaned down, kissing her the way he’d been wanting to do for days. She was a temptress who would surely lead him down a path he’d probably needed to go down for many years, and he knew there’d be no regrets.

  Darla didn’t hold back as he stepped forward, pushing her against the wall while his mouth devoured hers. Their tongues mated and danced, their bodies pushed at each other, and their hands roamed over their drenched clothes.

  He wrenched his mouth from hers and slid his tongue down her throat, her moan echoing in his shower as he glided a hand beneath her shirt and skated it against her wet skin. He nipped at the sensitive place her neck met her shoulder and she threw her head back as she tangled her fingers in his hair. He moved lower and bit at her peaked nipple through the material of her shirt.

  He’d never wanted a woman more than he wanted Darla. The clothes needed to go.

  He pulled away and turned her, grabbing her arms and holding them up. With a quick tug he pulled the tee from her and tossed it aside before unfastening her bra and doing the same.

  He placed her hands on the wall in front of her. She turned her head and the wanton look in her eyes was nearly his undoing. He wanted to pull off his pants and plunge deep inside of her — but not yet.

  Pushing against her, he let her feel how turned on he was as he ran his hands up her slim waist and cupped her full breasts. She moaned as he squeezed her nipples and sucked on her neck. She tried to reach for him.

  “Keep your hands on the wall,” he demanded, reaching one hand down and smacking her butt again. Who was he? He’d never done anything like this before, never wanted to control sex. But he did now, and he was beyond turned on by it.

  She listened, placing her palms flat against the shower wall. He reached into the waistband of his sweats she was still wearing, pulling them and her tiny panties down her beautiful toned legs. He ran his hands along them before lifting first one of her feet, and then the other, and tossing the last of her clothes away. She was panting as she leaned against the wall, her body trembling.

  He kissed the back of her legs, then ran his mouth up the curve of her butt before standing again, enjoying her silken skin. He kissed her neck while he spread her thighs before running his hand down her back, and through the slit of her butt until he found her slick heat.

  The water was cascading over them, but she was still hot and wet inside, her walls slick with desire. She quivered around his fingers as he pushed two deep inside her and pumped them.

  She yelled out, her body shaking.

  “You’re so damn responsive,” he growled, not recognizing his voice. His breath whispered over her ear before he licked the lobe and gently bit down on it. She shook, her legs seeming unsteady.

  “Crew, I need . . .” She stopped, her voice barely audible.

  “What do you need?” he asked as he kept pumping his fingers inside her while he licked and sucked on the smooth skin of her neck and shoulder. His body was throbbing with need, and if he’d already removed his clothes, he feared he’d plunge in right then. He needed to feel her heat clench around him.

  “I’m so hot, Crew, so damn hot. I ache,” she told him as she pushed her butt backward, rotating her hips in time with his plunging fingers.

  “I don’t know who I am with you, Darla. I want to please you, I want to own you,” he said.

  “You have me, Crew. I’m all yours,” she panted as he added another finger and plunged deeper inside of her. She cried out, her walls squeezing him. “More, I want more. I want you,” she begged.

  His arousal leapt at her words. He needed this woman.

  He plunged his fingers in her again, and felt her tightening as she cried out his name. He pulled out, and she groaned in disapproval. He turned her around, her face flushed, her eyes hooded. He kissed her hard as he reached up and squeezed her breasts.

  Then he stepped back and pulled off his wet shirt. Her eyes caressed him, seeming quite pleased with what she saw. He kept fit and was proud of his body. He’d never been more grateful for it than right then.

  He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a condom. She glanced down and smiled before licking her lips. “Confident, weren’t you?” she asked in a deep throaty purr.

  “Hopeful,” he told her. “You’ve been driving me mad for weeks.”

  “Good. I wanted to,” she said. She was leaning against the wall. It seemed it was the only thing holding her up right then. He pulled off his pants and underwear, having to put some effort into the task since the soaked fabric stuck to his skin.

  Her gasp at the sight of him when he sprang free made his blood boil. He pulsed with need, his erection hard, reaching for her. She reached out and ran a finger across the head and he felt pleasure from his head to his toes.

  “I’m going to take us both over the edge,” he promised her, the pants finally free. He stood there as they gazed at each other. He was totally drunk on this woman.

  Before he could grab her, she dropped to her knees. For just a moment he was worried she’d fallen, but then she grabbed the back of his thighs as she leaned forward and ran her tongue along his wet thigh. The water was cascading over them, but it didn’t seem to deter Darla at all.

  She wrapped her fingers around his arousal and, without the slightest hesitation, leaned in and circled her mouth around his throbbing head. He quickly reached for the wall, fearing he was going to fall if he didn’t. She made his legs weak, and his body was on fire.

  She sucked him in while running her tongue over and over his head. Her fingers squeezed and moved back and forth before caressing his balls.

  “Baby, please,” he said, now the one begging. She sucked him harder, showing no mercy.

  She moaned around him, the vibration sending a whole other level of pleasure through him as she licked and sucked and stroked. He held on to the wall with one hand and reached down into her hair with the other, holding her to him as she worked her magical tongue and lips over his sensitive arousal.

  “Enough,” he finally said as he felt his climax coming too close. Not like this, not their first time. He wanted to be buried deep inside her when he came. He wanted her walls clenching around him at the same time. He grasped her hair and pulled her from his body. His arousal wept with the loss of her mouth.

  He lifted her, pressing her against the wall as he leaned in and devoured her lips again, his tongue stroking hers, in and out while he sucked and nibbled and sucked some more.

  Then he moved down her neck and nibbled and licked. He reached her peaked nipples, and she grasped his shoulders as he sucked one beautiful strawberry bud into his mouth and ran his tongue over it. She trembled before him.

  Then he dropped to his knees, and kissed her stomach.

  “Crew, please, I’m going to fall,” she begged.

  “Then hold on,” he warned. That was all the talking he had in him. He grabbed one of her legs and threw it over his shoulder, opening her wide to him, and then he ran his tongue along the seam of her heat.

  She yelled as her fingers trembled against his shoulders, and her leg shook against his back. Her thighs quivered against him as he swept his tongue along her opening before sinking his tongue in and out of her. Her cries of pleasure were nearly his undoing.

  He ran his tongue up to her clit and swept it over the pulsing nerves before closing his lips and sucking. She screamed. He plunged a finger inside her as he licked and sucked, and then she cried out again as she clenched him, her body shaking, her insides holding his fingers tight as she pulsed.

  He slowed the motion of his tongue as he swept it across her heat, drawing every last throb of pleasure from her. He could worship this woman’s body every single minute of the day and it still might not be enough.

  He needed to be inside her. He found the condom at her feet, long ago slipped from his fingers. He ripped the packet open and stumbled as he slid it over his throbbing flesh. He was shocked to find his fingers shaking. This woman made him lose all semblance of control.

  He took her leg from his shoulder, then stood, holding her close. He reached for her thighs and lifted her, wrapping her legs around his back as he pushed her against the wall.

  He slammed deep inside of her at the same time he connected their mouths again. Their lips hummed together with their mutual cries of pleasure at finally becoming one.

  He stopped as he tried to gain some control, but she wrenched her mouth from his, her eyes foggy with desire. “More,” she demanded. Then she buried her head against his neck and bit into his skin.

  And he lost all control.

  He held her tight as he pulled out and plunged back inside of her. She bit him and his fingers dug into her butt as he pulled out and slammed back inside of her again. She was so hot, so slick, so damn responsive.

  He let go of all thoughts as he pounded in and out of her. Her head fell back as her next orgasm slammed into her, her body growing so tight he could barely move. She squeezed him as he pushed inside of her again and then let out his own cry as his orgasm ripped through him, his body pulsing in time to hers.

  They rode the wave together, their cries mingling as hot water cascaded over them. She finally sagged against him, and he was incredibly grateful for the wall or they’d both fall to the ground. He’d never been so sated.

  “Oh, Crew, that was better than I could’ve ever dreamed,” she sighed.

  “Yeah, baby, that was incredible,” he told her. He had to find the strength to climb from the shower and get them to his bed.

  She moved, and her walls clenched against him, his body still buried inside of her. He was actually shocked when he felt a stirring of need rising again. He pulsed against her walls, and she snapped her head up, gazing at him in awe.

  “How?” she gasped.

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem I’m ever going to have enough of you,” he told her.

  Crew had always enjoyed sex. But when he was done, he was done. That didn’t appear to be the case with Darla. Of course, it wasn’t. Everything was extraordinary when it came to this woman.

  “Mmm, let’s go to bed,” she sighed, her eyes glazed, her smile dreamy.

  “Yes, let’s go to bed,” he told her. He reluctantly pulled from her body, his arousal still there. Then he shut off the water and held her close as he stepped from the shower and grabbed towels. They weren’t going to sleep much that night . . . and maybe not for the next week.

  He had this woman — and he didn’t think he was ever letting her go.

  Chapter Ten

  Darla hadn’t left Crew’s house in three days. She knew she was walking funny, but assured herself she could blame that on riding the horses rather than riding the man if anyone noticed. What shocked her was she hadn’t wanted to leave his side.

  They’d gone to her place and she’d packed a bag of clothes. They’d decided she was staying with him for a few days. It wasn’t permanent — that would be ridiculous — but it was for a few days. Of course, it had already been three days. How many more would be appropriate. Wasn’t this all happening a bit fast?

  Yes, it was, but she liked being with him, and Darla had always done what gave her pleasure, whether it was at work or play. They’d both had to work, but they’d driven in together and come home together. No, it wasn’t her home; it was his. But they wanted to spend evenings together. For how long? Heck, she didn’t know. It was now Saturday and Crew had just left to find food.

  Relief filled Darla when Daisy pulled up. She needed to talk to her bestie. She’d never been unsure of herself, and she didn’t enjoy the feeling right now.

  Darla was in the front yard and rushed to Daisy’s vehicle as she climbed out. There was a new softness in Daisy Darla had never seen before. Her once reluctant bestie was now all girlie. It was sort of odd. She was even wearing a dress, her blonde hair was cascading over her back, and a slight amount of makeup highlighted her naturally gorgeous eyes and full lips.

  “I love seeing you in love,” Darla said as the two women hugged each other.

  “I love being in love,” Daisy said with a light chuckle.

  Then she leaned back and eyed Darla. “You, on the other hand, seem very confused, not at all like your normal self,” Daisy pointed out.

  “I know!” Darla said as she threw her hands in the air. “I feel as if I’m a fish out of water. I’m a mess.”

  “I want you to tell me all, no holding back,” Daisy insisted.

  “Isn’t it odd how the shoe’s on the other foot now? Wasn’t I just lecturing you about living free and all of that? Now, I feel as if I’m the one who needs a lecture. But I need you to tell me to stay grounded and free at the same time,” Darla said.

  “This conversation will require wine,” Daisy said.

  Darla looked at her watch. “It’s only eleven,” she pointed out.

  “Good point, we’d better have mimosas so it’s appropriate,” Daisy said. She put her arm through Darla’s, then walked with her into Crew’s house. “I’ve loved this place from the first time I saw it. Hudson’s got a few more months of work on our place and then we’ll be out of the rental and in our dream home. It’s slightly bigger than my farm home.”

  “Just a tad,” Darla said with a laugh. She felt more grounded the second she was with Daisy. They had a way of doing that for one another. “Isn’t it like ten thousand square feet?”

  “No,” Daisy said with a scowl. Then she chuckled. “Okay, it’s close to that, but not quite ten thousand. I tried to argue with Hudson about it, but then he totally sidetracked me when he pulled out the plans for the two-story library with a huge fireplace in it. How could I refuse when he was giving me my dream room?”

  “I totally understand,” Darla said. “But didn’t he also put in a two-lane bowling alley and a massive game room?”

  “I have to admit, that might be my other favorite room of the place.” Daisy groaned. “I hate that I love the monstrosity so much! I’ve always been about saving the environment and this place is ridiculous.”

  “He’s doing all energy saver options so that has to count,” Darla said.

  “That’s true,” Daisy said with a happy gleam in her eyes. “And we have massive amounts of solar panels so it’s not going to consume any more energy than my old farmhouse. That place was so old that it was far more of a pollutant than the new home.”

  Darla laughed hard at her words. She also didn’t point out that the old farmhouse was now a museum and still using that power. “I love how you’re working so hard to justify your love of the new home. Enjoy it, girl. You’re still a warrior for causes, and it’s okay to love the home you’re going to raise a family in.”

  Daisy sighed. “I guess so. I’m starting to talk more with Hudson about having kids. You know I never wanted children. But I love this man so much that I can’t imagine the world not having his offspring. He’s beautiful inside and out, and now I’m having all of these urges to procreate. I’m wondering who in the hell I even am anymore,” Daisy gasped.