Cowboy Casanova - Lorelei James [90]
Christ. He’d made her cry. All he’d done was give her a piece he’d carved last year. A weirdly shaped cat straight out of a Dr. Seuss book that’d been in his scrap pile because he hadn’t figured anyone would want it.
Wrong.
His cat-loving sub had gotten all choked up and thrown herself into his arms, peppering his face with smooches, muttering about his sweetness and talent to such an extent that Ben had to kiss her just to shut her up.
The kisses caught fire. Wasn’t long before they were rolling around on the floor laughing, Ainsley unsuccessfully jockeying for a dominant position.
Clothes flew and they went at it right on the floor in front of the wood burning stove. He pinned her arms above her head and wrapped her legs around his waist and he drove into her. Looking at her face as the pleasure crashed over her. Burying his face in her neck as pleasure consumed him. Being roused from that happy place by her hands stroking his hair and his back. Damn that felt nice. He oughta leave her hands free more often.
“You know how I never want to talk afterward?”
“Really? No. I’d never noticed that.”
Ainsley drummed her heels into his butt. “I’m serious.”
“Okay. I’m listening.”
“The reason why I don’t want to talk is because I don’t want to dissect whatever barrier of mine you’ve breached. I just want to bask in the way you make me feel. Because no matter how we get to that point, with cuffs or ropes or just by your command, it’s always exactly what I need. I don’t know how you know that much about me, Ben, in the short amount of time we’ve been together. I’m just really glad you do.”
He wasn’t expecting that. She’d surprised him for the fifth time in so many hours. “You’re welcome. And I don’t push you to talk to be a pain, I do it so I know for sure I haven’t caused you pain. You’re new to this and I can be rough.”
“Well, I’d tell you if you were being too rough. But I’m a lot sturdier than you give me credit for.”
“Before I forget to say it, thanks for comin’ over and dragging my broody ass out of the woodshed.” He pecked her on the lips. “Thanks for makin’ that taco thing for supper.” He gave her another peck. “Thanks for letting me win at Wheel of Fortune again.” And another soft smooch. “Thanks for the boost to my ego for loving that ugly-ass cat I carved.” He dove in for an openmouthed kiss that ramped his need back up and made her squirm beneath him. “And thanks for the spectacular blowjob.”
Ainsley eased back and frowned. “But I didn’t give you a blowjob.”
“You haven’t…yet.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Ben was financially fucked.
His big payment for the last furniture order hadn’t come through. But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. After he did a quick calculation, figuring out how much money he’d need to buy Rielle out, not just pay down her debt, he realized he needed a shit ton more cash.
He refused to admit to Tell and Dalton he didn’t have enough to fund his third. He couldn’t go to Quinn for the money, because Quinn and Libby weren’t living high on the hog and Quinn wouldn’t approve of their method of trying to secure the land anyway. He could ask Chase for a loan because Chase had plenty of extra cash, but that crossed a line and quite frankly, made Ben feel like a loser, a broke bum needing a handout from his younger brother. Asking for an advance on his wages from the McKay Ranch fund from their accountant before the cattle went to market would alert his family, which he, Dalton and Tell were trying to avoid. Getting a loan from Settler’s First would pose the same problem.
So he chewed on it for a day and came up with a solution. Not ideal, but workable. Okay, it sucked ass, and it crossed another line, but he had no choice.
Late Tuesday morning Ben ironed his plain white shirt, slipped on a bolo tie embellished with the McKay brand and donned his tan suit coat. He added a western belt, centering it between his jean-clad hips. He settled the black Stetson on his head, grabbed his duster and headed to town.
He hadn’t set up an appointment