Taming Clint Westmoreland - Brenda Jackson [35]
Upon awaking the next morning, Alyssa heard a group of men talking not far from her bedroom window. She got out of her bed and slipped into her robe before crossing the floor to the window and glancing out. Her heart nearly stopped beating. The three men she saw were among those who had left the ranch with Clint, which could only mean he had returned, as well. She couldn’t help the smile that covered her lips as she headed for the bathroom.
Less than thirty minutes later she was dressed and eager to get down to breakfast before Clint left for the day. She felt a burning desire to see him, come face-to-face with him and get all into his space. She looked at herself one last time in the mirror before she left the room. She didn’t look bad in her jeans and shirt, she thought with a smile. She also wore the new boots she had purchased the day before yesterday when she’d caught a ride into town with Chester. Alyssa felt like a bona fide cowgirl.
She breathed in deeply and with shaking hands she reached to open her bedroom door. Alyssa hoped that by the time she made it to the kitchen her heart would no longer be beating so wildly in her chest. It would be a struggle to keep it together knowing Clint was back and they would be once again breathing the same air.
She opened the door to step out into the hallway and her heart caught. Standing there, leaning against the opposite wall as if he’d been waiting for her, was Clint. Alyssa was speechless. And before she could open her mouth to utter a single word, he moved from the spot, pulled her into his arms and kissed her, devouring her mouth with an urgency that astounded her.
Alyssa sagged against him and wrapped her arms around his neck as his mouth and tongue continued plundering hers. She didn’t think about struggling to keep herself together or trying to gain any semblance of control of the situation. The only thing she could think about was that he was back. He was here. And he was taking her mouth with a hunger that meant he had missed her to the same degree she had missed him. That thought made her giddy.
Everything was forgotten. How she had intended to protect her heart from further damage, and how she had decided at some point during the night to retreat back into her hands-off strategy. All her concentration was on the intense arousal overtaking her belly as she kissed Clint with the same fervor and passion that he was kissing her.
And then when he finally released her mouth, he didn’t let go of her lips. He took the tip of his tongue and outlined a sensuous path from one corner to the other, over and over again. Alyssa heard herself groan. She actually felt her panties get wet. Clint had the ability to reach down, deep inside of her, to a place no man had gone for two years. He was stirring up a need, one as intense as anything she had ever encountered.
“I’ve got to go,” Clint whispered against her moist lips. The deep, raspy tone of his voice knocked down the last reserve of strength she was trying to hold on to.
“Breakfast?” she asked. The only word she could get her lips to form.
“I’ve already eaten. I need to be on that back pasture. I’ll be gone all day and wanted to see you before I left. I wanted to taste you.”
His words made every single cell in her body multiply with excitement. Then, as if the kiss they’d just shared would not be enough to sustain him through the day, he took hold of her mouth with lightning speed once more. She returned the kiss. She hadn’t been aware that she was so starved for such male interaction until now, but not interaction from just any male. She wanted it only from Clint.
When he finally released her mouth she knew her lips would be swollen again. Anyone seeing her would know why, but at the moment she didn’t care.
“I have to go,” he said again, and as if fighting the urge to take her into his arms yet again, he stepped