Staking His Claim(9)

"I'm not a virgin." His voice was deep, and for the first time that night, held a slight trace of humor.

Elaina' mouth tipped in a tiny smile. "I figured. No, I mean, I'm guessing you're telling me to have fun with my friends, grow up some, and stay a virgin for you. Do I have that right?"

"Yeah."

"What about you? Are you going to remain abstinent for me?"

"Celibate?"

"Yeah. Does it go both ways?"

Raul studied her, wanting to hold her by the hips and sink into her so badly he thought the waiting would kill him. He thought about having another woman and quickly dismissed it from his mind. He didn't want one. He wanted her. Only her.

He answered her swiftly. "Goes both ways."

Elaina was stunned at his agreement and didn't even think to question his sincerity. He was sincere. She would bet on it. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," he bit out.

"But--"

"I'm not promising I won't jack off, baby. Just sayin' if you promise to save your cherry for me, I'll stay clean for you."

Elaina's legs felt jittery as he spelled out his intentions in basic male language.

"We in agreement?" He pushed for her answer.

"Yeah, okay. But just so we're clear. I get a job and continue with my life. I have my friends and you have your friends and we're both social, just no sex. Right?"

He misunderstood what she said. "You getting a job when you go back to San Antonio?"

"I'm not going back."

That was news to him. "What? Why?"

"That was my mother's dream for me, being a nurse. I don't want that. I'm staying here, getting a job, while I think about my life. About what I want."

Raul was shocked to feel a combination of stunned pleasure that she wasn't leaving, along with a dark, tormented knowledge that he'd have to keep fighting himself to stay away from her.

He was silent as he tried to digest her change of plans.

She went back to the subject at hand. "So, is that right? About us, I mean."

He knew she was talking about their agreement to stay celibate. "That'll be what it takes to calm me down, yeah."

"And you'll believe me?"

"I have no reason to doubt your word."

An arrow of guilt slid through her. "Okay."

"Yeah, okay?"

She tried to smile. "Okay."

She started to relax against the barn wall, but in a swift move, he swung around until his back was against the wall, his legs were spread wide, and she stood between them, her pelvis pulled into his body by a strong arm behind her back.

One hand went to her forehead and pushed a stray curl from her face. "Happy birthday, baby."

She smiled at him, trying to overcome the guilt that slid through her from her deception. "Thanks," she said, knowing she needed to tell him. It had gone too far. Now it felt like a lie. She opened her mouth to try to form the words, but he began speaking first and the sadness in his voice made her momentarily forget what she needed to tell him.

"I had a shit day. You feel good."

She relaxed her body against him, soft tendrils of arousal hitting her system. The juncture of her thighs pulsed against his blue jeans, making her panties wet and her body tremble. She tried to concentrate on his words. "What happened?"

"Lost a mare and her foal. It was a breech birth and lost them both. It sucked shit."

"I'm sorry." She experimented by tenderly putting her hand on his cheek.

He grabbed her hand and moved it to his mouth, kissing her palm. She hung against him while he breathed in her scent and kissed her palm repeatedly.

He opened his eyes and looked deep into hers. "And then I come to find you and he's touching you." His voice hardened.

"Raul," she chided softly.

He took her hand and wrapped it around his neck and leaned his forehead against hers. He slid his mouth to her cheek and caressed her with his open lips. Dragging kisses over her face, he demanded reassurance in a steely voice. "You promised, right?"

"Yes."

He kissed her mouth softly and continued to run his lips over her face, his hands moving on her back, sliding from her waist to her hips, his fingers clenching in her butt, and then moving to retrace his actions all over again.

He moved his lips to her ear and whispered, "Someday, someday soon, I'm gonna strip you naked, lay you down on my bed, and kiss your naked body. Jesus, baby, you're perfect."

His mouth moved to hers, his hands lifted to her head and angled it slightly, and then sealed his lips over hers. He held her face, pushed his tongue between her lips and began kissing her with devastating force. His tongue swirled around hers, came out, licked over her bottom lip, his teeth grazing her softly. He groaned deep in his diaphragm, and went back for more.

She sagged in his embrace, leaning against him, her brain separated from her body as he kissed her over and over again. She didn't know where she stopped and he began as she moved her hands over him, sliding under the tails of his shirt, running her hands up and over his naked back.

They kissed for a long, long time, his five o'clock shadow abrading her skin. She felt it, knew it should hurt, but it didn't. She ran her hands around to his chest and up his pectoral muscles until her hands covered his small, male nipples.

He ripped his mouth from hers and pulled her hands away from his chest and held them tightly while he dragged oxygen into his lungs.

"Can't do that, babe. You keep that up, I'll come in my pants."

Shocked, Elaina sucked in a breath and went back for his mouth. He allowed her access, and lowered his lips back to hers.

It began again. Their tongues dueled, their arms entwined. She moaned softly into his mouth, and he gripped her butt tighter, lifting her into him. She pressed against him, and started undulating against him.

He ran his hand up the curve of her waist and landed on a tight little nipple. He rubbed it over her dress and when he did, she gasped into his mouth and their kiss became wilder, wetter. He shoved her dress down and took her small, pale, naked breast into his hand. He squeezed her nipple between his fingers, pulling at her, twisting her flesh until she was panted and pushing against him almost violently.

She broke her mouth free for oxygen and he spoke. "Come for me, babe. Give it to me."

He pushed his mouth back on hers and drank deeply from her while his fist clenched her butt rhythmically and his fingers caressed her breast.

Elaina's mind was numb and sheer pleasure took over her body. She pushed against him, needing it, needing him.

His hand left her butt and came around and pushed her dress up and out of his way. Sinking one long finger into the top of her panties, he landed on her glistening clit and began rubbing, swirling his finger over it.

In seconds, she was mewling in his mouth and coming hard in his arms.

He held her tight, as pleasure beyond any pleasure she had ever known hit her body full force. She splintered completely as the orgasm ran through her.

Her mouth fell from his and her head fell to his neck where she took huge, gasping breaths of air while she slowly came down.

His hands slowly fell from her sweet spots and his arms enclosed her completely. He held her tightly as his large body shook, trying to regain control.

His breathing finally slowed, and he rasped against her ear, "That's mine. That's what's mine. All of it, Elaina. Nobody gets your orgasms but me. Every one of them, they belong to me."

She hung her head against him, completely depleted of energy. God, yes. If he could make her feel like that, he could have them all.





CHAPTER EIGHT


An hour later, Raul leaned against the living room wall next to Brian and vaguely listened to his friend talk while he concentrated on Elaina across the crowded room.

She stood with a group of women that included Janie and another young woman from town who was holding a baby cuddled to her chest. He watched as Elaina and Janie cooed softly to the baby and talked to the young mother.

Every so often, Elaina's eyes would fall on him and he would see a soft blush encompass her face.

He had a sudden vision of her holding a baby, cuddling it, nursing it. His baby.

Fierce possession ran through his blood.

The only thing calming him down and holding him in place was the memory of her shimmering in his arms as orgasm took over her body. It continued to play over and over in his head.

Brian's voice droned on beside him as he too, watched the women. "It's good to see Janie so happy again. She and Elaina went through hell, man. Janie losing her only sister like that--I can't even imagine. She was ten years older than Janie, and Janie relied on her pretty much completely in an emotional sense. And poor little Elaina. She took on the brunt of the care for her mother. Three and a half years of it. She went from picking up her high school diploma, to full-fledged caregiver."

Raul felt something splinter in his brain as he turned his head to look fully into Brian's face.

"Three and a half years?" It was all Raul could get out, and his flat voice was in no way indicative of the confusion tearing him up inside.

"Yeah, man. It was bad. Janie wanted to give Elaina a birthday party last year on her twenty-first, but there was just no way at the time."

Raul felt sucker-punched, but managed to ask another question, all the while reeling from the newly acquired information. "When did her mother die?"

"Late July."

"And then Elaina started college?" Raul knew his voice sounded empty, but it was the only way he could manage to hang onto the conversation at all without losing it completely. He felt his temper rise like volcanic pressure building inside of him, getting ready to blow.