The Last Outlaw(45)

She leaned forward and threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, Lloyd. When I saw you with that girl…and there I was fat and tired and holding a baby and—”

Lloyd kissed her again, laying her back on the bed, moving on top of her. “You have to talk to me, Katie. I’m not going to let this grow into something that comes between us.” Katie let out a startled little scream when he grabbed her up once again and scooted her farther up onto the bed. “You stay right there while I take off my boots,” he told her.

He sat down in a chair and yanked off his boots, throwing them aside, then removed his socks. He stood up and took off his gun belt, tossing it into the chair, then removed his shirt and his leather belt. He unbuttoned his pants.

“What are you doing?” Katie asked, scooting farther back on the bed. “I thought we were just talking.”

“There is a time for talking and a time for doing. And what I’m doing is called getting undressed.” He yanked off his pants, then his long johns, revealing something that told her he wanted his wife.

“Lloyd!”

He crawled onto the bed, hovering over her. “Now—is there something more you should tell me that I don’t know about?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Good. Then get this straight, Mrs. Harkner. I think of you as beautiful and delicious. You have all the colors of the earth in you, and you’re mine! If I wanted some other woman, I’d have gone after her. She wouldn’t have to come to me. I’ve not touched another woman since I met you back in Guthrie and knew you were what I wanted, and I never will.” He ran his fingers along the bodice of her dress, brushing across her full bosom, then leaned down and kissed her cleavage. “Now get undressed, and we’ll finish this discussion after I get my fill of you.”

“But I—”

“Get undressed. I’ll help you.” He lay down beside her and finished unbuttoning the front of her dress, and then her camisole, pushing it aside and leaning in to taste a nipple, licking at lingering breast milk. “Now get up and take off these clothes. Between all those petticoats and stockings and stays, I’ll never get to the good stuff.”

“Honestly, Lloyd!” Katie moved to the edge of the bed, her back to him, and removed the top of her dress to the waist, then her camisole and girdle, which left little dents in her skin. She stood up and pulled off the dress and slips, then her shoes and stockings. She started to remove her pantaloons, then sat down again, hesitating. “My stomach is still soft from the baby. For some reason, it’s taking longer for this weight to go away.”

He moved an arm around her from behind and pulled her back onto the bed. “I like you this way. This beautiful belly is warm and comforting, and it carried my son for nine months.” He pulled her pantaloons down and off and straddled her, drinking in her beautiful, pale skin, such a contrast to his own dark color. He bent close and began kissing her belly.

He took his time, wanting her to relax. He kissed her belly, her breasts again, back to her belly, and to the folds where her legs met her belly. He kissed the hairs that hid the place he loved best, making her suck in her breath and open herself to him, wanting more. He slaked his tongue into her folds and worked it in circles that he knew made her want even more. Katie gasped, mad with pleasure, and opened herself more completely. In minutes, she was clinging to the brass bars at the head of the bed and crying out in a delicious climax. He moved over her belly again, licking it and tracing his tongue up between her very full breasts, kissing her cleavage, tasting hungrily at her nipples again, then meeting her mouth. “I love you and don’t want any other woman,” he told her between kisses. “Understand?”

“Yes.” She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you so much, Lloyd. I just never want you to be disappointed in me. I just—”

Lloyd met her mouth in another searching kiss, cutting off the rest of her sentence. He moved his lips to her neck, brushing at it with his tongue and lips in fluttering, teasing touches. He positioned himself between her legs and she leaned up and kissed at the hard muscle of his arms and shoulders. “I’d die if you did this with another woman, Lloyd. I want to always please you this way.”

“You do please me, Katie Harkner.” He searched her mouth in another demanding kiss, his long, black hair shrouding her face.

His wife never could resist him. He’d always told her that all he wanted was family and love. His dream had always been just to live in peace and raise a family on his own ranch. He pressed his swollen shaft against her, then hesitated, resting on his elbows as he searched her eyes.