Chiseled and Cherished (Moon Ranch Book 3) Read online

  “Okay, but I’m not letting you talk me into vodka. I’ll never touch the stuff again.”

  “Not vodka. Nooo, I’ve got wine for us to celebrate.”

  “That’s better.” She followed Kelly through the throng of people, who all shouted happy birthday to her as they passed. When they reached the bar cart in the living room next to the keg, Kinsey’s skin prickled.

  Looking around, she caught sight of a man leaning against a doorway. One of the few not holding a drink, he stuck out from the others. Add in his height and muscled physique in low-slung jeans and a black T-shirt, and he definitely made a woman look twice.

  His warm gaze locked on her, and her nipples beaded under her skimpy bra.

  “Oh my God. Asher Moon’s looking at you.” As if avoiding being a true adult at thirty years old, Kelly sounded like a teenager tonight.

  “Asher Moon,” she repeated with a shiver. “Is that who he is?”

  “Yesss. Just walked back into town. I heard he hasn’t even gone home yet—he’s been crashing with an old friend here in Stokes.”

  “I don’t remember him from high school.”

  “Because he’s closer to my age. You were still in elementary school. I forget you’re the baby of my friends. C’mon—I’ll introduce you.”

  Oh God.

  Kelly dragged her by the arm up to the man leaning in the doorway. Up close, his hazel eyes looked like two bottomless forest pools, reflecting more than an alcohol-induced haze of the other men around her.

  “Asher.”

  “Hi, Kelly. Happy birthday.” He leaned in and kissed her powdered cheek.

  Kelly gripped his shoulder and gave him a big smile. “Do you know Kinsey?”

  He shook his head. Kinsey definitely wished she’d foregone the tight dress, because her nipples were trying to jump out of the bodice and attack the gorgeous man standing before her.

  Tall didn’t begin to explain him. Handsome either. Asher Moon seemed to own the room with a casual aloofness that told everybody he was head and shoulders above these small-town people he grew up around.

  “Hello, Kinsey.”

  Why was she staring at his mouth? God, his lips looked hard—chiseled into the granite of his face.

  Kinsey scrambled for her wits and smiled. “Hi.”

  “Now you’re friends. Have you seen Gray anywhere, Asher?”

  He shook his head.

  “My boyfriend is never around when I’m looking for him.”

  Kinsey spoke up, “I didn’t know he was your boyfriend.”

  Kelly’s eyes sparkled. “One of them. I’m going to find him. Have some of that wine, Kinsey, darling.” She air-kissed Kinsey and vanished into the crowd, who threw out more “happy birthdays” as she went.

  Suddenly, the music changed, and people flooded into the center of the room to dance. Feeling more out of place by the second, Kinsey chanced a look at Asher.

  “You dance?” she asked. She had come out on a Friday night looking for fun.

  His eyes warmed, but he didn’t smile. “C’mon.” He twitched his head for her to follow, and damn if her body didn’t sit up and beg at the unspoken command.

  After he shouldered their path into the crowd, he stopped and turned to her. When he extended a hand, heat curled through her belly like a wisp of smoke. She placed her hand in his rough one, and he drew her in.

  Her hips bumped his. And he began to grind to the music.

  Oh God. She really couldn’t dance all that well, but her body reacted like it had taken classes. She swayed with him, and he brought a palm to her lower back.

  “I like your dress. You look different from everyone else here.”

  She didn’t—some were much more scantily clad and some looked downright slutty. “Thanks,” she said above the music.

  His stare beat down into her, and her heart pounded in rhythm to their moves. “You grew up in Stokes?”

  She nodded.

  “Funny we never met.”

  “Kelly said you’re close to her age. I’m five years younger.”

  “Ah. Well, I’m happy to make your acquaintance.” He rubbed his hips against hers, and she felt the full-blown arousal in his jeans. Not any ordinary bulge—the man was packing.

  “You wanna get outta here?” His steady gaze asked far more than for a breath of fresh air out on the deck.

  Her body said yes. Her mind… Well, she didn’t have anything to lose. Leaving the party with the hottest man in Stokes—hell, in Colorado—didn’t seem like something she’d regret.

  She nodded and slipped her hand into his. With a flash of white teeth that had her heart doing back-flips and warmth licking at her insides, he towed her to the front door and outside. The cooler air swallowed them. She didn’t make it two steps before Asher whipped her up in his arms and pressed her back against a porch column.

  She gasped at the sudden move, and he crushed his hips against hers once more. Pressure built inside her, and she rubbed herself on him to alleviate it.

  “Fuck, you’re sexy. You got a place we can go?”

  “My apartment.” What else did she need besides a bed, wall or floor, and a box of condoms? Kelly shouldn’t be the only person to celebrate tonight.

  “How far is it?” He slid a knuckle under her chin and lifted her face up to his. Their gazes caught and held for several thumps of her heart.

  “Two blocks over.” Her words came out as a low rasp of desire.

  “Too far. Come on. I know a private spot.” He grabbed her hand again and hauled her down the porch steps and around to the garage. He opened the side door as if he owned the place and before she knew it, they were climbing the stairs to the apartment over the garage.

  “Doesn’t Kelly rent this out?”

  “Nobody lives here right now.” His eyes glittered in the dark as he led her through the rooms.

  “How do you know about this place?”

  “I know a lot about Stokes. Ah, here we go.” He pushed open a door to a bedroom. The room contained only a bed and a window with curtains drawn against the moonlight. Darkness enveloped her, and so did Asher’s arms.

  The moment his warm, minty breath washed across her lips, she sucked in a sharp gasp. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, and her knees threatened to buckle.

  After scooping her up, he laid her down on the mattress and covered her with his hard body.

  “I wanted you the moment I saw you come through that door.” He swept her mouth with his tongue until she grew dizzy.

  When he drew back, he wore a ghost of a smug smile. Two could play this game. She wrapped her arms around his neck and dragged him closer. “And I wanted you the moment Kelly introduced us.”

  That grin appeared again, and this time she could appreciate it. God, Asher Moon was a beautiful man, and he knew it too, judging by the cocky gleam in his eyes.

  “I’m not steppin’ on some man’s toes, am I? No boyfriend about to burst through that door and try to beat the shit out of me?” His gruff tone wove a spell over her.

  She shook her head. “I doubt anybody could win a fight against you.”

  His grin spread, and so did her desire, until flames licked at her insides. “No husband?”

  “No.” She rocked upward again, claiming his lips and shutting off any further conversation.

  He slipped a hand down her side and then latched onto her hip. Thrills rushed through her—at least she thought they were thrills, until he dipped his head to her throat and began working his way down to her breasts and her body combusted.

  Short panting breaths escaped her. Her need amped higher and higher. As his five o’clock shadow grazed the top of her breasts, she bit back a cry. Juices of arousal drenched her thong panties at each brush of his lips across her flesh.

  With extreme skill, he reached into her bodice and teased her breast out of her bra cup. Her chest rose and fell sharply.

  “Beautiful.” His roughened tone skimmed her senses along with his dark gaze of lust as
he stared at her breasts. Even in the darkness, she felt exposed in a brand new way that turned her on more than she’d ever been in her life.

  “I’ve never had a one-night stand,” she rasped out.

  “You’re in for a treat, darlin’.” He extended a long finger and touched her nipple. The barely-there stroke made her rise off the bed. He circled the bud, causing it to tighten more. Then he closed his thumb and forefinger around her nipple and lightly rolled it back and forth.

  “Oh my God!”

  “Love me a woman who loves her nipples played with.” An evil gleam came into his eyes. “And if I suck it?”

  She dug her fingers into his hair and urged him downward until his mouth reached her straining peak. She couldn’t look away when he parted his lips and drew it into his scorching hot mouth.

  Throwing her head back on a cry, she was drowned in sensation. Hot, rough, soft, silky. All of those things came from Asher sucking her nipple. When he dragged his teeth over her sensitive flesh, she reared up, panting.

  “Easy, darlin’. Did I hurt you?”

  Confusion seeped in. “No. You… I…liked it.”

  His rumble vibrated through her. Lifting his head, he pierced her in his gaze. “Let’s see if the other likes it as much.” With that, he popped her breast from her bodice and began the same exquisite torment. Every pull of his mouth elicited a new brand of moan from her lips, ending on an animalistic groan.

  He raised his head. “I think that’s a yes.”

  God, he was a talker during sex, but she didn’t mind one bit. Not only his voice but his dirty words sent her teetering on the ledge.

  She raked her fingers over his shoulders. “Let’s get your shirt off.”

  That sideways grin almost stopped her heart, and somehow she managed to pull his shirt up over hard abs and a thickly-muscled chest. He helped her remove the garment the rest of the way, and she stared up at him.

  Moonlight seeped through the sheer curtains, falling over Asher’s chiseled body. She drank in every dip and swell and the dark lines of his tattoos. What a damn good specimen she’d chosen for her first—and probably the only—one-night stand of her life. At least she’d come away with some vivid memories of the hot man. Just what she needed with the weight of family life suffocating her lately.

  Hovering over her, he dragged a look over her body in return. Spending her days in the woods and fields in her job kept her body fit.

  “You’re bangin’-hot,” he grated out.

  Her breath caught. “Thank you.” She never thought of herself that way. Her body was a tool that helped her live her everyday life, but the look on his face revealed he saw her otherwise, and that felt good.

  Slowly, he leaned in and captured her mouth again. This kiss gave her the same electric feelings, and he cupped her breasts too, squeezing her nipples into sharp peaks. When he finally eased a hand down her side to the hem of her dress, he flashed her a smile.

  Holy crap. Is that a dimple? Could this man get any more points on the hotness scale? Only if he had a big—

  She sucked in a gasp at his fingers on her bare thigh, moving upward with a knowledge of her body she didn’t even know herself. When he smoothed his thumb over the crotch of her panties, she almost came unglued.

  “Fuck, you’re all wet for me.”

  “I want you,” she managed to rasp.

  He grabbed her wrist and placed her hand over the huge bulge in the front of his Levis. “The feeling’s mutual, darlin’.” With that, he slipped his finger inside her panties.

  Chapter Two

  Been a long time since he’d had a woman, but he couldn’t remember those moments comparing to this one. Every reaction of Kinsey’s body ramped him higher. His cock bulged like steel against his zipper, and the head grew wet with precum for the fiery little vixen.

  “This pink dress is comin’ off.” With that announcement, he yanked the elastic-y fabric over her trim thighs, round hips, the dip of her waist, and over her breasts like he unwrapped a present. At least it felt like his birthday. Going to this party had been a last-minute decision he thought would end with him leaving after one beer, but then Kinsey walked in the front door.

  A woman with confidence always drew a Moon, and his dick stood up and took notice of the direct way she met everyone’s eyes as she moved through the front room to find her friend. The pink dress and heels showcased a body he wanted locked around him while he drove into her tight heat.

  And of course he’d gotten his way, as he always did.

  He kissed her again, a tangling of tongues that dragged rough gasps from her lips even as he deftly removed her bra. Moving down her body, he sucked those dainty pink nipples again. God, he wanted to see them in the sunlight—not that he’d ever stick around long enough to watch the sun rise over Kinsey’s body. She said one night and he would follow through with that promise.

  After releasing her nipple with a soft pop of his mouth, he caught her stare and moved down her body. The lotion she wore smelled of peaches, and damn if that didn’t turn him on even more. Everything about this woman in this moment felt right. But come tomorrow, he’d find his gut carried him somewhere else. Always did.

  When he settled his jaw against her belly and slipped down between her legs, she squirmed in his grasp. He placed a small bite just below her navel and sucked. Maybe he was a bastard for marking her, but he wanted this one to remember him.

  The scent of her arousal drew him downward. Damn, he never ate out a woman on the first date—he hurried to the part where he jerked on a condom and drove between her legs.

  A shudder ran through her body, and her inner thigh muscles clenched.

  “The thong’s gotta go too.” He hooked a finger in and snapped the elastic side.

  “Oh God.” She arched upward, and fuck if the sight of her pussy covered in trim blonde peach fuzz didn’t have him aching.

  For a moment, he stared at the treat he would soon devour. Her pussy was porn perfect, though saying so might offend the woman. He thumbed apart her folds to reveal her slick clit, as juicy as a berry.

  Fuck. Before he knew it, he lowered his lips and sucked the bundle of nerves into his mouth. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and rocked her hips up again and again, seeking an end they both needed, because at the first taste, he knew he couldn’t last much longer.

  He swirled his tongue over her clit and moved a finger down her wet seam to slip into her channel. When her inner walls sucked at his finger, he had to bite back the growl forming in his throat, along with the rising pressure in his balls.

  Luckily, he knew just how to take her over the edge fast so he could get inside her. He curled his finger and banged her with a steady rhythm as he sucked her clit. In seconds, she stiffened. When she stiffened, he felt victory at his door.

  Using tongue and finger, he took her over the edge. Each sweet pulsation rocked him—and fuck, he couldn’t wait any longer.

  Shoving to his knees, he grabbed the condom out of his wallet and then stripped in seconds. Kinsey lay on the bed, ripe and warm and scenting the air with her arousal that still wet his lips.

  As he drew his cock out of his jeans, he saw the flare of surprise in her eyes and felt a moment of power come over him.

  “Yeah, I’m big. I’m told I know how to use it too. C’mere, darlin’.” He grasped her hips and yanked her down the mattress, settling her at the tip of his cock. One shove and he’d have the world of pleasure at his beck and call.

  So why did he hesitate?

  Her lips looked swollen, and she bit into the plump lower one. “I want you,” she told him for the second time that night, and how could he ever resist such temptation?

  He thrust inside in one quick jerk of his hips. Burying himself to the hilt, he released a growl that matched her throaty cry. Then they began to move. She bucked against him, taking what she needed, and he plunged into her harder, faster, his mind a white haze of ecstasy.

  A burning sensation at the base of
his spine told him how close he was to coming. But he couldn’t back off now, not when she tensed under him and he felt the first pulse of her walls closing around him.

  “Fucking hell,” he groaned out.

  “Kiss me again.” Her demand didn’t sound timid in the least, and hell if he didn’t like that.

  He slammed his mouth over hers. The moment he tasted her, she began to tremble with the waves of her release. Too quick his own rushed up. One more deep nudge of his cock in her pussy had him spurting. A loud roar left him, and she clutched at his body while tumbling through her own orgasm.

  When his brain returned to his body, his first thought was that he wanted her again.

  He rolled to the side, and she lay next to him, not touching. For some reason, he reached out and put a hand on her thigh, bridging them. “What do you think of your first one-night stand?” he managed to ask between heaves of his chest.

  “Pretty good.”

  Wait—what? He flipped onto one side and hovered over her. “Pretty good? That’s all?”

  Her eyes twinkled. He didn’t even know what color they were. In the dim light coming through the window, they appeared gray. Back at the party, he’d hardly torn his gaze from her curves long enough to notice, though he’d seen enough of her sandy blonde hair in her hidden spots to know he liked it.

  She giggled and hooked her arm around his neck. “More than pretty good,” she admitted, and kissed him.

  When he broke the kiss, he grinned down at her. “Damn straight, darlin’. I’ll be right back.” He walked into the bathroom and disposed of the condom. A minute later he returned to find her curled on one side, looking at him.

  More than ever he wanted to know the color of her eyes now.

  Who cares? I got what I wanted.

  In a move completely unlike him, he crawled back into bed.

  “I wish we had a blanket,” she said.

  “You cold?” He touched her spine and found it cool. He stretched out and pulled her against his body to warm her. Hell, that was Move Number Two he never did.