jesus. he wanted her. yet, he knew having her just once would be like a fucking gateway drug. he'd become addicted. he'd want more from her than sex. he'd want everything.

as he debated on the best way to wake her, her eyelids lifted and she peered at him drowsily. her shy smile proved to be his undoing. he took the kiss he craved, bringing his mouth down on hers hard.

right away her lips parted, her tongue eagerly sought his and the kiss caught fire.

kane groaned, lost in the rush, lost in the give and take of the kiss. pulse-pounding passion tinged with sweetness. no roving hands. no body parts grinding together. only their mouths touched. wet lips.

swirling tongues. nips of teeth. gliding, sliding, falling headfirst into the kiss, well past the point of no return, he never wanted to stop kissing her. somehow, kane eased back from the pleasure of her mouth.

ginger stared at him, wide-eyed, tracing her kiss-swollen lips with the tips of her fingers.

"what?" he said thickly.

"i'd wondered if i'd embellished that kiss from a few months back, but i hadn't. you sure know how to make my head spin, kane mckay." she reached up, letting her fingertips trail over the lower half of his face. "i love the way your mustache and goatee feel when you're kissing me."

"imagine how it'll feel other places." he threw back the covers. "if i unhook your sling are you gonna be able to keep your bum arm still?"

she cocked her head. "depends. what do you plan on doing to me?"

kane grinned. "oh, i've got a couple of real good ideas, red, but sharin' them at this point would spoil the surprise. i'd rather demonstrate than explain."

"then no guarantees i can hold still."

"then the sling stays on."

"fine." ginger gave him a head-to-toe perusal. "you wear flannel pants and a wife beater as pajamas?"

"normally i don't wear pajamas at all."

her hazel eyes enlarged when he climbed onto the bed, straddling her pelvis, with a knee on either side of her hips. he whipped off his tank top.

she sighed gustily. "you should never ever wear a shirt. in fact, it should be illegal for you to cover that magnificent chest."

kane reveled in the way her hungry gaze roamed over every ounce of his exposed flesh. "that so, counselor?"

"yes sir. do you work out to maintain this fantastic physique?"

"if feedin' cattle and doin' stuff around the ranch is considered workin' out, then yes. sometimes i meet up with colt at the community center and we lift weights." not recently, since his cousin had been a serious dick lately.

you really wanna think about colt when you're finally in ginger's bed?

no.

"i cannot wait to put my hands all over you, cowboy."

"same goes. my turn first." kane rested on his haunches and reached for the snaps on her shirt. "keep your eyes on mine as i undress you."

she opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it.

tempting, to yank the sides of her shirt apart and be done with it. especially since he'd forced himself not to gawk at her beautifully tempting body parts earlier. now faced with the luxury of memorizing every abundant inch, he wasn't about to rush.

he popped the first pearl-snap button. then the next. then the next until a long strip of her luminescent skin, from her neck to her belly, peeked out from beneath the lapels. carefully, kane peeled back the left half of her shirt, tucking the right side beneath her sling. he traced the delicate line of her clavicle to the hollow of her throat. with every teasing stroke, the pulse along the side of her neck jumped.

not as calm and cool as she appeared.

kane let the backs of his fingers drift, paying particular attention to the patterns of freckles. he murmured, "i love the way these spread across your skin. looks like mud spatters on alabaster."

her body went rigid.

kane met her gaze, surprised to see a hint of anger. "what did i say?"

"don't spout poetry about my stupid freckles. they don't resemble 'cinnamon sprinkled on cream' or

'nature's polka dots on a flesh canvas'. they're ugly. they're weird. they're blotchy. there's too damn many of them. they've been the bane of my existence since the day i realized the more time i spend in the sun, the more freckles show up. and that really sucks when you live in sunny california."

he closed the distance until they were nose to nose. "if i wanna spout poetry about your beauty marks, then i'll damn well do it. so suck it up." he bent his head and his tongue zigzagged random patterns across the brown dots, switching it up to nuzzle her neck, nibble her earlobes, nip the strong line of her jaw.

he teased, tormenting until she moaned his name.

"something you need?" he asked, trilling his lips down the pointed tip of her chin.

"you. more of this."

"i could get used to hearin' that sexy squeak when i taste you right here." he opened his mouth along the side of her neck and sucked.

"maybe i have other noises, you know, when you lavish attention with that talented mouth...elsewhere."

"such impatience. you hintin' about some place in particular?"

"you could do a freckle check by my nipples," she suggested.

kane chuckled against her skin, then sucked another spot in the middle of her breastbone.

"hey, no hickeys."

"tough. i wanna leave my mark on you. so when you're alone in your bed? and you look down?

you'll see it and remember me puttin' my mouth all over you."

"like i'm ever going to forget this."

"i hope not." he kissed a path down the center of her body, right through her deep cleavage. when he reached the front clasp on her bra, he took it between his teeth and bit down, expecting it to snap open.

nothing happened.

damn. it'd been a few years since he'd tried this trick of removing a woman's bra with just his mouth.

he tried it again.

the plastic didn't budge.

maybe he'd lost his touch.

maybe that's a good thing.

kane glanced at ginger to see that luscious mouth forming a smirk.

"problems, cowboy?"

"seems i'm a bit rusty."

"and yet, i'm not exactly sorry to hear that," she demurred.

"time to get serious about this clothes removal business."

he rose on his knees and cracked his knuckles.

ginger laughed.

the husky sound of her amusement zinged straight to his crotch.

one deft twist of his fingers and the bra cups separated, revealing the pearly flesh, but the green lace edge kept her nipples hidden. he curled his right hand over her rib cage and traced the heavy underswell of her breast, leisurely sliding the fabric aside with his thumb.

her chest rose and fell with anticipation. her teeth dug into her lower lip.

the second that pale peach tip became visible, kane's mouth was on it.

ginger arched up hard and moaned.

he suckled and teased. using his mouth, his lips, dragging his goatee across the taut peak.

"i...oh. i like that."

he could spend a solid day learning how she liked to be touched on her tits. what made her squirm.

what made her come.

"sweet jesus, i feel like i'm going to..."

he kept sucking until the restless rubbing of her thighs beneath him increased. he switched sides, devoting the same ruthless attention to this nipple, while his fingers manipulated the one still warm and wet from his mouth.

breathy moans built, urging him on. her pelvis shot up and she gasped, "oh. my. god."

kane swore he felt the pulse of her orgasm in his mouth as he vigorously sucked her to the peak of her climax.

at some point ginger had latched onto his head, digging her fingernails into his scalp. that bite of pain was a serious fucking turn on.

her body quivered beneath him and she sighed the contentment of a satisfied woman.

he intended to hear that sound many more times; he was nowhere near done with her. not tonight.

not ever. if he had to use sex to win her over, then he'd goddamn well do it.

kane released her nipple. his mouth wandered down her body. kissing her sternum. the defined line of her upper belly, pausing at the indent of her navel. upon reaching the waistband of her yoga pants, he gazed at her across the length of her torso. "lift up."

ginger canted her hips.

he tugged her pants off. before he focused his attention on that sweet slice of heaven between her thighs, he repositioned her cast. "lie back."

beautiful. bright red curls covered her mound. kane was just so damn eager he skipped the buildup.

no teasing touches. no teasing remarks on the sexy freckles scattered across her curvy, muscular thighs.

keeping his grip on the inside of her legs, kane pressed a kiss to the top of her pubic bone. then he dragged his tongue through the cleft to the source of that deliciously spicy scent.

warm. sticky. sweet.

kane closed his eyes and devoured her pussy. he lapped at the cream gathered at the opening to her body, alternating long sensual strokes with short jabs. wiggling his tongue deep, retreating to wrap his lips around her clit. but kane only sucked that nub one time and returned his oral worship to the mouth of her sex. licking her. exploring every hidden fold of her soft, wet cunt. swallowing her honey like ambrosia.

her whimpers increased. her legs shook.

and still he didn't relent or change his pace.

"kane. please. i'm about to crawl out of my skin. my shoulder is throbbing and i didn't take pain meds because i wanted to be fully conscious for when you came to me tonight."

"such a convincin' argument, counselor. i'll let you play the injury card this time." he blew across her engorged pussy and she whimpered. "but next time? fair warning. i ain't gonna stop kissin' my fill of your sweet spot until i've had enough. not even if you beg."