by Nicole Snow
“Come a little closer, beautiful.” He purred his approval as I lowered my breasts. “Yeah, that's it. I don't know what the hell people in this town are thinking...you're a hell of a good looking girl. So good I wanna pull you in and make you all mine...”
“Hey!” I panicked when his big hands grabbed hard on my ass.
I tried to pull back, but he was too much. My wet panties collided with his crotch, and he grunted in my ear, pushing the rocky horn beneath his jeans against me.
I cried out again. The rumble of the men around me grew louder, and a second later, I was ripped back by a strong wind.
“Oh!” That was no wind.
I was face to face with Gabe, but only for an instant. He moved me to the stairs and then went marching back. His big arms flexed and he stabbed one hard finger into Mister Touchy-Feely's chest.
“Jesse told you, no hands. If I ever see you do that to her again, I'm gonna personally kick your ass from here to Boston. Got it?” Gabe bared his teeth like a wolf on the hunt.
The stranger's face sized him up for a moment, but at last he threw up his hands. “Yeah, yeah. It's cool. I just got a little carried away...the lady seemed like she was really into it.”
“Well, she wasn't.” Gabe brought his knee forward, pressing tightly against the stranger's.
I held my breath, hoping a crazy fistfight wasn't about to start. I'd been through a few of those at the saloon. But they never involved anyone I actually cared about...
“Whatever you say, man. Come on, I'm gonna get a drink.”
Gabe slowly backed away and let him up. He followed the grabby cowboy with hot brimstone shooting from his eyes as the man went over to the keg and refilled his glass.
Sensing the tension, Jesse came over to his cousin.
“It's cool, Gabe. Seriously. She's put on one hell of a show and we've been at it two hours. I'd say it's time to break out the old Westerns and the whiskey, just like we planned.”
The cowboys lined up for the tall bottles as an old black and white film with John Wayne started on the big screen TV.
I smiled and slowly started to gather my clothes.
Mission accomplished. Well, everything except getting all the way to Gabe.
If only that stupid oaf hadn't let his hands wander...
Being dressed so soon after I was almost naked and steaming in jungle heat among strangers felt surreal. I leaned on the staircase, staying out of everyone's way, wondering if they were actually done with me for the evening or not.
“You're free to go.” Gabe sidled up next to me. “But you ought to drink something first.”
He pushed two glasses with beer and water into my hands. I thanked him and drank the cool water first, realizing how thirsty the dancing had made me.
“You were great out there. Sorry about that idiot...he's well known for getting into mischief when he's drunk.” Gabe turned, giving the man the evil eye from across the room.
“It's okay,” I said, reaching for his arm. “Really. I surprised myself...I was a little nervous at first, but by the end, everything felt truly natural. I'm glad I could help give your cousin a nice send off.”
Gabe turned to me and smiled. I downed the rest of my beer. The cool liquid joined the water in my hot, empty stomach, sending storm fronts rippling through me.
“You know, I never got all the way to you while I was doing the lap dances.” I paused. If it wasn't for the alcohol's instant buzz, I doubt I would've managed my next words. “Don't you want one?”
His face hardened. Slowly, his hands went around me.
I gasped with surprise, and then a second time when he smoothed his thick palms down my back, stopping to cup my ass and squeeze.
“Gabe!” I hissed, a shrill whisper spilling out of me, betraying how deeply I wanted him.
“Let's go to the guest room. We can have a little privacy there.”
My head started to pound. Waves of fire cut through me, and I vaguely wondered if this was really happening, or if I'd fallen into some kind of crazy dream.
The slight ache in my knees didn't seem very dreamy, though. But it was nothing compared to the painful, fierce burn between my thighs, an empty chasm screaming to be filled.
Upstairs, the door to the small room clicked shut. It was a neat, tidy little guest room with a dresser and some fake flowers on a nightstand.
“Show me what you've got. I have a strange suspicion you'll work harder for me than you did for Jesse and the other guys, won't you?” The bed creaked beneath Gabe's weight as he sat down, staring at me.
Holy shit.
I had a flash of him throwing me onto the bed and ravishing me, making those springs squeal again and again. With that fantasy raging in my head, dancing slow and sexy was out of the question.
I tore off my shirt fast, not caring if I ripped a few buttons. Walking closer to him and swaying my hips, I twirled and pushed my rear out, until it went straight into his waiting hands.
His fingers sank into my ass through my jeans. Delight burbled off my lips, a delicate fever crying for more, even as his hands fell away.
That's it. That's it!
I didn't want him to hold back. I invited him to be touchier and feelier than the unwelcome man who'd closed down the show.
I wanted – needed – his hands all over me. Touching, stroking, feeling, fucking...
My nipples sang with relief when I popped my bra and let it fall. They were hard, swollen, and ready to be smoothed with his fingers and tongue.
Gabe's starry eyes turned into furnaces. He reached up, hypnotized by my gently bobbing breasts.
When he reached out and cupped them, I moaned. My hips moved on their own, circling and opening, spreading my legs for him.
“Jesus, Ashley. Everybody wants you in this town, no matter what they say. You know that, don't you?” He stopped moving until I nodded shyly. “Lucky, lucky day. It's not everyday a man gets something everyone else wants.”
He growled softly, reaching behind my back and pulling me onto his lap. Fire burst in my stomach. I toppled onto him, straddling him with my hips.
My fingers trembled, wildfires racing through them, and I reached to undo my jeans.
“Stop,” he said suddenly, covering my hands with his. “You're going to give me my lap dance and I'm going to put my lips all over you. But that's as far as it goes today. Understand?”
My brain groaned with disappointment, but I held it all in. Actually, I didn't understand why, but the darkness in his tone told me 'no' wasn't an option.
Whatever. At least I'll get to sample something he has to offer...
I leaned in, focusing on moving my hips against him, without losing control. His arms went around me, tight and eager, drawing me up to his face.
Our lips locked and lightning shot into me. The heat – the smoldering brushfire heat! – raced through my body, splitting off into lightning bolts that went to every nerve ending.
I was too shocked to do anything but let my lips fall against his. Luckily, Gabe did the rest.
His tongue snaked into my mouth, strong and driven. Gabe cut circles along my lips, seeking my tongue.
When he found it, he circled it furiously, massaging me wet and wonderfully. His fingers clenched a little deeper into my flesh in time to his licks.
He held my tongue down, awing me with his power. I couldn't hold back a sweeping, hot moan that poured into his mouth.
My bare breasts pushed into his hard chest. Beneath me, his knee started to move, shifting up to the blazing cleft between my legs.
I barely noticed it at first, but he held me there, rubbing through our clothes with increasingly harder, faster strokes.
“What's this?” I squeaked.
I pulled my lips away, roasting as the wet heat rose to an embarrassing pitch. Gabe reached up with one hand and cradled my chin.
“I'm going to make you come with no hands. You can beg and rock as hard as you want. Come for me, Ashley. One sweet, rough climax wi
thout any further temptations.”
His words shocked me. But I pressed on his knee, surrendering to the unexpected command.
I closed my eyes. The fiery shocks of his hands, his lips, his touch stretched into me, hitting my body all over, even as the strongest heat stormed up into my center from his friction.
I'd never come without using my hands before. And amazingly, it didn't take long.
He kissed me harder, probing past my lips, flicking deeper with his tongue. The circles thrashed wilder, setting me on fire above, mirroring the nascent explosion below.
My breaths became more ragged, needier. I pressed myself hard into his shoulder, tore away from him, and cried loud.
“Oh. My. Gabe!” My mouth fell open and locked in an O.
He held my chin against his neck as the climax tore me in two. I came, grunting and rocking against him like an animal. My nails raked his back again and again, hoping to tear right through his shirt.
I barely registered the faint knock behind us.
“Hey, Gabe? We're about to do the gifts in there.”
Oh, noooo. My legs buckled and my cry softened.
“Be out in a minute!” He yelled, listening closely for the boots behind the door to clack away.
Next, he leaned to my ear, tightening the unbearable pressure wedged against my sex. “Ignore him. Keep coming, Ashley. Give me everything.”
I threw my head back and screamed. New spastic waves stormed on, flashing like branching lightning bolts, blinding and impossible to forget.
My body lit up, burned, and then began to cool again after a small eternity. The ecstasy raged on.
When it finally softened, hunger still mingled with satisfaction. My nails and joints pulsed, angry and exhausted, brought to their breaking point by the strip show and then the insane orgasm continuing to savage my flesh.
“That's the kind of dance I like, my lady,” he whispered. “Helpless, hot, and obedient.”
He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. He gently lifted me off his lap and leaned against the wall as I tried to gather my wits and get dressed.
“I wish I didn't have to bring this to such an abrupt end, but I've got to get down there and join the celebrations. Here, I'll send you on your way with this, just like I promised...”
He fished in his pocket and held a smooth piece of paper to me, just as I finished buttoning my shirt. My sore eyes bugged out a little as I held it up to my face.
I'd never received a check for more than a thousand dollars before. The amount written there had to be way more than any stripper had ever gotten in this town for one evening.
Hell, probably more than the rowdy and beautiful prostitutes got in the distant past.
“Thank you,” I sighed, pressing it close to my chest before securing it in my purse. “I won't forget this.”
“It's fair pay for the work you did. Take my thanks and say 'you're welcome.' And before you ask, I'll be in touch.” He shot me that damnably sweet wink.
“You're welcome, Gabe,” I managed, before slipping past him like a bashful kitten.
I slid into my car and drove home with delicious soreness needling my body.
Later, as I drifted off to a well deserved sleep, I sensed the fire rising up again – eternal torches he'd lit to remind me of his touch, the same ones that wouldn't let up until I saw him, felt him, and savored him whole.
III: Cowboy's Fiery Secret
“Eat up, Ellie May! You won't be as cold if you pack on a few pounds by Christmas.” I rubbed the old gray horse's snout.
She was my father's favorite, a fifteen year old mare who'd carried both of us joyriding on the little country trails before we hit hard times.
I smiled and wiped a tear from my eye. The horse quickly devoured the big mess of diced carrots and apples I served. And my bucket wasn't even half-empty as I moved down to Grim, a big brown stallion who smelled the goodies before they landed in front of his face.
For once, feeding and cleaning time didn't carry the same loathsome fears I'd had since Spring. The horses were going to gain some weight fast at this rate, and all because I'd given into my baser desires.
I hadn't spoken to Gabe since the bachelor party. For a few days, I worried the world would come crashing down around me.
I expected the savage whispers and lewd catcalls at the saloon to heighten to a deadly pitch as every man in town talked about my evening a stripper slut.
But the shameful spectacles never came. Business went on as usual.
It was like Gabe had cast a miraculous spell on the men, robbing away their gossip. I wondered what he'd threatened them with if they talked about me.
I finished watering my babies in the barn and stepped out into a melancholy November day. Autumn surrendered a little more to winter's icy grip every day. The nearby mountains were already coated in a fine dusting of snow, and I knew it wouldn't be long until the heavy flakes began intruding into the valley.
My ears pricked up when I heard the distant rumble of a car. I glanced at my phone in the pocket, figuring it was the mailman making his evening deliveries, but it wasn't even noon.
The roar grew louder, and so did the dust cloud snaking up my long private drive.
I blinked and did a double take. It was no car at all, but a motorcycle approaching fast. And Gabe was mounted on it, his eyes focused beneath his tall hat, fixed on me through the swirling dry dust.
The motorcycle swerved next to my beat up old car and stopped. The silence seemed as deafening as the engine grumble that proceeded it as soon as he shut down his ignition.
“Miss Lambert,” he said, climbing off the bike and tipping his cowboy hat. “I didn't mean to show up here unexpectedly, but I stopped by the Silver Quarter and you weren't there.”
“Funny. I almost didn't expect to see you again.” I approached him cautiously.
“I told you I'd be in touch, Ashley. And I'm a man of my word.” He grinned, adding the last part as if he expected a challenge.
I wouldn't be so stupid. Besides, I kind of believe him...
Truthfully, I wasn't sure what I believed. I stared at Gabe in all his beautiful, country carved goodness. I tried to hold in my eyes from popping as I stared at the sleek black leather jacket draped around his broad shoulders.
The word badass came to mind, wedged in with a dozen other thoughts I shouldn't have been having.
Shit. You have one good guess why he's shown up here, and you're too lovestruck to be offended.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
He drew closer, closing the last small gap between us. I feared I'd lose myself instantly if he took me in the cold air and dragged me close to his mountainous, irresistible body – and then I'd do something really stupid.
“You might as well come inside,” I said, hoping the invite might buy me a little relief. At least I'd get my hungry eyes off him. “Then you'll have to sit down and tell me all about why you're here.”
“Oh, I've got my reasons.” He smiled again and followed me in.
I had a pang of self-conscious doubt about my kitchen. The sparse, slightly worn room we stepped into through the screen door wasn't the coziest way to greet a guest. The fact that it was all I had made me feel even worse.
“Can I get you anything?” I asked, reluctantly facing him. “Coffee? Tea?”
“We're not at the saloon.” He waved his hand, brushing away the offer. “I won't make you serve me in your off hours when you should be taking it easy. Well, not in the same way a waitress serves her tables, anyway..”
Wet heat lapped through me, conflicting and fiery. I stepped toward him as he pulled out two kitchen chairs on the table, motioning me to sit.
It was my house, but the roles were reversed. I sat across from him, looking down the table.
Damn it. How can he make me feel like I'm his guest when it's really the opposite?
I shook my head a little and refused to meet his eyes for several seconds. When I did, the steady hum inside me
graduated to a roar. Excited, aroused, and a little bit fearful.
“I'll get right to it,” he said. “From what I've seen, everything went like a charm the other week. You bailed me out with family and I gave up some easy money. Hell, we were so excited afterward that we –“
“I know,” I cut in, biting my tongue a little. “And I'm still not sure what to think about all that. I did a good job, Gabe, and I don't regret it. Thanks for keeping my work secret too.”
He gave me a thin smile. I tried to make the ice in my voice harden, hoping the stern professionalism might make him think twice about doing anything rash like the glorious encounter he stopped short of describing.
“Well, I'm sure about what I know. Not to mention what I feel.” He watched my eyes widen in surprise. “I think we're perfect together, Ashley, and I've got another proposal for you.”
Oh, no. I can't even tell if he's talking about business or us. I swear, if it's another strip job I'll –
“Don't worry. I won't make you take off your clothes for my cousin and his buddies again.” He paused, drawing in a heavy breath. “I want you all to myself this time. I want you to give me a private show, longer and better than that lap dance you promised. And I'll pay you even more than you got for Jesse's party – a whole lot more.”
The lava flows erupting in my head exploded, sloshing into the rest of my body. I flinched once, overwhelmed, and let instinct take over.
“No,” I said, reaching for his hand. “I'll give you what you want because it's almost the same thing I'm after. I'm a woman with needs, cowboy. Not a whore.”
His face went dark for an instant, and then quickly lightened.
“Almost?” He whispered.
“Yeah. I want to give you more, Gabe. But I won't do it for money. I want to do it to cut through the bullshit. Can't we just admit we want to enjoy each other?”
He smiled firmly. “I can. But, you know, I was offering money for more than just a peep show. More than just plain vanilla sex too – even though any kind of sex with you would be incredible.”
I burned, losing myself in his words. The suddenly serious look on his face begged a question.
