by Vivian Arend
Maybe this plan could be adjusted as well.
They could become something more than a temporary alliance.
Why the hell not?
“Gabe, look.”
He followed her pointing finger in time to see a covey of grouse fly into the trees, spooked by the ever-present ranch dogs that had followed them from his place.
“Should figure out how to breed them. Is there a market for wild birds?”
Allison laughed. “I didn’t point them out so you can stick them in a cage.”
“What about rabbits? Got way more of them than we need right now as well.”
She moved in closer. “There is a market for everything if you find the right buyers.”
Patches and Hurricane bumped noses briefly before Gabe tugged the reins and made his horse mind his manners.
They rode forward in a comfortable silence for another ten minutes. He kept trying to find a few good reasons to shoot down the idea that had crept into his thoughts, and frankly, he was having a devil of time coming up with anything.
They were good together, and he didn’t mean just in bed, although, holy fuck, they were definitely compatible there. Even if they still hadn’t had sex at any speed other than frantic. Understandable, in a way, but he was looking forward to showing her a little more finesse.
Why was that suddenly such a high priority for him?
Their family had accepted them as a couple—other than Ben’s toxicity, but that was a given from the start. Nothing he did would ever please the man.
They paused at the edge of a field, grain swaying slightly in the breeze. Allison turned her face toward the sun, eyes closed, body relaxed as her breathing slowed.
He could have stared all day.
Right about then, he made a decision. Just like the other plans had been adjusted, this one was going to be as well. A little more attention to her, rather than to the plot. If he put in the effort, perhaps they’d be able to do more than help each other out over the upcoming months.
Maybe they could find something more than friendship.
His phone rang, dragging him back to the here and now.
“Gabe?”
Tamara. He clasped the reins a little tighter. At his side, Allison moved in to listen intently. “What’s up?”
“Cassidy should be okay. Nothing internal damaged that I can tell.” She clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Of course, this would have been so much easier in a real examining room.”
Travis muttered in the background, and Tamara swore at him, speaking to the side of the phone. “You’re still an idiot, Travis. Now shut up while I talk to Gabe.”
“He giving you trouble?” Gabe asked.
“Nahhh, he’s just got more balls than brains at times. I’ve told him to wake Cassidy up at intervals to check for a concussion, but other than that, nothing.”
“Lucky bastard.”
“Agreed. Just wanted to let you know. I’ve got a shift starting in thirty minutes, so I’m heading out now. But if you need me again, call.”
Gabe hung up, relief threading through him like a rush of chemicals. He hadn’t realized how uptight he’d been.
Allison tugged on his sleeve.
Shit. “Sorry. Tamara gave the all clear—of sorts.”
“Good.” She patted his arm before drawing back to pick up the reins. “Now we can both stop feeling guilty for abandoning them, right?”
He nodded even as he examined her closely, as if this were the first time he’d seen her. Beautiful, caring—he longed to wash the sadness from her eyes.
She turned to face him, head tilting in question.
“What you thinking about?” he asked.
Allison gave him a smile. “Wondering how slow you are.”
And she took off, heels to Patches’s flanks, the old mare’s tail flicking as she kicked up a trail of dust underfoot. Gabe wheeled Hurricane and raced after them, his own smile stretching his face.
It felt good. It felt as if it had been a long time since he’d just relaxed like this.
They slowed at the far edge of the meadow, cooling the horses before leading them down the ravine to walk beside the creek.
“I love how rivers don’t flow in a straight line.” Allison took a deep breath as she leaned her face toward the sky.
“Especially around these parts,” Gabe teased. “We’ve got more bow curves and corners than most of the land east of here.”
“It does make a huge impact. Plotting the dividing lines between the Coleman land must have driven the surveyors crazy.” Allison prodded Patches forward, and Gabe followed her lead.
The narrow ravine opened into a wide half-moon, the river lapping at the gentle edge of the slope. He smiled at the familiar tree that leaned over the water, and wondered if he’d still find their swinging rope tucked off to one side.
He joined Allison on the ground as she slipped off Patches. He led the horses back and tethered them, turning in time to see Allison step into the thick mud at the edge of the swimming hole and lose her balance. She fell to the ground, sliding on her back to stop just shy of the water.
“Shit, you okay?” He hurried forward, more cautiously as he hit the slick section.
Allison sat up, mud coating her hands, boots and jeans. She looked around slowly, her face twisting for a moment before peals of laughter, one after another, escaped her. Gabe took the final wary steps to her side, looking down as she continued to laugh, her head tossed back in delight.
He joined in, offering a hand. “You crazy woman.”
Her eye sparkled as she tucked her fingers into his. “Crazy, eh? Who’s the crazy one?”
He should have expected it. He really should have, but when she grabbed on tight and threw all her weight backward, he wasn’t prepared. He lost his footing and stumbled, falling to his knees. Momentum forced his body forward, his hat tumbling off. Suddenly he was over top of her, one hand either side of her body as she lay in the thick mud.
Allison gasped for air. “Oh God, your face.”
To hell with it, he was a mess. They both were. He crawled forward and trapped her between his thighs. “What’s wrong with my face?”
He spotted the sheer wicked mischief two seconds too late to stop her from grabbing his head and pulling him down to her lips.
The mud she smeared on his cheeks was warm from the sun, but he was more interested in the heat of her mouth. She slowly explored, slipping her tongue along his before drawing back to nibble his bottom lip.
“Minx.”
“Hmm. We’re a mess.”
He could think of a way to deal with that. “There’s water right here.”
But first he lowered himself on top of her and rocked his hips slowly. Lining up his cock with the vee of her thighs. Rubbing slowly, giving them both time to enjoy the rising sensation of lust. All the while they kissed. Dirty, but in the very best sense of the word.
She squirmed under him, lifting her hips to meet his thrusts.
His cock filled, urgency driving him again. This time he didn’t want to answer, not so fast. So he did the first thing that came to mind to cool them both off.
He grabbed hold of her, pinned their bodies together, and rolled.
The first thrill of being jerked over his rock-solid body was instantly doused by icy-cold water.
“Shit, Gabe, what the—ahhh.” She choked off her scream barely in time to slam her mouth shut and stop the water from pouring in. She squirmed in an attempt to get away, but his arms were iron bands gripping her. Instead, she caught hold of him, tightened her legs around his hips and clung to his neck until the tumbling stopped, and he rose to his feet.
“Oh, yeah, that’s fresh,” Gabe gasped.
“Fresh? Oh Lord—” Allison let out another involuntary squeal as he hoisted her, his hands under her butt.
Then his mouth was over hers and complaining about the cold wasn’t nearly as important anymore. She rubbed her torso against his. Her nipples had gone tight, but
She buried her fingers in his hair and held on, panting breaths escaping them as the kiss got wilder.
He tore his mouth free only to drag his lips along her jawline, taking small bites at her skin. “Why the hell can’t I slow down with you? It’s like touching you flips a switch, and all I can do is blast ahead full speed.”
Allison didn’t care, not one little bit. “Who said we had to go slow?”
She rocked against him, and he ground their hips together, the pace he’d begun lying flat out in the mud and muck heating up again in spite of the cool water around them. The sun had topped the tree line, filling the pool area with shadow and sunbeams. Turning the area into a stage. His hair where she’d mussed him stuck up, the blond tips reflecting light the same way the teeny ripples on the water’s surface sparkled.
She was caught between dazzling sights and dazzling reactions as he pushed her closer to an orgasm with barely any effort. She felt as if she’d been on edge forever, longing for him to take her over.
He jerked her higher, somehow securing her on one arm. His teeth closed on her nipple at the same moment his hand landed between her legs.
Allison held on to him for dear life as he ground his thumb over her clit with just the right pressure, just the right speed.
“Gabe, oh God, yes. Yes…”
Her orgasm hit without any warning—not a burst of fireworks, or breaking her apart into a million pieces. Just intense pleasure that made her damn glad she was there and then shaking in his arms. Shaking so hard, in fact, if he hadn’t been holding her in an iron-tight clasp she would have collapsed into the water. Satisfaction and pleasure rippled through her like the water rippled around them, lapping at the shore.
He lowered her slowly, letting her slip along his body, unapologetic as the prominent ridge of his cock pressed against her belly. His desire undeniable. She lowered her hands and covered him, palms tight to the bulge, rubbing intensely until he groaned.
“Stop.” He latched on to her wrists and stilled the motion.
“Why?” She leaned against him, clothes soaking wet and clinging to her. “I want to. Want to make you feel good too.”
He grinned, sexual desire streaking along her spine at the look in his eyes. “You will. And you do. Now take off your top.”
He placed her on her feet and held her for a second until she caught her balance. Allison took hold of the bottom of her shirt, but instead of yanking it up and over her head in one motion, she inched it slowly, pivoting as she lifted. Turning back toward him in time to stare at his face and see the hunger there.
He’d cupped himself through the jeans, gaze locked on her body. Tracing the edge of her bra. His focus so intent she swore she felt it like a touch. A stroke over the line of her collarbone. The merest caress across the swell of her breast. Her nipples tightened and poked against the sheer and soaking-wet fabric of her bra.
She clutched her wet shirt, suddenly—not shy, not really, but feeling the passion between them with far less nonchalance than she expected. Maybe it was the stress of the morning with Travis and Cassidy, and everything else. She and Gabe had only been lovers for a week, and the difference this time was apparent. The intensity was certainly high. High enough for that look in his eyes to melt something inside.
She didn’t want to think about what had changed. Or why she didn’t want to think about it.
Gabe stepped closer and reached for her. She escaped his grasp with a grin. “Your turn.”
One brow rose in question.
She pointed. “Your shirt. I’m all about the equal playing field.”
He laughed and stripped off his T-shirt in one move. No teasing like she’d done. Just firm muscles suddenly revealed, the dusting of hair on his chest darker than usual with the moisture. The narrow trail that led downward toward the button of his jeans, and lower, irresistible. Allison closed the distance between them and pressed one palm to his chest.
And realized her fingers were still covered in mud, so now his chest was as well. “Shit.”
She was pulling away when he caught her wrist and stilled her in place. “Don’t go away.”
“But I—”
He tugged her shirt from her other hand, wadded it together with his, and threw them toward the river’s edge.
“Now, where were we?” Gabe caught her hands in his, putting them back on his chest. The warmth of his skin made her fingertips tingle.
The slick of the mud made her smile. “Finger painting.”
Gabe touched his hand to her face. She couldn’t figure out what he was doing until he placed his thumb against the base of her throat and stroked a line down her skin.
Leaving a trail of mud behind.
Her happiness rose as she copied him. Taking a small messy lump from one place and using it to decorate him. She stroked his ribs, traced around his nipples. Made a tribal tattoo of her very own design on his biceps.
He returned the favour. His touch light on her skin. Over her breasts, the length of her collarbone. Sometimes fingertips, sometimes he’d flip and use the back of his knuckles.
All the time, teasing. Caressing. Making her skin come to life and heat impossibly considering they were standing hip deep in the river, and the water wasn’t that warm.
She reached for the button on his jeans, popping it open and loosening the top of the zipper.
“Allison, wait.” He escaped before she could do anything else.
If it wasn’t childish, she would have pouted. “But I don’t want to.”
Gabe laughed. Full out and full of life and energy. The sun shone on him and made his body, and the mud she’d traced on him, glow.
He shook his head. “I’m not stopping us. Just getting distracted. And as much fun as the mud is, it’s not a part of the next portion of the day.”
They both worked at stripping off their final layers, clothes abandoned along the river’s edge. Allison had to sit in the mud to peel her jeans off, cowboy boots filled with water and abandoned with the rest.
She was down to her underwear and hesitating when a large palm slapped her butt, and she let out a scream.
“Get yourself naked, woman.” Gabe trailed his hand over her hip and caught the edge of her panties in his fingertips. “Or do you need help?”
Allison snorted inelegantly. “Now you ask. Where were you two minutes ago when my boots were stuck?”
“Watching your ass wiggle.”
“Gabe!”
“It’s a fine ass. It needed watching.”
He tugged lightly and the material slipped down her thigh, her heated core aching for more of what she’d gotten earlier. More of Gabe doing wonderful things to her. With her.
He’d already lost all his clothes, and his cock stood high and hard to his belly, moving as he did. She was tempted to reach for him. To stroke and tease, but her hands were still covered in muck. “Don’t suppose you want me to finger paint anywhere else, now do you?”
Gabe knelt as he finished pulling her panties down. “No, thanks. Not my kinda kink.”
“Hmmm, mud sex.” Allison squirmed as she reached behind her to get rid of her bra.
His gaze darted over her body, admiration on his face as she dropped her bra and stepped out of her panties.
“Damn, woman, you’re gorgeous.” His lips made contact with her belly button. Well, just to the side where there was a clear patch of skin.
“That’s going to be a tough task—sticking to the clear spots.”
“Then we’d better get cleaned up.” He whooped as he stood. Two strong arms wrapped around her, swinging her in the air before he strode back into the water.
Her bare butt hit the surface of the river and she gasped. “Oh God. It’s colder than before.”
Gabe snorted. “Stop complaining. You’re not the only one getting slammed in sensitive places.”
Allison tucked her head in tight and squealed as he deliberately fell, twisting to land on his back, soaking them both. They separated, floating apart, and she rubbed her hands together to remove the leftover mud.
She bobbed to the surface and was caught from behind in his embrace.
“That’s my job you’re doing.”
Allison lay against him. “Don’t let me stop you.”
The water was cold, but his hands still managed to heat her like crazy. He started at the top and worked his way down. Palms smoothing over her skin, brushing the mud loose, the clear running river carrying away the debris.
What didn’t leave was the tingling sensation that came well before his touch. He looped to the right, and her left side ached in longing. He stroked along her ribs, and she grew breathless in anticipation for him to move on to her breasts.
It was one long session of foreplay countered by the cold of the water and the heat of his body supporting hers. And by the time all traces of the mud were gone, she was both a quivering mass of expectancy and totally boneless from relaxation.
She rolled, slipping her hands around his neck. Her naked breasts pressed to his chest, nipples poking him lightly. “Skinny dipping. You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”
Gabe held her, his palm planted firmly in the center of her back to keep their bodies in tight contact. “Where else can you have good clean fun for this price?”
Allison cupped his cheek, wiping away the final bit of mud that clung to his skin. “Frugal and fun. Double win.”
She leaned down to press a kiss to his lips. Addictive. She was positive that she’d had enough and then she’d spot his mouth and need another taste all over.
Their torsos were touching, but his hips moved away from her as he supported them, kicking slowly across the smooth water of the swimming hole. She was too interested in nibbling on his lower lip to worry much about where they were going, at least until he changed their position and lifted her into his arms, stepping forward and out of the water.
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