Unbridled Heat [Men of Iron Horse 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Morgan Fox

  She wished he’d stop looking at her like that, as if she were the only woman in the world who mattered and he couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say. “And now?”

  She sipped her tea, trying to find words to answer his question. Truth was, she had no idea. After leaving for Dallas, she hadn’t had time to think about the future. Remembering how to mix drinks had been her only focus.

  “Did you want to go to school?”

  She scrunched up her nose. School was the last thing she wanted to do. She’d gotten her high school diploma and was satisfied with that. After all, horse trainers didn’t need a degree. It was all about the skill.

  “I thought about training horses, but there’s not much work in a big city for that.”

  “Not in Dallas, but there’s several equestrian centers in the suburbs.”

  She grimaced. “Are you serious?”

  Why hadn’t I realized that?

  “Cattle and riding horses is a big part of Texas. Don’t let the city life fool you. If you’d like, I can get you the numbers of at least seven places that might be looking for experienced trainers.”

  She gaped at him. “I’d love that.” Then she closed her mouth as if she’d swallowed a bug. “But don’t mention anything to Jason. I don’t want him to think I’m quitting on him. He’s been so good to me.”

  Luke reached forward and brushed the tips of his fingers over the back of her hand. “It’ll be our secret.”

  “Thanks.”

  For the first time in a long time, she felt excited about her future. These training centers might not work out, and that was fine, but at least she had a direction. Something she hadn’t considered until Luke pointed it out.

  The burgers arrived and they looked amazing, cheese oozing from the burgers, bacon flopping out from the buns and onto the plates. But that wasn’t even the best part. The enormous basket of sweet potato fries was.

  “Oh, my,” she murmured, eyeing the food.

  “I told you,” he said, picking up his burger. “Just wait until you taste it.”

  She watched his face as he bit into the burger. She liked the way his nose crinkled a bit and the low purr of satisfaction that rolled from his throat. She licked her lips, picking hers up and diving right in. An explosion that could only be compared to spectacular filled her mouth.

  With her mouth full of food, she muttered, “Oh. My. God.”

  He laughed. “I know, right?”

  Once she swallowed the bit she’d taken, she told him, “That was without a doubt the best burger I’ve ever tasted.”

  “It had better be.” He hiked his thumb up over his shoulder. “The cattle are raised right out back.”

  Her mouth hung open. “What?”

  “Oh, yeah. They raise ’em right out back and cook ’em up fresh. It doesn’t get much tastier than that.”

  Horse ranching had been her thing. Not cattle. “They slaughter their own cows?”

  She studied his eyes, waiting for a hint of truth. Then she saw it. The moment he laughed.

  “Gotcha.”

  She clenched her teeth to keep from smiling. “So not funny.”

  “It is from where I’m sitting.” He reached over and gently brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “You got a little ketchup there.”

  She swallowed hard, watching as he sucked the condiment off his thumb. Her heart raced as a flicker of heat filled his eyes. A quiver of anticipation rocked her.

  She took a sip of her tea, hoping to ease the dryness in her throat. “So what are we doing after this?”

  “That depends on you.”

  Heat boiled up from her womb and surged out through her veins. Was he talking about sex again? She could do that for sure, but maybe that was too presumptuous.

  “Did you have something in mind?”

  “Hell yes,” he said, a low growl rolling from his throat. “Finish your burger. We’ve got a date to get started.”

  Chapter Nine

  Luke couldn’t take his eyes off Layla’s ass each time she bent over to toss the bowling ball down the lane. She wore a skirt. He’d never seen her in one before. The woman had curves that shouldn’t be legal to display in public and all he could think about was if she wore panties or not.

  “Stop staring at my ass,” she hissed. “It’s bad enough that you’re winning. You shouldn’t get to ogle me, too.”

  Disappointment flooded him as she folded her arms over her chest and pouted. He stood up from the center table and moved to collect her into his arms. “I can’t help myself.” He kissed her. “Has anyone ever told you how perfect your ass is?”

  She arched a brow. “No, unless you count those men at the bar who like to comment on my ass and tits when they come in.”

  A naughty thought filled his mind, one he hoped he’d be able to recreate with her. “I was actually thinking about a time when a man had you on all fours as he was about to—”

  “Luke Mackenzie,” she barked. “Keep it clean.”

  Her eyes were like missiles, darting around them to see if anyone was listening. Again, she charmed the pants off him. Licking his lips, he leaned forward, his mouth at her ear. “Ever been pleasured here?” He caressed her ass, the tip of his index finger dipping at the crack. She shivered against him. “I take that as a no.”

  She shook her head. “N–no,” she stammered. “I’ve never done that before.”

  He eased her back, cupping her face in his hands. “If you want, I’ll show you how good it can be.”

  She bit her bottom lip and he was tempted to take it between his own teeth. “You really need to stop doing that or I’m likely to bend you over this table and have at you, here and now.”

  She blushed. “You like to say things like this to me, don’t you? You like to see what my reaction will be.”

  “Yeah, I like to talk dirty to you. I like to feel you quiver against me when I say something that excites you. But mostly, I like to feel how wet your pussy gets when I say the things you’re afraid to.”

  She shot him a hard look. “So you’re teasing me?”

  Shit, he wanted to do so much more than tease her. “Yes, in a way. In fact, I bet if I shoved my finger inside your pussy right now, your panties would be soaked. I’d be willing to bet you’d like my cock in your ass, too. I’m sure that idea has crossed your mind.” He nipped at her lips, gliding his mouth over her cheek and up to her ear. “I can already hear the catch in your breath as you picture me fucking you.”

  She shoved against him to look up at him. “Do you speak like this to all the girls you nail?”

  He laughed. “Nail? I love it when you talk all feisty like that. It’s fucking hot.”

  She shook her head, a grin on her face. “You want to see if you can shock me. The sweet little Kentucky girl needs to be taught a lesson by the big, bad city boy.”

  He gripped her hand and placed it over his swollen cock. This sweet little Kentucky girl was his undoing. “Ah, hell, Layla. I’d fuck you right now if it wouldn’t get us both thrown in jail.”

  Her eyes flickered with wicked intent as she rubbed her hand over his jean-covered shaft. “It’s too bad you’re wearing jeans. I think I might actually enjoy tasting you this time.”

  He grabbed her wrist. “I can have us back to my place in ten minutes.”

  She rose to her tiptoes, her mouth at his ear. “Then I guess you’d better start driving.”

  He was glad they’d paid in advance for the lane. He’d never felt such an urgency in his life. Getting home and getting her naked was all he could think about. That and her hot little mouth wrapped around his cock.

  Just as he was about to get her onto his bike his phone rang. She paused, waiting for him to answer it. It was work.

  “Shit,” he said, just before answering. “This is Mackenzie.”

  “We picked up a guy matching your witness’s description.”

  “Great. Thanks. I’ll be in shortly.”

  As he finished the call, he turned
his attention to Layla. “They found a suspect who could be the one who assaulted you. We should go to the station and make an ID.”

  She nodded and immediately went to get on his bike.

  “Layla,” he snapped and she hesitated to get on. “You’re going commando.”

  Her cheeks pinked. “I took them off in the bathroom just before we came outside.”

  The idea of her riding on the back of his bike without panties had his cock as hard as a steel spike. He looked around the parking lot and spotted an area shadowed by night. There was no way in hell they were leaving before he had a chance to be buried inside her.

  He reached out his hand. “Come here,” he told her, his chest tight with need.

  He scooted back just a bit so that she could sit in front of him. He fired up his bike and moved it to the dark covering. Once there, he turned off his bike and leaned back.

  “Put your feet on the pegs,” he ordered and she did.

  He snaked his hand around her, lifted her skirt and slid his finger between the silky folds of her pussy. She hissed as he stroked her clit, massaging the tender bud until she was writhing against him. Her breasts rose and fell with each of her deep breaths. He sank his finger inside her and pulsed it in and out, her hips beginning to roll with the motion.

  She unbuttoned her blouse and slipped her bra down. Grabbing his free hand, she had him cover her breast. Her nipple beaded against the palm of his hand.

  He couldn’t take it anymore. He had to be deep inside her. Had to feel how tight she was as he took her on his bike.

  He dug in his pants pocket to grab his emergency condom and opened his jeans enough to free his shaft. He slid on the latex. Then, he lifted her skirt and leaned her forward over the tank of his bike. He teased the wet entrance and slowly shoved his cock to the hilt inside her tight sheath.

  He’d like nothing more than to strip her bare on his motorcycle and spread her legs wide as he licked her pussy. There were so many fantasies he had about a sexy little vixen and his bike. It shocked him that he hadn’t taken a woman on it until now. It startled him even more that the one woman he chose was Layla.

  She unraveled before him. Her lust filled cries driving him wild. With each of his thrusts, she matched him, her demand captivating.

  It was hard and fast, the passion exploding between them as they both lost control. He desired Layla like no other and he couldn’t see a time where she wouldn’t fit in his life. The idea should’ve shriveled his cock and dried up his seed, but instead he grew harder, more in need of the woman sliding up and down on him.

  The scent of her arousal left an ache throbbing in his balls. Damn, how he wanted her, needed her. He thrust upward, holding her hips as he guided her up and down on him. The further he leaned back, the more of him she took. She whimpered as he slammed their bodies together, taking her to the edge along with him.

  There was a tightening around his cock, as if her body were milking him. He swept her hair from her shoulder, nibbling her neck. The soft strands of her hair tickled the skin of his face, her scent divine. He gripped at her thighs as he sank deeper into the silky, tight heat of her pussy.

  “Yes,” she hissed, arching her back, her head on his shoulder. “Oh, don’t stop.”

  “That’s it, baby, come for me,” he whispered, driving deeper.

  She turned her chin toward him and he took her mouth, his tongue probing eagerly between her lips. She met him kiss for kiss, thrust for thrust. In unison they battled to win each other’s pleasure, bringing it to a soaring new height.

  How strange that an innocent woman like Layla would be his equal in the throes of passion. She seemed to know her own body and desires without saying. She might not have the experience of some of the lovers he’d taken over the years, but she sure the hell embraced the pleasure they shared.

  Every muscle in his body tensed as he found his release, bucking hard a few more times before leaning breathlessly against her. Once they each caught their breaths, Layla’s girlish giggle brought him back to reality.

  “What?” he asked as she slid off the bike.

  “That was a first of many,” she explained. “I’ve never had sex outside. Never had sex on a bike and never had anyone make me come like that before.”

  He grinned, pulling her toward him for another kiss. “Glad I could be of service.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Now do me a favor and put those panties back on.”

  She frowned.

  “If you don’t, I’ll likely get fired for all the naughty things I’d like to do to you on my desk.”

  She laughed. “Oh. Gotcha.” She put on her panties and got on the bike. Before she put on her helmet, she told him, “Just so you know, I do have a desk in my apartment we could role play with.”

  A jolt of excitement pulsed to his cock. He inclined his head to look back at her. She was grinning like she’d known exactly what a comment like that would do to him. “Woman, I’m going to take you up on that.”

  * * * *

  Maybe it was a body-snatcher thing. Layla wasn’t sure what to make of herself. When it came to Luke, she was free to do and say whatever she wanted without the fear of embarrassment or regret.

  A burning smile played at her lips each time she thought about the sexually playful things he’d whispered to her or the way she felt when he did those sexually playful things to her.

  Who would’ve guessed that a small-town country girl would live as vicariously as she was? With Luke, her fantasies were unraveling at warp speed. Making love in bed, heavy petting in the shower, outdoor sex on a motorcycle. She was checking things off a list as if she were only given a month to live and had to squeeze it all in before it was too late.

  She liked that her inhibitions were unleashed. But still, she liked that Luke didn’t seem too much in a hurry to walk away from her. There was no way he would commit to her long term, she knew that. She still couldn’t stop the idea from crowding in on her.

  He was starting to mean something to her she couldn’t describe and prayed it wasn’t what she thought it was. Her body craved him. Her mind fantasized about him. She only hoped that her heart had enough sense to stay out of it. Two was plenty. Three could be a disaster.

  “You ready?” Luke called out to her.

  She’d been sitting at his desk waiting for him to return. She followed him down a long hallway and into a room. Jason and Sam were there.

  “Hey, guys,” she said, surprised to see them.

  “Layla, before we get started with questions, I need you to look at the row of witnesses on the other side of the glass,” Luke told her.

  She turned and saw several men being led into a room. A lineup. She’d seen plenty of cop shows on TV to know about the special glass that protected her identity. She could see the suspects, but they couldn’t see her.

  Staying focused on the men lined up in front of her was hard when she could feel Jason’s, Sam’s, and Luke’s eyes on her. Something wasn’t right. None of them had been at the bar the night of the attack. Then again, the man had asked for Jason so maybe that was the reason he was there. She could accept that, but why was Sam there?

  Luke stepped up beside her. “Take your time,” he said, inclining his chin toward the glass.

  She inhaled a deep breath of air and started with the first guy on the left. Nope, too short. The next guy was too heavy, but the third guy, he could totally fit the profile.

  “Is number three wearing a hoodie?” she asked Luke.

  “He pressed a button. Number three, put your hoodie on.”

  She watched as the suspect rolled his eyes and exhaled like a bull. Once he slid his gray hoodie up over his head, her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. “That’s the guy,” she told him with every confidence. “He’s the one who attacked me and the one I saw at my apartment complex.”

  Luke hit the button again to tell the officer they were finished. He faced them all. “Layla, the man you identified is an old frien
d of Jason’s, and Sam’s boyfriend.”

  “Ex,” Sam corrected with a determined hiss and warning glare to Luke.

  “Oh,” she muttered, finding a chair and sitting in it. “So that’s why they’re here. Now what happens?”

  “We press charges against him for assault and if the fire investigator finds any hard evidence to tie him to Iron Horse, we slap him with arson, too.”

  “One of my regulars came to me yesterday,” Jason started. “Said he might have some information about who started the fire. After talking with him and getting a description, I knew who he was describing. I called Sam to see if she’d seen him around. When I called Luke last night to find out if there was anything new to report about the fire, he mentioned that you’d seen that man again. Your description was the exact same as the one my regular described. It only made sense to me that your attacker and the arsonist were the same person.”

  “Okay, so how do we prove that?” She shifted her gaze to Luke.

  “Evidence,” he said plainly. “Right now we have eyewitness accounts and that’s great, but maybe not enough. We need hard evidence that places him at Iron Horse to really make a tight arson case against him.”

  “And now that I’ve ID’d him, you can search his belongings, right? Maybe find something to connect him?”

  She didn’t like that things weren’t resolved. So what that he’d been arrested for assault. He’d get out before she knew it. Maybe sooner than she could find a new place to live. She wasn’t staying in her apartment, knowing that once he got out he’d likely come looking for her.

  Luke moved toward her and collected her into his arms. He didn’t care that Jason and Sam were watching him like a hawk. She hugged him back and pressed her forehead to his chest. He seemed to know that she was self-destructing from fear.

  “I know this is a lot, especially with what you’ve been through. But I won’t let anything happen to you,” he told her, his words filled with the strength she was desperate to possess. “It’s going to be okay.”

  She sighed, her body trembling. “Thank you.”