Cassie's Hope (Riders Up)

by Kraft, Adriana

  “Not nearly as stunning as you.”

  “My, you are full of compliments,” Cassie teased, holding her arms out to him in invitation.

  He took her in his arms. She tipped her head up to meet his lips. He tasted masculine. She chewed on his lower lip. His hands cupped her rear and pressed her body tight against his. His arousal didn’t surprise. She was as excited as he was. It must have been caused by all the waiting. Cassie chuckled against his mouth. Maybe dinner could wait.

  “What’s so funny?” he murmured.

  “I’ve been anxious about how we’d reconnect. Whether it would feel natural to kiss you when you arrived or if that might be better put off until after dinner.”

  “And?”

  “We’re doing just fine,” she said, then slipped her tongue between his lips to greet his.

  He worked a hand between them to cover a breast. She moaned her pleasure, then broke their kiss and leaned back, giving him more room to roam across her breasts. With both hands, he lifted them and grazed a nipple with a thumb.

  “Oh my,” Cassie moaned. “That feels so good.”

  Clint lowered his head and laved a breast through the light tank top.

  Cassie jerked her head back and pushed her breast forward, wanting more, demanding more. The fabric was getting in the way. She needed to feel his mouth on her skin.

  She pulled away from Clint and smiled at his immediate distress. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’m not going anywhere. The restaurant is open late. I checked.” She tugged the tank top over her head and quickly dispensed with the bra. “There. Free at last,” she said, fondling her breasts. “Nibble away, cowboy. And these are only appetizers, I promise.”

  “Damn it, you are a firecracker,” he said, lowering his mouth to a breast and backing her against the bed.

  She collapsed on the mattress and grinned as he worked to stay in contact with her breasts. They settled on the bed and he drew as much of one breast into his mouth as he could manage. Cassie shuddered. She ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair and down his back. His shirt needed to go, but she was enjoying his mouth too much to complain.

  He continued to swirl his tongue around her breast at the same time she felt his hand working its way up her thigh. It caressed gently and moved slowly, never diverting from its target. She spread her thighs. His palm settled over her mound. She closed her eyes, silently encouraging him not to stop.

  She lifted her buttocks slightly. He didn’t disappoint. He slipped aside the bikini panty far enough to slide a finger inside her heat. “Oh,” she moaned, opening her eyes to meet his steady gaze. He shifted his angle until he could move freely.

  She closed her eyes again and savored the sensations. Even the yellow roses paled in comparison to how he stimulated all of her senses. He plied her sex, clearly confident where he was taking her, and she followed greedily. Soon, too soon, she left him to race after that elusive rapture she didn’t want to miss. There. There. She sighed.

  - o -

  Clint held her close, waiting patiently for her orgasm to subside.

  Finally she opened her eyes and gave him a lazy smile.

  “Welcome back to Wyoming,” he said with a wide grin.

  “You sure know how to make a girl feel welcomed,” she crooned. “How set are you on dinner out?”

  “Furthest thing from my mind.”

  “Thought it might be.” She gave him a sly smile. “Why don’t you get out of those clothes so I can give you an appropriate party favor?”Nodding, Clint stood and reached for his belt. The woman loved to tease. He wasn’t complaining. He shucked his clothes and watched her undo the wraparound skirt and skim the panties off. Her gaze fixed on his straining cock.

  “My, my, I thought maybe I’d exaggerated his size in my hazy memory. I didn’t. You’ve done most of the work so far,” she said, curling a finger at him. “Why don’t you lie on your back and let me see what I can do to please you.”

  He scooted up on the bed, lay on his back, and watched her auburn hair cascade over his chest, hiding her intentions from him. Her lips grazed his nipple and then her teeth fastened on it gently. Her fingers wrapped around his cock. They squeezed lightly and glided over its length.

  His heart skipped a beat when he saw that mass of auburn hair moving lower. Her breath warmed him. He kept his hands by his sides, letting her stay in control. She lowered her mouth onto him, shifting her shoulders until she had the right fit. Waves of auburn bobbed up and down slowly. She took in half of his shaft before pausing. She swept her hair back from her face and winked at him before sinking further, taking nearly all of him in her mouth and throat. She cradled his balls in one hand and bobbed slowly up and down.

  Clint clutched the sheet with both fists.

  She stopped and dropped him. “Do you like?”

  “You’ve got to be crazy. It’s exquisite.”

  “Good. Then I guess you wouldn’t mind a little more attention.”

  Again, her auburn mane kept him from seeing what she was doing. But every other part of his sensory system worked overtime. She bobbed. She twisted her hand. She left no doubt about her purpose. He felt her lips surround the base of his cock.

  It started somewhere between his toes and his knees. His balls tightened, signaling the end was close. He heard her chuckle as she increased her pace. And then he exploded. He came and she never left him. In his climactic fog, he was surprised by that. But she’d never failed to amaze him before, so why should this be any different? She swallowed repeatedly, continuing to draw his essence from him until there was no more. Her warm mouth soothed him as he drifted.

  Perhaps seconds, minutes or hours later. Clint cranked an eyelid open. Cassie was still there nestled in his arm. She played idly with his chest hairs.

  “You’re awake,” she said, with a smile. “That must’ve been powerful for you, too.”

  “Amazing. You’re an amazing woman.”

  “Glad you think so. I don’t know about you, but this amazing woman is famished. How about I order some pizza so we don’t have to go out at all?”

  He laughed. “Sounds good to me. Make mine sausage.”

  She scowled at him. “Are you laughing at me?”

  He leaned on one elbow and grinned. “Not at all. It’s just that you are so expressive. You can be angry as hell. You can be depressed, almost vulnerable. You can be thrilled. And you can be a dynamo when it comes to sex.”

  “Are you complaining?”

  “Not at all. Maybe I’m trying to explain it.”

  “Don’t try.” She chuckled. “It’s simple. I enjoy uncomplicated sex. Always have, since I first discovered its potential. Don’t mean to suggest that I’m highly promiscuous. I’ve had a few longer term relationships. When sex gets problematic is when guys want to make more out of it than it is. Can’t a woman enjoy sex as much as a man without the guy immediately ringing wedding bells?”

  Clint’s felt his cheeks burn. “Don’t get your dander up. As I said, I’m not complaining. And I don’t hear wedding bells ringing in my ears.”

  “Good. That settles that.” Cassie clapped her hands. “I’ll order pizza and then we can consider a range of dessert possibilities. Right now my tummy needs filling to restore my energy.” She winked and cupped her mound. “My pussy will need filling soon after, if you think you can get up for that.”

  His cock sprang upward. “Don’t tease me, woman, or you may never get that pizza call made.”

  Cassie scrambled off the bed and reached for a robe and the phone. “Patience. I really am famished. You must be, too.” She blew him a kiss. “My pussy’s not going to evaporate in an hour or so.” She nodded at his arousal. “Down, boy. You’ll get your reward. Soon. Sooner, if I can make this call.”

  Less than twenty-four hours later, Cassie stood in the winner’s circle at Wyoming Downs patting Hope’s neck. Once again, she’d run a quality race. Two California shippers had dueled with the chestnut filly, but Hope prevailed easi
ly.

  Cassie beamed at the rancher from Utah who walked beside her as she led Hope out away from the stands and back toward the barns. “She couldn’t have run better. Thought maybe she’d get hemmed in there at the top of the stretch.”

  “No way, she had another gear left,” Clint said. “She’s one smooth-running filly.”

  She appreciated Clint’s admiration. Clearly, he knew a lot about quality horses. “At least with those two California horses in the field, the bettors got better odds on Hope.”

  “Two to one is not great.”

  They walked off the track onto the roadway leading to the test barn. “So why did you tell me about this series, if you were so uncomfortable with outsiders coming in for these races? If I remember correctly, you didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet the last time I was here.”

  “No, don’t suppose I did. This was different. We knew horses were coming in from California and Washington. The local boys weren’t going to win anyway. By nominating for the first race, you’d nominated for all three even if your dad didn’t explain that. So it might as well be you who won.” Clint pulled his Stetson lower over his eyes. “Of course, that wasn’t the only thing I was thinking about when I made that call.”

  Cassie brought Hope to a halt, looked up, and pulled down Clint’s sunglasses. “Were you imagining some of the things that we did last night?”

  “Could be. That and some more, maybe.”

  “Good. Once we have Hope bedded down and your friend has his instructions on what Hope requires for the next several days—maybe then we can explore some more of your imaginings without interruption. Maybe.”

  “Winning only makes you more saucy, lady.”

  “Of course.” Cassie flashed her eyebrows. “Horny, you mean, don’t you? What did you expect?”

  - o -

  “Wow!” Cassie exclaimed, sitting on the edge of the pick-up seat with her nose nearly touching the windshield. “It’s so expansive. From this high it looks like the valley goes on forever.”

  “Yeah, if you look to the northwest horizon,” Clint said, gesturing with a finger, “you can see the Salt Lake. It’s that ribbon of blue.” The Salt Lake Valley stretched out as far as they could see to the west, the south and the north. They’d just passed through the craggy canyon on I-80 that hid the panoramic view until the very last instant.

  “Incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  Clint smiled at his passenger’s awe-struck features. “If you think this is different, wait until we’re a couple hours further west of here,” he said. “I’m going to show you something you won’t find in Lake Michigan.”

  - o -

  “Amazing.” Cassie said, shading her eyes from the blazing sun-scorched surface. “It’s as flat as a parking lot and as white as a clown’s face. I can’t believe I actually eat this stuff.”

  “I believe they refine it some,” Clint quipped, “before it gets to your salt shaker.”

  They had walked a good half mile out from I-80 across the Salt Flats. The sun baked everything in sight, even in the late afternoon. Foothills loomed miles away; in between was acre after acre of salt, overlaid with countless mirages.

  “If we didn’t have these shades and caps on, the glare could do damage to our retinas,” Clint said. “That’s how strong this sun is out here. It is a desert. As the Salt Lake rises from rainfall, it spills over into these outlying areas. Then as the lake recedes during the summer months, these flats dry up and the salt crystalizes and is harvested.”

  “Wow. This is one huge farm. As far as the eye can see.”

  “Actually, there are several, worked by different corporations. Over closer to those foothills,” Clint said, pointing to the dark shadows on the northern horizon, “is where many of the ground speed records have been made. Bonneville Salt Flats attracts cars and dragsters from all over the world. You want to go look?”

  “No thanks.” She smiled at Clint, who was clearly checking her out. Her nipples hardened under his stare. She shrugged, shielding her sunglasses with the palm of her hand, not unaware of how such a simple gesture pressed her breasts tightly against her halter top. “Cars are simply a means of getting me from place to place. I do want to take a sample of this salt home, though. I doubt that any of my friends have seen raw salt.”

  “Okay. Let’s take a handful each. I have a container in the truck we can use. But first things first.”

  Clint bent down and placed his lips on hers. It was a tender kiss. She felt the heat of his lips. She opened her mouth and deepened the embrace. Her tongue sought his. His hands cupped her bottom and she stood on the tip of her toes; her fingers dug into his firm shoulder muscles.

  Lost in the kiss, she was struck by the image they must be making for the passing observer—two dark intertwined shapes, like a renaissance sculpture. Life, however, coursed strongly through their bodies. Although the heat was blistering, it could not compete in intensity with the fire generated by that simple kiss.

  Breaking their embrace, Clint rubbed his face in her wind blown hair. “We better get out of here,” he groaned. “Wouldn’t want to do anything rash. Our skin would be fried under this sun—and salt would be much worse for the body than straw.”

  She shuddered. “No way. Not here.”

  Dazed by a cacophony of sounds including bells, whistles, and falling coins, Cassie welcomed the air conditioning of the bustling glitter-laden casino. They’d driven only a few miles from the Salt Flats to the border town of Wendover, where on the Nevada side several casinos stood tall, beckoning any and all who were willing to risk a dollar in the slot machines or at the gaming tables.

  Being a penny-pincher herself, she’d never stepped into a casino before. The place lured and saddened. The shrill yells of victory spoke clearly of those who were having a good day, some a very good day. Many more individuals sat glumly before the machines as though they could not move even if they thought about it. Their willpower appeared totally sapped. Cassie shuddered.

  At least at a race track, people were able to disconnect and move around. And there were always the horses. Gambling had never been the primary draw to the horses for her or for her dad. They’d both lost and made some money at the betting windows, but raising competitive horses was the dream.

  Cheers at the craps table brought her attention back to Clint and a game she expected she’d never understand. Craps moved too quickly. Chips were placed every which way on the lines and boxes on the table. Dice rolled. “Coming out,” cried the casino man in a crisp white shirt and bolo tie. “Come seven, come eleven.”

  Many of the players’ faces showed brilliant expectation while the dice were suspended in the air, only to droop in agony when the cubes stopped rolling.

  “Snake eyes and out,” the casino man declared. He used a long curved stick to remove the chips from in front of the players. Some placed chips down immediately, preparing to take on once again the odds of the game. Others grumbled and left.

  Cassie watched Clint put his winnings in his pocket. He turned to her, placed a hand on her elbow and guided her away from the table.

  “It’s time to move on,” he said. “The table was hot for a while; now it’s turning cold. With craps, you got to know when to walk away.”

  “Expect that’s true with any game of chance.”

  He gave her a puzzled look and then said, “It’s getting late. How about grabbing something to eat and staying here for the night? We can spend the next day or two in Salt Lake and then head out to the ranch the morning after that, if you want.”

  “Sounds inviting to me,” Cassie responded with a broad smile. “We might yet find a game I can play.”

  - o -

  “So how come there’s no serious man in your life?”

  Clint appreciated the view of Cassie pulling at her unruly hair that showed the effects of a splendid, uncomplicated night of lovemaking. She sat in the middle of the large bed, her legs tucked under. No clothing marred his view
. He hadn’t met a woman more comfortable with her own natural nudity.

  Sitting in a large winged chair across from her, Clint waited patiently for her response to his question. He thanked the universe or whom or whatever for the opportunity to wake up just one morning with this beautiful creature.

  She blinked. “Did I say there wasn’t?”

  “You wouldn’t be here if there was.”

  She gave a coy smile and shrugged. “You’re probably right about that. I enjoy playing, but I don’t play around if I’m in a serious relationship.”

  She crossed her arms under her breasts, which only served to frame them even better for him. She appear to ponder how much she wanted to share. He waited for her to make up her mind.

  “There’s no one now,” she finally said. “The last serious relationship burned out and left a bad taste in my mouth for anything long term. I’ve been keeping an apparent dishrag of a guy at bay for the past six months or so. That’s done. He thought I betrayed him by leaving the city to take on Cassie’s Hope. He doesn’t believe there is life beyond the Chicago city limits. He was someone to be seen with, but he never really fit. Dirk was safe. As long as he was around, I didn’t have to deal with other men.”

  “Right.” Clint sighed. He doubted he should ask, but he couldn’t stop himself. “And where do I fit into this web of romance?”

  Cassie responded quickly, perhaps too quickly. “In the short-run, you fit incredibly well.” Her blush let him know that she was remembering just how well he did fit. “In the long-run,” she said looking away, “you don’t fit at all.”

  Clint felt a flash of anger and spoke before he could think. “My role in one week’s time is to fill you up sexually for who knows how many years, but I’m not good enough for the sophisticated big city girl?”

  “Whoa! Where did that sarcasm come from?” Cassie glared at him. “You’ve no right to be hurt. We’re adults having a good time. That doesn’t mean forever. I never suggested anything else.”