“A minute? For what?” she asked on a sigh.
“I just thought I’d give you a chance to run away before I try and fuck you,” he responded without a pause. When she didn’t bolt up the stairs, he walked her over to the couch in the great room.
“So now you want to get involved with me? What happened to it not being a good idea?” she asked.
“Some of the best things that have ever happened to me weren’t good ideas.” With a quick spin he had her sitting sideways on his lap on the couch. He tugged softly on her sundress and guided her face to his. With a sweep of his hands, her dress hung low on her torso, exposing her breast. He was treating her like fresh dough, slow moving and gentle, waiting for the rise. She wanted him to kiss her and take her, right now! She was sick of being scared and even sicker of feeling like something was wrong with her. She was ready for the plunge and would deal with those pesky feelings of guilt later, much later.
One hand pushed her hair away from her face while the other rubbed little circles on her hip. He looked so intently into her eyes, as if she was being studied for a future comprehension test. Please, do more; don’t get stuck on this chapter. Her inner brat clamored for him to continue.
Ross slid his hand around to the back of her neck and pulled her head closer to his. The slow motions and the wait for his lips were driving her crazy. Finally, his lips met hers, slowly licking her fuller bottom lip and teasing her with little nibbles. She couldn’t stand it anymore, so she wrapped her arms around his neck, grabbed a fistful of his beautiful hair, and kissed him full-on. He picked up on the cue and pulled her jaw down a bit to part her lips more and gain better access to the inside of her mouth. He tasted like beer and honey and man. Darling didn’t think she would be able to get enough of the way he stroked his tongue against hers.
Without separating their lips, he moved her leg around so that she straddled him on the couch. Her legs were completely open, and his fingers slid up and down. He slipped her heeled sandals off her feet and slowly traced all the way back up her legs to the perimeter of her panties. Each stroke made her burn. He slipped the sundress over her head and dropped it silently to the floor. She felt him hard against her belly; the knowledge of her effect on him made her feel powerful. She broke their kiss briefly so that she could pull his tight black shirt up and over his head.
Oh my God. This is terrifying and exciting. I won’t have another chance to get it right. He was watching her to see what she would do next. What if I get it all wrong? I’ve certainly failed before. She caressed his well-muscled chest, sliding her fingers through the dark hair that lightly covered his torso. He had a tattoo of a tiger above his left nipple, and she traced the edges of the design. A large tree design with animals inked in great detail covered most of his side. His right nipple was pierced, a small silver hoop and ball lying flat against his lightly bronzed skin. She looked at him, and he nodded his silent permission. Darling gently licked his nipple, and the sound of his sucked-in breath encouraged her to be bolder. She took the whole nipple and its ring into her mouth and suckled. He held her head in place with one hand and slid the other up her side until he was palming the underside of her breast. His calloused fingers greedily plucked at her swollen nipple, and she was lost. She moved up to kiss his full lips again and wiggled her front against his hardness.
Ross pushed her back a bit to break the kiss. “Are you sure about this? Darling, I need to know you understand this can only be—oh, baby, what did you call it? Um, hot, sweaty, orgasmic sex.”
She panted in response and nodded as her lips sought his once more. Her mumbled words seemed to please him. She was so wet, her slit was dripping.
“Oh thank Christ,” he murmured.
In a quick and incredibly coordinated move, he had her panties off, and she was lying on her back on the wonderfully oversized couch. He was over her, like a predator waiting to make a meal out of her; she shivered in anticipation. He bent his head to leave a trail of kisses down her throat, across her collarbone, landing on her nipple. He licked and sucked one while sliding his thumb gently over the other. It was a special sort of torture that sent even more moisture pooling between her thighs. Her body clenched her inner muscles in anticipation. He pulled and twisted her throbbing nipple, looking into her eyes and balancing his weight on an elbow. She mewled in frustration. She wanted just a little bit more. She stroked her hands up and down his back, dipping her greedy hands into the waist of his jeans and giving a gentle tug.
“Are you in a hurry, baby?”
The endearment sounded so sexy coming from his lips. She whimpered a bit and rubbed herself against him.
He chuckled. “Such an impatient little filly.” He swatted her breast with his hand. “Be patient. I can’t make this good for you if you kick a shoe.”
Huh? Just keep touching me.
Her wiggling had encouraged him to pick up the pace, and he slipped down her legs with his thumbs and followed every tantalizingly slow inch of progress with little kisses and licks. He slipped her legs free of the panties strung around her ankles before continuing the torturous laving of her nipples. One hand snaked its way down and gently parted her legs. He groaned warmly in male appreciation when his long finger slid through the slick folds of her sex. She stopped breathing as he inched his finger gently into her, just an inch in, but so expertly swirled around in her juices. He stretched his thumb to rub over her clitoris, and the breath she’d been holding came out in a stream.
“You are so wet and ready, baby. But I’m not quite done yet,” he teased.
Darling’s hands started to work the buttons of his jeans, but he stopped her and shook his head. Her efforts were further thwarted when he grasped both her wrists with one of his strong hands and held them imprisoned above her head. She worried she was doing something wrong and that another disaster was on the menu until she looked back up to his face. His lips curled into a lazy smile, and he winked quickly like a cat waking from a nap. His throaty chuckle vibrated through her.
“I want to watch you squirm and come first,” he told her. Oh crap. I can’t do that, can I? I never have before.
She was reaching for something unknown, bucking her hips and panting. Ross pulled on her nipple with lips and teeth while rubbing her clit and dipping two fingers shallowly into her core. His clever fingers gently stretched her open, and she longed to impale herself deeper onto his fingers. She’d never felt this warm, hungry sensation. Ross switched over to give attention to her other straining nipple, and she was moaning and writhing. She couldn’t seem to get enough or understand what she was craving. She grimaced as she spotted his green eyes twinkling with merriment and a huge grin on his face. The cowboy was pleased with himself.
“You are so breathtakingly beautiful when you get hot. I could watch you get turned on over and over again,” he complimented warmly.
Okay, sure, he can get me feeling frisky, but the battle hasn’t been won yet, she thought reluctantly. Maybe I’m broken.
Ross slid out of his jeans and pulled a blue envelope containing a condom out of his back pocket before tossing his pants to the floor. Darling nervously eyed his manhood, excited to finally see that the happy hair trail led to darker hair and a very impressive looking cock, but anxious all the same. Dealings with Zack had not prepared her well for this moment. She had some doubts as to how all this would work but wouldn’t turn down this chance for anything. She was her own woman now, wasn’t she?
Her body was quickly clamoring for more and wasn’t interested in comparing past to present intimate partners. Ross kneeled down between her legs and rolled the condom onto his erection. He lifted one of her legs up and wrapped it around his waist, leaving the other to lie flat against the couch. His mouth covered hers again in long, slow kisses, his tongue licking against hers. She felt him position his member against her wet core, wiggling the head to slip it into her. He guided himself in an inch, and she felt the wonderful stretching. A few tantalizingly shallow strokes, and he
bucked his hips and buried himself completely in her. Darling let out a wail and tightened up, trying to push him out. She felt an alien fullness and a stinging sensation before Ross stopped all movement.
“Damn, girl, not sure how much more I can hold back. You got to relax and let me in.”
Her breathing resumed, and the fullness made her ache for more. “Sorry, just I feel so full, it’s hard to let go.”
He thrust his hips again. “What the fuck? You really are practically a virgin. Baby, I’m pretty sure I just fully pushed in your button, but you said you’d had a boyfriend before and such.” Ross was pissed. His face was red, and his eyes had darkened from emerald green to stormy mud.
He was buried to the hilt in her, and her eyes were a bit teary from the initial stinging sensation. “I did have Zack before, but things didn’t go well when the whole sex thing happened,” she explained.
“Well, what the hell could go wrong? He shoves in and your cherry gets popped, it’s not rocket science.” His voice was strained and beads of sweat dotted his brow.
Darling got his point, but once the sting had subsided, she was feeling very full and wanted to get back to the fabulous sensations of before. She cautiously rotated her hips a tad, and he slid out and back in. “Would you just kiss me again?” she begged.
“Ah hell, woman, you’re a witch after all. Are you sure you’re okay? We could stop,” he offered quite insincerely. His jaw locked, leaving him with a pained expression on his face.
She kissed him and rubbed his muscular ass with her hand. His erection flexed in her, and he began a gentle rhythm. She was not going to let his misplaced sense of chivalry ruin this for her. She kissed him with all the passion and yearning that had built up for so many years in her lonely soul. Soon the thrusts were longer, more forceful, and she saw him straining above her, his eyes boring into hers, watching every expression as he balanced his weight on his strong arms. His breathing became harsh, and he let out husky groans. He moved one hand down between their bodies and rubbed her clit. She was climbing, gripping his back, and clenching all the muscles of her stomach. His long hair tickled her face, and she threw her head back, hoping against hope. She heard him calling her name and urging her on.
“Darling, baby, come on,” he commanded.
She wanted to, more than she wanted her next breath, but she just couldn’t get over that peak. She bucked and rubbed and pulled his hair down to bring his lips closer to hers. She opened her eyes and watched as he gritted his teeth, hissed out an, “Oh my God,” and pulsed into her. She wanted to shout with glee and howl in frustration all at the same time. Ross balanced his forehead onto her head, kissing her eyelids, her nose, and her mouth. With a reluctant sigh, he slid himself out of her and walked to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. She’d done it, and it hadn’t been a disaster. She’d made him scream in pleasure, and she’d been closer to her own release than ever before. Maybe she just needed practice. He was back by her side at the couch in an instant, and she looked up at him with giddy joy. He was too beautiful with clothes on, but without, he was breathtaking. Six feet of all finely muscled man, tanned and inked with just the one earing and nipple piercing, stood before her. He swiped a hand through his shaggy hair tangled down to his shoulders. His penis was still erect, and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching out to stroke it. He hissed through his teeth and grabbed her hand, raising it up to his lips to suck on her finger.
“Come and lie with me,” he entreated. “It’s late but I really want to see if I can get you to come.” Such a seductive voice could lead her to hell, and she would look forward to the trip.
“I need a minute in the bathroom. I’ll join you in a sec.”
She finished her washing and studied her reflection. She looked pink-cheeked, and her hair was beyond mussed. She grabbed her hair brush and tried to pull a few of the tangles out. She entered his room pleased to see him reclined on the bed. She grabbed one of his T-shirts and pulled it over her head. It hung down to the middle of her thighs and smelled just like him. She could wear this forever. She turned back to the bed, noticing that he was poking through the “box” of the previous day.
“Maybe something in here would do the trick?” he asked, spinning the handcuffs around his index finger.
“I wasn’t kidding yesterday. That’s stuff that Madison left as a joke for me mostly. She knew it would make me blush wild when I found it.” She sat on the bed, a bit curious as to all the things in there despite her protests.
He leaned over and kissed her, pulling back to look into her eyes. “That was incredible, but one thing would have made it earth shattering.”
“What?” she asked, suddenly feeling shy and insecure.
“Getting to watch you come all over me.” He gave her another quick kiss. She felt her face heat up and knew she was blushing bright red. Damn pale skin.
“I can’t. I mean I never have and I’ve tried.” She ducked her head down, hoping he wouldn’t ask more questions. Not likely.
“Hey, you don’t have to be embarrassed.” He pulled her gaze up to his twinkling green eyes. “Sometimes it takes practice and time to learn what your body wants. And you are in luck.”
“Why am I in luck?”
“’Cause I want to study your body until I earn a PhD in Darling’s pleasure spots. We will just keep on trying and maybe pulling a few of these toys out until we figure out what works.” He nodded toward the box again.
“Hmm, sounds intriguing, but I’ve used stuff—you know, by myself—and it didn’t work. I’m broken.” She shrugged. “Although I don’t even know what some of that stuff is.”
He laughed and dumped the contents onto the bed. “Good thing this isn’t my first rodeo. Let your new education begin, Ivy League.”
Chapter 24
It was scary how much it reminded her of her early childhood. The smell of deep-fried dough, the carnival rides, the carnies trying to coax folks into playing games of chance. She hadn’t been to a carnival since before her mom’s death. She’d been to big amusement parks but not a small town carnival with a fireworks show. Ross was escorting her and Carrie around the fairgrounds since Matt had to be down by the river to help launch the fireworks with some of the other fire department members. But the trio was having a good time. They’d stopped at the beer tent and each gotten a large red plastic cup of draft with their beverage tickets. It was almost fun to see the local teens trying to coerce older brothers and sisters into buying them a beer. It was a waste of time since every cop in town was wandering the grounds either on duty or off with their families in tow.
Cars lined the local streets for a half mile in all directions, and it was likely that just about everyone in town was here. Opening night and fireworks were the draw of the summer. It was just after eight, and she couldn’t wait until full dark for the show to begin. Until then, though, the agricultural exhibits and people watching would tide her over.
“Okay, I have to have some of the fried dough. It’s sinfully bad but so good.” Carrie pointed at the line snaking around the fried dough tent.
“Absolutely. I want some too, I’ll even treat.” Darling agreed, stepping into the ticket line. She pulled a twenty-dollar bill from her back pocket.
“I don’t think so. No way you are paying.” Ross stepped ahead of Darling in the line.
“Don’t be silly, I can cover this.” Darling pushed the twenty toward the cashier.
“Um, I don’t mind paying; it’s only fried dough, guys.” Carrie offered.
“Put your money away, both of you, and that’s final.” Ross growled a bit and shoved his own cash through the opening in the booth. The elderly woman looked back and forth between the bills being pushed her way and decided to accept Ross’ money.
He smiled and told the woman to keep the change. That was just plain showing off. She could certainly handle buying her own food; she wasn’t that broke after all.
“You really didn’t need to do that, but it was nice.”
No sense in being overly dramatic. Although after last night, she wasn’t sure how to act around him.
“I wanted to. Besides I make like several million times more money than you do, so how about I handle the expense of outings.” He smirked.
“That’s true, but it’s not like we’re on a date or anything. I should pay my way.”
“Damn, woman, what do you need? A mix tape and flowers? I’m trying here.” Ross tugged her arm to get her moving to the next tent where tickets were exchanged for the fried dough. What the heck got into him? What was he trying? He’d kind of made things pretty clear the other night. They’d had sex and laughed and talked. It was still plain that any day now he’d be hopping on a plane and flying out of her life.
“Hey, guys, I’ll see you in a few when the fireworks start, I want to go say hello to some friends by the beer tent.” Carrie indicated a small crowd of twenty-somethings huddled in a group with their red cups. She walked over with her fried dough.
The fireworks were set to start soon, but they had time to walk around before settling onto the blanket Ross had been carrying and watch a little hometown entertainment. She yawned and covered her mouth awkwardly while still holding the fried dough.
They’d slept in until lunchtime. She woke first and scurried off to soak in a giant tub of bubbles, leaving Ross still sprawled out in bed. She was hiding, terrified of having the morning-after conversation. She knew he would be out of her life in no time and didn’t need to hear the words spoken. He knocked on the door to check on her, and she told him she was soaking away some soreness. He retreated down to the office where he’d set up a drum set and slammed out heavy beats for the next couple of hours. She emerged from her own room late in the afternoon, not sure what to say or do. She’d accepted Carrie’s invitation, so she needed to get ready and didn’t want to seem like a jerk. So she invited Ross.
Darling had been surprised that Ross accepted the invite to go to a local carnival. She’d figured since he traveled around for so long in a big-name band that this type of country entertainment would be dull. However, he’d looked up from his notepad and dropped his pencil when she mentioned she was getting ready to go to the carnival.
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