by Desiree Holt
“Amy, don’t leave your drink just because I’m not having one. I’m aware that I’m usually the odd man out.” Too bad he hadn’t started this years ago.
“Don’t give it a thought.” She took a sip of her ice water. “Actually I’d have to say being sober makes an evening more memorable.”
“Okay, then.” And he planned on thoroughly enjoying every minute of this night, as well as making it memorable. For both of them.
Watching her eat was another seductive episode. She cut her meat carefully, chewed slowly, the enjoyment plain on the face. When she scooped some of the fully loaded baked potato into her mouth, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching across the table and catching one bead of the potato at the corner of her lip. It reminded him of the smear of mustard when they’d had lunch.
She looked at him when he touched her, and for a moment he was afraid she’d brush his hand away. Then she smiled and very slowly ran her tongue over her lip. In an instant, he was almost painfully hard, his cock begging for freedom from restriction. He imagined those full lips wrapped around him, pulling on him, and took a healthy swallow of coffee to distract himself.
Amy lowered her eyes to her plate, that same little smile playing at her lips, as if she knew exactly what she was doing to him. By the time they got to the chocolate cake, he was nearly ready to rip off her clothes in the restaurant. And she, the little minx, was well aware of it. He could barely even remember all the things they’d talked about during the meal. And watching her slowly eat a slice of Heavenly Chocolate Cake almost had him pulling her across the table then and there. Who knew a meal could be so sensual?
They had finished the last of their coffee, the mood surrounding them one of intimacy and heat, when a man walked by with his friends. One of them stopped and turned back to their booth. Buck didn’t recognize him, but he knew his kind—slick, moneyed, arrogant. Full of himself. Was he a friend of Amy’s? No, couldn’t be. Amy was looking daggers at him.
“Hey, short stuff.” As the man touched her hand, his mouth turned up in a self-confident grin. “Where you been keeping yourself?”
“Same place as always.” She yanked her hand away from him. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Aw, come on.” He trailed his fingertips lightly over her arm. “Don’t be that way. We had some good times together, right?”
“You did, anyway,” she snapped at him, brushing away his fingers. She tried to slide out of the booth, but he blocked her way.
He shifted his gaze to Buck. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
Buck reached across the table and linked his fingers with Amy’s, glad when she gave them a little squeeze.
“Buck Montgomery,” he said. “And you would be?”
The man narrowed his eyes, his expression far from friendly. “Cade Hannigan. You’re new in the area.”
“Yes.” Buck bit off the word. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re in the middle of a conversation.”
But the man didn’t move. “I just wanted to chat a minute with Amy here. She and I go way back. Right, short stuff?” He said it with an air of self-importance that made Buck want to smash his face against the wall.
“Buck just told you.” She glared at him. “We’re busy with our own conversation. Anyway, I have nothing to say to you. So take your friends and move along to your own table.”
Anger flashed across Cade’s face for a brief moment. It was obvious he didn’t like being embarrassed in front of his friends. “We’re not finished here,” he warned.
“Yes. We are. So just get over it.” She looked at Buck. “I think I’d like to get out of here now. The clientele just took a nosedive.”
“No problem.” He stood up to signal for his check, effectively blocking Cade from the booth. “You’ll excuse us, right?” he said to the man.
With one last, angry look at Amy, Cade moved away, muttering something to his friends. Buck paid the check and then they were outside. Amy sagged against him, huddling in the cradle of his arm.
“I’m sorry about that.” She said it in a voice so low he almost didn’t hear her.
“No problem. I used to eat guys like him for breakfast. I gather he’s not as good a friend as he seems to think.”
“He’s a total asshole and an insufferable jerk.” Her voice now was tight with anger. “It took all of my self-control to keep from kicking him in the balls.”
Buck laughed “I hope you never get that mad at me.” He opened the door of the truck. “Let’s not let him ruin what so far has been a great evening, okay?”
She sat ramrod straight now, as if anger had replaced embarrassment. Then she visibly forced herself to relax. “Okay. All right. I’ll try.”
“If you were thinking of telling me to take you right home because that jackass spoiled the mood, think again. That gives him power he doesn’t have.”
“You’re right. Can I just wish his balls would fall off?” She smiled at him, a smile that arrowed straight to his groin and made his balls ache.
He winked. “Whatever you want, sugar.”
He pulled out onto the two-lane highway, and as they rolled through the night with the moon hanging like a translucent globe in the sky surrounded by diamond-like stars, he could actually feel the tension easing from Amy inch by inch. A good thing, he thought. Only one of them needed to be uptight. And he was that, all right.
When he’d issued the invitation for tonight—okay, the demand—he hadn’t thought much beyond getting her alone and getting her naked. The where hadn’t concerned him until he took a cold shower and tried to figure it out. Not a hotel. Too glossy. Slick. Contrived, like a setup. Anyway, they’d have to drive into San Antonio to get away from prying eyes. There was certainly no place in the county.
He’d finally decided to bring her to his ranch. There wasn’t much furniture, but he’d invested in a good bedroom set so his room at least looked settled. He hadn’t had to think about things like clean sheets and towels when he was drinking heavily and banging any female who could breathe, or getting his jollies quick and dirty during the two years he dried out and learned to be a rancher. In fact, this was the first time he’d deliberately planned to have sex with a woman who appealed to him on all fronts. And the first time he remembered being nervous.
He kept thinking he was making a huge mistake, but he couldn’t have stopped himself short of knocking himself out.
“You’re so quiet all of a sudden.” Amy’s soft voice broke the silence. “Change your mind? I know Cade Hannigan sort of put a damper on things.”
Buck reached over for her hand and wove his fingers with hers. He hated the note of hesitation he heard. He’d worried a lot that this was a bad idea to begin with, but it had more to do with him and his background. And what would happen if she ever found out. He certainly didn’t want her to think it was her fault.
“A load of dynamite couldn’t change my mind,” he told her. “I know men like Hannigan. All show and no go. They’re takers and users. Not worth a minute of my time thinking about him.”
Her hand relaxed in his. “Good. That’s good.” He turned in to his driveway, and she leaned forward. “We’re at your ranch. And wow. You’ve got the outside looking terrific. Frank Hayes had kind of let things go.”
Buck snorted. “No kidding. I think that’s why I got it so cheap. Small herd of cattle, lack of upkeep. I think he and his wife were just glad to get out of here.”
“Neither of them was too well,” Amy told him. “They just wanted to get to Arizona, where their son and daughter-in-law live. I understand they’ve got a small place not far from them.”
“Lucky for both of us the way things turned out.”
He took her elbow as he urged her up the steps, taking a minute to admire how the carving on the front door shone after all his work on it before he slipped the key in the lock. The downstairs was still mostly empty, but he’d salvaged a table and lamp from what the Hayeses had left behind, the lamp
a beauty in dull brass and the table obviously old and intricately carved, like the front door. Now the lamp cast a warm glow on the plank flooring.
“Haven’t done much furniture shopping yet.” He made a joke of it, trying to cover his sudden attack of nerves. “You’re my first visitor.”
Pleasure washed over her face. “Then I feel honored. Anyway, from what little I can see at night, you’ve been spending your time and money on getting the buildings and land in shape. And I certainly know you’re working to build up your herd. I’d say you’ve got your priorities straight.”
“Hope so. Anyway, I’m not even sure how I want to furnish the house. Got the bedroom set and that’s all.” Then, not wanting her to get the wrong idea, he added, “Need a good bed to sleep on at night.”
“I agree.” She nodded. “Anyway, it pays to take your time. Get exactly what you want.”
He turned her to face him and cupped her face in his hands. “I know exactly what I want. Do you?”
Her eyes stared back at him clearly, with no sign of indecision. She ran her tongue over her lips as she’d done in the restaurant, and he was lost. He pulled her against his body, bent his head and took her mouth in a kiss that scorched him to the soles of his feet. She wound her arms around his neck and lifted herself on her toes to bring herself closer to his head.
She tasted of chocolate and coffee and just pure Amy, a heady combination of flavors that made his blood race and his pulse pound. He skated his tongue over every inch of the inside of her mouth, even her teeth and gums and the inside of her lips. He was so hungry for her he didn’t think he’d ever break the kiss, except he was running out of breath. They both were.
When he lifted his lips from hers, he stared into her eyes again. All day he’d been thinking about the fact he’d never actually brought a nice woman home to a nice place. Since he’d lost his virginity behind the Smoky Saloon when he was sixteen, the only women he’d been with were buckle bunnies and, later, women only looking for one night in a motel. By that time sex had been more exercise than anything. He wasn’t sure how to act or what kind of etiquette was involved in this kind of situation, and he definitely didn’t want to screw this up.
Instinct, he told himself. It’s all you’ve got. Go with it.
He swung her up into his arms and carried her down the hall to his bedroom. He’d left both bedside lamps on, turned low, and they cast a warm glow over the room. At least he’d figured out how to set the scene. He hoped. And in the nightstand drawer were the brand-new condoms he’d stored with great hopes and expectations.
He set Amy on her feet, letting her slide down the length of his body. He skimmed his fingers down her cheeks and threaded them in the silk of her hair.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured. “Just beautiful.”
A thrill ran through Amy’s body. Not just because of Buck’s words, but at the way he looked at her. Touched her. His moves weren’t those of a man who’d done this so often it came across as practiced and slick. And if she wasn’t mistaken, his hands were shaking a little. Who’d have thought that a man as sexy and good looking, as strong and confident, as Buck Montgomery would actually be nervous? Unless it was a damn good act—and she didn’t think it was—it gave him a lot of points in her book. Maybe she’d misjudged him, put him in the wrong category because that was what she was used to.
When his lips touched hers again, the remnants of rational thought fled from her brain. His tongue was a hot flame dancing over hers in seductive movements. Stealing her breath. She clutched his forearms, slipped her hands around to touch his broad back, feeling the hard muscles beneath the fabric of his shirt.
She almost didn’t notice it when he slid his hands from her hair to the edge of her top, his fingers finding their way up her rib cage to cup her breasts in his big palms. He found the peaks of her nipples beneath the satin of her bra and rasped his thumbs slowly back and forth over them. She was wet, instantly, her thong soaked and the muscles of her pussy clenching in need.
A soft moan drifted on the air and she realized it was coming from her. God, his touch was like magic, skillfully bringing to life every nerve in her body. Emboldened by his mood and his actions, she broke the kiss long enough to grab her top and yank it over her head. Toss it to the side. But it was Buck who undid the clasp on her bra and dropped it on her top. Buck’s hands that caressed her breasts. His fingers that lightly pinched her nipples.
He trailed his lips down her neck, sending shivers along her spine before settling at the hollow of her throat. She knew he could feel how madly her pulse was beating, especially when he licked the skin lightly with the tip of his tongue. She wove her fingers into his thick hair, holding his head in place, moaning when his lips closed over one taut nipple and tugged it into the heat of his mouth. She could feel the pull clear through her body to her pussy, all her muscles clenching in response.
As he moved his head to her other breast, his big hands found the button and zipper on her skirt and made quick work of them. Amy barely had time to register the fact that his hands were still trembling, she hoped as much from passion as from nerves. Then her skirt pooled at her feet, leaving her only in her thong. He cupped the cheeks of her ass, squeezing gently as he continued to suck her nipples.
She could barely stand when he lifted his head, took a step back and ripped open the snaps on his shirt. His chest gleamed in the lamplight, copper skin over washboard abs with just a bare sprinkling of hair. His muscles rippled as his arms moved, unzipping his jeans and sliding them down along with his boxer briefs. The most impressive erection she’d ever seen sprang free, hard and thick and pointing straight at her, the head already a dark plum.
“Damn boots,” Buck cursed, managing to sit on the edge of the bed to pull them off.
Then his clothes fell into the pile with hers and he tumbled her down to the bed with him. His skin was hot next to hers, his hands igniting flames on her body wherever they danced over her. He managed to maneuver them on the bed so they were stretched full length, and the awkwardness of it again reinforced her belief that this wasn’t just an everyday thing with him.
Then her brain shut down—not thinking—as his hands worked magic on her body. Every place his fingers touched—breasts, nipples, arms, navel—nerves fired and shivers skated over her. His mouth was hot on hers, his tongue thrusting and demanding. His muscular thigh pushed her legs apart, allowing his hand to cup her pussy. Her inner muscles clenched—hard—as his clever fingers manipulated her clit, brushing and pinching and tugging, before he slipped two of them into her wet, waiting channel.
Amy moaned and bit down on his lower lip as he found her sweet spot and dragged a fingertip over it again and again. She rocked her hips, trying to increase both the penetration and the pressure, but Buck kept his touch light and teasing. The hot, hard length of his cock seared her skin where it touched her thigh, and Lord, how she wanted him inside her.
When he withdrew his hand, she whimpered in protest, but in the next moment he changed their positions again. Now he lay flat on his back, his head resting on a pillow, and he’d positioned her so she was straddling his chest. He used his thumbs to open the lips of her cunt, staring at it hungrily before dragging her just a little closer.
“Hold on to the headboard, sugar.” His voice was thick with lust. “And hold on tight. I’m taking you on the trip of your life.”
She barely had time to grip the top edge of the wood before his tongue flicked over her clit and lightning bolted through her. Again he teased, swirling his tongue around her swollen nub, lapping lightly at the flesh surrounding it, tracing the line of her slit top to bottom and back again. He sucked, he nibbled, he lapped until she was sure she’d go crazy with lust.
“Oh, please,” she begged. “Please, please, please.” Over and over again like a litany.
“Mmm,” was his only answer as his busy tongue lit every nerve of her sensitive pussy.
“Oh, God,” she groaned, gritting her teeth when
he dug his fingers into the flesh of her hips and his tongue finally—finally—stabbed inside her. Pushing down as hard as she could, she rode the slippery spear of flesh, crying out with pleasure as her entire body responded to him.
He drove her mercilessly, taking her just to the edge before pulling her back again, his tongue retreating from her hot, slick flesh only to begin the teasing all over again. His wicked tongue drove her to erotic places she’d never been before until she begged for release. When she was sure she couldn’t survive one more second, he thrust his tongue inside her again, moved one hand so he could inch her clit between thumb and forefinger and pushed her over the edge.
He held her in place while the shudders racked her body and she rode and rode and rode that skillful tongue. At last she collapsed forward, her breasts on his forehead, her lungs screaming for air. Her heart pounded so furiously she was sure he could hear it.
He stroked and caressed her body, soothing her, murmuring to her. When the trembling subsided, he kissed each of her breasts and then reached up to tug her head down to his. His mouth was soothing as much as it was demanding, and she tasted herself on his tongue.
“Good ride, baby?” His lips curved in a smile.
“Good hardly describes it.” Her words came out almost as a whisper.
Buck lifted her and rolled her to the side so she was again lying next to him. “Rest a minute. Take it easy. I have so much more I want to do to you. With you.”
But even in her spent state, she wanted to touch his body this time. To stroke him as he had done to her. As she lifted her face to him, brushing her lips over his in the gentlest of kisses, she trailed her hand along the line of his hip, feeling the solid muscle beneath the skin. Almost casually, she let her hand drift down to where the solid length of his cock impressed itself on her. She wrapped her fingers around it and stroked it slowly up and down, reveling in the steel hardness of it beneath the soft skin.
