Nash lifted her hands and pressed his lips to her fingers before reaching past Scarlet to flip the thick, plush bedspread down and out of the way. Better. “Let me love you, darlin’. How’s all night sound?”
“Yeah.” She whispered the word breathlessly and his heart started to pound.
Gently he pushed her back until her hair spread like an inky fan over her cotton sheets. Then he loomed over her and went to work.
She lay beneath him, all lush curves and perfection. The scent of her teased his nostrils. It was an aphrodisiac, that scent, warm woman and desire. Sucking in a breath, praying he’d last, he parted her thighs and moved between them. He crouched over her. At Scarlet’s gasp, he stroked his hands up her thighs and over her softly curved belly. He filled his hands with her breasts. Leaning over her, he sucked her again. Slowly savoring, he nipped with his teeth and soothed with his tongue. Beneath him, she writhed as her soft gasps filled the air. Nash fisted the base of his erection and slowly dragged the swollen head over the wet seam between her thighs.
Nash nipped gently at a distended nipple then breathed against it. “I’m going to go slow but I swear to heaven, it’ll be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, Scarlet.”
Bending over her breasts, he tasted, teased, sampled to his heart’s delight, then cruised his mouth over her ribs and belly. She was soft there and he nipped the tender flesh as his fingers raked through the curls between her thighs. Her hips rose to meet his touch.
He looked up at her.
Her gorgeous eyes were slumberous, her lush lips parted as she panted for breath.
“I’m going to eat you up, darlin’”.
A low whimpering sound greeted his statement. The petals of her sex were wet, open, taunting him to come for a taste. Lifting her knees over his shoulders, he gripped her sweet ass and buried his mouth between her thighs.
Scarlet cried out as he lapped her up like melting chocolate. He crooned against the pink flesh, drank her in, sipped the wetness from her body. Sweeping with his tongue, flicking gently, he found the tiny swollen knot of her clit and latched onto it greedily. Sucking softly, teasing that tender place, he felt the response of her body like a song that wrapped around his heart and squeezed tight.
Nash plunged two fingers deep loving the way her muscles clench in response to the sensual invasion. Frantic fingers sank into his hair as she pressed her body closer to his mouth and her breath rushed out in short gasps of sound.
“Nash. Please.”
Taking his time, he sipped from her quivering body, felt her shudder and quake beneath him. “Oh yeah. That’s it,” he whispered, “Come for me.” Determined to send her over the edge, Nash went for her clit and sucked hard.
That was all it took.
Scarlet cried out as she came apart. He thrust his fingers against the waves that shook her body keeping his tongue pressed firmly to her clit until finally, finally her body relaxed beneath him.Unable to wait a second longer, Nash moved over her until the head of his erection settled at her opening.
She opened her eyes. “Nash.”
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
Nash groaned, relief swamping him, as he thrust inside her welcoming body. Silken walls clasped him tight. “This is so good. So tight. Hotter than fire.”
Spearing through her flesh, slow and steady, he regulated each stroke wanting the joining to last forever but knowing pleasure like this was fleeting. Her body responded as if made especially for him. Milking his thickness in a silken wave, she clenched and drew on him. The fit was tight. Perfect. He filled her up but her sweet giving body softened to accommodate his size more beautifully than any woman he’d had before.
Beneath him, she arched, urging him to move faster. It was electrifying. Gasping her name, he gripped her hips and whipped his body deep and hard. Again and again he took her, consumed by the blinding heat generated by their churning bodies. Sweat dripped into his eyes, fell on her chest and he leaned over drag his tongue over the spot.
A hard little nipple was so tempting and he was through denying himself. He latched on and drew deep, sucking hard. His hands settled on the mattress near her shoulders as those long, pretty legs wound round his waist.
“Yeah, honey. Just like that. Almost there.”
Scarlet’s head moved against the pillow, her face a study of exquisite tension, and Nash knew she couldn’t speak. That was okay. He was struggling for breath himself. He took her breast and plunged hard and deep and Scarlet met each plunge and retreat. Beneath him, she froze then in a burst of movement reached for what she needed; seeking, searching, nearing release. Tension raced through him as he slammed into her repeatedly, giving her body what it craved.
Scarlet shuddered. “Nash! Yes.”
“Hell yeah.”
Like a flash fire burning, he brought her over pleasure’s sharp edge, drinking her cry, letting her ride the wave. When she neared the end, he sped up, searching for his own completion. Sinking deep, he plunged himself to release. Only near the end did he realize she was coming again, with him, racing to the top then diving deep into the abyss of desire.
****
Scarlet trailed her fingers over the sleek mounds of his chest. Beneath her cheek, his arm flexed with ropey muscle as he lazily stroked her shoulder. “Hey, Nash.”
“Hmm.”
“You did good at the rodeo today.”
He flashed a sexy grin. “Rodeo? What rodeo?”
Why couldn’t she wipe the smile from her face? She was so sated and happy, she’d been grinning like an idiot for the past twenty minutes or so. Laughing, she playfully smacked his chest . “You know darn well what rodeo.”
Chuckling he stilled her hands. “I remember now but just barely. You did me in, woman.”
“I aim to please.”
Temporary. Temporary. The words twirled around in her mind making her heart clench tight. Nash would be leaving in a few days and it was very important that he didn’t take her heart with him. Caution was key.
This was a man a woman could love.
To turn her mind from the scary direction it had taken, she pressed a kiss to his chest and raised on an elbow to look at him. Unable to resist, she sifted her fingers through his hair and brushed it off his forehead. “Seriously, Nash. I was really impressed with you today. Since we’ve gotten to know each other so well, I think I’ll head on out and watch you tomorrow night, too. Is that okay?”
His smile was slow and gentle. “I’d like nothing better, sugar. It helps knowing you’re out their cheering for me.”
“Think you’ll be doing this much longer? It’s got to be hard, all that traveling around. No roots.”
Nash rolled over to his side bringing her with him and settled her more firmly against him. Scarlet indulged herself, let her hand sweep the broad expanse of his muscular back and then over the corrugated strength of his abdomen.
“Truth is, I am getting a little tired of it. I was damn lucky I didn’t puncture a lung a few months ago.”
Reaching up, she ran a finger over the small bump on his nose. “Did you break this during an event?”
Nash drew in a slow breath. “Nothing that noble, I promise.”
“What happened?”
“Stupidity happened,” he said gruffly. “I was a young, green dumbass. I was signed up for a rodeo in Kansas and I met this woman. After the show, I took her for drinks and we ended up at her place. What I didn’t know was she was married.”
Scarlet gasped. “Married?”
“I didn’t know. She told me she wasn’t involved with anybody and I believed her. Anyway, her husband came home from a business trip and found us.” Nash reached up and rubbed his nose. Scarlet didn’t need to hear the rest. She knew what happened.
“Anyway, that’s why I stay away from the locals when I come in for a rodeo.”
“Until now.”
Nash leaned over her and settled his lips in for a slow, long kiss. “Yeah. Until now.”
&nb
sp; Scarlet wound her arms around his shoulders as feeling swamped her. She wanted him so badly. No man had ever made her feel this way but he’d made it clear he was only in this for the short term. She knew she was going to be hurt badly but at the moment she couldn’t think. Passion clouded her judgment, she knew, but she just couldn’t help herself.
“Nash?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“Stay?”
“Yeah. All right. I’ll stay for as long as you want.”
Sighing, she sank against him, wanting him, craving him yet knowing deep in her heart that he’d never stay as long as she wanted.
****
“Heavens to Betsy, hon, that’s the sexiest damn man I’ve ever seen in my life,” Lyssa said with a sigh as they sat together at the rodeo the following afternoon.
Crowds milled around, taking their seats in anticipation of the big event of the day. The bull riding. Nash had left her place at dawn despite her protests that it wasn’t necessary. Still, he worried about how it might look to her neighbors and convinced her that high-tailing it out of there was best. Sweetridge was a small town after all, where gossips lived on every street and wouldn’t they all buzz about the rodeo rider getting cozy with the local girl?
Gossip didn’t bother Scarlet. She understood how small towns worked and was prepared to wade through any much tossed her way. Nash was worth it. Sending her gaze toward the chutes at the edge of the arena, she nibbled the edge of a fingernail. Had he gotten enough rest? Considering the sexual gymnastics of the past night, she highly doubted it.
Scarlet couldn’t help but worry. She watched him, once again, seated on the top rail of a chute while Shorty wrapped tape around the leather glove Nash wore on his right hand. He’d told her last night, the glove and tape served to protect his hand and keep his grip on the bull from slipping. He must’ve felt her eyes on him, because he glanced up. Nash was too far away for her to catch his expression, but he reached up with his left hand and tipped his hat.
“Oh. My. God.” Lyssa whispered. “Did he just tip his hat? Girl, you know I’m not a gushy kind of woman, but I would happily gush all over that Nash Logan. He’s got it bad for you.”
“Stop it, Lyssa. This is just a temporary thing. Just a brief affair.”
Her friend went still and looked at her. Hard. “You’re falling for him, aren’t you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Lyssa’s arm went around her waist and she leaned close for a hug. “Oh, honey, be careful. I love you and I don’t want you to be hurt.”
Scarlet didn’t want that either but she knew pain was waiting for her right around the corner. Nash was leaving tomorrow and she’d probably never see him again. Tears burned behind her eyes.
How could she be so weepy, so smitten, over a man who wouldn’t hang around? Stupid. It was stupid and futile. Determined to be adult about the whole thing, she drew a deep breath and looked at her friend. “I’m going to be hurt. There’s no way around it. The man completely does it for me but you know what? I’m not going to cry about it now. I’ll wait until he leaves tomorrow before bawling like a baby. Today might be all I have but I’m damn sure going to enjoy it.”
Together they clapped and cheered as one bull rider after another tried his luck. It was a good crop of cowboys today and Scarlet was impressed with the strength and athleticism displayed by every one. Nash was up next. One more rider to go.
Scarlet watched in appalled fascination as a cowboy from Arizona leaned and swayed atop a buttermilk colored bull named Rambo. After about six seconds, the bull tossed him off but his hand became caught in the strap. The cowboy was battered around and dragged like a broken doll. Wicked hooves slashed at the man’s torso.
The crowd gasped as one, standing. Many women had hands over their mouths, staring in shocked horror. Men yelled out. Rodeo clowns, some of the genuinely toughest cowboys in the world, raced out to free the fallen rider. The bull, distracted, focused in on a clown who wore huge, padded jeans and a polka dot shirt. Scarlet knew that behind that painted smile, the clown didn’t find the situation a bit funny. He taunted the bull and it charged, chasing him across the area until, just in the nick of time, the clown bounded up over the railing and into several pairs of waiting arms. While the bull was herded off, a silent ambulance drove onto the arena floor.
Several attendants lifted the injured cowboy onto a stretcher as the crowd watched in utter silence. One of the clowns leaned over the fallen man. When the ambulance drove away, the clown yelled out to the crowd. “He’s gonna be okay, folks. That bull did a little dance on his bum knee, that’s all. He’s going to be all right.”
The stadium erupted in cheers and whistles but Scarlet’s heart was in her throat. As a woman who often attended during rodeo season, she knew how dangerous this sport could be.
And Nash was next.
Without thinking, she reached for Lyssa’s hand and held on. “I’m nervous,” she whispered.
“I know, Scarlet. The man has done this a million times. This is his thing and he’s good at it.”
Scarlet couldn’t speak. Her mouth went dry and, in the distance, she heard the scream of one pissed off bull.
“Our final competitor is Nash Logan from New Braunfels, Texas. He won the steer roping event yesterday and now he’s ready for a real challenge with Terminator. Let’s give this tough cowboy a big round of applause. Be careful out there, Nash, you’ve got a nasty, mean bull on your hands.”
The crowd erupted with cheers but Scarlet barely noticed. Focused on the chute at the far end of the arena, she watched Nash perch on the highest rail as he prepared to mount the beast. Kicks to the sides of the pen and more maniacal shrieking mingled with the sounds of the cheering crowd.
She’d never been so scared in her life. Was Nash insane? The vision of that last cowboy being battered to the point he needed an ambulance screamed through her brain.
A loud horn sounded and Nash leaped onto the back of the thrusting, lunging beast as it bounded from the pen. Its eyes, black and mean-looking, rolled back in its head as it raced across the arena floor desperately trying to dislodge the rider from his back.
Scarlet gasped and put a hand over her mouth. Her heart threatened to pound from her chest. She struggled to breathe.
Nash’s cowboy hat sailed into the air as he moved with the wild rhythms of the animal. Terminator was huge, a massive bull with a black glossy coat and wicked ivory horns rising from his broad skull. She couldn’t see the expression on Nash’s face because he was a man in constant motion.
As gracefully as a ballet dancer, his left arm swooped through the air as his right hand clenched tightly to the leather bracing. Fluidly, his torso weaved back and then forward as he rode the giant beast. Nope. Nash wasn’t budging from Terminator’s back.
The crowd went wild and so did Scarlet.
Leaping to her feet, she pumped her fists in the air, cheering Nash on.
She was so caught up in the moment, Scarlet barely registered the sound of the horn blasting. Eight seconds.
Nash leaped from the back of the bull, rolling a couple of times before rising up on one knee. He looked toward the crazed bull who had turned and was heading straight for him until a trio of clowns rushed into the mix and steered the snorting, stamping bull away.
“Eight seconds. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Nash Logan,” the announcer yelled into the microphone.
Pride filled her, threatening to steal her breath. Relief was there, too. Heart pounding in her throat, Scarlet stood and grabbed her purse.
“Hey! Where are you going?” Lyssa looked up. Her face was flushed, she was smiling broadly. “As if I don’t know.”
“Don’t wait for me. I have to see Nash.”
Heading down the stadium seats with a mission in mind, she spoke brief hellos to several locals then made her way around the arena toward the cowboys’ entrance. Zig-zagging through the participants as they killed some time, she searched for Na
sh. Finally, she spotted him and stopped dead in her tracks.
Hot damn!
He laughed at something Shorty said, leaving Scarlet poleaxed by the sheer beauty of him. The tall man playfully punched him in the arm and Nash shook his head as he slapped his dusty black hat against his thigh. Sunlight caught the hint of red in his hair and emphasized his dark coloring.
Without warning he looked up and caught her gaze, his grin of acknowledgement sexy and wicked as sin.
Scarlet didn’t hesitate but ran toward him, whooping at the top of her lungs. He held his arms open wide and she rushed into them leaping high as he caught her and spun her around in slow circles. Laughing, she wound her legs around his waist.
Everybody in Sweetridge would be talking about her come Monday morning but she didn’t care. Nothing was more important than holding Nash in her arms. Celebrating with him.
He could’ve been hurt out there but it hadn’t happened. Nash was alive and warm and more man than she’d ever held in her arms before.
Still laughing, she grabbed Nash’s face and planted a kiss square on his smiling mouth. Nash’s hands gripped her butt, holding her close as her arms wound round his neck.
“Um, this beats an eight second ride any day,” he murmured huskily. His hot whiskey eyes burned into her. “I’m glad you’re here.” Slowly he lowered her to her feet leaving Scarlet to feel every brush of his hard body against her. She wanted him with every breath in her body, wanted to strip the shirt from his body, and bury her mouth against his sturdy chest. Just inhale him. Devour him.
“Me, too. Let’s get out of here. All that bull riding gives me ideas. Really naughty ideas.”
His eyes narrowed as he leaned close. “I’m all ears, darlin’. Tell me.”
She went up on tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips, loving the way he responded to her simplest touch. “Maybe it would be better if I just show you, hm?
Nash’s gaze lowered to her breasts then rose to focus on her mouth. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her flush to his body. “Let me collect my check and whatever else these good people want to give me and then you can show me anything you please.”
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