The pressure was intense enough to make her gasp.
Colby gritted his teeth. She was so fucking tight. So fucking perfect.
Goddamn, he wanted to ream her. Just ram the remaining length of his dick into her impossibly tight channel until his hips were nestled between those softly rounded cheeks. Until she felt every damn inch of his hard cock impaling her virgin ass and his balls slapping her clit.
Feeling every bit of his invasion so she’d never forget who’d initiated her into these dark desires she’d been begging him to satisfy.
As he imagined reaming her, he didn’t envision an easy, gentle retreat as he pulled out. No. He’d plow in, deeper with every hard thrust. He’d let those supremely snug muscles grip the head of his cock before plunging past them right back in to the hilt. Over and over until that moment he exploded, shooting streams of come high and deep into her.
But he did none of that for her first time.
Colby held off on the aggressive male need to claim her, to mark her there as his alone. The yowling in his head had lessened and he eased into her rectum inch by inch, not stopping, not worrying whether his actions hurt her. Because he knew it did. He knew that it didn’t matter because he couldn’t stop from fucking her ass right now if the goddamn building would’ve caught fire.
When Colby was buried as far in as he could go, he expelled a quiet breath. He felt his blood pounding in his head, in his neck, in his arms, in his cock, all pulses like insistent sticky whispers urging him to move.
Hard. Fast. Now. Prove to her who this ass and everything else belonged to.
Channing clenched and released, grinding back into him, a clear sign she was ready for more.
That was all it took. Colby slid halfway out and slammed back in.
Twice. Three times. Four. This wouldn’t last long. He couldn’t hold out against the breath-stealing sensation of that tighter clasp milking him on 132
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every upstroke. He pumped faster, his left hand gripped her hip, holding her in place while his right hand snaked between her drenched thighs and plumped her clit.
She wailed and bucked.
The bed frame banged into the wall as he banged her with little finesse. Just raw, dirty sex. His cock tunneling in and out of that tight portal was the hottest thing he’d ever seen. His thrusts rivaled the power of a rocket booster and he was damn close to detonation.
Sweat dripped down his spine. He rubbed her swollen clit persistently. It throbbed beneath his fingers and she screamed as the orgasm burst across her wet sex in juicy ripples.
Her internal muscles clamped around his cock as her climax continued to spasm, reverberating through him. His balls drew up. He came so fast and so hard he nearly passed out as spurt after spurt of come jetted against those amazingly snug walls, until he was depleted and mindless and weak.
When Colby’s eyes finally opened from near darkness behind his lids—his damn eyeballs had rolled clean back in his head, a case of vertigo tipped him sideways. He swayed and almost collapsed on top of her. When he steadied himself by running a trembling hand up her sweaty back, her whole body shuddered. Her chest heaved and masses of curly hair covered her beautiful face.
Shit. She wasn’t crying, was she?
No kidding, asshole. Would you blame her?
Jesus. He’d acted like an absolute brute. Shame bloomed across his cheeks. “Chan? Shug, you okay?”
No answer.
Channing sucked in a harsh breath as he slowly removed his softened cock and her whole body flopped to the bed.
In the tiny bathroom Colby cleaned himself up and brought a warm washcloth with him to do the same for Channing. Gently, he smoothed her hair while he wiped the warmth over her tender flesh. When he www.samhainpublishing.com 133
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finished, he tossed the washcloth away and crawled in, spooning behind her.
Luckily, she didn’t squirm away from his touch.
She didn’t say a single word, either.
He held her in silence for the longest time. Wanting to demand answers, needing reassurance he hadn’t hurt her.
She stayed uncharacteristically quiet.
Colby pressed his lips to the back of her head. “You ever gonna talk to me again?”
“Yeah. I’m just a little stunned right now, to tell you the truth.”
A long sigh escaped from him, ruffling her hair. “In a good way or a bad way?”
“Both.”
His patience snapped. He rolled on top of her, pinning her hands near the headboard as he stared into her face. “What the hell does that mean, Channing?”
A beat passed. “It means I never thought I’d get to experience the passion that you’ve shown me. I’ve never had a man look at me the way you did tonight, Colby. Like I was…everything,” she whispered. “I’ve never been utterly incapable of speech because I couldn’t think beyond how you felt on me. In me. My world has never been distilled down to such an elemental need. It scares me to death.”
Now he was absolutely stunned. And scared shitless. He’d never been more in tune with a woman—a woman who was guaranteed to leave him.
And as each day with her progressed, he suspected she’d mostly likely leave him a broken man.
Instead of trying to come up with flowery love words or a sly retort, he kissed her. Pouring his heart and soul into that sweet, steady mating of mouths, hoping she understood all he couldn’t say.
Exhausted, for the first time in three nights they didn’t share lovers’
pillow talk, or dissect how things had changed between them—even when it was obvious it had.
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Chapter Twelve
Early the next morning Colby brought her new coffee pot into the motel room before he headed out to watch the morning “slack”
competition. He urged her to stay in bed and rest until check-out time.
Channing didn’t argue. She was wiped out. Too much tension. Too much sun. Too much booze. Too much sex.
She groaned and rolled over. Her whole body ached. Talk about sore.
She’d had sex with Colby twice early yesterday morning. Oral and sixty-nine with Trevor mid-morning, and then last night…
Wowza. Hot flash. Last night had been the most erotic night of her life. Not only because she’d been initiated into the pain/pleasure of anal sex, but because she’d been initiated into dark, possessive side of consuming lust. Hers. His. The scary beauty of it when they came together in unrestrained passion.
Maybe it’d been foolish in the aftermath of such a scintillating episode, but Channing couldn’t stop from telling Colby how she’d felt last night. No. How he’d made her feel. Sensual. Beautiful. Desired. And he couldn’t have marked her as his any more clearly than if he’d whipped out a branding iron and burned his initials into her ass.
Oh, it would be easier if she could be blasé about it. Chalk up the experience to another rocking sexual encounter and move on. Problem was, she couldn’t. She didn’t want to. And she didn’t want to analyze why things had changed last night.
She’d rather curl up in a ball, comforted by the scent of sex lingering on the sheets as she napped. Naturally her brain wouldn’t stop spinning.
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After fifteen minutes of tossing and turning, drifting off into blessed slumber wasn’t an option.
Rather than taking a shower, Channing indulged in an hour-long bath. The heat leached out some of the soreness, but it might be a few days before her butt quit hurting. She snickered. Now she totally understood the phrase hurt so good.
She dressed in loose-fitting jeans, a lightweight, long-sleeved white cotton shirt, hoping it’d reflect the sun’s brutal rays. Even after slathering on sunscreen yesterday, her skin had turned crimson from a day in the stands. Good thing she’d kept
her hat on and saved her scalp from frying. Instead of boots she wore strappy sandals. Cool head and cool feet meant a cooler core temperature.
With her bags packed and lined up by Colby’s by the door, she slurped the last of the coffee. Then she lovingly cleaned the carafe and packed it back in the box. It would probably sound silly to Colby, but she knew it would become one of her most treasured possessions.
She wasn’t a stranger to gifts. Mostly big, expensive ones. Her parents had given her a BMW for her sixteenth birthday. When she’d turned twenty-one, a flawless string of pearls. But they’d never given her a gift from the heart or paid much attention to her sentimental yearning for something unique and well thought out. Like a handmade scarf. Or pair of skates and a promise to take her to the rink for an afternoon of frolicking on the ice. They’d never really listened to her.
In a few short days Colby knew her better than either of her parents.
She suspected the shrewd cowboy might know her better than she knew herself.
A sharp knock echoed in the quiet room. The maid kicking her out already? Channing lifted to her tiptoes and checked the peephole.
Edgard. She opened the door. “Hey. I thought you’d be at the rodeo grounds.”
“On my way, chica. I just need to load yours and Colby’s stuff in the horse trailer. Do you want to ride over there with me?”
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“Sure.” She touched his arm. And she thought she’d looked wiped out. She could’ve packed her stuff in the luggage under Edgard’s eyes.
“Ed, are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just worried about the events. Trev and I could sure stand to win some money today.”
“I’ll cheer you on, amigo. Although I guess I’m not bringing you as much luck as you’d believed?”
Surprisingly, Edgard grinned, leaning over to buss her cheek. “You bring me something better than luck, Channing.”
“What’s that?”
“Hope. Come on. Colby forgot his saddle and he’s waiting, probably pacing behind the chutes.”
Channing wondered. Had Colby been thinking about her and their erotic interlude last night that he’d waltzed off and left his saddle behind? Maybe he was as bowled over by what was happening between them as she was because he was meticulous about his equipment.
At the rodeo grounds Edgard had parked the rig at the far end of the lot, near the back entrance. He handed her a key to the horse trailer.
“Can you lock up? I gotta get this saddle over to him before he starts freaking out.”
“Sure. See you. Tell him I said good luck.”
“Maybe you wanna give me a kiss that I can pass along to him, too?”
“You know, that’s the first time you’ve offered to kiss me. You feeling okay, Ed?”
“I’m feeling great. Later.” He flashed her a bone-melting smile, hefted the saddle over his broad shoulder and sauntered off.
At the box office a ticket was held in her name. And it really brightened her day when several of the women from the Wild Bronc came over to chat, to tease her about her abrupt departure with Colby the previous night. The bolder ones even confided about the early days in their relationships with their cowboys and how they remembered—and missed—that urgency.
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But mostly these trash-talking women wanted to tempt her into placing small stakes bets with them. A time-honored tradition, they swore. The only rule was you couldn’t bet against your man.
Channing knew it was a test. And she soon discovered very few bet against Colby McKay. So she prepared to clean them out of their pocket money and she’d enjoy every minute of it.
“Let’s rodeo!” the announcement boomed.
During the bareback competition Channing won twenty-five bucks.
Then the saddle bronc event started.
Oh mama. The second Colby’s name was announced, her whole body flushed with desire and pride.
Colby looked powerful and in command and supremely sexy as he rode his bronc to a seventy-five. He finished third overall and won a decent amount of money.
With it being the last day of the rodeo, the events were longer, because the short go was held right after the individual competitions ended.
The betting became sporadic as contestants’ significant others left the stands. It’d be a long day for her. Suddenly alone, Channing regretted she’d forgotten her notebook in the horse trailer.
Two tugs on her hair. Before she could turn to see who it was, Callie hopped down in front of her. “Hey, China bear.”
“Hey, Calamity Jane.”
She clapped her hand over her mouth and giggled.
“Where’s your mom?”
“Helpin’ the hazer wrap up the back legs on his horse before Daddy goes bulldoggin’.”
With her soft Midwestern accent, bordering on a twang, and big eyes, the kid was cute as bug. “Is the horse okay?”
She shrugged. “So’s your stomach and your head hurt as bad as Momma’s does this mornin’?”
Channing choked on her iced tea. “No.”
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“I’m glad, because she is the one who’s a bear today, not you,” she confided with a serious face.
Beat-up brown boots covered in dirt slid into view. “I heard that Calliope Jane Morgan.” A sluggish Mary eased next to Channing. “I’d like to say she’s full of it, but the truth is, my head is pounding and I feel like I could barf. Been that way since the moment I got up.”
She could tell Mary was scrutinizing her from beneath oversized pink sunglasses.
“Here I was hopin’ my partner in crime from last night felt just as poorly as I do. But damn, you look positively chipper today.”
Channing chuckled. “Remind me why you were drinking last night?”
“Showing you how to celebrate Colby’s big ride. It just didn’t seem like I drank that much to feel this bad.”
“Momma. You always say that.”
“Pipe down, pipsqueak. You’re giving Channing a bad impression of me.”
Channing hid a smile as she sipped her tea. “So are you guys going to Valentine?”
“Yep. We’re off to love city as soon as Mike’s event ends. What about you?”
“We’re heading that way, too.”
Callie skipped across the seats to check out the vendors hawking their wares.
“Can I ask you something?” Mary said. Channing nodded. “Ain’t it kinda awkward travelin’ with Colby and Trevor and Edgard? I mean, Mike and me saw you and Colby take off last night. And Trev was so wasted Cash had to help him out of the bar at closing time. But this morning Cash said Trev wouldn’t stay in his room and he must’ve slept in the horse trailer.”
Channing tried to act nonchalant, dreading the remainder of the question.
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“So how does that work when you and Colby want alone time? Do you guys gotta sneak off and git ‘er done before Trevor or Edgard bust in on you?”
Channing blushed. No doubt her new friend would be scandalized if she admitted the sleeping arrangements. But when she really thought about it, she literally had slept only with Colby in all the nights the four of them had been together.
“Well, Trevor and Edgard make themselves pretty scarce. We switch off and take turns—” somehow she managed not to wince “—one night we’re in the horse trailer, the next we’re in the motel room.”
“Oh.” Mary seemed about to say something else but Callie interrupted.
“Momma, I’m hot.”
“I know, baby. We’ll be out of the sun soon.”
“So can I have one of them little fans to cool off?” She pointed to the vendor wandering through the stands selling souvenirs.
“No.”
“How about a n
ecklace?”
“No.”
“Then can I have a whistle? They ain’t very expensive.”
“No, Callie. Lord, stop beggin’ me for every damn thing you see.”
Callie sighed. “So can I at least have a snow cone?”
“Fine.” Mary dug out a couple of bucks and slapped it in Callie’s outstretched hand. “But come right back here, no fooling around.”
Talk about diversionary tactics. Callie shot Channing a triumphant look that said she’d wanted a snow cone all along.
Cheeky little thing.
The steer wrestling started. Bets were placed. Channing lost ten bucks because Mike won not only the second round, but also the final go-around. Mary and Callie took off and promised they’d see her in Valentine.
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Next up was team roping. Trevor and Edgard were the second competitors. The steer raced out and Trevor’s rope came up short. They ended up with no time. They were out of the money except for the modest amount they’d won the previous day.
Channing squinted, but from where she sat she couldn’t gauge their individual expressions. Their body language didn’t lie; they were both stiff, coiling their ropes in angry, jerking motions. Ignoring the announcer’s run down of their bad run of luck again. Ignoring each other. She wondered if Colby was waiting for them back in the chutes to talk to them or if he’d leave them to misery. Their moods would be sour tonight.
After another half an hour of sitting by herself, she was hungry and needed a break from the sun. She wolfed down a hot dog from the concession stand and sucked down an icy-cold beer. Ooh. That made her woozy. She glanced at the clock. It would be at least an hour before the bull riding started, plenty of time for her to grab her notebook and jot down a few observations.
The dusty parking lot was mostly empty of the usual line of horse trailers and campers. The timed events were nearly over and the contestants had already packed up and moved on to the next town. It was weird to see Trevor’s trailer parked so far away. The horses weren’t tied to the sides. They were probably still in the paddock waiting to be loaded until after Colby’s last event.
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