by Desiree Holt
He spoke of ‘exploring’. What kinds of things did he mean? She knew that sexually she was—what? Not repressed, but certainly uninitiated. There was so much she didn’t know. Hadn’t experienced. Wondered if she even wanted to experience. At her age, did she even have the right to want something that pushed the boundaries? How far would Ben take this? And how far would she be willing to go?
Listen, Grace, one more night won’t kill you. It’s not as if the guy lives here or anything. It can be your little secret.
One night, she reminded herself. Then I’ll give him ‘the speech’.
Half of her closet was on the floor by the time she decided on navy slacks and a red silk blouse, with the pin sitting on the collar. She ran her fingers over it, feeling heat emanate from it as if it were a living thing. Help her find her lover, huh? Not that she believed in myths and legends, but she’d met Ben right after that, so who knew what else was in store?
She slipped on her new boots, gritting her teeth against the pinch of the fresh leather, then placed the new hat firmly on her head. She hurried out to the waiting cab before she could change her mind.
* * * *
The rodeo was just as exciting the second night, the animals as magnificent, the contestants brilliant in their execution. And again, the mingled scents of the rodeo teased at her senses, making her blood rush in her veins. Grace’s adrenaline was flowing on high when Ben came through the door in the back.
“I can tell you’re jazzed.” He smiled, taking her hand. “That light in your eyes gives you away.”
“It was great. You were great. I don’t know how you don’t get killed riding those huge bulls.”
“I’ve been lucky but you also have to have intense concentration. Besides, I have great motivation.”
She tilted her head to look at him as they walked to his truck. “Oh?”
“I’ve been lucky all these years and I’ve got a nice stash of capital invested. My down payment on a ranch.”
She didn’t know what to say. Somehow, she couldn’t see him any place except on the circuit.
“Surprised?” His laugh had little humor in it. “Well, I guess I don’t impress anyone as a ranch owner. But there’s more to me than a fly-by-night good-time rodeo bum.”
“Oh, Ben.” She squeezed his hand. It was warm against hers, the light contact sending tiny shivers racing through her body. “I didn’t mean that at all. I was just surprised that you’d want to settle down, that’s all.”
“The life’s beginning to wear on me, Grace. I want to quit before I’m crippled or dead.” He opened the door and helped her up into the truck cab.
“Where do you think you’ll go?” she asked when he climbed into the driver’s seat.
“I’ve had my eye on a place up in Wyoming,” he answered. “That’s a real possibility.”
Wyoming! I’ll never see him again for sure. That’s good, though, right? This is just a…what? Time out from my life?
“Now,” he said, reaching over to caress her thigh. “That’s enough of that for tonight. I just hope I can keep my hands to myself until we get to the hotel or we might have an accident.”
Her heart was hammering with anticipation by the time Ben unlocked the door to his suite and flipped the light switch.
Grace caught her breath. Three large vases of roses overflowed on the round table by the window. A silver bucket sat on the credenza, a bottle of champagne nestled in the bed of ice cubes. Two flutes stood beside it. A note was stuck to the mini-fridge. Everything is as you requested. Ben opened the door and gestured at the tray of strawberries and marshmallows dipped in chocolate chilling inside.
“My God, Ben, who were you expecting? Visiting royalty?”
He cupped her face. “You bet. Tonight, you’re my queen, and you deserve royal treatment.” His kiss was light and she felt the restraint he was forcing on himself. “Now. All day I’ve been imagining you tempting me with a striptease. Let’s get some music, I’ll pour some champagne and you can show me your moves.”
“Oh.” She stood stock-still. “Striptease?”
“Yup. Come on. Don’t disappoint me.” He poured the golden liquid from the bottle into the flutes, handed her one and tapped hers with his. “To us. And a wonderful night of discovery.”
Then he took her hand and led her into the bedroom.
While she sipped at the champagne, gathering her scattered courage, Ben turned on the stereo in the room, kicked off his boots and lay on the bed.
“All right, darlin’. I’m ready.”
Grace took a larger swallow of champagne, set the glass down and ditched her boots. Butterflies were doing their own dance in her stomach, but when she saw the bulge behind Ben’s fly and the heat in his eyes, her anxiety vanished and the remnants of last night’s arousal flared to life.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and tried to remember every striptease movie or video she’d ever seen.
Letting the soft rhythm of the music flow through her, she moved her hips in a slow bump and grind, dancing in place next to the bed. She opened each button on her blouse with slow deliberation, flicking the fabric each time it separated a little more. As she moved her fingers, they brushed the pin. Smiling, she took a moment to remove it and set it on the nightstand next to yet another vase of roses.
The heat in Ben’s eyes flared as he watched her unbutton her cuffs and shrug the blouse off one shoulder at a time, finally letting it drop to the floor. Next came the button and snap on her pants and she rolled them down her legs with tantalizing slowness. Having no idea where the courage or impetus came from, she stepped out of the slacks and stood with her feet apart, clad only in the thong and bra, tossing her head and running her fingers through her hair.
“Jesus,” Ben breathed, cupping his crotch. “You are a walking wet dream.”
A burst of excitement shot straight from Grace’s brain to her pussy and she knew when she took off the thong it would be dripping with her juices. She did a quick bump and grind, thrusting her hips from side to side, tossing her head in time.
All those stripper movies at least taught me something.
“Shake those beautiful breasts for me,” Ben encouraged.
Grace tossed down another swallow of champagne then bent forward with her hands on her knees and shook her shoulders so her breasts swayed in time to the music.
Who am I? Where is this person coming from?
Ben rolled onto his side, reached out a hand and ran his fingers across the slope of her breasts. Her nipples hardened at once, poking against the sheer lace of the bra.
“I love the lingerie, darlin,” he told her in a warm, thick voice, “but I think it’s time to take it off.”
Fingers trembling, Grace opened the front clasp of the bra, pulled it away from her breasts and tossed it on top of her blouse. When she managed to wiggle out of her thong, she was embarrassed at how soaked it actually was. She would have thrown it on top of the growing pile, but Ben reached out and gripped her wrist in his strong fingers.
“I think that belongs to me.” He plucked it from her fingers, crumpled it in his hand and held it to his nose, inhaling deeply. “The roses are no competition for this. Your scent is making me so hard I don’t know if I can control myself.” He switched the scrap of cloth to his other hand and pulled her forward, tumbling her to the bed.
Grace’s heart hammered and her blood pounded in her ears. She had an instinctive feeling that she was about to cross forbidden thresholds with this man and she wasn’t sure she had the courage to do so. But then Ben leaned over her and took her mouth in a soul-devouring kiss and she forgot to think, forgot to be afraid, forgot about anything except the flame of his tongue in her mouth and his calloused hands cupping her breasts.
She moaned against his lips, shifting her hips, rubbing her bare skin against the rough weave of the fabric of his slacks. She wanted his hands on her as they’d been the night before, probing inside her, driving her to unexpected heights of pleas
ure.
“Will you do something for me?” he asked when he broke the kiss.
“Yes. I think. Maybe. What?”
“Spread your legs and touch yourself for me. Like you did last night, remember? You do that when you’re alone, don’t you?”
Grace didn’t think it was possible for her face to get any hotter, but she was sure someone had touched a match to it. How could she let him see her do something she did beneath her bed covers, not even exposed in the privacy of her bedroom?
“Gracie?” He tickled her ear with his tongue while he tugged at a nipple with his fingers then teased it to fullness with the brush of a fingertip. “Can you do that for me?”
“Ben, I don’t think… I mean…I’ve never…”
“Okay. I have an idea.”
She frowned when he rolled off the bed, wondering what he was going to do next. He opened and closed a dresser drawer then lay down beside her again, one of his bandanas in his hand.
Grace wet her lips with the tip of her tongue. It was strange enough that she was lying there stark naked while Ben was still fully clothed. Now, what did he have in mind?
Is he into kinky stuff? Like I’m reading about? Am I?
“What’s that for? What are you planning to do with it?”
He grinned. “Nothing exotic. At least,” he added in a low voice, “not yet. I thought if I blindfolded you, that way you can pretend you’re in the room all alone and you won’t be as self-conscious about this.” He nipped the spot on her neck that she’d discovered was a highly sensitive erotic zone. “Come on, darlin’. Let’s experiment a little, okay? I promise it will be worth it.”
“Are you going to take your clothes off?”
Heat danced in his eyes and the whiskey color deepened almost to black. “Without a doubt. But not until after.”
“After what?”
His voice dropped even lower. “After I watch you get yourself off. That is one of the sexiest things a man can see. A total turn-on. So, are we good to go here?”
“A-All right.” Why not? Aren’t I in this for the adventure? To test myself?She closed her eyes and lay stiffly while he placed the folded fabric across her eyes and tied it behind her head.
“Relax, darlin’. Pretend it’s a game. One you’re playing by yourself.” He brushed his hand across her nest of pubic curls. “Such soft hair on this pretty little pussy. I’d love to see it bare.” He ruffled the curls again then ran his fingers through them. “Grace?”
“Mmm?”
“Did you ever think of shaving it?”
She had, but she was again too embarrassed to tell him that. After one of the movies she’d watched, she’d stood in front of her full-length mirror for a long time, contemplating doing just that, then shoved it back onto her mental maybe-to-do list.
“Too shy to answer?” He chuckled as if he sensed her thoughts. “Good. Gives me a goal to work toward. Tell you what. You let me watch you play with yourself and I’ll be your personal barber. Come on, darlin’. You can’t imagine how hot it will make me.”
Grace finally nodded. She drew in a deep breath, held it, let it out and lowered her hands slowly. Automatically her thighs widened to give her better access.
“That’s it. That’s what I want to see. Slide your fingers down into your pussy and show me how wet you are.”
Hidden behind the darkness of the blindfold, she stroked her hand through her folds then lifted her fingers for Ben to see. He swept his tongue across the tips, making her shiver.
“Your pussy is so juicy. Bend your knees and slide two fingers into it. Let me see you probe yourself.”
She slid her fingers in easily and she moved them in and out two or three times.
“Feel good?” Ben asked. “I’ll bet it does.”
Grace thought about all the times she’d secretly finger-fucked herself before she’d bought her new toys, and she moved her hand in remembered motion. Up and down the length of her slit, using one fingertip to rim the opening of her vagina, feeling the flesh warm to her touch and the special pulse begin beating deep inside her womb.
Ben moved again beside her, brushing her stomach with his arm as he reached across her. Then she felt the soft petals of a rose dancing across her flesh in cadence with her hand.
“That’s it, darlin’. Keep right on fucking yourself while these roses kiss your skin. Do you like the feel of them?”
It really is like a kiss, Grace thought, velvet lips whispering over her nerves, caressing her. The more Ben stroked them back and forth, the more aroused she became.
“I had high hopes for this, you know.” His voice was deep and husky. “I bought some scented shaving gel today. Hoping, you know? Smells real sweet, just like your little puss. After I watch you bring yourself off, I’m going to cover that sexy little mound with that stuff, work it up into a lather then carefully shave off every strand of hair, all the way down to your cute little asshole.”
Grace stilled her hand for a moment as his words penetrated.
“Yes, darlin’. Right down to your asshole. Not a hair in sight anywhere.”
Now, Grace moved her hand faster up and down her slit, while using the fingers of her other hand to rub her clit. She closed her eyes, visualizing what Ben was describing and the pulse deep inside her throbbed with greater insistency.
“Then, when it’s as slick as glass, I’m going to kneel between these lush thighs of yours that I thought about all day. I’ll pull them over my shoulders so your pussy is wide open to me and plunge my tongue inside. I’m going to eat you as if you’re my last meal ever, drinking up your juices, nibbling on your gorgeous clit. I’m going to use the tip of my tongue on that little nub until you scream for relief.”
Faster, she told herself, her pussy pulsing as if she could almost feel his mouth on it. She pulled and tugged at her clit in a familiar movement, pinching it between her fingertips.
“Inside, Grace.” His voice was rough with desire. “Shove your fingers inside and I’ll give you something to think about.”
She slid two fingers inside her pussy and began to fuck herself, working her clit harder and harder. Her breathing was ragged and her blood raced through her veins.
He moved his hand to her other breast, flicking his finger at the nipple then rolling it between thumb and forefinger.
“I don’t want to scare you off, Gracie, but I want to do so many things with you. Everything.” He blew a soft breath on her skin. “Even things you’ve never dreamed about. Do you have erotic dreams, where you do wild, wicked things?”
God, do I.
“Are you getting close?” he asked, trailing the rose down the inside of one thigh.
Now! she shouted it in her head. Now, now, now.
Grace hitched her hips, riding her fingers, rubbing her clit. She was so close. So close. Then she reached the moment where she usually squeezed her legs together, clamping her thighs tight around her hand. But Ben moved and placed his own hands on her thighs, spreading them as wide as he could.
“No,” she cried. “I need…I need…”
“I need to see that little pussy pulse and throb for me.” He moved her hand out of the way and tugged the lips of her pussy until it was completely open. “Pinch your clit real hard, Gracie. Now. Right now.”
She couldn’t stop, couldn’t not do it. She raked her fingernail over her clit and pinched it as hard as she could. Her orgasm exploded, her body arched and her inner walls spasmed over and over again. With the tip of one finger, Ben drew continuous circle around her opening before sliding inside. She moaned, a protest that it was not nearly enough to fill her, just enough to tease her more and prolong the spasms.
“Jesus.” Ben’s breath hissed through his teeth. “That is one gorgeous, mouthwatering sight. You should see how it grips my finger, sucking it inside. That’s what those tight, sweet muscles do to my cock, Gracie. God, just the thought of it almost makes me come like a horny teenager.”
“Please,” she begged, rea
ching to slide her fingers inside herself.
But Ben moved her hand out of the way and shoved three fingers inside her, rotating his wrist to create the friction she needed.
She pressed herself down on them as the spasms grabbed her, washing over her, rising from deep in her womb and spreading throughout her body. Ben curved his fingers until he hit her sweet spot and the convulsions rocked her even harder, pushing her to the next level of pleasure.
“Scrape your clit,” he whispered in her ear. “Keep doing it. Don’t stop.”
She dragged her nail back and forth over the sensitized nub, screaming with the pleasure-pain of it as every pulse in her body shook her.
He was good, working her just right to bring her down slowly, massaging her inner walls with his fingers as the quivers died down. Her cream flooded his hand and ran in a stream down between the cheeks of her ass to that tight sphincter. Finally, exhausted, she dropped her hands to her sides and her head onto the pillows.
Ben slipped off the blindfold, pushed the damp hair from her forehead and feathered kisses over her face. “Thank you for that, darlin’. It was…incredible. Totally incredible.” He lifted one of her hands and placed it over his crotch. “Feel that? That’s why my clothes are still on. Because the minute I let my cock loose, I’ll hardly have any control left. And I want this to last. A long time.”
Grace turned her face and smiled at him. “Me, too. But I think I need to catch my breath.” She lowered her eyelashes. “You know, I’m not a big talker where sex is concerned, but I never had an orgasm like that when I was alone.”
“Good.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I want to keep it that way. Come. Sit up. Time for some champagne, then the barber will go to work.”
Chapter Six
The champagne was still icy cold and the liquid felt good sliding down her throat. How was it possible, Grace wondered in amazement, to give myself an orgasm that was so powerful? She picked up the rose that Ben had left lying on her thigh and brushed the petals against her cheek. Her cowboy had a romantic streak. Who’d have thought it, from his hard, rough edges?
