by Jenny Penn
“Never!”
“That might not have been your intention to start, but...fucking me wouldn’t have helped to land Konor because you didn’t even know Konor was an option. That means you are willing to choose me over him.”
Heather didn’t answer that accusation, but instead turned tail and fled, which was more than enough of an answer for Alex. With a devilish smile of pure delight, he started after her, only this time there was no need to rush. Heather couldn’t escape. She’d turned down a dead-end and he knew it.
He caught up with her as she came to a stop, staring blankly up at the large stone capping the end of the tunnel. This time he didn’t bother to taunt or bait her, but simply latched onto her foot and began pulling her back beneath him.
Heather didn’t fight him. Instead she turned those big, sad doe eyes on Alex, making his heart clench as she gazed up woefully at him and asked, “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
“I don’t know,” Alex answered honestly, feeling about as bewildered as she sounded.
Whatever this was, whatever was between them, he didn’t want to examine it too closely. He was just tired of fighting it. The need had grown over the years into a painful ache that Alex would do anything to soothe, but he knew only one thing could tame it—Heather.
He needed her. Now that he had her soft and yielding beneath him, he had no intention of hesitating. Alex’s gaze narrowed on Heather even as she began shaking her head, her eyes wide with alarm and dancing with panic.
She knew what came next and was already trying to deny him, but it was too late.
“No...don’t—”
Chapter 17
Heather’s breath caught as Alex’s lips broke over hers, smashing them down beneath the hard, velvety weight of his kiss and forcing her mouth for the invasion of his tongue. Warm and heady, his taste flooded her senses, unleashing a need that had been too long denied.
The heat and hunger that had been building over the long years exploded, drowning Heather in an intoxicating mix of lust and anticipation. In that moment she forgot about the past or any concerns for the future and gave herself over to the pleasure of feeling Alex’s thick, strong arms tighten around her as he plundered the dark, moist recesses of her kiss.
Wicked and wanton, his tongue teased and taunted her until Heather caught it between her lips. She sucked hard, making him growl and arch, pumping the thick, heavy length of his erection against the aching curve of her mound. Instinctively her hips lifted, her knees bending around his as she cradled his dick, rubbing herself up against it in a blatant invitation. Alex growled again, the feral sound echoing through the tunnel as his hand dipped down her side yank her shirt out of his way. He was going for the waistband on her sweats, but his fingers never made it past the tight cinch of the Manila rope as reality intruded with a hard, pounding crack.
“Hey, you two break it up.” The knight standing on the other side of the tunnel whacked the bricks again with his sword, emphasizing his command as he smirked down at them. “This isn’t the place for that. Besides, you’re holding up all the other contestants, so get a move on it.”
“Oh, my God,” Heather whispered as became aware of just what she was doing, what she let happen and with who, not to mention where they were and that they’d gotten caught. There was no break in the humiliation of the moment and only one appropriate response.
Slapping her hands against Alex’s chest, she reared a knee upward and aimed higher this time. He felt the move coming, though and rolled quickly away, giving her all the space she needed to take off. Alex was right on her heels, chasing after her like a hound set loose. Patton’s comments about rabbits echoed through Heather’s head, sending a thrill twining through her even as it spurred her to rush ever faster forward until she was all but tripping over her own feet as daylight finally pooled unobstructed in the distance.
“Mom?” Taylor was there by her side, looking worried as Heather finally scrambled past the last arch and up onto her feet. “Are you all right? You were in there so long, we were getting—”
Taylor’s last word was washed away as a water balloon clipped Heather’s head, sending her stumbling toward the ground. She would have hit it hard if Alex hadn’t caught her. Like some kind of dark knight come to steal her soul, he rose up behind her to capture her and sweep her off her feet.
“Here, allow me.” Alex smiled down at her with a smug satisfaction that had Heather’s stomach twisting into knots.
“That is perfectly all right,” Heather assured him, managing to get the words out despite the tightness in her throat.
What she really wanted to do was scream at him. It wasn’t fair. He couldn’t do this to her. This primal, primitive lust was like a sickness that she couldn’t cure herself of no matter how hard she tried, and Heather had put thirteen years into the effort. He’s shredded those defenses with one kiss.
Now what was she supposed to do?
“Mom? Did you hurt yourself? Are you all right?” Taylor gazed up at her with big, concerned eyes that helped fortify her nerves and renew her sense of purpose.
“She’s fine,” Alex answered before Heather could, his voice rumbling through his chest and in carrying with it the weight of authority. “Your mom just twisted her ankle, didn’t you?”
“No,” Heather retorted, shocked that he would so boldly lie to her son and expect her to go along with him. “I’m fine and if you would put me down, I’ll prove it.”
“Fine.”
Alex offered her his own tight smile as he released her legs, his hand sliding up her thighs as he guided her downward in a slow, sensual motion. The hard press of his body grinding subtly against hers ignited a frenzy of delightful little shivers. They raced up her spine, leaving her lightheaded and weak-kneed. Her legs buckled the moment her feet hit the ground.
“See?” Alex gloated smugly as he lifted her back up into his arms. “You’re ankle is clearly hurt and we need to get you to a medical tent to have you checked out.”
“I think he’s right, mom,” Taylor agreed, giving her a serious look that always melted Heather’s heart. He was such a good boy. She really didn’t want him worrying. Neither did she want him caught up in the middle of her battle with Alex.
“Fine, honey.” Heather conceded, accepting that she couldn’t simply run away from what had happened in the tunnel. “I’ll go have it checked out.”
“Great!” Taylor looked instantly relieved as he turned to start heading off. “I think the medic—”
“Hold up there, squirt,” Konor finally spoke up, reaching out to latch onto Taylor’s shoulder before he could get too far away. “I don’t think your mom wants you missing the rest of the course just to sit by her side, am I wrong?”
“No,” Heather answered slowly as she caught his gaze. “Konor’s right, honey. You go on and finish up the course.”
“But—”
“No, ‘but’s.” Heather pinned Taylor with a pointed look. “This is your day, and you’re going to go on and enjoy it. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine and back in the game before you can miss me. I promise.”
“Okay,” Taylor reluctantly agreed, stepping back to watch as Alex carted her past.
Heather glanced over Alex’s shoulder, gazing back at her son as she waited for Alex to carry her out of Taylor’s hearing. She had some words she wanted to share with the sheriff. Words a little too mature for Taylor’s tender ears.
* * * *
Alex could feel the anticipation thickening in Heather’s muscles as he carried her away. She was growing stiff and hard in his arms, the fight rallying within her. It didn’t matter, though. She could say whatever she wanted. He knew the truth.
She wanted him.
Wanted him.
He planned to take advantage of that.
“You can put me down now,” Heather informed him with a tone caustic enough to cut glass. “Taylor can’t see us and we both know there is nothing wrong with my ankle.”
That was definitely not the plan.
Hell, Alex wasn’t exactly sure what the plan was beyond finding someplace private where he could kiss Heather again. This time he planned on taking a taste of more than just her lips.
“Damn it, Alex, are you listening to me? Put me down now!” Heather’s anger couldn’t hide the desperate edge of panic sharpening her demand and weakening it at the same time.
“Don’t think so,” Alex denied her as he tightened his arms around her, quelling Heather’s futile attempts to twist free.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because carrying you is more romantic, isn’t it?”
“Romantic?” Heather all but choked on the word. “You mean convenient.”
“That, too,” Alex allowed, indulgently. “But I don’t think anybody could disagree that we’re having fun now.”
“You’re crazy.” Heather shook her head at him. “And I am not even going to indulge your insanity. Now, put me down.”
“Nope.”
“Damn it, Alex. Put me down!”
“Not going to happen.”
“If you don’t put me down in the next second I’m going to start screaming bloody murder, you got me?” Heather warned him, not even seeming to realize the pointlessness of that threat, given she was already yelling.
Alex paid little attention to the men and boys who had started to turn and stare, but instead he offered Heather his sincere assistance. “If you really want to put on a show then I’ll be happy to help. I stand ready to serve you in all your endeavors, Miss Lawson.”
Heather stiffened at that assurance, reading into it exactly what he meant. Alex didn’t blink or flinch, but waited expectantly for her next move. It wouldn’t have surprised him if she’d started hollering, but neither did it shock him when, instead, she simply tightened her lips and remained pointedly silent.
“That’s a good girl,” Alex praised her with an overly condescending tone and a quick pat to her ass that had Heather growling. “You just let me handle everything and we’ll all end up happy, okay?”
Heather’s jaw flexed as her eyes glittered with the promise of revenge, but she managed to hold her tongue even when he left his palm resting on her ass, but when he started rubbing, she started growling. Heather could snarl all she wanted. Alex could see the truth flashing in her eyes. The same heat burned across her cheeks and had little to do with anger.
“You work out, Miss Lawson?” Alex asked politely, taunting her with the use of her formal title even as his touch grew increasingly more intimate.
In one smooth stroke he allow old his fingers to slide down the rounded curve of her ass until they brushed over the soft folds of her cunt, protected from his touch by the sweats. The thick cotton couldn’t hide, though, the heated proof of her arousal soaking into the fabric.
She was wet. Wet and ready—ready for him.
“Because you certainly do feel tight back here,” Alex commented as quickly as his hand retreated, allowing her to catch a breath she had lost.
Heather couldn’t seem to get the job done, though. Instead, she vainly tried to smother the ragged pants causing her breast to bounce in hypnotizing rhythm. Alex couldn’t be blamed if his gaze lingered there on the puckered little tips of her nipples just begging to be sucked right through her shirt.
After all, he was a man.
“Tight and soft, a perfect combination. After all, I like a little plushness to cushion me when I’m riding a woman from behind.”
Alex lifted his gaze to capture hers, finding himself instantly transfixed by the hunger he could see raging in her eyes and knew she was imagining being that woman. So was he.
“From behind, in the behind, in the behind with another dick packing her cunt full—that’s the kind of tightness that really matters.” Alex offered Heather that bit of advice before nodding to the knights guarding the entrance to the course.
Without missing a beat, he carted Heather up the path toward the dining hall while continuing to fuel the fantasy he knew he was spinning in her mind. Fantasies were one of the greatest aphrodisiacs, which is why every Cattlemen knew how to wield them with lethal precision.
“Just imagine it—you, me, and Konor, all sweaty and pounding it out while we race each other to the best damn orgasm you can imagine.” Alex sighed heavily. “It’ll be good times.”
Good, sweaty, dirty times. That’s just what Alex planned to gorge himself on.
“Of course, the first time I bend you over it isn’t going to be for that kind of fun,” Alex informed her cheerfully. “After all you got over thirteen years’ worth of punishments to catch up on, not to mention the fact that you made me wait thirteen years to catch up on them.”
Heather rolled her eyes and snorted, clearly unimpressed with that threat, but Alex wasn’t kidding. She’d made him wait, and it had been a long wait. A long, painful wait. She owed him, and now it was time to take a down payment on that bill.
Shouldering his way through the dinning hall’s double doors, he turned straight toward the back as his pace picked up speed. Fueled by Heather’s alluring scent infusing every breath he took, Alex couldn’t deny the sense of urgency that consumed him.
She smelled like summertime, all suntan lotion, sweat and peaches…sweet, sweet peaches, all ripe and ready to be eaten. Alex’s eyes rolled back as he gave into the urge to burrow his face into Heather’s soft, silken tresses and breathe deep. Delicious.
“Stop that!” Heather broke her silence as she jerked her head away from his but bound in his arms as she was, she couldn’t truly escape.
“Why?” Alex tightened his grip on her as he dipped his chin and took advantage of her arched neck to rub his cheek against her satiny skin. Tilting his head, he took another deep breath, releasing it with a ragged sigh. “You’re so soft and you smell like dessert.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Heather muttered.
“Like peaches and cream.”
“That would be my shampoo.”
“I don’t think that’s what I meant.” Alex smiled catching Heather’s wary glance. “But don’t worry. I’ll show you just what I’m talking about.”
Kicking open the door to the women’s bathroom, he carried her straight in, letting the door slam behind him.
* * * *
Alex smiled, a devilish curl of his lips that sent a wicked thrill racing through Heather. She knew exactly what he had planned next. Knew, too, that he considered himself to be the seducer right then. She’d let him continue on with that fantasy, but soon enough he’d realize that he was the one caught in his own damn trap.
Heather kept that thought to herself along with the delicious sense of gratification it filled her with. Instead of giving into the temptation to move in close to Alex and allowing her voice to soften with the want thickening in her veins, she blinked in mock confusion, retreating backward as Alex finally released her to turn his attention to the door.
The schlick of the deadbolt sliding into place echoed loudly through the tiled chamber. Heather flinched as if the sound had taken a nip at her. The small hint of fear was not lost on Alex as his gaze tracked her toward the sink as she scurried away from him.
“What do you think you are doing?” Heather demanded to know, striving to sound both indignant and scared all at once. She succeeded well enough given the confidence in Alex is swagger as he advanced on her.
“I think you know, sweetness,” Alex responded with that slow, arrogant drawl that just reeked of presumptuous indulgence. “Now be a good girl and strip for me.”
“Strip for you?” Even though that’s just what Heather planned to do, she managed to inject the right hint of disgust to her tone to make the corner of Alex’s smile dip down low. “How about I screamed bloody murder and kick you in the ’nads again?”
“Because you want to keep my gonads in working order,” Alex obnoxiously informed her. “Besides, I wouldn’t be half as much fun without them.”
“You mean you’d only be half the dick you are now?” Heather shot back without thought. “Because I’m not seeing the disadvantage here.”
Tipping back his head, Alex let out a deep-throated laugh. The sexy sound did strange things to Heather’s heart rate, but it was the smooth confidence in his tone that really had her going week in the knees.
“Oh, sweetness, I know you aren’t because I know you happen to like my dick. Half-sized, full-sized, even when I’m old and it’s pint sized—you’ll take me anyway you can get me. Go on and admit it.”
“My name is not sweetness,” Heather reminded him with as haughty a look as she knew how to make. “Now, unlock the door.”
“No.”
“Alex.”
“Admit that you wanted me for the past thirteen years, and I’ll consider it.”
“No,” Heather shot down his suggestion just as quickly as he’d shot down hers.
“Come on now,” Alex cajoled as he began to stalk slowly forward. “I’ll agree to ladies first.”
“Ladies first?” Heather arched a brow at that, not bothering to shrink away from him. She didn’t really want to escape. “Does that mean in all things?”
“Oh, yeah.” Alex’s smile promised to expand her definition of all and Heather couldn’t deny that she wasn’t intrigued. “All you got to do, sweetness, is strip.”
“Very well,” Heather agreed slowly, not wanting to appear too eager and arouse his suspicion.
Instead, she allowed the tension to build along with the silence as her gaze dipped lower, her eyes drawn toward the tanned perfection of his chest. Covered in a glistening sheen of sweat, he all but glowed, his skin appearing so soft, so velvety her fingers itch to touch.
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