by Roni Loren
The question confused her for a second but then she realized he was checking in with her on her safe word, giving her an out in case she’d meant her words. “No, you know where I live. Now take me home.”
He grasped her hips, fingers digging into her skin. “Not yet, gorgeous. Not until that sweet cunt of yours is squeezing my cock.”
She made a half attempt to shift away from him, but he gripped the back of her neck with one hand, holding her in place while he used his other hand to get the condom.
The vulnerable position did something to her. She knew she should probably be worried that this was turning her on. But somehow being with Pike made her feel safe to explore even taboo stuff. There was this bubble around them—one where she trusted that he wouldn’t really hurt her and that there’d be no judgment on either side. So she let herself fall into the moment—the tight bindings around her wrists, the cool metal of the truck against her arms, the naked sky above them, and the feel of Pike holding her in place. Surrender.
Pike released her neck and gripped her hips again. “You should see how goddamned perfect you look right now. All mine.”
And without further warning, he plunged into her. The move was rough, but she was so turned on that he slid in without resistance—hot and thick and deep. They both groaned at the connection.
“You feel numb now, baby?” he asked, sliding out and thrusting back in.
“Totally,” she breathed, her fingers curling into her palms.
“Oh, really?” His voice held a playful, goading tone. All part of the game. One that was working quite effectively on her.
“I don’t feel a … thing.” The catch in her voice made a liar out of her.
Pike’s fingers dug into her hips with steely force and he pumped harder for a few seconds, making the blanket slide beneath her. The truck started to make metallic grinding sounds along with them. “Well, if that’s the case, don’t come before I do and you win the game. I’ll take you home.”
“Easy money,” she whispered.
But then he slowed down his movements considerably and teased the flared head of his cock at her opening, in and out with light thrusts that lit up sensations she didn’t know she was capable of.
Holy mother of God. She let out a whimpering noise, despite her best efforts to keep quiet. She could feel everything so intimately, each ridge and smooth part of him as he continued the shallow thrusting, awakening long-dormant nerves.
“Mmm, that’s it, mama,” he said, his voice like warm cider on a cool night. “Feel every bit of me stretching you, rubbing over that sweet pink flesh and making it feel good.”
She didn’t know how she was so close to the edge of orgasm already. He hadn’t touched her clit, but the man knew how to manipulate her body and hit all the right spots.
He seated deep and she could feel his balls pressed up against her. For the first time, she wished she had her hands free so she could reach back and stroke him while he was inside of her. Maybe another night …
And there she went again. Thinking of more nights.
But Pike didn’t give her any time to hold on to the worry. Because he reached around her then and found her swollen nub. The combination of his roughened fingers on her clit and his cock buried inside her was too much. She arched up, begging for him to move.
He draped himself over her back with a dark chuckle. “Begging words sound so pretty on you, baby.”
“Next time I’ll make you beg,” she threatened.
He bit her shoulder with enough pressure to sting. “Looking forward to it.”
That’s when she realized he’d won. Not the game they were playing but the much bigger one. She’d just agreed to a next time.
Goddammit to hell.
But when he pressed her flat against the truck bed, his hand still on her clit, and started fucking her hard, she forgot to be mad. Because having him take her hard under the stars, his body challenging hers to unknown heights, was worth any price she was going to pay.
Probably.
Maybe.
She’d worry about it later.
Right now it was time to explode into a million little bits.
TWENTY-ONE
“Not even on the grounds yet and you’re already breaking the rules.”
The unfamiliar voice made Oakley jolt awake. Pike, who’d been holding her against him, broke away from her in an instant. “What the fuck?”
Oakley scrambled, trying to clear her head, and gathered the blanket Pike had draped over them around her naked body.
“Let me know when y’all are decent,” the unfamiliar voice said.
Pike scowled and helped Oakley straighten the blanket then buttoned his open jeans. “Sorry, baby.”
“What’s going on?” she whispered urgently.
“It’s all right. Give me a sec.” He sat up in the bed of the truck and helped Oakley do the same.
All she could see was the back of a man in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans.
Pike leaned over and popped the guy on the back of the head. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Gib?”
The man turned around, moonlight illuminating dark, curly hair and bright blue eyes. He sent Oakley an apologetic look over Pike’s shoulder. “Sorry to interrupt.”
She had no idea what to say to that. She was still too startled that anyone was there at all. How had they let themselves doze off? One minute they’d been kissing and cuddling after their rocking orgasms, and the next she was waking up naked in the back of a truck with a stranger staring at them.
Though, the guy didn’t seem to be a stranger to Pike.
“Then why are you here?” Pike asked, annoyed.
The man gave Pike an are-you-kidding? look. “You do realize this is part of Grant’s property, right? Security cameras caught a truck veering off the main road. When it didn’t return, they ran the plates in the database and figured out it was you. No one knew if you were in some kind of trouble or getting into trouble. I volunteered to come and check on you. Looks like it was the latter.”
Oakley peered toward the road. In the distance, she could see a car with the headlights pointed this way.
“You could’ve called my cell, asshole,” Pike said, but there was no ire behind it.
The man smirked, a dimple appearing. “I did. Twice.”
Pike ran a hand through his hair and then reached for his T-shirt to tug it over his head. “Well, thanks for interrupting. We so appreciate it.”
The guy grinned. “Happy to help. Don’t want you to get eaten by coyotes or something.” He lifted a hand to Oakley. “I’m Gibson, by the way.”
“My former friend,” Pike added.
She couldn’t help but smile. The situation was so bizarre. “Oakley.”
“Pretty name.”
“Thanks.” She narrowed her eyes. Something about him seemed familiar, nudged her memory. “Have we met before?”
“Don’t think so,” Gibson said.
Pike blew out a breath. “Gib is Kade Vandergriff’s brother.”
Oakley stiffened like she’d been pinched. Oh, shit. Kade’s brother. As in, her boss’s brother-in-law. That’s where she’d seen him before. Tessa had a family picture on her desk. And now he was here, staring straight at her as she sat in the back of a truck, naked beneath a blanket, on the way to a sex resort. Fantastic. She wanted to climb into the glove compartment and die.
Pike eyed her. “Don’t freak out. Rules here dictate absolute confidentiality. No matter what happens here, Gibson will act like he doesn’t know you if you run into each other in the outside world.”
Gibson lifted his brows in question.
“Oakley works for Tessa,” Pike explained. “She’s the one heading up the charity project.”
“Ah, I see. Glad you took my advice.” Gibson sent Pike a look but then gave Oakley a reassuring smile. “But yes, absolutely. Your secrets are safe. That’s the beauty of a place like this. You can kind of exist in a vacuum once you’re inside the gat
es. Plus, you have dirt on me now, too. I’m here at The Ranch as well.”
“And for probably way more scandalous reasons,” Pike said wryly.
“Right.” Oakley put her hand to her forehead, her palm cool against her burning skin. Regardless of confidentiality, she was still mortified. How unprofessional did this look? Beyond the whole sex-resort thing, she was hooking up with a guy she was supposed to be working with.
“Well,” Gibson said, all good nature and relaxed smiles, “I’ll let you two get on with your night. Maybe we can all grab a drink later.”
“That doesn’t have the same ring to it when all they serve here is soda,” Pike said. “But if you’re not tied up at the time, maybe we will.”
Gibson’s dark brows lowered. “Watch it, smart-ass.”
Pike laughed. “Have fun, Gib.”
Gibson headed back to his car, and Pike sagged against the side of the truck.
“Well, that was embarrassing,” Oakley said, releasing a breath.
Pike reached out and grabbed her hand. “Don’t be embarrassed. Really. Gibson’s not going to say anything to anyone. Most of my close friends are members at The Ranch. We’ve all seen one another in compromising positions at some point—believe me. It’s all very open. I have more dirt on Gibson than could fill a dump truck, but we all trust one another to keep it private.”
“What did he mean about not taking his advice?”
“Foster told him about us running into you at Wicked, and Gibson warned me not to mess with you. He’s the one who asked me to take on the charity project, and he said his brother and Tessa would kill him if I caused any of Tessa’s employees grief.”
“Is that what you do? Cause women grief?”
He shrugged. “Well, once you sleep with me, you are pretty much ruined for all others, so I see where he’s coming from.”
She laughed and shoved his arm. “You’re ridiculous.”
“What? I can’t help the facts.”
Pike waved to Gibson when he gave them a honk from his vehicle, and Oakley watched his taillights disappear through the cloud of dust his back tires kicked up. “Have you shared women with Gibson like you did with Foster?”
Pike sent her a sidelong glance. “You making a request, Ms. Easton?”
A choked sound burst out of her. “What? No!”
Well …
No.
She shook those images from her head. “I’m just curious.”
His mouth curled at the corner. “Good, because I’m not sharing you.”
“But I thought you did that all the time.”
He leaned forward and kissed her nose. “If that’s really something you feel like you want to explore at some point, we can talk about it. But I have to admit, you bring out my selfish side, mama. I don’t mind if others want to watch, but I want to be the one to touch.”
Something pinged through her at that declaration and the you’re mine in his tone. As curious as she may be about the whole threesome thing and as good-looking as Gibson was, something about Pike staking his claim settled something inside her, made her feel safe.
“And no, I haven’t shared a woman with Gib. I’ve watched him scene a time or two, but he keeps most of his play here private.”
“Is he a dom?”
“He’s a lot of things.”
The vague answer let her know that Pike wasn’t going to share Gibson’s secrets. In a way, that was comforting. Maybe her secrets were safe, too. “It’s not weird knowing that much about your friends’ sex lives?”
Pike handed her clothes to her, and she started to get dressed.
“At first it can be, but after you hang out around here for a while, it just becomes another facet of your friends. You know so-and-so likes to get tied up and whipped in front of a crowd. And that another friend likes to give his wife a male submissive to play with every now and then while he watches. Now Gibson knows we like to fool around outdoors. It just becomes another thing about them. The taboo aspect fades and it brings you closer.”
“I can’t imagine.” She’d been raised in such a close-lipped environment when it came to sexuality that what he was describing was hard to wrap her head around. No one talked about sex aloud when she was growing up. No one. Her brother had once made a joke about “choking the chicken” and he’d been grounded for a month. So imagining such casual openness with friends blew her mind a little.
Pike helped her button her blouse. “The most honest version of ourselves is the one behind closed doors. I’m sure you see that with the calls you take. You probably know more about your callers’ true selves than ninety-nine percent of the people in their lives. Sex and how we feel about it, what we crave? That’s about as vulnerable as a person can get. So with my friends, instead of hiding it, we let one another see behind our closed doors. It’s a privilege we don’t take lightly.”
“Sounds wonderful and completely terrifying.”
He laughed and leaned over to kiss her lightly. “Yes. To both. But I think you’re going to do just fine here.”
“Oh?” she said, meeting his eyes and getting lost in them for a moment. “Why is that?”
“Because your time for hiding behind those doors is done, mama. What we just did out here proves that. You’re fearless.” He pushed her hair away from her face. “Tonight you’re not the staid professional or the good daughter or the responsible mom or Sasha the sex-line operator. Tonight it’s just you and me, whatever that looks like, whatever we want. Tonight all you have to be is mine.”
She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to his, letting the words sink in. This was their night. Her break from it all. Tomorrow her life would go back to normal. She didn’t mind that. She liked her life. But she wasn’t going to let anything hold her back from enjoying her time with Pike tonight.
She wasn’t going to stress about her inexperience or the fact that this was not very mom-like. And though she’d sort of agreed to another time with Pike already, she knew she couldn’t honor that. This one night had to be it and she was going to grab the most she could from it. If you knew you only got to go to the moon once, you wouldn’t waste your time worrying about how you looked in your space suit or what other people thought of you for climbing on the rocket ship. You would keep your eyes wide open and drink it all in.
And she was definitely going to imbibe in every last bit of the beautiful man in front of her.
She looped her arms around Pike’s neck and lifted her head to meet his eyes. “Let’s get going.”
But as soon as they climbed back into the truck and headed toward The Ranch, Oakley’s phone rang.
When she saw the name pop up on the phone, she answered immediately. “Devon? What’s wrong?”
“Don’t freak out.”
“Devon,” she said louder, making Pike send a concerned glance her way.
Her brother sighed. “She’s okay, but Rae may have broken her arm. We’re at the ER.”
“What?!” Oakley’s stomach plummeted.
“I told you not to freak out. Look, she’s all right. She took a fall when she and Lucas were riding bikes. She’s being a trouper. But I knew you’d want—”
“Which hospital are you at?”
Pike immediately slowed the truck and pulled to the side of the road.
“Memorial.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can, but we’re at least an hour away,” she said in a rush, adrenaline flooding her system. “Can I talk to her?”
“She’s in getting X-rays right now, but I’ll tell her you’re on your way. You know how she is. She’s being really stoic about it, but I know she’d feel better if you were here. I’m sorry to call you on your one night out.”
“Don’t even. You know I’m not going to be anywhere else but there. I’ll see you soon.”
They exchanged good-byes and Oakley let the phone drop into her lap.
“What’s wrong?” Pike asked, tone urgent.
She rubbed her hands over her face. �
��Rae may have broken her arm.”
“Shit.” Pike put the truck in gear and made a quick, dirt-spraying U-turn on the road. “Is she okay?”
“Sounds like it. Devon’s got her in with the doctor. But I need—”
“Where are we going?” he asked, purpose in his tone, all playfulness gone.
“She’s at Memorial but you can just bring me back to my car and I can head out from there. I’m sorry to screw up the night. But I can’t—”
“Don’t you dare apologize for that.” He frowned her way. “And bringing you back to the studio is completely out of the way. We’ll be there twenty minutes earlier if we just go straight there.”
“But—”
“If you’re worried about Reagan seeing us together, we can just tell her we were working on Bluebonnet stuff. Most important thing is we get you to her as soon as we can.”
Oakley sagged in the seat at his resolute tone. It felt nice to have someone else handle things for a moment so she could get her nerves under control. Her mom panic was in full gear, but she’d heard Devon’s tone. He wouldn’t lie to her. If Rae was freaking out or in any true danger, he would’ve told her. A broken arm was awful but it was something that could be fixed.
She looked over at Pike. So much for their wild night. “Thanks for this. Welcome to the joys of dating a mom.”
He gave her a quick smile. “So we’re dating now? Excellent.”
“Shut up,” she said, a half-laugh escaping. “You know what I mean.”
He reached out and gave her knee a squeeze. “I have a feeling there’d be a lot of joys dating you, mama.”
There was no sarcasm in his voice, and the statement sliced her right open, making her want things she shouldn’t. “You’re not playing fair, James Pike Ryland.”
He looked back to the road, a shuttered look on his face. “You should know better than to expect that. I don’t play fair. I play dirty.”
But the joke landed flat because there was none of his trademark humor in it. Unspoken words sat heavy between them for the rest of the drive.
Yep. She needed to end this quick.
It was starting to sting.
