Damn!
The woman knew how to touch a man.
He’d had plenty of females, human and lycan, but no one had ever made him feel like he was wound up in a ball of sensation. If he hadn’t known Rayne was his mate before, he knew it now.
Sending his fingers through her hair to grip her head, a low animalistic growl curled above them as his beast felt the pleasure too. Sensual power, heat, whipped through his senses as she took him into her mouth to suck.
“Gods! Rayne, honey, that feels so good.”
She released his cock from her mouth and looked up through a curtain of reddish curls, gave him a teasing little lick on the head. He’d always thought that siren’s smile the prettiest thing he’d ever seen, but never expected to see it on her lips when she looked at him. She was earthy, sensual, and she flat-out stole his breath. “You like it? Let me give you more, cowboy.”
Her head went down again as she sucked him more powerfully. His toes curled but suddenly it wasn’t enough to just receive pleasure from a woman. For the first time in his long life he wanted to give as good as he got. Ringo tugged her hair a bit. “Look at me, honey. Ah, that’s good but look at me. Stop.”
Rayne’s eyes were wide as she peered up at him, questions swirling there.
“Come up here.” Reaching down, he gently pulled and tugged until she was no longer lying between his thighs but on all fours at his side, her face hovered over his pulsing cock. “Bring your sweet ass to my mouth. I’m gonna eat you out. Been wanting to taste you for a long time.”
He sensed her reluctance to expose herself so much but he was dying here. Gently, when he wasn’t a gentle man at all, he touched the bare curve of her butt and guided her until she straddled his mouth. Her scent, both lupine and human, whispered through his senses. Her body was turned away from him as she faced his feet. Coaxing her down until their bodies were pressed together, Ringo settled her knees on either side of his head. As her breath brushed the head of his cock, he looked his fill at the rosy pink, very wet flesh of her pussy.
“Suck my cock, honey. Now.”
As her mouth took him in to the hilt and she sucked strongly then lightly, moving her mouth over him, he drew his tongue along her sweet slit. He sent his tongue deep through the quivering folds as his fingers gripped her ass. Rayne’s low moan vibrated against his cock, sending him surging into her mouth as pleasure held him deep in its grip. Then he went to work on the rest of her pussy, drawing her clit into his mouth to gently suck. He buried his fingers deep in her until they were drenched, and began to finger-fuck her with strong, sure strokes.
Intense pleasure roared through his blood, tingling along his spine as they moved together as if they’d always fucked this way. As he teased and played, he felt a change come over Rayne. She went still above him. It was time. Gently, he drew on her flesh until with a low cry she came. With his cock buried deep in her mouth, she continued to suck him, every whimpering sound she made vibrating on his flesh like a tuning fork. Unable to resist as pleasure rolled through his belly, his cock and his balls, he let go, pumping into her mouth as he just lost it.
Above him, Rayne trembled and he gentled her with his mouth, his tongue. His hands stroked her thighs as he breathed the scent of her. Finally, she rolled from his body. He reached down and drew her up into his arms. Her breath fluttered rapidly against his chest. He hadn’t wanted this to happen but it was too late. One taste would never be enough for him. Fisting his hands in her hair, he tugged until she looked up at him. Dawn began to filter through the flimsy curtains at the bedroom window as Ringo drank in her features. A soft smile curved her lips.
“I’m not done with you, Rayne.”
“Good to know.”
Gripping a slender shoulder, he settled her back until he could loom over her. “What am I going to do with you? You know this doesn’t change a thing about our situation but damn it, I can’t get enough of you, of this.”
“Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?” she asked.
“Hell no.”
He kissed her, slow and deep, tasting himself on her tongue, as his hands swept her body. Rayne’s arm curled around his shoulders to touch his neck and play with his too-long, shoulder-length hair. When he drew back to look at her, she was smiling again.
“Maybe you are just a chatterbox with me.”
A chatterbox? Him? Nobody he knew would dare to tease him. Sometimes she just said the weirdest things. She had the strange ability to make him smile. There had been little laughter in his life but with her everything felt so fresh. With her, it was as if he was that young boy again, the one who knew how to laugh before his humanity had been buried along with his traitorous father. Ringo ruthlessly shoved those emotions away and took her nipple in his mouth.
Rayne’s fingers twisted in his hair, holding him close. She pushed herself closer, tighter, and he scraped the tightly drawn morsel with his teeth. He slid one thigh between hers, feeling the drenched flesh of her pussy dampen his skin. Like other lycan women, she had no body hair. Rubbing his thigh against her clit, he heard Rayne catch her breath. She writhed against him as he pressed and suddenly it was too much.
“You asked for it,” he whispered against her nipple. Tentatively, just wanting a peek into her mind, he dropped his shields. Hers were thrown wide open. Fierce, savage emotion shifted from her to him and he fed it back to her. He felt her need to please him, her desire to belong to him. He noted her need for sex, hot and wild. The she-wolf buried deep inside her howled to break free and run the desert with her male counterpart.
His wolf answered the call, shifting deep inside him, stretching, searching for his mate. Ringo moved over Rayne and settled himself between her thighs. No condoms were necessary since lycans carried no disease and Rayne would not be fertile until she shifted into her wolf. The freedom to wildly fuck her called to his basest instincts. Already she was wet and ready, so he took his cock in his hand and dragged it over her flesh once, then again, before plunging deep and hard into her body.
Rayne cried out.
Her vaginal walls gripped tighter than a fist as he shoved himself in then out, gritting his teeth at the stunning sensations. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted to go deeper, harder. Looping his arms beneath her knees, he lifted her legs and, going to his knees, thrust with savage intensity. He rotated against her clit and she called his name. Again and again he plunged and withdrew as her silken flesh milked him. Ringo leaned closer to her body and caught her nipple with his lips, stroked with his tongue. Just that tiny increment of movement rubbed a spot deep inside her that made her breath expel sharply. Repeatedly he stroked the spot until she gasped a sound and her mouth opened on a shriek that sent Ringo over the edge. Taking her with him, he thrust and stilled as sensation gathered in his balls to streak up through his body. A low, unearthly growl came from between his gritted teeth as his beast made its presence known.
He collapsed over her and felt her arms go around him to hold him close. Sex wasn’t rare for him yet he couldn’t recall a time when gentleness had followed the fast, hot fucking he was used to. But Rayne was different from the others. Apparently she wanted all of him, not just what he could give her in bed. Afraid he would crush her, he rolled to her side and drew her close.
Rayne buried her face in his throat. “I could feel you. All of you. You were just there, Ringo. In my mind, in my body,” she whispered. “Could you feel me too?”
“Yeah.”
Gods! He was in so much trouble.
Lycan men certainly possessed a lot of stamina, Rayne thought as they headed toward his house near the Wolf Creek Ranch. They had showered together after that smokin’ hot predawn sex and he’d taken her again. Luckily the shower wall survived the experience and she had more than survived! Despite the quivering of her overworked thighs, she felt glowing and suddenly brand-new.
Still, Ringo was holding back.
She could feel it, sense it.
As the miles to the main ranch
rolled by, she stared out across the prairie as if it hadn’t been a part of her life since the hour of her birth. The rough terrain might not be beautiful to some but for her, it was home. Her pack had moved here generations ago after leaving Scotland and had established the town of Cloverfield on the isolated Texas plains. It was a place free of humans, where they could live in peace with no questions about longevity, why they were so fast and strong and why they sometimes turned furry. Her friends and family operated the town as if it were just like any other. They had lawyers, teachers, bankers and shopkeepers like herself.
She owned Poteet’s On the Prairie, a little shop that carried clothing and gifts, boots and shoes. You name it, she pretty much had it. Years ago, her father had given her start-up money to open the store and she hadn’t looked back. No. She didn’t really need the money. Lycans lived for such a long time that fortunes were easily amassed. Her father Angus had farmed several thousand acres of land until recently when he’d given up growing veggies and begun wind farming. Now his windmills dotted the horizon like giant metal skeletons, supplying power to the entire area.
Their customs were different from other Texans but they still all wanted the same things. Love. Life. Family. Home. Freedom. Her people had found all of those things here in this desolate place.
She glanced at Ringo. The strong morning sun streaked across his chiseled Latino features and her breath caught in her lungs. Those pesky butterflies flittered happily in her stomach. Feelings for him, the strongest she’d ever experienced for anyone, zipped through her body, making her ache to touch him. Every teenaged lycan girl dreamed of who her mate might be. Hours were spent speculating over who would be the male to spark that psychic, empathic connection that would make him hers.
Over the years, she’d hoped and prayed that one day the silent, smoldering Ringo Ramone would be hers.
Ringo didn’t want her though.
She felt his reticence and the way he was so careful to shield his feelings from her. Up to now, the only time she got a glimpse of him was during sex. That wouldn’t be enough. Not for her. She wanted everything. His rare smiles, his secret thoughts, but damn it, she wasn’t going to beg for what she saw as her right.
Feeling unsettled at Ringo’s silence, she glanced his way. The morning was cool and the windows in the old pickup were rolled down. He had one arm propped in the open window and the slow-moving wind caught his black hair and whipped the shiny stuff around. Unsmiling, he looked over at her.
“We’ll be there soon.” His black eyes went over her like a steamy caress as he took in the oversized tee shirt she’d taken from the stash of emergency clothing. The thing hung past her skirt, which had somehow managed to survive last night’s adventures. She’d lost her shoes somewhere along the way so she was barefoot. “You look like a puff of wind would blow you away,” he drawled.
“Criticism, Ringo?”
His eyes widened fractionally as if her words surprised him. “Just an observation. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” Finally he blew out a breath. “Look. You’re just small, Rayne, not like most of our women. That’s all I meant.”
Maybe talking wasn’t such a good idea, she thought as she glanced away. Women in her pack prided themselves on the fact they were powerful and strong. Frailty among them happened of course but it wasn’t cool to be considered such. Rayne knew that once she was able to shift, she would be as fast and strong as most of the pack’s women, just in a smaller package. Did he believe she was an inferior mate because of her lack of size?
Obviously!
It was hard hiding her hurt feelings but she gave it her best shot as they drove past the main house, then a little farther down the road to Ringo’s place. The brick house was fairly close to the main house and Rayne figured it was because of Ringo’s position in the pack as first lieutenant. She immediately spotted Joe McKinnon, their alpha, and his mate Quinn.
There was something about seeing her friend that caused emotion to well up, sharp and tight, in her chest. Her eyes burned. She’d just had it with men at this point! When the truck braked to a stop, Quinn rushed up. Rayne threw open the door and was immediately wrapped up in a hug.
“Oh honey! I’ve been so worried.”
“I’m okay. Just tired and a little scratched.” She looked into her friend’s concerned face and mustered a smile. “But you know us. The wounds are almost gone now.”
Quinn pulled back and wrapped one arm around her. “Come inside. You need a little TLC, I think. I’ll put on some coffee, assuming Ringo has some.”
She felt the men watching her and was uncomfortable with all the scrutiny but then Joe, walked up and settled a big hand on her shoulder. Concern flashed in his golden eyes. “Do you need anything, Rayne? Anything at all?”
For the gazillionth time, she realized how utterly gorgeous her alpha was. Joe McKinnon was every bit as big as Ringo, yet where Ringo was whipcord lean, Joe was more massive. He looked like the Scottish Highlanders from whom he’d descended. She shook her head and managed a smile. “No, I’m home and that’s what matters now.”
Quinn led her into Ringo’s house as the men talked quietly. Their rumbling voices came to her on the wind but all at once she didn’t care about being the topic of conversation. She wanted comfort and just one single moment that wasn’t riddled with sexual tension. Once she was settled at Ringo’s kitchen table and the scent of coffee hung rich in the air, Quinn sat across from her and took her hand.
“When they took you last night, I was so scared. We all were,” Quinn began. “But I get the feeling you’re more upset about Ringo. Want to talk about it?”
Rayne sighed. “Guess Joe told you that Ringo is my mate?” At Quinn’s nod, she continued. “We didn’t know it until last night when you and Joe announced your consummation. I’m thrilled for you, by the way.”
“Thanks. I’ve never been happier.”
“It shows.”
“How did Ringo react to all of this?” Quinn asked.
Rayne took a sip of coffee then gasped when she realized it was black. Quickly she added little cream from the tiny pitcher that Quinn had set on the table and gave her coffee a stir. “Well, you know Ringo. He barely says two words but he wants me. Sexually but not as a mate. Typical.”
Anger slid into Quinn’s brilliant blue eyes. “Want me to kick his ass for you, honey?”
She had to laugh. Quinn wasn’t a tiny, petite woman by any stretch of the imagination and could hold her own with anyone but their men were huge and powerful. Rayne rolled her eyes. “Oh lordy! I’d pay good money to see that.” Then she shook her head. “We’ll figure it out. He knows full well that we mate for life and if he doesn’t consummate with me, then I’m destined to live alone. He knows it! We’ll always be connected, if not fully through the consummation, then in other ways. Looks like he’s stuck with me but he’s not a damn bit happy about it.”
Quinn sat back in her chair and eyed her steadily. “It occurs to me that when the phrase ‘lone wolf’ was coined, they might’ve been speaking of Ringo Ramone.”
“Ain’t it the truth! I need time to think logically. Right now my body is on sexual overload. I want him so badly that I ache but I need more. Know what I mean?”
“Yes, I do. You want it all. All of him. And honey, you deserve it.”
“I’m not going to settle for less, Quinn, believe me but I’ll be damned if I beg him!”
* * * * *
On the drive back into town, Rayne made up her mind. She’d fallen so easily into sex with Ringo. Playing the whimpering heroine to his Latino machismo wasn’t a role she would act on again. Sure, the circumstances had prompted a closeness between them both but there was no excuse for a woman to get into anything hot and heavy with a man who seemed to hate himself for his own need. She’d had enough!
Ringo was quiet, introspective, but when wasn’t he?
Rayne was careful not to read anything into his behavior and when they pulled up into front of Poteet’s On t
he Prairie, it was with a measure of relief. Earlier, she’d collected her purse from Quinn, who had taken charge of it when she’d been abducted the night before. Now she dug through the bag, took out the keys and stepped from the truck to the asphalt street.
Ringo beat her to the door and removed the keys from her hand. “Let me.”
“I don’t need your help. I’m perfectly capable of opening my own door.” She practically snapped the words out but then relented when he pushed the key into the lock, allowing them to step into the shop. He gave her a surly look.
“Too damn bad.”
Sunlight came through the storefront windows to settle across the old hardwood floors and across the rounds of clothing she offered for sale. Small bowls of potpourri were kept sitting around here and there to dash a spicy fragrance into the air. It was Sunday and the store would remain closed until tomorrow when she’d be opening bright and early. Ringo followed her to the back, through the office and storage area, into her personal space.
She’d always loved her cozy, little apartment in back though her parents had often encouraged her to get something bigger. Tossing her bag into an overstuffed chintz chair, she turned to look at him. “Thanks for bringing me home.”
He seemed to fill up the small living room as he stood there quietly looking around. “This is nice. I’ve never been here before.”
Oddly pleased when she wanted to remain pissed, she managed a smile. “Thanks. I like it.”
“It suits you. Beautiful and sweet-smelling.”
Rayne caught her breath. Compliments from this man were so unexpected. The pace of her heartbeat picked up. Her bedroom was so close. They could be sprawled on her bed, pressed together, naked and sweaty, in a matter of seconds and they both knew it. Heat flashed in his dark eyes and, in instant response, her panties were drenched with the passion he called from her so easily. Instinctively she backed up. “Thank you, Ringo. For everything.”
Ringo's Ride Page 3
