Rayne and Martha had been friends long before she became the consummated mateof the Supreme. She was a sweet woman, warm and funny, with empathic abilities and, without a doubt, Martha felt Rayne’s current turmoil. She smiled in return and went back to dragging her index finger over a deep gouge in the heavy wooden table. She shook her head and sent her gaze out over the crowd of dancers. Cowboys and their ladies were two-stepping to an old Shania Twain song.
“Remember when I told you I felt I was being watched?”
Both women nodded.
“It was Ringo. I caught him lurking around my backyard last night.”
Martha sighed. “That’s so romantic. I know he has feelings for you and Ringo’s emotions tend to run deep. Give him some time.”
“Yeah, I know. He left early this morning without a word but I keep hoping that I’ve chipped away a little more at that armor he wears around himself.”
Just then one of the cowboys from the Wolf Creek Ranch sauntered up and with a grin, swept her off to the dance floor. Alyssa was already out there dancing her boots off. Why not? There were so few unmated females around. Males outnumbered the females ten to one and what would a little dance hurt anything? Might take her mind off her current situation.
Harley and the Moondoggies, the local band, was taking a break but the stereo system in the place was great. Laughter and the occasional howl blended with the raucous music and soon Rayne relaxed and gave in to the party atmosphere of the place. The lycan she danced with was smooth on his feet and when he twirled her around and her sassy little skirt spun out and she laughed.
“Hey! Like those boots, Rayne,” her partner observed.
They were red ostrich and fashioned to look worn and comfortable. Rayne grinned. “Got a whole passel of new boots in the other day. You should come by. Live a little.”
“Might just do that.” He spun her again and a pair of big, strong arms wrapped around her middle from behind, making her gasp.
Ringo!
She’d know that scent, those arms, those hands anywhere.
Rayne glance back over her shoulder but he paid her no attention. He was looking at the other cowboy. “Mind if I steal my girl for a dance, Buster?”
Buster smiled and tipped his hat to Rayne. “Hey, thanks for the dance.”
As he sauntered off in search of another partner, Ringo grabbed one of her hands and spun her out and then back into his arms. Unable to contain her joy, laughter bubbled up. “You’re pretty good at this.”
“Think so?”
Impulsively, she went to her tiptoes and kissed one corner of his mouth. His slowly blooming grin made her insides melt. Moisture pooled in her panties as the scent of him wrapped her up, making her think of mussed bedsheets and the whispers of lovers. His teeth flashed white and warmth filled his dark eyes. Rayne loved him in that moment more than she’d ever thought it possible to love someone.
“You’re looking mighty nice tonight, darlin’.”
His compliment warmed her to the toes of her brand-new cowboy boots as they continued to dance. Then suddenly the song ended and another immediately began. The strains of Garth Brooks’ Shameless whipped through the heavy air as Ringo pulled her close against his chest.
She rested her head there, loving the feel of his hard muscles beneath her cheek. Firmly he gripped one hand while she rested the other on his broad shoulder. Unable to stop herself, needing to touch, she sent her fingers on a foray through his long, silky hair. Ringo’s other hand settled low on her back as he gently pulled her close enough to feel the heavy weight of his cock behind the fly of his jeans. Rayne caught her breath.
Sinuously, he glided her across the sawdust-covered dance floor and she knew dozens of eyes watched them but she just couldn’t give a damn. In Ringo’s arms was right where she belonged. Her breasts grazed the front of his black western-style shirt, causing her nipples to pebble tightly behind the confines of her bra. The irritating rub of lace against the tender buds was almost too much to bear. More than anything, she wanted to grab the sides of his soft-as-butter shirt and give it a yank, making those pearl snaps give way like a slow, seductive song. She wanted him to rip the tee shirt from her body and unfasten her bra to free her breasts. She needed his hands and mouth teasing her nipples. A raging fire of lust shot straight to her core and she felt the press of his erection against her pussy. Rayne panted softly against his chest and felt him stiffen. Placing a finger on her chin, he lifted until she was lost in the dark want reflected in his eyes.
“Let’s get out of here,” he murmured.
“Yeah.”
Ringo led her through the crowd of dancers and toward the back of the club where Harley, of Moondoggie fame and the manager of the club, was passing long-neck bottles of beer across the ancient oak bar. “Hey Ringo!”
“Hey, Harley. Could I use your office?”
Harley barely paused before he nodded. “Sure. Help yourself.”
Without another word, Ringo led her past the game room where a group of men were shooting pool. A long dark hallway displayed two restrooms marked Cowboys and Cowgirls and at the end was the manager’s office. Ringo ushered her inside the well-lit room, shut the door with a snap and turned the lock.
Rayne caught her breath when he grabbed her shoulders and pressed her back against the hard wood. The look in his eyes was dark and predatory. She went still.
“Been wanting to do this since I left your bed this morning with the scent of you still hanging on my skin.”
Ringo planted his elbows on either side of her head and leaned in to take her mouth with a voracious hunger that threatened to bring her to her knees. He sent his tongue deep to ghost the walls of her cheeks, her teeth. He tasted her fully and Rayne felt her body tremble as she tentatively returned the kiss. The dam of pleasure broke, roaring through her and with it came a confidence she’d never had before. Giving him stroke for stroke, she returned the kiss and sent her fingers on a slow, steady walk up the front of his shirt. Grabbing a handful of fabric, she gave it a yank and those pretty pearl snaps popped one after the other until his chest was bare.
Breaking free from the devastating assault of his mouth, she buried her nose against his chest and breathed him in. Busy hands played at the corrugated muscle of his abdomen. When Ringo sucked in a sharp breath, she smiled. The roar of the crowd outside the door muted to a low din. While they partied through the night, she was tucked away with her man and she figured life didn’t get much better. Her lips and tongue found a nipple and she sucked it gently before switching to the other. It wasn’t enough. Not for her. Not now. Raking her nails over the firm flesh of his back, she kissed her way down his torso, teasing him with naughty little bites. Finally she dragged her fingers over his sides and lower, to cup him through his jeans.
“Ah yeah, Rayne. Honey, you’re killing me here.”
“Gods, I love how big you are. How long and thick. I want you. Now. I’ve never wanted anything so much.”
Yes, she was brazen but she couldn’t resist the temptation another minute longer. She was sick of waiting for him to make a move. It was time to take what she wanted and she wanted Ringo more than her next breath. By all the rules of their people, he was hers and being a shy wallflower, passive and restrained, wasn’t going to help her a bit. Cupping his heavy balls through the soft denim pulled a low growling sound from his chest.
Oh yes. He wanted her. He wanted her now and she knew it.
Without warning he grabbed her around her rib cage and lifted her high and flush against the door. His jaw was rigid, a muscle working there. He leaned in and spoke against her lips. “Are you wet for me, Little Miss Rayne?”
“Yeah.”
“Let me check. I wanna feel how hot you are.” He dragged his erection repeatedly, slow and steady, over her pussy and Rayne’s eyes closed as sensation ripped up through her body then down again. One leg lifted up to wrap around his hips as he dry-fucked her. When he rotated against her clit, she cried out, buckin
g against him. And then his hand was there, diving into the front of her panties to find her drenched folds. Unerringly, he found the swollen knot of her clit and gently squeezed it with his fingers. Rayne stilled and drew a breath to scream as he covered her mouth. She came undone against his hand.
Ringo let her slide slowly down the door and before she knew it, he had unzipped her skirt. It settled in a pool of color around the tops of her cute red cowboy boots. He bent down.
“Lift.”
When he tossed the skirt aside and stood to look at her, she leaned down, intending to remove the boots.
“Leave ’em,” he said, his lips quirking. “You look like a sexy, fuckable little cowgirl. My favorite fantasy.”
Rayne smiled and stepped closer to settle her arm across his shoulder. “Well, just consider me your fantasy babe then. Whatever works.”
“You don’t have to work that hard. Believe me.”
Ringo lifted her up and carried her to a couch across the room. When he set her on her feet, he reached for the snap on his jeans but Rayne stopped him. “Let me.”
She unsnapped the worn jeans and slid the zipper slowly down, the sound loud in the sudden quiet of the room.
Commando! Oh yeah!
Lifting the heavy length of his cock into her hands, she dragged her hands over the firm flesh. So hard, so wickedly sexy. Ringo closed his eyes as she drifted her thumb across the broad head, collecting a single drop of fluid from the tiny slit at the end. Bringing her thumb to her mouth, she glanced up to see his narrowed eyes watching her as she licked the drop and smiled.
“You’re killing me.”
“Good. It’s way past time someone rattled your cage, cowboy.” Rayne reached out to push his jeans from his hips then she placed her hand on his chest and gave him a little push.
Ringo flopped onto the couch, his lips quirked up at the corners. His cock was hard and tempting, pointing straight up. “Give me a show, darlin’.”
Tossing her hair for effect, she keyed in on the song that was currently playing and shimmied a little, wearing only her tee shirt, panties and those kick-ass cowboy boots. Doing a slow, sexy striptease, she let her hands drift over her torso then back up to snag the hem of her tee. Wiggling her hips, she pulled the shirt up and over her head before letting it fall to the floor. She snagged it on the toe of her boot and sent it sailing. Ringo laughed but then stopped when she reached for the snap that held her lacy white bra in place. Dancing backward, just out of reach of his hands, she unhooked it and let it slide off her shoulders and down her arms.
Ringo’s gaze zeroed in on her bare breasts and she felt her nipples harden like diamonds, a tiny ache setting up in them, making them throb. “Come here, honey.”
His low, raspy voice, the sheer power behind his words, made her tighten low in her belly. Moving close, she gasped when he settled his mouth over the indentation of her navel and nipped the spot. Moisture drenched her panties and she could’ve sworn he inhaled deeply before snagging the flimsy satin bow trim with his teeth. The world slowed to a lazy crawl as he pulled the panties down. Instead of trying to pull them off over her boots, he grabbed hold and ripped them off her body. Then with a growling sound, he grabbed her ass and pulled her to his mouth. He buried his tongue deep, sank it into her cream as if he were starving. He worked her over with his mouth, tasting, nipping, licking until her thighs began to tremble with reaction.
“Enough,” he breathed against her quivering flesh. A shiver raced down her spine. “Fuck me, Rayne. Ride me.”
“Yes.”
Rayne grabbed his shoulders and came up on the couch to straddle him. Immediately he latched on to her nipple and sucked hard. Crying out, she grabbed his hair and held on as sensation whipped through her body, centering at her nipple then zipping straight to her pussy. Ringo drew the head of his cock through her wet folds.
“You’re drenched. Wet. Damn, Rayne.”
By the time he switched to the other breast, began to feast on the other nipple, she was mindless with need. She was empty and only Ringo could fill her. When he found her opening and pushed inside, she sighed with relief. He was impaled to the hilt but the sensation was so sharp, so wonderful she didn’t want to move. She just needed to absorb it all. And then she couldn’t help herself. Riding him slowly, up and down, she felt every detail of his hard cock, the thick head, the flanged notch at the base of it, every inch of thick male power. Swiveling, taking him, Rayne heard the sound of her breathing and felt her own meld with his. Every downstroke had her clenching vaginal muscles in an intimate caress that was simply irresistible.
“Oh yeah, sweetheart. That’s it. Take it all. Take me.”
Faster and faster she moved while Ringo thrust in perfect counterpoint. His hands gripped her ass, holding her closer, his teeth and tongue caught one nipple then the other. Rayne was completely open, her shields dropped as she absorbed each feeling, each humming sensation that soared through her veins. Then suddenly it was too much. With a low whimpering sound, she simply flew apart.
Ringo gritted his teeth and stiffened as he blasted his seed deep into her body. He pulled her close to him as he came and Rayne collapsed against him. Panting heavily, he set his face against the top of her head. She realized she’d never been more open to a man, more in tune. Without a second thought, she’d thrown wide her shields and let loose every emotion, need, desire, love.
A strange feeling suddenly swept her, chilling, intense. When she finally mastered her breathing, she lifted her head to look at him. Dark eyes that had been warm and full of passion, even laughter just moments before, were shuttered. His emotions were closed to her. After all they had shared since first acknowledging they were mates, he seemed as distant as ever. Maybe more so. Disquieted but struggling hard to hide her disappointment, she crawled from his lap and began searching for her clothes.
What an idiot!
She’d practically handed him her emotions like a gift but he’d given nothing back. His shields had been firmly locked against her despite their frantic lovemaking. She found her skirt near the door. Earlier she’d felt sexy and sassy but now she just felt dumber than dirt. Why had she thought anything would change between them? Her face burning, she struggled into her skirt but jumped when his hand settled on her shoulder.
“Here, let me help.”
Rayne looked down and saw his clothing was in place. He held her bra and tee shirt. Fury swept her and she snatched the garments from him. “I don’t need your help. What is it with you, Ringo?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. I opened myself to you and you just give nothing back.”
Ringo scowled. “From the way you moved against me, sweetheart, it looked to me like I gave you plenty.”
She whipped her bra and tee shirt into place and glared at him. “Get over yourself, Ringo. You’ve made it plenty clear how you feel about this whole consummation and mating thing but I’m getting mighty sick of your mixed signals. Tonight, just for a minute, I thought you were ready for this but you’re not. Maybe you’ll never be.”
“Tell me what I have to offer you? Hm? What, Rayne?”
Her eyes burned but she’d be damned before she let him see her vulnerability. He stepped close and cupped her cheek. For just an instant his shields lowered and the power of his emotions almost sent her to her knees. Caring, compassion, concern. Love? Yes, maybe love of a sort but then he dropped his hand and the shutters slammed into place. Ringo opened his mouth as if to speak then seemed to think better of it. She could’ve sworn he was torn, almost sad. He stepped back. “Just remember that things aren’t always as they seem.”
Before she could respond, he opened the door of the office and settling his hand low on her back, stepped with her into the dark hallway. Something strange was in the air. Rayne slowed her pace but Ringo gave her an impatient look and propelled her forward.
The music had stopped.
Stopped?
I
mpending dread filled her up and Rayne pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Moondoggies’ was a loud honky-tonk. The music didn’t just stop. Conversation didn’t halt in a place like this for any reason. Just as they arrived onto the main floor of the club, she heard a deep, growling voice. Joe! It was their alpha.
“Where the hell is he? Where’s Ringo?”
A low murmur ensued then stopped almost as quickly as it had begun. A shiver swept her spine when she glanced at Ringo and saw the feral glint in his eyes, the sharp set of his face. “What’s going on, Ringo?”
“Not now,” he replied. Then he steered her toward the center of the dance floor. No one was dancing. Only Joe, Silas MacAdam and several of the Wolf Creek pack stood there. “Lookin’ for me, bossman?”
Rayne held her breath.
Joe advanced aggressively. His hands were fisted and his golden eyes burned like fire. “Thought I told you to get the hell out of town.”
Ringo’s lips lifted in a sardonic smirk. “Thought I told you to flat-out go to hell.”
“You’re not wanted here anymore, Ringo,” Joe said. “Not after what you’ve done.”
What he’d done?
Tension slithered, heavy and intense, through the room. Low growls went up to break the sudden silence. “You’re no better than your traitorous father. If Bart hadn’t taken him down in mortal combat, we’d have sent him packing too. Like father, like son.”
“No. Joe, you can’t do this!” Rayne hated the way her voice shook. This couldn’t be happening. And Ringo? A traitor? Never. She’d never believe it. He might not love her the way she loved him but that didn’t make him a traitor to his people. Anger and grief swept her but when she moved closer to Ringo, he gave her a derisive look and practically shoved her away.
“I don’t need your protection, Ms. Poteet. Go back to your pampered, sheltered life. You can quit slumming now.”
Rayne gasped at the verbal attack and then Joe advanced. Despite Ringo’s public humiliation she stepped toward Joe and bowed her head. She drew her hair to the side and bared her neck in the ancient act of submission.
Ringo's Ride Page 6
