by Zoey Marcel
“Commitment issues?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. Just haven’t met the right one yet, I guess.”
“Are you a cheater?”
“Hell, no. That’s my one virtue. I’ve never cheated on a woman. How about you?”
She winked at him. “No, Kellan. I’ve never cheated on a woman, either.”
He snickered. “Glad to hear it. That would really suck if you were a lesbian. I mean, picturing you in bed with a woman is really hot, but it wouldn’t do me much good now, would it?”
Her heart rate picked up at his come-on. “Boy, you weren’t kidding about being a player, were you?”
His lopsided smile stole her heart. “Nope. At least I’m honest about my lack of integrity.”
“True. So where are you from?”
“My brothers and I own a ranch near Winchester, Arizona. Not to be confused with the ghost town of the same name located in the northern part of the state.”
“So where is your Winchester at?”
“It’s just outside of Tucson. It’s a nice place. It used to be a mining town in the 1800s. It’s grown quite a bit since then. It’s kind of a tourist spot. My brothers and I breed, raise, and train horses. Sometimes we’ll board people’s horses at our stable for them, or we’ll turn around and sell some horses once they’re trained and old enough. We grow our own hay, too, and then turn around and sell whatever we won’t use.”
He worked hard under the hot desert sun with his hands—very sexy and admirable. No wonder he had such an appealing body fitted together snugly with muscle. The man probably worked his tight butt off. Of course he might also go to a gym to add to his nice physique.
Judging by her own fairly nice build, Jade guessed she went to a gym once in a while, though she was curvier than she’d like. She looked good, but more muscle might be nice, and she had too much meat on her arms. The plump kind, but she certainly wasn’t fat.
The way Kellan kept sneaking, or rather boldly taking, glances at her every other minute told her he noticed her body and seemed to appreciate it more than she did. He seemed equally enamored with her pretty face, though.
“That sounds like work,” she commented.
“Yeah, it’s hard work. That’s why I took the weekend off to have some fun with a couple of friends in Vegas.” He threw her a wink and a shameless, little half grin. “I’m the lazy one in the family.”
“I doubt that. You look like you work hard.”
He frowned. “Are you trying to tell me I have a weather-beaten, leathery face?”
“What? Oh, heavens, no. Your face is foxy and amazing.” She snapped her mouth shut, feeling the warm flush creep into her cheeks.
He chuckled. “Thanks, hon. Good to know I turn you on.”
“I didn’t say that. I merely said you were handsome. I appreciate your face the same way I would a sunset or a waterfall.”
He snickered and gave her a playful, skeptical look. “Sweetheart, there is no way in hell that you have that same fire in your eyes when you look at a fucking waterfall or a sunset. I do it for you, don’t I?”
She swallowed, feeling dizzy with want. “Maybe a little. Okay, a lot.”
He was beaming at her appreciation of him. “You do it for me, too, Jade. I love that whole punk-rocker-chick look you got going on.”
Her chest swelled, and her stomach got a rising sensation in it at the compliment and the way her name sounded in his mouth, like it had found a home.
“We just crossed the border. I need to stop for gas,” he told her. “You want anything? Water? Peanuts? A magazine?”
“I’m fine. Well, maybe a water bottle.”
Kellan nodded and pulled into the gas station. He handed her some money from his wallet. “Go ahead and buy a couple of water bottles while I fill up the tank.”
Jade got two big water bottles, paid for them, and then stepped into the dingy-looking bathroom to freshen up a bit. She washed the dirt off her face and the dried blood off her lips. Her face looked better now, but the black eye certainly didn’t add to her appearance any. That aside, she was reasonably attractive. Nothing to stand up and shout about but way too becoming to be ignored and passed up. If only she had some makeup. She’d be unstoppable then.
She shoved aside thoughts of the sexy cowboy who had picked her up this morning. Yes, he was hot, but it was taking all her energy and willpower to keep from tearing both their clothes off and riding him like a horse. His alluring scent got under her skin and made her want to do delightfully naughty things to him. Things that would make her mother turn a wooden spoon on her. Then again Jade didn’t even remember who she was, let alone her mother. For all she knew Mommy dearest approved of such wayward behavior. Not likely, though.
Jade washed her neck off and tugged the collar of her gray T-shirt aside to see a fresh mark on her skin on the left side. The injury was right where her neck and shoulder joined. It looked like a bite mark from some god-awful animal. She had probably sustained it while struggling with Bane Kennedy for her life. Perhaps he’d sliced her flesh with a knife? Maybe.
She examined the mark more closely. No, those were definitely teeth marks that had punctured her skin.
Chapter Two
Kellan Brooks couldn’t stop thinking about the hot rocker chick who rode shotgun with him this morning. She was so completely his type it wasn’t even funny. True, he was a cowboy, but unlike his older brothers, he had an urban streak inside of him. Yes, he liked country music and classic rock the same as they did, but he was also into hip-hop and rap music, which always made them roll their eyes.
Jade was a vision. She was hip, wild, and badass. She also seemed sweet and vulnerable, which only added to her appeal. He really wanted to take her to a hotel and show her how good a cowboy could do it.
Then again, that shiner on her eye was a dead giveaway that she’d been abused or in some kind of fight. The last thing she probably needed right now was for some self-interested bastard male to take advantage of her just to get his rocks off.
But what about that wonderful term “sexual healing?” Maybe that was what she needed. If that was the case, then he was more than willing to heal the living shit out of her. His mind tried to rationalize his faux good intentions, but his greedy cock stood at attention in his jeans, bringing him back to the reality that he was a guy with needs.
Yeah, he’d better leave the poor woman alone…unless of course she started it. To say no to a needy woman was downright awful and not at all chivalrous. And he sure as hell didn’t want to ignore a damsel in distress. If Jade needed him in her pants to feel better, then he was more than happy to be there for as long as she wanted him to be.
Kellan put the pump away once he finished filling his tank up with gas. He got back into the truck and pulled the Purell out of the glove compartment. His brothers always teased him for carrying it on him, but who wanted grease on their fingers if one got the urge to stop and grab some fries to eat?
He nearly moaned when he saw Jade walking back toward his truck. Her body wasn’t really fat or slender but somewhere in between. She had a decent amount of curves, and his throbbing dick knew it. Her body had a semidecent amount of muscle tone, though she wasn’t exactly athletic. She was…oh hell, she was perfection. There was just no other word for it.
Her bright-blue eyes sparkled when she climbed back into the truck with the two water bottles and handed him one. “Thanks for the water. I was really thirsty. Here’s your change.”
“Keep it,” Kellan told her as he started the engine and pulled out onto the highway again.
And keep me around, too, while you’re at it, baby.
Best not to say that. He already came on kind of strong sometimes. His oldest brother, Stetson, always said that, though he was fiercely protective of Kellan, and Kellan appreciated it about as much as he was annoyed by it. He was twenty-nine, for God’s sake. He didn’t need a chaperone, a babysitter, or a protector.
Jade just looked way too fucking h
ot, sitting there with the window partially rolled down. The cool morning breeze blew in from the desert landscape and rustled the dark strands of her short, layered hair. She actually smelled kind of like iced tea and suntan lotion, which he found fascinating. He loved the ivy tattooed in a sexy ring around her forearm. She had her helix pierced in addition to her ears and a cute little nose ring on one nostril.
Kellan flipped on the radio to distract himself from the raging hard-on in his pants. He’d always liked women with an almost psychotic passion, but this was bordering ridiculous. “Go ahead and pick whatever station you want.”
“Thanks.” Jade flipped through them until she found some rock music she liked and started rocking out to it.
The way she bobbed her head and sang along to the music while pretending to play an invisible electric guitar made him chuckle. His heart had a light emotion he’d never felt with a woman before. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it was a good feeling.
When the song ended she flipped through some more stations, seeming tense…with lust. He’d been around enough women to tell when they were turned on, and Jade was definitely aroused by him.
It seemed like such a waste not to put his hands on her when they both were so mutually attracted.
He should resist and be a gentleman.
Fuck etiquette. He wanted her too much.
Kellan heard his mom’s scolding voice in his head, “Now, Kellan.”
He smiled inside at the memory of his mother sending him off on dates with girls back in high school.
“Now, Kellan,” she’d said, “I know you’re a hormonal teenager without a single brain cell in your head, but do your mother a favor and keep it in your pants. I don’t want you catching any horrible diseases or knocking any young girls up.”
“Ah, Mom,” he’d whined.
“Jim, dear, make him listen to reason.” His mom had ground her knuckles into either hip and tapped her foot expectantly.
His father hadn’t even looked up from his newspaper. “Be sure and wear a condom, son.”
“Jim!” Kellan’s mother had shrieked.
“What?” His father had shrugged, still engrossed in his paper. “It’s sound advice, and we both know he won’t keep his pants on anyway.”
His mom had turned to him. “Women need to be respected. Treat her right, Kellan. Do you know how to do that?”
“As long as he knows where to find her clitoris, he’ll be fine,” his father had stated.
“Jim!” his mother had gasped.
Kellan had shaken his head and blushed, but he’d chuckled to himself as he headed out the door.
His mind returned to the present, and he watched Jade search for a station. The gray T-shirt was nice and tight on her, but the neckline wasn’t low enough. She looked to be somewhere in her twenties, possibly midtwenties.
Was she a virgin? Yeah, right. There was no way a girl as stunning as her had gone untouched for this long. He was glad she wasn’t a virgin. She would know how to please him.
On the other hand, it also meant some lucky fucker had seen her naked. Damn him. Possibly more than one lucky fucker. Well, damn them, too.
What the hell did he care? He didn’t, damn it. He was just giving the hottie a ride, and after this he would never see her again. Perhaps they should make a memory together.
“Kellan!” His mother’s past reprimands from his teenage years still rang fresh in his head whenever he was up to no good or plotting something scandalous.
Kellan glanced over at Jade. Her face was strained with hard concentration. The lack of conversation between them was almost deafening. He had to know what was on the pretty thing’s mind. “What are you thinking about?”
He almost called her baby but caught himself. That shiner on her eye made her look so sad and helpless, he wanted to pound the shit out of the motherfucker who’d done that to her. If only she remembered her past. Then he could find out who the guy was and beat the knowledge of how to treat a woman right into the good-for-nothing prick.
Jade seemed hesitant to divulge whatever was on her mind, but she finally came out with it. “I need to see your cock for a minute.”
Kellan thought for sure he must be fantasizing right now. No way in hell had this perfect vision just said that to him. “What?”
Her eyes closed and her chest heaved. The heavy sound of her tormented breaths of passion sent a scintillating bolt of energy through his veins.
“I want to see your cock,” she whispered, seeming unable to believe the words that came out of her own mouth.
Holy crap, he hadn’t imagined it. She really said that to him. His eager cock was practically bouncing in his jeans. It seemed to say, “Yes, let me out! Let me out! Oh, boy!”
“You want to fuck?” Kellan asked. His pulse pounded like a heartbeat in various parts of his body, and the fervent slamming of the organ in his chest resembled the bass chant of drums. He was so ready for this if she really was game for it.
“No. I mean I do, but I don’t want you to think I’m a slut,” Jade said quickly. The way she trembled drove him crazy with wanton urges.
“I don’t think you’re a slut. Not at all.”
His lips parted and his heart raced when she unbuckled and scooted across the bench seat to get closer to him.
“I just need to see it. I’ll go crazy if I don’t.”
Her shaking fingers fumbled with his fly in a mad attempt to get his jeans open. His dick leaped to attention in his pants. It slowly moved to the opening in his jeans. He lifted his hips briefly so she could tug his pants down.
“Honey, you can look at my cock all you want to,” Kellan teased her.
Jade’s eyes almost looked a different color now. “Oh God, you smell so good.”
He moaned when her small, warm palm rested on his crotch. She rubbed him gently through his boxer briefs. “You should take it out.”
“You won’t mind?”
He smirked. “No, not at all. The sooner the better.”
She tugged the waistband of his underwear down just enough to pull his penis out. “Oh, Kellan, it’s so hard and beautiful. I want it.”
He grinned, feeling his breathing change at the unmatched touch of her hand on his erection. “Have at it, hon.”
His ragged gasp was almost comical when Jade took his stiff cock between her soft, full lips. The warm, humid embrace of her lovely mouth was almost too much as she slowly sucked him into a painful state of hardness he thought for sure he’d die from.
She pulled off, and his dick mourned the loss of her. “Please, come back!” it seemed to scream.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever done this before or not, but I have to try,” she said. Her irises flashed in and out of blue and brown.
He was probably so high with elation right now that he was seeing things. Kellan gripped her by the hair and moved her head down to his crying penis again. “Yes, please try.”
She giggled and lapped his glans with tiny, delicate flicks of her warm, wet tongue. He hissed as bolts of electricity flared all throughout his body and settled in his loins. His belly tightened with excitement as she loved all over his shaft with her tongue as though he were a tasty lollipop she just couldn’t pry herself away from. He hoped she never did.
Kellan struggled to focus on the deserted highway as the lush beauty gave him head. He felt pre-cum leaking from the slit into her warm, wonderful mouth. She actually growled a little while she sucked him, which he found adorable.
His head went back, and he gave himself over to the tormented sounds of the erotic possession she’d placed him under. Jade sucked cock like she’d definitely done it before, but he didn’t have the brain capacity to be jealous right now. All his attention honed in on the pleasure being expertly bestowed on his groin.
Jade played with his balls and squished them in her hand while she suckled his length. The electric prickles and tingles that sparked in his testes while she stimulated them made him the happiest camper of all.<
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“Mine. All mine,” she whispered.
Right now Kellan sure didn’t mind being all hers.
“Come for me, baby. Your mistress wants you to,” she murmured just before she sucked him like a fucking milk machine.
His mind wondered why she referred to herself as his mistress as though this was a BDSM scene, but his dick just didn’t give a shit. He forced himself to keep his eyes open and on the road as his cock exploded in her wicked mouth. His cum swished around in her mouth and pooled around his shaft as he slowly came down from the amazing high.
“Holy fuck, Jade.”
She pulled off him and smiled. Her cheeks were rigid and slightly concave at the moment, and he knew she still had his seed in her mouth.
“If you don’t want to swallow, I’ve got some napkins in the glove—”
She stuck her head out the window and spat his spunk out. Clearly science wasn’t her genius. The wind would inevitably blow his semen back all over the side of his truck.
Kellan shrugged and snickered. “Or just spit the crap out all over my truck.”
Jade laughed, and he swore it was the most captivating thing he’d ever seen or heard. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that.”
He grinned and heaved a heavy, gratified exhale. “It’s all right. What you just did for me was more than worth it. Thank you, Jade.”
She gave him a warm, friendly smile. “Your cock is delicious.”
He chuckled. “Thanks.”
“Do you think I’ve sucked cock before, Kellan?”
He smirked, feeling sated and suddenly jealous at the realization of her obvious experience. “Oh, yeah.”
* * * *
Jade Flowers had been destroyed. He completed his mission. Her ladyship would be so pleased with him. He went back to Riverside, California, to inform her of the news. She let him into the house when he rang the doorbell.
There she was—the divine one in all her petite glory. She appeared hopeful when she saw him and then frowned and let him inside. “You didn’t find Jade?”
“I found her,” he informed the incomparable goddess.
