“Oh, yes!” she cried out and her pussy clenched and went even more slick all around him.
She likes that idea. Good to know. He brushed aside the thought that she might not be there to try clit jewelry with him, choosing to live in the moment instead.
Wanting this to be an afternoon she’d never forget, he took his time, thrusting methodically, loving her body, her breasts, her shoulders, her throat, her hips, every part of her he could reach, in between rubbing her clit with his fingertips until her body vibrated with tension and need for release.
Perspiration slicked their skin and they slid together, in and out, as she ground her hips and arched her back, enabling him to go even deeper until he felt connected to her not only physically but spiritually as well.
He watched her profile as he brushed his lips against her cheek. Her eyes weren’t visible because of the blindfold but her lips told a sensual story as she caught her bottom lip with her teeth before releasing it to tempt him with the damp fullness of it. A tiny smile flickered and then disappeared as she gasped with pleasure. A warm blush filled her cheeks and her lips turned a more intense shade of rose as the tension increased in her cunt and she pressed her head back against his shoulder.
She slid her hand over his and intertwined their fingers so that she was rubbing her clit too, moving with him in an erotic communion. Moments later she lost control and her orgasm struck, milking his cock until he thrust deep one last time and came with a deep groan, the cum spurting from him in searing waves.
They lay there shuddering and panting for a long time afterward as the breeze cooled them. She squeezed his hand and turned her head so that she faced him and rubbed her cheek against his chest. The way she licked her lips and then pressed them together hinted at her internal struggle. “I’d stay forever, Julián. I swear, I would.” Her voice sounded strained. “I love you,” she whispered, her breathing broken by a small sob.
He squeezed her gently, feeling the burn of tears in his eyes which he fought hard because he knew what the confession cost her. “I love you too. If there was any way I could work it out, I’d follow you.” He no longer trusted Bedford to secure her dream for her so he planned to see what he could do about it. Either way, she was still leaving. Only the destination might change, and both he and Chris still had obligations in Divine.
“I wouldn’t expect you to do that, Julián. You know what that life is like. And it would deplete your savings to live on the road unless you were competing.”
Julián chuckled. “My rodeoing days are pretty much through, love. I’d go just to be with you if it weren’t for the contract with Del for Mick’s stud services. I wish there was a way I could leave that for others to handle.”
“No. I know you need to stand by your contract. You’re a man of integrity. By the time you’re finished with that obligation, I’ll hopefully be settled at home but…two years is a long time, Julián. I don’t expect you to wait that long.”
“I know you don’t. Maybe two years from now will find me in Colorado. Both of us, since Chris’s contract expires around the same time.”
“Uprooting the lives you’ve established in Divine? Leaving your friends and family? That’s expecting too much of you.”
Julián kissed her throat, smiling at her word choice.
“Not to be with the woman I love, it’s not.”
His roots really weren’t in a piece of land, horses, or cattle. His roots were with a woman. This woman.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Thursday morning, Chris came out of the examination room at the optometrist’s office with a prescription in his hand. Gwen smirked from her seat in the waiting room as the doctor shook his hand and bid him a good day.
Laying the magazine aside, Gwen rose from her seat and placed her hand in the crook of his elbow as he took care of the bill and stuck the little piece of paper in his wallet.
They walked out into a sunny but cool spring day and he rubbed the tops of her fingers with his, loving the way her hand felt on his arm as they walked side by side. He couldn’t help but sense the clock ticking down on the week. “Want to grab an early lunch with me and then head back to the ranch?”
Gwen pulled him to a halt with merriment in her eyes. “Not just yet, cowboy. We have one more stop to make.”
“Shit.”
She steered him down the sidewalk to the optician’s shop next door. Thirty minutes later, he walked out with a lighter wallet and the receipt for a brand-new pair of wire-framed bifocals.
She scratched his back as she walked beside him and he damn near purred at the sensation of her fingernails gently scoring his back. “Damn, that feels good, woman.”
Scratching some more, she said, “If you hate the thought of glasses, you could’ve gotten contact lenses, you know.”
He shook his head and held his hand palm up so she could see it as he said, “I think that’d be even worse. Can you picture me handling a tiny contact lens with these big fingers, and jabbing it in my eye? Besides that, I’m up to my elbows in horse and cow shit on a daily basis. Probably not a good thing for me to be touching my eyes any more than absolutely necessary. What if it slipped during the day?”
“Good point.” She placed her little hand over one of his. “And by the way. What’d I say about talking down about yourself? I happen to lo—love these hands.” She cleared her throat a couple of times and blushed. “Sorry. You have big hands, yes, but they’re also gentle hands. I know that for a fact. So you stop putting yourself down, you hear?”
He didn’t want to make light of the sincerity in her eyes and nodded. “I hear you, darlin’.”
She leaned her head against his upper arm as they stood by the truck, after he’d opened her door for her. “Promise me that you’ll follow through and pick them up next week when they’re ready, and that you’ll use them?”
Damn, when she looks up at me like that and uses that tone, I can’t refuse her anything.
“I will, darlin’. Now let’s get you fed.”
He’d purposely not said anything about the ranch auction which was happening that day. He knew she was on edge about it. She’d already called Roger once that morning. She’d explained that Roger had told her that they had a bad connection and that she should wait for his call. The furrow between her eyebrows and the slight flush in her cheeks told Chris that she hadn’t appreciated the brush off. She was also expecting Wilbur, who had run into a travel delay, later that day. If he made it home at a decent hour, she’d planned to move all her things over to the bunkhouse.
After lunch, he drove her home and kissed her good-bye before he went back to the Cooks’ place. Julián had left the night before, and with him gone, the bulk of their chores fell to Chris.
He felt antsy as he locked Wilbur’s gate behind him, wanting to be done with the workday so he could get back to her. At least he had a full afternoon to keep his hands busy, even if he couldn’t get his mind to settle.
Chris was looking forward to that night but the itch he had was for so much more than just sex. He wanted to sit next to her while they ate supper and to hold her while they watched television. He even wanted to wash her hair for her and rub her scalp just the way she liked until she practically purred for him. And he wanted to sleep with her wrapped in his arms all night.
He climbed back in the truck and put it in gear before he turned the truck around, went to her, and made a complete fool of himself.
* * * *
Chris tugged Gwen’s hand as they walked through the parking lot of The Dancing Pony and smiled down at her. “Let’s just go in for a couple of dances and a drink to get our minds off of everything for a while.”
She looked up at him and the worry rolled off of her in waves. “Chris, why wouldn’t he have called me by now?”
Chris stopped to wrap her in a big protective hug. He already knew why Roger hadn’t called her. The bastard obviously had a sadistic streak and he was enjoying leaving her hanging. Julian had said that
where he was going he might have poor cell phone reception so they hadn’t heard from him either and might not until the next day.
They settled into comfortable seats at the long wooden bar which was mostly empty, and Ethan smiled in welcome as he placed coasters in front of them.
“They got the boss man tending bar?” Chris asked after he placed his order for a beer and a Divine Margarita for Gwen.
“Yeah, my other bartender had a family emergency. I don’t mind. I like staying in touch with the customers.” Turning to the bar patron next to Chris, he said, “Can I get you another beer, Mr. Smith?”
Chris recalled that he and Julián had encountered the man at O’Reilley’s right around the holidays.
“No, thanks. Your nighttime crowd’s starting to roll in so I’m heading out. Evenin’.”
Chris watched as the older man grabbed his bulky key ring off of the bar, and walked away without another word. The large mass of keys jingled noisily as he stuffed it in the pocket of his khaki slacks. Clumps of his salt-and-pepper hair stood a little on end, like he’d been running his fingers through it, or maybe he cut his own hair and slipped with the scissors.
Ethan called good-night and then looked around the bar, smiled, and shook his head. It was a Thursday night and there were only two other couples in the entire place, seated at tables, being taken care of by a waitress.
Slightly amused, Chris said, “He considers this to be a crowd?” Chris had half expected to see the key ring fall out of the cuff of his pants like it’d done the last time he’d seen him. Evidently Mr. Smith knew how to use a needle and thread and had patched the hole in his pocket. “Do you know that guy?”
“Bruce Smith. Yeah, he’s a little peculiar.” Ethan poured a half shot of tequila and turned a significant glance to Chris. Ethan was always looking out for the women who came in the nightclub and he wanted to know if she was driving and he should mix the drink weakly. Chris winked and nodded, and Ethan poured a full shot as he continued talking.
“Jack did some contracting work for him a while back when he was starting out and Adam has been out to his place to replace his air-conditioner compressor. He owns this place a few miles out. It doesn’t look like much from the road but once you get back to ‘the compound’ it’s a little weird.”
“Compound?” Gwen asked, getting drawn into the discussion as she sipped the drink he’d placed in front of her. “Ooh, that’s perfect, Ethan. Thanks.”
Ethan nodded with a smile and went back to drying the glasses that he’d been washing as they came in. “Yeah. The house is completely nondescript. But he’s contracted several sheds and outbuildings on the property. He doesn’t have any horses or other livestock and all the buildings are all secured like Fort Knox, with multiple locks, padlocks, deadbolts, you name it. I’m guessing that’s why he needs that big key ring. Adam said that Smith never let him out of his sight the whole time he was working. Jack said the same thing. Watched him and his crew like a damned hawk every time they came out there when they were constructing his outbuildings.”
Gwen sat back and twined her fingers with Chris’s. “Sounds like a man with lots of secrets.”
“I’d say so,” Ethan replied as he greeted the next patron at the bar.
They sat quietly talking for a while and once Gwen’s drink was half empty, Chris invited her onto the dance floor as George Strait’s “Give It All We Got Tonight” began to play over the sound system.
She moved as though she was a part of him, sticking as close as she could with each step. Knowing how badly both of them needed this time to just be, he didn’t break the moment with conversation, or snarky jibes intended to cheer her up. He just held her and led her in the dance. There was only one thing left to be said and he didn’t want to make these days any harder for her than they had to be.
Gwen lifted her head from his chest. “Did Julián ever tell you why he had to go out of town?”
Chris shook his head. “He just said it was important and that he’d be back as soon as he could. I trust him, so I didn’t question the reason for the trip.” Chris could guess where Julián was but didn’t know for certain. He was glad of that because he would’ve hated to lie to her. The bottom line was the same. She’d have to leave and because of his obligations he couldn’t follow.
They returned to the bar to finish their drink, had a few more dances, and she nodded when he asked if she wanted to go home. Wilbur had called her to let her know he wouldn’t be home until the following morning so they had the house to themselves for one more night.
Gwen filled the tub with hot water and he didn’t think twice before he sat down in the girlie-scented bubbles and helped her ease down into the tub with him.
For a while they just soaked while she cupped water in her palms and poured it over his muscles. Later, she lay against him and stroked the bold lines of the tattoos decorating his biceps and shoulders.
“If I got a tattoo, what do you think it should say?” she asked quietly as she traced the dark pattern.
“Are you thinking about getting one?”
“I might. Everyone raves about Seth’s work so much. Maybe he could fit me in this weekend or early next week. What do you think would work for me?”
Slipping into default teasing mode in an attempt to ease his own stress, he said, “I know the perfect thing. An illustration of Elmer Fudd with the caption, ‘No Weegwets.’ Get it?”
Gwen’s body shook with faint laughter. “Damn it, I’m gonna miss this.” She swallowed audibly. “Seriously.”
“Actually, I am serious in a way. What about ‘No Regrets’ in a really sexy script lettering right here.” He traced a line across her right hip bone. “I would get one that matches if you’d like.”
She lifted her head and gazed at him with soulful blue eyes. “You’d do that? You wouldn’t regret it years from now?”
“No regrets. I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’ll make a call to Seth tomorrow. I’d be willing to bet that Julián would do the same. We need to get you out of this tub. You’re turning into a prune.” He helped her to stand and then stepped out of the tub and fetched a towel for her.
After he’d blotted the water from the damp ends of her hair, he looped the towel around her shoulders and drew her close for a kiss. She gripped his biceps as she tilted her head and kissed him so deep and so sweet that his toes curled. His cock grew even harder as she slid her hands to his abdomen and then down to his groin. Her little hands never failed to excite him as she cupped his balls and stroked the length of his shaft, up and down until a droplet of pre-cum seeped from the head.
He could barely get the words out. “I need you, darlin’.”
“I need you too, cowboy.”
Thinking it might be hard to control himself, he stroked lube over his shaft as he watched her crawl onto the bed and lie down. Even two months later, he used the lube because she was still a tight fit. The thought of hurting her made him light-headed.
Shifting to the center of the bed, Gwen watched him as she slowly slid one foot up the mattress until her knee was fully bent with her foot near her ass, then she splayed that leg open so he could clearly see her glistening pussy.
“Darlin’, you’re some kind of sexy, teasing me like that.”
A crooked little grin curved her lips. “I’m not teasing. I’m offering.”
He crawled over to her, and when he would’ve pulled her on top of him, she shook her head and pulled him on top of her. “Be my woobie?”
He could only hold her gaze for so long before he closed his eyelids and pressed gentle kisses to her throat. She’d accepted him when he was really nothing more than a brutish boor. Accepted every part of him when other women had turned him down flat. Teased him and gave him back as good as he gave her. And loved him, even if she couldn’t say the words out loud. He’d be her woobie and whatever else she wanted him to be.
He sank down so his face was between her thighs and placed a kiss on her inner thigh, right next to
her outer labia. “Whatever you want, darlin’.” He was satisfied when he felt her fingers stroke the back of his head and she shifted slightly so he could kiss her pussy too, which he did. He kissed, licked, and teased her until her clit grew swollen and her cream seeped from her cunt in translucent droplets that were sweet on his tongue.
Satisfaction filled him when he gazed up at her and could see how lost she was in the moment, her back arched, her head tilted back so he could see the delicate line of her jaw and her throat. Her breasts swayed with their movements and her nipples were tight little buds. He reached up to pluck one and the sound that came from her lips was pure, unadulterated pleasure.
Shifting to his knees, he lifted her buttocks from the bed and plundered her, knowing how much it turned her on to be immobilized and pleasured like that. He thrust his tongue repeatedly into her entrance, alternating with quick sweeps of the tip of it against her clit until her back suddenly arched and she gripped the bedcovers in a white-knuckle grip.
“Yes! Don’t stop! I’m coming!” Her words gave way to a cry and he gave her all he had for several beats before he repositioned her, with his cock at her clenching opening, and thrust deep. Her scream of ecstasy rose to a higher pitch and she bucked as another orgasm hit her on top of the first one. He struggled for control as she flexed against him, taking every inch of him within just a couple of thrusts, and then her eyes flashed open.
“Fuck me, Chris. Fuck me like you mean it.” Her voice was a seductive whisper that brooked no refusal.
Gritting his teeth, he knelt between her thighs and watched the spot where they were joined as he pumped his cock in and out of her precious body. She tweaked at her nipples, gasping and grinding against him. Her clit was still swollen and peeking from its hiding place, and he pressed his thumb alongside it, rubbing it in time with his thrusting. Her cunt rippled in excitement all around him, soaking him and accepting him with each thrust into her hot depths.
Tangled in Divine [Divine Creek Ranch 14] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 36
