“Eli Payne, ne’er did I expect such a wondrous gift.” She cupped her hands around his jaw and lifted his face. Her soft lips caressed his mouth, her tongue darting between his lips and teasing him with fleeting jabs of sensation. “’Tis my turn to give a gift.”
She reached between his legs and her hand dipped into his pants. Curling her fingers around his cock, she drew it out. She lightly caressed the head with her thumb, stroking over the slit and the drop of pre-cum that dotted the tip. She licked the fluid from her finger, rolling her eyes with a small moan.
“’Tis a succulent treat on a dry afternoon.”
That did him in. He knew he’d never last. His cock throbbed in her hand, the pounding blood beating a steady rhythm against the swollen, aching flesh. She pumped him several times, her hand gliding up and down his shaft with a sensual precision that nearly stole his willpower. His cock wanted to burst—in her hand, her pussy, her mouth, it didn’t seem to matter. He gritted his teeth, willing himself to control his release.
Steeling himself against the torture of her smooth strokes, he lost track of things until the head of his cock touched something that felt like liquid fire. Shannon swept his cock head back and forth across her damp pussy, mixing their juices and stealing a little bit more pleasure for herself. Small tremors raced through her body, and Eli felt grateful that he played a part in giving her such a delight.
She sank onto his cock slowly, burying his length and surrounding his flesh between the hot, moist and fluttering walls of her pussy. He nearly groaned with the pleasure of it. His throbbing cock steeled itself for the challenge of holding down his release until she found hers again. He wasn’t a selfish man and aimed to please. He wrapped his hands around her hips, watching her face as small smiles skimmed across her mouth and her eyes darkened as she sought her orgasm. He let her take the lead. She seemed a woman who liked to make her own decisions, and hell, he was willing to go along with this one.
She laid her hands on her thighs and rode him in a gentle, fluid motion, pulling back, then grinding against his groin with an excruciating friction. She bit at her bottom lip as she struggled to control her breathing. The image of those small, white teeth clamping onto flesh was almost more than he could take. He decided she wouldn’t mind if he took a little control. He slid a hand behind her neck and tugged her face closer to steal a kiss, just one, but once his mouth touched hers, a spark ignited in his body. His mouth sealed over hers, and he yanked her hard against his lap. His cock thrust into her as far as it could, and she made a sound under his lips that told him everything was still good. Everything but his control.
“It’s been too long, darlin’, and I’m not going to last much longer.”
“Take your pleasure,” Shannon murmured. “We have all the time in the world.”
Her permission gave him strength, and he managed to hold on as he pumped her body up and down on his cock. A small catch of her breath and the clutch of her pussy around his dick told him she was close. Just a couple more strokes and—
The walls of her pussy clenched violently around his cock, and her mouth slammed over his, her tongue sweeping into his mouth. He held her, taking her tremors against his body. When his cock spilled fluid into her, he combined her vibrations with his own. He poured into her, reveling in each spurt of cum that shot from his dick and filled this woman who seemed to promise more than he could have hoped for.
When her trembling subsided, she dragged her mouth from his and took a huge breath. She blinked. Then her beautiful, slightly glazed eyes scanned the prairie around them.
“The wagon stopped.”
Eli glanced at the horses and laughed. “So it has.”
“I thought me imagination was playin’ tricks, but ’tis true I felt the earth move.” Shannon threw up her arms, leaning backward to gaze at the sky. He grabbed her waist to keep her from falling off his lap. Deep, throaty laughter tumbled over him like the rushing white water of a mountain stream. “I love Wyomin’!”
Eli couldn’t have agreed more.
* * * *
Josh rode about half a mile, crossed the creek, and settled down to wait under the only tree large enough to offer shade to a man and a horse. He lay in the new strands of grass and tucked his hands under his head. Staring up into the blossoming leaves, he squinted against the rays of sun that filtered between the limbs and thought about his brother.
Eli had woken in a foul mood though Josh’d be damned if he knew why. They’d gambled a little last night and won enough to pay for their dinner at the hotel. That alone should have made Eli happy. Dealing with his brother was sometimes like poking a bear with a stick. Not a good idea. Josh had long since given up coddling his brother’s moods, but lately there’d been plenty of moods, and grumpy seemed to be Eli’s favorite.
Sometimes the mere sights and sounds of Cheyenne put a frown on Eli’s face and a growl in his voice. Eli hated to part with money, and in the last year, they’d parted with plenty. Their venture in Wyoming to establish a profitable ranch and breeding facility took far more than their initial backers invested, forcing them to add capital from their own portfolio. Each trip to Cheyenne seemed to pull more out of their already over-extended pockets—for supplies, stock, ranch hands, and for that damned divorce.
When his brother had headed to the telegraph office that morning, Josh thought a good guess for Eli’s mood might be his ex-wife. Thinking of and dealing with Hattie always put a frown on Eli’s face. Josh hoped Eli had finally sent that damned message ordering Hattie from the family home in Pittsburgh. So far she’d refused to vacate. With all the money she received, Hattie could live anywhere in the country comfortably. She stayed on the Payne estate to spite them, and even if they never set foot in Pittsburgh again, they wanted her gone. Hattie had taken enough of the Payne fortune, and she needed to be jettisoned from their lives. Time for Eli to lighten the load, both spiritually and financially. Josh was sick of sharing their lives, money, and name with a woman who didn’t appreciate anything Eli offered.
Shannon, however, seemed like she appreciated everything.
Josh lifted up to see if he could spot the wagon. Nothing yet.
He decided to remind Eli it had been his idea to go to the Royal Princess. They’d been there plenty of times but they’d never run into a little Irish firebrand before. Hard to believe they could have missed her because she seemed like a burst of spring after a dreary winter. It seemed Eli might owe him for not only steering him toward the Royal Princess but also for giving them a little time alone.
Josh wanted to spy. He couldn’t deny that, but he’d been a complete gentleman. He’d have given anything to see that cute little bundle of Ireland in the throes of passion, even with another man. That small yet pleasingly shaped body offered all kinds of goodness. She had that look in her eyes, the one that said a man would be more than satisfied with the outcome of the encounter. Not the whore look. Josh saw that glazed, dull look on every trollop he’d encountered from one mountain range to the next. Shannon’s eyes were different. They lured a man to take a chance. They sparkled with mischief and adventure, as though aware of what a man craved and needed. Josh sensed she knew how to deliver it.
He wanted her. No denying that, and he’d been about ready to take that chance and fall into those green pools of promise and enchantment and let her lead the way. But he hadn’t seen Eli that interested in a woman since Hattie’s refusal to come west with them. Part of Josh still hated Hattie for her blank refusal to take a chance. Now he wondered why he’d bothered with such wasted emotion. It seemed a better woman had just fallen into their laps. If he had to let Eli have her, he would. It seemed only right.
The wagon finally lumbered across the creek. Eli and Shannon looked like two kids with a secret. They nestled against one another, hip to hip, and Shannon had her arm twined through Eli’s. Lucky bastard. Josh rose to his elbows to get a better look. Oh, yeah. They’d fucked all right. It was written all over their faces and in every
touch and gesture between them. Josh’s cock twitched just thinking about it.
He waited until Eli pulled the wagon to a stop beside the tree. Shannon reached behind the seat and grabbed the canteen. She took a big swig of water, then wiped her sleeve across her mouth.
“So, Eli, you been filling her in on ranch business?” Josh asked.
Eli gave his standard answer to a stupid question. None at all.
Shannon, though, hopped down from the wagon with a laugh. “Aye, ranch business indeed. ’Tis as sure as the sunrise you can be guessin’ what business we’ve been about, Joshua Payne.”
She came toward him like a beautiful dream, drifting through the shafts of sunlight like a fairy nymph emerging from a brilliant meadow. Her braid swung across the bodice of her dress and the long strand of burnished red blazed in the light like fiery silk. Her eyes locked on his and that twinkle, that spark of promise slammed into his gut like a well-aimed punch. His breath caught because he had a feeling he’d just gotten lucky, but he dared not hope for that. A man only got so much luck in one day.
Eli adjusted his hat lower and nodded toward the distant prairie. “I’ll see you at the ranch.” Shannon gave him a friendly wave, and Eli returned the gesture with a goofy smile. When Eli slapped the reins and the wagon lurched away, Josh shook his head in disbelief.
“I’ll be damned. You made him smile.”
Shannon dropped to the grass beside him. “’Tis easy to make a man smile. Sometimes it just requires a slight bit o’ coaxin’.”
“I usually have to beat one out of him.”
A soft, rosy glow stained her cheeks as she lowered her eyes. “You’re not a woman.”
“Thanks for noticing.” Josh smiled as she raised those gorgeous green eyes back to his. He glanced toward the wagon. “But Eli’s not like most men. Usually he can’t be coaxed out of any mood, especially like the one I saw in him this morning.” He reached out and took her hand. Calluses dotted her palms, and he was sorry to see them. “I think you’re good for him, Shannon Connelly.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “Aye, I believe ’tis true.” Her fingers wrapped around his, and she was quiet for a moment as she stared at the wavering grasses. Josh held his breath, waiting, hoping, wishing, and every other damned thing he could do, until finally her gaze came back to him. She bit her lower lip, then said, “’Tis me thinkin’ I could be good for you, too.”
His heart slammed against his rib cage, and his mouth just dried up. He reached for the canteen and for some reason found his hand shaking like a boy thinking about trying for his first kiss. He couldn’t get the lid off. Shannon didn’t say a word. She simply took it from him, twisted the lid and handed it back. He poured some water in his mouth, nearly drowning himself in the process. He stared at the green boughs overhead, trying to figure out how he’d just become the luckiest man on earth.
She sighed. “I’ve rendered you speechless. ’Twas in me thoughts I’d found the best solution, but have I said the wrong thing then?”
Josh shook his head furiously. “No, no. God no!”
Shannon tilted her head and the smile that crossed her lips made him want to tuck her under his arm and keep her forever. He’d never known a woman who held such magic in the mere movement of her mouth.
“’Twas the right thing then?”
“It was the most perfect thing to say ever.”
Kiss her, you dumb cowboy.
He didn’t get the chance. She fell against him, knocking him to the ground, and her body nestled against his entire length. The cushion of her soft breasts pressed against the muscles of his chest, and he could feel the beat of her heart pounding in a rhythm to match his own. His dick lurched beneath her pelvis, eager and willing to accept anything she’d offer. She wrapped her hands around his face and crushed her mouth against his. If he thought he’d been kissed in his life, he’d been wrong. Nothing had ever felt or tasted like this. He decided if lightning struck him at that moment, he’d be okay with it and die a happier man than most.
But he got even happier because when Shannon finally pulled her mouth from his, she gave him a saucy wink and started to nibble on his neck. His dick grew harder as she slid down his body, spreading his legs with hers until finally she kneeled between his thighs. When she went to work on the buttons of his denims, his cock bumped frantically against the fabric, and an ache spread into his balls. She slipped her hand inside his pants and wrapped her fingers around his throbbing cock, pulling it free.
Without a word, Shannon leaned down and licked the drop of pre-cum from the tip and then her lips enveloped the throbbing head. Josh couldn’t hold in the groan at the pleasure that swept through his body. She sucked hard, and his balls tightened as his dick swelled in her mouth. She lightly skimmed the rim with her tongue, then licked his entire length from balls to tip. She covered him with her lips and pressed downward, taking his entire cock into her mouth. When she swallowed, he thought he’d come right there and then. Josh fisted his hands in the grass, trying to maintain control, but he knew that would be fucking impossible. Not with a mouth like hers.
The inside of her mouth felt like heaven. The warmth and moisture of it, as well as that incredible, hard suction, made his cock tighten with an almost unbearable pressure. He felt every pulse of his heart as it shot the blood through his veins toward his dick and his dick wanted to release. He watched the rise and fall of her head as she fucked his cock with her mouth. Her braid swung over his exposed skin and tickled with each stroke she made. He reached out and gathered it in his hand, not because it tickled, but because he could no longer resist touching it.
She cradled his balls in her free hand and squeezed gently, massaging them and letting them roll in her palm. The sensation roared through his pelvis and made him grit his teeth. His dick thundered with want until every muscle in his body protested by tightening. With a downward stroke, she took him to the back of her throat, and when her muscles contracted with the impact, he lost it.
Josh trembled and then his body froze. His cock released and his hips lifted toward her as he pumped fluid down her throat, spurt after spurt of cum until he wondered when he’d be empty. Shannon continued to suck until she drained him dry, then ran her tongue up his shaft to lick the last drops of cum from the tip. She breathed deeply, as though relishing the musky aroma of a well-satisfied man.
She raised her face and Josh thought he smiled. He hoped he did, but he felt lazy and tired and thoroughly sated. Shannon lowered her body back against his. Her thumb traced over his lips. “’Tis a lucky woman I am.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Josh pulled her thumb into his mouth.
“That I’m a lucky woman?”
“No, that I’m lucky I forced Eli to go to the Royal Princess today. Who knew we’d find a real princess among the swine? You just might change our lives, Shannon Connelly.”
“’Tis grateful I am for the chance.”
“And can I offer something else you’d be grateful for? Right now I’d give anything to lick every and any part of you.”
“’Tis countin’ on that I am.” Shannon dropped a kiss on his lips. “But first I want to see me new house.” She scrambled up and held out her hand. “Take me home, Josh Payne.”
Chapter 3
As the landscape of prairie grass and short, scrubby brush flashed by in a blur, Shannon could barely hold in her laughter. She listened to the hard pounding of hooves on the hard-packed dirt trail and loved the sensation of the wind whipping across her face. It was exciting, thrilling, and the most wondrous feeling she’d ever had in her life, unless she counted sex with two Wyoming cowboys. She intended to get more of that feeling after they’d settled in.
They’d passed Eli and the wagon a while back, and she’d nearly fallen off the saddle trying to wave to him. She cuddled back against Josh, luxuriating in the feel of his lean, muscled chest against her back and his strong arm around her waist. He wasn’t as big as Eli, but she relished the differences be
tween them.
She turned her face and shouted a little to hear herself over the sound of the wind whistling in her ears. “’Tis me first horse ride!”
Josh tightened his arm around her waist, and he leaned down until his lips touched her ear. “It won’t be the last.”
“Good because I love it! Can we go faster?”
“Anything for you.”
Josh nudged his heels against the horse’s flanks. The horse shot forward and bolted down the trail, galloping harder. Shannon’s heart lurched, and she burst with laughter, clutching at Josh’s arm. When the horse finally slowed, they waded across another creek, and the animal climbed a small incline. At the top they came to a wider trail and a split rail fence, and Shannon got her first view of the Payne ranch. Across the prairie, and seemingly to the ends of the Earth, cattle dotted the landscape as far as her eye could see. Nestled within the tall grasses, about a mile beyond the fence, sat a large wooden cabin surrounded by several other outbuildings, including two large barns.
Shannon breathed out with a long sigh. “Oh, ’tis a beautiful sight.”
“Welcome to the Paradise,” Josh said.
“’Twas me thought heaven would be paradise. ’Tis what we’re always told. But now I find ’tis been in Wyomin’ all this time.”
The horse trotted up the trail, looking happy to be home, and came to a stop in front of the smallest barn. Josh slid from the saddle. Shannon jumped down into his arms, and he held her close for a minute. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I’ll do me best to make you and Eli happy.”
“Darlin’, you already have.”
* * * *
When Josh closed the door behind him, Shannon leaned back against it for a moment and she just couldn’t hold them in any longer. The tears slid down her cheek, silent and unwanted, a warm track against her hot, flushed face. She had no idea what she’d done to deserve this. In fact, she was completely sure she’d never done a thing that could possibly allow fate and the saints to give her such a gift.
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