by Devyn Quinn
He raised his brows in pleased surprise. “Oh, I like a Brazilian wax.” His breathing grew uneven, a little labored. “Very ni-iicccee….” He quickly leaned forward. A hot male tongue eagerly probed the folds of her sex.
Dakoda shuddered, then moaned softly. “Oh, my,” she breathed, mouth all of a sudden cotton dry. “Surely you’re not…” Her nipples peaked beneath the cups of her bra. Her limbs felt pleasantly heavy, as though she were mired in a pool of molasses.
Jesse pulled back enough to glance up at her. “Going down on you?” A feral grin split his lips. “Oh, yes, I intend to. Your smell has been driving me wild, and I intend to indulge myself—” He dipped his tongue into her navel, swirling around the shallow depth. “Liberally.”
Before she quite knew what was happening, Jesse stood up. Bending, he scooped her into his arms. Giving her a quick heft, he spread her across the table. Stepping back, he eyed her like she was the most delectable of morsels. “Now there’s the meal I’ve been hungry for. I like my meat on the bone.”
Not quite sure how she’d landed on the top of the table, Dakoda shivered. She propped herself up on her elbows. “Isn’t that from some rock song?”
“Yeah.” Jesse dragged her panties down her legs, then flicked them aside. “Alice Cooper. Man, I love that song.” As he parted her thighs, a low rumble broke from his throat. His muscles were bunched with tension. His cock arched against his cobbled abdomen in eager anticipation. “Almost as much as I love eating pussy.”
Dakoda sucked in a breath as Jesse’s head dipped low. A long pass of his tongue between her dewed, swollen labia tore a gasp from her lips. “Oh…heavens!”
Jesse lifted his head briefly. “Heaven ain’t got nothing to do with this.” Disappearing again, his tongue danced around her swollen clit, working the small hooded organ with an expert’s touch.
The buzz of climax growing at the base of her spine took her by surprise. Dakoda choked out a strangled laugh. “Keep touching me like that and I’ll come.”
Jesse peered over the length of her almost naked body. “Oh, I intend to keep doing this until you do.” Following up with his threat, he added his fingers to the foreplay. Pressing two fingers together, he delved into her slowly. “Oh, man. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt heat like that.”
Eyes slipping shut, Dakoda moaned softly. “It’s been a long time since I’ve let anybody feel the heat.”
Thumb working her clit, Jesse’s thick fingers stroked in and out of her sex.
The pressure building at the base of Dakoda’s spine climbed higher. She shuddered. Tight inner muscles throbbed around his thick fingers. Her core literally ached for release. Pressing against the table, her spine was as rigid as an iron bar. The tingling sensation sped upward, causing the fine hairs on the back of her neck to rise. The first pulse of climax hit her like a punch to the solar plexus.
Throwing back her head, Dakoda didn’t try to mask her cry of pleasure as she came. Fingers digging into the rough tabletop, she opened herself up to the glittering sensations spreading across her skin like the silken threads of a gossamer web.
The sensations slipped through her fingers almost too quickly to be enjoyed.
Limp and breathless in the aftermath, Dakoda swiped her tongue across papery lips. “Oh God,” she breathed. “That was—” Breasts rising and falling, her words trailed off into satisfied silence.
Jesse’s hand slipped away, leaving a curiously cold spot in its wake. Switching his position, he eased down over her. The table was the perfect height to allow him easy access. The heat between her legs suddenly returned, hotter than ever. His cock pulsed between their bodies, snuggling comfortably on the nest of her belly. One stab of his hips would fill her completely.
Soft fingertips traced the line of her jaw, then her neck, passing over the hollow of her throat. “I’m not even close to finished,” he warned before tossing her a lusty smile of anticipation.
Hands lifting to his broad shoulders, Dakoda grinned. She wiggled her hips against the thick erection pressing into her stomach. “I would hope not,” she breathed, barely suppressing a soft groan.
Jesse’s breath stalled momentarily before he regained control. “Not yet,” he tsked. “I still haven’t gotten to these beauties.” He dragged down the plain white cups covering her breasts. Her nipples peaked, a darker, duskier shade of pink. “Don’t want them to feel neglected.”
Bending low, Jesse sucked one soft nub into his mouth. His tongue caressed the aching tip even as his fingers invaded her most private places.
A waterfall of glimmering sensations slid across her nerves with each suck against her taut nipple, intensified tenfold by the weight of his erection nestled against her belly. Dakoda shuddered, swamped by the sensations rushing through her body like a locomotive gone haywire. Her sex grew slicker and wetter with every glide of his fingers. The scrape of his teeth against her sensitive nipple only added to the insanity.
But it wasn’t enough. She needed—no, craved—a more intimate physical connection. Hip to hip and mouth to mouth was the only way they could fully come together.
Hands sliding into his long, silky hair, she tugged him away from her breasts. “More,” she grated, desperate for him to take her deeper, harder.
Jesse’s dark gaze found hers, lust burning in the depths of his obsidian eyes. “Are you sure?” he grated. “I can stop…”
Dakoda shook her head. No stopping now. Not when she needed completion so damn much. “I need everything,” she breathed.
Jesse nodded. Catching her behind the knees, he lifted her legs and spread her wide. Springing from its nest of thick curls, his cock arched up against the ridges of his abdomen. Thick veins twined around its length. Glistening droplets of pre-cum seeped from its flared crown.
Dakoda’s breath caught in her throat as he angled his hips toward hers. His cock pressed against the opening of her sex, gliding through her labia. She knew he was deliberately making her wait, torturing her with a long, slow entry, rather than one jarring thrust.
Hands bracing her weight, Dakoda arched against the table. “Now, Jesse…Please…” Strong inner muscles clenched deep inside her core.
Jesse slowly eased inside her. “I want to take it slow,” he grated between gritted teeth. “Enjoy the feel of being inside you.” Silk-encased steel easily penetrated her creamy depth.
Suppressing a happy whimper, Dakoda wiggled her ass. She was definitely getting more then she’d bargained for. “Oh, I feel you, all right. Every. Last. Damn. Inch.”
Seated to the hilt, Jesse bent over and braced his hands on either side of her body to support his weight. Corded biceps bulged with power. He ground his hips into hers. No doubt about the strength in his powerful body.
A low male growl of sensual need rumbled up from his chest. “I want to look in your eyes.” The tone of his voice was strangely husky, strained. “And watch you come.” His thick penis slid out of her silken depths, only to pump inside again seconds later.
Dakoda wound her arms around him, spreading her palms across the concrete-hard slab of his back. Her legs circled his waist as his hips jarred against hers. She bent her fingers just a little, giving him a taste of pain when she pressed her nails across his exposed skin.
The rasp of a groan broke through his lips. “Oh, someone’s showing her claws.” His hips slapped harder against hers, delivering one punishing stroke, then another.
Dakoda sucked in a breath, taking in his musky scent. There was something untamed, almost primal, in the smell emanating from his deeply tanned skin. As she searched far into his eyes, his face seemed to blur, briefly taking on the features of the cougar lurking inside his soul. His eyes were aflame with the feral lust of a male intent on conquering his female.
Lifting her head, she sought his mouth, savoring the taste of his wild, raw flavor.
Jesse’s lips crushed against hers with voracious intensity, his tongue stabbing deep even as his hips pummeled hers without mercy
. Again and again he struck, driving his cock into her ravenous sex.
Shuddering with pure delight, Dakoda instinctively arched under him in an effort to take him even deeper than before. His powerful, ramming strokes seemed to reach all the way to her throat. The sensation of being taken so completely, in such a primitive way, damn near caused her to come right then and there.
Dakoda held on, determined to make the sensations last just a little bit longer. Jesse was riding her hard, as if the hounds of hell were snapping at his ass. Hips moving like a jackhammer, he stroked in and out of her creamy sex. Mercury rising into the red, the danger zone was fast approaching. Heat burrowed at the base of her spine.
Her orgasm came blasting in from nowhere, detonating through her veins with blazing delight. Dakoda screamed as the first explosion rocked her senses, speeding through her body like a rocket gone rogue. Sensation coalesced, an internal pressure cooker charged with erotic energy.
Dakoda felt pleasure roaring in, rising up from her core like a volcano barreling toward eruption. Her senses sprang open, welcoming the deluge of unrelenting bliss. Wave after savage wave of sensation pummeled her senses, lifting her up toward the heavens, then dashing her down again at top speed.
Jesse delivered one last punishing thrust. His body stiffened, and a growl broke from deep in his throat as he climaxed. A hot spurt of semen filled her depths. He collapsed on top of her, adding his sweat-soaked weight to hers. The picnic table beneath their bodies shifted, creaking with annoyance. Fortunately all four legs held firm.
A series of delicious aftershocks resonated through Dakoda, the sensations almost too much to bear. A brief wave of dizziness made her glad to be lying down. Heart beating a drumlike thud in her chest, her skin felt tight, as if too small to fully fit over her bones. Were she to try to stand, she’d collapse like a puppet without strings.
8
A few minutes later, Jesse lifted himself off Dakoda. He panted lightly, body still trembling from the delicious climax they’d just shared. Beads of perspiration coated his skin, lending his flesh a gleaming shimmer in the lamplight. “Damn,” he breathed. “That was awesome.” His ravenous gaze skimmed her nude body with appreciation. Despite the intense climax they’d just experienced, he wanted more. Once clearly wasn’t enough.
Shivering from the abrupt change from warm to cold, Dakoda folded her arms across her bare chest. It was hard to keep her eyes off him. Composed of hard ridges and harder muscle, his body was the epitome of male perfection. Even with the scars marring his bronzed skin, he was glorious to look at.
She nodded. “Very intense.” Heart beating in her chest, she kept her words light, easy. The one thing she’d never mastered after sex was the small talk. This was usually the part where she’d begin the motions to slip out the door and head home. Like her mother, she’d never formed permanent attachments to her lovers. It was always easier to get up and go, keep things light and easy on the emotions.
She already knew Jesse was going to be different. Since she’d laid eyes on him, she’d suspected he was something rare. Special. Finding a man she wanted to be with, to embrace on every level, was an entirely new experience. It was also a frightening experience.
If you don’t hold on now, she warned herself, you might never get a chance like this again.
There was one problem, though. Dakoda didn’t know how to do the love thing. Lust, sure. That was simple. Uncomplicated. Easy to walk away from. Love was an entirely different concept. It implied myriad emotions. Emotions she’d purposely walled up and guarded like Fort Knox. Tearing down her inner wall wasn’t going to be easy.
But she wanted to try.
Desperately.
Sitting up, Dakoda scooted to the edge of the table, letting her legs dangle over the edge. She felt a little awkward, far more exposed than ever before.
Sensing her unease, Jesse’s hands settled on her knees. He gently spread her legs apart, then stepped into the space. Warm palms cupped her face, dipping her head back. Reflected in the lamp’s dim illumination, his black eyes looked endlessly deep. The hateful collar still circled his neck, an ever-present reminder of their captivity. “Something’s wrong,” he murmured. “I can see it on your face.”
Fingers circling his thick wrists, Dakoda slowly drew his hands down. “I was just thinking this can’t be happening. It seems so surreal that I’m here, with you. We just had sex and…” Words trailing off into silence, she shook her head.
Jesse reached out, caressing her mouth with the tips of his fingers. “And it’s too much, too fast.”
Dakoda hesitated a moment, then nodded. “I’ve never been good at hanging around long, if you know what I mean,” she confessed. “The only thing I’ve ever been good at is cutting and running off when things get too heavy.”
Jesse brushed his fingers over the curve of her lower lip, then her chin. “It’s okay to get scared when you’re in situations that make you uncomfortable. If it helps, I’m not exactly feeling at home here myself.”
Dakoda shook hear head. “This place is bad enough,” she allowed. “But what I’m talking now is you, Jesse. When it comes to getting involved with a guy, well…I haven’t got a very good track record of making relationships last.”
His gaze probed hers, darkening subtly. “Are you trying to tell me I’m someone you’re—” His throat tightened, briefly cutting off his words. “Someone you’re not interested in?” He stepped back, abandoning the intimacy he’d been attempting to nurture between them.
Unable to look him in the eyes, Dakoda dropped her gaze. Looking anywhere but at him was much easier.
I’m an idiot, she thought. Without intending to, she’d already begun to push him away when, in reality, she was trying to let him in.
A lump formed in Dakoda’s throat. She forced herself to swallow. “I—I’m not saying the right things,” she stammered.
Folding his arms across his chest, Jesse gave her a skeptical look. “They must be right or you wouldn’t be saying them,” he countered.
Head lifting, Dakoda frowned. “You have to understand how sudden this is for me.” Her hand settled on her chest. She felt the dull thud of her heart beneath her rib cage. “When my day began, I had no idea someone like you would come tearing into my life. My God, Jesse. You just rolled over me like a bulldozer, telling me so many wild and wonderful things.”
Jesse arched a single thick brow. “And that’s so terrible how?” Sarcasm iced his question. There was something else, though, something going deeper than scorn. Dismay also tinged his words, laced with the subtle hint of pain.
Dakoda grimaced, cut by the tone of his voice. A bitter sense of desolation washed through her. “I didn’t say it was terrible.” The rise of hot tears blurred her vision. She blinked them back, refusing to let a single one fall. “It’s just that people under duress tend to form deep, emotional bonds very quickly. How can we be sure what we’re feeling is real and not just something we conjured up because we’re so desperate to make a connection before we die?”
Jesse clenched his fists. “What we just did felt pretty real to me,” he said hotly. The abrupt ferocity in his voice stung painfully. “But I get the idea you’re not on the same page.”
Dakoda’s guts knotted, tight and painful. “What we had was sex,” she said bleakly. “This is…different.” Way different.
Frustration boiling to a dangerous level, he stared back at her. “How so?” he demanded.
Talk about putting her foot straight into her mouth. The taste of shoe leather was awful. Instead of making things better, she was steadily making them worse. She needed to slow down. Think.
Dakoda struggled to find the right words, say the right things. “It’s just that falling in love is something I’ve never done before.” She raised her gaze, looking him straight in the eyes. “I want to be sure it’s right, damn it. I want to be sure it’s real.” The last few words sped out of her mouth, forced out by desperation.
Jesse Clawfoot loo
ked thunderstruck. “You said you love me?” he repeated dumbly.
A small smile crept across Dakoda’s lips. His words held the eagerness of a puppy locked in a pound cage, waiting and hoping the door would open.
Something clenched under her rib cage, a throbbing, forlorn ache. “I didn’t quite say I loved you, Jesse.” Sweat beaded her bare skin. Now she was shaking. “What I am saying is the potential is there, and it’s scaring the living shit out of me.”
A brilliant grin split his lips. “Potential is good,” he agreed, nodding his head. “I can go with potential.” He swiped his hands across his face, brushing back long strands of hair.
Dakoda closed her eyes a moment. Her own hands rose, fingers pressing to her temples. The postsex climax was threatening to turn into a pre-regrets headache.
All through her life, relationships were something she’d deliberately tiptoed around, flirting with, but never committing to. Commitment meant staying in one place, building a life around one person. In her world, that was an alien concept, almost as unnatural as pigs growing wings.
However, running off when things got serious was tiring. So was always holding people at arm’s length, never letting any man get close enough to find out more than her name and address. Sleeping over? She’d never done it. Shacking up? Pffttt! She needed her space, the freedom to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. With no consequences.
Just like her mother.
Except her mother’s actions had consequences. Terrible ones, etched deeply into Dakoda’s psyche.
Feeling emotionally hollow, Dakoda rubbed her temples harder. Keep running and one of these days I’ll be old and alone, she reminded herself.
Jesse’s big hands suddenly covered hers. Guiding her hands down in her lap, he pressed his fingers to the pressure points she’d massaged. Soft, slow circles ensued. “Potential is supposed to be a good thing,” he murmured. “Not give you headaches.” His touch was familiar, soothing. At least he recognized her need for comfort.
Dakoda’s stomach knotted. The feel of his fingers pressed against her temples was comforting. A fleeting, half-conscious image of him picking her up and laying her on the table flashed across her mind’s screen.
