“I rather like having the breath squeezed out of me. Makes me dizzy. And I don’t mind the stickiness.”
He smiled against her hair. “Perhaps this passion is a drink we should distill and serve up in the bar.”
“Isn’t this something we serve already?” she said, her tone wry.
“Nothing so strong as this.”
“Is this not how it is for you every time?” she asked in a small voice.
She wanted to know this was different, special for him. And it was. She was. “I’ve probably sampled half the women here,” he said honestly, his face still tucked in the crook of her neck. “But Merry, it was always a game, enjoyable, but never so intense.” He lifted his head and stared into her face. Even in the moonlight he could see moisture pooling in her eyes. “Was this not your experience with your husband?”
Her nose wrinkled. “I shouldn’t speak ill of him. He provided me a home when I had no prospects.”
“Men weren’t pounding down your door back East?” he asked, disbelieving. I would have, but he kept the thought to himself, needing to hear her answer.
“I’m not fashionably pretty. Not special in any way. And I have a bit of a temper. Homer was the only one who offered.”
“Were you happy?”
“I thought I was content,” she said, her voice catching on a slight sob. “Sorry, I guess everything is happening so fast. His death was months ago, and I’m truly past my grief. I never loved him. I despised his mother. She followed him only weeks after his funeral.” Her lashes swept down. “She thought I wasn’t good enough for him.”
“They were both fools.”
They lay silent for a long time, their bodies still entwined. Long enough Merry’s tears dried, and Nathan’s cock awoke and stirred to life against her skin.
“Nathan…?”
He kissed the tender corner of her neck and raised his head. “Yes, Merry?”
“Why did the barman throw you out of the saloon?”
He arched one eyebrow. “A misunderstanding. We have them often. It usually starts with his insulting my way with the women and ends with my comparisons of his mother to a certain farm animal—not that I’ve ever met the woman.”
“You fight each other for sport?”
“Like I said before, there’s not much else to do since I sold my mine.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand men.”
“That’s why you need me. I’ll provide you expert insight.”
“I suppose,” she murmured.
They fell silent again, this time gazing into each other’s faces—him skimming her cheeks with his thumbs, her combing his hair with her fingers.
Before too many moments passed, the urgency building in his groin became impossible to ignore. “Unless you’re ready for another round,” he growled, “you’ll need to let me up.”
Her calves rubbed his buttocks and slid down the backs of his thighs, but her arms continued to hold him close. “One more question first.”
Her stillness alerting him, he said, “What do you want to know?”
“How well did you know my aunt? We exchanged letters over the years, but I don’t really know anything about her.”
Nathan drew in a slow breath, seeking to calm his ardor long enough to find the right answer. “I knew your aunt for years,” he said, hedging.
“How well?” she asked, her voice even.
His jaws tightening, he hoped she’d understand. “Millie was my first.”
“Your first what?” When he didn’t answer her eyes widened. “Your first…instructor?”
“Yes.”
“But…she was so old.”
“Millie was only forty-five when she passed.” Not too old for a young man who wanted to learn everything he could about a woman’s body and her heart, he added to himself. “We met when I was barely twenty. We became friends over time.”
“Which is why you wanted this place?”
“I spent a lot of time in the emporium.” This time her soft snort irritated him. “When it was warm, I worked hard at my claim, spending months on end in the mountains, alone. Can you blame a man for craving the company of a woman when the weather cooled?”
“You’ve slept in this bed?”
He remained silent, letting her think about what he’d said, hoping she could accept.
Her soft sigh preceded the easing of tension in her body. “I guess I shouldn’t judge you. I slept with a man because he provided me a home.”
“I feel at home here.” She was silent so long, Nathan worried he had disappointed her somehow. “Maybe I should go.”
“My aunt left me this place,” she said thoughtfully, still not letting go of him, “even though she’d already given me so much. She could have given it to you, and I wouldn’t have known.”
Nathan pondered that for a moment. Millie had been a clever woman, but also a bit of a romantic. “Do you think she did it on purpose? Hoping we’d meet? She did tell me once that I should guide you if you ever showed up.”
“I’d like to think so. Not that I expect anything from you. You’re doing me a favor as it is.” Her gaze slid away.
Nathan hated the distance yawning between them, thinking it strange he could feel that way when part of him had been buried inside her body. “Would you like this to be more than just instruction?” he asked, trying to reach her.
“I’ve tried marriage,” she said carefully. “I don’t think I’m suited to the institution. But maybe we could be…partners?”
“Share the business?”
Her gaze lifted to lock with his. “And this bed.”
Relief sliced through him so strong he took a deep breath to steady himself. Then his eyes narrowed. “So long as you rely only on me for…advice.”
Her lashes lowered, and her lips curved upward. “Will you have me watch in cupboards to learn everything I need to know?”
“I’m thinking more direct experience could prove more lasting,” he said, sliding inside to give her an inward nudge for emphasis.
Her shallow groan was accompanied by a blinding smile. “Is there so much more for me to learn?”
He held himself still above her. “There is one thing I’ve been wanting to learn.”
“What’s that?”
His mouth curved into a wicked smile. “How you taste.”
Her eyes widened. “You mean…?”
He scooted down her body and thrust his fingers through the short curls cloaking her sex, tugging gently. “More precisely, I’m wondering how we taste together.” He parted her folds with his thumbs.
“Like Daisy did for Johnny? You’re sure that’s done?”
He suppressed a laugh. “All the time, love.” Nathan bent his head and trailed his tongue along the thin edges of her inner lips. “I’ll let you try it later. Much later.”
Merry let her hands fall to the pillow beside her head and gave herself over to more of Nathan’s gentle instruction.
Lifting her knees, she tilted her hips as he urged her to do, with his hands cupping and kneading her bottom. The slow, sweet laps of his tongue left her boneless, weak…exultant. His wickedly clever fingers slipped inside her to fill the greedy empty spaces of her being.
As he stroked inside, sliding one, then two, then three thick, callused fingers into her, she delighted in the sensations he stirred, crying out when his lips closed over the rounded knot at the top of her folds and drew hard. As passion exploded within her, she acknowledged just how deep was the trust she’d given him, how profound she knew their relationship would become.
Aunt Millie had bequeathed her not only a home where she could be as wild and unruly as her true nature dictated, but she’d also given her a lover she meant to keep.
As Nathan’s lips suckled her below, she moaned weakly, scaling the agonizing heights once more and letting go forever of her inhibitions and self-doubt. Her hips rose and fell. Her breaths shortened and rasped as desire curled, tightening t
endrils of heat around her womb.
There were so many wonderful things to learn on her way to becoming the most notorious woman she could be. She’d savor the journey and embrace the means to her liberation.
Luckily, she’d found a man who could appreciate her wild, unruly nature.
*
About Delilah Devlin
Delilah Devlin is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of erotica and sexy romance with a rapidly expanding reputation for writing deliciously edgy stories with complex characters. She has published over a hundred sixty erotic stories in multiple genres and lengths, and she is published by Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Grand Central, Harlequin Spice, HarperCollins: Mischief, Kensington, Kindle, Kindle Worlds, Montlake Romance, Running Press, and Samhain Publishing.
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And if you’re hungry for more sexy cowboys, take a peek at the pleasure awaiting you inside Cowboys on the Edge series!
Wet Down
Out with the old, in with the new…
Or so Sherry Thacker thinks. Problem is, her ex is always on her mind—shirtless, sweaty, sooty, way too handsome—and right across the street. When a “Wet Down” ceremony to retire an old fire truck is planned by the city council to raise funds for the firehouse, she has to put aside her hurt and anger and do her job. Texas firefighter, Blake Thacker wants his wife back—in the house they shared, in their marriage bed. Still confused how Sherry’s becoming mayor managed to drive a wedge between them, he’ll use whatever means necessary to win her back.
Sex is always best served WET.
Controlled Burn
This flame doesn’t need a match…
One high school prank gone wrong shouldn’t define the rest of Carly Lohan’s life. But setting fire to Caldera Canyon isn’t something townsfolk will ever forget. As the last part of her final act of restitution, she’s among the group of volunteers assigned to keep a prescribed burn of underbrush and grass from “running over the rim” into the ranches ringing the park.
Local rancher and volunteer firefighter Jeremiah McCord doesn’t trust the reformed firebug anywhere near the canyon’s controlled burn. Determined to keep her on a short rein, he’s everywhere she is, watching her. His distrust and determination sparks a plan for some sexy revenge—one that will get them both too close to the flames.
Cain’s Law
When love is on the line, a cowboy will risk everything…
Texas Lawman, Cain Whitfield, has been burned before by a beautiful brunette with dark doe eyes. He won’t be fooled again. But fate has a rotten sense of humor when he discovers the latest stranger to arrive in his small Texas town is a former mob enforcer’s girlfriend—something he learns when the cabin she rented goes up in flames and her boyfriend tries to run them both off the road. Now, he’s got to keep her alive and under wraps long enough to arrest the bastard. Resisting his attraction to the drop-dead gorgeous brunette proves impossible when they’re forced to share a safe house while the sheriff and the other deputies double patrols to keep her safe.
Even though she knows they’re all wrong for each other, Carina Black can’t help her attraction for the proud lawman. She’s done with the glitz and glamour of her former life, but can she convince Cain to look beyond her past to trust she’s ready for life in a small town? As her former boyfriend closes in, she worries too that her poor judgment could bring harm to a decent man.
The longer they’re together, the hotter their passion burns…
Flashpoint
Troy Barlow wasn’t looking for love when he competed in the Texas Tough Firefighting Competition, but one feisty little blonde caught his attention and wouldn’t let go. The more she tried to deflect him, the more determined he became to make an impression, until he did something she couldn’t possibly ignore.
The last thing Diana Boyle expected to feel was attraction for another firefighter. After her husband’s death, she’d been adamant—never another firefighter. But Troy was impossible to escape. When he wore down her resolve, she thought a one-night-stand might purge him from her system once and for all, but his powerful appeal and uninhibited lust and zest for life were addictive. When a harrowing fire threatens their newfound happiness, Diana has to face her worst fears.
Making a Madam Page 4
