“Now, Dirk. Please.” She whimpered over her shoulder. “I want you inside me.”
His tongue probed her deeper. He circled a finger over her puckered entrance.
She froze, clenching her butt cheeks with another whimper—this time in fear. “Please don’t.”
Dirk drew back. “What’s wrong? You don’t like that?”
“No. I don’t. Grady…he was rough.”
He pulled her into a sitting position. “Let’s get one thing straight. I ain’t Grady. And I’d never force anything on you that you don’t like. I’d never hurt you, Janice.”
“I know,” she whispered. “If I thought you were anything like him I wouldn’t be here.”
“Trust is a two-way street, sweetheart.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to be.” He soothed her with a kiss and a caress. “Are you all right now? Do you still want this?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m OK, and I do.” In truth, she ached like hell to have him buried deep inside her.
“Then just relax and let me take care of you.”
“No, Dirk. I want to feel you inside me. Now.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Now.” She kissed him hungrily, her desire coming quickly back to life with every flick and stroke of his questing tongue. She lay back on the bed, pulling him down with her. He released her just for a moment. His hands came down between them. She heard the stiff rustle of denim, and then he plunged into her, impaling her fully in a surge of pure pleasure that rocked her to the core.
She shut her eyes, reveling in the sheer sensation of Dirk filling her emptiness, relieving the ache. They remained joined and locked, stock-still, until he began a slow and deliberate thrust and drag that wiped her mind clean of all thought beyond the feeling of him moving inside her.
“So good,” he murmured hotly, licking and sucking her neck. “So damned good.”
She urged him deeper, digging her heels into his flanks and straining into his ebb and flow of motions. He increased his pace, pounding into her until the air echoed with their mingled moans, synchronized with the erotic slap of flesh on flesh, until her senses were swimming in a mind-erasing rush of sensation.
“Give it up,” he growled, driving into her in a ravaging rhythm of thrust and retreat that sent her barreling toward the edge. She clawed the sheet on an endless moan as her climax sluiced through her, her inner walls contracting and convulsing in searing waves.
He followed with a primal roar as he emptied into her in a hot and pulsating rush. It was everything she’d wanted. Everything she’d wished it could be. She only hoped he felt the same.
* * *
Dirk was sitting on the edge of the bed lost in his thoughts and staring at his boots when Janice emerged from the bathroom. She left the light on and the door open, he guessed intentionally. She scooped up her dress from the floor with a look of uncertainty. “What now?” she asked softly, a tiny frown wrinkling her brow.
He didn’t immediately answer, mainly because his brain still wasn’t fully functioning yet. He’d been so lost in the moment…in her…that he hadn’t given any thought to the aftermath. Her brown gaze continued to search his. Her question had caught him off guard. Staying together the whole night seemed a huge step…but then again…maybe it was time to get off the fence.
“Bed looks real comfortable.” He bounced lightly a couple of times. “Feels comfortable too. Seems a shame to waste it.”
Her brows scrunched together. “You saying you want to stay?”
“The room’s ours for the night,” he replied, “but the choice is yours, Red.”
She chewed her lip. “I would like to stay, but I’d need to be home before Cody gets up for school.”
“OK with me, as long as you don’t mind getting up at a hellacious hour to drive back.”
She smiled. “I don’t mind as long as you’re planning to join me in that bed.”
“I don’t intend to sleep in the chair.”
“But you’re still dressed,” she observed.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m well aware of that.”
“You gonna undress?”
The idea had him feeling twitchy. “I’d rather not.”
“Time to cowboy up, Dirk. I’m not giving you a choice.”
“Why are you pushing it?” he asked.
“I told you your injuries don’t bother me, but I know you don’t believe me. I need you to know that I can handle it. This is about trust, Dirk. Now lie down.” She pushed him backward onto the bed.
He was uncomfortable as hell with the idea but still too dazed and spent to make much protest when Janice knelt and pried off his left boot. She then grabbed the heel of the right.
“No,” he said. “The right one stays on with the prosthesis.”
“Then how do I do this?” she asked.
“I take the jeans down first and then off with the leg.”
“Oh. Then you’ll need to lift your hips,” she commanded, already tugging at his jeans.
Dirk sighed and then lay back, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling, grim-faced, letting her draw them down over his thighs to just above the knee—or where his knee used to be. He didn’t want to see her expression when she got a good look at his stump. He shut his eyes, forcing himself to relax, but held his breath, acutely attuned to every movement and every sound. It was a major struggle to lie there, to just give himself up to her.
“How do I remove this?” Her hands stroked down his thigh to the top of the silicone sleeve that attached his prosthesis.
He reached down to roll the sleeve off his thigh, but she laid her hands over his.
“Please. Let me do it. Just tell me how it works.”
“The leg’s held on by suction. Roll down the silicone sleeve and it’ll detach.”
She did as he instructed, and the device came free. A moment later, his jeans were off and then his boxers followed. He released the air from his lungs on a long hiss, but was almost afraid to open his eyes. His chest was tight and his heartbeat pounded in his ears. Other than what little was still covered by his unbuttoned shirt, his entire scarred and mutilated body was now bared to her view. He’d never felt more exposed…or more vulnerable.
He sat up abruptly, tore off the shirt, and threw it at her. “Satisfied?” he growled. His gaze darted to her face, but rather than the disgust he’d expected and had prepared himself for, she was grinning back at him.
“Hardly,” she replied. “But I’m hoping you’ll take care of that as soon as you’ve had enough time to recover. Maybe I can help you with that?” She cocked a brow.
Her suggestive look had his spent dick stirring instantly back to life.
“No need,” he replied. “C’mere.” He beckoned her closer, drew her down to him, and kissed her passionately. He cupped her ass in both hands. “Straddle me.”
She dropped the dress and climbed onto the bed. His erection reared up rock-hard between them as her knees sank into the mattress on either side of his hips. She pitched forward, raising up to mount him, but he stopped her. Although he wanted inside her something fierce, he held her back. “Not yet,” he said.
“What’s wrong?” Her brown eyes widened in surprise.
“Nothing’s wrong. I want you to touch yourself. I want to watch you get off.”
“Why?” Her brow wrinkled.
He knew he was pushing her comfort zone, but she’d already blasted clean through his.
“Because it excites the hell out of me, Red…because I asked you to. Does that make you uncomfortable?” He knew Grady had put her through a lot of shit. It made him wonder where her limits were. How far she trusted him.
It was a moment before she answered. “No, Dirk, it doesn’t as long as this is just between you and me. No cameras. No videos.”
; “No, Red. I’m not into that kinda shit,” he reassured her, breathing easier as the uncertainty passed from her eyes. “This is only about us. It’s all just between you and me.”
* * *
Janice sensed that he was intentionally testing her, trying to make her feel as exposed and vulnerable as he felt, but she wasn’t about to retreat. She’d told him before that it was gonna be all or nothing. If he wanted a show, she’d give him one.
She leaned forward to kiss him, using her breasts and hips to tease him as she dragged her body slowly up his. Her mouth sought his hungrily, but she didn’t prolong the kiss, instead withdrawing from it the moment he would have pulled her deeper in. Wordlessly, she brushed her fingers over his damp lips.
His blue gaze darkened in instant understanding. He caught her hand, drawing her fingers into his mouth one at a time, licking and sucking and then slowly releasing. He watched with a spine-tingling intensity as Janice cupped her breast with one hand, toying with her nipple as her other hand crept down her belly toward her nest of short curls.
“Oh yeah, just like that, sweetheart,” he murmured hoarsely. His pupils flared when she dipped into the wet folds of her cleft.
Feeling increasingly shy and embarrassed, she shut her eyes but continued to stroke and tease herself until her body quivered with the first tiny orgasmic tremors. Throbbing to feel him inside her, filling her, she rubbed her mons up and down his shaft.
He gripped her hips almost painfully tight. His hip bucked beneath her, but he still held back. “Don’t stop.”
She squeezed her lids tighter, imagining him pumping into her. Her climax hit like a tsunami. She let loose a low moan, rocking her hips rhythmically as it washed over her in breathless waves. She opened her eyes to find him staring up at her with a ravenous look.
“Holy shit.” His voice was low and gravelly. “Do you have any idea how hot that was? How hot you are?” He pulled her down for a long, deep kiss that sent a series of aftershocks resonating through her.
“Please, Dirk. I need you,” she whispered urgently. She wrapped her hand around him, guiding him toward her aching core, dragging his shaft through her wetness. Holding him primed at her entrance, she slid her hips slowly forward and back, then circling and teasing until he emitted a long groan that made his body quake beneath her. But just when she thought he’d finally lose it, he usurped control from her.
The next thing she knew, she was trapped beneath him, his arms caging her head and his mouth devouring hers. They gasped in unison when he entered her in a single, breath-catching thrust.
She wrapped her legs tightly around his flanks, urging him deeper. “Please don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”
* * *
Hours later, Dirk found himself once more staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so content…or so confused. In just a few short days, she’d turned him upside down and inside out.
Her head rested on his shoulder and his left arm had gone completely numb, but he didn’t want to chance waking her. He glanced down to find her gazing up at him with a sleepy smile. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m trying not to,” he said. “Thinking seems a highly overrated activity compared to others.”
“Yeah, you might be right about that.” She chuckled and then rolled on top of him, plying soft kisses to his face. She then worked her way lower, trailing her fingers and mouth over the various scars on his body.
He winced under her touch.
“You don’t like that?” she asked.
“It’s still uncomfortable for me,” he admitted.
“I’m sorry, Dirk, but I’m afraid you’re just gonna have to get used to my hands on your body.”
Janice had a habit of pushing him too hard and too fast, but she also held nothing back. For the past four years he’d believed he could never have a normal life again. Now he wondered if that was true. He’d also told himself he’d never find a woman who’d accept him without reservation, but by the looks of things, it seemed he might have been wrong about that too.
* * *
Morning came way too fast for Janice. The only saving grace was that they checked out early enough that she was spared the walk of shame she’d dreaded the night before. They drove home in a thought-filled silence broken only when they stopped for coffee at a drive-through. Had Dirk not held her hand on his thigh for almost the entire drive, she might have worried about his lack of conversation, but they both needed the quiet time to digest, and to adjust. Their night together had changed everything, had put their relationship on new ground. Now they both had to regain their footing.
The sun was only starting to crest the horizon when Dirk pulled up in front of the house. She was glad to see the lights were still off. Hopefully, she’d have time to sneak upstairs and change before her mother or Cody caught sight of her. Janice reached for the door, but Dirk pulled her back. “Guess this one’s for good morning instead of good night.” His lips met hers in a slow and tender kiss. He released her with a smile. “Will I see you later?”
“I’m working at the Pioneer the next two days, but I’ll be out on Sunday with Cody…that is, if the offer is still open.”
His brows drew together. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
She replied with a nervous shrug. “Didn’t know if you might need some time alone…after everything.”
His frown deepened. “You saying that for my benefit or yours, Red?”
“I don’t have any regrets if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Yeah. It is what I was asking.”
“None, Dirk, but I don’t know where this puts us.”
“I don’t either,” he replied. “One step at a time, remember?”
“Yeah.” She gave a nervous laugh. “But last night seems like a Neil Armstrong kind of step.”
“It was at that.” He grinned. “Noon Sunday then?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there.” Their eyes met briefly and then Janice let herself out.
Chapter 16
By Sunday, Dirk was almost aching to see Janice. It’d only been two days since they’d spent the night together, not that they’d done much sleeping. Now by comparison, his own bed seemed cold and way too empty. He was growing in the certainty that he wanted her with him every night—but Janice came complete with a kid.
He hadn’t even considered that aspect of a potential relationship…until now. Was he really prepared to take on a ready-made family? A month ago, he would have said no friggin’ way, but now? A lot of things had changed in the short time since Janice walked into his life.
He was leading Red Man out of the corral toward the hitching post when her old red Dodge pulled into the yard. Almost before she’d cut the ignition, a redheaded kid in a cowboy hat bound out of the truck.
“Cody Garrison!” Janice jumped out behind him. “You get yourself back here!”
“He’s all right,” Dirk said, unable to suppress a chuckle at the kid’s exuberance.
“I’m afraid he’s been like this for hours,” Janice apologized. “He’s near bursting with excitement and pestered me almost incessantly about coming out here since the minute he woke up this morning.”
“Hey, Cody.” Dirk stepped toward the boy and extended his hand. “’Member me?”
“Not exactly…well, maybe…I think I saw your picture with my daddy.” Cody stepped back and scrunched his face. “But you look real different from the pictures I seen. What happened to your face?”
“Cody!” Janice gasped. “Oh my God, Dirk, I’m so sorry!”
Dirk shrugged it off. “Kids tend to speak their minds. There’s nothing wrong in that. It was an explosion that burnt my face,” he answered Cody. “Same one that took my leg.”
Cody’s eyes grew impossibly wide. “What do you mean? You got a fake leg?”
“Yup,” Dirk said and lifte
d his jeans just over his boot top.
“Cool!” Cody exclaimed. “Does it come off?”
“Cody,” Janice cried again, her face and neck coloring.
“Yeah, I take it on and off,” Dirk answered. “It’s got microprocessors and batteries that need to recharge every night—kinda like Iron Man’s suit.”
“Can I see it when you take it off?”
“I s’pose sometime,” Dirk replied noncommittally.
“My daddy was a bull rider,” Cody announced, puffing his chest proudly.
“Your daddy was a world champion bull rider,” Dirk corrected.
“Were you a bull rider, too?”
“I was once,” Dirk said.
“I want to ride bulls.”
“Do you now?”
“Yeah. Can you teach me?” Cody asked.
Dirk looked to Janice who shook her head. “I never knew he had the least interest in it. He’s never said anything about it to me until now. Never.”
“Maybe he was waiting for the right time and place to speak up about it. I s’pose I could teach you,” Dirk answered Cody, “but let’s start with the horse for now. You’ll find they’re a lot more cooperative than bulls. C’mon. Red Man’s been waiting on you. Janice, why don’t you go in and visit with my mother? Cody and I will join you when dinner’s ready.”
“But—” Janice protested.
“No buts,” Dirk said. “This is guy time. No females allowed.”
“Yeah.” Cody beamed and repeated, “Guy time. Sorry, Mom.”
Janice still hesitated.
“Go,” Dirk commanded. “Cody and I need to get acquainted. ’Sides, he’s gonna take instruction a lot better if you’re not here. Give us an hour or so, then come back out to watch him ride.”
“All right,” she huffed.
Dirk watched her trudge off toward the house.
His curiosity about the prosthetic apparently satisfied, Cody asked him, “Can I meet your Leopard dogs too?”
“Sure, when we’re done with Red Man here. Your mom says you’ve been riding with a friend?”
“Yup. A horse named Slug. He’s old and don’t go very fast.”
Rough Rider Page 22
