by Erika Wilde
However, explaining the costume he was wearing was something he hadn’t considered.
Reluctantly, he turned to face Jordan, who was leaning against the doorjamb, his hands buried in the pockets of his sweat pants.
A grin twitched the corners of Jordan’s mouth as he took in Austin’s cowboy attire, complete with Stetson, chaps and shiny silver spurs he’d bought to complete the Fantasy for Hire ensemble.
Jordan moved into the bedroom, curiosity brimming in his eyes. “I was expecting to hear Santa tonight, but the jangling noise I heard didn’t sound like Christmas bells, so I thought I’d better investigate.”
Austin zipped up the duffel, anxious to be on his way. “I’m sorry if I woke you up.”
“Where in the world are you going dressed like that on Christmas Eve?” Jordan’s amusement faded into a frown of disapproval. “Don’t tell me that you’ve got a gig tonight.”
Austin was beginning to feel like tonight’s “gig” would be the performance of his life. Slinging the duffel over his shoulder, he grinned at his brother. “Don’t wait up for me, pardner,” he drawled humorously, tipping his Stetson at Jordan. “I’ve got one last fantasy to fulfill, and I have a feeling it’s going to take all night long.”
A slow grin spread across Jordan’s face as understanding dawned.
Before Jordan could comment, Austin headed out the door and down the stairs. The metallic sound of the spurs’ rowels chinking against wood rang throughout the house.
Jordan stood at the top of the stairs, and called after Austin, “Be careful that you don’t hurt Teddy with those spurs!”
Austin chuckled. It was obvious that his brother adored Teddy as much as he did. Now it was just a matter of convincing Teddy how much she belonged in his life.
Chapter Ten
Austin didn’t know what to expect when he returned to Teddy’s condo, but it certainly wasn’t the sultry vixen who greeted him. Just like him, Teddy had changed, but her attire was far more enticing, and certainly more revealing. Soft chiffon and sheer lace in a deep shade of purple shaped her full breasts and draped along her curves to midthigh, accentuating everything womanly about her. Her hair was tousled around her head, her eyes shone bright with anticipation, and she smelled delicious, like citrus and something infinitely soft and feminine.
“Very nice,” he murmured appreciatively, forgetting all about the role he’d wanted to play for her.
She shifted anxiously on her feet, and the hem of the nightie flirted along her thighs. “I got the nightgown for my birthday, and I thought I’d put it to good use,” she explained, a faint blush touching her cheeks.
He didn’t bother to point out that she wouldn’t be wearing it for long.
He waited for her to invite him in, but she didn’t seem in any hurry to do so. Her gaze leisurely traveled the length of him, and he could have sworn he heard her breath catch when she reached the spurs attached to his boots. There was no mistaking the excitement wreathing her expression when she glanced back at his face.
“Hello, cowboy,” she said in a husky, come-hither voice.
He touched the brim of his hat politely, ignoring the swift current of heat rushing through his veins so he could play along with the fantasy he wanted to create for her. “Ma’am.”
Her small, pink tongue licked her bottom lip, and she leaned against the wall in the entryway, looking entirely too tempting. Blinking innocently, she asked, “So, cowboy, what brings you to my neck of the woods?”
Austin quickly realized that the woman he’d planned to seduce was turning the tables on him. Not that he minded having a willing counterpart, but if she wasn’t careful, her provocative act was going to send him over the edge sooner than he’d anticipated. “I’m looking for a place to bunk down for the night,” he drawled, struggling to maintain his composure when all he wanted to do was take this woman up against the wall, finesse be damned. “And I was hoping you could accommodate a lonesome cowboy.”
Batting her lashes demurely at him, she skimmed her fingers over the swell of her breasts. Austin’s mouth went dry as her nipples tightened.
A seductive smile added to her beguiling act. “Well, you’re more than welcome to sleep in the stable with your horse.”
He chuckled at her unexpected reply. “In that case, I guess I’m going to have to confess that I’m actually an outlaw seeking refuge, and I’ll be taking you hostage.” Making good on his threat, he moved into the entryway, closed the door behind him, and forced her up against the wall with the muscular heat of his body.
Her luminous brown eyes widened in mock fear and genuine excitement as she entwined her arms around his neck. “Dare I hope you’ll be ravishing me?”
Dropping his duffel bag, he plowed his fingers into her hair so he could lift her mouth to his—not that she was resisting much. “Didn’t your parents ever warn you just how dangerous an outlaw could be?” he growled.
“Oh, yeah, they’ve tried, but I can’t help my attraction to a man in chaps and spurs,” she admitted, her voice dropping to a honeyed purr. She lifted her hips, encountering the thick length of his erection framed between the crotch of his chaps. “Especially an outlaw who has a weapon as impressive as yours. I hope you aren’t afraid to use it.”
A guttural groan ripped from his chest. He’d been hard for the past ten minutes, ever since she’d opened the door, but her teasing, arousing monologue increased the pressure in his groin to near pain. “Damn, but you’re feisty.”
She flashed him a sassy grin. “Shut up and kiss me, cowboy.”
Not one to refuse such a tempting offer, he gave her exactly what she demanded—a hot, deep French kiss that quickly had them both wild for so much more. He lifted his mouth from hers long enough to pick up his duffel, then he swung her into his arms, swallowing her squeal of alarm as his lips closed over hers once again for another tongue-tangling kiss. Maneuvering her through the condo to the bedroom took effort, especially since she now had his face between her hands and was kissing him senseless. With every jangling step he took, her breathing deepened, and her urgency seemed to mount, matching the frenzied beat of his heart.
He found the bedroom minutes later, but not before taking a quick tour of her office, where Teddy breathlessly informed him they were in the wrong room—unless he wanted to use her desk. Tempted, but determined to fuck her properly this first time, he continued, stopping briefly in the hallway to readjust his hold on the woman in his arms while she placed damp, openmouthed kisses on his neck that made him weak in the knees. He bumped his hip against the dresser, muttered an oath that made her giggle, and blindly searched for her bed in the dark. Finally, his knees connected with something soft and wide, and he unceremoniously dropped her onto the mattress. She yelped in surprise, and he heard the springs creak as she bounced.
Setting the duffel close by, he switched on the lamp on the nightstand, illuminating the room, and Teddy, in a soft glow of light. She was sprawled on top of the floral comforter covering the bed, her blond hair a cloud of silk around her head, her eyes alight with awareness, and that scrap of nothing nightie up around her hips. He was certain the diaphanous panties barely covering her mound were designed to drive a man to primitive measures. He was nearly there.
Tipping the Stetson back on his head, he eyed those long, slender limbs of hers with unabashed male appreciation. “I think this is the part where I ravish you,” he said wickedly.
A pretty shade of pink flushed her skin, and she tilted her head speculatively as her gaze once again took in his attire. “Why are you dressed up like this?” she asked, her voice as soft as the moonlight filtering in through the bedroom window.
“This last fantasy is for you, Teddy,” he said, and knew by the slight catch to her breathing that she understood the significance of this final performance as her cowboy.
She stared at him in anticipation as he lifted a small recorder from his bag, put it on the nightstand, and hit play. Seconds later, the same upbeat, rockabill
y tune he’d danced to for her birthday filled the silence of the night, the pulsing sound as provocative as the look darkening her eyes.
Spotting the Stetson he’d given her that same night, he retrieved it from the dresser, and settled it on her head, grinning at the luscious picture she made. “Merry Christmas, honey.”
He straightened, intending to get the show on the road and give this woman a fantasy she’d never forget—and an incredible night that would hopefully change the course of their relationship. Rocking and rolling his hips to the rhythm of the country beat, he reached for the top snap on his western shirt to rip it open.
“Wait!” she blurted, holding up a hand to stop him.
He immediately ceased all movement, paralyzed with the unsettling possibility that she might be having second thoughts about them, about this.
Sitting up on her knees in front of him, she chewed on her lower lip uncertainly. “Would you be terribly disappointed if I undressed you, instead of you stripping for me?” Her voice quivered with an endearing hesitancy, then her chin lifted with that sassiness he was coming to adore. “I mean, after all, this is my fantasy.”
He chuckled, unable to help himself. God, he loved how sexy and bold she was, and knew life with her would always be invigorating. “There’s nothing that would please me more,” he told her, a small part of his mind wondering how he’d be able to withstand such torment. “Where would you like to start?”
She crooked her finger at him. “Come a little closer.”
The rowels on his boots chinked seductively as he did as she requested. Now it was her hips that swayed to the music, her hands that lifted to his chest. Gripping the material in her fists on either side of the pearl buttons, she ripped open his shirt.
A groan of pure pleasure rumbled in her throat as she smoothed her palms over the heat of his skin and explored to her heart’s content, pushing him to the brink of madness. Following the light sprinkling of hair on his chest downward, she splayed a hand low on his taut belly and nudged him back a foot and stood.
With an intoxicating, feminine confidence that made him burn, she slid the tips of her fingers upward, flicking over his flattened nipples on her journey up to his shoulders, where she slowly dragged the shirt down his arms. And during this gradual striptease, when she had his hands tangled in cotton, she moved close and brushed her body against his to the beat of the music—her breasts, her belly, her thighs, all inflaming his senses.
His nostrils flared, and as soon as she tugged his shirt off and tossed it somewhere behind him, he caught her around the waist with one arm, slid a thigh between hers, and brought her flush to his hard length, trapping her arms between them.
She wasn’t intimidated by his domination, or the fierce arousal pressing against her belly. “Hold your horses, cowboy,” she whispered against his mouth, her gaze hot and eager for what was to come—albeit in her own sweet time. “This is my fantasy, and I’m not done yet.”
Austin groaned, certain he’d never be able to hold out.
With her arms locked between them, her hand found the bulge tightening the front of his jeans. Shamelessly, she cupped the fullness in her palm, stroked him to the beat of the music as her own hips gyrated provocatively against his. Austin gritted his teeth as a shudder ripped through him. Heeding that fierce warning, he let her go the same moment her fingers hooked around the sides of his chaps and she gave a hard yank. Velcro tore apart, and with a triumphant grin, she flung the soft leather aside.
And from there, with each article of clothing she playfully removed from his body and tossed haphazardly in the room, from his cowboy boots with those spurs he’d worn just for her, to his jeans and briefs and then finally his Stetson, she totally captivated Austin, bringing warmth and laughter to a place deep within him that had been cold and lonely for too long. She was wicked, amusing, damn sexy, and everything he wanted in a woman.
Teddy stared breathlessly at the gorgeous, naked man standing in the middle of her bedroom—her fantasy. Austin was, in a word, magnificent. He was solidly aroused, all aggressive male, and she thrilled at the notion that she’d brought him to this.
Not quite ready to relinquish the heady rush of feminine power coursing through her veins, she circled him, languidly caressing the firm slope of his back, his tight ass, and planting teasing, biting kisses along his throat and chest. Closing her eyes, she slid lower, until the very male essence of him brushed her lips—and heard a rough, strangled sound catch in his throat that was half pain, half pleasure.
Reckless excitement curled through her, settling in the pit of her belly, spreading outward. Eager to taste him in a way she’d never experienced before, she closed her mouth intimately over his erect cock, indulging in the smooth, velvety texture of his skin, the virile heat of him sliding along her tongue…
His entire body instinctively bucked toward her, and he sucked in a swift, shocked breath. His hands lifted, knocking the Stetson on her head to the floor. His long fingers tangled in her hair, at first guiding her untutored, but very erotic offering, then in a frantic attempt to pull her away.
Swearing viciously, he dragged her back up again. She caught a quick glimpse of the hot need glowing in the depths of his gaze before he fluidly, effortlessly, turned her, banded his strong arms around her waist, and tucked her backside against the front of his body.
She gasped, her heart slamming against her ribs. It was like being surrounded by fire…so much heat, raw and intense. Flames licked along her back, her thighs, and that out-of-control wildfire even found its way to the tips of her breasts, and her belly, where he’d splayed one of his hands to keep her bottom nestled close to his groin. The dresser mirror in front of them gave her a perfect view of their intimate position, enabling her to see the flush on her skin, the exhilaration in her eyes. The alluring sight aroused her, made her pulse flutter anxiously for what was to come.
He buried his face against the side of her neck, and she shivered as his harsh breathing branded her skin. Gradually, his mouth charted a warm, damp path to her ear. “I feel at a distinct disadvantage here, darlin’,” he drawled in a low voice that rumbled along her nerve endings. “I’m buck naked, and you’ve got way too many clothes on.”
She wanted to laugh at his attempt at levity, but all she could think of was his hands sliding on her skin, his body easing into hers, and the wild ride he’d give her. “Then take them off,” she dared impudently.
A warm chuckle reverberated against her neck. “Yes, ma’am.” Sliding his hands beneath the hem of her gown, he slowly drew the soft material up and over her head, and tossed it somewhere in the room, leaving her clad in just her panties. She felt no embarrassment, only an acute desire for him to touch her as intimately as she’d touched him.
Somehow, he knew. As his gaze met hers in the mirror, he lifted his hands and cupped her swollen breasts in his palms, rasped his thumbs across her nipples until they were stiff and aching. Biting back a soft moan, she pressed her hands to the sides of his thighs, rolled her head back onto his shoulder, and arched her body more fully into his hands. He nuzzled her neck, stroked his fingers down her trembling belly and teased her through the damp, silky material of her panties until a whimper escaped her and her knees threatened to buckle.
Turning in his arms, she sought his mouth with hers, and he didn’t hesitate to give her the kind of kiss she craved. No more teasing. No more gentle humor. Just intense passion and sizzling desire. She wanted it all, and she wanted it with him.
While his mouth consumed hers, and his tongue delved deep, he moved with her toward the bed. The back of her knees hit the edge, and he urged her down upon the mattress, pushing aside the Stetson that had landed there earlier so she could lie down, though he didn’t join her. Instead, he dragged her panties over her slim hips and down her long limbs. Then he leisurely kissed his way up first one leg, then the other, stopping to explore every erogenous zone with his lips and tongue and the soft strum of his fingers.
Th
e seductive journey took him all the way up to her quivering thighs, where he nipped the sensitive flesh with his teeth, then soothed the bites with long, slow laps of his tongue. He moved on to her belly, swirled his tongue in her navel, then closed his mouth over her breast and suckled the tender flesh until her entire body throbbed for that mystical release…
“Austin, please,” she begged.
He lifted his head, a wholly sinful grin slashing across his features. “But I’m not done ravishing you, darlin’. Any cowboy worth his chaps isn’t gonna leave his lady so worked up.”
Just when she thought she couldn’t stand any more of the dizzying sensations, he slipped down on the bed, used his palms to nudge her thighs apart, and claimed her in the most intimate kind of caress of all. His fingers filled her, sliding deeply. The heat of his mouth engulfed her. And the silky, rhythmic glide of his tongue sent her soaring straight into the realms of bliss.
Her release was swift and powerful, her cries lusty and unabashed. Her fingers twisted in the covers in an attempt to keep her grounded, but she flew apart anyway, reveling in the luxurious climax that seemed to go on and on. And when she finally tumbled back to earth, panting for breath, her body limp, she opened her eyes to find Austin standing by the side of the bed, sheathing himself in a condom.
“Wow,” she whispered, awed by her body’s ability to melt and surrender at Austin’s whim—first in his car earlier, and now. “Twice in one night. Incredible.”
Finished with the necessary protection, he knelt between her spread knees, then moved over her, settling himself between her still-quivering thighs. Bracing his forearms on either side of her head so they were face-to-face, he allowed a devilish grin to claim his lips. “Darlin’, we’re going for a third.”
