by Desiree Holt
“Then it should be easy,” Max told him. “I have faith, my man. Just ask Josie to help.”
Arnie laughed. “My wife will do it if only to get a peek at a woman who has you obviously outside your comfort zone.”
“Whatever. As long as you get it done. Okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
“Did you call your office?” he asked when they were back in his car.
“Yes. When I went to the ladies room.” She gave an unsteady little laugh. “They think I’m crazy. I never take off in the middle of the day.”
“Then maybe it’s time you did. If none of those idiots you hung out with talked you into it, then they really are assholes.”
“They have obligations,” she protested. “The same as I do.”
“Your obligation today is to yourself.”
He reached for one of her hands and folded his around it. The campaign had changed in tenor, becoming more about winning her for himself than making others jealous. Yes, he wanted her to feel special. Because she was special. To him. And he was finally having to admit what he’d kept hidden all this time. That he wanted something strong with her. Something in the forever category.
He definitely had his work cut out for him.
“Where are we going?” She stared out the windshield as he turned off the highway onto a country road.
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”
Surprisingly, she didn’t pull her hand away from his. Instead, she let him continue holding it all the way down the road. It felt so good against his skin. It would feel even better wrapped around his cock. Maybe stroking up and down.
He swallowed a groan. The imagery wasn’t doing much for his self-control. Neither was his desire to strip her clothes off and lick every inch of her delicious-looking body. He could imagine her sweet ass beneath that flirty red skirt, his hands itching to cup its roundness. And the jacket barely counteracted the swelling of her breasts peeking over the top of the cami.
Jesus! I’m driving myself nuts.
He shifted in his seat, trying to ease the pressure in his groin.
“Are you okay?” Her voice was edged with concern. “Why are you twitching around like that?”
“What? I’m not. I mean, I’m fine.” He slid a glance in her direction and caught her frowning at him. “No scowling. Only fun today.”
He made a turn into a long driveway, and Stacy leaned forward in her seat.
“A ranch?” She almost squeaked. “You took me to a ranch?”
He laughed. “With horses and everything.”
“Max, I’m hardly dressed for the country,” she protested.
“You’ll be fine. They won’t expect you to muck out the stalls or stuff like that. I promise.”
She looked at him as if he was speaking a strange language. Nevertheless, she let him help her from the car and lead her toward the barn.
“I don’t think these shoes are made for walking on gravel.” She wobbled on her high heels.
“No problem. I can fix that.”
Without giving her a chance to protest, he swept her up into his arms. The feel of her soft body against his was nearly his undoing. Her breasts were warm and full, even through her jacket, and her ass fit so nicely in his hand.
“Max?” she prompted.
He realized he had stopped and just stood there, holding her. Shifting her slightly, he carried her through the open doorway of the barn. Arnie was giving a final check to the bridle of the horse hitched to the old-fashioned cab. Beside him, his wife, Josie, grinned from ear to ear.
“Usually it’s the women trying to seduce you, Max,” she chuckled.
Stacy tensed in his arms. “You can put me down,” she said, pushing against his chest.
“Who said anything about seducing?” He stole a quick kiss then set her on her feet before she could object.
“What are we doing here, anyway?”
“Stacy Halligan, meet Arnie and Josie Durand.”
“Nice to meet you.” Stacy shook hands with them. He could hear the confusion in her voice. “Wait. Arnie Durand. Didn’t you use to play—?”
“With the Warriors.” He nodded. “That’s where the stud here and I got to be friends.”
“The stud?” She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Have you been keeping interesting details from me all this time?
Max could feel the red creeping up his face. “Pay no attention to him. Please. Cut it out, Arnie, okay?”
Around any other female, he would have reveled in the nickname, but not with Stacy. He had avoided discussing his sexual exploits with her, not always proud of the way he behaved. Now, it was even more important for her to get the right impression of him.
“Can I tell her you helped me get the ranch going after I blew out my knee and couldn’t play anymore?” Arnie asked.
This time when Stacy faced him, admiration shone in her eyes. Damn. Better, only he didn’t want hero worship, either. He wanted her to…to want him. As a man.
“He’s kind of kept an eye on us,” Josie added. “Even passed the word with all the stud muffins about our Valentine’s Day deal. The publicity helps promote the ranch.”
“What kind of deal?” Stacy wanted to know.
Max would have given her the abbreviated version, anxious to get going, but there was no stopping Josie.
“We mostly breed and train cutting horses,” the woman said. “Then we got involved with a rescue group. That led to buying these old-fashioned buggies and—”
“They do special rides for Valentine’s Day,” Max cut in. “And if they’ll shut up, I can show you what they’re talking about. Open that door, Arnie.”
Arnie opened the door to the cab and offered Stacy his hand. She hesitated a moment before stepping up to the running board.
“Just go with the flow, okay?” Max said. “I promise you’ll have a good time.” He followed her inside and sat next to her, his arm pulling her against him.
She inhaled the tantalizing aroma of his aftershave mixed with his clean male scent and every erogenous zone pounded with desire.
“I think she’s a keeper, stud.” Josie chuckled before the woman closed the door.
“We’re good to go,” he called to Arnie. Then he reached down and pressed a button beneath the seat.
Music began to play softly around them, mingling with the clopping of the horse’s hooves on the barn floor and the buggy began to move forward.
Well, he promised me an adventure, and I guess I’m getting one.
She hoped it involved more of those drugging kisses.
Chapter Three
Short Pass Play
Stacy was both bewildered and enchanted. She could have objected at any time. If she had told Max she didn’t want to go along with whatever he had planned, she knew he’d have taken her home again. She was curious, though, about what came next, as well as about his motive. Maybe she should take Max’s advice and shake up her life a little. Setting off on a Valentine’s adventure with him offered an enticing way to do it. Besides, the ride was one of the most romantic things anyone had ever done for her. And what could she lose except an afternoon at work?
What had prompted this change in plans? Why was he doing it? An unexpected thread of sexual excitement wiggled its way through her body.
Ohmigod!
Sex and Max? Was that even possible?
Still, as the enclosed buggy jostled along over the terrain, music drifting through the space, the memory of their kisses kept replaying in her mind. God, the man could certainly kiss. And that tongue. How would it feel on other parts of her body? Immediately, the pulse in her cunt throbbed with the intensity of a jungle drum and her nipples tightened.
Wait a minute!
Again, her brain hit the pause button.
This is Max! I don’t have sexual thoughts about my best friend. What’s wrong with me?
What was wrong with her was that, for the first time in three years, she saw Max as a hot man and wanted to
spend hours fucking him every way possible. Ohmigod! Exactly when had that thought popped into her mind?
It was the damn kisses, she kept reminding herself. Apparently, they turned her brain into a sponge and her body into a furnace of sexual desire. Because ever since that first unexpected kiss, her body had been on full throttle, and the desire to get naked with Max and do whatever she could think of was becoming an obsession.
February in the Texas Hill Country could sometimes be very cold. Today, however, a rare warm spell made it more like fall. Through the cab window, she saw the acres of rolling green dotted with copses of trees and native shrubbery growing in wild profusion, all bathed in golden sunlight. Close to the barn, horses romped in the pasture. Now they were well past that, and the landscape was suddenly dotted with a variety of wildlife—white tail deer, squirrels, and a variety of birds.
Then Max distracted her, playing with her hair and stroking the nape of her neck, skimming the line of her jaw. When he leaned closer and tickled her ear with his tongue, desire raced through her.
Kisses. I want more of those kisses.
As if he’d heard her thoughts, Max turned her face and placed his mouth softly on hers, the touch as feathery as an angel’s wing, a feather brushing across the surface of her lips. He traced the seam with the tip of his tongue, coaxing her to open for him. When she did, he thrust his tongue inside, and the kiss turned hungry and fierce.
So lost in the power of the moment, she barely noticed when he unbuttoned her jacket and slid one hand up her rib cage to cup a breast. But when a thumb rasped back and forth over the nipple, the walls of her pussy began to spasm and heat suffused her body. A tiny portion of her brain insisted she should back off, move his hand away. Only it felt so damn good, and the kissing was even better than she remembered.
“Moving too fast for you?” he asked in a rough voice.
“No.” She could barely get the word out. She wanted to say if he stopped or slowed down, she’d kill him.
Max gently squeezed her breasts, and his groan vibrated through her. She danced her tongue over his, loving the taste of him. Loving his hand on her.
Just do it. Go with it.
So, she gave herself over to the feelings racing through her.
When his hand left her breast and coasted down over her hip and thigh to slide beneath her skirt, she widened her legs to give him better access. For the first time, she regretted wearing pantyhose to work, but the touch of his fingers pressing the fabric into the lips of her cunt was even more erotic than if he stroked bare skin.
They were both gasping for breath when he broke the kiss and cruised his mouth over her cheek and down to her jaw where he traced a line with his tongue.
“God, you taste delicious.” His voice was deep and husky. “I’ll bet your pussy tastes even better.”
Oh, God!
Heat speared her, and a new flood of liquid soaked her crotch.
“Jesus!” he murmured.
Then he slipped his hand free and brought it to his nose, inhaling her essence before licking his fingers. Totally turned on by the sight, barely realizing what she was doing, she eased her hand over his thigh to find the bulge at his groin. Oh, yeah. The hard thickness of his penis pushed against the fabric and into her palm.
His hand was back beneath her skirt, rubbing her mound, when the buggy unexpectedly came to a stop and the music ceased.
Arnie’s voice intruded into the intimacy of the cab. “We’re here, guys.”
“To be continued,” Max whispered then stepped out onto the ground.
He held out his hand to her, but before she could climb down, he swept her up in his arms and pulled her tight to his body.
“Max!” she laughed. “I can walk.”
“Yeah? How romantic would that be?” he teased.
Sure Arnie had some idea of what they’d been doing, she pressed her face to Max’s shoulder to hide her blush.
“It’s all good,” he whispered.
“Where are we?” Her eyes widened as he carried her toward a rustic log cabin sitting beneath two giant oak trees.
“Line shack,” he told her. “At least it was ages ago. When this place was a cattle ranch with a lot more acreage, it offered a stopping place for cowboys riding fence line or out in storms tending to the cattle.”
“What is it now?”
He set her on her feet on the porch and swung the door open. “Take a look. What do you think?”
She was speechless. A king bed with a red satin comforter and piles of pillows sat against a wall of the one-room cabin. Red and white flowers in large clusters filled two vases, and candles decked nearly every surface.
“My God!” She could only stare, trying to take everything in. “Who did all this?”
“Arnie and Josie set it up three years ago. They rent it out for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, events like that. Starting next Monday, they’ll do one run every afternoon and one every evening. Arnie was kind enough to pull it all together right away for me.”
“Does anyone get to stay overnight?”
He winked at her. “That comes later.”
“It’s so…so…so….“
“Romantic?” he finished, teasing.
“And then some.”
“Don’t move,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
She was still trying to process everything when he returned to place a large wicker basket on the small dining table. When he lifted the lid, she saw that it held two bottles of wine, glasses, and a square box of chocolates.
“They didn’t miss a trick,” she commented, still trying to catch her breath.
“I promised you wine and chocolates, right?” He moved away from the table and came to stand in front of her. His lean fingers sifted through her hair and those midnight blue eyes blazed into hers.
“You always keep your promises?” she whispered.
“You bet. This is going to be a Valentine’s holiday you’ll never forget,” he told her in a gruff voice. “And it’s only the beginning.”
“Wait,” she said. “What…? Are you…?“
“You talk too much.” He brushed his mouth over hers. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this opportunity. I don’t even know where to start, but the wine and candy are rewards for being a bad girl.”
“B–bad girl?” Her eyes widened.
“Uh huh.” Tossing his jacket to the side, he eased hers from her shoulders and slid it down her arms. “Very, very bad.”
When he tilted her chin up with two fingers, she expected another of those combustible kisses. Instead, he trailed his lips down her neck to the hollow at the base of her throat, pressing his tongue at her pulse frantically beating there. He cupped her breasts in his palms as his tasted the upper swell of her breasts. She shook as he teased her with wet kisses and his fingers before, with a quick movement, he pulled the cami over her head.
“Gorgeous,” he murmured as he sucked her nipples hard, one at a time, through the filmy fabric of her bra. Then he bit each one, lightly.
Her legs were so weak she didn’t know how much longer she could stand. As if sensing it, Max walked her backwards to the bed and eased her down on it, all the while laving circles on her bare neck and shoulders.
“Don’t move,” he told her, kneeling in front of her.
He slipped each shoe off, set them aside then, lifting each foot, placed a kiss on the arch. A shiver raced over her skin. He took a moment to open the front clasp of her bra, easing it down her arms and shifting so he could tug it away. Then, sliding his hands beneath her skirt, he reached up for the waist of her pantyhose and very slowly rolled them down, over hips and thighs and ankles, until he could discard the garment.
“If I’d known what would happen, I wouldn’t have worn them,” she told him in a wobbly voice.
“That would have been a shame, because then I wouldn’t have the pleasure of removing them. Right?” His tone was playful but his expression far from teasing.
Then he traced a line with his mouth from the other ankle all the way to her pussy. Along the way, he stopped to lick the inside of her thigh, the crease where hip and thigh were joined, the tender skin above her pubic curls. Every touch, every lick, fired nerves she didn’t even know she had, and she couldn’t hold back the moans. God, the man had an educated mouth. By the time he settled at her cunt, she shook with need.
Opening the lips of her pussy with his strong lean fingers, he licked very lightly at her clit, sending tremors slithering through her. Then he did it again, and followed it with a long slow lap the length of her slit. As if he’d been making love to her forever, he seemed to know every place to touch and exactly how to touch it. So aroused, she feared she’d explode on the spot. Tightening her hands into fists, she slid a glance down to where he knelt between her thighs.
“Y-you still have all your clothes on,” she pointed out, her voice far from steady.
“If I get undressed, I’ll embarrass myself,” he rumbled.
“E-embarrass?”
“Uh huh. I’m so ready to come right this second, I feel like a horny teenager.”
“Oh.”
Oh, my God!
“I have wanted to do this with you for so long,” he murmured against her.
The sound of his words vibrated through her. “You have?”
“Uh huh. But I was scared to death I’d ruin a perfectly great friendship.”
“And now you—”
“Want it all. I was so glad you jumped on my suggestion. For the Valentine’s campaign,” he added.
“Um, me, too.” Stunned at what was happening.
“Besides.” He winked. “I’m having a really good time here.”
He turned his attention back to licking every inch of her wet flesh then, without warning, thrusting his tongue inside her. The walls of her cunt convulsed, gripping him, her hips thrusting forward. Max propped her legs wide with his shoulders and held her pussy open while he ate at her, again and again. She writhed in pleasure, an orgasm building inside her, unwinding like coiled steel.