Randy squinted as if trying to get Greg into focus. “Greg fucking Robertson as I live and breathe. I thought you’d gone and joined the Navy. Shouldn’t you be out on a boat or somethin’?”
Everything in him screamed to lay out Randy on the ground. To feel Randy’s nose bones crunching beneath his fist would be satisfying, but he valued his career too much to risk the weasel reporting him.
“Yeah I’m in the Navy and as you can see I’m not on a boat. If I see you laying a finger or getting anywhere near as close as you just were to Faith, then you’ll pay.”
“Oh, I’m so frightened,” Randy mocked, clearly feeling invincible with whatever concoction of drugs and beer he had running through his system.
Greg pulled him closer looking him dead in the eye. “You should be, fucker.” He released him with a shove and the other man stumbled until he fell on his ass. The other two guys with him scoffed out loud and Randy cursed them.
Greg held out his hand toward Faith. “Let’s go.”
She hesitated for half a second before placing her hand in his. Like all the other times they touched, a buzz of electricity fired his bloodstream. With the adrenaline still pumping through him, he set a fast pace through the crowd. People got out of his way, and it was only until Faith yanked hard on his arm that he slowed down.
“What?” he asked.
“What the hell has gotten into you? Do you think you can slow down?”
He ran a hand over his head, knocking his cowboy hat off in the process. It tumbled to the ground. Faith bent and picked it up, brushing it off and handing it back to him. “Sorry. That guy used to annoy the shit out of me when we competed against each other.”
“I guess he still does,” she commented wryly. “By the way, I had the situation under control. I can take care of myself, you know.”
Greg studied her for a moment. There was an edge to Faith that hadn’t been there when they were teenagers. He also hadn’t noticed it at the wedding. The top she was wearing was a pretty blue color, highlighting her eyes and her blonde hair. It fit snuggly and accentuated her lush breasts. The material of the sleeves outlined her upper arm muscles. “Yes, I believe you could.”
“Good, so next time you see me in a situation like that, let me handle it on my own. I was on my way to getting rid of Randy and letting him know not to mess with me.”
Next time?
Fuck, if he had any say in it, there wouldn’t be a next time with Randy cornering her. “Let’s hope there’s not a next time,” he muttered and took her hand again, this time walking at a more reasonable pace.
“Where are we going?” she asked after a few minutes.
He looked around and found they were among the carnival rides. The ferris wheel was not too far away. It had been years since he’d been on one and he couldn’t deny he wouldn’t mind being stuck at the very top with Faith. “Wanna ride the ferris wheel?”
She looked at him and then the lit wheel in the distance. “Umm, sure, I’ve got nothing better to do.”
Well now didn’t that make a guy feel wanted. But at least he had her agreement and well, anything could happen while riding the wheel. “Excellent. Let’s go.”
The line for the ride was short and they only had to wait a few minutes before they were sitting in one of the baskets. Once the side metal bar was lowered, the wheel began its slow ascent up into the sky.
Greg slung an arm around Faith’s shoulder and smiled when she leaned into his side. Her played with the ends of her ponytail, and inhaled her spicy scent, the same one that she had been wearing at the wedding. He hadn’t noticed it while they’d been around all the barbecue and other fairground smells, like popcorn and funnel cakes.
“It’s really beautiful up here,” she murmured as they almost reached the highest point of the ride. “The city is so big and look at all those cars.”
“I know, I may have been born and spent the first twelve years of my life in Houston, but even I’m shocked at the number of cars on the road.”
“I didn’t realize you’d been born in the city. You seemed so settled to country life when I met you.”
“Yeah, my parents had a business here, but when I hit twelve and they could see that rodeo was becoming more than just a fun thing to do for me, they sold it and bought the ranch. They did it so I’d have the room to practice my bronc riding, and as it turned out, my dad loved ranching so it was a win-win situation for all of us.”
“I remember when I went to a big city the first time for a rodeo I was competing with. I was I think seven or eight at the time. I was so scared. It seemed so noisy after the quiet of the where I lived. I was glad mom was with me. I slept with her the first night in the hotel, but after I’d competed on the first day, I was so afraid.”
While they’d been talking they’d completed one full circle and were heading back up. The wheel stopped and their carriage swung in the breeze. “It’s pretty quiet up here isn’t it?” she mused.
“It sure is.” Greg looked down and found Faith looking out over the lights of the grounds where the rodeo was being held. The flashing light from the rides below them provided a colorful kaleidoscope.
Faith looked up at him and smiled as they started moving again. Her smile hit him fair and square in the gut. “Thanks for suggesting the ride. It’s wonderful.”
They stopped again, this time at the pinnacle of the ride. They were suspended in the air all alone and Greg couldn’t stop himself from kissing her. He’d been craving tasting her again since Italy’s wedding. Their one and only kiss hadn’t been enough back when he was a teenager and one wouldn’t be enough now. Back then he’d been scared of what he was feeling. Now he wasn’t that teenage boy. He faced life and death situations on many occasions with his job. Kissing Faith would be frightening now, even with the strong desire building up in him.
He reached out and cupped her cheek. Her eyes locked on his again. Her tongue coming out to touch her lower lip as he was closing the gap between them.
Their lips touched and a sigh rippled through Faith. Had she been waiting for this kiss for as long as he had been? It seemed unlikely considering she’d all but run away him from that night in Virginia. And again here.
Her arms crept around his neck and he adjusted their position so they were facing each other more on the metal bench they sat on.
Greg registered the movement of the wheel as Faith’s mouth opened beneath his, allowing his tongue entrance. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and his dick hardened and lengthened in his jeans.
Could he convince her to spend the night with him? He had a room at a nearby hotel. His family wasn’t expecting him to connect with them again that evening.
He could finally know what making love to Faith was like. He’d had many fantasies about it, but hadn’t found the courage to follow through on them. And then the accident had happened and his life had taken the turn he was now on. A turn he loved.
“Umm, you two, your ride’s over.”
Greg broke the connection and looked around. The attendant was looking at him with an exasperated look on his face. So lost in the kiss with Faith he hadn’t been aware that they’d wheel had stopped and their ride was over. That type of inattention could get him killed if he was on a mission. Luckily for him it was just a ferris wheel ride and not a life and death situation.
“Thanks,” he mumbled to the guy as he grabbed Faith’s hand and together they exited the ride. He ignored the snickers of the young male teenagers waiting to get into the basket they’d been sitting in.
Once they were clear of the area, Greg led Faith to a large tree where he rested his back against the big trunk. Faith stood in front of him, he kept his hands on her waist. “You okay?” he asked.
In the dim lighting he still saw the roll of her eyes. “Yeah I’m fine. Not my finest moment, but the chances of me seeing those kids again is slim. I’m going to be competing in a couple of days, not riding the carnival attractions.”
“You’re c
ompeting?” Why that news should surprise him, he didn’t know... but it did.
“Why else do you think I’m here? To smell the roses? Look around you, there aren’t any roses here.”
He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay. Okay. I guess in the back of my mind I knew you were competing, just hearing you say it out loud surprised me, that’s all.”
“That’s so dumb, Greg.”
He laughed because she was totally right. He was acting dumb. But even though he may have been saying stupid things, his body was letting him know what it wanted. Greg reached out and pulled her against him again. She came willingly and wrapped her arms around his neck. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her scent deeply.
God, he couldn’t get enough of her. He brushed his lips across the pulse point in her neck, and he relished her shudder. Nice to know she wasn’t immune to his touch. “Come back to my hotel with me, Faith.”
The invitation was loud and clear and he hoped she would accept it. If she didn’t he wouldn’t force her. He wasn’t that kind of guy.
“Where are you staying?”
“The Holiday Inn just down the road from here.”
“That’s where I’m staying too.”
Fate was definitely telling him that this was meant to be, at least for tonight anyway. He was only here for ten days and once the rodeo was over, Faith would be moving onto the next big event.
But they could have a small interlude. A piece out of time. A time just for the both of them.
“Say yes,” he whispered and smoothed his hand down her cheek.
She held his hand against her cheek. “Yes.”
Chapter 4
Faith followed Greg down the hall. The short distance from the cook-off to the hotel had taken close to half an hour to drive, what with getting out of the parking lot and the traffic. For those thirty minutes she mentally went through the pros and cons of spending the night with Greg.
She could do one night. She wanted to do one night. Her teenage dreams had been full of Greg and her together. She had no idea how long he planned to be in Houston. It had been hard to walk away from him in Virginia. Now that they’d kissed it would be even harder to say goodbye and not know what it would be like to spend a night in his arms.
One night wouldn’t affect her assignment. She’d done her job earlier in the evening and questioned the girls while they’d been walking around the barbecue tents, asking if they’d heard about the horses that had been stolen from the California rider. The girls said they’d heard about it but had no idea why anyone would want to steal a rodeo horse.
Sadie had declared that she was a little frightened for her horse, and Tiffany had agreed. They’d both said they hoped security at this event was tight, which it usually was, so they weren’t worried that anything would happen to their horses while they were in Houston.
“Here we are,” Greg said.
A shot of nerves fired through her system and she closed her eyes, breathing deeply in an effort to calm herself.
A hand on the small of her back had her eyes flicking open, and she met Greg’s gorgeous hazel ones. “I can walk you to your room instead, Faith. I’m not a man who forces himself on a woman. I’ve seen that happen too many times on assignment. I would never take away your choice.”
As he spoke his eyes darkened and the faint lines around his mouth tightened when he spoke about all he’d seen. She’d never given any consideration to the atrocities he’d witnessed while he’d been serving his country. From what she knew about SEAL teams they went into places where it wasn’t all sweetness and light.
The fact he could sense her indecision and nerves made her like him even more. Why was she so afraid of being with him? She wanted to be close to Greg. She’d wanted it in Virginia but hadn’t had the courage to reach out and grab it.
Faith went up on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her body flush against him. “I want this.” She whispered against his lips.
He groaned against her mouth and kissed her hard, leaving her with no doubt that he was glad she’d said yes. She was glad she’d said yes.
Greg broke the kiss and reached into his back pocket to extract his keycard. Within seconds they were inside and back in each other’s arms before the door had even closed. Hands grabbed at clothing and Faith was never happier for western-style shirts. She clutched his shirt tails and pulled. The pressed studs all popped open and in a flash Greg’s impressive chest was on display.
Her fingers traced the ridges of flesh. When her hand ran over his nipples his breath hitched. So she did it again.
Greg’s lips trailed a line along her jaw and down her neck. Like his shirt, her fastenings were the same, but instead of ripping it open, he tortured her by popping one pressed stud at a time. By the time the last one was undone, her breathing was ragged. He’d kissed his way down until he was on his knees in front of her, his face buried in her belly.
Heat burst through her, and her panties dampened when he removed her belt and undid her jeans, the zipper sounding loud in the room. He pushed them down, along with her lace panties, removed them along with her boots and socks.
She stood before him in only her open shirt and lacy bra.
“Oh my God, Faith, you’re beautiful.” He leaned forward and kissed her inner thigh. Her knees buckled and he wrapped a strong arm around her waist, anchoring him against her. His lips kissed her above the strip of hair she had covering her core.
Faith wanted his tongue on her. In her. She couldn’t wait any longer. “Take me, Cowboy, I’m yours.”
Whether it was the use of his nickname or saying she was his, she didn’t know, but at the first swipe of his tongue through her silken folds she was lost. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and let her head fall back as his tongue worked magic on her.
He licked, sucked and nibbled and with every touch a delicious tension built inside of her, spreading out, waiting until the moment it could be set free. He brought her to the edge and instead of letting her fall, he pulled her back, only to repeat it again. Her body cried out for release. His teeth nipped her inner thigh before he inserted two fingers in her and began a slow pumping action. The combination of his fingers and tongue sent her over the edge and she shattered against his mouth, calling out his name in a hoarse cry.
Greg peppered kisses down her thigh with every aftershock that wracked her body. “You taste amazing,” he whispered against her belly as he kissed his way back up.
She shrugged out of her shirt and with shaky fingers, managed to undo her bra and remove it. His lips closed over one nipple and her legs gave way, weak from her amazing orgasm and the sensations of having his mouth tugging her nipple gently.
He scooped her up in his arms, pulled back the covers and laid her on the bed. Faith lay back and watched as he removed his clothes, her mouth watering at the sight of his large cock springing against his belly when he removed his boxers.
She couldn’t wait to feel him side her. Filling her until it was only her and him.
“You said I’m beautiful, but you’re a beautiful specimen of a man, Greg Robertson.” She opened her arms. “Now come here and take me again.”
Never before had she been this brazen with someone in bed. Over the years she’d had a couple of serious relationships, but she’d never had the same sense of freedom she was now experiencing with Greg.
Deciding to embrace this brazenness within her, she crawled over to where Greg was standing by the bed, condom packet in his hand. His movements halted momentarily when he saw her approaching him. A smile was stretching his lips. “Hey there, Princess,” he murmured and then groaned when her hand closed around his hard length.
The flesh was warm and silky beneath her fingers. She stroked him from root to tip a couple of times, his moans getting a little louder. How loud would they get if she took him in her mouth? Only one way to find out.
She closed her lips over the tip of his cock and sucked, as her fingers squeez
ed his balls at the same time.
“Fuck, Faith, that’s fucking amazing.”
So he talked dirty in the bedroom? Who would’ve thought. She certainly wouldn’t have considering he’d always been so polite around her.
Faith continued her ministrations to his hardened flesh. His groans became guttural and his mouth filthier. Wetness pooled between her legs. She’d never knowing how erotic it could be to give a blow job while her partner encouraged her and told her exactly what he was feeling.
She was just getting into a good rhythm when Greg’s hand slipped beneath her arms and hauled her up.
“God, Princess, your mouth is fucking amazing, but I want to come inside you first. Later you can make me come with your mouth.”
“There’s going to be more?”
Greg rolled on his condom and winked. “We’re just starting.”
“Then show me what you’ve got, Cowboy.”
Greg growled as he lowered himself over her, the tip of his cock nudging her entrance. He reached between them and slid his fingers in her. He needn’t have bothered. She was primed and ready to take all of him inside of her.
Faith grabbed his taut butt and dug her fingers in while lifting her hips. He slipped in a fraction. It wasn’t enough. She wanted more.
Maybe he’d like it if she talked dirty to him. She’d never done it before but this was going to be one night. Why not throw out her inhibitions and give it everything she had? “Fuck me, Cowboy. Fuck me.”
He plunged inside her and a moan ripped from her. He pulled out, only to thrust in again. He repeated the action over and over and each time her hips rose to meet him. Their loud groans echoed around the room and she didn’t care if anyone heard them. All that mattered to her was the man moving above her and the way he was making her feel, as if she was the most beautiful woman on the planet and the only one who could bring him the ultimate pleasure.
Guarding Faith Page 4