by Connie Mason
Ryan had no idea his words would make up Kitty’s mind as nothing else could. “I don’t give a damn what Bert thinks,” she spat. “I’ll never acknowledge him as my father. I’ve always done exactly as I pleased. I…” She gulped nervously. “I want you to make love to me.”
“To spite Bert?” Ryan asked. She wanted him for all the wrong reasons, he thought, disgruntled. He should have followed his first instinct and found his pleasure elsewhere. He could go back to The Bird Cage and try out Bev, Lee, Angie or Pat. But with Kitty lying naked beneath him, his judgment was flawed.
“To please myself,” Kitty said defiantly. “I’m nearly twenty years old. I’ve seen more of men’s bodies than an unmarried girl had aught to, but I have never been curious about lovemaking until you came along. I simply accepted it as something all men did to satisfy their lust. I’ve seen that… piece of flesh men have between their legs and wanted nothing to do with it. But you make loving seem like something I should want, perhaps even enjoy. Will I enjoy it, Ryan?”
“I can make it enjoyable for you,” Ryan promised. “But only if you truly want it. Will you trust me, Kitten?”
Kitty stared at him. Trust Ryan? Never. Want him? Definitely. “Make love to me, Ryan. Show me the difference between making love and rutting.”
Chapter 6
He stood beside the bed and removed his clothing. His boots hit the floor with a thud. She wanted to look away but couldn’t. It was true she’d seen men’s bodies before, but none as magnificent as Ryan’s. So long, so lean and powerful. His chest was corded with rippling muscles, and lightly furred, the dark hair narrowing down his taut stomach in a vee to his groin. Her gaze did not stop there but continued downward. Standing proudly erect in the thick black bush between his legs, his sex seemed to grow even larger beneath her intense perusal.
“I hope you like what you see.”
She felt heat staining her cheeks and raised her eyes to his face. “You’re… I mean, I didn’t know men grew so big when aroused.”
His green eyes glittered with what Kitty interpreted as anticipation as he stretched out beside her. “I suspect there are a lot of things you don’t know. I intend to end your curiosity very soon. Give me your mouth, love.”
She closed her eyes and raised her lips for his kiss. She felt the extraordinary heat emanating from him as he pressed hot kisses on her mouth, felt the rough texture of his tongue as he licked the seam of her lips, coaxing them to open for him. He cupped her face, fitting their lips together perfectly. She sighed as the hot thrust of his tongue sent excitement spilling through her.
She was on fire. She gasped her delight when his mouth slid down her throat to her breasts, thoroughly exploring the tender mounds and their rosy crests with sweeping strokes of his tongue. Then he added a new dimension to their loving when his hand sought the slick inner folds between her legs. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he located a place so profoundly sensitive that his slightest touch brought a jolt of intense pleasure. But he did more than touch her there.
With thumb and forefinger he slowly rubbed the hardening bud, until her loins began to move and arch into his caress. She didn’t know exactly what she wanted, she only knew she had to have it or die from its lack.
“Ryan. I feel… I want… Oh God, what are you doing to me?”
“Don’t fight it, love,” Ryan whispered against her lips. “You’re almost there. Go with the feeling.”
Fierce desire throbbed through her. Though his words made little sense, she wanted to obey. She felt her flesh swell, felt moisture weeping onto his fingers. She knew she should be embarrassed, but there were too many other sensations to savor. Her body felt light and bouyant; her heart pounded and blood sang through her veins.
“Come to me now, Kitten, I know you’re ready,” Ryan urged raggedly. His voice sounded strained, as if he were fighting a losing battle.
“I… don’t know … what…”
“Perhaps this will help.”
He returned his attention to her nipples, licking them into tautly pebbled peaks as his hand continued to tease her from below. Warmth radiated from her breasts to her stomach to her loins, spinning her into a vortex of whirling pleasure. Indescribable sensations overwhelmed her, dampness gathered in her core as something shattered inside her. She screamed out her pleasure and went limp.
She was still trembling from the force of her climax when Ryan eased himself up and over her. She felt his hot, hard flesh probing her softness, and she caught her breath. Before she had time to absorb those new feelings she felt his fingers opening her, stretching her, preparing her for his entry.
“You’re tight, love. I’ll try to do this as painlessly as possible.”
Kitty was beyond rational thought; her body was still quivering with the force and wonder of her very first climax. She stiffened when he nudged her legs apart with his knees and felt his erection probe her.
“Don’t freeze,” he advised. “Try to relax. I’m told the pain doesn’t last very long. I promise you the pleasure will be well worth it.”
“Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?” Kitty said in a strained voice. “Are all men as conceited as you?”
“Not all men are as good as I am,” he replied with blunt arrogance. “Kiss me, Kitten.”
She found his mouth hovering over hers and met his lips with a ragged sigh. While she was pleasantly absorbed in his kiss, he eased his hardness inside her and began a slow slide forward, hissing out his delight. Kitty arched her back, a soft moan escaping her. Her heart began to pound erratically as pleasure suddenly gave way to pain. He pressed inexorably deeper, and the pain intensified.
She cried out a protest, trying to shove him away. “Stop! It hurts.”
“Easy, love, it will be over soon.” He spread her legs even wider, then he flexed his hips and tore through her maidenhead.
She blinked up at him, her face pale, her mouth open in a silent scream. She felt as if she’d been ripped apart. White-hot pain shot through her body, and she couldn’t stop the tears that sprang into her eyes.
“Are you all right?” Ryan asked anxiously.
“I didn’t know it would hurt so much,” she said, swallowing a sob.
“I won’t move until you tell me to. Pray God it’s not too long else I’ll die before this is finished.”
His strained voice told Kitty exactly how much the effort to control himself was costing him. She wanted to tell him that she appreciated his effort, but the strangeness and novelty of having him inside her body robbed her of coherent speech. He filled her so completely she thought she would surely burst. But to his credit he held himself still, allowing time for her to recover.
She felt him trembling, heard him groan, and looked up at him, shocked by what she saw. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead, corded tendons strained against his neck, and his lips were flattened into a grimace. His expression was one of studied concentration and Kitty wondered how something that was supposed to bring pleasure could be so painful, not just to her but apparently to Ryan.
“Can I move now?” Ryan asked from between clenched teeth. Without waiting for an answer, he pressed in and then out. Kitty caught her breath as pleasurable sensations brought her body to new awareness.
She moved her hips experimentally. Tentatively she met his thrust and returned it. “It doesn’t hurt so much now,” Kitty said shyly. “I think I’d like you to move.”
“Thank God,” she heard him say.
He began to move his hips, thrusting slowly and steadily until she began to relax, then he picked up the pace, setting a rhythm that sent heat shimmering through her. The pain had receded, replaced by delicious sensations that quickly turned into blinding pleasure. She was aware of nothing now but his pounding loins, his penetrating strokes, and the nearly unbearable excitement building inside her.
Her hands came up to his brawny shoulders, her fingers curled into his flesh as he quickened his thrusts, driving into her harder, faster, de
eper. Kitty had heard coarse remarks about sex from the Bartons, but she had never realized a woman could attain the same pleasure granted to men. Ryan was proving how wrong she had been. If this didn’t end soon Kitty feared she would die from the pleasure.
Moved by instinct, her legs went around his hips, and she could feel the tension in his body increase. Still he drove on, until she felt the hard knot inside her begin to uncoil and expand. Then suddenly it burst. She cried out his name as she scaled the peak and soared.
Ryan continued pumping, his breath hissing from his throat in ragged bursts as he grasped the cheeks of her buttocks and lifted her higher for his deeper penetration. After several more thrusts his body went rigid, and she felt him shudder with pleasure. He dropped his head on her breasts and groaned, then he collapsed against her.
The sound of their heavy breathing was the only sound in the room. They lay motionless for several minutes, arms and legs entwined, their bodies silvered with sweat, hearts pumping furiously.
Ryan was the first to move. He placed a kiss upon her sweet lips and drank in her sigh of pleasure before shifting his weight off of her.
His expression was anxious as he searched her face. Had Ryan been asked to explain how it felt to be inside Kitty, he couldn’t have done so. He’d had more women than he could count, but none could compare with the little wildcat curled next to him in bed. She’d fit him like a tight glove. When he broke through her barrier he would have been hard pressed to explain how he felt. Empowered, perhaps. Strong and virile, certainly. One thing was clear. He’d never felt like that before.
“Did I hurt you badly?”
“It hurt more than I thought it would,” Kitty complained.
“But you did enjoy it,” he said with sure knowledge. “A man can tell when he pleases a woman.”
She flushed and looked away. “I didn’t know … I never thought… after the pain went away I felt… incredible pleasure. Is it possible to feel those same sensations more than once?”
He gave her a roguish grin. “Not only possible but extremely desirable.”
“Will I feel that way with another man?”
The smile slid from his face. The vision of Kitty making love with another man made him decidedly uncomfortable. “I can’t answer that. Not all men are considerate of a woman’s feelings. I happen to enjoy giving my partner pleasure before taking my own.”
Kitty looked thoughtful, as if mulling over his answer. “I did enjoy making love with you, Ryan, but if you thought it would change my mind about going to Tucson, you’re wrong. I still ain’t going with you.”
Ryan felt a knot of anger building inside him. Making love was serious business. He’d never use it as leverage, or to hurt anyone. “I made love to you because I wanted you. It had nothing to do with Bert Lowry or Tucson. You wanted it as much as I did.”
He heard her sigh and knew she had no rebuttal for his logic.
“As for Tucson, you’re going and that’s final.”
“It’s my life, Ryan, why can’t you let me live it like I want to? I was doing fine before I met you.”
“Oh, yeah, fine,” Ryan mocked. “Look, I’ll make a deal with you. Agree to accompany me to Tucson to meet Bert and I promise you can leave whenever you please. The next day, if you wish.”
“You mean it?”
“Of course. I don’t lie.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Kitty…”
“No! Dammit, Ryan! Don’t you see? They ain’t gonna like me. I ain’t a lady. I don’t act or think like one. Listen to the way I talk. My speech is rough, my English terrible. I don’t always remember to watch my words. I can cuss like a trooper, shoot like a man, and ride like an Indian. I won’t fit in. Bert Lowry is gonna expect me to be something I’m not. I can’t change overnight. What if I slip and use language no lady would use?”
“I’ll explain to Bert. He’ll understand.”
“What about his stepdaughter? She’s probably a gently bred young woman far superior to someone like me.”
“Teresa is …”
How could he explain Teresa? She was a beautiful, spoiled young woman who worked her wiles on any male unlucky enough to come into contact with her. She was a hot little piece, in many ways more experienced than Kitty, who had lived with rough outlaws during the formative years of her life. He had initiated a mild flirtation with Teresa during his stay at the Lowry ranch and was relieved when the time came for him to leave. Teresa had become too aggressive in her pursuit of him for his comfort.
It wasn’t as if he intended to marry the girl. His flirtation had been no more or less than Rogue Ryan would have engaged in with any other beautiful woman who captured his fancy. Ryan’s flirtations were usually intense but brief affairs. His flirtation with Teresa had been different in that he’d been smart enough to avoid a sexual relationship. He had a distinct feeling that had he bedded Teresa he would have found himself hogtied and standing before a preacher before he knew what had hit him.
“Teresa is… well, I don’t think her opinion will influence Bert. He’s anxious to meet you. You are his daughter, after all.”
“Give me a few days to make up my mind,” Kitty said.
Ryan had the uncanny impression that it was going to take more than a few days of consideration for Kitty to agree to go to Tucson. And time was something they didn’t have. Kitty was going to go whether she wanted to or not. But he had to be very careful about how he went about it. His first step toward his goal was to appear to give her the time she requested. It would take a few days to prepare for their trip to Tucson anyway.
“Very well, a few days, no longer,” Ryan said. Reluctantly he climbed out of bed. “Get some sleep.”
“Where are you going? It’s nearly dawn.”
The corners of his full lips curved into a roguish smile. “Are you asking me to stay?”
He sensed the war being waged inside her but didn’t press her. It had to be her choice.
The ponderous burden of indecision weighed heavily upon Kitty. She knew the difference between right and wrong and knew what she and Ryan had done together was frowned upon by society. Unless one was a whore, of course. Kitty didn’t think letting Ryan love her made her a bad person. She didn’t feel like a whore. The thought of another man doing to her what Ryan had done made her physically ill. On the other hand, she knew better than to expect Ryan to marry her; he’d already stated his opinion on that subject. Besides, she wasn’t lady enough for a man like Ryan.
Somehow, making love with Ryan had seemed right. When she was with him nothing existed but the moment. No past, no future, no consequences. Only the man and the insatiable hunger fed by his hands and mouth upon her flesh. She’d already allowed him liberties that went far beyond anything she’d ever imagined and had decided that this night would be the only one she’d ever spend in Ryan’s arms.
She was becoming far too fond of the handsome rancher for her own peace of mind. She knew that when he walked out of her life he’d never look back, but could she say the same? The answer was painfully obvious. Ryan would always be someone special in her life. Someone she could easily love were he the kind of man who appreciated or wanted a woman’s love, but she wasn’t the kind of woman with whom Ryan would associate socially.
“I reckon your silence means you want me to leave,” Ryan said when she remained thoughtful.
“Stay,” Kitty whispered, knowing she’d regret it later but unable to deny the need to be with him one last time. “I… I don’t want you to leave.” If tonight is the only time I can allow this to happen I don’t want to waste a moment of it, she thought. Ryan was conceited enough—she didn’t need to add to his arrogance by letting him know how deeply he affected her, how very much she wanted him.
She heard Ryan groan and felt her body grow taut in anticipation as his green eyes slid over her with undisguised heat. “I don’t know if I could have left even if you had ordered me away,” Ryan whispered as he slid into bed besid
e her and cuddled her against him. “I thought that having you once would be enough, but it wasn’t. I still want you, love. But if you’re too sore to make love again, I’ll understand.”
His kiss was more gentle than she’d expected or wanted. Just a tasting of lips, the slow slide of his tongue into her mouth. If she was too sore, his kisses sent the thought fleeing. She wanted him. Oh, God, yes. The fires of hell licked at her, and she knew without a doubt that her fate had been sealed. Her hell on earth would be to live the rest of her life without Ryan.
“I’m not too sore,” she said when he broke off the kiss. “Show me again what it means to be a woman. I never knew it could be like this.”
He loved her again, taking his time to arouse her, his mouth and hands moving with tenderness and expertise over her flushed skin, until Kitty pleaded with him to take her. She was more than ready when he raised her over him and slowly slid her onto his erection. He began to move. She felt his body tense, and her own responded in rhythm to his, until the world exploded around her and she fell exhausted upon his chest.
Kitty awakened to brilliant sunlight streaming through the bedroom window. From the position of the sun in the sky, she assumed it was well past noon. She shifted and felt a strange soreness between her legs. A groan slipped past her lips when she recalled everything she and Ryan had done last night. It had been the most glorious experience of her life, and one she knew she’d come to regret in time.
Raising herself up on one elbow, Kitty realized she was alone. Apparently Ryan had left as mysteriously as he had appeared. She knew he wouldn’t quietly leave Tombstone without completing his mission, so she reckoned she’d see him again. But not in her bed. That episode was over and done with. Ryan Delaney wasn’t the kind of man to settle down with one woman. He needed variety, and she wasn’t the kind of woman to let a man take without giving something of himself in return.
Later that night Ryan walked through the swinging doors of the Lucky Wheel saloon, his gaze scanning the crowded public room for Kitty. He didn’t see her immediately and found an unoccupied table amidst the chaos. He motioned for a waitress, ordered a plate of chicken and dumplings with biscuits, and surveyed the evening crowd.