by Ali Parker
Not showing any signs of urgency, Ted trailed his mouth down the center of my chest until he reached the deep scoop of my neckline. He ran his tongue along it, tracing the curve of the fabric against my body so that he licked the swell of one breast and then the other. When he was finally finished with this blissful torment, he ran his fingers from my ankles up my legs to my hips. He let them trace their way back down again, stopping at my feet to carefully remove my shoes and toss them aside.
"Stand up," he whispered.
I didn't want to relinquish my incredibly pleasant seat nestled on his lap, but I complied, willing to see where else his insistent control would take me. Ted stood up from the bale of hay and gently eased me backward with a hand on the front of my hips. He lowered himself to his knees so that his face was even with my breasts and spent another few moments kissing them. His hands moved to the buttons along the back of my dress. They were my favorite detail of the outfit, and I loved them even more as his fingers worked their way down them, releasing them gradually as he continued to nuzzle my breasts and stomach with his face.
He finished unbuttoning the dress and eased the sides off of my arms. I let him guide it down until it pooled at my feet so that I could step out of it. He tossed it aside to join my shoes. Our breath was suddenly the only thing audible as he leaned back to admire me in nothing but lavender lace panties and a matching bra.
"Are you surprised?" I asked breathlessly.
He nodded and ran his hand along the curve of one cup.
"Very pleasantly," he said, reaching around to release the hooks at the back of my bra.
The lace fell away, and the air caressed my bare breasts. Ted opened his mouth and covered one of them. His tongue encircled the taut pink nipple and drew it into his mouth so he could suckle me, bringing his hands to my waist to keep me in place. My breath caught in my throat, and I let my head fall back as I closed my eyes to enjoy more of the sensation. Ted mirrored his attention of that nipple on my other breast, and then let his mouth wander further until it touched the front of my panties. I could feel the warmth of his breath through the lace, and a strangled gasp built up in my throat. His teeth grasped the elastic of the waistband and started to pull my panties down. I parted my thighs to allow him to remove the scrap of damp lace. Suddenly, I was completely naked in front of him, and he hadn't even taken off his boots.
I almost protested, but Ted lifted his eyes to me and gave me a devilish grin as if he could sense exactly what I thought and had no intention of rectifying the situation right then. Tightening his grip on my waist, he dipped his head forward to slip his tongue between my thighs. I cried out and grabbed at his shoulders as the tip of his tongue flicked across my swollen, sensitive pearl of flesh. He drew his tongue along me a few more times in long, tantalizing licks, before turning me. The movement was so sudden the world spun with me. I got my bearings as he lowered me down to sit on his lap and eased back to sit on his heels. The denim of his jeans was soft and worn against my exposed flesh, and I wiggled against the ever-hardening swell beneath me. The texture built incredible pressure low in my stomach, and I whimpered at the sensation.
Ted lifted my arms so that he could drape them back around his neck. He slid his hands down my body and onto my legs so that he could gently part my thighs. I allowed him to position my legs so that I straddled him backward, my legs tucked tightly on either side of his. His mouth came to the curve of my neck and shoulder, and he tasted my skin. A shiver rippled across my skin as he brought his hand down the front of my body to my hot core. I cried out at the impact of that first intimate touch. Tightening my hold on his neck, I lifted my hips to intensify the sensation he created.
He slid his other hand up my arms to behind his head so that he gripped my wrists, pinning them together so I was completely at his mercy. He continued to explore my body, letting his fingers follow the dips and curves of my slick folds. I could feel intense pressure building through my stomach, thighs, and pelvis. I moaned and rocked against his hand, dropping my head back against his shoulder. Ted turned his head to catch my mouth in a deep kiss, meeting each of my high, nearly frantic sounds with his tongue. He plunged his fingers into me, and the sensations spiraled out of control. My body contracted intensely on his fingers, finally releasing into rapid tremors that left me trembling in his arms.
"Do you want me now?" he whispered into my ear.
His teeth nipped at my earlobe, and I nodded breathlessly, unable to get myself together enough to speak. Ted released my wrists and turned me, laying me on my back. As I lay there, he climbed to his feet and stood over me. Not taking his smoldering eyes away from me, he untucked his shirt, lifted it over his head, and tossed it aside. I bit my bottom lip as his delicious, chiseled body came into view. I wanted to sit up and run my hands along his stomach, but I saw his hands come to his belt buckle and I stayed in place. There was no way I was missing the next layer of undressing.
Ted released his belt buckle, and I kept my eyes shamelessly glued to his pants as he opened the button and slowly lowered the zipper as if he was either trying to bring me to the absolute brink of my control or torture me forever, questioning how badly I wanted him.
Finally, the last piece of his clothing fell to the ground, and I spent a few indulgent moments drinking in every inch of his beautiful, sun-kissed skin. Almost unconsciously, my hand drifted down my stomach toward the wet heat he had created between my thighs. He made a sound in his throat that stopped me and I lifted my eyes to his. He shook his head slowly and lowered himself back to his knees, positioning himself between my legs.
"No," he said.
"No?" I asked softly.
He fell forward, catching himself with one hand on either side of me so that his body hovered over mine, and he gazed down into my face. He shook his head again and brushed a kiss to my lips.
"Mine," he whispered.
I let out a whimper and Ted settled his mouth over mine again, kissing me languidly. His hands busied and when I glanced down, he opened a tiny foil packet. He made quick work of sheathing himself, and after a few long seconds, he brought his hips forward to nestle the tip of his cock against my opening. Ted paused where he was and opened his intoxicating eyes to gaze at me. Our labored breath hung between us and my body shook. This was a moment that had been building for so long, and it would change everything, but I was desperate for him. I ran my hands through his hair and settled them on his back. Ted let out a breath and sank into me, drawing a gasp from my throat.
Ted groaned in pleasure, his eyes drifting closed as he seemed to give himself over entirely to the sensation of my body enveloping him. A pleasant smile came to my lips at that sound, and I drew my legs up to encourage him to settle deeper inside me. Ted opened his eyes and returned my smile as he started moving his hips, pushing deeper inside me with long, intense strokes. He dropped his mouth to kiss me, tangling our tongues as he nurtured me toward the edge again. We moved in a steady, gentle pace and I relaxed back, sighing and closing my eyes as I concentrated on the luscious feeling of his length massaging me.
Suddenly, he thrust into me harder and faster, bringing me out of my peaceful state and eliciting a sharp cry with each intense stroke. He tucked his arm beneath me and rocked back onto his knees. I moved with him, coming down into his lap so that I faced him with my legs wrapped around his waist.
I rolled my hips, riding him as hard as I could. I loved the feeling of having control while still feeling safe, secure, and treasured in his arms. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and dampened the edges of his hair, making him look wild and even sexier. I dug my fingers into it so that I could grip the strands at the nape of his neck and lean forward to grab his bottom lip between my teeth. Ted growled and slammed me down onto his lap a few more intense times before he shuddered as his body tightened and a roar poured from his throat. I could feel his cock twitch inside me as he throbbed and pulsed. The feeling sent me crashing over the edge into another dizzying orgasm that drew him d
eeper into me and milked him with hard spasms.
Ted held my hips and rocked them slowly as I rode out the final waves of my climax. I draped myself forward on him, resting my head on the curve of his shoulder and his neck and letting my hands travel over the smooth, sweaty muscles of his back.
Chapter 7
Ted
I watched Lauralee riding her horse across the field, the bounce of her breasts beneath her little plaid shirt making me harden as I remembered what it felt like for her to rock her hips like that with me buried deep inside her just the night before. She rode with absolute abandon, not realizing I was watching her. Something seemed to have changed in her, like she was more comfortable with herself and didn't need to hide behind the dirt and baggy clothes to feel in place. Shaking her hair back off of her shoulders, she allowed the long coppery strands to stream behind her in the wind. I groaned and tried to turn my attention back to the work that needed to be done.
I leaned down to repair the fence when I heard footsteps come up behind me.
"We're all driving into town to pick up some things," Mason said. "Are you coming?"
His words made me glance back up at Lauralee, who had slowed her horse and now sat calmly in the saddle as the animal walked casually through the field and chewed on the grass.
"No," I told him, gesturing at the fence with the hammer I had in my hand, "I have a lot of work I've got to get finished before this storm hits. I still need to find time to get that program installed."
Mason looked up toward Lauralee and then back at me.
"Be careful, Ted," he warned.
I wasn't used to my younger brother trying to step up against me, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"I mean, be careful. You're playing with fire with Lauralee. She's not one of those girls you can find up at Kinsey's any night of the week and throw away when you decide that you're done with her."
"Starting to feel a little sentimental about my old girlfriend, are we?" I asked, positioning the slat where it needed to be and giving it a hard hit with my hammer.
"I'm not worried about you looking at her like an old girlfriend," he said. "I'm worried about you looking at her like a new one and making things complicated for all of us. Please remember, for like ten seconds before you unzip your pants, that she's working for us. That isn't going to look real good when you decide to forget about her and move on to your next flavor of the month. You break her heart again, and it’s going to get ugly with the Langstons."
"That really isn't any of your concern," I said, standing up and facing my younger brother.
"It is my concern if you screw over one of the best ranch hands that we have and completely ruin the reputation of the entire family. That is most definitely my concern."
"I can take care of myself, and whoever I decide to screw," I snarled at him, "and I don’t need you, Luke, David, Mom, Dad, or anyone else for that matter telling me how I should act or how I should handle my relationships."
"Oh, so it's a relationship again, is it? That would be a rare thing for you these days."
I grew tired of the arrogant look on my brother's face and the way he talked to me. Somewhere along the line, he had gone from admiring me and doing his best to be like me, to teaming up with the rest of the family to mark me the unquestioned black sheep of the group.
"I thought that you were going to town," I said, keeping my voice low and controlled rather than giving in to the urge to shout at him."You best be getting along so that they aren't waiting for you. I wouldn’t want Mama to be upset with one of her golden boys."
Mason glared at me and walked away. I continued to pound at the fence, getting out my frustration by hammering in the nails with perhaps more intensity than the little bits of metal and aging wood probably needed, but it made me feel better. The day was unseasonably warm, and the sweat stuck to the shirt on my body. I glanced around me, evaluating the work I had accomplished for the day, and then back up at the field toward where Lauralee had been riding. I figured that I deserved a bit of a break and it seemed to me that a swim might be in order.
I dropped my hammer down into my tools and straightened, stretching my back a bit to loosen up the muscles before heading over to my horse and releasing the trailer from his back. I climbed up into the saddle and pushed him forward into the field to find Lauralee.
"You look like you're working hard," I said a few minutes later when I found her sitting on the ground with a calf sitting beside her, his head resting in her lap.
She glanced up at me and smiled. "I found this little guy wandering around crying. He finally calmed down when I sat down here with him. I don't know how he could've gotten away from the rest of the herd."
I climbed down off my horse and crouched down to rub the calf between his ears. "The little ones can be pretty tricky. He probably wriggled out through one of the broken fences. That's one thing you can expect about a ranch—there's always a broken fence somewhere that needs fixing and another one somewhere that's fixing to break."
She giggled, and a tingle surged through me. For as tough as she made herself out to be, there was still so much softness inside her, and I felt myself falling for every little bit of it that I discovered.
"He's probably hungry. We should call Mason so he can come get him."
"Mason isn't here."
"He's not?"
"Nope. The whole family went up to town to hit a few stores. That's all right though," I handed her my horse's reins and scooped the baby bull into my arms. "I'll get the little guy back to his mama."
I could see Lauralee's face soften as she watched me start across the field carrying the calf. She took her horse by the reins and led both horses along after me. By the time we got to the field and reunited the calf with his mother, I was more convinced that I needed that swim. Hauling a hundred and fifty pounds of warm baby bull across the ranch is not a great way to cool off on a hot afternoon.
"Do you want to take a break with me?" I asked, turning to face her.
"I spent the last ten minutes sitting in the middle of a field with a calf in my lap. I think I should probably get back to work."
I glanced around dramatically and then leaned in toward her.
"There's no one here but us. No one will ever know," I said in a conspiratorial whisper.
Her eyes slid from side to side as if she were checking for a ninja cowboy to pop out from behind one of the fence slats and then she nodded.
"What did you have in mind?"
"How about a little swim?"
"A swim?"
"You do remember there’s a creek out on the far side of the ranch? It’s wide enough for a good dip and a few strokes."
I took my horse's reins from her hand and started to climb up into the saddle.
"It's tempting, but I didn't bring a swimsuit."
"That's all right," I said. "Swim in your clothes."
I heard her climb up into the saddle on her horse and start the horse to a walk.
"I don't think that's a good idea," she said. "I would be seriously uncomfortable for the rest of the day. And how would we possibly explain to your family why they came back to both of us soaking wet?"
I led my horse to walk after her, and I protested when I noticed her shirt slip back off of her shoulders and down her arms.
"What are you doing?" I called up to her.
The shirt fell away from one arm, and she pulled it around to drape across her horse's neck. Her hair hung down the smooth expanse of her back and crossed over the black band of her bra.
"I told you that I can't possibly get in the water in my clothes," she called back, not turning to look at me.
Her hand came to her back and pushed her ponytail out of the way so that she could release the hooks on the back of her bra. I swallowed hard as she let the bra fall away from her body and added it to the shirt in front of her. I watched as she casually lifted her feet one at a time and pulled off her boots,
tucking them into the bag at the horse's side.
"You are outside on a ranch in the middle of the afternoon," I called up to her.
"I noticed," she called back, "but you said that we're the only ones here right now."
I saw one of her arms stiffen like it held the reins in front of her and the other twitched slightly. Holy hell, she unfastened her belt. She stood up in the stirrups, reminding me in all her glory of her days doing horse shows when we were younger. She had apparently not forgotten her tricks.
Still holding the reins taut with one hand, Lauralee took hold of the waistband of her jeans with the other and eased them down over her hips, showing off the swell of her lush behind.
"You aren't wearing anything under those jeans," I said with a bit of grit in my voice.
She glanced back over her shoulder and gave me a mischievous look before sitting back into the saddle.
"I like how it feels when I ride."
My stomach clenched, and I hardened to an almost uncomfortable state as my cock swelled beneath the denim in a bunch. I watched her wrap the reins around her wrist and lean back so that she could bring her legs in front of her and wiggle out of her jeans.
Damn. This was a girl who knew how to handle a horse.
"Are we getting closer to the creek?" she asked.
"God, I hope so," I said, prodding my horse to go a little faster so that I didn't miss a single moment of her luscious naked body swaying in the saddle.
The truth was I hadn't even paid attention to where we were going. I had no interest in looking around when I had my own personal Lady Godiva right in front of me. I sacrificed a second of taking in every inch of her so that I could check our location.