“You sound like you’re happy here,” he remarked.
“I am. I never could have imagined doing anything like this, but everything just seems to have led to it.”
“There isn’t any chance I can still talk you out of it, is there?” he asked.
“No, Keith. The deal is signed. I couldn’t back out even if I wanted to, but I don’t want to. I’m even hoping you’ll come to see this as a good thing.”
“That’s doubtful,” he said.
The two old geldings grazing in the pasture suddenly caught the stallion’s attention. He blew out a loud snort and leapt off the trailer to charge down the fence line, neck arched and ears flat. Keith sprang into action, closing the trailer door and then the corral gate to lock him in.
“We need to be very careful to keep him away from them.” He nodded to Jesse and Doc. “Blue Eye is going to see any other male as a threat to his harem. There wouldn’t be an issue if there weren’t any mares around, but once mares are in the mix, a stud horse can be a real pain in the ass to keep. It probably would have been better if I’d brought geldings instead of mares. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep the mares separate from your geldings, just in case this guy should get out.”
“It shouldn’t be any problem. There’s plenty of room here. The ranch has two corrals and over two thousand acres of pastures.”
* * *
After they unloaded and fed all the horses, Miranda showed Keith around the ranch. Even though he’d come with the best of intentions, his resistance was slipping fast. It had taken him less than five minutes to realize he’d only been fooling himself to think he could ever maintain a platonic relationship with Miranda. He’d been fighting the urge to touch her from the moment he climbed down from his truck.
“Do you want to see the bunkhouse now?” she asked.
“Sure. Let me just grab my stuff.”
Walking side by side, he noticed her long strides perfectly matched his. He didn’t stifle the impulse to rest his hand on her lower back. She glanced up at him, her gray eyes flickering. He broke the contact only to grab his two bags. His hungry eyes were glued to her shapely little denim-clad ass as he followed her to the bunkhouse. His thoughts and emotions were jumbled as she fumbled with the lock. His resolution was already weakening.
She opened the door to the single-story split-log cabin and beckoned him inside. “It’s not much, but I hope you’ll feel at home here. This is the living area. We cleaned the place and aired it out last week, and replaced all the linens. There’s a fridge, microwave, and coffee pot in the kitchenette, but we’re happy to feed you over at the house.”
He gave the room a cursory inspection. It was sparsely furnished, just an overstuffed sofa, end table, a television, and a recliner. There was a multipurpose wood-burning stove between the living room and kitchenette. It was more than adequate for his needs.
She turned to face him, her expression soft and inviting. “I really mean that, Keith. I want you to feel welcome here. Your coming means more than I can say.”
“I already told you not to read too much into it,” he replied brusquely. “I’m not a convert to your ‘save the mustangs’ campaign, Miranda.”
“But you are here,” she countered. “I think I’m reading that part right enough.”
“I’m here for you,” he said.
“Is that so?” she whispered. “Then what are you waiting for?”
The look in her eyes was a blatant invitation, but Keith still resisted. “I told you before that it’s a bad idea to mix business with pleasure.”
“But you didn’t want the paycheck, did you?” she countered softly.
“No. I don’t need your money,” he said.
“Since you refused my offer of payment, technically this isn’t a business arrangement, is it?” She toyed with a golden curl. “The way I see it, it’s more like a friend doing a favor for a friend.”
“Even so, if this is going to work out, we need to set some ground rules and abide by them.”
“Should I show you the rest?” she asked, ignoring his remark. “The bedroom used to have two sets of oversized bunks,” she said. “We’ve replaced those with a full-size bed. I think you’ll find it quite comfortable.” She licked her lips. “Do you want to see it?”
He hesitated. The last thing he needed was to be alone with her in a bedroom. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her. He did, maybe too much, and that was the root of the problem.
“I’m not so sure we should go in there. If we do, there’s no turning back again.” If they continued down this path, all his good intentions would soon be nothing more than the paving stones to hell.
She tipped her chin to meet his eyes. “But I don’t want to turn back. We’ve had too much of that already. I want us to move forward again. The real question is, do you?”
“I’ve already told you I can’t make any promises. I don’t know what my future holds.”
“I don’t care about the future,” she said. “Why not concentrate on the present and hold me?”
He dropped his bags with a thump, freeing his hands to clasp her waist. Hers crept up his chest to loop around his neck. They stood like that, body to body, heartbeat to heartbeat for long, silent seconds.
“Keith? When the time is right, how do they go about it?”
He shook his head with a look of confusion. “How does who go about what?”
“The stallion and mare,” she said. “How does she let him know that she’s receptive?”
“If she’s not in season, she’ll either show no interest in him at all or try to kick his teeth out. If he knows what’s good for him, he behaves like a gentleman until he’s clearly invited.”
She took his hand, leading him toward the next room. “What happens once he knows she’s interested?” she asked. “Does he just climb on top of her and go at it, or is there some kind of mating ritual?”
Her question took him off balance, but the glimmer in her eye brought instant understanding. Hell yeah. He could certainly get into this game. “A good stallion woos his mare.”
“He woos her?” Her brows rose. “How?”
“It’s really not so different from our foreplay.” He dipped his head close to her ear. “He begins by seducing her with sounds.”
“He whispers sweet nothings?”
“More like murmurs nasty somethings,” he replied darkly. “Mares like trashy talk. It excites them.”
Her pupils flared. “What kinds of things does he say?”
“I suppose he tells her how excited he is, how much she turns him on. He probably doesn’t have to say much more than that. Being well hung and turned on probably works in his favor,” he added with a teasing smile.
He slid his hands from her waist and over her hips to cup her ass. He was already hard as a post. He rocked his pelvis into hers. The surprise in her eyes said she knew it.
“Does she get more turned on knowing he’s big enough to satisfy her, or just knowing how much he wants her?” she asked, her breaths coming shorter.
“Both.”
“Wh-what about him? What gets him excited?”
“Mainly her scent. When he senses her receptiveness, the courtship moves on to smelling.” He dipped his head to hers, breathing in a teasing hint of her. “The most powerful aphrodisiac to a stallion is the smell of an aroused mare. It’s almost a drug.”
He then nuzzled her throat and hair, filling his lungs with her. Miranda arched her neck with a little sigh, giving him better access. She shivered lightly as he moved up her neck to her ear.
“What’s next?” she asked. Her pale face was tinted a rosy shade, and her eyes had darkened to slate.
“The stallion and mare begin touching noses and sniffing each other. They then progress to nibbling and licking,” he murmured into her honeysuckle-scented hair.
“Are you saying that horses kiss each another?”
“Yes.” He skimmed his mouth over her face and hovered inches from her lips
. “I guess you could call it that, although he does most of it.”
“Are there certain places the mare likes him to kiss her?”
“Yes, Aiwattsi,” he replied. “He begins with her face.” He cupped hers, brushing his lips softly from cheekbone to cheekbone, across her nose, and then back to her lips. “He licks and nibbles until he senses that she wants more.”
She raised her hands to his head, guiding him toward her softly parted lips. He accepted her offering with a long and leisurely kiss. Lips melding, teeth nipping, tongues tangling, he took his time, exploring every sweet inch of her mouth. She arched into him with little moans and sighs. He deepened the kiss, skirting his hands downward to grip her hips, molding them tightly to his.
He released her to unbutton her blouse. “He works his way down her body, nuzzling, nipping, and licking her. All of this excites both the stallion and the mare.” Kissing, licking, and softly biting her soft, sweet flesh, he worked down her body, taking his time to slowly peel away the rest of her clothes, down to her lacy white underthings. He slowly removed her panties and knelt to pay proper homage, delving into her with his tongue, teasing and tasting until his mind blurred with blinding lust. She tried to squirm away, but he held her hips firm, fingering and licking until she was shaking and panting.
He pulled away with a smirk. “By the time he’s done licking her, she’s ready for him to mount.”
“How?” she asked breathlessly.
“From behind. It’s the only way with horses.”
“Don’t some people like it that way as well?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied, wondering what she was getting at. “It’s particularly pleasurable for men.”
“Why?” she asked, reaching for his belt.
“Because men are visually stimulated. We like to watch. And some men are especially aroused by a woman’s ass.”
She arched a brow. “What about you, Keith? Do you like to watch?”
“I do. And I’ve always loved your ass. You have no idea what you do to me, Aiwattsi. I hope you know what you’re doing now. You’ve led my mind down a path that my body wants to follow.”
“I want whatever you want.” Her expression was an irresistible combination of innocence and seduction as she backed toward the bed. “I want you to show me what you want.”
He followed her with his eyes as he undressed, his gaze slowly devouring her—from the red-gold curls cascading down her shoulders and over her erect pink nipples, to her smooth pale belly, her golden nest, and then down her long, slender legs to her pale pink toenails and back up again. “Are you sure? I won’t be gentle,” he warned.
She eyed his erection and then replied, “I don’t want or need gentle. I want you, Keith.”
It was all he needed to hear. He shoved a hand into his pocket to retrieve his wallet and the lone condom he hoped was still there. His hands shook as he gloved himself.
“Turn around,” he commanded. “Spread your legs.”
Hardly giving her a chance to comply before grabbing her hips, he spun her around. Holding her hip with one hand, he glided the other between her legs. She clamped her thighs together on a hiss, trapping his hand in her sex. He shut his eyes on a groan as her hot, wet heat greeted his fingers.
“You’re very wet,” he murmured, his mouth playing on her shoulder.
“And you’re very hard,” she rasped, letting out a little moan as he pressed his erection against her ass while simultaneously stroking and caressing her clitoris.
“I’ve had a raging hard-on since you started this whole damned breeding discussion.”
“That was the idea,” she confessed with a giggle.
“I should punish you for that. Maybe I will. Maybe I’ll make you beg for it.”
“Maybe you’ll beg first,” she rejoined, arching her back and teasing him with her ass.
He squeezed his lids shut on a groan. Holy shit. Maybe she was right.
“Keith? What happens once the stallion knows the mare is ready for him?”
“She spreads her legs and lifts her tail. Bed. Now,” he growled, throbbing with the need to penetrate. “I want you on your elbows and knees.”
She climbed up onto the mattress, presenting herself, ass raised. The vision of her pale round globes and glistening pink sex were almost more than he could take.
“Now what?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.
“He mounts her by taking hold of the back of her neck with his teeth, and penetrates.” Sliding between her legs into liquid silk, he began rhythmically rocking his hips, coating himself in her sweet, wet heat. She let out a gasp as he simultaneously sank his teeth into her shoulder and pierced her. “Is this what you wanted?” he ground out, sweat beading his brow in his effort to hold back.
“Don’t stop,” she hissed, arching her back and taking him deeper.
Stifling a groan, he slowly withdrew and thrust again, hard and deep, Pleasure jolted through him like an arrow piercing his body. Setting a ruthless rhythm, he drove in and out, stretching and filling her while the echoes of softly slapping flesh melded with guttural grunts and reciprocal moans. Pouring everything into her, he slammed into her harder, faster as his balls tightened with explosive need.
“Now, Aiwattsi,” he growled.
She cried out as her body seized beneath his, her sheath clenching and quaking in spasms that stunned him with sensation. He threw his head back on a feral cry as she milked him to his release. Sweating and panting, Keith collapsed over her, his mind numb and his body spent.
Chapter 24
Miranda stirred against him with a contented purr and then suddenly froze. “Did you hear something?” A soft knock followed her question.
“Hello? Is anyone here?”
“Damn! It’s Jo-Jo!” Roused instantly to wakefulness, she leaped from the bed. “What are we going to do?”
“Not much we can do.” Keith shrugged, tossing her a boot as she snatched up her clothes. “Either we ignore her and hope she gives up looking for you, or we go out there and admit we’re caught.”
“I can’t let her see us like this!” she hissed, frantically wriggling into her jeans.
“Coward.” He jerked his on as well and stomped into his boots. “Do you really think we can hide this from her?” His gaze narrowed. “Or is that what you really want, Miranda? To keep our relationship a secret?”
“Of course not!” she protested. “But how is it going to look to her? You just got here, and we’re already…”
“We’re what?” He cocked a brow.
“We’re…we’re…” She flushed deep pink.
“Can’t say it, Miranda?” he taunted.
“I could if I knew what it was!” She threw her arms into her blouse. “What are we doing anyway, Keith?”
“Your shirt’s inside out,” he remarked calmly.
“Crap!” she cried.
“Miranda? Keith? Are you here?” Jo-Jo pushed the bedroom door open.
Miranda gasped. Keith was still shirtless, and Miranda’s was inside out. She also wore only one boot. Jo-Jo regarded them, her forehead puckered and lips pursed, as her gaze raked over their half-dressed state. “I…um…we were just…er…ah…” Miranda stammered.
Keith stepped forward. “Miranda was just helping me to get settled.”
Jo-Jo’s frown deepened as she took in the disheveled bed. “I can see that,” she replied.
“I know how this looks,” Keith said, “but I swear I meant no disrespect to you, Miz Sutton. Maybe I should go.”
“Please, no,” Miranda whispered, almost a prayer. She held her breath for several agonizing seconds. She feared she’d pass out from lack of oxygen before Jo-Jo finally exhaled an exasperated sigh.
“I don’t think it needs to come to that.”
Miranda blew out an echoing breath.
“I just came by to see if you needed anything.” Jo-Jo averted her eyes as Miranda handed Keith his shirt and adjusted her own clothes.
“I don’t think so,” Keith replied evenly. “But thank you for asking.”
“We need to go to the co-op tomorrow for fencing supplies,” Miranda said. “After that, I figured we’d drive up to the Wal-Mart in Butte. If he needs anything, I’ll take care of it.”
“Absolutely not. You’ll take my credit card and charge whatever you need to my account,” Jo-Jo said.
“Don’t trouble yourselves on my behalf,” Keith interjected. “If I need anything, I’ll get it myself.”
“Don’t be silly,” Jo-Jo said. “You came here to help us.”
“I didn’t come as a hired hand, Miz Sutton. I’ll pay my own way.”
“Please call me Jo-Jo,” she insisted. “I don’t think we need to stand on ceremony, especially now,” she added dryly. She then turned toward the door. “Supper’ll be ready in an hour. I’ll expect you both.”
Miranda stared after her grandmother for a long, speechless moment.
“Is she always so open-minded?” Keith asked.
“In some things I suppose, but this is all new territory,” Miranda replied. “I’ll talk to her as soon as I go inside. I don’t want this to get any more awkward than it already is.”
“I should talk to her. I’m the one who committed the trespass.”
“You certainly weren’t alone, Keith. And if anyone is really guilty, it’s me. I knew you wanted to keep things platonic.”
“Maybe that was my initial intent,” he said, “but that plan went out the window the minute I saw you.”
“Really? I never would have guessed it by the way you acted.”
“Because I’m better at hiding my feelings than you are. You wear everything on your face, Aiwattsi.”
“Then you have me at a strong disadvantage. I don’t know how to read you at all.”
“Am I really so hard?” he asked.
“Yes. You are.” She frowned. “I can’t seem to figure you out, no matter how hard I try.”
He smiled. “Then I’ll try and make it easier for you.”
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