Learning the Ropes

by T. J. Kline

  “What?” Her voice was husky with desire and she felt the blush begin to rise over her cheeks.

  “Just wishing I’d told you sooner.” His fingers curled around the edge and slid it over her thighs, his fingertips caressing the flesh of her calf. “You’re magnificent.” His hands stroked her inner thigh.

  “Don’t tease,” she pleaded, a blush covering her face as he savored the sight of her.

  Chris smiled at her. “Honey, I have no intention of it.”

  His fingers found the already moist seam of her womanhood and slid his finger down the length. His other hand curled around her breast, his fingers plucking at the nipple. Her head dropped against the back of the couch as he tormented her. Alicia bucked against him, wanting to ask him for more but at a loss for words.

  “Oh, Chris,” she pleaded, gripping his shoulders.

  His thumb stroked the nub of her pleasure and she cried out. She felt her orgasm building already, her body trembling against him.

  “Chris, I can’t wait.”

  “Don’t, honey.” He dipped his finger into her, his thumb massaging her, his mouth finding her breast and drawing a moan from deep in her throat. “You don’t have to wait for me,” he said, nibbling along the curve of her breast before taking the other mound into his mouth.

  He circled the center of her pleasure as the coil of heat built within her, spiraling out of control, lifting her, carrying her as he continued to taste her. She couldn’t hold back any longer and arched off the couch. Chris held her to him as her orgasm broke over her in waves of pleasure, shattering her, leaving her fragmented in his arms.

  CHRIS HAD NEVER been a selfish lover but he’d never wanted to bring a woman pleasure as much as he did with Ali. Watching her fall to pieces at his touch was exhilarating, making him feel like he could fly if he wanted to. He rose and slid his boxers down his thighs as she tried to catch her breath. He saw her open one eye and look at him, a shadow of a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

  “Like what you see?” He grinned back, confidently.

  “Don’t get cocky, cowboy.”

  He loved how, even in the middle of love-making, she didn’t back down from him. She might look sweet and innocent, not to mention sexy as hell lying naked in front of him, but his Ali was a spitfire, all soft kitten with playful claws.

  He glanced down, his arousal for her boldly evident. “Too late.” He grabbed a condom from his wallet and slid it over the length of him.

  Chris stalked toward her, lifting her and groaning as she circled her legs around his waist until he sat on the couch, letting her straddled him once again. She smiled as he laid his palm against her cheek, staring deeply into her dark eyes, growing serious.

  “Ali, I won’t hurt you.”

  “I know you won’t.”

  Chris easily read the lie in her eyes and knew her distrust was his own fault. He’d cultivated this love ’em and leave ’em reputation. Ali wasn’t stupid enough to fall for words. He was going to have to prove himself to her. He vowed to do exactly that, no matter what it might take. He was going to show her that she was different, that she made him different.

  His hands found her waist as she bent her head, brushing her lips over his, her tongue darting between his lips and driving him over the edge. He wanted to go slow but she was making it near impossible. He slid into her heat, growling deep in his chest.

  She was incredible, pure heaven, and he was ready to explode. Her eyes widened, her body surrounding his, clasping at him, and she dropped her head backward, sucking in a gasp that pressed her breasts toward him. He wasn’t strong enough to ignore the temptation. Chris slid his hand up and cupped her breasts, taking one into his mouth as Ali rose and slid down the length of him. He could feel the shudders in her as her body clutched at him, relishing the exquisite torture of trying to hold back his release.

  “Chris,” she whispered. His name was a prayer on her lips as she fell forward, her forehead against his shoulder.

  Chris knew she was close, her entire body trembled around him and he couldn’t wait any longer. Holding her waist as he drove into her, letting her ride him as each thrust brought him closer to the edge until she shuddered against him, her voice calling out his name in a hoarse plea. With one hand curled at the back of her head, he plunged his tongue into her mouth, needing to feel her surrounding every part of him, her sweet scent filling him, enveloping him with her pleasure. Chris held her hips, his fingers pressing into the rounded curve of her buttocks, her breasts pressed against his chest, her nipples grazing over his skin, and he couldn’t hold back any longer. He poured himself into her, the seal of secrecy broken, releasing every bit of the love he’d been hiding for years.

  Spent, his head dropped onto the back of the couch while she collapsed against his chest, her head curling into the curve of his neck and shoulder while her long hair tickled his arm, trailing over his ribs. He ran his fingers down her spine and felt her shiver against him. His body reacted, instantly coming back to life, surprising both of them.

  He felt her lips curve into a playful smile against the crook of his neck. “Now I see why you have the reputation you do,” she said with a husky laugh.

  As much as he wanted to relax in the aftermath of what they’d just done, her words jerked him back to the reality of the situation. He’d just made love to his sister’s best friend, a woman who might still be dating his best friend as far as he knew. He’d told her he loved her, and meant it, but was he really ready for a relationship that should follow that proclamation? And what would she expect from him? This was such foreign territory; he wasn’t even sure what to say or where to begin.

  He hated that she was already trying to lump herself in with the group of women he’d been with. She was nothing like them. Nor was any part of his reputation grounded in truth but rather silence that had grown to wild tales he’d never denied. He wished now he’d corrected them.

  “Ali, you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” He brushed her hair back from her cheek and pressed his lips to her forehead. “So, what happens now?”

  He felt her stiffen and wondered what he said wrong. She sat up, her hands cupping his neck and smiled at him, her breasts just under his chin, tantalizing him and making it difficult to concentrate on anything she was saying. “I need to get these horses fed and take both of my boys out for a ride to try to work out a few kinks before the rodeo this week.”

  He moved himself against her suggestively. “Done.”

  He didn’t like the sadness he could see in her eyes, regardless of how she was trying to hide it and wanted to make her laugh, to regain the lighthearted fun they had together. His fingertips slid up her side, brushing the outer curve of her breast, and he reveled at the way her eyes softened with slumberous desire. He’d take her passion over fun any day. “I mean, what happens with us, honey.”

  She put her hands on his shoulders and climbed off his lap, reaching for her clothes. Chris couldn’t help but admire the curve of her rear as she bent to retrieve her jeans.

  “I don’t know, Chris.” She looked at him over her shoulder and he nearly groaned at the sexy picture she made. “This wasn’t exactly planned.” She slipped her arms into her bra and pulled her shirt over her head. “I’m not expecting you to get down on one knee, if that’s what you’re worried about.” She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it back into a ponytail, searching for the band to hold it.

  Chris reached for his pants and slid them on before walking toward her, holding out the hair tie. This wasn’t going the way he wanted. She was too dispassionate for what they’d just shared. He didn’t like the cynical note in her voice, as if she was already regretting what they’d done. She plucked it from his fingers, wrapping it around her hair, before he reached for her hand, dragging her back into his arms. He dipped his head, taking her lips in a scorching kiss. She sighed and melted against him, his hands splayed at her lower back while hers held onto the sides of his arm
s.

  When he broke the kiss he was gasping for breath, barely able to speak. He placed a light kiss on her nose. “Ali, I lo—”

  She stopped him with a finger. “Chris, don’t feel like you have to say something you don’t mean.” She slipped out of his arms and hurried out the barn door. “Do me a favor and throw a flake of alfalfa to each of the horses. Your keys are in the kitchen.”

  She practically ran out of the barn, heading back toward the house without letting him say anything else. She knew he couldn’t go after her without his clothes. Chris wasn’t letting her get away that easily.

  “You said you’d believe me if I told you sober,” he yelled after her. She didn’t even acknowledge his declaration. After what just happened, how could she still doubt it. “Damn it!” he cursed as he kicked the grain bucket outside a stall as several horses grunted in their stalls. Frustration coursed through him as he jerked his shirt over his head. How was he ever going to make this right?

  Chapter Fourteen

  * * *

  ALICIA HAD TO get out of the barn and away from Chris before she broke down into tears. His words were chipping away at the flimsy wall she’d erected around her heart. It had taken every ounce of self-control to not confess her feelings to him. She’d known Chris too long to believe he could ever be serious about anyone for more than a few dates. He might have feelings for her now but those wouldn’t last and he would do what Chris did to every woman—leave town, heading for the next rodeo and another woman to warm him. Just because she’d never heard him say he loved anyone didn’t mean he hadn’t said it, or that it wasn’t just a line to get him what he wanted. She couldn’t let him to see how desperate she was to believe his words. She was stupid to have given in to him, regardless of what she thought she saw in his eyes, of what he said. Just because his actions led her to momentarily believe him, she couldn’t afford to let it happen again. Even if Chris meant it, her heart couldn’t take it when he changed his mind.

  Chris was never going to change, never going to give himself to anyone completely. She was nothing more than an itch Chris needed to scratch and she hated that, in spite of knowing it, she hadn’t been strong enough to push him away again. If he pushed her away again, the shards of her heart would tinkle as they fell in her ribcage. It was better to put on an air of nonchalance, like making love to him was something she did every day. She channeled her inner Chris—pretending it was nothing more than sex. While the act might have fooled him, it didn’t fool her own heart, which throbbed with misery.

  “You said you’d believe me if I told you sober.”

  She heard him yell from the doorway of the barn, echoing over the pasture. Her heart hammered in her chest painfully and she almost missed a step. Every part of her heart begged her to turn around, go back to where he waited and confess to him that she loved him, always had. If she stopped now he would know it was all been a ruse. She could run back into his arms and never leave. But doing that would doom her heart.

  “Damn it!” The sound of Chris’s curse and clattering metal carried to her and she wondered if he’d just kicked the grain buckets, wishing for a moment she’d thought to do it herself.

  Her vision clouded as tears filled her eyes. She didn’t want to go into the house because Chris would be coming in soon for his keys, and she didn’t want to run into her mother who would demand an explanation for her tears. Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out, grateful for the distraction, until she saw David’s face on the screen. Guilt and shame poured over her, weighing her down. If he found out about what she and Chris had done . . .

  It shouldn’t matter, they weren’t dating any longer, but she knew it would. If David found out, it would crush him.

  The voice in her head assaulted her with painful taunts, reminding her of how his father saw her as nothing more than trash, intent on using his son for money. He called her a bunny, a rodeo groupie who slept around to get what she wanted. Her stomach churned as she realized her rendezvous with Chris in the barn wouldn’t make her look any better. She thought about sending the call to voice mail but it wasn’t David’s fault she’d already reached her mistake quota for one day within a few hours after rising. He probably wanted to apologize again for last night, not that it was going to change her mind.

  “Hey, David.” She cleared her throat, hoping he couldn’t hear the regret in her voice or the bitter tears threatening to choke her.

  “Ali, meet me for breakfast. We need to talk.”

  Alicia found herself wandering toward the stallion barn, passing the paddocks where several champion cutting horse stallions grazed in individual pastures. “It’s not a good time.”

  “Then lunch. Please, Ali? I can’t just leave things the way they were last night.”

  “David, I really don’t think there’s anything left to say.” She could hear the desperation in his voice and wondered if she recognized it only because she felt the same way about her relationship with Chris.

  “Ali, please. I understand why you feel the way you do. But,” she heard him sigh into the phone. “You realize I don’t really care what my dad says, right? That I don’t feel the same way?”

  Maybe it was because she understood how much it hurt to care deeply for someone and know the feeling would never be reciprocated, but it felt wrong to cast him aside without explanation. She sighed. “I have to be somewhere this afternoon at one. Maybe we can meet for coffee after?”

  “Absolutely.” His voice suddenly sounded rushed. “Look, I have to go but just call me when you get into town and I’ll meet you wherever you want.”

  “Okay,” she agreed.

  “Bye, Ali.” She heard him fumbling with the phone just before Colt’s voice could be heard yelling in the background.

  “How many times do I have to tell you to quit wasting time with that bunny? Is she really that good in the sack?”

  “For the last time, do not talk about her. I’m a grown man and I’ve about had it with your meddling.” She could hear the fury in David’s voice. “For someone who wants an awful lot of money from me, you’re sure pushing my buttons. I should walk away now and let you rot in that trailer.”

  “Why don’t you just find a rich girl like your brother did? At least you’d be of some use since it doesn’t look like you’re doing anything to help us keep the ranch.”

  Alicia heard a scuffle in the background and couldn’t help but wonder what in the world was happening with David and his father. She thought about hurrying back to the barn to send Chris to make sure they were both all right.

  “Don’t ever raise a hand to me again, Dad.” David sounded breathless. “Or the next time you land on your ass it won’t be because you tripped.”

  David’s voice came through the phone again, startling her. “Hello? Hello? Ali, are you there?”

  She stared at her phone, holding her breath. She didn’t want him to know she’d heard any of what had just occurred. The line disconnected and she felt the icy dread creeping over her limbs. David’s relationship with his father had crossed a line but she wasn’t sure who it posed more danger for—him or his father.

  CHRIS PULLED INTO his parents’ driveway as his dog, Bueller, came running out to greet him. He’d been a gift from a girlfriend just a few years ago. He rubbed the dog’s fuzzy golden head. The girlfriend had been around less time than it took to house train the puppy, but at least he’d gained a trusty friend from the short-lived relationship.

  “Maybe you can offer me some sound advice because I think I’m really screwing things up.” The dog plopped his furry butt on the ground and his tail thumped against the gravel driveway. “Thanks a lot,” Chris muttered.

  All of his relationships seemed to turn out this way and he knew he was to blame. He never wanted to look past the surface of any of the women he dated and, even if he had, it didn’t take a brain surgeon to see he was deliberately choosing women who weren’t looking for attachments. So, what was it about Ali that had hi
m ready to jump, headfirst? He’d told her he loved her. He knew what happened when you said that to a woman. They immediately started looking at white dresses and picking dates for a wedding. But not Ali. No, instead, she’d ignored him and, when she couldn’t ignore it, she ran the other direction like a scared jackrabbit. He’d never known Ali to be afraid of anything.

  Chris looked up as he heard an engine slowing in front of the house and recognized David’s truck. He rolled his eyes at the dog. “Great, I must have hit the crap-jackpot.” Chris stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans as Bueller rubbed against his thigh, trying to gain his master’s attention again.

  David parked the truck behind his and got out. Chris didn’t miss the intent in his eyes; David was pissed and there was only one reason for him to show up here this mad first thing in the morning. Somehow, he’d found out about Ali.

  “What the hell are you trying to pull?” David stormed toward him. “I call Ali’s house this morning and her mother tells me you showed up last night, drunk? Was that after I called you?” David shoved him backward, ignoring the low growl of the dog.

  Chris wanted to defend himself, to remind David that he’d known Ali far longer, had loved her for years, but he had no right. He’d introduced them, worked to convince David to date her, and then moved in as soon as they had a bump in their relationship. He was a jerk and he didn’t deserve David as a friend, but he couldn’t lie to him.

  “Bueller, get to the porch,” he ordered, turning back to David. “Yeah, I went over there and I told her how I feel.”

  “What? Horny?” It was a low blow but Chris knew he deserved it.

  David shoved him against the side of the truck, taking him by surprise. Chris knew he could take his friend in a fight. He easily outweighed David by twenty pounds of sheer muscle but he wouldn’t. Right now, after what he’d done, he deserved any sort of punishment David felt inclined to give.