His gravelly voice rasped over her sensitive skin, giving her chills in the steam bath. The thought of his scent, having his shampoo in her hair, on her skin made her shiver. Raylan naked and hard sent her senses reeling. Amber floated on a mindless cloud of lust and exhaustion. The night’s events stripped her of her defenses and left her raw and aching for Raylan’s touch. For the comfort only he could provide.
He poured shampoo into his hands, rubbed them together, and then his strong fingers massaged her scalp. Delicious tingles spread down her neck and across her shoulders as his touch eased the stiffness.
Next, Raylan soaked a washcloth and slowly massaged his way down, making sure to spend precious seconds on every single inch of her skin. By the time he reached her breasts, desire lay heavy in her chest and warmed her core.
“I could spend all night staring at you.” Raylan pushed the washcloth past the juncture of her thighs, and down further until he had to kneel on the floor. Water beaded sensuous droplets on his skin.
He lifted one foot and then the other, and Amber held his shoulders for support. Just as slowly, he worked his way back up her body, leaving Amber boneless and melting under his constant contact and attention.
The washcloth skimmed her thigh, abrading her flesh, preparing her for the onslaught he was sure to carry out. A second later, Raylan slid his hand between her legs, without a second’s hesitation he washed her, gently scraping her sensitive clit. A bolt of electric heat shot straight up into her belly, and she rocked forward on his hand, gasping from the intense pleasure.
He teased her there until she whimpered with need, but then pulled away, “Not yet, cher.” Raylan placed her back beneath the water spray, and rinsed the soap from her hair and body. She stood helplessly as he washed himself and cut off the water.
He stepped out of the shower and assisted her onto the small rug on the floor. Continuing with his promise to take care of her, Raylan dried her, and then wrapped the towel around her. “Here, use this.” He thrust out a toothbrush, waited on Amber to brush her teeth and rinse. Then he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. He pulled the covers back with one hand and deposited her on the mattress, following her down to stretch out beside her.
“Did that help you feel better?” His hair damp from the shower, Raylan leaned down and kissed her.
“Much. But not enough.” Amber mouth went dry.
Raylan studied her, unblinking. He propped up his head with his hand, and his bicep flexed. Amber felt a sudden urge to feel his strength. All of it.
“What else can I do?” he whispered, his tone so gentle, so sexy.
Make me forget. Take away my ability to think. Amber peeled the towel from her skin, fascinated by the way his gaze locked on her every move. He appeared so casual, but that charming air concealed unimaginable power. “You can make love to me.”
His fingers curled around her jaw, the movement a whisper against her skin, suggesting she open to him, give him her mouth. His gentle touch soothed, but felt more like a soft touch to a deep wound. She needed a good scraping to get all the dirt out. She needed forceful and mindless. She needed Raylan and his natural dominance.
Amber curled her fingers around his hand and dug in her nails until he gasped and yanked back.
“What was that for?”
“I don’t want gentle. Not tonight.”
Raylan pulled back as if stunned at her outburst, but the momentary doubt in his gaze morphed into a dark gleam. The kind that promised she wouldn’t be able to walk the next day. “I had other plans, cher.”
“So did I.” Amber wrapped her hand around his cock and squeezed, savoring the way his pupils dilated at her bold gesture. “Do I need to show you what I mean?”
Her fist clenched around him. She bit his neck, sucked the musky flesh between her lips, moaning at the texture, the raw power barely leashed beneath her.
“You play with fire, girl.” Raylan flipped her onto her back, and the air rushed from her lungs as he loomed over her, ripping her knees wide.
“I’ve been cold for a long time. A little fire won’t hurt me.”
Raylan growled and gripped her thighs, pushing them wider. “Good. ‘Cause I’m gonna set you ablaze.”
He lay on his stomach and lowered his head, his breath heating her core the only warning she received before Raylan sucked her clit into his mouth.
Blinding pleasure arched her off the bed. “Raylan!”
“That’s just a little taste, cher.” He lowered his head again and lapped at her, slowly, methodically.
“Raylan. I need more.” Amber bowed, driving her hips to his mouth, but he leaned back, out of her reach.
“Keep still, and I’ll make it nice. I promise.”
Amber took a deep breath, body trembling, and forced her back to the mattress. She wanted his dominance.
Again, he licked slow long strokes, bringing her close enough to the edge to taste it, but not hard enough to push her over. When he finally lifted, she was panting. Sweat drenched her body.
“Is that too gentle?”
When her brain fired enough to form a sentence, Amber said, “Yes. Too soft.” She arched up. “I need more.”
Raylan’s mouth curled into an evil, evil grin.
Amber’s insides turned to goo.
“Mon cher, your wish is my command.”
Raylan gripped her hips and flipped her onto her knees.
Amber locked her arms, leaving her on all fours, naked and wet.
“Uh-uh, chest down.” To emphasize his point, Raylan nudged her back until her chest flattened against the bed, leaving her butt in the air, totally exposed. Totally vulnerable.
She heard him shift, felt the bed dip, and even hotter, felt him press the tip of his erection against her pussy. Her soaking entrance was no barrier.
Amber leaned back as much as her position would allow, taking an inch inside her. Raylan slapped her butt, hard, and she cried out. “No, cher, I’m in control. Trust your man to take care of your needs.”
Amber grabbed the sheets to hold herself in place. Her ass burned from the harsh reprisal, and then tingled in places unexpected. Amber wiggled to test the raw sensation. Raylan’s hand smoothed down that aching spot, wakening her flesh in ways she’d never dreamed.
“My, my, I think my little tigress likes being spanked. That’s something we’ll try later. Right now, I just want to bury my cock so far inside, you have no hope of ever forgetting who you belong to.” Without warning, Raylan gripped her hips and yanked her back.
Stretched wide, blinding pleasure mingled with the pain. She screamed.
“That’s it cher, show me how much you like it.”
Raylan pulled back and thrust forward each time, so hard he drove the air from her lungs and the thoughts from her mind. All she could do was wrap her hands in the sheets and hold on while he plowed into her. Filling her until she ached. Pounding so deep, she spasmed with each thrust.
“Raylan, so close,” Amber gasped out, flipping her head to the side, anything to ease this mind-bending tension bowing her back and curling her toes.
“Good.” He slammed in. “I expect you to cum.” Again, he filled her.
She clenched, trying to hold back from the edge of ecstasy, knowing a quick orgasm would only be the tip of the iceberg she needed. Raylan hammered into her, over and over. She spasmed, the blood from her head and hands and feet rushed to her core and exploded.
Raylan, still hard, continued to leisurely thrust, fingers tracing her back. “Was that hard enough, sweet thing?”
Amber gasped, “I think so.”
“Oh no, I don’t need you thinking tonight.”
*
The next morning dawned with tenderness between her legs and the realization that she’d not only toed the edge of the cliff, but she’d jumped right off.
Raylan jerked and then turned on his side, throwing a heavy arm over her chest. Yesterday, she might’ve felt too constricted, too suffocated by the weight on her torso, but now
she felt anchored to Raylan. And the feeling gave her comfort.
Last night was a dream. Raylan took her to ecstasy and beyond—to a place she’d never imagined possible. The sensual stirring in her veins created a buzz in her body. Relaxed, she snuggled deeper into the mattress, surrounded by Raylan.
She’d needed more than just easy sex—and, oh boy, had she gotten it. The morning sun chased away her fears and hesitations about jumping back on the Raylan Wild bandwagon. If he’d been the same man he was six years ago, he would’ve turned tail and run at the first sign of commotion. Instead of easing away from her plate full of drama, he’d stepped right up to it and taken a large bite.
Raylan pulled her against him, and the feeling of warmth dispersed from her head to her toes. Even in his sleep, he wanted to protect her. Hope, heady as the warm summer sun, settled in her chest. The heavy chain of self-doubt and deep-seated anger left her free.
And in love.
Love? The last time you trusted your heart to this man he dumped you like a rotten egg. But he’d been so young, and he’d just found out he was a father.
A father? He slept with another woman. Before her. He slept with someone else before her.
I heard what I wanted to. The rainbow and fairytale version of why Prince Charming turned into a toad. No, he’d changed. He loved her.
“Amber?” Raylan’s sleep-roughened whisper pulled her back. His heavy-lidded gaze and tousled hair the thing for magazine covers. “You okay? I wasn’t too rough last night?”
The memory of just how roughly he’d taken her sent heat straight to her cheeks and chased the self-doubt out the window. “I loved it.”
The five o’clock shadow that smudged his jaw line made it somehow sexier. Raylan had always said her lips were sensual—but his were perfect. Soft and full, with small lines at the corners that told a history of frequent smiles and laughter. She traced his brow with her thumb.
Raylan grabbed it and pressed a kiss to her palm “Me, too.”
She liked that he wasn’t hulking like Tommy. Fat wouldn’t dare gather around that trim waste. No spare tire, just sinewy muscle and subtle strength. The type of power that unconsciously emanated from him was born and bred.
“If you don’t stop looking at me like that I’m going to toss you on your back.”
“If that was meant to scare me—you failed.” Amber launched upward and pushed him onto his back, straddling his hips and setting her already wet core against his hard length.
Raylan grabbed her hips, rocking her back and forth. The ridge of his cock grazed her sensitive nub, sending her into a tailspin.
Amber aligned his tip with her entrance and sat down, in one achingly, penetrating movement. She gasped, and her hands flew to his chest. He filled her so full and so tight, even wet as she was, it took her a good minute to adjust to his size.
She leaned back and pleasure exploded as he pressed against the spot inside her.
Raylan threw his head back on the pillow, his eyes shut, teeth clenched.
She tightened her muscles, and he flinched. “Do you like that?” She clenched again, and his answering jerk filled her with a sense of sensual power.
Raylan cracked open his eyes, lids heavy. “More than you’ll ever know, cher.” He lifted her until he was barely inside her, and just as slowly sat her back down.
Her nipples tightened. Back arched, she cupped her breasts, heavy and full needing to be touched. Raylan growled and covered her hands with his own.
Amber set a slow pace, wanting to savor the pleasure, but the blinding need overtook her. She braced her hands on the headboard, riding him fast and hard, driving them both to another climax. Exhausted, she fell to the side, put her head on his shoulder and tried to catch her breath.
Raylan fingers dug into her hair, holding her immobile against his body. “If you woke me like that every morning I’ll be your slave for life.”
“Now that I know how to control you, you can sure bet I’ll make good on that promise.”
She had a lot of lost time to make up for and intended to enjoy him every possible second she could. This feeling of unadulterated happiness wasn’t something she wanted to lose.
“You want to control me?”
Before she could react, he flipped her onto her back and drove into her, still hard.
Her breath caught, and she arched, groaning.
“I think you’ve got that backwards.” Raylan pulled out and shoved in, wringing another gasp. “It’s better that we get this straight right now.” He rammed into her again. And it was all she could do to hold onto his arms. Unbelievably, another orgasm was building, close on the heels of the last one.
“I’m in charge.” He slammed in again. “And I’ll be demanding sex every day.” He punctuated that statement with another thrust, pushing her closer to the edge.
Amber tried to come up with a better response, but all her focus centered down low in her belly. “Demanding?”
“Yes, and you’re going to like it.”
She should have braced herself when she saw that mischievous smile, but she was too far gone.
Raylan took her hard and fast, driving her straight into another blinding orgasm.
Sometime later, Amber roused from sleep.
Raylan stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair damp from the shower. “Time to wake up, sleepyhead.”
He strode to the bed, and she rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in the pillow. She had no intention of leaving this bed—ever.
A sharp smack on her butt caused her to arch up and squeal. She quickly flipped on her side and rubbed the sting. “You hit me.”
“A little love tap. If you’re good, I’ll give you more later.”
She opened her mouth to tell him off, but something in his expression said that was a promise—not a joke. And even stranger, the burning on her backside started to tingle.
“You’ve got ten minutes to get that sexy butt in the shower. I’m hungry.”
Twelve
Raylan watched mesmerized as Amber sauntered naked into the bathroom, throwing a sexy as hell look over her shoulder before closing the door. He collapsed onto the bed and dropped his elbows to his knees. With the amount of sleep he’d gotten in the last twenty-four hours, he should be dead on his feet. But he had the energy of a twenty-year-old.
When her feather light touch had teased him from sleep, he’d already been hard and aching, even after their long night. But then she’d straddled him, and he’d shattered. If she ever discovered the amount control she actually had over him, he’d be in for a world of hurt.
His previous thoughts of half-assing the job interview with his brother’s boss long gone, he would do anything to get the job and be close to her. The move would be stressful for Riley, at first. Hell, his mother would pitch a fit, but this move was a long time coming. Riley’s druggy mother, and Raylan’s long hours on the job, didn’t exactly nominate either of them as parent’s of the year. With this new job, he’d have more normal hours, be close to Amber, and give his kid a shot at a real family. Finally.
If only he could permanently remove Kristen from the picture… Shit. She was scheduled to get out of rehab this weekend. He needed to call his partner, Rusty, and remind him to do a couple of extra patrols at his house.
He picked up his phone and called home. “Mom?”
“Who else would be answering? You didn’t call yesterday.” His mother’s voice filled the phone, and Raylan dropped his head in his hand. Bossy and loving as ever.
“I had something important come up. Ya’ll okay?”
“We’re doing great. Riley is playing out back. I’m cooking up a pot of gumbo for supper.”
He prayed she’d understand about his move. She’d always supported her boys. But that wasn’t his reason for calling, and he had no intention of handling that conversation on the phone. His mother liked to yell in person. “Any news from Kristen?”
He felt her sigh al
l the way to his toes. “She hasn’t come slinking around here yet, but her mom called to warn me they’d be letting her out sometime this afternoon.”
Raylan squeezed the phone. Every time his ex-wife got out of rehab, she showed up at their door, high as a kite and screaming for her baby. The last time she came, Riley had been old enough to realize who the crazy woman at the door was. It took Raylan nearly a week to calm him down.
At least, it was taking her a little longer each time to show up. If she stuck to her pattern—whatever pattern that was—he had until the middle of next week before she hooked up with her dealer again. “I told Rusty to swing by and keep an eye on the place until I get home.” Raylan rubbed his eyes, the tension headache caused by his ex-wife as predictable as a tick on a coonhound.
His momma said, “You don’t need to be drawin’ that boy away from his job. I can protect my house and my grandson. Your pere taught me how to shoot long before you were born.”
Eyes closed, Raylan pictured his mom over her old gas stove. Her tiny house with its black rock front porch, covered in ferns and flowers, and a back yard that butted up to the bayou, was the perfect playground for little boys. Until a druggie got thrown into the mix. “Y’all live off the road mom. If she shows up, no one will see to call the police.”
“You think I can’t scare off a drugged-out girl?”
Raylan rubbed his temples, attempting to massage some of the pounding blood from his brain. “No, ma’am.”
“You think I can’t protect my grandson?” Her accent grew thick, just like it always did when she got riled.
“No, ma’am. Just watch out, and you better call me if she shows up. I don’t want to have to explain to Riley why his grandmother went to jail for murdering his own mother.”
Although the world would be better off without her.
His mother echoed his own thoughts. “Be better for her son if she was.” She paused, the heavy burden shared between them.
Raylan had known the minute he’d gotten the call from Kristen, and she’d told him she was pregnant, that she’d be a part of his life forever. A part of their child’s life. He just never imagined how bad that could be.
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