“Say it,” he whispered, his breath fanning the moist entrance to all her secrets.
Her answer was more plea than command. “Take me.”
And take her he did, bestowing that most intimate and thorough of kisses. And as he feasted, his body grew ever hotter, ever more demanding, yet he kept on. When she began to thrash beneath him, he captured her hips in both hands and held her fast so that he could finish what he’d started.
Her cries, muted at first, grew louder until she arched off the bed and called his name. His name. A fierce sense of triumph gripped him, and as her tremors eased, he turned his head and nipped the tender skin of her inner thigh, not enough to hurt much, but definitely enough to leave a mark.
She gasped softly but made no protest.
Vaguely he was aware that his action was completely out of character, something he’d never considered with any other woman. But he couldn’t take it back. Some instinct had propelled him to brand her.
Breathing heavily, aching from the effort to delay his own gratification, he changed his position so he could reach the condoms. He glanced over and found her watching him.
“I’m sorry.” He gulped in air. “I didn’t mean to—” But he couldn’t finish the lie. “That’s not true. I meant to.”
“I know.”
He fumbled with the box. “And now I need you so much my coordination’s shot.”
Rolling to her side, she rose up on one arm. “Just lie down, Gabe. I’ll handle this.”
He went still.
Her smile was pure seduction, and that promising gleam was back in her eyes.
“Okay.” He handed her the box and sank back down on the mattress.
Instead of taking out a condom, she leaned over to the far side of the bed and put the box on the other nightstand. When she turned back to him, her gaze focused on his white-hot penis. “As I said before, I want some of that.”
7
MORGAN THOUGHT it was only fair that she get equal time to turn Gabe inside out in the same way he’d done to her. And on top of that, he’d bitten her. Considering her determination to stay unattached until she was firmly grounded with a home and a thriving business, she shouldn’t like that he’d done that.
But for some reason she didn’t want to examine right now, she’d loved it. This matchup that was supposed to be a simple case of mutual lust might not be quite so simple, after all. Yet the next few minutes looked as if they could be very simple. She’d give Gabe the blow job of his life.
Judging from the way his chest heaved and his body trembled, he could use that. She didn’t plan to make the process go quickly, though, no matter how tightly he was wound. Although the orgasm he’d given her had sapped her of strength, the adrenaline rush of knowing she was about to take charge of his climax had pumped energy back into her system.
Before taking her position astride his thighs, she handed him a pillow. “Prop this behind your head.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“It’s more fun if you watch.”
“Sweetheart, it’ll be a short show.”
She surveyed his body, slick with sweat. She planned to make him sweat some more. “Maybe not.”
“Guaranteed.” His breathing grew labored. “In fact, if you don’t get started soon…”
“Right.” Straddling his thighs, she studied the object of her affections. He was so finely made he could probably sell a plaster cast of his penis to a sex-toy company. She could hardly wait to get her hands on him, but she had to be careful.
That’s why her first move was to squeeze the base of his thick penis with her thumb and forefinger.
“Damn, Morgan, I’m going to…”
She squeezed a little harder.
He blew out a breath. “Okay, maybe not yet. But soon.”
“We’ll see. Don’t you want to have some fun first?”
“Love to.” He dragged in air. “Probably can’t.”
She maintained firm pressure with her thumb and first finger. “Describe one of your competitions for me.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not. Distract yourself for a bit. Then you can enjoy this even more.”
“I’ve never met a woman quite like you, O’Connelli.”
“Is that a compliment?”
His grin looked a bit strained. “You think I’d insult you while you have a choke-hold on my dick?”
“I suppose not.”
“It was a compliment. I like you. A lot.”
“I like you, too, Gabe. Now tell me how cutting-horse competition works.”
“This is crazy. Just grab the box of condoms and we’ll—”
“Nope.” She squeezed again. “Talk to me, cowboy.”
His eyes were very blue as he held her gaze. “You have two and a half minutes.”
“Oh, I think I can draw this out longer than that.”
“No, during competition. That’s how much time you have.”
She smiled. “So you decided to play.”
“Yeah, what the hell. It might work.”
“So you have two and a half minutes.”
“Right. In that time you and your horse cut at least one cow from the herd.”
Gradually she relaxed her grip. “Sounds simple.”
“It’s not.” His gaze stayed locked with hers.
“I suppose nothing ever is.”
“Just looks that way.”
“Tell me more.” She ran the tip of her fingernail along the ridge on the underside of his penis.
“I have no control. It’s all up to the horse.”
“I thought men liked to control what was between their legs.” She gripped him gently and stroked up and down, up and down.
“We do.” His eyes darkened. “But in competition…we can’t.”
“The horse does.”
“Yeah.” He gulped. “By staying parallel to the cow, veering when it veers, staying hooked.”
“Sounds like split-second timing.” She leaned down and allowed her breasts to nudge his penis.
“It’s…it’s precision work.” He groaned. “You’re killing me.”
“But you’re holding on.” Lazily she moved right, then left, her softness brushing against his rigidity.
“Barely, babe. Barely.”
“Tell me more.”
“Uh…cattle can be hard…”
“Really?” She placed a butterfly kiss on the quivering head of his dick.
“Hard to separate. We say they’re……sticky.”
“Mmm.” Closing her fingers around his penis, she stroked upward. A drop of moisture gathered on the tip. “Sometimes sticky is good.” She licked the drop away.
Gabe sucked in a breath. “I can’t…hold on…much longer.”
“Keep talking.” Taking him into her mouth, she applied pressure while swirling her tongue over the smooth skin.
“A hot quit is…ah, Morgan, that’s…nice…”
Slowly she released him. “What’s a hot quit?”
He arched back against the pillow and closed his eyes. His words came in a rush. “Abandoning a cow in the middle of the action.”
“Wouldn’t want that.” She took his penis into her mouth again and raked the underside gently with her teeth.
He groaned again. “Sure…wouldn’t.”
Lifting her head, she blew across the sensitive tip. “Anything more to add?” She cupped his balls and massaged gently.
“When a cow is…cut, the horse commits to working that cow.” His jaw tensed. “And I hope you’re committed to working…me.”
“Oh, I am, cowboy. No more teasing. It’s time.” With firm deliberation, she took him into her mouth and began to suck. He was a big guy, but she could accommodate most of him. From the way he was moaning and panting, she thought she must be doing a decent job.
And when he finally came, his cry of release was followed by two murmured syllables uttered so softly that she almost missed hearing them. But she didn’t. He�
��d said her name.
And that was her cue to slide down between his trembling thighs and give him one sharp nip to remember her by.
GABE HADN’T MEANT to fall asleep, but the climax Morgan had given him had totally wiped him out. He’d barely felt the nip when she bit his thigh, but it had made him smile. She was a bold woman, and he liked that. He liked that way too much. But he’d been too exhausted to question anything before he’d conked out.
Morgan must have gone to sleep right away, too, because the bedside lamps were still on when the alarm beeped at four-thirty. The second it rang, Gabe remembered that he’d meant to shut the stupid thing off before going to sleep. He hadn’t, and now he’d been wrenched out of a fabulous dream in which he and Morgan walked naked along a tropical beach. He’d never been naked on a beach in his life, but he could imagine doing it with Morgan.
He wanted the dream back, so he swatted at the alarm in an attempt to turn it off.
“Don’t do that.” She reached over and grabbed his arm. “I need to take you back to the ranch.”
He rolled over to face her. She looked all rosy and sleep-tousled, not the sort of person a guy wanted to leave when she was as naked as in his dream, and there was an untouched box of condoms sitting in full view on the bedside table.
“Come on.” She planted a quick kiss in the general vicinity of his mouth and scrambled out of bed. “Get up and get dressed. I’m driving you home.”
“But I don’t want to leave.” He sounded whiney. Clearing his throat, he lowered his voice. “Come back to bed. I’ll make it worth your while.”
She moved around the bedroom collecting clothes. “I’m sure you would, and don’t think I’m not tempted, but we’re not doing that. Jack could tell you it’s not worth causing a problem in your family.”
“This is one lousy morning.” Gabe sat on the edge of the bed, but he had no interest in putting on the clothes Morgan tossed in his direction. “With Jack it was a recurring thing, and he refused a direct request from our dad. Nobody’s called to ask me to do anything.”
“Doesn’t matter. Jack and your mother have to be supersensitive to the issue now. I’m already seen as a threat by both of them. I refuse to make things worse.”
“You’re really going to kick me out, aren’t you?”
She fastened her bra over the breasts that he longed to fondle at least once more. “Yes, I am. We’ve had a great time, and I don’t want to ruin everything by having nastiness arise because you stayed here too long.”
Reluctantly Gabe began to dress. “Then at least promise to have dinner with me tonight.”
“Sure.” She smiled, obviously happy with his invitation. “But it’s my treat in exchange for letting me ride your horse.”
He looked at her and started to laugh.
“I mean… Oh, you know what I mean.”
“You’re welcome to ride my horse anytime.” He chuckled. “You don’t have to buy me dinner, either.”
“But I said I would.”
“But you also said you’d be forever in my debt.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I’m not letting you get off with something easy like dinner. Besides, I invited you, so I’m buying.”
“We’ll see.”
“No, I need to buy, because this dinner invitation comes with strings attached.”
“Does it, now?”
He nodded. “Definite strings. I know it’s not cool for a guy to ask you to dinner with an ulterior motive, so I’m telling you flat-out. There’s nothing ulterior going on. I’m asking you to dinner because I want to have sex afterward. If you have a problem with that, then—”
“A problem?” She smiled. “I’d be upset if you didn’t want to do that. I’d think you hadn’t enjoyed yourself as much as you seemed to.”
He tucked his shirt into his jeans and fastened the button. “I enjoyed it more.”
“Good. But…”
He paused in the act of shoving his belt through the loops. “What?”
“I’m not looking for a permanent boyfriend.”
Which was exactly what he wanted to hear. So why wasn’t he overjoyed by her statement? Maybe because he was still jacked up on hormones.
His response didn’t come as easily as he would have liked, but he knew what it had to be. He’d said the words often enough to other women. “I’m not looking for a permanent girlfriend, either.”
“That’s a relief. We’re not looking for commitment. We’re just…” She hesitated, seemingly unwilling to finish the sentence.
He wasn’t sure how to finish it, either. There was a common term for what they were to each other, but that term was crude, and what he shared with Morgan wasn’t crude.
“I guess we’re fun buddies,” she said.
“Okay. That works.”
“Exactly. We’re in it for the fun. If your mother or Jack asks, and they very well might, then tell them that.”
Gabe’s good humor vanished. “I don’t plan on telling them a damned thing.”
Her expression became endearingly earnest. “But you should, Gabe. They’re worried that I’m trying to get my hooks into you, and you could put their fears to rest.”
“That’s part of what’s bothering me. They seem to have no faith in my judgment.”
“All the more reason to get you home first thing this morning. Let’s go.”
“Wait.” He caught her wrist and pulled her back into his arms. “It goes without saying that we won’t be making out in your car while it’s parked in front of the ranch house.”
“No, we won’t.” She wound her arms around his neck. “That would not be a good idea. Besides, I’ve outgrown car sex.”
“Me, too.” He combed her hair back from her face.
“But I’m glad you haven’t outgrown barroom sex.”
“I have to say it was a first for me.”
“How about that? It was a first for me, too.” He lowered his head until his mouth almost touched hers.
“So we lost our cherry together.”
“Yeah.” There was a smile in her voice.
When he kissed her, he felt something new, an emotion that he didn’t usually associate with a woman he was having sex with. Maybe there was a reason he’d rejected the crude term for their relationship in favor of a more sanitized one.
Although he and Morgan had sexual chemistry to burn and he cherished that, she offered something that was even harder to find. Apparently she wanted to be his friend. With Jack acting like a dictator these days, he could use one.
MORGAN HAD NEVER driven onto Last Chance property. Although she tried to keep her attitude casual, she was awed by the place from the moment she left the main road and passed through the massive front entrance. In the pearl-gray light of early dawn, two thick lodgepole pines connected by a third horizontal pole reached into the sky, creating a daunting silhouette.
A weathered slab of wood hung from the horizontal pole. The light was dim, but Morgan knew what the sign said, so she had no trouble reading Last Chance Ranch flanked on either end by the interlocking L and C that formed the ranch’s brand. She drove across a metal cattle guard onto a dirt road.
“And that’s another thing,” Gabe said. “This road should have been paved years ago, but Dad didn’t want to do it. That probably means it’ll never get done. I think Jack wants to turn this place into a shrine to the old man’s memory.”
“Roads are expensive.” Morgan drove a dark green Suzuki Grand Vitara, which had served her well when showing property in the Jackson Hole area. It took the ruts in the dirt road with no problem, but she had to keep her speed down. This was one long-assed road. She pushed the buttons to lower the automatic windows. Might as well enjoy the cool morning air.
The road ran between sage-covered meadows fenced in the Wyoming tradition of buck and pole—two poles angled into the ground to create an X, with cross pieces nestled in the crotch of the X. Not a single light could be seen. In the real estate business, a long entrance road created sec
lusion and seemed to hint that the house at the end would be well worth the wait.
“You’re right. Roads are expensive,” Gabe said. “Expensive to put in and expensive to maintain. But that wasn’t Dad’s objection. He was never a cheap man. He just didn’t want gawkers coming onto the property too easily. According to him, a dirt road discouraged people from driving in.”
“So why not put a locked gate at the main road?”
“There was my dad’s twisted logic. He thought that gate would make it look as if we had something so precious that we had to lock it up and people would sneak around a locked gate out of curiosity. Plus he hated the idea of stopping to get out of his truck to open it. The dirt road worked for him.”
Morgan was beginning to feel as if she’d known Jonathan Chance, after all. “But not for you?”
“For one thing, it’s hell pulling a loaded horse trailer down this road even in good weather. You can imagine the kind of nightmare it becomes once it starts snowing. Heavy rain’s not a lot of fun, either.”
Morgan had a horrible thought. “Gabe, don’t tell me the rollover was on this—”
“No, it wasn’t here, thank God. It happened a good twenty miles from here, on a paved road slick with rain. I was out of town, putting on a cutting-horse demonstration for some 4-H kids down in Cody.” He paused.
“Haven’t been able to make myself do another one of those 4-H events since.”
Morgan reached over and squeezed his knee. “They say the first year is the hardest.”
“It wouldn’t have to be quite so hard if Jack would ease up.”
“Maybe he just needs time.” Morgan had been furious with Jack yesterday, but now that she understood him a little better, her anger had ebbed away.
“Or a swift kick in the butt. And I might be the guy to give it to him. Now that he’s passed the big three-oh, he might be getting a little soft.”
Morgan doubted it, but she had her mind on other things, like the big hip-roofed barn she’d just driven by, the outbuildings beyond that, and finally, the huge house in front of her. She’d thought of ranch houses as rambling, one-story structures. This one looked more like a two-story ski lodge, or perhaps the fantasy creation of a kid with a deluxe set of Lincoln Logs.
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