by Cathryn Cade
She stepped closer, her gaze on his ink. With Herculean effort, he forced himself to stand still while she reached up to touch the tattoo that covered the ball of his right shoulder, and ran down the outside of his upper arm, also taking in the ball of his elbow. Her fingers were cool and soft.
"This is so cool," she told him. "I love the color. What is it?"
He liked it himself. Instead of black or dark blue, his ink was copper-brown. The design was bold, tribal. And completely abstract.
"Some people think it's a warrior's helmet and a mythical creature up there, threatening him," he said. "Could be, I guess. I just liked it."
And now he was done talking about it. They had things to do. He reached for the fastening of his jeans, looking her over.
"Thought you were pretty with your clothes on," he managed, pulling down his zipper while he kicked off one of his boots, then the other. Thank Jesus for cowboy boots—no laces. He jerked his chin to her. "Turn around, would ya?"
She honest-to-God blushed, her face and the top of her chest turning a rosy peach. But she nodded, and turned gracefully on one foot, pausing with her back to him. She peered at him over her shoulder, and cocked her hip. "Like this?"
"Yeah," he said hoarsely, his gaze on her ass. "Like that."
He shoved his pants down, and his cock sprang free, a blessed relief. T kicked his pants off and then stood there, giving his cock a soothing stroke as he admired her. A heart-shaped ass, that's what she had. Lush, full and round. His cock jerked in his grasp as he pictured what he'd do next.
She made a small sound, and his gaze flew up to see her staring at his cock over her shoulder, eyes wider than before. "Oh, my God," she breathed. "You're—that's really big."
He grinned, and swiveled his hips, thrusting his cock at her. "Yeah, it is. You gonna cover it in honey for me?"
She looked up to meet his gaze, and gave him a look that was pure devil. "I don't know. Think you can make it worth my time?"
"Oh, yeah," he promised, moving toward her. "That, I can do."
And somehow, promising a whore he'd make her happy instead of just telling her what to do to make him happy seemed like the best idea he'd had in a long time.
He moved in close enough that his cock brushed against her ass, teasing his sensitive flesh with satin skin and the tickle of lace. Setting his hands on her waist, he squeezed gently, and bent his head to nuzzle her nape, drawing in her scent and enjoying the slip of her hair against his beard.
"Take your bra off for me," he told her, looking over her shoulder at the swell of her breasts in the white lace.
She obeyed him with a shiver of what felt like pleasure. Unfastening the bra with a flick of her fingers between her breasts, she pulled it slowly open, and then shrugged her shoulders to let it fall back and down.
The scrap of lace caught on his cock, and he stared, mesmerized by the sight of his shaft, flushed and angry, the purplish head now shrouded coyly in one of her bra cups. It was obscene and totally hot.
He filed that in his spank bank, and got back to the real woman in his grasp.
"Damn, I was gonna have you suck me," he told her, "But I'm thinkin' I can't wait to get inside you."
CHAPTER SEVEN
* * *
Manda had never known that her body could actually ache for sex.
That having a big, hot, virile man ready to love her up could have her pussy wet and swollen and aching before he even touched her there.
That when he slid his huge, calloused hands up over her ribs and cupped her bare breasts, she would want to arch her back, pushing them harder into his grasp, and at the same time rubbing her bottom on his groin like a cat in heat.
Oh, God, his cock was so big. And so hot, it nearly burned her.
She wanted to touch it, hold that satin girth and stroke it. But his arms were in the way, so she tipped her head back against his shoulder and turned her head, asking for another kiss. She got one, a hard, wet one with his tongue in her mouth and his cock sliding in the furrow of her ass cheeks.
"Fuck," he muttered against her mouth, reaching down to cup her mons tight in his grasp. "Hope you're good an' wet, or you got some lube handy. Oh, yeah, you are. Hot honey, drippin' on my fingers. Just how I like it."
Manda moaned into his beard, because God, his big, rough fingers were spearing between the lips of her labia, stroking deep and hitting her swollen clit at the same time. Fast and rough seemed to be how she liked it too.
Thus, when he uttered another hot, blue curse and pushed her forward onto the bed, she went. She balanced on her hands, one knee up on the mattress, and waited while he ripped open a condom packet, a familiar sound, and donned it with speed that made her want to moan her approval. So she did that too, when his hands returned, this time on her bare thighs, urging her other knee up onto the bed.
If she hadn't been so very turned on, she would have felt self-conscious, kneeling like a wanton with her ass and her sex bared for a stranger. But he cupped her again, and muttered, 'Fuck, yeah. That's it. So damn pretty, so wet. Little blonde pussy, all mine for tonight." His dirty talk turned her on, so instead of blushing, Manda moaned again, and actually thrust her bottom out at him.
"T-Bear," she pleaded. "Hurry. I need you." A small part of her cringed at her own boldness. But what the heck, tonight she was celebrating... something. Maybe her emancipation from selfish jerks.
"Oh, you're gonna get me, don't you worry," he told her fervently.
He spread her with his thumbs, a maneuver that did intriguing things to her sex. Then she felt the broad, blunt head of his cock at her entrance. He pushed in slowly, although she could feel the toll his restraint took on him as his big body quivered against her.
Manda soon realized that Tim must've been pretty small in the male department, because the cock filling her now seemed almost too big. Her entrance stung a little as she stretched to take him, but at the same time, it was incredibly exciting to be so very, very full of a man.
"Fuck, honey girl," he panted, clutching her hips with both hands as he drew out a final time and thrust all the way home. His groin met her ass, all hot, hard man and curly hair. "I ain't hurtin' you, am I? Fuck you're so tight."
"No," she said, licking her lips. "You feel... really good."
He gave a deep, dirty chuckle. "You like bein' full of me, huh? Let's see how you like this."
He withdrew again, and this time slid home much faster. Again, it edged on pain but felt so, so good that Manda dug her nails into the old bedspread as nerves she'd never known she possessed sang a rising song of need and want.
The third time, she moved back to meet him, and he grunted with approval as her bottom slapped against his groin. "Yeah, that's right. Take it all," he rumbled. "Cover me in honey."
Again, again, and again until Manda's body took over, a wild woman coming alive in her skin, one who moaned and cried out as the pleasure built and built inside her around his cock. Then burst in a spasm of delicious, naughty pleasure so strong she cried out, "T-Bear! Oh, my God!"
He let out a roar and stiffened, thrusting harder until finally he shuddered powerfully and slowed.
Manda whimpered her disappointment when he stopped moving, and he laughed deep in his chest, the move quivering through both of them. He pulled slowly out of her, and patted her bottom.
"Sorry, honey girl, I'm done... for now, anyways."
Just as well, she realized, crawling forward enough to lie down on her side on the bed. Because while that had been explosive, she was already a bit sore. He was so big, all over.
She reached back and pulled the bedspread over her, then pushed her hair out of her eyes, watching as he walked the few steps to the tiny bathroom, a hand over his cock. Getting rid of the condom. She yawned mightily. Least that was one thing women didn't have to deal with.
By the time he came back and sank onto the bed beside her, she was nearly asleep. She roused enough to smile sleepily at him, and he patted her hip, then stretched
mightily, and relaxed.
He didn't bother with the covers, she noted before letting her eyes drift shut again. She kind of wanted to stay awake and just admire the male real estate sprawled out beside her. But sleep won out.
CHAPTER EIGHT
* * *
T-Bear woke from his doze as someone moved beside him.
Manda, turning over in her sleep. She lay on her stomach now, her silky hair covering half her face, her bare feet protruding from the bedspread. She hunched her shoulder, and gave a discontented murmur, curling more tightly into an 'S' on the bed, her feet tucked out of sight.
He sat up, freeing the thin covers from beneath him, and draped them over her, covering her from head to foot in another layer. He wished he had a nice comforter to put on her. This place was chilly, even for him, and he was a regular furnace.
He rose from the bed and stretched. He felt good, the way a man feels good after a round of hot, satisfying sex with a pretty woman. A woman who'd surprised him with her inexperience, but still eager, into it and into him. She'd come as hard as he had—a woman couldn't fake that rhythmic squeezing deep inside, or the way she'd come apart in his arms.
She was a sweetheart, and if she wasn't a whore he'd definitely be waking her up to say goodbye, and getting her phone number so he could stay in touch.
But this place… Cheezus, it was a pit hole, smelling of mildew and faint b.o.
The bed was uncomfortable as hell, with sags that only came with years of use. His back was tight and aching, protesting a night not in his own bed. He didn't spend money on a lot of things, but he had the best mattress set he could afford.
He pulled on his jeans, regretfully. Manda was either dead to the world, or pretending to be. So while his cock would really like another round, his big brain said yeah, the sex had been good, but that was her job.
Time for him to go. And anything more between them tonight? Probably not gonna happen.
He'd already paid Faro the two hundred asked. Cheap for a classy, hometown honey like her, but Faro had told him she was brand-new to the trade, willing but nervous, and if T would drop some cash on taking her out to dinner first, it would ease her way.
Worth every dollar he’d spent, and the extra time too. Manda was a sweet gal, who'd laughed at his jokes, looked at him like he was someone special, and been fun to talk with.
She’d also let him fuck her hard, the way he liked it. And she'd done it all with an air of... not innocence, but freshness.
T was all for letting people ride their own road, but he hoped she'd get out of this life before it knocked the sweetness out of her. Before she became another Kryssy, intent only on what she could get from a guy, not what she could share.
Maybe he would get in touch again, see how she was doing… and let her know if she wanted out, he’d give her a hand. Plenty of other ways for a woman to make a living.
His boots and jacket on, he opened his wallet and laid a couple of extra hundreds on the nightstand.
"Thanks, honey girl," he whispered to her dark shape in the bed, not knowing if she was really asleep or not. "You did good. This is for you—already paid Faro his share. You keep this for yourself."
* * *
Manda woke a little when the bed heaved under her.
Her head still heavy on the thin pillow, she smiled dreamily to herself. Her date with T-Bear, their bout of hot, sweaty sex, and the strange but nice way he'd complimented her afterward.
Now she lay on her side, facing him. In the dim light reflecting from the bathroom, he was a dark bulk as he rolled to sit on the side of the bed, his back to her. He ran a hand through his cloud of hair, then heaved a sigh and pushed to his feet. The bed rose a good six inches as his weight left it.
He was a hot, masculine silhouette against the light, his mighty shoulders narrowing down his long back to solid buns, and brawny legs. His arms bulged as he pushed back his hair. Then he bent, and came up holding his pants. She sighed with disappointment as he pulled them up, and then wrestled into his tee and button-up shirt.
But when he walked into the little bathroom, the door closing behind him, she yawned again, and closed her eyes. She was full of good food for the first time in days, she'd had three drinks—unusual for her—and good sex. Now, her body wanted sleep. She'd just close her eyes again. When he came out, she'd invite him to stay longer...
But he didn't wake her, and so she slept on, even when his truck started up outside, and rumbled away in the night.
* * *
Back at the clubhouse, T pulled himself a beer and wandered over to a table where Moke, Rocker, Bouncer, Cooler and Knife were playing a hand of poker.
A pitcher of beer and three whiskey bottles graced the scarred table along with various glasses and a nearly empty bowl of potato chips.
T took the empty chair beside Rocker, and took a drink of Pete's new amber. It was nice, mellow and not too heavy.
"Hey, big man," Rocker greeted him with a lazy grin. "How was your date?"
"Good," T said, and took another drink of beer, because he was not in the mood to chat about Manda, even with these guys.
On the one hand, he still had that warm, relaxed glow a man only got from a good fuck.
On the other, something bothered him about the whole evening—the sweet, almost shy way she'd smiled at him when she opened the door of that shit little cabin, the way she'd blushed when he mentioned having her suck him.
Even the way she'd cried out his name when she came. Like she was surprised.
He'd been with whores who didn't even pretend to cum, and he'd been with a few who did but in such a theatrical way it left a man feeling like he was a performer in an X-rated peep show.
He'd never been with one quite like her. And he knew she was new at it, but still…
"New girl at State Line?" Bouncer asked, with interest.
"Nah, up in Rathdrum. Deal me in the next hand, yeah?"
Bouncer scowled. "You got any cash to back that up?"
"Yeah, I'm good," T-Bear said, frowning. "Not like you're playin' for the big money here."
Cooler scratched his head and belched. "Rathdrum. Yeah, I heard someone's runnin' girls outta some old campground up there. Furry, that his name?"
T's gut roiled, thinking about Manda with a string of faceless males, all doing the things he'd done with her. "Faro," he growled. "Rezan Faro."
Moke watched him, but as usual in a group, said nothing. He'd be there if T-Bear wanted to talk later, though.
"Yeah, Faro, that's it." Cooler dealt the hand and picked up his own cards.
Rocker was frowning as he picked up his cards.
"Bad hand?" Bouncer asked slyly.
Rocker shook his head. "Nah. Faro—I know that name. Can't remember why."
"Prob'ly cause he's a pimp and you're an ex-cop," Bouncer said, and guffawed. Cooler and Knife joined in.
Rocker rolled his eyes, but he did it good-naturedly. "Maybe. But I think it's somethin' else. It'll come to me."
T-Bear examined his cards, discovered he had a fairly good hand, and tossed a couple of chips into the middle of the table. "You think of it, let me know."
"Will do."
"And how come you're not at your own place tonight?" T asked. Rocker and his little darlin' had been so tight lately a brother could hardly see daylight between them.
"Billie's in the Tri, visitin' her dad," Rocker said easily. "Just talked to her on the phone. Bullet and Deni stopped by to meet her dad."
"Bullet's a good man," Bouncer said, reaching for the bottle. "Deni ain't what you'd call smart, but she treats him good."
Not that Bounce could claim any smart women in his past history, T-Bear could have said, but didn't. Their Sgt-at-arms had an ugly temper when he drank, and T-Bear had no desire to set him off tonight.
T-Bear played until the cards blurred together, and Cooler hit his elbow for a third time to remind him to ante up or fold. At this, T dropped his cards with a groan. "I'm out. Gotta get some
sleep."
"What?" Bouncer bellowed, scowling at him. "I's just about to take you for all you got, you big ginger jughead. Siddown and play."
"Sorry, bro.” T-Bear shoved his chair back and rose, wincing as his back twinged again. "Need sleep more'n your money."
"Yeah, like you was gonna get any."
"I'm out too," Rocker said, his chair screeching on the painted cement floor as he stood. "We got that meet with the Black Wolves tomorrow morning, I gotta get some shut-eye."
"They got some more of that good ammo for us?" Knife asked. "Shit, I want some of that. Haven't been able to get 22 cartridges for months."
"Yeah, thanks to the do-gooders," Bouncer said. "Tell you why my place is safe—'cause it's protected by Smith&Wesson."
"An' don't forget that pit bull of yours," Cooler said dryly. "I'm more scared of that dog than I am of you with a gun in both hands."
"I'ma teach the dog to shoot, then you'll really be scared," Bouncer retorted.
They all laughed at this.
T-Bear trudged away, their voices fading behind him. In his room, he dropped his pants on the floor, his shirt on top of them, and hit the bed with a groan. It enveloped him in firm, pillowy comfort like an old friend.
He was asleep in seconds.
* * *
CHAPTER NINE
* * *
Saturday
The next time Manda woke, thin morning light washed the interior of her little cabin in shades of gloomy gray.
T-Bear was gone, leaving only his pleasant male scent on the sheet held to her cheek. Manda's stomach sank with disappointment. After what they’d shared, he hadn’t left his phone number, or asked for hers.
Not that she had one, without her phone. She rolled onto her back, frowning at a water stain on the ceiling panels.
Wait, just a minute, now. Nope, to the nopity-nope.
Even if T-Bear had left his number, he was just a guy, and she had plans to make a new life for herself. She was not getting sidetracked by a big ginger with magic hands, a huge cock, and great rumbly laugh. Even if he did smell yummy, feel even better, and make her feel delicate, special.