by Vonna Harper
“I left the same week the indictment came,” she explained. “I don’t know what happened.”
“You already had another job lined up?”
She shrugged and made a show of savoring her drink. Someone had switched CDs. Now a female singer was demonstrating her range, the notes long, slow, and rich like old wine. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted three couples engaged in something between a dance and fucking fully clothed. Damn, she needed to be fucked! To fuck.
“Finding work has never been a problem,” she said and finished her beer.
“Because you have sure hands.”
“Is that what Rylan told you? He approves of the way I handle his green stock?”
“He does, among other things.”
What things, she wanted to ask but didn’t. She’d have to be dead from the neck down not to know how her boss studied not just her gentle patience with all but wild horses, but her form and movement. Hell, most men did. She’d known the time would come when she and Rylan would need to define their relationship and had been looking forward to the exploration. But that had been before this black-clad cowboy had walked into her life. The thought of sniffing out the possibilities with not one but two men caused her pussy to heat again. Before she could focus on and enjoy the sensation, Kade took hold of her wrists and turned her hands up so he could study her palms.
“Calluses. Short nails,” he observed with his thumbs pressing into her veins. “The hands of a woman who sees them as tools.”
“I wouldn’t be able to do my job if they were soft.”
“And pitting yourself against horses that hate any kind of confinement turns you on, does it?”
His words held layers of meaning. Challenge. She wanted to concentrate on them and yet she didn’t care…about anything except his thumbs shutting off the flow of blood.
“I’m good at what I do.” Her voice had a rote-like quality. “I know how to channel my strength to where it needs to go. After a while the horses I work with know that.”
“I’m sure they do.”
He started kneading the insides of her wrists, his thumbs making long, sensual strokes along her flesh. If she hadn’t been sitting, she’d be hard-pressed to go on standing. The way he stared at her, bold and confrontational, reminded her of a just-roped stallion.
Was that what he was? A stallion?
If so then she was a mare. A mare in heat.
“We’re going to dance,” he said and pulled her to her feet.
Chapter Two
“You…haven’t you heard of asking?” Despite her surprise, Maita didn’t try to pull free.
“I’ve heard of it. But tonight there’s no need.”
He’d wrapped his arms around her and pressed her against his chest before she could make sense of what he’d just said. Instead of moving to the middle of the barn where several other couples now gyrated to a slow love song, he spread his legs slightly so hers fit within his stance and began rolling their bodies from side to side. Her long, single-braided hair stroked her back. His grip kept her arms against her side when she would have preferred to lay them on his shoulder. The part of her brain long accustomed to making decisions about her life and body demanded to know what the hell he thought he was doing.
The part ruled by her clit didn’t give a damn.
As long as they remained where they were, they were nearly hidden from view. The song, sung by a female vocalist with a throaty voice, had long been a favorite of hers, but with her breasts flattened against Kade’s strength, she heard nothing except a low percussion beat. The sound and more slid beneath her skin to quicken her blood flow and breathing rate. Her feet remained in place. In fact, unless she was mistaken, only her hips were in motion. Perhaps she should look up and read his expression, but she’d already learned what she needed to know.
He had an erection. Maybe he became aroused by playing macho man. Maybe women who smelled of sweaty horses and leather turned him on.
Her arms felt leaden. Even if she’d been able to lift them, she wouldn’t have tried. Her entire body became heavy, inert almost. Well, not all of her, she acknowledged. Everything from belly button to knees had heated. She felt feverish there, the greatest heat centered around her pussy. Hot and melting, she turned small and weak within his embrace. He guided her swaying movements in tune with the song’s echoing rhythm. She heard laughter and loud talking, and yet she didn’t.
Most of all there was him. Him everywhere. Commanding.
Working with horses had conditioned her to sizes greater than her own, and she’d stopped feeling small around any living thing—until now. Somehow this near stranger had sucked muscle and self-determination out of her, melted her down until she’d become more him than herself.
Beyond comprehension, she loved feeling like this, loved his arms encasing hers, his legs bracketing hers with his sex insistent between them and her back arched. He turned one way and then the other, taking her with him as surely and confidently as she guided well-trained mounts.
She’d become his animal, his compliant possession.
Before she could face the question, he ran his hands from her shoulders down over her arms, her elbows, biceps. Then he guided her arms behind her. More curious than alarmed, she didn’t resist as he crossed one wrist over the other and held them in place against her buttocks with one large, work-conditioned hand.
“What are you doing?” she asked as he widened his stance and brought her legs, her hips even, under his control.
“An experiment.”
“Experiment? What kind?”
“One designed to determine how far I can go tonight.” As if reinforcing the barely comprehended statement, he pressed his free hand against her right ass cheek.
Quit it! If you think I’m going to let you manhandle me, you’re sadly mistaken! She thought the words. She just didn’t say them.
“Tell me about yourself.”
“What?”
“What do you want out of life, Maita?” he asked. His breath chased hot over her face. “You’re damn good at what you do. Rylan told me he’s never seen better and from what I observed of your ride, you understand a horse’s instinct.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Free yourself, damn it! Let him know what you think of being treated like a just-roped horse!
“It’s acknowledging one kind of mastery by someone who understands the necessary skills and talents.”
He hadn’t just thrown out the words, she’d bet a month’s pay on it. She just wished she understood what he was getting at.
But with her body under his control and her hot to learn what else he had in mind, how did he expect her to hold up her end of this double-edged conversation?
Maybe he didn’t.
“Perhaps you’re bored by my observations,” he whispered in that silken whiskey tone of his. “Maybe you’d rather just dance.”
Maybe.
He stopped probing her ass and transferred his attention to her throat, his fingertips an unsettling mix of fine sandpaper and satin. She lost herself in thoughts of those fingers roping a rogue horse or forcing a massive bull into a corral. Hands with that kind of strength would have no trouble getting a woman to comply with anything he wanted, and yet he exuded rough male sex. He’d never have to force a woman—unless he wanted to.
Was his hold on her about pleasing himself? she wondered. He knew nothing about her, couldn’t possibly give a damn about anything except getting in her pants. Tomorrow it’d be another conquest—or maybe he’d go back to his wife.
“Are you married?” she demanded as the languid song ended.
“Do you want me to be?”
“What kind of question is that?” She put all her strength into yanking free. When she stood apart from him and rubbed her wrists, she had no doubt she was free because he’d relinquished control.
“If I had a wife, you could tell me to take it home and be rid of me. But if there’s no one in my life, it complicates thi
ngs.”
Things were already more complicated than she felt like handling tonight. “What’s the answer?”
“No wife.”
His answer carried layers of complication. But before she could so much as ask herself if she wanted to wade through them, another song began. This one pounded the air with energy, with anger even. Smiling with just his mouth, Kade captured her right wrist and pulled her into the center of the barn. She didn’t know how many other couples had already claimed the dance space, couldn’t guess at the number of mostly men who clapped and whistled as they watched the dancers.
In an oddly disturbing way she knew they were garnering more attention than the other couples. As Kade spun her away from him, then quickly pulled her against him, she realized the onlookers’ focus was on her and not her partner. She tried to tell herself it was understandable because she was the newcomer, Kade a fixture at the rodeo scene. Still, she couldn’t shake the predatory atmosphere. What was she, a brood mare up for auction?
No matter! Couldn’t think about that now, not with Kade spinning her this way and that, letting her out as if she was a wild horse testing its rope, then reeling her in tight and tethered. Her wrist throbbed from the tight hold. Yet, she loved the ceaseless movement, the mix of freedom and capture. Maybe he could sense the flesh under his strong fingers, because before discomfort could slide into pain, he deftly ran her in a circle behind him, and when she moved in front again, he switched to her left wrist.
He barely moved. Instead, she absorbed the song’s energy and performed the dance for both of them, sweated and spent herself. She became dizzy. Her legs trembled. Sweat ran down her throat to join the wet heat between her breasts.
She loved being part of voice and instruments, of this masculine world. Most of all she loved dancing for Kade Severn. Being what he wanted.
When she thought she might lose her balance and collapse before him, the song abruptly ended. A heartbeat later, the onlookers started clapping and stomping their feet, applauding her.
Ignoring their audience, Kade yanked her against him in a way that had already become familiar. He guided her arms to her sides and pressed them against her hips in an undeniable command for her to keep them there. Then he pulled a cotton handkerchief out of his back pocket and used it to wipe sweat off her cheeks and throat. Displaying his disdain for her right to her own body, he yanked loose the top snap on her shirt and slid the cotton between her breasts.
Shaking and out of breath, she let him.
“She’s had enough for one night.”
Distracted by the vaguely familiar voice, Maita struggled to find the source. Her boss stood a few feet away. His expression and stance left no doubt of his displeasure.
“I’ll decide when she’s had enough,” Kade retorted.
What was she? Their dual possession?
Yes. If you let it happen.
* * * * *
Still working at controlling her breathing, Maita wetted a paper towel in the women’s restroom and used it to wipe sweat off every inch of exposed flesh. She left the hollow between her breasts until last because she wanted to savor the memory of Kade’s hands on that part of her anatomy.
What the hell had the exchange between the two men been about?
And even more important, what was her role? The pluses, minuses, danger?
The bathroom door opened, and Ann walked in. The other woman took in the small facility, then locked the door and leaned against it. “Quite an introduction,” she said.
“To what?”
“Sorry, girl, but I’m going to let you figure that out.” Ann walked over to the sink and started washing her hands. “What do you know about Klamath County?”
“What’s to know? It’s ranching country, dry. Thousands of heads of beef cattle are raised here. All those ranchers have horses, some for their own need, others, like Rylan, train and then sell them. Winters are harsh, summers too short. Those who don’t make a living off the land have a hard time making it which is why there aren’t any good-sized towns.”
Ann nodded. “You’ve learned a lot in the short time you’ve been here.”
“I did my research before I took the job.” Although she’d managed to cool down considerably, her washing up had done nothing to quiet the heat between her legs. Her single beer had little to do with her condition. Score one for your side, she silently told Kade Severn.
“Did you?” Ann shook her head. “Oh, I’m sure you researched the obvious things such as whether Rylan’s operation operated in the black. It does, nicely. I’m talking about the undercurrents.”
“Undercurrents?” Her mouth felt dry.
Ann swiped her wet hands on her jeans, glanced at her manicure, and returned her gaze. “You’re free and twenty-one so I’m not going to tell you how to live your life. Hell, now I’ve embraced certain things, you’d never get me to turn my back on. I just want you to realize up-front that you’ve taken the first step down a road I don’t believe you’ve ever been on before. Most women who go on it do so with their eyes open. But with you, they see you as prey.”
Alarm slammed into her. “They?”
“Certain men.”
“Like Kade Severn?”
“And your boss.”
In what now felt like another lifetime, a monster-man had directed the course of her life and made essential decisions without consulting her. When she’d broken free, she’d vowed she’d never again let anyone rule her. And yet hadn’t Kade just— “Why are you telling me this?”
“I’m not sure.” Another non-smile touched Ann’s lips. “Maybe I’m seeing something in you… Let’s just say my opportunities for getting the upper hand are far and few between these days. This is one of those chances. And hell, maybe I want you to leave the field open for me.”
“What field? How am I—”
“Just keep your eyes and ears open, Maita. Don’t take anything at face value. Enjoy the hell out of what happens but know it’s a game of win and lose.”
“And if I don’t want to play?”
Ann indicated her wrists where the imprint of Kade’s fingers remained. “It’s too late. The game has begun.”
She wasn’t shaking, she wasn’t! “What happens if I lose?”
“Lose?” Ann closed her eyes. “I don’t want to think about it. Maybe…” Her lids fluttered open. “No maybe to it. I’ve got to be honest with you. You’ll be fundamentally changed, lessened.”
Reduced? “I don’t understand!”
“You will, soon. Enjoy the hell out of every moment you’re given of the ride, but never lose sight of something.” She wrapped her arms around her middle as if hugging herself.
“What?” Maita demanded when the silence dragged on.
“It’ll always be a game for Kade and Rylan. I wish—damn, I wish it was otherwise! But shit, they do what they do to women because they see the female sex as horseflesh, property to turn into valuable, highly trained livestock.”
“What? Are they insane!”
“Maybe. To tell you the truth, I don’t give a damn.”
“You don’t?”
Emotion flickered across Ann’s features then her earlier passivity returned. “I’d be crazy to love a man who doesn’t care about me except from the neck down, wouldn’t I?” She paused as if trying to convince herself of what she’d just said. “The way I look at it, if a man’s willing to give me the best sex I’ll ever have, I’d be fool not to put up with what goes along with being fucked—and fucked.”
Had Ann been drinking? She didn’t smell alcohol on her breath but couldn’t be sure. “I, ah, I appreciate the advice.”
“Advice, warning, whatever word fits. Just don’t fall in love. It’ll destroy you if you do.”
Maita’s mind was still whirling with questions when Ann yanked her shirt out of her jeans and, showing no hint of embarrassment, unzipped her jeans and tugged then down, exposing a string bikini. She widened her stance and pulled red silken fabric away from her
crotch. Maita gaped at the tiny gold ring dangling from Ann’s clit.
“A gift from Rylan because I was a good girl—his criteria for a good girl anyway. Unfortunately, Kade hasn’t touched me since.”
Kade? “He—how did Rylan—”
“He pierced me while I was helpless. Oh, I suppose I could have moved, but by then I’d come so many times I couldn’t come again. I didn’t give a damn about anything.” Ann licked her lips and repositioned her bikini so the ring was covered. “The only way I can get it off is by cutting it, and I’m afraid of displeasing—”
“You let Rylan—”
“Let isn’t part of things where those two men are concerned.” Ann started stroking herself through the red fabric. “I know you don’t understand yet, but you will. You will.”
Before Maita could begin to gather her thoughts, someone knocked on the bathroom door. “Ann.” The voice was unmistakably Rylan’s. “We’re leaving. You’ve told her more than enough.”
Gnawing on her lower lip, Ann quickly restored her clothing and left without saying a word. Alone again, Maita paced in the too-small room. It had to be a dream, it had to!
No, it isn’t.
Unnerved, not so much by what Ann had told her but her admittedly cloudy memories of the time she’d spent dancing with Kade, she dampened her cheeks once more, squared her shoulders, and walked back out into the barn. The music was just as loud, the lighting just as surreal. If anything, more sweat and hops had been added to the smell in the air, but although she’d long craved fresh oxygen, she felt embraced by the pungent mix of aromas.
Despite herself, she looked around for Kade. Instead, she spotted Rylan and Ann by the front door. Rylan was talking with a couple of stock handlers, laughing and nodding, seemingly uninterested in anything except the conversation. Ann stood by his side, her head down, hands clasped behind her almost as if kept in place by cuffs. Rylan’s right arm was draped over her shoulder, his fingers stroking her throat.