by Regale, Rhea
The lower she went, the harder his muscles became, tensing in anticipation. The crown of his cock brushed the underside of her chin. She kissed her way around the intimidating length, creeping further south until she reached his sac, still tucked in his jeans. Wrapping her hands on the waist of his jeans, she gave a sharp tug and yanked them down to his thighs.
His eyes blazed as he watched her, the shadows shifting along the hollows of his cheeks as he gritted his teeth. She licked the tip of a single finger and rested it at the base of his cock. Slowly, she drew a moist line along the seam of his dick. Brody cussed and dropped his head back, his hands trembling against her scalp. She couldn’t resist a satisfied grin, cresting the wide crown and smearing his juice over the smooth, bulbous head.
Mandy fisted her hand around his cock and began a leisurely rhythm, riding his length up and down. Her nostrils flared, and she took in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the tangy scent of Brody’s arousal.
“Amanda,” he murmured, his husky voice turning guttural. She brushed her parted lips over his sac. His legs jerked. “Amanda.”
Mandy wrapped her lips around one side of his sac and sucked his balls into her mouth. Brody let out a quiet yelp, his hips undulating into her fist. She rolled his balls over her tongue, absorbing the masculine flavor of his skin.
“Hell on fire.” He writhed, the muscles of his thigh beneath her splayed hand bunched and solid. She could feel the resounding tremors like currents of electricity against her fingertips. Indulging him, she worked her way along the bottom of his sac until she reached the other side and massaged his neglected balls around her mouth.
His hand pulled out of her hair and slapped down on her wrist, stopping her fist from pumping his cock. She swept her tongue over his sac and looked up, releasing him from her suction. His lips were pulled back in the beginning of a hungry scowl. His eyes were so dark, his face strained.
“Damn it, Mandy. I’m so fuckin’ close to comin’,” he rasped between clenched teeth. His breaths came hard and fast, his hips still moving, pumping the air.
“And that’s a problem?” she asked, flashing him a sensual grin and lowering her lips to the head of his cock. She murmured, “Shame.”
“The shame’ll be when I explode like a damn teen, ’cause I can’t control myself with you.”
“Double shame.” She slid her lips around the tip of his cock and swirled her tongue over the smooth surface, drinking in the taste of his tangy juice. Inch by inch, she took his cock deeper until he hit the back of her throat. Brody tried to thrust his hips upward, but she held him down and worked his length, sucking and licking, gently running her teeth along his shaft.
“Fuck, Amanda.”
Mandy felt his cock swell along her tongue before his release filled her mouth. She drank him deep, milking every drop of seed from him. Low, rumbling groans echoed in the truck, his hips rocking into her. She rode his climax, pumping him through each powerful spurt until he drained and settled against the floor of the truck, gasping for breath.
Pressing up from him, Mandy licked the residue of his cum from her lips and savored his flavor. Brody gazed up at her through narrowed eyes, a light flush touching his cheeks. She crawled over him and lowered her body against his, lacing her fingers to bridge his neck. Resting her chin against her hands, she took in every detail of his handsome face in the dense silence. He gave her a smile that twitched, but highlighted the dimple in his cheek. His long lashes fluttered as he fought for composure, the slope of his dark brows relaxed for the moment.
Brody reached up and traced her lips with his fingers, then pushed off the floor and pressed a slow kiss to her mouth. She dropped her hands to his shoulders, holding him while she drowned in the sensual kiss that landed her tucked beneath him.
He smiled down at her. “I might just keep you here all night long.”
Mandy laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think so, Brody. I’ve gotta get home. I’ve got work in the mornin’.” She wedged her hand between their mouths, keeping his kiss at bay before she decided to take him up on the offer. “This is as far as it goes tonight.”
“I had no intentions of fuckin’ you, Mandy. I have more respect for you than that.”
“I’m honored.” She let her hand fall away, and Brody instantly took her in another slow, sensual kiss. “I ain’t a groupie.”
“I wouldn’t want you to be a groupie.” Brody rolled onto his side and tucked her against him, folding his arms around her body in a warm embrace. “I’m not sure I ever want another groupie after having a taste of you.”
* * * *
Mandy felt the vibration in her seat for the third time. She relented this long from looking at her cell after the tantrum she’d had over Brody’s attention to his. No one called her three consecutive times if it wasn’t important, especially this late into the night.
Her body still hummed from the orgasms Brody catapulted her into, the taste of his mouth and his cock still fresh on her lips. The salty aftertaste of his cum lingered at the back of her throat, like the feel of his firm skin against her fingertips. She was floating in another realm when she drew her cell from her purse and glanced at the screen.
That split-second glance sliced through the euphoria, casting away every drop of pleasure. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and dropped her phone back into her purse. Her stomach flipped, leaving an ill sense to spread up her chest until her heart fluttered.
Brody squeezed her hand, slowing the SUV down and exchanging a long, concerned look with her. “Everythin’ okay?”
“Yeah.” She pasted a reassuring smile on her mouth and looked out the window. “Heidi’s checkin’ up on me.”
“You got a good friend in that gal. I know she’s got your back.” He reached for her mussed hair and played with a curl. “But I don’t doubt for a minute you can take care of yourself.”
A stitch formed between her brows. She pulled her leg onto the seat and faced Brody, collecting his hand in hers. “Is this the norm for you, Brody?”
His smile faded, as did the lighter air around him. He brought the truck to a slow stop and caught her gaze. “Is what the norm? Messin’ around in the back of a truck?”
“Or your trailer, or hotel room, or wherever you find yourself with a woman.”
He shook his head. “No. I ain’t gonna lie, sweetheart. I ain’t no saint. I’ve had my share of women, but there’s more with you than with them. I don’t care to know those I’ve kept for a night or two. I know you—”
“Barely.”
“I know you enough, and I’d be a fool not to notice you are different.”
Mandy laughed quietly, lowering her face from his probing gaze. “It’s all in the red hair.”
“I find it fittin’ to you, and quite beautiful.”
“You don’t need to be tossin’ more lines at me. We had our fun. I knew what I was gettin’ into when I let you carry me to the back of the truck.”
“You think this was a one-night fling to hold me over while I’m in town?” Brody asked. He didn’t hide the soft growl of disgust. He scowled and pulled ahead. Mandy settled back in the seat, her purse calling to her. The urgency that hit her to get home stirred up the dark conflict that rose with the call. “Mandy, I wouldn’t use you like that.”
“I never suggested you would, but you’re not stayin’.”
“This week is gonna be a hard one. I can bear it if you’ll help me.”
Oh dear, not good.
“I’ll do my best, but you should know that Craig and I are good friends, and he’s been needin’ me, too.” Part of the truth might help. It might help Brody understand why she may not always be around, but it sure as hell didn’t help her conscience at the moment. Craig was calling her, and she seldom ever ignored his calls. The need to answer left her on the verge of telling Brody to stop and let her out.
Brody’s lips thinned. An unnatural tension flowed through his hand, stiffening but not tightening or pulling a
way. The truck sped up, and he nodded once.
“We bumped into each other a few months after the Caroline ordeal and kinda hit it off.”
“You’re not involved with him, are you?” he asked, his voice as tight as his fist around the steering wheel. Mandy laughed and shook her head.
“I don’t think your brother would ever see me more than the little sister friend he knows he can come to when he’s got a problem and needs a listenin’ ear.” Even if I’m battlin’ these horribly wrong feelin’s toward him that shouldn’t even exist ’cause I’ve been dreamin’ of you. The truth lent a stinging blow to her conscience. She’d just spent an evening naked and playing with Brody while his brother traipsed the edges of her desire just as potently.
“Okay,” he murmured. The tension riding his shoulders lessened, his fingers relaxing in hers. Guilt flooded her. She didn’t want to be another Caroline, but things were taking a turn awfully close to resembling a similar situation. “Sorry.”
“Why’re you apologizin’? You don’t owe me an apology,” Mandy said.
“I do.” He shrugged, turning the truck onto her street. “Things never got cleared up between Craig and me. There’s still bad air between us, and I’m not wantin’ to make it worse.”
Silence followed until he pulled up in front of her house and turned squarely to her.
“I like you, Amanda. Really like you. You’re not afraid to be you, and I admire that in a woman. It has nothin’ to do with what happened tonight, and I ain’t spittin’ lines at you.”
The gentle touch of his knuckle against her chin made her smile. Sincerity glowed in his eyes. If there was one thing she knew about the Casanovas, it was that they didn’t pour out falsities to keep a woman leashed. Brody was speaking truth to her, and it did something frightening to the beating organ in her chest.
“I know the next two days are goin’ to be busy and hard for Momma, and I’m gonna have to help her out as much as I can. I’ll call you.” His brow cinched. “I’ll have to go diggin’ my cell from the field. Eh, I’ll check in on you and see how you’re doin’. Once things are over, I want to bring you out again. We can redo dinner, if you’ll let me.”
Mandy nodded. “I think that’ll be nice.”
“So do I, baby.” He grabbed her arm when she reached for the door handle. “Huh-uh. I’m a gentleman.”
Brody was a gentleman, opening the door and helping her out of the truck. He smoothed back her curls and walked her to the house.
“Good night, sweet Mandy,” he murmured, leaning in and placing an innocent kiss to her lips. “I’ll speak with you tomorrow.”
Mandy slipped through the door and listened to the sound of the truck tires creeping over the pavement as Brody left. She pulled out her cell and opened the text from Craig. I know it’s late, but if you’re awake, I would like to see you. I’ll come by.
It was one-thirty in the morning late, but there had been times they’d meet up even later, if something was bothering him, or her, and they just wanted each other’s company. She should tell him she was tired and needed to rest, but her reply came as the complete opposite.
I’ll be up and waiting outside on the swing.
Mandy rushed upstairs, grabbed a fresh set of pajamas, and ducked into the shower to wash off any hint of her date with Brody. She tried to towel dry her hair best she could before clipping it up.
Craig was already on the porch swing when she stepped outside. He looked up at her, his handsome face creased with fatigue, his eyes cloudy. His jaw and lips were shadowed with the hint of whiskers. He was simply dressed in shorts and a graphic T-shirt, his hair loose, brushing his neck and cheeks. The sight of him plucked her heartstrings. Craig was a genuine man, farmer and rancher to the bone, bronc rider in soul. He was strong and powerful, with a mean streak that could frighten off any threat, but was a soft spirit that understood feelings.
His arm was draped over the back of the swing and folded over her shoulders as she sat down beside him. He was a man built of hard, fine-tuned muscle that held on for an eight-second ride, worked the fields, and fed the livestock. Mandy knew the tenderness he was capable of, having experienced it so many times over three years.
Craig was a man who could make her heart melt, or make it ache mercilessly.
“I needed to see you,” he said, his voice rich, husky, and sensual, unfurling a tingling warmth inside her body. He lowered his face to her hair and inhaled the scent of her shampoo before placing a lingering kiss against the damp strands. “Havin’ you next to me makes everythin’ better. You can understand without me tryin’ to explain what I don’t know.”
“Craig, I’m always here for you, especially now.”
He lifted her chin with a single finger and caught her eyes. A long stretch of silence surrounded them, but a very acute conversation was taking place between their souls. The longer she gazed into his eyes, into the heart of his person, the clearer it became she was drowning in deep trouble.
“I might be selfish to say it, but I always want you here with me.” His eyes dropped to her mouth. Her heart sputtered. If he kissed her, if he crossed that line leading away from friend into different territory…God, what would she do?
Craig’s hand glided down her neck, his thumb following her throat to the hollow of her collarbone before falling into his lap. She released the anxious breath she was holding in and curled up alongside him. She was light-headed and stirring with a new bout of passion that had been reserved specifically for the man beside her. Three years of suppressing the desire to see him as more than a friend proved futile. No amount of guilt could erase how right she felt in Craig’s arms, or how perfect she felt beneath Brody’s body.
She was in deep trouble, and something whispered that the bottom of this churning sea was about to fall out from beneath her feet.
Chapter Seven
The funeral for Leroy Ryder was a sad affair. Mandy and Heidi followed the procession from the church to the cemetery and then joined in the repass at the Ryder house. She paid her respects and shared tears with Mrs. Ryder, accepted a hug from her own momma, and then melted to the side of the room with her friend.
Heidi nudged her in the ribs. “You gonna try to talk to Craig? Or Brody?”
“Neither. Now’s not the time to be thinkin’ romance,” Mandy scolded on a hoarse whisper. “Besides, Craig’s a rodeo and university man, and Brody’s a country star. Double heartbreak there.”
“Craig gave you a little smile on the way out of the church, even if this ain’t no smilin’ affair,” Heidi reminded. Mandy groaned, edging along the living room wall until she found a content place to stay.
She scanned over the crowd of familiar faces from her momma’s seamstress business and diners at Martin’s. She found Rylan standing across the room, dressed in his uniform. He tried to mask his own suffering as today’s events reopened raw wounds from his past. He spoke with Colton, who flew in from his latest rodeo for his uncle’s funeral. Every time he came to visit, he grew more handsome, but lately, a somber air seemed to follow him. Her momma mentioned something about him being investigated for the death of another competitor. They all knew Colt was innocent, but that didn’t prevent the whispers among the circuit that appeared to be taking a toll on him.
Travis joined their conversation for a brief moment before returning to Brent and the new girl in town, Alexis Barrett, at the dining room table. Her ex had been expedited to New York City the day before, where he awaited trial for her attempted murder and three murders back in the city. Landon Ryder, the quietest of the cousins and one of the most heartbreaking, wove through the crowd and settled beside Travis.
The only Ryder who wasn’t present was Carter, the rebel of all Casanovas. His absence didn’t come as a shock. Chances were, no one could get in touch with him to relay the sad news, or if they had, this brought back the memories of his parents’ tragic deaths.
The crowd did wonders to hide Mandy and Heidi, a small blessing since she wasn’t
sure how to approach either brother.
“Craig and I are friends. Nothin’ more,” Mandy assured.
“Who said you can’t have them both?” Heidi teased, pinching her ass. She spun to her friend, eyes wide, jaw slack.
“You wicked whore,” Mandy scolded quietly. Her cheeks were aflame. “I can’t believe you.”
Heidi’s brow cinched. “Don’t go callin’ me a whore, Mandy. You sure ain’t no saint. I’ll betchya my next paycheck and my favorite cowgirl boots that you’ll be screwin’ them both before the end of this summer. And if you lose, I get your paycheck and that sexy little summer dress I keep wantin’ to steal from you.”
“I went home with a guy whose last name I didn’t know once. I don’t make a habit of it. Besides, your foot is bigger than mine, your boobs wouldn’t fit in that dress, and summer ends next week.”
Heidi let out an exaggerated breath and slapped her hands at her sides. “At least you know these two. I’ll buy you the same pair of boots, get your momma to fix the bust, and, girl,”—she wagged a single finger between them—“it only takes a night.”
“You’re losin’ this one.”
Mandy snorted, shaking her friend’s hand. A dark, mysterious smile crossed Heidi’s mouth. Her eyes lifted the same instant warmth rushed over Mandy’s arms, and a familiar sense of being watched made her suddenly self-conscious. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and turned, meeting Craig’s stormy blue eyes. After her outrageous conversation with her friend, his nearness created a new rippling inside her body, one that left a very pronounced slickness in her panties and a fierce blush against her cheeks. She looked at his mouth and quickly jerked her gaze back to his eyes. Now definitely wasn’t the time to fantasize about Craig or Brody, or both.
Oh, but she’d heard rumors from women who’d had their share of any Casanova, and after last night, Mandy would be lying if she told herself she didn’t want more.
Christ, woman. Get your damn head outta the gutter. They just buried their pa.