Hard Ridin' (13 page)

“What if I demand this?” She boldly covered his erection with a hand, wrapping her fingers around the thick head and drawing it away from his body, still within the confines of his jeans.

A muscle jumped in the corner of his mouth, but he didn’t make a noise. Only stared at her until she squirmed.

“Time for that lesson in patience.” Gripping her wrist, he towed her out of the kitchen.

She followed him eagerly, a smile in her heart, and veins throbbing with excitement. At the base of the stairs, he made her take off her boots when he did. Then climbing the treads, he kept her wrist within his rough hold.

At the top, he tripped over a basket of laundry she’d brought up but hadn’t yet folded.

“Damn!”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have put it there.”

He nudged it aside with his foot but said no more. When he led her past the bedroom, she realized they were headed to the bathroom—and a hot shower.

Her nipples tightened almost painfully.

The bathroom was small in this older house, and the fixtures were horribly outdated. But the bathtub was a big, old, glorious porcelain one with room enough for two. She’d never actually taken a bath with Jens, but they’d shared showers this past week.

He flicked back the shower curtain and turned on the water. In seconds, steam rolled into the space. He gave her another dark look. His gaze ticked over her hips, up to her breasts and finally captured her gaze.

“Take off my clothes.”

Her heart sputtered and tripped out of control. The commanding tone he used in the bedroom had filtered into his voice—his words so different from when he’d told her to take off her boots downstairs. Then she’d taken off her boots because she needed to. Now she would strip him because he demanded she do it.

Breathing hard, she stood on tiptoe and reached between his shoulder blades. Pinching the fabric of his T-shirt, she dragged it over his head. It was adhered to his spine by perspiration, but she successfully removed it.

Dropping it to the floor, she reached for his belt. Before she dated Holden, she hadn’t been attracted to cowboys or the rugged type. The men she’d dated were businessmen or accountants. Now she couldn’t get enough of muscles, belt buckles and five o’clock shadows.

A shiver raced down her spine, and Jens’s eyes crinkled with a smile that didn’t touch his lips. She removed his belt and then popped the button of his jeans. As she slid down the zipper, each metallic
zzz
ratcheted up her desire.

Panting, she pushed the denim off his hips, skimming the ring of muscle below his abs as she did. She dragged his underwear down too, and he stepped out of the mass of fabric including socks.

Standing there in the buff, he looked as much at home as he did on horseback. Hell, he could easily be an underwear model.

His cock rose up, thick and straining, from a nest of pubic hair. She moved to wrap her fingers around it, but he caught her hand and squeezed. While he didn’t say “patience”, the word was etched all over his features.

Okay, if he wanted patience, she’d test his.

“Get out of your clothes and get into that shower.” His deep voice burned through her.

The race to strip off her clothes was on. She couldn’t peel off the layers of shirts, jeans and undergarments fast enough. When she was entirely nude, she found his gaze locked to her pussy. This morning, she’d trimmed her curls into a neat patch. And when Holden had found it, he’d dutifully worshipped it. Dropping to his knees on the barn floor, he’d nuzzled, kissed and licked her until she trembled with release.

She shifted her legs apart so Jens was able to see the moisture on her inner thighs.

He passed a hand over his face, then plowed his fingers through his hair.

She bit back a smile. So he wasn’t as immune to her as he’d like her to believe.

Easing toward him, she held his gaze. “I’m going to—”

“Be patient,” he finished. Quickly, he stepped over the lip of the tub and into the shower.

Tamping down the urge to growl, she followed him. Heat engulfed her. Water sluiced off his shoulders and chest, snaking down and darkening his pubic hair. She molded her palms to his pecs, but he gave her a look that made her retreat.

“Wash me first. I’ve been working since dawn.”

Now washing was something she could get into. She squeezed some manly body wash into her hand and soaped her fingers. Then reaching up, she started at his nape, smoothing the slickness around his neck and removing all the grit. She moved over each inch of his shoulders, chest and corded arms. When she reached his abs, she refilled her hand with soap.

Gliding her fingertips over the ridges on his stomach, she let her senses control her. Her head spun from the musk and soap scents, and her fingers were on fire. Between her legs, her sex throbbed. If he didn’t touch her soon, she wasn’t averse to begging.

Deep desire clawed at her core as she circled his abs to his lower back and down to his carved buttocks. A moan left her as she soaped the hard planes. He let her wash him this way, watching through hooded eyes. But when she pressed her belly against his erection, he jerked his hips away.

“On my terms, darlin’.”

Promise seeped from his tone, causing a new flood of cream on her thighs.

“I’ll finish myself. You wash now.”

Disappointment colored her. Wasn’t he going to help?

As she began to wash, he gazed at her heatedly but didn’t lay a soapy finger on her. He shook the water from his hair, let her rinse and then switched off the shower.

They dried in silence, though they exchanged plenty of burning looks. She didn’t like this patience game at all. How was he able to hold on to his control? If she didn’t know he’d stop her, she’d shove him down, straddle him and sink over his cock.

Jens hovered close, his mouth inches from her throat. Shivering, she closed her eyes and waited for him to kiss her—to find that sweet spot that made her writhe.

Instead, he hooked a finger in the towel she’d tucked around her body and yanked it free. The terrycloth puddled at her feet and she gasped in anticipation. Holden wouldn’t make her wait. This afternoon, he’d taken one look at her and given her two shuddering orgasms before taking his ease.

“Let’s go to bed,” Jens rumbled.

Laurel’s nipples swelled to two tiny buds. That was the best thing he’d said all day, and he’d said plenty to leave her wanting.

Sweet Jesus, she thought as she trailed him down the hall to the bedroom. In the dying sunlight streaming through the upstairs windows, his muscled ass inspired visions of sinking her nails into that hard flesh and drawing him deep.

In her bedroom, he shook his head at the mess—something she’d become accustomed to. He’d laughed about the amount of stuff she had and how unorganized she was.

“If this was a barn and you a farmhand, I’d fire you,” he’d teased.

He turned to her slowly, seeming to drink her in with his liquid gaze. He pulled her into his embrace, and relief swept her. The knot in her lower belly tightened further.

Jens took his time kissing her, deeply, then with playful nips. When he finally drifted to her throat, she clung to him weakly, urging him with her movements to speed things up.

He reached between her legs and cupped her pussy. One thick finger lay along the seam. Laurel cried out and bucked. As soon as she did that, he removed his hand.

“Patience,” he murmured against her ear. Worrying her ear lobe between his teeth, he set her on fire. Her knees weakened, and he swept her up and laid her on the bed tenderly.

Stretching over her, he supported his weight on his elbows. When he didn’t kiss her again, she bit into his lower lip.

His chest vibrated with a growl. Though his cock nudged her, he didn’t kiss her again or join them. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

“Patience?”

His grin split his handsome face. “Now you’re learning.” Slipping down her body, he kissed and licked her flesh, avoiding the places she most loved to be touched. Frustration mounted. She arched her back, hoping to entice him with her rosy nipples, but he bypassed them and languished kisses on the valley between her breasts.

Moisture slipped from her folds. Rocking her hips upward, she sought his stiff cock. One swift jerk and he’d be rooted deep inside of her.

As if guessing her thoughts, he locked her hips to the bed with his big hands. Their gazes met, and she gave a plea in the form of a sigh.

“I know what you want. You want me to touch these.” He swirled the air above her breasts. Her blood surged. “And this.” He traced a figure-eight in the air over her clit.

“Oh my God, Jens.”

“Mmm. You’re a good little student.” With that, he slid down her body and positioned himself at the juncture of her thighs.

She attempted to spread her legs for better access, but he pinned her knees with his big hands. Then slowly, he dropped his mouth to the trim patch of curls on her mound.

She stopped breathing, concentrating on the heat of his mouth and the intense feelings tearing through her. Passion, desire, love. They flickered like an old movie on a screen, blurred and overlapping. But they all had one thing in common—Jens.

He sucked her clit onto his tongue. Crying out, she lost all ability to think or reason. Electric heat consumed her from the tip of her toes to the ends of her hair. He lapped at her, gathering juices and tasting her clit as if it were a delicacy.

The first shocks rocketed through her system. Almost there.

Just as she began to tremble, he withdrew. Stopped kissing. Stopped licking.

Hanging on the precipice, she began to beg him to push her over. “Jens, please. I can’t wait another minute.”

“Sure you can, baby.” He gained his knees and maneuvered himself until his cock bobbed before her lips.

A clear bead of come oozed from the tip, and she could control herself no longer. Wrapping her fingers around the root of his shaft, she surged up and closed her mouth over the head of his cock.

He clenched his fists in her hair and drew her in, forcing her to take it. But she wanted all of it, anyway.

Pressing forward, she held her breath, prepared to take him into her throat. His grip tightened and he held her away, just millimeters from where she wanted to be, with her lips flat against his pelvis.

She made a noise of urgency, which drew a laugh from him. She gazed up his hard body and met his blue eyes. Sparks of lust practically flew from them—an electric fence she’d get caught in any day of the week. If he’d let her, she’d hurl herself at it and go up in smoke.

“My speed,” he reminded her.

She gave a soft sound of agreement and swished her tongue around the sensitive rim of his cock. When she dipped her tongue into the depression, he moaned and let her create her own pace.

The smoky taste of his cock curled on her tongue. She squirmed to be touched, but he didn’t loosen his hold on her hair. She sucked him shallowly until she felt his fingers relax. Then she gave him an imploring look.

Please can I suck you deep?

With a grunt, he jerked his hips at the same moment he drew her head close. Her lips met his pubic hair and she hollowed her cheeks around his thick erection. She fell still, letting him feel himself completely inside her mouth.

A heartbeat throbbed between their gazes.

He released her, and she drew a deep breath. Her will bent to his, she licked him teasingly. “Suck me off, Laurel. Take my cock into your pretty mouth and let me feel your heat wrapped around me.”

A thrill rippled down her spine and settled in her sex. Mewing with want, she set the pace. His velvety shaft drove her wild. She savored the flavors, the ridges and the drops of come that wet her tongue.

When he began to stiffen and his thighs to tremble, she increased her speed.

His cock seemed to swell another fraction, and then he thrust deep into her mouth, pouring his hot juices into her throat. She swallowed automatically, her gaze fixed on his expression of bliss.

Head thrown back, mouth a grimace of ecstasy, he came.

The final jerks of his cock on her tongue passed, and she mouthed him slowly, lovingly.

He tangled his fingers in her hair and lifted the weight of the locks off her spine. “So beautiful. Gorgeous woman. So patient.”

Her gaze snapped to his. Was he going to abandon this game and give her what she wanted? She’d been good—had played along. Hell, she’d even learned a lesson.

No one ruled Jens.

Fatigue washed over Jens as he pulled his lax cock from his lover’s lips. She stared at him beseechingly.

“Oh, baby, you are very deserving of this.” He flipped onto his back and dragged her up by the hips until she was straddling his face.

Her pussy was inches from his mouth. Wetting his lips, he grasped her thighs and yanked her down to him. Fleetingly, he thought of her wearing the cowgirl hat he’d bought her as she mounted his mouth, but he wasn’t ready to give it to her yet. He always went with his gut, and the timing wasn’t right.