Hard Ridin' (6 page)

She sucked in a breath and he simultaneously captured her nipple between his lips. Clamping down, he exerted the perfect amount of pressure even as he flicked his tongue over her straining bud.

Digging her fingers into his spine, she felt the steel of his muscle beneath the cotton. “Get out of this shirt. I need to feel you.”

He stared down at her, his expression both fierce and impassioned. “I’ve missed you so goddamn much, baby.”

Emotion tripped through her. She’d never stopped loving him, wanting him. They’d shared good times and had so much in common. A love for popcorn with extra butter and horror movies. And the spark had never been lacking between them.

She grappled with his shirt buttons while he kissed her again. His mouth worked hers possessively, bending her to his will. Finally, the shirt gaped open. She thrust her hands inside, running them over the swells of his smooth chest.

“Fuck, yes. I missed your hands on me.” He plucked at the button of her jeans. When he pulled her zipper down, she felt the vibration of each tooth to the center of her core.

He dragged his rough jaw down her throat to her breasts while easing her jeans down her hips. Slipping his shirt off his shoulders, she wriggled her hips to help him remove her pants.

He knelt over her, yanked his shirt off completely and tossed it away.

She sucked in a harsh breath. She’d seen him naked many times before, but his body was different—more muscled, carved. Ridges cut across his abs and a thick rim of muscle rode above his low-slung jeans.

“You’re gorgeous.” The whisper broke from her, raising a growl from him.

“Like hell. You are.” In a flurry, he had her boots and jeans off, as well as his. Only a thin layer of lace acted as barrier between them.

Still on his knees, he smoothed his hands down her sides, strumming each nerve ending in her breasts as he moved to her waist, then lower. He plucked the elastic holding her panties in place, and his cock bobbed against his stomach.

The thick length beckoned to her. Impossible heat settled in her pussy, and juices slicked her inner thighs. If she didn’t feel him inside her soon, she’d melt through the mattress.

Hooking a finger into the elastic of her panties, he tore the side away. A gasp rushed past her lips. He leaned forward and thrust his tongue deep into her open mouth.

Moaning around his tongue, she shifted her hips upward, quaking with need. He ripped the other side of her panties and the cloth fluttered free. As he slid a hand between their bodies to cup her mound, he halted their kiss and sucked her nipple into his mouth.

Lightning crashed through her body. Was that his heartbeat she felt through his tongue or her own? Each swirl drove her higher. Her nipple tightened almost painfully, and he scraped his teeth lightly over it in the way that sent her spiraling out of control.

“Holden, I need you!” She locked her heels behind his back and jerked him against her. The swollen head of his erection prodded her wet folds.

They shared a groan.

“Fuck, I want to go slower, but I can’t.” He ripped open a condom wrapper with his teeth and rolled it on in one swift motion. His jaw clenched and he gazed into her eyes for a brief second before plunging deep into her pussy.

Her tissues stretched around him, hugging his girth. After months without the intimacy of intercourse, tears burned in her eyes. Sensation played through her body and took up residence in her heart. All the pain of the past eight months trickled away as Holden began to move within her.

Clamping his fingers around her nipple, he pinched it hard. Pleasure burst behind her closed eyes.

He withdrew all the way to the tip, and then drove back in. The muscles of his back flexed. Opening her eyes, she drank in his appearance, stunned to find him still wearing his black cap. She dragged it off his head. His hair was cropped closer than she’d ever seen it, the curls tamed into ripples lying flat against his skull.

“Laurel… I wanted this. Wanted you for…so…damn…long.” He drove into her with every word.

His thick cock stroked that special knot of nerves in her pussy once…twice. Her body clamped down and cream soaked him as the first waves of bliss washed over her. The flames in her belly raged out of control, and her pussy contracted wildly around his length.

“That’s it, darlin’. Come all over me. Come on my cock.”

His words sent her sailing higher. She clung to him. Then he thrust his hands under her ass and jerked her upward. Crying out, she shattered all over again while he churned his hips wildly. He stiffened and then roared as his release claimed him.

His breath washed over her face. Hungrily, she searched out his lips. Their tongues dueled, each silky stroke reminding her of why she loved him and of how much she’d missed him. Senses returning, she gave a final shudder.

Holden broke away and stared down at her, supporting his weight on his elbows. The corners of his eyes crinkled up with a smile. “That should have happened yesterday.”

Her heart flipped over. The events and words exchanged all flooded back to her and she reeled.

Jens.

Where was he right now? Was he a mess of emotion, knowing that Holden had taken her to bed?

“Oh no,” she whispered hotly.

Holden’s jaw firmed and his cheek moved as if he was biting it. “You’re thinking of him.”

“It’s impossible not to. I-I’m unsure about this situation. Being with you both is bound to present more problems.”

He closed his eyes, and she counted to ten before he opened them again. Finally, he rolled off, disconnecting their bodies. Slinging an arm over his eyes, he avoided her gaze. “I don’t know what to think about it either. But for a few minutes here, in this bed with you, I didn’t think. Until you’ve made a choice, the best thing for me to do is just that—live in the moment.”

Easing onto one hip, he studied her. The hair on her body lifted to the caress of his gaze.

“Can you do that, Holden?”

Her heart throbbed heavily with the weight of the situation she’d gotten herself into. Two men, one choice to be had. She loved them both—how could she possibly ever choose? And they deserved better.

Tears closed off her throat, and she fixed her sight on the ceiling. Tonight, Jens would come to her house, and she knew without a doubt she’d fall into his arms. If he asked to make love to her, she wouldn’t refuse. The time had come to express how deep her emotion for him ran. The river of love was no shallower than that she possessed for Holden.

“Laurel, this isn’t the ideal situation, but we’re set on the course now, aren’t we?”

She nodded, infused with new warmth from his tender tone.

“So the question isn’t whether I can live in the moment, but whether or not you can.”

Jens circled the Ransom house on horseback twice before gaining enough gumption to dismount. He’d never admit it, but he was crapping his pants with fear. Fear that he’d been stupid to suggest the arrangement between him, Laurel and Holden. She’d spent half the morning in Holden’s arms—could she have made her decision before Jens could even put up a fight?

He deserved a go with her. A chance to seduce her properly and use his body to prove how worthy he was of her love.

The purplish-gray shadows of twilight spread across the yard. Hundred-year-old flowers still bloomed around the porch steps, the sleepy heads nodding on their stems. The fresh scents of grass and a wisp of smoke greeted him. Laurel must have been hauling and burning brush again.

Pride infused Jens. She hadn’t been born into the country life, but she fit it like a cowgirl in tight chaps. It seemed she’d grown up working outside and tilling soil. She’d make a perfect farmer’s wife.

He just hoped that farmer was him.

Drawing a deep breath, Jens climbed the porch steps. The boards sagged under his boots, and he made a mental note to reinforce them as soon as he found time. He almost felt bad renting the old house to her—she deserved so much better. But she’d never agree to stay for free.

A faint yellow glow from the window spilled onto the floorboards and slanted across his boots. His heart thumped madly. Either this would be the best night of his life or the end of his universe.

“Never been a coward and I won’t start now,” he muttered. He lifted a hand and rapped on the thick, walnut door.

It opened almost immediately. Laurel stood in the flare of light. “Come in here.” Her tone was dusky, breathless. She twisted a hand in the front of his chambray shirt and tugged him over the threshold.

Wrapping an arm around her, he kicked the door shut behind him. She was warm and slightly moist, as if she’d recently taken a shower. Her hair was dry and fluffy, the ends tickling his fingers.

Their gazes locked, and a million words passed between them. Relief rang out in his core. She hadn’t been completely swayed over by Holden. Jens had a chance, which meant he hadn’t been a total ass when he suggested she date both.

She stretched onto tiptoe and turned her face up for his kiss. He dipped his lips to hers at once. The bright scents of citrus filled his head, and something deeper, earthier.

Arousal.

With a groan, he angled his head and thrust his tongue into her mouth. She opened wide for him, tongue meeting him stroke for stroke. His cock bulged against his fly, demanding exit. Heat clawed his insides.

Spinning her around, he pressed her back against the door, sagging at the knees and grinding his erection against her. She inhaled sharply.

This was a test. He’d never gotten further than this with her—she always pushed him away. He was pushing her hard and fast, without much warm-up. But tonight of all nights, he needed to know where they stood. If she sent him away from her bed, he’d walk away forever, though it would kill him to do it.

She ran her hands up his spine to his nape. In one swift flick, she knocked his hat off. The dusty cowboy hat hit the floor, and Jens’s grin spread over her lips.

“Now, I had designs to wear that to bed.”

She shuddered. “Just you and me and a cowboy hat? Sounds perfect.” Her heated whisper ignited him. Desire exploded in his groin and spread swiftly up to claim his heart.

He stared deep into her eyes. “You sure about this, Laurel? You understand what it is you’re accepting?”

She leaned in and bit his lower lip, as lightning fast as a kitten attacking a strand of yarn. “Shut up and take me to bed, cowboy.”

Rumbling his pleasure, he scooped her off her feet and strode toward the stairs. Having helped her move in, he knew which bedroom she occupied. As he swept her up the stairs, she tasted him—nibbling his earlobe, swirling her tongue over his throat.

Goose bumps erupted all over his body, and his cock oozed pre-come. Fuck, how many times had he jacked off to this fantasy? Finally, he was going to live it.

He kicked in her bedroom door and it struck something inside. He nudged it with his hip, and she released a giggle. “What in hell is that?”

“Stuff.”

“Ooo-kay.” He put his muscle into it and pressed the door wide enough to squeeze through with her in his arms. The soft light from the tall windows on the west-facing wall tumbled over the room. He narrowed his gaze at the heaps, lumps and towers that rose up out of the darkness.

“Laurel, where’s the bed?” Junk littered the space. And here he’d thought she’d be upset to come to his bed and find a full laundry basket and rumpled sheets.

She extended a hand and pointed to the far wall. He picked his way across the room, avoiding the landmines of clothes, shoes and God knew whatever else. The bed was free of clutter, though, and that was all that mattered.

“Sorry.” She buried her face against his throat and vibrated with laughter.

“You and me are gonna have a talk about why one woman would need this much stuff.”

“All right, but only after you’ve peeled me off the ceiling.”

He moaned, white-hot coals scorching his belly. His balls clenched up tight and ached for release. Tenderly, he tipped her onto the bed and pinned her to the mattress with his body.

She wriggled under him seductively, rolling her hips and arching her breasts upward. For a moment, he simply hovered over her, enjoying the feel of her body beneath his. The furthest they’d gotten were several drunk-on-lust make-out sessions, which always took place on the sofa or in his truck. Once he’d caught her against the barn, and she’d allowed him to delve a hand into her panties and feel her soaking, hot pussy, but before he could even finger her to completion, she’d stopped him.

Later, he’d gone home with her scents on his hand and smelled each digit while stroking his cock. He wanted more of that. Craved it. Her scent, her taste. It had become an obsession with him over the past month. Now he was oh, so close.

“Don’t push me away, darlin’.”

“No.” The word was a heated rasp.

Without warning, he claimed her mouth. Crushing her lips beneath his, rubbing his freshly shaven jaw over her silky flesh as he tangled his tongue with hers. Her personal musk filtered into his head along with some sugary drink she’d had earlier. He stroked the interior of her mouth, tasting her tongue, walls, lips, teeth. When he flicked the tip of his tongue against the roof of her mouth, she issued a harsh moan.