“Your brothers and sister?”“Yep. He bribed a government official and the verdict handed down decreed we had to sell the homestead that’d been in my family for seven generations.” He closed his eyes.“I never once thought about cheating my siblings out of any money and they made me feel so…dirty for everything I was. Everything I thought they’d accepted about me. I lost my mother, my ancestral home, my family, and my…dignity.”“Edgard—”“The final cut was when my stepfather told everyone in my hometown selling had been my idea because I wanted to live in Sao Paulo with my male lover. I became a pariah. The church forbade me from even visiting my mother's grave.”She couldn’t speak.“So see. I know about difficult family issues. I’ve lost everything that ever mattered to me.”Except Trevor.Edgard didn’t say it; he didn’t have to.Her heart seemed to shatter into a billion pieces. That’s why Edgard had come back.Not to steal Trevor away, but to remind himself of something that’d been
“I’m glad something is appealing, since I don’t have the appendage you prefer.”He smiled gently. “Joke all you want. But I understand now, maybe more than I ever did, Trevor’s confusion when he started having feelings for me. I have those same confusing moments with you, Chass. You’re not my type, yet I realize for the first time that you really don’t fall for a person’s gender or appendage so much as you fall for the person. And I’ll be damned if I’m not falling for you, Chassie West Glanzer.”In that instant everything between them changed.“I love him,” Chassie said softly.“I know. I love him too.”“What do we do if he really wants to make a go of it with his family?”“I don’t have any idea.”Silence descended as they stared at each other helplessly.Edgard withdrew and set her back on her feet. He kept his back to her as he pulled on his jeans and buttoned his shirt. “What are your plans for the rest of the night?”“Nothin’.” She snatched her jeans but didn’t bother putting them
Carolyn didn’t glance up when she said,“Keely shouldn’t have told you.”“I’m glad she did, Aunt C.”No answer.Chassie crossed the room, her sock feet silent on the wooden floor. She sat on Carolyn’s left side. Click click click as the metal needles whipped the yarn into shape.Neither one spoke for the longest time, which was fine by Chassie. She honestly didn’t know what to say.Aunt Carolyn babbled, “I’ve been putting off finishing this baby blanket for Carter and Macie’s newest addition. You know she’s due any day, right?”“Right.”“The baby is a boy. Always a boy in this family, so I have every color of blue yarn you could imagine. I wanted something different for each of my grandchildren. Thane’s baby blanket is navy blue and Kyler’s blanket is turquoise. It’s so sweet Ky still needs that blanket every night before he can sleep even when he claims to be a big boy. Gib’s blanket is robin’s egg blue. Channing won’t let him have it in his crib anymore because she’s afraid he’ll ti
“Nag at you about what?”Keely shrugged. “My plans after I get out of school. My love life.”“Speaking of your love life…how is Justin?”“I wouldn’t know,” she said coolly. “He broke up with me.”“What happened?”“That’s what Colt is nagging me about. I won’t tell him, even when he offered to cut off that ‘little bastard’s prick and feed it to him’.” Keely’s lips turned up, but it was a pale imitation of her usual bad girl grin. “Much as I love Colt’s threatening swagger, I need to deal with this fallout on my own. I’ve tried to talk to AJ, but…”“But what?”“She’s a great listener, but she doesn’t have a frame of reference for that sort of stuff.The only relationship she’s ever been in is with Cord.” She sighed. “Macie and Channing are cool and I love them to death, but they’re pregnant, hormonal, and I don’t want them blabbing to my brothers because they’d round up a damn posse.”“I ain’t got tons of experience when it comes to relationships, but you wanna tell me what went down?”
“Eww. Nice visual, K.”“The point is, no one around here cared. They were good neighbors. Good people. If the three of them held hands and skipped down Main Street naked, screaming about free love, or made out in church, or bragged about their kinky threesomes at the VFW, things would’ve been different.”“You really think so?”“I know so. I’ll bet you dollars to donuts once it’s common knowledge that Edgard’s moved in with you guys, everyone will think it’s great Trevor’s good buddy is there as a live-in ranch hand. The three of you will become entrenched in the minds of the community as a package deal. Honestly, Chass, no one will ever be the wiser that you are the middle of a Trevor and Edgard sandwich every night.”“Except I sorta hinted to that bratty Brandy Martinson we were havin’ threesomes before any of this came to pass. She’s probably blabbed to the whole county.”“Then the damage is done. Enjoy your notoriety. Be nice not to be a McKay for a change.” Keely squeezed Chassie’
Edgard tasted Trevor’s bottom lip with a measured sweep of his tongue. “I want you.Now. I don’t care where, but it needs to be now.”“Goddamn right.” Trevor’s hands flew to Edgard’s belt. Buckle undone, button undone, zipper undone, Trevor was damn near undone wanting to get his hands and mouth all over this man’s tempting body. He sank to his knees as he tugged Edgard’s jeans down his corded thighs and off, on to the floor. “Least you ain’t wearin’ boots,” he said, rubbing his cheek against the hot, hard length and inhaling Edgard’s unique scent.“Trevor, this isn’t what I—”He eased back. “You got a problem with me suckin’ you off?”“Ah. No.”“Then shut the fuck up.” Trevor wrapped his hand around the base of Edgard’s cock and stroked as his mouth went to work on the wet tip. He sucked, saturating his tongue with Ed’s flavor, bathing that throbbing organ with his saliva. On every downstroke, his mouth went a little further.Hands grasped his hair, forcing him deeper.With the plump
Blowin’ you and then the way you used that talented tongue has done me in, Ed.” He withdrew fully and plunged in, setting a rhythm that made it impossible to maintain a kiss.Instead, Edgard settled for sucking the tendons in Trevor’s neck while pinching his pebbled nipples. Trevor grunted his approval and slammed into Edgard harder.“Next time I’m gonna take my time touchin’ you and lovin’ on you.” He gritted his teeth, looking down to watch his thick cock tunneling in and out of Edgard’s ass.Feeling the slickness on his stomach from his own cock, tasting the sweat running down Trevor’s straining throat made Edgard’s blood pump hotter. Witnessing the ecstasy on Trevor’s face had Edgard clamping down with his anal muscles every time Trevor’s pistoning cock filled his ass. “Come on, Trev. Don’t hold back.”“Never. Not ever again.”“You ain’t gonna break me.”Trevor growled. “Christ, I love fucking you.” His palms landed on Edgard’s kneecaps and he pushed Edgard flat as he let loose wi
“You wanna shower?“Now?”“Yep.” Trevor grinned and pointed at the interest stirring in Edgard’s cock. “After we have another round of monkey sex, we’ll talk more about all this. In detail. I wanna make it work this time, Ed. Don’t know how we’re gonna go about it, but I figure we can come up with something.”“But you always bolted when I attempted to talk about anything serious before.”“I think us both bein’ here together like this is proof contrary to that statement, doncha think?”“Yeah. I do. Know what else I think?”“Mmm.”Edgard wanted to tell him of the conversation he’d had with Gus, but something made him hold off. He smiled cockily. “I think you’d better plan on checkin’ cattle with the four-wheelers in the morning and grab the lube ’cause it’s gonna be one long damn night.”*****After Colby and Cord’s families left, Carson convinced Carolyn to go to bed.Chassie couldn’t sleep. She paced in the guest bedroom, wondering what Trevor and Edgard were up to even when she knew
“No way,” she sneered. “I hate that whining, puntastic drivel.”“And ‘Poker Face’ is what? Pure musical artistry?” Chase sneered right back.“Yep.” Ava cranked the music a notch higher.He turned it back down. “You’re starting to piss me off.”“The feeling is mutual.”How had they survived these last two weeks?Wait a second. Hadn’t Chase told her he’d rarely made it past the two-week mark with any lover? Maybe this was how he intended to end it. By picking fights.But you started it. Be the bigger person and let it go.“I wish I had your damn camera pointed at you right now so you could see your diva side, a side which you claim ain’t there, because darlin’, it sure as hell is.” Spit. Spit.That smart comment totally screwed him for her being the bigger person. “I wish I had my damn camera pointed at you right now so you could see how ridiculous you look with your mouth crammed full of sunflower seeds,” she mimicked. “Ooh, and the bonus? You’d get to hear how fucking irritating it is
“What? Why?” Recognition lit her eyes and a secretive smile appeared. “Really, Chase? Right now?”“Yep.”“But I’m all sweaty. Can’t I take a shower first?”He growled, “No. Seeing your hot, bendy body stretched out over that ball does it for me in a bad way.” Using a single rough-edged fingertip, he leisurely traced the waistband of her yoga pants, low on her hips. But not nearly low enough. “Take. Them. Off.”She stood and peeled the stretchy black fabric down her legs. She began to remove her bra, but he said, “Leave it. Same position you were just in. Arched over the ball, hands on the floor behind you, feet on the floor, legs spread.”With effortless grace, Ava returned her body to its previous pose.Goddamn she was beautiful like this. Not just her bared body, but also her willingness to cede control to him. His hands skated up the outside of her thighs, still trembling from her workout. Or were they trembling in anticipation? He palmed her hips and squeezed, stopping to stroke t
He growled at the visual feast before him. Ava bound, at his mercy.Chase rocked his hips faster, driving his cock against that pliant skin, pinching her nipples in time to his thrusts. When his balls lifted, his hands fell away and almost told her to open up and swallow him to the root. But he stopped.Too soon. Not about you. About her. She needs this.Ava whimpered at the loss of contact.He caressed her cheek as he leaned forward to grab his supplies off the nightstand. “You’re beautiful. Incredible. Christ, Ava, you undo me.”She twisted in her bonds. “I want—”He placed his fingers over her lips. “In time. Now hold still.” He scooted back until he straddled her pelvis. Holding open the old-fashioned, spring-loaded wooden clothespins, he simultaneously attached them to her nipples.When she arched and emitted a surprised cry, he murmured, “Seems you have some feeling there after all.” He hopped off the end of the bed. Tapped her ankles. “Spread your legs for me. Wider. Nope wider
“Thanks.” Ava sat up and drank all the water. “So I crashed for over twelve hours. Guess I missed the rodeo last night. How’d you do?”Chase wore a stoic expression.“What? Did you have like a ninety-nine point ride or something?”He snorted.“Seriously. What happened?” Her gaze swept over him. “Did you get hurt?”“Nothin’ happened, Ava. I didn’t compete last night.”“What? Why not?”“Do you really think I’d just leave you here alone when you were so goddamn sick?”She froze.Chase grabbed her hand and rubbed her knuckles against the razor stubble on his cheeks. “I was freaked out about you. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do. I’m not…well, I don’t have much experience taking care of sick people. My first response has always been to get the hell away, so I sort of winged it.” A sheepish smile curled the corners of his mouth. “You don’t look too worse for the wear.”“I can’t believe you didn’t compete last night.”“There are more important things in life than bull ridin’.”This tough man
“The camera showed you that?”“Ava. I don’t need to look through a viewfinder to see you’re upset.”Damn intuitive man.“The camera is off. Talk to me.”“My grandfather commissioned a necklace for my sixteenth birthday. A tiny beautiful Swarovski crystal rose with a gold stem artfully twisted into an ‘A’. The one time I didn’t take it off before I jumped into the ocean? I lost it. I don’t know if the chain broke or what, but I was devastated because it happened about a month after he died.”“Aw, sugar, I’m so sorry.”Evidently Chase had enough taping. He returned the camera to the case and faced forward, wiggling to get comfortable.“Before you nod off, tell me why we’re backtracking. You planned a route through Montana and now we’re back in Cornhusker territory.”He rolled his eyes. “South Dakota is not Cornhusker territory. The reason I’m not goin’ to the event in Billings is because Ryan told me a former PBR bull rider who switched to the PRCA circuit will be competing. I don’t wan
He’d known the second he touched her he was done for. Ava needed him in a way no other woman ever had. He was a different man when he was with her, regardless if they were naked. So maybe that’s why he couldn’t freakin’ wait to get naked with her again, day after day after day.Seemed to take forever to check-in. He ditched the bags in the corner of the room. In the mirror above the sink, he saw Ava flop on the bed and heave a huge sigh.“Before you get too comfy, maybe you oughta see if you got the door shut.”She popped to her feet and resituated her skirt as she crossed the room, those fucking sexy little pleats teasing the back of her legs.When he’d gotten a look at her outfit this morning—short plaid skirt, plain white blouse, black ballet shoes—his cock had been hard all day as his head conjured up bad-schoolgirl-needing-a-spanking scenarios.Ava tested the door by pushing on it. “I don’t know why you were worried it wasn’t shut—”“Lock it.” He put his mouth below her ear and p
He stirred, moaning as his cock hardened. Lengthened.When Ava started sliding his shaft over her tongue, his hand landed on her head.Immediately it snapped back and Chase scrambled upright. “Ava? What the devil are you doin’?” He inhaled a sharp breath through his teeth when she tongued the tip. “Hell. I thought it was a dream.”She pulled off his shaft long enough to say, “Nope. I want to make this buff body to squirm.” She licked him like a lollipop.“Oh, I’ve no doubt you can make me squirm. You probably could get me to beg.” He brushed her hair back from where it’d fallen in her face. “But—”Again, Ava eased off and met his gaze in the near darkness. “But nothing. You don’t get to direct this.”If she thought he’d lovingly pet her, agree, and murmur encouragement, she was mistaken. Chase’s big hands were on her face, gripping her jaw. “Yes, I do.”His answer turned her panties damp. As did his explicit command, “On the floor. On your knees.”As Ava moved, so did Chase. He perche
She loved his reaction to the scrape of her teeth, the sucking kisses, the feather light placement of her lips in random spots on his neck. Goose bumps spread across his arms and up his nape. He shifted on the bed, not thrashing, but wiggling enough she knew he liked what she was doing to him. She reveled in this immense power of worshipping rather than being worshipped.Ava immersed herself in him. The scent of his skin. The tangy taste of his sweat. The way his muscles strained beneath her tongue. She kissed, licked and nibbled her way down the center of his throat, from his square jaw to his breastbone. And could she get a halleluiah that he had chest hair? Talk about manly, masculine goodness. She rubbed her face over the dark patch of hair, breathing him in, listening to the pounding of his heart, warmed by the heat from his skin, and knowing his body’s response to her was echoed in her body.Bracing herself on all fours above him, she watched his face as she tongued his nipple.
She pushed her hips back, meeting his every hard thrust with a soft grunt. The fringe on his chaps swung forward, the leather connecting with her skin.Even as his cock plunged into her fully, even as his balls drew up, aching for release, even as his legs shook and sweat coated his skin, he planned for the next time he fucked her. The next hundred times.Chase closed his eyes; his hands yanking her body back to meet his escalating thrusts. Faster, harder, deeper, the only words echoed in his head as primal need roared. Impossible to hold off his orgasm, no matter how much he wanted to prolong the sensation of sinking into her soft, wet, flesh.He threw back his head, groaning as his cock emptied in hot pulses. Groaning louder when he felt Ava’s pussy contracting around his dick as she came again.Heart thumping, mouth dry, lungs lacking air, Chase fell forward onto Ava’s back, bracing himself on his hands. Although this rendezvous was supposed to’ve been a dare, a fun, wild slap and