He cared about Morgan much more.“When it comes to Morgan, I want to be a selfish bastard and keep all her sass and submission and sweet smiles to myself. I want to be the only man who wraps his hands in that gorgeous flame-colored hair and watches while she takes me deep in her mouth. I want to be the only man who tastes her pussy, feels the bite of her tight ass on my cock.” He blew out a long breath. “But that’s not what she wants.”“You love this girl?”Jack squeezed his eyes shut and gripped the cold bottle in his hand so tightly, he wondered if it might break. How could he answer that when he’d never experienced love before? If feeling euphoric at her happiness and somber at her sadness, being willing to kill anyone who threatened her, and kicking himself in the ass for cursing her desires and crushing her burgeoning sexuality, then…“Yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s the case. From the beginning, it’s just been…so different with her.” He barked with bitter laughter. “Hell, I even dr
Meaning Deke didn’t. What was the problem with these two? Morgan watched their byplay with a frown. Alyssa and Deke disliked each other. Intensely.“I hate to interrupt,” Morgan blurted, lying through her teeth, “but can I get my purse, Alyssa?”The woman looked at her. “Morgan? Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you with red hair and… What the hell are you wearing?”“Jack’s sweatpants and He-Man’s sweatshirt.”Alyssa’s expression turned ripe with X-rated questions.Morgan flushed with both embarrassment and anger. “It’s not what you’re thinking, but don’t ask. I just want to get my purse and get out of here.”“Did Jack find your stalker and put him out of his misery?”“No, but we think he’s gone to California looking for me since he set fire to my house there yesterday.”Alyssa grabbed her hand. “I’m not so sure, hon. Come with me. You, too, steroid boy.”Morgan followed her into a narrow hallway that bloomed into an office. Deke trailed behind, grumbling that he’d never used st
But she had to take care of a few things first.Dragging her laptop out, Morgan hunkered down in the plush king-sized bed and dashed off an email to Brandon. She explained about the damage to his house and promised to return to Houston and get the repairs started. She told him she was alive and safe, that Jack had been watching over her. She sent him the name of her hotel tonight in case he could contact her—and not much more. How could she possibly explain to ultra-responsible Brandon that she had fallen for a stranger in a handful of days? Then, after beseeching him to stay safe in Iraq, she grabbed her phone. She’d read on the Internet that sometimes confronting your stalker with a firm no could make them go away. Maybe that tactic would work with Reggie. But one glance at her phone told her there’d be no calling Reggie tonight. Her phone was deader than dead. Damn!Resigned that everything would wait until tomorrow, she headed for the blissful steam of a shower.Twenty minutes and
A silent implication that she wanted more than he was willing to provide. The truth hurt, ripped her insides like an industrial paper shredder. But she’d done what she had to do. Lying wouldn’t work. Ultimately, the fall out would only be more painful. She’d be doing them both a disservice. Being engaged to Andrew without being honest for too long had proven that.Besides, better that they crossed this bridge now, rather than later, after she convinced herself to stay and lie…and surely only grow more attached to him.Would she ever be able to move past Jack? Looking at the tense set of his shoulders, his clenching fists, remembering the feel of that inky hair in her hands and that broad Cajun smile… Probably not.Morgan sighed. “I’m sorry.”She watched those broad shoulders lift in a shrug. “I wouldn’t want you to lie to me.” He turned and paced toward her again. “Don’t ever lie.”But his eyes raged, as if the pain was nearly beyond his bearing. Morgan ached for him.“I understand wh
“Oh.” Her voice fluttered.Hell, he could hear the arousal in her voice. That quivering note, ripe with curiosity, yet a breath away from a needy whimper, just about turned him inside out.Jack swallowed against a harsh blast of lust. “Are you ready for whatever I give you?”She met his gaze squarely. “Yes, sir.”Not testing her wasn’t an option. He dug into his bag again and produced a pair of padlocks. With them, he attached her wrists to the cuffs around her thighs. The locks clicked into place, loud in the room so silent, except the harsh clip of her breathing and the pounding of his heart in his ears.He stood, intentionally crowding her and forcing her gaze to his. “You’re ready for everything I’m going to give you?”“Yes, sir.”So far so good…but did she mean it? He found a set of ankle cuffs in his bag. The super soft black leather whispered over his fingers, thrilling him with the idea they’d soon be wrapped around her even softer skin, keeping her in place foranything…every
“Are you sure?” Her voice trembled.“Watching you flush and swell in the sunlight, feeling you writhe on my fingers, seeing you smile, yeah.” Jack sounded like he’d swallowed a truckload of gravel. “Yeah.”A beautiful answer, but still…she had to ask the hard question. “You’re not going to turn into Destructor on steroids, watching Deke touch me? This isn’t going to upset you?”Cupping her cheek, he sighed. “If I don’t give this to you, I’ll lose you anyway. And I believe we belong together, cher. We have to trust each other to have any tomorrows.” A reluctant smile tugged at his wide mouth. “Besides, you looked hot as hell coming for both of us.”“Jack and I talked about it early this morning. His head is in the right place, doll.”“So it’s up to you.” Jack swallowed. “All it takes is one word, and we’ll fuck you beyond your every dream. You just have to accept your needs. Yes or no.”The moment stunned her…humbled her. Simply amazing. Seemingly implacable Jack was willing to put asi
She sucked Deke into her mouth and gave a demanding pull on him. He stiffened even more against her tongue and gripped her hair in harsh fists. In reward, Jack plunged into her, prodding at her swollen clit with his fingers, now coated with her juice. She cried out.God, it was so much. Too much. And even though Jack had backed off the hot pace of his strokes, she still felt the inferno of desire raging, climbing, threatening to lick at her until her body exploded into a thousand pleasure-rent pieces and sanity fled.As if sensing how close she was, Jack eased away again. Morgan whimpered. She had to come. Soon, damn it. Now!She rededicated her efforts to Deke’s cock, laving from root to tip, lingering on the hidden spot just beneath the flared head, wrapping her tongue around the thick root. Then she took him in her mouth, deep, back to her throat and sucked hard. Her cheeks hollowed. Beneath her, Deke got even harder. And he groaned, urging her on.“Oh, that’s it. Holy shit, doll,
Jack rewarded her by reaching around her and lifting her breast to Deke’s mouth. He took the nipple between his lips hungrily, drawing hard, nipping with his teeth. Sensation zinged from her breast to her belly, straight down to where Deke impaled her with the wicked length of his cock…and lower, to the forbidden thrill of Jack lodged deep inside her.Together, they scraped her raw, shoving her up impossibly higher, right into something huge and irresistible. Indescribable.She’d barely caught her breath when she felt Jack’s flesh push into her, dragging across all her tingling nerves while he exhaled on her neck and whispered, “You’re mine. I love you.”Something cracked in Morgan at his words, deep inside. The last of her resistance broke free. She sent a helpless glance over her shoulder at him, knowing her total submission showed in her eyes, and she climaxed again, zooming higher than ever in shuddering surrender.Clamping down on the pair of cocks so hard, both were trapped deep
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
“Who are you?” Douchebag demanded.“The guy tellin’ you to get the hell outta my room.”The douchebag looked at Ava. “I thought you said this was your room.”“Hey, fuckface, eyes on me, not her.” When douchebag turned, Chase stabbed his finger at the clothes by the bed. “You’re done. Grab your shit and get gone.”“Nuh-uh.” Douchebag gestured to Ava. “I get gone when she tells me to, not you, little man.”Ava said not one word.Chase’s anger hit the boiling point. Instead of yelling, his voice dropped lethally low. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”“Or what? You gonna throw me out?” Douchebag sneered. “You’ll have to eat your spinach and grow some first.”Faking calmness he didn’t feel, Chase scooped up the man’s belongings, opened the door and dumped the pile onto the walkway.“What is wrong with you?” Douchebag loomed over Chase.“You have fifteen seconds to get out of my room and out of my face or I will beat you bloody. You’re not the first asshole who’s tried to take me on, believing a short
That vague comment got his back up. Was she trying to get rid of him? Just to be ornery, he said, “I hadn’t planned on goin’ anywhere today. Thought I’d stick around the room and rest up. Hang out with you, my friend.”Panic darted through her eyes. “Oh. Obviously since you’re paying for half the room that’s your prerogative. But I was hoping…”“Hoping for what?”“To have a few hours of quiet time so I can get your rides separated from the other footage.”Quiet time his ass. She wanted nookie time. And he’d be goddamned if he’d just fucking walk away and make it easy on her to bang a total stranger in his hotel room. “I’m not exactly loud, Ava.”“I know, Chase, but I need quiet. Complete silence. No TV. No talking. No cell phone conversations. No fighting.”The sneaky-ass woman knew that lying on his bed, counting the flaws in the ceiling tile for hours would drive him bonkers. But the idea of any man, in here—the private space Chase shared with Ava—touching her, kissing her, fucking
Ava nodded. “I’m new to the world of rodeo. He agreed to show me the inside scoop. That’s all.”“Dollface, that surely ain’t all. Not even close. The man has it bad for you.”Not bad enough to act on it.“I seen how he’s been lookin’ at you.”“And how’s that?”“Like you’re a hot, sweet fried Twinkie and he’d like to lick you up one side and down the other before devouring you completely.”“Except the man seems to be on a sugar-free diet,” she said wryly.Taz chuckled. “Maybe. But I reckon he’s just trying to keep from gorging himself.”“Such an overactive imagination, Taz.”“I try. Better to be one of them colorful characters folks talk about than an average Joe.”The conversation drifted to Ryan. Upcoming rodeos they’d all be attending. Other events. Then Taz took off, leaving Ava alone. It was enough to give a girl a complex about men.Right. She already had enough complexes, although she doubted anyone would look at her and believe that.A guy paused behind the barstool on Ava’s ri
“I’ve gotten up early to work out. I met this rookie kid last week. After I rode, he cornered me, calling me out as Chase McKay.” He smiled sheepishly. “The little shit promised to keep my secret if I gave him bull ridin’ pointers.”“Which you did.”“Not that he listened to me. Kid is such a greenhorn. And stubborn? He won’t turn his foot out, refuses to wear a helmet, won’t consider a trying a different wrap. So I gave up talking to him about bull ridin’ and we watched the slack competition. What did you do—” his knuckles grazed her breasts as he reached for the lanyard around her neck “—besides craft fake press passes?”“I had my assistant whip them up. Realistic, don’t you think? I needed access behind the chutes so I can video you from a closer angle. It’s made a huge difference. You won’t believe the footage I got today.”His rough-skinned hand enclosed hers. “Ava. We need to talk.”The lanky, shaggy-haired young rider inserted himself between Chase and Ava. “Man, that ride was e
“Of course they will. Are you by a computer? Sorry. Stupid question. Go to Faces of Rodeo dot com.”“I’m there. What is it?”“A new magazine I created,” she said with pride.“Seriously, Ava, this is your brainchild?” Computer keys clicked in the background. “The Check back for more details on the main page is vague.”“Which is perfect for my purposes. Anyone who checks it—and me—will believe this is a brand-spanking-new magazine, still working on a web presence. Ooh, now go to Behind the Chutes dot com.”“Why do you need two fake magazines? Why not just one?”“So I have options.”“You’re scaring me. You did all this?”“Yep. Thank God for cheap, quick and easy websites.”“Behind the Chutes—all the news and current standings of the stars of the PRCA. Now that is a great magazine tagline.”“Thank you.” Filled with nervous energy, Ava hopped off the bed. “So what do you say? Can you get these made up this afternoon and Fed Ex them to me by tomorrow?”“I should say no, but I haven’t heard
Wanting what you can’t have will only make this trip miserable. And this trip isn’t only about getting down and dirty with Chase McKay.Also true. Disgusted with herself for wallowing, she focused on the task at hand for today—finding a motel within their budget.Chase wandered to check out the contractor’s rough stock.Ava wasn’t content texting him; she called. “Hey, I found us a room. I actually comparison shopped. This place isn’t as nice as the first one I checked out, but it does have free Wi-Fi.”It amused the hell out of him that she sounded so damn proud of herself. “It’s less than a hundred bucks?”“Of course. Be nice if you had a little faith in me, Sundance. Anyway. I’m starved. I’ll probably try to find something healthy before I head to the rodeo grounds. Did you want me to pick you something up?”“If it’s healthy? Hell no. I noticed a couple of tempting treats as I wandered past the vendor stands.”“We are talking about food treats, right?” she said sharply.“Be nice if
“Probably their whole adult lives. Why?”She released a wistful sigh. “They’re beautiful. So in tune with each other. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to have that solid connection every day. I wish I had my video camera so I could capture their happiness.”Maybe Ava did understand more than he credited her.“By the way, when are you planning to teach me to two-step?”“I’m not.”“Do you dance?”“Yep.”She frowned. “But you don’t want to dance with me?”“Drop it, Ava.”Of course she didn’t. “I’ll only put up with so much high-handed behavior, and you’re pissing me off. Answer the question. Why don’t you want to dance with me?”“Because I’m short,” he snapped.About twenty seconds passed before she was in his face. “That’s it? That’s your reason for not dancing with me? Here’s where I tell you that is not a valid reason. That’s a sucky reason.”“It’s a valid reason to me. Christ, Ava, you’re a good three inches taller than me when you’re not wearing them three-inch fuck-me heels. I wil
“Such sweet bullshit,” she mimicked. “How soon before you’re ready to leave?”“As soon as I get my boots on.”“I’ll change shoes too.”Chase shoved his wallet in his back pocket, and maybe for the first time he’d gone out with a woman, he hadn’t double-checked his condom supply.The place was jam-packed and they scored the last table. Pretty basic menu. Several different cuts and sizes of steak. Fried chicken. Pasta. Seafood. The house specialty was the chicken-fried buffalo steak, served with mashed potatoes, gravy and a cold broccoli salad.“It all looks good. I’m too starved to pick one thing.”“Trust me to order for you?” Chase asked.Ava folded her menu and set her elbows on the table. “Please.”The waitress dropped off two glasses of peach iced tea and Chase dumped in three packets of sugar.“This is a cool place.”“Pretty standard for a small Midwestern town. I try to find joints like this rather than eating at another chain restaurant when I’m on the road.”She mumbled somethi