And that hesitation likely had a lot to do with her deluded fantasies regarding the man hauling her away by the arm. She had to get over this fixation with him and move on. She couldn’t spend her whole life with the ridiculous notion that he was going to one day notice her and decide he had to have her.She greedily drank in the sight of him, like an addict getting their next high—like she’d gone far too long without that fix. He was a man whose presence filled any room he occupied. He wore his black hair cut short, styled with minimal product. Just enough to give it an expensive, sophisticated look.He had the look of the sinful bad boy all the women went wild for. He had a total “don’t give a fuck” attitude, and what Gabe wanted, Gabe always got. His confidence and arrogance were two things that drew her to him—had always drawn her to him. She was helpless to fight her attraction to him. God knew she’d tried for years, but her obsession showed no signs of waning.“Mia,” he said in a
There was nothing like being made a complete fool of by a woman he’d trusted implicitly to ensure he didn’t travel that path again.It wasn’t as if he’d sworn off women—he liked them too much. Loved the feel of a submissive woman under his hands and tutelage. But his approach had changed. The way he dealt with them had changed. He hadn’t had a choice.But Mia…He couldn’t pretend she wasn’t different from any other woman he’d had. She was. She wasn’t just another female face that he might view with affection, but keep his distance from any messy entanglements. The women he chose to be with knew the score. They knew what was expected of them and what they could expect in return.Mia was Jace’s baby sister. Beyond that, she’d been a girl he’d watched grow up. Hell, he’d attended her high school graduation. He’d scowled at her prom date when the little prick had come to pick her up. He’d enjoyed watching the jerk’s balls shrivel up when he, Jace and Ash had told him in no uncertain terms
“Have I ever failed?” Ash asked mockingly.Gabe waved his hand, making a dismissive motion. No, Ash hadn’t ever failed. Gabe had no worries on that issue. The three of them made a solid team. Their strengths and weaknesses complemented one another very well.HCM wasn’t just a business. It was a corporation forged in friendship and fierce loyalty. The very things Gabe was about to test, all because he was obsessed with Jace’s little sister. Jesus, but if that wasn’t fucked up.Thankfully, Jace rose, his hand sliding from the woman’s leg. He reached to pull her up from Ash’s lap, and she settled comfortably between him and Ash as they moved toward Gabe’s office door.Jace paused and then turned, a frown on his face. “I’ll try to call Mia on my way out but can you check with her while I’m gone? Make sure everything’s okay and she doesn’t need anything? I hate that I missed her last night.”Gabe gave a short nod, controlling his features carefully. “I’ll take care of it.”“Thanks, man. We
“So you want me to work for you and you want…me. Physically, I mean.”“Oh yes,” he murmured. “Definitely.”“And this relationship you propose. What exactly do you mean by nontraditional?”He hesitated for the briefest moment. “I’ll own you,” he said bluntly. “Body, soul. You’ll belong to me.”Whoa. That sounded so…heavy. She couldn’t even wrap her brain around it. Her mouth went dry and she tried to lick her lips but stopped when she remembered his reaction when she’d done it moments earlier.“I’ll guide you through this,” he said in a more gentle tone. “I’m not going to throw you to the wolves. I’ll be patient as you learn your way through the kind of relationship I expect.”“I don’t even know what to say right now,” she blurted out.His hand slid over her jaw and to her cheek. They were on eye level, their mouths just a few breaths apart.“I think this is where you tell me where I stand with you,” Gabe prompted. “Do you want me as badly as I want you?”Oh God, was this really happen
She dug out her phone as she went, and not surprisingly, there were half a dozen messages from her best friend already. All wanting to know how it went with Gabe and threats that if she didn’t spill soon, Caroline was going to kill her.What the heck was she supposed to say? Somehow, typing Gabe wants me to be his personal plaything didn’t sound right, even if it would probably make Caroline swoon.And oh God, if Jace found out…She sucked in her breath. Jace was a huge problem. He would lose his mind if he ever found out about any of this. Surely Gabe had considered that. Hadn’t he?There was no way she could ever let her brother know about this. It would ruin his friendship with Gabe and would likely ruin their business as well. Not to mention he would never understand, and it would put a huge wedge between her and Jace.She was contemplating it. She must be if she was factoring in all the potential obstacles, right? Had she lost her mind?She should so be running as fast as she cou
“The problem is finding the right guy,” Caroline said wistfully.Mia cringed, regretful of her careless words. No, Caroline didn’t have any problems in the guy department as far as attracting them. But the last man she’d attracted had been bad news.She held up her wineglass in an effort to smooth over her faux pas and said, “I’ll drink to that.”• • •Gabe’s office phone rang, but he let it ring and continued typing the memo he was working on. It was after hours. No one should be calling his office.The room went silent, and then just a few seconds later, his cell phone rang. A quick glance at the incoming contact and he briefly contemplated letting it go to voice mail. With a sigh, he picked up his phone to hit Receive. He couldn’t ignore his mother even if he already knew why she was calling.“Hello,” he said.“Gabe. There you are. I thought you might still be at the office. You work such long hours these days. Aren’t you ever going to take a vacation?”He had to admit the idea had
“I wonder what you’re imagining I’ll do to you,” he murmured.“There were words like bondage and pain,” she pointed out. “It’s a reasonable fear.”“Yes, it is,” he conceded. “But there is no mention of a safe word because for me, it’s as simple as you saying no.”Her brow furrowed. “The contract was pretty clear that I don’t have that ability. That if I sign, I give up any right to tell you no.”He sighed. “I’m not some monster bent on abusing you, Mia. You’re right in that I don’t like the word no very much. But my hope is that you won’t be using it often. I’d rather reserve that word for rare occasions when you are truly frightened or uncomfortable. I don’t want it popping out of your mouth just because you’re uncertain and the idea strikes you wrong before you even give it a chance. But if you truly find yourself in a situation that you do not want to be in, no is sufficient for me to stop. I may not like it, but I won’t ignore that word. Ever. You have my word on that. We’ll discu
While everyone around her had moved with the times and used alternatives to taking a pill every single day, Mia hadn’t had much luck with some methods, and she feared others. And so she faithfully took her pill.By the time she was finished with the doctor’s visit, she was weary and emotionally drained from the stress of the day. Oddly enough, Gabe hadn’t ordered her in to work the next day. Instead he’d instructed her to take the day off and rest, almost as if he’d known how fried she’d be after the eventful day.Grateful to have at least one day to ponder the arrangement she’d agreed to, she rode home in the car Gabe had assigned to her. The driver had been given instructions to pick her up for work the day after next. The driver left her his card with instructions that if she needed transportation at any time, she was to call him. And he hadn’t spoken a word to her since the somewhat curt introduction and his shoving his card at her.Already it felt as though Gabe was taking over h
“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
“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