Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
U sing all my might, I pushed Luca over, and he chuckled as he flopped onto his back. His cock was trapped by the elastic of his pants, and I made it my mission to set that masterpiece free.
The wetness between my legs was a rotten distraction. I peeled out of my sopping panties and tossed them aside. Not wanting him to see my next move, I said, “Close your eyes.”
He did as he instructed. Luca was my puppet, and I was the grandmaster.
My plaything would do whatever I commanded. Damn, if that didn’t have all sorts of wonderful shooting through me. Cringing, I grabbed a couple of napkins and wiped myself. This sex thing was messy business. Shoving the wet napkins beneath my jeans, I turned my attention back to my sexy cowboy.
I crawled to his feet and in a matter of seconds, had his boots and socks off. Tossing them onto the grass, I turned my attention to his jeans. But they were a different story. The dark denim was ridiculously tight, and it took all my effort just to get them over his hips .
After I yanked the denim from his body, I readied to admire his stunning physique and froze with awe. The sexy images I’d retained from our last encounter were significantly inadequate.
A beam of sunlight pierced the canopy, shining a light on my urban cowboy. I’d officially hit voyeuristic heaven.
Luca was a god. His body was a masterpiece only acquired after a lifetime of hard work. Women would swoon over a body like his. Men would be jealous. Sculptors would line up to recreate him in bronze. Luca was a sensory feast, and I was ready to devour him.
His muscular torso glistened like he’d oiled himself. The sunlight acted as a flashlight, drawing my attention to all his stunning aspects. One of the most glorious was the line of coppery hair trailing from his perfect navel down to his red briefs. Beneath that red fabric was a beast begging to be released.
I hooked my fingers into the elastic waistband, and as I lowered his briefs, his cock bounced to attention. I gasped at the gloriousness. He was bigger than I remembered. And thick. Blue veins marbled the length of his cock. His crown was pink and utterly perfect.
Utterly lickable.
I dragged my eyes away only long enough to yank his underpants off. Positioning myself on my knees between his legs, I ogled his extraordinary size. I blinked at it, then blinked some more. I must’ve looked freaked out or something because Luca eased up onto his elbows, looked down at his groin, then with a frown, his eyes met mine.
I felt the need to explain. “I’m sorry . . . it’s just . . .”
His brows drilled together. “Just what?”
Fearful that I’d embarrassed him, I decided honesty was the only solution. “It’s just, well, I’ve never seen one this big.”
“Oh.” His eyes grew wide, his lips parted, and he released a deep manly chuckle that had his cock slapping his navel. Luca’s smile was stunning and perfect. Just like his cock—perfect. He made his rod move, and my eyes darted to the movement.
He chuckled again and his cock bounced against his abdomen.
He did it once more, capturing my fascination like a master magician.
I was officially at the greatest show on earth.
With my heart fluttering, I leaned forward and wrapped my hand around his solid manhood. My fingers barely encompassed his girth. Gliding my hand up and down, I marveled at the satin feel of his flesh.
Luca groaned and flopped back onto the blanket. With each slide upward, I twisted my hand slightly, stopping at the top so his crown just peaked above my grasp.
My movements were slow, precise as I absorbed every detail of this incredible display. Everything from my isolated natural surroundings, to Wild Fire grazing in the distance, to the colorful blanket, to Luca’s stunning physique, would be forever trapped in my photographic memory, and I couldn’t be happier.
I increased my pace slightly, and with a groan, Luca parted his legs. His swollen testicles caught my attention and I cupped them in my other hand. A moan tumbled from his lips and his balls seemed to suck upwards as if feeding his mighty erection.
A pearl of semen pooled at the slit in his penis. This was another first for me, and the spectacle had my insides positively purring. I captured the moisture in my fingers and used it to lubricate him. His tangy scent was a potent allure, and I licked my lips as if tasting him. Luca eased onto his elbows again and his eyes followed my hand movements. His irises were on fire, blazing with arousal .
He sucked air in through his teeth, and every inch of his well-toned flesh stiffened further. My hand massaged the length of his cock, and when a primal groan tumbled from his throat, I picked up my tempo.
Up and down. Up and down.
Faster. Harder.
Twisting. Gliding. Coaxing Luca to a climax.
Luca cried out and clawed at the blanket, knocking the champagne and sending it flying. A groan tumbled from his throat so loud it echoed off the trees. A stream of semen launched from his penis and sprayed onto his rock-hard torso.
Again, I tugged, and again another stream of hot bliss shot from his rod and onto his coppery pubes. I repeated my movements over and over until Luca had nothing more to give.
The primal spectacle was one of the most erotic moments of my life.
I eased back to admire Luca’s recovery. His chest rose and fell with deep breaths worthy of a marathon run. His closed eyes fluttered like he was reliving the orgasm in his mind. He smelled like sex, we smelled like sex, and damn, if it wasn’t the most wonderful scent ever.
Luca’s eyes blinked open. He reached up and squeezed my breast, gently this time. The man was learning. “Your turn.” His brows wiggled with the suggestion.
His words triggered a clock ticking in my head. I had no idea how long I’d been away from my passengers. In three years, I’d never abandoned a group. Yet I’d done it twice in the last two months.
My work ethic had plummeted since Roman touted his idea that I needed a root to feel young again. But damn, it was worth it.
Even though we hadn’t gone as far as sexual intercourse, what Luca and I had just done made me feel like a giddy teenager.
Everything was already perfect. There was no need to ruin our time together by trying to perform with a wretched clock ticking down the seconds.
Luca wrapped his fingers around my arm, pulling me toward him.
“Woah. Hang on there, big fella.” Carefully placing my hand on his chest, I bulged my eyes at the mess on his torso. Last thing I needed was to get those love juices all over me. “I think I better get back to my group.”
Luca deflated before my eyes. “Really?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry.”
“But we haven’t even started our picnic.” He pulled the sweetest sad face ever.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Luca groaned as he sat up and reached for his underpants. “Are you sure?”
“Unfortunately.”
He didn’t put his underwear on. Instead, he used them to wipe off his chest. It was incredibly unsexy and not wanting to ruin all the lovely images parading around my mind, I shifted my gaze away.
I quickly redressed in my underwear and paused, hoping Luca would comment on my new lingerie. He didn’t.
Feeling a tad silly standing in the sexy blue lace, I quickly tugged on my jeans. Oh shit! My knickers were so wet. Ewwww. And now I have to ride the horse.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
By the time I reach the bus, I’ll probably look like I’ve wet myself.
Too late.
Forcing that ghastly image from my mind, I pulled on my shirt and buttoned up .
Luca tugged on his socks and boots. A frown corrugated his forehead and he’d become all silent. It had me worrying that I’d upset him. After all, he’d gone to great lengths to set this up for my arrival. Maybe I did have time for some food. But I’d jumped on the horse so quickly that I hadn’t even brought my phone to check the time.
Mental note—don’t do that next time.
Besides, I was supposed to have my phone on me 24/7. The chateau could have burned to the ground and I’d have had no idea.
The fact that I was even thinking there’d be a next time was a testament to how much I’d changed. Sex wasn’t normally on my radar. Romance novels and food were my usual obsessions. As if it could read my mind, my stomach twisted with hunger pains.
I scanned the cheese and bread and if the damn clock in my head wasn’t ticking away, I would’ve settled in for a decent snack. Opting for a quick strawberry instead, I plucked the plump berry from the tub. It was exceptional, sweet and juicy.
Maybe my taste buds were heightened post-orgasm.
I swallowed a chuckle along with the strawberry and grabbed another. Peeking into the picnic basket, I spied a couple of ruby red apples inside. “Hey, can I give Wild Fire an apple?”
“Sure, that’s why they’re there.”
Awww, he really was prepared. He’d even brought a picnic for his stallion.
Cupping the apple in my palm, I walked toward Wild Fire, careful to ensure he saw my approach and he nodded as if agreeing to the treat.
The second the apple was within reach, his teeth sunk into the juicy flesh and a stream of apple juice squirted across my shirt. “Shit.” An attempt at wiping it away only made it worse. Wild Fire demolished the apple in seconds, and he wriggled his nose on my fingers looking for more. For an enormous beast, Wild Fire sure was gentle.
By the time I’d returned to Luca, he’d packed up the blanket and basket and had my wine cup in his hand. “Do you want to finish this?”
“Oh no, I better not.”
He swigged the remainder in one gulp and tossed the cup into the basket. “Okay then, let’s get going.”
My heart sank at his melancholy. I’d taken an absolutely perfect outing and ruined it.
I stepped up to him, forcing him to look at me. “Hey.” I placed my hand on his chest. “I’m really sorry I have to rush off. I’ve never done anything like this. Thank you for making it so amazing. You’re amazing.”
A tiny smile touched his lips. “So are you.”
I returned his smile, and he pulled me in for a hug. It was totally unexpected, and warm and wonderful. I nestled into his chest, wrapped my arms around him, and listened to the therapeutic beat of his heart. The pure pleasure of the embrace had tears stinging my eyes.
Considering I barely knew anything about him—except that he had an amazing body, an enormous cock, and a magical tongue—I felt incredibly comfortable in his embrace. Like we’d been dating for years.
I had no idea what came over me, but the urge to cry was so powerful it swelled my throat. But I fought it—last thing I needed was for Luca to think he’d upset me.
Clearing my throat, I stepped back.
Without another word, he headed over to Wild Fire, giving me the perfect visual of his sexy denim-clad butt. His comment last month about him not having his way with women bounced out of my memory banks. He sure had a way with me. Maybe I was just an easy target .
Shrugging off the thought, I prepared to get back on the horse by adjusting my boobs in my lacy bra.
Luca clutched the reins, put his foot into the stirrup, and swung his leg over with agile athleticism.
I picked up the basket, frowning at how Luca was going to carry it and ride.
“You can leave that. I’ll come back for it later.”
“Oh, okay.”
He eased Wild Fire in beside me and extended his hand. Once on the stallion’s back, I wriggled my ass to get comfortable and wrapped my arms around Luca’s rigid torso.
Luca clicked his tongue, setting Wild Fire into a steady walk.
As we retraced our way through the stream and trees, I put my focus to dealing with Roman and what would no doubt be dozens of probing questions.
My hope of us being ahead of my group was crushed the second we entered the open gate to the grassy paddock. All of my passengers were milling around the bus, no doubt waiting for me.
Luca clicked Wild Fire into a faster speed, and as we raced across the paddock, my tits did their best to escape their measly restraints. By the time Luca pulled us to a stop, I felt practically naked.
Without any hope of discretion, I wove my hand into my bra and sorted out that little issue.
Luca helped me down and with my feet back on the ground, I glanced up at him. My insides fluttered at how handsome he was. I was the luckiest woman in the world. “Thank you.”
“Will I see you next month?”
“Yes.” The word tumbled from my lips before I’d even analyzed the implications of it.
Luca’s smile took his sexy look to a whole new level. With a nod, he eased Wild Fire’s nose away, kicked his flank, and shot off in the direction we’d come from. It was like watching the final scene in a romance movie where the hero rode off into the sunset.
At the sound of clapping, my fluttering insides clamped up like a Venus flytrap, swallowing with it all the glorious feelings I’d ridden in on. I planted a grin on my face and turned to my group. Roman was leading the applause with a goofy grin that confirmed he was enjoying my discomfort.
The only way to get through this was to own it.
“Righty-ho.” I strode forward with my chin high and my nerves firing. “That’s enough mucking around. Time to get going.” Motioning toward the bus with my hands, I ushered them to start boarding. Roman’s piercing eyes burned into me and it took all my might not to look in his direction.
When all the passengers were on board, however, I was out of distractions. Sucking in a huge breath, I turned to Roman.
“You missed a spot.” His eyes lowered to my chest.
“It’s apple juice,” I blurted with bulging eyes.
“Ahhh.” He exaggerated a nod. “Is that what you call it?”
My jaw dropped and I nearly needed my hand to lift it back into place. “It’s true.”
He shrugged. “Okay, if you say so.” His cheeky grin was ridiculously cute.
“I do say so. Besides, remember you said I have a terrible poker face? So, you tell me—is this the face of a woman who’s lying?” I angled my face like a model auditioning for next month’s magazine cover.
He squinted his eyes as if assessing. “Okay then, Miss Honesty.” He leaned closer, and I inhaled his lovely scent. A fresh ocean breeze came to mind. “Did you have sex?”
Oh, God. I looked right into his eyes, trying to portray utter truth. “No. ”
His jaw dropped. “I don’t believe you.” He turned toward the coach door.
“It’s true. I promise.”
He waved his hand over his shoulder. “It’s okay. You can have your little secret.”
“It’s not a secret. We did stuff. Just not?—”
He spun to me, and the intensity in his honey pools had me dreading what he was about to say. “Oh, so stable boy couldn’t perform.”
“What? Of course he could.”
“But you just said?—”
“You didn’t let me finish.”
“Okay then.” He folded his hands over his chest. “I’m listening.”
Damn it, I totally walked into that trap.
I huffed. “If you must know, I used my hand.”
He scrunched up his face. “Is that all?”
“Well, no.” Shit. Why can’t I shut my mouth?
“Okay. And?”
Oh, God. “He. . . you know, with his hand.” I closed my eyes and pointed at my groin.
Roman burst out laughing. I snapped my eyes open just in time to see his arm wrap around my shoulder and his lips plant on my forehead. “Go, Daisy.”
I tugged my lip into my mouth and playfully slapped his chest. “You’re such a bastard. You know that don’t you?”
He chuckled. “I know. But I’m just looking out for you. Gotta make sure these men do the right thing by you.”
I nudged my hip to his and my insides did a little jig. “Thank you.”
His eyes met mine, and I couldn’t quite discern his expression. “What for?”
“For being my wingman.”
His unreadable expression deepened, and I glimpsed a touch of sadness rolling into his eyes. “The pay’s appalling, but someone’s gotta look out for you.”
“Ha. Ha.” I slapped him again.
“Speaking of dirty jobs, you want to do something about that apple juice?” He said it with a dubious lilt.
“It is! Here, smell it.” I tugged my shirt toward him.
“Oh, hell no.” He jumped back like I’d asked him to sniff vomit.
I lunged after him. “Come on. Have a sniff.”
He backed away, holding up his hands. “Get away from me, you crazy woman.” His spectacular smile dazzled through his three-day growth.
But I didn’t get away. Instead, I raced toward him. Roman took off, and I chased after him. He jogged around the bus and giggling like a silly schoolgirl, I tried to hold the shirt forward as I dashed after him. “Come on. Smell it.” My bouncing boobs threatened to pop right out of my bra again, and I made a mental note to add sprinting as another sport I shouldn’t do.
We made it twice around the coach before I gave up. I paused at the back, hands on my knees, half laughing, half gasping for air. It’d been way too long since I’d done any physical exercise—except sex of course.
I lost sight of Roman as he sprinted around again.
A couple of thumping heartbeats later, his feet crunched on the gravel as he sidled up to me. Still laughing, he placed his hand on my back. “You okay?”
The warmth of his touch had my insides glowing. “Nope,” I finally said between breaths. “You think I’m lying.” I dragged my body upright and pulled an Oscar-worthy sad face.
“Oh, come here.” He wrapped his arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer. To my surprise, he bent over, put his nose to my bust and sniffed .
Anybody watching from the back seat would’ve thought we were nuts.
Roman came up licking his lips. “Hmmm, apple.”
Giggling, I slapped his chest. “I told you.”
He looped his arm over my shoulder and guided me forward. With each step toward the door, the eyes of the passengers stared down at me. Embarrassment oozed in like melted cheese, warming me from the inside out. “They’re all looking at me.”
“Of course they are. They’re all jealous.”
“Not helping.” I hissed at him.
“You’ll be fine. Just do what you do best.”
I rolled my eyes his way, capturing his gaze. “And what’s that?”
“Your job.”
I expected to see sarcasm in his expression. But Roman meant every word. “Besides,” he said, “I told them you had to help Luca rescue a foal. The cheese puff one you told me about last month.” His words were like vanilla custard, sweet and comforting.
“You mean Cream Puff.” I giggled, yet tears pricked at my eyes. I paused at the door, turned to him, and rested my hand on his chest. His heart pounded beneath my fingers. He placed his hand over mine and that simple touch had my chin quivering.
“Hey.” He tilted his head, capturing my eyes with his intense gaze. “What’s wrong?”
Tears threatened to erupt like a volcano and I sucked in a shaky breath, forcing them away. I shook my head, stalling for time.
“Come on. You can tell me.”
“Why are you so nice to me? And don’t say I’ll figure it out. Because I haven’t.”
He curled my hair behind my ear, and that simple move had my heart melting. But when our eyes met and the intensity burning in his honey pools mesmerized me, all my breath stole from my throat. The air stood still.
His expression wobbled. “I like seeing you so happy.”
Oh, God. My heart swelled to maximum capacity. When I captured his gaze, I knew with one hundred percent certainty that I was falling in love.
But in the same second, I also understood that he couldn’t possibly feel the same way.
I had to fight my stupid feelings. Love was not real. Not with anyone, and definitely not with a man as special as Roman.
Neither Luca nor the other guys made me feel like Roman did. They were just sex. Roman was so much more. He captured me with all my being. He made me glow like a field of sunflowers. He made me whole, complete.
But we could never be together. It wasn’t right.
We were at totally different stages of our lives. And I had so much baggage I could fill an airbus. Roman needed someone young and beautiful and free of emotional stumbling blocks.
I eased back from his embrace. “You’re so sweet.”
He blinked at me, his expression morphing into one that I couldn’t read. Disappointment maybe, or confusion. He lowered his eyes and released a huge sigh. Clutching my shoulders, he turned me and gave my butt a gentle slap. “Come on. We’ve gotta get going.”
“Hey—”
Holding my shoulders, he guided me to the door. “Up. Go.”
“Jeez, when did you get so bossy?”
“When you started slacking off.”
“I’m not—” I couldn’t finish my sentence. It would have been a lie. He was right. I had been slacking off. Time to get my tour leader hat back on. But that pledge catapulted off course when some of the group started clapping. A blaze of heat colored my flesh at my deceitful lies.
“Is the foal okay?” Lydia asked. The beautiful Italian woman was seated in the front row. Her cheeks glowed with youthful excitement.
“How bad was she hurt?” Simone, the only American female on this tour, asked.
Roman squeezed past me. “Go on, tell them.” He slipped into his seat and shut the door.
I inhaled, long and steady, and reached for the microphone but paused. Dozens of images of what my hands had done in the past hour flashed across my eyes, and I pumped out a few squirts of hand sanitizer instead. It wasn’t enough. I could still smell Luca. And the dampness between my legs added to my squirming.
With the sanitizer rubbed in, I grabbed the microphone. “Good morning, everyone.” It was hard to believe it was still morning. “Let’s give Roman a round of applause for looking after you all in my absence.”
While I waited for the clapping to die down, I pieced together a story.
“So, as Roman mentioned, Luca asked me to help with Mon Petit Chou, or Little Cream Puff, for those who don’t speak French .” The more I spoke, the easier the lie became. Fortunately, I could rely on the details of looking after her last month for most of my retelling.
A few of the women asked questions about the foal and Wild Fire, but nobody asked about Luca. Maybe I was the only one who’d actually noticed the stud riding the stallion.
Within a few minutes, I turned their attention away from what I’d been doing and onto what they’d been doing. With that little transition, I was back in my comfort zone, regaling them with all the wonderful facts about Chateau de Fontainebleau that Roman probably would have omitted.
After informing them of our next destination and recording their meal orders for Le Pailleron restaurant in Lyon, I hung up the microphone and flopped into my seat.
I was absolutely exhausted. My bones felt like Jell-O, but it was my mind that was mush. It was like I’d run a marathon while simultaneously reciting all the countries in the world and their capital cities.
I huffed out a huge sigh that had my lips wobbling.
“You okay?”
“Couldn’t be better,” I lied again. Maybe this lying thing was easy after all. God knew I’d been on the receiving end of it often enough.
The momentum of the coach and my weary body soon had sleep beckoning. But I wasn’t treated to wonderful dreams.
Instead, my mind dwelled on the greatest lie I’d ever had to deal with.
That I wasn’t falling in love with Roman.