Chapter Ten #2
She did as he instructed, sliding the thin strings of fabric down her hips while he watched.
She stepped out of them and handed them over.
He stooped down and tucked them into the pocket of his jeans.
Since this was his fantasy and she didn’t want to ruin it, she didn’t point out that he lived in a bunkhouse full of men, meaning there was potential for disaster.
If he had to claim they were his, and that he liked to wear them, then that was on him.
“Give me your hand,” he said. She placed her palm in his.
He took her fingers and wrapped them around his erection.
The skin was silky and smooth, and he was hard underneath it.
She tightened her fingers, and he sucked in air through his teeth.
“That’s it. Just like that. Now, move your hand.
Like this.” He guided her hand’s movements up and down the length of his shaft.
“Don’t be shy. This is the warmup. Don’t worry, I have plans for you too.
” He grazed his hand over her hip, making her shiver, then eased it between her thighs.
Then, as he slid a finger inside her, it was her turn to gasp.
“This is what you dream about?” she rasped out.
“For starters.” He kissed her throat. His finger plunged deeper, the heel of his palm cupping her pelvis. “I picture you begging.”
Her interest perked up. She could think of things she’d liked to beg for. “Am I on my knees?”
“Would you like to be?”
She dropped to the floor. She reached out with her tongue and licked the salty tip of his shaft, then lifted her chin so that her eyes met his. “Am I begging for this?”
He closed his eyes. A smile touched his lips. “My dreams have come true.”
Oral sex had never been high on Shauna’s radar before.
Now, she could think of nothing she wanted more.
She took him in her mouth, not sure how to progress, but more than willing to give it a try.
She’d let him be her guide. She swirled her tongue around the head of his penis, liking the texture and taste of his skin.
“Oh, my god, yes,” he breathed out. His hands cupped her head. He thrust into her mouth. She clung to his hips and licked the underside of his length. “That’s enough.”
He withdrew. His eyes were heavy as they rested on her face. “Your turn now. Lie on the bed. Spread your legs for me.”
She did as he said, unsure about what came next. The word lawyer trembled on her lips. His tongue plunged inside her, and her hips shot off the mattress. An orgasm loomed, shivering and urgent and hot.
She fisted the bedspread. She didn’t need a safe word for this. A defibrillator, perhaps. “You want me to beg… I’m begging. Get on with it. Now.”
He withdrew his tongue. “Even when you’re begging, you’re bossy.” He swung her legs onto the bed, then knelt above her. “Why don’t you try that again?”
His goal had to be to drive her insane. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Touch me here. Like this.” He showed her what he meant. She felt the strain in his knees, binding her hips. He gritted his teeth. “Let me do the work until I tell you to move.”
He eased himself into the heat between her thighs, but so slowly, she wasn’t sure she could last until he was completely in place. Then he was, and he began gliding in and out, the strokes coming faster and faster. Her fingers dug into his skin. He was torturing her.
“Okay, you can move,” he said, right before she decided she’d have to kill him to get satisfaction, his breath ragged and his voice sounding hoarse.
She brought her hips up to greet the next thrust, and every nerve ending in her body exploded.
She cried out, and then he arched his back and stiffened, and she thought she heard him say, “Oh, my god ,” in a tone that implied he’d met his maker and the experience was spiritual. On that, they agreed.
He collapsed on the bed, his stomach pressed to hers, but his weight shifted to one side so that she wasn’t pinned underneath him.
He cupped a breast in his hand, lightly caressing the nipple with the rough edge of his thumb and sending hot shockwaves through regions that had been completely satisfied only a few moments prior.
He had his eyes closed, but the relaxed expression he wore tugged at her heart.
Safe word, my aunt Fanny.
She’d never felt safer. Or more satisfied. Or more interested in a repeat performance. What about him made him different from any other man she’d had in her life? Other than the whole down-to-earth, rugged cowboy thing he had going for him?
Maybe because she’d known he was temporary, right from the start. There was no wondering if they’d have to merge lifestyles and space, or if one of them might have to relocate and interrupt their career. They could focus on simply…enjoying each other.
Speaking of which.
She felt him stir. She shifted her head so that she was looking at him. His eyes were open, and he had a smile on his lips that upped her heart rate and planted all kinds of ideas for the rest of the evening.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” he said.
*
Nix
A door opening and closing somewhere in the house jolted Nix out of a light sleep. Shauna lifted her head from the pillow beside him, her eyes wide. He checked the alarm clock on the bedside table. Red numbers glared back at him from the semi-darkness.
Eleven o’clock.
They’d dozed off. Two rounds of sex in one evening tended to do that to people.
They’d checked out every inch of each other’s bodies and he now knew hers as well as he knew his own.
Possibly better, because he’d never done the things to himself that he’d done to her.
No one who looked at her now would believe she was the same too-good lawyer who worked for Grand Cooper and Nash.
He’d lost his ability to form words when he’d seen her version of what passed for panties.
And while he’d only brought up the safe word as a joke to wind her up, they’d pushed the boundaries of how far he was willing to go—and he was willing to go pretty far. He frowned.
She was too trusting. What if she struck the same sort of sex-only deal with another man, and he didn’t have any restraint? Then where would she be? Would a safe word be enough?
She scrambled out of the bed and began to toss frantically through the clothes on the floor. He propped himself on his elbows so that he had a better view of the show. She found her robe almost straight away and wrapped herself in it, to his disappointment.
“Taryn’s home early,” she whispered, as if he hadn’t figured it out.
“It’s too late to get worked up about it,” he whispered back. “I’ll wait a few hours, then leave once she’s asleep.” A few extra hours in bed with Shauna? He could live with that. He’d already have some explaining to do at the ranch in the morning, so time no longer made any difference to him.
Shauna worried the inside of her lip. “I should go find out why she’s home early. Otherwise, she might come in here to talk.”
“You should comb your hair first,” Nix advised.
It looked exactly as if he’d had his woody inside her while he had his hands in her hair.
The way she looked, all mussed up and satisfied, and knowing he was responsible for it, made his woody harden again.
He folded his hands behind his head and stretched out on his back, stark naked, so she could see for herself. “And hurry back.”
He couldn’t recall the exact layout of the house—he’d been too invested in getting Shauna into the bedroom as fast as he could—but he had no trouble hearing every word that was said. He’d feel he was being nosy, except Shauna knew he was here, and he had no choice in the matter.
“Remi’s too thirsty. It’s cheugy,” he heard Taryn complain. He wondered if Shauna had the translation for that. He assumed it didn’t mean anything good, and that Remi was now knee-deep in crap.
“Why’s Remi being clingy?” Shauna asked. “Did you give him a reason to think you and he are a couple?”
“A couple,” Taryn sneered, her voice dripping sarcasm. “You let a guy slide into home plate once or twice and he thinks he owns you.”
“Taryn,” Shauna breathed, sounding so horrified that Nix was amused.
She had a naked man hiding in her bedroom.
He wondered if she saw the hypocrisy, or if she believed the rules for teenagers were somehow different.
He and Peg had been going at it like rabbits at Taryn’s age.
He and Shauna just had sex twice, and he was revved up for a third.
“What?” He heard a cupboard door open and close, then the fridge. “Mind if I grab a beer?”
Say yes. That might put her to sleep.
“Go ahead.” Shauna sounded as if she’d given up.
Come on, Shauna. Lighten up. Your sister might be out of control, but she’s also normal. She’s trying to put herself on equal footing with you.
He heard the crack and a hiss as Taryn popped the tab on a can.
“Remi can’t handle competition,” she said.
“Who’s the competition?”
That question spiked Nix’s interest. If Taryn was sleeping with two different guys in the clinic, he needed to know.
“He heard a rumor, that’s all. He’s making a big deal out of nothing.”
Nix relaxed. He wasn’t going to have two teenaged boys trying to kill each other—as long as there was no truth to the rumor.
“Is this the same rumor Nora’s mother told me about?” Shauna asked.
“Did Nora blab?” Now Taryn was outraged. Man. Girls swung moods like pro ball players swung bats. This was better drama than The Bachelorette .
“I don’t care where her mother heard it. It started with you, and we both know it’s not true,” Shauna said.
The hair on Nix’s arms stood straight up. He sat up straight in bed. No.
No, no, no.
The rumor had better not be about him.
“How do you know it’s not true?” Taryn demanded.
“Because I know Dan. I also know the other owners of the Endeavour. They aren’t about to let anyone on the ranch do anything that reflects poorly on them.”
Dammit.
It was about him. Shauna’s carefully worded response told him as much—she knew he could hear. She’d wanted to talk to him about Taryn when he arrived, he remembered, and he’d asked if it could wait. Next time she wanted to talk, he’d ask for more details before setting a conversation aside.
“Don’t be such a drama queen. It’s a little spilt tea for the old ladies. No one cares what Nix does. Or who,” Taryn said nastily, adding the last bit in an obvious attempt to rub her sister the wrong way.
And that was when Nix thought he knew what her hostility toward Shauna was really about.
Taryn was jealous of her big sister.
Not over him. But because Shauna was beautiful and polished and smart, and in Taryn’s eyes, she came close to perfect. She’d likely been held up as the family’s gold standard. And everyone made sure that Taryn knew she was not.
He was collateral damage in a war that Shauna didn’t even know was in progress.
“Turn the lights out before you go to bed,” Shauna said to Taryn. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
A few moments later, she closed the bedroom door. She held up a finger for him to stay quiet and pressed her ear to the door. There was a long stretch of silence, then the television came on.
“I suppose you heard all of that,” she said softly, turning to him. “I’m sorry. I should have warned you about what she’s been saying. She has zero comprehension of consequences. Everything is a game in her world, and she doesn’t stop to think about who she might hurt.”
Nix scavenged his brain, trying to come up with a distraction appropriate for the current situation.
He wasn’t sure he should share his thoughts as to why Taryn acted out.
Their relationship was none of his business.
It might be best if he had a heart-to-heart with Taryn instead and put an end to that rumor before it got too much traction. A story like that tended to stick.
“Your sister’s a problem for later,” he said. “We’ve got a few hours to kill. How quiet do you think we can be?”
Shauna laughed softly. “We’ve used up a fair bit of energy already. If we go slow and don’t get carried away, then we should be good.”
Nix tipped her onto the bed and unfastened her robe. “Excellent. I’m pretty sure I can find a few places I haven’t touched yet. And a few that I’m happy to touch again.” He bent forward and nipped one round, pink, pretty nipple with his teeth.
Shauna ran her hands up the insides of his thighs.
“I like your line of thinking,” she said. “I should probably do another check too.”