Hot Blooded Read online

  Although humiliation burned her cheeks, she slid backward onto the hot leather seat, clamping her legs together so she wouldn’t leave a slick, telltale trail. Her bottom burned, but she bit her lip, determined not to let him see her wince, and opened her legs.

  Adam leaned into the cramped space, locked his glance with hers, and then flattened his hand between her breasts and pushed.

  She fell back, gasping as stinging heat bit her skin, but Adam cupped her sex with his warm palm and pressed, completely filling her mind with the enormity of what she was doing. She closed her eyes.

  A mistake. One she recognized immediately, because something slick and soft trailed along her inner thigh, starting at her knee. Her leg jerked at the contact. A trickle of cream slid from inside her, something he couldn’t miss due to the moist contraction of her inner muscles.

  A sexy, rumbling chuckle gusted against her skin. Long, thick fingers thrust inside her and stilled.

  Cass’s eyes shot open and she looked between her legs.

  Adam’s eyes were slitted, his jaw tight. “Tell me, Cass,” he rasped. “Would you have been as eager for Johnny to eat your sweet pussy?”

  Air hissed between her clenched teeth, and she tried to sit up, but he slipped his fingers from inside her, hooked his arms beneath her thighs, and pulled her ass past the edge of the seat.

  “Don’t. I don’t want this. Stop,” she gasped, still trying to squirm away.

  His hands came over the top of her legs, and his fingers parted her wet folds. His head lowered, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled. Then his mouth opened and his tongue stroked the length of her folds.

  “Adam! Damn it, stop,” she cried out, pushing against the top of his head to force him away.

  A futile attempt, because he forced her thighs higher, wider. His tongue stabbed at her center, lashing inside and swirling.

  Cass grabbed for his hair, pulling hard. But a wicked flick at her clit caused her back to arch. Her hips pulsed, driving her cunt against his mouth. “I fucking hate you,” she whispered, misery and arousal strangling her.

  His tongue retreated. “Maybe. But you want me.” His thumb flicked the burgeoning knot at the top of her folds, scraping deliciously. “Say it. Say you want me, Cass.”

  Her belly shivered, curving upward, driving her pussy higher.

  His thumb slid away and fingers stroked her labia, easing along the outer edges, gliding downward in the wet trail trickling between her buttocks. The roughened pad of a thumb caressed her small furled hole.

  All the while his hard, steady gaze remained locked with hers, waiting.

  Cass felt her lips tremble. Her body began to shudder. Arousal wound tight around her womb, and a deep, convulsing ache set her hips plunging up and down. “I want you,” she answered. “You already know that. Please, Adam, fuck me.”

  As though she’d released him from restraint, he surged upward and pressed her thighs against his chest. “Hold them. Keep them high.”

  Cass clutched her thighs and widened them, bracing one foot against the top of the door frame and the other against the window.

  She whimpered now, not caring that she was ready to fly apart and he would see it all—the deep, agonizing desire making her tremble and beg, both entrances exposed. Pure, primal need ravaged what was left of her pride.

  Adam cupped her buttocks briefly, squeezing the globes, massaging them while he settled on the running board on his knees.

  Then he rubbed her asshole again with his thumb, holding her gaze while his darkened, and pressed inward.

  Cass couldn’t look away, didn’t care that his intrusion burned. She billowed her cheeks and puffed until the painful burning eased, and he thrust deeper. Then she ground her teeth together, because he was already stroking her pussy with his long, thick fingers, coating himself in creamy honey.

  Three fingers plunged inside, and she tensed, her feet pressing hard against the truck as she raised her head to watch him.

  His gaze lifted to hers again, grim satisfaction curving his lips and feral heat stretching the skin tight across his sharply etched cheekbones.

  She didn’t care about the sight she presented him, twisted like a pretzel, red faced and quivering. She was ready to explode. She panted, beyond speech, a throb like a primitive drum beating against her chest.

  Adam slowly lowered his face between her legs. A thumb scraped the hood stretched taut over her clitoris, exposing the moist, red nub. His mouth opened and warm lips latched around it, sucking hard while he plunged thick fingers deep in her ass and pussy.

  Cass screamed, throwing back her head and rolling it on the hot leather while her orgasm spiraled deep inside her cunt, radiating outward, setting thick, rhythmic convulsions rippling along her channel.

  He continued to suckle and thrust, long after her body sagged against the seat and her breath became jagged, tortured gasps.

  Fingers withdrew, his lips relaxed, and then his tongue gently stroked over her damp folds.

  When at last he backed away, Cass couldn’t move for long moments. Tears slowly slid along the side of her cheeks, and she turned her face aside to swipe at them, hating that he saw this too.

  Adam dragged down her legs, and his fingers closed around one hand to jerk her up. “Get dressed.”

  She closed her eyes, savoring the hint of tension in his taut, gravelly voice.

  She’d gotten her satisfaction.

  Adam could roast in hell if he thought she owed him a thing.

  Chapter 3

  Cass followed the curve of the park road, passing water crossing number six and slowing as she drove past the camping area at the west end of the park.

  She’d made the circuit through the canyon nearly twenty times already. The sun was lowering beyond the edge of the rim, a huge orange ball sliding into shimmering layers of mauve and red, a sight that usually filled her with wonder. Today, she could only muster a sigh.

  Adam hadn’t called last night. She shouldn’t have expected him to. After he’d finished with her, nothing in his demeanor changed to make her think he’d relented.

  She’d come to the conclusion that the pleasurable torture he’d inflicted on her was his brand of revenge. Completely diabolical. Even cruel.

  She’d been as wrung out as a dishrag after coming, legs wobbling, hands shaking as she’d dressed. He’d stood with his back to her, arms folded over his chest, until she was through.

  Then he hadn’t said a word on the long drive back. Not one.

  The scent of sex, of steamy pussy, had permeated the air they breathed despite the cool breeze blasting from the AC.

  And if she’d looked a little ragged when he dropped her at the headquarters building, Mavis hadn’t noted it—or at least had known better than to offer a comment.

  Yes, the older woman’s eyes had rounded, a sparkle of excitement gleaming in the soft, faded blue, but one glance at Cass’s anguished face and she’d left her alone. Cass had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in her car, patrolling, ignoring minor infractions because she hadn’t the emotional strength to do her job.

  Today was better, but only because she felt hollow, as though something vital had been carved from her chest.

  Just as she passed the restroom beyond the campground, a woman burst from the door of the lady’s side, her arms waving.

  Cass muttered a curse, wondering if a snake or a scorpion had wandered into the showers. She pulled to a halt and got out of her car, approaching the heavyset woman whose chest heaved like two pontoons on a choppy sea.

  “There’s a young man in the women’s shower.”

  Cass lifted a brow. That was different. “Ma’am, let me handle it. You stay outside while I sort this out.”

  Cass checked her sidearm—because she never knew when she might actually have to use it—and straightened her shoulders, pushing
through the door and walking past the restroom stalls to the shower area. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” she called out.

  She halted as a tall, lean man stepped from the stall, a grin curving his lips. Cass fisted a hand on her hip. “Johnny, what the hell do you think you’re doing in here?”

  “Do I have your attention now?” he asked, leaning a shoulder against the tiled wall. His dark eyes glinted with humor—and a hint of something wicked. “Missed you, Sunshine,” he drawled. Cass firmed her lips into a straight line, immune now to his considerable charms. Although alike in build and smoldering good looks, his conceit spoiled the view when she compared him to his older brother. “Like I said, sir, you have to leave. Now.”

  “You didn’t return my calls,” he said, in a lazy, drawling baritone. “What was I supposed to do?”

  She closed the distance between them, coming so near she forced him to step backward into the stall. “I would have thought you got my message loud and clear the other night,” she said, dropping her voice into a feminine snarl.

  Johnny’s lips curved. “Before or after you kissed me?”

  “You kissed me, dumb ass,” she reminded him, narrowing her eyes. “And I damn well know you saw Adam before you did it.”

  His smirk was a sexy twist of firm lips. Something he’d likely practiced in front of a mirror. “So it’s all my fault?”

  “No. My lips were right there, too,” she growled.

  “So why are you so mad?” His calculated smile slipped for just a second, revealing a hint of authentic confusion.

  He seemed so much like a boy trying hard to be a man that her irritation with him faded. She leaned away from him, mad at herself for taking out her disappointment on him. Whatever his beef with his brother, the hurt was older and deeper than any kiss in a dark parking lot.

  “Johnny, go home,” she said, suddenly tired.

  “Come out with me. Tonight.”

  Cass shook her head, staring at him. “Are you out of your mind? Don’t you know when to leave well enough alone? I won’t ever go out with you again. I’m not your girl. In fact, I’m already feeling sorry for her.”

  Johnny’s dark brows lowered into a fierce scowl. “Well, if you’re waiting around for a chance at Adam, you’re going to be alone a long time. He’ll never come near you again. Not after I’ve been there.”

  Fury blazed hot and fast, and she leaned in again, slamming her chest against his, body-checking him to force him hard against the tiles. “Then you don’t know him as well as you think.”

  Johnny’s gaze widened above hers. “You’ve seen him? You slept with him after he saw us together?”

  Ready to end the conversation right then and there, Cass reached for the spigot and turned on the cold water, stepping back to avoid the worst of the spray that splattered him, soaking into his clothing. “Get the hell out of my park.”

  She turned on her heels, hands fisting at her sides. Outside the restroom, she nodded to the heavyset woman and stalked to her car.

  Once behind the wheel, she didn’t look back once. She drove through the park, found a deserted parking lot and pulled to the far end of it before she cut the engine. She rolled down the windows, settled her head on the backrest and closed her eyes.

  Damn it, how could she have been so stupid to ever have trusted him? Johnny Youngblood carried a chip on his shoulder when it came to his brother. The little flicker of attraction she’d felt had been a reflected heat. His eager attentions had only soothed her disappointment over Adam’s unwillingness to pursue her.

  Johnny had played on that insecurity the morning of their date. She’d been supervising a crew clearing debris from an eddy in the river flowing through the park when he’d caught up with her.

  Cass hadn’t thought anything about his showing up. She hadn’t been aware of the brothers’ strained relationship since he’d accompanied Adam only once to file a complaint. She’d offered him a wave as he pulled his vehicle off the shoulder of the road.

  She’d have been lying to herself if she didn’t admit her breath had come a little faster—something about the Youngblood men did that to her.

  With the same dark, exotic good looks—tall, muscular physique, long black hair, razor sharp features, and eyes so black the pupils were indistinguishable from the irises—Johnny had been nothing but a substitute for the one man she’d really wanted.

  That morning on the roadside, Johnny gave her an easy smile, but the gaze he aimed her way told her he had something on his mind. She’d accepted his request to speak with her privately, and allowed him to take her arm and tug her away from the crew and their curious glances.

  “What’s on your mind today, Johnny?” she’d asked. “Got more trespassers?”

  “I’m not here on ranch business. This is strictly pleasure.”

  She’d given him a reserved smile, wondering where this was leading.

  Johnny had lowered his head to hers, which gave her a moment’s pause, but what was he going to do? Kiss her? The thought had her grimacing. She’d been thinking a lot about one particular pair of lips. Still, she didn’t step away from Johnny. Instead, she waited for him to get to the point.

  “My brother’s always been a little slow to make a move on a woman.”

  She’d shot him a startled glance, surprised at his intimate comment, but shrugged it off. Maybe Adam had confided in him. “He doesn’t strike me as the shy type,” she said, not wanting to jump into an awkward conversation but unable to stem her curiosity.

  “I don’t get why he does it. He doesn’t trust easily.”

  “I can understand that. He must get hit on by desperate women all the time,” she’d said, trying to lighten the conversation.

  “I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Johnny said, his expression charming in its earnestness. “It’s not hard to miss he likes you.”

  She’d pretended indifference to that little tidbit of exhilarating news while she’d glanced away, unable to meet his gaze with a blush creeping across her cheeks.

  “He doesn’t much like the fact you wear that uniform. He likes his relationship with the Palo Duro Canyon folks to remain strictly adversarial.”

  “Seems strange he’d volunteer to search for lost hikers with the fire department,” she’d murmured, again wondering where this was leading.

  Johnny shrugged. “He doesn’t have a thing against the folks who come and use the park the way it’s intended. He just gets frustrated when they decide to wander off the trails. We’ve had to rescue them off our property when they ran out of water, fix fences they don’t want to climb. They dig holes in our land to hide their little prizes—”

  “I get why he’d be pissed, but there’s not a lot we can do about it other than to warn hikers to stick to our marked trails.”

  “He knows it. It’s partly why he hasn’t asked you out—but he hasn’t been able to stay away either. I think he likes having excuses to come over here.”

  “You think he’s looking for excuses to see me?” she’d blurted, then wished she could take it back because he’d smiled at her eager response.

  “You’re very pretty.”

  Cass snorted. “Most days I’m not wearing a lick of makeup. I have skin peeling off my sunburned nose and these uniform shorts don’t do a thing for my hips.”

  “Adam doesn’t seem to care. He still comes back all riled up every time he sees you.”

  She was always equally “riled”—deeply aroused by his visits. Heat filled her face. Cass gave him a sideways glance. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because I’m going to ask you out.”

  She’d blinked, and then shook her head. “Why would you do that if you think your brother might be interested in me?”

  “Adam needs a little shove in your direction, don’t you think?”

  She’d seen th
e wicked glint in his eyes and read it as humor. If only she’d guessed the joke would be on her. Instead, she’d grown excited about the idea of shaking up the quiet Indian.

  So, she’d agreed to meet Johnny at a bar in Canyon after her shift ended, ignoring the feeling in her gut that told her this was a really bad idea. As the afternoon stretched into early evening, she’d grown increasingly certain she’d made a mistake.

  On the verge of calling to break their date, she’d found Adam’s battered pickup at a trail head, and the tall, dark rancher leaning against it with his thumbs hooked in the pockets of his jeans.

  She parked beside him, feeling guilty and hating that she did. A deep breath calmed her rioting heart and she stepped out of her park truck as he straightened away from his and approached.

  Adam stalked over to her, trapping her against her vehicle, his expression so intense she’d felt her heartbeats escalate. She had thought, for just a moment, that he intended to kiss her, but he’d backed away, his face molding into a flat, emotionless mask. “Heard you and Johnny are steppin’ out tonight.”

  Nervous and trying not to show it, she’d sucked in a breath, prepared to tell him that she’d changed her mind when he’d snorted, his mouth twisting into a grim line. “Told him you’d be a damned fool to even consider it.”

  All concern for his feelings in the matter shriveled. Her back stiffened. “Why’s that, Adam? It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

  His gaze sharpened, cutting from her face to glide down her body and back up again. “I’m not sure who deserves a warning more,” he murmured.

  She’d lifted one brow, anger slowly burning a hole in the pit of her stomach. “We’re both of age.”

  “Be sure of what you want,” he’d said, his words clipped.

  Then he’d turned on his heels and stomped away before she’d had a chance to untangle her tongue. Who in hell did he think he was?

  If she’d been wavering about the good sense of going out with his brother, Adam’s warning had shoved her straight into Johnny’s waiting arms.

  However, as much as she’d love to place all the blame on Adam’s stubbornness for what happened later that night, she couldn’t. She had only herself to blame.