In Too Deep Read online

  He patted the rock beside him. “Why not join me?”

  Her eyes widened, but she firmed her mouth and swam nearer.

  He held out a hand, which she accepted after giving him a long, searching look. He pulled her up beside him to rest on the ledge. With her knees pulled up against her chest and her body curled, she hid most of her interesting bits. Her shyness amused and enchanted him.

  That same combination of boldness and reticence had excited him as a youth. He’d wanted to make her blush with embarrassment one moment and with searing passion the next. In the end, she’d given him both.

  “Tell me something,” he said softly. “Something about you.” He hoped she’d answer the questions abounding in his mind. Like why was she still here? Had she finished college? Or given up? Why was she still wearing that cheap promise ring he’d given her all those years ago?

  She gave him a sideways glance. Her body still folded tightly, she wrapped her arms around her knees to hide herself.

  Not that she looked anything but completely sexy. The long expanse of her back was golden and smooth. The sides of her breasts a creamy white.

  She slicked back her wet hair then set her cheek against her knee as she stared back at him. “There’s not much to tell. I run this place in the summers for my grandfather.”

  “And during the rest of the year?”

  She lifted her shoulders. “I teach art in middle school.”

  She’d wanted to study graphic design and work in a marketing firm. What the hell had happened to that dream?

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “I’m in cattle.”

  Her eyelids dipped, and she glanced away. The tiny catch in her breath made him wonder if she was remembering a boy who’d been a rancher’s son.

  “I have to ask you, because, well, it’d be a little embarrassing if you knew him…”

  He let a smile curve his mouth. “Who?”

  “His name was Gabriel Triplehorn. He was here years and years ago. Lived on a ranch too. Just wondered if you knew him. Your eyes kinda remind me of him.”

  Gabe gave her an easy smile although inside his chest warmed. She hadn’t forgotten him. “Was he someone special?”

  Her smile seemed a little brittle. “Like I said, it was years ago. We barely knew each other.”

  “How well did you know each other?”

  Her glance flashed, a hint of annoyance digging a line between her brows. “That’s hardly any of your business.”

  “If I knew this Gabe, maybe it would be.”

  She huffed a breath. “It’s not like you’d be stepping on any toes. It was a long time ago. Forget I even mentioned him.”

  Gabe kept quiet, studying her face for a hint of what she was really thinking. Something about his appearance had sparked her memory, but by the tightness of her shoulders and the crimp of her soft lips, not every memory she had of him was rosy.

  All his memories of her were fond ones. Had he done something, said something there at the end of that summer that had left a bitter taste in her mouth?

  For the first time since he’d arrived, he wondered if he was doing the right thing. Playing this game. Perhaps he shouldn’t have given in to the temptation to extend the game after he’d discovered she wasn’t married. He didn’t understand what had inspired him to lie. Part of him had wanted to know whether the spark would still be there, without her memories of their previous entanglement swaying her. Part of him had wanted to protect himself. The moment he realized she wore his ring, something inside him had frozen for just a moment. He didn’t know how he felt about that. Likely, the ring held no meaning for her. But once, it had meant everything to him. He’d known when he left he’d likely never see her again, but he’d left his heart behind. No woman had ever moved him as much, and even though time had passed and dulled the emotions he’d felt back then, there was still a twinge of nostalgia plucking at him that scared him.

  More than her beauty, more than her, he was afraid that he was ready to be in love again, and if she wasn’t the right person, he didn’t want to make a mistake.

  Though why he was thinking this way left him confused. Perhaps seeing Colt so happy had changed him. Truth was, he hadn’t been in the mood to join Tommy in their usual carousing ever since the wedding. Maybe his churlishness stemmed from the fact he was envious of what Colt and Zuri had found.

  Something of his thoughts must have played on his face, because Lena’s expression changed. The light of arousal began to fade. “Look, if you’ve changed your mind…” she said, bit her bottom lip and looked away.

  Did she think he didn’t find her attractive now she was naked?

  Gabe swore silently and pushed aside his concerns. Yes, he was worried that maybe he shouldn’t have gone into this based on a lie, but he did think this attraction was worth exploring. And his body hadn’t cooled down one bit.

  Gabe leaned back to rest on one elbow and closed his eyes as the water poured over his body, rushing over his stomach and the jut of his thick cock.

  He snuck a peek to watch her gaze running greedily over his male flesh and made up his mind in an instant that all teasing was done. He swung his head toward hers, catching her hungry gaze. “I won’t mind if you touch. But I left condoms on the bank.”

  Her gaze searched his for a long moment, and a little smile played on her lips. She lifted her hand to uncurl her fingers. A plastic packet lay in the center of her palm.

  “Are you nervous we’re moving too quickly?” he asked, giving her one last chance before he was too far gone to be a gentleman.

  Her breath gusted. “I’m holding on by a thread, cowboy. I think if we don’t get past this, I won’t even remember how to breathe.” She lifted her chin to point at his cock. “Raise it above the water. I’ll put this on.”

  That voice. A soft but firm command. She’d been like that back then, and he’d been eager to obey. For now, he’d let her lead since she seemed to need to be in charge.

  Holding her gaze, he lay back on both elbows and raised his hips above the water.

  Lena tore the packet open, stuffed the wrapper into a crevice in the rock and turned to face him, giving him a full view of her luscious body. Her fleshy frame was thicker but more beautiful than ever. She was full and rounded, her waist narrowing above generous hips. Every curve in lush proportion.

  His breaths shortened as he raised his glance to meet hers. He read doubt in her eyes and gave her a smile. “Lena Twohig, you’re one beautiful woman.”

  Her cheeks flooded with color. “Thanks.”

  He could see the fortifying breath she took before she firmed her pretty mouth and bent over him to roll the condom down his shaft.

  The sensation of her strong hand gliding down his length had him groaning, something he didn’t hold back because he didn’t want her worrying again about his attraction. When the latex clothed him, she gave him firm up and down pumps with her fist as though testing his hardness.

  “What now?” he asked.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Seems a little rude me climbing right on, seein’ as we’ve never even kissed.”

  He liked the lazy ease of her comment and the husky texture of her voice. The sensual note was like a caress, stroking his balls. “I agree. Think we might manage to do both at the same time?”

  Her mouth curved. “I didn’t want to seem too greedy.”

  “I don’t mind greedy. I’m lettin’ you lead. Whatever pleases you, sugar.”

  Lena came up on her knees and slowly straddled him, trapping his cock between their bellies. “Truth is…” she said, rubbing lightly against him, “I can’t think straight…because all I want…is you…inside me.” She settled her hands on his shoulders and she bent, pressing her breasts against his chest. “Lord, I love the way this feels,” she moaned, the hard tips of her nipples scraping his skin.

  With his elbows beneath him supporting them both, Gabe couldn’t do anything more than lie there as she took her pleasure. Every
part of his body was tense. His balls ached as he held back. “Lena, give me one of those,” he whispered, staring at her full breasts.

  “No pretty please?” she said, with another sexy glide.

  “Please, baby. In my mouth.”

  Her hands clenching his shoulders, she shifted her knees beside his hips and rose, aiming on large breast at his face. Gabe opened wide and lapped her nipple with his tongue, then latched his mouth around as much of the soft flesh as he could and drew hard.

  Damn, he loved the way she shivered against him. She released his shoulders and dug her fingers into his scalp, massaging him as he burrowed. He wagged his head, sucking harder, trying to fit more flesh inside his mouth. Who was greedy now?

  He couldn’t remember ever being this hungry, this aroused. Her sun-warmed skin was delightfully salty. The tiny pebbled tip teased his tongue as he laved it inside his mouth, stroking it over and over, roughing it with the flat of tongue then tapping it until it extended even more. His mouth worked her flesh, suctioning so hard he wondered if he’d leave marks.

  He pulled off and paused to nibble the tip. He kissed the upper crest of her breast, her collarbone, and moved to the other nipple.

  Lena’s entire breast hardened and she inserted a hand between their bodies to reach down and stroke his cock, wrapping her fingers tightly around him as she pumped.

  Gabe groaned and nuzzled, his body tensing more, his balls drawing up against his groin. His cock expanded, painfully hardening. He pulled away. “No more, sweetheart. I’ll blow.”

  Lena leaned away, her gaze catching his. When she pushed up on her knees, he nearly howled he hurt so bad.

  Both their gazes shot downward.

  Fascinated by the sight of her plump lips and the light thatch of dark blonde hair, he held his breath.

  She took him in her hands, guided him between her folds and centered him at her entrance.

  With just the cap snug against her pussy, Gabe’s breaths gusted hard.

  “I like it when a man begs,” she whispered, her voice tight.

  His gaze flicked to her face. “Do you like it dirty?” he asked, but he already knew.

  She nodded, her expression eager and strained.

  Gabe cleared his throat and willed himself not to smile. “Put my dick in your pussy.”

  She dipped her eyelids, but her mouth pursed. “Um, nice start.”

  He narrowed his gaze. She wasn’t satisfied. She wanted it raw. Something that didn’t take any effort on his part. “Wiggle that ass, baby,” he rasped. “Screw that pussy down my dick.”

  She gave a soft snort. “You’re not beggin’. You’re tellin’.”

  Gabe’s chest shook with a bark of laughter. “Sweetheart, baby…please. I need that sweet, hot cunt fucking me. Please, sugar.”

  She grinned. “Your mama ever wash your mouth out with soap?”

  Gabe gave her back a brazen smile. “Nope, but I’ll let you do it, if you’ll just put me out of my misery. Fuck me, Lena. Please.”

  She shook her head. “Why do I get the feeling the last thing you’re used to is beggin’ for it?”

  “Because I never beg. And just you wait. First chance I get you under me…”

  She flipped back her hair. “Think I’m gonna want this again? With you?”

  Gabe held still, his gaze raking her chest then lowering to where she still sat poised above his cock. “Really think we can fight this?” he asked, more to himself than expecting a response from her.

  When his gaze locked with hers, they both fell silent for a long moment.

  “Any way you want it,” he said, lowering his voice. “Fast or slow. But if you don’t move, I will.”

  Lena sat on the precipice of an excitement she hadn’t felt in forever. Her whole body shook with it. Her pussy clasped the head of his dick, making the decision for her. She pressed against his chest and slowly screwed, swirling down his length, dragging her hips in shallow circles as she worked her way down his substantial cock.

  “Feels so good,” she said, closing her eyes. “So fucking big.”

  “Glad you’re enjoyin’ it,” he murmured. “I like it dirty too. Tell me more.”

  She opened her eyes to find a crooked smile stretching his mouth. She circled her hips again and ground downward, her mouth sagging against the overwhelming sensations. “I could see how big you were, but I wasn’t expectin’ to feel this stretched.” And she really hadn’t. Motherhood had robbed her of that little joy with the other men she’d had. “You’re a blessed man, Tommy.”

  He gave a little wince at the name. “Maybe a little less talkin’?”

  With her hand flat against his chest, she raised her hips and powered down his cock. When their groins met, she held and rubbed forward and back. “I could get off just like this,” she said, hissing between her teeth. “My clit against your pubic bone.”

  “That’s just plain cruel, talkin’ about your clit.” His eyelids dipped halfway and his nostrils flared. “I’d love nothin’ better than to suck it ’til you come.”

  “Next time, maybe.” She gasped as she gave him another deep rub. But then she was past thinking, because the tension building in her body demanded she move.

  She pushed off his chest and clasped her breasts, rolling them in her hands, squeezing them, knowing he was watching as she began to rise and fall in short little thrusts that warmed her inner walls and churned the water around their hips.

  “Baby, it’s burnin’ hot in there,” he growled. “Pinch your nipples. Tug ’em. Let me watch. Least you can do.”

  Lena laughed and shook her head. “I like you. You’re a real sweet-talker.”

  His laughter shook his body. “And you’re a tease. Come on,” he moaned, “gimme something.”

  While she rose a little higher and dove deeper, she lifted her mounds, raising them enough she could lick the tops of her breasts. Each fluttering lap made his cock jerk inside her. She toyed with the tips, flicking them with her thumb while she continued to stretch. When she lapped at her own areola, his hard, muscled belly quivered.

  The groan that followed was deeply satisfying. So she ringed her nipples and squeezed them, letting the tips peek between her fingers. Then she gave him what he’d asked for, pulling the tips hard enough her pussy cinched around his cock with a sweet sting.

  “Sweet Jesus. If I had you under me…”

  “What would you do?” she asked, giving her breasts a shake that made him suck in a deep breath. The man liked tits.

  His gaze remained glued to her jiggling mounds. “I’d force you to your knees and back you onto my dick. Then I’d hold that sweet ass still and hammer you into the ground.”

  Her breaths shortened until she was gasping. The tension wound so tight inside her, she couldn’t move with any grace or rhythm. She pumped wildly on his cock, her breasts bouncing. When she started panting, she stopped and came off him.

  He pushed up to rest on his hands. “Want me to take over?”

  She nodded, unable to speak.

  He sat up and slipped off the ledge. Then he turned and opened his arms. She slid forward, encircling her legs around his hips to ride them as he strode toward the bank, cradling her back with his hands.

  Lena felt shell-shocked, trembling all over. When he lay her torso down on the sandy bank, her hips still surrounded by cool water, she didn’t protest. She reached out, welcoming his weight on top of her.

  His broad shoulders filled her sight. His face was tight, his jaw sharp-edged with hunger—a feral look that thrilled her to her curled toes.

  Her cowboy slid his hands beneath her and cupped her bottom. “No mercy,” he whispered.

  “Don’t want any,” she said, surprised by how small and crimped her voice sounded.

  He dipped down, hovering his mouth over hers. “Never did get that kiss.”

  The moment his mouth touched hers, something inside her unlocked. A groan clawed its way up her throat. She wrapped her arms around him and dug her fi
ngernails into his muscled back. Raising her legs, she encircled his hips, pulling them into hers.

  He rooted once at her opening, then thrust hard inside, forcing a gasp from her that spilled into his mouth. He thrust his tongue boldly, and she sucked on it as he began to move, driving deep, cramming his thick cock through hot, engorged walls.

  Shock made her rigid as she came apart in a blinding instant. Her back bowed. She dug her head into grass and sand. Her eyes squeezed shut and light exploded in her head, pinpricks stinging the backs of her eyes. Lena gave a muffled shout.

  Her cowboy disengaged with her mouth, rising on his arms as he continued to pound inside her, drawing out her pleasure until she keened and moaned and then at last lay limp beneath him.

  His body sagged against hers.

  She huffed a laugh, amazed she’d been so consumed with her own orgasm she’d missed the moment of his.

  When a kiss landed on her cheek, she opened her eyes to find him grinning down.

  “Not disappointed?” he asked, his voice a soothing rumble.

  Lena shook her head, too weak to form words. A moment later, her pleasure faded as she realized she’d heard those exact same words from another younger cowboy years ago. She stared for a long moment as her body grew chilled.

  Icy fury spilling over her, Lena dug her nails into his shoulders and shoved. “You bastard!”

  Chapter Four

  When Lena began slapping his chest, Gabe grabbed both hands and forced them to the ground beside her head. “What the hell?”

  Her mouth twisted in a snarl. “Get off me.”

  Gabe glared down, wondering why the sudden change. One moment she’d melted beneath him. The next she was a writhing wildcat. And the fact he was still eight inches deep inside her only made him more confused. “What’s wrong, Lena?”

  “Liar,” she roared, the sound so raw his heart stuttered.

  All fight left her. Her body relaxed beneath his, but her expression worried him even more. Tears welled in her eyes. The corners of her mouth turned down.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  She shook her head, sniffing as moisture filled her eyes. “What kind of game are you playin’, Gabriel Triplehorn?”