Ride a Texas Cowboy Read online

  Laughter shook her shoulders. “Statistically, I’m just hitting my prime.”

  He hiked her thigh over his hip, and his fingers slipped between her buttocks to graze her tight hole before sliding down to touch where they were still joined. “Think you’re ready for another sort of ride?”

  Her breath caught, and her eyes widened. “Just what do you have in mind?”

  “Nothing you won’t love, I promise. Nothing you can’t take. I want to taste you. Make you come with my mouth. Then fuck you hard to make you come again.”

  Her breaths coming faster again, she nodded. “All right, cowboy. You’re on.”

  When she tried to slip her arm around his shoulder, he shook his head. “On your belly. I don’t want you to watch. Just feel.”

  “Daniel…”

  “Trust me.” Pulling his cock slowly out of her tight pussy, he kissed her again and then helped her to her stomach, pushing two pillows beneath her hips to raise her bottom. “Remember, I get to do all the work.”

  She sighed and rested her head on her folded arms. “You have no idea how awkward I feel.”

  He smiled. “Sure I do. That’s what makes this so much fun.”

  Kneeling beside her, he started at her shoulders, kissing and massaging the muscles until she relaxed, purring with content. Then slowly, he worked his way down her slender back, licking the hollow of her spine, pressing kisses into the dimples at the tops of her buttocks.

  When at last he arrived at her plump ass, he stroked his cock, making sure the condom was still rolled to the base and nudged apart her legs with his knees.

  She opened, groaning softly. “I don’t suppose we could turn the light off now?”

  “Not a chance.” He placed his hands on the sweet curves of her ass, enjoying the feel of her sleek, satiny skin beneath his work-roughened palms. The difference in their textures, rough to soft, and their skin tones, sun-tanned to pale cream, made him feel like an outlaw about to steal a sacred treasure.

  With both hands, he parted her and lifted her higher until her hips tilted at just the right angle to give him a view of her pretty pink cunt and small rosy hole. “I’ve been dying for another peek. Wanna spoil my fun?” He almost growled, his throat felt so tight and thick—just like his cock.

  She laughed, but the sound was smothered when she buried her face in the bedding.

  Although his cock pulsed and ached for relief, he schooled himself to go slow and savor the journey—and bring her past her embarrassment and modesty. With every gentle initiation he provided, he hoped to tighten the cinch around her heart.

  He leaned closer and buried his mouth and chin in the moist heat between her legs. Knowing his beard stubble chafed, he circled slowly, rubbing himself in her juices while her hips jerked, and she emitted excited little cries. She didn’t try to pull away.

  His thumbs parted the thicker outer lips, and he tongued her from clit through cleft, again and again, until her hips followed the movement up and down, like she was trying to draw out each stroke.

  He almost smiled, but his dick throbbed, and his balls drew painfully high and hard against his body. Still, he speared into her, stroking her silken sheath until more salty cream greeted his tongue. He dug his fingers into her, rolling them to coat them all the way past his knuckles then pulled them out to rub the moisture around her pink asshole.

  Katelyn bucked beneath him. “Daniel!” she cried out, desperation driving the pitch of her voice higher.

  But he was merciless. He drew her pink inner lips between his teeth and sucked them hard while he pushed one finger into her ass.

  Her body shivered, and her back arched. Her ass, however, drove higher against his mouth and finger, forcing a deeper penetration. He twisted inside her, loosening the tight ring of muscle, then drove another finger inside and fluttered them until she was groaning and gasping for breath.

  His cock grew so tight he was afraid he’d spend himself on the sheets if he didn’t get inside her quick. Keeping his fingers in her ass, he rose behind her and guided his cock into her pussy, snuggling his thighs between her wide-spread legs.

  With his free hand on her rump, he slammed forward, gliding freely into her heat, tunneling fingers and cock as deep as he could reach.

  Katelyn’s knees pressed into the mattress to find purchase, and then she raised her bottom to meet his strokes, grunting softly with each hard thrust.

  He drove faster, harder, until his balls banged her clit and she keened, her voice breaking as he pounded. Then he felt the rush of come emptying from his balls in hot spurts to fill the tight latex sheath. He shouted and pumped faster, clenching his teeth as his body spent itself in a final, violent thrust.

  Afterward, he gathered her quivering body close to his chest and soothed her with his hands sliding up and down her back until her heartbeat slowed, and she slumped beside him. When she sleepily nuzzled his neck, he waited until her breaths deepened before heading to the bathroom to clean up. When he returned, he pulled the sheet over them both and slept.

  *

  Morning dawned and Katelyn woke and reached a hand across the bed to Daniel, but he wasn’t there. She pulled on a robe, belting it snugly at the waist, before going in search of him. But he wasn’t anywhere to be found inside the house.

  His clothes were gone, and his pickup wasn’t sitting in the driveway. She felt the first tremor of panic begin to rumble in her stomach. Had she been wrong about him? Had he left her as soon as he had what he wanted? He’d left no note of explanation.

  She wandered out onto the porch and watched the first rays of the dawn peek over the horizon—vivid, crisp orange and mauve against the harsh gold that rimmed the earth.

  Sitting on the steps, she drew the top of the wrapper closed, and began to berate herself silently. How could I be such a fool? She laid her head against her bent knees and gave herself a stern order not to cry.

  Then she heard the sound of a vehicle as it roared down the driveway. She didn’t look up when footsteps ran up the porch and paused beside her. She couldn’t look up when she heard Daniel’s worried voice speak to her. “Sweetheart, I meant to be back before you woke.”

  “I thought…” she whispered, her voice thick with tears. “I didn’t know if you were coming back.” A moment later she was in his arms. Ashamed of her distrust, she hid her face against his shoulder as he rocked her. Finally, she raised her face to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry. I’m acting like an idiot.”

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. Trust takes time, and we’re just getting to know each other.”

  She relaxed against him, enjoying the feel of his solid chest beneath her cheek. “So, why did you leave?”

  “I went back to my place to pick up the tools I need to start work on the eaves today. You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you. I’m sorry now that I didn’t tell you.”

  She hugged him hard and pressed her face against his neck. He was apologizing to her, and she was the one who should be ashamed. But she held onto her silence for just a moment longer, savoring the feelings that washed over her. Love enfolded her as he rocked her in his arms.

  “Strange as it sounds, Katelyn, you hardly know me, and I don’t know nearly enough about you. Why should you trust me? How ’bout we talk? I know there’s something bothering you, but there can’t be anything so terrible we can’t face it together.”

  It hurt so much to look into his face and see the love shining in his eyes. How do I tell him? She shook her head, knowing what she was about to say would make a difference. “I’m married…”

  It didn’t take more than a moment for him to react. And then it was if a shutter closed over his face. He drew away from her emotionally, even before his hands lifted her off his lap and left her body.

  Panic flared and stilled her heart. “Daniel, please let me explain.”

  “I think you summed it up just fine, ma’am,” he said. He rose to his feet, turned on his heels, and marched toward his truck.


  She ran after him on bare feet, heedless of the stones in the driveway, “Please, Daniel. Wait!”

  He slammed the door to his truck and started it up. She stood beside his window, but he wouldn’t look at her.

  “Daniel, let me explain.”

  He began to drive away, but she ran beside him, desperate now for him to hear her. “I’m separated—I’ve already filed for divorce. Daniel, wait.” The truck pulled away, and at the end of the drive, he gunned the engine.

  Slowly, she became aware she’d been standing there a long time, staring at the empty road. She wiped her tears on the sleeves of her robe and turned back to the house.

  Hadn’t she known all along the fact she was married would matter to someone like him? He was an honorable man. He didn’t operate in shades of gray. Marriage was black and white. You were—or you weren’t.

  Katelyn blinked away her tears. She had plenty of work to do. She would get through this pain the same way she always had. She just needed to keep busy. Never mind this time the agony cut so much deeper than her husband had ever managed to do.

  *

  Hours later, she paused to wipe the sweat from her forehead. She dropped her scrub brush into the dirty water and decided to get a fresh bucket before she tackled the last window.

  She heard a footstep crunch behind her and spun on her heel.

  Daniel stood there. His face was pale and his mouth a tight line. His expression was harshly etched.

  Afraid she would just break down and cry in front of him, she turned away and dumped the bucket of water.

  “We need to talk,” he said, his tone hard, the pitch deep and strained.

  She added soap to the bucket and began to fill it with water, ignoring him. He wouldn’t listen to her before, why should she listen now? She reached for the pail, but his hands stopped her. They settled on her arms and clasped her tightly. He stood so close she could feel him against her back.

  “Katelyn, stop.”

  “Let me go, Daniel. I have work to finish up here.”

  “We’re gonna talk. I shouldn’t have left the way I did earlier. I’m sorry for that.”

  As strong as the relief that sang in her heart, anger blasted hot and furious. “Sorry?” She shook off his hands and turned. “You didn’t even give me a chance to explain. Where was your trust? You demand it from me, but the first time yours was tested—”

  “I had to get away…to think. I was too mad to make sense of anything you wanted to tell me. I needed a little time.”

  “Well, now you have plenty of it,” she snapped. “I’d like you to leave.”

  His eyebrows lowered. “I’m not goin’ until you settle down and talk to me.”

  “I don’t have to do what you tell me to. There’s nothing left to say, and I have work to do.” She turned her back on him, picked up the pail and stalked toward the window.

  She heard a muttered, “Dammit, Katelyn,” just before she heard the sound of him walking away. That made her even madder. His affections could only be a pale thing compared to hers if he could give up so easily.

  Well, it’s better to know now, she thought. Convincing herself it was better this way, she closed her mind to the pain and scrubbed the dirty window.

  Weary and heartsick, she finished up and decided she’d had enough for the day. Too little sleep the night before, and too many emotions that morning, had left her exhausted.

  She entered through the back door and headed straight for the shower. The water soothed her aching muscles, and she let her tears mingle with the spray jetting down on her. After she dried off, she went in search of fresh clothing. She had just pulled a long, age-softened T-shirt over her head when the sound of banging from the front of the house registered.

  Every admonition she’d given herself earlier, trying to convince herself she was better off without a man—especially one who quit when the going got rough—disappeared. She’d been lying to herself.

  Heart pounding, she walked through the house and looked out the front window. It was Daniel. He was there on her porch, prying a board free from the eaves. He hadn’t walked out on her after all.

  But was he here to finish the job or because he wanted another chance? She suspected the answer was up to her.

  He must have sensed her watching, because he looked up. She couldn’t read his expression before he turned his attention back to the crowbar and the board he’d almost worked free.

  Unsure how she’d be received, she hesitated. She prayed she hadn’t been misreading him all along. If he returned even a small portion of the love she felt for him, it would be enough.

  Pushing open the screen door, she took a deep breath and walked out onto the porch. He ignored her now and kept working. She didn’t mind, deciding it would be easier to get through the explanations without him looking right at her.

  “I’m sorry I shouted at you earlier,” she said softly. “It was childish of me. I wanted to hurt you like you hurt me when you left this morning.”

  A board creaked ominously before it split. Daniel tossed down the crowbar and began to pull at the board with his hands.

  He wasn’t going to make this easy for her. And she knew she deserved it. She had been the one to lie. Or at the very least, omit an important piece of information.

  “Please just listen, Daniel.” She eyed his back. His head was cocked to the side, and his motions slowed, so she knew she had his attention. “I was wrong not to tell you about my marriage,” she began. “I don’t consider myself married anymore. My husband and I have been apart for months. Our marriage wasn’t a good one.”

  Pausing, she realized while it was easier to say what she had to without him looking at her, she needed to read his expression. She didn’t know if she was reaching him.

  “My husband was very controlling. And while he didn’t ever hurt me physically, he made me feel…small and stupid. He also made me feel very unsexy.” She heard him snort and she rushed to continue. “And there were other women. A lot of other women. Chris said he needed them because I wasn’t woman enough for him.”

  She turned away and stared sightlessly at the expanse of rugged buffalo grass before her. “I believed him for the longest time. I don’t know what changed in me, or when it occurred that I didn’t have to take it. I moved out. And at first I thought I was doing it to punish him, and make him see how much he had hurt me. But then, I started to realize I liked my life better without him. That was when I decided to leave Atlanta. I couldn’t really let go of my past if I stayed there.”

  He didn’t stop working, and she started to feel anxious that maybe none of what she was saying mattered to him or excused her.

  “When I came out here to Texas, it was to get as far away from my old life as I possibly could. The last thing I wanted was another man. And trust one? I didn’t think I ever could again.”

  The board came free in his hands, and he tossed it on top of a growing pile next to the porch. He picked up the crowbar, and inserted the end between two old splintered boards high in the eave over the center of the porch. The muscles in his arms and shoulders bunched, and sweat dampened the back of his shirt.

  Needing to be closer to him before she could say what she needed to say next, she stepped behind him and put her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek to the wet circle between his shoulder blades.

  He stilled immediately.

  “Daniel…” Squeezing him fiercely, she whispered, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I felt that if I shared this, somehow I wasn’t being strong. And I didn’t want you to know how stupid I’d been. You’ve shown me more about passion and what love is supposed to be in the past days than I ever experienced in years of marriage to him. Every time you pushed, it wasn’t just because you wanted something for yourself. You were giving me the world, but I was too scared to accept or see that.” Frightened because she didn’t sense any change in his rigid stance, she went for broke. “But I want you to know…I trust you. And…I love you with all my heart.�
��

  She felt his chest expand as he took a deep breath. He lowered his arms and set the crowbar on top of the rail. Then he placed both hands over hers and squeezed them gently. They stood there for long minutes, relaxing, savoring.

  “You’re not wearing a thing under that T-shirt are you?”

  The question, and his deep smoky voice, made her smile. She bit him playfully on the back, and she felt his response in the ripple of his stomach muscles beneath her hands.

  He pulled free of her grasp, turned quickly, and grabbed her around her waist. Before she had time to even gasp in surprise, he sat her down on the porch rail and stepped between her thighs. Their faces were level now, his gaze spearing into hers.

  “No more secrets,” he said firmly.

  “No more secrets,” she promised, and her heart began to expand with hope.

  “We will be married, Katelyn.”

  It wasn’t a question, but she nodded a moment before his mouth pressed against hers, and his hips pushed against the part of her that ached to be filled.

  Pushing the T-shirt up her body, Daniel’s lips left hers only long enough to pull it over her head and fling it the ground. “I need to be inside you.”

  She understood. He needed to stake his claim.

  Her hands were just as busy, opening the snap of his jeans to free him. He lifted her from the rail, and she clung to his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist. She sighed as he lowered her partway down his cock.

  He took a deep breath and rested his forehead against hers. “Dammit, Katelyn. You’re more than enough woman for me. I won’t ever play around on you.”

  Her eyes grew damp again. “Daniel, I believe you. But you’ll want children. At my age…”

  He shook his head. “We’ll figure it out, baby. I’d like a family, and if we can’t have our own, I know there are plenty out there who need us.”

  “You have an answer for everything,” she grumbled.

  “And you’ve run out of excuses.”

  She gave him a doubtful frown. There was so much they’d never discussed. Children, where they’d live, what his favorite dishes were… They barely knew each other. Panic began to rise again. “Right now, no more talk. You have to move.”