“Which stall?”
“Third from the end on the left.”
Tyler detoured over to that stall and looked in. “Sure enough. Hi, there, Doozie and Hornswaggled. How do you like this weather we’re having?”
Doozie stuck her nose over the stall door and the goat’s front hooves clacked against the wooden door as he propped himself against it to beg for his share of attention.
“They’re so friendly.” Tyler stroked Doozie’s nose with one hand and scratched the top of the goat’s head with the other.
Alex came to stand beside her. “The Last Chance prides itself on being a friendly place.”
“I’ve noticed.” She concentrated on the two animals instead of looking at him, but the color rose in her cheeks. “This horse isn’t a paint like all the others.”
“Nope. She was injured and needed a safe haven. Now she’s fine, but nobody’s willing to sell her, even if they can’t breed her.”
Dislodging Tyler’s hand, Doozie moved closer to Alex, gazing at him expectantly.
He reached out and rubbed her silky neck. “Sorry, Dooz. I don’t have any treats.”
Hornswaggled bleated softly.
“Nothing for you, either, Horny.”
Tyler groaned. “That nickname is so bad, Alex.”
“Don’t blame me. That’s what all the hands call him. He came to the ranch with that name, and nobody’s going to take the time to say all of it. Cowboys appreciate brevity.”
Tyler glanced sideways at Alex as she continued to scratch the goat’s head. “So how much of a cowboy are you these days? Do you ride the range and stuff?”
“I ride.” He liked being able to say that. “Mostly I ride Dooz. Why?”
“Just wondered. Last summer you were still a city boy. You even told me you weren’t the cowboy type, but you’re…different now.”
He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe she preferred city boys to cowboys. “How am I different?”
“Well, you dress differently, and your hair’s a little longer. Your face seems a little more chiseled, but maybe that’s because of your hair. Also, there’s something else, something harder to define, an attitude…”
“Are you saying I have an attitude?”
“Not in a bad way. It’s more like a quiet confidence.”
He was flattered, but still he had to laugh. “I just admitted a while ago that I have all kinds of doubts about this event tomorrow. That doesn’t seem like quiet confidence to me.”
“This isn’t about your job, it’s about…your…” She took a deep breath. “It’s about your sex appeal, okay? I have no business talking about it, because it will only make me want to do things I shouldn’t do.” She moved away from the stall door. “Where’s that sink?” She started toward the end of the barn. “We need to get cleaned up and go back to the house. Dinner is probably ready, and I—”
He spun her around and pulled her into his arms, mud and all. “Let’s do those things.” Then he kissed her, knowing that she would kiss him back, knowing that this time he would take that kiss where he wanted it to go, and she would let him.
Her mouth tasted of rain and desire, and he knew the rest of her would, too. Heart pounding with anticipation, he began to strip her down, peeling her T-shirt over her head, unhooking her soaked bra, unbuttoning her jeans. He encouraged her to help him in a voice hoarse with need.
She did, nudging off her shoes, kicking away her wet jeans, shimmying out of her panties. He warmed her chilled skin with his mouth and his hands—stroking, licking, kissing every fondly remembered inch of her. She moaned and quivered in his grasp.
Her moan of delight was the music he’d yearned to hear for ten long months. One night was all they’d had together, and yet his feelings for her were so damn strong. She seemed to be as caught up in the whirlwind as he was. When he closed his mouth over her taut nipple, she arched into him and held the back of his head, tunneling her fingers through his wet hair as he sucked.
The tempo of the rain increased, urging him on. As her body warmed, he moved lower. Finally he sank to his knees and cupped her satiny bottom in both hands. Ah, the scent of heaven—Tyler, fully aroused, wanting him as much as he wanted her. He couldn’t imagine anything better than that.
His tongue remembered her exotic taste and knew the way to her sweet spot. There, waiting for him, needing him. He touched the tip of his tongue to her clit. She gasped and clutched his head for balance. But she did not pull back, did not tell him no. She was willing to be vulnerable and let him love her, at least for this moment in time.
Filled with gratitude, he took her, claiming her with an open mouth and a questing tongue. She was slick with passion, and he savored the richness of her desire. Her soft cries of delight spilled over him as he stroked rhythmically with his tongue in time to the steady beat of the rain overhead. He would give her this, even if they could share nothing else.
She began to tremble, and he used more pressure. With a groan that spoke of intense pleasure, she came, bathing his tongue in her juices. He drank joyfully, holding her, supporting her so she wouldn’t fall.
At last her body grew quiet and she drew in a shaky breath. “Oh, Alex.” She said his name on a sigh of happiness.
He couldn’t ask for a better response than that. Slowly he stood, sliding his hands up her body as he rose to his feet. His legs were rubbery from the rush of adrenaline, and his c*ck was absolutely killing him. But a cowboy filled with quiet confidence would be stoic about such things.
Once they were face-to-face again, she looked into his eyes. “That was…” Her breath caught. “So good.”
“Glad you liked it.” He stroked her back as she nestled against him. He loved the transformation when a woman had a cli**x, and he especially loved watching Tyler lose every bit of the tension she’d held in her body. Having a work ethic like hers could take its toll. He should know.
“Mmm.” She rested her cheek against his damp shirt. “I don’t know what the heck I was thinking, letting you strip me nak*d and make me come.”
“That you needed that?”
“I suppose. Anyway, I’m going to listen to the music of the rain and pretend it was fate.”
“Good.” He caressed her smooth skin, which was something he probably should stop doing, because the more he touched her, the harder he became.
“So what now?”
He frowned, wishing he had a better solution for the next phase. “Unfortunately, we probably need to sponge the mud off our clothes and go back.”
“I don’t think you’re ready to go back.”
“It’s not that I want to, but—”
She wiggled against him. “I’m not talking about whether you want to or not. I don’t think you can do it physically.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m worried that in your condition, you’ll have trouble walking.” She reached down and rubbed the spot where the seam of his fly was threatening to give way under the pressure.
He drew in a sharp breath as her casual touch brought pleasure laced with pain. “I’ll be fine.” But his quick words sounded as strained as he felt.
“Yes, you will be fine. Very fine. I’ll see to it.” She stepped back and maintained eye contact as she used both hands to unbuckle his belt.
His heart thundered with anticipation, and yet she’d have to get to her knees on the barn floor. He grasped her wrists. “No.”
“If you can do me, then I sure as heck can do you.”
He held her fast, refusing to let her continue with her plan. “It’s different. I had on jeans when I got down there.”
“No worries.” Glancing at the floor, she stretched out one shapely leg and used her elegantly polished toes to drag her crumpled jeans over to rest at her feet. “Voilà.”
Then she met his gaze again. “Happy now?”
He groaned softly. “I think I’m about to be.” He released her wrists with a sigh.
“You betcha, cowboy. Now hold still.”
He tried, but watching her unbutton his fly and pull down his briefs gave him the shakes. Her soft murmur of admiration nearly made him come, and when she put both hands on him—one circling his c*ck and the other cradling his balls—he had to close his eyes and lock his knees in order to remain standing.
Fabric rustled, and he knew she must have knelt on her jeans, but he didn’t dare open his eyes. The sight of her there, poised for the next step, would be enough to send him over the edge. He’d made it this far, and he wanted…oh, yes…that…the flick of her tongue, the warmth of her mouth, the gentle suction…
He wouldn’t last long. The sensation was erotic by itself, but knowing that Tyler was the one caressing him drove him slowly insane. He’d wanted her for so long, and now she was here, on her knees…
Even though he clenched his jaw, attempting to be the strong, silent type, a moan escaped. And another. He was breathing like a long-distance runner nearing the finish line.
And he was nearing the finish line. Her tongue danced along the underside of his cock, and then she did a swirling maneuver over the tip before taking him deep again. His penis touched the back of her throat.
And now he wanted to see. Opening his eyes, he took in the stirring sight of her drawing back, her cheeks hollowing to increase the pressure. Slowly she rolled his balls in the palm of her hand, creating a subtle yet powerful massage.
Dizzy with the need to come, yet desperate to prolong the ecstasy because this might never happen again, he combed shaking fingers through her luxurious hair, keeping his touch light even though she was winding him tight…and tighter yet. Once again she took him up to the hilt and slowly pulled back.
He was losing the fight. Control began slipping away as she used her tongue again before pulling his entire length deep inside. While holding him there and applying rhythmic suction, she pressed a ridge directly behind his balls…and he came in a rush. His surrender was total and vocal. He cried out and was very afraid his knees would buckle.
But, in truth, his center of gravity was buried in her mouth, which was the only logical reason he didn’t fall down as a cli**x roared through him with the force of a tsunami. The movement of her throat as she swallowed sent a current of electricity from his c*ck straight up his spine to short-circuit his brain.
He had no idea how much time passed before she slowly released him and gently tucked him back into his briefs. When she got to her feet, he took a long, shuddering breath and tried to remember his name.
She cupped his face in both hands and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. “I think you liked that.”
“That…” He paused to clear his throat. “That is the understatement of the year.” Sliding his fingers through her still-wet hair, he cradled her head and gazed into her shining eyes. “I’m afraid our plan to avoid sex is a total failure.”
“You could say that.”