Body Language: The Boot Knockers, Book 2 (7 page)

Four plunges, five, and she was coming apart, drenching his lips and tongue. Out of his mind with lust, he surged upward, caught her in a deep kiss and sank into her core.

“The sky’s not the only big thing in Texas,” she gasped, eyes dancing.

He shared a joyous grin with her, and they started to move.

Chapter Five

Ruthie disentangled herself from Damian’s arms. In his sleep, he kept a stronghold on her. Every time she moved an inch away, he’d plaster her to his side again, waking her more than once.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she rubbed her face, trying to erase her exhaustion. The cowboy god had kept her up well into the morning hours pleasuring her. She was a little stiff and sore, but in a way that was oh, so good.

She got up and padded across the thick blue carpet to her purse. Since arriving–was that yesterday?–she’d been caught in a tornado of emotions. She’d forgotten about the real world, but now she should at least check her phone messages.

Fishing her cell from her leather handbag, she stared at the man sleeping in her bed. He was sprawled on his stomach, face turned sharply toward her. In repose, he looked younger, less hardened. What had his life been like to put that pain in his eyes?

The dark red hair on his jaw seemed redder against the sheets, and his mouth was relaxed so his usual brackets were smoothed.

The sheet had fallen off, revealing his muscular side and the dreamy outline of his arm. While he’d been inside her, she’d held onto his arms, loving the way they supported him so easily.

She shivered. Seeing him so vulnerable touched her in a way she couldn’t afford. Maybe she’d better go outside and get a breath of morning air.

After slipping on a nightgown and with her phone in hand, she quietly moved through the bungalow and outside. Dawn was just touching the sky. Fingers of rainbow light stretched across the endless horizon, pinks and oranges and a hint of gold. Ruthie drew a huge breath of clean air into her lungs.

A munching noise from her left made her swing her gaze that direction. She sucked in a breath.

In the predawn fog, a horse was chomping a breakfast of grass beside her bungalow. The animal was white with a few black patches, and its long white mane dangled toward the ground as it dipped its head for more grass.

Ruthie had never been around large animals such as this, but she couldn’t resist dismounting the stairs and stepping barefoot into the damp grass for a closer look. As she approached, the horse gave her a brief glance. Then it returned to eating.

She edged closer, her phone forgotten. Everything forgotten but the mystical beauty of a horse at dawn. Would it let her stroke its back? A few feet away, she reached out and spoke softly to it.

“You’re beautiful. What’s your name?”

“That’s Tilly.” Damian’s voice made her start, though he’d pitched it low. She turned to see him wearing only those tighty whities, this time with green lettering.

Okay, the sight of a gorgeous man at dawn is better than a horse.

The corner of his mouth quirked up and he approached, soft-footed and softer-eyed. Her chest constricted.

“Do you want to pet her?”

“Y-yes. If she’ll let me.”

“She will.” He bent and twisted off a hank of grass. He put it in her hand then grabbed her wrist to pull her forward. “Hello, Tilly girl. Whatcha doing out of the pen? Sneaking some breakfast, I see? I bet the grass is sweeter by Ruthie’s bungalow.”

Ruthie smiled.

“Hold out the grass for her but keep your fingers tucked so she doesn’t nip you.”

Nervous, Ruthie did. Tilly swung her head toward Ruthie, barely pausing in her chewing to take the grass.

Laughter burst from Ruthie before she could stop it. It sounded loud in the stillness, but Damian’s chuckle mingled with it. He settled a hand on Tilly’s neck. “Go ahead and touch her. You’re friends now.”

“I just had to give her grass to make friends? Wish it were always that easy.”

“That’s no joke.”

“Do you have a lot of friends?” she asked.

He raised his gaze to hers, and they were intense with some emotion she couldn’t read. “Everyone on this ranch is my friend.”

The way he said that made her think he considered himself lucky. “Did you have good friends growing up?”

His lips tightened and he looked at the horizon, which was growing brighter by the second. “I had a few.”

She tried to picture him as a child, as one of her students. Would he have been as serious as he was in adulthood?

“What about you? Lots of friends back at home I bet.”

She lifted a shoulder. “I don’t have many, but the ones I do have are supportive and genuine.”

At that, he smiled. Her heart thumped at the transformation in him. He was silhouetted by a gorgeous sunrise, but all she could do was stare at him.

“This is a good way to wake up. You’re lucky, Damian.”

He nodded, drawing and releasing a deep breath of air. “You have no idea how lucky I am to be free.”

She tried to catch his gaze and hopefully read what he meant in his eyes, but he wouldn’t look at her. Instead he twisted off more grass and passed it to her. She fed it to Tilly and stroked the horse’s neck, her mind working overtime.

To be free…was that figurative? Had he escaped a bad home life, a bad relationship? Or was there more to it?

“What will happen to the horse? Will you put her back inside the fence?” Ruthie asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, after I get dressed. Here on the Boot Knockers Ranch we do some strange things, like streak nekkid across fields, but I prefer some boots at least.” He gave her a slow, sexy wink that made her stomach tight and warm. “Come on. We’ll get dressed and lead Miss Tilly back home.”

They went back inside. The main room of the bungalow looked so inviting with its shelf of books and fresh-cut wildflowers in a vase. Plump sofa cushions called to her, reminding her of how little sleep she’d gotten. If this kept up, she’d need a vacation to recover from her vacation.

Damian wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed his lips to her throat. A thrill hit her—swift and powerful. Instant desire rushed through her system. She wrapped her arm over his, the phone still in her hand.

“Were you calling one of those friends to rescue you?” he rumbled against her neck.

She gave a quiet laugh. “No. If any of my friends saw you, they’d never leave.”

He kissed her noisily on the neck. “That so?” His cock was growing against her ass, and she could barely keep from rubbing against it.

She should be shocked at her behavior. Anyone who knew her would be. But she didn’t feel a hint of guilt about being in Damian’s arms right now. In a short time, he’d given her more pleasure and peace with herself than she’d ever hoped for.

She could be sexy and sexual without becoming the slut her parents had warned her she’d be. In their eyes, allowing a goodnight kiss was too promiscuous, a myth she’d debunked in her college years. In the first six months she’d shared enough long, exciting kisses to stop feeling guilty about it. Booking this trip was yet another step in taking control of her sexuality.

Too bad she’d had to take such extreme action to find that inner peace.

“That’s so,” she whispered.

Drawing away abruptly, he slapped her on the ass. Hard. She gulped, and he laughed. “I’m getting dressed to take Tilly home. You comin’?” He moved past her toward the bedroom, where their clothes were strewn everywhere but on the ceiling fan.

He scooped up some clothes off the floor and started throwing hers on the bed. She set down her phone and wiggled into her panties. Somehow dressing in front of him felt more intimate than fucking him. She’d expected the physical part. But these extras…the lingering looks and touches, the way he held her tight in his sleep…those were tripping her up.

To cover her confusion she tapped the on button on her phone. Immediately it chimed a dozen times, indicating text messages.

“You’re popular this morning.” Damian pulled on his jeans, taking his time to adjust his erection before zipping them. Ruthie flushed and turned her attention to the phone.

What she saw made her blush ten times hotter. Nine texts from Andrew. When she’d left, she hadn’t bothered telling him. Now he’d asked her to the movies, dinner and to stay over at his house.

Damian was staring at her, a dark look on his handsome features. An icy finger touched her spine. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she wasn’t giving him undivided attention.

Wait. He’s supposed to be giving ME undivided attention.

And he was. She shouldn’t feel guilty. She wasn’t cheating on anyone. No commitment to Andrew, and certainly none to this cowboy who’d given her a dozen orgasms already.

She stabbed the off button and turned her back to shimmy out of her nightgown. Then she slipped on the knee-length sundress she’d worn yesterday. A few bits of hay clinging to the fabric reminded her of her romp on the cart with Damian.

He stepped behind her and gathered her hair off her nape, raising a shiver. He pressed a kiss there then circled her and caught her hand. “Let’s get Tilly.”

In the main room he paused so Ruthie could put on shoes. Then they went out into the waking world. Around the bungalow, a few small bushes had been planted. A fat bird sat on one, swaying in the almost constant breeze blowing through the valley.

Damian’s hand was warm around Ruthie’s as he tugged her toward Tilly. The horse had wandered a little bit away, still munching. She didn’t look up, but Damian made a few low clicks.

“Here, doll.” He wrapped an arm around Ruthie’s waist, and before she knew it, the world was tilting. Her feet left the ground and she was deposited on Tilly’s back. Before she could get her bearings, Damian gripped Tilly’s mane and swung onto her back behind Ruthie.

The horse shivered to the side, but he patted her neck and spoke low. “It’s all right, girl. We’re just going for a ride.”

Ruthie’s stomach clenched. She was on a horse. Bareback. With a man behind her. It felt as if she were in a movie.

Damian locked an arm around her body and tightened his thighs to get the horse moving.

Stunned, Ruthie’s mind fumbled to digest this…this awesomeness. When she’d booked the trip to the ranch, she’d never expected to ride a horse, let alone with a cowboy. Now she was crossing a field where the sun was just kissing the grass hello.

She relaxed into Damian’s hold. He burrowed his face in her hair. Did she feel him smile against her scalp? She couldn’t tell, but she hoped he was. As of today, making him smile was becoming important to her.

“Okay?” he asked quietly.

“Mmm-hmm. This is beautiful.”

“My only regret is not being able to see you. If I could, I’d have my camera.”

A shudder ripped through her, and he tightened his hold. Minutes passed as they slowly crossed the field. If everything weren’t so exciting to look at, she’d close her eyes and feel the moment.

Damian bit into her earlobe, raising gooseflesh all over her. Her nipples pinched tight, and her pussy squeezed. “Ready to kick up the pace?”

She gripped his hand, which was the only thing to grasp. She didn’t want to tug on poor Tilly’s mane. “I guess.” She didn’t sound very certain, and he laughed.

“Yaw!” He dug his heels into Tilly’s side, and she took off. Bolting across the field into a part that wasn’t mown. Tall grasses swished with every hoof beat. The breeze whipped Ruthie’s hair back, and she imagined the tendrils wrapping around Damian, locking them together.

Oh damn. I’m losing more than sexual frustration on this ranch.

She started to tense at the thought, but he drew her back until his groin cradled her ass. The evidence of his erection made her want to squirm, but she held still so she didn’t spook the horse.

Damian guided Tilly up a hill and across a flat. From here, they seemed so close to the sky that Ruthie could touch it. She raised one arm into the air and instantly felt Damian’s mouth moving over her skin.

He slowed Tilly. She obeyed as if she took wild rides at dawn every day of her horse life.

“What are we doing?” Ruthie asked.

He nipped her lobe again, and her nipples puckered into two gems. “Gonna let Tilly out to pasture here. She’ll find the other horses on her own. Besides, I want you.”

Ruthie tried to turn into his hold, but he slipped off the horse. As their gazes met, he clamped his hands on her waist and slowly let her slide to her feet.

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. She tipped her head back and parted her lips to accept him. The lazy flip of his tongue against hers amped up her passion. She moaned, and he followed.

When he sank to the grass with her, she let go of all control. She was here in this moment with this man, and she didn’t want to be anywhere else. Andrew could text her all day, her parents could find what they believed to be husband material for her. She didn’t care.

She wanted Damian.

Damian blazed a trail of kisses between Ruthie’s breasts to her belly. The soft skin rose and fell with her harsh breathing. Damn, what he wouldn’t give for his camera right now.

Under this light, she was a goddess. He worshiped her belly, licking a path around her navel. She tangled her fingers in his hair, guiding him down, down, to where she wanted him.

Where he wanted to be.

Unable to stop himself, he’d stripped her too hastily. Now he was trying to draw it out with foreplay, but he wanted in her bad. His cock was like steel, bobbing against his abs.

“Please,” she whispered when he didn’t go down on her.

They hadn’t been together for a full day yet he’d tasted her slick folds many times. He couldn’t get enough. Hell, he never wanted to wash his face. The scents of her clinging to his beard would be relished forever.

He teased the hollow above her hip with his tongue.

“Damian!” She tugged his hair, and he laughed. That was another great thing about her. He couldn’t recall ever feeling such joy with a woman.

Up the length of her body, their gazes met. Her eyes were glazed with passion. He wanted to see her pupils dilate as she came apart for him.

He scuffed his beard over her flesh, and she cried out. As he moved down to her soaking heat, she stopped breathing. Since their shower, he’d loved her several times. The muskiness of her arousal was perfect. Knowing he’d been inside her only heightened his need.

She rocked her hips upward to gain what she wanted. Sliding his tongue through her wet folds, he gathered her juices. “Mmm,” he rumbled, making her wiggle.