Double or Nothing (13 page)

Remy wanted to take her up to bed and make love with her again. She looked as if she could use some cuddling and he wouldn’t mind having her naked body nestled next to his. Hell, he could get used to it in a heartbeat.

But Wes needed to know she was back. “He’s out in the barn by himself. We only have the hired hands in five days a week and this is one of their days off. We like to keep the place to ourselves as much as possible.”

“I should go talk to him.”

Remy found himself smiling. “If your talk with him is anything like the one you just had with me, I know he’ll be a happy man.”

Cherry stared at him for a long moment and then burst out laughing. “You’re totally incorrigible.”

“But you love me anyway,” he teased, loving to see her smile.

She sobered and nodded. “I do, you know. Love you.” She gave him a crooked grin and shrugged. “I thought you should know that.”

The bottom dropped out of Remy’s stomach, his chest tightened and his head spun. He plucked her off the table and held her close to his heart, which was pounding so hard he knew she’d have to feel it. “I love you too, darlin’. I feel more for you than I thought I could ever feel for any woman. You fill up the empty spots in my heart.”

She clung to him and sniffed. He eased back so he could see her. “Are you crying?” He hated seeing her sad or upset.

Cherry shook her head. “No.” But the tears trickling down her face told a different story.

“Liar.” The word was more an endearment than anything and she gave him a wobbly smile.

“So sue me.”

Remy shook his head. “Nope. But I do plan on keeping you.”

Chapter Ten

Wes had just finished brushing the new filly they were training. The young horse was skittish and this was a good way of getting her used to his touch and associating it with something pleasant. It was all part of the process of building trust.

Those two words made him pause and sigh.
Building trust.
Not something they’d done a lot of with Cherry. They’d hustled her into bed, told her they wanted her to stay with both of them and practically demanded she make up her mind.

Was it any wonder she’d fled back to Boston?

The filly turned her large head toward him, peering at him with liquid brown eyes. He patted her side, he picked up the bucket of grooming tools and left the stall, securing it behind him.

He wanted to toss the bucket aside in disgust but made himself walk back to the equipment room and take his time, putting everything away. It would do him no good to lose his temper, as much as he wanted to.

What the hell had he been thinking? All his knowledge and skill of gentling and taming horses and he hadn’t put any of that ability or talent to use when it came to dealing with Cherry.

She’d been in an emotional upheaval with her father’s death before they’d barged back into her life, demanding so much of her. They hadn’t spent time together in ten years, but he’d figured their shared past, their childhood and teenage years spent together would be enough to close the gap of the intervening years.

He’d been wrong. But only partially. Being with Cherry, spending time with her had only solidified his feelings for her. She was still the same in many ways, but she’d grown into a confident, giving woman, the kind who put her own life on hold to come home to care for an ailing father. The kind who could deal with whatever challenges life threw at her. Generous and loving in bed and out, she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

He missed her.

Wes inhaled, letting the familiar scents of horse and hay and leather soothe him as he wandered out of the equipment room. He sniffed again and caught a whisper of perfume before he heard the light crunch of footsteps on the ground.

He whirled around, certain he had to be seeing things, certain his thoughts had conjured her like some beautiful vision. There was no way Cherry could be standing a few feet away from him. He blinked and she didn’t disappear as she did each morning when he woke from his dreams. It was Cherry and she was standing inside the barn, looking pretty as a daisy in a white blouse and yellow skirt.

“Are you real?” Maybe he’d been out in the sun too long earlier this morning and was hallucinating. But she sure didn’t look like a figment of his imagination.

Wes slowly walked toward her and lifted a hand to touch her face. Her skin was warm and flushed. Felt real enough to him.

He yanked her into his arms and sighed with relief when she wrapped her arms around his waist. “It’s really you.”

She raised her head and smiled up at him. “It really is.”

The time she’d been gone had dragged on forever and her phone calls had only made him ache even more for her. “Are you back for good? If you’re not,” he continued without letting her answer, “I’m following you back to Boston.” He and Remy had talked at length and Wes had decided he’d go to Boston and do whatever it took to convince her to come home with him. Cherry belonged here on the ranch.

“That’s something we need to discuss.” Her husky voice had his dick standing at attention and his balls aching for release.

He knew they needed to talk, but he didn’t want to. Not now, at any rate. Not with her standing in front of him looking as pretty as a summer’s day. Too many sleepless nights alone in his bed, wondering and worrying had left him on edge. And only Cherry could ease the tension thrumming through him.

Wes pulled her into the shadows and an empty stall. God, she felt so good in his arms. Her skin smelled like a combination of sunshine and flowers and it was soft. So damn soft.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck and simply inhaled. His entire body clenched and his dick protested its confinement. “I missed you.” Those simple words in no way conveyed the emptiness in his heart and bed, the way he’d stared at the ceiling night after night, wishing she was there with him.

“Oh, Wes.” Her breath tickled his face and he kissed her, unable to help himself. She was here and he wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.

Her lips parted under his, welcoming and warm. He speared his tongue into her mouth, tasting and teasing, wanting everything she would give him and more. He ran his hands down her back, up her arms and around to her front.

Her breathing grew as ragged as his as he went from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds. “I want you, Cherry. I need you.” She had no idea just how much. The combination of lust and love powering through him almost brought him to his knees.

He tugged her blouse up from the waistband of her skirt and slid his hands underneath the fabric. It was a tight fit as the garment wrapped around her like a second skin. “So soft,” he crooned. “So beautiful.”

He managed to get several buttons undone, exposing more of her delectable flesh. All the while he peppered her face with kisses, returning to her lush lips time after time, unable to get enough of her.

Cherry was pulling on his T-shirt and he obliged her by leaning back just far enough to rip it over his head and toss it away. The low purring sound she made almost made him come in his pants. God almighty, she set him off like a match set off a stick of dynamite. He reached for her, needing his hands on her.

She’d meant to talk to Wes first. Really, she had, but he hadn’t given her the opportunity. The stall they were in smelled of fresh hay and horse, leather and man. It wasn’t the least unpleasant and it was very familiar. It was the smells she associated with both Wes and Remy and it was more potent than the most expensive cologne.

He was touching her everywhere, his hands a little rough as he shoved her blouse down her arms and off. It fluttered to the ground to join his T-shirt. He made a low sound in his throat as he cupped her breasts through her bra.

“Sugar, I could eat you up and go back for more.” He gave her a lopsided grin, which made her heart skip a beat. “And I think I will.” Wes’ promise left her even more breathless than she already was.

Her nipples were straining against the cups of her bra and she flinched when he rubbed his thumbs over the taut nubs. “So responsive.” His voice was so low she could barely hear him.

He glanced up at her and his blue eyes darkened. Wes backed her against the side wall and captured her hands with his. Slowly, he raised them over her head. “Hold on to the slats and don’t let go.”

Her fingers curled around the rough wood and she swallowed hard, wondering what he was planning to do. He knelt in front of her and she admired the sheer breadth of his shoulders and the muscles that rippled just beneath the skin.

He lifted her skirt and tucked the hem into the waistband, leaving her panties exposed in the front. Wes looked up at her, smiled and licked his lips.

Cherry was lightheaded and gripped the wood tighter for support.

Wes slowly traced his fingers up the front of her thighs and stopped when he reached the elastic of her panties. He traced the upper edge of her leg, following the line of fabric around her hip to the back.

She went up onto her toes when he slipped his fingers under the fabric and squeezed her behind. “I love your ass.” He moved his hands back down, but took her panties with them. “But I love your pussy even more.” He slid them off, making her lift one foot and then the other.

She felt strangely vulnerable with her skirt lifted and her shoes still on. She was still wearing her bra, more dressed than not. But having her lower half totally bare made her feel totally exposed. It also made her incredibly turned-on.

Wes leaned inward and licked a long line from her knee to just below the crease of her inner thigh. Cherry gasped and moaned when his hot breath feathered over her pussy.

“Oh, yeah. I’m starving for you, sugar, and here you are all pink and wet.” He lapped at her slick folds, stealing the breath from her lungs. She moaned and squirmed but he didn’t stop. Wes ate at her like a man starving. He licked and sucked, his tongue lapping at her clit.

Cherry held on for dear life, writhing and bucking against his mouth, wanting more. “Wes,” she gasped.

He grunted but didn’t stop. He spread her legs wider and lifted one of her thighs over his shoulder, opening her even more to his touch. Two thick fingers speared inside her. She jerked and moaned as he withdrew them and thrust again. He sucked on her clit, pressing the flat of his tongue against the bundle of nerves.

Cherry let herself go and flew. She cried out his name again and again. One of her hands slipped from the wall and fell onto his shoulder, her nails digging in as another wave of pleasure swept through her.

Tears trickled down her face, but they weren’t sad tears. It wasn’t even happiness. It was some far deeper emotion, one that told her she was exactly in the right place and Wes was the right man for her. The fact that she felt the same way about Remy was irrelevant. Deep in her heart, she knew she had enough love for them both.

When the roaring died down in her ears, she could hear Wes’ deep voice. He was soothing her, his big, rough hands gently stroking her legs and butt. “It’s okay, sugar. I’ve got you.”

And Wes would always have her and so would Remy. Her heart was safe with these two amazing men.

He straightened and she leaned against the stall wall for support. His gaze never left her as he unbuckled his belt, flicked open his jeans and released his cock. Her pussy clenched at the sight of him, long and thick, the veins pulsing with need.

Wes moved in close and his erection brushed against her stomach, leaving it wet as liquid leaked from the head and onto her skin. He shoved her bra up over her breasts and he made a sound of pleasure. One finger traced a pebbled nipple before moving over to the other one to give it the same treatment. “Damn, you’re something else. I can’t wait any longer.”

“Then don’t.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Wes’ hands were rough as he cupped her ass in his hands and lifted. He could taste Cherry on his mouth, her sweet, tart flavor, her pleasure. The little moans she made when he touched her, the way she squirmed to get closer almost set him off like a firecracker. She was hotter than a Texas July afternoon.

And she was his.

He ignored the voice in the back of his head that warned him nothing had been settled yet. The fact she was here with him, letting him touch her had to mean she cared. He could work with that.

He held her easily with one arm as he fitted his cock to her opening. She was so tight from her earlier orgasm he had to push hard to get the head inside. She moaned and wiggled, trying to take more of him.

His knees felt week, so he pushed her back against the wall and slapped one of his hands next to her for support. “Slow down, sugar.”

“No.” She went wild in his arms, touching his arms and shoulders and back. She wiggled her lower body and managed to take more of his cock. She kissed his neck, his face and finally his mouth.

Something inside him exploded and Wes sank to his knees, taking Cherry with him. He pulled her down onto his cock until he was buried deep in her pussy. She moaned and gripped his shoulders tighter and he knew he’d wear the crescent-shape of her nails for some time. He didn’t mind in the least. He liked the idea of wearing her marks of passion on his skin.

He lifted her an inch or two off his cock and thrust her back down again. They both groaned. It wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy the overwhelming need he had to claim this woman. He lowered her onto their discarded tops so her back would be protected, then he hooked his hands under her thighs and began to fuck her hard and fast.

Her pussy gripped and clutched at his dick each time he entered and left her. It about drove him stark raving mad. Her hot juices coated his cock, bathing it in pure pleasure.

Fuck, he wasn’t wearing a condom. He tried to pull out, but she shoved her hips upward and he was totally lost.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

The mantra repeated over and over in his fevered brain. There was no way he could ever let her go again. She wanted him and he loved her. That was everything.

He bucked and thrust and barely kept from yelling in triumph when he felt the flutters of her pussy around his cock. He reached between her thighs and found her clit. He’d barely touched it when she orgasmed around him.