Down & Dirty (Bundle) (4 page)

For someone so smart, he didn’t seem to be
all that well-acquainted with the inner workings of women’s minds.
“Jack, honey, that doesn’t matter. She isn’t waiting for him to
come around. She’s waiting because she wants him to be her first.
It’s not quite the same thing.”

“
Mmm, but that’s not the
part that worries me.” His thumb swept along her hip in an
absentminded caress. “It’s going to happen, whether she wants it to
or not. The young pups in town will tear each other up over a
female in heat, and whoever wins won’t be in any state to go
gentle.”

Ginny growled and sat up. “Then whoever
‘wins’ won’t be around long to enjoy his victory.”

“
Hey.” Jack’s hand caught
her and coaxed her back down. “It’s not going to come to that. I’m
not going to let it. I can forbid them all to lay a hand on her,
and they’ll obey, but someone still has to do it.”

She had to choke back another growl.
“Someone like… the alpha.”

His fingers tightened on her hip. “No. Not
unless her life is in danger. And we’re nowhere near that
point.”

It wasn’t right to punish him for the
responsibilities of his position. “You have to do what you have to
do. Though I’m fairly certain Hazel would die of embarrassment
every time she had to see you afterwards.”

“
She wouldn’t be the only
one,” he muttered. Then he sighed. “Help me find a way, Ginny.
Please.”

“
I’ll talk to her, don’t
worry.” Ginny rolled over and propped her chin on Jack’s chest.
“When faced with the possibility of mating with you, she might just
go ahead and pick one of those nice, safe boys you mentioned.” She
didn’t bother to hide her amusement.

The corner of his mouth ticked up. “If I
weren’t so relieved, I’d be a tad bit offended by that.”

“
Would you, now?” She
dropped her head and scraped her teeth over his chest. “That
doesn’t seem right.”

Jack lifted his hand and caught a lock of
her hair around his finger. “You’re probably going to have to
soothe my ego now, sweetheart. You just beat on it pretty
hard.”

Her eyes met his, and she flashed him a
wicked grin. “And soothing your bruised ego would involve what,
precisely?”

He gave her hair a teasing tug. “Come on,
cowgirl. I want to see how well you ride.”

“
You’re a demanding cuss,
you know that?” But Ginny moved over him anyway, pressing her knees
into the bed on either side of his body. She sat up, stretched her
arms over her head and teased him with a slow roll of her
hips.

Jack made a low, rumbling
sound of approval and slid his hands to her thighs. “You like me
like this. And in case you haven’t noticed, I like
you
like this.”

His stiffening cock left no doubt about
that. “Slow and easy?”

“
For now…” His thumb swept
out to tease gently at her clit. “If you can take it.”

Her laugh cut off with a hiss, and a quick
flex of her thighs brought him inside her. “You wanted me, Jack
Owens,” she murmured, fascinated. “But can you handle me?”

The hot, dangerous look in his eyes answered
her question far more honestly than his murmured, “We’ll see.”

He counted on it, arrogantly expecting that
Ginny would be putty in his hands. Admittedly, at the moment, she
couldn’t fault him for the assumption. “You’re cocky.”

“
You noticed.” He tightened
his grip on her thighs and pushed his hips up. “Is it a
shock?”

Thought fled, and she let her head fall back
as she dug her nails into his stomach. “Again.”

She felt the hard muscles tense under her
hands, and he thrust up into her hard enough to bring her knees off
the bed. “You like it?”

“
Y-Yes.” Then Ginny moved,
rocking her hips over his in a gentle rhythm. “Or this...” It was
like nothing she’d imagined with Jack, this easy pleasure that
built slowly and made her shake. She’d expected the frantic,
explosive need… but not this.

His hands were warm as they slid higher, one
curling possessively around the flare of her hip. He slid his
fingers between her legs and brushed her clit lightly before
rocking up again. “Ride me,” he commanded in a hoarse whisper.
“Until you can’t come any more.”

Another sharp thrust forced a choked cry
from her, and she leaned down until her mouth met his. She moaned
with every undulating movement, the sounds lost to his mouth. Her
hands traveled over his body, everywhere she could reach, until she
had to clench her fists around the covers and dig her teeth into
his neck.

Jack groaned loudly, and the hand trapped
between them shifted until his fingers found her clit again. He
proved he’d been paying attention earlier as he found the perfect
rhythm, rubbing in maddening counterpoint to the movement of her
hips.

The tense spiral of pleasure twisted
unbearably. Ginny’s mouth hovered over his ear, and she breathed,
“Please, Jack.” But before he could do or say anything, the spiral
shattered, catapulting her into ecstasy.

He rolled them over, and she ended up on her
back with Jack propped above her on one hand, the other continuing
its wicked little caress as he plunged into her again. The sharp
blue of his eyes bled to amber as a growl worked its way out of his
chest. “Again.”

She wrapped a hand around
his arm and arched off the bed with a helpless cry. “Jack,
fuck
--”

“
Again
,” he repeated, voice hoarse. He angled his hips and plunged
into her again, harder and a little out of control. “Come.
Now
.”

The harsh command unraveled
her last thread of control. An orgasm ripped through her, intense
and maddening and followed immediately by another. Ginny heard her
own voice, babbling,
begging
, and Jack dropped his lips to
her neck and marked her again as her body clenched around his
cock.

And
still
he was hard inside her, though
the growl that tore free of him this time sounded more like a
shout. His lips found her ear, and he panted dirty words in between
hard thrusts. “You feel so fucking good… so fucking tight… so hot
when you come…”

She shrieked, and her pleas melted into sobs
as she dug her heels and her nails into his back. It didn’t stop,
the rise and fall of tension and release, and every sharp stroke of
his cock set her off again, until there was nothing left but
searing, unending pleasure.

He roared when he came, his hips snapping
forward in one final thrust. When he collapsed it was half on top
of her. “Jesus Christ.”

The world spun, and Ginny squeezed her eyes
shut as she tried to center herself. Tears streamed down her
temples and dampened her hair, and she relaxed, letting go of Jack.
She tried to speak, but no words would come, so she took a deep,
shaky breath instead.

She felt his nose against her cheek,
nuzzling gently as he shifted to the side. “Are you all right?”

She must have been scaring the shit out of
him. Ginny forced her eyes open and laughed quietly. “I’m fine.
Something… better than fine.”

“
You’re hot is what you
are.” He smiled against her cheek, and his hand skated up to rest
on her belly. “Unbelievably fucking hot.”

Hot.
“Shit.” Ginny sprang up and grabbed her robe. “The
coffee.”

Jack rose easily from the bed and strode
past her. “Sit down. I’ll take care of it.”

It was just as well, because her legs
wouldn’t hold her. She sank back to the edge of the bed and
snorted. “Terrific. How am I supposed to ride all over creation
tomorrow, fetching my lost stock?”

He just grinned smugly and disappeared
through the door, apparently unconcerned with his lack of
clothing.

Ginny dropped her robe at the foot of the
bed and climbed up under the covers naked. “I’m not bothering with
a nightgown,” she called out. “So you’ll have to keep me warm.”

His chuckle floated back up to her. “I
thought you wanted to be able to sit a horse tomorrow.”

It suddenly seemed less important than
spending the night with Jack’s naked body pressed against hers.
“What’s a few head of cattle here and there?”

She heard another laugh, followed by the
quiet sounds of him moving about in her small kitchen.

She knew exactly when he came to the door,
but he said nothing and didn’t cross the room. Finally, she raised
her head. “Will you quit staring and come to bed?”

“
What can I say?” He smiled
as he stepped over the threshold. “The view was nice, even with all
the blankets.”

Ginny drew back the covers and grinned as
she admired him. “If you want to sleep tonight, stop wandering
around my house buck naked.”

His smile shifted to a wicked grin as he
obeyed and slipped into the bed next to her. One arm wrapped around
her waist and tugged her firmly back against him. “You think being
naked in your bed is liable to make me more sleepy?”

She snuggled against him and reached back
with one hand to stroke his thigh. “I think it could, if we keep
our hands to ourselves.”

He smacked her hip lightly. “You want to be
so sore that Ollie has to ask why you’re riding funny
tomorrow?”

“
We both heal quickly.”
After rolling to face Jack, Ginny bit his chin. “I’m a little more
worried about exhaustion.”

“
As well you should be. And
not just yours. I’m not twenty anymore, woman.”

“
Mmm, me neither.” Her face
nestled against his neck and her limbs tangled with his, and sleep
beckoned. “’Night, Jack.”

The last thing she felt were his strong
fingers drifting through her hair as he held her close to him.
“Good night, Ginny.”

Chapter Three

Jack awoke the next morning alone in Ginny’s
bed. He could hear her downstairs, along with the clatter of the
cast-iron stove. He rose with a smile and sought out his clothes,
amused to find them folded neatly on a chair next to the bed.

He listened to her move about as he pulled
on his clothing, opting to carry his gun belt in his hand as he
started down the stairs. “I hope there’s coffee this morning,” he
called as he reached the bottom step. “You wore me out.”

“
Yes, there’s coffee,”
Ginny laughed and pointed to an insulated carafe on the sideboard.
“You like omelets?” She poked at a half-cooked one in a skillet and
shot him a questioning look.

“
Sure. Sounds good.” He
dropped his belt over the back of the chair and crossed the kitchen
to stand at her back. Her hip felt good under his hand, the wicked
flare a reminder of the night before and how well it had fit his
fingers as he’d pulled her into every thrust. The memory made his
voice a little lower than usual as he leaned down to kiss the side
of her neck. “Good morning.”

She lifted one hand to his face, then turned
her head and smiled. “Good morning, Jack.”

He nuzzled his nose against her ear. “You
must have been quiet.”

“
Uh-huh.” She laughed
again. “I wanted to let you sleep. I wore you out,
right?”

His fingers tightened on her hip, and he
tugged her back until her ass pressed against tight against his
cock, which had hardened the moment he’d touched her. “Obviously
not enough.”

Ginny sucked in a sharp breath and arched to
rub against him. “Your breakfast is going to burn.”

“
I burn my breakfast half
the time anyway. I’m used to it.”

She moved the skillet to the back of the
stove and turned in his arms. “I’m not, but… I could get used to
it.” The words were almost shy, and his chest felt tight.

He lifted her up and turned to drop her
carefully on the table. “If I was feeding you, sweetheart, I
wouldn’t burn the eggs.”

“
Mmm, I wasn’t talking
about the eggs.” Ginny’s mouth trailed from his jaw to his
ear.

It was exactly what he wanted to hear, but
Ginny had been running shy far too long for him to get careless. He
reached for the belt on her robe as he snuck his tongue around her
earlobe. “I could get used to you getting used to this.”

She gasped and wrapped her long legs around
his hips. “I like the way you think.”

She fumbled with his shirt. The belt on her
robe fell open, and he paused to move her hands away. He didn’t
bother with the buttons, just dragged his shirt over his head and
dropped it to the floor. When he looked back at her, he found her
watching him hungrily.

She caught his gaze and smiled slowly as she
shrugged out of her robe. The silk fabric fluttered to the table,
and she lay back, stretching out on top of it. “Good morning.”

The view was so entrancing he couldn’t quite
believe his luck. His hand looked large and rough against the soft
skin of her stomach. He brushed his fingers in a lazy circle around
her belly button and fought the urge to howl his triumph. After all
the years of watching and waiting, he had Ginny under his
hands.

And he didn’t feel like letting her go
anytime soon. “You going to be heartbroken if I take my time
figuring out just how good my morning can get?”

She laughed. “I’m not one to look a gift
horse in the mouth, Jack. You take your time.”

It was hard deciding where to start, but her
lips were too tempting to resist. He braced his hands on either
side of her head and leaned down until his lips hovered over hers.
“Anything I want?”

Ginny’s sigh feathered over his mouth.
“Anything you want.”

“
Anything?” He bit her
lower lip before giving in to the temptation to kiss her,
swallowing any answer she might have given. He didn’t need words
when he felt her enthusiasm in the touch of her body, in the way
she arched into him, as though she couldn’t bear not to have his
skin against hers.