Primal Surrender (13 page)

“I love your hair. It’s so sexy. You should leave the bandana off more often,” she murmured, pressing tiny butterfly kisses to his forehead and cheeks.

His lips parted, but he didn’t respond, and she continued to kiss every inch of skin she could reach. Making her way down to his broad chest, she nipped at the tan circles of his nipples making him twist underneath her. She filed away the knowledge that his nipples were sensitive as she moved on to the sharp jut of his rib cage. There was a scar over his left bottom rib and she traced the four inch line with her tongue.

“What happened?” she whispered against his skin.

He shuddered underneath her, and his voice was thick with desire when he answered, “A tree branch when I was nine. I was climbing a tree and slipped. I caught the edge of a broken branch as I went down. Got lucky it didn’t go through me.”

Pressing another tender kiss to the old wound, she moved on to his rock hard abs, flexing beneath her hot breath. The line of hair stretching down his center intrigued her. It was crisp under her fingers, but soft against her skin, and it led her further down his body until she came face to face with his thick cock. Easily eight inches long and thick, she was fascinated by the thick vein running along its underside, pulsing with his heartbeat.

Her tongue followed the line up to the dripping hole at the top, and then back down to the especially sensitive spot where his cock and sack connected. Heavy balls hung below his shaft, begging for her hands, and she didn’t hesitate to run her lips over them, before rolling them in her palm. Mack was moaning now, his thighs tense on either side of her head as she fondled him.

Watching his face closely, she engulfed the head of his cock with her mouth while twisting and tugging ever so gently at his nuts. His hips jerked upwards and she smiled around the mouthful of cock. Taking another chance, she scratched her fingertip over the sensitive purse of his anus while she swallowed as much of his cock as possible.

The wild way he twisted and jumped encouraged her to press her fingertip harder against his pleasure button, just barely entering him on the next swallow. Still, he didn’t protest. In fact, his pupils dilated and a pink flush covered his chest and cheeks, proving how much he was enjoying her attentions. Before she could second guess herself, she pushed her finger into his ass, and forced another inch of his cock into her throat, gagging just a bit. The spurt of pre-cum that filled her mouth left her gurgling for air, and she had to release him.

When she lifted her head again, he looked like a wild man. His biceps were bulging, and his abs were clenched. His cockhead was an angry purple color, and he growled at her when she didn’t immediately resume her fondling.

“I need to be inside you, baby. Now.” He was gritting his teeth as he tried to maintain control, and Claudia frowned down at him.

“I’m the boss today,
baby
. So relax. I’m going to ride you, but it’s going to be slow and easy,” she assured him as she rose up over his hips and lined his cock up with her dripping snatch. Slowly she sunk down on him, taking a couple of thrusts to get him all the way inside of her.

They came together like a match to kindling. Fire coursed through her veins, making her motions jerky and sharp. Mack groaned underneath her when she leaned forward dragging her aching nipples over his mouth.

“I would die happy if I suffocate with my face full of those beauties,” he hissed at her, and she giggled. “Let my hands loose, sweetheart. I want to touch you.”

Claudia hesitated, because she was enjoying having control, but if she was honest, it wasn’t nearly as sexy to ride his cock without him holding her. Hurrying to release the ties, she had to stretch almost the full length of her body on top of him to reach them. The moment his hands were free, he gripped her hips, his fingertips digging into the soft flesh, hard enough to leave bruises. She screamed when he shoved his cock upwards, spearing her hard and fast. An orgasm washed over her, leaving her lying limply on top of him, trying to remember why this was a bad idea in the first place.

Mack might have stayed on his back, but he definitely took control. Moving her hips to a rhythm that quickly brought them both back to the edge of orgasm. With her last bit of functioning brain cells, she reached out and pinched his nipples as she exploded on top of him. Whimpering and babbling her pleasure as he released his cum deep inside of her.

She collapsed onto him, her vision slightly fuzzy, and her body tingling everywhere. There was no denying they were explosive together. Lying there in blissful silence, she listened to his heart race under her ear and just breathed in the scent of sex as he ran his fingers up and down her spine gently.

“I hate to ruin the moment, but this is the second time we’ve had sex and the second time we’ve forgotten a condom,” Mack said hesitantly.

Claudia turned her head, so her chin rested over his breastbone and she could meet his eyes. “I’m clean, and safe from pregnancy. I have an IUD, but I should have been more responsible. To be honest, I don’t sleep with just anyone. I haven’t had sex in over a year.”

He hugged her tightly, and pulled her up to kiss her forehead. “I’m clean too, but I’ll get you papers if you’d like to see. I haven’t had a serious relationship since right before the business went under. When I slept with a sub at The Cage there was always a condom involved.”

She nodded, “I’ll get paperwork for you too.” Frowning, she wrinkled her nose, “Not very sexy talk for after something like that.”

“No, but I wanted to make sure you were protected.” He cocked his head, “I want to be a dad, but not until I have my life pieced back together.”

Lifting off him, she went to the bathroom to clean up and then rejoined him in her bed. Snuggling up to his naked body, she relaxed on his shoulder and let her eyes drift closed listening to him breathe.

“Mack? When you say you want to piece your life back together, what does that mean exactly?” she asked quietly, unsure if he was still awake or not.

After several breaths she decided he must have fallen asleep and she sighed heavily, jumping when his voice startled her, “I really don’t know. I’ve just kind of been hanging on by the skin of my teeth for the last few years. No sense of direction or purpose. I guess I’m hoping things will start to fall in place for me soon.”

“I know what you mean.” Before drifting off to sleep, she allowed herself to imagine she had found a permanent home in Stone River, and possibly the missing puzzle pieces to her empty life.

*****

Ryker didn’t know what drew him back to Claudia, but for whatever reason he found himself back at her home, scraping paint from the east side of the house. She turned out to be an easy person to talk to, and he found himself sharing all of the sordid details of his past with Tina and Scott.

“So, Scott had been working as your accountant for five years and he had been honest the whole time?” she asked. The confusion in her voice matched the questions he’d been asking himself for months.

“Yep. Not a penny out of place until I hired Tina Ash as my business manager. I was looking into opening a bar and grill in Galveston before my football contract was due to end in two years. I figured I had better start making plans for a future that didn’t involve full body contact.”

“And the police can’t do anything? What about tracking the money electronically? Surely the bank knows where it was sent. My father had an incident with an employee embezzling a decade ago, but they managed to piece together the missing money and arrest him.”

Ryker shook his head as he climbed back down the ladder and joined her under the shade of the neighbor's Maple tree draping over part of her yard. “The positive and negative about technological improvements. They sent the money to overseas accounts, and then began a series of complicated transfers. Apparently Tina was a hacker in her juvy days. Of course, that was a fact she conveniently left off her resume.”

“I’ll bet. I know it sucks, but Karma will bite them in the ass someday, Ryker.”

The look of concern in her pretty hazel eyes made his heart clench. “Thanks. I know you’re right. It just sucks to lose everything in a matter of days.”

“But Mack said you sold your home and some cars, so you should have a nice nest egg, right?”

“I have enough. I don’t have to work as a ranch hand like Mack.” He didn’t mean it the way it sounded, and she bristled.

“At least he’s not sitting in a recliner feeling sorry for himself, and crying into a can of beer.” Her words created an awkward silence between the two of them, and he had to bite back a nasty response because the truth hurt.

“Well played. I’m sorry. It’s just a sensitive subject. I have to figure out what’s next for me.” Ryker watched as her eyes suddenly stared off and her tone grew distant.

“Yeah, there seems to be a lot of that going on around here.”

Before he could question her more, her cell phone rang and she hurried to answer it. He heard her greet one of the town board members and confirm her attendance at the town hall meeting later that night. He was actually anxious to see her in action. The image of her in his head didn’t match up to the rich socialite he knew she had been before moving to Stone River.

When she hung up and walked back his way, he gestured to the phone, “Getting nervous?”

“No, not really. Well, no more nervous than I was before. The town is certainly determined to hold off development. I just hope they keep an open mind tonight.”

“Give them a little credit. Just because they live in the sticks doesn’t mean they aren’t open minded. They do seem to embrace alternative lifestyles…” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her and making her laugh.

“That they do. I have to admit, that part of Stone River caught me off guard.”

Ryker nodded his agreement. “Me too. I was at the Keegan wedding, and I saw how much the three brothers love Zoey with my own eyes, but it still seems weird to me. I mean, how do they decide things like who goes on the marriage license, or who goes to parent/teacher conferences with the kids?”

Claudia looked thoughtful, and she absently rubbed sweat from her cleavage distracting Ryker and making his cock twitch. “I suppose it takes a lot of communication. Who did Zoey legally marry?”

“It’s Tanner’s signature on the doc. He’s the oldest, and the legal owner of the ranch, but she said vows with all three of them.”

“I wish I could have been there. I love weddings, and I’ve been to a hundred or more. Big ones, small ones, weird ones…I went to one where the theme of the wedding was
Nightmare Before Christmas
, and the bride and groom dressed up as Jack and Sally. I’ve never seen a bride marry more than one groom, though.”

Ryker grinned, “Like I said, small town doesn’t mean small minded.” He passed her a bottle of water, watching as she drank deeply. When she dropped it from her lips, her sexy pink tongue darted out and he hissed a breath.”

Frowning at him with concern, she ran her eyes down his length, “You okay?”

“Yeah, just have a crick in my back, that’s all. I was thinking, you said you’ve never climbed a tree before, right?” Ryker delighted in the wary grimace on her face.

“Uh, right, but—"

“Now’s as good a time as any, duchess. Come on, I’ll show you how it’s done.” Grabbing her hand, he dragged her around to the front of the house where the massive maple tree stood. Its long limbs stretching gracefully toward the sky, reaching for the sunshine.

“Ryker, this is not a good idea. I have to get cleaned up before the meeting tonight. I do not have time to go have a broken arm set.” Claudia stopped in her tracks, and crossed her arms under her breasts, plumping them up and making his mouth go dry.

He consider dropping it, but then he caught a glimpse of the tiny diamond chip earring glinting in her earlobe, and the two hundred dollar sneakers on her feet that were now dotted with paint spatters. She needed someone to help her expand her horizons, and if he couldn’t take her to bed, then he was damn sure going to ingrain himself in her memory banks.

“Chicken.”

The one word had exactly the right effect. She bristled, and her eyes flared to life with annoyance at the challenge. “It’s not cowardly to avoid putting oneself in harm’s way.”

A loud bark of laughter burst from his chest, “And that, duchess, is exactly why you’re going to haul your cute ass up into the tree one way or another. No one in Stone River, Texas should ever say “oneself”. Now, the first thing you have to do is find a good solid handhold. You want to get a good grip, and up you go.” Ryker hauled himself up the tree onto the first limb, and then looked back to see her studying him intently. Unable to wipe the grin from his face, he hopped back down to the ground and jerked his head toward the tree, “Your turn.”

Her jaw clenched as she approached the wide tree trunk. With a studious look on her face she reached for the handhold he had used and then stopped when she realized it was too high for her. Turning around, she glared at him, “This is stupid.”

“No it’s not. You’re looking for the easy way by trying to copy me, but climbing trees isn’t like walking up a set of stairs. You have to work for it. Look for the handhold that suits you.”

With a grunt of irritation she spun back around to face the tree, and this time she searched the grooves and hollows of the old bark until she found a grip that worked for her height. In a determined but shaky move, she lifted herself up onto the lowest tree branch, and found a seat. The triumph on her beautiful face sent a wave of pride washing over him.

“Well done. Now, turn and face the trunk again, and look for the next strongest branch. You want to make sure to only use the thickest branches so you don’t hurt the tree by breaking off its young limbs.”

The tinkle of her giggle reached his ears. “It’s not the tree I’m worried about hurting, Ryker.” She managed to move up another three or four feet before she turned back to him with a frown. “Get your ass up here, Mr. Tree hugger. I’m not going to be the only one with a broken neck if this goes bad.”

Laughing all the way, Ryker quickly made his way up the tree on the opposite side from her. They were nearly level and a good twenty-five feet off the ground when he indicated she should stop and look around. Up this high, the branches were thinner, and the smaller leaves were greener. The view of the yard and the neighborhood was spectacular from this angle.